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Lila means a drama. A drama consists of a variety of moods like Māna (anger), Avimāna (pride), Sanśaya (doubt), Lajjā (shyness), Bhaya (fear), etc. that makes it interesting. This variety of moods and plot twists in a pastime is called Lilā Vaichitri. The Chamatkriti (astonishing taste) relished by Yugal Kishore in pastimes of Prema through such Lilā Vaichitri is unique.
Sometimes Yugal Kishore meet, while sometimes They don’t. When They are not able to meet each other, They become very anxious and Their yearning to meet becomes monumental. When Yugal Kishore meet with such intense yearning, the Chamatkriti relished by Them at that time is much more than pastimes where there is no separation. Although the Prema of Yugal Kishore is indestructible and uninterrupted, with the help of Lilā Shakti (Yogamāyā), They relish Nitya Navāyamāna pastimes. [The pastimes of Goloka Vrindavan are eternally new. Lilā Shakti creates new pastimes every day. The pastimes Yugal Kishore relished today will not be repeated tomorrow. The Kunja They visited today will not be visited again. The beauty of Vrindavan forest They relished today will change and tomorrow, They will relish more and more extraordinarily beautiful sceneries of Vrindavan forest. Even the Kunjas of Sakhis change in appearances and designs. Not only that, the Rasa relished by Yugal Kishore by looking at each other is also new every moment. This is called Nitya Navāyamāna quality of the eternal pastimes.]
In such Nitya Navāyamāna pastimes, sometimes Yugal Kishore meet while sometimes, They don’t. Radharani doesn’t know where Krishna is when He is not with Her. Krishna also doesn’t know where Radharani is when She is not with Him. Sometimes, Radharani waits for Krishna in a certain Kunja but Krishna doesn’t come. She becomes very sad and immersed in Krishna Chintan. ‘When will Shyamasunder, My Prānanāth, come?’ She thinks with a heavy sigh. She becomes so absorbed in Krishna Chintan and restless that whenever there is a small sound of a bird moving or an animal passing by, She thinks Krishna has come! ‘He has come! He has come!’ She thinks in ecstasy and looks around the Kunja but Her excitement falters when She finds out it was only the sound of a bird or an animal. In this way, Her yearning to meet Krishna increases due to separation. When Krishna comes, the Chamatkriti relished by Them is also very intense. Hence, Yugal Kishore manifest Ānanda Lila through such Lilā Vaichitri and relish them.
There are many Prakośthas (divisions) within the eternal Goloka Dham. All the different pastimes occurring in each Prakośtha are also eternal. [It is described in scriptures that the eternal Goloka Dham is shaped like a thousand-petal lotus. In its centre, each pollen is a Prakośtha. Each Prakośtha is eternal and infinite. For devotees of different moods, Yugal Kishore manifest different kinds of pastimes in each Prakośtha.]
In one Prakośtha, Yugal Kishore is seated in a Nikunja for eternity. They are eternally together in Ānanda Lilā and there is no pain of separation in that Prakośtha. In another Prakośtha, Radharani lives in Nandagram as the married wife of Krishna. There, too, there is no pain of separation. In this way, there are infinite Prakośthas where infinite kinds of pastimes manifest eternally. Even Brahma and Śesha (Ananta Deva) cannot describe all the pastimes manifesting in all Prakośthas of Goloka Dham. The pastimes of Yugal Kishore are infinite. Who can know the extent of such pastimes? But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu mercifully gave the Upāsanā path to the world to relish such Mādhuryamaya pastimes of Yugal Kishore and become a part of it for eternity.
There are four factions of Sakhis: Svapakśā, Vipakśā, Suhrit-pakśā and Taṭastha-pakśā Sakhis. Lalita, Vishakha, etc who are friendly towards Radharani are called Svapakśā Sakhis. Chandrāvali is the main Vipakśā Sakhi. The Vipakśā Sakhis don’t have friendship with Radharani and are inimical towards Her.
Q: It is said that a devotee can get entrance into Vraja Lila only by the mercy of Radharani. Then, how come there are Sakhis who love Krishna but not Radharani in Vraja Lila?
A: This is only to increase the Rasa of the pastimes. Chandrāvali is an expansion of Radharani. When Vrishabhānu Baba went to bathe in Yamuna near Raval village, he found two baby girls in two lotuses. He adopted one of them and She was named Rādhā, while his brother, Chandrabhānu Baba, adopted the other girl and named her Chandrāvali.
