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Sri Lakshmi-devi’s victory: Hera Panchami celebration (Part 1)



Today is Hera-panchami, which is observed five days after Lord Jagannatha’s Ratha-yatra festival. Hera means to search, and panchami means five days after the chariot festival began. Thus today, we will discuss the Ratha-yatra chariot festival in Jagannatha Puri. Earlier, we heard how Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu danced in front of Lord Jagannatha and expressed His sentiments. 


Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is very eager to listen to how the preparations for this sweet festival celebration are going on. For this reason, Kashi Misra and other devotees arranged for the very nice and beautiful celebration of Hera-panchami. Another name for Hera-panchami is Lakshmi-vijaya. (The victory of Lakshmi-devi)


herā-pañcamī’ra dina āila jāniyā kāśī-miśre kahe rājā sayatna kariyā


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.106)


[Knowing that the Hera-panchami festival was drawing near, King Prataparudra attentively talked with Kashi Mishra.]


kalya ‘herā-pañcamī’ habe lakṣmīra vijaya aiche utsava kara yena kabhu nāhi haya


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.107)


[“Tomorrow will be the function of Hera-panchami or Lakshmi-vijaya. Hold this festival in a way that it has never been held before.]


ṭhākurera bhāṇḍāre āra āmāra bhāṇḍāre citra-vastra-kiṅkiṇī, āra chatra-cāmare


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.109)


[“Take as many printed cloths, small bells, umbrellas and chamaras as there are in my storehouse and in the Deity’s storehouse.]


dhvajāvṛnda-patākā-ghaṇṭāya karaha maṇḍana nānā-vādya-nṛtya-dolāya karaha sājana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.110)


[“Collect all kinds of small and large flags and ringing bells. Then decorate the carrier and have various musical and dancing parties accompany it. In this way decorate the carrier attractively.]


dviguṇa kariyā kara saba upahāra ratha-yātrā haite yaiche haya camatkāra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.111)


[“You should also double the quantity of prasadam. Make so much that it will even surpass the Ratha-yatra festival.]


The King himself was very eager, and told Kashi Mishra and others, “You have to arrange a very nice and beautiful celebration for Hera-panchami, the victory of Lakshmi-devi.”


seita’ kariha, — prabhu lañā bhakta-gaṇa svacchande āsiyā yaiche karena daraśana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.112)


[“Arrange the festival in such a way that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu may freely go with His devotees to visit the Deity without difficulty.”]


prātaḥ-kāle mahāprabhu nija-gaṇa lañā jagannātha darśana kaila sundarācale yāñā


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.113)


[In the morning, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took His personal associates with Him to see Lord Jagannatha at Sundarachala.]


nīlācale āilā punaḥ bhakta-gaṇa-saṅge dekhite utkaṇṭhā herā-pañcamīra raṅge


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.114)


[Then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His personal devotees returned to Nilachala with great eagerness to see the Hera-panchami festival.]


kāśī-miśra prabhure bahu ādara kariyā svagaṇa-saha bhāla-sthāne vasāila lañā


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.115)


[Kashi Mishra received Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with great respect, and taking the Lord and His associates to a very nice place, he had them seated.]


rasa-viśeṣa prabhura śunite māna haila īṣat hāsiyā prabhu svarūpe puchila


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.116)


[After taking His seat, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to hear about a particular mellow of devotional service; therefore, mildly smiling, He began to question Svarupa Damodara.]


yadyapi jagannātha karena dvārakāya vihāra sahaja prakaṭa kare parama udāra tathāpi vatsara-madhye haya eka-bāra vṛndāvana dekhite tāṅra utkaṇṭhā apāra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.117-118)


[Although Lord Jagannatha enjoys His pastimes at Dvaraka-dhama and naturally manifests sublime liberality there, still, once a year He becomes unlimitedly eager to see Vrindavana.]


vṛndāvana-sama ei upavana-gaṇa tāhā dekhibāre utkaṇṭhita haya māna


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.119)


[Pointing out the neighbouring gardens, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “All these gardens exactly resemble Vrindavana; therefore Lord Jagannatha is very eager to see them again.]


bāhira ha-ite kare ratha-yātrā-chala sundarācale yāya prabhu chāḍi’ nīlācala


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.120)


[“Externally, He gives the excuse that He wants to participate in the Ratha-yatra festival, but actually He wants to leave Jagannatha Puri to go to Sundarachala, the Gundicha temple, a replica of Vrindavana.]


nānā-puṣpodyāne tathā khele rātri-dine lakṣmīdevīre saṅge nāhi laya ki kāraṇe?


