Prayers

He stands on the Yamuna's sand.

He gazes at Sri Vraja's forests,

lakes, valleys, hills, clear streams of splendor,

and flower gardens where sapphire-chest

Krsna smiles and, under the cover

of a leafy bough plays most

sublime and sweet

songs on His flute

on a languid afternoon

or a night bright with the moon.

85. Walking on the Sand

One soft, delicate, glorious, gentle,

its petals blossoming lotus hand

on a happy, slender, graceful

gopi's shoulder placed, the sand

marked with footprints, and a smile

anointing His face, Sri Krsna walks

by the Yamuna's clear black waves.

With His beloved now He talks

and jests. Her eyes filled with love,

her fair, soft, fragrant lotus-stalk

limbs tremble.

Blisses assemble

at once in her excited heart

and flood her every limb and part.

86. Sri Krsnacandra

Sri Krsnacandra is eternal

glorious, polite, sublime

auspicious, playful, steadfast, gentle

a dancer with graceful lotus limbs,

rich with peaceful happy smiles,

the master of every colorful art,

a delicate, polite, soft lovesick

teenage boy with a kind heart,

a speaker of eloquent, sweet poetic

words, handsome and graceful in every part,

the gopis' treasure

of sweetest pleasure,

flooded by surging, splashing waves

of bliss, and always controlled by love.

87. Sri Krsna in the Forest

As the restless black bees kiss

the lotus flowers in a lake,

so Krsna's eyes of restless bliss

dance and play and joyously lick

the beauty Vraja's forests splash

in splendid fragrant-flower waves.

As wild-feathered peacocks dance

to see the monsoon-darkened skies,

so Krsna's playful smiling glance

celebrates in His blossomed eyes

when He sometimes sees by chance

the serpentine-

flower-vine-

filled fragrant forest-courtyards where

His flute melodies danced in air.

88. An Obstacle in the Forest

"Alas!" the gopis think. "Alas!

Krsna blocks the forest path.

Will Krsnacandra let us pass?

What words will dance upon His breath?"

Sweet and fragrant gracefulness

upon His shoulders, face, arms, neck,

waist, smiling eyes, and lips now rests.

His form is glorious like black

sapphires, and His broad chest

is splendor's home. His curly locks

of colorful-flower

adorned hair

surround His splendid moonlike face

and His restless glances trace.

89. Flowing Currents of Music

In Vandavana forest's grove,

amongst the flowering vines and trees,

amongst the fragrant flowers and leaves,

smiling, gentle, kind, and wise

Krsnacandra makes surging waves

of dancing, graceful, playful, sweet,

sublimely smiling, leaping music

swiftly flow from His jewel flute.

Pleased, Sri Krsna tilts His neck.

His two lotus eyes are bright.

His listens as

His flute notes splash

the forest with great roaring torrents

of nectar racing in blissful currents.

90. The Forest Is Flooded

Walking on the forest floor's

colorful glistening jewel mosaic

pathways, Krsnacandra pours

a surging flood of sweetest music

from the now wide-open doors

of His ornate glittering jewel

flute. That music is a stream

of nectar, or sometimes a pool

of placid sweetness, or a dream

with blooming lotus flowers full,

or a nectar flood

with surging tides

and waterfalls and currents that splash

the forest with dancing waves of bliss.

91. Water Music

Sitting in a flower seat

with smiling Radha at His side,

on an evening dark and sweet,

graceful Krsnacandra rides

in a boat that softly meets

the waves in a clear lotus lake.

His lotus limbs are soft and bright.

Flower garlands adorn His neck.

His smile is marked now with delight.

Earrings glitter at His cheeks.

His lotus eyes glisten

as He joyously listens

to the gopis' charming music of lute

and drum and sweetly flowing flute.

92. The Long Flute

From Krsnacandra's jewel-flute

bright with jewels and very long

come the gentle graceful notes

of a peerless glistening song.

In the air the song now floats,

very sweet and very slow.

Descending very, very deep,

falling very, very low

as if in blissful, blissful sleep

the nectar melody now flows.

It entwines

the flower vines

with nectar lines and flower ropes

that tie the gopis' hearts with hopes.

