The Birth-celebration of

,..
.
Sri' Radharaman in Vrindaban

Allan A. Shapiro,
March, 1979
 i

I When·Swamr Mukund Hari suggested I visit Vrindaban, to

see Holi, I had no suspicion I would spend the following four
I and one-half years there. Vrindaban was established by the

I Goswamis of the Caitanya sect, so it was fitting that I was

initiated into Gaudiya
. vaisnavism
.. there by Swami Bon Mahar~j

I of the Gau~iya Ma~h. I lived in his asram and assisted in his

work as president of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy; he
I provided me with a full philosophical background to vaisnavism

I as adumbrated by the Vrindaban Goswamis. By assisting him in

editing the Institute's quarterly journal, Indian Philosophy
I and Culture, I became acquainted with other strands of thought
in Indian philosophy. For nearly a year I lived amongst Ben-
I galis, . visited Bengal with Swamiji, and almost came to re-

I gard vaisnavism as a Bengali preserve.

When I left Swamiji•s Bhajan Ku~ir, I came under the tute-
I ,
lage of Baba Sripadjf, a wandering ascetic, without asram or
I specific sect. In his company I had opportunities to visit
many parts of India and to know people of other philosophical
I and religious persuasions. This also enabled me to learn about
the other important schools of vaisnavism, which had influenced,
I and been influenced by, Gau~iya vaisnavism. Because people

I respected Babaji and Swam!ji, I was allowed access not only to

many temples and celebrations, but also to the homes of people
I in Braj and elsewhere. Swamiji•s training served me well: I
could be taught religion by various people while referring
I back to a specific teaching, to see how other cults differed

tl or agreed with Gau~iya vai~~avism, and why.

Babaji was a great lover of music, especially devotional
I
 music, and often arranged for famous singers to perform in the
I congenial environment of the temple, where the devotional side

I of the performance was more important than the technical. Al-

though my Hindi was actually a barberous amalgam of Bengali,
I khari bolr, and Braj, I could be understood; more important,

I however, I began to understand Hindi, so the poetry being sung

could be explained to me. Understanding enhanced my enjoyment
I of the recitals and encouraged people to try to explain things
to me--they felt my purpose was serious, and that my interest
I in the tradition of Braj was to be nurtured.

I Through Bab~ji I met Sri Purusottam Goswamr, head of the

Radh~ram~
~

temple, and his son, Sr!vats. Goswamiji allowed me

I to reside in his o~~ house, within Radhar~ Ghera, the temple
compound. The proximity of the temple_ and daily meetings with
I Goswamis of the temple, many of whom resided within the ghera,

I made those years extremely enjoyable and profitable. I saw

all the temple festivals, and not merely as a visitor, but
I actually as part of the temple community. Therefore, I gained
some understanding of the part which religion and the temple
I play in the daily routine of Indian life.

I In particular, I saw the utsav described in this essay

twice a year, over a period of three years. As my
I :familiarity with Hindi slowly improved, I understood more of

I the explanations of the poetry, and came to regerd it very highly.

Listening to poetry in another language lends it a certain
I mystique, which may be dispelled by closer investigation; the
music, which is an integral part of the ceremony, also enhanced
.I the poetry's emotional impact. In fact, this poetry should

I
I
 ~ iii

~ be thought of as song, because it was certainly written to be

sung (almost every verse is prefaced with its rag) rather than
... ~
recited or merely read (or translated). Whatever defects might
have been in these songs were unknown to me; I learned to listen
~ as does a devotee: I sighed and exclaimed at the proper time

- because I trained myself to respond to certain cues. The emo-

-1
tional response--which I certainly felt--the exaltation of the
festival, the music, and the ritual, all aided my belief that
this must be fine poetry.
When I came to Columbia University, it was to Professor

-1 David Rubin that fe.l the onerous task of trying to rectify

the accumulated faults of five years' residence in Braj, and
to show me that, indeed, Hindi did have a grammatical struc-

1 ture which had to be learned in order to understand the writ-

ten language. Very slowly, I began to comprehend these gram-
1 matical functions, and when the time came to turn my attention
to translating these songs, I was shocked to discover the
1 pedestrian quality of the poetry. Stripped of its music and

1 emotional ambiance, it was flat, repetitious; the verses re-

peated the same idea several times, and almost never with that
1 particular twist which can make poetry appear from the most
unlikely subjects. I felt downcast and guilty: guilty that
1 my devotion to K~~~a must be lacking, if I found the songs

l lacking, and guilty that I had chosen to present these verses

as representative o~ Braj culture, for which I have a great
1 regard.

:'1 It was, happily, from the ritual itself that excitement

1
 iv
I returned to my heart; I believe, and I hope it will become clear
to the reader, that the merit in translating these songs ac-
I crues from their place in the ritual. I have tried to shor. _:·_,.

I how the songs interact with, describe, and embellish the ritual.
Persons familiar with Indian culture will understand that the
I songs are rooted in a tradition wherein the art was not to in-
novate, as-Westerners understand it, but rather to work with
I the material of the tradition itself, to re-use the same expres-

I sions, and to somehow make an experience, both aesthetic and

emotional, felt by the audience. Novelty was not sought, but
I prolix reworking of material so fa~iliar that certain key words

I could trigger preordained responses in the audience--which was

what that audience desired. The songs' melodious qualities may
I "
be discerned from the few selections which Srivats was able to
provide on tape.
I I should like to thank Professor Theodore Riccardi, Jr.,
-I whose insight into the faults of my first attempt at an essay
led to research into the ritual itself, and gave a purpose to
-I the work. Following his suggestions and questions, the material
which makes up this paper was gathered and put into. order. To
I Professor Barbara Miller goes a special thanks, because it was
-I she who first inspired me with a will to learn the complexities

-I of Sanskrit--which has served me well in researching this paper--

and also with a rather special faith, that the ancient poetic

-I tradition of India could be made living in avJestern language

and a Western context. Although I do not feel that this first
-I attempt goes very far in that direction, without her energy

::-1 and excitement for the subject in general, perhaps I might never
have come this far.
-I
-
1 v
I have already mentioned Professor Rubin's contribution,
1 but certainly he deserves special thanks for · ·his tireless ef-
._, forts, and patience, without which I could never have attempted
this master's essay.

1 Regarding the transliteration: the names of places have

been left without diacritical marks, as some of ·them are
1 familiar names in English. The peculiarities of Hindi spelling

,
and pronunciation versus the Sanskrit are documented elsewhere,
1 and I have generally followed the local (i.e., Braj) customs.

,
,
,
---'

,
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Photograph #1
I (courtesy of Sri Goswami Jagadislal,
-.:. Pravin Studio, Vrindaban)
I Radharamru:t: Sarva:riga Darsan.

-I
,
, vii
Contents

-~ Preface ••• ••• • •• 1

Photograph.#l (Had~: Sarvanga Darsan) vi

~ The Birth-celebration of Sri
,
RidHa~ in
Vrindaban ••• ••• • ••
~
1
Photograph #2 (Radhar~: Pragatotsav
.
~
.;

Sril.gar) ••• ••• ••• following p. 30

....
Verses on the Birth-celebration of Sri
~ RadhB.ram~ji' ( transla1ions) •••

~ Photograph #3 (RadhB.vallabh: SnigRr and

Radba's Mukut Seva • • • ••• lollowing p. 55
•
~ Footnotes ••• ••• • •• 56
Appendix I: Schematic Diagram: Riidharamal?-
~ Temple 119
••• ••• •••

~ Appendix II: The Nitya Seva offered to

Rad.haram~ ••• • •• 120
~ Appendix III: Ritual Bathing in the Hari-
bhaktivilAsa of Gopal Bhatt
~ ••• 126
Appendix IV: 433rd Jayanti Celebration of

~ ....
Sri Thakur Radha Raman ji ••• 130
Srir~dharam~ji ke janmotsav ke pad (text) 131
~ Bibliography: Works in Indian languages 142

~ Works in Western languages 143

~
~
~
·---------------------
1 The Birth-celebration of
- .
" Radharaman in Vrindaban
Sr1.
1
'1 Badhai is a:traditional celebration and offerine of con-
gre.tulati.ons in honor of some important event. In 1542 A.D., 1
1 Goual
- . . one of the six Goswamis
Bhatt, .. ...
sent to Vrindaban by Krsna-
caitany~ Mahaprabhu, 2 discovered that the Damodar salagram3
1 which he worshipped had miraculously become a murti or image

,
1 of Krsna. The image was named Radhar~ 4 and has become one
of the best-knovm deities in the town of Vrindaban tod2y.

, The group of verses which I have tr-~slated form a distinct

section in the Caitanya Padavali, 5 which contains works by

, several poets of the gaudiya sect. 6 There are verses for daily
use, i.e., to be sung in the nitya seva rendered to the image,7
as well as special collections of verses t!.pproprie.te to cer-
1 tain utsavs (festive occasions). I have translated the two

1 sections of badho.i verses for the pragatotsav, the anniverse.ry

•
of Radh~ramaq's appearance eay, and in this essay I will explain
I the b~ckground of the verses and why I feel they are worth ex-

I plaining; I will also describe the ritual performed on this

occasion, the abhisek.
t The section of the Caitanya Padaval1 entitled "'
"Srir~dha-

ramanji ke janmotsav ke pad" (verses for the birth-celebration

I .;
of Sr1. - Radh~ram~jY) consists of six verses (I-VI), which are

I alws.ys sung at the beginning of this be.dhai. The first verse,

knovm as the gaurcandrika, honors the ac~rya (the founder and

.,
I ...
spiritual leader of the sect) Krsnacaitanya (who is gaur), and
always forms a preface to the rest of the celebration.
this has been explained8 as serving to "prepare" the audience,
Although

I
 2

i.e., to sanctify or spiritualize the sometimes erotic lyrics

concerninG the p~stimes (lilas) of nadha and K~~~a which will
-~
follow in the k!rtan, I think this explanation, while not erro-
neous, is inadequate. My own experience, living in the asram
of my d!k~8 guru Swam1 Bhakti H:rday Bon !JaharE.j, 9 was that a
certain order is always observed on initiating a kirtan (singing
of hymns): first one must honor the acarya, then the entire guru
para~para (lineage) or at least the most important individuals
within th~t narc~para, 10 the important bhaktas or devotees who
may not fell v;ithin the direct line of spiritual transmission,
and fin&lly one • s O\'.n ~; only then does one si!lg in praise

...
of Krsna. Becc·.use the kirtans in the asram were not in the
least erotic, I c~~ot agree that the gaurcandrika has only a
~ purg~tive effect. Instead, I would emphasize its importance in
establishing or re-establishing the spiritual chain by which·
the ordinary devotee, the last link, is connected to the
divine. 11
Follo·wing the gaurcandrikn are five verses eulogizing Go-

.. which also include praise of three others from

pnl Bhatt, ~ong

the six Vrindaban Gosv:E:ois--the brothers Riip and Sanatan, and

their nephew Jiv12 --as well as the importe:.nt adjuncts of the
lila, Vrindaban dham, the river Jamun!, 1 3 and the ~j; these
will be discussed in det<:..il below. Gopal Bhatt stands in the
place of acarya to the Goswamrs of RadheramE'~ te:nple, whose
'direct ancestor was Damodar Goswamr, 1 4 brother of Bhatt's
.. main
disciple, Gopinath. Caitenya is said to have sent his o~n asan
(seat), kaupTn (sanny~si's loincloth), and mala (rosary) to

.. thereby conferring on him some strong spiritual aura;

Bhatt,
 ' these relics are still worshipped within the temple. 1 5
3

' Once the trac.i tional prefatory eulogies have been sung,

'
Radharama~'s badhai proper may commence. The absolute neces-
sity of repeating all the proper bandanas (= vandana, hymn of

' praise) is clearly exemplified on the tapes, where each of the

recitations is begun \';i th these verses. Beginning on Vaisalr.h

' ~u}::la ekad8.si', four days prior to the actual

.
pr~gr:totsav day

' (pur~ima, the full moon day), a group of musicians and singers
(samajis) is found daily, at the rear o: the temple, perform-

' ing the

called
badh~i.

sa~aj:
It is performed in a traditional Braj style
one men leads the sinGing, often acco~panying

' himself on the har~oni~ (this is clearly the case in the third

' recitatio~ on the tapes) while the group answers responsively,

line by line, or by the half-line (corresponding to the

' Sanskrit pada or ouarter-verse in Sloka metre). 16 In 1975,

the samaj was tc-.oed by Sriva.ts GOSV/~":11 17 and a copy of this

l'
tape is included viith this essay. On the tc.pe may be heard
Gos,·.-ami Rasbihar'Iji', one of the most learned Goswa""nis of Rad.ha-

l . ramal]. temple, lecc1ing two short sessions of the sarnS.j, and then
a south Indic.n gentleman leading a third session v;hich, unfor-

1 tw~ately, includes only three of the verses (n~~bers IV, v, VI).

There is also a traditional closing verse (A"Vl) for this
1 s~"naj, corresponding to certain bandanas which were used to

l complete the kirte.n in Bon !;Taharaj' s asram. This closing verse,

sung twice by Rasbihar!ji', is very short, but it epitomizes the
1 \particular sentiment native to Braj. The r~e is bitter-sweet
rnd t~e tempo andante, in cont~ast to the rather lugubrious rag
1 kn wh~ch the long verse (XIV) 1s sung. The religion of Vrinda-

1
,
, ban is not sad, for the deep longing of viraha (separation from
4

., one's lord) is sure to be rewarded with his darsan.

has appeared and ••all troubles have gone away."
Radhir~
Nevertheless,
,
the desire to continually be with K~~~a, to have his darsan,
~
, end to serve him, as well as the pangs of separation from him,
are ell reflected in this r~g; this, indeed, is the prevalent

, sentiment of Braj.

, In the first group of verses sung on the tape, following

the eulogies (verses I-VI), Goswami Rasbihari leads the samajrs

, in verses VIII and XVI. Verse VIII is a precis of many points

,
I will discuss in this essay: the sakhis represent bhaktas;

some of them watch, while others perform the abhisel::; many va-

, rieties of seva are mentioned; Sri Radha is eternally associated

with her Lal (K~~~a); 6:-ngar is described as well as bhog, and

, the importance of darsan is mentioned. There is a second ses-

sion led by Rasbihari (beginning on side I/B, continuing on 2/A
and part of 2/B) • He again leads the samajis in the first six
~ verses, followed by verse XIV, e. very long verse. Int·o this
~

~
long verse he introduces verse XII, after line 21, and verse
XXVII, after line 38; he then repeats lines 37 and 38, finish-
~ ing with a repeat of the very first two lines of verse XIV, a
typical samaj ending, without having sung verse XIV in its en-
~
~
-.
tirety.
. S
J1
This introduction of two shorter verses shows Goswami-
grasp 0~ the mater~a~--the re1a~ion be~ween the introduced

verse and the "ground" verse is apparent in both cases. He

.. ', also manages to break up the lugubrious pace of verse XIV with
the lively rags of verses XII and XXVII.
parison with the • ground •"
They spark1e by co~
Again, verse XVI is the c1osing

~
'
 5
verse for the samaj.
On uurnima the abhisek was performed. That night, after
- -
Radharam~ •s· sayan -arat1-is h ad b een d one, th e f 1na
· 1 samaJ
- · f or
this utsav was sung. In Vrindaban, many of the temples stand
in quarters surrounded by the homes of their Goswamis. Radna-
raman's temple is within Radh~ram~ Ghera (compound), a walled-
in area whose huge wooden gates are locked at night. The com-
pound contains the old temple (now used as the kitchen area for
preparing bhog, the deity's meals), the new temple, homes of
the Goswamis, and the sa~adhis or memorials of deceased Goswa~rs.

Behind the ghera well is another ghera which encloses the pragat-
.
.
sthali', t:O,e place at which the image of Radhara"!laa'l issaid to
have appeared. A dolmen-like structure, a lintel supported by
two columns, is raised up on a base, whereon are several conical
stones. In front of this monument, under the large pipal tree,
the final samaj was sung on the full moon night (25 May 1975).
The Caita.nya Padavali's preface merely mentions Goswamr
Srigalliiji 11
Gt1I?-amanjari" as a well-known poet. The table of
"
contents credits him with the authorship of "Srlradharaman Pad- -
Mar!jari" (from which I have translated the tv:o sections dealing
with the pragatotsav) and two other verse collections, "Rahasya
Pad" and "Ghatvaiya ko Chadma." Of the thirty-one badhai verses,
twenty-two have signature lines which identify him as the author;
three other verses indicate other authors. 1 9 The remaining six
verses have no identifiable signature line. The only biographi-
cal information I found on "G~amanjari" Galliij.i Goswami was
provided by Prabhudayal Mita1 20 which I paraphrase as follows:
Galluji ~os~am. i of.t~e ~adharam~ temple was bo~ in Vrinda-
~~-~ -~ T_!f_~!.f' ~krs~ n~,c.~~ ~~lJ,~ .~~--c~(~ ~~- :.~~~~~-~~~?!:! _j
 6
Jye~~h, May/June), samvat 1884 (1827 A.D.), son of Ram~duyalu

GoswUI1i and Sakhi Devi. After his first wife's unti::1ely death,
he married Surya .Devi and they had a son, the well-knoV~-n Pandit
Radh~cur~. A strictly orthodox vaisnav, Galluji was against
changes in the tr~dition end disliked the study of non-Indian
languages, includine Farsi and English. He w&s learned. in
scripture and a moving speaker who gave discourses in many places,
including Parrukhabad, Lucknow, Bharatpur, and Benares, where
he made m~ny disciples and became quite wealthy. He establish-
ed several temples of his own deity, Radhara"!laJ?., and. preached
. .
th e t ene t s of va1snav1sm accor d.1ng t o Ca~"t anya. 21 I n samva
• t
..
1932 (1875 A.D.) he established the temple of Six-Armed Caitanya22
at Vrindaban, and in s~~vat 1937 abjured leaving VrindabEn, where
he spent the final years of his life as an ascetic, engaging
,
in discourses, kirtan, and seva puja (worship) of Sri R~dha-

ram~. He died in samvat 1947 (1890 A.D.) at the age of 63.

Rather than write an apology for weak poetic style, 2 3 I
would suggest that listening to the verses sung on the tape
will show how much music, especially the responsive singing of
the samaj style v:ith its repetitions, enhances the verses• im-
pact. The excitement created among the bhaktas by the ,pragr.~­

otse.v ri tu:.:l in the te:nple is but dimly reflected in the mirror

of the verses. Yet, the details of the ritual, and the insights
into a devotee's personal feelings 24 which they do supply, are
reason enough to render them into English and to try to explain
their significance. Finally, these verses are concrete repre-
sentations of the continuity of devotion among the Goswam!s--
the writing of new verses for the badhai is a tradition con-
 7
tinuing since the time of Gopal Bhatt. 2 5
There are several problems which I have encountered in
translr:.tion. .lords will be pointed out in the text v;hich are
unidentif~able. Poets have considerable license with words
in the Braj dislect, spelling them in a variety of ways, 26 and
often twist their final vowels to fit a rhyme scheme. Gunam~-

jari uses fevver postpositions than seems usual even in Braj

poetry (compare the other Brajbha~a verses scattered through-
out this essay). This may be due in part to the stock phrases
he so often employs. 2 7 His audience may be counted upon to
know Vlhat is meant bec::·.use they have already heard it: mc:.ny
of the verses repeat the very sa~e idea in nearly (or even ex-
e..ctly) the same \'Yords. 28 It may simply be bc.d style' but since
it is quick comprehension which is required, if the rhyme or
metre v.:ill not sup_;_)ort a postposition where a phrase can mean
only one thing to the audience, it will be dropped. In the
s~~e vein, one will discover in listenine to the Yerses sung
on the tapes, a short word falling at the caesura in the mid-
dle of a line is often slurred or completely omitted when that
line is s~~g. There is also a lyrice..l device, sounding like
11
tere hai," which is often sung in the middle of a line; it
effaces me..ny a word which may no longer fit into the sung line.
Hov,rever, th8.t is not a problem of translation.
Finding myself with a lack of grammatical detail in some
cases, yet believing (unless the line was garbled in print)
that it must be comprehensible, and reserving the rieht to ex-
pand certain points and compress others, I still found much
difficulty in making connections between parts of several of
 8
the lines. It may just be that my knowledge of ~he tradition
is deficient: one more knov;ledgeable in the theology of the
sect and more dexterous with the Braj poetical idiom might have
no difficulty in co~urehendine the lines. The stock phrases
hc.ve remained wooden in m::...."'l.y cases, e.l though I hc:..ve tried to
exylain some of the implic~tions in notes; a footnote is no
cure for a le2Qen line. Some of the fun of these verses is
the rhyoe Vii thin the lines a."'l.d. at the end of the lines, which
In[:.lrcs them very tuneful and good for singing. This I could
not trc:.nsl2.te.
i-.s an exa:IlJle of a stoc1-:: phrase, in the first verse Cai-
tanya is cc:.lled. t:!le 11
son of Saci'. 11 The details of Cait£.nya•s
life are well-kno\'m to the devotees, and this includes his de-
voti0n to his nother. Once he h2.d talren the vows of a sannyasi'
he had no further contact \'"i th his vvife, but he did meet his
mother, and agreed to follov; her conL"nand as to where he should
reside. 29 Moreover, poetry concerning Cait£1-llya loves to dwell
upon hi:::. persom:.l be::!.uty and his cere for his appearance before
he beca;:1e 2. s2.nnyasi, including frequent references to his long,
flo\·:in3 loc1{G. ~ihen he bec~:1e a sa.nnyasi' he had to shave his
head, c.nd there is always mention of his mother's anguish at
see in."; her shu.ven son. 30 So, 11 son of Saci" is gu2.ranteed to
bring ter.rs to the eyes of a devotee, while it means nothing
in trc~slation; although a footnote might be added to elucidate
the emotional .impact, I fear it would make the phrase even
...
:-:"'*~
.,; ·.
heavier.
,.. J. t>..rl.
Gru:aman -. s lc..nguage seems close to the dialect spokert

in Vrindab~·-n today. He has not used archaic Braj, nor has he

 9
relied only on the khari boli; as the language of Vr~daban
...
reflects Braj dialect in contact ~ith Delhi and Agre, where
Urc1u is the com=!lon language, a.s well as Vrindaban • s lnrge Ben-
gali population, 3l so GUI).arnanj8.ri' s lancuage reflects this phe-

nomenon. .A.l though :crtc.l has emphasized Galliiji 1 s tredi tio~r:.l

2.tti tude, the verses are not heavily Sans~:ri tized. l:Iention
should be mc..c1e here of verse XX'-/, mar}~ed 11
~ekhta • 11 3 2 There
are often lines v;here the tenses see:n to co~flict, but e.ssl.L-r:J.-
ing that it was forced by the ~etre, and th~t the verse is to

be U.."lderetood in relEtion with its nei&hbors, I have tried to

mo.l-:e the .:Snr,lish renc~erinc sinple, smooth, anQ r;ra:r:T:12.tically
correct, v:!lile not \':holly c:..bane.oning the text 1 s penchs.:nt for

gerunds, pc.rticipial constructions, etc.

Tradition tells thc.t Gopfl ~he.~~ ~ors!li;]e6 e gflagrf~
v:;hic}1 lle hr-d brou:-:;ht to Vrindab:::.n from a pilgri:n::...ce to the Ga..-r:- \
\
\
I
Q.al-:i .:ti ver in Hepe:.l. I have l1ec:.rd t\·:o stories in Vrindab;:.n I

explaining why the sE.lq:;rt.:-.1 became the image called Rf.dharc.·:r:l}. ly ~)

A-
f,
0
--<:>
The popul~r version tells thc.t G. certain kine cc-~":le to Vrincl2.ban, 0
~
"'iT"
Cv
)
"'
a place of pilGrimace for devotees of Z~~~u, and d~-ter=ined to (D

donc.te vc::.rious i terns of cloth or ornu::Gents to t~e imc-.ges ,._,hich

6
II)
J'
c
I'
G
were beine worship?ecl there. Gopc.l Bh~~~ hud a greE.t desire --1'
to be able to adorn K:t:~~c. (others sr-.y it v.-~:s Irrsnn who hc..d a f0
t£_
r;re&.t desire to be adorned), c.nd fror.1 the inten!:d ty of tr..is ~
r'
y
desire, l::r~J?-e. &nd .rtEdh~ (united in one forr-1 or ir.m.ce) appe2.red '
-)
(',/
fro::n the S2.laerf:.n and receiveC. the large::Jse Of the !O!On<:;.rch. 7
~ri''v~.ts Gosv:Emi told another version, which mc1:es a con.."lection ~
between the appec.runce da~r of N:rsiilh avatar, the ::l<;.n-lion in-
carno..tion of Vi~~u, 33 ,whose £.ppearance occurs at t\·:ilight on
 1.0
the fourteenth day of the briGht fortnight of Vaisakh (April/

J/!ay), 2nd :;tECi.h5:r~::lai}' s appearance the following day. On IfrsiiLll , )

c/
caturda&i, Gop5.1 3hc:.~~ v:es si ttin[; under a pip2.l tree fro::1 v.'hich
his si'!lr:..Grf.~:: was suspended in a ba.s~et; he was read inc: the story
~~

of PrahHrd, for \'.'hose sake ~~;-siilh appeared. The young Prahlad, "<
son of the ~dng of the anti-Vi~z:u-i tes (the "de~ons" t had been
persecuteQ by his father for his devotion to Vi~~u, and Vi~~u

hc:.d 2.::J_._:earecl to protect his devotee. Bhc.. tt felt despondent

th.:,t he, C..Yl. old :m:n, hr-.c~ never seen his lord; he str-1.1c~: his

he2.d acair;.st the trun1-:: of the tree anG. fell U.."1conscious. On

uurnh:IE::, r:!1en :he uv.;oke, he sex; that the top of the basl::et w:;,s
stic1{inc up. Ee fe8.red c. sna1:e r.ai5i1t hD.ve crov:led inside, so

he beo.t the bas}:et with a sticl-::. Nothine hE:?~ened.. He care-

fully too~: it dor.n ["_ no. discovered the top h2.c. been lifted up
~

by en imc:.ce, v/hicil hc.d :nanifested fro :a the s.,.,la~.,.."'w.

(...;... ~--c.... . . .

-------------..
I.iir~cles occur in every religion, and they probably uo

so for so::1e goou purpose, i.e., to mc.ke a poL.1t. In the cG.se

is the ef:'ectiveness of bh<:-kti or devotion as a reli£ious prac-

tice. There ~re syste~s of religion in which prayer is dee:ned
the :nost effective practice, others in \'.:hich ;"!l&ntrc or mystical
fo~ulas Ere considered effective enough to co~pel a deity to
perfor:-:1 a desired Ection (if done according to rule). Bhakti,
as pro:nulg8.ted by Cai tanyc::. and developed by the Vrindabr..n Go-
swu!·~is, is u syste:-.:1 v;herein pure devotion is deeced the :nost
efficacio'-ls means to the end. Only bhc.l;:ti, it is taur;:h.t, can
leacl_ to the goc..l, v;hich is itself bhc::kti, lovine devotion and
service rendered to RadhE and Krsna in Vrindab~. The over-
 11

whelming feeling th~t his devotion to ~~~a was insufficient

caused Gopal Bhc.~~ a moment of desp::ir, to v;hich X:r~~a could

only res~on~ by sho~ering reciproc~l affection on his devotee

Lm~'.. cr;...::'ltinc t~e devotee's v:ish that he take a. visible form;

hence, the ~nir:;.cle reve::ls the pov;er of bh:JJ':ti.

