Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c11.s5.47

c11.s5.47

The Aṣṭakas concerning Kṛṣṇa are those on Keśava (Pṛthvī, with refrain), on Kuñja-vihārin (two Stotras in Svāgatā with refrain and rhyme and in Mālinī with refrain), on Mukunda (Mālinī, with refrain), on Vraja-nava-yuvarāja (Mālinī, with refrain) and on Kṛṣṇa-nāman (in varied metres). The Aṣṭakas concerning Rādhā are those on Rādhā (Mālinī, with refrain) and Gāndharvā-samprārthana (Vasantatilaka). There is only one Aṣṭaka concerning both, namely, on Vraja-navīna-dvandva (Pṛthvī). But there are several on places or persons connected with their sports, namely, those on Yamunā (Toṭaka), on Mathurā (Sragdharā and Śārdūlavikrīḍita, but it is not an Aṣṭaka, because there are only four stanzas available !), on the Govardhana hill (two Aṣṭakas in Mattamayūrā and Mandākrāntā respectively, both having refrains), on Vṛndāvana (Pṛthvī, with refrain) and on Lalitā (Vasantatilaka, with refrain). There is nothing very remarkable in these small supplicatory panegyrics of eight stanzas for mercy and beatific vision, except their verbal and metrical melody and gorgeous erotic fancy. The Hari-kusuma-stavaka and the Tribhaṅga-pañcaka are not technically Aṣṭakas, but are of the same character; the former consisting of 11 Toṭaka stanzas, and the latter comprising five rhymed moric stanzas of four feet of 32 syllabic instants (Mātrās)¹ in each foot. The two Aṣṭottara-śatanāma Stotras respectively on Kṛṣṇa (called Premendu-sāgara) and on Rādhā (named symmetrically Premendu-sudhā), both in the Śloka metre of 45 and 42 verses, are merely litanies, consisting of strings of descriptive epithets of the usual sensuous character. Of a similar type are the Cāṭu-puṣpāñjali, Praṇāma-praṇaya and Kārpaṇya-pañjikā which plead, in 24, 14 and 45 Śloka verses respectively, for favour of inclusion in the entourage of the divine sports.