12-25 The Śukas’ and the Śarīs’ Debate 1

12 Meanwhile Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, Madhumaṅgal, Paurṇamāsī, Vṛnda, Kuṇḍavallī and all of the Sakhīs come to sit beneath a shady tree filled with amṛta Phala. But seated on the branches above, the Śukas and Śarīs are having a playful debate.

13 The Śukas say: "We are Dvijas, and having graduated from our studies with our guru, we're are qualified Ācāryas. But if we eat the fruits on trees that have been touched by women -we'll become fallen!
14 Kṛṣṇa gave us this forest because he likes us. So, Dasikas, why don't you go fly off somewhere else?"

Ṭīkā: The twice-born are called Dvija. Brahmins take their second birth with a purificatory Saṁskāra, and birds are born first from the womb and then from the egg. The Śukas' Raṅga-katha (playful words) can be understood as follows: "After studying the Vedas, our only business is to narrate Śrī Kṛṣṇa's glories. So, we're the best of the Brahmacārī Dvijas. But if we eat the ladies' remnants, we'll lose our spiritual potency."

15 The Śarīkas reply, "O Śukas! Are you adverse to the queen? For our Rādhā is Vṛndāvaneśvari! The Purāṇas clearly state: "Vṛndāvan belongs to Rādhā"!

Ṭīkā: The Śarīs say: "We're not offenders; it is you who are the miscreants! Everyone knows that belongs to Rādhā. And this isn't rumor, it's stated right in the Matsya Purāṇa -rukmiṇī dvāravatyāḥ tu Rādhā vṛndāvane vane.

16-17 The Śukas answer: "O Śarīs! The Śrutis declare that Vṛndāvan is Kṛṣṇa's. But remember, the Smṛtis' authority must be backed by Śrutis. So you'll have to acknowledge that Vṛndāvan belongs to Kṛṣṇa. And the people also declare that Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of this land. So Śruti and Smṛti agree to make the world joyful."

Ṭīkā: The Śrutis are the Vedas. If a Puranic (i.e., Smṛti) Siddhānta doesn't match the Vedas, the Vedas' conclusion is accepted as final. Thus, the Śukas remind the Śarīs, "The Vedas declare that Vṛndāvan is Kṛṣṇa's vana. So, your evidence is unacceptable."

18 The Śarīkas find the Śukas' words intolerable and retort: "Hey Śukas! Your version only applies to ownership, but ours takes a more important consideration
-this forest is Rādhā's because it is a reflection of her."

Ṭīkā: Ownership is established in two ways: 1) through proprietorship, and 2) by an object being an integral part of oneself. For example, if someone works for the government, he belongs to the government. Yet no one can argue that his body does not belong to him. Similarly, because the Vṛndāvan forest is illuminated by Rādhikā's Aṅga Kānti, it is non-different from her, and therefore hers.

19 "Hey Śukas! All the cowherd boys outwardly look very nice like a ripe Makāla fruit, but inside they're just as bitter! That is because they are full of deception and trickery."

Ṭīkā: Having established Rādhā's superiority and rendered the Śukas speechless with their argument, the Śarīkas decide to press on by slighting Kṛṣṇa and the other cowherds by comparing them to the Makāla a fruit (Mahākāla in Sanskrit). A Makāla looks delectable, but after tasting it, one immediately spits it out because it's very bitter. Thus, the Śarīkas instigate another Prema-kalaha (love quarrel) with their comparison.

20 The Śukas retort: "O Śarīs! Although the Gopīs are sweet on the inside, they're covered by an outer layer of orneriness, and then by tough shell of Māna-just like the hard layers covering the sweet coconut meat. That is the shape of Rāsa where they are concerned.

21 But where Kṛṣṇa is concerned, he is the same inside and out, without any flaw or wasted elements. He's sweet inside and out, like a bunch of grapes."

22 The Śarīkas answer with a grin: "Oh rey Śukas! Your master may be Rāsamaya within, but his dishonest, pert behavior is coarse like sugarcane bark. So just as sugarcane juice isn't available until the cane is squeezed by a machine, your rasika Kṛṣṇa doesn't supply any Rāsa until he has been run through the mill of the Gopīs' Māna! No wonder he is called acyuta (hard but as infallible)!"

23 The Śarīkas continue: "Here's another example: Black sesame seeds are very hard, yet when they are machine pressed, they produce a refreshing oil. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has a hard shell of rascaldom, but the Gopīs' Māna squeezes out his affection!"

Ṭīkā: The word sneha means both oil and affection.24 The Śukas try another approach: "Your Gopīs are like the red hibiscus (Jabā) flower-nice looking on the outside, but lacking any fragrance. On the other hand, our Kṛṣṇa is like the blue lotus -he is both sweet to look at and sweet-smelling too."

Ṭīkā: The Śukas declare: "O Śarīs! Your quick speech comes out like popcorn. But why talk so many words with so little substance? Look, when flowers are fragrant, bees come automatically-just as a topnotch Nāyikā allures her Nāyaka by her special qualities. But your Gopīs are only pretty to look at, and they really have no inner qualities."

25 The Śarīkas retort: "No, no! Our Īśvarī Rādhā is like a Mañjiṣṭha latā- the same color inside and out! But, hey Śukas! Your Kṛṣṇa is like a crystal- he turns whatever color comes before him."

Ṭīkā: Now the Śarīs jokingly imply that Kṛṣṇa has no moral fiber (Carita-hīna), each one of them collaring one of the Śukas and saying, "Why are you praising someone who never remains the same-but changes according to circumstances, like a mirror reflecting whatever object comes near? Your Kṛṣṇa acts subordinate to whichever sundarī Ramaṇī he happens to be with. He lacks fixed Prema for any one Preyasī. So how can anyone show respect to such a fallen Kāmuka?