The i:n?ort~.nce of Vrinc1c.b~-.::'l, the river Ja::1unf, z.ne, the

hL.~j in connection v.i th =~~~~~·- llla, h~s alrec.dy been r,1entioned.
VrinO.<::.b:::.YJ. is cc.llecl dh8..r.1, 34 which 'I have tr£.-nsl::.ted in the verses
~s realn or kin(;O.o:n for convenience, but which mec:ns much nore.

-
Vrindc::."b£":n d:h'fo hes a very significc.nt nosi tion in vcis!'lc-.v the-
-
oloc,r, m"lC I h<::.ve often hec.rc:., in Dellli for exc.::11Jle, C.evotees
mentionec nc.evotees of VrinC.nb:Jn" r:::.ther thDl of R8.C.ha or

J. Gond.c: h::::-~s e:nph::::.sized th2.t aspects of Vedic tradition

·
con t ~nue to ··
a pp e ar · ~n ~
ll~nC'.U
-T •
re 1·1£l.On
· ~
up t o tl"le :!noc,ern ·
:per~ov...
.:3 35

He hc:.s cere fully investi;.:cted the v:ore. dha:n::.n in its ve c'..ic us-
ace and its 8odern usace, ~~d says:3 6
c ."veC.ic dha'":'l~- T!l~Y, as fc.r cs I a:n able to
see, to a c~rtain extent be described cs a
"location", of a nu.r:1en, of a divine y,>o\·:er,
of a deity, i.e. not only or merely a "hold-
er" or "receptacle" of divine :pov,·er, c place,
being or phenomenon in which a divinity sets
or loc::tes itself, functions or ~anifests
itself, or displays its po~er, or where its
"presence" is experienceii, but als~ a par-
ticulc.r v:ay of presenting or reve::lint:: it-
self, or locatinG or "projectine" a r.1od.e
of its nr~ture an-:.1. essence, a hypostasis or
refraction in which it is believed to be
active. The ety~olobJ i~ beyond dispute •••

Thc.t is to sc;y, Vrindabun is K:r~I?-a, 3? an'-"i. "a devotee of Vrin-

dc.bc...."'l" is, indeeCt, a devotee of Kr3n8..
Vt'hile Z~~J]-:::.t. is not ordinarily visible no\·,·adc.ys, by his
grace his dhcm is visible. Therefore, residence in Vrindab2n,
 12
Which is often mentioned in ~he verses,3 8 is essential; more-
over, the devotee wishes to see and serve Krs~ only as ~rsna

exists, eternally, in Vrindab2~. GoQ c~~ot be limited, so

one v.'oulc1 not e:-:pect to find him only in Vrind.a.b~. K;r~~:::.,

hoY.:ever, whether one wishes to conceive of him as godhead (as

r.'ould 2. devotee) or an av2.tEr, in his S\veetest manifestLtion--
eterne.lly sportinG in the lovinG co::t:pn~y of REc.h2: end the gonTs--
only exists in Vrindcban.
'lrind2.bc.:n still rets.ins its sWlcti t:;,r because it has been

. . . a particulc:r sanctity resides

&r2.cec!_ by t}1e bc.re feet of ::rsna;
in t!1e al1U.li or dust of Braj. Jamunuji ret::ins her sanctity,

['..;.'1C is populc.rly called the "river of .E.!:.~" or a stre~.J:1 of

divine love (..!:£.£), becc.use she still bears the dust 8.lld sv:eat
of the £~ a..'1cl i:~~l?-c.., havinG bat!led them after their sport-
inG.39 The third substance in Brc..j said to retc..in its sanctity
since t~e ti~e of 1:~~~a•s ~8.llifest (prasa~) 1Ila4° is the Go-
vardhan ::1ountain, w!lich \','as touc!led by !~~~~a • s hand when he
upheld it to protect the brajvas!s from Indra•s wrath;4 1 ~o-
vardila_l'l is considered Vi~~u himself, having assumed Visnu-~:rsna • s

f onJ t o eat th e ~~ .
OIIer~nes . - - 42
o f t"ne b raJvas~s.
It is co!:l!!lon to use the Y.'orci "Vrindabo...l'l" for :Sraj; there
are esoteric exylan~tions of various sorts of Vrinciabans and
their extent within or co:::1prehenciing Braj. Some :persons !Jre-

...
fer to understa.YJ.c1 the expression "lCrsna never le8.ves Vrindaban"
to refer to the modern extent of the tO\·m of that n:::.me; others,
to the extent of Braj, as either a geographical location or as
a devotionc.l region of the heart. But there is agree::tent thct
the bhakta' s !Crsna,
... as differentiated from T:rsna the cherioteer
•

13
of Ar jun, or the king of Dwaraka, husband of Bnkrni ni and Satya-
bham~, ..
. eternally beloved of Radha and the gopis, who
is Krsna
dwells in his o~n self, his dham, Vrindaban; 4 3 Radha is braj-
e ~·.;ari • 44
Devotees revere the Vrind~ban in District !.Iathura because
z:~~c SU9eri~)Osed his i~aterial Vrindaban, celled Golok (the
hichest Vail~~n in vaisnav cosmology), onto the worldly Vrin-
..
daban, v:hich becE.::le non-different fron ~C~~r:a, who is saccid-
an~~a&;45 Vrindab2n is not to be conceivec of as m&teri~l,
even v.ilen it is visible. ...
;:rsna is not only etern<:.lly d\·:elling
in his favorite dh2:r.1, he exists there \','i th his retinue, knov:n
technic[:.lly c.s his nE'rsadas. 46 In this v.-ay, each of the per-

.
. . tanya is also }:nov.n to have had
sons associe:.ted with i{rsnacr:.:.i
so.me p.::;.rt in I:~~z:w. lilE; so=ne of them are identified. 47 With-
out goinG into ~~ecess~ry detail, it is clecr th~t a devotee
feels esyeci~lly comfortable in Vrindab~~ Even tou~y, the
br~jv~sis and the fauna and flora of Braj are narsadas, and
therefore, suprc..-mundane. 48 Some aura of all this will cling
eternc:lly to Vrindab£:...."1 (nnd Braj) even as the kaliyug v;orsens,
and hence, the devotee's heart yearns to reside in 3raj.
Lila, for this discussion, me~s only K~~~a lilE, ~"'ld

... in especial, which occurs (eternclly) in

that lila of Krsna,
~raj. These sports have expDnded fro~ those occurrences re-

.. to include all the activities recorded

ported in the Puranas
by illumined saints. ...
This is pos8ible because Krsna's lila
is limitless; being devoted to his devotees, 49 Krsna . . . annears
--
to them nccoruine to their wishes. Therefore, the poetry of
. ·1
such great souls as H 1.t . • 5 O an d Swanl.
rarJ.vams as 51 l.S
- - Har1.. d- . re-
vered, and the sports oi' Jmdh.a, ~' and 'the gop~s have con-
tinued to expand.
The Gosw~~is of the gaudiya sect not only re-est~blished

the ancient-but-forgotten sites of ~~~a lila and propounded

a philosophy to be followed by Caitanya's adherents, they also
established ~70 v~rieties of l!la.5 2 Because of the different
~ays in which a bhckta may approach him, it is essenti~l that
iCrsn~ continue to exhibit himself in various ways. The nitva
lila (also called the ~stakalikal!la} describes the daily rou-
tine of Radha, K~~~~, and their par~adas (such as mother Ya~od~,
the cor:herds, the milkmaids, etc.) as they eternally exist in
the s\·;eet world of Krsna. The seconci type of IIla is naimit-
tika, "occasional," describine; the special inci:lents in Krsna's
world, such as dema"fldine a tE.x of curd from the gop'is on their
way to ~arket, stealing their clothes as they bathe, or auuear-
ing from a 6wagr2m as Radharan2~. Althouch these lilas are
separ8.te froi!i the worldly point of vie\v, Z~~z:a performs them
all at every moment bec&use his being is trt>.nscendental; in
his se.ccicl2nanc.a svari!p it is the ananda, his hladinJ: sakti
(Radha} which is supreoe in VrindabE.n, 53 and Yihich continually
cre~tes the lila. A devotee whose feelinc for I:rsn:::
... is c-,s a
s::~lmE'. or das, 2. frienD. or servant, might meditate upon a role
in K~~z:a•s nitya lilE wherein he might herd cows with K~f!~a

or serve him his meal; a devotee in madhurya bh~v, with the

erotic sentir;1ent of a gopi, might mec_i tate on servinc; Radh8.-

. . . eternally in their
Krsna kllnj •
The feeling in Vrindabr.n is that the very high s~iritual

st2ge wherein one conceives of one's place in the erotic sports

 ...
of" Ra.d.ha and Krsna i.s a stage which -transcends Trorld1y decorum,
and is not bound by rules of s~mpraday--one transcends the rules
which have been established for those still attemptine to free
the:::::1selves of worldly bonds. This is in accordance with the
OrthOdOX VieW Of Vaidhi and raganuga bh~!kti t 5 4 the f0r?:'1er being
devotion while follO\·;inr; the injunctions of the ~2-stras, the
latter, followinG one's libercted r.nc. pure spiritual insight.
Bon !~iaho.rC.j felt this aS!)ect of the lila was not to be discussed

lichtly. .ts. devotee, he ssic:, should wish to serve Radhf! a..nd

Krsnc:~ in their 1~1ost inti!:lE~te lilas--which take place in the syl-
van grove !mov.n a.s a lrunj 55 --follo...-.·inc the orCers of Racl.ha' s
closest friends, the sa1rJ1Is, who are Radhi?.• s ov.n manifestations
in orc~_er to serve K~~r:c. tote.lly. 56 In other v:ords, the bhakta

...
does not v;ish for erotic union with ICrsnc., but to s!!loott. the
way for Rad!1.'E, the only one v:ho cnn truly sr;.tisfy K:r~z:a, to have
her union vdth him. As this su.l11l'!lit of devotion2.l feeling is
not discussed in the poet17 I have translated, and I have not
the SIJiri tu<:.~l insic;ht to say more, we may underst~..ncl. the ~j
as re:_rJresenting the highest development in the love relation-
ship of !Ul.dha a..nc: Krsnc.. In this most exalted ideal which is
the ku~j, Gul?.c:-.:..r.12.nj.:rr places Go pal Bhatt;, with Ru.p anc1 Sanat2n,
in the most intim~te seva of Radhe anc Krsna.57
...
~d th the precedine material as baclq;rouncl., we ::nay nov: lool::
into the ritual of the pragc.totsav.
. While the many short verses

...
are prcises of Caitanyc. and Radha-Krsna, or praises and con£rat-
Ulhtions for Gopal Bha~~' five of the ten lengthier verses are
descriptive of the abhisek (ritual bathing of the image) itself,
two others mention it, and one describes a bndhai celebrated
 16
on the occasion of the abhisek. Ritua1 ba."ths 1li1!J:1 be "found in

~ cultures; in Hindu culture, daily ritual purity is secured

by a bath. Orthodox Brc:>..hmans certc~inly, but members of other

castes as well, becin each day v.-ith a bath58 followed by morn-

ing v1orship. Tem.._'Jle irn~_ges c.re bathed de.ily; the water v.:i th
which t:te feet o:f the imaces hc.ve been washed, caranamrt, is
distributed a.r:lOng the faithful as pr£'.sad. This caranamrt is
received by the devotee ~ith ut~ost reverence, to be sipped,
sprinkled on the heed, or even taken home to an old or ill
person r.s &. sure blessinc (if not panccec..) fro:n God himself.
rtO\'tever, no\vhere in Vrindabcn is an i::nace of J::r~:r:a publicly
bathed 59 (as fc.r as I know) except in the te!:1ple of RadhEra:naf!,
Vihere it is uone twice yec~rly, on the full moon of Vaisa}:h,
the appe[.r::mce c1a:r of REdh8.rao8J, and on the eighth dc.r~{ day
of Bhadr2. (;.ueust/Septe!:lber), Krsn8.janr.testam'I, the appearc.nce
..
. . •
day of Krsna . The evening before Radh~ranr-.I?-' s cbhiseJ~, at
sandhya arati,
60 a 6alagr~ representinG N:sinh is b~thed in

public; this public abhioel~ on n:sinh' s ~ppe~rance dc.y, E'.lso,

seems to be a function unique to Radhara~TI~~·s temple, E'.s I he.ve
not seen nor heard of such a public cereoony in cny other tem-
ple "'-t Vrindc;.bc.n. Here is e. de scri -uti on of Radhara.i7la.n. • s abhisek
ri tuu.l as I have seen it performeC: betv:een the yec.rs 1971-1975:
On the full moon day of VE'~isal~, after the mcilgal aratr
(c~v.T~l:eninc Krsna at d~x.n), the ordinary, leisurely course of

daily sev5 is re;laced by un air of intense activity co~~ected

with utsav. The inner courtyc..rd of the temple 61 is bedecked_
with textile rumc.int;s. !Jerorahile, a procession of Goswar.1is
and bh£-ktas goes to J:;_~unaji' and brings b~c}{ large qu2.ntities
 17
o-r the holy water in great si1ver 'tlrl'ls. ~he procession is done
with kirtan, and some persons carry festive flags on silver
poles. Enor~ous quantities of milk, as well as the other in-

.
gredients for the abhisek, are delivered, anc over ninety ayur-·
vedic herbs must be prep~red.
62

The ab!'lisek is to be perforJ7Ied on the raised open area at

the front of the te~ple (directly in front of the nij man&ir)
called the jac rnoh£L'1. This ::t::1::es it very eas~'" to see the en-
tire ri tu2.2.. Although a curtain is drm·m, above it one can
see the festive hc.ngings coveri:nc; the side e..nd b2.cl~ vie.lls, in-
eluding the Cloors le<:ding into the nij ~armc~i2~. Strings of green
le~ves are festooned around the i~"ler court of the temple, and
above the door on the outside. By ten o'clock, peo~le are al-
rec.dy gutherinc; a drurmer stations himself next to t!le outsio.e
o.oor of the temple. By eleven o'clock ( depe:nc'~ing on the time-
ly delivery of all necessities a~d t~e completion of the prep-
art!.tions v:ithin the t.ernple) the bell atop the temple begins to
toll, call inc the clevotees to dc..rsan ( viev.·ing the image).
The bell continues tolling durin& the entire time t~e

imaee is bc.thed, £~.nd whenever £-.rat! is offered; in addition

to the bel~, ["OnGs are rung in tune. \ihen the curtain is with-
dr:J.v.n, 2. special throne or bc:.th-al t:::·.r is expose G., flanked by
£?.uspicious urns topyed with mango le£".ves and a coconut. The
bath-altar consists of a pl~tform upon which the ic2ge of Ra~~~­

r£:L:::~~ is plc.ced; beneath the platform is a lart;e v~t which will

catch the liC!uid in \·:hich the inage h2.s been b2.thed; the vat
can be re~oved when full and replaced with an empty one. All
of the thrones, v~ts, and ritual paraphernalia are becutifully
 18
wrought in precious metal.s. ~he image is draped with a long
piece of fine white cotton, and wears no orn~ents; a Gos~~~i

str:...T'ldi:lC beb.int~ him holds his feet. To the left of the i~a.ge

is pl8.ced t?l.e lc..rbe vo.t fro:n which lic;uid is tal{en up in ~ spout-

eC:. vessel by a Gosv::-..;!11, y;ho pours it fro::n the vessel into a

conch helci by ~other Gosw8:.":li, \".'ho directs the stream onto the

l.:':ls[;e. J~s the b:::.t.':1in6 begins, the auspicious ululations of

the Beng&li v;o::wn fill the air, and cries of "Hc:.r?:__~ol!" ~ix

v:i th t~l'3 music of the sn.maji's (.r.lUsici2.Ils a.ntl. si:1gers) a.t the
re~r of the te~~le.63
The feet are b~thed first, th2n the entire i~2te, fro~

he~~ to toe, is bathed in a succession of liq~ids: mil1:, cur~,

ghee, honey, ~ci sug~r, \Yhich form the pmc5.~~t; bet;·:een each

chr.:.nge of subst::. nce, the imace is bathed in Ja':lu."l2. Y.'cter. Rar1.ha-

ra.:~a.n is :::..lso b::.thed in t!:.e herb:;.l preparc.tions :ne:1tioned ~bove.

\lhe:1. a fruit or other solid substcnce is to be offered, it is

hel~l v:i thin the strea::n of liquid betv;een the conch 2.nd the de-

ity; t!1e liCluic1 b<:::.thi::J.& the object conveys the qu:;;.lity to be

obt~ined from that object to the ima~e. Esch offering is ac-

CO:::l)t:::liec. b;y aypropric~te ~.ntrr;.s. Severc.l more GoswE::-tis are
on the j::::..~ :r.1ohcm, so:ne fannin£; the deity, so:-:1e c&rrying f:..r<ay
full v~ts of liquiQ, so~e brincing new vc.ts of fresh licui~.
, /
Sri Purusottz..:u Goswr.::1i' ch2...."1.ts the m<::ntr.:ls and 3ri :?.esbih~ri

Gosv:::-.:'li directs t!le other Gos\•:a":l.is • actions (such as .muclrE, etc.).

Eech ini tiuted Gosv.-a:ni of the temple will have a turn to bathe
tl1e i!'2c. ce in a rituccl stretching over several hours. 6 4
',1hen the but!1ing hs.s been co:-:1pletecl., the curt;:.:.in is cl_ra.v.n
across the jc.g r.1ohan; the lar£;e crov;d which has pres::oed into

the courtyard seeks shelter from the heat of t!1e sun. The image
 19
is being dried and dressed; the bath-altar is removed and an

enormous, el~borate, golden siDh5s~n, the Lion Throne, is placed

in the center of the jaG ~oh~. The im~ge, richly a~orned ~ith

.
Jewe 1 s end cro·;.n, . V'o'ear1.ng
. ::: b e Je\;e
. , . t , 65 1.s
11 e d SJ·ar . enth
- rone d ,

<:!.lld the steps of the siilhEsc....--1 are clecor2.ted with i::1c.;;es of co\":s,

c. v;~ter vessel, fens, a mirror, etc. Vihen the curtc::.in is 2.g.:-~in

-v;i th~.rc:·.·.n, t!1e s<: . ::Ie inte:::1.se enthusi:::sm as durinf: the br.thinr;
c;ri:ps t}1e cr-o·,·;t2. :·:or:, ho·;:cver, .nc-.ny ner: r.rticles are to be

_,_ _,_ ~ re ',..1 t o ··reo·....,..,

o .r.roo ... o.::·.•c.· for his delectGtion • ~e is introducef to £:..11

the Grticles he ~ill use as d~ily necessities, e:::ch ~ith its

a:ppropri~ te .::1L"1tr, • Er.c!.1 £..rticlc, once offeree, is plc.ccd in
a L:rce trey, ['.n6. r:~en :::11 t:1e c.rticles ~1:::ve been offered in-
divi~uLlly, t~ey ~re ac~in offered, all to:ether, by revolvinG
the rc::.y before t:1e imc.ce. Thi:'.: tr:..l·:es c. consider<::ble a::;ou.nt

of tL-:c. ·~;hen t1:c offerincs have bee:1 co:Jplete{., a 5rou.p of

articles suc!l ~s ac.ces on lone ~:::nC.les an~ sce:ptres 66 is plr-.ced

at the front of t!1e jq; .oohan. VErious devotees t:::-~::e the::1 and
for1.1 a double colu~.m fro!TI the front o:::' the jc.G :noh:::n i:::1.to the
·
cour t y2.rc:.. ! en t ..
mh h c srnr.o.r
/ • - -::-~rc.ul.
""" - ·
1.s o f~ " t o -:>.,..
.~.erec. ~, 7'!:
.a~n!lc:.r:::~c.n.

After £.r£:..ti', the \';capons &re replaced on the jaG mohan a.'>l.e picked
up by the Gos\·.:F.:-:IIs; hence, there ir.; never z.ny direct cont:::-.ct
betv:een the Gosr:c.::~is e..Y!ci. the ~udience, for the Goswa::-:1is must do
the sevE in c. stc.te of lJuri ty. The Gosw5.:::is nov: begin to dis-
trib".lte prasad., especio.lly pieces of the cloth which 3Ec?.h5.r<lmaJ?-
·wore durinc the bc.th, ancl the licv.id which b<lthed him.

The curtain is dra\'.'rl once ag::..in, in order to offer b:hog

(food) to Rad~ra.n~. Since this is a very special utsav, there
vdll be u special bhog, consisting of many i te::1s \vhich \":ell-to-
 20
do devotees will have contributed· toward. After a11ovdng the
e~propriate ~~ount of ti~e for Radhar~~ to have enjoyed the
(
offering, it is re~oved, the ima&e is once again prep~red for
do.rsa."'l, a.n<l the curtn.in is wi thdrarm. There is bhog arLti,
after \':hich the lord retires for his ufternoon rest. The cere-
:nony v:ill hc:.ve lc.sted U."'ltil four o'clock in the n.fte~oon.

The Importance of the Abhieek

Four of the eight long verses for Radharam~'s pragatotsav

0

are detailed descriptions of the abhisek. 67 I will no~ discuss

other instances of abhiseks which occurred within Caitanya•s
sect and which are mentioned in the Nariyanabhattacaritamrta63
and the Caitanyacaritamrta; 6 9 I will then consider the impor-
•
tance of the abhisek within the vaisnav milieu v;i th reference
to other cults which might have affected vaisnavism and this
rite. ~while it has already been noticed that a public abhieek
is not performed in any of the other temples of Vrinuaban, I
emphasize that this includes some very importcnt shrines. The
most famous of the six Goswamis, Rup and Sanatan, were involved
in the construction of "the most impressive religious edifice
that Hindu art has ever produced," 7J Govinda's temple, which
housed Raghunath Bhatt's deity. Madanmohan is the temple in
which Sanatan is said to have worshipped his deity; Gopinath.is
71
the temple of lrlad.hu P8.1Jgi t • s deity; the first man sent to
Vrindaban by Caitanya, his friend Loknath, worshipped Gokula-
nanda, whose tem~le stands close by Radharam~•s temple; and,
there is also the temple of Radhadamodar, whose deity was worship-
 21

Govinda, are installed in famous temples in Rajasthan, and are

worshipped very s~lendidly; yet, in none of these temples does
a public abhisel~ take place.
The temple of La:ilil~ at Barsana, the seat of Radha's
fc;;..ther, V:;-f?bhl?nu, we.s founded by a follower of Cai trmy2., Narayan
Bhc:~~, al thouch t oduy it is controlled 72 by GoswErrd:s who
are followers of the Nimb~rk samprad~y; it is the only other
important shrine in Braj at which a public abhi§ek is performed,
as far as I lmovv·. Radha' s birth is calculated as midnight on
the eighth bright day of Bhadra, about two weeks after Kr~~a's

birth. On that night crowds of devotees keep a vigil in this

temple atop the hill at Barsana, and at dawn the svayam praga~

image of Radha, flanked by blazing braziers, 7 3 is bathed in

~ - ' 74 Laril1's
- .... .
~ancamr~. abh1sek ritual is less complex and con-

.
siderably shorter than Radharaman's: while .
Radh~raman is bathed
for two hours in various substances by all the Goswarnis entitled
to seva, Larili's ritual is a bath lasting less than an hour,
performed by a few participating Goswam~s. After Laril1's abhi-
~ek, darsan is closed until srngar arati. 75 The reason for
this difference may be due in part to the fact that Radharaman'.s .
temple 76 has remained in the hands of the same family since
the time of Bha~~·s disciple Gop!nath, and the rituals have
been conscientiously continued. Many of the rituals have been

given in detail by Bhatt himself in his Haribhaktivilasa.

L~rililal's temple has undergone modification in ritual since

-.··_ the days of Naraya~ Bha~~

and his son, because the Goswamis are
no longer followers of the Caitanya sampraday. 77 Another im-
portant ritual is performed at Larililal temple on Radha~~em1:
 22

the descent of the images (LB!ili and Lal, two murtis) from
the temple itself to a white marble chatri (a covered pavilion)
on a lo·.-:er terrace. Dars'an of the images is given for several
hours, while the Goswami"s of the temple sing a sarn~j of spe-
cial verses for the occasion. This ritual is notable because
the mill murti is not usually taken out of the nij mandir of any
temple in the north of India, much less outside the temple it-
self, although it does occur in the south.78
T:1ere are two reasons for assuming that the ri t'..lal abhisek
is a tradition from the time of Naray~ Bhatt: Bhatt himself
performed the abhisek
. of Larililal,
. and the ras lila tradition,
with which Bha~~ is closely allieu, is continued today 'ilith
the special st~ali (rEs) lilas performed in conjunction with
the meU~ followinc Radhastarni at Barsana. I will now discuss
the abhisei~
tradition, and return to the ras lila later in this
essay. We read in the Narayrutabhai;tacari tam:rta 79 that when
Bha~} was at brahmtl')arvat (Barsana) 80 engrossed in the senti-
~ Ra
-dha
- and Krsna appeared to h1m;
. 81
ments of a gon1, . .. Radha in-
structed hi:n to unearth her milrti "not made by man" from the
hill "(alone) at midnight." 82 He did so and found the pair
in the fo~ of a beautiful ~urti.83 Upon finding the mnrti,
Bha"t;j; did the abhi~ek, and, as instructed by Radha, called the
image LafiliUil. 84 He then had two murtis--Revati"ra:na.J]. and
LafilYl~l--to serve. 85 After some years,86 on the bright ek~­
d.aS'i of Bhadra (three days after Radha~-t:ami) , "all the vai§yavs
of the sarnpraday" came to Bha~~' "the man who had revealed Braj,"
87
\7. to proclaim him brajacarya by doing his abhisek. This abhixek,
in contrast to the mere mention of La~ilil~l's abhi~ek, 88 is
 23
described and celebrated in thirteen verses 89 with much the
same detail found in the description of Radh~~·s abhis~k.90
To continue ·the account of the abhisek's occurrence, we
no~ look to the Caitanyacaritamrta, the best-known, early bio-
graphy of Caitanya, 9lwherein we are told of Madhavendra Purr, 92
a sanny~si and guru of Caitanya•s own guru, -,.
Isvar Pur1. - It is
:Madhavendra who is first credited with having spread abroad
love for Kr~~a in Bengal, as well as in Braj, where the story

to be related takes place. Caitanya himself tells of r.1adhavend.ra

Puri discovering a murti known as Gopal,93 who first appears
to him in the form of a young boy; later, in a dream or vision,
1~dhavendra is told where to locate the murti, which is buried
• within the sacred Govardhan hill.9 4 Madhavendra organizes a
group of people from the nearby village to dig up the murti,
and he then perforos the abhiO?ek. From my paraphrase of that
description it should become clear how close it is to the de-
scription of Radharao~'s abhieek in the verses and to the de-
scription of Narayai_l Bha~~ • s abhisek: 95 A great quanti t~.r of
such i terns as tulsi leaves, flowers, cloth, etc., v:as broueht
and f,Iadhavenura himself performed the abhi~ek; the bath caused
inauspiciousness to be driven off; the body of the ima£;e was
macle slick with much oil; there were b<:..ths of pe1fcag2..vya,9 6
,., -
nancc:.r:1rt, and the 11
great b8th 11 from a hundred jugs; aGain, oil
was applied to make his body smooth; the entire bath was done
with scented water from a conch; the body wc:s made clean, and
clothing, sandalpaste, tulsi, and flower garlands put on; in-
cense and liehts were offered; a bhog offering of many sorts
was spread, which consisted of as much curd, milk, and sweets
 24

as were brought; scented water was offered in new pots, ~ter

for cleansing the mouth was offered, and then t~bula (pnn);

arati was performed along with many hymns, anu t~ose present
97
prostrated completely, thus offering their souls. The de-

scription a...nu i~agery are extremely close to the verses which

describe R~dhara!:1al). • s abhisek.