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.121)


[“The Lord enjoys His pastimes day and night in various flower gardens there. But why does He not take Lakshmi-devi, the goddess of fortune, with Him?”]


Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and all of His associates, His parikaras, were very comfortably seated in a beautiful place. The Lord sat near to Svarupa Damodara. A very nice and beautiful drama will be celebrated, elaborating on how Lakshmi-devi goes to meet with her other beloved, Lord Jagannatha— this lila takes place today.


And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very eager, so the Lord asked Svarupa Damodara:


rasa-viśeṣa prabhura śunite mana haila īṣat hāsiyā prabhu svarūpe puchila


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.116)


[After taking His seat, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to hear about a particular mellow of devotional service; therefore, mildly smiling, He began to question Svarupa Damodara.]


Chaitanya Mahaprabhu smiled a little and He told Svarupa Damodara, “Jagannatha is always staying in Dvaraka. However, He is very munificant and magnanimous, and once a year He goes to Vrindavana, because Vrindavana is such a beautiful place. In this way, Lord Jagannatha always performed His Ratha-yatra sundarachala–lila – ‘sundarācale yāya prabhu chāḍi’ nīlācala – nānā-puṣpodyāne’ – Sundarachala is like Vrindavana and Jagannatha Puri, Nilachala is like Dvaraka.” 


Mahaprabhu continued, “Everybody likes to go to Vrindavana because Vrindavana is a very nice and beautiful place. There are beautiful flowers, and lush gardens where Krishna can very easily enact His blissful pastimes with His associates.” 


Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then asked Svarupa Damodara, “But, why did Krishna not take Lakshmi-devi with Him?” ‘Lakṣmīdevīre saṅge nāhi laya ki kāraṇe?’ 


svarūpa kahe, — śuna, prabhu, kāraṇa ihāra vṛndāvana-krīḍāte lakṣmīra nāhi adhikāra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.122)


[Svarupa Damodara replied, “My dear Lord, please hear the reason for this. Lakshmi-devi, the goddess of fortune, cannot be admitted to the pastimes of Vrindavana.]


vṛndāvana-līlāya kṛṣṇera sahāya gopī-gaṇa gopī-gaṇa vinā kṛṣṇera harite nāre māna


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.123)


[“In the pastimes of Vrindavana, the only assistants are the gopis. But for the gopis, no one can attract the mind of Krishna.”]


Then, Svarupa Damodara answered, “Actually there is a simple reason for this, Lakshmi-devi has no qualification to perform sweet pastimes in Vrindavana. Because in vrindavana–lila, only gopis can associate with Krishna.” Lakshmi-devi has an opulence mood, and the gopis have a sweetness mood, madhurya–bhava. Those who are devotees in the mood of opulence, aishvarya-margiya-bhaktas, cannot understand the sweetness of Vrindavana. 


prabhu kahe, — yātrā-chale kṛṣṇera gamāna subhadrā āra baladeva, saṅge dui jana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.124)


[The Lord said, “Using the car festival as an excuse, Krishna goes there with Subhadra and Baladeva.]


Then, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu questioned further, “Why is Lakshmi-devi angry?” Because, Krishna took Himself, His sister Subhadra and His elder brother Baladeva.


gopī-saṅge yata līlā haya upavane nigūḍha kṛṣṇera bhāva keha nāhi jāne


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.125)


[“All the pastimes with the gopis that take place in those gardens are very confidential ecstasies of Lord Krishna. No one knows them.]


And Krishna performs sweet amorous pastimes in Vrindavana with the gopis.


ataeva kṛṣṇera prākaṭye nāhi kichu doṣa tabe kene lakṣmīdevī kare eta roṣa?


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.126)


[“Since there is no fault at all in Krishna’s pastimes, why does the goddess of fortune become angry?”]


