108 Sonnets

Glorifying Lord Krsnacandra

1 Mangalacarana

(Obeisances to His Divine Grace Om- Visnupada

Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Astottara-sata Sri Srimad

A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

Folding my hands I humbly humbly place

my bowing head before the graceful two

sacred lotuslike feet of His Divine Grace

Srila Prabhupadadeva who

made the sweet sweet nectar monsoon rains

of Krsna's mercy fall upon the breath

of thousands of souls who broke the grim cold chains

that bound thousands of souls to this world of birth and death,

who placed the nectar of Krsna's holy name

on thousands of tongues who placed in thousands of hearts

the glistening sacred pure and brilliant flame

of love for Krsna and who with the graceful arts

of poetry translated the holy books

from which Lord Krsna at the reader looks.

2 Mangalacarana (Obeisances to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu)

Smiling Nityananda at His side,

Lord Caitanya dances in the street.

of Navadvipa. Nou His graceful wide

open eyes are blossoming lotus flowers His feet

bless the path His tall and sweet and fair

form gently moves with endless charming grace.

On every side around Him nou the air

is filled with His own holy names His face

is splendid like a million moons His hands

are raised above His head Nou a great host

of bhaktas follows close behind Gold bands

glisten on His waving arms A most

glorious splendor fills His every limb.

I offer my obeisances to Him.

3 A Prayer

I bou before Lord Krsnacandra's feet,

feet filled with endless splendor and with grace,

feet even learned thinkers cannot trace,

feet with every happiness complete,

feet with glorious nectar always sweet,

feet bhaktas in their thoughts always embrace,

feet that are the bhaktas garden place,

and these words I with broken voice repeat:

O master master take me from this world

so cruelly fenced about by birth and death,

a world where with a broken heart I live,

a world of thorns of poison arrows hurled,

a world so marred with battle at every breath,

and at Your feet to me a shelter give.

4 Lord Krsnacandra Suddenly Stops

I bou before Lord Krsnacandra's feet,

feet that with a dancing motion walk,

feet with marks of gracefulness replete,

feet that seem to eloquently talk

with jingling jewel anklets glistening,

feet that mark the forest's sacred ground,

feet that quickly stop as, listening

to the faraway and unexpected sound

of Vrajapura's doe-eyed teenage girls

talking and joking and laughing as they take

wild flowers from the trees and as their curls

and eyes move restlessly the playful rake

Lord Krsnacandra stops O then arise

festivals of smiles within His eyes.

5 A Question for the Philosophers

How how how how how how how hou can it be?

It is true It is true It is true It is true It is true

But but but but but what does it mean¿ Will you

please tell tell tell tell tell the answer to me.

It has baffled the greatest of sages Nou they cannot see

the deep deep deep deep deep secret truth. Do a few

or do ten or do five or do four or do three or do two,

or do even one wise saintly sage knou the truth¿ What should we

think¿ Why why why does the master the ruler of all

of the stars and the worlds and the devas and men, laughing dance

in the flower-filled forest¿ Why why does He call

the surabhi cows with His flute¿ Why why does He glance

in Sri Radhika's eyes¿ Why why why why does He tease

Vraja's beautiful lotus-eyed girls¿ Will you tell me please?

6 A Gopi Greets Lord Krsnacandra

O graceful charming king of lotus flowers,

O rake whose cooling glorious charming moon

like face nou places a limitless glorious boon

of bliss and grace on the million million bowers

of blossoms that are Your every limâ, and showers

endless floods of nectar that make noon

of night in the gardens of Your smiles O soon

to be speaking smiling king of pleasant hours,

to us gentle-hearted gopis please make clear

why amongst us You have come We pray

with Your kind sweet words and deeds You'll please us.

We trust and hope O charming smiling dear

king of the lotus flowers You'll not play

the role of taking joking tolls to tease us.

7 The Gopis Call to Arms

Pick up pick up your weapons O My friends.

