We stated earlier that our most revered śrīla gurupāda-padma was a rasika poet as well as a self-realized philosopher. I [the author] shall now present some verses from his Maṅgala-āratī song, by which we can easily understand how rasika a poet he really was. In this song, he has described Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s niśānta-līlā, Their pastimes at the end of night, in a confidential way. Ordinary sādhakas cannot imbibe these profound emotions into their hearts; only some elevated rāgānuga Vaiṣṇavas can understand these meanings.
The eternal pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa have been divided into eight periods (aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā) so that rāgānuga-sādhakas can remember and contemplate them:
- niśānta, the end of the night;
- prātaḥ, dawn;
- pūrvāhna, morning;
- madhyāhna, midday;
- aparāhna, early afternoon;
- sāyaṁ, evening;
- pradoṣa, first part of the night; and
- madhya-rātri-līlā, pastimes in the middle of night.
Maṅgala-āratī is connected with niśānta-līlā, the pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala that take place in the last part of night before dawn. Descriptions of niśānta-līlā are found in Śrī Sanatkumāra-saṁhita, in Padma Purāṇa (Pātāla-khaṇḍa) and in the books of the Gosvāmīs. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described these eightfold pastimes in a condensed form, while Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has described them in detail in his Śrī Govinda-līlāmṛta, as has Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura in his Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta. Here we shall give a very brief overview of niśānta-līlā.
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala are tired after Their midnight pastimes, and are sleeping in a charming kuñja, or forest bower. Some special sakhīs, carrying in their hands the articles and ingredients required for their service at that time, are waiting for Śrī Yugala-Kiśora to wake up. The cool and gentle early morning breeze, kissing each and every flower, has become intoxicated with Their fragrance and is now moving unsteadily. Buzzing bumblebees wake up quickly and roam from flower to flower, also kissing them. The whole atmosphere of Vṛndāvana is becoming enchanted by the aroma of these blossoming flowers.
Śrī Vṛndā-devī becomes worried when she sees Yugala Kiśora-Kiśorī still sleeping. “Aho! The sun is just about to rise now, and this Couple is still sleeping, happily bound to each other in tight embrace.” Seeing this, she becomes worried and orders Vṛndāvana’s birds, such as śuka-sārī (the male and female parrots), the cuckoos, peacocks and papīhās, “Wake Them up with your sweet songs, otherwise They will be put into embarrassment when everyone else wakes up.” As soon as the birds hear Śrī Vṛndā-devī’s orders, they all sing in their sweet voices about the Divine Couple Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and begin to wake Them up.
Meanwhile, some of the prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhīs become enchanted while peering through a small opening in the bushes of the kuñja. In their jubilation upon seeing the incomparable, lustrous beauty of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, they begin to perform āratī with their eyes. Although the Divine Couple have been awakened by the sweet chirping of the birds, They do not want to get up from Their bed, for fear of losing the happiness of Their deep embrace. At last, on the request of the male and female parrots, They sit up. Svādhīna-bhartṛkā 1 Śrīmatī Rādhikā requests Her dear-most Śrī Kṛṣṇa to rearrange Her garments and ornaments, and dhīra-lalita 2 Kṛṣṇa, complies with Her request.
