Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c8.s3: 3. The Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi

Early History of the Vaiṣṇava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c8.s3

Language
English

Contents

3. The Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi

c8.s3.1

Against this background of a complicated scheme is to be studied the next work, the *Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi*,¹ in which the Ujjvala, or Madhura, or Śṛṅgāra Bhakti-rasa, the Erotic Love of Kṛṣṇa, among the five primary Rasas, has been baptised into transcendence. The very importance of this Rasa is borne out by the fact that it required a separate and specialised enquiry in a supplementary work, which, if it did not exceed in volume the original treatise, did far outshine it in the complication of details and profusion of illustrations. As before, the entire theme is planned and modelled upon that of the Śṛṅgāra Rasa of Sanskrit Poetics, and the general terminology and main concepts belong to its current stock-in-trade. The fundamentals of the whole doctrine of the Erotic Rasa and its rhetorical psychology are worked out from the point of view of Kṛṣṇa as an ideal hero (*nāyaka-cūḍāmaṇi*); and as the hero and the heroine in their various moods, aspects and situations form the ground of this erotic sentiment, the work is really an exhaustive dissertation not only upon the sentiment itself, but also upon the *minutiae* of the hero and heroine, their adjuncts and associates, as well as an analysis of their various attributes and expressions of love.

c8.s3.2

¹ Our references are to the Kāvyamālā edition (Bombay 1913) of the work, with the commentaries of Jīva Gosvāmin (*Locana-racanī*) and Viśvanātha Cakravartin (*Ānanda-candrikā*). Viśvanātha also wrote a summary of this work, entitled *Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi-kiraṇa* ed. Prangopala Gosvami, Navadvipa 1927), to which occasional references are also made by us.

c8.s3.3

The basic feeling (Sthāyi-bhāva) of the Ujjvala or Madhura Rasa is, as we have already noted, the Priyatā or Madhurā Rati, the fondness or sweet feeling which inspires the mutual (*mithaḥ*) erotic enjoyment (*sambhoga*) of Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs.¹ This feeling of Kṛṣṇa, being brought to a state of relish in the heart of the Bhakta² by means of its appropriate Vibhāvas, Anubhāvas etc., becomes the erotic Madhura Rasa, which is styled "the chief among the Bhakti-rasas (bhakti-rasa-rāj)." The work, therefore, proceeds at once to the detailed analysis of the Vibhāvas etc. of this Rasa.

c8.s3.4

¹ mitho harer mṛgākṣyāś ca sambhogasyādi-kāraṇam| madhurā-para-paryāyā priyatākhyoditā ratiḥ||. Of the two aspects of the Līlā (or divine sport) of Kṛṣṇa, namely, Aiśvarya (power) and Mādhurya (sweetness), Jiva Gosvāmin, in his Prīti-sandarbha (pp. 704-715) declares the superiority of Mādhurya. Hence the supreme excellence of Madhurā Rati follows as a corollary.

c8.s3.5

² svādyatām hṛdi bhaktānām ānītā.

c8.s3.6

The Ālambana Vibhāva, or the material ground and object of this feeling, is supposed to be Kṛṣṇa himself and his beloved Gopīs (vallabhāḥ). As the Nāyaka or hero of this feeling, a long list of Kṛṣṇa's twenty-five attributes as a lover is given, although most of these are already included in the previous list of his sixty-four general excellences which we have mentioned above. The orthodox classification³ of the hero, appearing as the beloved (kāntatvena sphuran, Jiva), into Dhīrodātta etc. is accepted; but Kṛṣṇa may figure either as Pati (husband) or Upa-pati (lover), and it is on the latter aspect that the excellence of his love is supposed to rest.⁴ As an amour with a married woman is hardly permitted by orthodox theory⁵ to form the dominant theme of a play or poem, Rūpa Gosvāmin cites Bharata in support, and states that if some older authorities have spoken lightly of the Upa-pati, such remarks should be understood to have an application to the ordinary hero (prākṛta nāyaka), and not to Kṛṣṇa, who incarnated himself for tasting the essence of the Rasa.⁶

c8.s3.7

³ See S. K. De, Sanskrit Poetics, 2nd ed. ii. p. 269.

c8.s3.8

⁴ atraiva paramotkarṣaḥ śṛṅgārasya pratiṣṭhitaḥ.

c8.s3.9

⁵ Rudraṭa xiv. 12-13; Rudrabhaṭṭa, ii. 40; also Daśa-rūpaka ii. 19, (nānyodhāṅgi-rase kvacit). But Siṅgabhūpāla (Rasārṇava-sudhākara, i. 79) classifies the Nāyaka into Pati, Upa-pati and Vaiśika.

c8.s3.10

⁶ rasa-niryāsa-svādārtham avatāriṇī.

c8.s3.11

The Parakiyā (=belonging to another) heroine, who is the object of the Upa-pati's love, may however be a maiden (Kanyakā) or a married woman (Paroḍhā). Even if orthodox Poetics deprecates love to a married woman,¹ she is, according to Vaiṣṇava ideas, the highest type of the heroine, and forms the central theme of the later Parakiyā doctrine of the school, in which the love of the mistress for her lover becomes the universally accepted symbol of the soul's passionate devotion to God. Kṛṣṇa as a Nāyaka, again, is conceived to be the most complete (Pūrṇatama) in Vraja, more complete (Pūrṇatara) in Mathurā, and complete (Pūrṇa) in Dvārakā. In their character as a lover, both the Pati and the Upa-pati, may be (following orthodox classification) the faithful (Anukūla), the gallant whose attention is equally divided among many (Dakṣiṇa), the sly (Śaṭha) and the saucy (Dhṛṣṭa). Thus ninety-six different aspects of Kṛṣṇa as the hero are obtained by this elaborate classification.

c8.s3.12

¹ Rūpa Gosvāmin explains that this is because in orthodox Poetics the concern is with the ordinary hero (tat tu syāt prākṛta-kṣudra-nāyakādyanusārataḥ). He says similarly in his Nāṭaka-candrikā (śl. 11): neṣṭā yad aṅginī rase kavibhiḥ paroḍhā/ tad gokulāmbujadṛśām kūlam antareṇa/ āsaṃsayā rasavidher avatāritānām/ kamsārinā rasika-maṇḍala-śekhareṇa//. This verse is quoted anonymously at p. 80.