Thrust and parry nou with sharpened swords

of clever playful glistening joking words.

O soldiers, on this fight so much depends.

O expert sharp-tongued slender archers, fire

a thundering great monsoon shower of arrows,

arrows of joking rebukes Push a host of sorrows

on the smiling pleasant charming handsome liar

Krsna, the rake with glistening dancing eyes

and nectar honey smiles who aspires to attack

us with javelins of joking rebukes Friends fight Him back.

With arrows surround Him and catch Him by surprise.

The handsome playful rake has come to tease

us with His glistening words Nou fight Him please.

8 The Vision of Lotuses

Glory to Sri Govindadeva whose feet

are like two lotus flowers and whose waist

is like a pond by lotus flowers embraced,

and whose navel is like a lotus flower sweet

with fragrance and whose dark broad glorious chest

is like a lotus forest great and whose arms

are like lotus stems and whose graceful neck is like charms

made of lotus flowers and in whose fingers rest

a host of lotus petals and whose smile

is the fragrance of lotus flowers and whose face

is a million petal lotus flower with grace

and glory and divine sweet nectar while

His glistening restless playful smiling eyes

are of blue lotus flowers the graceful prize.

9 A Gopi Mistakes Lord Krsna for the Moon

Look O slender graceful gopi friend!

The smiling charming glistening moon stepping down

from the darkened night sky walks nou in Sri Vraja's town.

Look Nou with a jesting smiling playful bend

of His eyebrows the restless, sweet poet moon seems to send

a message with a playful, graceful frown.

Look Nou the sweet moon's peacock-feather crown

moves in the breeze Look Nou the moving end

of His fingers dance on the flute and His smiling lips kiss

the happily singing flute's mouth Look at the sweet

nectar moonlight that shines from His brou to His waist to

His feet.

Look at necklace of colorful flowers that rest

on the glorious moon of His neck and His arms and His chest.

Look Nou the glistening moon fills the forest with bliss.

10 The Glories of Lord Krsnacandra

Glory to the son of Vraja's king!

Glory to the master of all Glory

to the rake who dances in a dancing ring

of graceful girls Glory to Him the story

of whose charming pastimes fills each saintly heart

with bliss Glory to the master of all powers.

Glory to the boy whose every limâ and part

is graceful like a million lotus flowers.

Glory to His lotus hands and feet.

Glory to His restless smiling eyes.

Glory to His heart with mercy sweet.

Glory to the clear and sweet and wise

words He kindly in the scriptures places,

words revealing His form with a million graces.

11 The Swing

Back and forth on the blossomed-flower swing

ride smiling Radha‘ and Krsna a sweet pair

of smiling graceful forms in fragrant air

happily moving as the gopis sing

songs about Their glories Nou a string

of sweet white jasmine flowers wraps Their fair

and dark forms. Nou Their glory shines Ah Their

happy beautiful smiling, glistening

eyes exchange a playful amorous glance.

Their smiles a glorious declaration tell

of sweetest deepest heartfelt nectar love.

Playing on the forest swing They move

while the restless god of sweet mystic romance

holds Them sweetly tightly in His spell.

12 The Parrot's Lesson

Glory to graceful lovely Radha‘ who

sitting in her jewel palace rooms,

looking from Her windows at the blue

sky and green hills and fragrant jasmine blooms

decorating Her graceful long black braid,

smiled and smiled and sat by Her pet bird.

Dearest dearest Radha,¢ the word played

upon Her tongue Dearest Radha,¢ the word

echoed in Her garrulous parrot's beak.

I always think of You" soft smiling sweet

Sri Radha‘ would then slowly slowly speak,

and the smart parrot would at once repeat.

Radha‘ tried to teach Her pet by rote

the letter on a lotus Krsna wrote.

13 A Teenager in Love

Why does Nanda's graceful teenage son,

whose charming clever joking always sends

the gopas into fits of laughter shun

the surabhi cows and all His cheerful friends?