In the Cait~nyucaritmYlrta, Caitanya's own abhisek is men-
- I

tioned. 98 Cai tanya, called. ViS"varnbhar and Nimai until he took

vows of sa."'l..nyas in 1510 AD, was born in 1486 AD in Navadvip

(also called ~~aci.iL) in BenF,8l, a center of ler.rning, es:pecic;.lly

navy& nyaya lo_::ic. He was t.he son of a :pious Brah."':lan c..nd re-

cei veci a tracii tion<:>.l Sansl-:ri t education. ''hen Visvc:..moh:::r wc-.s

sixteen, !1is elder brother left home to become an ascetic and
his father died shortly thereafter. Visva~1bhc.r was not yet

inclined to a reli&ious life; he married and opened a ~ol, where

he taue;ht Sanskrit grar!lJnar. While on a tour away from i';avadvip,

his v;ife died; he later remarried.
At age twenty-two he went to Gaya to perform his fat!ler•s
., -'dh a
srau cere~ony. There he met the su..l1..:."1Yffs1 fsv~.r PurY, a dis-
ciple of ~.:adhavendr<.::. Pur!, from whom he received initiation,
and who seems to have awakened the bhakti, truly ecstatic de-

votion, latent \':i t!lin him. He exhibited this sr.::J.e ecst~·tic

behavior upon his return to Navadvip, an~1 was i::t.":l.edictely rec-

,
ognizec1 as a great bhe.ktc;~, indeec, someone divine. Sriv&s,
the devotee in whose home the first kirtc.ns v;ere to be held,
performed his abhisek. Im.~ediotely Nityanc..nda
99
arrived, and
.
. ..
. Ra!n, Krsn8.,
Visva!Jbhar revealed himself to Ni tyanantl.a as Visnu, .
a.nO. Y.:~~z:acai tc..nya.
100 -
Then, Ni tyt~an d a arro.nge d a vyas puJa,
-·- 101
during which Caitanya carried a J!USala or plow of Ba.l.aram, with
whom Nityananda is identified. ViGvambhar continued in this
ecstatic mood for twenty-one hours, exhibiting various divine
. - 102
forms which the devotees themselves could see. Bhakt1vedanta
glosses this verse with the explanation that the devotees wor-
shipped Vi~vwnbh~r with the Vedic mantras of the PurusasUkta,
which is to be c~anted while bathing the image in the temple.
We have seen several instances of abhi~eks, both of images
and of perso::1s, and noted that there seems to be some connec-

tion between this ritual and the south Indian tradition. With-
in the Caitanyacaritamrta itself, let us now see a further exa~-

ple of this bath, one closely related to Caitanya, because it

concerns Cai tanya's beloved Jagannath, the dci t~l whom he chose
to be near in Puri. 10 3 Two verses 104 tell of Caitanya's hap-
piness on the day of Jagann~th's bathing ceremony, and of his
unhappiness afte~vards, when he could not see the deity for two
weeks. For these two weeks following the bathing festival, the
deity is "unfit for being seen" and is under the care of special
attendants called dayitas (Bhaktivedanta) or daitas (Mishral05),
members of a low caste who repaint the image and serve Jagan-
nath during the two week anavasara. They are said to have this
service because Jagannath, then called Nilamadhava, was first
~

worshipped by Sabara tribesmen, from whence the dayit~s come.

Caitanya and his followers were given permission by the king
of Orissa, Prataparudra, to witness the pan~u
vijaya ceremony,
when the dayit~s move the deities onto the raths (chariots). 106
Concerning the history of Jagannath, Mishra has traced the
 26
,
in£luence of the Sabaras (or Pulindas), forest tribes in south
India, according to the Markandeya Purana. ~he Pulindas wor-
shipped, among others, Puradeva, which "etymologically may mean
the deity which was named Puru~a Deva. 11107 By a complex ar-
gument, Mishra shows a long connection between Jagannath and
the region of Kalinga and that Jagannath is actually Hilamadhava,
who is also Puru~ottama. 108 While Mishra cannot put forward
any image having the peculiar form of the three wooden images
installed in Puri, he does show that in the Sabara country a
goddess known as Stambhe6vari was worshipped in every village
in the shape of a wooden pillar, ani he traces the Sanskrit

name to "aryanization" by.Sanskrit paq~its.

109
Jagannath is
-· ,
still called by his ancient name in Orissan Sabara villages:
•Jaganaelo" or "made of wood." 110 !his southern tradition .
of abhieek, therefore, is involved with a non-Vedic religion. 111
Mishra, describing the nityapuja or daily mode of worship of
Jagannath by the priests, notes the use of both Vedic and tan-
trio ceremonies, "without which they ithe priest§l are not eli-
gible for the puja ceremony," concluding, "Veda. mantras are
chanted during the Vedic and the Tantric mantras are chant-
sn~a

ed during the Tantric snana.• 112 We will see how this tantric
tradition is also connected with N~ray~ Bha~~ by the ras lila
tradition.
The N~r~yaqabhattacaritamrta tells of Bha~~·s connection
Ylith the ras lila tradition in Braj ll3 and Norvin Hein has men-
tioned him as we11. 114 ~he day following Radna~~ami begins a
seven day cycle of sthali 1I1as, 115 ras 1r1as done at a place
where Radha ...
and Krsna are said to have performed a certain 1~1~,

and which depict that particular lila. The nauklt 1~1~s at Pili-
 27
pokhar and Pnmsarovar have al.reacl7 been menticmed. 116 fti]e
'the entire cycle is very charming and interesting 111 it need
only be mentioned here that on dw~dat:r, the day following the
traditional account of N~ray~ Bha~1's abhisek, a sthali lila
is performed in his own temple of Revati'ra.m.aJ:?. at Uncaganv, which ·
describes the elaborate social processes connected with Kr~~a's

betrothal to Lalita sakhi. Directly after performing that 1~1~,

the svariTps of the ras mgoqali are carried to a ch~tri on a

hill across from the temple, which marks Rad.hli.'s footprint in
the rock, complete with the red lac designs painted on her foot
visible only when the roc1: is washed. At this place, the mar-
rie:.ge of K~!?I}& and Lalita is performed. The prevailing feel-
ing of Brajvasis at Barsana (and elsewhere) is that Radha and
K~~~a ~re married, anG yet this is the lila traditionally per-
formed. Hein concludes his discussion of Naray~ Bh~~~ and
the ras lila tradition sa.yin[;: 113
the fjas lil§-7 players of Mathur~ take their
traditional themes freely from the Bhagavata
Pur~a ~nd do not enact the Gitagovin~a because
they object to its view that the amours of .
Rlldha anti. Krislma were an adulterous relation. 119
••• These players adhere to a tradition of Ben-
gal, using Bengal's great poe~ in sooe vernac-
ular transform:..~tion anti showing Beng£·.1' s pOV.'er-
ful tantric influence in its theology--and, we
dare say, in its use o~ child actors to imper-
sonate the deities.
Yet this tantra-influenced tradition has
been in interaction with the tradition of Braj •
• • • As to whence this practice ca::1e, all avail-
able inuications point toward Benga.l, and toward
the ritual and. theatrical practices of the S~k­
tas. Thence, ~s f£r as we can tell, ca~e the
impetus v:hich led to the expericcnts \Vitil child
actors wnich are attributed to Ghamandi ancl
Nfirl!yan. Bha.tt.
.. ··

" ":":". Bon I:!ah~r:!j has sai:i to me, regarding tile difference between
Krsna' s nitya lila and his special lilas, such as the r~s 11"Hl,
 28
~hat when K~~ is in the company of his elder brother Ba1aram
and the older boys or gop~s, he is restrained by a sense of
res~ect, which inhibits him from displaying his sweetest lilas;
these most intimate lilas are only manifest in the company of
the gopis; Bha~~ N~rayaQ's i~)adev is Balaram. There has al-
ready been a co~~ection made between lalita, as an adjective,
and Radha' s n8.1Ile at Barsana, La:z:ili'. Kee.9in:q; in mind both t!le
importance of a divine name in the Caitanya sect and what Gonda
. ~ a b ouv ~t, 120 ~. t seems plausible that Radha and Lalita
h as sala .1. •

must be considered one and the same; this is supported by

gauQiya theology, which considers the astasakhTs {Radha's in-

--
timate friends) as manifestntions of Radha' s bhav to\·:ard Y.:rsna.121...
Thus, rather than the parakYya bhav often associated with the
gauQiyas, Naray~ Bha~~ seems to huve assimilated the brajbhav
of t!le area in which he resided. On the other hand, the impor-
tance of the abhisek may be part of the tradition which he brought
with him to Braj from the south, another aspect of tantric wor-
ship which he. shared with Gopal Bha~~. 122
Gop~l Bha~~' the man who founded the teBple of Radharama~,

having been the recipient of a miraculous appearance by Krsna

himself, who is the supposed author of an authoritative text
of a sect in which he is revered among the six most highly re-
spected elders, remains, nevertheless, shrouded in mystery and
uncertainty. De has provided the details regarding the argu-
ment for Bha~~·s authorship of Haribhaktivilasa. 12 3 I shall
mention only those circumstances of his life which directly
bear on this paper.
Sanny~s1s are not supposed to travel during the caturmas
 29
~· Sectarian biographers gene~ c1aim Caitanya met the
young Gop~ Bha~~ during the former's four month residence at
Srirangam, the se.at of the Sri' vaieJ;lB.vs. According to the bio-
grapher quoted, Caitanya stayed there with one Bha~~'
,
a Sr1
-
vai~~av, who was either Gop~l Bha~~·s father or uncle. Although

..
Gopal Bhatt was but a child, he is said to have been greatly
influenced by the ecstatic sannyasi.

..
Bhatt is said to have travelled to Nepal at Caitanya•s
behest to bring a Damodar salagr§m from the G~~aki river to
Vrindaban. In yet another version of Radharamaq's appearance, 1 2 4
Caitanya himself promised to appear in the s~lagr~ which is
now Radh~ram~. Haribhaktivil~sa, the work connected with Gopal
'-1 agram
Bh a~~' declares sa - wors h.·1p super1or
. t o 1mage
. wors h.1p, 125
and enjoins worship according to the Aga~a, or tantric methods. 126
It is curious that Bhatt's
• .belief in the efficacy of sala-
,
gram worship is a feature of Madhva rather than Sri vaisnav
tenets, 12 7 since the biographers connect his family with the
~-
Sr1 samprad~y. While this might merely be considered a minor
aberration, it immediately gains importance when seen amidst the
sect's history. Madhavendra Puri and Isvar Puri are alleged
to be Madhva sannyasrs, thereby making the entire sect Madhva-
ite directly through Caitanya. In the eighteenth century, Bal~­

dev Vidyabhu~~ wrote the Govindabha~ya 128 with the intent of

joining the followers of Caitanya to the t1adhva s~praday. And
it has been noted that the Radh~ram~ temple does, in fact, af-
filiate with the Madhv&-Gau~iya sampraday.
From such meagre materials I can only conclude that the
importance which Bha~~ attached to the s§lagram and the ritual
abhieek is based upon some tradition in which he had an abiding
 faith--a not at al.1 unusual blend of" vai§tlB:v belief with~-
tric (i.e., non-Vedic) practices. 12 9 The imnortance
... which Go-

-nul Bhatt
.. gave to the abhisek ancl other ritualistic, ta.Tltric
practices is also seen in other devotees of the sect. It is
this acceptance of his position by other members of the sect
v1hich re£-ssures me that whatever the re£-son mr:..y be for the seen-
ingly deliber~te lack of precise information regarCing hin, he
did, indeed, exist, ~nd. his work--whether he v:r.. s author, co-
author, or collector of scriptur£1 references for another Go-
S\\'E..,:li • s y;orl-=:--fou.Yld support arnong other (~evotees of t!le sect • 1 3°

.·.;. ·>
 :orfi=f;; f~'ft:t ( ll" ~~c:~-~t:o)

-;ppr
,
1h;; T- Jl' m':P ~r. <f1f.f:~ ~· ~ lf~
~ .)
11',-n;
~-'"!->~ b'l'r~-orn EPfT ~". iPp-11•[' t.r ..,. ~ 11
'fF '{• "..Jl' :irf-.l';; iA). 'if~ Jfr~ JfrR ;f; qti i

·qh'lf'Plrir' 'APr <TiT 1H, 'J>r-nt ;;~ f~ ~H;;;; 'JfT"i. II

Photograph #2
(courtesy of Jack Hawley,
University of Washineton, Seattle)
~ . -
Radharaman: Praeatotsav urngar.
VerseE on the Birth-
/
Celeb~~tion of Sri

( tre.nsl8.tions)
 32
I.
Let us sing this auspicious verse: "Jai~ Victory to our
~
treasure, Sri Caitanya.
"You are existence, consciousness, and bliss; 1 31 may you
always give us happiness.
"May you enlarge love's domain by your intoxicating
sports~" 1 32
May we always remember in our hearts this fair complexioned
youth.
Let us remember his handsome golden color; having seen it,
may our eyes be soothed.
Sing of Saci's son, praised by all the world, and destroy
the various worldly sufferings.
May we reach-him who is our great good fortune, the famous
savior of the fallen.
Sing, 0 Ki!oridas, "Jai~ Victory to §rY Caitanya, our
auspicious treasure~"

II.
Jai! Victory elways to Sri Gopal Bha~~~
~

. ..
He is ever dear to Srila Krsnacaitanya Mahaprabhu,
....
and is present with srryut Rup and SanAtan

. . . is so attractive. 1 33
in Sri Vrindaban where Krsna
They are beautiful on the excellent banks of the Jamuna,
in an eternal, riverine grove;
they made the many sporting places of Nanda's son and

..
Vrsbhanu•s daughter appear;
by their works everyone--including the Lord's enemies--is
 33
liberated;
,
t•ey spread the highest devotion, the knowledge of Srimad
f-
Bnagavata, the essence of the scriptures.

III.
Jai! Victory to Sr1 Gopal Bha~~' a moon to the red lotus! 134
He flooded the ocean of love and destroyed worldly desires;
Raining the divine name, he destroyed the burning and
darkness of ignorance.
Syam and Syama 135 live happily in their realm, Sri Vrindaban:
, ,
Seeing each limb of Syam and syam~ dwelling happily in the
forest, he becomes more beautiful.
Always risen, night and day, he drives away the sins of
this dark age 1 36
and gives happiness to the devotees--cakora birds,
repeating their spotless fame.

IV.
.,_
Jai! Victory to Sr~ Gopal Bha~~' a jewel among devotees!
His handsome body outshines gold; he is a mine of love's
treasure.
He lived with the devotees Rup and Sanatan, l37
created the work which is the reference for devotional
service
in words brimming with love, and was intimate with
the pair who bestow happiness.
Blessed by R~dh~rama~, he dances sweetly while worshipping. 1 38
An ocean of compassion, a friend to the friendless, one can-
not mention all his virtues.
 34
v.
Jai~ ..
Victory to beloved, blossom-handed Sri Gopal Bhatt, 139
(-

.. .
a bee at the honey of lord Krsnacaitanya•s lotus feet.
In §ri Vrindaban's groves and the bewitching 1 40 place of
the ras dance
he is fortunate to be able to serve Radharama~;

The fortunate one served Radharam~, nurturing him with the

feelings of a gopi.
By a branch from the root of supreme bliss, the devotee's
desire was fulfilled: 141
He drinks the sweetness of K;-~l}a's beauty night and day
through unblinking eyes that never wander.

VI.
Jai! Victory to Sri Gopal Bha~~' a cluster of virtues, 142
who longs for new sentiments of love each moment.
Taking the offering-tray of service in his lotus hands
he drinks their incomparable beauty with his eyes. 14 3
With his eyes full he drinks their beauty; night and day he
lives in communion with them. 14 4
He is together with Lavanga and Sri Ratimanjari, 1 45 playing
the vina, drum, and cymbals:
They sing and play in harmony; here there are no difficulties.

And now, the congratulations:

VII.
Jai! Hail! Victory to Sri Radha~,
handsome and dark, supply posed, 1 4 6
 35
whose lovely lips caress the flute.
A loose turban 14 7 with its waving peacock feather ornament
1- beautifies his head.
On his forehead a saffron mark, diamond earrings in his ears;
His eyebrows are Love's bow, his restless, amorous eyes, the
arrows.
The strewn curls which beautify his cheeks are a work of art,
beautiful as a feather.
In his shapely nose is a pearl pendant; his teeth are the
color of pomegranate seeds;
His scarlet lips, sweet smile, and chin, stick in the mind.
Around his tapering neck 148 he is wearing a shoulder cloth
and pearl necklace,
arm and wrist bracelets on his well-formed arms, 1 49 and
in his beautiful hand a red lotus.
Adorning his broad chest is a long, five colored Vaijayantr
garland;
It is the habit of profound minds to rest on the three lines
across his stomach and his deep navel.l50
Above a brilliant yellow cloth he wears a waistband with
small bells.
There are no shapely hips, thighs, and knees, as
beautiful as his.
His graceful feet, decorated with tinkling anklets, move
like floating red lotuses.
The shimmer of his toenails, like the brilliance of
moonstones, steals away all the darkness.
On his left sits the incomparable beauty, decorated with
all ornaments,
 jt>

151
..
beloved Sri, the young daughter of Vrsbhanu, veiled;
they are always together.
They make happy, joking remarks to their teenage servants
~
in a flowery bower on the bank of Sr1 -
Jamuna in the
sweet forest of Vrnda.
The cuckoo; parrot, myna, peacock, and bee~ are reciting the
virtues of the pair;
A three-fold 152 gust of wind covers the trees with nectar;
Vrindaban is always filled with the tones of vina, drum,
and cymbals--
Lalita, Visakh~, and Rupamanjari press out the mood. 1 53
Sri Gopal Bha~~' who does their service with such love that
its description is impossible,
is et.ernally GUI?-amanjari• s refuge of happiness • 1 54

VIII.
On the full moon of Vais~khr a yearning sakhi 155 met RadharamaQ.
In Sri Vrindaban, the pleasant realm, the devotees are
performing his great abhisek.
They place bejewelled banana tree trunks15 6 and hang festive
strings of green leaves;
In the brilliant, auspicious moonlight, flags and pennants
are flying.
Carefully they place golden jars, pearls,
157 and fruit in

the correct manner.

They make a tasteful, attractive tank and set the bath-altar
upon it.
-r· ·. The couplel58 embrace and sit happily; they speak with their
eyes.
 37
L~l is adorned with a pearl ornament, dhoti, and turban cloth;
The woman, beautiful and tender, always wears a fine sari
and ornaments.
r-
Someone holds an umbrella, someone a banana leaf,
159 someone
160
else flicks the camar.
Someone takes a peacock feather fan, someone a blue lotus,
someone else rang the bell.
Someone, bringing a fan, makes them comfortable, someone
shows them a mirror.
Someone plays large cymbals, someone plays small cymbals,
harmonizing with the gong;
Someone plays drums, someone a jew•s harp, and someone bows
the s~rangi;

Some very expert sakh! draws forth the notes of the scale
from the vina.
Someone dances, someone reads a book: the sound of the Veda
fills the air.
. .
S omeone presses out th e JU1ce, 161 someone app 1.1es unguents

to their bodies;
Someone bathes them in water which someone else takes away,
someone brings the ingedients of pancamrt.
·someone brings many herbs, someone the great herbs; 162 little
by little, love is increased.
Fraerant flowers, fruits, and je~els are brought, and a well-
formed pitcher overflowing in a thousond
streams •16 3
Having come from the bath, their bodies are dried, ana ap,ain
they are se2.ted on the Lion Throne.
He wears yellow attire: beautiful short trousers, a shoulder
 38
cloth, and a rakish turban
on his head, with a crovm of peacock feathers; a belled
waistband, earrings, anO. garlG.nds,
1-

a tilsk-spot of lovely saffro!l, and a pearl nose-

ornament, all enhance his beauty.
The border attached to his beloved's skirt causes his mind
to wander.
She ·wec.trs a lovely, gold-embroidered sari, her bodice is a
beautiful sight;
On her wrists are b:::ngles and her head is made extremely
charminG by tv.;o braids and a candrika-
ornament.164
The jev;el in her nose entangles her lover's ~ind end its
dazzle causes him co~usion;

The henna on her hcncl.s c:.no_ feet, ana be::uty spot u:9on her
chin, capture her lover's eyes.
Her belled ring 16 5 and ankle bracelets make an extremely
sweet tone; the red dye on her feet
is suyerol;.r done.
- .-
Th ey h ave durea-grass 1 66 on t'ne1r
. h ea d s; tl1e b es t co 11 yr1u~
.

is applied to their eyes.

To protect them, the expert group of sakhis revolve mustc:.rd
seeds and salt before the~: 16
7
Flower garlands, wonderful scent, and a bejewelleO. lamp appear.
The group of sakhis offer various foods; the pair eat with
great relish
"
and drink the pure water of Sri Jarnuna; having made
birrs~ 68 the sakhis offer them.
Offering their lives, they perform ~rati: their bodies,
 39
hearts, and eyes are refreshed
seeing them--but, if their eyelids close, an instant
seems 100,000 years.
Each moment the sakhi~delight in their pure beauty and
incomparable form increases.
,
Sri G~amaffjnrr, immersed in contemplation, quickly had
compassion ana called me near--
a thirsty cal{or is Lali takisori: seeing them, his eyes
are satisfied.

IX
Take pleasure through your eyes, alr, 16 9 your wishes shall
be fulfilled.
Join with the sakhis, ali, let us be joyful, with our
hearts' desires fulfilled.
Get dressed up, ~li, let us go, dancing.
Strew flowers, ali, let us make their path easy.
Strew well the fresh flowers and let us enter the forest of
devotion's ever-new groves.
Spread the very fragrant s~~dalpaste on the altar and let us
.
d es1gn . .
an ausp1c1ous f"1gure. 170

Let us spread the finest bejewelled canopy above that

attractive raised platform.
Set up beautiful banana tree pillars, let us tie up ausnicious
garl~nds of fresh leaves. 1 7l
Set Up the urn,l72 ali, and let us light lamps.
Radha and ~~~a have arrived, ali, meet them happily:
Let us see, n1r, the happiness of Sri Vrindaban.
Ali, let the charming realm be agreeable to the rasikas.173
 May the abhi~ek please them; dress them and let them both
be seated.
All together let us make their saffron tilaks, placing there
-
f
.
pear1 s of unb ro k en r1ce. 174

Let us show them coconuts, new gold coins, and sweets:

May we never tire of doing nauchavari 175 and seeing their
gem-like beauty.
Let us tune the instruments and sing auspicious songs:
Let the notes fly and find ultimate happiness.
Keeping hidden, let's make a breeze with fans. 176
Make the fountains spout high--
make the fountains spout like twisted strings of pearls--
let us make thee feel very cool from the drops of
water clinging to their very tender
bodies. 177
Let us offer them foods of various flavors and give them
Jamuna water to drink.
Place biris in their mouths and celebrate irati.
Let us enjoy, alr, thi& auspicious day of VaisAkh
on which Radha and K!~~a appeared.l78
Let us say "Jai~'!·'.!J.!, and give our blessings.
Let us bear on our heads, ~li, that piece of cloth179 which
we may receive:
Bearing those pieces of cloth on our heads, let us dance
and make the moon-like pair joyous.
Let us bring bliss into our hearts, matching their most
tender love.
In this way, let us sing the tale of Sri Radhar~•s
appearance,
 41
and get a compassionate glance from G~amanjarr, expert
in their service.

X
Blessed Radbaram~ appeared today~

Sri Gopal Bhatt's heart was happy; all his work became
fruitful.
Radharam~, the clever prince of Vrindaban, is an ocean of
the sweetest sentiments and a mine of

~ LA ....... :'' r'(Ar ek.

virtues--
n.,"',. (,'
'v , f ,

when the pair, united in one form, appeared, the

community of devotees was overjoyed.

XI

0 friend, today our hearts became happy~

We bathed Radharam~, seated on the Lion Throne, in the

five nectars.
We bathed him in a stream of milk, white nectar;; with tawny
curd, we smeared him;
we trickled the sweetness of honey onto his graceful body,
slick with ghee, the nectar of love;
180
he is drenched in the sugar juice of his own love--
and we found happiness.
Although fair of body, wearing a dark cloth, Gaur, the
golden one, appeared dark. 181
Pull of tender emotions, we decked him in beautiful ornaments
and applied an auspicious mark.
Each moment his lovely eyes cast a net of provocative glances;
His body's fragrance is incense which spreads like smokeless
 4~

radiance covering a lamp with beauty. 182

Tasting the nectar which is the essence of his beauty and the

- The ~~ biris ca~sed

nectar of his lips, we were not surfeited.
him to smile slightly in wonderful
intoxication. 18 3
Offering our life breaths and performing the ~rati, friend,
our eyes poured forth tears.
,
Gazing at him constantly, Sri Lalita and all the aakhis
found happiness.
Along with Rupmanjarr, G~amanjari offered himself again and
again. 184

XII
"' Bhatt
When Sri Gosw~r saw Lal's handsome face, his hair
thrilled:
the way of love became manifest.
,
Sri Rup and Sanatan came, singing auspicious songs.
There was a swarm of bees in the grove of fragrant vines; 18 5
,
Sri Jamunaj!'s waves and soft breeze move along.
This most beautiful woman resembles lightning embracing a
dark cloud. 186
Gunamanjari sings their virtues as tears pour from his eyes.

XIII
Grant me the boon of residence in the gracious forest. 187
Your graceful Radharam~ appeared at the full moon of the
sweet month. 188
T ..
Please listen, blessed Bhatt Goswami, to this, my wish:
May I remain with Jugald~sl89 and sing, every day, your
many virtues.190
 43
nv
Receiving G~urcendra•s 191 instruction, bliss filled him.
i- He then quit the southern country in order to do the Lord • s
bidding:
Sri Gop~l Bhatt Gosw~r lived in the forest of Vrnda.
~ben Caitanya 192 sent his seat and prayer beads, he was
gratified. 19 3
He worshipped the holy 6alagram, begeing to be i!nmersed in the
sentiment of love:
night and dey he prono~~ced the name of God; he roused
tears and thrills.
Then the desire to decorate the Lord v;i th his own hands
increased.
"0 Lord, son of the king of Braj! Please appe2.r~ 0 daughter

..
of Vrsbhanu!
"Me.y I see the protector of devotees! Remove the suffering
of my eyes!
"May you t2ke that lovely, triple bent form, the flute at your
lower lip!
"May I serve you, according to your taste, kno,·;ing th£:t which
is suitable to the occasion.
11
'iri thout you there is no beauty; a mo;aent is equal to an age!
,
"Now don't delay, Syarn! 0 beloved Radha, be favorable!
"rippec..r u.s an incomparable, sweet imaee, gleaming of body!"
He spoke this way, all of which cannot be told.
, - grove, 194 the one v,rhom
Then, out fro:n t!1e s~lagra::1 Bhr>..~~ e:rasped
in his heart became manifest:
T
that most reno¥med Sriji, 195 appearing with his beloved's
form within his heart.
 44
Having withdrawn from the company of all people, those two

took a singl~ body.

When Bhatt was coming from a bath in the Jamuna there were

auspicious omens;

quickly, then, he came running, imbued v;ith extre.!.l.e bliss.

ne SE:.\".' Lal' s inco~p8.rable for:n h8.d trc..nsformeC: the forest by

its benuty.
11 Th<:. t is, indeec, tile lor6 of the illest int imc.te boiH~rs!" he
said, wettinc the earth with his teurs.