93. The Upanirads' Prayers

The humble, graceful goddesses

of the Upanirads now stand

and offer their obeisances

with softly folded flower hands.

Smiling Krsnacandra blesses

them with His gentle smiling glance.

With eyes and faces gently bent

down with graceful reverence,

the Upanirads with eloquent

words, and poetry's fragrance

on their sweet

and scented breath,

and flowers in their braided hair,

now recite their glorious prayers.

94. Flowers

Glory to gracefully bent

Sri Sri Radha-Krsna, flowers

in Their hair, ornaments

of flowers on ears, showers

of flowers on Their limbs, fragrant

flower-garlands placed around

Their necks, Their glorious slender

waists now gently, sweetly bound

with flower-sashes, a flower splendor

on Their limbs, sweet flowers wound

about Their wrists,

Their bodies caressed

with flowers, and Their graceful feet

resting on a flower seat.

95. Vraja Pilgrimage

When, walking by the charming shore

of a lake where Krsna played,

or walking among the fragrant flowers

near the hill where Krsna stayed

and made from His flute a shower

of sweetest graceful charming music,

or visiting King Nanda's palace

which stood once with jewel mosaic

walls, or seeing where, wearing a necklace

of teasing words, handsome, black

Sri Krsna would tease

the smiling gopis,

will I feel wonder playfully kiss

my eyes and fill my heart with bliss?

96. A Comic Play

On a pleasant autumn day,

when the fragrant breezes blow,

in a remote forest way,

underneath the flowering boughs,

the gopis enact a comic play.

Adorned with colorful flowers and leaves,

They make a throbbing nectar flood

of splashing, playing, graceful waves

of riotous laughter splash the buds

leaves, flowers and tender twigs that weave

a canopy

of filigree

branches. Ah, what smiles now dance

in Radha and Krsna's every glance!

97. Sri Sri Radha and Krsna

I offer my obeisances

to Sri Sri Radha and Krsna, who

are the devotees' auspiciousness,

who are the fragrant gold and blue

new lotus flowers glorious

in the clear lakes of the devotees'

hearts, who are the gold and sapphires

in the devotees' treasuries,

and who are the dark and fair

Deities worshiped by the eyes

of the gopis

among the trees

and flowers on an autumn night

glorious in the moon's cool light.

98. Meeting

With all my heart I worship now

Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. They

meet under the forest boughs,

meet at night and in the day,

meet where the Yamuna flows,

meet on Govardhana Hill,

meet in darkened forest caves,

meet by the lotus lake's clear still

waters, meet by splashing waves,

meet when the glistening sweet moon fills

the autumn night

with nectar light,

meet on the darkened forest path,

meet in the fragrant breeze's breath.

99. Meeting at Night

On a pleasant springtime night

as the cooling moon now bathes

every place with nectar light

and a fragrant breeze now breathes

through the forest, taking flight

amongst the flower-branches' lattice

networks, Radha and Krsna stay

apart. Each in Their own palace

now They rest. Ah, far away

They cannot gaze, jest, or embrace.

Still, in sweet, deep,

and peaceful sleep,

Radha and Krsna of flower limbs

see each other in Their dreams.

100. The Jewel-Mosaic Ring

Into the jewel-mosaic ring

of the glorious rasa dance.

Sri Krsna steps. The gopis sing

nectar, soaring, graceful chants.

His two lotus eyes blossoming,

Sri Krsna dances. Now around

Him in a moving, glistening circle

the gopis dance. Musical instruments sound.

With playful glances and with gentle

smiles, the gopis dance on the ground

of brilliant jewels.

In the cool

nectar moonlight each dancer is

plunged into a pool of bliss.

101. Sri Radha's Puns

Listening to Sri Radha's puns

made with glittering, graceful wit,

puns that smile with playful fun,

puns sublime and exquisite,

puns like jewel mazes spun,

the handsome, wise, kind, youthful, gentle,

monsoon-cloud dark, glorious,

lotus-petal-limb, sweet, graceful,

glistening-eyed, rake, jester, genius

Krsnacandra smiles.

Upon the vine

of His lips the jasmine

buds of His white, splendid perfume-

fragrant teeth suddenly bloom.

