pahilehi rÄga nayana-bhaá¹…ge bhela
anudina bÄá¸hala, avadhi nÄ gela
nÄ so ramaṇa, nÄ hÄma ramaṇī
duá¹…hu-mana manobhava peá¹£ala jÄni'
e sakhi, se-saba prema-kÄhinÄ«
kÄnu-á¹hÄme kahabi vichurala jÄni'
nÄ khoá¹…jaluá¹… dÅ«tÄ«, nÄ khoá¹…jaluá¹… Än
duá¹…hukeri milane madhya ta pÄá¹…ca-bÄṇa
ab sohi virÄga, tuá¹…hu bheli dÅ«tÄ«
su-purukha-premaki aichana rīti
pahilehi - in the beginning; rÄga - attraction; nayana-bhaá¹…ge - by activities of the eyes; bhela - there was; anu-dina - gradually, day after day; bÄá¸hala - increased; avadhi - limit; nÄ - not; gela - reached; nÄ - not; so - He; ramaṇa - the enjoyer; nÄ - not; hÄma - I; ramaṇī - the enjoyed; duá¹…hu-mana - both the minds; manaḥ-bhava - the mental situation; peá¹£ala - pressed together; jÄni' - knowing; e - this; sakhi - My dear friend; se-saba - all those; prema-kÄhinÄ« - affairs of love; kÄnu-á¹hÄme - before Kṛṣṇa; kahabi - you will say; vichurala - He has forgotten; jÄni' - knowing; nÄ - not; khoá¹…jaluá¹… - searched out; dÅ«tÄ« - a messenger; nÄ - not; khoá¹…jaluá¹… - searched out; Än - anyone else; duá¹…hukeri - of both of Us; milane - by the meeting; madhya - in the middle; ta - indeed; pÄá¹…ca-bÄṇa - five arrows of Cupid; ab - now; sohi - that; virÄga - separation; tuá¹…hu - you; bheli - became; dÅ«tÄ« - the messenger; su-purukha - of a beautiful person; premaki - of loving affairs; aichana - such; rÄ«ti - the consequence.
“ ‘Alas, before We met there was an initial attachment between Us brought about by an exchange of glances. In this way attachment evolved. That attachment has gradually grown, and there is no limit to it. Now that attachment has become a natural sequence between Ourselves. It is not that it is due to Kṛṣṇa, the enjoyer, nor is it due to Me, for I am the enjoyed. It is not like that. This attachment was made possible by mutual meeting. This mutual exchange of attraction is known as manobhava, or Cupid. Kṛṣṇa’s mind and My mind have merged together. Now, during this time of separation, it is very difficult to explain these loving affairs. My dear friend, though Kṛṣṇa might have forgotten all these things, you can understand and bring this message to Him. But during Our first meeting there was no messenger between Us, nor did I request anyone to see Him. Indeed, Cupid’s five arrows were Our via media. Now, during this separation, that attraction has increased to another ecstatic state. My dear friend, please act as a messenger on My behalf, because if one is in love with a beautiful person, this is the consequence.’
These verses were originally composed and sung by RÄmÄnanda RÄya himself. ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura suggests that during the time of conjugal enjoyment, the attachment might be compared to Cupid himself. However, during the period of separation, Cupid becomes a messenger of highly elevated love. This is called prema-vilÄsa-vivarta. When there is separation, conjugal enjoyment itself acts like a messenger, and that messenger was addressed by ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī as a friend. The essence of this transaction is that transcendental loving affairs are as relishable during separation as during conjugal enjoyment. When ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī was fully absorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa, She mistook a black tamÄla tree for Kṛṣṇa and embraced it. Such a mistake is called prema-vilÄsa-vivarta.
