The Inner Meaning
of Sri Mangala-gitam
by Tridandisvami Sri Srimad
Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja
[Janmastami morning
[The following is a translation of the class given by
Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja on the morning of Sri Krsna
Janmastami. In this class, Srila Maharaja explained the deep meaning of Sri
Jayadeva Gosvami's bhajana, Sri Mangala-gitam. The translation was kindly given
by Uttama dasa brahmacari:]
In the beginning of this morning's class, Srila Maharaja
asked Krsna dasa brahmacari to lead the assembled devotees in singing Sri
Mangala-gitam. He said that because today is Krsna's Appearance Day, we should
begin by first of all singing this kirtana. Then he said, "Who is really
qualified to hear this bhajana? Sri Krsna Himself is actually the only person
qualified to hear it. Sri Jayadeva Gosvami is only singing this song to give
Krsnacandra happiness. He hopes to see Him pleased."
After the bhajana, Srila Maharaja gave the following
elaboration of the verses: When Krsna sees Radharani looking towards Him with
sidelong glances, He looses all His power and begins to fall to the ground. At
this time Madhumangala notices and says, "What are You doing? Your mother,
father, and all Your relatives are watching. You should check Yourself."
srita-kamalakuca-mandala! dhrta-kundala! e
kalita-lalita-vanamala! jaya jaya deva hare
Krsnacandra takes shelter of srita kamala. Srita means shelter, and here, kamala means Radharani. Kuca-mandala means that Krsna is taking shelter of the breasts of Radharani.
Dhrta-kundala. Krsna's kundala (earrings) are not
ordinary. His kundala is the glories of Radharani, and He is always
"wearing" that.
Kalita lalita. Lalita means very attractive
and beautiful. Here, Lalita refers to Krsna's vanamala. His
garland is made from different kinds of forest flowers. It hangs around His
neck and extends down to His lotus feet.
Jaya jaya deva hare: all glories to this Krsna who
steals all the distress of the living entities. Especially, He steals the heart
of Srimati Radharani. No one can steal the heart of Radharani, except for
Krsnacandra.
dina-mani-mandala-mandana! bhava-khandana e
muni-jana-manasa-hamsa! jaya jaya deva hare
Srila Maharaja explained that generally dina mani means the sun, but here it means all the universes. India is the topmost place in all the universes, and Sri Vraja Bhumi, the topmost place in India, is the crown jewel in all the universes. So here, dina mani means that Vraja-mandala, not the Sun-god, is the crown jewel in all the visva-mandalas.
Bhava means samsara, material existence, and
it also means bandhana, bondage. He who delivers others from this samsara
bandhana is called bhava-khandana. In this connection, is there any
material bondage for the Vraja-devis? They have none at all. Their only bondage
is their feelings of separation from Krsna, which are called viraha bandhana.
Krsna is the only person qualified to remove this bondage of separation from
the Vraja-devis, so bhava-khandana means that Krsna can remove the
distress of separation of the gopis.
Muni-jana-manasa-hamsa means the great sages,
especially those who meditated on Krsna for a long time in the Dandakaranya
forest. It applies to all the yautiki rsis (those who came to Krsna in a
group) and ayautiki rsis (those who came individually) who became gopis
in their next birth. Muni also refers to Sri Sukadeva Gosvami.
Krsnacandra is just like the swan, swimming in the minds of these munis.
Jaya jaya deva hare. Jayadeva Gosvami is singing, "All glories to
this Krsna."
kaliya-visadhara-ganjana! jana-ranjana e
yadu-kula-nalina-dinesa! jaya jaya deva hare
Kaliya-visadhara ganjana refers to that Krsna who
smashes the pride of Kaliya. Krsna easily removed the poison of Kaliya,
although he was extremely poisonous, and after doing so Kaliya became like amrta,
nectar. In the same way, Krsna can also smash our anarthas, unwanted
desires. We therefore pray to that Krsna.
