Verse 8, Damodarastakam

Verse Eight
namas te ’stu dāmne sphurad dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ’nanta­-līlāya devāya tubhyam
SYNONYMS
namaḥ – respectful obeisance; te – Your; astu – let it be so; dāmne – to the celebrated rope binding Your belly; sphurat – splendrous; dīpti-dhāmne – an abode of spiritual effulgence; tvadīya-udarāya – unto Your belly; atha – furthermore; viśvasya – of the entire universe [of moving and non-moving entities]; dhāmne – to the support; namaḥ – I bow down; rādhikāyai – unto Śrīmatī Rādhikā; tvadīya-priyāyai – unto Your most beloved; namaḥ – respectful obeisance; ananta­-līlāya – to Your unlimited pastimes; devāya – to the divine Lord; tubhyam – to You.
TRANSLATION
O Dāmodara, I offer my respectful obeisances to the celebrated rope binding Your belly, for it is an abode of brilliant effulgence. I offer my respectful obeisances to Your belly, which supports the entire universe of moving and non-moving entities. I offer my respectful obeisances again and again to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Your most beloved, and I offer my respectful obeisances to You, my divine Lord who performs unlimited transcendental pastimes.
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā
evaṁ stutiṁ samāpayan sva-prārthita-siddhaye bhakti-viśeṣeṇa vā tadīyāsādhāraṇa-parikarāvayava-parivārādīn api pratyekaṁ pṛthak praṇamati – namaste ’stviti. te tava, dāmne udara-bandhana-mahāpāśāya namo ’stu. katham bhūtāya? sphurantyā dīptestejaso dhāmne āśrayāya. evaṁ tasyāpi brahma-ghana-rūpatābhipretā.
athānantaraṁ tvadīyāya udarāya namo ’stu. pāśa-bandhane tenaiva saundaryādervātsalya-līlādeśca viśeṣataḥ prakāśanāt. katham bhūtāya? viśvasya carācara-prapañca-jātasya, dhāmne ādhārāya. tata eva caturdaśa-bhuvanātmaka-kamalotpatteḥ. tatraiva ca mātaraṁ prati vāra-dvayaṁ viśva-rūpa-pradarśanāditi dik. evam udara-bandhanena viśvasyāpi bandhanāpatteḥ. śrī-yaśodayā viśvam api vaśī-kṛtam iti dhvanitaṁ.
tathā īśasya bandhanāsambhave ’pi bandhana-svīkāreṇa bhakta-vātsalya-viśeṣas tathā bandhanena prapañcāsaṅkocāvasthityādi-samāveśasya tarkāgocaratvat aiśvarya-viśeṣaśca dhvanita iti dik.
dāma-namaskārānantaram udara-namaskāraścodaropari-dāmno varttamānatvāt, yathottaram utkarṣa-vivakṣayā vā.
idānīṁ tadīya priyatama-jana-kṛpayaiva vāñchitaṁ vāñchātītam api sarvam eva su-siddhyed ityāśayena bhagavatīṁ śrī-rādhāṁ praṇamati nama iti. tathā ca sarvā eva gopikā upalakṣyante, kimvā tāsu mukhyata-mātra saivaikoktā. rādhiketi sarvadaiva śrī-bhagavad-ārādhana-viśeṣādanvartha-saṅjñā. ataeva tvadīya-priyeti.
yad-vā – rādhiketi rūḍhi-saṅjñā. tataścārādhanādy-anapekṣayā sā nitya-priyaiveti. tatra ca tvadīyā api sarve janāḥ priyāstvatprītyā yasyāḥ kimuta vaktavyaṁ tvamiti. evaṁ tasyās-tasmin prema-viśeṣaḥ sūcitaḥ. tasyai namaḥ, yadvā, tvat-priyāyai iti tataś-ca yasya tvam priyo ’si so’pi jagad-vandyaḥ syāt. eṣā ca tavaiva priyā atas-tasyai namo’stu.
tataśca tayā saha rāsa-krīḍādikaṁ parama-stutitvenānte varṇayitum icchan tac ca parama-gopyatvenānabhivyañjayan –
‘madhureṇa samāpayediti’ nyāyena kiñcideva saṅketenoddiśan praṇamati.
