A. Whitney Sanford-Singing Krishna - Sound Becomes Sight in Paramanand's Poetry (2008)

singingDkrishna
A. Whitney Sanford
Singing Krishna
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Singing
Krishna
Sound Becomes Sight
in Paramnands Poetry
A. WHITNEY SANFORD
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
2008 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
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Production by Marilyn P. Semerad and Eileen Meehan
Marketing by Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Sanford, A. Whitney, 1961
Singing Krishna : sound becomes sight in Paramnands poetry / A. Whitney Sanford.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7914-7395-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Paramanandadasa, 14931584
Criticism and interpretation. 2. Krishna (Hindu deity) in literature. I. Title.
PK1967.9.P36Z87 2008
891.4'312dc22
2007025402
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
ix
INTRODUCTION
A Critical Perspective
The Research Context
The Experience of the Temple
Situated Poetry: Sound Becoming Sight
Plan for the Book: Following the Cycles
1
1
3
4
6
7
ONE
PARAMNANDS POETIC WORLD

About Paramnands Poetry
Paramnands Poetic Environment
Serving Krishna
Synaesthesia, Metaphor, and Transformation
9
16
19
25
28
TWO
THE END OF THE NIGHT:

POETRY, MEMORY, AND CULTURE
ayan: While Braj Sleeps
Paramnands World
Theater of Memory
MangalKrishna Rises
r.ngrOrnamentation
33
33
35
42
51
58
vi
SINGING KRISHNA
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
KRISHNAS MORNING GAMES:

CREATING INTIMACY THROUGH TREACHERY
GvlBoyhood Play
The Gops Complaints to Yaod
Mixed Bhvas
Shattered Boundaries and Spilled Milk:
Metonymies of Love
AFTERNOON: EXPERIENCING
THE FOOD OF LOVE
RjbhogA Lunchtime Tryst in the Forest
Mahtmya: Separation during the Afternoon Watch
Public and Private Ll
Utthpanvan: Krishnas Arrival in Braj
Exemplars of Bhva: The Cows and the Gops
Bhog and SandhyratThe Connoisseur of Rasa
Eats and Goes to Bed
NIGHT: PLAYING THE GAME OF LOVE
ayan MnaDivine Jealousy
The Sakhs Counsel to Rdh about
Her Sulking and Pride
Setting the Stage: A Romantic Evening and
the Beauty of the Lovers
The Sakhs Warning
The Sakhs Message to Krishna
The Resolution of Mna
Krishnas Mna
The Sakh in Mna Poems
AUTUMN TO SPRING: GOPS, BIRDS,
AND THE MOON
arad: The Autumn Full Moon
Hemant: Vows of the Cold Winter
Vasant: Spring and Hol
63
63
68
72
81
91
91
100
106
108
112
115
121
121
122
132
137
142
145
146
147
151
151
168
170
Contents
SEVEN
vii
SUMMERSEEING REALITY:
THE SYNAESTHETIC TRANSFORMATION
Grs.ma: The Hot Season
Vars.: The Rainy Season
Back to the Beginning
173
173
179
184
Notes
189
Works Cited
195
Index
199
Acknowledgments
This book project has taken many turns over the years, and I am grateful
to those who have worked with me along the way. This book would not
be possible without your insights, criticisms, and support: Robert Baird,
Corinne Dempsey, Alan Entwistle, Kathleen Erndl, Nancy Falk, Maxine
Grossman, Janet Krengel, Philip Lutgendorf, Rebecca Manring, Laurie
Patton, Karen Piconi, Robin Rinehart, and Frederick Smith. The members of the Straw Dog reading group at Iowa State University provided a
convivial atmosphere to discuss the material. I reserve a special appreciation for Tony K. Stewart, who helped me see the power of the poetic
world. Christianna Whites excellent editorial skills polished the manuscript for this book, and my mistakes are solely my responsibility. I finally
want to thank my parents, Mary and Charles Sanford, who have been
with me on this project from beginning to end.
Many people offered me much assistance and hospitality while I was
doing research in India, including Shrivatsa Goswami and his family, Dr.
Umesh Sharma, and Dr. C. B. Rawat. Many individuals associated with
Sri Caitanya Prem Samsthan and Rdhraman. Temple in Vrindavan were
more than generous with their time. The research in India was made possible by a grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies.
I would like to acknowledge that earlier treatments of this material
have been published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion
and the Journal of Vaishnava Studies.
ix
Introduction
Paramnand is one of north Indias greatest medieval poets who sang in

ritual service of Krishna, and the corpus of poetry attributed to him is
sung in temples and homes across north India even today. This work
explores how Paramnands poetry leads the devotee from this mundane
world (laukik) to Krishnas supramundane world (alaukik).
This book progresses through the daily and annual cycles of poetry
that depict Krishnas life and that shape devotees lives in a manner that
replicates the cycles that devotees hear in the poetry. Before moving to the
explication of these cycles, however, the following sections of this introduction provide a critical perspective, the context within which the
research took place, a description of the experience of Paramnands
poetry in the temples, and a situated foundation for understanding the
breadth and scope of Paramnands work.
A Critical Perspective
Works such as Kenneth Bryants Poems to the Childhood God, John
Hawleys Sr Ds: Poet, Singer, Saint, and Rupert Snells Eighty-Four
Hymns of Hita Harivam.a offer important and necessary work on the
poetry and the relevant manuscript collections. These works are primarily
situated historically and are important for establishing critical editions
that will solve important issues of authorship and authenticity. They have
been groundbreaking and have established a field in the realm of early languages and literatures in the Braj region. I suggest that the field would
1
SINGING KRISHNA
benefit from scholarship on Paramnand and his poetry, which represent

an unbroken tradition of living poetry in the Braj region.
Paramnands poetry offers a wealth of material for analysis, especially
in the context of how the poetry influences the lives of modern Braj devotees who experience the sound of Paramnands lyrics every day, in cycles
that stretch from the past through the present and on through perpetuity.
On the six-kilometer pilgrimage road that circles Vrindavan, devotees and
pilgrims sing poems as they walk barefoot on the very soil that Krishnas
feet touched thousands of years ago. Devotees stream to the citys many
temples and physically immerse themselves in the ritual practice that is
critical to revealing the significance and meaning of Paramnands poetry.
The physical landscapereplete with bird song, scents, and colors
reflects what devotees hear in Paramnands poems.
This study reflects dual strategies of reading Paramnands poems and
observing their performance in the ritual cycle in the temples. Every
morning I read Paramnands poetry with a retired professor of aesthetics,
Dr. C. B. Rawat. Dr. Rawat and I traveled throughout Braj and visited
temples and pilgrimages sites, and through our extended discussions, I
learned the aesthetics of Braj. Most evenings I sat in Rdhraman. temple
and listened to Vidur Malik and his family sing in service of Krishna.
Hearing the poems in the context of ritual service is an essential aspect of
their devotional function; there was clearly something significant in their
role as practice. Hearing the poetry sung in the ritual cycle situated my
reading in practice and provided the central focus for this study: exploring
how hearing Paramnands poetry sung in its daily and annual cycles provides a portal between the devotees world and Krishnas ll.
My interests lie in exploring how hearing the poetic cycles facilitates
the devotees vision of Krishnas ll (activities) because this approach has
much to tell us about how Paramnands poetry operates as a threshhold
into Krishnas world. To understand how this poetry functions as a
threshhold, it was inevitable that my study of this poetry would take
place in context. That is, I observed the poetry within its ritual cycles.
Witnessing the experience of the poetry in practice was necessary for
understanding the impact of the physical context and its relationship to
the reception of the poetry. As I watched and listened, I became curious
about the conflationor arousalof the senses in temple practice. The
sensual and the physical realms are important because they are the tools
through which the devotee can access Krishnas realm. This is important
Introduction
because the experience of the poetry is embodied, and the poetry itself is
deeply sensual.
Paramnands sophisticated literary techniques engage listeners
through their senses and guide the devotees to a heightened perception of
Krishna. In fact, the poetry conflates the senses so that, for example, hearing the poetry leads to a vision of Krishnas world. The sensual images of
Krishnas world are mirrored in the sensual experience of the poetry, and
the devotees experiences of the poetry mirror that of the poet. The effect
is reflexive and relies on the body, as not only the means to experience
Krishnas world but also the means by which to serve Krishna. As we shall
see, however, this sensual experience is not profane or worldly but is rendered sacred or otherworldly because it is directed toward Krishna.
These poemsengaging and often humoroushelp devotees to
homologize their lives to that of Krishna, which means, to the extent
possible, living their lives as actors in this cosmic drama. Poems are sung
in north Indian Vais.n.ava temples as a formal mode of worship but also
less formally, for example, by women working in their homes and by
crowds on pilgrimage. By the time they are adults, it is not unusual for
individual devotees to have committed scores of Paramnands poems to
memory. As is the case in any religious tradition, the majority of these
devotees of Krishna have never studied theology, nor probably do they
care to. Although many devotees use poetic anthologies, the primary
medium of this poetry is oral, and in this oral/aural form they become
the basis for much of the local understanding of Krishna and of the practice of his devotion.
The Research Context

Over the time that I was observing the poetic cycle, I explored the concept of the ideal listener. This constructed ideal listener emerged from
conversations with devotees in Vrindavan, India, who were steeped in the
poetry, texts, and traditions of Krishna devotion. Devotees stressed to me
that they saw Krishnas activities as they saw, or took daran of, Krishnas
image during sev (ritual service). Such a devotee is well steeped in Braj
verse and lore and can identify and understand the poetry in its rich context. This listener not only brings a rich understanding to the poetry but
knows the poems by heart and can sing along. Paramnand, as well as
SINGING KRISHNA
other contemporary Braj poets, wrote for a similar audience of insiders

whom I consider ideal listeners whose memories and thoughts are steeped
in Braj lore, so they can decode the range of interrelated images in the
poetry. Obviously there are no objective means to prove how the poetry
transforms the thought patterns of the devotee. However, I can surmise
that the experience of the poetry in the context of ritual practice operates
upon the ideal listener in a dialectical process in which each hearing of the
poetry leads to a deepening understanding of Krishna.
While the concept of the ideal listener is an abstraction, my conception of this ideal is grounded in my observations of the poetic ritual cycle
in Vrindavan, India. Over two year-long fieldwork periods and several
shorter visits to India, I witnessed the entire annual ritual cycle. I sat in
temples in Vrindavan and Nathdvara, the primary pilgrimage site for the
Vallabh Samprady.
The Experience of the Temple

While the poetic cycle is manifested throughout Braj, I situate this
study in Rdhraman. temple for several reasons. Rdhraman. is a representative temple where singers perform great ranges of poems in its
ritual service. Rdhraman. (the one who sports with Rdh) manifested
himself to Gopal Bhatt Goswami (15031578) in 1542, and the
descendants of Gopal Bhatt Goswami perform sev for Krishna in Rdhraman. temple. Gopal Bhatt Goswami was one of the six theologian
Goswamis associated with Caitanya, who founded Gaud.ya Vais.n.avism,
one of the two predominant devotional communities of the sixteenth
century, the other being the Vallabh Samprady. While scholars and
practitioners of this tradition link Paramnand with the Vallabh Samprady, his poetry is sung in temples across Braj, therefore I consider
him a Braj poet whose poetry transcends sectarian lines.
Devotees might sing devotional poetry to Krishna at any time, but it is
important that the poems be appropriate to the time of day and year. Shrivatsa Goswami and the other descendents of Gopal Bhatt share responsibility for serving Krishna. Each family is accorded a certain amount of time
per year to perform sev. Devotees come for daran of Krishna at each of
these sev periods, and the Goswamis perform the sev rituals. Typically, at
Rdhraman., in the time before and during ritual service, singers and
musicians sing poems that describe Krishnas activities at that very
Introduction
moment. There is no prescribed liturgy or preset order of poems; the

poems are sung depending on the inspiration of the singers or, perhaps, in
response to a request from the audience. Singers and accompanying musicians usually appear for the evening ritual period, the most well-attended
period of the day. In the absence of musicians, devotees themselves sing
most devotees have accumulated a vast repertoire of these poems through
hearing them repeatedly. Anyone who knows the poems can sing them,
and visitors can join the musicians to offer song to Krishna.
While I was on site in Rdhraman., Vidur Malik and his family and
students were frequent singers. The Malik family originated in Bihar and
sang in the dhrupad style, a style of classical north Indian music in which
a poem is set to an elaborate rga. The Malik family had moved to Vrindavan and had trained singers from India and abroad in the dhrupad style.
The group typically includes at least one vocalist and accompanying
musicians playing the tabla (drums), a tambura (a drone instrument), and
occasionally a flute or a sitar. The Maliks play a wide repertoire of devotional poetry, as do most of the musicians who visited. They sing poems
about Krishna by Paramnand and the other As.t. achp poets (the group
with which Paramnand is affiliated) and also offer songs to iva and
Rma. While Paramnand and the As.t. achp poets are linked with the Vallabh Samprady, the other major sixteenth-century devotional community, their poetry is well represented in the ritual service in the different
devotional communities in Braj. This eclecticism is important because it
demonstrates that temple singers choose those poets whose poetry bests
reflects a view of Krishnas world. That Paramnands poetry is frequently
sung indicates that devotees appreciate his special way of illustrating
Krishnas world.
In Rdhraman. temple, the singers sit on a recessed area in the back
of the temple. When they sing, they face forward, toward Krishna; after
all, the poems are an offering to the deity. When devotees arrive in the
temple, they first pay respects to Krishna; some prostrate themselves on
the floor in front of Krishna, while others may simply touch their right
hands to the temple threshold and then to their foreheads. Some perform
a circumambulation of the temple then sit and listen to the singers. Some
devotees join the singers near the back, and others stand on the floor or
on the recessed areas on either side of the temple. All face Krishna.
Observing devotees practices in the temple reiterated the significance of
the physical context and showed how all the senses are engaged in devotional practice.
SINGING KRISHNA
The musicians play for up to an hour before the actual sev begins.
When the Goswamis open the curtain for daran of Krishna, everyone in
the temple rises and vies for a spot with the best view. Some continue
their devotional songs for Krishna during daran, but, at this point, the
focus is on seeing Krishna himself. The actual period of daran lasts
approximately fifteen minutes. Some devotees catch sight of Krishna and
leave, but most remain standing and gaze fixedly upon Krishna. Many
devotees routinely bring binoculars so that they can catch nuances in
Krishnas dress and ornamentation. This intense focus on the images of
Krishna reiterates to me that Krishna devotion is ultimately grounded in
the body. While devotees gaze upon Krishna, the enlivened eyes of
Krishnas image also fall upon the devotee so that the process is dialectical
and mutual.1
The Goswamis perform ritual offerings for Krishna and offer prasd
(consecrated offerings) to those in the temple. After the Goswamis close
the curtain, the temple slowly empties until the devotees next opportunity
to see Krishna. This is the goal, after all: to see Krishnas cosmic world.
Situated Poetry: Sound Becoming Sight