c8.s3.13

The ordinary classification of the Nāyikā of classical Poetics is accepted, but some complication is introduced by conceiving the heroine as the Beloved of Kṛṣṇa (Hari-vallabhā) from the devotional point of view. The Nāyikā may be Svīyā (one's own) or Parakiyā (another's) according as the hero is husband (Pati) or lover (Upa-pati). Mention is made of Kṛṣṇa's sixteen thousand wives in Vraja and one hundred and eight in Dvārakā, although we are assured that the actual number is infinite! We are told (pp. 41f) that the Gopīs of Vraja were in fact married according to Gāndharva rites (self-choice), and as such they should be taken as Svīyā heroines, but they are generally considered (prāyena viśrutā) in Kṛṣṇa's Prakaṭa-līla (Manifest Sport) as Parakiyā, because of the secrecy of their love (*pracchanna-kāmatā*) and the unmanifest character of the marriage (*avyaktatvād vivāhasya*).¹ There was, however, no jealousy on the part of the Gopas towards Kṛṣṇa for sporting with their wives, because through the Māyā of Kṛṣṇa each had an apparent wife with him (cf. *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, x. 33. 37); and the immaculateness of the Vrajadevīs is declared by the assumption that they never had any real union with their husbands.² Each of these two kinds³ of the heroine, the Svīyā and the Parakīyā, is classified again, in accordance with the scheme of classical Poetics, into the adolescent and artless (Mugdhā), the youthful (Madhyā), and the mature and audacious (Pragalbhā). Of these, the Madhyā and the Pragalbhā, according to their capacity for Māna, may be Dhīrā (self-possessed), Adhīrā (not self-possessed) and Dhīrādhīrā (the partially self-possessed), They are further arranged, according to the eightfold diversity of their condition or situation in relation to the hero, into (i) the Abhisārikā, who goes out and meets the hero in assignation, (ii) the Vāsaka-sajjā, who adorns herself in expectation of the hero, (iii) the Utkaṇṭhitā, who is disappointed by his non-arrival through misadventure or involuntary absence, (iv) the Vipralabdhā, who is deceived of her expectation by unfaithfulness, (v) the Khaṇḍitā, who is outraged by the discovery of marks of unfaithfulness in the hero, (vi) the Kalahāntaritā, who is separated by quarrel, (vii) the Proṣita-bhartṛkā, who pines for the absence of the hero gone abroad, and (viii) the Svādhīna-bhartṛkā, who has the hero under absolute control. They may again, according to the rank each holds in the affection of the hero, be Uttamā (best), Madhyamā (middling) and Kaniṣṭhā (lowest).

c8.s3.14

¹ Viśvanātha Cakravartin adds (*Kiraṇa*, p. 34): *kiyantyaḥ gokule svīyā api pitṛādi-śaṅkayā parakīyā eva*. Jīva Gosvāmin deals in some detail with this question of the relation of the Gopīs to Kṛṣṇa in his *Prīti-sandarbha* (pp. 676-686, 936), for which see below, chap. v. It is differentiated from ordinary sexual relation (*prākṛta kāma*) and characterised as pure love (*śuddha-preman*), and the distinction of Svīyā and Parakīyā is said to be possible only in Prakaṭa Līlā (*vastutaḥ parama-svīyā api prakaṭa-līlāyām parakīyamānāḥ śrī-vrajadevyah*, p. 936). In his *Śrīkṛṣṇa-sandarbha* (ed. Prangopala Gosvami, Nadiya 1925, pp. 547f), Jīva offers the mystical-philosophical explanation that the Gopīs, as well as Kṛṣṇa's wives in Mathurā and Dvārakā, are really his Svarūpa-śaktis. The Parakīyā-bhāva of the Gopīs is not a reality but a mere semblance (Abhāsa) which, occurring only during the Prakaṭa Vṛndāvana-līlā, is short-lived.

c8.s3.15

² *na jātu vraja-devīnām patibhiḥ saha saṃgamah*.

c8.s3.16

³ The third kind, the Sādhāraṇī, or Sāmānyā or Veśyā (Courtesan), is omitted. The Kubjā, who is extolled (p. 85) for her feeling towards Kṛṣṇa, is apparently regarded as Parakīyā (*bhāva-yogāt tu sairandhrī parakīyaiva sammatā*). But Jīva Gosvāmin (*Prīti-sandarbha*, p. 933) would frankly regard her as Sāmānyā, whose Dāsya (annointing Kṛṣṇa's body) was raised into Madhura Rasa. As her desire was for Kṛṣṇa, it was directed towards a worthy object and therefore praised; but, being selfish and frankly sensual, it is deprecated in comparison with the love of the Gopīs, which was free from these traits.

c8.s3.17

All this follows pretty closely the older rhetorical convention: but a further classification from a different theological point of view is also attempted. This classification of the Beloved of Kṛṣṇa may be represented thus in a tabular form:

c8.s3.18

Hari-vallabhā or the Beloved of Hari

c8.s3.19

| Sādhana-siddhā (who has attained realisation through effort) | Nitya-siddhā (who has perpetually effort, e.g. Rādhā, Candrāvalī etc.) | Devī (i.e. deva-yoni, a celestial being who becomes incarnated with Kṛṣṇa) |
| | | |
| Yauthikī (belonging to a yutha or combination of Sādhakas, sambhūya gaṇaśaḥ sādhane ratāḥ) | Ayauthikī (not belonging to such groups) | |
| | | |
| The Ascetics (Munis who became Gopīs, according to the Padma-purāṇa) | The Upaniṣads (who became Gopīs, according to the Purāṇas) | |
| | | |
| | Prācīnā (Ancient) | Navyā (Modern) |

