Shri Surdas was the greatest saint of Braj Dham and the Astachap poet of Pushtimarg or Vallabh Sampraday. The book Sur Sagar (Sur's Ocean) is traditionally attributed to Shri Surdas.
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O Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa! Leaving You, to whom else shall I go? At whose door should I bow my head, and why should I surrender myself into the hands of anyone else—that is, why should I take shelter of anyone other than You?
O Banavārī! Who else will listen to my plea now? I see no one else as capable and powerful as You; to whom then can I go to express the deep anguish of my heart?
Within the dense kuñjas of Śrī Vṛndāvana, the rasa-filled, fragrant, and cooling breeze gently blows. The transcendental plays of divine love that unfold in Śrī Dhāma Vṛndāvana are such that nowhere throughout the three worlds can a rasa-līlā of such incomparable sweetness be found.
O Lord! I have now caught hold of You; that is, I have now come into Your exclusive shelter. You are renowned as the compassionate protector of the humble, so please rectify all my misfortunes.
When Nanda's son Śrī Kṛṣṇa, filled with supreme love, bowed down at the lotus feet of Pyarī Jū (Śrī Rādhā) and touched those lotus feet, Priyā Jī’s loving mana (sulk) was appeased, and She became pleased. Thus, all the sorrow and anguish of separation were completely dispelled.
Śrī Hari repeatedly chants only “Rādhā, Rādhā.” Having lost all external awareness, He lies unconscious upon the ground. Seeing Him in such a state, the sakhīs become deeply anxious.
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.
Brahmā says, one should live in the lanes of Braja in such a way that one sustains oneself through the remnants of food left upon the leaf-plates of the Brajavāsīs and cowherds.
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?”
Brahmā, offering his prayers, says— O Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa), make me the dust of Śrī Vṛndāvana. This is that divine dust upon which You walk with Your lotus feet while tending the cows from forest to forest every day.
O deluded soul! As your family expanded — as dear ones, children, spouse, wealth, and prosperity increased — so too did you sink ever deeper into the enjoyment of worldly pleasures, to the point that you forgot the true purpose of your life. O foolish one! Do you truly believe temporary wealth is the measure of real success? Remember — your birth was meant solely for the upliftment of your own soul.
In Vṛndāvana, Lord Hari (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) is joyfully playing Holī. The rhythms of tāla, mṛdaṅga (a double-sided drum), jhāñjha (cymbals), and ḍapha (tambourine) are being played in every direction, as Nandalāla (Kṛṣṇa) and Vṛṣabhānu-kiśorī (Rādhā) together celebrate the festival in delight.
Among all nectars in this world, the supreme and highest is prema-rasa, the rasa of divine love. The gambler stakes everything—body, mind, wealth, youth—losing all in the play, yet he never accepts defeat. In the same way, one who enters the play of love surrenders everything into it, unwilling to turn back, for love itself becomes his sole victory.
Śrī Rādhikā and Śyāmasundar are both magnificently adorned, and along with them, the entire group of the women of Vraja shines in beauty. From the sky, celestial maidens too gaze eagerly, longing for their darśan.
Hearing of the greatness of the beloved’s love, the chataka bird gazes endlessly at the clouds with single-minded devotion. Despite every hardship, it waits only for the rain of that cloud, yet even until its last breath, it never begs a drop of water. Such is the nature of a true lover — he never asks or demands anything from his beloved.
O Lord Sri Hari! I find myself incapable of truly performing Your bhajan. What can I do? Your powerful Maya keeps deluding my mind again and again.
Brahma Ji, humbly apologizing to Shri Krishna, says — “O Lord! You lovingly tend the cows in Braj and constantly remind everyone of Nand Baba’s oath. Even Sheshnag, with his thousand mouths, could not fully understand Your divine pastimes — how then can I, Brahma, with only four mouths, hope to sing Your glories?”
Bind yourself, O mind, in the bond of love with Shyamsundar. Encircle your life with the protective boundary of the holy name “Krishna” to safeguard the field of your very life.
The significance of Shri Vrindavan and the entire land of Vraj is immeasurable. No one can describe it completely. When four-headed Brahma admitted his offense in Braj, he bowed down and placed his head at Shri Krishna’s lotus feet, and then returned to his own abode immersed in endless bliss.
No one can be compared to the residents of Braj. Supreme Lord Shri Krishna whom Brahma, Shiva, the Sanaka sages, and others cannot attain even in deep meditation, that same Krishna, out of love, eats from the leftover plates of the Brajvasis.