Paramnands poems are situated in the context of Krishnas ritual cycle.
While this analysis targets the ideal listener as postulated above, real devotees hearand seethe poems in a physical context, usually in a temple
or home, that facilitates their entry into Krishnas ll. It is important to
examine Paramnands literary techniques and strategies within the context of the ritual cycles, as the poetry is heard by Krishna devotees across
north India. These cycles, of course, parallel the cycles of Krishnas ll and
the resulting cycles of the poetrys composition and transmission. The
daily and annual cycles are essential to the creation and reception of the
poetry, and it is important to present the book in this way because these
cycles draw the reader into Krishnas world in much the same way as
Paramnands poetry entices devotees. The extended discussion of these
cycles provides examples of how Paramnands metaphors shape the devotees daran of Krishna and, most important, how his poetry ritually acts
upon the devotee. For the most part, I have remained faithful to the presentation of poems as they appear in the collections, but poems often
appear multiple times in a single collection or in different collections with
Introduction
different rgas and under different subject headings and so can be used
more than once, making them context dependent.
Plan for the Book: Following the Cycles

This book is organized according to the daily and annual cycles of
Paramnands poetry in service of Krishna, with each chapter opening
with a poem that is representative of the particular cycles discussed in each
chapter. Chapter 1 provides an overview and a brief history of Paramnands poesy. Chapters 2 through 5 take the reader through Krishnas
daily life, from sunrise to sunset. Chapters 6 and 7 illustrate selected seasons and festivals of the year through Paramnands eyes. Although there
is not a cycle of poetry dedicated to the cycle of the moon itself, the
waxing and the waning of the moon determines the timing of many
monthly rituals, such as vrats (vows) and festivals. The lunar cycle regulates when, on any given day within the month, a poem should be sung,
thus this cycle also has important poetic as well as experiential functions.
Throughout any devotees lifetime, these cycles within cycles repeat in
perpetuity. Potentially, with each repetition, the devotee may attain a
deeper understanding and remembrance of Krishnas games and hear the
poetry with a more nuanced and sophisticated ear. Through Paramnands
poetry, during sev, when Krishna manifests himself through his image,
devotees stand in the temple, listen to the poetry, and see Krishna.
CHAPTER ONE
Paramnands Poetic World
Rgabilval
Mother Yaod arose in the morning and churned the milk.
She lovingly took some fresh butter and put it
in her sons hand.
She skimmed cream from the boiled milk and
fed it affectionately to Krishna.
(S134)
To the casual observer, these lines by the great Vais.n.ava poet Paramnand
might simply appear to portray the pastoral idyll of Vrindavan in which
foster mother Yaod dotes upon her young son Krishna. But, to the
devotee of Krishna, this seemingly simple passage opens a doorway to an
entirely new, different world. This vignette evokes a rich sensual world:
the smooth coolness of the butter placed in Krishnas hand and the sweet
taste of the cream that Krishna drinks. We cannot help but be enticed by
the sensuality of this poem. As we shall see, the earthy and grounded language of the poetic cycle uses the senses to lead devotees to an etherealized
experience of Krishnas world.
The language appears ordinary, grounded in physical experience, and
accessible to anyone. However, Paramnand illustrates scenarios in ritual
service for Krishna that lead us to wonder about the role of the resonant
language in his poesy. This query leads us to the central question of this
book: How does hearing Paramnands poetry in context serve as a portal
between this world and Krishnas divine world?
9
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SINGING KRISHNA
It is important to know that sight and sound are privileged modes in

the divine encounter in the Hindu tradition. To see Krishna or receive
his daran is a primary goal of the devotee and is a basic mode of communication between devotee and deity. Using sophisticated literary strategies,
the author Paramnand deftly constructs a vision for the devotee
through words. This is not an ordinary language but a language that can
entice the devotee into a new realization of Krishnas world through a conflation of the senses.
In the most general terms, Paramnand induces the devotee to see
through what he or she hears. The techniques are familiar: simple
metaphoric tropes, symbolic substitutions, puns, and other word games
are employed in ever-changing combinations, but clearly, deliberately, and
systematically. In what follows, I will show how Paramnands tales
employ these and other strategies to allow the devotee to take the experience of this physical world and see through it to another world. This
other world is called alaukik, a supramundane world, a world that
stretches beyond the human imagination to that of the gods, but if
Paramnand is to be believed, that world is visible here and now to those
who learn how to see it. The locus of activity shifts by overriding the traditional sensory fields of this-worldly experience, an act that prevents the
devotee from taking this seemingly ordinary world for granted. Paramnandor at least the poems attributed to himhelps the devotee to
break through to that other world, to learn to see that other world inherent in the physical world. To understand just how this manifests requires
us to look systematically at the tales as they are sung in the context of the
daily and annual ritual cyclesfor the tales are always in a cycle. And it is
that cycle of tales, not just one or two occasional poems, that holds the
key that will enable us to discover the ways these poems work to transform the devotees vision.
A host of poems bear the name of the sixteenth-century Indian poet
Paramnand, many of which are undoubtedly his. That many additional
poems are attributed and accepted as his suggests that authorship is not
the real issue but, rather, how the poems affect the listener, the devotee.
The poems are not just literary expressions; although clearly they are significant in that regard. They are also tools and devices to help the individual understand the truth of Krishnas world, and therein lies much of their
significance. Paramnands poetry is especially significant because he is
one of the As.t. achp poetsa group of eight poets associated with the Vallabh Samprady, a Braj-based devotional community. And it may well be
11
that one of the primary reasons he is included in that august set of poets is
precisely because his poetry operates on the devotees as a tool for entering
this other world, a world not available to the ordinary senses or to ordinary people.
The religious leader Vallabh founded the Samprady in the sixteenth
century to worship Krishna, and, as part of his plan to develop devotion,
he appointed Paramnand and the other As.t. achp poets to sing sev for
Krishna. What little we know about Paramnand comes from the Vrts,
hagiographic texts produced within the Vallabh Samprady. The Vrts
are simple prose materials written for didactic purposes that present
aspects of the poets lives (as well as those of other significant Samprady
figures) and describe their devotional service of Krishna. But while the
Vrts themselves contain little that can be historically verified, they
become all-important sources of inspiration to devotees, girding the primary work of the poems of the poets they portray.
Krishna devotion, bhakti, is centered in Braj, a cultural and linguistic
region of north India that includes parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Although a variety of religious expressions, including Islam as well as
local forms of Hinduism, exist in Braj, the predominant religious expression is devotion to Krishna, a form of Vais.n.avism. Vais.n.avism is the worship of the deity Vis.n.u in one of his incarnations or descents, or avatrs.
Krishna, like Vis.n.us other avatrs, descended to the earth when the earth
and her denizens needed help. He and elder brother Balarm took birth
in Braj to kill the tyrant Kamsa who ruled in nearby Mathura and was
notorious for his oppression of the people. Until they came of age, they
lived simply with their foster parents, Yaod and Nanda, in the
cowherding region of Braj.
The stories of Krishnas adventures upon the earth have been told in
literary and plastic arts for centuries, most notably in the tenth-century
Sanskrit text Bhgavata Purn.a. The tenth chapter of the Bhgavata
Purn.a, easily the most popular chapter because of its focus on Krishnas
early life, chronicles Krishnas life from his decision to be born in Braj
through his life in Dwarka, the capital of Krishnas kingdom. After
Krishna and Balarm leave Braj, they resume their destinies as rulers, but
these are not the identities on which devotees choose to focus. Instead,
through Paramnands guidance, devotees choose to focus on their days as
simple cowherd youths in Braj. Certainly Krishna is more approachable as
a small boy or cowherding youth than as a king with the distance and
respect that such royalty implies. In the sixteenth century, as Krishna
12
SINGING KRISHNA
devotion flourished in north India, poets composed lyrics in the vernacular in response to Krishnas popularity among all social levels. Paramnand
and his contemporaries sang of Krishnas adventures in Braj, narrating the
stories of his life with his friends and family in Braj. And it was these
poems that proved so effective in inculcating the devotional life.
To invite the devotee into this world, Paramnandor those who
mimicked him, his proxies whose works also bear his nameacts as a
guide to the uninitiated. The process is straightforward enough, but it
requires us to be acutely aware of where each participant locates him- or
herself in the process. Paramnand sees this higher reality through his distinct form of meditation; what he witnesses he shares in his poetry by
constructing tableaus and peopling them with his divine characters,
describing their play, their desires, and so forth. The content of this poetry
is, then, not just depictions, but a kind of revelation, a vision vouchsafed
to Paramnand, who in turn makes it available to those not so privileged.
The listener hears Paramnands vision of Krishnas play, simply at first
but with an increased understanding and then, eventually, through repetition borne of love, at the most sophisticated level. In the end, the
devotees very mode of conceiving Krishna is transformed through
Paramnands literary techniques.
But to guide the devotee to this new understanding, it is not sufficient to declare it outright, nor simply to declare it once. Rather the poet
takes the listeners by the hand and walks them through the daily life of
Krishna and, in turn, through an annual cycle of predictable repetitive
events. But Paramnand uses different tactics that are repeated in individual poems and cyclically in the set of poems to structure comprehension
of each event, each point in the nitya (constant) cycle, which occurs daily,
and utsava (festival) cycle, which occurs annually. It is through the repetition of these cycles that devotees gradually transform their vision from
laukik, this mundane world, to alaukik, Krishnas supramundane world.
Because the task of this book is to explore how Paramnands poetry transforms what the devotees hear into what they see, in the following
chapters, we will walk with Paramnand through that cycle. First, though,
the remainder of this chapter will explore how Paramnand brings devotees into the alaukik realm with increasingly more complex and deep
understandings using language as synaesthesia. This section explores
Paramnands linguistic tools and aesthetic structures, which provide a
framework for devotees vision of Krishna.
13
Paramnands poetry constantly bombards devotees with rich images

of Krishnas world. These images are not simplistic; they are complex
codes that create a conceptual world. By conveying conceptual realms
through words and images, these codes are critical elements of the poetic
process in which devotees gain an increasingly sophisticated understanding of Krishnas world. The poetic process, that devotees see through their
ears, communicates Krishnas ll to devotees in a generalor macroscopicway. Yet there are distinctions in the poetrysubtle onesthat
affect the listeners; the ways they hear are important. On a microscopic
level, Paramnand uses specific literary strategies, whichthe metaphor
of love as war, for exampleoperate upon the devotee by constructing the
perceptual categories through which the devotee understands the world,
but most important, Krishnas world. The devotees modes of perception
are reconfigured.
Some of the specific literary strategies and tropes, such as metaphors
and symbolic substitutions, are the focus of certain chapters. For instance,
in chapter 4, food and the preparation and eating of it are substitutes for
love, and in chapter 5, we will see a conflation of senses and emotions when
anger is actually an expression of love. These devices (re)structure and constitute the way in which the devotees see Krishnas world and are thus transformative. This transformation invites the devotees to see Krishnas world
well enough to enter it. The devotees follow Krishna through Paramnands
eyes; hearing the poetry, then, becomes an act of emulation.
Paramnand is particularly important because his poetryas sound
become sightis a visual path to Krishna. Each devotees daran of and
relationship with Krishna is highly individualized and depends upon the
devotees own inclinations. The devotees darans are dialectical because
(a) the text informs and lends shape to their daily lives, and (b) their daily
activities and knowledge of Krishna inform and shape the ways in which
they see Paramnands words. This is the basis for the dialectical relationship between the text of Paramnands poetry and the rituals and daily
lives of Krishna devotees, and this dialectical relationship informs the
devotees sight of Krishna. Devotees of Krishna conduct their lives in ways
that encourage a constant focus on Krishna; for example, devotees synchronize their daily activities to Krishnas that are detailed in the poetry
and relate all sights and sounds to Krishna. When such devotees hear
Paramnands poetry, this vast repertoire of knowledge determines the
ways in which each devotee sees Paramnands words.
14
SINGING KRISHNA
Daranbeing both a reciprocal and a reflexive processnot only

enables the devotee to realize the deitys presence in the world but arouses
the passion that helps the devotee develop a relationship with the divine.
Not only does the devotee see the divine, but the divinethrough the
eyes that enliven the imagealso sees the devotee.1 So this daran is
informed by a dialectical relationship between devotees individual experiences and their interpretations of the poetry.
Because of the way Paramnand teaches the listener to see the
alaukik reality through the devotees ordinary or laukik world, his poetry
invites us to reconsider notions of the sacred and the profane, or supramundane and mundane, and that is where we will begin. The poetry is
sung to a material object, usually an image in a temple or home, in which
Krishna chooses to manifest himself; the divine reveals itself in material
form for each devotee. When devotees take daran of (or see) Krishna,
they are not seeing merely a symbol or representation but Krishna himself. The profundity of this sight transforms the devotees emotions and
perceptions from the worldly to the nonworldly. Without this transformative sight, the devotees are blind to Krishnas alaukik realmas
Paramnand illustrates.
Rgasrang
Why [do we] desire youth?
Seeing this body now, Im sad, it was [meant] for Krishna.
Ashamed of my body, speech does not come,
my hair and speech have decayed.
In the dark my eyes cannot see the path;
I am slow with the thirst of love,
Fate has put us in the third stage,
our condition has become weak.
Paramnand says, the gops are in the state of separation,
again and again their hearts worry.
(S903)
Separation from her lover, Krishna, has blinded this young girl and
robbed her of her youth. Sadly, she considers her once youthful body,
meant only for Krishna, who has left Braj forever. She and her friends
wasted their youth on this fickle boy who stole their love and fled. Their
eyes, which once relished Krishnas beauty, now thirst for his sight, and
their desiccated bodies testify to the ravaging effects of separation from
15
Krishna. While the sentiment may at first appear to a non-Indian reader

