tÄmÄ, kÄá¹…sÄ, rÅ«pÄ, sonÄ, ratna-cintÄmaṇi
keha yadi kÄhÄá¹… potÄ pÄya eka-khÄni

 tÄmÄ - copper; kÄá¹…sÄ - bell metal; rÅ«pÄ - silver; sonÄ - gold; ratna-cintÄmaṇi - touchstone, the basis of all metals; keha - somebody; yadi - if; kÄhÄá¹… - somewhere; potÄ - buried; pÄya - finds; eka-khÄni - in one place.


Text

Actually, these conversations are like a great mine where, from a single place, one can extract all kinds of metals — copper, bell metal, silver and gold — and also touchstone, the basis of all metals.

Purport

ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura gives the following summary of the conversations between RÄmÄnanda RÄya and ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. RÄmÄnanda RÄya replied to five questions of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, and these questions and their replies are recorded in verses 57-67. The first answer is compared to copper, the second to a better metal, bell metal, the third to a still better metal, silver, and the fourth to the best metal of all, gold. But the fifth answer is compared to the most valuable gem, touchstone, because it deals with unalloyed devotion, the ultimate goal of devotional life, and illuminates the preceding four subordinate answers.

ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura points out that in VrajabhÅ«mi there is the YamunÄ River with its sandy banks. There are kadamba trees, cows, Kṛṣṇa’s sticks with which He herds cows, and Kṛṣṇa’s flute. All of these belong to Å›Änta-rasa, the mellow of neutrality in devotional service. There are also the direct servants of Kṛṣṇa, such as Citraka, Patraka and Raktaka, and these are the embodiments of service in the mellow of servitude. There are also friends like ÅšrÄ«dÄmÄ and SudÄmÄ, who embody service in fraternity. Nanda MahÄrÄja and mother YaÅ›odÄ are the embodiments of parental love. Above all of these are ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī and Her assistants, the gopÄ«s LalitÄ, ViÅ›ÄkhÄ and others, who embody conjugal love. In this way all five mellows — Å›Änta, dÄsya, sakhya, vÄtsalya and mÄdhurya — exist eternally in VrajabhÅ«mi. They are also compared, respectively, to copper, bell metal, silver, gold and touchstone, the basis of all metals. ÅšrÄ«la KavirÄja GosvÄmÄ« therefore refers to a mine eternally existing in Vá¹›ndÄvana, VrajabhÅ«mi.