Twelfth Sarga: Relishing Pastimes Beneath the Wish-Fulfilling Tree

Twelfth Sarga, entitled 'Relishing Pastimes Beneath the Wish-Fulfilling Tree.'

The lotus pair leading the hosts of Love, sovereign masters of the excellent river of affection, moved on surrounded by advancing warriors in the form of bees and reached the forest called Śarat-sukhada, Giver of Autumnal Joy. (1)

'Intoxicating-eyed girl, behold the auspicious sight before You: this lake has become a charming mirror for Your own face. A golden lotus encircled by restless bees and a pair of dancing wagtails shine wonderfully here.' (2)

'The clouds in this sky bear the sweet whiteness they took from the lakes they once frequented. In friendship, did they give those lakes in return their own exceedingly dense dark color? (3)

'Or perhaps these unequaled ascetics in the sky offered their entire continuous wealth at the feet of Viṣṇu, desiring only liberation. Today they have suddenly attained dissolution and perfect purity. (4)

'Look all around. Bees passionately color every flower, yet nowhere do they become attached to a mind. Friend, tell us truthfully today: has Your own tender mind become distressed in sympathy for that neglect?' (5)

While Mādhava spoke in this way, the foremost jewel among young women raised a brilliant smile. Deeply eager, He drank with His moving gaze the sweetness of Her slightly curved, wide lotus eyes. (6)

Then Hari took into His lotus hand a lotus offered by Vṛndā. Its radiance was excellent. He smelled it and praised it lavishly: 'Through your incomparable fragrance, you conquer everything upon earth.' (7)

'Friend, when I praised the lotus, why did Your face acquire crooked brows and a slight redness? O restless-limbed girl, I understand: the praise caused Your own dignity to decline.' (8)

'Let me smell both in succession and discover which possesses the sweeter fragrance. Once that is known, I shall always proclaim the winner's victory loudly upon my flute.' (9)

Speaking thus, Hari kissed Her face without Her noticing and then exclaimed in wonder, 'Ah, this fragrance alone is incomparable. Friend, I did not lie, so do not be angry with me.' (10)

'Shame upon you, foolish lotus, swollen open in vain! Do you feel no embarrassment before the victorious face of a woman? Or, rogue, do you behave exactly according to your two natures as mud-born and water-born?' (11)

At every moment the wind instructed trees and vines in the art of dancing, yet it was not satisfied even by the abundant fee they offered in the form of their own honey and fragrance. (12)

'Angry girl, listen. Has the wind not made the edge of Your lotus face dance? Having attained its exceedingly rare fragrance, did it not consider itself blessed today?' (13)

Lalitā said, 'If the mere trace of its fragrance makes You, slayer of Mura, so splendidly recognizable, what will happen if You drink its honey? The anxiety of that thought is devouring me.' (14)

'Friend, do not grieve. Countless rivers of sweetness flow from Her in every direction without cease. How could this lake become impoverished if I drink just five or six drops once?' (15)

With the coils of the serpent of His left arm, He forcibly brought the raised-browed girl under His control and drank the nectar of Her lips. The radiance arising from Their two faces thoroughly satisfied the sakhīs. (16)

Sporting in this way with the affectionate young women along every path, bower, lake, river, and mountain, He reached the forest that forms the crown of all woodlands and is encircled by the shining Yamunā. (17)

Its quarrels of royal swans were abodes of art, its calling waterfowl filled the ears with wonder, and its peacock cries continually encircled trees that bore unending collections of fruit. (18)

Many circles of bathing places there were inlaid with crystal, sapphire, ruby, and gold. Their mutual reflections in the water of the sun's daughter bewildered human beings about which bank was which. (19)

Above those ghats, clusters of bowers with gentle radiance formed a flower forest shining everywhere. Charming bee songs delighted the people, while hosts of wagtails displayed many captivating patterns of dance. (20)

It abounded in fresh mālatī, bakula, kunda, ketakī, karavīra, keśara, kadamba, campaka, atimukta, jāti, hundred-petaled roses, dwarf jasmine, mountain jasmine, golden jasmine, yūthikā, and other flowers. (21)

The ground was perpetually inhabited by jackfruit, mango, lāṅgalī, areca, gostanī, plantain, karañja, karaka, jujube, dhava, neem, pippala, banyan, akṣa, kiṁśuka, and many other trees. (22)

Experts call this a bower: four trees of equal beauty stand in the four directions, adorned with two vines embracing each in sequence, while their branches interweave again and again overhead. (23)

With branches bearing clusters of flowers, fresh shoots, and pure leaves, such a bower shone like a jeweled palace furnished with balconies, spires, walls, gateways, and rows of guards. (24)