(Radha Sahasranāma 142)
Chandravali is just another form of Radharani. Who can be inimical to Radharani? The Vipakśā Sakhis exist in Vraja Lila in order to increase Rasa of these pastimes. They induce Viraha Rasa (mood of separation) in the pastimes to its extremity. [When Krishna is not able to come to Radharani for reasons like Mother Yashoda requesting Krishna to stay at home, the pain of separation is moderate. But when Radharani comes to know that Krishna actually went to a Vipakśa Sakhi’s Kunja, Her pain of separation reaches its extremity.] The Chamatkriti of meeting after such extreme pain of separation is also at its highest. That kind of Chamatkriti cannot be achieved if Yugal Kishore are always together and there is no pain of separation. The Viraha Rasa caused by the Vipakśā Sakhis and the Chamatkriti of meeting after breaking Radharani’s Māna is beyond the intelligence of ordinary people (and hence, a very esoteric topic).
The Sakhis who are friendly towards Chandrāvali and inimical to Radharani are also called Vipakśā Sakhis. In the eternal Goloka Dham, all male entities are expansions of Krishna, while all female entities are expansions of Radharani. Lalita, Vishakha, Chitra, etc are all expansions of Radharani. Even in Radha Sahasranāma, Lalita, Vishakha, Chitra, etc are mentioned as names of Radharani. Even Jatilā and Kutilā (the mother-in-law and sister-in-law of Radharani’s false marriage, respectively) are expansions of Radharani.
“Lalitā ca viśokā ca viśākhā citra-mālinī.”
(Radha Sahasranāma 30)
“Jatilā kutilā nīlā nīlāmbaradharā śubhā.”
(Radha Sahasranāma 94)
What is a Lila? Lila means a drama. Ordinary Jivatmas cannot perform the roles of the enemy or a hurdle in Yugal Kishore’s divine and blissful pastimes. Therefore, Yugal Kishore created Their own expansions to enact a drama with Them. All the Gopis, Sakhis, (female) vines, creepers, etc are expansions of Radharani. All the Gopas, Sakhas, (male) trees, etc are expansions of Krishna. In this way, we must understand that Chandrāvali and other Vipakśa Sakhis are expansions of Radharani.
Suhrid-pakśa means those Sakhis who are equipoised towards Radharani and Chandrāvali but are more inclined towards Radharani. They try to pacify both the parties/factions and make Them resolve their competition. Suhrid-pakśā Sakhis are experts in protecting Radharani from Vipakśā Sakhis’ acts of jealousy. Shyāmalā is a Suhrid-pakśā Sakhi.
All the different factions of Sakhis are instruments of bringing out the Chamatkriti of the meeting of Yugal Kishore. Suppose you eat only one kind of dish every day. Even if it is very delicious, after a while, it will not be interesting anymore. Even if you eat your favourite dish every day, it will not be as interesting as eating various kinds of dishes every day. There should be something sweet, something sour, some spicy food, etc in order to make a meal interesting. Similarly, the four factions of Sakhis together facilitate Lila Vaichitri and bring out the Chamatkriti of Yugal Kishore’s pastimes.
Taṭasthā Sakhis are neutral to Radharani but more friendly towards Chandrāvali. Shaivyā, Dhanishthā, etc are Taṭasthā Sakhis. When Svapakśā and Vipakśā Sakhis compete, they say, “Let’s go, Sakhi, let these people quarrel. We have no interest in these quarrels.”
Sometimes Krishna goes to Chandrāvali’s Kunja. At that time, Radharani becomes extremely Mānini. Then, Krishna makes many efforts to pacify Her Māna and pleases Her in many ways. Such Māna Lilas are not comprehensible by ordinary people. What is a Māna Lila; what is the role of Vipakśā Sakhi; how can there be moods of enmity in eternal and transcendental pastimes? - all these are not comprehensible by mundane intelligence. The Rasa relished by the Mānini Sakhi when Krishna tries to pacify and please Her in various ways can be understood only by the Mānini Sakhi. These are esoteric Rasa pastimes. After Radharani is pacified, when Yugal Kishore meet again in Nivrita Nikunja, Their meeting is called Samvriddhamāna Sambhoga (which can be translated as exponentially increasing love union). These pastimes are beyond the ambit of mundane intelligence and words. Although it looks like the meeting of ordinary couples, such pastimes are actually transcendental and beyond material senses. Ātma and the material body are different things. Ordinary couples derive pleasure from sense gratification while the meeting of Yugal Kishore is related only to Ātma (as explained in previous articles).
One day, Radharani was sitting alone in the Kunja, waiting for Krishna. She was anxious with yearning. ‘Why has He not come till now? Where is Shyamasunder?’ she kept thinking. Manjari saw Radharani was anxious and decided to search for Krishna. Who knew whether He was engaged in cow-grazing or in some Sakhi’s Kunja?
Krishna never wants to visit any Sakhi other than Radharani but He is extremely Bhakta Vatsal (compassionate towards His devotees).
(Bhagavat Geeta 4.11)
Meaning: In whatever way people surrender unto Me, I reciprocate accordingly. Everyone follows My path, knowingly or unknowingly, O son of Pritha.