102. Madhvika Nectar

In a jewel pavilion

within a fragrant forest grove,

surrounded by a million million

blooming flowers, deep in love,

Radha and Krsna take the vermilion

jewel cup a gopi brings.

Smiling, Radha and Krsna pick up

the brilliant-jewel glistening

deep, curving, graceful cup.

To Their lips They place the cup's edge-ring

With reddish lips

now They sip

from the cup of dark, sweet, dear,

glorious madhvika nectar.

103. The Flower-Arrow and the Target

From the quiver of His thoughts

with care gentle Krsna brings

a flower-arrow. The arrow brought

is on His curving eyebrow-bow's string

carefully, skillfully, softly caught.

The target now He clearly sees.

With her friends the target talks.

The target walks with graceful ease.

Her fair limbs are lotus stalks.

The arrow yearns for its release.

From Krsna's eyes

the arrow flies

and into the target plunges deep.

Tonight the target will not sleep.

104. The Lover's Quarrel

Entangled in a lover's quarrel,

saintly, peaceful, graceful, sweet,

glorious, kind, eloquent, gentle,

auspicious, wise, with sighs on Her breath,

doe-eyed, slender Radha trembles.

From Her eyes now lightning flashes.

In Her words now thunder rumbles.

A host of waves of anger splashes

Her heart, where peacefulness crumbles

into firewood, flames, and ashes.

Angry, fair

Radha swears:

"Never, never again will I speak

to that blue-lotus-flower-limb rake."

105. Separation From Krsna

Bitter, turbulent waves of anguish

rise, fall, churn, crash, rush, push, crush, pull,

flood, and furiously splash

gentle, graceful, beautiful

lotus-eyed Radha's heart. Black ashes

Her peacefulness has become. She thinks

of Krsna morning, noon, and night.

In Her heart Her eyes thirstily drink

the nectar sight of Him in moonlight

and sunlight. With eyes that do not blink

at Krsna She gazes

in Her heart's maze.

Radha is plunged into grief.

Without Krsna, Radha cannot live.

106. The Lovers Reconcile

Now the lovers' sorrowful quarrel

is broken, pounded, ended, crushed.

Now the lovers reconcile.

Into each other's arms They've rushed.

With tearful eyes the lover's smile.

Speaking many nectar sweet

soft words, They apologize.

Repenting, They grasp each other's feet.

They gaze into each others eyes.

They are humble and contrite.

They are each other's

measureless treasure.

Held in Krsna's tight embrace,

smiling Radha is filled with bliss.

107. Sri Krsna's Umbrella

Krsna's teeth are jasmine buds.

Krsna's smile is nectar showers.

Krsna's words are nectar floods.

Krsna's limbs are lotus flowers.

Krsna's mercy is cooling shade.

Krsna's arms are sapphire maces.

Krsna's deeds are filled with pleasure.

Krsna's jests are blissful places.

Krsna's charm is a jewel treasure.

Krsna's chest is a sapphire palace.

Krsna's sweet

umbrella feet

give shelter from the endless rains

of maya's taunting bitter pains.

108. Sri Krsna's Boat

Krsna is present north, east, west, and south.

Krsna's name is Krsna's form.

Krsna's scriptures are Krsna's breath.

Mighty is Sri Krsna's arm.

Krsna's commands are to Krsna the path.

Krsna is different from you and me,

a difference that is never lost.

Krsna exists eternally.

The devotees cheerfully pay the cost

to attain Krsna's company.

Krsna's feet

are a boat

the wise devotees always take

to cross birth and death's bitter lake.

Falling Before Krsna's Feet

Before Sri Krsna's feet I fall

and in a plaintive voice I beg.

O master, I am in Your thrall.

In this jungle dark mirage

labyrinth I'm trapped. It's all

I see. Please free me from these ropes

these thorny ropes of birth and death.

Please, O please fulfill my hopes.

Please place, please place upon my breath

Your holy names. Please make me sip

the sweet falling

nectar of calling

out Your holy names. I call

Your name. Before Your feet I fall.

Dedication

These poems are dedicated to

His Divine Grace Om Virnupada

Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Artottara-sata

Sri Sriman A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,

my spiritual master.