Why does His flower-twined flute lay on the ground

untouched and why does He not speak a word?

Why does He not make a single sound,

and why does He leave His lunch of fruit and curd?

Why does the fragrant forest grove not fill

Him with glorious feelings of delight¿

Why does He sit alone on Govardhana Hill,

His form shaded from the sun's bright light?

Why is He motionless and pale and why

so sadly does He sigh and sigh and sigh?

14 A Spring Day

Look It is a peaceful springtime day.

Like silent sages all the cows nou sit

in shade The Yamuna's dark waves are lit

by sunshine Nou the leaping black deer play

in forest groves Lord Krsna finds His way

among the flowering trees Nou infinite

graces adorn His limbs Nou sweet smiles flit

across His eyes He walks Where will He stay?

Playful charming Krsna stops Nou where

will He sit¿ He finds a flowering tree's root

His anklets jingle A peacock feather crown

adorns His graceful curly jet black hair.

A garland of flowers adorns His chest Sitting down

He sings graceful languid melodies on His flute.

15 Lord Krsna's Day

Tears streaming from their eyes

Nanda and Yasoda hug their son

Tightly they hold their dearest prize.

Then as the reddish brilliant thousand-rayed sun

slowly begins to rise in the morning sky

smiling graceful lotus-eyed Krsna walks

in the forest The boys and surabhi cows follou by

His side Playful jokes adorn His talks

with His friends Flowers adorn His limbs and crown.

Complex graceful melodies fill His flute.

He happily leads many millions of cows down

the flower-filled forest path Yogurt and fruit

are His sweet and pleasant lunch in the cooling shade

of a fragrant flowering tree in a forest glade.

16 A Game

Holding a stick and forest-flower in His hands,

His smiling lotus eyes both blooming wide,

boy Krsna as great Ramacandra stands,

With Balarama as Laksmana at His side.

Their friends are monkeys by the great seashore.

Rescue Sita!¢ Sri Krsna demands.

Victory to Rama!¢ the boys all roar.

Then suddenly a hundred eager hands

build of miraculous floating stones a bridge

to Lanka The bridge is crossed Then Krsna slays

Ravana Amidst the foliage

of Vraja's forest happy Krsna plays

intently Thus boy Sri Krsna pretends

that He is Rama surrounded by monkey friends.

17 A Thief with Lotus Eyes

On a languid afternoon in a forest place

glorious Krsnacandra sweetly naps.

Sri Radha‘ suddenly wakes Her lotus face

suddenly smiles as a plan of mischief wraps

its arms around Her thoughts At the great wealth

Lord Krsna holds She looks with longing eyes.

Then carefully, with noiseless graceful stealth,

She inches slowly to the precious prize.

She fears that sleeping Krsna soon will wake.

Her restless lotus eyes begin to dance.

Her hands and arms and smile begin to shake.

The graceful gopi Radha‘ takes a chance

and roâs the string of forest flowers that rest

on Krsnacandra's sapphire-rampart chest.

18 Lord Krsna's Breakfast

Risen from bed and bathed and with silk dressed,

anointed with sandal and a host of scents,

splendid with gold and jewel ornaments,

a garland of fragrant flowers on His chest,

and sweetly greeting every gopa guest,

Lord Krsna sits at breakfast. Opulence

and sweetness adorn His limbs Sweet eloquence

adorns His jest after jest after jest after jest,

jests and laughter jests that seem to kiss

the eager ears of a slender listener

In the next room unseen and filled with bliss,

Her braids entwined with jasmine flowers Her

eyes wide open and Her soft cheek pressed

to the doorway Radha‘ watches all of this.

19 Yasoda's Wish

Gracefully falling like a slender stick

Sri Radha‘ bows before Yasoda's feet.

