Explanation of‘abhyâsamânam’

‘Abhyâsamânam’ may also mean ‘practising’. During the day, the Gopis feel one moment of separation from Sri Krishna to be equal to crores of kalpas and they cannot bear it. They are meditating on Him now so that a vision of Vibhu’s sweet beauty and lâvanya appear in their mind during the period of painful separation. ’Abhangur’ means ‘straight’ and ‘unbroken’. It refers to their straight unbroken (unobstructed) line of vision.

They are practising to behold Sri Krishna’s beauty and lâvanya without blinking or the shedding tears of joy (since blinking and tears are great disturbances). They want to behold Krishna unobstructed. The eyelids cause great impediment in Sri Krishna-darshan. Therefore, they criticise the creator in the following manner-

“He (Lord Brahma) did not give us lacs of crores of eyes. He gave us only one pair of eyes and that too with eyelids. This proves that he is not intelligent. His heart is dry and devoid of ras. He does not know the art of creation”. – (C.C. – Madhya.21.112)

Tears of joy and agitation of the heart also obstruct darshan. Hence, they are irritated with these as well –

“I managed to behold Vamshivadan¹ (Krishna) once in a blue moon and immediately Joy and Passion (two enemies) overwhelmed my mind and I could not gaze at Him to my heart’s content. Now if I get to see Him even once, I shall felicitate that hour, minute and second with flower garlands, sandalwood paste and gem-studded ornaments.” – (C.C. – Madhya.2.33-34)

Again, ‘ananga – rekhâ – ras ranjitâbhih’ means Vrajadevis adorn Him or meditate upon him with their unobstructed glances. Their Mahâbhâv–filled glances are exuding the ras of crores of Kandarpas²! These words also mean that just as a row of arrows pierce the bull’s eye, the arrows of their glances, tipped with erotic ras are piercing Sri Krishna.

You may be curious about what the eyes of the Gopis are like. In reply, the poet has said that they are naturally tinged with pink in the corners and are lined with kohl. ‘Abhangurabhi’ also means ‘invincible’, since nobody can defeat the Gopis in relishing Sri Krishna’s sweetness. The reason for this is their ever-new thirsty ‘anurâg’. Sri Ujjwal-Neelmani has described Srimati Râdhârâni’s anurâg –

“Once, upon hearing Sri Krishna’s name, Sri Râdhâ asked Sri Lalitâ, ‘Dear friend! Who is this Krishna?’

Lalitâ said, ‘Whosoever He may be, why do You want to know?’

Srimati said, ‘Sakhi, it is necessary to keep me informed about Him. Just by hearing the two syllables of His name, I have completely lost all my self-control, which is invaluable. Can you imagine what will happen if I behold Him! So, to protect my family honour it is necessary to know about Him, so that I may strictly avoid Him.’

Lalitâ then replied, ‘Oh! How You are blinded by ‘anurâg’! Don’t You really know Him?’

Srimati said, ‘I swear I don’t know Him.’

Lalitâ told, ‘O You bewitched girl! You are so extremely thirsty You have been robbed of Your consciousness.’

Srimati then said, ‘Then please remind me.’

Lalitâ replied, ‘Just now I myself had placed Your hand in His.’

Srimati exclaimed, ‘Ah! Now I remember. For the first time, at the break of dawn, He did appear momentarily like a flash of lightning and then vanished!’.” – (Ânanda-Chandrikâ explanation)

Such extreme anurâg–filled thirst is the reason why the Gopis can never be defeated in relishing Sri Krishna’s sweetness.

Again, since they are filled with erotic–ras, their vaidagdhi is forever increasing. Hence, Sri Lilâshuk is getting more and more eager.

Srila Bhatta Goswâmipâd has written that Sripâd Lilâshuk has taken shelter of Sri Krishna only to behold Him in a particular manner³. The merciful Lord appears to the devotee in various forms. Therefore, He is ‘Vibhu’.

Srimad-Bhâgavatam (3.9.11) also states –

“Devotees meditate on various eternal forms of Sri Bhagavân. He then shows mercy on them and manifests Himself in those very same forms”.

Srila Krishnadâs Kavirâj Goswâmipâd has quoted this verse in Sri Chaitanya-Charitâmrita and has said – “I am stating the gist of this verse in short: Krishna incarnates in various forms according to the devotees’ wish”.

‘We take shelter of That Vibhu’. The poet has used ‘we’ to denote all self-surrendered likeminded devotees. Here we must note that to surrender unto the Lord in the association of devotees is a great part of ‘sâdhanâ’.

Sripâd has explained ‘abhyâsamânam’ in the following manner –

The Vrajadevis behold Sri Krishna constantly. Even then, they are not satisfied. Their thirst to relish Sri Krishna’s sweetness continuously increases. In this context, Sripâd has quoted a stanza from Sharan Kavi’s composition –

Some Vraja beauty told her friend – “Sakhi, when I behold Murâri (Krishna), Brahmâ does not transform all my organs into eyes; when I hear the qualities of Sri Hari, he does not change all my organs into ears and when I converse with Him, he does not suddenly convert all the parts of my body into mouths. Hence there is no sweetness in Brahmâ’s creative ability”.

This means that even if they see Him with many eyes, hear about Him with many ears and talk to him with many mouths, they will not be satisfied. Brahmâ has given them only two eyes, two ears and one mouth! Hence, the objection. Actually, it is not necessary that one will relish Sri Krishna’s sweetness, if one has many senses; love is the only true requisite. Whatever sweetness the Gopis relish with their natural eyes, ears and mouth, is only due to their Mahâbhâv. It is not possible for us to relish this sweetness if we are devoid of love, even if we have innumerable sense organs. Love is the prime requisite to relish Sri Krishna-mâdhuri. 10.

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