What are the vyâbhichâri bhâv or passing moods of a devotee in madhur ras? “A devotee expresses The 33 types of vyâbhichâri bhâv (such as nirved etc.), other than ougra and lethargy.” – (B.R.S.)
Srimati Râdhârâni manifests all the bhâvs to the maximum extent and these bhâvs make Her all the more attractive. For instance when Srimati Râdhârâni feels proud of Her good fortune, She reveals it in the following manner –
“Srimati Râdhârâni was feeling proud of Her good fortune. As a result She pretended to be so much engrossed in making a kundal, that, as if She did not notice Govinda at all. Lalitâ told Her – Dear sakhi, this person, Hari, has forsaken all His sakhâs, has disregarded even sweethearts such as Chandrâvali and He is standing at Your doorstep gazing fixedly at Your face alone ! On the other hand, You are smiling and continuing to be busy arranging a crocodile-shaped earring1 with jasmine flowers in a bunch of flowers! You are not glancing at Him even with the corner of Your eyes!” – (U.N.)
Thus we see that how sweetly Ishwari expresses even pride, which is otherwise considered a negative quality.
A devotee’s sthâyi-bhâv mingles with vibhâvs such as these and transform into Madhur-bhakti-ras. Again this madhur-ras (also called Ujjwal-ras or brilliant ras) can be classified into two –
“sa vipralambhah sambhoga iti dwedhojjwalo matah.”
Meaning – “Madhur ras or erotic ras is categorized into two – vipralambha (separation) and sambhog (union).” – (u>n>)
Vipralambha can be of 4 types –
They enhance the ras of union and we can relish them separately as ‘ras’ also.
Let us relish an example of Purva-râg ras. The sakhis saw Srimati Râdhârâni’s extraordinary bhâv during purva-râg and said –
“O Râdhe! You are coming and going constantly! And You are standing outside the threshold a hundred times! You seem so agitated and Your sighs are heavy – all You do is to glance at the Kadamba-woods.
Oh râi! Why are behaving so?
Do You not fear the evil elders? What shall we do if they find out?
You are so restless that You cannot even manage Your dupattâ. While being seated, You suddenly get a start and Your robe falls off.
You are hardly in Your teens and moreover You are not a princess? In addition, You are a girl of prestigious ancestry! What desire do You wish to satisfy that You are stretching out Your hand so greedily? We cannot understand what game You are up to.
We feel You are extending Your hand towards the moon. Poet Chandidâs says – I guess the ‘Black-snare4’ has captured You!”
1 This indicates that Srimati Râdhârâni is making the ear-ring solely for Her Beloved Sri Shyâmsundar
2 Even though her beloved may be near, the sweetheart is miserable since she is afraid of separation.
3 Separation due to traveling.