somewhat melodramatic, what is most important in this poem is that
estrangement from Krishna leads to blindness. This is no ordinary blindness, but the inability to see with alaukik (nonworldly) sight, to see
Krishnas presence in the world when it appears he is no longer there. The
devotees problem is, of course, precisely the same as the young girls.
This poem exemplifies Paramnands use of the trope of blindness
and the metaphor of love as liquid sustenance. Paramnand metaphorically equates love with nourishment, which implies that this lovelike
foodis necessary for survival. This metaphoric construction builds into
the devotees visionthrough languagethe concept that Krishnas love
is essential for life itself. Paramnand enhances this metaphor with the
trope of blindness; Krishna has withdrawn his love-sustenance, and, as a
result, the gops (cowherding girls) are now blind, literally and symbolically. Each of these literary devices is grounded in the material world, and
each in turn invites the devotees to begin to question just how they should
interpret the physical world.
The division of worldly and nonworldly relies on a bifurcation reinterpreted by Vallabh: laukik (worldly) and alaukik (nonworldly).2 The
terms laukik and alaukik derive from the Sanskrit loka, which means the
world or people. Laukik indicates being of the world, something normal
and customary; alaukik is beyond the world, in the realm of the sacred or
the other. Laukik and alaukik can be understood in two ways: ontological and perspectival, that is, the nature of the thing itself or the devotees
attitude toward it. Krishnas alaukik games (ll) or the svarpa would be
an example of ontology. Krishna himself manifests in a material object, so
that object exemplifies embodied divinity. Substance does not automatically ontologically determine laukik or alaukik.
In terms of perspective, a devotees attitude determines the alaukik
status of a thing, emotion, or thought. Vallabhs understanding of laukik
and alaukik relies less on ontology and more on perspective. The devotees
perspective of a thinglaukik or alaukikis generally more important to
devotion than the ontological status of the thing itself. As perspectives,
laukik and alaukik indicate states or dynamic qualities instead of the static
substances sacred and profane. The material worldwhen imbued with
memories and love of Krishnacan be alaukik. Ordinary objects or daily
activities can be rendered alaukik by virtue of the devotees emotion for
Krishna. Thus devotees can live an entirely alaukik, or Krishna-centered,
life within a social and material world.
16
SINGING KRISHNA
An object may have sacred or religious value to one person and not to
another, and, in Braj devotion, objects such as images of Krishna can be
coextensive with the divine, although the divine is never limited to an
object. The material world is not rejected but used in service of Krishna.
Devotees offer Krishna material objects, and the physical world reminds
devotees that Krishna created the world for his own amusement. The
material world is not glorified for its own sake but is lauded to the extent
that it reflects Krishna. Sophisticated devotees are able to perceive the
alaukik within the laukik. The poetry facilitates this perceptual shift by
arousing the thoughts and emotions that make Krishna central to a devotees existence, and those thoughts and emotions focused on Krishna are
alaukik. This alaukik perspective relying on emotion toward Krishna is
the sine qua non for daran of Krishnas ll.
Understanding the poetry hinges on the ability to contextualize and
transform thoughts and emotions rooted in the laukik realm. The gops
bodies have wasted away, and they bemoan their fate. Such misery and the
inevitable anger that ensues arise easily in the ordinary course of life.
Loved ones die or choose to leave, and most people experience a range of
emotional responses to these events. Emotions in response to the mundane world, such as jealousy at the fickleness of a lover, are laukik. Yet, the
gops and the devotees emotions are evoked within the context of devotion to Krishna, and this devotional context renders them alaukik. As
such, the poems provide frameworks for devotees responses to emotional
and physical stimuli.
About Paramnands Poetry

Rgasrang
Ive tried to make you appease mna, but Im defeated.
All is gone, ruined by your pride; Madanamurri is dejected.
Put on your blue sari, oh friend, take off your anklets.
So when you go on this dark moonless night, no one will know.
You just think about this and look inside yourself,
why have you arranged your part in such a way?
Just arrange it so that Nandakumr will find it even
more becoming.
Listen Rdh, why make obstacles? You are a clever, though
naive woman.
17
Meet Paramnands lord who is all blissful with the rasa of love,
dont spill what you have already gained.
(S728)
Paramnand sings of the divine lovers Rdh and Krishna, who are
angry with one another, yet deeply in love. This pique-in-love, a state
known as mna in aesthetic terms, has separated the couple, and neither
can be happy until they are together again. Late at night, dejected Rdh
sulks and refuses to go to Krishnaalthough she desperately wants to be
with him. Of all the gops who adore Krishnaand they all dohe has
chosen Rdh as his favorite. Rdhs girlfriend, the speaker in the poem,
attempts to remedy the situation; she wants to reunite the sparring
couple. She refers to Krishna by the name Madanamurriwhich indicates Krishnas combat with the demon Murto convince Rdh.
Paramnand invokes the metaphor of love as war: the combative lovers
need strategic advice, and Rdhs friend will act as the liaison.
This friend offers romantic advice: she tells Rdh to wear her blue sari
to enhance her beauty and to conceal her fair body, and devotees know
that Rdh always wears blue. For village boys and girls, romantic meetings
entail some planning. The dark moonless night is a perfect opportunity to
slip away into the nearby forests, evading the vigilant eyes of family and
neighbors. The gop advises Rdh to take off her anklets for their jingling
would certainly give her away. This friend sees through Rdhs pretense:
Look inside yourself, think about it, she says. Otherwise why would
Rdh arrange her hair just so if she did not plan on meeting Krishna?
Inserting himself into the poem in the last line, Paramnand asks
Rdh how she can waste her good fortune when she has already gained
Krishnas love? Love, as Paramnand illustrates in this poem, is tangible, a
liquid substance that must be guarded carefully or perhaps spilled and lost
in this war of love. Paramnands metonymic equivalence of love as
liquid embeds in the devotees view of this scene the various properties of
liquid, such as its tangibility as well as its susceptibility to loss.
This poem engages one of the most common tropes of Indian art and
literature: viraha, the motif of separation. The mood of viraha explores
the emotional states that arise from painful separations, such as Rdhs
anguish at being separated from Krishna and the gulf between the devotee
and divine. At one level, the love story here is between Rdh and
Krishna, but it is also a love story between the devotee and Krishna, and
Paramnands poetry helps the devotee bridge the gulf.
18
SINGING KRISHNA
Paramnands vivid illustrations of Krishnas life in Braj entice the

devotee into seeing the world differently, that is, into seeing the mundane
world in nonworldly terms. This sight will vary in its depth and intensity
but no matter how great or small is indicative of the devotees entry and
participation in Krishnas play. The poetry sets the stage for the devotee to
become an actor in the cosmic drama played around Krishna. The devotee
cannot help but to establish a relationship with Krishna in a manner that
is always appropriate to his or her own accomplishments in the realm of
the emotions, and here is where the bhva, the foundational emotional
experience, is identified and cultivated.
Bhvas are those basic human emotional attitudes that are essential to
the makeup of human beings. Every human being has these basic attitudes, but each individual is inclined to one or more. Rasa translates literally as sap or essence but indicates the emotion aroused in response to
an aesthetic experience. Bhva and rasa derive from the realm of Indian
aesthetics, but sixteenth-century Braj theologians adapted these aesthetic
concepts to devotion and made arousing these passions central to devotion. Some are likely to feel more comfortable in a devotional relationship
that posits Krishna as the object of affection as a small boy, while others
might prefer the erotic approach of a gop or at least of one of the gops
helpers. But, in every case, the approach is highly individualized, tailored
to the needs and proclivities of the devotee.
Vais.n.ava tradition claims that five thousand years ago Krishna lived in
the earthly Braj with his foster parents, Nanda and Yaod, and his
friends, the gopas and gops (the cowherding men and women of Braj), yet
his games occur perpetually in the alaukik realm. He lived as a typical Braj
boy, and most Braj residents knew him as nothing other than a normal,
though mischievous, boy: he herded the cows in the forests of Vrindavan
with his friends and played with the young girls, in particular with his
favorite, Rdh. The word typically used to describe Krishnas actions is
ll, which connotes play or sport. To devotees, this means that all of
Krishnas activitiesfrom killing demons to creating the worldare
forms of play. God does nothing of necessity, and divine activities are considered play, not work or obligatory action. Because Krishna loves his
devotees, his games are eternal and perpetually accessible to the devotee.
Krishna performs each one of his games at all times so that devotees have
multiple avenues from which to approach him. At any given moment,
devotees can focus on Krishna at different ages and within the contexts of
different emotional relationships, such as lover-beloved or parent-child.
19
Devotees appropriate the emotional attitudes of the characters in the

ll in their relationships with Krishna; depending on the individuals
temperament, the devotee might approach him as a parent to child or a
lover to beloved. Krishnas Braj family and friendsthe gops, his mother,
and the gopasexemplify roles for the devotee who wants to participate
in this drama. The mythic structure provides a framework that allows the
devotee to interpret his or her own experience in terms of Krishna and
that sets the stage for the devotee to enter Krishnas games. The poetry
directs the emotions in a mutually reinforcing process: the devotees emotions accord with the emotional resonance of the characters in the Braj
drama, which renders the elements of the poetry even more meaningful.
As devotees achieve greater sophistication in their poetic sensibilities, they
are further sensitized to the emotional nuances and subtleties portrayed in
Krishnas ll.
According to tradition, the poet Paramnand himself witnessed
Krishnas games and revealed his insight to devotees through his poetry.
Paramnand became their eyes, but he painted words through sound.
Paramnands bhan.it (signature line) in each poem is both commentary
on and narrative of his participation in Krishnas ll and attests to
Paramnands sight of Krishnas play.3 The bhan.it reflects the identity of
Paramnand the poet, and this persona indicates Paramnands own participation in the ll. Paramnand sings as if he were a particular character
in each poem; thus he is embedded in the poem as he takes on the persona and experiences the emotions of a particular character. The tradition
assigns Paramnandas well as his contemporary poetsidentities as
one of Krishnas male or female friends. Paramnands personal visions of
and participation in the ll authenticate his poetry, making it effective in
communicating his lived experience to the devotee.
Paramnands Poetic Environment

Paramnands primary contribution was the Krishna poetry compiled into
the collection known as the Paramnandasgar, literally Ocean of Paramnand or Ocean of the Highest Bliss. Paramnand composed padas (short
lyrics of six to ten lines) to praise Krishna and honor his life. His poems
also appear in sev anthologies, which include poetry primarily from the
As.t. achp poets but also from other Braj poets. He composed this devotional poetry in the vernacular Brajbhs., so it was accessible to a wide
20
SINGING KRISHNA
range of people. The corpus of poetry attributed to Paramnand developed over many centuries, and much of it could not have been composed
by the historical Paramnand. Those poets attracted by Paramnands
poetry attached his signature line to guarantee a reception. However, this
body of poetry is considered the authentic testimony of Paramnands
vision of Krishnas ll, and the entire corpus is deemed authentic by the
Vallabhite and Braj community by virtue of its role in ritual performance.
I will refer to Paramnand as the composer of these poems because that is
how the devotees refer to him, but clearly there are many Paramnands.
Certainly Paramnand inherited a variety of local, traditional, and
philosophical influences, but these were filtered through the lens of the
Bhgavata Purn.a, as can be seen in the poetry. The Bhgavata Purn.a
wasand isthe focal text for the Braj devotional community. The Bhgavata Purn.a incorporated a confluence of traditions and influences of
south Indian Hinduism in approximately the tenth century.4 Although
the Bhgavata Purn.a attributes itself to Vysa (a divine sage to whom
hagiographic tradition credits the Vedas, the Mahbhrata, and the
Brahma Stras), its most probable authors were a group of south Indian
learned ascetics, probably Brahmans, who were attempting to establish
the doctrinal legitimacy of devotion.5 Other Sanskrit works are not disregarded, but their authority is superseded by that of the Bhgavata Purn.a.
The tenth chapter of the Bhgavata Purn.a is most important for devotees
of Krishna because this chapter narrates Krishnas life in Braj. Vallabh tradition dictates that Paramnand himself experienced the entire ll of the
tenth chapter of the Bhgavata Purn.a after he had been instructed by
Vallabh, so his lyrics derive from personal experience.6
However, although the Bhgavata Purn.a and other sources first
informed him of these games, Paramnand was not merely recreating the
poems from memory. For example, according to his Vrt, Govindaswm, one of the eight poet saints, was singing for Krishna, but he
suddenly stopped. When asked why, Govindaswm replied that he could
no longer see the ll. 7 The poems are traditionally considered to be not
remembered or created but accurate depictions of the ll. The poetry
must be heard with the understanding that memory of Krishnas ll corresponds to a real subject, not an imaginative universe. Paramnands
alaukik eyes allowed him to see beyond the laukik world to Krishnas
cosmic drama, a view not available to those with merely laukik vision. The
richness of detail and sensual perception come from actual experience:
Krishna reveals his alaukik play to his devotees who have alaukik eyes.
21
It is important that devotees know that Paramnands vision of

Krishnas play is authentic. As a member of the As.t. achp, the poets name
on the signature line guaranteed the truth of the poetry and the weight
of the tradition associated with that poet. The chp (name or seal)
ensured the poems credibility, as the signator bears witness to the activities of the poem.8 Each poet sang in response to a personal vision of
Krishnas ll, but the As.t. achp and their poetry became institutionalized
in ritual service as mediators of this daran: these poets see the ll, and
poetry becomes the appropriate vehicle for expressing and communicating their sight. The poet himself has played with Krishna, both as a gopa
and as a gop. Paramnands poetry brings devotees into this realm by
offering them his lived experience of Krishnas ll. In the next poem, for
example, he has himself experienced the emotionsas the gop Chandrabhg (his gop identity in the ll)of a young girl infatuated by the
charming Krishna.
Rgasrang
Mohan! He has forgotten his nature.
Because of love, whenever we asked for anything,
he brought it and gave it to us.
His charming hand plucked beautiful fragrant flowers
from the Prijta tree.
For my joy, Lotus eyes gives all his rasa.
Ill say all of this in front of Nanda the Ydava!
Abandon your bashfulness, the shame in your mind.
Though the lord of Paramnand is a king, he is
favored by many women.
(S1062)
This girl has no shame, and shame is one of the qualities most prized
in a young village girl. Her love for Krishna overwhelms her prescribed
modesty, and she speaks freely in front of Nanda, the village headman.
She is besotted with Mohanthe one who enchants or intoxicates
because he has given her all of his rasa, all of his love. Paramnand
employs the simple substitution of love as intoxication to entail the loss of
control and inevitable breaking of boundaries that results from intoxication. Drunk with love, the gop abandons her shame, and Krishna serves
the gops. Whatever the gops want, Krishna has givenhe even brought
flowers picked by his own hand from the tree of Vis.n.us paradise. The
22
SINGING KRISHNA
prijta tree is particularly auspicious as it is one of the five types of trees

