The following is a transcription of a discourse on Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in San Francisco, California, on May 25, 2003

What kind of kṛṣṇa-prema do we want? Not the prema of Hanumān or the Pāṇḍavas or even Uddhava. We will not reject their prema; we will offer praṇāma to it. But we do not want it. What do we want? Do we want to serve Kṛṣṇa as Śrīmatī Rādhikā is serving Him? No. We also offer so many praṇāmas to that prema. Our goal is to serve that prema, but we do not desire it ourselves.

We want to serve Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the way Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī serve Them. By this, one will be perfect. It is the topmost status for the jīva. You should realise this and not waste a single moment in sense gratification. Try to maintain your life, but make this status the aim and object of your life.

We have discussed the various stages of devotees up to the Pāṇḍavas, whom we have been glorifying. They are Kṛṣṇa’s bosom friends, and Kṛṣṇa is their servant. What to speak of serving them, Kṛṣṇa even grooms and massages their horses. Kuntī is like Kṛṣṇa’s mother, Yudhiṣṭhira His father and elder brother, and Bhīma His brother and friend. Arjuna has a more intimate friendship with Kṛṣṇa than does Bhīma, and Draupadī has even more intimacy with Kṛṣṇa than do any of the Pāṇḍavas, although she sometimes also has a mood of reverence towards Him. She is a sakhī of Kṛṣṇa. Try to know all these facts.

Speaking to Nārada Ṛṣi, Arjuna explained that he and the other Pāṇḍavas are actually bereft of good fortune. “Kṛṣṇa teaches us the Gītā,” he said. “He tells us to be śaraṇāgata (surrendered souls); but we are His intimate associates, His friends. I cannot say how many lives ago we surrendered to Him. Thus, we are very unfortunate.”

“Also, when Kṛṣṇa performs any service for us, we become quite ashamed. Once, against our wishes, He became my charioteer and even washed and massaged my horses. Why did He do this? It was not in fact for me. It was simply part of His overall plan to kill the demons.”

“I did not want to slay Bhīṣma-pitāmaha, Droṇācārya and my other worshipable superiors, but I had to do so. I told Kṛṣṇa that I could not fight with Droṇa and Bhīṣma-pitāmaha because they are my gurus; nonetheless, Kṛṣṇa obliged me to kill them. How painful it was! Bhīṣma was an exalted bhakta, and to kill him was very sinful.”

“I further told Kṛṣṇa, ‘You are known as Madhusūdana (the killer of the Madhu demon), and not as “the killer of your guru”.’ No one is to kill his guru, who should be regarded as superior to one’s own father. Nonetheless, Kṛṣṇa repeatedly urged me to shoot my gurus. He has not actually served us, nor are we near and dear to Him. Why has Kṛṣṇa come to this world? To protect the entire universe, to assist the demigods and to vanquish the demons. This is His sole purpose.”

Arjuna continued, “If you really want to see an exalted reservoir of love and affection for Kṛṣṇa, you should at once fly to Dvārakā and seek out Uddhava.”

Who is Uddhava?

śrī-śuka uvāca
vṛṣṇīnāṁ pravaro mantrī
kṛṣṇasya dayitaḥ sakhā
śiṣyo bṛhaspateḥ sākṣād
uddhavo buddhi-sattamaḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.46.1)

[“(Śukadeva Gosvāmī said:) The supremely intelligent Uddhava was the best counsellor of the Vṛṣṇi dynasty, a beloved friend of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and a direct disciple of Bṛhaspati.”]

Kṛṣṇa Himself told Uddhava:

na tathā me priyatama
ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ
na ca saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr
naivātmā ca yathā bhavān

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.15)

[“My dear Uddhava, neither Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, the goddess of fortune nor indeed My own self are as dear to Me as you are.”]

Kṛṣṇa said, “Uddhava, you are most dear to Me. Brahmā, who is My son; Śaṅkara, who is non-different from Me; My brother Saṅkarṣaṇa; the goddess of fortune Śrī Lakṣmī; and even My very own life, are not as dear to Me as you are. You are so close to Me.” Kṛṣṇa has also declared, “Do not think that Uddhava is even slightly inferior to Me. He is as good as I am, and sometimes he may even be greater.” How exalted Uddhava is.