Here one bower assumed a square form, another an octagon, and another a circle. Light and beautiful, each delighted the minds and eyes and served the many amorous sports of its own Lord and Lady. (25)

Every direction resounded with parrots, mynas, sparrows, peacocks, cuckoos, bees, blue jays, partridges, kaliṅka birds, cātakas, kalavinkas, cakoras, wild fowl, and many others. (26)

Deer, porcupines, monkeys, buffalo, antelopes, wild cattle, camūru deer, tawny animals, hares, and others passed their time there in mutual friendship, playing together and licking one another. (27)

The Malaya breezes had long increased the power of their austerity by offering their bodies into the fire of serpents' mouths. They embraced flowers of the Nandana trees and devoted themselves to attending the limbs of celestial women. (28)

Their beings purified by bathing in celestial lakes, reddened by pollen from the lotuses of Girijā's pool, and delighted by honey from flowers upon trees serving the sports of Lakṣmī and Her Lord, those breezes continued onward. (29)

Touched by the mature fruit of immense merit, they reached this forest after abandoning desire for every other dwelling. Attaining an extraordinary wonder, they joyfully remained there always, having taken shelter of proper conduct. (30)

When some extraordinarily charming and beautiful deer, tree, or bird appeared ahead, doe-eyed Rādhā sweetly raised Her own forefinger and asked the name of each one. (31)

With Their own hands They gathered those honored fresh flowers, strung them upon slender vine fibers, and fashioned necklaces, bracelets, armlets, and other ornaments. The pair shone as They immediately adorned one another. (32)

'Beloved, while I place this flower ornament upon You, why are You so suspicious about Your breasts? Understand that I am entirely free from transformation, for the sacred texts repeatedly describe me as the Supreme, beyond all qualities.' (33)

'Friend Kundavallī, tell me truthfully: is His claim to be supremely described proper or not? Prajāvatī knows the conduct of her own brother-in-law. What other person anywhere could know it?' (34)

'Rādhikā, You are the most beautifully complexioned, so You carefully seek His supreme description. Your intention is that through continuous union without apprehension, Your own chastity will likewise be established.' (35)

'Friend, who does not know the Tāpanī sacred text? And Raudra Muni's son is well known here. At home he will explain my supreme description to You. Until then, remain here secretly with me for a moment.' (36)

'Lalitā, observe the male species! Brahmā clearly fashioned it here from a generous portion of fickleness and shamelessness. The bee that has entered among these vines stands as proof.' (37)

Rādhā saw the honoring glance of Her beloved, who asked, 'What is She doing? Look!' She then tightly wrapped Her veil around a fresh golden yūthikā vine as it openly embraced a tamāla tree. (38)

Thus immersed with Him in waves of abundant sportive nectar that flooded Their hearts with rasa, Rādhā entered the golden ground at the forest's center, Her girdle ringing upon Her hips. (39)

Upon that ground a jeweled pavement flashed, defying the radiance born from sun, lightning, and moon when they converge. There an eight-petaled lotus throne fashioned from rubies shone distinctly. (40)

When a host of loving devotees beholds that wondrous throne manifest within the mind, they drink and drink its incomparable abundance of nectar and thereby live for a very long time. (41)

Above it stood a divine wish-fulfilling tree that showered excellent rasa, something exceedingly difficult even for the gods to obtain. It perpetually hosted festivals of love, held a divine bed, and bore an ocean of eternal good fortune. (42)

Its leaves were emerald, its dense clusters coral, its spreading shoots rubies, and its rows of fruit many kinds of jewels. Served constantly by every season, the ground beneath it destroyed the uninterrupted succession of suffering for beautiful-eyed girls. (43)

Reaching that tree, Kṛṣṇa took shelter upon the whorl of its lotus throne, His ears adorned with brilliant karṇikāra flowers. Seated there with Rādhā and Her companions, He rejoiced while bees eagerly desired the opening of Their faces. (44)

As lightning encircled a cloud, or as a cloud held lightning without fickleness, the Divine Pair spread Their glory. Did the wish-fulfilling tree rain abundant cherished gifts upon Them because They had taken Their seat beneath it? (45)

The slayer of Agha, whose body reeled under Cupid and whose fingernail tips enchanted millions of Cupids, released hundreds of millions of arrow-bearing Loves from the corners of His eyes. Rādhā's own eyes, wearied by them, drank His radiance. (46)

Sanandana, Parāśara, and the other sages do not know the sweetness of His gracefully three-curving form. Yet saints experience that sweetness when it becomes the object of the clever speech of Śuka, who took shelter in Vraja. (47)

Śuka always takes shelter of the wish-fulfilling tree of the Vedas and is foremost in tasting the essence of its fruit. Because he described this nectar, exceedingly difficult even for the gods to obtain, it became celebrated throughout the world. (48)

