kṛṣṇasyoccaiḥ praṇaya-vasatiḥ preyasÄ«bhyo 'pi rÄdhÄ
kuṇá¸aá¹ cÄsyÄ munibhir abhitas tÄdá¹›g eva vyadhÄyi
yat preṣṭhair apy alam asulabhaá¹ kiá¹ punar bhakti-bhÄjÄá¹
tat premedaá¹ saká¹›d api saraḥ snÄtur Äviá¹£karoti

 kṛṣṇasya - of Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa; uccaiḥ - very highly; praṇaya-vasatiḥ - object of love; preyasÄ«bhyaḥ - out of the many lovable gopÄ«s; api - certainly; rÄdhÄ - ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī; kuṇá¸am - lake; ca - also; asyÄḥ - of Her; munibhiḥ - by great sages; abhitaḥ - in all respects; tÄdá¹›k eva - similarly; vyadhÄyi - is described; yat - which; preṣṭhaiḥ - by the most advanced devotees; api - even; alam - enough; asulabham - difficult to obtain; kim - what; punaḥ - again; bhakti-bhÄjÄm - for persons engaged in devotional service; tat - that; prema - love of Godhead; idam - this; saká¹›t - once; api - even; saraḥ - lake; snÄtuḥ - of one who has bathed; Äviá¹£karoti - arouses.


Text

Of the many objects of favored delight and of all the lovable damsels of Vraja-bhÅ«mi, ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī is certainly the most treasured object of Kṛṣṇa’s love. And, in every respect, Her divine kuṇá¸a is described by great sages as similarly dear to Him. Undoubtedly RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a is very rarely attained even by the great devotees; therefore it is even more difï¬cult for ordinary devotees to attain. If one simply bathes once within those holy waters, one’s pure love of Kṛṣṇa is fully aroused.

Purport

Why is RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a so exalted? The lake is so exalted because it belongs to ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī, who is the most beloved object of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa. Among all the gopÄ«s, She is the most beloved. Similarly, Her lake, ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a, is also described by great sages as the lake that is as dear to Kṛṣṇa as RÄdhÄ Herself. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa’s love for RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a and ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī is the same in all respects. RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a is very rarely attained, even by great personalities fully engaged in devotional service, not to speak of ordinary devotees who are only engaged in the practice of vaidhÄ« bhakti.

It is stated that a devotee will at once develop pure love of Kṛṣṇa in the wake of the gopÄ«s if he once takes a bath in RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a. ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« recommends that even if one cannot live permanently on the banks of RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a, he should at least take a bath in the lake as many times as possible. This is a most important item in the execution of devotional service. ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura writes in this connection that ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a is the most select place for those interested in advancing their devotional service in the wake of the lady friends (sakhÄ«s) and conï¬dential serving maids (mañjarÄ«s) of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī. Living entities who are eager to return home to the transcendental kingdom of God, Goloka Vá¹›ndÄvana, by means of attaining their spiritual bodies (siddha-deha) should live at RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a, take shelter of the conï¬dential serving maids of ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ and under their direction engage constantly in Her service. This is the most exalted method for those engaged in devotional service under the protection of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. In this connection ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura writes that even great sages and great devotees like NÄrada and Sanaka do not get an opportunity to come to RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a to take their baths. What, then, to speak of ordinary devotees? If, by great fortune, one gets an opportunity to come to RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a and bathe even once, he can develop his transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa, exactly as the gopÄ«s did. It is also recommended that one should live on the banks of RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a and should be absorbed in the loving service of the Lord. One should bathe there regularly and give up all material conceptions, taking shelter of ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ and Her assistant gopÄ«s. If one is thus constantly engaged during his lifetime, after giving up the body he will return back to Godhead to serve ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ in the same way as he contemplated during his life on the banks of RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a. The conclusion is that to live on the banks of the RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a and to bathe there daily constitute the highest perfection of devotional service. It is a difï¬cult position to attain, even for great sages and devotees like NÄrada. Thus there is no limit to the glory of ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a. By serving RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a, one can get an opportunity to become an assistant of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī under the eternal guidance of the gopÄ«s.