Nārada thus left Arjuna and travelled to Dvārakā to meet Uddhava. He glorified Uddhava and the Yādavas, to which Uddhava replied, “Don’t speak like this. I know that I am a high-class devotee of Kṛṣṇa and that Kṛṣṇa’s queens are also very dear to Him. Kṛṣṇa once gave a pārijāta flower to Rukmiṇī, and He also stole an entire pārijāta tree from heaven and planted it in Satyabhāmā’s courtyard.”

One day, Kṛṣṇa was sitting among His wives in Dvārakā. All 16,108 queens were present, including Rukmiṇī and Satyabhāmā. Nārada arrived there with a pārijāta flower plucked from heaven and told Kṛṣṇa, “Please take this flower and give it to Your favourite queen.” Kṛṣṇa thought, “Nārada is very tricky; he wants to throw Me in a dilemma. If I give this flower to Rukmiṇī, then Satyabhāmā and the other queens will be angry, and it will take great effort to pacify them. And if I hand it to Satyabhāmā, then Rukmiṇī will be jealous.”

Nārada interrupted His thoughts, “Don’t delay. I have pressing business to complete. Please give the flower to one of Your queens now, in my presence, before I leave.” Kṛṣṇa wondered what to do. Nārada kept insisting, so He took the flower, closed His eyes, and gave it to Rukmiṇī. He thought that by closing His eyes, the other queens would be unable to tell that He was intentionally selecting her. At once, breathing heavily like a serpent, Satyabhāmā ran to her palace. She threw off all her garments and ornaments, put on some old, ragged and dirty clothes and, weeping, entered her kopa-bhavana (anger-room).

Kings used to build “anger-rooms” for their queens. If a queen took shelter there, the king knew he would have to pacify her. Now Satyabhāmā went into her kopa-bhavana and wept loudly. Her many maidservants were pacifying her, in a way that Kṛṣṇa would know He had committed a great wrong. Kṛṣṇa approached Satyabhāmā and gently put His hand on her, but she immediately pushed Him away. “Go away at once,” she said bitterly. “Return to Your dearest queen. You are a liar. You ridiculed and insulted me in front of the entire assembly.”

Kṛṣṇa said, “Listen, I gave a single pārijāta flower to Rukmiṇī, and you have become so upset. I will bring an entire pārijāta tree from the heavenly planets and plant it in your courtyard.”

Satyabhāmā replied, “You could not give me even a single flower, and now You say You will bring me a whole tree.”

“Come with me,” Kṛṣṇa said. At once, he called Garuḍa and, sitting on his back, they travelled together to the heavenly planets. There, Kṛṣṇa fought against Indra and the demigods and defeated them. He uprooted a pārijāta tree and planted it in Satyabhāmā’s courtyard.

Uddhava continued speaking to Nārada Ṛṣi: “After defeating the demigods, Kṛṣṇa also forcibly took away the Sudharmā-sabhā, their famed heavenly assembly house, and brought it back with Him. Why? He knew the demigods had the false ego of being masters of the universe; so to crush their false pride, He stole away the Sudharmā-sabhā and brought it to Dvārakā. Just see how Kṛṣṇa is serving the Yādavas in Dvārakā.”

“Also, you should know that Kṛṣṇa established Ugrasena, Kaṁsa’s father, as emperor and said to him, ‘I am your servant. Please order Me and I will collect taxes for you from across the universe. Don’t be concerned.’ Kṛṣṇa thus became his subordinate.”

“Saṅkarṣaṇa, the son of Vasudeva Mahārāja and Rohiṇī, is Kṛṣṇa’s own brother. Kṛṣṇa also has ten sons and one daughter from each of His queens, that is, 11 × 16,108 children in all. Through them, He has so many grandchildren. These are all Kṛṣṇa’s blood-relatives, His svajana. Although the Pāṇḍavas are like Kṛṣṇa’s brothers, they have no blood relation with Him; they are His friends. So how glorious are the residents of Dvārakā, the Yādavas.”