devāya lokottarāyeti. līlānām api lokottaratābhipretā. yadvā, śrī-rādhikayā saha nirantara-kṛīḍāparāya, ataevānanta-līlāya tubhyaṁ nama iti. evaṁ gokula-viṣayikā sarvāpi līloddiṣṭā, tasmai ca nama iti. bhāva ityeṣā dik.
iti śrī-dāmodarāṣṭake aṣtama-śloke śrī-sanātana gosvāmi-kṛtā dig-darśinī-nāmnī ṭīkā samāptā
~ Thus ends the Dig-darśinī ṭīkā on the Eighth Verse ~
Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā Bhāvanuvāda
Now, in this verse beginning with namas te ’stu, Śrī Satyavrata Muni concludes his prayers. Either for the purpose of attaining his cherished goal, or else due to the exuberance of the uncommonly excellent form of bhakti that has arisen in his heart, he offers separate respectful obeisances to the extraordinary rope binding Śrī Bhagavān’s waist, to His bodily limbs and to His associates.
The sage says, “I offer my respectful obeisances to the wondrous rope binding Your waist.” What is that rope like? Considering this question, he adds, “It is the abode or refuge of all splendid effulgence.” Here, he intends to establish that [due to being replete with unlimited effulgence] this extraordinary rope consists of the very nature of concentrated brahma.
The sage continues, “Next, I offer my obeisances to Your belly because Your beauty and Your vātsalya-līlā only manifest in matchless magnificence when Your belly is bound by rope in this way.” What is Your belly like? The sage says, “Your belly is the basis of the entire universe consisting of all created beings both moving and non-moving. In fact, the lotus of the fourteen planetary systems arose from the lotus-like navel in the centre of Your belly.” Furthermore, on two occasions, Śrī Kṛṣṇa showed His mother, Śrī Yaśodā-devī, His viśva-rūpa, or universal form, while enacting His childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana. It is therefore clearly understood that simply by binding Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s belly, the entire universe becomes bound. In other words, the sage declares that by binding Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Yaśodā-devī had in fact brought the entire cosmos under her control.
Furthermore it is impossible to bind the all-pervading unlimited Lord, but He allowed Himself to be bound, thereby displaying His bhakta-vātsalya, or His exceptional affection for His devotees. By logic, it cannot be understood how all the unlimited universes are encompassed within Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s belly, yet even this wonderful belly of His was bound! Thus, the sage implies here that by allowing Himself to be bound, and thereby allowing all the universes to be bound – a pastime completely beyond all logical considerations – Śrī Bhagavān displayed His unparalleled opulence and grandeur (aiśvarya).
After the sage offers obeisances to the rope, He next offers obeisances to the Lord’s belly, thus implying that the rope is resting there. Also, it is implied that he is offering obeisances in order of increasing superiority.
At this point, the sage understands that only by the mercy of Śrī Bhagavān’s loved ones can he attain his cherished goal and that which he cannot even conceive of. With this understanding, he offers obeisances to Śrī Bhagavān’s most beloved, bhagavatī Śrīmatī Rādhikā, by the words namo rādhikāyai. In fact, by offering obeisances to Śrī Rādhikā, the sage actually conveys his obeisances to all the gopīs. Or, a different understanding is that the sage is offering his pranāma to Śrīmatī Rādhikā alone because he regards Her as the foremost of all the gopīs.
[Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī now sheds light on why the sage uses the word rādhikā:] Śrī Rādhā is constantly immersed in Śrī Bhagavān’s worship (ārādhanā). That is, She is forever rapt in arousing His pleasure. It is through this word alone, ārādhanā, that one can under­stand the profound meaning of Śrī Rādhikā’s name. Therefore, the sage says to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “Śrī Rādhikā is tvadīya-priyāyai – Your most beloved.”
Alternatively, “Rādhikā” can be understood by its conventional sense without any consideration of etymology. In that case, it is understood that the sage says, “Even without considering Her worship (ārādhanā) of You, She is simply Your nitya-priyā (eternal beloved).”