'Lord of connoisseurs, what can I say of the delicacy of Your two feet? When they prepare to touch the earth, the assembly of Your lovers becomes apprehensive and offers even their own tear-filled eyes as sandals. (49)

'As though angered by the oppression of carrying the weight of all Your limbs, the irresistible burden of redness upon the heel of Your left sole appears exceedingly eager to come outward. (50)

'Above it rises a dark hue, while at the boundary between the two lies a certain fine line of radiance. The bees of the raised-browed girls' eyes, overwhelmed by their own honey, accept that line as their sovereign. (51)

'Your left foot swiftly crosses before the moving right shin. Deeply attached, it uses its own sole to kiss the light cloth hanging at Rādhikā's foot. (52)

'This brilliant foot is anointed with liquid vermilion, surely so that Brahmā may proclaim his skill as an artist by drawing upon it the flag, lotus, and other signs. Chaste young women become bewildered by merely seeing it once. (53)

'Beloved, why do You adopt disbelief? Have I not shown that I am the Supreme Lord? Even after receiving the wealth of the marks upon my feet, why have You still shown me so little respect?' (54)

'Your tender knees, covered by cloth woven from the beauty born of Your own body, display an unbearable heat when uncovered. Merely seeing them once causes the fine expanse at the heart of the moon to enter a transformed condition. (55)

'The radiance of Your very full, rounded, beautiful thighs makes even chaste women throughout the world reel under the lord of love. Then, through sudden draughts of nectar from their lower lips, You unite with their very virtue, O Lord. (56)

'Your navel and the row of fine hairs above it have assumed the forms of a nectar lake and a vine arising from that lake. All around shines an extraordinarily beautiful ground that serves as the dwelling place of tender flowers. (57)

'This wonderful lotus, the abode of Cupid, has a fortunate stem rising upward rather than a face turned downward. When the eyes of beautiful women fall upon it, they become blind from the water released by the wounds of Love's arrows. (58)

'The supremely skillful Creator fashioned Your three abdominal folds from the gathered essence of all splendor in the three worlds. Because they sing the glory of what is bound above them, truthful sages call this region the waist, the place of attachment. (59)

'Your middle appears exhausted merely by bearing the burden of Your exceedingly high, full, solid chest. Extremely slender, it seems to bend toward its own left beneath the abundant grace of Your threefold-curving form. (60)

'A fresh vine of play shines upon its right side to enchant the doe-eyed girls. The other side possesses ample curvature, and so it alone seems able to support the heavy weight above. (61)

'Moon-faced Lord, Your lovely belly, gently rising and falling in sequence with each breath and shaming a tender pippala leaf, sometimes becomes the dancing arena for Your jeweled necklaces. (62)

'Upon Your chest shines the fine golden line marking Lakṣmī's embrace, like a streak of gold upon a touchstone. Nearby, the exceedingly slender vine of hairs bearing Bhṛgu's mark resembles a row of powdered lotus fibers. (63)

'The portions of radiance from the gold and silver necklaces rising before You from left and right appear reflected within Your own sapphire chest, which has become their mirror. (64)

'Is Your abundant inner affection, unable to remain within, visibly emerging here? Through the pretext of the Kaustubha, whose brilliance shames hundreds of rising moons and suns, the entire world has become colored red. (65)

'A noble young woman drinks with her eyes the sweetness of Your graceful throat, where three tender lines cross a slightly curved circle of radiance. Losing composure, she longs to make her own arms the bracelets resting upon it. (66)

'Your stafflike arms punish the beauty of serpents. With the rows of petals belonging to Your lotus fingers, the light flute, honored by the slight dignity of its own dancing duty, licks nectar from Your lower lip. (67)

'Bathed in drops of smiling nectar and worshiped by the assembled rays of Your peak-bright teeth, Your lower lip bears such a weight of affection that it is lower than nothing. How could it suffer the defeat of comparison with a bimba fruit? (68)

'If a fresh sapphire-tree shoot were placed before You and two bubbles from the daughter of the sun's waters set obliquely at its sides, then I could worship Your nose with that comparison. (69)

'The gentle circles of Your cheeks receive the restrained brilliance of the jeweled makara earrings arranged evenly beside Your ears like fresh leaves. Respectable women whose eyes fall upon that splendor become completely blinded. (70)

'Through mere drops of their natural qualities, such as playful connoisseurship, beauty, truthfulness, and essential excellence, Your eyes grant complete fulfillment to fish, wagtails, lotuses, cakoras, bees, and every other object used to compare them. (71)

