Nisantha lila 10 – Seva

Verse 10 Seva

For advanced devotee – from Passive-Smaran to Active-Smaran

In his Bengali translation of Govinda-lilamriria, Sri Yadunandan Thakur here inserts the following comment: In the opening sutra, the codes for the nishanta lila were presented. Now listen to its expanded narration, which will bring you unending delight.

At the end of night, Rādhā and Krishna are fast asleep on a flower bed in a flower-laden kunja, fatigued from their prema keli. As they embrace, Krishna appears like a figurine made of blue sapphire, Rādhā, one of pure gold. Sensing the day’s arrival, the manjaris rise to cheerfully perform their respective duties.

The purpose of this verse is to quickly remind the Vaishnava sadhakas of the manjaris and their seva. Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti further illuminates this aspect of the lila in his Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta: Eager to perform their timely nishanta seva, the manjaris spontaneously rise before the night’s end. Is it the result of long habit, or is it Nidra Devi herself who personally awakens them? As soon as their eyes open, they look this way and that, wondering in panic, “Are we late? Have we missed the time to begin our seva?”

Then, realizing that Rasika-nagara and Rasika-nagari are still asleep, exhausted from participating in Cupid’s festival, the manjaris quietly sit up on their beds. Everyone’s eyes are whirling like tired bumblebees due to insufficient sleep.
Yawning, they cleverly jest with one another as if to weigh the rasa from the previous evening. “O sakhis!” they say, “You’ve been sleeping after enjoying a night with the Nikunja Raja, but have you had sufficient rest?”

Their glances fall upon their lotus-shaped breasts, which show off the pollen-like bruise marks left by Krishna’s fingernails. Meanwhile, some of the manjaris string flower garlands, while others prepare pan for the upcoming pastime.
Suddenly, the cooling Malayan breeze carries Rādhā Krishna’s bodily aroma to their nostrils.

Malayan breezes are the southern winds. Since Malaya is the country of sandalwood, they are both cooling and fragrant.

As it lingers there, one seva dasi arrives. “O manjaris!” she exclaims. “Come and see the youthful couple for whom your flower malas and pan are intended. Just see how they are tightly embraced within the kunja! O priya narma sakhis! Come and place your lotus faces next to the nikunja mandir’s window and allow your beautiful eyes to freely roam! Having expertly performed the dance of love, Kishora and Kishori have been honored by Nidra Devi who now joyfully embraces them!”

The manjaris do as she says and observe how Rādhā and Krishna are tightly clasped in each other’s arms, but their dress, ornaments and garlands are missing. Due to the sombre light emanating from the jeweled ghee lamps, Rādhā’s body appears like a soft champak flower and Krishna’s like a delicate blue lotus. (Krishna-bhavanämrita 1.4-9)

Experiencing the Divine Couple’s beauty, one manjari exclaims to another, “O sakhi, look! At first sight this couple resembles a dark cloud garlanded by a streak of lightning! Are they bathing within the nectar shower of their own madhurya?” Thus amazed, the manjaris conclude, “The usual custom is that a master rewards his maidservant when she has finished her seva. But we are so fortunate that we get our reward even before beginning to serve!” (Krishna-bhavanämrita 1.15)

Srila Chakravartipada weaves his description in Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta in and around that of the Govinda-lilamrita. The verses just quoted reveal an important direction that Srila Krishna Das does not touch upon until later. Indeed, we shall find that Srila Chakravartipada’s bhāva-dhārā (line of thinking) and deep avesha (absorption) churn the nectar found in Govinda-lilamrita and thicken its rasa.

The gentle Malayan breezes waft slowly across the kunja, lingering like a groggy person just rising from sleep. Kissing the newly bloomed flowers, it escorts their fragrance in every direction. The intoxicated bumble bees that have been sleeping inside the flowers also awaken and begin buzzing hither and thither. Hearing the bees, Sri Vrinda Devi becomes aware that nighttime is coming to an end. She anxiously signals to the birds, whose melodious chirping will awaken Vrindavan’s ishwar and ishwari.