रसमोद विनोद सुयोग घन वासी अवध प्रमोद वन।
माखन माखन सरिस हृदय शृंगार उपासी॥
कुंज केलि अनुराग द्रवत मुख श्रवत सुधा सी॥
वचन भाव संमिलित ललित लीला अनुरागी।
अवध भूमि छवि घूमि दृगन सुख लहि बड़भागी॥
रसिकन संग सुयोग सुख बिछुरनि परम वियोग मन।
रसमोद विनोद सुयोग घन वासी अवध प्रमोद वन॥४१॥
Rasamoda Vinoda was a dense cloud of blessed association dwelling in Ayodhyā’s Pramoda Forest. Mākhana’s heart was like butter, and he worshipped śṛṅgāra. Love for the grove-play melted him, and nectar seemed to flow from his mouth. His speech and feeling were united in love for the graceful pastimes. Wandering through the beauty of Ayodhyā’s land, his eyes found joy and he became greatly blessed. Association with rasikas was his supreme fortune; separation from them, his mind’s deepest pain.
रस रीति उपासन सरस मति रसिक छाप सियदास की॥
मिथिलापुर सम्बन्ध लखै कहु कोऊ मग माहीं।
तिनहिं प्रिया सम मानि कुशल पूछत सकुचाहीं॥
अवध मांहि श्रीरंग महल में रसिक समाजे।
रूखे जन उपदेश किये सनमुख रस राजे॥
अब लौं रसिक समाज में मची प्रशंसा जासु की।
रस रीति उपासन सरस मति रसिक छाप सियदास की॥४२॥
Siyadāsa bore the rasika seal of graceful understanding, worship, and the way of rasa. Whenever he recognized a traveller linked to Mithilā, he regarded that person as dear as his beloved and shyly asked after their welfare. In Ayodhyā’s Śrī Raṅga Mahal he lived among the rasika assembly. He instructed those who were spiritually dry, bringing the sovereign rasa before them. His praise still resounds in the rasika community.
गुण विशद सरस अनुरक्त मति सिया नागरीदास की।
नागर प्रीतम संग नागरी कुंज महल की॥
दृग भोगी ततसुखी स्वसुख सम्बन्ध टहल की॥
नित प्रति यहि रस छके रैनि दिन बिरह प्रवाही॥
जानकि वल्लभ शरण सुखद गति दूसरि नाहीं।
त्याग अवध ममता अवध आशा अवध वनवास की।
गुण विशद सरस अनुरक्त मति सिया नागरीदास की॥४३॥
Siyā Nāgarīdāsa possessed spotless virtues and a graceful mind absorbed in love. He served Nāgarī beside her urbane beloved in the palace of the groves. His eyes savoured their happiness; his own joy arose only through the relationship of service. Daily intoxicated with this rasa, he flowed in separation night and day. He knew no blessed refuge or goal other than Jānakī’s beloved. He relinquished possessiveness toward Ayodhyā, expectation of Ayodhyā, and even the idea of dwelling in its forest.
शीलसिंधु प्रियसरूप प्रगट जनु रामसखेजू।
अवध कुंज श्रीवन प्रमोद रस रास लखे जू॥
श्री सरयू रज प्रीति लपटि तन दिव्य भई है।
कोटि कोटि ब्रह्मादि प्रगट रज काय लई है॥
आदि चरित रस रास के वचन काय मन हृद गहे।
आदि नाम दोउ गुप्त रटि मरगट लली लालन कहे॥४४॥
Śīlasindhu appeared as though he were the beloved form of Rāmasakhe. In Ayodhyā’s groves and holy Pramoda Forest he beheld the rasa of the rāsa. Clinging in love to the dust of Śrī Sarayū, his body became divine; countless Brahmās and other gods appeared and assumed bodies made of that dust. In speech, body, mind, and heart he embraced the primordial pastimes of rasa and rāsa. Secretly repeating the two primordial Names, even at the cremation ground he spoke only of Lalī and Lālana.
चित्रसिंधु अति चित्रभाव शृंगार उजागर।
एक पुरुष श्रीरामलाल जाने अति नागर॥
सांख्य पुरुष गति तजे भजे श्री जनकललीजू।
रसिकन को सुख देन प्रगट जनु बालअलीजू॥
श्रीराम सखे रसिकेंद्र के हृदय कंज आशा लही।
ग्रन्थ बिरचि शृंगार रस रत्न देवभाषा कही॥४५॥
Citrasindhu revealed śṛṅgāra through a deeply distinctive devotional feeling. He knew the refined Śrī Rāma-Lāla as the one true Puruṣa. Abandoning the Sāṃkhya conception of puruṣa, he worshipped Janaka’s cherished daughter. He appeared almost as Bāla-alī in order to bring joy to rasikas and fulfilled the desire in the heart-lotus of the rasika sovereign Rāmasakhe. He composed the Śṛṅgāra-rasa-ratna in Sanskrit, the language of the gods.
