Names of krsna's friends. Four kinds of sakhas in Vrindavana

[Guest guest]

> Can you please give me more names of Lord krishna's gopa friends? I know

> these:

 

KŠa has four types of friends in Vnd€vana:

1.) Suht - well-wishers

2.) Sakh€s - friends

3.) Priya-sakh€s - confidential friends

4.) Priya-narma-sakh€s - most intimate friends

 

1.) Suht - Well-Wishers

 

"KŠa's well-wisher friends are a little bit older than KŠa, and they

have some parental affection for Him. Because of their being older than

KŠa, they always try to protect Him from any harm. As such, they sometimes

bear weapons so that they can chastise any mischievous persons who want to

do harm to KŠa (NOD pg. 322)."

 

Principal Suhts

 

"Counted among the well-wisher friends are Subhadra, MaŠal…bhadra,

Bhadravardhana, Gobha˜a, Yaka, Indrabha˜a, Bhadr€‰ga, V…rabhadra, Mah€guŠa,

Vijaya and Balabhadra (pg. 322)."

 

Their Bhakti

 

"My dear MaŠal…bhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you

were running toward Ari˜€sura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You

unnecessarily bearing that heavy plough? My dear Vijaya, don't be

unnecessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no need to make

these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely you will see

that it is only a thundercloud upon Govardhana Hill; it is not the

Ari˜€sura in the shape of a bull, as you have imagined (pg. 322)."

 

The Foremost Suhts

"Among the well-wisher friends, MaŠal…bhadra and Balabhadra are the chiefs

(pg. 322)."

 

2.) Sakh€ - Friends

 

"Friends who are younger than KŠa, who are always attached to Him and who

give Him all kinds of service are called ordinary friends, or, simply,

friends (page 323)."

 

Principal Sahk€s

 

"The names of some sakh€s are Vi€la, Vabha, Ojasv…, Devaprastha,

Var™thapa, Maranda, Kusum€p…a, MaŠibandha and Karandhama (page 323)."

Because the sakh€s are younger than KŠa, they have a trace of

servitude. They greatly enjoy helping to dress KŠa, keeping KŠa informed

about the whereabouts of His cows, and other relishable tasks like fanning

and massaging Him. (See second full paragraph of page 323.)

 

The Foremost Sakh€

 

The foremost of all sakh€s is Devaprastha.

 

Devaprastha's Form

"He is very strong, a ready scholar, and is very expert in playing ball. He

wears a white dress, and he ties his hair into a bunch with a rope... (pg.

324)."

 

Devaprastha's Bhakti

KŠa began to recline and, "taking this opportunity, Devaprastha, out of

his strong affection for KŠa, immediately began to massage His legs (pg.

324)."

 

3.) Priya-Sakh€s - Confidential Friends

 

"The more confidential friends are called priya-sakh€s and are almost

KŠa's age. Because of their very confidential friendship, their behavior

is only on the basis of pure friendship. The behavior of other friends is on

the ground of parental love or servitude, but the basic principle of the

confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level (pg. 324)."

Suhts are older than KŠa. Consequently, parental love mixes with

their friendship. Sakh€s are younger than KŠa. Thus, servitude mixes with

their friendship. Priya-sakh€s, however, are the same age as KŠa. Their

friendship is perfectly on the level of equality. It is pure friendship

without any influence of parental affection or servitude.

 

Principal Priya-Sakh€s

 

"®r…d€m€, Sud€m€, D€m€, Vasud€m€, Ki‰kiŠi, Stoka-kŠa, Aˆu, Bhadrasena,

Vil€s…, PuŠar…ka, Vi˜a‰ka and Kalavi‰ka (page 324)."

 

Their Bhakti

 

®r…mat… R€dh€r€Š…'s friend describes their devotional mood. (See pg. 324.)

®r…la R™pa Gosv€m… gives a second description: "Sometimes a

confidential friend would come before KŠa and embrace Him with great

affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and

cover KŠa's eyes with his hands. KŠa would always feel very happy by

such dealings with His confidential friends (pg. 325)."

®r…la Prabhup€da adds his own commentary, further illustrating the

devotional mood of the priya-sakh€s by describing KŠa's lau-stealing

friend, Madhuma‰gala. (See pg. 325)

 

The Foremost Priya-Sakh€

 

"Out of all these confidential friends, ®r…d€ma is considered to be the

chief (pg. 325)."

 

4.) Priya-Narma-Sakh€s - Most Intimate Friends

"There are other friends who are still more confidential. They are called

priya-narma, or intimate friends (pg. 325)."

The priya-narma are the most intimate and exalted of all devotees in

the sakhya mood, because KŠa engages them in the very confidential service

of arranging His meetings with the gop…s.

 

Principal Priya-Narmas

 

"Counted among the priya-narma friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva,

Vasanta and Ujjvala (NOD pg. 325)."

 

Their Bhakti

 

A gop… tells ®r…mat… R€dh€r€Š…, "My dear K€‰g… [delicate one], just see

how Subala is whispering Your message into KŠa's ear, how he is delivering

the confidential letter of ®y€m€-d€s… silently into KŠa's hand, how he is

delivering the betel nuts prepared by P€lik€ into KŠa's mouth, and how he

is decorating KŠa with garland prepared by T€rak€. Did you know, my dear

friend, that all these most intimate friends of KŠa are always engaged in

His service in this way? (pgs. 325 - 326)."

 

The Foremost Priya-Narma

 

"Out of the many intimate priya-narmas, Subala and Ujjvala are considered to

be the most prominent (pg. 326)."

 

Subala's Form

 

(Subala is slightly superior to Ujjvala): "His complexion is just like

molten gold. He is very, very dear to KŠa. He always has a garland around

his neck, and he wears yellow clothing. His eyes are just like lotus flower

petals... (pg. 326)."

 

Subala's Bhakti

 

When KŠa would speak to Subala no one else could understand what they were

saying; not even the assembly of sakh…s who are expert in understanding

KŠa's subtle gestures and movements. Subala's superior intimacy would thus

become evident. ®r…la Prabhup€da says, "The degree of intimacy shared by

KŠa and Subala can be understood by the fact that the talks between them

were so confidential that no one else could understand what they were saying

(pg. 326)."

 

Ujjvala's Form

 

"Ujjvala always wears some garment of orange color, and the movements of his

eyes are always very restless. He likes to decorate himself with all kinds

of flowers, his bodily hue is almost like KŠa's, and on his neck there is

always a necklace of pearls (NOD pg. 326)."

 

Ujjvala's Bhakti

 

®r…mat… R€dh€r€Š… said, "My dear friend it is impossible for Me to keep My

prestige! I wanted to avoid talking to KŠa anymore - but just see! There

again is His friend Ujjvala, coming to Me with his canvassing work. His

entreaties are so powerful that it is very difficult for a gop… to resist

her love for KŠa... (page 326)."

Ujjvala always desires to glorify KŠa's very confidential love for

the gop…s. The last paragraph of page 326 illustrates this.