Radha Krishna’s Pratha Lila Sutra
Krishna
rises from bed,
Yashoda and Paurnamasi's seva,
Krishna goes to the Goshala.
Radharani rises,
her Rasodgara,
Morning Bath and Toilette.
rādhāṁ snāta bibhūṣitāṁ brajapayāhūtāṁ sakhībhiḥ prage
tadgehe bihitānna pāka racanāṁ kṛṣṇāvaśeṣaśanām
kṛṣṇaṁ buddhambāpta dhenu sadanaṁ nirbyūra godohanaṁ
susnātaṁ kṛtabhojanaṁ saha caraistāncātha tancāśryaye
Verse 1
Srimati Radharani is bathed and dressed in the morning.
Then receiving Vrajeshwari Yashoda's order, she goes with her sakhi varga to cook
at Krishna's house.
Krishna awakens and goes to milk the cows at the goshala.
Then he bathes, dresses and sits down with the sakhas to relish Radha's
cooking.
And after Krishna's bhojan, Radharani enjoys his prasad with her sakhis.
Let us thus take shelter of Radha and Krishna in the early morning.
(SmaraNa-maGgala, 4)
Tika:
This is Sri Rupa's fourth shloka in Smaraṇa-maṅgala. Srila Kaviraj Goswami will
now expand on it with the narration that continues to the end of the fourth
chapter, a total of 295 shlokas.
Once upon a time, Durvasa Muni gave Radha the benediction that her cooking
would defeat the taste of nectar, and that the life's duration of whomever
partakes of it would increase. After hearing about this wonderful boon, Mother
Yashoda eagerly began calling Srimati Radharani to come to Nanda bhavan to
daily prepare Krishna's morning bhojan.
Verse 2
Paurnamasi Devi's heart is illuminated by the full moon of Krishna prema. She
quickly finishes her duties at daybreak and rushes to Nanda bhavan to have Sri
Achyuta's darshan.Tika: Bhagavati Paurnamasi is none other than Sri Yogamaya, by whose mystic
potency Sri Krishna's lilas unfold. As Krishna's seniormost associate, all of
the Vrajavasis offer respects unto her feet-even Vraja Raja Nanda. Paurnamasi
is Sandipani Muni's mother and the grandmother of Krishna's intimate brahmin
friend Madhumangal. As a siddha-tapasvini, she resides in a secluded spot near
the Yamuna in a thatched cottage under a banyan tree.
Verse 3
Paurnamasi's eyes are overjoyed to see Nanda Maharaj's palace. Everywhere there
are affectionate, loving people moving about. The building is a marvel of
jeweled craftsmanship. The courtyard appears like Svetadvipa overflowing with
spilt milk from the churning of yogurt and butter. And within this abode,
Krishna happily rests on an elegant bed of white sheets that resemble an ocean
of milk.
Tika:
In the Gutika, Siddha Krishna Das Babagi describes Nanda bhavan as having forty-nine
rooms: Krishna's bedroom chamber is in the palace's southern section.
Govinda-līlāmṛta first describes Nandagram's morning pastimes (up to shloka
41). But in Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti begins with Srimati
Radharani's morning activities, as Sri Rupa in the sutra.
So let's enter Srila Vishwanath's scene first: Radha is resting in her room at
Javat. To comfortably accommodate Radha after her marriage, Sri Vrishabhanu
Raja built a separate mansion for her on the north side of Jatila's house. The
pillars, verandas, archways and many rooms of this palace defeat the splendor
of Narayan's abode. Hence, simply by viewing this amazing structure, one
becomes stunned with ashta sattvika emotions!
Above the palace are indranila-mani (blue sapphire) pillars that are crested by swans sculpted in gold. When the peacocks see the pillars, however, they first mistake them for clouds and open their tail feathers to dance, but when they see the swans, they close their feathers, thinking them to be their foes.
Being the first to awaken, the manjaris bathe and decorate themselves with chandan, kasturi and kunkum. Next they adorn their bodies with Radha's prasadi clothes, malas and ornaments to maintain their effulgence. Owing to their complete surrender for Radha Krishna's Yugala-seva, these dasis are extremely beautiful-their shining toenails alone are brighter than lightning. Moreover, they are the personifications of quick-witted intelligence. Thus each of them is qualified to be a yutheshwari nayika (a group leader amongst the gopis).Yet, being disinterested in personal pleasure, they plunge deep into the ocean of Sri Radha's dasya rasa.
On the second storey of Radha's palace, the manjaris joyfully clean the floors
and verandas where Radha will eat, rest, sit or dress.
Then they spread a deerskin for her to sit on, arranging comfortable pillows on all sides.
Next they hang a decorative canopy in place overhead.
One of them polishes the golden glasses and utensils that Radha will use upon
awakening.
Another kinkari brings water, which will be cool in the summer and hot in the
winter.
One dasi opens the jeweled trunk where Radha's clothes are kept, removes the
garments that she will wear today, and places them over a pillow.
Some seva dasis are grinding camphor and kunkum, while
others are preparing flower ornaments and malas for Radha's shringar, or
folding pan leaves with condiments inside. (Krishna-bhavanamrita 3.1-9)