Jaya Radha Madhava
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
with Purport by Srila Prabhupada
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī
gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana
yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī
Translation
from the 1974 Edition of “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas”
Sri Rādhā-Mādhava have their loving pastimes in the groves (kuñja) of Vrndavana. Gopī-jana-vallabha means “one who attracts and reciprocates loving pastimes with the gopis. Giri-vara-dhārī is Krishna’s name in the pastime of lifting Goverdhana Hill. Yaśodā-nandana is the son of Yasoda (“nanda” means son and is also the name of Krishna’s father, so Krishna is also Nanda-nandana). Braja-jana-rañjana means the attractive darling of the inhabitants of Vrndavana. He is always playing in the groves (vana) on the bank (tira) of the Yamuna River, therefore Krishna is also known as Yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī.
Srila Prabhupada was very fond of this song and sang it just before his lectures. In Allahabad and Gorakhpur Srila Prabhupada fell into a trance after singing the first two lines, and after some time he came back into external consciousness and said, “Now just chant Hare Krsna.” Srila Prabhupada said that this song is “a picture of Vrndavana. Everything is there–Srimati Radharani, Vrndavana, Govardhana, Yasoda, and all the cowherd boys.”
Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
July 20, 1971 New York, NY, USA
So this is the original nature of Krsna, original nature of Krsna. He is Radha-Madhava. He is the lover of Srimati Radharani. And kunja-vihari, always enjoying the company of the gopis within the bushes of Vrdavana forest. Radha-madhava kunja-vihari. So He’s not only lover of Radharani, but braja-jana-vallabha. The whole residents of Vrndavana, they love Krsna. They do not know anything else. They do not know whether Krsna is God or not, neither they are very much harassed that “I shall love Krsna if He is God.” “He may be God or He may be whatever He is. It doesn’t matter, but we love Krsna, that’s all. ” That is called unnalloyed love. “If Krsna is God, then I shall love Him”—this is conditional love. This is not pure love. Krsna may be God or whatever He may be, but by His wonderful acts, the Vrajavasi, they are thinking, “Oh Krsna, He is very wonderful child, maybe some demigod. Maybe some demigod.” Because people are generally under impression that the demigods are all-powerful. They’re powerful within this material world. But they do not know that Krsna is above all of them. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. The highest demigod, Brahma, is giving his opinion, “The supreme controller is Krsna.”
So as the residents of Vrndavana, they love Krsna without any condition, similarly, Krsna also loves them. Vraja-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhari. When the inhabitants of Vrndavana were in danger because they stopped Indra-yajna and Indra became very angry, and he sent very great, powerful cloud and rained over Vrndavana incessantly for seven days, so when the inhabitants became very much disturbed, Krsna, although He was only seven years old boy, He saved them by lifting the Govardhana Hill. So He taught Indradeva, demigod, that “To stop your disturbance is the business of My little finger, that’s all.” So he came down to his knees. These things we’ll find in Krsna book. So as Gopi-jana-vallabha, His only business is how to protect gopi-jana. So our Krsna consciousness movement is how to become one of the gopi-jana. Then Krsna will save us from any danger, even by lifting a hill or mountain. Krsna is so kind and so powerful. When Krsna lifted the hill, He did not practice some yoga system. That is God. Although He was a child, He was playing like a child, He was dealing like a child, but when there was need, He was manifesting as God. That is Krsna. That is Krsna. Not that He has to go and practice some yoga system, then He becomes God. No. He’s not that type of God, not manufactured God. He’s God.
So gopi-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhari. And as a child, as beloved child of Yasoda, Yasoda-nandana,… Krsna likes to be a child of a devotee. He wants to be chastised from His devotee father and mother. Because everyone worships Him, nobody goes to chastise Him, so He takes pleasure when a devotee chastises Him. That is Krsna’s service. If Krsna takes pleasure being chastised, so the responsibility is taken by a devotee: “All right, I shall become Your father and chastise You.” When Krsna wants to fight, one of His devotee becomes Hiranyakasipu and fights with Him. So all activities of Krsna is with His devotees. He is… Therefore, to become associate of Krsna, to develop Krsna consciousness… Yasoda-nandana vraja-jana- ranjana. His only business is how to satisfy… As braja-jana’s business is how to satisfy Krsna, similarly, Krsna’s business is how to satisfy braja-jana. This is reciprocation of love. Yamuna-tira-vana-cari. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is wandering on the banks of Yamuna to please the gopis, the cowherd boys, the birds, beasts, calves. They are not ordinary birds, beasts, calves or men. They are on the top of self-realization. Krta-punya-punjah. After many, many lives they got that position, to play with Krsna.
So our Krsna consciousness movement is so nice that anyone can go to Krsnaloka and become His associate, as a friend or so many other things, as a servant, as father, as mother. And Krsna is agreeable to any one of these propositions. These things are described very nicely in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya. So Krsna does not go even a step from Vrndavana. The original Krsna is Vrndavana. That is described in the Brahma-samhita,
cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-laksavrtesu
surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambrahma-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam
[Bs. 5.29]
Brahma is accepting the Supreme Personality of Govinda, Krsna in Vrndavana. Venum kvanantam: “He is engaged in playing flute.”
aravinda-dalayataksam
barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam
kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-sobham
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.30]
So take advantage of these books, this knowledge, and this prasadam, this chanting, and be happy and go to Krsna. So nice thing. All right.
The Hare Krishna Movement 