Chapter Eight: Literature of the Rasika Tradition in Hindi

Delighted Madari says: Sita, I sacrifice every comparison to you.
You are the golden ring, and Rama the sapphire gem.

Her eyes are lotuses, her thighs surpass the trunks of plantain trees,
And her long arms steal the beauty of tender lotus stems.
Her nose has the parrot’s curve and her gait deprives swans of their pride;
Before her accomplished voice, the cuckoo’s speech becomes insignificant.
Her waist humbles the lion, her graceful form makes mighty trees tremble,
And the noose of Love is woven from the doubled force of her deerlike glances.
I say, friend, the union of darling Rama and Sita has been fashioned with perfect beauty:
Sita is the golden ring, and Rama the sapphire gem.

Bhajana-rasamāla

This work by Sri Haricharandas Ji, printed at the Sri Venkateshwar Press, contains songs on the adornment, recreation, and many līlās of Sita-Rama. They are important from the perspectives of both spiritual practice and literature.

At the end of the work, Sri Haricharandas Ji introduces himself:

In the renowned territory of Mainpuri lies the sacred region of Sukali;
The village of Pankavali is the abode of Pahari Ji.
There dwells Sri Swami Sitaramdas Maharaj,
Whose sole concern day and night is Sita-Rama.
His humble disciple Haricharandas remains ever near him;
His home is in the well-known town of Gopalpur.
Within the temple of Rani Hariyali Ji
He completed the work called Bhajana-rasamāla and found happiness today.

Sri Haricharandas Ji completed the work on Sunday, the tenth lunar day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada, under the Rohini constellation, in Vikrama Samvat 1947:

In the Vikrama year expressed by “form, revelation, digit, and moon,”
In the month of Bhadrapada’s dark fortnight,
On the tenth lunar day, Sunday, under Rohini,
Haridas completed this work.

It gathers in one place an especially fine collection of singable songs for the swing festival, marriage, Sarayu recreation, Holi, garden recreation, water recreation, Kanak Bhavan recreation, and related līlās. The appropriate rāgas and rāginīs are named above every song.