Asta Kaliya Lilas

8/13/2019 Asta Kaliya Lilas

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i s have comp osed. aa-klya-llGosvm: The aa-klya-ll of Vraja takes place during eight periods of the day and night. These are ninta ( the end of the night just before dawn), 2) p r ta (morn ing) , 3 ) pr vhna ( forenoon), mad hyhna(noon ) , 5) ap ar hna(af ternoon ), 6) syam ( late afternoon and dusk), 7) p r a doa(eveninand 8) r tr i (n ight) . The r tr i-ll and madhyhna-lls both l ast for six muhr tas, whi le the othsix peri ods each l ast for th ree muhr tas.r Sadiv a has exp lained thi s aa-klya -ll in Sanat-kum rasa hi t . H e has sp ecif ied w hich services ato be rendered at part icular t imes of the day, in accordance with the aa-klya-ll. Thus, one shourememb er the appro pr iate ll at the ap pro pri ate t im e.Vijaya: Prabhu , m ay I p lease h ear the statemen ts of Jagad-gu ru Sadiv a?

Gosvm: Listen careful ly: Sadva said, r H aris bel ov ed d amsels in V raja, w ho have th e senti m entspar ak ya-bhva tow ards Him , please the darl ing of their hearts w i th pro fuse mo ods of divya-prema.H e Nrada! You should contemplate your tma-svarpa in the fo l lowing manner. You are a kior (padolescent) gop and y ou reside in the very h eart of transcend ental Vnd vana, amid st the belo ved d amselsKa, who are endowed with paramour sent iment for Him. You have a charming youthful form, aenchanting, intoxicating beauty. You are accomplished in many f ine arts for rKas pleasure. Yet evenKa earnestly requ ests to m eet w ith y ou , you are ever averse to p leasure u nrelated to th e pleasure o f yoSvmi n. Yo u are the m aidservant o f r Kas m ost belov ed co nsort rm at Rdhik , and are w ho lly aexclusively d edicated to H er sev. You always have more prema for rRdhik than for rKa. Everydwith much endeavor you arrange for the youthful couples meet ing, and remain forever content wi th tecstatic bl iss of Th eir service. Thu s, w hil e conceivin g of yo ur tma-svarpa in th is particular w ay, you shoupainstakingly render mnasi sev in transcenden tal Vnd vana from brhma-muhrta to the end o f ninll (p astim es at nights end).Vijaya: W hat are the activit ies of n in ta-l l?Gosvm: rVnd-devsaid, In the midst of enchanting Vndvana, surrounded by f i f ty ku j as of destrees, l ies a bow er-cottage of c in tma i gems. There on a bed of fragrant f low ers, yugala-kioVabhnu du ll rm at Rdhr and V rajend ra-nandana ymasundara r Ka l ie asleep in a f iembrace. Then according to my instruct ions, the birds at tempt to awaken Them by a rousing chorus melodious warbl ing songs. However, the two lovers have become so intr insical ly , unbreakably one throuTheir deep embrace that even the thought of breaking up evokes alarm. Indeed, They are unable in tsl ightest to f ix their min ds on r is ing. How ever, by the rep eated and in genious urgings of the uka and r(m ale and female p arrots), Th ey at last aw aken and r ise from Their bed. Seeing Rdh -Ka sitting bl issfuon the bed, the sakhs happily approach Them and render the various services required at that t ime. But j

thereafter , through fur ther prompting from the rik, the Div ine Couple inevi tably ar ise f rom that bed arush to Th eir respect ive hom es, fu l l o f anxiety p rovok ed by the transcendental rasas of fear and restlessnessVijaya: W hat are the pr ta kl ya-l l (m orn ing pastim es)?Gosvm: In th e mo rnin g, Yaod Miy calls Ka, w ho then gets up from H is bed and bru shes His teew ith a twig in the comp any of rBaladeva. Then w ith her perm ission, They go to the cow shed, eager to mTheir cows. O sage, rRdh also leaves Her bed in the morning, awakened by Her sakhs. After She hbrushed Her pear l - l ike teeth with an astr ingent twig, Her sakhs massage Her body with aromatic oi ls. Afthat, She enters the bathing chamber and sits upon an elevated sana whi le Lal i t and the other pr incipsakhs per form abhieka of Her Divine Form. Next, She enters the ornament palace. There, Her sakhs appdivine creams and scents, decorate Her with various divine garments and ornaments, adorn Her with pleasinfragrant garland s and coo l H er brow w ith the pu lp o f sandal. Wh en rm at Rdhik has thu s receiv