c8.s3.20

Of these Rādhā, as the Vṛndāvaneśvarī and eternal consort of Kṛṣṇa, is the foremost Beloved. A whole section is devoted to her, in which she is identified with the Hlādinī Mahāśakti of the Tantra (*tantre pratiṣṭhitā*): and a big list is given of her attributes and excellences, with the final remark that her characteristics, like those of Kṛṣṇa, are incapable of enumeration (*saṃkhyātīta*). Although the name of Rādhā is not found in general literature before *Hāla-saptaśatī*, an attempt is made to prove her antiquity by a reference (p. 60) to such late neo-vaiṣṇava Upaniṣads as the *Gopāla-tāpanī* and to the apocryphal *Ṛk-pariśiṣṭa*, as well as to the canonical *Padma-purāṇa* (cf. *Prīti-sandarbha* pp. 564-9). Her five kinds of companions, namely, Sakhī, Nitya-sakhī, Prāṇa-sakhī, Priya-sakhī and Parama-preṣṭha-sakhī, are then mentioned, and their individual names are recorded (p. 79).¹

c8.s3.21

¹ The *raison d'être* of this classification is not mentioned in the text; but Viśvanātha Cakravartin (*Kiraṇa*, p. 39-40) explains it thus: One who is more partial to Kṛṣṇa is Sakhī, but the Nitya-sakhī is more partial in her affection to Rādhā. Among Nitya-sakhīs, those who are the chief are called Prāṇa-sakhīs. The Priya-sakhī is not defined, but among Priya-sakhīs the chief are Parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. In his *Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā* (ed. Radharaman Press, Berhampur-Murshidabad, 1323 B.E.=1916 A.D.), Rūpa Gosvāmin enlarges upon this topic of the *ancillae* of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.—The Sthāyi-bhāva in the case of the Nāyikā is direct enjoyment (*sākṣād upabhogātmaka*), but in the Sakhīs, according to Jīva Gosvāmin (*Prīti-sandarbha* p. 1046) it is vicarious, consisting of an approval of the enjoyment (*tad-anumodanātmaka*).

c8.s3.22

According to their luck in love (*saubhāgya*), each of the heroine may be again Adhikā (excessive), Samā (even) and Laghvī (light). According to her Svabhāva (temperament), she may be again Prakharā (sharp), Madhyā (equable) and Mṛdvī (mild). According to her attitude to her rivals, she may be Sva-pakṣā (interested in herself), Suhṛt-pakṣā (partial to her friend), Taṭasthā (indifferent) and Vipakṣā (hostile). Of these, the second and the third are not conducive to Rasa, but are incidentally mentioned; they may be either Iṣṭasādhakā (doing good) or Aniṣṭa-bādhakā (averting evil). The hostile type may be Iṣṭa-hantrī (an obstacle) or Aniṣṭakarī (active maker of mischief). Jīva Gosvāmin's classification (p. 959) into Sakhī (companion), Suhṛt (well-wisher), Taṭasthā (indifferent) and Prātipakṣikī (rival) is much simpler. But this classification on the basis of partisanship also applies to the Sakhī (Companion) by herself and as a messenger (Dūtī), according to her attitude to the cause of Kṛṣṇa or of Rādhā.

c8.s3.23

Of the assistants (Sahāya) in love-affair, the Nāyaka has his usual Ceṭa (servant, e.g. Bhaṅgura, Bhṛṅgāra etc. in Vraja), Viṭa (courtier, e.g. Kaḍūra, Bhāratībandhu etc.), Pīṭhamarda (comrade, e.g. Śrīdāman) and Viḍūṣaka (buffoon, e.g. Madhumaṅgala in Rūpa Gosvāmin's Vidagdha-mādhava), to which is added a fifth, Priya-narma-sakhī (dear and intimate friend, e.g. Subala and Arjuna). The Sakhī or companion of the Nāyikā has already been mentioned above,¹ But her messengers of love (Dūtī) and the nature of the message take up an entire long section of the work. The classification of the Dūtī may be tabulated as follows:

c8.s3.24

¹ The Sakhī is an important person in the Rasa-śāstra and theology of Caitanyaism. Without her the blissful erotic sport of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā is not nourished, nor does it expand. No one has access to the sport except the privileged Sakhīs and those devotees who imitate (through Rāgānugā mode) their attitude. Hence the devotional fancy of the faithful Vaiṣṇava adopts the way of the Gopīs and thinks on the sport, day and night, manifested in various erotic forms. It is for this reason that in the hagiology of the sect, as we have already noted, the great Vaiṣṇavas are figured as incarnations of the Sakhīs,—a curious sublimation of the Gopī-myth! In the Kāvyas, Nāṭakas, Stotras and Campūs of Kavikarṇapūra, Raghunātha-dāsa, Rūpa and Jīva, we shall see presently, the Sakhīs naturally play an important and ubiquitous rôle.

c8.s3.25

Dūtī (Messenger of the Heroine)

c8.s3.26

The self-effort may take the forms of gestures, words or looks. The gestures, are of many kinds: cracking of the fingers, artfully covering up one's limbs, drawing figures on the ground with one's toes, scratching the ears, dance of the eye-brows, biting one's lips, etc. The words, consisting of hints, may be direct or artful, or they may concern Kṛṣṇa himself or something relevant, etc. The looks are analysed into smiling with the eyes, glancing with half-closed eyes, rolling the eyes, side-long glances, etc.

c8.s3.27

They may be Śilpakārī (woman artisan), Daivajñā (woman astrologer), Liṅginī (woman ascetic, e.g. Paurṇamāsī), Paricārikā (maidservant), Dhātreyī (foster-sister), Sakhī (companion), Vanadevī (the presiding deity of the forest) etc. [cf. Rasārṇava-sudhākara. i. 160-161].

c8.s3.28

The message may be directly expressed (vācya) or suggested (vyaṅgya). The suggested may be spoken before the heroine or behind her, and may be either direct (sākṣāt) or artfully spoken (vyapadeśena), etc.

