Prema Bhakti Chandrika
A Comprehensive Guide to Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma
Prema Bhakti Chandrika
Composed by Srila Narottama Thakura
Song one
jaya sanatana rupa prema bhakti rasa kupa
jugala ujjwala rasa tanu
janhara prasade loka pararila saba soka
prakatala kalpa taru jana
prema bhakti riti jata nija granthe su-byakata
kariyachen dui mahashay
jahara srabana haite parananda haya cite
jugala madhura rasaraya
jugala kishora prem, jini laksa bana hema
hena dhana prakashila janra
jaya rupa sanatana deha more sei dhana
se ratana mora gela hara
bhagavata sastra marma nava bidha bhakti dharma
sadai kariba su sebana
anya devashraya ani tomare kahinu bhai
ei bhakta parama bhajan
sadhu shastra guru vakya cittete kariya aikya
satata bhasiba prema majhe
karmi jnani bhakti hina ihare karibe bhina
narottame ei tattwa gaje
Song two
ana katha ana byatha nahi jena jai tatha
tomara carana smriti majhe
abirata abikala tuwa guna kala-kala
gai jena satera samaje
anya brata anya dana nahi karon bastu jnana
anya seba anya deba puja
ha ha krishna bali bali bedera ananda kari
mane ara nahe jena duja
Jibane marane gati radha krishna prana pati
donhara piriti rasa sukhe
jugala bhajaye janra premanande bhase tanra
ei katha rahu mora buke
jugala carana seba ei dana more diba
jugalete manera piriti
jugala kishora rupa kama rati guna bhupa
mane bhu o lila piriti
dasanete trina kari ha ha kishor-kishori
caranabje nibedana kari
braja-raja-suta syama brishabhanu suta nama
shri radhika nam?
kanaka-ketaki rai shyama marakata tay
kandarpa darapa karu cura
a bara shiromani natinira shikarini
dunhun gune dunhun mana jhura
abharana manimaya prati ange abhinaya
tachu paye narottama kahe
diba nisi guna gaya parama ananda paya
mane ei abhilasa hay
" All glories to Sri Sanatana and Rupa Goswami who are fathomless well springs of prema-bhakti-rasa. They personify ujjvala-rasa. They are desire trees whose mercy frees everyone from pain and sorrow. The books of those two great souls clearly explain prema-bhakti. Hearing of them will bring one great joy for they are the ashraya-vigrahas of madhura-rasa. O Rupa and Sanatana, you are endowed with the greatest wealth of divine love?radha-krishna-prema?which in your hands is like thousands of cupid’s golden arrows. O Rupa and Sanatana, bestow some of that treasure upon me by piercing my heart with those jeweled arrows. The essence of Shrimad Bhagavatam is the ninefold path of bhakti. I shall always follow that path, without taking shelter of any other god. O brothers! Krishna-bhakti is the supreme form of bhajan. Making the words of guru, shastra and the sadhus my mind’s only meditation I shall dive and surface in the ocean of krishna-prema.
The karmis and jnanis have no bhakti. Bhakti is different--it is without any trace of karma, exploitation, or jnana, calcualtion. Thus sings Narottama of the truth." "I have no other topic of discussion but your lotus feet. I worry my mind with nothing other than the thought of your lotus feet, O Lord. I can speak of nothing else but your holy qualities in the company of other devotees. I have no other vow but your service. I have no other object of charity. I am interested in no other kind of knowledge besides knowing how to please you. I have no other duties. I worship no other gods before you. Chanting, "O Krishna! O Krishna!" I shall wander in ecstasy, thinking of nothing other than You. Radha-Krishna are my goal in life and death and the masters of my breath.
Performing my bhajan only for them I rise and fall in the ocean of prema, divine love. I pray that I may always maintain this conception within my heart as my highest idea: Let me serve the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha and Govinda. Let my mind be filled with dedication to their divine forms whose beauty surpasses that of Cupid and Rati. With a straw between my teeth I fall at their feet and present my humble petition: "O Kishora-Kishori! O Son of King Nanda, Shyamasundra! And O daugther of King Vrishabhanu, Sri Radhika, you who enchant even Hari, you whose bodily complexion is the color of a golden lotus. O Krishna, whose bodily color is that of a blue jewel, whose beauty mocks cupid. O topmost dancer and dansesuse, Shri Krishna and Shri Radha: Please dance within my mind. O you whose beauty increases the charm of your dazzling ornaments, my only wish is that day and night, in great ecstasy, I shall go on singing your glories."
The Dust of the Lotus Feet of Sri Radhika
From Sri Prema-bhakti-candrika, verse nine
radhika carana-renu, bhusana kariya tan
anayase pabe giridhari
radhika-caranasraya ye kare se mahasaya,
tan 're mui yaon balihari
One who adorns his body with the dust of the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika will easily get Lord Giridari. By taking the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika as his asraya or sole refuge, he becomes an exalted devotee - to him I say, "Excellent! Bravo!"
Jaya jaya 'radha' nama, vrndavana yan'ra dhama,
krsna-sukha-vilasera nidhi
hena radha-guna-gana, na sunila mora kana,
vanchita karila more vidhi
All glories to Sri Radha whose divine abode is Vrndavana! She is the wealth of Krsna's blissful pastimes. If my ears never hear such glories as Radha's, then I have been cheated by the hands of fate.
tan'ra bhakta-sange sada, rasa-lila prema-katha,
yena kare se paya ghanasyama
ihate vimukha yei, ta'ra kabhu siddhi nai,
nahi yena suni ta'ra nama
One who is always in the association of devotees who hear about and discuss prema-katha, topics on divine love, such as the rasa-lila pastimes in Vrndavana, he will get the lotus feet of that Krishna whose bodily hue is like a dark-blue monsoon cloud. He who is adverse to hearing and discussing these topics, will never achieve the goal of life, nor do I ever want to hear his name.
krsna-nama-gane bhai, radhika-carana pai,
radha-nama-gane krsna-candra
samksepe kahinu katha, ghucao manera vyatha,
duhkhamaya anya katha-dvandva
O brothers! By chanting Krishna's names, one can get Radhika's lotus feet; and by chanting Radha's names one can get the moonlike Lord Krishna. In a few brief words I have told what gives relief to this aching heart - other talks are simply full of misery with conflicting words and thoughts.