Sri Navadvipa-sataka
Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati
1 By hearing of Him, meditating on Him, and performing many other activities, let us worship Lord Krsna who, His complexion now splendid as gold, overcome with ecstatic love, intently engaged in kirtana, surrounded by His associates playing mrdangas and other musical instruments, worshipped by all, removing the contamination of Kali-yuga and giving happiness to the devotees, has now appeared in Navadvipa.
2 I offer my respectful obeisances to Navadvipa, the blissful spiritual abode, which the Chandogya Upanisad says is a spiritual city, the Smrti-sastra says is the abode of Lord Visnu, others say is Svetadvipa, and a devotee expert at tasting transcendental nectar says is the forest of Vraja.
3 (Antardvipa)
When, as I wander in Navadvipa's forests, will I fall unconscious as I suddenly see wonderful, youthful Lord Gaura jubilantly dancing with His associates?
4 May scriptures where the very wonderful glory of Lord Gauranga's city is not heard never enter my ears. May wretched people who do not become joyful when Mathura's glory enters their ears never come to speak to me or even enter the path of my eyes.
5 Enough! Enough with the happiness of staying among women she asses! Enough! Enough! with wealth, children, scholarship, and fame! Enough! Enough with the troubles of many kinds of spiritual practice! Take shelter of Antardvipa and become fortunate!
6 The home of Lord Gaura's youthful pastimes, Sri Mayapura, where the ground is soft, there is a great splendour of many jewels, there are wonderful sounds of many birds and animals, and there are wonderful trees and vines with many flowers, is my life and soul.
7 Million on millions of cintamani jewels may meet together somewhere else. Still, my body darkened with Godruma's dust will never go to any other place.
8 (Madhyadvipa)
May the Lord's wonderful pastimes in Madhyadvipa be kind to me. May Brahma-kunda and the other sacred places there be kind to me, a fool. May the kalpa-valli vine of the kindness of He who is everyone's friend and who plays in Madhyadvipa at midday, bear its fruits.
9 (Koladvipa)
All glories, all glories to Koladvipa's forests, which stand by the Ganges' shore, which are worshipped by the leaders of the demigods and which are filled with the wonderful opulences of many birds, beasts, trees, vines, groves, lakes, ponds, open land, hills and flowing streams!
10 (Rudradvipa and Modadrumadvipa)
O feet, please walk in Rudradvipa! O eyes, please gaze at Modadrumadvipa's beauty! O tongue, please chant what the ears have heard of the glories of Lord Gaura's sacred places! O nose, please smell the sweet fragrance of Lord Gaura's forest! O limbs, your hairs erect in ecstatic joy, please roll on the ground in the places of Lord Gaura's transcendental pastimes!
11 May my heart cling to the wonderfully sweet ocean of nectar in Navadvipa forest, the path to which all the Vedas together cannot find, and the slightest scent of which cannot be found even by wandering again and again through the length and breadth of the universe.
12 May the Gauda forest, which is Lord Hari's supreme abode, which is filled with surging currents from the ocean of splendid and passionate transcendental love, which is filled with the bliss of Lord Radhikaramana's sweet pastimes, and which was sweetly founded by Sri Radha, who is worshipped by all the worlds, shine in my heart.
13 (Jahnudvipa)
I pray that birth after birth I may be a clump of grass in the land of Jahnudvipa, which is worshipped even by the king of the demigods. That would be my joy.
14 (Simantadvipa)
They who are ardently devoted to the flower petal feet of Sri Radha's beloved, whose entire lives are spent in carefully following transcendental religious principles, who always serve the dust of the Vaisnavas' feet, who touch the highest point of renunciation, and whose hearts are plunged in the nectar of divine love, find very far away Sri Radha's merciful glance, which is very quickly and easily found at Simantadvipa.
15 In the sweet nectar ocean of pure undivided love, on an island of the Lord who is Saci's son, Vrndavana is manifest. There, tossed by pure love for each other, the sweet divine couple enjoys transcendental pastimes day and night. One who stays there enters a condition of life that is full of nectar.