Mahaprabhu continued asking, “If there are no faults in Krishna, why does Lakshmi-devi become very angry?” Then Svarupa Damodara answered:


svarūpa kahe, — premavatīra ei ta’ svabhāva kāntera audāsya-leśe haya krodha-bhāva


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.127)


[Svarupa Damodara replied, “It is the nature of a girl afflicted by love to become immediately angry upon finding any neglect on the part of her lover.”]


Svarupa Damodara said, “This is the symptom of love and affection. Whenever a husband shows his wife a little bit of indifference – audāsya, she becomes very angry.”


hena-kāle, khacita yāhe vividha ratana suvarṇera caudolā kari’ ārohaṇa


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.128)


[While Svarupa Damodara and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were talking, the procession of the goddess of fortune came by. She was riding upon a golden palanquin carried by four men and bedecked with a variety of jewels.]


chatra-cāmara-dhvajā patākāra gaṇa nānā-vādya-āge nāce deva-dāsī-gaṇa


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.129)


[The palanquin was also surrounded by people carrying umbrellas, chamara whisks and flags, and it was preceded by musicians and dancing girls.]


tāmbūla-sampuṭa, jhāri, vyajana, cāmara sāthe dāsī śata, hāra divya bhūṣāmbara


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.130)


[The maidservants were carrying water pitchers, chamara whisks and boxes for betel nuts. There were hundreds of maidservants, all attractively dressed and wearing valuable necklaces.]


alaukika aiśvarya saṅge bahu-parivāra kruddha hañā lakṣmīdevī āilā siṁha-dvāra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.131)


[In an angry mood, the goddess of fortune arrived at the main gate of the temple accompanied by many members of her family, all of whom exhibited uncommon opulence.]


jagannāthera mukhya mukhya yata bhṛtya-gaṇe lakṣmīdevīra dāsī-gaṇa karena bandhane


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.132)


[When the procession arrived, the maidservants of the goddess of fortune began to arrest all the principal servants of Lord Jagannatha.]


Then, a beautiful lila took place. Lakshmi-devi was decorated in a very nice and beautiful shringara. She was seated on an opulent palanquin while some of her maidservants were fanning her— some held her chatra (umbrella), chamara (whisk), dhvaja (banner), and pataka (flag). 


Other maidservants, deva-dasis, were carrying her tambula-samputa. Tambula-samputa means betel nut pot. After chewing betel nuts, one will spit the shells in this pot called tambula-samputa


Jhari, vyajana, cāmara sāthe dāsī śata, hāra divya bhūṣāmbara. And also they are carrying many kinds of ornaments. All they are dancing and singing – ‘nānā-vādya-āge nāce deva-dāsī-gaṇa. And in this way, Lakshmi-devi proceeds to meet with her beloved Krishna.


bāndhiyā āniyā pāḍe lakṣmīra caraṇe core yena daṇḍa kari’ laya nānā-dhane


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.133)


[The maidservants bound the servants of Jagannatha, handcuffed them and made them fall down at the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune. Indeed, they were arrested just like thieves who have all their riches taken away.]


acetanavat tāre karena tāḍane nānā-mata gāli dena bhaṇḍa-vacane


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.134)


[When the servants fell down before the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune, they almost fell unconscious. They were chastised and made the butt of jokes and loose language.]


And all of the maidservants of Lakshmi-devi tied and bound the servants of Jagannatha, and began heavily chastising them in the same way a king would punish offenders— using many harsh words.


lakṣmī-saṅge dāsī-gaṇera prāgalbhya dekhiyā hāse mahāprabhura gaṇa mukhe hasta diyā


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.135)


[When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates saw such impudence exhibited by the maidservants of the goddess of fortune, they covered their faces with their hands and began to smile.]