Uddhava admitted to Nārada, “We are very high-class devotees and most dear to Kṛṣṇa. I accept everything Kṛṣṇa has said to me – that I am His advisor, friend, servant, and so on. Nonetheless, I still lament.”

“Why do you lament?” asked Nārada.

“I was proud that I was serving Kṛṣṇa in so many ways, but my false ego was crushed when I went to Vṛndāvana and witnessed the gopīs’ glories. Their love is as high as Mount Everest and as deep as the Pacific Ocean. It has no limits. I could not measure it. If you want to see how glorious the Vrajavāsīs are, go to Vraja.”

Lord Brahmā declares:

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ
nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām
yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ
pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.32)

[“How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend.”]

Kṛṣṇa is the supreme authority, the Lord of lords. He is unrivalled and all-powerful, and yet He is very sweet. He can destroy an entire universe in a moment and create millions of universes in another. Nevertheless, that same Kṛṣṇa wants to serve the gopīs. He is a dear friend and the son of everyone in Vraja-Nandagrāma.

Uddhava himself has prayed:

etāḥ paraṁ tanu-bhṛto bhuvi gopa-vadhvo
govinda eva nikhilātmani rūḍha-bhāvāḥ
vāñchanti yad bhava-bhiyo munayo vayaṁ ca
kiṁ brahma-janmabhir ananta-kathā-rasasya

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.58)

[“(Uddhava sang:) Among all persons on earth, these cowherd women alone have actually perfected their embodied lives, for they have achieved the perfection of unalloyed love for Lord Govinda. Their pure love is hankered after by those who fear material existence, by great sages, and by ourselves as well. For one who has tasted the narrations of the infinite Lord, what is the use of taking birth as a high-class brāhmaṇa, or even as Lord Brahmā himself?”]

In this world, the land of Gokula is most blessed. Why? Because the gopīs, who alone have perfected their lives through their spotless love for Śrī Govinda, reside there; without them, it would not be as glorious. Śrī Govinda, who sustains all universes, is especially the very life and soul of the Vrajavāsīs, such as the gopas, gopīs, calves and cows.

Although Śrī Govinda lives in Goloka-Vṛndāvana, He also sustains and nourishes all beings in all parts of His creation. Therefore, Uddhava has prayed, “Those who fear material existence, as well as others such as myself and so many ṛṣis and munis, hanker to serve that Kṛṣṇa, especially when He is in the company of the gopīs. We have no desire to take birth in a brāhmaṇa dynasty, or even to become Brahmā himself.”

āsām aho caraṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ
vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām
yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā
bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.61)

[“The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vṛndāvana, because the gopīs trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.”]

Uddhava desired to become grass in Vṛndāvana. He prayed, “When Kṛṣṇa associates with the gopīs or when the gopīs go to meet Kṛṣṇa, they will place their feet on that grass, and my life will be successful.” What is the status of the gopīs and their love and affection for Kṛṣṇa, and how does it compare with the love of Uddhava?

yā vai śriyārcitam ajādibhir āpta-kāmair
yogeśvarair api yad ātmani rāsa-goṣṭhyām
kṛṣṇasya tad bhagavataḥ caraṇāravindaṁ
nyastaṁ staneṣu vijahuḥ parirabhya tāpam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.62)

[“The goddess of fortune herself, along with Lord Brahmā and all the other demigods, who are masters of yogic perfection, can worship the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa only within her mind. But during the rāsa dance Lord Kṛṣṇa placed His feet upon these gopīs’ breasts, and by embracing those feet the gopīs gave up all distress.”]

Brahmā, Śaṅkara and all other demigods perform arcana of the feet of Lakṣmī, and that very Lakṣmī performed austerities to serve Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, but was unable to attain His service. She wanted to enter the rāsa-līlā, but Kṛṣṇa did not accept her.

Uddhava began to weep as he continued:

vande nanda-vraja-strīṇāṁ
pāda-reṇum abhīkṣṇaśaḥ
yāsāṁ hari-kathodgītaṁ
punāti bhuvana-trayam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.63)

[“I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Mahārāja’s cowherd village. When these gopīs loudly chant the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the vibration purifies the three worlds.”]