The sakhīs then enter the kuñja. They approach the Divine Couple and sweetly conversing (rasālāpa), they begin their respective services. Suddenly, the female monkey Kakkhaṭī loudly calls out, “Jaṭilā!” Upon hearing this, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa become anxious due to the mellow of transcendental fear and longing. They return to Their respective homes, and sleep for some time. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī’s condensed verse is as follows:
rātryante trasta-vṛnderita bahu-viravair bodhitau kīraśārī-
padyair-hṛdyair api sukha-śayanād utthitau tau sakhībhiḥ
dṛṣṭau hṛṣṭau tadā tvoditarati-lalitau kakkhaṭī-gīḥ saśaṅkau
rādhā-kṛṣṇau satṛṣṇāv api nija-nija-dhāmny āpta talpau smarāmi
Many different Vaiṣṇava ācāryas in the Śrī Gauḍīya sampradāya have written maṅgala-āratī songs of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala. However, my most worshipful śrīla gurudeva’s maṅgala-āratī has its own unprecedented and unique speciality. By singing this maṅgala-āratī one is infused with the moods of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s niśānta-līlā in a way which cannot be found anywhere else. The song goes as follows:
maṅgala śrī-guru-gaura
maṅgala mūrati
maṅgala śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-
yugala-pīriti (1)
All glories to the auspicious forms of śrī guru and Śrī Gaurasundara, and all glories to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s auspicious amorous love.maṅgala niśānta-līlā
maṅgala udaye
maṅgala ārati jāge
bhakata hṛdaye (2)
All glories to Their auspicious niśānta-līlā, which heralds the end of night and to Their auspicious awakening, which brings auspiciousness to all! Glories to maṅgala-āratī, which awakens in the devotees’ hearts.tomāra nidrāya jīva
nidrita dharāya
tava jāgaraṇe viśva
jāgarita haya (3)
While You sleep, the jīvas lie sleeping deep in their ignorance, but upon Your rising, the whole world awakens. (If You manifest in their hearts, then all tattva and all siddhānta will be revealed to them).śubha-dṛṣṭi kara prabhu
jagatera prati
jāguka hṛdaye mora
sumaṅgalā rati (4)
Please bestow Your kind glance upon the world and awaken in my heart that most auspicious rati.mayūra-śukādi sari
kata pikarāja
maṅgala jāgara hetu
kariche virāja (5)
The peacocks, parrots and cuckoos all exist solely to sing for Your auspicious awakening.
sumadhura dhvani kare
jata śākhī-gaṇa
maṅgala śravaṇe bāje
madhura kūjana (6)
Sitting in the branches of the trees, all the birds sing their supremely sweet morning melodies, which resound throughout the forest. Those sweet, soft, auspicious sounds grace everyone.
kusumita sarovare
kamala-hillola
maṅgala saurabha bahe
pavana kallola (7)
Varieties of flowers, with lotuses in the centre, fill the pond and sway with the waves. Breezes carry auspicious aromas of pure delight and joy everywhere.jhāṁjhara kāṁsara ghaṇṭā
śaṅkha karatāla
maṅgala mṛdaṅga bāje
parama rasāla (8)
Large cymbals, gongs, bells, conches, karatālas and auspicious mṛdaṅgas play the supreme rasa.maṅgala ārati kare
bhakatera gaṇa
abhāgā keśava kare
nāma-saṅkīrtana (9)
Performing maṅgala-āratī in the company of devotees, Śrī Keśava dāsa sings nāma-saṅkīrtana.
The jīva is constitutionally a servant of the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, the jīva who has fallen into this illusory world, being averse to Bhagavān since time immemorial, is burnt by the threefold miseries in the cycle of repeated birth and death. Only by great fortune does the jīva take shelter at the lotus feet of a sad-guru and follow the path of pure bhakti. At that time he realizes that śrī gurudeva, Śrī Gaurasundara and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala are the embodiment of auspiciousness for the whole world. The ultimate goal of the living entity is to attain prema for the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The life of that person in whose heart prema for Them has arisen is actually successful. This condition is the ultimate good fortune of all living entities.
By the mercy of the all-auspicious Bhagavān and His devotee, when a practitioner of bhakti goes on performing pure bhakti, he gradually crosses successive stages such as śraddhā, niṣṭhā, ruci and āsakti. At this point, śuddha-sattva, which is the combined essence of the hlādinī and saṁvit aspects of the svarūpa-śakti, automatically manifests in the heart. Then, that fortunate sādhaka’s pure intrinsic spiritual form, name, mood and other aspects are also revealed in his heart.
By the association of devotees who are tattva-jña (well-versed in the conclusion of scripture) and rasika, he is naturally attracted to perform nāma-kīrtana with great feeling and to remember aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā. Only in the heart of a living entity who has received such good fortune is maṅgala niśānta-līlā manifested. The same love-laden maṅgala-āratī that the priya-narma-sakhīs perform in the transcendental abode of Vṛndāvana during Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala’s niśānta-līlā is specifically bestowed upon the heart of such a sādhaka. This auspicious rati does not manifest without the mercy of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Their associates, and until this auspicious rati is manifested, the transcendental maṅgala-āratī will also not manifest itself. Therefore, the bhakti-sādhaka prays piteously in great distress to receive such good fortune (Verses 1–4).
This prayer causes the auspicious āratī of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala to manifest in the heart of the rāgānuga-sādhaka. Losing external consciousness of his body and this world, he sees with his eternal form mayūra-śukādi sāri kata pikarāja / maṅgala jāgara hetu kariche virāja (Verse 5).