produced by the churning of the ocean of milk. As the rasarja, the king
of passion, Krishna appears to the devotee in that way most accessible to
the devotee (bhvtmaka), and, for this young girl, the love-sick Krishna
is the way to her heart.
In the final line, Paramnand comments on one of the reversals evident in this poem. Braj womenand devoteesare typically desperate to
cater to Krishnas needs. His mother Yaod is eager to offer him any food
he might desire, and the gops assist him any way they can. This gop, however, praises Krishna for his generosity, for he fulfills all of their desires.
Paramnand notes that although Krishna is a king, he serves these
women, not the reverse.
These poems might seem to be simple vignettes; in this poem,
Paramnand describes the scenario of a village girl so besotted by Krishnas
charms that she proclaims her love to the village headman. However, the
shifts from Paramnands vision of the ll to the poetic composition to
the devotees own daran are a process which contains multiple voices
Paramnand, the devotee, and the characters of the poetry. Each poem
represents a highly individualized and cyclical process comprised of five
distinct stages that ultimately results in the devotees apprehension of
Krishnas play. By investigating this process, we can determine the mode
by which Paramnands language is transformed into vision. By isolating
the different stages of this process, and, in doing so, Paramnands different points of view, we delineate the process by which Paramnands words
become each devotees daran.
This process might best be construed as an iterative cycle, a process
resulting in an evolving comprehension of Krishna. First, the action itself:
Krishna operates in an alaukik world and reveals himself. Second,
Paramnand takes daran of Krishnas alaukik action: he sees the ll from
a particular vantage point, in this case, that of the gop. Third, Paramnand takes on a personahe adapts a point of view as his narrative
stanceand reveals his vision and brings the alaukik into the laukik
world through poetry. Although Paramnands bhan.it indicates his role
as poet witness, his narrative stance represents an interpretive choice, his
specific choice about how to tell the story. Fourth, the members of the
audience hear and contextualize the poetry according to time and place as
well as their individual predilections. Fifth, through Paramnands language, devotees hear the vision and are gradually incorporated into
Krishnas world.
23
Individuals apprehend the truth of this poetry according to their

own individual capacities. Ultimately, reception of the poetryand the
path of devotion itselfis highly individualized for each devotee. The
general contours of the devotees experience may be similar to that of
others; for example, most devotees know the basic context of Krishnas life
and use that narrative as a basic framework to structure their relationships
with Krishna. However, the specifics of each devotees relationship with
Krishna or apprehension of the poems are experienced by the devoteeto
use a laukik phrase. Despite the individual differences, each devotee sees
the truth, though in a slightly different way.
The worldly Braj is manifest to all, yet only those who have trained
their senses and emotions can see beyond to the nonworldly Braj. Every
emotion, every sight, and every sound should be related to Krishna so that
all perception constantly evokes smaran., memories of Krishnaas it does
for the gop in this poem:
Rgasrang
Why am I always speaking of Braj?
Without Kamalanayan now the misery starts to burn
as if millions of the suns rays sear our hearts.
Without Symasundar, it is as if the moon of Gokul has been grabbed
as in an eclipse.
Who can vanquish the pain of separation? Such is my lot.
Paramnand says, without the lord, my eyes flow with tears.
(S1028)
Remembrance of Krishna sears the gops heart, and she can think of
nothing but Krishna. Krishnas absence has doomed the gops to the searing rays of the sun. She invokes Krishna by epithets that juxtapose the
cooling relief of water to the burning sun and the rainy season to the end
of summer. Krishna, as Kamalanayan, the lotus-eyed one, evokes the
image of the still waters upon which this flower grows. The names Symasundar and Krishna both indicate the dark blue-gray color of a rain cloud
about to burst, suggesting the relief of the monsoon rains. When the
monsoon arrives, the sky fills with dark clouds heralding the end of the
summer heat.
Without beautiful Sym, the gop says, it is as if the moonanother
cooling agenthas been grabbed by an eclipse (Rh or Graha, grabber).
From time to time, Rah, both the cause of and the name for an eclipse,
24
SINGING KRISHNA
eats the moon. During the lunar eclipse, the moon disappears along with
its cooling rays and no longer shades the earth from the suns heat. The
water-borne lotus, the rain clouds, and the moons raysin the form of
Krishnas presenceonce protected this girl from the pains of separation,
but without Krishna, her only relief is her tears. Paramnands metonymic
identification of the moon with Krishna provides for the devotee a conceptual structure, which intimately links Krishna to cooling water and to
the cessation of pain.
Paramnands poetry uses the vitality and sensuality of the world to
elicit and illustrate emotional states, in this case, the gops anguish of separation. Anyone familiar with a mid-June day on the plains of India
knows the torment of a still, cloudless day, and that experience informs
the devotees perceptions of the poems emotion. The exterior landscape
describes the emotional interior, playing with concepts of rain and
bounty, which resonate with the devotees experience. The images of
Krishnas presencethe lotus and the cloudssuggest the monsoon, a
time of agricultural bounty, a time of relief, and, most important for the
gop, a time for the reunion of lovers. While the gop dreams of this plenitude, she is trapped in its opposite. Her tears mock her situation: her
attempt to replicate the waters cooling effects dooms her to desiccation
and excessive thirst for Krishna.
The poems highlight the physical world, and the senses are vehicles to
the alaukik realm: Krishna reveals himself in the material world. The
senses encourage memories of Krishna: the devotee can see and touch the
very dust that Krishna once walked upon. Despite the privileging of
sound and sight, tactile descriptions, such as the girls thirst for Krishna,
reflect and communicate those emotional states indicative of the devotees
relationship with Krishna. We should not underestimate the importance
of the physical realm: the concrete experience of trees, birds, and plants,
for example, provokes sensual responses that are rendered alaukik through
passion for Krishna. Sev and its poetry incorporate intense emotion and
an emphasis on the senses to render the laukik world alaukik. Because the
senses operate in both the laukik and alaukik realms, devotees can use the
sensesrooted in the laukik worldto experience the stimuli of the
alaukik realm.
The adept devotee uses the world to maintain a focus on Krishna.
The sight of butter, for example, evokes relevant responses, including the
sweet taste of butter, Krishnas love of butter, and images of a mischievous
Krishna stealing butter. As devotees sing or hear these poems, they can
25
connect visions of their real life with the visions in the poems. The
poems are not maudlin; the language is elevated and dignified. The use of
daily objects and events grounds the poetry in real life and narrates
episodes of daily life that devotees can easily assimilate to their own lives.
So, as we can see, Paramnands words render the ordinary extraordinary,
and the simplicities of daily lifewith the appropriate attitudebecome
a threshold to Krishnas world.
Serving Krishna
The sev periods and the descriptive poetry help devotees synchronize
their lives with the daily and seasonal patterns of Krishnas life. The ritual
patterns of sev that devotees follow today were first developed in the sixteenth century by Vallabh and his son Vit.t.halnth. Many devotees rise in
the morning with Krishna, eat only the foods that Krishna eats, and eat
only when or after he doesaccording to sev patterns. In this way, devotees can engage in Krishnas alaukik play and render alaukik what would
otherwise be mundane aspects of life. To encourage this process, specific
poems are sung only during the designated time of day or year or at the
appropriate festival. Singing a poem at the inappropriate time would disrupt the devotees routine and would reveal an essentially incorrect understanding of the poem.
The sev periods are based on patterns of life of sixteenth-century
Braj. Each day is divided into the as.t.aym (eight periods of the daily ritual
cycle), each of which represents the different events of a typical day for the
boy Krishna.9 The eight daily periods in sev are as follows:
1. Mangal (early morning). Like most women of Braj, Yaod is
the first in the household to wake, so she can begin her morning chores. She is delighted to wake at this early hour for she
has not seen Krishna all night. Her first sight of him in the
morning is auspicious.
2. r.ngr (adornment). Yaod dresses and adorns Krishna before
he leaves the house. Yaod gives Krishna his morning bath
and applies perfumed oils to his body. These different oils heat
and cool the body depending on the season. She dresses him
in his characteristic yellow clothes; his brother, Balarm, wears
blue. Finally, Yaod adorns Krishna with ornaments, such as
26
SINGING KRISHNA
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
earrings, different crests, and flowered garlands that devotees

know about and associate with Krishna.
Gvl (cowherding). This period particularly reflects the different devotional approaches that depend on Krishnas age. As an
infant, Krishna and Balarm play in their courtyard, watched
closely by mothers Yaod and Rohin.. In temples where
Krishna is worshipped as an infant, he might be swung in his
cradle or crawl in the courtyard. As a child, Krishna is
renowned for wreaking havoc on Braj. With his friends, he
races through the village, looting houses of their butter and
curd. No matter how much the women complain, Yaod
never believes her darling boy to be capable of such mischief.
As an older boy, Krishna takes the cows to pasture with the
other boys of Braj, and they spend the day grazing in the
forests and return home in the evening.
Rjabhog (midday meal). At midday, Krishna eats a large
meal. Often, he is in the forest with the boys, and the gops
bear containers of food. The gops are thrilled to have this task.
Not only do they escape their mothers watchful eyes, but they
meet with Krishna. Far from their neighbors prying eyes, the
boys and girls cavort in the dense forest. Many poems highlight Krishna and the gops romantic trysts at this time.
Utthpan (after the nap). After a large meal, in the heat of the
day, Krishna and the residents of Braj rest. During this time,
most temples are closed and reopen later in the afternoon after
Krishna wakes from his nap. This daran period reflects the joy
of reunion because Krishna returns from the forest, covered
with dust kicked up by the cows. Yaod and the other women
have not seen him all day and anticipate the moment at which
they will spy the telltale clouds of dust that announce his
arrival with the cows.
Bhog (meal). After his nap, Krishna eats a light meal. He usually eats snack foods, fried foods eaten in the late afternoon,
which hold him until a later dinner.
Sandhyrat (dinner). Yaod serves dinner to Krishna,
Balarm, and Nanda. She takes care to prepare delicacies that
appeal to Krishnas tastes, so he will eat.
ayan (bedtime). Yaod puts Krishna to sleep for the night.
According to the aesthetic of the ll, Yaod assumes Krishna
27
to be asleep all night in his bed. Krishna, however, sneaks out

of the house to meet with the gops. Many poems specify
Rdh as the chief recipient of his affections, while others are
less specific. When Krishna plays with Rdh, Rdhs sakhs
(girl friends) attend them by making this romantic meeting
possible. They serve snacks, play music, and ensure that both
return home undetected.
In each of the periods, the devotee views the deity in a jhnk or
tableau. Jhnk literally means tableau or scene and refers to the
scene portrayed during daran. Krishnas dress and his accoutrements in
the jhnk reflect the particular daran period. For instance, images of
the baby Krishna might be surrounded by childs toys. The foods,
scents, and clothes reflect the season; after all, who would clothe
Krishna in heavy clothes during the hot Indian summer? The accompanying poems set the scenario for the devotee and offer details about
Krishnas actions at that particular time. The majority of the poems are
performed in sev during the jhnk periods, and the poems usually thematically match the tableau.
The tableau is enlivened by stimuli that arouse all of the senses, not
merely sight. The poetry and the temple service evoke the senses and relevant emotions for that period of daran, so the devotees can experience
the richness of Krishnas ll at that particular time. For any given episode,
Paramnand describes the sights, sounds, and, often, tastesa significant
proportion of Paramnands poems involve foodso that the devotees
see the scenario with all five senses. For example, in the previous poem,
the heat of the physical landscape is illustrated by the gops misery. This
multidimensional mode of interpreting emotions offers a rich and multisensual understanding. This full-body experience means that devotees not
only see Krishnas world but also feel and perhaps taste it as a gestalt.
The conflation of the senses is important for the devotees perceptions of the ll. Devotees experience the ll as an integrated whole, not
a disjointed series of sensual impulses, an experience that can be
described as synaesthetic. In this synaesthesic experience, each sense is
experienced through another so that the senses are integrated into a
gestalt, a total experience. This concept accords with Lawrence Sullivans
argument that synaesthesia in performance facilitates the appearance of a
unity of the senses, which allows for the semblance of a unity of meaning within a culture.10
28
SINGING KRISHNA
It is important not to conflate synaesthetic apprehension with

smaran. (evocation from memory), although the two can appear to be
similar. In the latter, one stimulus leads to another. For example, feeling a
cooling breeze might evoke the scent of fresh flowers, which, in turn,
could evoke the remembered sight of Krishna picking flowers; these
evoked memories are not synaesthesia themselves. Similarly, the mention
of a tree might lodge that image in a devotees mind, yet that is memory
or imagination. So, although Alan Entwistle, for example, has identified
the confusion of the senses during temple sev as synaesthesia, he rightly
admits that this experience is not so much synaesthesia in stricto sensu,
but rather a Gesamkunstwerk, or what is now called a multi-media
event.11 Entwistles confusion seems to be more a case of evocation
through memory than a form of synaesthesia.
The devotee sees Krishnas alaukik world, that is, something real, and
that is radically different from an evoked memory. When these nonvisual
stimuli are apprehended through the medium of vision, at this point, the
path of bhakti (devotion) moves beyond evocation of memory to the
apprehension of the alaukik world: Krishnas ll is perceived through the
senses of touch, sight, and smell. More precisely, synaesthesia is the experience of one sense in terms of another, so synaesthesia occurs not in the
confusion of senses during sev, but in the transformation of sound
into sight.
Synaesthesia, Metaphor, and Transformation