His ov..-~ disci~ole, Gopinr.tl1, broucht a full pitcher and put it

a. 0\'.-11.
Bhatt shov.:ed hi~ the proof--the Lorc1' s eyes, his bee..uty--
sa~rinc t.o Gopi Gosr.'2.::li, "You may do t:he ebhisek properlyt
"Tie un aus:;>icious c;crl:::~llc of fresJ.1 lcs.ves and ~lace costly
bcnr~a trees for our playful tre~sure, 1 9 6
"i':eelJ the flacs flyinc and set u:9 decorc..ted jc..rs.
11 Purify the £:.rea \".'i th 8. [;hee la.!!lpe II

Bhc.tt hel'.: th.e Lord • s wo.ist r:i th one han(; wi t~1 the other h::?..lld
he touched his feet, 1 97
so.yi:'l.;, "i.,:iay the Lord become happy by my hands, n in his
heart.

Sa.niTtc:.:.n does the abhise:·: with a conch, tuking milk ana. curd,
ehee, honey, c:m<.i. succ:~r; he fears tl.l<:'.t Rad!'lEra":lc::n • s body
mgy be too tender.
~-
Sr1. Rilp continu2.11y fill;:; t!le conc1:; Jiv ch::-.nts t!1.e Vedic

rnantrcs.
-
,Srl. RaGhunath Bhu~~ stands holdinc, ~~ ~~brellc. for love of
the Lord.
Sri Loknnth ana Ragh~th D~s are waving decorated whisks.
198
 45
...
xrsnadas• hand sounds the gong sweetly.
Sri Gopin~th and Sriniv~s are happy waving fans.
,
Lead by Sri Haridas and Bhugarbh, devotees are dancing here.
C~bals, drums, and the large kettledrum are resounding.
The words, 11 Jay~ Victory!" are heard, and all together there,
they praise Radhara~aq.

Nor;' eoing inside' he ~ries the Lord, repeating, "Hare~ 0 God~ II

Then, seating him on the Lion Throne, he decor2ted him in

the finest manner.
He v;ho decor2ted .him is himself as worthy of being served as
~ 199
is Sri Radh~'s na~e.
Then he brou(;:lt the delight of the devotees together in a dual
form.
He made a saffron mark on his brow, and placed dilrba grass on
his head,
then he applied collyrium to his large eyes for good luck.
Further~ore, protecting him with mustard seeds and salt,
. d s t r1ngs
h e t 1e . . t s. 2 00
on h.1s wr1s
He adorned Radhnram~ with a flower garland, and sprinkling
him \'.'ith scent, he completed the decoration.
After having worshipped him with incense and a l~~p,201 he
placed refreshments before him,
lovingly offered him cool Jamuna water,
r:,-.;;.vc hin a v.ell-::1<- ~1e biri, then offeree_ him the mc.in
202
ar;:;ti.
Ee thc1 recited ner: hym..Yls ~"'lc: m::.ntrc.s, to_:ethcr r;i th all t1;.c
devotees,
named him Radhara~~, and blessed everyone.
r.•
'
He took a von from Radhara~~, that he would never leave
20
Vrindabe.n. 3
 46
The most generous §ri Bha~~ Goswa:mr gave cows to the Brahmans;
sesame seeds touched by-the Lord's gracious hand were
given to the good people.
The best women of Braj came; seeing him, they were astonished.
They sang verses about §ri Goswamiji's noble deeds in sweet
voices.
They all looked at Radharam~, staring intently, without
blinking.
~hey forgot to care for their bodies--only the gleam of love
remained.
Then Bha~-t: gave everyone pieces of cloth; 204 they wore them
on their bodies for good luck.
He gave them .. P.aiic~mrt; taking it carefully, they went to their
own homes.
Then all danced, sang according to their nature, and sprinkled
each other's bodies. 20 5
They destroyed the scorching sun of separ~tion; their bodies
glittered with bliss.
They all went to Gop21 Bha~1:, but he \",'ES unc:.ble to speak.
Seeinc him, they scd:.i., weepinc, 11
You gave us this dey!' 11

They bo\Yed to Bha~~ Gosviami and he fell at their feet.

Cai tanya • s devotee • s incor.1_parc.ble compassion should not be
forgotten.
Then, hr:.ving offered the afternoon meal, worship was perform-

ed, and Radharem~ took rest.

All together they received the.consecrated offerings, their

T:-_ eyes satisfied with his beauty;

having seen his beautiful form, ell their hearts' desires
were fulfilled.
 47
Now, nowhere else is there such a happy place, and no one who
has not enjoyed it.
G~am~jari, a servant of servants, was given the task of

fanning:
fulfilled are his heart's desires; all his doubts have
gone away.

,
Tod~y is Sri Gopal's celebration, 0 friend,
he saw the root of bliss~2° 6
The full moon d~y of the sweet month is a day for Bh~nu's

child, 20 7
when, ~der the constellation Visakha, delicate Radharaman
appeared.
He prepared an altar, worked auspicious designs upon it, and
208
set out full jars.
Stretching his body, he dr8 ped aus,;.,icious garlands from banana
tree pillc.rs.
He came and set out flc:.gs anC. banners of various, pleasant
colors.
He sang their praises as he ran and broutiht pitchers full of
Ja."nun2 water.
, -
SrJ. Sanatan, Riip, a"ld Raghun<?.th Bha~~ Gosw~r.:1i's heard;
Jiv ran; Das Gosw5mi" was happy.
The greatest wish of Loknath, Bhilearbh, Ka6Isvc.r, and, above
_,
all, Sri Haridas,
as well as the entire group of devotees, is fulfilled.
The great abhisek was done correctly; they nearly burst with
•
joy.
 48
He draped the yellow cloth, put ornaments on Radharaman, and .
the handsome decoration was complete.
The turban, with dUrbg grass on the left, a peacock feather
on the right, adds beauty.
He made an auspicious red mark on forehead, and
R~dhAram~'s

209
continued to offer him benedictions.
Tying on a protective bend, 210 .he offered him a meal of
curd, sesame seeds, fruits, and cooked
food.
He g&ve him water to·rinse his mouth, then biris, in order to
do the worship properly.
Meeting them, he gave a blessing to all: "Syam, may you always
enjoy yourself,
along with your heart's beloved, throughout the ages, in
-- - Vrindaban, your realm." 211
Sr~

The band of vaisnavs danced, supremely intoxicated with bliss.

The men and women of Braj ran to see that wave of love's bliss.
Sri Gopal Bha~~' delighted, distributed the garland which had
been at Radh~r~'s feet.
Please, give G~amanjari's servant his cherished desire--
residence in the gracious forest~

Radh~rama~ appeared; all our troubles have gone far away.

-- Vrindaban sines congratulations; delight enveloped the
Sri
devotees.
Compassionate Sri Gopal Bha~~ gave this happiness to all.
G~am~jari cannot describe the beauty of an eternal new love.
 49
XVII

The alis are singing congratulations:

supp 1 e, 212 g~ver
. of h app~ness,
.
(
th e 1 ove 1y, appeared from
a salagra."ll.
The group of devotees ran, singing auspicious songs;

. Gunamanjari's
seeing Radharaman, . eyes fulfilled their
purpose.

XVIII
11 Somewhere today the badh~! was played:
all Vrindaban resounded; be compassionate and tell me."
"From the s~lagrrun worshipped by Gopal Bha1;-t: Goswami, the
foremost among devotees,
"Syam appeared, today, and was beautiful.
•That abode of happiness is named Sri Radhar~; seeing him,
even the myriad gods of love were abashed.
"There was a great abhisek--the very sky was embellished with
the sound of the Vedas.
21 3 and sitar
"All the company played the vina, mrdang,
. .
together."
G~ama~jari saw this within his heart and all his deeds
became fruitful.

XIX
Today was
,
Sr~
- Gopal Bha~~·s ecstatic celebration.
. -·· .·- -~·
Sanatan, Rup, e.ncl the others, were there: the entire group
of devotees ca"lle.
They s~~g auspicious songs; the sound pervaded the heavens.
There were cymbals, m:dang, and ~; the beautiful melodie:
 50
of the instruments were in harmony.
They danced rhythmically;.having abandoned all inhibitions,
,-
1
their hearts were happy.
Having cast off all modesty, they danced--Vahva~

They prepared turmeric, curd, and sandalpaste--Vahva~ 21 4

They went beyond deli6ht--Vahva~

Bliss began for all of them--V~va~

They proclaimed Lal's glory--Vahvat

All the feelinc;s within their hearts came true--Vahvl!~ 21 5
They begeed to serve him--Vahv~~ 216
They saw his beauty with helpless eyes--Vahva~ 21 7
If their eyes, becoming useless, do not see him, they keep
his beauty within their he~rts.

~ho sees him becomes so happy, he cannot pronounce the words

in his mouth.
•o beloved Radh~.ra"!lal}, mD.y you always feel ple~sure and
enthusiasm!"
They give blessin~s properly, each one keeping his arms r~ised.

Joining arms, they give their benetiictions--V~v~~

then they danced--Vahvu!

They play rn:dane: ta-ta-thai-ya--VB.hva~ 218
a shower of happiness to the ear--Vahva! 21 9
They gave P.rasad to the singer--V~va~

he received residence in Braj as a boon--Vahva!

Blessed Bhatt .. Goswa~i became so joyous, burstine with pleasure,

he could not contain himself!
R~dharam~ji appeared: Bhatt was singing an ecstatic badh~r •
•
 51
He saw his wonderful, incomparable form--the entire forest
was covered with beauty.
:- Fulfilled was Gm:-amaft'jari•s hope--both hands gave blessings. 220

XXI

The blessed realm, Vrindabe.n, is ours.

The colden one an.cl the dark one in one body is Mahaprabhu, 221
who spreads pure devotion.
Our personal God is R~dh2.ramo:, who delights in devotion, 222
beloved child of Nanda.

.
Our Goddess is the daughter of Vrsbhanu; .
she wears a red and
blue cloth.
,
Our~ and_acarya is Sri Gopal Bha~~' beloved of Rup and
Sanatan.
The pilgrimages named Radha-K~~~a kurtds, Sanket, Barsana,
Nandaganv, Govardhan--the best of mountains,
and Sri Jamunfi, are dear as life to us. 22 3
Let us repeat the names of Sri Lalit~ and the other saYJnis,
and Rup- and G~ama!tjaris.

LUI

Today blessed Rad~ara~~ ap~eared; the joyous badnai is being

sung.
Bhatt Gopal's heart and body are burstine; the devotees•
hearts are joyous.
Their eyes gaze without blinking on his beautiful peacock
feather crown, yellow cloth, and flute.
T
On his left sits his beloved; G~a~jari o~fers himself to
them.
 52
XXIII
They are singing the joyful bedhai in §ri Gop~l Bhe~~·s realm.
Radh~ram~laljr appeared--the dark one, beautiful and supple.
Each of his limbs· is so lovely, most wonderful, incol:tparable--
a description is impossible.
The beloved is held \Vi thin the lover• s ov.n heart--this is

XJJ.V

The joyous kettlecJ.rum plays, 0 friend, anu the ss.hrn2.:l, in

sr:eet tones.

.
The vina and the finest mrdang F.re pleying, 0 friend; the
~ and jews harp ~re in rl1.ythm.
Tocct!1er the cy:nbals and sarail.f;i, full of s\·:cetne ss, fill the
ears with hap)inesc.
On the h£.._:;}y, auspicious, full :noon day of V~isC::-:.'1, durinG
the aus~icious watch 2nd hour,
#>
Sri GopC.l Bh~~~·s darling appe~re~, the handso~e, d2rk
one.
~

Sri :rtaC.h!':ra:~1o..n is the na:ne of him whose beauty transfi[Ured

the forest.
All t~1e trees ~nc1 creepers are bloominc, sv:ar:;ts of bees sweetly
sinch13, 22 4
0 friend, pD.rrots, mynas, and cucl~oos are dcnci~_s,

pronmmc ing his nr:;ne •

All becume blissful, 0 frienl, tears of joy are flo~i~r.

As soon as the clever ladies of Braj heerd of it, those tenner

~ wo::1en started out with great hopes
for their beloved's sight; they carried auspicious trays
in their hc:.nds.
 53
Swarms of young women are covering their bodies with cloth and
ornaments;
together they are singing auspicious songs, 0 friend; it
rains sweet intoxication.
Seeing L~l's incomparable beauty, all the young women became
amazed.
They give him blessines with both he.nds; they are dancing and
clapping to keep the rhythm.
Each made a gift offering of her feelinzs.
Tears flo~in& from the eyes, the body thrilling, no wonen
re~ained, having annihilated their bodies.
"Togeth.er v.:i th your retinue and beloved, dear as life, enjoy
~- pleasure, daily, in your O\\n reulm,"
all the wo~en give these blessings; 0 friend, their
hearts• desires bec~~e fulfilled.
Each went to her ovm ho::ne, all v1earing pieces of consecrated
cloth.
G~am~~jari sinGs of the noble, fruitful vine, a heroine of
225
love.

Let us go and see Vrindaban, where the joyous badhnis are

being sung.
Crowds of vaisnu.vs came, bringing mrdang and cymbals;
they sang aus~icious
..
songs in Bhattj!'s temple •
Blessed Radh~ram~ appeared, his body dark as an Indr~-jewel;

the smile which adorns his face is the conqueror of un-

countable gods of love.
Beautiful, gracefully posed, he is the Lord of the devotees,
 54
the treasure of G~~jari's life--how should I speak
of his incomparable beauty? 226

Blessed Bhatt. . Gosw~~r, please allow me this boon: to remain

in Vrindab2.n.
I1ia~r I enjoy the ho.p_Jiness of your blessed RadhEra:nc::.!}, the
orna~ent of Braj and giver of hap?iness.
I;k.y I sv.'eep clean :ny mind, persuading the thougilts to wc:..nder
nowhere else.
I.i:a:d!l5 Gm:G.mdijari' his servu.nt, keep me; may I relJeat his
name always. 22 7

XXVII

There v:£..s the utr:J.ost bliss in Vrindaban toda~r.

In ,
Sr~
- Gopal Bhatt's
. . tcr.1.ple, the musicic.ns e.ll joined together.
The vai::mLvs C<;.:ne, sincinc kirtan, with mrdunr; and cymb:;.ls.
Goswa;:us
- - l!lll'..
Sr1. Rup,
-
Sanatc:n, and J1.v
-
were ecstr-.tic v;ith love.
~Ie sat on tJ:1e Lion Throne, accompc.nied by his beloved--they
\vere inco::1p:;.rably beautiful.
Of the rc.sD:us, the foremost are Radhi!rarnc.t:, the holy name,

and Gm:a~8..~juri. 228

XXVIII
0! Blessed Gopcl Bha~~ goes on dancinG among the devotees~

He keeps on seeing Radharam~lal, pourine tee.rs.

Rup and Sen~tcn's radi~~ce increased; they held each other's
hands. 22 9
G~amanjari•s servant's hopes were fulfilled--he obtained
this sight~ 2 3°
 55

XXIX
Bha~ii ji • s heart i-s overflowing; all the devotees came running.
They see Radharama~lal's beauty, but are never surfeited.
The reflection of the radiance of each of his tender limbs
remains upon the beautiful forest. 2 31
The wealth of Vrindaban, its treasure of happiness,
smiles s\veetly and tenderly.
G~amanj~ri offers his blessing: may the beloved's lover
. h appy. 232
remal.n

xxx:
Blessed Bhatt Gosv:E:::I, r:;ive me a boon~ 2 33
,
Charming Sri REcl:':lar[:.::ta!}, who gives the devotees ha:!):_:i-
ness, h~c appeared.
Doi~g c~ ~bundc~ce of endless, loving service to Radha and

re::J.ainin& in Vrinc.~ba..'l, enjoying the ras lil~--Gm;amanjar!

offers himself. 2 34

LOCI
< - Raa.
Srl. -~h-crarnru:1-1
a , give me somethine1--
Count me a~ong the retinue of servants of your heart's beloved--
I.1y heart desires nothine else~ Please listen and grant my
hl.ll:lble request~

May G~amcliju.ri's burnine heart be drenched with love~

 n;.- ~....·.'J:..-'1'!:-;,~
~- ~ ' 'fli ~"
' . . )
;:ntrt:t".'Tlt ( '!;" -T<R ,,.., .,. <;• 7·1•
'{~-"{ :n::t;; J:::n~ rvnil Yl;,; I .,. -"'"' " " " " ' '! 1•1• -f<ol """ "
~ ~'lf1 ~ u'ff;; ~:~
..<T<•T .P!'l "''" ""i\ I •"'" ""' T"' " ' qt'TI I'
_,_ TI'U' C q '1'\e! >1<" I •"-"'"' """"" '! f«f•-f<• "'"" II

Photograph #3 ~

(courtesY of Babli Sriplidjr,

Vraja Academy, Vrindaban)
-
Radhava1.1.abh: ~ ~
. an~ Riidhll' s
~~·
\
 s~op;r'D : Bl~tt cft~h!Fhv ,_¥~ f("',llCI!~V>.p.c,,~q
!'ootnotes

1 I have taken this date from the Vratotsav-nirnay, the

calendar establishing the dates of festivals, fast days, etc.,

for an entire year, published by the Radh~ram~ temple.
2 Because Krsnacaitanya Mahaprabhu (also called simply
. ..
Caitanya or Gaur, the golden = light-complexioned one) is suf-
ficiently well-known, I have not considered it necessary to
document his life and work at this point. He is mentioned in
more detail within the body of the essay and in the footnotes.

3 Since 1900, there appears to have been little research

into the more recondite meaning or history of ~alagr~m worship.
In his Aspects of Early Visnuism (Utrecht: N.V.A. Oosthoek's
Uitgevers Mij, 1954) J. Gonda connects these black stones con-
taining fossil ammonite with vegetation festivals because of
their nine colors associated with nine avatars of Vi~~u. He
also makes a connection with nine-day soma festivals and goes

..
on to show how "Visnu is socetimes also unmistakably associated
with the soma plant and sap" (pp. 94-95). All his references
for background material on salagrams are early. The Vedanta-
Sutras with the Commentary by Sailkara~arya, Part I (George Thi-
baut, translator, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1890t mentions

..
the worship of Visnu in the s~lagram (pp. 125, 178). H. Krishna
Sastri (South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses, Madras Govern-
ment Press, 1916) gives some of the beliefs concerning salagrams;
the most interesting information is, "A strange feature about
these stones is that, while they mostly represent the ~orms of
Vishnu, some are stated to be also ~orms of Siva, Sakti, SUrya
 57

(Sun), Ganapati and the Planets" (pp. 70-71). Of equal interest

to my inquiry into Gopal Bha~~ and the background of his beliefs
is that, "Saligrama forms the most important object of d8.ily
worship in every orthodox Brarunan2.'s house in Southern India.
fSastri mentions here the very same injunctions regarding s~la­
gra::l v;orship which De gives in his paraphrase of Bhat.~' s Hari-
bhClkti vilasa ( Sushil Eu.'!lr:r De, Early History of the Vaisne.va
Faith anC_ I.~ove;nent in Bengal, Calcutta: Firma K.L. I.iukhopadhyay,
1961), p. 46~ Of the sectari~n Vaishnavas of the South, viz.,
the Sr!-Vaishnavas and the Madhvas, tb.e latter show greater
respect to the Saligrama stones than even for sculptured images
of Vishnu." This is precisely Gopal Bh2.~~·s viev; (De, p. 469),
although it is thouGht Bha~~ was raised a Sri vaisn2.v (see !.1ajmn-
dc.r, quoted below; we shall see several instr:nces of the ~-.ladhva

sect's influence on Caitanya's followers).

Sastri also writes, "In many of the South-Indian te~ples

of Vishnu, garle~ds of Saligrama stones are hung around the

necks of images. 11 I have never seen this, but it reminds me
of the mElas of rudraks {seeds) which are sacred to Siva and
worn by his devotees as a garland (Sastri, p. 259); their pitted,
circular shape, and provenance from Hepal r:~al-:e them similc.r to
the salaeram.
In Elements of Hindu Iconogra.uhy (Ma.dr2.s: The Law Printing
House, 1914), Vol. I, pp. 9-11, T. A. Gopinath Ra.o gives the
following infornation: 11
A salagraoa is generally a flintified
ammonite shell, which is river worn and thus rounded and beau-
tifully polished.. ..
The river Gandaki, which is one of the well-
kno~n tributaries of the Ganges, is famous ••• for its deposits
 58

""-1 agramas.
o f sa - Each of these has a hole, through which are " \
visible several interior spiral grooves resembling the repre- \
\
sentation of the chakra or discus of Vishnu ••• The sttlagrama \
\

is ••• looked upon as a representative of Vis~u. There are

treatises on the subject ••• The number as well as the disposi-
tion of the spirals visible through the holes is utilised in
ascertaining which of the many aspects and avataras of Vis~u

a given specimen represents ••• " He matches them as follows:

(Sastri's list)
brownish black Narasinma
green Vamana (sri-Narayana)
white vasudeva (V~sud€va)

red Sazilkarshana . ( Pradyumna)

blue Dam~dara (Hiranyabarbha}
dark brown Aniruddha
jet black Naraya.I].a (Vishnu)
yellow Kshetra-Vais~ava (?)
.,.
multicolored Sridhara
(Sastri • s list)
(tavmy) (Narasimha)
(deep blue) (v-amana)
Rao adds that "A salagrama with three chakras is said to belong
to Lakshmi-Narayaz:a." This could be the "Sri-Narayana" of
Sastri's list. Of further interest to this paper is the photo-
graph in Rao, facing page 11 (Plate A), showing "A group of
s~lagr~as and an image of Rama made of a piece of 6alagr~a."
The place of origin of the image is not given; I had been led
to believe that ""
sfilagr~ could not be carved. Lastly, Rao
 59

states, "They are worshipped by Vaishnavas and also by persons

, - ,
of the Vaidik·Saiva persuasion; but the Agamic Saivas and the
.,.
Vrra-Saivas do not worship them.M Paraphrasing Bha~~'s Hari-
bhaktivilasa, Vilasa V, the chapter dealing with worship of the
salagram, De states (p. 465), "for in the Kali-yuga worship·
is possible, according to the Vi~~u-yamala, only through the
-
way of the Agama, and not by the Srauta or Vedic method ••• even
by Brahmc.ns ••• "
Gonda does not mention Gustave Oppert's "Note sur les sala-
gramas, pierres sacrees des aborigenes de l'Inde, l'embleme

.
. (Paris: Academie des Inscriptions & Belles-
actuel du dieu Visnu"
lettres, Comptes-rendus des sfances de l'annee 1900, pp. 472-
485), an .excellent source of information on S"~lag~s. Oppert
notes not only the strange appearance of the s~lagram (the pierced
hole, spiral formation, etc.) but also that it possesses a con-
siderable mugnetic force. This, he claims, was the reason the
stone was regarded as sacred long before the Aryans invaded
India, and it also drew the attention of the conquerors. He
feels the early worshippers regarded it as representing female
energy (the hole is the female organ), Prak~ti, introduced by
Kapila {he refers to his ovm earlier work, On the Original In-
habitants of Bharatavarsa or India, Westminster, 1893}, and
notes that several sorts of s~lagrams are still dedicated to
the principle of sakti (Sastri and Gonda have also noted this).

..
His argument for the identification of Visnu with the female
principle is very interesting.
E. Washburn Hopkins, in his Epic Mythology (N.Y.: Biblo
and Tannen, 1969), p. 209, mentions "S~lagrama Vi~IJ.U• •• which
 60

implies the place on the river G~~aki where Vi~~u's holy stone
is found, but not the present use of the stones which is un-
known in the epics (but Nil. so interprets sva~anabha ••• )."

This reference occurs in Hopkins' discussion of Vi~~u's paramam

padam in the south Indian (Kumbakonam) edition of the Maha-
bharata (7, 84, 124), and shows how the "location" of the deity,
in the course of time, becomes worshipped as the deity himself.
J. Gonda (The Meaning of the Sanskrit Term Dhaman-, Amsterdam:
Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks,
Deel LXXIII, #2, 1967, p. 12) writes, "Interestingly enough,
the name of the place in which the god, with part of his essence,
is believed to reveal himself or to reside, may become a mode
of addres-s c)f the god himself ••• " (see footnotes 37 and 135).
Walter Ruben, Krishna: Konkordanz und Kommentar der Motive
Seines Heldenlebens (Istanbul: Istanbuler Schriften #17, 1944),
p. 82, locates the tale associating Vi~~u, tuls!, and the ;ala-
gram in the Padmapurar;am Uttarakh~~a."!l (ed. ASS, 1894) 122,
127, and in his Eisenschmiede und Damonen in Indien: Ergebnisse
einer Reise ••• (Leiden: B. J. Brill, 1939), p. 233, discusses
the provenance of the 6alagram, stating that they come from
Tibet, via Dhaulagiri, where the G~~aki begins under a glacier,
always supplied with more ammonite.
I have given all this information with the intention of

..
showing that Bhatt's beliefs are closely related to certain an-
cient traditions. Such beliefs may also account for the im-

. .
portance he eventually attached to the abhisek of Radharaman,
who, it must be remembered, is due the conjoint respect of a
milrti and a s~lagr~. Regarding Gopal Bhat~' s beliefs, Majumdar
 61

(A. K. Majumdar, Caitenya: His Life and Doctrine, Bombay:

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1969, pp. 331-332) makes an interest-
(-
ing point. He is discussing Jiv Goswami's "ambivalent posi-
tion" with regard to Bhagavatism, in which there is said to
be no need for formal worship (of an image), and the pancaratra
system, with its elaborate ritual (arcana marg), as exempli-
fied by Gopal Bhatt Goswami:
It is remarkable that Jiva Gosvamin does
not quote any authority to affect a reconcil-
iation between Bhagavatism and Pancaratra
system of worship. His ... statement that this
has been prescribed by Srimad-fxi-prabhtfi
is, to say the least, ambiguous. Possi y
he was follovling the tradition established
by his uncles or by Gopala Bha~~a, whose work
he claims to complete in the opening verse'of
. _the Bhakti-sandarbhe. Gopala Bha\i~a was a
southerner, and actu&lly J~ve. Gosva~in in the
openine verse refers to him as Dak~in~tya
Bhe.~\ia; hence it is possible that Gop~la
Bha~~a introduced this aspect of Pancaratra
system to Gauqiya-vaisnavism either directly
or borrowed it from the Srl-vaisnava sect.
4 Krsna, "who dallies with Radha 11 ; see photographs 1, 2 •
. ..
5 Caitcnya Padaval~ (Jaipur: Gaindilal, nr~od~rdns, and

Visvesvarn~th ~a~ival~, s~mvat 2024), pp. 26-49. ~his is the

text which was used by participc::.nts in the samaj of 1975, the

year the verses were taped. The one occ8sion on r.hich I was
able to compare this printed text with another (see footnote
137 re verse IV) several discrepancies were revealed. One cor-
rection is made, on the tape, by Goswami Rasbiharij! (who leads
....
the singing), and this, plus other instances when Srivats Go-
swami (see footnote 17) disagreed v.'ith the text, and also when
what I he~r on the tape does not agree with the printed text,
are noted below at the appropriate places.
 62

6 The Gau~iya Sampraday is the common name by which fol-

lowers of Cai t2.Ilya i•~ahaprabhu are known. ~rivats Gosw2.!ni' (see
footnote 17) objec.ts to it as misleading; Gaud refers to a sub-
division of Bengal, as if the sect were merely a regional de-
nomin~tion. The Radharaman temple affiliates itself to a joint
"liiadhv2.-Gau9-iya" sa:npraday. On the cover of the Vratotsav-nir-
r:ay, also lmovm as the pancasi ti tain patraJn, is written "Sri!Ilad-
gon~lab~attaGosva~inadaparikara srimanmadhvagaudesvaracaryago-
.. .
sv[E::livrndfulu."'noditu.m." For a discussion of Caitanya's affilia-
tion to a sect, see De, Vaisnav.. Faith, pp. 1)-26; Majumdar,
,.
Caitany2~, p. 42; O.B.L. Kapoor, "The Sa.mpradaya of Sri Caitanya,"
IPC, Vol. XVIII, #3, (Sept., 1973), pp. 235-260. See footnote
128.
7 In this essay I use the v:ords "image", 11 ciirti 11 , 11 deity",
as well as the pronouns "he" and "they" for Racihlirama.J?.. The
Vrindubo.n bhaktas call Raciht\rama.t?- (and all murtis of K~~l}a)
,
"Sriji." The particular bh.av of Vrindaban (discussed \":ithin
the essay) is that Radh~ ...
and Krsna are inseparable in Vrindab~~=

a populcr paintin£ sold in the to~n is called (and depicts)

"Ek nrful do deh" (one life, two bodies). In verse XIV RadM-
rama~ is said to be both Rfidh~ and Krsna in. one murti.
In contrast to apologists for the Hindus• so-called idol
worship, who, embarrassed, tell us that the imac:es "represent"
en abstract ideal, a formless br~~an, Bon Ii!aharaj (see footnote
9) was ada~t on this point: Hindus are not idolators because

they do not v:orsfl.ip idols, i.e., imitations or representations

of something else, a god somewhere else. The image IS god;
not to believe that is an anaradh (offence), and will discourage
 63-
the growth of bhakti. Bon Maharaj contended that, in fact,.
Christians are idolators because they pray to statues or icons
which, supposedly, they do not believe to be god. Because the
image in the temple is god, it is to be served in every way
appropriate to serving god himself, who has deigned to appear
in the material world. A bhakta desires to ser-..re god in just
this way--mu.teriu.lly in the material world, and spiritually in
the spiritual world.
8 Ed\·:ard C. Dimock, Jr. & Denise Levertov, In Praise of

Krishna: Songs from the Bengali {NY: Anchor Books, 1967), xi-
xii.
A. A. Bake, ¥ri Chai tanya I1iahaprabhu {Amsterdam: Akademie

van ~ietenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks, Deel 11,

No. 8, 1948).