When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw this, He covered His mouth with His cloth as He smiled while Lakshmi-devi performed these types of activities.


dāmodara kahe, — aiche mānera prakāra trijagate kāhāṅ nāhi dekhi śuni āra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.136)


[Svarupa Damodara said, “There is no egoistic pride like this within the three worlds. At least I have never seen it or heard of it.]


māninī nirutsāhe chāḍe vibhūṣaṇa bhūme vasi’ nakhe lekhe, malina-vadana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.137)


[“When a woman is neglected and disappointed, out of egoistic pride she gives up her ornaments and morosely sits down on the ground, marking lines on it with her nails.]


pūrve satyabhāmāra śuni evaṁ-vidha māna vraje gopī-gaṇera māna — rasera nidhāna


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.138)


[“I have heard of this kind of pride in Satyabhama, Krishna’s proudest queen, and I have also heard of it in the gopis of Vrindavana, who are the reservoirs of all transcendental mellows.]


iṅho nija-sampatti saba prakaṭa kariyā priyera upara yāya sainya sājāñā


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.139)


[“But in the case of the goddess of fortune, I see a different kind of pride. She manifests her own opulences and even goes with her soldiers to attack her husband.”]


prabhu kahe, — kaha vrajera mānera prakāra svarūpa kahe, — gopī-māna-nadī śata-dhāra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.140)


[Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Please tell Me of the varieties of egoistic pride manifested in Vrindavana.” Svarupa Damodara replied, “The pride of the gopis is like a river flowing with hundreds of tributaries.]


Now Svarupa Damodara said, “I have never heard of these types of mana. Actually, this is not Lakshmi-devi’s mana, this is her anger, krodha.” Because when Krishna went from Nilachala to Sundarachala, He did not tell Lakshmi-devi where He was going— this is Krishna’s fault. And now, five days have already passed, and Krishna has still not sent any messages to her. For this reason, Lakshmi-devi became very angry and began to search, “Where is my husband and what is He doing?” 


So, Svarupa Damodara said that this was not mana and that it was actually anger, krodha. Mana is another thing. Yesterday I mentioned how first comes shraddha, then sadhu-sanga, bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivritti, nishtha, ruchi, asakti, bhava and prema. And when prema is condensed, it is called sneha, then when sneha mood is in its condensed form, pranaya or mana manifests. 


At that time, the beloved would abandon all of her ornaments and wear very dirty clothing called malina-vastra. She would also sit on the ground and scratch the earth with her nails while shedding tears. We have heard of these types of moods also displayed in Satyabhama, in the pastime when Narada Rishi gave a parijata flower to Krishna, and Krishna gave that flower to Rukmini. 


Satyabhama became very angry and left the assembly house, then she went to her kopa-bhavana (house of anger), and Krishna came to pacify her. Afterwards, Krishna and Satyabhama went to the heavenly planet, and brought the whole parijata tree and planted it in the courtyard of Satyabhama. 


In this way, Satyabhama also displayed this type of mana. However, the gopismana is very confidential. For this reason, Svarupa Damodara explains: 


vraje gopī-gaṇera māna — rasera nidhāna iṅho nija-sampatti saba prakaṭa kariyā priyera upara yāya sainya sājāñā


However, in the pastime previously mentioned, Lakshmi’s mana is completely different, because here, Lakshmi-devi attacked Jagannatha’s, meaning Krishna’s army— displaying her grand opulence.


prabhu kahe, — kaha vrajera mānera prakāra svarūpa kahe, — gopī-māna-nadī śata-dhāra


The gopismana is one stream of a river. 


nāyikāra svabhāva, prema-vṛtte bahu bheda sei bhede nānā-prakāra mānera udbheda


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.141)


[“The characteristics and modes of love are different in different women. Their jealous anger also takes on different varieties and qualities.]


What is the meaning of mana? If you recall, mana is actually not anger. Mana actually means when lover’s and beloved’s prema become so condensed that they cannot separate from each other. And if they were to separate from each other, they would not be able to tolerate it. 


During these moments, a particular mana sometimes manifests, giving rise to so much love and affection, called kautilya-lalita-mana. For this reason, Ujjvalla-nilamani-kirana (Samartha-rati) explains:

snehadhikyena bhadrabhadra-hetuna va rosena va hetuna vinaiva va kautilyam mānah


Actually, this mana brings forth so much love and affection, and during these moments of kautilya-lalita-mana, the nayika (heroine) thinks, “Whatever I give for the happiness of My beloved, no one else can give.” And when these types of sneha, love and affection arise, and that love and affection becomes more condensed, it creates kautilya-lalita-mana.