Jana-ranjana. Jana here means Vraja-jana,
the residents of Vraja, like Nanda Baba, Yasoda Ma, and all of Krsna's friends
and cows. Jana here especially means the Vraja-devis, and among them,
Srimati Radhika is the most prominent. Krsna is the only person who gives
pleasure to the Vraja-jana. He has no other duty; He is always thinking
how to give pleasure to Srimati Radharani.
Yadu-kula-nalina-dinesa. Yadu-kula means the
dynasty of Nanda Baba, not the dynasty of
madhu-mura-naraka-vinasana! garudasana! e
sura-kula-keli-nidana! jaya jaya deva! hare
Madhu, Mura, and Naraka were demons who were killed by Krsna
not really by Krsna Himself, but by other Visnu avataras. In describing the
Visnu avataras, Srila Maharaja used the example of the moon. He said that
Janmastami is known to have taken place on the eighth day of the moon, but in
reality, the eighth day of the moon is the full moon day. In other words, the
moon is always complete; only according to our own vision do we see that today
is the eighth day of the moon or the fifth, or sixth, etc. Although always
full, the moon is sometimes covered in part by a shadow, and thus we see only
three-quarters, half, one quarter, or less. In the same way, all of the
incarnations of Krsna, the Visnu avataras, are also Krsna. It is only our
vision that makes us see any difference. It is generally understood that
visnu-tattva kills the demons, not Krsna. But actually Visnu is Krsna Himself,
Purnacandra, the source of all incarnations.
Just as the full moon is also always present on the eighth,
and any other day of the moon, Purnacandra, Krsna, is eternally present. In
this way, when Visnu killed the Madhu and Mura demons, Krsna was also there.
Here it says, madhu mura vinasana. He who killed Mura and Madhu is also
Krsna; the verse indicates Krsna.
Garudasana. Generally Garudasana refers to
Narayana, He whose carrier is Garuda. But here, Garudasana means
Krsnacandra. Krsna once made Sridama His Garuda-carrier. Jayadeva Gosvami is saying,
Garudasana, meaning Krsnacandra.
Sura kula keli nidana, jaya jaya deva hare. Sura
generally means devatas, demigods. But Krsna's madhurya pastimes
are not for the demigods. Not only can't they see these pastimes, they also
have no qualification to hear them. Venu-gita of Srimad Bhagavatam explains
that the demigoddesses have a chance to see something of Vraja-lila, but they
cannot see completely. Yet, even when they saw only the abhasa
(semblance) of the pastimes there, they fainted and became unconscious. The
demigods on the other hand, have no qualification to see Krsna's pastimes,
especially the madhurya-mayi pastimes. Only those who attain a
qualification like Krsna can hear these pastimes. Keli-nidana. Keli
means those pastimes that are giving pleasure to this type of sura.
amala-kamala-dala-locana! bhava-mocana! e
tri-bhuvana-bhavana-nidhana! jaya jaya deva! hare
Amala means without any spots or blemishes, and kamala
means lotus flower. Krsna's eyes are just like the petals a spotless lotus
flower. Tri-bhuvana-bhavana-nidhana. Tribhuvana here means
Vrajabhumi, which is the essence of all of the three worlds, Krsna is the only
shelter of Vrajabhumi and the Vrajavasis. Jaya jaya deva hare. I offer
my obeisances to this Hari, who is the shelter of all the Vrajavasis.
janaka-suta-krta-bhusana! jita-dusana! e
samara-samita-dasakantha! jaya jaya deva! hare
The general meaning of janaka suta is Sita devi, the
consort of Lord Ramacandra. In the pastimes of Ramacandra, Janaka suta is
decorating Rama with many kinds of paraphernalia. This can also be applied to
Krsna's and Radharani's pastimes. Sometimes, Radharani decorates Krsna in the
forest. Janaka means father, and suta means daughter. Therefore janaka-suta in
this connection means the daughter of Vrsabhanu Baba. Janaka-suta-krta-bhusana.
Bhusana means decoration; Krsna is decorated by the daughter of
Vrsabhanu Baba.
Jita-dusana means He who defeated the demon, Kala
Dusana. But, jita-dusana also means those things that are very bad, like
the very intense separation of the Vraja-devis. Hari, Krsna, removes this, so I
offer my obeisances unto that Hari.