9 A diksa guru is one, the spiritual master who initiates

a disciple; sik:a gurus ~ay be many: anyone who teaches is.a
siksa guru. Bon Llaharaj, a disciple of Bhakti Siddhanta

.
Saraswati (founder of the Gaudiya . in Calcutta), established
!lath
an asram in Vrindaban, having decided to reside in K~~~a's holy
land after his teacher's death. He has founded a university
in Vrindaban, nowadays knovm as the Institute of Oriental Philos-
ophy, affilic.ted to Agra University. Bon !iiaharaj is also the
editor of the Institute's journal, Indian Philosophy and Culture.
{IPC).
10 One of the peculiarities of the Gau~iya I.ia~h (see foot-
note 9) is that Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati picked and chose
from the guru parampara (the direct line of initiated gurus,
who form a continuous chain back to the ~c~rya ~~~caitanya)
 64
those enlightened individuals who he thought should be included
in the invocatory bandanas or stutis (hymns of praise). The
Gau9-iya ilia ~h falls within the Gauc?-iya Sa."'lpraday.
11 "The divine" refers both to Krsnacaitanya, who is Radh§.

. . . the godhead, with whom one

and Krsna in one body, and to Krsna
can only be connected by the guru--Caitanya also represents the
guru or ~c~ry~. A popular saying is that if one offends K~~~'

the guru may intervene in favor of the erring bh~ktc-disciple;

if one offends~' even Krsna cannot save the errant one.

12 I refer to verse II. Purther information about these
important disciples of Caitanya will be given throughout the
essay. For full information regarfing their lives and works,
see De, Vaisnava Faith, pp. 146-66.

l3 Jamun~ is the spelline in verse II; verse VIII prefers

....,
Yaouna; the Braj pronunciation, however, is Ja.r:m.8., with -ji
an almoot obligatory, respectful appendage.
14 This informe;.tion was given me by Srivats Goswami (see

footnote 17). Gopineth Gos\·;t:!ai is mentioned directly in verse

XIII; he is sE-id to have been Bha~~ ji • s main disciple, to v1hom
the seva of Radhara!:la!} V'Jas entrusted. Hov~·ever, as he himself
was celib~te, as was Gopal Bha~~' Gop!nath requested his brother,
Damodar, to marry, and to carry on the temple ~ through his
,.
descendants. Sri'v8ts felt there was a hidden reference to Gop!.-
n~th in verse V, where Gopal Bha~~ is characterized as offering
sev~ to R~dh~ram~ with the feelines of a gopi, i.e., with or
t~rough the agency of Goplnath.

l5 This special krpa or grace of Caitanya toward Gopal

.
Bhatt
.. has been interpreted {by Srivats, among others) as a proof
that Bhatt
.. was, indeed, Caitanya's disciple--if not by actual
diksa (initiation by mantra, etc.) then by being endowed with
the master's spiritu~l energy, as in the biblical story of Eli-
jah's cloak falling to his disciple as a token of the disciple's
ccrrying on the master's ministry (2 Kings 14). Majumdar, in
Caitz.ny~, p. 258 (footnote 1), declares there is no evidence
as to Cait~~ya havin£ initiated anyone.
16 I h~ve heard sa~aj sung in just this manner--the lead

singer at the har~oni~~, intoning a line or half-line, the rest

singing responsively--at many tenples in Braj. Usually a tabla
or mrcang (d~~> ~~d cymb~ls are played, while at en important
function sucp as described herein (and heard on the tape) more
inst~-:1ents mcy be added. The t,... o recitels b~· Rn.sbihar!ji in-
elude a sit~r, played by Radhamohand~s, a devotee of the Radha-
vallabh temple and disciple of the great musician Allauddin
Khan. The flute heard on the tape is played by Gopal •Bensi-
wale", also a well-respected devotee of Radhnvallabh, musician,
and dancer of a special badhai in honor of Hit Harivams on his
birt~ anniversary (see footnote 50). During the four days pre-
ceding the actual pragatotsav, the samaj w~s sung within the
.
temple itself, at the back under the galle~r (6 on the temple
diagrcB, Appendix I).
17 Srivats GoswC.~i was a graduate student at Benares Hindu

University when I lived in Vrindaban. His ~ather, Sri Puru~­

ottam Goswa:n!, is the head Goswami of Radharame.I]. temple, Vrinda-

,
ban. During the acade~ic ye~r 1977-78, Srivats was a Visiting
Scholar at Harvard University. Both he and his wife, Sendhya,
 gave invaluable help to my work on these verses.

l8 For det~ils of the aratis and daily seva, see Appendix

t- II.
l9 Kisoridas (verse I), Jugaldas (verse X?, verse XIII
mentions him), ~d L~litkisori (verse VIII) are mentioned in
the preface to the C~itanya Pad~v2li as poets whose verses are
included in the collection. I have not found any biographical
information regaruinc poets of the Caitanya sa~prad~y by these
names.
20 Prabhudayal Mitr;.l, Caitanya Mat aur Braj-sahitya, pp.

328-29. There is another poet by the n~~e of G~amanjar! in

the sisya paramp2ra of Gopal Bh~~~' but still less is known
of him. Mital discusses him, pp. 273-79, placing his birth
around s2mvat 1775-1800.
K~ika Tomar, Brajbha~a aur Brajbuli Sahity~ (Var~nasi:

KaS'i Hindu Visv:::.vidyalaya, 1964), p. 346, t;ives nearly the sa.T!le

information as Mitcl.
See footnote 32.
21 I a:n following !.lital' s v1ording. It is not uncom:non
to say, "the teachings, or tenets, of Caitc...nya," but it is some-
what misleading. Caita.nya never wrote ~ything himself, and
his biographers give varying accounts of what he said, often
putting words into his mouth which are quotations from the works
of the Vrindaban Goswru~Is (i.e., written later). It was to
Rup and Sanatcn that C~it~nya entrusted the task of establish-
inc a philosophy. De writes (Vaisnava Faith, p. 227, footnote
- ( 1), "Teachincs are imputed •••fto Caitanya] ••• especially by
Kr~~adasa Kaviraja, a disciple of the V~davana Gosvamins ;rand
 author of Caitanya's standard biography, see footnotes 69 and
917, but these teachings are, as we have stated above (pp. 75,
8.5), clearly those of the Gosvamins themselves."
22 During the discussion of the abhisek there will be men-

tion of this darsan vouchsafed by Caitanya to Nityananda; Caita.n

appeared as K;'~l!a (two arms, holding a flute), Ra"'l (two arms,
holdine a bow and arrow), and K;-~~acaitanya {two arms, holding
a ka~and~lu and staff, emble~s of the sannyasi) all at once.
This temple is in the Gopin~th baza~r, not far from Radhare~

temple.
2 3 Much of the fault, I confess, lies \·;ith my translation,

which, for the sake of clarity, forgoes the ambiguity which,

at least~·enlivens the verses.
- 24
Although I never feel the intense person~1 emotion of
a soul lost in the rapture of an intimate tete-a-t~te r.ith God,
such es one may feel in Mirabai's verses, there seems to be an
intensity of belief t.hat "this is how things truly are", e.nd
the stocl::: yhrases, etc., mentioned belov; (footnote 52), must
stand-in for a person~l realisation. Thnt is to say, I do not
doubt the poet•s devotion and belief, while he is not yet il-
lutlined.
25 See Appendix IV.

26
The poet may use the te.tsa.'ll spelling or a mul tiplicj
of tadbhav spellings. _See Dhirendra Varma, La Langue Brcj l

Librairie d'Amerique et d'Orient, 1935) or Brejbhasa (Allan

(
Hindustani Academy, 1954).
27 See footnote 52.
 68
28 For an example of an often-repeated figure of speech,

see footnote 231.

2 9 One might well wonder why Caitanya did not reside at

Vrindaban, since it me~t so much to him. On the single occasion

he did visit Braj, he was convinced to leave, against his will
perhaps, by a companion who feared for Caitanya's life. The
biogr~phers report th~t Caitanya was o=ten in a tr~ce while in
Vrindaban, th~t he jumped into the river, etc.; however, he is
reported as doing these s~~e things in Puri, e.g., mistaking
the ocean for the Jamuna and jumping in. Thus, the explanation
is th~t he was respecting his mother's request that he reside
at Puri, from whence she could get v:ord of his well-being now
and then ·{i;:aju..~ci<:~r, C£+.itanya, pp. 161, 207-9). De, however,
notes (p. 83) that two early biographers, ~ho knew C~itanya

personally, state that ·he resolved to live at Puri himself.

It would not, therefore, be surprising to find th~t the cult
of Jagannath, so beloved of Caitanya, had a strong ritual ef-
fect on tenple worship in Vrindaban.

30 Melville T. Kennedy (The Ccitanya Movement, Calcutta:

The Association Press, 1925, p. 16) mentions t~t the shaving
of Caitcnya's flo~ing hair has long been a popular subject for
poetic treatment.

3l Bon r.·:E:.hl!r~j told me the population of Vrinda.ban had

been more than fifty percent Bengali until the 1940s. Srivats
Goswa~r habitu~lly writes in Bengali script, whether he is writ-
ing Braj, Hindi, s~skrit, or Bengali. For the influence of
other languages on brajbba~a, see Varma, La Langue Braj.
 69

32 T. Grahame Bailey, in Studies in North Indian Languages

(no place, no publisher, 1938), goes to great pains to discover

the origin of the use of Urdu and Rekhta as names of a distinct
language. Some of his material is relevant here: "In the eigh-
teenth century and earlier Hindi ••• was the usual name for the
language in general and Re~ta for the literary or poetical
form of it" (p. 7). On paGe 4, he auotes tffr, from the year
1752, characterizing "the art of Re~ta, which is poetry in
the style of Persian poetry but in the l~guage of the royal
camp of Delhi. 11 Seeking the literary connotation of the word
"Relr..hta, a Persian word which means 'poured', and has no lit-
erary signific~tion in Persian ••• " one of the eA~l~tions

(number 4} is releva..."'lt to this discussion: "It is a musical

term introduced by Amir ~usrau indicating the apJlication of
the music of one l211guage to the words of another" (p. 8).
Bailey then discusses "the Divan i Hindi, a book of aasidas,
.
gazalo ••• and other poems, almost all in Urdu, the majority in
Persian metres, but some in Hind! metres such as the doha ••• "
and he notes that although the author, Baqir Agah, differentiates
between Urdu and Dalmi (the variety of Urdu spolt:en in the Dec-
can} he uses "relf!!te for verses in either dialect of Urdu (both
Persian and Hindi metres)" (p. 12). Perhaps Gallilji's verse
in doha metre is designated rekhta because its rag is associated

with Urau, folloviing Amir Khusrau' s explanation. Why did l.iite.l

chose languages in particular to emphasize Galluji's prejudices?
He seems to have overstated his case.

33 Srimad Bhagavata Mahnpur~, Part I (Gorar~pur: Gita

Press, 1971), Book VII, Discourses 1-9.
 70

34 See Tridandi
. . Swami' Lali tB.nanda Vana, "The Vaisnava
. .
Concept of 'DhBm'", IPC, XVII, #3. (Sept. 1972), PP• 213-20.
(
35 J. Gonda,· Notes on Names and the Name of God in Ancient
India (Amsterdam: Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde,
Nieuwe Reeks, Deel 75, No. 4, 1970), p. 6, quoted in footnote
135.

3 6 J. Gonda, The Meaning of the Sanskrit Term Dhaman-,

p. 19.

37 "The conclusion may be that the Lord's highest dhfunan

and the Lord as (•supreme brahman' and) supreme dhaman are iden-
tical concepts. 11 Gonda, Dh.a.man-, p. 82.
"Like·t:he Vigraha of the Bhagavat himself, his Loke, which
is thus re.:.lly and eternr.lly a part of himself, consists of
the three attributes of Sat, Cit and Ananda (saccidananda-rup-
atva). It is called by the Vedic name of Vi~~upada, and it is
higher than all other Lokas ••• Just as the form or Vigraha of
the Bhagavut mckes its appe~rance in the world, so it is said

that his Dha"lm., Padc:. or Residence also sometimes mz:kes its ap-
pearance. Although this appearance is re~l, it is usually not
manifest (anrakatc), but it beco~es manifest only to the vision
of the devotee who can always perceive the deity's eternal di-
vine sport in his favourite earthly resorts like ••• V~davana.
"The above remarks apply also to the Par~adas or Attendan-t
and Associates, v:ho are the Lord's eternal retinue (Parikara)
expressions of his intrinsic Ananda or Hladini Sakti " (De,
Vaisnava Faith, p. 292, describing the theology and philosophcy
of Jiv Gos'w"lami).
See also Ma.hanamabrata Brahmachari, Vais~ava Vedanta: Th
 71
Philosonhy of Sri Jiva Goswami (Calcutta: Das Gupta & Co., 1974),

PP• 119-20.

3 8 See verses II, III, V, XV, XIX, etc.

39 Sri~ad Bhagavata Mahapur~a, Part II (Gorakhpur: Gita

Press, 1971), X.33.23 ff. (p. 1193).

40 See De, footnote 37, re ~~~a's appearance in the world.

4l srimad Bhagavata, X.25.19 ff.

4 2 Srimad Bhagavata, X.24.35-36.

43 " ••• it may be concluded that a frequent epithet of a

god which evokes one of his essential features or one of his
characteristic aspects may be called a dhaman-, a modality of
his divini-ty:· •• " Gonda, Dhanan, p. 10.
44 Sri'r~dhakrpakatak~astavaraja (Calcutta: Arthavartta

Prakasan-~ha, samvat 2022), stanza 11. This is sung by Sw~i

Ra~sv~rrrp, head of one of the most famous of today's ras man-

dalis (the troupes which perform re.s lila.) on tape 3/.A.
"If the dha~an-concept may to some extent be defined as
a '"place", sphere, phenomenon in which a divine power is lo-
cated; a holder or container of a nucinous potency' it is not
surprising to find it associated with ~man- •name•--v:hich •••
appears as a more original varia lectio for dh~~- ••• " Gonda,
Dhaman, pp. 20-21. See footnote 135, final paragraph.
4 5 "Brahr.ia ••• characterizes this supreme 'location' of his

essence by means of the well-knovm formula expressing the nature

of brahman: ~- 'being (esse subsistens)', ,£!!- 'pure, unqua.li-
~ fied intuitive consciousness' and ~da- 'bliss'." Gonda,
Dh~~an, p. 80. See footnote 131.
 72
46 Regarding par~adas, see De, footnote 37.

47 See footnotes 142 and 145.

4 8 Even inanimate items, such as a flute, Vlhen it is K:rf?Jila's

flute, is animate and a parsada. See Srimad Bhagavata X.21.7-20 •
.
49 The Bhagavadgita, ed. Krishna Belvalkar (Poona: Bhan-
darkar Orient~l Research Institute, 1945), 9.22.

50 Hit Harivams is the ac~rya of the Radbnvallabh sampra-

day, whose main seat is the temple of Rcdhavallabh at Vrindaban.
The image he v.:orshipped, kno\·m as Radhavallabh, is shov:n in
photocraph #3, 8..<"'1.d gives a good view of mukut seva srngar.
His poetical worlcs include the Hi tcaure.si' (Hi tcaur~si aur uska
.brajbh~sa tik~, sa.~padak,
Premdaslcrt
. . . Dr. Vijaypal Siilh and Dr.
Candrabhan Ravt, Varc:nasi: IU~g2-ripracarir:i Sabhli, sa.~vat 2028;
there is an English translation by Charles s. J. White,~

Caurasi Pad of Sri Hit Harivams, Hawaii: University Press of

,
Hawaii, n.d.) and the Sr!r~dhnrasasudhanidhistava (Vrindaban:
Radh~vallabhiya Baba SrikisorYso.r~, samvat 2033), 2 khands.

51 Swami H~ridfis is the ac~rya of the Goswaois of Barlke

Bihari's temple, Vrindaban. See footnotes 55 and (his verses

in) 135.

52 De, Vaisnava Faith, pp. 597-8. With reference to "the

detailed working out of the Vrndav2.!1L-11:la of Krsna end. Radha ••• "
De finds the same faults I have mentioned regarding G~amanjari's

poetry: 11
the for::-1 and expression are not sufficiently v~rieC..

We meet over and over again with the same set of situations and
~ descriptions ••• the same strings of nouns and adjectives ••• In
spite of its rom~ntic charm and lyric affluence, the general
 - ~'~:.. -/ .
73 -:-

theme of the devotional poetry of Caitanyais~ lacks varie~y and

strikingness of inventive thought."
53 De, P• 347.

54 Regarding rag~uga bhakt i, see De , p-• . 37 3 ff. ; regarding

vaidhi bhakti, De, p. 173 ff.

55 This aspect of Radha-E~~t;1a 1'11~, as the poet-followers

of Cai tanya v.-rote of it, is unfamiliar to me, both because the
subject was not lightly broached and because they wrote in Ben-
gali or Sanskrit. I heard more of the poetry of Sw~r Haridas
,
(see footnote 51}. His brajbh~:a Keli :~~al (Swa""!li Sri Haridas ji
krt sri Keli I1!&l, Vrind~bmu Radhesya..":l Gupta, 1966 A.D.) is main-
ly concerned with lrunj or nilrunj (an even more intimc.te e.spect!)
.
lila, and his recurring signature line (see footnote 135) estab-

. ..
lishes "kunj bih5'ri" as Swamiji''s favorite epithet for Krsna.
56 De, p. 379.

57 Verse II.

58 Haribhdctivilas["~, vilas~ III, deals with the morning

"ment~l bath", followed by bathing with water (paraphrased by
De, p::;·. 420-23).

A story is told of Caitanya•s test of a disciple, Sarva-

bhauma Bha~~ac~rta, a famous, orthodox vedEntist, ~t Puri.
An orthodox Brc;.hmo..n v:ould never tc.ke food in the morning before
bathing. Very ec..rly one morl"lin(S, Cai tanya came to Sfirve.bhauma
with prasad of Jag~~ath. Pras~d must be honored, i.e., eaten,
and the former vedantist, with the faith of a bhructa, immediate-
ly ate the prasad and broke the rule, much to Caitenya•s delight.
5 9 Although all the images must be "bathed" daily, b~thing
,_
I

~
 74
does not necessarily mean pouring a liquid directly onto the
image. Those made of wood cannot be drenched on a daily basis
(see footnote 106, final. paragraph, re.garding Jagannath' s snan
yatra) and water may simply be poured in front of them. Never-
theless, even teoples vvhose images 'ID2.Y be bathed in a li~uid

do not do so publicly. See Appendix III for a synopsis of Goual

Bhc:.:~~' s O\'m rules for the dail~,r bathing of an image.
60 See Appendix II for a list of the aratis and descrip-

tion of the daily seva.

61 See the di~gr2..ITI of Radh5.ra.":l~ temple, A.9pendix I, for

this and other parts of the temple ~entioned in this esGay.

62 , -
In 1975, after the praga~otsav, Sr1vats requested me
... : .

to help him draft a snort, descriptive note on the festivities

for publication· in some periodical who~e na..'!le I do not recall.
By chance, a Xerox copy of a dr~ft, not of those notes, but
of some rehashing of the basic text we had created, was given
,
to me, along with another article by Sri'vats, after he had al-
ready retur:1ed to India. Several points which I had not knoYm,
or had forgotten, are found therein, and I credit their relia-
"'
bility to Sri'vats hioself. See Appendix IV for this material.
Several hundred kilos of milk are used in the ceremony,
and Appendix IV stc:.tes that six hundred litres of "milk plus
other substances" was C.istributed as caranamrt, and ninety
. .
ayurvedic herbs are prep2.red for the abhisek.
6 3 See footnote 16, end.

6 4 When I resided in Vrindaban as a devotee and saw this

ritual I never took notes nor did I enquire into the subst~~ces
 75
used or why they were used; hence, I cannot supply a full ceta-
log of the ritual.
65 Photograph #2 shows this srngar •
.
66 I cannot say just Vihat these were or their purpose.
There were perhaps eight different ones, and I was encouraged
to tal:e and hold one myself. The group of men holding the
Nweapons" see:ned to be an honor guard of some kind.
67 Four of the eight long verses are actual descriptions

of the abhisek ceremony, while one, which does not describe

the abhisek, makes it clear the sakhis are going to attend the
ceremony, for the special prasad (a strip of cloth) is mention-
ed in the ve~~e (XXIII); two of the twenty-three very short
eulogies are about the abhisek.
68 Janakiprasada Bha~'\;a, SrrS"rumriyanabhatta-cari tiunrta
.
.. .
(Mathura: K~~~das BabAji "Kusumsarovarvale," samvat 2013),
69 ,
K~~~dasa Kaviraja, Sri Caita.nyacarit8.mrta. The num-
bers of the verses and my own paraphrases are according to the
translation by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (N.Y.: The
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1974-1975), various volumes.
70 P.S. Growse, Mathura: A District Memoir (North-western

Provinces Government Press, 1874), Part I, p. 123.

71
Por descriptions of these old temples, see Growse, p.
127 ff.
72 By "controlled~ I mean to say the ritual is done accord-
ing to the tenets of a particular sampradlly. It is important
to clarify that the Goswamis who run the important, ol.der tem-
ples (including those we are con~idering here) often follow
 76
their own family traditions rather than strictly adhering to
any sampraday•s strictures. ~his is underscored by the famous
temple of Banke Bihari at Vrindaban, where the Goswimis in con-
trol, tracing the·ir lineage to a brother of Swami Haridas (to
whom the mUrti called Banke Bihari was manifest), claim to be
followers of the Vi~~uswami sampraday, which, for all intents
and purposes, no longer exists, having been taken over by Vallabh-
acarya and known as Vallabh sampradAy. The other line which
has claims to the mtirti traces its lineage through the virakt
(ascetic) P.arampara to Swam! HaridAs' main disciple, and they
are affiliated to the Nimbark sampraday. Without going into
detail, the seva at Bihariji•s temple has nothing to do with
the Vallabh ~ampraday; the Goswamis follow their own traditions
(see Richard D. Haynes, Svamr Haridas and the Haridasi Sampra-
day, University of Pennsylvania thesis, 1974).
7 3 ~hese flaming braziers, which I have never seen in any

vaisnav ritual, are reminiscent of Devi pujAs I have seen, for

example, at the temple of Keladevi in Rajasthan and at Kalighlt .
temple in Calcutta. ~he only time I have seen a large flame
used in vaisnav ritual is during utsav when, for example, in
the temple of R~dharamaQ, a candelabrum with many arms is used;
but this contains many tall wicks; it is not a real brazier
such as used in Lariliji•s abhi§ek in Barsana.

74 De (p. 618 ff.) describes the M~dhava-mahotsava of Jtv

Go swami, which deals with "the Abhi~eka or consecration o·f RadhA
by K~~~a as the queen of V~davana ••• The theme is not new,
having been referred to by Raghunatha-dasa in his Vraja-vilAsa-
 77
§tava (verse 61} and Yillpa-kUsumlnjali (verse 87), and described
by him in his Muktil-caritra (pp. 134-38); but no one before Jtva
made it the theme of an extensive KS.vya of nine cantos and 1164
verses."

75 Compare this with my description of ai~'s ~-

-sek,
76 I would like to mention some circumstantial evidence
. .
of a traditional link between the Radharaman and Larililal tem-
ples. Despite temple's change of sectarian affilia-
La~ililal
,
tion, the head Goswami of the R~dhara.maz: temple, Srr Puru~ottam,
has made Barsana and this temple one of the important pilgrimage
spots for his own disciples. ..
Bach Radhastamr he visits Barsana
with a kirtan party to do parikra.IDR of the village and sacred
wood (Gahvarban); he has also arranged other special events for
the celebration. Moreover, Puru~ottam Goswamr has undertaken
several projects for impro~ing the conditions at L~~ililal's

temple despite the difference of temple affiliation. While

this does not prove there is some ritual bond between the two
temples, it is noteworthy, and at least gives an instance where
the sanctity of a site has proved stronger than sectarian af-
filiation.
77 7urther reasons for changes in the seva are given 1n

footnote 86, which may, in fact, account for the change in ~­

praday affiliation.
78 As part of a seven day sthalt 1~1A e~lebrated at ~ar­

san.a following RiidhA~'t!amt, two other mill m\irtis are taken out
.,... .
of their temples. On ekadasi, the mUl. miirti of the Gop~lcandra

temple at Premsarovar (also called Ghazipur, a village next to

 78
Barsana) is taken out for nauka 11li on the Premsarovar. On
dwfi'da6I, the mlil miirt i of the J a~pur Raj mandir (e. temple near
La~ililal temple, atop the hill at Barsana) is taken down the
hillside to Pili~okkar
- ..
(also called Priyakund) for nauka 11la.
In both cases the murtis, along with the svarups (the young
Brahman boys who play Radha, Kt:~z:.a, and the sakhi's) of the ras
mandal! are embarked on barges for cruising about the tanks to
the accompaniment of samaj. Since the nauka lilas are part of

..
the Radhastami mela, I conclude the tradition of having the mttrti
leave the mandir may be traceable to Naray~ Bha~~; it is known
Bhatt had a penchant for such programs (footnotes 87, 113, 115).

Jagannath, at Puri, travels from one temple to another

during the rath yitra; at Vrindaban, Rahgan~th's temple, the
only southern (Sri vaignav) temple at Vrindaban, celebrates a
rath yRtra during which the deity is brought outside the temple;
there is also a marriage ceremony when the deity, Rangji, and
his consort, are carried about within the temple complex it-
self. The Rangnath temple is not only a southern temple, un-
connected with the Caitanya sampradiy, b~t also a much newer
temple than those we are considering, having been completed
in 1851 (Growse, p. 135). But these ceremonies do emphasize
"
the origin of such a tradition with the Sri vai~qays in the
south of India.
I have noted in Appendix II that R~dhar~ is regu1ar1y
taken out of the nij mandir during the hot season. Other deities
in Vrindaban, as well, have certain festivals when they are
brought onto the jag moban. Such a festival is the jhUlan (swing-
ing) utsav, as celebrated in the temples of Banke B1barr (see
footnote 72) and JlidhAvallabh (whose photograph is given as #3).
 79

79 See footnote 68. Norvin Hein (The Miracle Plays of

Mathur~, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1972, p. 226) notes
that the author,.JAnaktpras~d Bha~~' born in 1665 A.D., claims
to be an eighth generation descendant of Narayan. Bhatt,
. . who
was born (on N~sinh caturdasi) in 1531.
80 Barsana "is built at the foot and on the slope of a

ridge, originally dedicated to the god Brahma ••• " (Growse, p.