c8.s3.29

So much about the Ālambana Vibhāvas. The Uddīpana Vibhāvas, which serve to foster the feeling by conditions of time, place and circumstance, constitute a much less extensive topic, but involve an equal elaboration of detail. Under this section come mainly the definition and classification of the various excellences of Kṛṣṇa and his beloved Gopīs, as well as such eternal (taṭastha) objects (e.g. spring, cloud, moon etc.) as would excite the feeling of love. The excellences of Kṛṣṇa having been already catalogued and illustrated in the previous work, the present work confines itself to an elaborate definition and illustration of the excellences of Kṛṣṇa's Beloved, which may be either physical (Kāyika), mental (Mānasika) and verbal (Vācika). The mental and verbal characteristics are dismissed in a few words; but of physical excellences: such as beauty (Rūpa), complexion (Lāvaṇya), softness (Mārdava) etc., prominence is given to the description of the three stages of youth (Yauvana), namely, Navya (fresh), Vyakta (manifest) and Pūrṇa (complete), along with Vayaḥ-saṃdhi (adolescence).¹ Other excellences of Kṛṣṇa refer to the peculiarities of Name (Nāman), Exploits (Carita), Sports (Līlā, e.g. playing on the flute, milking the cows, lifting of the Govardhana hill etc.), Maṇḍana (embellishments), and other relevant (sambandhin) and related (saṃnihita) characteristics, including a description of Vṛndāvana, its rivers, groves, trees, flowers, birds and beasts. Taṭastha Uddīpanas, as we have said above, include the conventional external objects (such as the cloud, full moon, southern breeze, etc.) which excite the feeling of love.

c8.s3.30

¹ The Rasārṇava-sudhākara (i. 164f) speaks of four stages of Yauvana.

c8.s3.31

Three kinds of Anubhāvas, which consist of such outward manifestations of the feeling as follow and strengthen it, are distinguished, namely, twenty-two Alaṃkāras, seven Udbhāsvaras, and twelve Vācikas. Of the twenty-two Alaṃkāras or embellishments, the three physical ones (Bhāva, Hāva and Helā) refer to the degree of awakening and manifestation of love in a nature previously exempt; then there are seven inherent (Sattvaja) qualities, such as brilliance of youth, beauty, sweetness, courage etc.; and ten natural (Svabhāvaja) graces, such as Līlā (playful imitation of the beloved), Vilāsa (playful gestures), Vicchitti (decoration), Moṭṭāyita (clear expression of desire) etc., conclude the list. All this is conventional;² but the seven Udbhāsvaras, which are new, include such gestures or physical expressions of love as unconscious untying of the knot of the lower garment (nīvi-visaṃsraṇa), dropping of the upper garment (uttarīya skhalana), yawning (jṛmbhā), loosening of the hair (keśa-saṃsraṇa), etc. These are really aspects of Vilāsa and Moṭṭāyita mentioned above, but they are separately treated because they have a charm of their own. The twelve Vācikas or conversational attributues are Ālāpa (agreeable and flattering talk), Vilāpa (lamentation), Samlāpa (dialogue), Pralāpa (vain or meaningless words), Anulāpa (repetition), Apalāpa (contrary application of a spoken word), Samdeśa (message), Atideśa (taking another's words as one's own), Apadeśa (hinting), Upadeśa (instruction), Nirdeśa (pointed reference) and Vyapadeśa (artful expression of one's desire).¹

c8.s3.32

² See S. K. De, Sanskrit Poetics, ii, pp. 271-72.

c8.s3.33

¹ This classification of Vācika follows Rasārṇava-sudhākara (ed. Trivandrum, I. 220f).

c8.s3.34

There is nothing novel in the treatment of the Sāttvikas which are really kinds of Anubhāvas. The eight orthodox Sāttvikas are accepted and are illustrated chiefly with respect to the heroine. But each is considered as a result of different subsidiary or auxiliary feelings : e.g. Stupefaction (Stambha) is illustrated as caused respectively by fear, wonder, sorrow, impatience etc. As in the previous work, the Sāttvikas are classified as Smouldering (Dhūmāyita), Burning (Jvalita), Brightly Burning (Dīpta) and Flaming (Uddīpta).

c8.s3.35

The section on the Vyabhicāri-bhāvas or accessory feelings is a fairly long one, but the conventional thirty-three of these are accepted and illustrated, with the exception of Ugratā (sternness) and Ālasya (indolence), which, in the opinion of our author, are inapplicable to Śṛngāra. As in the case of the Sāttvikas, each of these is described as caused by different feelings, e.g. fear, wonder, anger, shame, contempt, sorrow, etc.² After this, a brief reference is made to the Commencement (Utpatti), Commixture (Samdhi), Conjunction (Śabalatā) and Allaying (Śānti) of different Bhāvas.

c8.s3.36

² This procedure follows that of the Rasārṇava-sudhākara.

c8.s3.37

The work then proceeds to the detailed consideration of the Sthāyi-bhāva, the root-emotion, of the Madhura Rasa, and the treatment is entirely original.

c8.s3.38

The natural or worldly (laukika) circumstances which give rise to the feeling of love or Madhurā Rati, according to the degree of excellence, are:

c8.s3.39

(i) Abhiyoga, manifestation of the feeling, either directly or through a messenger.

c8.s3.40

(ii) Viṣaya, object of the senses, e.g. sound (śabda), touch (sparśa), smell (gandha) etc.

c8.s3.41

(iii) Sambandha, sense of glory in beauty, lineage, etc.

c8.s3.42

(iv) Abhimāna, sense of desirability of a particular pleasing object.

c8.s3.43

(v) Upamā, resemblance, however slight.

c8.s3.44

(vi) Svabhāva, nature or temperament, which does not depend upon outward cause. This may again be Nisarga (instinctive and deep-rooted habit) or Svarūpa (causeless self-accomplished essential). This Svarūpa may centre either on Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-niṣṭhā) or on the Gopīs (lalanā-niṣṭhā).

c8.s3.45

But the Madhurā Rati, according as the heroine is Sādhāraṇī (a courtesan), Svīyā (wife) or Parakīyā (a maiden or a married woman) respectively, may be:

c8.s3.46

(a) Sādhāraṇī, general, e.g., in the case of the Kubjā, where the enjoyment is entirely for oneself (ātma-tarpaṇaika-tātparyā, Jiva). It extends up to the Preman (see below) stage of love.

c8.s3.47

(b) Samañjasā, well-proportioned, as in the case of the conjugal love of Rukmiṇī etc., where the enjoyment is as much for Kṛṣṇa as for oneself. It extends up to the Anurāga stage.