We are gradually approaching the aim and object of our sādhana. You should have some greed to collect this jewel. Uddhava is saying here, “O gopīs, I want to be the dust of your lotus feet; not many dust particles, but only a single one, as I cannot digest good fortune greater than this.” There are countless gopīs, but in his mind, Uddhava has selected one particular gopī, namely, Śrīmatī Rādhikā. He desired just one particle of Her foot-dust.

Uddhava prayed to the gopīs:

sarvātma-bhāvo ’dhikṛto
bhavatīnām adhokṣaje
viraheṇa mahā-bhāgā
mahān me ’nugrahaḥ kṛtaḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.27)

[“You have rightfully claimed the privilege of unalloyed love for the transcendental Lord, O most glorious gopīs. Indeed, by exhibiting your love for Kṛṣṇa in separation from Him, you have shown me great mercy.”]

He is saying, “O gopīs, you have conquered Kṛṣṇa and controlled Him in all respects. He is now totally yours. I am unable to convey to Him what you have said out of separation from Him. He may even die upon hearing it. I do not have your mood of separation. You are mahā-bhāga, most fortunate. You are superior to Yudhiṣṭhira, even Girirāja-Govardhana and me. You have bestowed so much mercy upon me, but I am very unfortunate, being unqualified to receive it.” And thus Uddhava wept.

Hearing the glories of the Vrajavāsīs, the old and senile Padmāvatī, mother of wicked Kaṁsa, shook her head and said, “Alas! Those merciless cowherd men are very cruel. They made Kṛṣṇa take their cows out to graze all day, from His early childhood. They never gave Him any shoes or an umbrella to shield Him from the blazing sun. They never even fed Him. And when, tortured by hunger, He ate a little butter, the cowherd women tied Him up!”

To this, Rohiṇī replied sharply: “Padmāvatī, you are shameless and have no heart. You are the one who is very cruel. You have spoken as you have because you know nothing of love and affection.”

“Vraja was beset by great calamities. Many demons, such as Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Bakāsura, and Keśī, came to create a huge disturbance and torment the Vrajavāsīs. Nonetheless, the Vrajavāsīs never blamed Kṛṣṇa for this. Everything they do is out of love for Him and is only to please Him. They areunequalled in their love and affection; they are indeed unique in this world.”

“Indra also wanted to destroy Vraja, and for this, he sent torrential rain and thunderbolts to Vraja. Then the yamala-arjuna trees almost crushed Kṛṣṇa. In every such incident, the gopīs only desired Kṛṣṇa’s welfare. They uttered mantras like ‘maṅgalaṁ bhavatu’ and ‘kalyāṇaṁ bhavatu’ – ‘May auspiciousness be upon You.’ In whatever they do, whether it is the worship of Girirāja-Govardhana, Nārāyaṇa or any other deity, they pray, ‘O Nārāyaṇa, please let me behold Kṛṣṇa.’ Just see the glory of the gopīs.”

Kṛṣṇa Himself has told the gopīs, “Na pāraye ’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ – I can never repay you. I am unable to abandon any of My devotees, not even a sādhaka in this world, whereas you have left your very own fathers, mothers, sisters, wealth, reputation and worldly dharma. I cannot do this, and so I am unable to repay you. I therefore pray that you will be merciful to Me and be satisfied by your own good activities. Only in this way can I be freed from my debt to you.”

And who is the most glorious of all?

veṇuḥ karān nipatitaḥ skhalitaṁ śikhaṇḍaṁ
bhraṣṭaṁ ca pīta-vasanaṁ vraja-rāja-sūnoḥ
yasyāḥ kaṭākṣa-śara-ghāta-vimūrcchitasya
tāṁ rādhikāṁ paricarāmi kadā rasena

Śrī-Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (39)

[“When will I be engaged in the rasa-laden service to Śrī Rādhā, whose arrow-like sidelong glance causes Śrī Nanda-nandana to faint, the flute to fall from His hands, the peacock feather crown to slip from His head, and His yellow cloth to fall from His body?”]

Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī has established that among all gopas and gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the most prominent. He explains here: “As Kṛṣṇa was on his way to go cow-herding, Rādhikā threw a sidelong glance at Him, which pierced Him like an arrow. It went straight into His heart, and at once His vaṁśī fell from His hands.”

“Brahmā, and indeed all living creatures, are attracted by Kṛṣṇa’s vaṁśī. Upon hearing its sweet sound, the gopīs immediately abandoned the service of their husbands and the cooking in their homes. Their capātīs were burning on the fire, and their milk was boiling over, but they left all their duties. That same vaṁśī, which controls all the gopīs, now dropped out of Kṛṣṇa’s hands, due to the sidelong, arrow-like glance of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

“Day and night, Kṛṣṇa carries His vaṁśī, and His peacock feather always rests on His head. But having been shot by Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s side-long glance, Kṛṣṇa began to reel and lose consciousness – His peacock feather fell at Śrī Rādhā’s feet, and His yellow cādara slid down from His shoulders. When will Rādhikā sprinkle Her mercy on me so that I may serve Her with rasa? What rasa? Prema, sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga and so on.”

What to speak of Rādhikā, Kṛṣṇa falls at the feet of even Her maidservants:

yat-kiṅkarīṣu bahuśaḥ khalu kāku-vāṇī
nityaṁ parasya puruṣasya śikhaṇḍa-mauleḥ
tasyāḥ kadā rasa-nidheḥ vṛṣabhānu-jāyās
tat-keli-kuñja-bhavanāṅgana-marjanī syām

Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (8)

[“O daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, ocean of rasa, that beautiful boy who wears a gracefully tilting peacock feather in His hair is actually the original Personality of Godhead. Still, He is always falling at the feet of Your maidservants and pitifully begging them with many humble words to gain entrance into Your kuñja where the two of You engage in Your playful loving pastimes. My life would be successful if I could even be one stick in the broom Your maidservants use to clean Your delightful kuñja.”]

Once Rādhikā was in a sulky mood in a forest grove, and She ordered Rūpa Mañjarī and others to guard Her. She said, “Go to the entrance of this kuñja, and when that black cheater comes, you should stop Him. Don’t let him enter My grove.”

Thus, when black Kṛṣṇa arrived, Rūpa Mañjarī and Rati Mañjarī, standing guard at the entrance, checked Him: “You may enter only if Rādhā orders us to let You in. But now She is angry with You, so return to Candrāvalī. Don’t come here.” Placing His head on the lotus feet of those kiṅkarīs (maidservants), Kṛṣṇa begged for forgiveness. Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī is praying to become one of the sticks in the broom used to sweep the kuñjas. How glorious are those kiṅkarīs.

tāmbūlārpaṇa-pāda-mardana-payodānābhisārādibhir
vṛndāraṇya-maheśvarīṁ priyatayā yās toṣayanti priyāḥ
prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhī-kulād api kilāsaṅkocitā bhūmikāḥ
kelī-bhūmiṣu rūpa-mañjarī-mukhās tā dāsikāḥ saṁśraye

Vraja-vilāsa-stava (38)

[“I take shelter of the maidservants of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, of whom Rūpa Mañjarī is prominent. Unlike the prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhīs, they can perform any service without hesitation. They perpetually and affectionately satisfy Śrīmatī Rādhikā by their various services, such as offering tāmbūla, massaging Her feet, bringing Her water and arranging for Her trysts with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”]

These kiṅkarīs serve Śrī Rādhā alone or the Divine Couple together in all Their pastimes. They offer Them betel nuts (tāmbūla), massage Them, fetch water, serve Rādhā when She goes out to meet Kṛṣṇa, and engage in many other services. Here Śrīla Raghunātha-dāsa Gosvāmī prays, “I take shelter at the lotus feet of those kiṅkarīs, who have Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī as their leader, because they and no one else can perform all these services.”

I, too, bow down at the lotus feet of the mañjarīs headed by Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī, and I pray that they will sprinkle their mercy on me. Beyond this, I don’t know anything.

Gaura-premānande!

Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net

Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)