Synaesthesia is a type of the larger category of metaphor, defined as
understanding and experiencing one thing in terms of another.
Metaphor provides a conceptual structure for the images in poetry, and
each metaphoric image or concept suggests a range of meaning that adds
depth and breadth to this realm. When we hear metaphoric language, we
bring interpretations to the material that range far beyond the immediate
and limited meaning of the words themselves. The devotee integrates the
images of the poetry into a system of personal and cultural meaning.
These metaphors not only reflect an understanding of the various facets of
Krishnas realm, but they also structure the devotees thoughts and concepts, and therein lies the transformation. Indeed, metaphors are embedded so deeply in language that we confuse statements of fact with
metaphorical statements, and such terms appear natural. Language and
29
metaphor so shape our thinking that most of us are unaware of the pervasive hidden metaphors in everyday speech.12
Metaphors that appear so commonsensical as to seem trite permeate
everyday speech and determine related concepts and images. Love is war,
for example, reflects and determines the idea that love is a combative relationship, requiring the entailments of negotiations, liaisons, and concessions. This metaphor can be traced back as far as the Kma Stra and is
quite evident in the Gtagovinda (a twelfth-century Sanskrit poem), which
frequently describes the act of love making in martial terms and suggests
concepts of strategies and negotiations, of messengers and secret codes.13
Rgasrang
Lets go, why not look at the hut in the arbor.
Madanagopl, the hero of Kmadevas army,
grabs the spoils.
Fighting a battle of lovers, the sakhs garland of pearls was broken.
Her blouse was torn from her chest, the knots of her waist-cloth
came undone.
The gem of gems of the rasika, the son of Nanda offers the
nectar of his lower lip.
Paramnand says, Govind is paired with this beautiful gop.
(K950; L132; P3, 232; S704)
Here, lovers wage war, and the gopsor their heartsare the spoils.
Madanagopl is Krishna, the conquering hero of Kmadevas army.
Kmadeva, the god of love, uses a bow of sugarcane and a bowstring of
bees, and his arrows are tipped with five fragrant flowers: blue lotus, jasmine, mango, golden camp, and sirisa (mimosa tree) flowers. His
weapons and arsenal are the tools of romance, and the battleground is the
romantic arbor of Krishnas nightly trysts. Ultimately Krishna, or Govind,
emerges victorious in this battle of love.
The love-is-war metaphor structures the listeners response to this
poem. Such an approach emphasizes certain entailments: love is a battle;
there are winners and losers, and those with superior weapons emerge victorious. This panorama suppresses qualities that, at times, are also associated with love, such as love as mutual harmony or sustenance that appear
in other poetic scenarios. Other poems reveal different and conflicting
representations of love: love as nourishment in which Krishnas love
frequently substantialized in physical substances such as milk or food
30
SINGING KRISHNA
sustains those who love him. In this case, food is love, and this nourishment ensures Krishnas and the gops survival.
Culture provides the interpretive framework and paradigm for
metaphoric understanding. For example, love is war appears to be universal, but, in this poem, it is primarily understood within a cultural
framework. For example, the name Kmadeva and the flowers of his
arrows import specific connotations and memories to those familiar with
Indian culture. Devotees of Krishna primarily emerge from a cultural paradigm that encourages particular emotional responses to stimuli of
Krishnas ll. These cultural frameworks suggest and stimulate certain
responses but do not compel them, although stimuli can be manipulated
to suggest certain emotions. The poetry incorporates human emotions
and images readily decodable to anyone familiar with the Braj tradition,
as devotees would be. Although these portrayals use culturally specific
motifs, they are firmly anchored within the very real human emotions
that make them accessible and comprehensible to virtually anyone, especially an ideal listener.
An ideal listener is firmly grounded in Braj tradition and can decode
the range of interrelated images in the poetry. Members of this fully
enculturated audience can, from their previous laukik and alaukik experiences, supply the detail necessary to understand and reexperience the narrative.14 The poems employ specific Braj themes to elicit basic human
emotions that are redirected toward Krishna. As short but dense structures, the poems incorporate words, phrases, and images, each of which
triggers a myriad of associations, limited only by the depth of the devotees familiarity with Krishnas world.
Love for Krishna is not a worldly love, but it is modeled on it. Devotees interpret the lyrics as alaukik and feel premnot kmfor Krishna.
In this case, km and prem translate roughly as love and desire, a distinction that roughly parallels the distinction in Greek between, respectively,
agape and eros. Km is the profane love that may entail marriage, offspring, and other consequences. Prem is the nonworldly love that characterizes the devotees love for Krishna; this love is considered to be purified
of worldly consequences. The km/prem distinction parallels the
laukik/alaukik distinction. Km involves worldly or social concerns (such
as children) or, worse, selfish gratification of ones desires. Prem places
Krishna as the focal point of desire, which makes those desires nonworldly
and not selfish. The poems are a path or guide to the transformation from
the laukik/km to the alaukik/prem.
31
These transformationsthemselves the path of bhaktireflect the

devotees shift of perception from laukik to alaukik. Paramnands poems
guide the devotee: the devotee hearing this poetry sees the word image.
The poets metaphors and metonyms inform the reader/listeners reception of the poetry. For example, the metaphor of love as a commodity
suggests the entailments of shortages and competition, details that
nuance the reader/listeners vision of the ll. This transformation
appears in two capacities: first, the transformation of sound into an
actual sight; and second, the transformation of the broader figure of
speech of sight into comprehension. The transformation is one example
of figurative speech: the metaphor of seeing the message through
words, such as I see your point! The dominant metaphor of expressing
comprehension though visual language provides a trope through which
to express this transformation.
To further understand how these transformations contextualize
Paramnands poetry, let us revisit momentarily the poetic cycle, which
takes devotees from Paramnands alaukik vision of the ll to the devotees apprehension of this ll. Krishnas ll eternally occurs in daily and
annual cycleswithout changein perpetuity. Krishnas ll is not
understood as a linear system in which there is a beginning and end. Certainly, devotees can chart Krishnas life from beginning to end, birth to
death, and texts such as the Bhgavata Purn.a narrate his entire life. Yet
the Braj devotional communitythrough poetry, music, and ritual
emphasizes the cyclical nature of Krishnas brief time in Braj, that he
repeats his same activities on a daily basis and repeats his festival and seasonal games on an annual basis. Paramnands daran of the ll and his
poetic rendering of it adhere to these cyclical contours, institutionalized in
sev, and these cycles mediate Paramnands, and, thus, the devotees
reception and transmission of the ll.
Devotees see the ll within this cyclical structure. The poems as
vignettes reflect points or times in these cycles, and each offers access to
the eternally present alaukik ll. Paramnand sang of what he saw at
that momentnot the past or anticipated future. He and the devotee
then supplement that particular scenario through remembered laukik and
alaukik. The cyclic nature of the poetry allows the devotee a unique access
to experience Krishnas games because all of these games occur in the
eternal present.
Paramnands experience and daran of Krishnas llas well as his
poetic skillallow him to manipulate language, to employ metaphors
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SINGING KRISHNA
that resonate within both the Braj cultural framework and the devotees
own experiences. Like our ideal listeners, we will travel through the cycles,
and, reflectively, with each tellingas the poetry acts upon usour
understanding of Krishnas world becomes more sophisticated and
nuanced. To begin our journey through Paramnands poetic cycle, the
next chapter starts with a poem sung late in the evening that commemorates a gops tryst with Krishna under the romantic full moon of autumn.
C H A P T E R T WO
The End of the Night

Poetry, Memory, and Culture
Late in the evening, poets sing of a romantic moonlit nightand the

inevitable heartbreak it brings, for both gop and devotees. Hearing the
gops lament no doubt brings to mind recollections of Krishnas fickle
behavior as well as memories of ones own lost loves. For Krishnas devotees, these memories are visceral and embodied both because they are triggered by hearing the poetry at the appropriate time, such as evening or
midmorning, and also because the memories mutually reinforce current
conditions, such as the phase of the moon. In this way, the material and
poetic worlds are mutually reinforcing, and Paramnands poetry becomes
the interpretive framework for devotees experience of their world.
ayan: While Braj Sleeps

Rgakedrau
Watching the full moon reminds me of the deer-eyed Madhvas face.
Again and again, as I remember the rsa dance, I hang my head,
and my eyes fill [with tears].
Why did the Braj lord go to Mathura? Why must he slay
the sinner Kamsa?
A cooling breeze has arisen on the banks of the Yamuna;
in the darkness, Kma steals our hearts.
On that day when Hari returns, well rejoice when he embraces us
in his lotus arms.
33
34
SINGING KRISHNA
Separation from the lord of Paramnand ravages our faces and sears
our hearts.
(S1004)
This adolescent gop yearns for her beloved Krishna, who has abandoned her on this romantic night. Calling Krishna by the name Madhva (of
honey or honeylike) identifies him with the obviously desirable honey or
nectar but also is suggestive of his action as the fickle bee who raids nectar
from one flower and then abruptly leaves for another. The full moon that
rises as the cool winds begin to waft across the Yamuna River is provocative,
evoking memories of the gops last meeting with Krishna. This meeting was
especially significant because, on that special and auspicious night of the full
moon of the first autumn month (which straddles the Western months of
September and October), she and the other gops danced what tradition
now calls by the shorthand of the rsa ll. On that most romantic night,
Krishna fulfilled the desires of the gops by multiplying himself sixteen thousand times over that so that each gop danced with Krishna by herself or at
least believed it to be so, such was his wizardry. Yet the following morning,
Krishna and his elder brother Balarm left for nearby Mathuranearby by
todays standards, but a continent away for a village girl. They went to slay
the demon Kamsa, another kind of work that this descent of god in the
form of Krishna was obliged to do. Krishna promised to return to Braj after
a week, but that solitary week stretched indefinitely into the future until it
became clear that he was never returning. This abrupt departure devastated
his young girlfriends, leaving them pining for his presence, desperate for
reunion, and yearning for an opportunity to renew their vows of love. They
nurture his memory, for that is all they have left to help them through the
searing pain of separation.
As a new actor in the divine drama of Braj, the devotee forges an
emotional bond with Krishna that is based on stylized roles, each of which
has been depicted in extenso in the narratives of the Bhgavata Purn.a.
The four primary approaches, against which all individual permutations
are measured, are called by the Sanskrit names of dsya, sakhya, vtsalya,
and mdhurya. Dsya means servitude and is characterized as similar to
the love a subject might have for his or her ruler, a somewhat remote love
tinged by images of retribution resulting in awe, a sensation not particularly satisfying to Krishna as lord. The second is sakhya, which means
friendship, based on a relationship with Krishna that emphasizes mutuality and equality, where the devotee is a friend of Krishna. Thirdand
35
this is generally considered above, but occasionally considered below or at

least equal to sakhyais vtsalya, parental love. The model for this love is,
of course, Yaod, Krishnas foster mother, who nurtures and indulges her
darling baby. Last, and the top of this hierarchical order, is mdhurya, literally denoting the sweetness of this love but generally understood to
mean the erotic. The erotic mode pairs the devotee as a gop or the helper
of the gop with Krishna in full erotic encounter, but the devotee does not
seek to be gratified by Krishna but quite the opposite. These four (or five;
some articulate a fifth, nta, which means peace or repose but that is
often considered not to be a form of love) emotional stances are ranked in
what Tony K. Stewart has labeled a progressive hierarchy or hierarchy
of inclusion, wherein each level subsumes those below it, rather than
being ranked in simple mutually exclusive strata.1 So, for instance, this
gops mdhurya love is understood to include the nurturing and awe of,
respectively, the vtsalya and dsya modes, but the reverse is not true. This
ranking is significant because the higher modes are, by virtue of their
being more complete, deemed to be more emotionally satisfying to
Krishna and therefore a better or at least more desirable form of devotion.
Paramnand sings each of his poems through one of these stylized
approaches, and devotees feel bhva according to their own temperaments. The overwhelming bhva, Vallabh states, that arises from bhvan
(constantly recollecting) about Krishna forces the realization that Krishna
is the basis of all existence.2 It is important to distinguish between kalpan
(imagination), bhvan (the emulation of the bhva), and the bhva itself.
Kalpan does not give the sense of having insight or knowledge; it is fairly
superficial. Bhvan, on the other hand, indicates the emulation of the
ways of Braj by the Braj devotee and suggests a deeper realization of the
truth of Krishnas ll. Bhvan implies vision of and/or participation in
Krishnas play, while kalpan is only what one might produce in the imagination.3 Paramnands participation in the ll exemplifies this critical
distinction between imagining the play and actually seeing it, and the
bhva aroused by his poetry results from his direct experience of these
emotional approaches to Krishna.
Paramnands World
That Paramnand is believed to have witnessed Krishnas ll determines
not only how the poetry operates on devotees but what constitutes the
36
SINGING KRISHNA
corpus of Paramnands poetry. For devotees, Paramnands sight of

Krishnas ll is contingent on his hagiographic link to the Vallabh Samprady, and this linkage in part determines his poetic authority. Understanding the cultural and religious world of Paramnand and Braj
devotion is important precisely because the poetic process is dialectical,
and what each individual devotee brings to the experience shapes that
devotees reception of Paramnands poetry. For example, just as the gops
memories of Krishnas face inform her vision of the full moon, devotees
interpret the poetry through their memories and knowledge of Krishnas
ll and the Paramnand tradition.
Paramnand composed in a poetic form called the pada (poem or
lyric), a rhymed poetic structure that contains the poets signature in the
last or penultimate line.4 Most padas are approximately six to ten lines
long, but the length can vary significantly from four to one hundred lines.
Because the required structure is loose, the poet has a great deal of freedom within this genre. The pada format was adapted by Paramnand and
his fellow poets for Krishna devotion and fills several devotional functions. For example, the pada serves as liturgy through its role in sev,
resembles narrative in its capacity for telling Krishnas story, and resembles
a hymn of praise in its role of glorifying Krishna.
The Paramnand corpus includes the printed Paramnandasgar (a
compilation of whatever the editor[s] took to be Paramnands work) and
poems included in the compilations of poetry of the Vallabh Samprady,
also known as the Pus.t.imrg, or the Path of Grace. In the Kankaroli edition of the Paramnandasgar, the editor has created an order primarily
based on the as.t.aym (the eight periods of the day). The Pus.t.imrg produced a four-part volume titled Pus.t.imrg Krtan Samgrah, a popular
anthology that predominantly includes poems by the As.t. achp. This
anthology organizes the poetry according to the daily and yearly cycles so
that it is clear when each poem should be sung. For example, poems sung
according to the nityall scheduleregardless of the time of yearare
organized under subject headings that determine time of day, and each
category is further divided according to rga. The different Sampradys
additionally publish a variety of smaller collections, as both hardback
books and inexpensive pamphlets, so collections are accessible to a wide
range of devotees.5
The earliest compilations of Paramnands poetry appeared in the
early part of the seventeenth century, shortly after Paramnands death in
37
1585. At present there exists a corpus of approximately one thousand to