Such is the outlook of Krishna, the Supreme Lord. In whatever mood a devotee worships Him, He too tries to please her accordingly. Although Chandravali and other Sakhis are Vipakśā and Krishna’s heart always remains with Radharani, still, the love, yearning, loving gestures and dedication of Chandravali and other Sakhis towards Krishna attracts His compassion and He tries to dispel their pain. Since He is the Supreme Lord, the Ātma of all Ātmas, naturally, He desires to please those who love Him unconditionally upon seeing their loving gestures.
But Krishna’s heart is completely dedicated to Radharani. In truth, no one can give complete Ānanda to Krishna except Radharani. [Other Sakhis are all manifestations of Radharani. Therefore, they too give Ānanda to Krishna but only a little. Only Radharani can give Purnānanda to Krishna.] Not only in the infinite universes, but even in the transcendental abodes, no one can give Purnānanda to Krishna except Radharani. Krishna meets with Sakhis only to please (in reciprocation) the Sakhis and not to enjoy Himself. These are all Rasa pastimes planned by Lila Shakti.
So, the Manjari went to search for Krishna. He had not come to Radharani, her Swamini, for a long time and She was anxious, sad and yearning to meet Him. Radharani’s mood gets induced in Manjari a hundredfold. Therefore, she was very anxious to find Krishna too. After searching through the Vrindavan forest for a long time, at last, she reached the gates of Chandrāvali’s Kunja. ‘Can Shyamasunder be in Chandrāvali’s Kunja?’ she thought. She found a hole in a window (as planned by Lila Shakti!) and peeped through it. She saw Krishna sitting inside. He was saying, “Sakhi, please let me go today. I will come again another day. I have come to Vrindavan to graze my cows. All my Sakhās and elder brother are waiting for me there. Please let me go.” “No, no, Shyamasunder, I am able to meet you after many days. Please stay here for some time,” pleaded Chandrāvali. They were having a lovely conversation like this when the Manjari went to the door of Chandrāvali’s Kunja and started knocking ferociously. Chandrāvali was startled to hear such loud knocking. ‘Who could have come here? This Kunja is deep in the forest. Other people do not know about this place. My Sakhis are not supposed to come here today and they will not knock like this,’ she thought, anxiously. When she opened the door of the Kunja, the Manjari rushed in straight to the place where Krishna was seated! “Ah, Krishna! You are sitting here?! Asuras are stealing your cows and calves away! Your elder brother, Baldev, has sent me to find you and call you back,” she said to Krishna and started pulling Him by His hand. She did not even spare a glance at Chandrāvali and pulled Krishna out of the Kunja, repeating, “Go, walk quickly!” Krishna, too, was startled by the sudden appearance of the Manjari and her aggressive pulling! “Wait, Sakhi, I am coming! Don’t pull me like this!” He said to the Manjari but she ignored His protests. “Go, go! Walk quickly!” she repeated and pulled Him away from Chandrāvali’s Kunja.
Then, (dropping her act,) she said angrily to Krishna, “Come with me to Radharani. Today I will show you (the result of going to Vipakśā Sakhi)! Today I will settle all accounts with you! Swamini ji is waiting for you and you are sitting here?!” Krishna joined His palms and pleaded with the Manjari. “He Sakhi, please don’t tell Radharani that I went to Chandrāvali’s Kunja! If she hears it, the result will be devastating!” Krishna said, pleading. “He Sakhi, take this Gaja-moti Hāra (necklace of great pearls)! I fold my hands before you!” He took off the necklace of great pearls from His person and put it around the Manjari’s neck. The Supreme Lord of infinite universes, whose dust of lotus feet is desired but unattainable by innumerable Yogis and Munis engaged in austerities through innumerable lifetimes, the Purna Brahma Sanātan, the origin of all origins, Lord Krishna begs a Manjari with folded hands, saying, “He Sakhi, please forgive me. I will not let such a thing happen again. Please don’t tell Radharani about this incident!” The Manjari reprimands Him, “I will show you what is the result of going to a Vipakśā Sakhi! Let’s go to Radharani now!”
Such are the Rasa pastimes of Yugal Kishore! The Supreme Lord of the infinite universes forgets His Lordship and folds His hands in front of the Manjari. He asks for forgiveness from Manjari and begs her not to tell Radharani about His visit to Vipakśā Sakhi’s Kunja! Nonetheless, the Manjari took Him to the Kunja where Radharani was seated in extreme Māna. (As explained in previous article, Krishna pacifies Radharani in various ways. But in Tivra Māna, She cannot be pacified easily. Desiring the blissful reunion of Yugal Kishore, the Manjaris help Krishna to pacify Radharani but always keep Her honour intact. Manjari ensures that Krishna asks for forgiveness from Radharani before They reconcile. In this way, the Māna Lila ends.)
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