Srimati Radharani and the Seven Oceans

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Srimati Radha is (1) vaidagdhya sindhuh, an ocean of cleverness. This means

rasa panditya: She is learned in the science of taste. She even teaches rasika

sekhara, the king of relishers Sri Krishna, expertise in the erotic mellow. Sri

Krishna Himself admits in Caitanya Caritamrta: radhikara prema - guru; ami -

sisya nata; sada ama nana nrtye nacaye udbhata – “Radhika’s love is the teacher

and I am the dancing pupil. She always causes Me to dance different wonderful

dances!” She is the teacher of arts. Because of Her cleverness, Srimati is

compared here with the ocean of sweet water (the seventh cosmic ocean).

 

Srimati is (2) the only ocean of anuraga. Anuraga means maha-bhava. Anuraga is

everfresh and ever-astonishing. Srimati thinks Krishna’s sweetness is ever

fresh and She always has more taste for His sweetness, so She always relishes

it. With the statement that Radharani is the only ocean of anuraga rasa is

meant that when anuraga increases, it becomes maha-bhava and that when,

maha-bhava increases it is called madana maha-bhava. Sri Radharani is the only

one who has this madana maha-bhava and She is the fountainhead of all

maha-bhava, just as the ocean is the fountainhead of all the rivers and ponds.

The other gopis are Her phalanx that help Her to complete Krsna's relishing of

transcendental mellows. Just as milk becomes thick ksira (cream) when it is

boiled down, anuraga turns into maha-bhava when it becomes ‘thick’

(intensified). Therefore the anuraga-ocean is compared to the sixth cosmic

ocean, the ocean of milk.

 

Sri Radha is (3) the ocean of vatsalya. Vatsalya means love for the poor and

the fallen. Just as Sri Radha is an inexhaustible storehouse of erotic rasa,

She is also a great ocean of vatsalya-affection. The writers of the rasa

sastras (aesthetic scriptures) say that the vatsalya rasa is not compatible

with the madhurya rasa, but Radharani makes them compatible in some situations.

For instance, She gives the greatest bliss to Rasika Siromani (Krishna) and Her

girlfriends and maidservants when She gives this ‘motherly’ affection to

Krishna while He takes His meal. Sri Radha’s vatsalya towards Her girlfriends

is also most wonderful. She is always controlled by their affection. Because

there is a lot of the essential part of affection in the vatsalya-ocean, just

as yoghurt is the essence of milk, this ocean can be compared to the fifth

cosmic ocean, the ocean of yoghurt.

 

Sri Radha is (4) the ocean of deep compassion, always showering Her devotees

with the nectar stream of Her mercy. Those who have been touched by the nectar

of that compassion, can testify. Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami says: karuna

vidravad deha – “Her body melts with compassion”. Normally, a person’s heart

melts with compassion, but only in Radharani’s case the whole body melts with

compassion. She always bathes in streams of ambrosial compassion, and because

Krishna accepted Her mood when He became Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu is

so merciful! Mahaprabhu does not consider who is qualified or unqualified, who

is from which caste or from which asrama. He gives prema (love of God) without

making such distinctions! That is ‘a body melting with compassion’! It is

Radha’s storehouse of compassion, not Krishna’s! In Vraja-lila the storehouse

of Radha’s mercy remained hidden and closed, but when Mahaprabhu accepted the

mood and complexion of Sri Radha, it became manifest to the

world! Mahaprabhu showed the people of the world how the body can melt with

compassion, because He assumed Sn Radha’s merciful mood. Because Radhika’s body

melts with compassion, it can be compared to the fourth cosmic ocean, the ocean

of clarified butter.

 

Srimati is (5) the ocean of lavanya. Srila Rupa Gosvami defines lavanya as

follows in his ‘Ujjvala Nilamani’: muktAphaleSu chAyAyAs taralatvam ivAntarA |

pratibhAti yad aGgeSu lAvaNyam tad ihocyate || “The luster that gushes out of

each bodily limb like the luster shining out from inside pearls, is called

lavanya.” Srimati is the ocean of lavanya, or elegance. The fishlike eyes of

Sri Krishna, who is called lavanya sara (the essence of lavanya, or elegance)

in Srimat Bhagavata (10.44.14), never get tired of swimming in the ocean of Sri

Radha’s lavanya. Indeed, His desire to swim in that ocean simply increases!

Sripada Bilvamangala Thakura said in Krishna Karnamrtam (3): lavanyAmRta vici

lolita dRsaM – “Krishna’s eyes billow on the waves of nectarean lavanya.” Srila

Krishna Dasa Kaviraja writes in his ‘Saranga Rangada’-commentary on this verse:

zrI rAdhAyA evA lAvanyAmRta vIcibhir lolite satRSNIkRte dRzau yasya tam – “Sri

Krishna’s eyes have become very thirsty after the nectar waves

of Sri Radha’s lavanya.” Because Krishna is intoxicated by seeing Radha’s

lavanya and Her maidservants and girlfriends are intoxicated by seeing Krishna

looking at Radhika like this, the ocean of lavanya is compared to the third

cosmic ocean, the ocean of wine. The practicing devotees should also forget

everything related to this world or the next world and become intoxicated by

worshiping the lotus feet of that Sri Radha!

 

Sri Radha is (6) the ocean of amrta cchabi rupa. She is the very form of

glowing nectar and Her form is like a vast ocean. She is mahabhava personified

and mahabhava is compared to nectar. It is the deepest possible love for

Krishna, and Radha’s form reveals this beauty and tastefulness to the utmost,

therefore She is the amrtacchabi rupa sindhu. Although Sri Krishna inundates

the world with a mere drop of His beauty, even He drowns in the nectar ocean of

Radha’s form! Because the ocean of Sri Radha’s form is so sweet, it is compared

to the second cosmic ocean, the ocean of sugarcane juice.

 

Srimati is (7) the ocean of playfulness, which means Her frolics with Her

beloved Syamasundara. She keeps Syamasundara immersed in the waves of the ocean

of Her pastimes when She meets Him. When the waves of madana rasa swell in the

ocean of Sri Radha’s pastimes even Sri Krishna, the transcendental youthful

Cupid of Vrndavana, does not dare to place His boat-like heart on its surface,

just as a boatman fearfully keeps his boat on the bank of the Ganga when her

huge waves meet the ocean. This ocean of play is compared to the first cosmic

ocean, the ocean of salt water, because although the very sight of this ocean

destroys all sins, a person who drinks it’s water will die. Similarly, when one

faithfully chants and hears about the pastimes of Radha and Madhava one will

become free from all sins and from the heart’s disease of lust, but when one

tries to imitate these pastimes one will perish.

 

[An excerpt from the commentaries of the 18th verse of 'Sri Radha Rasa

Sudhanidhi' of Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati.]

 

 

Radha-Krishna prana mora yugala-kishora; jivane-marane gati aro nahi mora.

 

"The Divine Couple, Radha and Krishna, are my very life; In life or death I

have no one else but Them."

 

- Srila Narottama das Thakura Mahasaya