Mana is divided into two main types: udatta-mana and lalita-mana. Try to understand that everything here comes from love and affection. Udatta-mana manifests in the heart of Chandravali’s group, and lalita-mana manifests in the hearts of Srimati Radhika and Her group. As Svarupa Damodara explains, there are many different kinds of mana


samyak gopikāra māna nā yāya kathana eka-dui-bhede kari dig-daraśana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.142)


[“It is not possible to give a complete statement about the different types of jealous anger manifested by the gopis, but a few principles may serve as an indication.]


There are many kinds of mana, it is very difficult to fully explain them all. And mana manifests in two different ways. One is called hetu–mana, with cause or reason, another is ahetu-manaahetu means causeless. And mana also manifests in different ways. Perhaps a good quality or a bad quality of the beloved is mentioned, then mana may arise. Or maybe, a dream occured, or even they witnessed some indiscretion directly— like how Krishna cheats them to meet with other gopis


In this way, Ujjvala-nilamani provides many other kinds of reasons, but generally, we discuss  hetu-mana and ahetu-mana, with cause and without cause. Sometimes while dreaming, they see Krishna meeting with other ladies, and begin to think it was actually not a dream, then mana also arises. On some occasions their mana manifests because they hear things mentioned by other gopis like, “O Krishna went to this kunja or that kunja…” On other occasions, mana arises because they may directly see how Krishna meets with Chandravali. 


For this reason, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains:


māne keha haya ‘dhīrā’, keha ta’ ‘adhīrā’ ei tina-bhede, keha haya ‘dhīrādhīrā’


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.143)


[“There are three types of women experiencing jealous anger: sober women, restless women and women both restless and sober.]


‘dhīrā’ kānte dūre dekhi’ kare pratyutthāna nikaṭe āsile, kare āsana pradāna


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.144)


[“When a sober heroine sees her hero approaching from a distance, she immediately stands up to receive him. When he comes near, she immediately offers him a place to sit.] 


hṛdaye kopa, mukhe kahe madhura vacana priya āliṅgite, tāre kare āliṅgana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.145)


[“The sober heroine conceals her anger within her heart and externally speaks sweet words. When her lover embraces her, she returns his embrace.]


sarala vyavahāra, kare mānera poṣaṇa kimvā solluṇṭha-vākye kare priya-nirasana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.146)


[“The sober heroine is very simple in her behaviour. She keeps her jealous anger within her heart, but with mild words and smiles she rejects the advances of her lover.]


‘adhīrā’ niṣṭhura-vākye karaye bhartsana karṇotpale tāḍe, kare mālāya bandhana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.147)


[“The restless heroine, however, sometimes chastises her lover with cruel words, sometimes pulls his ear and sometimes binds him with a flower garland.]


‘dhīrādhīrā’ vakra-vākye kare upahāsa kabhu stuti, kabhu nindā, kabhu vā udāsa


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.148)


[“The heroine who is a combination of sobriety and restlessness always jokes with equivocal words. She sometimes praises her lover, sometimes blasphemes him and sometimes remains indifferent.]


‘mugdhā’, ‘madhyā’, ‘pragalbhā’, — tina nāyikāra bheda ‘mugdhā’ nāhi jāne mānera vaidagdhya-vibheda


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.149)


[“Heroines may also be classified as captivated, intermediate and impudent. The captivated heroine does not know very much about the cunning intricacies of jealous anger.]


mukha ācchādiyā kare kevala rodana kāntera priya-vākya śuni’ haya parasanna


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.150)


[“The captivated heroine simply covers her face and goes on crying. When she hears sweet words from her lover, she is very satisfied.]


As mentioned earlier, there are many different kinds of mana, it is very difficult to explain. If you are eager to hear more, you can read Ujjvala-nilamani grantha. This short pastime will give an example of how Srimati Radhika’s mana manifests. 


Once Krishna was herding the cows very close to Radha-kunda. Srimati Radhika had made a very nice and beautiful garland for Krishna. For many hours, She laboured to make the garland, without even using any thread. Can you make this? 