16 I do not know whether I shall be able to meditate on Lord Madhava's two lotus feet. Am I qualified to follow the path of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, Sri Narada Muni and the other great saints? Still, whether I meet good or ill, the beautiful forest of Godruma, where Srimati Radha enjoys transcendental pastimes, is my life and soul.
17 Will I attain Lord Radhapati's sweet abode named Navadvipa? Its boundary the Vedas cannot touch. It is a secret festival of the greatest transcendental bliss. Siva, Brahma and the other demigods do not know even a single drop of its nectar.
18 If my body is torn to pieces, or if hosts of terrible calamities fall on me, Oh! Oh! Oh! Still I will never thirst to leave Sri Godruma and go to those other insignificant places.
19 When, hungrily eating naturally fallen leaves as if they were ambrosia, thirstily drinking hands full of the Ganges' pure water, and my heart plunged in nectar as I gaze at the place where sweet Lord Radhikaramana enjoyed the pastime of the rasa dance, will I reside in Lord Gaura's forest?
20 One who is firmly determined to stay in Navadvipa until the end of his body has already performed all kinds of devotional service. The greatest and most wonderful of all goals of life rests in his hand. His feet are on everyone's head. Brahma and the demigods bow down before him.
21 Offer your respectful obeisances to the forest of Navadvipa which, by giving them the sweet nectar of wild spiritual love, delights its birds, beasts, trees and vines.
22 A devotee may be proud to become successful by practicing pure devotional service in some other place. We do not think he is successful. We shall always take shelter of Vrndavana, which is very dear to Sri Sri Radhika-Madhava.
23 Now that I, who am a reservoir of faults, who have not the slightest virtue, and who am the lowest of all but who still hankers for what is very difficult to attain, have come to Lord Gaura's forest, the seed from which the most splendid devotional service grows, will I become successful?
24 Lord Gauranga's forest, where the name "Radha", the sweetest part of the shoreless nectar ocean of pure and splendid divine love, shines, is the only goal of my life.
25 One who never performs any spiritual activities, but who has wholeheartedly taken shelter of Navadvipa, will attain the great festival of the nectar of pure love for Sri Radha's beloved.
to be continued.....
1 By hearing of Him, meditating on Him, and performing many other activities, let us worship Lord Krsna who, His complexion now splendid as gold, overcome with ecstatic love, intently engaged in kirtana, surrounded by His associates playing mrdangas and other musical instruments, worshipped by all, removing the contamination of Kali-yuga and giving happiness to the devotees, has now appeared in Navadvipa.
2 I offer my respectful obeisances to Navadvipa, the blissful spiritual abode, which the Chandogya Upanisad says is a spiritual city, the Smrti-sastra says is the abode of Lord Visnu, others say is Svetadvipa, and a devotee expert at tasting transcendental nectar says is the forest of Vraja.
3 (Antardvipa)
When, as I wander in Navadvipa's forests, will I fall unconscious as I suddenly see wonderful, youthful Lord Gaura jubilantly dancing with His associates?
4 May scriptures where the very wonderful glory of Lord Gauranga's city is not heard never enter my ears. May wretched people who do not become joyful when Mathura's glory enters their ears never come to speak to me or even enter the path of my eyes.
5 Enough! Enough with the happiness of staying among women she asses! Enough! Enough! with wealth, children, scholarship, and fame! Enough! Enough with the troubles of many kinds of spiritual practice! Take shelter of Antardvipa and become fortunate!
6 The home of Lord Gaura's youthful pastimes, Sri Mayapura, where the ground is soft, there is a great splendour of many jewels, there are wonderful sounds of many birds and animals, and there are wonderful trees and vines with many flowers, is my life and soul.
7 Million on millions of cintamani jewels may meet together somewhere else. Still, my body darkened with Godruma's dust will never go to any other place.
8 (Madhyadvipa)
May the Lord's wonderful pastimes in Madhyadvipa be kind to me. May Brahma-kunda and the other sacred places there be kind to me, a fool. May the kalpa-valli vine of the kindness of He who is everyone's friend and who plays in Madhyadvipa at midday, bear its fruits.