177). "The hill is still, to a limited extent, lmown as Brah.ma-
ka-pahar or Brahma's hill: and hence it may be inferred with
certainty that Barsana is a corruption of the Sanskrit compound
Brahma-sanu, which bears the same meaning. Its four prominent
peaks are regarded as emblematic of the four-faced divinity,
and are each crowned with some building ••• " (Growse, p. 179).
81
Janakipras~d, p. 37, v. 34-35:
tn itlti"4lt 11( 1ft"' ~I
~~ a~: ~ '"q''*'*l. 11-tfl
.Qtft"r• "~ r..~ ..,P: '
·~ ~ n nf•.t "Ctnm.'n{ 11\tll
82 Janakiprasgd, p. 38, v •. 38-39:
. ~
~"~ ~"1 ..... .:""'.e.:'{ I
•'" ww ll.f.aEt~ ..... ""~' U\cn
w~ tti 11 t:i%i1 •fd it 111~~ I

83
"!"etn ,..r••n.,_., at..t.,~.,,, "''.n
Janakiprasad, p. 38, v. 40:
100~fq ·-" ••• stN~~ sr~~ a
~ !"~ ... ~·-~
The form in which their deities appear is another parallel
flit"'·"
between Nar~y~ Bha~~ and Gopal Bha~t: the supreme pair having
the form of a single murti. While in Barsana I was told that
,
it was Sriji's murti (i.e., La~iliji, Radha) which was self-
manifest, and it is only Radha's murti which receives abhi~ek,

although an image of Kr~~a is now installed in the nij mandir.

Amarnath Ray writes, ••it will be interesting to state that the
 tlO

deities installed by the Gosvamins at V~divana were single

...
images of Krsna, that long after their times a Ghief of Orissa

!__
sent to V~davana the first Srimurti (image of RKdh~) which was

installed by the side of one of the deities, and that the omis-
sion in the case of the other deities was made good gradually.
The fact is mentioned in a tract sold in the bazaars of V;nda-
vana," (Amarnath Ray, "Miscellanea," in Indian Culture, 1937,
p. 203). Although there is no actual murti of Radha inst<:tlled
,.
in Radharam~•s temple, muku~ sev~ to SrY R~dh~ is performed
(see photograph #3 for an idea of how this looks).

84 Janakiprasad (p. 38, v. 41-42):

wf~-;5 • lie~ "''{t ""~...._~ I
k11~ •tf•at '"" ...~~ ~ ·~fit, ll•t•r
"I{~ .'l\ ~ W1Vl"' ....- •l: I
... w ..
85 Previous to~ ~ ~qft··· t'_llfif """'
the appearance of Larilil~l, Bhatt is said
. ..
...
to have been told by Radha and Krsna to go to Vrindaban where
Revati ana Baldev (K~~~a•s elder brother Balaram and his spouse)
would appear; Revati and Baldev are Bha~~·s
..
istadev (J~ak!pra-

sad, p. 16, v. 29-30). When this actually takes place (pp. 34-
35, v. 10-15), Bha~~ is told where to find the murti (singular);
Bha~~ then worships Revati~ at a temple which is located
beneath the hill of Uncaganv, the hamlet next to Barsana, and
the home of Lalita sakh1, Radha•s closest girlfriend. Growse
(p. 178) mentions the temple, saying that before the eighteenth
century, "Barsana, if inhabited at all, was a mere hamlet of
the adjoining village Uncha-ganw, which now ••• is a mean ••• place,
though it boasts the remains of a fort and an ancient and well-
endowed temple, dedicated to Baladeva." There is an interest-
(-
\
ing similarity in the names Radhar~ and Revatir~.
 81
86 7ollowing the discovery of Lariltlal and before Bha~~·s

own abhisek, he is ordered to marry by his father and produces

a son, who is sent to be educated among his father's people.

This deserves notice because, despite the acknowledged sanctity

of Braj, Bha~~ sends his son to be educated in the traditions
of his forefathers. This highlights the importance in which
Bha~~ held traditional ideas; we may expect to find a great
deal of southern influence in his seva of Larililal. However,
Janakiprasad also reports (p. 44, v. 87-91) that Bha~~ provided
that his son, Darnodar, should do the aratis in the temples of
La~ililal {Barsana) und Revatrram~
(Uncaganv) and the other
, .
seva should be done by his disciple, Naraya~das, a Srotr~ya
Brahman; mor~·over, the descendants of Naraya~dCs and Damodar
should continue this relationship, the sons of Narayandas al- .
ways taking initiation frorn the sons of Damodar. The situation
continues, in part, today, with Damodar's descendants living
at Uncaganv, serving Revatiramal]-. They are still the gurus
of the Goswamrs of La~il~l~l's temple and, therefore (in theory
at least) have a say in the workings of Laril!lal's . te~ple, where-
in the Goswamis serve--obviously, this leaves much scope for
change in the seva of the temple. When this more or less com-
plete division of the sevaby temples (rather than-according
to Naraya.r; Bha~~·s original plan) took place, I cannot say.
87
Bha~~ is called brajacarya (p. 40, v. 55 ff.) specifi-
cally because he rediscovered so many 1ost or forgotten p1aces

-
... lila and made them well-known by fixing their
of Radha-Krsna
place in th~ braj yatra, a pilgrimage to all the important sites
in Braj. Among Naray~ Bha~~·s works, in which he described
 82
Braj, the mantra to be repeated at each stage of the
and other matters of interest, is the Brajabhaktivilasa, whose
title cannot but recall Gop~l Bha~~·s Haribhaktivil~sa.

88 While it is intriguing that such an elaborate abhi§ek

is performed to proclaim Bha~~ brajacarya when Larililal's abhi-

~ is merely mentioned, the logical explanation is that at

. could not perform an elab-

midnight, alone on tt-e hill, Bhatt .
or~te abhi~ek, nor were there others about to celebrate with
him.
89 Janald.9rasad, pp. 40-41, v. 55-68 (quoted in footnote

90). The verses include the statement that such an abhijek

~

of an ~carya._is proper because according to Sri'ma.d Bh~gavata,

the ~ or acarya is equ~l to Krsna. Bon Maharaj discusses

the point in his own translation of Caitanyacaritam~ta, Adi
lila, v. 44-48 (Indian Philosophy & Culture, XIX, #1, March,
1974, P9· 1-15).
90 W~ ~ tffmR,.lCQ1$q fJi11Mt: -,
wa•m~ ~f -.•1•~ •~ill"{ t.l~.tlt
wf~if<li • • "• ·~~~~ ~u ~
PQPl~~ ~ 'li": P• {•m:
~~ ~'111~ .n~· ~ lffl.m ••: I
'"'ll
II•Qif!(lfe_a~~t-.\11111!1 ·~ql{flt: II•UII Wl~~ Rt r.a.tot1'fn{ illilll~a llif'f.~ 11'\lf
nt'lit.~!~~a J(~~f'S{G1(W • I II ~~~~~~a 9~1(Rlll !J': 11\Vll .
G{l Rl~l R'r-J. 'l~t 9R~ttJ(•'fUt 11-t•\1 tt1otmq~~t).sfq f9'n:totit ~a: 1
'~"m-.. 'flltla ~rJ;G • -~~ ,· ~- ,.:;r.t ~ P!Jll~Uffi'fom{ 11'~11
"'~"'1~ ~f.-w1fif ~~~~Pa) s1'tu: u~l;" Jltlll~...t ~' ..tlR'l"f. ~,.~t r-~at ~~ 1
•;;Ills" sfit-.~~ $oi•"
~um ~n~~ UlttH ·f11~\ltfot. ~tottfif ""'~q) ~' ~ "''''
~l~1~.nRr.~ ttfl•tnftt qfwl • 1 w a ~.,: "~ ~u~i~tl~ 1
~ •tot1R1 ~ "" \IU'\sq. -.wJ~uv: 11\oU ~"'~. ee~ q)~~lftfa a~ •g: ll\•11
tWfttitqsa1 f.t(ti "" '-'fwf~m •ft: a:
~~~;:!l'IF.l= li('lt: ~~ ..r tt -.1ftlm..:·u''" tntlll~~q ~~q
......
.'l•lWri ~nJ~ij\sf~~": 911WIIIa
a; 9if lll~lll:
1
taa: II 'c:ll

,...._ 91 De ( p. 56. ) gives ~

,_ 1537 = 1 6 15 AD as the approxi-
mate date of its completion, 82 years after Caitanya's death.
 83

92 Lladh2.vendra Puri • s own affiliation with a se.=rox:aC.a;t

is uncert~in,
which reflects in the affiliation of Caitenya
, .
,-- himself (see O.B.~. Kapoor, "The Sampracl~ya of Sri Caitr.nya",
IPC, XVIII, #3, Sept., 1973, pp. 235-60). De feels he must

have been D. daS"n£..:-:1i' sannyasi \·.:i th cre~t cl.evotion~~l tGnc!encies,

like Sridhar Swami, whose commentary on the Vedfulta Sutras Cai-
tanya is said to have accepted (pp. 17-20). Baladev (see foot-
note 128) claims he Vias a follower of !iiadhvacarya (De, p. 22 ff.).

93 Cait~~yacaritamrta,
. Madhya-lila, volume 2, p. 1 ff •
This "Gopal" is probably the famous deity called Sri'n~thjr,
toda~,r situated at Srinathd.wara :i.n Rajasthan, the main seat of
the Vallabh sampraday. The adherents of Vallabh sa~prad6y. say
..
that Vi~~halriath, the son of Vallabh, took the ~ from the
Bengalis v.rhom tlladhavendra had entrusted it to because they first
offered the bhog to Devi or Kali. Bengalis are often accused
of tantric practices because of their well-known devotion to
Kali.

94 It has already been mentioned that the hill of Barsana

.
is considered to be Brahma; the hill of Govardhan, which Krsna ..
used as an umbrella to protect the Brajvasis fro~ Indra•s wrath,
is considered to be Vi~~u; the hill at Nandaganv is the third
,
member of the trinity, Siva.
9 5 See footnote 90.

9 6 Milk, curd, butter (ghee), cow urine and dung.

97 Caitanlacaritamrta, Madhya-lila, ch.
4, v • 59-66.
•
- --
98 Caitanyacaritamrta, Adi-ll.la (volume 3, 1974), ch. 17,
'
v. 9 ff.
 84

99 It is interesting tnat Nityinanda is mentioned as ar-

riving for the abhisek and arranging the vyas puj~. While Nity-
ananda is considered Balarim in ~~~ lila and is Caitanya•s
second-in-command in the bhakti movement in Bengal, he is men-
tioned also as an avadhut (which, notes De, p. 11, footnote 3,
may indicate he originally belonged to a tantric order), and
is the most radical of Caitanya•s followers. He is often join-
ed with tantric or sahajiya associations (Edward c. Dimock, Jr.,
The Place of the Hidden Moon, Chicago: The University of Chi-
cago Press, 1966, p. 49), and his descendants are also looked
upon askance by the more orthodox members of the sect. Late
in life Nityananda renounced his vows and married, perhaps at
the r~quest of Caitanya, although Dimock (p. 49) says Caitanya
became furious when he learned of the marriage. One of Nity-
ananda's wives, Jihnava, was considered a tgntric and sahajiya
leader (~) in her own right (De, pp. 52, 98).
In verse 10, between Caitanya•s ecstasy at Gaya and his
ecstasy at Nadia, the other important leader of Caitanya•s sect,
Advaita, is mentioned. Caitanya•s mother, Saci, begs forgive-
ness from him (at Caitanya's bidding) for some previous fault.
Advaita seems to represent the more orthodox line, and is not
mentioned again in the verses following,,which describe the
abhi§ek and yyas puja.
100 K~~~aca1.t anya, i.e., Visvambhar after he would take

sannyas.
101 .
According to the Vratotsav-ni~ay of RadhAram~ tem-
~-. ple, •sri gurudev evam vyas pujan" is done on the full moon
day of I~a4h (July-August), the same day as Balarim•s appear-
 85
ance day. Vyas puj€, as performed in Bon •ahadj's Ksram, in-
cluded . washing .the ~·s feet and offering flowers.
102 . -
Ca1t~yacaritamrta, - ~ - ch. 17, v. 1 8 ,
Adi-l•la, ~· 267.
I have found a further reference to Caitanya's abhieek in Majum-
dar (p. 143). Majumdar states that in this case it was Caitanya
himself who ordered his own abhieek; Advaita took part on this
occasion, and the PurusasUkta
. was chanted. He feels, "the wor-
ship which began on the Vyasa-P-uja day took its final shape
now ••• " Although he states there is a detailed description
of the ceremony, he fails to give the reference.

l03 The popular story is that Caitanya•s mother requested

him to reside at Puri from where she could get news of him.
-· ,
De states," however, "Of this story of Saci's request, there is
no trace in Murari and Kavikarl'}.apura, who state that Cai tanya
himself declared his own intention to go to ~i,• (De, p. 83,
footnote 1}.
104 CaitanyacaritSm:ta, Madhya-lila (volume 4, 1975), ch.

11, v. 61-62, pp. 242-244.

105 K.C. Mishra, The Cult of Jagann~tha (Calcutta: ~irma

K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1971).

106 ca1tanyacar1tamrta,
. . - ... ( )
. Madhya-l1la volume 5, 1975 , ch •
13, v. 5-8, pp. 115-117. Bhaktived~ta glosses these verses
with the information that:"Lord Jagannatha has a number of stal-
wart servants known as dayit~s ••• jWhQJ ••• do not come from very
high-caste families (br~as, k!jatrixas or yaiSxas), but be-
cause they are engaged in the service of the Lord, they have
been elevated to a respected position ••• In the J§etra-m&ha-
~ these dayit~s are said to come from the sabaras, a caste
 86
that keeps and sells pigs ••• ~hese dayitas coming from the
brahmana families ••• offer food ••• to Lord Jagannatha during the
.
anavasara, the resting period after SnAna-yatra ••• fWhen_7 Jagan-
natha suffers from fever and ••• the dayit!-patis offer Him an
infusion of drugs ••• It is said that in the beginning Lord
Jagannatha was worshiped by the sabaras and was known as-Nila
Madhava."
Mishra agrees with most of this information, but adds that
after the snan yatra "the images are dressed as Ga.J?.esa in such
a way that the devotees hardly observe the discolouration re-
sulting from the Abhieeka" (p. 129). He claims (p. 130) that
the deities are not treated for their illness by the "'Daitas•
(who are the descendants of Visvabasu, the Savar Chie~' but
"by the Raja Vaidya."
107 v·
w.~s
hra, p. 5•
(
108 Mishra cites a group of temples in the region, dated by

Cunningham as of about the fifth eentury AD, which includes a

temple of Jagannath, associated with P~~uvam6i kings "probably
,
of the Sabara lineage whose association with the origin of Ja-
gannath is gathered from traditional accounts" (p. 9). He shows
the deity Nilamadhav is four armed with the four attributes of
Vi~~u, and concludes, "Nilamadhava is the previous form of the
present Jagannatha, worshipped in Nilacala" (p. 18) as well as
"~ Orissa, the god NYlamadhava is associated with the god
Puru~ottama" ·(p. 10).
109 u·
w.~s
hra, p. 14 •

110 Mishra, p. 18.

 87
111 Mishra quotes the Rev. J. Long, from a visit to Orissa

in 1859: "there are various points ••• in connection with Jagan-

natha, which seem to indicate that it was an eclectic system
select~g from different sects and incorporating all; thus,
though Jagannatha gives much ascendancy to the Vai~~vas, yet
,
the p~~as at JagannAth all belong to the Sakta sect of the
Saivites" (Mishra, p. 16).
112 m:LS
... h ra, P• 149. Jaiswal states, "The ~s state
that there are two modes of worship, Vedic and !antric ••• ~he

Vedic worship ••• requires the recitation of various Vedic man-

tras ••• on the occasion of the performance of different acts •••
But the relation of the mantra with the rite ••• is plainly super-
ficial ••• the:sole reason of its selection ••• seems to be ••• a
word having some affinity with the act ••• although the meaning
conveyed by the entire hymn is ••• irrelevant and inappropriate.
The arbitrary nature of this connection undoubtedly proves that
the Vedic mantras are a superimposition upon an extraneous ritual
with which originally these had nothing to do." Suvira Jaiswal,
The Origin & Development of Vai~~vism (Delhi: Munshiram Mano-
harlal, 1967), p. 135.
11 3 Janakipras~d, pp. 49-50, v. 12a-136.

114 H .
e1.n, P• 227 •

ll5 Janakiprasad, p. 50, v. 134-135. !hese verses .are

cited only to show that Bhatt was concerned with present~

the appropriate lila at the appropriate site, not that he

established the tradition of the sthali lilas performed during
the R~dh~~~am! mel~; although he may have, I have no concrete
proof, only a ~othesis (see footnote 117).
 88
116 See footnote 78.

ll7 Growse (pp. 179-80) gives a short account of the bUrhi

lila, the gathering which takes place on the thirteenth bright
day of Bhadon, the fifth day of the mela.
What is important for the purpose of this paper is the
fact that there is a fixed schedule of lilas to be performed
at certain places. Aside from the use of ras lilas themselves,
the fixed program is the one clue which allows me to trace the
mela to Narayru;L Bha~"ti. He is known as brajacary:a because he
rediscovered many forgotten places of Radha-Krsna
. . . l!la--and he
established a definite schedule to be followed on the ban or
-
braj yatra, including the ras lilas to be performed on the ape-
·~

cific day·one was to visit each place.

The sthali lil~s we. 'are considering here are among the
most primitive I have seen in Braj--the mandali was a non-
descript (and, ·perhaps for this very reason, a most charming)
group from a tiny hamlet at the back of Barsana•s hill, Cik-
sauli, the village associated with Citra Sakhi. No props were
necessary, and what 8fbe!r there was was delightfully faded.
However, during the five 7ears I saw these lilas, the group
performed the same 11las, at the same places--the "rite" is

-
so traditional that each and every ras mandal set up along the
.
path between the fixed sites, no matter how old or crumbling,
must be stopped at, and the svarups must sing a verse or give
a moment's darsan, because this is tradition and unbreakable
(the distances traversed by this tiny company are measured in
miles, since it visits some very inaccessible sites; sadhus
accompany the -~g.all: and carry the svariips, rnnning between
 89
villages; the day• s program may take several hours).
In the few books I have perused by Nar«y~ Bha~~' I have
,_ not been able to trace a comment that he set up such a mela
or system of ras lilas at the time of Radh!.stami. None of the
books which deal with Braj traditions mention a Radhastami mela
in conjunction with Bha~~. What is mentioned is that his fam-
ily followed Madhvacarya. I have not investigated the rituals
existing in Madhva temples, which might provide some clue to
the origin of traditions such as abhisek and removing the murti
from the temple, such as we have noted in Larililal's temple.
However, one of the features of Madhva worship which I do re-
call is that Madhva did not include Radha in the up~sann of
~~na;. this
.-
might account for the miirtis of Krsna
. . . being in-
.

stalled alone in the Vrindaban temples (see footnote 83}, but

would not shed much light on NarAy~ Bha~~·s seva to Radha as
established in Barsana.
118 H . .
eLn, p. 270. The "interaction" is important, for
while Bha~~·s view of RadhA and K~~~·s relationship adheres

to a Braj tradition, his predilection for tgntra-inspired rites

seems to have endured. De , P• 208 , no t es that R-dh- · identi-
a a 1s
fied with the Hladini Mahisakti of the tantra by Rup.
119 Although the actual position of the Vrindaban Goswim~s,

who laid the theological foundations of the sect, may still

be contested regarding P.arakiya and svakrya bhavs (De, pp. 205-
209; Dimock, Hidden Moon, pp. 201-204), the present day bias
of the sect appears to favor parakiya bhay. When Sri Puru~ottam
Goswam~ inaugurated a new hall for the presentation of ras lila
in 1973 or 1974; he engaged one of the most prestigious ras ~-
 90
dalis of Braj to perform, that of Swuii Ri.msvariip of Kamai, who
traces his family•s connection with ras lila back to the days
of Narayru: Bha~~ and GhamaJ?.~i. Although Ramsvartip is not a
gaugrya, he was persuaded to perform a lila depicting Radha
as ~arakiya, which caused a shocked sensation among the more
genteel, conservative bhaktas of Vrindaban, many of whom were
vocal in their disapproval of such audacity.
We have already seen how the name La~ililal is derived
from a situation wherein Radha and ~~~a's relationship is def-
initely svakiya (see footnote 84). This in itself is not con-
clusive, but in conjunction with Bha~~·s i~~adev being Balaram,
and the marriage -lila performed in Bhatt's
.. RevatYraman. temple
during the mel~
..
following Radhastam! even today, we may conclude
that his feeling on the matter was more in keeping with the

...
sentiment of the local Brajvasis: that, indeed, Radha and Krsna•s
relationship was svakiya.

120 " ••• a being which assumes a name becomes the bearer
of that name," J. Gonda, Notes on Names and the NB.!De of God
in Ancient India (Amsterdam: Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd.
Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks, Deel 75, No. 4, 1970), P• 17; also
see footnote 135.
121 De, pp. 280-281.

122 See the quotation from Majumdar, footnote 3.

123 De,
PP• 135-145.

124 See Appendix IV; also see footnote 181.

125
De, P• 469; see Appendix III.

126
De, P• 465; see Appendix III.
 91

12 7 See the quotation from Sastri, footnote 3.

128 The history surrounding the writing of the Govinda-

bha~ya is worth relating, because it does connect with several

points made in this paper. We have a1ready noted claims made
that Caitanya and his samprad~y belong to the Madhva sect be-
cause Madhavendra Puri, the guru of f{var Pur! (the sannyasr
who initiated Caitanya at Gaya), belonged to the Madhva sect.
This is still unproved, and unlikely (De, p. 15, notes where
the question has been ·discussed, and points to R.G. Bhandarkar~

1ist of succession in the Madhava sect, which does not inc1ude

- -,
Madhavendra Puri nor Isvar Pur1.) • Even if it were proved, Cai-
tanya is saiq to have taken the vows of sanny~s from ~esav

Bharatf, anot~er sannyasi. There are claims that this Bharat!

was also Madhavendra•s disciple, but this, too, is unlikely,
because the disciple of a Puri should a1so be a Puri, not a
B~rat~. His Bharatr designation most probably links Kesav
with the da£nami sampraday of Sahkaracarya. Moreover, accord-
ing to Caitanyacaritamrta, Caitanya was initiated by Bharat1
with a m~tra which Caitanya told him he had heard in a dream.
This would imply that not only was Kesav Bh~rati not Caitanya•s
guru, but that Caitanya was actually not even a sannyasr. It
is most likely that Kesav Bharati, as well as Madhavendra, were
,
dasntmi sannyasrs who, like Sridhar Swamr, were devotionally
/-
motivated. Caitanya accepted the commentary by Sr1dhar Swami
on the Vedanta Sutras.
~hy, then, was the Govindabha§ya, a commentary on the ~­
T
danta Sutra, written in the eighteenth century by Baladev Vidya-

. .
bhusan? As indicated in the introduction to §r~sa Chandra Vasu•s
.-- ., "
92
translation (The Vedanta-satras of Bidariyaqa with the Commen-
tary of Baladeya, Allahabad: The P~~i Office, 1912), no sect
may claim recognition unless it is related to one of the four
"recognized" sampradays (Srf, Bre.hm§', Bu~, Sanaka; these de..i.
ities after whom the sampradays are named are said to be the
sources of inspiration for the fic~ryas R~!nuja, Madhva, Visnu
Sw~I, and Nimb~rk, respectively). Although the introduction
quotes the Sanskrit verse which states this dogma, the source
is not indicated; however, Bon MahAraj had told me the verse
(perhaps the one quoted) which caused all this trouble is found
in the Padma Pura~a.

The trouble, then, is that Caitanya and his seat had no

affiliation with a recognized sampradgy; this did not bother
Caitanya or his ~ediate followers, but, in the course of time,
as the sect became established and demanded its due in terms
of official recognition, this non-alignment became a problem.
Cai tanya had declared that the Srimad Bhltgavata was Vy~s • own
commentary on his own sUtras; since Caitanya accepted Sridhar's
commentary as well, he never wrote anything himself, nor did any
of the six Vrindaban Goswamis write comm~ntaries. Baladev, how-
ever, if not a follower of Madhva, was very much influenced by
Madhva•s ideas. He included a guru parampara at the beginning
of the Govindabhasya (so called because it is said to be inspired
by Govinda, Raghunath Bha~''s deity now installed at Jaipur)
tracing Caitanya's affiliation to Madhva (but see De, p. 15,
footnote 1). De, p. 22, mentions the conference of vai~~avs

at the Galta Valley in Jaipur State, where, he claims, Baladev

made a plea for inclusion among the Madhva sect •on behalf of
 93
Bengal Vai~~vas" (I presume he means that part of the sampra-
day based in Bengal rather than Vrindaban, but he is not clear;
•Bengal Vai~~avas" could refer to the Gau~Iya Sampraday in toto).
Madhva, himself, 'had written his own commentary on the sutras
in order to establish his own sect (writing a commentary is the
traditional way of establishing one's own ideas, and, hence, a
separate sect). Therefore, the Govindabha~ya was a means to
gain admission to the orthodox fold, yet remain separate.
Majumdar (p. 269, footnote 8) notes that the commentary
was written at the instance of a dispute over the distribution
of prasad:
In the middle of the 18th century a controversy
arose in Jaipur where Caitanya•s followers were
asked to stand in a line behind the Madhvas when
pras~da (food) was distributed in the temple.
They, however, wanted to form e separate row
like the other four sects, claiming that they
were an independent sect. ln order to prove
this claim Baladeva Vidyabhiisanc wrote the
Govinda-bha~ya on the Br. s. "which was con-
sidered by a learned assembly which decided
on the basis of the G. Bh. that Caitanya's
sect was not affiliated to the Madhva sect.
If this .is correct, why did Baladev chose to include the
troublesome guru parampara? Moreover, as noted, the temple
of Radharana~ definitely considers itself affili~tcd to the
Madhvas yet separr:.te: the J.'iadhva-Gaugiya sarnpraday.
Just as J'Jacihva wrote his own commentary on the Vedr::nta
Sutr~ to est;_tblish his position and his o\';n sampraday, so the
case wi·th Ba.lauev, who claimed @ru-de scent from J',:adhva., ac-
ce t-·ted some of his ideas, but established the ~utono~rly of the
Cai tanya sampr<::.ci:!y by wri tin£ its O\-'.n theistic comment[;.ry on
~ the sutrus.
 94

12 9 All standard references on vaispavism accept the posi-

tion that tantra, the use of ritual formulas (mantras) and for-
mal positions (mydr~s), is an established part of vai~~av ritual.
Gonda (Notes, p. 95) writes, •The belief in the efficacy of
ritual formulas and the power of the spoken word, however cen-
trc::..l to Tantrism and other currents of reli0ious thoua-ht, was--
it should not be forgotten--also fi~ly rooted in more general-
ly accepted systems." And Dimock, v:hile writing about the sa-
hajiya or "left-he:.nded" tantric move:nent, discusses the social
ann rcli~ious position of the six Vrindaban Goswa~Is, statin~,

"the Gosvu1nins to so:ne extent at least inherited the socic:.l

and (ri;:::llt-handed) ritual position of the Tantra. Proof of
this in ample·," (p. 81). Bon Maharaj, explaining the temple
ritual used in his ovm asrG.!Jl, re:narked that it was done accord-
ing to the p~~car~tra system, which, De notes (p. 27) is "open-
ly !antric.•

l30 In much the same way, He in (p. 227 ff.) finds 1 t re-
assuring that Naray~ Bha~~ really existed because of the cor-
roboration of authentic, contemporary documents mentioning him.

l3l The verse contends that Caitanya himself is Krsna ...

who as saccidananda. , "'
Prom Srisa
Chandra Vasu•s translation of the Govindabhisya
a
and the
sutras (The Vedanta-Sutras of Badarayana with the Commentary
of Baladeva, The Sacred Books of the Hindus, Vol. V, Allahabad:
The P~~i Office, 1912), here are the relevant passages:
 (Sutra II.3.8)•But there can be no origin of Sat, because
II
of its impossibility (and unreasonableness).
(Commentary)•of Brahman who is entitled to the designa-
tion of Sat, (i.e., that which exists) there can be no origin
or sambhava" (p. 338).
(Sutra IV.4.6) 4 The Mukta Jrva, when it has entered into
the All-intelligence, manifests merely as that (intelligence);
because ( ••• it is) essentially that alone ••• "
(Commentary).The Mukta, whose nescience has been burnt
away by meditation on Brahman, when it enters into Brahman,
whose essence is intelligence, manifests as intelligence only•
(p. 752). I have used "consciousness" because it seems more
-universal than "intelligence."
(Sutra I.l.l2).The Anandamaya is Para Brahman, because

of the repeated use of the word Brahman in connection with it.•

(First Anuvaka) "He who knows the Brahman attains the high-
est (Brahman). On this the following verse is recorded: 1 He
who knows Brahman, which is (i.e., cause, not effect), which
is conscious, which is without end, as hidden in the depth (of
the heart); in the highest Ether, he enjoys all blessings, at
one with the all-enjoying Brahmanr~(p. 30-31).
132 L·l-
:L a.

T l33 RasiknfP, •king of rasikas•, those who delight in

(Radha-K~~~) l!§, i.e., the devotees.
 . 96

1 34 ~he kumudani is considered to be night-blooming; the

entire verse continues the metaphor.

135 , ,
Syam and Sy!mA are ordinary epithets of K~~~a, the
dark one, and his consort,Radha. The pair is constantly men-
,
tioned by these names in Braj poetry, and the name Syama figures
in the recurring signature line of Swami Haridas• verses (see

the verses quoted below; also, R.D. Haynes, Sv~! Haridas and
I

the Haridasi Sampraday, University of Pennsylvania Thesis,

1974). Syama might be considered merely the feminine counter-
part of Syam, a name made following the edict of the M~ava
Dharmasastra:"(II.l25; given in Charles R. Lanman, A Sanskrit
Reader, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 61) that a
woman's name end in a long vowel. It is interesting, however,
that although K;:f!z;ta is syam or dark, Radhi is gaurT or golden.
There are certain points elucidated by J. Gonda (Notes on Names
and the Name of God in Ancient India, Amsterdam: Akademie van
Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks, Deel 75, No.
4, 1970) relevant to this.
One of the principal tenets of the Caitanya sect is a firm
belief in the efficacy of the divine name. -tthe name of god
is one and the same as god. Seva, which is such an important
part of the yai~~av ethic, can be easily performed by •serving
the name of god~, i.e., by i!P or repetition of the powerful,
mystical name of God. Gonda has concentrated his inquiry in
the Vedas, but he succinctly mentions (p. 6) while discussing
•some beliefs and religious customs obtaining in later times"
 97
that
they are historically and:.( or):. structuritlly- · ·
related to Vedic usage. Very often convictions
and institutions which at first sight may seem
characteristic of later times have their roots
in the Vedic period or may be better understood
in the light of Vedic phenomena. Not rarely
religious currents which come to the fore after
the beginning of the Christian era, or even in
the last thousand years not only retain tradi-
tional convictions and ritual customs but also
evince an eager desire to retain modes or
elements of worship which are essentially in-
herited from their remote ancestors.
After his inquiry into the belief in the power of naman during
the Vedic period he gives quite a number of examples from the
medieval period. Persons such as Caitanya, Kabir, Namdev,
Tukar~, etal., made a practice of chanting or doing jap of
the divine name of their choice. "The name L0f gods and me~
is, generally speaking, no mere label or specification but wide-
ly believed to be naturally and indissolubly connected with
its owner, to constitute an actuality expressed in a word" (p. 5).
This is very clear with respect to Kr~~a-Syam; in fact,
both mean dark and there seems to be no reason why they would
not be interchangeable; yet, perhaps there is. For, name is
much more than a mere label: it is power. Gonda again says
(p. 44), "naman- was regarded ••• as a special Da.seins macht
LSi~, ••• a potency, a 'power-substance' which empirically,
or within some form of experience, is supposed to be present
in persons, things and phenomena, and by virtue of which these
are more or less powerful, effective, or endowed with something
which is beyond man's control and understanding. In attempting

••• to classify a number of such potencies the ••• ChandU. 7

enumerates fifteen of them beginning with naman- ••• •
 98
RadhA is never called ~~~· !here is, however, a Krsn~;
0 0 0

she is Draupadi of the Mahabharata, so called because of her

dark complexion. But, who is Draupadi? In the story (Maha-
bharata I 1 The Book of the Beginning l(l3.a)l89, J.A.B. van
Buitenen, translator and editor, Chicago: University of Chi-
cago Press, 1975, pp. 370-375) it is explained why Draupadi
.,.
is married to five men: when granted a boon by Siva for her
tapas, she burst out five times, "1 want a husband~" and was
granted that very request, five husbands. In fact, she is
Lak~mi, thereby also the spouse of Vi~~u-Krsna •
..,
Syam is specifically identified with Krsna in Vrindaban,
where Laksm! (linked with or even representing the aisvarya
of godhead) cannot enter. A relevant local legend concerns
Belban, just across the Jamuna from Vrindaban, where a mela
is held each year. When Lak~mi came to know Kr~~a was to per-
form the ras lila, the pinnacle of his love-sport with the
gopis, she, also, wanted to take part, imagining that if lowly
milkmaids could dance with Kf~~a, certainly she, Lak~mi, his
o~n spouse in Vai~~ha, could also dance with him. This
disregard for the goprs was her undoing. Not knowing the way
through the forest, she requested the eopis to take her with
them; she was to wait for them at Belban. When the summons
of the flute reached the gopis, they forgot everything and
dashed to Kf~~a•s side; Lak~mi waited and waited, just across
the "river of prem", being unv'<'orthy of the highest sport with

Kr~~a, the fruit of pure bhakti, alone.

Radh~ and Krsna are linked in a love of such magnitude
0 0 0

that they lose track of their individual identities. Swami

 99
Haridas writes:

arrftil:, ~~ ·
( ')
~'if arff~;r It ~1 arq.:tq)
~~~ ~1, ~~· ~ ~~cr ~1 f\fit;TT "t~l 1
{1 a1 «t ~~1 tlilt artf'i i;f~ l~r,
a'\ ~r~ f;rCfif~ ~d GT~T II
lilitiT f<i~«~ 'fiT o1t ilenct1,
~fotr Cfig1 ilf(Of ~rf wm1 qf~r u
~~f~~r« it fctrlir flfflir f·~rcr~tlr,
I ~~ e~~1 :qjQCf, ot'\t '1• \;flTa ctiT€f II