So, Srimati Radhika created this very nice and beautiful artful mala. Then, She told one manjari, “Okay, offer this to Krishna.” However, at the time, Krishna was surrounded by His friends. So, the sakhi just showed the garland to Him, and placed it on the branches of a nearby tree. 


Krishna actually did not see any of this, but that sakhi was thinking, “Krishna was looking and saw me place His garland here.” In the meanwhile, a crow came and thought, “Maybe this is some food,” and took the garland and flew far away. The crow arrived at a place where Chandravali and her sakhis were conversing with each other and glorifying Krishna. 


Then, the garland fell among the sakhis of Chandravali. One of Chandravali’s sakhis, Padma, noticed this very nice garland, as it was very beautiful and attractive. This sakhi could not make a garland like this, without thread and in such an artistic manner. Thus, Chandravali’s sakhi, Padma, began thinking, “O this must be Krishna’s garland. Otherwise, who can create this?” 


So Padma gave it to Chandravali, and Chandravali very nicely decorated her braids and wore the beautifully attractive garland. Now, Chandravali began walking near Srimati Radhika. As Srimati Radhika was talking with Her sakhis, She noticed, “O, that garland I gave to Krishna, is now decorating Chandravali. This means that Krishna gave this garland I made to Chandravali.” 


Then, Srimati Radhika displayed Her mana believing that Krishna was a big cheater. Several days passed and Srimati Radhika did not meet with Krishna. Krishna was now very eager to meet with Her and sent many messages asking, “What happened? What happened?” Krishna also sent His sakhis, Vrinda, Vrindarika and Dhanishtha to inquire. Except at this point, Srimati Radhika was already very angry and did not answer Krishna. 


Afterwards, they found out the reason for Srimati Radhika’ mana. Lalita and Vishakha sent some sakhis called dutis, meaning messengers, and they realised that indeed this was not Krishna’s fault.  Actually, this is their duty, to pacify the hero and heroine when mana comes, and arrange for Them to meet together and always glorify the Divine Couple Sri Radha and Krishna.


At this point, Srimati Radhika’s mana had diminished a bit. Finally, Radha and Krishna met, and Srimati Radhika asked Him, “Why did You offer My garland to Chandravali?” Krishna very humbly replied, “Actually, I did not see Your garland. A crow took the garland away and threw it in the assembly of Chandravali,” further pacifying Her mana.


In this way, there are many kinds of mana which manifest. This particular type is called hetu-mana. And as mentioned, there is ahetu-mana— without reason. Ujjvala-nilamani very nicely explains these topics in this way. 

gopī-gaṇa-madhye śreṣṭhā rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī nirmala-ujjvala-rasa-prema-ratna-khani


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.160)


[“Of all the gopis, Srimati Radharani is the chief. She is a jewel mine of ecstatic love and the source of all purified transcendental conjugal mellows.]


vayase ‘madhyamā’ teṅho svabhāvete ‘samā’ gāḍha prema-bhāve teṅho nirantara ‘vāmā’


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.161)


[“Radharani is grown up, and Her character is equipoised. She is always deeply absorbed in ecstatic love and always feeling in the mood of a left-wing gopi.]


vāmya-svabhāve māna uṭhe nirantara tāra madhye uṭhe kṛṣṇera ānanda-sāgara


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.1620)


[“Because She is a left-wing gopi, Her womanly anger is always awakening, but Krishna derives transcendental bliss from Her activities.]


Here, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains Srimati Radhika’s spontaneous love and affection with Krishna; Her mana is like ratna-khani. Ratna-khani refers to a mine where all kinds of ornaments and jewels come from. With Her mana, Srimati Radhika controls Krishna, and Krishna becomes very pleased by this. When Srimati Radhika becomes angry, and uses many harsh words, Krishna becomes very happy. 


Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains:


priyā yadi māna kari’ karaye bhartsana veda-stuti haite hare sei mora mana


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 4.26)


[If My beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, that steals My mind from the reverent hymns of the Vedas.]