प्रेमसिंधु मन मीन वारि शृंगार धार के।
बिपुल ग्रन्थ रस भरे धरे दशधा प्रचार के॥
सख्य नर्म गति लहे कहै जिज्ञासा लौटी।
वचन तर्क युत लसे कसे जनु कनक कसौटी॥
श्रीरामसखे गुरु की कृपा चित्र कुंज रचना लही।
ब्रह्म संप्रदा ब्रह्म गुण प्रगटत सरस विहारही॥४६॥
Premasindhu’s mind was a fish in the stream of śṛṅgāra. He composed many rasa-filled books to spread the tenfold devotion. He attained the intimate, playful way of friendship and answered returning questions; his reasoned words shone like gold tested upon a touchstone. By Guru Rāmasakhe’s grace he received the vision of the wondrous grove. In graceful pastimes he revealed the qualities of Brahman taught by the Brahmā tradition.
तुलसी कृत वक्ता प्रबल अवध मध्य महिमा प्रचुर।
राम सनेही सुखद राम रघुनाथ उजागर॥
हाव भाव रस उक्ति युक्ति वेता अति नागर॥
चतुर्वेद षट बोध तथा पुराण मत जाने॥
सब ते पर श्रीराम जानकी भाव बखाने॥
विद्याकुण्ड निवास थल संत सभा मंडन प्रचुर।
तुलसी कृत वक्ता प्रबल अवध मध्य महिमा प्रचुर॥४७॥
Rāma Raghunātha was a powerful expounder of Tulasī’s work, widely honoured in Ayodhyā. A joyful lover of Rāma, he was learned in gesture, feeling, rasa, expression, and interpretation. He knew the four Vedas, the six systems of understanding, and the doctrines of the Purāṇas; above all, he expounded the devotional feeling of Śrī Rāma and Jānakī. Dwelling at Vidyākuṇḍa, he richly adorned the assembly of saints.
कावरिया दृढ़ छाप लहि अच्युत कुल सेवन कियो।
जगन्नाथ श्रीरामचन्द्र के दास रंगीले॥
कथा श्रवण रोमांच गदगदे वचन रसीले॥
सेवा संत प्रधान अवध वासी सम जान्यो।
सर्व जीव सन्मान सुखद नातो निज मान्यो॥
परम उपासक प्रेम भर शील क्षमा सम नहि बियो।
कावरिया दृढ़ छाप लहि अच्युत कुल सेवन कियो॥४८॥
Kāvariyā received the firm seal and served the imperishable lineage. Jagannātha was a colourful servant of Śrī Rāmacandra. Hearing the sacred story made his hair stand on end and his sweet voice falter with emotion. He made service to saints foremost and was acknowledged among Ayodhyā’s residents. He honoured every living being and regarded each joyful relationship as his own. A supreme worshipper filled with love, he had no equal in good conduct and forgiveness.
अति उग्र सन्त सेवा सरस शम दम दया निधान भल।
कांवरिया प्रिय शिष्य महंत भगवान दास वर।
रामायण की कथा श्रवण अति प्यास प्रेम भर॥
गुरु को नेम निवाहि भलो अनुपम सुख लीनो।
निज कर रहल दिखाय मुकुटजुग सबहु दीनो॥
अंबरीष उपमा लहे अवल काल चक्की अमल।
अति उग्र सन्त सेवा सरस शम दम दया निधान भल॥४९॥
Excellent Mahant Bhagavānadāsa, Kāṃvariyā’s beloved disciple, was intense in serving saints and a treasury of serenity, restraint, and compassion. Filled with love, he thirsted to hear the story of the Rāmāyaṇa. Faithfully maintaining the guru’s discipline, he entered incomparable joy. With his own hand he demonstrated the sacred service and offered the pair of crowns to all. Compared to Ambarīṣa, he remained stainless through the grinding wheel of Time.
अवध वास ममता अवध समता ताकी कौन के॥
श्रीवेंकट गुन ऐन नैन छवि राम श्याम के॥
कथा पवित्र जु कह्यो लह्यो श्रोता सु धाम के॥
सन्त सभा के मध्य प्रचुर वक्ता जु प्रकासक।
अर्थ भाव त्रैकाण्ड वेद वेत्ता जु उपासक॥
नवधा दशधा भक्ति प्रिय रामलाल सुख भवन के।
अवध वास ममता अवध समता ताकी कौन के॥५०॥
Who could equal Śrī Veṅkaṭa’s attachment to dwelling in Ayodhyā? His eyes were mirrors for the qualities and beauty of dark Rāma. Whoever heard the pure story he told attained the blessed Abode. An illuminating and prolific speaker in assemblies of saints, he understood meaning and devotional feeling, the three divisions of the Veda, and the discipline of worship. He loved the ninefold and tenfold forms of bhakti and Rāma-Lāla, who dwells in the house of joy.