fifteen hundred poems, only a fraction of which are clearly those of the
historical Paramnand.6 Given this rapid and significant enlargement of
the corpus, the question of authenticity naturally arisesand authenticity
matters here because these poems bear witness to Krishnas ll. For devotees, the standard of authenticity is the poets signature. The signature line
serves as a symbol of authority rather than of personal identity, and the
title As.t. achp adds the weight of authority.7 It is clear that the corpus
attributed to Paramnand includes many Paramnands, yet the community of practitioners has deemed the extant Paramnand corpus authentic
by virtue of this signature line.
Paramnand and the other As.t. achp poets are accorded a special
poetic authenticity due both to their connections with Vallabh and his
son Vit.t.halnth and to their own experience of the ll. Vallabh installed
four poets (Paramnand, Srds, Kr.s.n.ads and Kumbhanads) to sing
sev for Krishna, and Vit.t.halnth later expanded the singers to eight
(adding Nandads, Govindaswm, Chitaswm, and Caturbhujds), creating the As.t. achp, or eight seals. These poets were the first to comprehensively sing sev for Krishna, and, because they were the first, they
established the poetic compositions and styles deemed appropriate for
sev. Other poets adopted their conventions, even adding chps (names of
popular poets) to their own poetry. As.t. achp poets are particularly important because they are seen as ideal devotees: they saw the ll and dedicated their lives to serving Krishna. Each of the eight poets bears the ll
identity of a male and a female friend of Krishna. Paramnand assumes
dhidaivika (the perfected form) of the sakh Tok (male friend) and the
sakh Chandrabhg (female friend and helper). Although the As.t. achp
poets established and followed a particular poetic style, they are not an
amorphous and singular entity. Each has a specific hagiography and
poetic style that determines both his role in sev and his role as a devotee
within the Vallabh Samprady and Braj devotion.
Finding nonsectarian sources about Paramnand proves difficult. The
Vallabh Samprady presents a hagiography of Paramnand that clearly
links him to Vallabh and the Vallabh Samprady, and much of this
hagiography is invested with substantiating Paramnands links with and
indebtedness to Vallabh. The Samprady specifically ties the authenticity
of Paramnands daran to Vallabhs instruction. The Vrts are the first
hagiographic materials and primary sources regarding the As.t. achp and
38
SINGING KRISHNA
their role within the Vallabh Samprady. These simple Brajbhs. texts
were teaching materials written to spread the Samprady version of the
lives of the eight poets as well as those of other important initiates.
According to the Caurs Vais.n.ava k Vrt, written by Vallabhs
grandson Gokulnth (15521641), Paramnand was born in 1494 to a
family of Kannauj Brahmans. His well-off and traditional Brahman
upbringing included a solid education in Sanskrit and the Vedas. He died
in 1585, making him remarkably long lived. Vallabh initiated Paramnand into the Vallabh Samprady in 1521 and persuaded him to turn his
talents toward praise of Krishnas childhood life in Vrindavan and the Braj
area as depicted in the Bhgavata Purn.a. After initiation, Vallabh taught
him the tenth chapter of the Bhgavata Purn.a. Vallabh is understood to
be an avatr (incarnation) of Krishna, an identity that his male descendants also assume. Thus Vallabh gave Paramnand firsthand experience of
Krishnas play. Vallabh tradition dictates that Paramnands knowledge
and experience of Krishnas ll came from Vallabhs revelation of the Bhgavata Purn.a.
According to the Vrt, Paramnand was in Ad.el (a village in Braj)
singing to Krishna when Vallabh and his disciple Kapr Ks.atriya arrived
in the area. Kapr, Vallabhs aide in serving rnthj (a form of Krishna),
heard about Paramnand from one of Vallabhs devotees and discovered
that he sang all night on Ekdai, the eleventh night of each half of the
month. Kapr was awestruck by Paramnands skill but also puzzled for
he heard Paramnand sing about viraha (separation from Krishna), and,
according to Vallabh, one can only experience this separation after seeing
rnthj and Vallabh (or one of his later descendants). So how could
Paramnand sing so beautifully of separation? Night was ending, and
Kapr had to leave for his sev duty with his question unanswered.
At the end of the night Paramnand went to sleep and dreamed that
r Navantapriyaj (Krishna as a small child who loves butter) was sitting
in Kaprs lap. Kaprs ll identity is Sonajuh, a friend of Chandrabhg,
Paramnands ll identity.8 Kapr, Vallabhs disciple, then was an appropriate choice for Paramnand. Anxious for further sight of r Navantapriyaj, Paramnand sought out Kapr, who, Paramnand assumed, was
the link to r Navantapriyaj. Yet, when he saw Vallabh, he had a vision
of Vallabh as the self-manifestation (svarp) of Krishna. At Vallabhs command, Paramnand sang several poems about separation. Vallabh then
commanded him to sing about Krishnas childhood, but Paramnand
replied that he knew nothing about Krishnas bl-ll (boyhood play).
39
Paramnands Vrt emphasizes that Paramnand came to Vallabh

and that Vallabhs holiness drew Paramnand, who already had a great following of his own prior to initiation. The Vrt acknowledges that he was
a renowned poet prior to his meeting with Vallabh and claims that his
soul was pus.t.i (in a state of grace) from birth. So Paramnand was perpetually in a state of separation fromand thus desired reunion with
Krishna and Vallabh. This statement answers Kaprs initial question
about how Paramnand could sing of separation from Krishna and Vallabh and gives justification to the Samprady to claim that Paramnand
sought out Vallabh and Krishna to alleviate his suffering.9
Most devotees consider Paramnand to be a poet affiliated with and
informed by the Vallabh Samprady. The hagiographic connection
between the Pus.t.imrg and the As.t. achp was forged early in Samprady
history and mediates most peoples understandings about Paramnands
poetry. Although most of the Paramnand corpus depicts scenes of
Krishnas ll, some of this poetry explicitly stresses Paramnands relationship to Vallabh and his male descendants.
Rgabihg
After great pains, I obtained the gem of Vallabh.
I was going, floating, and he rescued me. Hearing me,
he grabbed my hand.
He removed the fault of associating with bad people.
I bow my head to his feet.
Paramnands lord revealed himself to my eyes.
(S1238)
Rgadevagandhr
The son of Vallabh is the source of bliss.
To exorcise the philosophy of the Myvdins, he, twice-born,
the moon of Vrindavan, appeared.
He is the bliss of devotional songs and lives in the forest arbor;
he dances the rsa and is the greatest bliss.
The plenitude of Paramnands lord is innumerable. Vedic meters can
never reach the end.
(P2/157; S1187)
These poems appear, respectively, in the section titled Mahprabhu
(an epithet that that identifies Vallabh as Krishna) and in the section titled
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SINGING KRISHNA
r Gusainj (his son Vit.t.halnth, and an epithet to indicate a Vallabhite

first depicts the devotee rescued from the ocean of sam.sra
leader). The
(transience) and stresses Vallabhs power to remove the impurity that
results from associating with unworthy people. Paramnand invokes the
Upanishadic image of one adrift on the ocean of existence. Such a person
endures birth after birth due to cravings and attachments. Groups such as
the Myvdins, philosophical opponents of Vallabh, advocate union
with the formless Brahman as a release from this cycle.10 For devotees of
Krishna, union with a formless absolute is only a temporary goal. Union
specifically with Krishna is the final and most complete goal. Vallabhs
rescue leads devotees to Krishna by removing them from those bad
people who are ignorant of Krishna.
The latter poem stresses the identity of Vit.t.halnth with Krishna and
depicts his appearance on the earth.11 Vit.t.halnth is called the moon of
Vrindavan, a title that specifically identifies him with Krishna. Paramnands use of this symbolic substitution for Vit.t.halnth thus extends
attributes usually associated with Krishna to Vit.t.halnth. Paramnand
claims that Vit.t.halnth appeared to contradict the Myvdins. Whereas
the Myvdins claimed that all phenomena are my (illusory) and ultimately misleading, Vallabh and Vit.t.halnth encouraged devotees to use
worldly phenomena and the senses to direct themselves toward Krishna.
These poems emphasize Paramnands link to Vallabh and Vit.t.halnth
and stress their role in saving devotees from the ocean of worldly desires.
The linkage between the Vallabh Samprady and Paramnand in
terms of popularity and authority begins to answer questions of how and
why the Paramnand corpus expanded as it did. As Paramnand became
more popular as a Braj poet, other poets composed lyrics and affixed
Paramnands bhan.it. Paramnands popularity would have guaranteed a
receptive audience for this poetry, but certainly those who chose to use
Paramnands signature knew and liked his poetry and would have tried
to imitate it as much as possible. The generic and formulaic nature of the
poems enabled a good poet to mimic the As.t. achp style. The As.t. achp
poets conformed to the pada styles and metrical conventions and followed
content conventions, based on the Bhgavata Purn.a and Braj lore.
Within particular episodes, a uniformity of expression is evident both
within a particular poets corpus and within the As.t. achp. Paramnand
composed numerous poems describing a single event, and, though these
poems might each take a different angle, they are remarkably similar. As
Paramnands corpus grew in popularity, audiences became familiar with
41
his signature, and, if a poem did not ring true, it would not be sung.
Paramnands signature became a marker for authenticity.
The growing popularity of the Paramnand tradition was coupled
with the increasing popularity of the Vallabh Samprady. In the years after
the deaths of Paramnand and Vallabh, the Samprady grew rapidly and
became increasingly more popular in areas beyond the Braj region. At the
same time, undoubtedly, Paramnands popularity encouraged poets to
compose poetry and use his name. Most likely, this growth in Paramnands corpus was not discouraged by the expanding Samprady. A larger
corpus elevated Paramnands status, which, in turn, further elevated Vallabh and the Samprady due to the hagiographically forged links between
the two.
Vallabh Samprady theologians interpreted Paramnands poems and
life according to their theological concerns. Doing so enhanced their goals
and popularity and solidified the linkage between Paramnand and the
Vallabh Samprady. This practice exemplifies what Foucault defines as the
author-function, a psychological process by which concerns and issues
of a group are projected upon the text and are perceived to be its message.12 The author then becomes the interpretive lens through which the
work is understood in what Rinehart suggests is a circular hermeneutic
process.13 The result is that devotees interpret Paramnand through this
connection with the Vallabh Samprady, and this connection shapes the
way in which devotees receive the poetry.
Though Paramnand is particularly important to the Vallabh Samprady, other Vais.n.ava communities revere him as a poet and saint who
both participated in Krishnas play and offered humanity the benefits of
his experience. In Braj, Paramnands poetry is frequently heard in a variety of temples and in rsa ll (dramatic performances). Thus, he should
be considered a Braj poet and not linked exclusively with the Vallabh
Samprady. However, for most devotees, Paramnands relationship with
Vallabh is important because it reveals a lineage and transmission of
knowledge and authority. Paramnands bhan.it bears the authority of the
Vallabh Samprady and confirms Paramnands vision of the ll.
The linkage between the Vallabh Samprady and Paramnand
assumes great prominence in the devotees reception of the poetry, in part,
because the poetry is oral literature. Devotees hear the poetry in particular
temples or homes and thus receive it within a particular social milieu. The
communitys knowledge of the ll, Paramnands hagiography, and
Paramnands actual experience of the ll affects how the poetry operates
42
SINGING KRISHNA
on each individual devotee. While texts might be read in what Ong calls
context-free autonomous discourse, oral material must be received in
some sort of context and social setting.14 Paramnand sang to a responsive
audience, which considered the ll real and to devotees who had individual and particular relationships with Krishna; however, the realities of sectarian influences affect the way in which they hear the poetry.
Theater of Memory
Our ideal listeners who know well Paramnands background also bring to
the poetry a variety of experiences and memories that condition their
responses. The poems do not rely on images alone but evoke all the senses
that, in turn, evoke memories. Memories are certainly linked to sensual
experience. The devotees knowledge and sensitivity determine the experience of the lyrics, and, in a dialectical process, the theater of memoryto
borrow Barbara Stoler Millers phrase15provides depth to the devotees
interpretation of the poems. For instance, in the following poem, this gop
visualizes her last embrace with Krishna. This memory evokes remembrance of his strong embrace, which leads to an endless regression of
memories and associations. Paramnand plays with memory as a rhetorical device, and the gops memories become those of the devotees.
Rgasrang
She remembers his lotus petal eyes.
Again and again her eyes fill up with great distress,
remembering their carefree love in Vrindavan.
As soon as they met in the hut in the arbor of trees and creepers,
they tightly embraced again and again.
How could he forget these things? Our arms clasped in an embrace.
We lived in the arbor and danced the rsa; he removed the
pain of Kmadeva.
How can we live without the nourishment of the sweet speech of
Paramnands lord?
(S893)
After Krishnas departure, the gop is left with only his memory. Her
eyes fill with tears as she recalls meeting her lotus-eyed lover in the arbor,
43
their embraces as closely entwined as trees and vines. Seeing the vines
wound tightly around trees elicits the memory of embracing Krishna. The
creepers and trees are sages and their wives who yearned to be close to
Krishna. These sages and their wives took birth in a previous incarnation
to be close to Rma and are depicted in the Sanskrit epic Ramyan.a. Their
devotion to Rma, a previous descent of Vis.n.u, earned them the fortune
of birth in Vrindavan, so they could be near Krishna in yet another lifetime. The gop (and the devotee) might also recall Mdhav, the wife of
Vis.n.u (r) in his form as Madhva, a name of Krishna. As the creeper, she
clings to the tree, Vis.n.u.16
As the gop remembers her past love, she reflects on the cues that
evoke these memories, such as the hut in the arbor and the vines. Because
the rsa ll dance with Krishna fulfilled her very reason for living, she
wonders how Krishna could have forgotten such a thing. It seems
painfully clear to the saddened gop that Krishna has forgotten his old
friends. Yet the gops think about nothing but Krishna, and almost everything they see triggers further memories of the old days. But how, the gop
laments, can they survive on only Krishnas memory?
These memories of Krishna that torment the gop evoke the bhva
(passion) that makes Krishna the absolute center of their existenceand
also nourishes them. Paramnand symbolically equates Krishnas words to
sustenance. Krishnas speech is sweet like honey, and Paramnand, as the
gop, wonders how he can live without this nourishment of Krishnas
sweet speech. Ironically, their memories and associationsexpressed
through languagerelate every thought, emotion, and perception to
Krishna and sustain them by keeping Krishna ever present in their minds.
Memory evokes not only past action but past emotions and accompanying awareness and consciousness so that the past becomes the present.
Remembrances of the beloved bring the beloved into ones presence; separated lovers might be reunited within the lovers mind. The love is then
strengthened and brought into the present.17 The lover remembers not
only the details of the love but the thoughts, introspection, and reflection
that accompanied the events and images. The gop remembers the joy of
their union, making her present anguish of separation even harder to bear.
Yet she cherishes these memories, as do devotees who cultivate the mood
of viraha (separation), so they reenact the gops love for Krishna and her
consequent suffering. The individuals memory is an interior replica of the
eternal ll.
44
SINGING KRISHNA
The memory functions as a repository for all knowledge of Krishnas