Smiling Yasoda bends at once to pick

Her up She gives a mother's hug With sweet

words she praises Her The two friends walk

into the palace Sri Yasoda smells

Sri Radha's head Joyfully they talk,

and as they talk gentle Yasoda tells

herself these words This virtuous polite,

wise saintly humble gentle charming kind,

and beautiful girl whose smile is like moonlight

and whose glistening braids are graceful with flowers twined,

this slender loving graceful sweet, doe-eyed

girl is for my son the perfect bride."

20 Visiting Vraja

Here is charming Govardhana Hill In the shade

of this tree entwined by a fragrant flowering vine,

charming and graceful Lord Krsnacandra played

sweetly on His flute Here in moonshine

Lord Krsnacandra danced with the lotus-eyed

gopis Amongst these vines Lord Krsna hid

from Radha Here He rode on a swing At His side

was Radha Here His dancing words forbid

Radha‘ to pick the flowers.¢ When with eyes

wide as I hear these words will I see the true

form of Vraja¿ When filled with surprise,

will I see eternal blissful, fresh and neu

Vraja's jewel-pathways fragrant-breeze-

graced lotus-lakes and kalpa-vrksa trees?

21 Rivers in the Sky

The cows stop chewing grass the deer stand still

the silent birds nou enter a joyful trance,

nou every fragrant forest vale and hill

begins to tremble stagger walk and dance,

the stones begin to melt, the vines and trees

burst into flowers the river's waves are stilled,

the motionless river streams begin to freeze,

and every being is in a moment filled

with enchantment as Krsna His form like a sweet rainfall

of limitless bliss sitting nou by a great tree's root,

and His dark soft lotus-petal fingers all

gracefully running along the holes of the flute

fills the sky above Gokula's beautiful flower-filled ground

with flowing rivers of sweet and glorious sound.

22 Dancing on Jewels

The full moon bathes the summit of the hill

with rippling floods of splendid nectar light.

The pleasing scene at once begins to fill

the eyes of every gopi with delight.

a fragrant grove of flowering trees surrounds

a circle paved with precious jewels bright.

Jewel anklets jingle Ah the graceful sounds

of flute and vina fill the charming night.

The amorous hero Govinda enchants

the hearts of smiling gopis all around,

Sri Govinda the hero of romance

places a foot upon the jewel ground.

Casting at Radha‘ a smiling playful glance,

Govinda enters the circle rasa-dance.

23 Two Thieves on a Mission

Youthful graceful delicate lotus-eyed

Krsna looked to the left and to the right.

No watching elder gopi was in sight.

Smiling Balarama was at His side.

Hesitant The two boys looked inside

the room Their open lotus eyes were bright

with smiles Into the darkened room's dim light

They peered Where did the cautious gopi hide

what nou with eager hearts the two boys sought?

Their young and graceful limbs were like a host

of lotus petals dark and fair Engrossed

in their prey and anxious that They might be caught,

slowly and silently the two boys crept

into the room where butter and yogurt were kept.

24 Pastimes in a Boat

On a nectar lake on a pleasing autumn night

Sri Radha‘ and Sri Krsnacandra sit

in a gold and jewel boat Their soft moonlit

forms are charming and glorious Moonlight

plays on their smiling faces and graceful limbs

They playfully joke Their lotus eyes glisten.

Radha‘ rests in Krsna's arms They listen

as a gopi sings Kandarpa's softest hymns.

Graceful beautiful Radha‘ places Her hand,

a hand like a budding twig with five sprouts and

Her smiling lotus-eyed arched-eyebrowed head

upon the pillou of a graceful bed,

a head where blossoming jasmine flowers rest,

a bed that is Sri Krsna's lotus chest.

25 A Meditation

Softly pressing Her delicate budding-twig hand

to the filigree window Radha‘ places Her gaze

on the beautiful glorious fragrant flower-filled land

of Vraja beneath Her its forests hills pathways,

streams palaces flower gardens and lakes

all glistening in the cooling sweet moonlight.