श्री राम सखे रसिकेंद्र गुरु कृपा रसिक रघुनाथ वर।
अवध बिपिनि की बास आश जग की नहिं राखी॥
काष्ठ पात्र गूदरी नृत्यराघव रस चाखी॥
वचन भाव रस हाव मधुर लीला अनुरागी।
रसिक सभा अनुराग महल गायो बड़भागी॥
नैन रसीले बैन लसि जानकि कुंज सुछात पर।
श्रीराम सखे रसिकेंद्र गुरु कृपा रसिक रघुनाथ वर॥५१॥
By the grace of Guru Rāmasakhe, sovereign among rasikas, noble Raghunātha became a rasika. He hoped only to dwell in Ayodhyā’s forest and kept no expectation of the world. With a wooden bowl and patched blanket, he tasted the rasa of dancing Rāghava. His speech, feeling, rasa, and gestures expressed love for the sweet play. Greatly blessed, he sang of love and the palace in the rasika assembly. His eyes and words were filled with rasa upon the lovely bank of Jānakī’s grove.
रघुनाथदास सतगुरु कृपा अवध प्रसाद लही भली।
अवध गली अनुराग राग प्रीतम रघुनन्दन॥
जनक लली अनुराग रंगे प्रमोद वन वंदन॥
महल रंग अनुराग सकल रंगी जहाँ आवे।
रसिक सभा अनुराग रंग पद गाय सुनावै॥
श्री सरयू अनुराग नित नम सख्य पंकज कली।
रघुनाथदास सतगुरु कृपा अवध प्रसाद लही भली॥५२॥
By the true guru’s grace, Raghunāthadāsa received Ayodhyā’s blessed gift. In Ayodhyā’s lanes he sang loving melodies to his beloved Raghunandana; coloured by love for Janaka’s daughter, he bowed in Pramoda Forest. Whenever he entered the palace’s colours of love, every mood became vivid. In the rasika assembly he sang and taught verses coloured by devotion. Always loving Śrī Sarayū, he bowed to the lotus-bud of friendship.
कलि तीव्र त्याग रति अवध भू महल उपासक विमल मति।
कोट द्वार श्रीराम घाट तपसी वर नामा॥
श्रीसरयू तट नेम कठिन सहि शीत जु घामा॥
चारि संप्रदा सन्त रसिक भेदी तिन माही।
सर्वभाव पहिचानि यथा विधि सेवत ताही॥
श्रीरामदास बिरही प्रबल टेक विवेकी शुद्ध गति।
कलि तीव्र त्याग रति अवध भू महल उपासक विमल मति॥५३॥
In Kali, Rāmadāsa possessed intense renunciation and love, a stainless mind devoted to Ayodhyā’s land and palace. The noble ascetic was renowned at Śrī Rāma Ghāṭ near Koṭ Dvāra. On Śrī Sarayū’s bank he maintained difficult disciplines through winter cold and summer heat. He knew the rasika saints of all four traditions, recognized each devotional disposition, and served accordingly. A lover in separation, he possessed firm resolve, discernment, and a pure way.
लह्यो तपस्वी साध की प्रबल कृपावत बालका।
कोट द्वार श्रीराम घाट जहाँ सन्त समाजे॥
परम उग्रता भक्ति योग लखि साधक लाजे॥
सेवा सिद्ध सुजान आगामी आगम भाखे।
सीतापति पद प्रेम नेम अभिअन्तर राखे॥
सर्वकाल चैतन्य भल अवध बस्यो बहु काल का।
लह्यो तपस्वी साध की प्रबल कृपावत बालका॥५४॥
Bālakadāsa received the ascetic saint’s powerful grace. At Śrī Rāma Ghāṭ near Koṭ Dvāra, where saints assembled, the intensity of his bhakti and yoga humbled other practitioners. Perfected in service and discerning, he spoke of things to come and of scripture. Inwardly he maintained his vow of love for Sītā’s Lord’s feet. Ever spiritually awake, he lived in Ayodhyā for many years.