c8.s3.48

(c) Samarthā, capable, as in the case of the Gopīs where the effort is entirely for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. It extends up to the final Bhāva or Mahābhāva stage.

c8.s3.49

The Madhurā Rati, in its different aspects or conditions, may again be, successively according to its stages of growth or intensity of manifestation:¹

c8.s3.50

¹ This classification follows that of the Rasārṇava-sudhākara (II. 109f) which, however, speaks (in order) of Preman, Māna, Sneha, Rāga and Anurāga, omitting Bhāva or Mahābhāva.

c8.s3.51

I. Preman, defined as the bond of feeling (*bhāva-bandhana*) which is the indestructible seed (*bīja*) of love and which according to its degree may be Praudha (mature), Madhya (middling) and Manda (slight).

c8.s3.52

II. Sneha which is affection sublimated from Preman and causing melting of the heart (*hṛdaya-drāvaṇa*) on sight, hearing or recollection. It may also be the best (*śreṣṭha*), the middling (*madhyama*) and the lowest (*kaniṣṭha*), according to its intensity. This Sneha is of two kinds: (*a*) Ghṛta-sneha, constant fondness, solidifying like Ghee but impotent in itself in producing the taste, or (*b*) Madhu-sneha, constant fondness like honey, strong and in itself potent in producing its sweetness.

c8.s3.53

III. Māna, affected repulse of endearment due to excess of emotion and causing a variety of amatory feelings. This may be Udātta, the high-spirited impulse of Ghṛta-sneha, or Lalita, the sportive and tortuous impulse of Madhu-sneha.

c8.s3.54

IV. Praṇaya, friendly confidence (*viśrambha*), which may be Maitra, friendship characterised by humility, or Sakhya, fellowship free from apprehension. By a contact with the Udātta and the Lalita Māna respectively, these two kinds of Praṇaya may again be Su-maitra and Su-sakhya. The interrelation or evolution of one from the other is thus indicated: Sneha→Praṇaya→Māna or Sneha→Māna→Praṇaya, the two Praṇaya and Māna acting as mutual cause and effect.

c8.s3.55

V. Rāga, erotic transmutation of sorrow into joy, which, in coloured figuration, may be either Nilima (dark-blue) or Raktima (crimson). The Nilima Rāga may again be Nili rāga, indigo-coloured, unchangeable and not outwardly manifesting itself, or it may be Śyāmā-rāga, dark-coloured, accomplished slowly and manifesting itself a little. The Raktima Rāga, on the other hand, may be Kusumbha-rāga, saffron-coloured, quickly diffusing itself and reflecting other Rāgas, or it may be Mañjiṣṭha-rāga, coloured like madder, durable and independent.¹

c8.s3.56

¹ Rasārṇava-sudhākara (ii. 117f), following Bhoja, speaks only of Kusumbha, Nīli and Mañjiṣṭha Rāga. See also Sāhitya-darpaṇa, iii. 195-97.

c8.s3.57

VI. Anurāga, love as constant freshness. Its aspects are: (a) Paravaśibhāva, self-surrender, (b) Prema-vaicittya, loving apprehension of separation, (c) Aprāṇi-janma, desire for birth as inanimate matter connected with the beloved, and (d) Vipralambha-visphūrti, vision of the beloved in separation.

c8.s3.58

VII. Bhāva or Mahābhāva, supreme realisation of love such as can be realised only by the Gopīs of Vraja. It may be:

c8.s3.59

(1) Rūḍha, where the Sāttvikas have reached the highest form of excitement (Uddīpta). Its characteristics both in union and separation are (a) incapacity for bearing separation even for a moment (Nimeṣāsahatā), (b) capacity to stir the hearts of all present (Āsanna-janatā-hṛd-viloḍanatva), (c) capacity to make a whole age appear as a moment, and a moment as a whole age (Kalpa-kṣaṇatva kṣaṇa-kalpatva), (d) languishment through apprehension of malady even in the presence of happiness (Tat-saukhye'pyārti-śaṅkayā khinnatva), and (e) forgetfulness of self and everything even in the absence of actual fainting (Mohādyabhāve'pyāt-mādi-sarva-vismaraṇatva).

c8.s3.60

(2) Adhirūḍha, involving a special sublimation of the characteristics of Rūḍha mentioned above. It is again twofold: (i) Modana, involving a special heightened charm of the Sāttvikas (uddipta-sauṣṭhava), and is found only in the Rādhā-group. It deepens into Mohana in separation, which causes a deeper heightening (sūddīpta) of the Sāttvikas.

c8.s3.61

Its characteristics are: the hero's fainting even in the embrace of the heroine (*kāntāśliṣṭe'pi mūrchanā*), desire for happiness even by undergoing unbearable suffering (*asahya-duḥkha-svīkārād api tat-sukhakāmitā*), causing sorrow to the whole world (*brahmāṇḍa-kṣobha-kāritva*), weeping of the animal world (*tiraścām api rodanam*), craving death for elemental union with Kṛṣṇa (*mṛtyu-svīkārāt sva-bhūtair api tat-saṅga-tṛṣṇā*), and lastly, divine frenzy (*divyonmāda*). This divine frenzy may take the form of various helpless acts and movements (*udghūrṇā*) and of deeply anxious and resentful words on meeting a friend of the hero, here Kṛṣṇa (Citra-jalpa). The Citra-jalpa may take ten forms: Prajalpa (spitting out of words on the incompetence of the hero, in contempt prompted by impatience, jealousy or pride), Parijalpa (display of skill in chiding the hero's cruelty), Vijalpa (jealous irony instinct with resentment), Ujjalpa (proud and jealous declaration of the hero's deception), Saṃjalpa (regretful and ironical declaration of the hero's ingratitude), Avajalpa (jealous declaration of the unworthiness of the hero's love on account of his hard-heartedness, lust and deception), Abhijalpa (hinting the propriety of giving up the hero, which words bring sorrow even to birds), Ājalpa (disparaging declaration of the hero's crookedness, which causes sorrow to self and joy to those who experience his association), Pratijalpa (honouring the messenger and humbly declaring inseparability from the hero) and Sujalpa (enquiry, inspired by simplicity, gravity and humility, after the hero). (ii) Mādana, which is pleasant with the sprout of all the feelings (*bhāvas*) and which is always found in Rādhā only. Its characteristics are excess of jealousy even when there is no cause for jealousy and reminiscent contemplation of everything related to the hero even in a state of enjoyment.