play and emotional responses to the ll. Different poems highlight different events, each evoking associations that bring to mind Krishnas activities. The ideal listener retains within memory a vast reservoir of details
concerning Krishnas life. The poemsin concert with the depth memory
providesconcentrate the devotees thoughts and emotions solely on
Krishna. These details in the theater of memory do not change, although
their interpretation might. Krishnas alaukik ll remains the same, but,
because each poem presents Krishnas games from a slightly different perspective, Paramnands presentation always appears fresh.
Memories aid in the devotees comprehension of the poetry. In the
poetry, there is often little or no action, and the characters of Braj never
change; in fact, their constancy contributes to the development of bhva
and each devotees growing sophistication. The audience knows the characters and can fill in any narrative gaps. Any surprises or changes in
Krishna or his games would destroy the aesthetic. As in classical Sanskrit
drama, bhva depends not on character development but on its remaining
stable so that with each revolution of the poetic cycles, devotees can
achieve more depth in their knowledge of these characters.18 For example,
devotees know that Rdh and Krishna will meet at night. With this base
of knowledge, they can better appreciate Krishnas machinations to intensify the bhva, and these rasikas (sophisticated connoisseurs of art) appreciate aesthetically emotions associated with Krishnas love play.
Rgaknar
Covered with a sheet of fine cloth, Krishna sleeps,
with the daughter of r.vr.s.abhn, a treasure of beautiful rasa.
Crocodile earrings, twisted curls, a garland of guja berries.
As their limbs intertwined during the night,
they exchanged their yellow and blue clothes.
Breast to breast, lip to lip, and eye to eye.
Eyebrow to eyebrow, head to head, arm locked in arm.
White and yellow jasmine and fragrant blossoms from flowering trees.
The servant Paramnand says, the wise companion collects
and gives away the flowers.
(K1514; P3/355; S821)
Late in the night, Rdh, the daughter of rvr.s.abhn, and Krishna
sleep in the arbor, surrounded by plants, trees, and flowers, which reflect
45
the natural beauty of the woodland scene. Krishna wears his garland of
red guja berries (of the extremely poisonous shrub rosary pea (Abrus precatorious). The guja berry is also a jewelers weight used to measure the
worth of gold and gems, so this berry is a simple substitution for gems
and jewels. With this identification of Krishna as a treasure of rasa,
Paramnand evokes a world of monetary value, but this treasure of rasa is
measured by a garland of forest berries. Devotees know that Krishna
abandoned the treasures of his royal heritage when he came to Braj and
chose the simplicity and beauty of Vrindavan. Paramnands wordplay
configures this truism: Krishna himself is a treasure whose worth transcends the gold standard of a worldly monetary system, so his beauty can
only be counted by the weights and measures of the forest.
Paramnands language paints more than a picture: his metaphors
in this case, love is a treasurecreate a conceptual framework that structures the devotees thought process and thus how the devotee sees. Each of
Paramnands varying linguistic maneuvers elicits different conceptual
frameworks. For example, Paramnands equivalence of Krishna as treasure evokes a different set of word images than the metaphor of love as sustenance. Yet, as we will see, Paramnands unique vision combines these
metaphoric incongruities to help the devotee see Krishnas ll.
Paramnand represents Krishna and Rdhs intimacy through their
switching of clothes, their wrapping themselves in each others color. At
some point in the night, Krishna and Rdh have switched their clothes.
The story, which the audience surely knows, goes as follows: Rdh dons
Krishnas yellow clothes, and Krishna, Rdhs blue, and each must convince his or her mother that she was wrong when she (thought she) saw
the wrong color clothing. Rdh and her best friend, Lalit, convince
Rdhs mother that the bright sunlight made the blue cloth appear
golden and that, of course, Rdh was wearing her own blue outfit. The
two gops persuade Rdhs mother that her faulty eyesight transformed
the glow of Rdhs skin and made her clothes appear yellow.
Scents arising from the yellow and white jasmine blossoms adorning
the arbor reflect the scenes lushness. The mlat (a form of jasmine) is a
white flower on a vine, which represents the moons rays, thus a substitution for Krishnas presence. J (or camel, jasminum floridum) is a small
shrub with a delicate yellow blossom. Fragrant yellow-white camp
(michelia campak) blossoms and the perfumed flowers of the evergreen
(bakul, mimusops elengi) complete the scene so that the devotees smell the
fragrance permeating the scene. The blooming flowers and their scents
46
SINGING KRISHNA
demonstrate the qualities of freshness and potency, yet incorporate the

warning that such freshness is short-lived. Like freshly bloomed flowers,
Rdhs beauty is at its peak, and, the poem advises, the gop should invest
this passion well. Those unused flowers will only wilt and fade in time.
Paramnand praises Krishnas beloved as the wise companion, for she
does not hoard her short-lived beauty but judiciously invests it in Krishna.
Paramnands simple substitution of flowers for Krishnas love illustrates
the daunting truth: the metaphoric equivalence that love is a perishable
substance or quality. Love and beautyas expressed through the flowers
and Rdhs youthwill disappear. Paramnands equivalence of love as a
treasure and love as a perishable substance might appear to inhabit vastly
different semantic realms, yet Paramnand deftly combines the two
worlds to suggest that such a treasure must not be hoarded but wisely
invested before it disappears.
In the previous poem, Paramnand sang from the point of view of an
observer, one of Rdhs friends, a girl whose joy comes from assisting the
couple. In the following poem, he speaks as one with a more direct role:
Krishnas spurned lover.
Rgalalit
Beautiful Sym, you have been awake all night,
your lotus eyes are drowsy.
Red fingernail marks are etched upon your chest
like half moons.
Your turban once tied, now dangles on your head,
your clothes are falling off, and your tilak is gone.
Your flower garland is crushed on your chest,
your ornaments have fallen from your body from your embrace.
Bristling with the passion of love-making,
the hairs on your arms remain standing.
Paramnand, the rasikarja, the fortune of Krishna,
was poured into another.
(K207; P3/146; S832)
In the wee hours of the morning, after a night of passion, Krishna
slinks back to his lover. He has been awake all night, and his body sports
the inevitable marks of his love play. The gop addresses him as ym, a
name whichlike the name Krishnaindicates the dark blue-gray hue of
47
his body. This color, that of a cloud about to burst, evokes the relief of the
monsoon after the unbearable summer. The gop has waited all night for
Krishna to appear; now it is almost morning. This image of the rain cloud
should be one of relief, yet Paramnand throws out an ironic twist: yms
appearance elicits a confusion of relief and fury.
His disheveled state makes it clear that he has spent the night with
another woman. The nail marks etched into his chest leave no question
as to his whereabouts, and his garland has obviously been crushed against
the chest of another woman. The previous poem revealed Paramnands
equivalence of flowers with the perishable nature of beauty and love.
Using the crushed garland, Paramnand takes this metaphor one step
further to illustrate the apparent destruction of love. His bristling arm
hairs make obvious his infidelity. In Indian aesthetics, physical phenomena such as horripilation are considered to be sttvikabhvas, the incontrovertible physical manifestations of emotions that cannot be faked or
stopped.
The khan.d.it poems reveal a highly nuanced expression of Krishna as
the rasikarja, the connoisseur of emotion. Here, love is expressed as
anger. According to Sanskrit aesthetic theory, the khan.d.it nyik
(broken[-hearted] heroine) is the one whose lover, the apardh nyaka
(the criminal hero), appears the following morning, apparently having
spent the night with another lover. In real life, such a lover might
deservedly receive an unpleasant welcome, but the devotee with an
alaukik perspective relishes Krishnas subtle manipulation of emotion and
uses this anger to intensify the love. Krishna, as the connoisseur of love,
manipulates the devotees emotion commensurate with the devotees ability to appreciate the emotion. For example, Krishnas love games arouse
passion and jealousy and do not destroy love but enhance it. Devotees
understand Krishnas actions to be a game, one played for the benefit of
his devotees to enhance their relationships with him.
The khan.d.it nyik of this poem has only harsh words for Krishna.
As the gop, Paramnands description of Krishna not only betrays the
gops righteous anger, but also his own emotions. Paramnand seamlessly
weaves the different strands so that it is difficult to see where one ends and
another begins. Krishna has revealed his ll to Paramnand, and Paramnand sees this episode in which the heroine meets her bedraggled lover
who has apparently spent the night with another woman. Paramnand
articulates the spurned lovers point of view as he relates her description of
48
SINGING KRISHNA
Krishna and focuses on that moment when the gop sees Krishnas body to
communicate her anguish. The final line wherein he testifies to his own
experience of the ll reveals Paramnands identity within the poem. He
speaks as both the poet and the gop, a different stance from the previous
lines, when he writes, Paramnand, [says] the rasikarja, the fortune of
him, was poured into another, thereby lamenting that the boon of
Krishna was bestowed upon another. Here Paramnand draws on the
metaphor of love as perishable, something that can be spilled or lost.
That devotees hear this poem and see Krishnas drowsiness in the
early morning when they themselves have just arisen underscores the
embodied and totalizing nature of the poetry. Not only do devotees physically live according to the daily and yearly cycles, but the synaesthetic
integration of the senses in the poetry enables the devotee to experience
the totality of the ll. The sensory data do not appear as separate pieces of
information (e.g., the sight of his crushed garland and the feel of his
embrace) but rather are integrated so that the devotee hearing the poem
sees the scenario as a unified whole, using all the senses. A particularly
adept devoteeour ideal listenerinvolves the entire body as well as the
mind and emotions.
Adept devotees who hear this poem understand, in part, the emotional import due to the theater of memory but see the action through
Paramnands word images synaesthetically transformed into sight. It is
important to consider the distinction between evocation through memory
and synaesthesia, because it is the synaesthetic process that provides for
devotees the unified and embodied experience of the ll. In the poem just
discussed, Paramnand portrayed Krishnas wretched appearance; as the
gop, Paramnand recognized the cause of this disarray and surely recalled
past embraces with Krishna, the touch of his creeperlike embrace, as well
as the sweetness of his voicea clear case of evocation through memory.
When devotees apprehend and interpret these poems, they use all of their
knowledge of the poetryincluding their own emotional and physical
experiencesas well as their understanding of Krishnas ll. Although
devotees vary individually in their sophistication, most share a common
ground of knowledge, which is why Paramnands literary techniques are
so effective. Each of Paramnands word games draws on this shared
memory and subtly shapes the devotees conceptions of the ll, and that
is the transformational mechanism of devotional synaesthesia.
The gop in this next poem has spent the night with Krishna and
stumbles home in the dark hours before dawn.
49
Rgabilval
In the morning, she arises and leaves the forest shelter.
She staggers, her locks of hair hang loose. She wears Krishnas
yellow silk.
Her red eyes wander lazily like a wave on the ocean of rasa.
Wilted flowers fall from her hair. The string for her hair has broken.
The marks of the youthful grooms nails shine and
render her golden body lovely.
Up to now the Lord of Paramnand passed the night in sport.
Leaving him, she laughs and turns her face.
(K312; S824)
Paramnand sings of the gops reddened, sleepy eyes, her ragged braid,
and her lurching gait. Krishnas nail marks upon her body are her finest
ornament. Devotees visualize this image of the drowsy gop, and the depth
of their memories determines the resonance of Paramnands symbolic substitutionsand thus the extent to which this poem will actually transform
the devotee. The gops body narrates the story of her complete envelopment
in Krishnas love. She staggers home wrapped in Krishnas yellow garment,
and Krishnas nail marks emblematically engrave his love upon her body.
These marks are the synecdochic presence of Krishna himself, the part for
the whole. And, devotees know, Krishnas toenails are likened to the moon.
Paramnand plays with the symbolic substitution, equating Krishna to the
moon, a well-known substitution in Braj poetry. This gop then is symbolically immersed in the rasa (nectar) produced by the moon. Structuring this
set of images is Paramnands metaphoric equivalence of love as possession,
similar but not identical to the metaphor of love as immersion.
Krishna has established his territorial rights on this girls body. No
longer the coy maiden, this girl laughs and turns her face. Ironically, the
phrase mukha mor.i (turning ones face in shame) usually refers to a heroine in the early stages of love while she is inexperienced and hesitating
not one who has consummated her love. This laughter creates a tension
between the idea of an inexperienced girl and this gop who is so clearly
branded by Krishna. A respectable woman would have neatly braided hair
and a well-tied sari, yet this womans physical appearance indicates that
she has cast aside social decorum in favor of abandoning herself to
Krishnas love. The wilted flowers that once adorned her now loose hair
trail behind her, representing decay and usecontrasting with the freshness and purity of an inexperienced girl.
50
SINGING KRISHNA
Paramnand illustrates Krishnas ll immediately prior to and after

his love games but never describes the love games themselves: no devotee
could ever see Krishna actually engaged in love play. According to Braj
tradition, while Krishna and Rdh played in the arbor, Paramnand and
the other As.t. achp poets waited outside at their assigned gates and only
saw the pair afterward.
Knowledge of Krishnas ll informs devotees that the tired, wretched
gop must rush home before her mother discovers her absence and that,
meanwhile, Krishna rushes to his own home for the same reason. Devotees
further understandpossibly from both cultural experience in an Indian
village and/or familiarity with basic aesthetic theorythat the gops laughter belies her status as a naive young woman. Instead of hiding her face in
shameas would befit a modest girlthe gop laughs, a sure sign that she
has cast aside her humility. Devotees can decode Paramnands cryptic language and fill narrative gaps because they know the story and can incorporate personal and cultural interpretations into it. When devotees hear
Paramnands narration of events, at one level, they follow the basic action
of the vignette. At the same time, they contextualize this action and the
images within their greater knowledge of Krishnas ll and interpret the
material according to their own life histories, experiences, and proclivities.
Because Paramnand assumed his audience to be knowledgeable
about Krishnas ll, he composed the poems in a sort of shorthand, a
compressed and dense form in which a word or phrase may bring about
numerous cognitive, mythological, or philosophical associations. The
poems may be short in length, but they are dense with meaning. Devotees familiarity with sociocultural paradigms informs their reception of
the poetry. Nonetheless, devotees respond to the poetry in an intensely
personal manner: no single response is required by the poetry. Although
much of the ll can be understood universally (e.g., Yaods maternal
attentions), each poems details will resonate deeply for one steeped in
Braj culture.
As devotees achieve greater levels of sophistication, they respond to
ever more subtle nuances in the poetry, and Paramnands rhetorical
devices operate with greater precision because of the devotees increased
sensitivity. Yet the reception of these stimuli depends on the interpretive
framework of the recipient. The devotees who can invoke rich fields of
associations from their stores of memories can better fathom the nuances
and subtleties of the lyrics in the same way that a connoisseur of Western
51
classical music is more likely to have a richer experience of a complex

