Chapter Seven: Literature of the Rasika Tradition

9. Ninth century: the means of fully experiencing the qualities of Bhagavan.
10. Tenth century: the enjoyment of eternal bliss.

Sri Swami Parankushacharya Shastri published the work from Galata Kunj, Prayag Ghat, Mathura, in Vikrama year 1995.

The Rāmāyaṇas

1. Śrī Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa

Following Sri Madhuracharya of the Galata Gaddi and his Sundaramaṇi-sandarbha, the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa too became one of the principal source texts for Awadh’s sweet worship. Interpreting the entire epic through the lens of śṛṅgāra, Sri Madhuracharya cites many passages to show how men who see Bhagavan’s lovely face come to desire intimate union with him, just as a faithful wife does upon seeing her beloved husband.

Sri Madhuracharya also gives distinctive interpretations of the terms jāra, “paramour,” and upapati, “another woman’s lover,” because in his view the paramour disposition cannot apply to a relationship with Bhagavan. Only the relation of a faithful wife and her husband is possible there. Madhuracharya says that he who causes the seed of worldly existence to decay—that is, destroys it—is called jāra. Likewise, he who remains near his loving worshippers, inwardly as the indwelling ruler or outwardly in manifest form, and sustains, protects, and nourishes them is called upapati.¹ These meanings of jāra and upapati are wholly original in their distinctiveness.

Through numerous passages from the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Madhuracharya likewise establishes that while Bhagavan Krishna enchanted women and others with the music of his flute, Sri Rama enchants women, men, and creatures generally through his own natural beauty.²

By identifying many sites of śṛṅgāra within the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Madhuracharya established it as a foundational text of the Rasika tradition. Just as the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata is the principal foundation of Krishna-oriented sweet worship, the Śrī Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa is regarded as the principal source text of the Rasika school of Rama worship. The Uttara-kāṇḍa describes Rama’s Ashoka grove and mentions the loving recreation of Rama and Sita there.³