'Though Your two eyes move upon the path of the sacred texts, they intoxicate and forever shatter the vows of chaste women. Exceedingly libertine and more restless than anything, they seem immersed in the rising water-waves of the ocean of passion. (72)

'Who does not tremble upon seeing just once the sharp golden half-moon mark upon Your forehead, surrounded by the half-moon of dark hair and placed beneath the moving bow of Cupid formed by Your eyebrows? (73)

'These locks are certainly not lotus fibers, though they are anointed with pure liquid musk. Unequaled Love shaped them into curves for use as his own yak-tail whisks, and that is their true excellence. (74)

'The moon of Your fame for the beauty of every limb rises in the disc of Your face in the bodily form of Your gentle smile. It spreads moonlight throughout the dwelling places within the hearts of all rulers of every world. (75)

'Life of the fish of Vraja, enchanter of the universe, You are praised in these words. Yet the sovereign of Your own life scatters just a particle of Her radiance and enchants even You. How, then, can I praise Her?' (76)

Her golden lotus body was deeply tinged with dense, fresh, crimson kuṅkuma. It was honored by a jeweled casket, by golden quivers joined to the flower arrows of Love, and by every ornament of good fortune. (77)

From a single golden root of gradually increasing fullness descended an even pair of plantain trunks. Then came a round reservoir of nectar, swiftly encircled by its own three waves. (78)

At the center shone a single lotus petal bearing uninterrupted rows of Cupid's written messages. Nearby, a slender vine honored with tender shoots and a spotless crescent moon of autumn flashed beautifully. (79)

This entire meaningful arrangement was fashioned from blossoming bandhujīva flowers, fresh kunda buds, sesame flowers, blue lotuses, rows of tender leaves, cloud banks, and the delicate bodies of the daughter of the sun and her companions. (80)

For Your sake, the Creator, expert in art, fashioned through this very arrangement a fresh wish-fulfilling vine for new pastimes. Again and again You enjoy its sweetness and thereby attain complete fulfillment of Your own desires. (81)

'O Goddess, I bow to the nails of Your feet. Their rising rays put fragmented moons to shame, and upon them is seen the single face of Hari, who has bowed from shyness and taken His place nearby. (82)

Lalitā shone before Her holding a lotus to ward away rows of bees drawn by the fragrance of Her face. Tuṅgavidyā stood with her vīṇā, accompanied by Indulekhā. (83)

Viśākhā and Citrā fanned beautifully in the southern and northern directions. Yet the drops of perspiration arising simultaneously upon Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa revealed the pretext of Their repeatedly beholding one another. (84)

Raṅgadevī stood nearby with her younger sister, holding the end of a veil in her hand and intent upon wiping away tears of love. Alas, the sight made streams of tears arise in her own eyes as well. (85)

Behind the Divine Couple, affectionate Campavallikā gently delighted Them by placing upon Their lotus mouths betel rolls of nāgavallī leaves whose golden brilliance conquered every rival. (86)

Śuka's heart bore the sovereign weight of the mountain of love. With the courage born from understanding, he crossed into the great, surging ocean of Your sportive beauty and became ever more deeply submerged beyond all limit. (87)

How could the speech of persons like us describe the billions of young women seized by the crocodile of Cupid within that ocean? Even Lakṣmī, Pārvatī, and the other goddesses search for a very long time for the distant path that leads there. (88)

Watching Śuka, who had attained such powers of description but was now turning pale and losing his voice in agitation, Mādhava delighted the forest guardian by satisfying him with juicy gostanī fruits. (89)

Within the assembly of noble-hearted friends, Śuka became an abode of extraordinary good fortune. By directly experiencing the sweetness of the Bhāgavata, that accomplished bird made the same sweetness his own. (90)

As though each wished to conquer the other by displaying the furthest limit of skill in excellent melodious song, the vīṇā and flute, like two female swans in Their lotus hands, sounded together for a long time. (91)

Their music accomplished the transformation of water into stone and stone into water. How far, then, did their artistry extend? Even the thunderboltlike hearts of sages who behold no difference melted, and a shower immediately fell from Satyaloka. (92)

After a moment Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa entered the jeweled residence and sat upon the surface of an excellent pleasure bed. As They submerged in the heavy waves of Cupid's ocean, the circle of Lalitā and the other companions attained its cherished desire. (93)

Joyfully, the rows of attendants served their Lord and Lady, who had tasted forest roots and fruits and were filled with betel. With flowers alone they fashioned girdles, earrings, necklaces, crowns, bracelets, beds, parasols, houses, vines, trees, animals, birds, and many other works of diverse art. (94)

Thus ends the Twelfth Sarga, entitled 'Relishing Pastimes Beneath the Wish-Fulfilling Tree,' in the great poem Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta.