When a devotee is permanently situated in devotional service, and by different symptoms of ecstasy he has developed and matured a fraternal mellow or flavor in relationship with the Personality of Godhead, his feeling is called fraternal love of Godhead.
The impetus for such fraternal love of God is God Himself. When one is liberated and discovers his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, the Lord Himself becomes the impetus for increasing fraternal love. The eternal associates of the Lord in VášndÄvana have described this as follows: "The Lord, Hari, whose bodily hue is like the indranÄŤla jewel, whose smiling is as beautiful as the kunda flower, whose silk dress is as yellow as golden autumn foliage, whose chest is beautified with garlands of flowers and who is always playing upon His fluteâthis enemy of the Agha demon is always attracting our hearts by wandering about VášndÄvana."
There are similar statements of fraternal love expressed outside the jurisdiction of VášndÄvana. When the sons of PÄášá¸u, headed by MahÄrÄja Yudhiᚣášhira, saw KášášŁáša in His four-handed form on the Battlefield of Kurukᚣetra, holding His conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower, they completely forgot themselves and became merged in the ocean of nectarean happiness. This shows how the sons of PÄášá¸uâKing Yudhiᚣášhira, BhÄŤma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadevaâwere all caught up in fraternal love for KášášŁáša.
Sometimes the different names, forms, paraphernalia and transcendental qualities provoke fraternal love. For instance, KášášŁáša's nice dress, His strongly built body, the all-auspicious symptoms on His body, His knowledge of different languages, His learned teachings in Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ, His uncommon genius in all fields of endeavor, His exhibition of expert knowledge, His mercy, His chivalry, His behavior as a conjugal lover, His intelligence, His forgiveness, His attraction for all kinds of men, His opulence and His happinessâall provoke fraternal love.
The impetus to fraternal love upon seeing the associates of KášášŁáša in VášndÄvana is also very natural, for their personal bodily features, their qualities and their dress are all equal to KášášŁáša's. These associates are always happy in their service to KášášŁáša, and they are generally known as vayasyas, or friends of the same age. The vayasyas are fully confident of protection by KášášŁáša. Devotees sometimes pray, "Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the vayasyas of KášášŁáša, who are firmly convinced of KášášŁáša's friendship and protection and whose devotion to KášášŁáša is ever fixed. They are fearless, and on a level equal with KášášŁáša they discharge their transcendental loving devotional service." Such eternal vayasyas are also found beyond the jurisdiction of VášndÄvana, in places such as DvÄrakÄ and HastinÄpura. Except for VášndÄvana, all the places of KášášŁáša's pastimes are called puras (towns). MathurÄ and HastinÄpura, the capital of the Kurus, are both puras. Personalities like Arjuna, BhÄŤma, DraupadÄŤ and ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ BrÄhmaáša are counted among KášášŁáša's fraternal devotees in the puras.
How the sons of PÄášá¸u, the PÄášá¸avas, enjoy KášášŁáša's association is described as follows: "When ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša arrived in Indraprastha, the capital of the Kurus, MahÄrÄja Yudhiᚣášhira immediately came out to smell the flavor of KášášŁáša's head." It is the Vedic custom that a superior smells the heads of his subordinates when the subordinates offer respect to the superior by touching his feet. Similarly, Arjuna and BhÄŤma embraced KášášŁáša with great jubilation, and the two younger brothers, namely Nakula and Sahadeva, touched the lotus feet of KášášŁáša with tears in their eyes and offered their respects. In this way all the five PÄášá¸ava brothers enjoyed the fraternal friendship of KášášŁáša in transcendental mellow. Of the five PÄášá¸avas, Arjuna is the most intimately connected with KášášŁáša. He has a nice bow called GÄášá¸ÄŤva in his hand. His thighs are compared to the trunks of elephants, and his eyes are always reddish. When KášášŁáša and Arjuna are together on a chariot, they become celestial beauties, pleasing to the eyes of everyone. It is said that once Arjuna was lying on his bed with his head upon KášášŁáša's lap and was talking and joking with KášášŁáša in great relaxation, enjoying KášášŁáša's company with smiling and great satisfaction.
As far as the vayasyas (friends) in VášndÄvana are concerned, they become greatly distressed when they cannot see KášášŁáša even for a moment.
There is the following prayer by a devotee for the vayasyas in VášndÄvana: "All glories to KášášŁáša's vayasyas, who are just like KášášŁáša in their age, qualities, pastimes, dress and beauty. They are accustomed to playing on their flutes made of palm leaves, and they all have buffalo-horn bugles ornamented like KášášŁáša's with jewels such as indranÄŤla and with gold and coral. They are always jubilant like KášášŁáša. May these glorious companions of KášášŁáša always protect us!"
The vayasyas in VášndÄvana are in such intimate friendship with KášášŁáša that sometimes they think themselves as good as KášášŁáša. Here is an instance of such friendly feeling: When KášášŁáša was holding up Govardhana Hill with His left hand, the vayasyas said, "Dear friend, You have been standing for the last seven days and nights without any rest. This is very troublesome for us, because we see that You have undertaken a severely laborious task. We think, therefore, that You need not continue to stand in that way holding the hill. You can just transfer it onto SudÄmÄ's hand. We are very much aggrieved to see You in this position. If you think that SudÄmÄ is not able to support Govardhana Hill, then at least You should change hands. Instead of supporting it with Your left hand, please transfer it to Your right hand, so that we can give Your left hand a massage." This is an instance of intimacy, showing how much the vayasyas considered themselves to be equal to KášášŁáša.
In ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam, Tenth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse 11, Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ tells King ParÄŤkᚣit, "My dear King, KášášŁáša is the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the learned transcendentalist, He is the supreme happiness for the impersonalist, He is the supreme worshipable Deity for the devotee, and He is just like an ordinary boy to one who is under the spell of mÄyÄ. And just imagineâthese cowherd boys are now playing with the Supreme Person as though they were on an equal level! By this anyone can understand that these boys must have accumulated heaps of the results of pious activities to enable them to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in such intimate friendship."
There is a description of KášášŁáša's feeling for His vayasyas in VášndÄvana. He once said to BalarÄma, "My dear brother, when My companions were being devoured by the AghÄsura, hot tears poured down from My eyes. And as they were washing My cheeks, My dear elder brother, for at least one moment I completely lost Myself."
Within Gokula, KášášŁáša's vayasyas are generally divided into four groups: (1) well-wishers, (2) friends, (3) confidential friends and (4) intimate friends. KášášŁáša's well-wisher friends are a little bit older than KášášŁáša, and they have some parental affection for Him. Because of their being older than KášášŁáša, they always try to protect Him from any harm. As such, they sometimes bear weapons so that they can chastise any mischievous persons who want to do harm to KášášŁáša. Counted among the well-wisher friends are Subhadra, Maášá¸alÄŤbhadra, Bhadravardhana, Gobhaáša, Yakᚣa, Indrabhaáša, BhadrÄĹga, VÄŤrabhadra, MahÄguáša, Vijaya and Balabhadra. They are older than KášášŁáša and are always thinking of His welfare.
One of the elderly friends said, "My dear Maášá¸alÄŤbhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you were running toward AriᚣášÄsura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You unnecessarily bearing that heavy plow? My dear Vijaya, don't be unnecessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no need to make these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely you will see that it is only a thundercloud upon Govardhana Hill; it is not the AriᚣášÄsura in the shape of a bull, as you have imagined." These older, well-wishing friends of KášášŁáša had imagined a large cloud to be the AriᚣášÄsura, appearing in the shape of a huge bull. In the midst of their excitement one of them ascertained that it was actually only a cloud on Govardhana Hill. He therefore informed the others not to take the trouble of worrying about KášášŁáša, because there was no present danger from AriᚣášÄsura.
Among the well-wisher friends, Maášá¸alÄŤbhadra and Balabhadra are the chiefs. Maášá¸alÄŤbhadra is described as follows. His complexion is yellowish, and his dress is very attractive. He always carries a stick of various colors. He wears a peacock feather on his head and always looks very beautiful. Maášá¸alÄŤbhadra's attitude is revealed in this statement: "My dear friends, our beloved KášášŁáša is now very tired from working with the cows in the pasturing grounds and from traveling all over the forests. I can see that He is very fatigued. Let me massage His head silently while He is taking rest in His house. And you, Subalaâyou just massage His thighs."
One devotee described the personal beauty of Baladeva as follows "Let me take shelter of the lotus feet of BalarÄma, whose beauty is enhanced by the earrings touching His cheeks. His face is decorated with tilaka made from kastĹŤrÄŤ [musk], and His broad chest is decorated with a garland of guĂąjÄ [small conchshells]. His complexion is as white as an autumn cloud, He wears garments of blue color, and His voice is very grave. His arms are very long, touching His thighs, and He has shown His great strength by killing the Pralamba demon. Let me take shelter of this chivalrous
Baladeva's affection for KášášŁáša is illustrated in this statement to Subala: "My dear friend, please inform KášášŁáša not to go to KÄliya's lake today. Today is His birthday, and so I wish to go along with mother YaĹodÄ to bathe Him. Tell Him He should not leave the house today." This shows how BalarÄma, KášášŁáša's elder brother, took care of KášášŁáša with parental love, within the scope of fraternal affection.
Friends who are younger than KášášŁáša, who are always attached to Him and who give Him all kinds of service are called ordinary friends, or, simply, friends. Such ordinary friends are called sakhÄs, and the names of some sakhÄs are ViĹÄla, VášášŁabha, OjasvÄŤ, Devaprastha, VarĹŤthapa, Maranda, KusumÄpÄŤá¸a, Maášibandha and Karandhama. All of these sakhÄ friends of KášášŁáša seek only to serve Him. Sometimes some of them would rise early in the morning and immediately go to KášášŁáša's place and wait at the door to see KášášŁáša and to accompany Him to the pasturing grounds. In the meantime, KášášŁáša would be dressed by mother YaĹodÄ, and when she would see a boy standing at the door, she would call him, "Well, ViĹÄla, why are you standing there? Come here!" So with the permission of mother YaĹodÄ, he would immediately enter the house. And while mother YaĹodÄ was dressing KášášŁáša, he would try to help put on KášášŁáša's ankle bells, and KášášŁáša would jokingly strike him with His flute. Then mother YaĹodÄ would call, "KášášŁáša, what is this? Why are You teasing Your friend?" And KášášŁáša would laugh, and the friend would also laugh. These are some of the activities of KášášŁáša's sakhÄs. Sometimes the sakhÄs would take care of the cows who were going hither and thither. They would tell KášášŁáša, "Your cows were going off here and there," and KášášŁáša would thank them.
Sometimes when KášášŁáša and His sakhÄs went to the pasturing ground, Kaášsa would send a demon to kill KášášŁáša. Therefore, almost every day there was a fight with some different kind of demon. After fighting with a demon, KášášŁáša would feel fatigued, the hairs on His head would be scattered, and the sakhÄs would immediately come and try to relieve Him in different ways. Some friends would say, "My dear ViĹÄla, please take this fan of lotus leaves and fan KášášŁáša so that He may feel some comfort. VarĹŤthapa, you just brush the scattered hairs on KášášŁáša's head which have fallen upon His face. VášášŁabha, don't talk unnecessarily! Immediately massage KášášŁáša's body. His arms have become tired from fighting and wrestling with that demon. Oh, just see how our friend KášášŁáša has become tired!" These are some examples of the treatment given to KášášŁáša by the sakhÄs.
One of the sakhÄs, known as Devaprastha, is described as follows. He is very strong, a ready scholar, and is very expert in playing ball. He wears a white dress, and he ties his hair into a bunch with a rope. Whenever there is a fight between KášášŁáša and the demons, Devaprastha is the first to help, and he fights just like an elephant.
One of the gopÄŤs once said to her friend, "My dear beautiful friend, when KášášŁáša, the son of MahÄrÄja Nanda, was taking rest within the cave of a hill, He was keeping His head on the arms of ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ, and He was putting His left hand on DÄmÄ's chest. Taking this opportunity, Devaprastha, out of his strong affection for KášášŁáša, immediately began to massage His legs." Such are the activities of KášášŁáša's friends out on the pasturing grounds.
The more confidential friends are called priya-sakhÄs and are almost KášášŁáša's age. Because of their very confidential friendship, their behavior is only on the basis of pure friendship. The behavior of other friends is on the ground of paternal love or servitude, but the basic principle of the confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level. Some confidential friends are as follows: ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ, SudÄmÄ, DÄmÄ, VasudÄmÄ, Kiáš kiáši, Stoka-kášášŁáša, AášĹu, Bhadrasena, VilÄsÄŤ, Puášá¸arÄŤka, Viášaáš ka and Kalaviáš ka. By their various activities in different pastimes, all of these friends used to give transcendental pleasure to KášášŁáša.
The behavior of these confidential friends is described by a friend of RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ who told RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ, "My dear graceful RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ, Your intimate friend KášášŁáša is also served by His intimate boyfriends. Some of them cut jokes with Him in mild voices and please Him very much by this." For example, KášášŁáša had one brÄhmaáša friend whose name was Madhumaáš gala. This boy would joke by playing the part of a greedy brÄhmaáša. Whenever the friends ate, he would eat more than all others, especially laá¸á¸us, of which he was very fond. Then after eating more laá¸á¸us than anyone else, Madhumaáš gala would still not be satisfied, and he would say to KášášŁáša, "If You give me one more laá¸á¸u, then I shall be pleased to give You my blessings so that Your friend RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ will be very much pleased with You." The brÄhmaášas are supposed to give blessings to the vaiĹyas (farming and merchant caste), and KášášŁáša presented Himself as the son of MahÄrÄja Nanda, a vaiĹya; so the brÄhmaáša boy was right in giving blessings to KášášŁáša. Thus KášášŁáša was very pleased by His friend's blessings, and He would supply him with more and more laá¸á¸us.
Sometimes a confidential friend would come before KášášŁáša and embrace Him with great affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and cover KášášŁáša's eyes with his hands. KášášŁáša would always feel very happy by such dealings with His confidential friends.
Out of all these confidential friends, ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ is considered to be the chief. ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ used to put on a yellow-colored dress. He would carry a buffalo horn, and his turban was of reddish, copper color. His bodily complexion was blackish, and around his neck there was a nice garland. He would always challenge KášášŁáša in joking friendship. Let us pray to ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ to bestow his mercy upon us!
Sometimes ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ used to address KášášŁáša, "Oh, You are so cruel that You left us alone on the bank of the YamunÄ, and we were all mad from not seeing You there! Now it is our great fortune that we are able to see You here. If You want to pacify us, You must embrace each one of us with Your arms. But believe me, my dear friend, a moment's absence from You creates great havoc, not only for us but for the cows also. Everything becomes disarranged, and we become mad after You."
There are other friends who are still more confidential. They are called priya-narmÄ, or intimate friends. Counted among the priya-narmÄ friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva, Vasanta and Ujjvala. There was talk among the friends of RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ, the gopÄŤs, about these most intimate friends. One gopÄŤ addressed RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ thus: "My dear KášĹÄáš gÄŤ [delicate one], just see how Subala is whispering Your message into KášášŁáša's ear, how he is delivering the confidential letter of ĹyÄmÄ-dÄsÄŤ silently into KášášŁáša's hand, how he is delivering the betel nuts prepared by PÄlikÄ into KášášŁáša's mouth, and how he is decorating KášášŁáša with the garland prepared by TÄrakÄ. Did you know, my dear friend, that all these most intimate friends of KášášŁáša are always engaged in His service in this way?" Out of the many intimate priya-narmÄs, Subala and Ujjvala are considered to be the most prominent.
Subala's body is described as follows. His complexion is just like molten gold. He is very, very dear to KášášŁáša. He always has a garland around his neck, and he wears yellow clothing. His eyes are just like lotus flower petals, and he is so intelligent that by his talking and his moral instructions all the other friends take the highest pleasure. Let us all offer our respectful obeisances unto KášášŁáša's friend Subala!
The degree of intimacy shared by KášášŁáša and Subala can be understood by the fact that the talks between them were so confidential that no one else could understand what they were saying.
The description of Ujjvala, another intimate friend, is given as follows. Ujjvala always wears some garment of orange color, and the movements of his eyes are always very restless. He likes to decorate himself with all kinds of flowers, his bodily hue is almost like KášášŁáša's, and on his neck there is always a necklace of pearls. He is always very dear to KášášŁáša. Let us all worship Ujjvala, the most intimate friend of KášášŁáša!
About the confidential service of Ujjvala, this statement is to be found, addressed by RÄdhÄrÄášÄŤ to one of Her friends: "My dear friend, it is impossible for Me to keep My prestige! I wanted to avoid talking to KášášŁáša anymoreâbut just see! There again is His friend Ujjvala, coming to Me with his canvassing work. His entreaties are so powerful that it is very difficult for a gopÄŤ to resist her love for KášášŁáša, even though she may be very bashful, devoted to her family duties and most faithful to her husband."
The following is a statement by Ujjvala, showing his jubilant nature: "My dear KášášŁáša, O killer of AghÄsura, You have extended Your loving affairs so much that You can be compared to the great ocean, which is without limitations. At the same time, the young girls of the world, who are all searching after the perfect lover, have become just like rivers running into this ocean. Under the circumstances, all these rivers of young girls may try to divert their courses to some other place, but at the end they must come unto You."
Among the groups of different friends of KášášŁáša, some are well known from various scriptures, and some are well known by popular tradition. There are three divisions among KášášŁáša's friends: some are eternally in friendship with KášášŁáša, some are elevated demigods, and some are perfected devotees. In all of these groups there are some who by nature are fixed in KášášŁáša's service and are always engaged in giving counsel; some of them are very fond of joking and naturally cause KášášŁáša to smile by their words; some of them are by nature very simple, and by their simplicity they please Lord KášášŁáša; some of them create wonderful situations by their activities, apparently against KášášŁáša; some of them are very talkative, always arguing with KášášŁáša and creating a debating atmosphere; and some of them are very gentle and give pleasure to KášášŁáša by their sweet words. All of these friends are very intimate with KášášŁáša, and they show expertise in their different activities, their aim always being to please KášášŁáša.