CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Perfection of the Mellow of Pure LoveThe Glories of Rasa (siddha prema-rasa/rasa-mahima)
01.15.07 Arjuna to Maharaja Yudhishthira
yat-samshrayad drupada-geham upagatanam
rajnam svayamvara-mukhe smara-durmadanam
tejo hritam khalu mayabhihatash ca matsyah
sajjikritena dhanushadhigata ca Krishna
yat—by whose merciful; samshrayat—by strength; drupada-geham—in the palace of King Drupada; upagatanam—all those assembled; rajnam—of the princes; svayamvara-mukhe—on the occasion of the selection of the bridegroom; smara-durmadanam—all lusty in thought; tejah—power; hritam—vanquished; khalu—as it were; maya—by me; abhihatah—pierced; ca—also; matsyah—the fish target; sajji-kritena—by equipping the bow; dhanusha—by that bow also; adhigata—gained; ca—also; krishna—Draupadi.
Only by His merciful strength was I able to vanquish all the lusty princes assembled at the palace of King Drupada for the selection of the bridegroom. With my bow and arrow I could pierce the fish target and thereby gain the hand of Draupadi.
01.15.11-12 Arjuna to Maharaja Yudhishthiras
yo no jugopa vana etya duranta-krcchrad
durvasaso ‘ri-racitad ayutagra-bhug yah
shakanna-shishtam upayujya yatas tri-lokim
triptam amamsta salile vinimagna-sanghah
yah—one who; nah—us; jugopa—gave protection; vane—forest; etya—getting in; duranta—dangerously; kricchrat—trouble; durvasasah—of Durvasa Muni; ari—enemy; racitat—fabricated by; ayuta—ten thousand; agra-bhuk—one who eats before; yah—that person; shaka-anna-shishtam—remnants of foodstuff; upajyuja—having accepted; yatah—because; tri-lokim—all the three worlds; triptam—satisfied; amamsta—thought within the mind; salile—while in the water; vinimagna-sanghah—all merged into the water.
During our exile, Durvasa Muni, who eats with his ten thousand disciples, intrigued with our enemies to put us in dangerous trouble. At that time He [Lord Krishna], simply by accepting the remnants of food, saved us. By His accepting food thus, the assembly of munis, while bathing in the river, felt sumptuously fed. And all the three worlds were also satisfied. (11)
yat-tejasatha bhagavan yudhi shula-panir
vismapitah sagirijo ‘stram adan nijam me
anye ‘pi caham amunaiva kalevarena
prapto mahendra-bhavane mahad-asanardham
yat—by whose; tejasa—by influence; atha—at one time; bhagavan—the personality of god (Lord Shiva); yudhi—in the battle; shula-panih—one who has a trident in his hand; vismapitah—astonished; sa-girijah—along with the daughter of the Himalaya Mountains; astram—weapon; adat—awarded; nijam—of his own; me—unto me; anye api—so also others; ca—and; aham—myself; amuna—by this; eva—definitely; kalevarena—by the body; praptah—obtained; maha-indra-bhavane—in the house of Indradeva; mahat—great; ashsana-ardham—half-elevated seat.
It was by His influence only that in a fight I was able to astonish the personality of god Lord Shiva and his wife, the daughter of Mount Himalaya. Thus he [Lord Shiva] became pleased with me and awarded me his own weapon. Other demigods also delivered their respective weapon to me and in addition I was able to reach the heavenly planets in this present body and was allowed a half-elevated seat. (12)
01.15.16,18,21 Arjuna to Maharaja Yudhishthira
yad-dohshu ma pranihitam guru-bhishma-karna-
naptri-trigarta-shalya-saindhava-bahlikadyaih
astrany amogha-mahimani nirupitani
nopasprishur nrihari-dasam ivasurani
yat—under whose; dohshu—protection of arms; ma pranihitam—myself being situated; guru—Dronacarya; bhishma—Bhisma; karna—Karna; naptri—Bhurisrava; trigarta—King Susarma; shalya—Salya; saindhava—King Jayadratha; bahlika—brother of Maharaja Santanu (Bhisma’s father); adyaih—etc.; astrani—weapons; amogha—invincible; mahimani—very powerful; nirupitani—applied; na—not; upasprishuh—touched; nrihari-dasam—servitor of Nrsimhadeva (Prahlada); iva—like; asurani—weapons employed by the demons.
Great generals like Bhisma, Drona, Karna, Bhurisrava, Susarma, Salya, Jayadratha, and Bahlika all directed their invincible weapons against me. But by His [Lord Krishna's] grace they could not even touch a hair on my head. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja, the supreme devotee of Lord Nrsimhadeva, was unaffected by the weapons the demons used against him. (16)
narmany udara-rucira-smita-shobhitani
he partha he ‘rjuna sakhe kuru-nandaneti
sanjalpitani nara-deva hridi-sprishani
smartur luthanti hridayam mama madhavasya
narmani—conversation in jokes; udara—talked very frankly; rucira—pleasing; smita-shobhitani—decorated with a smiling face; he—note of address; partha—O son of Prtha; he—note of address; arjuna—Arjuna; sakhe—friend; kuru-nandana—son of the Kuru dynasty; iti—and so on; sanjalpitani—such conversation; nara-deva—O King: hridi—heart; sprishani—touching; smartuh—by remembering them; luthanti—overwhelms; hridayam—heart and soul; mama—my; madhavasya—of Madhava (Krishna).
O King! His jokings and frank talks were pleasing and beautifully decorated with smiles. His addresses unto me as "O son of Prtha, O friend, O son of the Kuru dynasty", and all such heartiness are now remembered by me, and thus I am overwhelmed. (18)
tad vai dhanus ta ishavah sa ratho hayas te
so ‘ham rathi nripatayo yata anamanti
sarvam kshanena tad abhud asad isha-riktam
bhasman hutam kuhaka-raddham ivoptam ushyam
tat—the same; vai—certainly; dhanuh te—the same bow; ishavah—arrows; sah—the very same; rathah—chariot; hayah te—the very same horses; sah aham—I am the same Arjuna; rathi—the chariot-fighter; nrpatayah—all the kings; yatah—whom; anamanti—offered their respects; sarvam—all; kshanena—at a moment’s notice; tat—all those; abhut—became; asat—useless; isha—because of the Lord; riktam—being void; bhasman—ashes; hutam—offering butter; kuhaka-raddham—money created by magical feats; iva—like that; uptam—sown; ushyam—in barren land.
I have the very same Gandiva bow, the same arrows, the same chariot drawn by the same horses, and I use them as the same Arjuna to whom all the kings offered their due respects. But in the absence of Lord Krishna, all of them, at a moment's notice, have become null and void. It is exactly like offering clarified butter on ashes, accumulating money with a magic wand or sowing seeds on barren land. (21)
02.07.26 Brahma to Narada Muni
bhumeh suretara-varutha-vimarditayah
klesha-vyayaya kalaya sita-krishna-keshah
jatah karishyati jananupalakshya-margah
karmani catma-mahimopanibandhanani
bhumeh—of the entire world; sura-itara—other than godly persons; varutha—soldiers; vimarditayah—distressed by the burden; klesha—miseries; vyayaya—for the matter of diminishing; kalaya—along with His plenary expansion; sita-krishna—not only beautiful but also black; keshah—with such hairs; jatah—having appeared; karishyati—would act; jana—people in general; anupalakshya—rarely to be seen; margah—path; karmani—activities; ca—also; atma-mahima—glories of the Lord Himself; upanibandhanani—in relation to.
When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion. The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.