c8.s3.62

This Sthāyi-bhāva of Madhurā Rati becomes the Madhura or Śṛṅgāra Rasa, the highest type of Erotic Love. It is twofold according as it is Love-in-union (Sambhoga) and love-in-separation (Vipralambha). The Vipralambha may take various forms¹ :

c8.s3.63

¹ The *Rasārṇava-sudhākara*, following Bhoja, speaks also of four kinds of Vipralambha, viz., Pūrvānurāga, Māna, Pravāsa and Karuṇa; but its Karuṇa is not the same as the Prema-vaicittya of our author.

c8.s3.64

(i) Pūrva-rāga, Incipient Love, that is, love before actual union, consequent upon first sight, hearing, dream, or looking at the picture of the beloved, etc. Its various attendant feelings and conditions, succeeding each other in order of intensity and leading even up to death, are minutely described and illustrated. It may be either Prauḍha (developed), Samañjasa (well-proportioned) or Sādhāraṇa (general). The sending of love-letters (Kāma-lekha) is also incidentally discussed. The ten stages of the Prauḍha Pūrva-rāga are : Lālasā (ardent desire), Udvega (anxiety), Jāgara (sleeplessness), Tānava (thinness of the limbs), Jaḍimā (stupidity), Vaiyagrya (impulsiveness), Vyādhi (paleness, heat etc. of the body), Unmāda (dementedness), Moha (unconsciousness) and Mṛtyu (death). Of the Samañjasa the ten stages are : Abhilāṣa (desire), Cintā (reflection), Smṛti (recollection), Guṇa-kīrtana (recital of qualities of the beloved), Udvega (anxiety), Vilāpa (lamentation), Unmāda (dementedness), Vyādhi (illness), Jaḍatā (stupidity) and Mṛti (death). Of the Sādhāraṇa Pūrva-rāga, the stages consist of the first six of the Samañjasa mentioned above, beginning with Abhilāṣa and ending with Vilāpa.

c8.s3.65

(ii) Māna¹, Resentment as a bar to the realisation of love. It may be (a) Sa-hetu (having a cause), the cause or ground of resentment being something seen (drṣṭa), heard (śruta) or inferred (anumita), or (b) Nirhetu (without a cause) or Kāraṇābhāsa-sahita (with the semblance of a cause). The causeless resentment is easily allayed, but the caused resentment may be allayed by sweet words (Sāma), offering of presents (Dāna), glorification of oneself (Bheda) and neglect (Upekṣā), or by the sudden accession of other feelings (e. g. sudden fear).

c8.s3.66

(iii) Prema-vaicittya, apprehension of separation, through excessive love, even in the presence of the beloved.

c8.s3.67

(iv) Pravāsa, psychological effect of separation due to the absence of the hero gone abroad. The separation may be either deliberate (which may again be present, past or future)² or forced; and the exodus may be to a place which is very distant or not very distant. The ten stages of this condition are: Cintā (reflection), Jāgara (sleeplessness), Udvega (anxiety), Tānava (thinness), Malināṅgatā (paleness of the limbs), Pralāpa (lamentation), Vyādhi (illness), Unmāda (dementedness), Moha (unconsciousness) and Mṛtyu (death). With regard to Pravāsa, the author adds that in his eternal sport (Nitya-līlā), there is no real separation of Kṛṣṇa and the Vraja-devīs, for their union is perpetual; but the condition

c8.s3.68

1 The Māna which looms so large in Vaiṣṇava Padāvalī has, like the word Rasa, hardly any equivalent in modern amatory vocabulary. A curious mixture of joy and sorrow, fear and hope, pride and anger, love and repulsion, it involves also an element of chalanā, an indefinable playfulness, which is wayward and yet alluring. It is not pride, anger, mere displeasure of resentment; it is neither the French "amour propre" nor Teutonic "Empfindelei". A psychological composite like this is untranslatable.

c8.s3.69

2 So in Rasārṇava-sudhākara (ii. 216).

c8.s3.70

of Pravāsa is described according to the manifest sport (Prakaṭa-līlā) of Kṛṣṇa, in which he appears to go to Mathurā. In other words, there is an apparent sojourn to Mathurā, but the association with Vṛndāvana is real and permanent.

c8.s3.71

The Sambhoga or Love-in-union is either directly (mukhya) or indirectly (gauṇa, as in a dream) fulfilled. Of each of these, again, four stages¹ are marked in order of intensity : Saṃkṣipta (brief e. g. occurring after Pūrva-rāga), Saṃkīrṇa (mixed with contrary feelings, e. g. occurring after Māna), Sampanna (developed, e.g. occurring after return from near Pravāsa), and Saṃṛddhimat (complete and excessive, e. g. occurring after return from distant Pravāsa). Its various elements are sight, touch, words, barring the way, Rāsa, sport in the river, stealing of garments, stealing of the flute, kissing, embracing etc. leading up to sexual union.

c8.s3.72

¹ The Rasārṇava-sudhākara speaks of Saṃkṣipta, Saṃkīrṇa, Sampanna and Saṃṛddhimat Sambhoga. Jīva Gosvāmin (p. 1071) speaks of four kinds of Sambhoga occurring after Pūrva-rāga, viz. Saṃdarśana (sight), Saṃsparśa (touch), Saṃjalpa (conversation) and Saṃprayoga (intercourse).