Dawn is quickly approaching. In some pleasure grove such as Saṅketa, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala are still asleep, locked in each others’ embrace. Afraid that everyone will soon wake up, Vṛndā-devī inspires the birds, such as the peacocks, male and female parrots, cuckoos and papīhā, to awaken the Divine Couple. All the birds in the water and on the land start calling in their sweet voices. The description of this pastime in Śrī Govinda-līlāmṛta (1.13) is most heart-touching:
drākṣāsu sāryaḥ karakeṣu kīrāḥ
jaguḥ pikībhiś ca pikā resale
pīlau kapotāḥ priyake mayūrāḥ
latāsu bhṛṅgā bhuvi tāmracūḍāḥ
Female parrots on the grape-vines, male parrots on the pomegranate trees, cuckoos on the branches of the mango trees, male and female pigeons in the pīlū trees, male and female peacocks in the kadamba trees, male and female bumblebees on the creepers and roosters on the ground – all are singing sweetly.
The male and female peacocks start crying their sweet ‘ke-kā’. The male peacocks call out ‘ke’ – “The patience, shyness and chastity of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, who is the personification of mahābhāva, are like a tall mountain. Who can crush that mountain to powder? Only Kṛṣṇa!” Then the peahens reply ‘kā’ – “Śrī Kṛṣṇa is like a mad elephant, sporting with His beloved in the waves of prema. Who can control that maddened elephant with the goad of Her love? Only Śrīmatī Rādhikā!”
Swarms of bumblebees blow Cupid’s conch as they buzz from one flower to another. Parrots like Dakṣa and Vicakṣaṇa, and female parrots such as Śubhā and Mañjubhāṣiṇī awaken the Divine Couple by heralding the auspicious dawn. Although Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are awakened by the sweet calling of these birds, They still remain in a tight embrace with Their eyes closed, fearing that the pleasure of that embrace may vanish.
The line maṅgala śravaṇe bāje madhura kūjana (Verse 6) can have many profound purports. The first meaning is that the sweet calls (kūjana) of the birds on the branches of different trees enter the ears of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as a sweet but indistinct auspicious sound. The second meaning is that the sweet sound of the birds enters the ears of the priya-narma-sakhīs, who are waiting for Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa to wake up. There is another very confidential meaning of the word kūjana. At the time of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s amorous pastimes, Their rati-vilāsa, They converse together and exchange sweet joking words. When this kūjana enters the ears of the priya-narma-sakhīs 3, they become overwhelmed with love.
Intoxicated bumblebees are humming everywhere in Vṛndāvana, which is full of many varieties of jasmine flowers, such as belī, camelī, jūhī, yūthikā, mallikā, mālatī, jātī and kunda. The clear ponds of fresh, sweet water are dense with lotuses swarming with humming bumblebees. These lotuses sway at the touch of the cool, gentle breezes, and they dance in overwhelming jubilation when waves arise in the pond.
In the midst of all this, everyone hears the name ‘Jaṭilā’. Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala and Their sakhīs, full of suspense and eagerness, immediately get ready to leave the kuñja to go to Their respective homes.
At this very moment, the internal absorption of the sādhaka breaks and he comes back to external consciousness. Grief overwhelms him, but just then the bell starts ringing in the temple room for the āratī of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala. The doors open and with deep sentiment the devotees start performing the āratī of the youthful Divine Couple. As the devotees sing maṅgala-āratī and dance, their melodious voices combine with the sweet sounds of jhāṁjhara, kāṁsara, ghaṇṭā, śaṅkha, karatāla and mṛdaṅga. Inspired by his previous absorption in niśānta-līlā, the author of this poem also starts to perform nāma-saṅkīrtana with the rest of the devotees. As he sings each verse of the kīrtana, the bhāvas of niśānta-līlā appear in his heart, soothing his grief.
I have tried to reveal some of the heartfelt moods of paramārādhya Śrīla Gurudeva, following śākhā-candra-nyāya, the logic of the moon on the branch, but I know that I am incapable of collecting even one drop from his fathomless, endless ocean of rasa. May Śrīla Gurupāda-padma bestow his causeless grace upon this useless servant, so that I may one day become qualified for this.
[CC-by-ND GVP]