शुचि सुमति सुरति चिन्तामणी भूमि घूमि रसिकन दरश।
श्रीसरयू के तीर कुटी जानकी कुंज तट॥
पेहारी के दास रास रस ध्यान लग्यो घट॥
नाम युगुल अरु धाम युगुल अरु युगुल चरित्रा।
रूप युगुल जेहि नैन बस्यो सब कथा पवित्रा॥
विरह अग्नि उपयोग ते त्रै शरीर गति लहि स्वरस।
शुचि सुमति सुरति चिन्तामणी भूमि घूमि रसिकन दरश॥५५॥
Payahārīdāsa, pure in understanding and recollection, wandered the wish-fulfilling land and sought the sight of rasikas. His hut stood beside Śrī Sarayū on the bank of Jānakī’s grove. A servant of Payahārī, his inner being was fixed in meditation upon the rasa of the rāsa. The paired Name, the paired Abode, the deeds of the pair, and the paired Forms dwelling in his eyes made every story sacred. Applying the fire of separation, he attained the spiritual movement of the three bodies and their own inherent rasa.
श्रीराम चरण रसिकेंद्र गुरु कृपा लही रस मालिका।
तीव्र अवधि वैराग राग भूमा सुख मानी।
नित्य अखंड अनादि महल सुखमा की खानी॥
मायिक दृष्टि अदृश्य तहाँ भाविक गति पाई।
यही देह करि नेह भले पहुँचे सुखदाई॥
सब रसिकन ते बिदा लै श्रीसरयू जन पालिका।
श्रीराम चरण रसिकेंद्र गुरु कृपा लही रस मालिका॥५६॥
Rasamālikā received the grace of Guru Śrī Rāmacaraṇa, sovereign among rasikas. Her intense detachment from limited Ayodhyā became love for the fullness of spiritual joy. She regarded the eternal, indivisible, beginningless palace as a mine of beauty. Invisible to worldly sight, she attained the devotional way there and, through love in this very body, reached the blessed goal. Taking leave of all the rasikas, she entrusted herself to Śrī Sarayū, protector of her people.
एक रीति अनूठी भाव की रघुबरशरण पवित्र मन।
जब जहाँ परम एकांत रसिक जन पूछत बाता।
तब तहँ पर प्रतिपाद्य अग्रस्वामी की नाता॥
यश वरनत बानी प्रशंसि आंसू झरिलावै।
अति प्रवीण सम्बन्ध भेद कैसे लखि आवै॥
सोई भल पहिचानि है जेहि सम्बन्ध चरित्र धन।
एक रीति अनूठी भाव की रघुबरशरण पवित्र मन॥५७॥
Pure-minded Raghubaraśaraṇa possessed a unique devotional way. Whenever a rasika in deep solitude asked him a question, he explained Agra Svāmī’s relationship there. As he praised that glory, tears streamed from his eyes. Supremely skilled, how could the distinctions of sacred relationship escape his sight? Only one enriched by the deeds of such relationship can truly recognize it.
हे विधना जो जन्म देहु संग रघुबरशरणहिं।
प्रिय सम्बन्ध उमंग विरह प्रीतम सुधि करसनहिं॥
मिथिला भूमि प्रताप रूप गुण अवध बखाने।
रसिक मंडली बसे लसे माधुर्य साने॥
शील सिन्धु गुरु की कृपा अति अद्भुत गति लेखिये।
प्रगट दोष हनुमत कह्यो विमल वंश सोइ लेखिये॥५८॥
O Fate, if you grant me birth, give it in Raghubaraśaraṇa’s company! Let there be the exhilaration of beloved relationship, separation, and the beloved’s memory. He described the splendour, form, and virtues of Mithilā’s land and Ayodhyā; the rasika circle dwelt there, shining and steeped in sweetness. By Guru Śīlasindhu’s grace his way became wondrous. He openly named the fault, as Hanumān had taught, and recorded only the stainless lineage.
विद्याकुण्ड महंत पद लह्यौ धर्म देही सुखद।
धर्मदास आचरण सन्त मंडल को तोष्यो॥
सर्व जीव सन्मान अन्न दै दै भल पोष्यो॥
तासु शिष्य प्रहलाददास महंती पद पाई।
राजन ते कर लेत सन्त सेवा सुखदाई॥
राम जानकी भक्ति पथ अटल सुमति वहि कोउ दुखद।
विद्याकुण्ड महंत पद लह्यौ धर्म देही सुखद॥६०॥
Dharmadāsa, embodiment of dharma and giver of joy, received the office of mahant at Vidyākuṇḍa. His conduct delighted the circle of saints. Honouring every living being, he nourished them generously with food. His disciple Prahlādadāsa later received the mahant’s office; he accepted support from rulers in order to carry out joyful service to saints. Firm and right-minded, he walked the devotional path of Rāma and Jānakī and brought no sorrow to anyone.