Radharani Ki Jai! Maharani Ki Jai! -

Radharani Ki Jai! Maharani Ki Jai!

(1)
rAdhAraNI kI jai, mahAraNI kI jai.
bolo barSANe vArI kI jai jai jai

(2)
ThAkuraNI kI jai, harI pyArI kI jai
vRSabhAnu-dulArI kI jai jai jai

(3)
gaurAGgI kI jai, hemAGgI kI jai
vrajarAja-kumArI kI jai jai jai

(4)
vrajA-ranI kI jai, vraja devI kI jai
gahvara vana vArI kI jai jai jai

(1) All glories to RAdhArANI! All glories to the greatest of all Queens. Sing the glories of RAdhArANI, who lives in BarSANA.

(2) All glories to RAdhA ThAkuraNI [Queen RAdhA], who is the beloved of zri Hari. All glories to the beloved daughter of King VRSabhAnu.

(3) All glories to RAdhArANI who has a fair complexion and golden limbs.

(4) All glories to the Queen of Vraja. All glories to the goddess of Vraja. All glories to RAdhA who wanders in the Gahvara forest.

From Dasaavataaracarita of Kshemendra (1066 AD)


... in the morning, having mounted the armed chariot,
Akrura, Balaraama, and Krishna went to Mathuraa with their retinue.
"How could I have come here without bidding farewell to Radha?"

Madhava sighed, felt discontent, langid, anxious at leaving.
Going by way of hidden places in secret thickets of Gokula,
Krishna looked longingly, His face turned back,
The border of His garment held by His friend the forest earth-
He recalled Radha's "No! No! No!" while He loosened Her skirt knot,
Her syllables marked by Her confusion,
Her body wondrous in fear of love, Her words hardly intelligible.

Filled with the fire of Krishna's desertion when He left for Kamsa's city,
Like antelopes lying on smooth green banks in secret coves of the Godaavari,
Secretly, in Gokula grass, cowherdesses passionately sang Krishna's virtues,
Heard by cows standing ruminating, ears intimately erect.

"His love is new and graced by shining youth,
Seductive to young women in the easy play of its gentle enchantment;
He subjugates the family of serpent Kaaliya in turbulent Jumna waters,
Black as swarms of bees, cuckoos, dark lotuses, and kohl;

He is harsh in killing great demons like Kesi and his sons,
Tearing dangers from Gokula, upholding Mt. Govardhana-
Could anyone's eyes help drowning in Him when He is addicted to passion,
A trembling wave of love, delighting delightful young women?"

While each virtue in Krishna's ocean of virtues
Was sung with passionate feeling,
Passion rose secretly in the cowherd girls
And frenzy struck them again and again.

Since Krishna had gone away without speaking
In His zeal to show deference in the presence of the elders,
Doe-eyed women who carelessly slept on cool ground under bakula trees,
When they met Him in dream embraces,
Made their slender creeper bodies echo their words by writhing-
"Rogue, let go! Let go, cheat!" the young women loudly cried.

With tears, flowing away like life in Madhava's desertion,
Falling on Her breasts' firm tips, Radha was like a laden kadamba tree
As tears were strewn by Her endless sighing and trembling gait-
Darkened by the delusion that was bound to all Her hopes,
She became like the new rainy season engulfed in darkness."

Gracious love, Radha is difficult indeed to please-
Her tears fall even as you wipe them away
With the cloth that covered some true love's body.
"Women's hearts are hard, so enough flattery! Leave Me alone!"
He was told this whenever Hari tried to placate Her-
May He grant you His blessing!

When Radha sinks in a faint
and Her breathing no longer flows
and all Her friends, as one,
repeat Your name in Her ears,
Her senses return...

(Jadunandanadas)

Day and night
as I wonder and brood,
my sorrows grow.
If I had wings
I would fly away
and never show my face again.
O sakhi,
Krishna has hurt me...

(Candidas)

He promised to return tomorrow.
And on my floor everywhere I wrote:
"Tomorrow."

When the morning broke, all had asked:
Tell us, when will your "Tomorrow" come?
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, where are you?
I cried and cried, but my Tomorrow never came back!
Vidyapati says: Listen, O Dear One!
Your Tomorrow became a today
with other women.

Madhava:
Your moon-faced love
Had never guessed
That parting hurts.
Radha is tortured,
Dreading you will leave.
Love has robbed her of all power,
She sinks clasping the ground.

Kokilas call,
Startled, she wakes
Only to brood again.
Tears wash the make-up
From her breasts.
Her arms grow thin,
Her bracelets slide to the ground.
Radha's head droops in grief.
Her fingers scar the earth
Bleeding your name.

His face haloed
by the moon's matted hair,
traversing mountains, forests and pastures,
the lion casts scarlet frowns.
If you could arrest
in the cage of your heart
that restless Lord,
you must be clever,
my beautiful doe-eyed girl.

So many loves
with glistening smiles
have tried to bar His hands-
but He bit their cheeks
and scarred their breasts
with ferocious claws-
strewing in the forest
their necklace pearls.
And so He lies on a foliate bed,
waiting forever for you...

(Govindadas)

When you stay before my eyes
You make me feel your love is firm,
But out of sight how different you are!
How long does false gold shine?
Master of sweetness, I know your ways.
Your heart is counterfeit.
Your love is words.
Speech, love and humor
All are smooth
And only meant to tease
When you shed a girl,
Do you laugh?
Are your arrows always
Poisoned with honey?

Her tears carved a river
And she broods on its bank,
Hurt and confused.
You ask her one thing,
She speaks of another.
Her friends believe
That joy may come again.
At times they banish hope
And cease to care.

O Madhava,
I have run to call you.
Radha each day
Grows thinner
Thinner than the crescent in the sky...

Cruel games Krishna plays with women's hearts... I know... don't cry, Radhika...

A stupid crappy poem by Satyabhama (me)...

Open Your Eyes

Open your eyes, Radha, open Your eyes
Don't let tears block Your view-
Please don't think He's left You, Dear
He's right in front of You.
Don't indulge too much in ecstatic pain,
It's more than we can bear.
Your tongue can taste Him in the Name,
Your heart can hold Him there.
This game will last a little while
And then shall soon be done-
The black cloud of His body, then
Shall rest upon Your golden sun...

Does this look like a Guy who would hurt a woman's heart on purpose? Does this look like a cruel Guy, who revels in breaking women's hearts? No! He is good and kind, and I'll be damned if I'll let anyone try to prove otherwise!

Looks can be deceiving!
Why should I trust Him?

My Swamini has Her eye on Him!

I will tell you something. If you like the cruel Krishna, Krishna will be cruel to make you happy. If you like the kind Krishna, Krishna will show His overflowing kindness.

So, if you wanna laugh or cry, it's up to you. Crying can be a type of ecstasy... I know some of us here value separation. That is what "cruel Krishna" is for- to fulfill your desire.

But if you want to give yourself and Krishna a break from constant weeping, get to know the Nice Guy Krishna. He's there and waiting for you...

He has a personality of His own, but He likes to play doesn't He? If you wanna play nice, He can do that- if you wanna play rough, He can do that too.

Yeah, sometimes He does just say "Enough crying! I'm here!" but unfortunately I don't have any scriptural quotes to back that up...

*sigh*

To put it simply- if you like to cry, read about Shyamasundara being (seemingly) cruel. If you want to smile, read about Him being His usual kind self.

The crying literature may take some time to get over, though.