com plete and at tent ive service f rom H er sakhs, by Yaod Maiys request She d eparts for Nand a-bhavancoo k delicio us food for rKaH earing this, Nrada asked : He D ev. There are m any exp ert coo ks headed by Roh in Miy; w hy th en doMo ther Yaod invite Rdhrto coo k in Nand a-bhavan?r Vnd-dev said, O Nrada, I form erly heard from Bhagavat Ktyyan that Du rvs Mun i b estow ed tfo l low ing boon u po n rm atRdhik : H e Devi! By my mercy, whatever food You cook wi l l r ival the necof th e gods. Furtherm ore it w il l b less the eater w ith great longevity. Thu s putra-vatsal Yaod, praying, m y son b e lon glived ! daily in vites rm atRdhik to Nand a-bhavan to cook . She also h as an in tense greedtaste that delectable foo d. Takin g perm ission from H er mo ther-in-law , rm atRdhik bl issful l y com es to thom e of Nanda accom panied by H er sakhs to prep are the kitchen . M eanw hil e, rK a milk s a few co


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H imself and then, on H is father s order, He engages others to m i lk the remaining cow s and returns hom e wH is f r iends. Arr iv ing ho me, H is servants gleeful ly m assage H is div in e body w ith oi l and bathe Him . Then thdress Him w ith f resh c lothes, sm ear H is body beaut i fu l ly w i th sandal p aste, and d ecorate Him w ith f ragrgarland s. Ka w ears tw o garm ents. On e covers H is low er bod y and o ne H is chest. Cascading arou nd Hgraceful neck and forehead, H is charming, cur ly hair br i l l iant ly expands H is unprecedented, sw eet beauty. OHis ef fu lgent forehead, which resembles the hal f -moon, His servants draw a charming t i laka s ign whideligh ts the eyes of al l . O n H is w rists, rK a w ears bejew eled b racelets, and o n H is arm s, preciou s jew ebangles. On His hands, signet r ings shine. On His chest, a pearl necklace glistens, and dazzling makashaped sapp hire earrings sw ing from H is ears. After th is, rK a h ears Yaom atrepeatedly call ing H im . Ssurroun ded by H is sakhs and ho lding o ne of them by the hand, H e fo l low s H is elder brother Baladeva to t

bhojanlaya (d in ing hal l ) . There, in His sakhs company, He rel ishes all the preparations prepared Rdhik and Her sakhs. Making many jokes, He makes His f r iends laugh, and He also laughs with theW hen H e has f in ished H is meal, H e takes camana (m outh w ash) and H is servants of fer Him tmbla, whH e distr ibutes am ong H is sakhs. Thereafter, He rests on a transcend ental bed fo r som e time and chew s ttmbla.Vijaya: Please d escrib e th e pr vhn a-ll ( forenoo n past imes).Gosvm: rKa, attired in gopa-vea, then leaves the vi l lage with the cows for cow-grazing. At that t imall the vraja-vss fo l low Him some distance from the v i l lage, drawn by their intense love and af fect ion Him. Speaking respectfully, rKa offers prama to His father and mother. At the same time, through tcorner of H is eyes H e glances meaningfu l ly at H is beloved gops and thri l ls their h earts. Then after paying drespect to those w ho have fo l low ed H im, Va dhryma proceeds w ith H is sakhs tow ards the p asturHaving entered the forest, for some time He creates many kinds of games and gleefully sports with Hsakhs. Then, cleverly engaging th em i n activit ies such as pasturin g the cow s, He tr ick s them and leaves theal l aside. He then p roceeds jubi lant ly w i th tw o o r three priya-sakhs tow ards the rendezvous (sa keta) wH is beloved gops eager to see H is priy.Vijaya: Please d escrib e th e ma dhyhn a-ll (mid-day pastimes).Gosvm: A fter w atchin g rK a leave fo r th e fo rest, H is mo st b eloved consort rm atRdhik returnsH er hom e. Then, on the p retext of p erformin g Srya-pj or col lect ing f low ers,She tr ick s H er elders in ordto h ave sa ga w i th H er priyatama yma. Accom panied b y H er sakhs, She goes to the same forest to meHim. Thus after much endeavor, Rdh and Ka meet again and blissful ly enact various sportparamn an da-ll together in the fo rest. At t imes, Rdh and Ka sit on a sw ing and are sw un g by Thsakhs. Som etimes (w hile feeling sl ightly d row sy) r H ari s veu slips from His f ingers and is stolen by Hpriy rRdh . Despite restlessly searchin g on all sides for i t , H e f inally becom es disappo inted and gi ves