9 (Koladvipa)
All glories, all glories to Koladvipa's forests, which stand by the Ganges' shore, which are worshipped by the leaders of the demigods and which are filled with the wonderful opulences of many birds, beasts, trees, vines, groves, lakes, ponds, open land, hills and flowing streams!
10 (Rudradvipa and Modadrumadvipa)
O feet, please walk in Rudradvipa! O eyes, please gaze at Modadrumadvipa's beauty! O tongue, please chant what the ears have heard of the glories of Lord Gaura's sacred places! O nose, please smell the sweet fragrance of Lord Gaura's forest! O limbs, your hairs erect in ecstatic joy, please roll on the ground in the places of Lord Gaura's transcendental pastimes!
11 May my heart cling to the wonderfully sweet ocean of nectar in Navadvipa forest, the path to which all the Vedas together cannot find, and the slightest scent of which cannot be found even by wandering again and again through the length and breadth of the universe.
12 May the Gauda forest, which is Lord Hari's supreme abode, which is filled with surging currents from the ocean of splendid and passionate transcendental love, which is filled with the bliss of Lord Radhikaramana's sweet pastimes, and which was sweetly founded by Sri Radha, who is worshipped by all the worlds, shine in my heart.
13 (Jahnudvipa)
I pray that birth after birth I may be a clump of grass in the land of Jahnudvipa, which is worshipped even by the king of the demigods. That would be my joy.
14 (Simantadvipa)
They who are ardently devoted to the flower petal feet of Sri Radha's beloved, whose entire lives are spent in carefully following transcendental religious principles, who always serve the dust of the Vaisnavas' feet, who touch the highest point of renunciation, and whose hearts are plunged in the nectar of divine love, find very far away Sri Radha's merciful glance, which is very quickly and easily found at Simantadvipa.
15 In the sweet nectar ocean of pure undivided love, on an island of the Lord who is Saci's son, Vrndavana is manifest. There, tossed by pure love for each other, the sweet divine couple enjoys transcendental pastimes day and night. One who stays there enters a condition of life that is full of nectar.
16 I do not know whether I shall be able to meditate on Lord Madhava's two lotus feet. Am I qualified to follow the path of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, Sri Narada Muni and the other great saints? Still, whether I meet good or ill, the beautiful forest of Godruma, where Srimati Radha enjoys transcendental pastimes, is my life and soul.
17 Will I attain Lord Radhapati's sweet abode named Navadvipa? Its boundary the Vedas cannot touch. It is a secret festival of the greatest transcendental bliss. Siva, Brahma and the other demigods do not know even a single drop of its nectar.
18 If my body is torn to pieces, or if hosts of terrible calamities fall on me, Oh! Oh! Oh! Still I will never thirst to leave Sri Godruma and go to those other insignificant places.
19 When, hungrily eating naturally fallen leaves as if they were ambrosia, thirstily drinking hands full of the Ganges' pure water, and my heart plunged in nectar as I gaze at the place where sweet Lord Radhikaramana enjoyed the pastime of the rasa dance, will I reside in Lord Gaura's forest?
20 One who is firmly determined to stay in Navadvipa until the end of his body has already performed all kinds of devotional service. The greatest and most wonderful of all goals of life rests in his hand. His feet are on everyone's head. Brahma and the demigods bow down before him.
21 Offer your respectful obeisances to the forest of Navadvipa which, by giving them the sweet nectar of wild spiritual love, delights its birds, beasts, trees and vines.
22 A devotee may be proud to become successful by practicing pure devotional service in some other place. We do not think he is successful. We shall always take shelter of Vrndavana, which is very dear to Sri Sri Radhika-Madhava.
23 Now that I, who am a reservoir of faults, who have not the slightest virtue, and who am the lowest of all but who still hankers for what is very difficult to attain, have come to Lord Gaura's forest, the seed from which the most splendid devotional service grows, will I become successful?
24 Lord Gauranga's forest, where the name "Radha", the sweetest part of the shoreless nectar ocean of pure and splendid divine love, shines, is the only goal of my life.
25 One who never performs any spiritual activities, but who has wholeheartedly taken shelter of Navadvipa, will attain the great festival of the nectar of pure love for Sri Radha's beloved.
to be continued.....
Comments