Krishna Himself said, “I am very eager to listen to the harsh words used by My sakhis and especially by Srimati Radhika when She displays Her mana. Even when Brahma or Shiva recite many Vedic mantras, with very nice sweet rhythms, I am not as pleased with their stavas and stutis. However, when My beloved gopis, especially Srimati Radhika, use many harsh words towards Me, I become very happy.”


aher iva gatiḥ premṇaḥ svabhāva-kuṭilā bhavet ato hetor ahetoś ca yūnor māna udañcati


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.163)


[“The progress of loving affairs between a young boy and a young girl is by nature crooked, like the movement of a snake. Because of this, two types of anger arise between a young boy and girl — anger with a cause and anger without a cause.]


This verse explains that when lover and beloved display spontaneous love and affection to each other, the nature of that love is to also create the anger, mana. And the nature of mana can be like the activities of a snake— aher iva. So, mana is split into two, one is hetu-mana and the other is ahetu-mana. And these are sometimes vamya- (leftist mood) or sometimes dakshina-bhava (submissive mood)— this is just the nature of love.


eta śuni’ bāḍe prabhura ānanda-sāgara ‘kaha, kaha’ kahe prabhu, bale dāmodara


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.164)


[“As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard these talks, His ocean of transcendental bliss increased. He therefore told Svarupa Damodara, “Go on speaking, go on speaking.” And thus Svarupa Damodara continued.]


‘adhirūḍha mahābhāva’ — rādhikāra prema viśuddha, nirmala, yaiche daśa-vāṇa hema


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.165)


[“Srimati Radharani’s love is a highly advanced ecstasy. All Her dealings are completely pure and devoid of material tinge. Indeed, Her dealings are ten times purer than gold.]


kṛṣṇera darśana yadi pāya ācambite nānā-bhāva-vibhūṣaṇe haya vibhūṣite


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.166)


[“As soon as Radharani gets a chance to see Krishna, Her body is suddenly decorated with various ecstatic ornaments.]


aṣṭa ‘sāttvika’, harṣādi ‘vyabhicārī’ yāṅra ‘sahaja prema’, viṁśati ‘bhāva’-alaṅkāra


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.167)


[“The transcendental ornaments of Srimati Radharani’s body include the eight sattvikas, or transcendental symptoms, the thirty-three vyabhichari-bhavas, beginning with harsha, or jubilation in natural love, and the twenty bhavas, or ecstatic emotional ornaments.]


‘kila-kiñcita’, ‘kuṭṭamita’, ‘vilāsa’, ‘lalita’ ‘vivvoka’, ‘moṭṭāyita’, āra ‘maugdhya’, ‘cakita’


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.168)


[“Some of the symptoms critically explained in the following verses are kila-kincita, kuttamita, vilasa, lalita, vivvoka, mottayita, maugdhya and chakita.]


eta bhāva-bhūṣāya bhūṣita śrī-rādhāra aṅga dekhite uthale kṛṣṇa-sukhābdhi-taraṅga


Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 14.169)


[“When Srimati Radharani’s body manifests the ornaments of many ecstatic symptoms, the ocean of Krishna’s happiness immediately displays transcendental waves.”]


Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami also explains Srimati Radhika’s twenty two types of bhava-alankaras, especially kila-kinchita bhava. In various stages, different moods manifest. And he also discusses three aspects. 


One is that Lakshmi-devi’s mana is not actually mana, rather it is krodha or anger. The second is that Satyabhama’s mana is also not really mana, instead it is mana-abhasa (semblance of mana). And lastly, in Vrindavana, only the gopis, and especially Srimati Radhika, display perfect mana. Why? Because Srimati Radhika knows, “Only I can give exclusive pleasure to Krishna. If Krishna goes to other sakhis, they will not be able to give this perfect happiness to Him. Because of this, Krisna will feel unhappiness.” So, Srimati Radhika realises this, and for this reason only She manifests Her mana and begins to chastise Krishna by asking, “Why did You go there?” This is the gopis’ love and affection.



Date: 27 June 2020 Location: Zoom




 

Transcriber: Shyamapriya dasi (Holland) Editor: Sanatana dasa (USA) Proofreading: Chandrika dasi (UK) Integrity check: Divya-premamayi dasi (Slovakia), Sanatana dasa (USA) Image: Navina-krishna dasa (Holland)



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