hop e. At that poin t the beloved gops offer the veu in to H is lotus hands, laughin g and m aking w it ty rem arAt that t ime Ka looks splendid as He delights the gops by teasing them, joking and counter ing thim p ud ent rem arks. Som etim es, rm at Rdh ik and r Ka enter a particu lar section of th e forest thatattended by the spring season personif ied. There, They use si lver syringes f i l led with colored water mixw ith f ragrant substances, such as ku ku m a and candana, to drench each other; and at other t imes, Thsmear the paste of candana, ku ku m a and so on over each others l imbs. In the beauty and splendor of thforest, w hich is served o n all sides by soothin g spr ing b reezes, the sakhs also join in Their transcendenspo rts by assisting Th em to bathe on e another w ith that fragrant w ater... O b est of the m u n i s , rm at Rdand Ka and their confidential sakhs and sakhs perform various bl issful sports appropriate for that t imFeeling fatigued from performing Their pastimes in this l ively way, They sit beneath a tree on a d iv ithrone and enjoy dr inking nectarean honeywine ( madhu) . Becom ing in toxicated by that madhu, They clo

Their eyes in sleep fo r som e time. H old ing each others hand s Rdh-yma becom e pierced by the arrow sKmadeva, and desiring to enjoy w ith on e another, Their lotus feet stum ble f rom the path and Th ey enter tku ja . Thereafter, rm at Rdhik and ymasun dara freely con sort w ith each oth er in the ku ja , l ike tking of elephants and his mate. The sakhs, who are also intoxicated with madhu, proceed drowsi ly var ious charmin g ku j as nearby. By the influence of His inconceivable potency, rKa manifests Himsin m any form s, and sim ultaneously m eets indiv idual ly w i th each sakh. Just as an elephant infatuated by ludoes not feel t ired when he unites with a number of she-elephants, at the same time that He is giving furthand fu ther inspiration to r Rdh, r Ka consorts w ith m any b eloved sakhs. conf id ent ial sakhs, Thenter a lak e for w ater spo rts.


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r Nrada said, O Vnd , ho w is i t po ssible fo r the aivarya feature to manifest in the mdhurya of Nan dan and anas p astim es? Please dispel th is dou bt.rVnd-devsaid, O Muni, rHari s mdhurya is actually His ll -akti. With th is akti He performs Hm ost attractive and sw eet pastim es. It is on ly th rou gh th is mdhurya- ll-akti that H e sp orts at the sam e tiw i th each gopa and gop,.. . but in H is ow n ori ginal form H e sp orts w ith r Rdh. This is r Kmdhurya -akti, not H is aivarya-akti. A fter entering w ithin the lake, Rdh-Ka and Th eir sakhs begTheir p lay by splashin g w ater at each o ther, and then b athing each other. After that, They are decorated wbeautifu l garments, fragrant garland s, candana and div ine ornaments. Then, wi th in a div ine bower of jewesituated on th e sho re of that lak e, I offer them a repast of fru its and h erbal drin k s that I have prep ared my serm at Rdh ik person ally serves r K a as H e ho no rs the festive fo od s first. He th en rests on a bed

f lowers. At that t ime, two or three sakhs attend Him

by supp ly ing Him wi th bete l nuts ( tmblfannin g H im , massaging H is feet, and so on . As the sakhs serve rK a, H e falls asleep sm ili ng, ab sor bedthoughts of His beloved Rdhik. While rKa rests, Rdhik and Her sakhs with great love and del igrel ish the rem nants of fo od and drin k left by H er lover. A fter r Rdhik has accepted a l i t t le of Kremn ants, She go es to th e bed roo m and gazes upo n the lo tus face of H er Pra-vallabha, r Ka, just l ithe cakor bird looks at the moon. The sakhs there offer Her the tmbla chew ed b y r ym asun dara. Salso chew s the remn ants, after d iv id in g i t amo ng H er sakhs. r Ka is eager to h ear the sw eet, uni nh ib ittalks betw een r Rdhik and H er sakhs, so He has covered His whole body with c loth and pretends to deeply asleep, a l though He is fu l ly awake. The sakhs thin k that Ka is asleep and freely m ake w iremarks, laughing and cutt ing jokes with each other. Soon afterwards, however, they guess that He was op retendin g to b e asleep, and that H e has cleverly h eard everythin g that they said. Feeling asham ed, they p retheir ton gues betw een their teeth, and im m ersed in shyn ess, they loo k at each oth ers faces in aw e, unablespeak. H ow ever, they very soo n recover their natural state; thro w ing the cloth fro m K as bo dy , they sWh at a sou nd sleep Y ou are havin g! This am uses Ka, and they al l laugh to gether. O best of th e m u n i s,thi s w ay Rdh , Ka and the sakhs perform a var iety of p layful past imes which are fu l l of wi t ty jokes alaughter, and then They enjoy bl issful sleep for sometime. Thereafter, in great delight, they al l sit on a divincapacio us raised seat. Th en, w agering n eck laces, garm ents, k isses or em br aces, w i t h bhvas o f prethey jestingly gamb le w ith d ice. Even thou gh K a is defeated, H e falsely claims that H e has w on . Thus app roaches to take aw ay Rdhik s neck lace, but She slaps H im . Bein g thus slapp ed by H er lotus hanKa b ecom es moro se. Pretendin g that H e is abo ut to leave the p lace, H e says O D ev, I h ave been d efeatby Yo u. H ere, tak e my w ager. These are the ki sses and o ther th in gs that I stak ed b efor e. So saying , r Kaw ards rm atRdhik H er k isses and so on . Being eager to w itness rRdh s crook ed eyeb row s and heH er w ord s of ch astisemen t to r yma the uka and r birds come and begin a dispute about t

