Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Ādi 4.81

tāra madhye vraje nānā bhāva-rasa-bhede

krishnake karāya rāsādika-līlāsvāde

SYNONYMS

tāra madhye — among them; vraje — in Vraja; nānā — various; bhāva — of moods; rasa — and of mellows; bhede — by differences; krishnake — Lord Krishna; karāya — cause to do; rāsa-ādika — beginning with the rāsa dance; līlā — of the pastimes; āsvāde — tasting.

TRANSLATION

Among them are various groups of consorts in Vraja who have varieties of sentiments and mellows. They help Lord Krishna taste all the sweetness of the rāsa dance and other pastimes.

PURPORT

As already explained, Krishna and Rādhā are one in two. They are identical. Krishna expands Himself in multi-incarnations and plenary portions like the purushas. Similarly, Śrīmatī Rādhārānī expands Herself in multiforms as the goddesses of fortune, the queens and the damsels of Vraja. Such expansions from Śrīmatī Rādhārānī are all Her plenary portions. All these womanly forms of Krishna are expansions corresponding to His plenary expansions of Vishnu forms. These expansions have been compared to reflected forms of the original form. There is no difference between the original form and the reflected forms. The female reflections of Krishna's pleasure potency are as good as Krishna Himself.

The plenary expansions of Krishna's personality are called vaibhava-vilāsa and vaibhava-prakāśa, and Rādhā's expansions are similarly described. The goddesses of fortune are Her vaibhava-vilāsa forms, and the queens are Her vaibhava-prakāśa forms. The personal associates of Rādhārānī, the damsels of Vraja, are direct expansions of Her body. As expansions of Her personal form and transcendental disposition, they are agents of different reciprocations of love in the pastimes of Lord Krishna, under the supreme direction of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. In the transcendental realm, enjoyment is fully relished in variety. The exuberance of transcendental mellows is increased by the association of a large number of personalities similar to Rādhārānī, who are also known as gopīs or sakhīs. The variety of innumerable mistresses is a source of relish for Śrī Krishna, and therefore these expansions from Śrīmatī Rādhārānī are necessary for enhancing the pleasure potency of Śrī Krishna. Their transcendental exchanges of love are the superexcellent affairs of the pastimes in Vrindāvana. By these expansions of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī's personal body, She helps Lord Krishna taste the rāsa dance and other, similar activities. Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, being the central petal of the rāsa-līlā flower, is also known by the names found in the following verses.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness