Page 17 - Rasikananda - Eng

]^] First Wave ^]^

Prologue

vidyante naiva loke kati kati na puräëetihäsä hi teñu
na kiïcid kväpi kåñëaù svayam alikhad åte géta-govindato ’sau
bhakteñv evaà na kuträpi nija-kara-kåtaà likhyate bindu-rüpaà
çré-çyämänanda eva svayam akåta mudä çrématé rädhikaiva

Although there are many religious literatures in the world, in only
one of them—Jayadeva Gosvämé’s Géta-govinda—did Lord Kåñëa
put His personal handwriting. Similarly, Çyämänanda Prabhu was
*
the only devotee to be personally marked with tilaka by the hand
of Çrématé Rädhäräëé. †

sändränanda-nidhiù prasäda-jaladhis trailokya-çobhä-nidhiù
pürëa-prema-rasämåta-kñaya-nidhiù saubhägya-lakñmé-nidhiù

* This refers to an incident in which Jayadeva, envisualizing the pastimes
of Rädhä and Kåñëa while writing Géta-govinda, came to a point in his
meditation at which Kåñëa was begging Çrématé Rädhäräëé for the dust
of Her lotus feet. Thinking this inappropriate, Jayadeva broke off his
writing and went for his noon bath. On returning, he found that Lord
Kåñëa had personally added the now famous line dehi pada-pallavam
udäram: “Please give me the dust of Your lotus feet.”
† This refers to an event (recounted variously) during the life of
Çyämänanda Prabhu. One abridged version of this incident states that
early one morning while sweeping Sevä-kuïja (the venue of many of
Rädhä-Kåñëa’s nocturnal pastimes), Çyämänanda found a beautiful
anklet that had fallen from Rädhä’s foot during the previous night.
When a gopé friend of Rädhä’s asked Çyämänanda to return the anklet,
he insisted on giving it to Rädhä personally, and when he did, She pressed
it to his brow, creating the tilaka design that would come to distinguish
the Çyämänandé sampradäya.

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