So beautiful¡ Suddenly thought overtakes

Her She closes Her lotuslike eyes The sight

of all these places makes Her think and think

of Her pastimes with Her beloved pastimes that brought

Her sweet sweet bliss Nou She begins to drink

the sweet drink of those memories She is caught

in meditation Suddenly memories dance

in Her thoughts She is like a yogi rapt in trance.

26 A Ballgame and Lunch

Happily leaping and pushing and running about,

in the flower-filled forest the joyful gopa boys call

to each other Nou they smile and laugh and shout.

A large fruit improvised nou as a ball

they toss in the game At first Sri Rama's team

seems close to tasting sweetest victory.

Aha¡ Then suddenly everything changes The dream

of victory flees Nou Krsna's team can see

sweet victory almost almost in its grasp.

The game ends Then they stop for a lunch of fruit

and yogurt and rice Laughing the boys unclasp

their lunch packs Sitting at a flower-tree's root,

they happily eat As smiling Krsna His staff

at His side tells jokes the boys laugh and laugh and laugh.

27 Offering Obeisances

Smiling Indra with a thousand eyes,

Siva with the moon above his brow,

Sesa Candra Agni Varuna wise

Brahma, and his followers all bow

before Sri Radha-Krsna's lotus feet.

Then Narada and philosophers arrive.

They humbly bou and eloquently greet

the divine couple with many prayers alive

with graceful poetry and metaphors.

Aha¡ The Upanisad-goddesses appear

at Vraja's flower-arch-graced forest doors.

With sweetest humbleness they now come near.

Fragrant jasmines in their braided hair

they bou and chant a sweet and glorious prayer.

28 The Battle of Splashes

This nectar lake where flower petals float

will be Our glorious fragrant battleground."

These words come from Krsna's lotus throat.

Hearing them Sri Radha‘ softly frowned,

then smiled Aha¡ She says O best of knaves,

if splashing battle is Your wish then meet

Me in these fragrant nectar moving waves

and find at My soft lotus hand defeat,

great great defeat.¢ Nou on a summer's day

first Krsnacandra and then Sri Radha‘ strike

the fragrant waves Nou happily They play

in the water With smiling eyes They laugh Nou like

a monsoon cloud and a glittering lightning flash,

Radha‘ and Krsna in the water splash.

29 Dance-steps in the Forest

Krsna is like the moon On His head a crown

of peacock feathers rests His arched eyebrows

are like flowering vines Millions of mooing brown,

white black and different-colored surabhi cows

follou Him Jauntily walking at His side

are Balarama Subala and a host

of glorious laughing joking smiling-eyed

friends Then lotus-eyed sweet cheerful most

glorious Krsna plays His flute It sings

graceful playful notes one after another.

The intoxicating melody nou brings

playfulness to every step The brother

of Krsna smiles As the afternoon sunlight slants

through the trees The boys and cows seem not to walk but to dance.

30 Krsna's Grandmother

Three-year-old Sri Sri Krsnacandra runs

into His smiling lotus-eyed grandmother's arms.

His dark limbs are bright like a million suns.

The joyous smile that fills His sweet face charms

His grandmother's happy throbbing heart She feels

filled with blisses Krsnacandra wriggles

with delight Grandmother¡ Grandmother!¢ He squeals.

Animated Krsnacandra giggles

and giggles in her arms With lotus eyes

smiling, He sits in her soft and pleasant lap

His large eyes wide with wonder and surprise,

awe-struck Krsna listens His ears wrap

themselves around her words as His grandmother

tells one wonderful story after another.

31 Arati in the Forest

In fragrant Vrndavana forest late at night

some smiling gopis all pass through a door

of flowers Their lotus feet glide over the floor

of jewels and enter the sacred forest grove white

in the moon's sweet soft, and cooling light.

Their hearts smiling with love, they stand before

Radha‘ and Krsna With arati they adore