c8.s3.73

The number of works cited for poetical quotations in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi is much fewer. The number of such quotations hardly exceeds two hundred and fifty, as against nearly four hundred of the previous work.² As the erotic sentiment is its theme, there is more scope here for citations from general literary works and less from the Śāstras. The quotations from the Purāṇas and other Vaiṣṇava scriptures are indeed not many, but the author strictly confines himself to such general poetical works as possess a decided Vaiṣṇava leaning, or concern themselves with the theme of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Thus, works like the *Gita-govinda* of Jayadeva or *Śrīkṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta* of Līlāśuka are freely drawn upon for illustration of the different phases of the Rasa, but the largest number of quotations is supplied by the poetical and dramatic works of Rūpa Gosvāmin himself, which appear thus to have been composed with the special object of illustrating the different phases of Kṛṣṇa-līlā. The works and authorities cited are:

c8.s3.74

² We have stated that Rūpa Gosvāmin himself compiled an anthology of Vaiṣṇava poems, the Padyāvalī. It contains about four hundred lyrical pieces culled from different sources. But the six hundred and fifty (or more) poetical quotations in these two works of his, by themselves, constitute a varied and exhaustive anthology of Vaiṣṇava devotional literature.—It is doubtful if the recently printed Bhakti-rasāmṛta-śeṣa (see above, p. 158) is the lost work of the same name by Jīva Gosvāmin. The thirteen prologue-verses do not contain the name of the author, nor is it given anywhere in the body of the text or the colophon. The date of composition (although the editor thinks that it is the date of copying of the MS) is given as Śaka 1618 (śaka varṣakartu-vidhau)=1796 A.D. ; but Jīva could not have been alive at the time. The work deals, not with Bhakti-rasa, but with Kāvya-rasa,

c8.s3.75

(The references are by page, as the numbering of the sections and verses in the printed edition does not facilitate any other way of reference)

c8.s3.76

(I) *The Epics and Purāṇas*: Harivaṃśa 40, 253, 432; Śrīmad-bhāgavata 40, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 254, 264, 265, 272, 283, 285, 290, 296, 297, 307, 308, 311, 312, 336, 342, 357, 381, 384, 385, 411, 428, 470; Padma-purāṇa 52, 60, 460, 40 (Kārttika-māhātmya); Viṣṇu-purāṇa 252, 271, 289, 361; Bṛhad-vāmana 52.

c8.s3.77

in seven Prakāśas respectively on Kāvya-lakṣaṇa, Vākya-svarūpa, Dhvani-bheda, Śabdārthālaṃkāra, Doṣa, Guṇa and Rīti, omitting the subject-matter of the *Sāhitya-darpaṇa* iii, v and vi; to which rhetorical work it acknowledges its indebtedness in the opening verses (*sāhityānvayi darpaṇam api saṃkalitam kariṣyāmi*). It is, in fact, an unoriginal compilation of traditional definitions, most of which are derived directly from the *Sāhitya-darpaṇa*, which it closely follows; but, we are told, since the latter work is defective on account of its not being dedicated to Kṛṣṇa, the author takes pains to insert illustrative verses in glorification of the deity, and sometimes even changes old verses freely into Vaiṣṇavite words and ideas. For instance, the last two lines of the well known old verse *niḥśeṣa-cyuta-candanam* (Mammaṭa, i) are thus modified, hardly to its advantage:

c8.s3.78

*satyam jalpati gopi-bandhu-janatā-vañci-kriyādyañcite*
*kṛṣṇam (!) snātum ito gatāsi na punas taṃ gopikā-kāmukam!*

c8.s3.79

The author may have utilised the *Alaṃkāra-kaustubha* of Kavikarṇa- (2) *Other Religious Texts and Commentaries:* Brahma-saṃhitā 57; Krama-dīpikā 349; Gopālottara-tāpanī 60; Viṣṇugupta-saṃhitā 43; Tantra 61; Ṛk-pariśiṣṭa 60.

c8.s3.80

(3) *Rhetorical Works and Authors:* Muni (Bharata) 11, 32; Rasa-sudhākara 91, 231, 232, 242, 295 (=Rasārṇava-sudhākara of Siṅgabhūpāla); Prācīna 87; Prāñcaḥ 86; Daśa-rūpaka 30; Rudra 43.

c8.s3.81

(4) *Poetical and Dramatic Works:* Saptaśatī (of Hāla) 468; Gīta-govinda 113, 162, 175, 183, 243, 273, 276, 284, 287, 301, 310, 314, 496; (Śrīkṛṣṇa-)Karṇāmṛta 493; Bilvamaṅgala (author of above) 277, 285, 435, as Prāñcaḥ 24; Vopadeva and his Muktāphala 450; Jagannātha-vallabha (of Rāmānanda-rāya) 302, 430; Govinda-vilāsa 320; Rukmiṇī-svayaṃvara (Īśvarapurī-kṛta) 272, 274; Muktā-caritra (of Raghunātha-dāsa) 261; Chando-mañjarī (of Gaṅgādāsa, on Prosody) 252, 268.

c8.s3.82

*Rūpa Gosvāmin's own works:* Padyāvalī 10, 101, 162, 181, 228, 241, 265, 277, 287, 300, 305, 306, 364, 392, 395, 396, 417, 453, 454, 490, 491; Vidagdha-mādhava 34, 64, 68, 69, 95, 108, 160, 182, 184, 187, 222, 235, 236, 250, 251, 254, 262, 265, 279, 282, 283, 289, 292, 296, 299, 303, 304, 305, 310, 311, 319, 322, 323, 371, 417, 420, 421, 423, 424, 426, 435, 443, 450, 489, 492; Lalita-mādhava 37, 77, 83, 182, 209, 228, 233, 234, 235, 237, 239, 240, 241, 251, 278, 284, 291, 293, 294, 299, 302, 304, 309, 318, 333, 388, 395, 451, 453, 455, 474, 485, 487, 493; Dāna-keli-kaumudī 161, 222, 231, 234, 256, 270, 321, 358, 360, 373, 375, 410, 484, 488, 492; Uddhava-sandeśa 93, 102, 147, 161, 238, 240, 282, 296, 298, 302, 347, 439, 451, 452, 469, 492; Haṃsa-dūta 189, 286, 304, 309, 316, 324, 454, 456, 470, 484.