Furthermore, the sage says, “Due to the love that all Your devotees (tvadīya) have for You, they are very dear to Her, so what can be said about how dear You must be to Her!? In other words, You are Her nitya-priya (eternal beloved).” In this way, the sage is proclaiming Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s exceptional love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
His words can be understood in two ways: “I offer my respectful obeisances to You, the beloved of Rādhikā.” Or, “I offer my obeisances to Your most beloved, Śrī Rādhikā. Whoever loves You is worthy of adoration by the whole universe. Therefore, since Śrī Rādhikā is Your most beloved, I offer my most respectful obeisances to Her.”
At the end of his prayers, he wanted to describe Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s pastimes with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, such as rāsa-līlā, which are most worshipful. However, recognizing that such pastimes are extremely confidential, he did not describe them explicitly. Instead, according to the popular adage “madhureṇa samāpayet – all should conclude sweetly,” he submitted his obeisances to madhura-rasa through a slight hint, with the words namo ’nanta līlāya.
Next, Śrī Satyavrata Muni says “devāya – I offer my respectful obeisances to the playful divinity, or to He who is supra-mundane –
Śrī Bhagavān.” By mentioning Śrī Dāmodara-Kṛṣṇa’s divinity, the sage implies that all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are similarly aprākṛta (transcendental).
Otherwise, [since the word deva is derived from div, “he who is ever-rejoicing in playful sports”] the sage says, “O Deva, because You are eternally engaged in playful pastimes with Śrī Rādhikā, I offer my obeisances to You, the performer of unlimited pastimes (ananta-līlā).”
Here the word ananta-līlā certainly refers to all of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes in Gokula as well. Thus, yet another meaning of the sage’s words is illuminated: “I offer my respectful obeisances to each and every one of Your transcendental pastimes.”
~ Thus ends the English Rendition of the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on the Eighth Verse ~
Dig-darśinī-vṛtti
As Śrī Satyavrata Muni was offering prayers to Śrī Dāmodara-Kṛṣṇa, he considered, “In order to please Śrī Dāmodara-Kṛṣṇa, I must first please His associates, and especially His most beloved, Śrīmatī Rādhikā. If I please Her, I will easily attain the mercy of Śrī Dāmodara-Kṛṣṇa.” With this consideration in mind, the sage proceeded to offer his respects to Śrīmatī Rādhikā with the words namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai.
In the fifth verse, in the course of Śrī Satyavrata Muni’s prayer, we notice an escalation in his mood of deep longing. The escalation of this mood culminates in this verse, in which he prays to Śrīmatī Rādhikā with wholehearted devotion for the perfection of his cherished goal. Following his example, the rāgānuga sādhaka, after determining his cherished goal, should engage his time in praying, remembering and worshipping Śrī Bhagavān along with those associates of His who have the same sort of love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa as he longs to attain. Therefore, it is stated in the scriptures:
kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya
preṣṭhaṁ nija-samīhitam
tat-tat-kathā-rataś cāsau
kuryād vāsaṁ vraje sadā
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.294)
The devotee should constantly remember Śrī Kṛṣṇa along with Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s dear-most associates whom he chooses to follow. While permanently living in Vraja, he should become attached to always hearing the narrations of their pastimes with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
The methodology of rāgānuga-bhakti is as follows: the devotee should remember his beloved, worshipful Lord, the youthful Nanda-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the Lord’s dear associates (such as Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī or any other associate) who possess the mood that the devotee aspires for. Absorbed in hearing about their pastimes with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he should reside forever in the cowherd settlement of Śrī Nanda – including Śrī Vṛndāvana, Śrī Govardhana, Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and so on – which are saturated with the particular humours of those pastimes. These pastime-places of Śrī Kṛṣṇa are enriched with the vrajavāsīs’ love, especially śṛṅgāra-rasa (conjugal love). Moreover, they act as stimulus to evoke a sādhaka’s emotions in his own specific mood (rasa-uddipaka) and prompt his remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes (līlā-uddipaka). Therefore, it is prescribed that, if possible, one should physically reside in places such as Śrī Vṛndāvana within the area of Śrī Nanda’s Vraja. But if it is not possible for him to reside there physically, he should always reside there by mind:
sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ
Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.295)
Desiring to obtain their particular bhāva, he should closely follow in the footsteps of a particular associate in Vraja. Under their guidance, he should engage in service both in his external form as a sādhaka, and internally with his perfected spiritual body.