. Sri Keli Mal, Astadas

(sri Swami Haridas ji ki vani .. Siddhant
ke pad sahit, Vrindaban: Radhe§yam Gupta, 1966, verse 6, n. 7)
"Pyariju Radha, just as I see myself in your eyes, do you see
(yourself) thus, or not?"/ "If I do, then tell me, Pyare K~~J:].a,
if I were to.keep my eyes closed, then, coming out, where would
Lal go?" ••• We also find here the signature line, mentioned
above, n Sri Swami Haridas • lords are Syama and Kunjbihari ••• "
Again, from Swami Haridas• Keli Mal (verse 13):
~ d ~ ~ It 'Rtf fPR: ~fCR ~ I .
-~-~- srftt~ to q8~ ~II
118 ;ft~ arr~ ~' ~ -nt" ~.
lrT~~ ~·~·it q-6 -ter-'~ ~t •
~~"(m£- "T'li Rfln-t.irfq!lr,
~ifir qwn sftfil 11)( II

"Once, in a solitary forest, the two of them are doing each

other's s:ng~r,/ Each keeps seeing the other's reflection,
mutually in love ••• " and, again, the same signature line. One
more example, as translated by Neil Gross (Paradoxes of Krishna
in the Poetry of Surdas, Columbia University M.A. thesis, 1978):
"Sur says Krishna reassures herf/ •our bodies are two,/ but
our minds are one--/ I know of no distinction" (p. 36).
 100

.
This syncretism is expressed in the appropriation of Krsna•s ..
""'
Vrindaban-linked name Syam by Radh~, which bears out another
of Gonda's remark~ (p. 17): "we acquire the impression that
the wording of the text ••• is not fortuitous, but finds its ex-
planatio~ in the belief that a being which assumes a name be-
comes the bearer of that name." The same phenomenon is seen
in the case of "Gauranga" Caitanya, who is associated with
Radha, Gauri, of golden color.
1 36 Kaliyug.

137 This line has several interpretations. ,

Srtvats Go-
swami emended bhratan, servant or sevak, to bhaktan, although
on the tape ~asbihari Goswami does not correct it. The meaning,
however, remains the same, for both Rup and Sanatan could only
be called servants of K~~~' hence his bhaktas. Another pos-
sible reading is given by Prabhudayal Mital (see footnote 20)
who happens to choose this verse as representative of Gunamaa- .
jari•s poetry. He reads bhr~tan, meaning brothers, which Rup
and Sanatan were.
The final word in the line, jivani, for which Mital reads
jivani, also connotes Jiv Goswami, nephew (and disciple) of
Rup and Sanatan. He is the well-known author of several Sam-

darbhas, including a Priti Samdarbha. The following line be-

gins: "Pritir1ti samdarbhgarbha ••• ", the creator of the trea-
tise (samdarbh) on the method of 1ove. In the context of the
verse, however, this must refer to Gopal Bhatt's Haribhaktivil~sa.

138 Gaurktrtan, worshipping by means of the kirtan as

instituted by Caitanya.
 1.01

l3 9 Karkali, literally a hand-bud, may have some connec-

tion with the bee and lotus in the following line, but just
what that connection is, eludes me. The best alternative in-
terpretation seems to be (following line 5 in verse VI, where
Bha~~·s hands are characterized as "lotus hands") lovely hands
worthy of the divine service.
Ali (the bee in line 2) means both a sakhi or girlfriend
of Radha and ~~~a and a black bee. The black bee is often
....
conceived of as the lover's messenger (for example, in the Sri-
mad Bhagavata, Book X, Discourse 47, lines 12-21), which func-

tion sakh~s also fulfill between Radha and K~~~a. This may,
therefore, refer to Bha~~·s eternal service as G~amanjari.

l40 Rasbihari Goswami, on the tape, corrects munj to manju.

l4l Radbaramal} is referred to as Anand ka.il.d again in verse

XV (line 2). However, in this verse it seems that P-aram Anand
~ must be Kr~~a, and Radharam~ appears as a branch or shoot
from the root, to fulfill Gopal Bha~~·s desire to worship Krsna
as a murti and s~agram. See footnote 178.
142
-........ ~6 ~fl.~
~~I
~pn~of ~~ .{t!lQJiio:::tO II '~ II
Anangamanjari is now Gopal Bha~~ Goswamr, sometimes called G~-
,..
manjari ( from Srigauraga!].oddesa
, 1.pi'-=
, d... A.a.. by Kavika~pura, stanza
184, printed in the Grantharatnap~cakam with Hindi transla-
tion by Kr~~adas, Kusum Sarovarvale, Mathura: Pu~paraj Press,
samvat 2011). This means Gop~l Bha~~ was Anangamaffjarr in
Krsnalila
... and is physically Gopal Bha~~ in Caitanyalila, also
.,.... known, spiritually, as G~anjarr •
'
 102
GU9ama!jari is also the pen name of Galluji Gosw~Y, author
of the verse. A third possibility lies in reading ~ as qual-
ity or virtue, and mgpjari as cluster.
14 3 A~' -
A.U.JarJ. ( usua11y wrJ.'tt en _anJa
W. 1' _/'!#• 1-)
J. or anJa J. , It t h e h ollow
formed by joining the hands together" (Bhargava•s Standard Dic-
tionary of the Hindi Language) is also a common word for an
offering (as in Tagore's Git~jali) or a motion of prayerful
supplication. It has been joined with the idiom "drinking beauty
with the eyes" and would denote "by handfuls", which is very
confusing English. I have written "their beauty 11 to keep the

pronouns from becoming too confusing; since R~dhAr~ is, in

fact, both Radha and ..
. in one form, either singular or plural
Krsna
will do.
1 44 Sanjari, a word obviously invented to conform to the
,.
end-rhyme, has eluded both SrJ.vats -
and me. The sense of the
line seems to lend itself to sang, together, in communion, and
I have left it at that.
145
tft~.q4f:..:t6 ~ ~d\<tf'\r4Z\ ~ 1
~ ~·n~•&ft ~ JC4f!a.fil'l'l n tt;o a
'I ~ti~(\ ~ ~Et'\tfati.,.ft I
~ itT~ •~rto:aO F. n ~-=~ I
~ ~ 19;qlqwc: \t;tQQii. 1
m sufo:cut ~ e+K II '~II
(From the Srigaurag~oddeladipika, see footnote 142) It means
that Rupamanjari, who was previously in (the eternal) Vrindaban,
became manifest (in Caitanyalila) as Rup Goswam1. His (= her)
dearest girlfriend, Ratim~jari, known as Lavangam~jari to
the wise, is Sanatan Goswami, whose body is not different from
~:.:·"

...
Gaur's (= Krsnacaitanya's; i.e., he is a paread, part of Cai-
 ~03

tanya's retinue; see footnote 37); he has come to do his (pre-

sumably Gaur-Caitanya's) work.
Therefore, we seem to have Gopal Bha~~ taking part in the
musical accompaniment (in his spiritual form of G~amanjari)

with two forms of Sanatan Goswami. In the final line, the poet

(who has displaced the signature line to the first line), by

expecting such recondite knowledge on the part of the reader,
seems to be writing rather tongue-in-cheek ("here there are no
difficulties,.). I suspect, however, those familiar with the
tradition would find nothing especially difficult in under-
standing such a verse, an~ would applaud the poet's prolixity.
1 4 6 Bon Maharaj explained that ~~~a, as worshipped by

Caitanya's followers, is most attractive in his dark (6y~sundar)

form, bent at the neck (his head bends toward the left, closer
to Sri Radha), bent at the waist, his right foot in front of
his left, and bent at the knee (hence, bent in three places
or tribhangi), playing his flute. . . . is never static: he
Krsna
is eternally new (~) because his beauteous attraction ever
increases as the devotee's relish for his beauty grows; but,
as this is incomprehensible to puny human understanding, we
always picture him in this "classic" tribhangi pose.

l47 Krsna•s pag or turban is one of the favorite items

of apparel among his devotees. Although he is found depicted
in many kinds of clothing, wearing elaborate head-ornaments
a:n.Q. Cl'O'Wn.S, the simple turban, here de1.ighti'u1.1:y ~oosened i n

ecstatic abandon, symbolizes K~~~a•s approachability; a crown,

ld ~terfere with the highest,
enhancing his lordly aspect, wou
madhurya bhakti, loving sweetness •

•
 The peacock feather which ornaments his turban is itself

..
another well-known emblem of Krsna. . It is so easily recognized
as his emblem that in certain paintings the peacock alone rep-
resents him. For example, in Robert Skelton's Rnj~sth~! Tem-
ple H~ngings of the Krishna Cult from the Collection of Karl
Mann, N.Y. (N.Y.: The American Federation of Arts, 1973-76)
we find the following P.ichavais (painted backdrops for the nij

mandir) mentioned: #3, p. 36: "D~A Lila (the demanding of toll)

••• by the Jumna Ghat a peacock dances in the center of a group
of adoring cattle, evidently as a representation of ~is~a,

who shares its blue color and wears peacock feathers in his
·headdress." #5, p. 40: "Rasa Lila (the festive de.nce) ••• gop~s
provide music for the dance and in the foreground ••• a peacock
struts as a metaphorical allusion to Krishna's
. .
presence." In
Appendix 2, pp. 34-96, plates 1-24 show the decoration of Krsna•s ...
image for the seasonal festivals according to the Vallabh §!m-
praday, known for its use of all species of fine art in the
service of the deity. Many of the ornaments mentioned in these

verses are depicted therein.

148 Kambugriva. Monier-Williams glosses Kambu: •a conch;
••• three lines or marks in the neck (indicative of good for-

.
tune) ••• the neck ••• " and lambu-griya = xambu-kaptha,
. ••shell-
neck,' having folds in the neck like a spiral shell." I thought
of a conch as tapering, and, to me, such a neck is more beau-
tii'ul than one marked with folds of skin.
From AkrUra's underwater vision of Vi~~u (Srimad Bhagavata,
Book X.39.48): "He had pretty long and p~ump arms, high shoul-
,
ders, a breast which is the abod~ of Sri, a conch-shaped neck,
a deep navel, and a belly shaped like a leaf {of the Indian fig
 105
tree) and marked with folds.•
149 Nal bhuj, arms like the stalk of a lotus, a fitting

comparison when ~e holds the red lotus in his hand.

150 Monier-vw'illiams glosses Trivali: "having 3 folds or

incisions ••• in compi9und7 the 3 folds over a woman's navel (re-
garded as a beauty)" and for Tri-valYka "(R~) having 3 folds
(on the belly or neck)". See Akrtlra's vision, above, footnote
148. The hermaphroditic aspect of these deities seems an in-
terestinG and fruitful topic of investigation, and meshes with
the discussion of salagram (see footnote 3). ...
Krsna•s navel is

..
to be understood as identical with that of Visnu (from whose
navel springs the lotus upon which Brahma finds himself prior
to the creation of the material universe).

15l In pictorial representation we do not often find Ridhi

veiled, nor is she always shy and modest (e.g., as the svidhfna-

.
bhartrka-nayika, the heroine "who has the hero under absolute
control 11 , says De, p. 207, in his description of Rup Goswam!•s
Ujjvala-nila~a~i). A famous Kishangarh paintine of Radha was
issued as a postage stamp in India; in this "portrait" RAdhti
wears the thinnest of thin veils, which enhances her extraor-
dinary beauty to no small degree. The stamp-portrait seems to
be a detail of the painting, Plate 39, in w. G. Archer's The
Loves of Krishna (N.Y.: Grove Press Inc., n.d.). Archer dates
it c. 1770 and notes, "Radha, no longer the simple cowgirl,
is the very embodiment of aristocratic loveliness.•
In the temple convention known as mukut sevi--when service
is offered to Radha symbolized by the candrim, her particular
""··
head-ornament--she is •veiled" (see photograph #3). When she
is represented by a srimnrti, she is not veiled.
 106
1 52 Soft (i.e., blowing gently, caressingly), fragrant,

and cool.
1 53 Literally, pressing out the ~ or juice, which I have

translated as "mood"--they are playing very sweetly, to enhance

the divine pastimes.

154 Again, there is a good play on words in the final line,

which identifies the "eternal Sri Gop~l Bha~~" with Gm:amanje.ri,
i.e., his eternal, spiritual form, and the poet Galluji Goswa~r.

1 55 I assume this sakhi must be Gop~l Bha~~·

1 5 6 Banana trees or plantains are considered auspicious,

hence they are set u~ on either side of the bath-altar during

the abhi~ek.· Later, when a phul bungalov.r, a decorative "house"
L1ade entirely of flowers strung across a framework, is made (see
Appendix IV), it is often decorated at the base with designs
or scenes cut from the inner layers of the plantain trunk.

157 The "pearls" are again mentioned in verse IX (see foot-

note 174). I think it may be a reference to unbroken rice, just
as in English we may say "pearls of barley" or "tapioca pearls."
The unbroken rice is considered auspicious, and I have seen it

used on such occasions.

1 58 Radharama~ is considered here as the dual incarnation

of Radha and K~~~a.

159 The line has "phal-patra" or "fruit-leaf" which Sri-

vats suggested might be a banana leaf, although I do not recall
any Goswami holding a banana leaf during the abhi~ek ritual.
 107
160 In this and the following two lines are references to

variouG kinds of fans. The camar, a sort of whisk made from a

white cow tail (according to Srivats) or a yak's tail, is er.1blem-
a.tic of royalty, as is the umbrella. The peacock feather fan
may nave so~e importance of which I am ignorant, but it is an-
propri.::te for K~~J?.a, who is so closely linlced with the peacoc}:c
(see footnote 147). The last mentioned, simple fan, is said,
literally, "to do away with fear"--which, in fact, it may be
considered to do (again, I must confess ignorance).

16l We have already seen this expression used in the sense

of playing music (see footnote 153), which would co~~ect it
with the previous lines. It might, however, refer to somet~ing

more physica.l, such r-,s rubbint; s81d:::~lwood. to malce sand2.l:pacte,

h~nce colu1.ectin{::; it \\i th the un[;U.ents ~SJ;Jliec. to their bo,:ies
in the sr-,rne line. Or, lookine aheuu, it r.1ight refer to :press-
ing: the l1.erbs used in the abhisek (see footnote 162).
162 .,. . 1:; • 11 .
lilOn~er- .. ~
1
~2.ms e osses se.rvausa.dhi as (1) all herbs;

(2) ten different herbs; (3) a class of ten particular herbs.

Ii!ahr:.usadhi may be (1) a great or very effica.cious medicinal

plant; (2) dtlrv~ gr:~ss; (3) various medicinLl plr-:mts. Srivf. . ts
mentions tl1c lare,e quantity of herbs prepared for this occ2sion
(sec App~nuix IV).
163 As
. ~· d ~n
. my ov,n description of the
men~.~one abhi~e!{,

a spouted vessel is used to scoop liquid from the large v2t

to :pour it into the conch, whence it reeches Rao.hP'rc:.mnl].. Ho\·;-
evcr, it does not seem to be de rieueur that the liquid be pour-
e<.1 via the spout; unci, as the rituHl proceeds, and hour of bath-
ing succeeds hour of b8.thing, the Gosw~':'lis tend to pour the
brimming vessel all at once onto the conch--! think this is
the image here.

16 4 The candrika, Radha's emblematic ornament, is sho~n

in photograph #3; however, it is more ordinarily not so sym-

metric~l, but shaped more like this:

0
165 A bichiya, according to Sr!vats' wife Sandhya, is a

ring with a. bell, worn on the second toe.

1 66 DU.rb~ gr2.ss is considered sacred cnC. used in puja.

167 An auspicious offering of mustard seeds 2~d sclt, re-
volved as in lrr::di', with a la!!lp, follov1ed by gr:rlo.nds, is the
sort of protective rituEl offered to the bridegroom by his
.
nother-in-lc..Y; when he comes to the bride • s home.

16B Birrs are sv:eet P.an-supnri (t2!!lbula), to refresh and

sweeten the mouth P.fter a ceal.

16 9 3ee footnote 139.

l70 ~: ..... marking a s~uare space of coloured mer.l on

v:hich the bridecroom end the bride are seated, such c s9:?-ce
is often used on t:.uspicious occ~·.sions to be filled up v:i th S\':"eets,
fruits 6:c ••• " The StLnd2.rC. Dictionr·.ry of the Hindi L[;..:lruagc.

171 Jee footnote 156.

1 72 The k2..l~-~ or auspicious jc:.r, set tt:;;> in connection v:ith

pujE, is often topped with aus_::~icious mr-.nr;o lee.ves CJno. e. coconut.

173 The r~sikas here may refer to Radha and K~~~a, who
mutually Cl.elight in' each other's "es:::encc" or ~' as well as
the devotees, ~ho deli&~t in the rE§ which is the essence of

Rac1ha and ...

I~rsnu •
 174 This is an example of a plece where a postposition,
mal~ing clear the relationship of words, v;ould be so helpful
to a foreigner; it must, obviously, be clear to en Indian. I

feel certain, however, t~~t, as stated in footnote 157, the

"pearls" refer to unbroken rice, which is often ple.ced in the
dw..Tilp sano.e.lpnste used to make a til?.k, and considered ~us;:>icious.

175 N2nch~vr.ri: nich~v:::r = nyoc!1Evc.r (or nvc.uchr:.vr-.r), "a

~ropiti~tory offerine; coi~s or currency notes sc~ttere~ or
t:;ifted r·:r.-c:.y on festive occa1-:ions ••• (to v;ard off troubles ann
tribul::. . tiono :from the peroon concerned), sr-.crifice" . A Pr::;.c-
tical Hindi-English Dictionary.
The line :'light be rendered.literally: May there never be
a surfeit (or: may we never be surfeited) of doing n~nch~v2ri

v:i th jev;els c.nd see inc:; their ( &e::~-like?) be2.uty.

176 Vijan ~ay me2n either a solit~ry pl~ce or a fan, so
there is so~e ~ord pl~y on thooe ideas. I thin~: the sense of
the line is tb.Lt the inti::l£.te lYU! \':i thin the kuf\'j is general-
ly reserved for Radha and Krsna alone--the sskhis serving out-
side at a dist2nce. Therefore, in orcler to mc.1~e sure they e.re
perfectly cor.1fortable, rem:-~ininc; out of· sit:;ht, one should fan
then.

177 Fountains are turned on during the hot season, both

on the jag mohan and in the open courtyard of the Vrindaban
temples.

l7S The line seems to actually read, "They took bloominc

branches, ali, and lovely vines," which does not convey a clear
meaning in this context (it may loosely tie-in with Vaisalm in
the previous line). However, in verse V, line 6 (see footnote
 110

. . . (I think) as P-aram anand kand

141), an alluzion is made to Krsna
-kh-
sa c, a branch from the root of supreme bliss. Lalita lata,
a lovely creeper ,or vine, is a common expression for Radha,
sonetimes referred to as a BOlden vine clinginB to a dark tree
(such as a taoal). Finally, I have had to add janma (birth}
to liye, so that the;y may "take birth."
179 The cloth which is dro.ped on the miirti during the abhi-

sek
..,-- is torn into s:.ncll strips anc1 distributed as urnsad •
180 The poet has ascribed meanings to the pancamrt ingre~

dients. The word varuni is problematical; I have re<::d it as

~ arun(i), "and red," ~ beine the reddish tinge of dcv.n.
Turr.:1eric is used to color curd tawny yellov; on the occasion
of the nandotsav, Nanda's joyous celebration on the birth of

...
a son (Krsna), and also on Radhast&~i in the teople of Raclha-
vallabh. Haridrrt, the v:ord used for turmeric in -
Sri'~ao Bhaeavata
(X.5.12) when describing this celebration is related to harit,
"favm-coloured, pale yellO\·; ••• pale red, fallo\'.', b2.y, tav:ny,
greenish ••• m. a horse of the Sun ••• •• (r.!onier-'dillia.":ls). It
is an auspicious color.
181
Actually , the line seeos to read: "In a fair body and
.. k cloth, ~
a aar Sy~m, the dark one, appeared fair," which prob-
ably means Syam . . . is Caitanya (Gaur, the golden, fair-
(Krsna)
complexioned one}, and the dark cloth may refer to the kp~t;a­

keli cloth which Caitanya is knov;n to wear. Kennedy, p. 19,

.
gives a quotation from the Caitanyacaritamrta, which includes
this description of Caitanya, nev;ly returned from Gaya and yearn-
"""': .·
ing for the sight of K~~~a: " ••• he no longer cares to cor.1b his
 111
be~utiful curling hair L:See footnote JO~ ••. he no longer wears

his gold chains, ear-rings and lockets, nor the fine krisnakeli
LSi~ cloth of silk with black borders ••• " Ho\·:ever, in the
context of the verse, it makes more sense if the line refers

.
to the dark form of Rfidh!raman, which, Srivats relates (see
Appendix IV), was the culmination of Caitanya•s vow to appear
to Gopal Bha~~ from the 6~lagram. The play on the light and
dark also serves to remind us that . is
Radh~raman actually R~dh~

(G~.uri, the light-complexioned one) and K:r~~a (Sya'Il, the dark

one) united in one murti.
182 Dhup means both radiance (sunlight) and incense; his

!regrant body, therefore, is both radiant and incense-like,

.
which makes the simile of the lamp cle£.rer. There is a play
on the smokeless radiance of the lamp vs. smoky incense.
1.83
Betel leaves may be filled with any number of substances,
intoxicating, fragrant, pungent, etc. The play here is on rans,
which has as its basic meaning color--the brilliant red color
P.Wl imparts to the lips and mouth of the chewer--as \".~ell as its
figurative meaning of intoxication or joy.