c8.s3.83

It will be clear from what is said that the mood of erotic mysticism, which seeks to express religious longings in the language and imagery of earthly passion and which is a characteristic feature of later Vaiṣṇavism in general, is seen in its full bloom in these treatises and indeed forms one of the basic inspirations of Caitanyaism. In the older works like the Bhagavad-gītā, the mood of Bhakti is presented as an ethical and mystical feeling of an intensely personal pūra and the Sāhitya-kaumudī commentary (on Mammaṭa) by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa. It quotes the Gopāla-campū of Jīva and the Citra-padya of Rūpa from Stava-mālā (pp. 618-20). As it does not deal with Bhakti-rasa, we need not consider this work here.

c8.s3.84.1

character, rather than as an impersonal intellectual conviction adduced by mere knowledge, but the attitude there is more speculative than passionate. The Bhakti in the Mahābhārata in general is often explained by the analogy of the love of the wife for her husband; and the term Bhakti in the later Sūtras of Nārada and Śāṇḍilya is made interchangeable with the terms Prīti, Bhāva, Rāga or Anurakti as expressions of ardent love and yearning; but the passioanateness of earlier theistic devotionalism was never entirely divorced from intellectual satisfaction or moral earnestness. Though not identical with it, knowledge or belief is still acknowledged as a preliminary to the emotion of Bhakti, and selfless action is not excluded. The mediaeval expressions of the passion, however, dispense with Jñāna and Karman in the orthodox sense, and take their stand exclusively upon mystical emotional realisation (Rasa). All worship and salvation are regarded as nothing more than a blissful enjoyment of the divine sports, involving personal consciousness and relation, direct or remote, between the enjoyer and the enjoyed. But in the emphasis laid on the erotic sentiment in the sports of Kṛṣṇa, the attitude borders definitely upon sense-devotion, and leans perceptibly and dangerously towards the erotic passion. The ultimate felicitous state is conceived as an eternity of enjoyment of the erotic sports of Vṛndāvana, in which the faithful serve Kṛṣṇa as did the Gopīs.

c8.s3.84.2

The corrective is, no doubt, supplied by theologically representing the erotic relationship as the sport of the Śaktimat with his own Śaktis or Energies, in their Hlādinī or blissful state; but, however figuratively or philosophically the doctrine is interpreted, the erotic emotionalism is essential and prominent in the devotional writings as a literal fact. In the hands of these erotic emotionalists there is a fresh accession and interpretation of romantic legends; and the Purāṇic life of Kṛṣṇa being brought to the foreground, the older Epic figure of Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa is transformed beyond recognition. The ancient epic spirit of godly wisdom and manly devotion is replaced by a new spirit of mystical and theological fancy, of tender rapture over divine babyhood, and of sensuous and erotic passion of ecstasy over the loveliness of divine adolescence; and its god is moulded accordingly. The essential truth of the doctrine of Vṛndāvana-līlā, no doubt, lies in its appeal for a more emotional religion and in its protest against the unsatisfying intellectuality of mere metaphysics; and the whole theory of Bhakti-rasa appeals to the exceedingly familiar and authentic intensity of human moods and sentiments. But we have also a marked development of the dubious erotic possibilities of the attitude in an atmosphere of highly passionate and sensuous life and literature. In Bengal Vaiṣṇavism the tendency goes a step further.

c8.s3.84.3

It seeks to realise, in its theory and practice, the actual passion of the deity, figured as a friend, son, father or master, but chiefly and essentially as a lover. The too ardent tendency of the position lapses into sensuousness of a refined type, but the mystical sensibility is chiefly vicarious. The doctrine, no doubt, attempts to transfigure the mighty sex-impulse into a deeply religious emotion, but the way of realisation insists upon an abnormal mental state, which seeks the highest satisfaction in a vicarious enjoyment of the erotic sports of Kṛṣṇa, contemplated not merely in a figurative but also in a vivid literal sense. It is important to note that the Vṛndāvana-līlā is not a mere symbol or divine allegory, but a literal fact of religious history. The Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa myth, as depicted in the Purāṇas and elaborated in the Kāvyas, Nāṭakas and Campūs, as well as in the Rasa-śāstra, of the sect as the basis of its theology and devotional life, is taken as a vivid historical, as well as super-historical, reality; and there is no suggestion of its being an allegory. The pressure of modern thought has, no doubt, induced some modern writers on the subject to the desperate method of allegorical interpretation, but the theologians and poets of the sect never think it necessary to spiritualise the myth as a symbolism of religious truth; for the Purāṇic world to them is manifestly a matter of religious history.

c8.s3.85

This fervent quasi-amorous attitude, in spite of its subtle and elusive juggling with psychological complexes and theological refinements, inspires not only the Śāstras and professedly devotional works of Bengal Vaiṣṇavism, but also enlivens its mass of resplendent lyrics in Sanskrit, as well as in Bengali, with the practical possibilities of its mystical erotic impulse. Whatever may be the devotional value of this attitude, the literary gain was immense. This last reach of Vaiṣṇava Bhakti, transmuted in Bengal Vaiṣṇavism into Preman or love, became an unfailing and rich source of literary inspiration, as well as of religious emotion; for it was personal in ardour, concrete in expression and original in appeal. Along with its metaphysics and theology was also produced a psychological rhetoric of the endless diversity of the passionate condition, which reproduced, no doubt, the classical phraseology and ideas of Sanskrit rhetoric of Rasa, but whose erotic-religious application and subtilising of emotional details were novel, intimate and inspiring. These aesthetic and emotional conventions were implicitly accepted in its literary productions. In spite of its psychological formalism, its rhetoric of ornament and conceits and its pedantry of metaphysical sentimentalism, there can be no doubt that the inspiration supplied by the erotic emotionalism of such works as those of Rūpa Gosvāmin (with their hundreds of poetical illustrations) to later Vaiṣṇava literature, especially the lyrics composed in Bengali, must have been of a deep and far-reaching character. Even the abstruse dogmas, formulas and shibboleths have had their effect on literary conception and phrasing, but there was an essentially human appeal in its religious attitude, which imparted to its literary effusions an enduring emotional and poetical value. The wistfulness and amazement of its devotional ecstasy, the richly romantic idealism of its mystical erotic sensibility, lifted the lyric literature of Caitanyaism into a high level of artistic and passionate expression, which was endowed, by the virtue of these attributes, with as much human as transcendental value.

Linked texts (31)