The devotee should mentally serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa (manasī-sevā) in the way that he most cherishes in his internally conceived, perfected spiritual body (siddha-rūpa), which is perfectly suited for rendering such service. He should perform such manasī-sevā under the guidance and direction of the sakhīs, such as Śrī Lalitā and Śrī Viśākhā, and of the mañjarīs like Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. With his physical body in which he performs sādhana (sādhaka-rūpa), he should serve in the footsteps of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī and the other Gosvāmīs in their line.
Śrī Satyavrata Muni realizes that Śrī Bhagavān has never allowed Himself to be bound in any of His other incarnations. Even Śrī Baladeva Prabhu, despite living in Vraja where He is always absorbed in natural human-like pastimes, has never allowed Himself to be bound. Yet the Lord of all lords, Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa – the son of Śrī Nanda and Yaśodā – was bound with the rope of His mother’s affection (vātsalya-prema) for Him. Therefore, that rope is not an ordinary piece of string. Rather it is the direct embodiment of Śrī Yaśodā’s maternal affection. Eager to fulfil his cherished desire or to become as fortunate as the rope, the sage begins this verse by first praying to that rope – namas te ’stu dāmne.
The sage says tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne, which indicates that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s belly is boundless, endless, fathomless and indivisible. It has no limit, neither above nor below, so no one can bind it. Once when Śrī Kṛṣṇa was drinking His mother’s breast milk, He yawned and showed her the countless universes present within His mouth. On another occasion, He ate some dirt while playing with His friends. After they complained to His mother, she forced open His mouth to see whether or not He had actually eaten any. When she looked inside His mouth, she saw countless universes. She began to wonder, “Am I asleep or awake? Perhaps some illusion has overwhelmed me.” She then bathed Kṛṣṇa with cow dung and cow urine in order to ward off any evil spirits. She called for brāhmaṇas to recite special mantras in order to protect her child, and she also gave in charity to everyone so He would live a long, healthy life. Just see, the vrajavāsīs give in charity so that Kṛṣṇa will be blessed with a long and healthy life, yet Śrī Kṛṣṇa is He who blesses all the inhabitants of the three worlds. They perform so many rituals with vows and fervent prayers for His protection. Such are the sweet, intimate pastimes of Vraja. It is this intimacy that controls Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s belly is the shelter of all the universes full of moving and non-moving entities. It is therefore not possible to bind His belly. Yet, although it is boundless, it became limited because of His bhakta-vātsalya, and was bound. Therefore, Śrī Satyavrata Muni says, “I offer my obeisances to Your glorious belly.”
Near the very end of his aṣṭaka, the sage pays his obeisances to Śrī Rādhikā: namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai. Who is Śrīmatī Rādhikā? It is said:
kṛṣṇa-vāñchā-pūrti-rūpa kare ārādhane
ataeva ‘rādhikā’ nāma purāṇe vākhāne
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.87)
Because She worships Śrī Kṛṣṇa by fulfilling all His desires, She has been called “Rādhikā” in all the Purāṇas.
rādhā-kṛṣṇa eka ātmā, dui deha dhari’
anyonye vilase rasa āsvādana kari’
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.56)
Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are one soul, but They have manifested two forms just to relish each other’s love by performing various sweet pastimes.
Śrī Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī glorifies Śrī Rādhā as follows:
yasya kadāpi vasanāñcala-khelanottha-
dhanyāti-dhanya-pavanena kṛtārtha-māni
yogīndra-durgama-gatir madhusūdano ’p
tasya namo ’stu vṛṣabhānu-bhuvo diśe ’pi
Śrī Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (2)
I offer my obeisances to even the direction facing the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja – Śrī Rādhikā. She completely captivates the heart of Madhusūdana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the performer of honey-like pastimes whom the greatest yogīs rarely attain. When a gentle gust of wind playfully touches Her cloth and carries its sweet fragrance towards Kṛṣṇa and touches His body, He embraces it to His heart and feels that His life has become blessedly fulfilled.