184 Goswam1- ( see footnote 145)· and Guna-

R-
upmanJar~
N • -
~s
• R-
up .
..
~jari refers to Gopfl Bhatt (see footnote 142) as well as the
poet Galluji.

185 The swarm or group of devotees, bees et the honey-

sweet feet of Radha-K~~~a (see verse v, line 2), are gathered
in the kuRj where they will serve the divine couple.

186 See footnote 181· The contrast in color of Radh~ and

Krsne is often emphasized.
•••
 .L.l.~

l87 BadhRi here means a boon or reward for the initial

congratulations, granted by the one who is congratulated. The
nandotsav, mentioned above (footnote 180), is the festival ini-
tiated by Nanda on the birth of his son; the cowherds come,
offer badhal (congratulations, gifts, etc.), and are richly
rewarded in return.

Srrban, meaning Vrindaban, could be construed as Radh~'s

,
forest: she is commonly called Sriji, and she is mistress of
the wood (see footnote 74).
188 Madhau mas, "the sweet month", is an epithet of Vai61!kh.

18 9 This could be a signature line of Jugald&s (but see

footnote 190), who is mentioned as one of the poets who have

contributed to the Cait2.nya Pad~vali. We would then read it
as, "a servant of the (divine) pair," me~·.ning . . to
Gopal Bhatt,
whom the verse is addressed.

l90 There is a play on the word ras, which may mem1 an

accumulation ~s well as ras lil~. ~ recalls m~njari (see
verse 6, line 1), meanin& •• a cluster, 11 and it might, there-
fore, be a veiled reference to Gm:-a.rnclljari/Ge.lluji, who is
actually credited with these verses. He might, indeeC., be pay-
ing a compliment to Jugaldas, another poet. I expected the
line to read, "sing their r.mny virutes," but this is not the

case here, where the pronoun ill" is expressly given.

l9l The golden moon is Caitanya •

•
 1 9 2 The word used is antarz~!, the in-dwelling Lord.

193 Not only did Caita.Icy'a send his asan and dle:, but also
his kaupin (loin·cloth worn by sangyas~s); they are still wor-
shipped in the temple. See footnote 15.

l94 ~he 6'alagram which harbored Radh.A and Krsna before

their appearance as the murti Ra~ram~ is, therefore, their
~j or grove, where, away from all eyes, they enjoy their most
intimate lill!s.

l95 Sriji is commonly applied not only to srr R~dha (see

footnote 187) but also to the ~i of any temple, meaning
either R~dha or Krsna or both.
1 96 ~--nidhi seems to b.e an epithet of KI:~~ (reading

keli for !!1>· Krsna is always engaged in keli, which connotes

amorous dalliance.

l97 Chiyen seems to represent some verb, created to rhyme

with hiyen. One of the remarkable aspects of the abhisek is
that a Goswami will always be standing behind Radhiraman, hold- .
ing the image by the waist and perhaps also by the feet. There-
fore I have read the verb chana, to toucn.
1 9 8 Camar, see footnote 160.

l99 ~his line is difficult. The divine name (Radha,

_, K~~)
is worthy of being served, i.e. repeated (~, see footnote
135). However, exact1y what the re1ations between the parts
of the sentence are is conjectural.
200 A kankan refers to a bracelet worn on the wrist, or

the strings tied on the wrists of bride and groom during the
 114
marriage ceremony. Since it is always possible the poet is

...
referring to Radh§. and Krsna as separate entities, even while
appearing as one form, we may always entertain several con-
~ectures as to "the" meaning of a line. A raksa may also be

~meant (footnote 210). Yor a reference to mustard seeds and

salt (also connected with marriage rites), see footnote 167.

201 This must refer to dhup arati (see Appendix II),

followed by {rngE.r bhoe;, or some special food offering. If

I recell correctly, there is an extra bhog offering durin£ the
~rag£.tots<::v celebration, which this line seems to refer to.
202 S~gc:r
, . - ar2.t1.
- -

20
3 Literally, the line reads, •·•You should enjoy Vrinc1e.-
,.
ban,' ~llld he took his vo,·;," followine Srive.ts' interpretction
of karan va.can f~s "a vow or word given by the hand (touching
water?)." . . . generally,
This follOY!s a tradition that :Krsna, eno.
certainly as Radharam~, dallying with Rad~a, never leaves
Vrindaban. ... here being made to
The approachability of Krsna,
EWle~r he will enjoy Vrindab~ so much he will never leave, is
one of the outstanding points of brc.jbhav, the feeling of the
. .
devotees tov..a.rd Krsna. .
._- 204
See footnote 179 •
205
Another difficult line. The Braj ladies having de-
,_
parted, the remaining bhaktas continue to celebrate. Srive.ts
.sugcested reading chirakat ang as, "they threw around their
bodies (in dancing}." It literally means to sprinkle, and I
have seen persons sprinkle perfumed water on musicians perforc-
ing kYrtan, to eool them.
 115
206 This line remains ambiguous. Sri Gopal could refer

... . and the second part could read, NSee the

to Krsna-Rndbaraman,
root of bliss~"

207 (Vr~-)bhanu•s child is Radha, and this could be her

day because her beloved K~~~a-Radnar~ appeared, as well as
because she has appeared with him.

208
"Auspicious designs" = cauk, see footnote 170.
"Full jars" = kala6, see footnote 172.

209 Another instance of the sweetness of brajbhav, where

Goswimiji offers "benedictions" to the Lord.
210 Rak sa,
_ the protective string which sisters tie on their
.
brothers' wrists on the occasion of raksabandhan, the full moon
day of Sravan. This tying of the raksa is also done in the
temple of Radhnram~, and is another example of the cultivation
of intimacy with God which characterizes bhakti.
211
See footnote 203.
212
See footnote 146.
213
Mrdang, the characteristic, double-ended drum worn
around the neck and used in kirtan.
214
This seems to refer to the yellow curd mentioned in
footnote 180. Sometimes sandalpaste is colored yellow with
saffron, considered a "hot" substance, to offset the excessive
cooling ~uality attributed to sandal.

2 1 5 There is a play on sance. The verb s~cna means to

I
"''. full up or accumulate; a sanca is a model; and sance is an
alternative spelling for sacce, ~rue, truthful, or real. The
 116
intention of the poet seems to be that Rldhar~ became pragat
.
from the true, loving sentiments which had accumulated within
their hearts--he is a model of these sentiments.
216
Car~ seva, to serve his (Radharam~'s) feet, as well
as to do all services to or for him.
217
Lace (lacen in the followin£ line) has el1uded me.

I have read it as 1ac~r, useless or helpless.

218 Ta-ta-thai-ya, a bol, sung as a verse of a song,

which indicates a certain dance rhythm; it may be heard in
the ras lila.
219
The play here is on srav~, the ear or the act of
hearing, and-a naksatra connected with
, -
Srav~, one of the
months of the rainy se~son, which connects it with bars~iya,

(
a shower.
220 The play here is on the dual G~amanjari--the poet
and the subject of the poem, Gopal Bhatt •
.'
221 Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
222 -
Rasiya

223 Jugal~~ = Radna and Sya~ kunds, at one end of the

long ridge of Govardhan mountain; it is closely associated with
Naray~ Bha~~' whose guru, K~~~adas BrahmacarY, resided in the
temple of "Kamamohan" at Radhakund (Janakiprasl!d, p. 17, v. 39-
40; Baba K~~~adas, the commentator, glosses "Kamamohan" as the

.. received
temple of Madanmohan, which still stands there). :Bhatt

.
diksa and teachings from Krsnadns ..
there. .
The kund. had been re-
discovered by Caitanya himself when he visited Braj (Majumdar,
p~ 208).
 117

SaDket is between Barsana and Nandaganv, reputed to be

the meeting place of RadhA and K~~~a.

22 4 Reading madhup for madhuya.

225 I assume this refers to Radharama~ as Radha, whom we

have noted (see footnote 178) is likened to a golden vine or

"creeper" of love. Bir, Brajbh~~~ for vi:ra (a hero), may also
mean a sakhi, saheli, or girlfriend; hence, I have combined
the ideas into "heroine. 11
22 6 See footnote 32 re rekhta.

22
7 There is a play on the name G~ama~jari/Gopal Bha~~'
and we might read the line, "Glll?-amailjari, make me your (or his =
Radharama~•s) servant ••• "
228
The sense is ambiguous, and might be, "For G~aiijari,
the foremost of rasikas is (the one) named Radharam~."

229 Srivats suggests, 11 they danced together."

230 GUIJ.amanjari das, GW?-amanjari's servant, being Galluji.

231 Reflection or shadow; the line echoes the many cases

we have already had of, "his beauty covers the forest."

232 Or, 11
1 give the blessing, 'I.iay GUl}.amanjari, swenini• s
(R8..dha•s) beloved, remain happy.'" Bal~y lena, which I have

often translated as "to give blessines or benedictions" can

,
also me£~ to remove an evil influence. J:J.y friend, Syamdas,
who studies with a learned Goswami of the Vallabh samprad~y,

criticised that reading on the ground it was too negative, but

~ I often feel i t expresses the meaning better than "giving
 118

blessings." The first meaning given for balay in the BrajbhAsa

Sur-KoS' is vipatti, a calamity or distress, but to say, "May I
remove your:distre~s or avert the calamity" does give a heavy
sense to many lines. }zy ovm feeling of what may be meant in
several cases, where it is said they bal~y lena •with both hands"
is th~t it refers to an action I often saw in temples, where
people would cross their arms in front of their faces, pulling
them back as if bringing some emanation from the image into
their eyes.

233 3adhai.
234
!!he rel:;.tionship of the words in the final two lines
see~s very ambivalent, making an exact transletion much less
than the total impact in Hindi.
Balij~i (which I have translated literally as "offers him-
self") is a difficult expression to find an equivalent for in
English. I think it could be understood as an interjection,
like balih2.ri.
 Appendix I

Sct.-..t:.V'\dt_c_ J) l.d ( ) d "" : ~d \.a.,- a I'Y\d ':' Lcz:""'f' Lc

?\ -...3 ·11! ; I
'!

•
1 •
t ~
I
I
!
• t •
t
f
\0 8l
4

•
•
0

'- ~~
~~~

~
~·

~ ..
•
• • fo • •
~
//
': ·l i:.ulsc:: M.:} V\)l.~
.0. )

(o . CA~nt.J ~ tla:.:J'
 ,....
Appendix II
!fhe Ni tya Seva
~-·
offered to RadhA~

In order to·give a clear idea of the meaning of several

technical terms for the rituals performed in the temple each
day, I shall describe a typical day's ~ at Radbarama; tem-
ple. It will become clear that the special seva done during
the pragatotsav ritual is merely an elaboration of certain parts
of the daily ritual (abhis~, arngar, bhog) between mangal and
bhog aratis, with a few added features. !fhis general scheme
of seva is followed by many of the Vrindaban temples, each,
of course, with its own particularities.
Just before dawn the bell atop the temple tolls, giving
a short warning of the impending Arat!. The first arati is
called mangal or auspicious, and, perhaps, this is the reason
so many persons attend. Many devotees coming from a bath ·in
the Jamuna river will have already gathered before the outside
gate to Radh.a~ Ghera (compound), which is only opened short-
ly before the arati. The devotees come into the compound and
begin parikrama1 (circumambulation) of the temple until Arati
begins. Even during the cold season, when the hour of dawn
may be quite chilly, there is a group of local men and more
especially women, who have come from bathing in Jamuna, each with
a small lota (pot) containing Jamuna water, which they pour at
the "feet" of the tulsi (sacred basil) crowing on a raised
pedestal2 within the temple; they also pour water at the edge
of the J!:S mohan3 as an offering to Radhi.r~. ~he local
ladies have two particular stutis (hymns) which they sing each
morning in a haunting, plain song style.
 Mangal irati itself consists of offering lights (long wicks
-set in a holder like a candelabrum) and water (in a conch)_ to
Radhar~ within the nij mandir; 4 although other offerings
may be included in an arati, lights and water are basic requi-
sites. Pirst, in this and all ~ratts, the officiating Goswami
touches the feet of the image, pu~s these consecrated hands ~o

his eyes, does a mudr~ (ritual hand posture) over the items to
be offered, and only then does he lift the lights (this pro-
cedure is unique to the Radhar~ temple). The bell tolls,
gongs resound, the ladies sing: mangal ~ratt is an altogether
joyous occasion. Por a short while after the aratr, darsan
(viewing) is kept open, and many persons continue to come in
even as t~e doors to the nij mandir are ever-so-slowly closed;
finally, a mere crack is left, through which one can still catch
a glimpse of the image; then, with a thud, the doors close.
All temples follow an elaborate program of service to be
rendered to the images, including bath~, feed~, and dress-
ing. R~dharalllalf, being quite small (perhaps less than a foot
in height), is conveniently moved from place to place for eat-
ing and sleeping, although none of these moves may be seen by
anyone but the initiated Goswamrs of the temple. Between dawn
and about nine o'c1ock (depending on the time of year and the
Goswamr whose turn it is to do seva) Radhir~ is bathed, fed,
and adorned. Because the families of Goswamts have become large
and spread out, service is apportioned between the initiated
members so that each may have a turn; whichever Goswami does
the seva, his devotees are apt to offer fine new po65ks (cloth)
and elaborate bhog (food). ~herefore, the sr.Dg!r (decoration)
often changes, although not such precious items as mukut (crown),
 special jewels, and fancy dress for utsav. Moreover, there are
certain jewels or crowns, for example, which are traditionally_
L
used on certain days (such as the full moon and no moon days) •
Before the formal srng8.r arati there comes what is known
as dhilp «rati', done with a single wick and incense (dhiip). As
soon as this has been performed, the darsan is closed. Not
long afterwards, the bell is tolled, and the long, involved
s:-ngar arati is performed. This is very special in the temple
of Radhar~, where a unique feature is the large quantity
of tulsi leaves offered and ao~ually touched to the image's
feet before the formal arati. Unoffered tule~ is then put onto
each of the ritual items, such as the conch and candelabrum,
and the ~rat~ is performed by circling the flame and water
before the image.
Once the arati itself has been performed, the image is
fanned, a mirror is offered to him, and finally one Goewami
(usually at least two Goswimrs take part in the 6riJ.gar irati)
•
will come out of the nij mandir with a handful of tulsY which
has been touched to the feet of the image and distribute it
to the audience from the eige of the ~ mohan. There is never
any direct contact between the public and the Goewami, for that

would contaminate his ritual purity, forcing him to leave sevi,

bathe, change clothing, and repeat whatever other rituals are
required before he could return to seva. Therefore, tulsi is
carefully dropped into the hands of the devotees. Sweets, which
have been offered to the deity, are also divided among the dev-
otees by the bhandarr at the side of the~ mohan. Darsan i.e
allowed to remain open for some time and then the curtain is
drawn across the entrance to the nij mandir.
 During the hot season, after mangal arati a stnhAsan is
set up on the~ mohan itself, and the sevfi of the image is
carried out on the ~ moban until the last &rat~, sayan ~rati,

just before the deity retires for the night. ~his offers the
devotee an excellent opportunity to see the small image from
quite close: the image of Radha~ is one of the most beau-
tiful images of Krsna I have seen in any temple. The sri:J.g~r
is on a par with the beauty of the image, for the Goswamis take
great care to decorate him properly. Prom the flower garlands
(mala) to the earrings (kundal) and anklets (nupur), each and
every article is placed with much love and attention.
Another feature of the service during the hot season is
exposing the_anga
... : or limbs of the deity for public view: 5 since
it is hot, ~~~a will be more comfortable without the same elab-
orate srngar he wears during the cold months. A jal yantra or
fountain sprays water in front of the sinhasan on the ~ mohan
and a second fountain splashes in the center of the courtyard
itself.
After the 6rngar dar6an, there is another break of about
two hours, during which time the deity rests and the bhog is
served. The doors to the nij mandir are opened when the image
has been removed to the dining room, and one sees the empty
sinhasan. In the hot season the bhog will have been served

and removed by eleven o'clock, in order to be able to close

the temple before it becomes too hot. Bhog arati is not as
long or complex as s:ngar aratr, and fewer people come to watch.
Once arati is over, the temple is closed until late afternoon.
,
Often there are readings of Srimad Bhagavata or other works
on bhakti, expounded by a p~4it, in the late afternoon, before
------------------~---------------------------------------

sandhya i.ratr. These readings are very popular, and large audi-
iences turn up to hear well-known pandits. Sandhya irati, at
r ..
dusk, marks the end of the discourse, so there is often a 1arge
crowd present for the ~rati. Sandhy~ arat! proper is preceded
by a dhap arati, just as occurs before srngar arati. It is
done in the same way, with a single flame and dhup, after which
the curtain is drawn; then, the be11 tolls, and the sandby~ ~rati

itself is performed.
After arati has been completed, the dar€an is left open
for some time. The cool of the evening is a popular time for
devotees to go from temple to temple for dar6an. When darsan
is again closed, the deity is prepared for his evening meal.
Once.bhO§ has been offered and taken away, darsan is again
opened. In the hot season, this is the best darsan of the en-
tire day, because the image is still enthroned on the ~ mohan
and he now appears for a sarvanga darsan: the Goswamis have taken
off a11 his s:ngar, to prepare him for bed; he wears only a langot
or 1oin-cloth, and a flower mala; even hisbair has been 1et
down. It is a rare chance to see what the image actua11y looks
like. Now, dar6an is closed, milk is offered, and when it bas
been taken away, the curtain is withdrawn and the bell is rung
very quietly, for the lord is about to take rest for the night.
Once sayan irati has been performed, darsan is closed for the
night.
1 Indicated by the arrows on the diagram of RadhAr~

temple, Appendix I.
2 Numbers 4 and 5 on the diagram, Appendix I.

3 Number 2 on the diagram, Appendix I.

•

4 Number 1 on the diagram, Appendix I.

5 This dar6an may be seen in photograph #1.

 Appendix III
Ritual Bathin8 in the
Haribhaktivilasa of

. .•
Gopal Bhatt
"The Ritualism and Devotional Practices of Bengal Vai~~v­

ism", chapter VI of De's Early History of the Vaisnava 7aith

and Movement in Bengal, is a1most entirely devoted to a resume
of Gopal Bha~~·s Haribhaktivil~sa. I am attaching De's para-
phrase of that part of vil~sa VI which describes the daily bath
ritual for an image, to be compared with the description of
the abhisek as given in the verses and my own description of
the utsav. I believe it will substantiate Srivats• statement
that the ~radition of the badha1 and abhisek go back to the time
of Gopal Bhatt, 1
.. and demonstrates how important ritual has al-
ways been.
De notes, on page 139, that the Haribhaktivilasa is quoted
by name in Riip GoswWn! • s Bhaktirasamrtasindhu, dated s!.ka 1463
.
(1541 A.D.) and, therefore, it must have been written before
then; the Vratotsav-nirnay of RadhAram~ temple for slka 1899
.
.
(1977-78 A.D.) also bears the date "SriradharamanAdva 435",
which makes the appearance date of Radha~ sSka 1464 or 1542
A.D. Thus, it is clear we will find no reference to the abhisek
as performed for Radb.§.r~ in this work. There are, however,
other interesting points regarding s~lagram and image worship
included in De's resume.
Vilasa V (De, p. 468) includes a treatment of the s~lagrAm,

enumerating and describing the various kinds and their •merits

and demerits ••• spoken of only in connexion with Sakima worship
meant for the attainment of some mundane object ••• • In vilasa
 VI, De notes (p. 469), •Though the Salagrama worship is declared
to be superior to image-worship, yet the latter has its impor-
tance, because it attracts the mind easily by its form and beau-
ty. The ~es are self-revealed (svayam-vyakta) or established
••• the former is rare." One further point, from vilasa Y, con-
cerns the worship of the image of ~~: "We are informed that
this method ~.e., •the Tantric method ••• of daily morning wor-
ship of Gopala-deva, as given in the Krama-dipikR •••:? is fol-
lowed even by Brahmans; for in the Kali-yuga worship is possible,
according to the Visnu-yamala, only through the way of the Igama,
..
and not by the Srauta or Vedic method• .(De, p. 465).
It seems that Gopal Bhatt
.. bridged the distinction between
image and salagrrun worship, by combining them. And, as the
paffcarAtra system of tantra (i.e., the extensive use of mantra,
mudra, and elaborate ritual} was dear to him, 2 he worshipped
Radharaman accordingly. Tantric practices have been associated
with vaisnav
.. sects as far back as the Narazaniya section of
the Mahabharate. (XII.325.4)3 wherein Narayw: is ~poken of as
p~caratrika. Suvira Jaiswal states, "It is generally accepted
that the Pancaratras had prominent Tantric leanings ••• " basing
this on a work by Chintaharan Chakravarti. 4 Bon Maharaj told
me the worship in gaudiya vaisnav temples was done according
to the p~caratra system; my own worship of the Govardhan sila,
as taught by Bon Ma.haraj, involves mantra and mudra.
1 See Appendix IV.

2 See footnote 3, end, Majumdar's statement.

'·'·· 3 Suvira Jaiswal, The Origin and Development of Vaisnavism

(Delhi: Munshiram Ma.noharlal, 1967}, p. 41. She refers to -the
•

Poona Critical Edition of Mahabbarata.

4 Jaiswal, P.• 45. Chintaharan Chakravarti, The Tantras,
Studies on their Religion and Literature (Calcutta: Punthi
Pustak, 1963), P• 57.
 Ritualism and Devotional Practius 471

Tbe bathing of the image (Snina) is then dealt with.

After soliciting permission and offering a pair of footwear,
abe worshipper should take the image to the bathing place,
and exhibit the Amrtikara~;ta-Mudra after placing .Asana.
padya. .Acamaniya etc. The image is then placed on a
copper-plate (for the purpose of collecting the sacred water
.after washing), or on the leaf of lotus, banyan or plantain,
besmeared with unctuous substance~ (AbhyaD.ga-dravya) and
bathed with five n~~tars (Paiicamrta). namely, milk, curd,
cbee. honey ana candied sugar (~arkarl). During the bath
of the deity, incense is to be burnt, After removal of oil and
dirt by means ,,f powdered wheat, barley, Kiirca (bundle of
ICu'a grass) or other cleansing substances, the image is to be
bathed with the citation of proper formulas. firat in warm
and then in cold water, purified with Tulasi. camphor and
various herbs and scented with Asuru (the frasrant Aloe),
padal and perfumes. A bath with the holy water from a
conch-shell il said to be very desirable. Those who batbe
oe deity in the above manner become free from all sioa and
earn the merit of heavenly bliss. Incense il then to be burnt.
and bells, conch-shells and musical instruments are to be
sounded with the pronouncing of appropriate Mantras.
Singing and dancing should also accompany the performance.
The thousand blessed names of the deity and famous hymns
ahould be recited : and the BhagavaJ-git4 and the Vaif(lava
Purioas should be read. Then. with tbe exhibi~ion of tbe
Snana·Mudri. the body of the image abou1d be dried by
mtans of a piece of fresh fine cloth. With the Vutrlrpa~;ta·
Mudra. it should then be dressed in a pair of aarmenu or
with apecial dress for special imases or occasions, and invest-
ed with the sacred thread. Blue garment is forbidden. After
offering ornaments and besmearing the image with aandal
and other acented pastes (the forbidden pastes being Padmata,
Rakta-candana and USira). the image should be fauned
with Cimara (chowry) or with a fan made of palm leaf. The
merit accruing from all these acta ia also described elaborately.
 Appendix IV

SRI RAOHA RA1'1ANO JAYATI

433rd Jayanti Celebration of Sri Thakur Radha Raman ji.

Vrindaban, 21st to 25th May, 1975.

Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami, a learned and artistically culti~·ated Brahmana

from Srirangam(Tamil Nadu) was the direct disciple and heir of the Lord
Sri Cait-anya Hahaprabhu. He was ordered by his Guru to make pi!grir.~age to
~epal, where he must bathe in the sacred Gandaki river, where he would find
the 'Saligrama Damodar Sila'( A rare crystal \Jhich can not be chiselled or
carved and \Jhich is considered the form of Sri Krsna). After bathing in the
river, as Sri Gopala Bhatta ji was offering oblation to the Lord, the promised
Saligrama came into his hands, and began worshipping it.

Goswami ji was ordered by his Guru the Lord Himself, to live in Vrindavana,
sacred to Lord Krsna, where he worshipped his Saligrama. One night he went into
trance, contemplating the promised appearence of his Guru, Lord Caitanya, in this
very Saligrama. Upon a'~akening, he found the crystal transformed into the
shape of Lord Krsna, which came to be kno•.:n as Sri Radha P.amana ji. This event
occurred on Vaisakha Purnima 433 years ago, and \.zas celebrated with great eclat
on Sunday, May 25th, 1975.

Four days previous, -from Vaisakha Sukla Ekadasi, there was a programme of 'Samaja'
classical Indian singing in Dhamara style, one man le~ding and the company ....
responding, in verses composed by Saints in Vraja-Bhasa. The singing was
accompanied on mtidanga, flute, harmonium, sarangi, cymbals etc. This trdition
goes back to the founder of the temple of Sri Radha Raman ji, Sri Gopala Bhatta
Goswami, and has been revised from time to time by th addition of recent compo-
sitions. On the morning os 25th, the preparations began at dawn. Ninety raee
and unique Ayurvedic herbs must be prepared for the ritual bath(Abisheka) of the
Lord. Then, the entire group of Temple priests and devotees went in procession
to the sacred river Yeouna for water, carrying festive flags on silver staffs
and large silver jugs for carrying the water. The Abhiseka is performnd with
Panc!1arnrta( milk, curd, ghee, honey, water) as well as the Ayurvecic preparations
and the ether titual substanees, each ona offered with a Vedic mantra. It
lasted for three hours, after which the Deity was beautifully decorated and
enthroned on a golden Simhasana in a 'Phula Bangala', or house of flo,~ers,
artistically prepared as from the ancient trdition by the Goswamis of the
Temple. ,

In th~ ~f~~rnoon, following the Abhiseka, there was again Sa~~ja keertan at
the Tep~le, while the Pancamrta( ~he substance in vhich the Deity was bathed)
more then 600 litres of milk plus other substances, was freely distributed to
the devotees, as well as sw~ets etc.

That night, at mid-night, there was Samaja, sung at the very site of the appea-
rance of the Deitv Sri Radha Raman ji, a short distance from the Temple itself.
The final Samaja was the epitome of joy to all concerned, and was sung with
elegance and gusto by the he3d preists of the Temple, Sri Ras Bihari Goswami
and Sri Purushottam Gosqami.
 H
.... -.-

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