242 Glossary Articles Found
It was in this very Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana that the gopīs observed the vow of Śrī Kātyāyanī Devī out of an intense longing to attain the playful, heart-stealing Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Rādhā is the living embodiment of beauty among the gopīs and the sweet melody of infinite love. She is the beloved youthful princess of Barsānā and the cherished daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu.
Which poet could ever describe the divine beauty of the Divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa? They are the captivators of the heart, as pure as the soothing moon, and the source of life for the gopīs.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sidelong glance, filled with love-bliss, along with His charming smile, deeply captivates the heart.
Today, the abode of supreme bliss has appeared in the home of King Vṛṣabhānu, for in the palace of Mother Kīrti, a beloved daughter has taken birth, and there is no other girl in this world so divine and beautiful as She.
The eyes, speech, mind, and ears of a Virahiṇī gopī have all gone to her beloved Śyāmasundara. Within the confines of her body, only a few life-breaths remain, sustained solely by the hope that her Beloved will return one day.
Even the Vedas describe Him only by uttering "not this, not this" (*neti-neti*), and Brahmā along with all the other deities and sages constantly meditate upon Him day and night.
There are only two kinds of true servants of the Lord in this world: those who steadfastly follow the path of sacred discipline (nemī), and those who are completely absorbed in exclusive divine love (premī). Whether one is a nemī or a premī, one quality is common to both—their minds are never immature or unsteady.
O beloved friend! An intense thirst for union with You has awakened within my heart. Please come quickly and satisfy me by granting me the divine nectar of Your lips.
O Gopījana-vallabha, Śrī Kṛṣṇa! This alone is the boon I ask from You — that whenever I take birth as a human being, may I attain the service of Śrī Hari and residence only in Śrī Braja Dhāma.
How far can I possibly describe the unfathomable glory of Nandagāva, Gokula, and Govardhana? The beauty of the gopīs, gopas, cowherds, and cows of those divine lands lies far beyond the limits of words.
In reply to Uddhava’s teachings on yoga, the gopīs of Braja affirm the supremacy of divine love, declaring that pure love itself is the most blissful liberation. When love for Śrī Gopāla becomes firm, Gopāla is surely attained.
With a single rasa-filled glance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, even the greatest paramahaṁsas forget their deep states of samādhi — and what to speak of such realized souls, when even Lord Śiva Himself assumed the form of a gopī in order to taste that divine nectar.
Nandalāla, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Himself adorns His beloved Śrī Rādhā. Repeatedly, with His own hands, He knots garlands of pearls and gently arranges Her earrings and flowing locks.
When Uddhava speaks of the methods and practices of yoga, the Braj gopīs reply: “We are simple cowherd women — how can we understand such practices of yoga? You tell us, who would abandon the single vow of selfless love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and turn instead to worship a painted image or mere markings or letters upon a wall?”
A Virahiṇī (gopī) says: ever since I have been separated from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, my body is washed daily by a stream of tears.
A gopī says: O Lord of my life (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)! In this world, that woman (or the soul) is truly most unfortunate who, having abandoned You, still yearns for the fleeting pleasures of worldly kin and family.
From distant lands and regions, countless souls are irresistibly drawn here, their hearts ablaze with the burning flame of love.
I bow again and again to that Lord Śiva who is pleased solely by ‘Bhakti’ (devotion). Renowned throughout the world as Gopeśvara — the Lord of the gopīs — He stands as the guardian and protector of Vṛndāvana.
Even Brahmā, Śiva, and other gods, after taking shelter of the mood of the gopīs, could not obtain even a single particle of dust from Her lotus feet. Such a supreme Queen of love, Śrī Rādhā, the treasure of the great ocean of nectar, now appears like an ordinary gopī due to the powerful flow of time. O Destiny — I bow to you.