respective v irtues of Rdh and Ka. After hearing th at dispute b etw een the uka and r, r r Rdh aK a d epart fo r Th eir respecti ve d estin ation s. rK a tak es leave o f H is Pra-vall abh rm atRdh ik , agoes to rejoin the cow s, w hile rm atRdhik goes w ith H er sakhs to Srya Mandira to perform Srya-pM eanw hi le, after rK a h as gon e a sho rt di stance, H e di sgui ses H im self as a brhmaa p riest, and also sof f fo r Sry a Man di ra. rm atRdh ik s sakhs th ink that He is a p j r who wi l l he lp them to conduct thworship, and they request Him to perform Srya-pj on their behalf. Thereupon, rKa begins to perfoSrya-pj wi th funny, concocted Vedic mant ras . When the intel l igent sakhs hear these made-up Vemant ras , they im m ediately un derstand that this priest is no ne oth er than their lov er rK a H im self, w hodistressed in separat ion from rRdhik. Knowing th is, drowning in the ocean of the bl iss of prema, thforget their own ident i ty and that of others. (O Muni) , when They have spent two and a hal f praharp erform ing a variety o f p astim es l ik e this, rm at Rdhik and H er sakhs return to their respective home

w hil e Ka pro ceeds to H is cow s.Vijaya: W hat are the aparhna- ll (aftern oo n p astim es)?Gosvm: rVnd-devcontinues, O Nrada, Ka rejoins His sakhs and return s to V raja. By the swsound of His mura l , H e assemb les al l the cow s from every di rection and steals aw ay the hearts of th e vravss. When Nanda and the other vraja-vss hear the sw eet sou nd of r H ari s veu and see the sky beicovered with the dust ra ised by the cows hooves, they become very eager to see Him and immediateproceed in that d irect ion. After returning to Her home, and being bathed, dressed and ornamented by Hsakhs, rm atRdh ik prep ares vario us typ es of f oo ds for H er Pra-vall abh a r Ka and an xi ou sly leavw i th Her sakhs to take His darana. Wh en K a returns to the outskirts of Vraja on the w ay from go-craal l of the vra ja -vss gather on bo th sides of th e roy al path. r Ka greets everyon e, and offers resp


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according to age, qual i t ies and so for th. Some He favors by looking on them, some by embracing, some sweet words, and some by jubi lant , sweet, smi l ing glances overf lowing with prema. H e N rada! r K offers respectful namaskara both by bod i ly gestures and by respectfu l w ords to al l the elder ly gopas. Fall idown, He o f fers s ga-da a vat to the feet of Mahrja Nanda, Yaod Miy, and Rohi Miy, agives special delight to His beloved gops wi th H is kpkaka (m erciful sw eet sidelo ng glances). In retuthe variou s vraja-vss offer Him blessings, exchange sw eet w ords, w orship H im and so o n. H e then carefuherds the cows into the go-l. Afterw ards at the request of T heir p arents, r Ka and D auj go to Throoms and bathe and take a l i t t le prasda. Then after requesting th eir parents blessings, the tw o d ivibro thers again p roceed eagerly tow ards the go-l to mi lk the cow s. Vijaya: W hat are the ya -ll (p astim es du ring d usk and early even ing) ?