Samara-samita-dasakantha. Srila Maharaja explained
that this Nanda-lala (the darling son of Nanda Baba) is defeating dasakantha,
the many demons. Jayadeva Gosvami is saying that this Nanda-lala is killing all
the demons in Vraja. Jaya jaya deva! hare. I offer my obeisances unto
the lotus feet of Hari.
abhinava-jaladhara-sundara! dhrta-mandara! e
sri-mukha-candra-cakora! jaya jaya deva! hare
Abhinava means very new, and jaladhara means
that the newly formed cloud is appearing in the sky. It is very soft and snigdha
(glistening, pleasing, and attractive.) Krsna's varna, complexion, is
like this nava-jaladhara.
Dhrta-mandara. Srila Maharaja said that mandara here
doesn't refer to Mandara-parvat (one of the largest mountains in the
universe; the mountain of the demigods); it means Giri-Govardhana. In one way,
it can also be understood that mandara means the two Giriraja
Govardhanas of Srimati Radhika's breasts, upon which Krsna takes shelter. Srila
Maharaja then said that the elevated ideas in this connection cannot actually
be expressed. We will have to understand them by our bhajana.
Sri-mukha-candra-cakora. Here, sri-mukha
refers to Srimati Radharani, whose lotus face is just like the moon. Krsna
always hankers to have darsana of that moon. Just like the cakora
bird, Krsna is also always one-pointed. The cakora bird will only drink
water that comes directly from rain, not from any pond, or ocean, or river. In
the same way, Krsna is always hankering to drink the nectar of the lotus face
of Srimati Radharani.
tava carane pranata vayam iti bhavaya e
kuru kusalam pranatesu jaya jaya deva! hare
Here, Jayadeva Gosvami, who is most merciful and a very rasika
Vaisnava within our sampradya, is saying, tava carane pranata vayam. Vayam
is plural. Jayadeva Gosvami alone is writing this song, but he is including us
within his prayer to Krsna: "Oh, please be merciful. We are now taking
shelter at Your lotus feet; we are now pranata."
Kusala means welfare. What is the real welfare? Sri
Jayadeva Gosvami is praying, "Oh, please make me the maidservant of
Srimati Radharani." This is welfare. Kuru kusalam pranatesu:
"Please! We are taking your shelter. We are remembering Your lotus feet.
Therefore, please make us the maidservants of Srimati Radharani."
Srila Maharaja pointed out here that Sri Jayadeva Gosvami is
uttering, jaya jaya deva hare three times, so that Krsna will listen to
his prayer. The position of the maidservant of Srimati Radharani is topmost,
and Krsna Himself wants to serve Her as Her "maidservant." Although
it is the topmost position, still, Jayadeva Gosvami is appealing three times so
that Krsna will accept his prayer. He is indicating, "It is for this
purpose that I offer my pranama unto the lotus feet of that Hari."
sri-jayadeva-kaver idam kurute mudam
mangalam-ujjvala-gitam jaya jaya deva! hare
Jayadeva Gosvami is praying to Krsna, "Only You are
qualified to listen to this song. No one other than You is qualified to listen
to this type of glorification of Srimati Radharani, and therefore I'm writing
this song for You. I pray that you will become pleased by hearing it."
What happened to Krsna when He heard this song? His ears
stood up and just like the ears of a calf or a cow, taking the form of cups.
This song, only meant for Krsna, is the only real vandana (offering of
prayers of glorification) to Him. He becomes very pleased when His devotees
sing this song. He will be pleased when you worship She who is dearest to Him.
Radha-Krsna's exalted pastimes are explained in Ujjvala Nilamani and other granthas
by the Gosvamis, and if we do vandana to pastimes such as Sri Krsna
offering His head at the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika, He will become very
pleased."
Editorial
advisor: Sripad Brajanatha dasa
Translator:
Uttama dasa brahmacari
Transcribers:
Anjali dasi, Radhika dasi
Editors:
Premavati dasi, Syamarani dasi
Typist:
Bimala dasi
HTML: Bhutabhavana dasa
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