He also prays:
venuṁ karān nipatitaṁ skhalitaṁ śikhaṇḍaṁ
bhraṣṭaṁ ca pīta-vasanaṁ vraja-rāja-sūnoḥ
yasyāḥ kaṭākṣa-śara-ghāta-vimūrcchitasya
tāṁ rādhikāṁ paricarāmi kadā rasena
Śrī Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (39)
When the heart of Vrajarāja’s son, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is pierced by the arrows of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s sidelong glance, He drops His flute, His peacock feather falls from His turban, and His upper cloth becomes dishevelled as He begins to faint. Oh, when will I render Her loving service that is saturated with rasa?
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.30.28), it is described that while the gopīs were anxiously searching for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they saw a young lady’s footprints next to His, and exclaimed:
anayārādhito nūnaṁ
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
yan no vihāya govindaḥ
prīto yām anayad rahaḥ
Surely this gopī (Śrīmatī Rādhikā) has truly worshipped (ārādhito) Bhagavān Śrī Hari, the supreme autocrat. Otherwise why has Govinda left us all and only taken Her with Him?
Śrī Rādhā is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal beloved. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī confirms this in his commentary by saying, “tataś-cārādhanādyanapekṣayā sā nitya-priyaiveti – Even without consi-dering Her worship of You, She is eternally Your dear-most beloved (nitya-priyā).” Consequently, Śrī Rādhā is dear to all.
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī displays his firm dedication to Śrī Rādhā in Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣā (9):
madīśa nāthatve vraja-vipina-candraṁ vraja-vaneśvarīṁ
tan nāthatve tad atula-sakhītve tu lalitām
viśākhāṁ śikṣālī-vitaraṇa-gurutve priya-saro
girindrau tat-prekṣā lalita-rati datve smara manaḥ
O mind, always regard vraja-vipina-candra Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be the life and soul of my worshipful Goddess, Śrī Rādhikā, the Queen of Vṛndāvana. Meditate on Her as my worshipful Goddess, and consider Śrī Lalitā to be Her peerless friend. Respect Śrī Viśākhā as my instructor in serving the Divine Couple, and regard Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Girirāja-Govardhana to be those who grant darśana of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and bestow sublime attachment to Their lotus feet.
Here, Śrīla Dāsa Gosvāmī’s inner feeling is: “My most worshipful Goddess is Śrī Rādhikā alone, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the beloved of Her life. My relation with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and my love for Him, is based on my relationship with Śrīmatī Rādhikā.”
•••••
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s unlimited intimate pastimes with Śrī Rādhikā are especially difficult to describe. For this reason, Śrī Satyavrata Muni uses the words namo ’nanta līlāya in order to offer his obeisances to the quintessence of all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s unlimited pastimes: rāsa-līlā. Śrīla Jīvā Gosvāmī writes, “Sporting in the water, feeding each other, roaming about in the forest, drinking honey-liquor and dancing are all included in rāsa-līlā.” Moreover, by saying namo ’nanta līlāya, Śrī Satyavrata Muni is offering his obeisances to the performer of ananta-līlā, or to He whose pastimes have no end – Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”
Nothing but the mercy of the associates of Śrī Rādhikā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa can fulfil our longing. Even if Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to give us prema, He could only give us the prema that resides within His own heart, which is viṣaya-jātiya prema (or the type of love that is felt by He who is the object of everyone’s devotion). But our aim is to attain the prema that the gopīs have, which is āśraya-jātiya prema (or the type of love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa that is felt by the devotees). Especially for those of us following the rūpānuga line, only Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī and other mañjarīs, the maidservants of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, can make our deepest hopes come true, because they know the perfect art of serving Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.
Our final prayer is:
bhajāmi rādhām aravinda-netraṁ
smarāmi rādhāṁ madhura-smitāsyām
vadāmi rādhāṁ karuṇā-bharādraṁ
tato mamānyāsti gatir na kāpi
Śrī Viśākhānandadābhidhā Stotram (131)
I worship Śrīmatī Rādhikā who has lotus-petal eyes, I remember Śrīmatī Rādhikā whose face is sweetly smiling, and I speak of Her whose heart is melting with compassion. My life has no other purpose than serving Her.
~ Thus ends the Dig-darśinī-vṛttī on the Eighth Verse by Gaudiya Vedanta Publications