Gosvm: Th en rK a m ilk s som e of the cow s H im self and engages oth ers in m ilk ing th e rest. Wh en tis done, He returns to His house with His father, fo l lowed by hundreds of servants carry ing pots of miArriving home, He sits beside Nanda Mahrja, His uncles, His cousins, Balarma and the sakhs whYaod, Roh i, and other elderly gops serve Them, and He rel ishes varieties of food preparations that achew ed, sucked, l icked and d runk .Vijaya: Please tel l m e abou t the prad oa- ll (p astim es of th e f irst part of th e nigh t).Gosvm: In great excitem ent, rm atRdhik cook s varieties of f oo d p reparations and send s them by Hsakhs to Ka in N anda-bhavan, even b efore Her m other- in- law orders Her to do so. Alon g w ith H is fathand the sakhs, r Ka rep eatedly relishes and p raises the varieties of p rep aration s sent b y r Rdh ,w ell as m any o thers given by Yaod Miy. Then Ka goes w ith H is father, fr iends and relatives to tassemb ly h all w here singers and dancers entertain th em w ith sw eet son gs and d ances. Meanw hile, the sakhtake K as rem nan ts and o ffer them to Rdh ik in a secret place. rm atRdhi k distribu tes them amo nthe sakhs in o rder of senior i ty (and deeply absorbed in though ts of H im She hon ors them w ith great del ighAfter enjoying those remnants, Her sakhs decorate Her very charmingly, and She is then ready to go abhisra (meeting w i th Her priyatama yma!).Vijaya: Prabhu, I am b ecomin g very eager to h ear about r t r i -ll (the ni ght p astim es).Gosvm: rV nd -devsaid, I send a certain sakh from here to rm atRdhik , w ho accom pani ed by Hsakhs then comes to a div ine, bejeweled bower inside the n i ku ja . I t is situated on the banks of Yamundensely cov ered by kalpa vka trees. Accord ing to th e m essenger sakhs in di cation , rm atRdh ik d resin c lothes that sui t the br ightness of the moon. Dur ing the dark for tn ight (k a-paka), She dresses in daclothes, w hi le in the br ight fo r tn ight (uklapaka), She w ears l ight or w hite clo thes. Meanw hil e, Ka sitsHis fathers assembly hall, watching various types of wonderful shows and l istening to k tyya n -sa gson gs that cap tivate the m ind . After that, He suitably r ew ards and satisf ies the perfo rm ers w ith w ealth

grains, accepts w orship fro m N anda Mahrjas sub jects, and p roceeds w ith H is m other tow ards H is bedro oAfter Yaod Miy has pu t Ka to sleep, she leaves H is roo m and go es to rest in h er ow n ro om . Thereup oKa, who was only pretending to be asleep, si lently leaves His room, taking care not to be noticed anyone, He goes to join His consort at the assigned meeting ( sa keta) p lace. There, They perform var iopastimes headed by singing and rsa dancing together in the forest w i th Their sakhs. After spending almtwo and a hal f praharas of the n ight and p erformin g var ious other past imes of the r sa-ll, (such as bathiin Y amun ), the tw o M oiet ies enter Their ku ja unnoticed by the sleeping birds. In that soli tary ku ja , Rdand Ka l ie down on a sublime bed of f lowers, just suitable for Their mind-captivating, amorous pastimeThen they rest w hi le Their m ost conf id ent ial sakhs render ap pro p riate services.Vijaya, this is the most celebrated rKas aa-klya -ll, in w hich the in gredients of a l l types of rasa are preseThe var ious types of rasas that I have discussed with you previously are al l present in this ll. You shou ld kerender ing your service at your assigned p lace, at the appointed t ime, in your appointed group,and wi th your specirelat ionship . Wh en Vijaya Kum ra had heard al l these descr ip t ion s from r Gu ru Go svm s lotu s m ou th, he becaove rw he lmed w i th bhva. Tears of prema ro l led do w n his cheeks, and the hairs on h is body stood o n end. H e spo kfew w ord s in a falter ing v oice, and then fel l u nco nsciou s at rGo pla Guru Go svm s lotu s feet. Som etime later, w hhe regained con sciou sness, rGo pla Gu ru Go svm em braced him w ith great affect ion, and strok ed his head. Streaof tears also fel l f ro m rGu ru G osvms eyes. Eventually, realizing th at i t w as very l ate at nigh t, Vijaya Kum ra offedaavat -prama at r Guru Gosvms lo tus feet , com po sed h imsel f , and w alked slow ly to h is p lace. Now rakath began to app ear in h is heart day and n ight.

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Asta Kaliya Lilas