Bach fugue than one who is unschooled in music.
In this last period before morning, the devotees seethrough
Paramnands wordsthe lovely sleeping couple in the arbor, and their
knowledge of Krishnafiltered through cultural, mythical, and personal
schemasis unique to each devotee, although their knowledge is based
on the four stylized roles presented in the Bhgavata Purn.a. As the
nights events draw to a close, the devotees know that Krishna and the
gops must leave the arbor and return to their families.
MangalKrishna Rises
Rgabhairav
Wake up Gopl darling! Mother gives her blessing.
Get up darling! Its morning, the darkness of night has gone.
All the cowherds are calling, my enchanting boy Knha.
Get up, my font of bliss; the moon slowly appears in the sky.
The suns rays give the lotus joy.
The boys all play their flutes; they wont untie their cows without you.
Get up Ll, get out of bed, oh handsome king of bride-grooms.
He removed the cloth from his face and gave Yaod daran.
He asked for curd and a variety of sweets.
Both Sym and Balarm ate, treasure troves of all auspicious qualities.
Paramnand obtained those leftovers which remained on the tray.
(K68; P3/16)
Rgakachu khevo
Wake up, darling Gopl! I want to see your face.
Ill finish the house work and my daily prayers later.
There is red in the east; night has gone, and the sun has risen.
The bees flew out of the lotus; get up, Bhagavn.
The adoring women stand at the door and sing your praises.
They sing of the passionate mystery of the play of the avatr.
Paramnands lord Gopl is the highest form of auspiciousness.
The Vedas and the Purn.as sing of his unparalleled play.
(K71; P3/19; S85)
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SINGING KRISHNA
Yaod awakens Gopl, or Ll (darling), in his own bed after he has

returned from his night of love. Yaod has not seen her darling boy all
night and is ecstatic to see him first thing in the morning. When Yaod
put him to bed the previous night, sheaccording to the aesthetic of the
llassumed that he would remain there. Instead, the devotees know
that Krishna has slipped out of his home to cavort throughout the night
with the gops. Yaodwho sees Krishna as her sweet boyknows nothing of Krishnas love games with the gops.
Like most women of rural India, Yaod has risen long before the sun
and earlier than the rest of the family. She performs her chores, such as
milking the cows and preparing breakfast, under the cover of darkness.
When she finally awakens her sleeping Krishna, who has been out all
night, he is understandably reluctant to get out of bed. She lures him out
of bed, bribing him with breakfast and telling him that the boys are waiting for him. Finally, he arises and gives Yaod the auspicious vision of
his face.
The first sight of Krishna after the nights separation is auspicious.
Yaod does not perform her daily prayers until she has had her first sight
of Krishna, suggesting the relative importance given to worship of
Krishna as opposed to Vedic and more traditional religious practices. The
poem advocates singing the Vedas and the Purn.as but elevates vision and
devotion of Krishna over the former. The gops come to see Krishna first
thing in the morning in accord with the folk belief that seeing something
auspicious that time of day makes the entire day productive and good.
Even today residents of Braj place a picture of a deity or a guru where they
will see it first thing in the morning. This sight renders the entire day auspicious, whereas a bad sight makes the day inauspicious.
Paramnand describes a typical morning for Krishna, the scene illustrated broadly through the poetic transformation of word into sound. On
the microscopic level, though, we can see Paramnands rhetorical strategies that subtly manipulate the devotees vision. Paramnands illustration
of the rising sun and its warm rays is obvious, but what is less obvious is
the way in which the suns symbolic equivalence with Krishna and its consequent entailments configure the poem. He is loathe to get out of bed,
even though the suns rays have dispelled the darknessthe sunrise symbolically recapitulated when Krishna throws off the bedsheet to reveal his
face. Although Krishna is typically associated with the moon, here
Paramnand employs a different symbolic substitution: Krishna = sun and
53
its life-giving rays, and this equivalence evokes the sustenance and plenitude associated with Krishnas presence.
When Krishna reveals his face, the sun bathes the world in its soft
morning rays. The light dispels the chill of the night and reveals the world
born anew, fears of the unknown banished with the darkness. These concepts of plenitude and warmth that configure the poems reception are
not culturally specific; that the sun encourages growth and plenitude is a
universal phenomenon. However, additional entailments of this symbolic
realm are specific to Braj devotion. For example, the adept Braj devotee
hears the poem knowing that the sun stalks the gops as an enemy. In
Krishnas absence, the suns harsh rays sear the gops, and only Krishnas
presenceas the moon and its cooling raysmitigates the heat of separation. Paramnand explores the exception to this rule when he depicts
Krishna as the beneficent sun, which sustains rather than desiccates.
Like the kamal (lotus), which closes at night but opens with the suns
light, Yaod blooms in the morning after seeing Krishna. When the lotus
reopens its petals at sunrise, it releases the bee that has been trapped all
night. The closed lotus suggests the closed embrace of Rdh and Krishna
during the night; during the day they remain apart like the petals of the
bloomed lotus. At sunset, the lotus catches the bee that flies from flower
to flower. The bee, of course, is the fickle Krishna who takes what he
needs from each gop and flits away. During the night, Krishna has been
trapped within the embrace of a single gop, yet in the morning, he is
released to seek the embrace of another. The gops know him from past
experience as the fickle boy who was so cavalier with the nectar of their
youthful love.
In his illustration of this scene, Paramnand sings the poem from
Yaods point of view, but Krishnas reluctance to rise is contextualized by
devotees who know that Krishna has been up all night with the girls of
Braj. Paramnand manipulates the trope of Yaods necessary ignorance
of Krishnas divine status. Without this ignorance, how could Yaod act
as a true mother to Krishna? Aesthetically, she must see him as her small
son, not as the lord. Bhagavn is an address of the lord, not one of the typical Braj epithets of Krishna, which indicate his qualities as a Braj youth,
such as Lotus-eyes. In the poem, it is deliberately unclear whether Yaod
is invoking the lord while trying to get Krishna out of bed or addressing
Krishna as the lord. This trope reflects the distinctionand deliberate
ambiguityin the devotee between comprehensive knowledge of the ll
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SINGING KRISHNA
and full immersion in the emotions (and necessary blind spots) of a particular character such as Yaod.
Paramnand continues to manipulate this distinction when Yaod,
in her attempt to get Krishna up, tells Krishna that the adoring girls are
outside singing his praises, a common Braj theme. From the time of
Krishnas birth through his adolescence, the gops have come to Yaods
door every day to see Krishna. Krishnas beauty has captivated these girls,
and they devise a variety of pretexts to come near him. Paramnand sets
the stage as if he were describing the adoration of a deitywhich he is
but according to the ll, these girls are infatuated with a regular boy.
Yaod continues, telling Krishna that the women speak of the passionate mystery of the avatr, a line that suggests both Krishnas divine heritage and his erotic escapadesboth of which are hidden to Yaod.
Yaod sees Krishna only as a little boy, her innocent son, and cannot
know of his amorous escapades, nor can she ever realize his erotic tendencies. When frustrated gops confront her with Krishnas (mis)deeds,
Yaod routinely denies their insistent complaints of Krishnas sexual
nature. Her emotional approach is solely parental and does not include
the erotic elements. The gop women, unlike Yaod, can love Krishna
either solely with an erotic or parental approach or with a mixture of the
parental and erotic, because the mdhurya bhva is considered to be
inclusive of all approaches.
The village boysexemplars of the sakhya approachalso wait for
Krishna in the morning, so they can graze their cows in the forest. The
lowing of the cows and the music of the boys flutes evoke not only the
boys joy at playing with Krishna but all the memories and emotions associated with Krishnas tending the cows in the forest. Krishnas simple
wooden flute epitomizes his assumed guise as a rural Braj boyin contrast to his royal lineage. When he left the heavenly Vaikun.t.h, his divine
dwelling, he took on all the accouterments of a village boy.
The boys flutes also evoke the siren song of Mural, Krishnas
enchanting flute, whose call none can resistan interesting reversal.
Here, the boys flutes entice Krishna, whereas it is usually Krishnas flute
that lures the gops. For example, Krishnas flute Mural called the gops to
dance the rsa ll, and, at the sound of his flute, they abandoned their
chores and their families to join Krishna. The gops are eternally jealous of
Murals pride of place on Krishnas lower lip, and mention of the boys
flutes evokes the gops desire for Krishna and fuels their jealousy.
55
While both of these early morning poems focus on obvious parental

affection, Paramnand interweaves threads of the erotic, such as his mention of Mural. Further, Yaodsand the other womensdevotion to
Krishna outweighs her interest in her household tasks; her attention to
chores and social decorum wanes in comparison to the desire to see
Krishna. The gops are only too willing to delay their housework for the
opportunity to see Krishnas face, a foreshadowing of the gops abandonment of their wifedaughter roles to dance with Krishna, a theme that
fully emerges in the rsa ll poems. At the time of the rsa ll dance, the
gops love for Krishna overwhelms any concerns for social propriety.
The gops will do virtually anything to achieve this auspicious daran.
Rgarmakal
I came to see Lls face.
Yesterday, I saw his face, and as soon as I left to sell the milk, it was sold.
From that day, there were double benefits: the black cow bore a calf.
I came running and stopped suddenly: let me wake Mohan!
Hearing her sweet speech and laughter, he awoke and sat up;
the urbane one called them near.
Paramnand says, the wise gop communicated through gestures and winks.
(K108; L8; P3/24; S83)
Krishna wakes to the sweet sound of the gops laughter. The gop (and
Paramnand) knows that Yaod is inside with Krishna and that she must
plot to meet him without Yaods knowledge. While Yaod focuses on
her maternal dutieswaking Krishna and feeding him breakfastKrishna
and the gop signal each other for a clandestine encounter. This gop, who
has met Krishna, realizes the gainphrased in the language of economicsfrom seeing Krishna first thing in the morning: her milk sold, and her
cow bore a calf. The real profitand milk is metonymic for loveis not
cash but the rasa or bhva produced by daran of Krishna, and there is no
shortage of love. Paramnands metonymic use of milk indicates that these
benefits will multiply: while the cow produces a calf and thus more milk,
love begets love. Paramnand maneuvers through two semantic complexes
in this poemthe realm of economics and the realm of battleand each
realm includes certain entailments and precludes others. The rasa that
cannot be bought or sold is love, and the concept of love as nourishment
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SINGING KRISHNA
suggests cooperation and profit for all. Competition for scarce resources is
belied by the plenitude of Krishnas love.
In the realm of battle, however, competition is necessary because
Krishna and the gop must subvert their enemy, Yaod. Paramnand
praises the wisdom of the secretive gop who has eluded her own mother
and Yaod to meet with Krishna. Loverslike warriorsobscure their
plans by communicating through signals. The lovers themselves are not
(usually) adversaries but must hide their love from their disapproving families and neighbors. Both Krishna and the gop know that they must meet
covertly, and often they use one of Rdhs friends, the sakhs, as liaisons.
As noted above, Paramnands bhan.it indicates his own daran of the
ll and reveals his role as a poet. Paramnand himself saw the totality of
the ll, but chose a specific point of view to present this daran to devotees. In this poem, he had been speaking from the perspective of the gop,
but, in the end, he comments as a third-party observer.
When, in the early morning, Paramnand sang a poem about Yaod
preparing Krishnas breakfast, devotees understood this to be direct revelation, and aesthetics provides the key to decoding this revelation.
Rgabilval
Yaod arose in the morning and churned the milk.
She lovingly took some fresh butter and put it
in her sons hand.
She skimmed cream from the boiled milk and
fed it affectionately to Hari.
She took honey, nuts, food and sweets and put them in his mouth.
Every day he plays many games which thrill Yaods heart.
Paramnand sings daily about his enchanting boyhood play.
(S134)
Yaod arises early each morning to perform her chores. One of them
is churning butter for the household. She knows how much Krishna
loves butter. She offers him the creamthe most valuable part of the
milkwhich is symbolic of her love for him. Nurturing Krishna concretely expresses her maternal love, and doting on a small child, particularly a son, resonates with most devotees. In Braj and elsewhere in India,
feeding someone is an expression of affectionsomething devotees
know from their own lives. Yaods careful preparation and the variety of
delicacies reveal the depth and nuances of her love. With these milk
57
productsmetonymic for loveshe sustains and nourishes Krishna.

Yaods maternal ministrations point to an important truth for the
devotee. Yaods boon is her opportunity to lavish her maternal attentions on Krishna, and devotees know that Krishna himself nourishes the
world. In the same way that Yaod offers Krishna a range of foods,
Krishna appears to devotees in a variety of formsin whatever form is
most appropriate for each devotee.
Rgadhanr
She bestows blessings upon Syms alluring body.
Your face is a cooling ocean of nectar;
just sipping it cant sate my eyes.
Mother Yaod says, dont go for even the blink of an eye.
That one moment when he plays in the cows pen
passes as an eternity.
Come and eat your food, you two boys,
darling sons.
Paramnand says, Nandarns speech is entwined with love.
(K716; P3/76; S310)
Nandarn (Nandas wife, Yaod) cannot bear to be separated from
Krishna for even a moment. His face is the nectar that soothes the burning pain she experiences when separated from him. Like the gops, Yaod
also experiences searing pain when separated from Krishna. Her only
relief is Krishnas face, and Paramnand metonymically identifies
Krishnas face with the moona font of nectar. The poem explores the
semantic possibilities of love as rasa or as relief-providing liquid. Krishnas
face is a cooling ocean of nectar, and his name, ym, connotes the dark
rain cloud ready to burst. However, just as Yaod can never feed Krishna
too much, no amount of this nectaror daran of Krishnawill ever
satiate Yaod or any devotee for that matter. This impossibility of satiation is an aesthetic point; the mood would be lost if satiation were possible. Yaod sips the rasa (nectar), but her thirst is not quenched.
Yaod can hardly bear even a short separation from Krishna; her eyes
burn during that moment of distance but are soothed when he returns.
Literally this line means, Dont go for as long as it takes to blink, not
even a moment. Images of reliefym as the dark rain cloudare
paired with the trope of separation. She cannot let him out of her sight for
even a minute lest she feel the resulting anguish. Yaod gains relief, but
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SINGING KRISHNA
where is the relief for the residents of Braj when Krishna leaves for good,
when the moments stretch into days and weeks? This brief pain foreshadows the longer periods of separation Yaod and the gops will endure as
Krishna grows older. For the present time, Yaod is happy in union with
Krishna. Her longest time apart from her small son is when he plays in the
cow pen just outside. She knows that as he grows older he and his
cowherding friends will spend the entire day grazing the cows in the
forest. However, she has no way of anticipating the day of his permanent
departure for Mathura, which will be the last time her eyes receive his
cooling daran. For now, Yaod cherishes her time with Krishna and
rarely lets him out of her sight.
r.ngrOrnamentation
Rgabilval
Mother ornaments her darling.
With love, her hands bathe and anoint the two brothers Hari
and Haladhar with perfumed oils.
Her hands adorn him with his two-stringed garland and his
necklace of coins.
Over and over again, the life of Paramnandads receives blessings.
(K469; L62; P2/116; S1167)
In the r.ngr daran period, Yaod adorns Krishna and Balarm (Haladhar, the one who holds a plow) in all of their finery. Everyday Yaod
dresses the boys in their fine clothes and beautifies them with bracelets,
garlands, and earringsthe finest she has to offer. Braj residents and
devotees recognize Krishnas adornments; these items are stock descriptive
elements of his splendor. Krishnas necklace of coins suggests his worth,
and devotees surely know of Krishna as a treasure of rasa. His garlands
and yellow clothes are also well known to devotees, and each of these
items brings about a myriad of associations and memories, both of the ll
and of each devotees own sev. The detailing of the r.ngr or adornment
process shows devotees all facets of Krishnas beauty, and each piece provides yet another focal point for the devotee. Yaod anoints her sons with
perfumed oils, which evokes the senses of sight, touch, and smell. Devotees know that perfumed oils are part of the daily routine; for example,
59
sandalwood oil is an appropriate cooling agent for the summer and is

treasured for its delicate fragrance.
Aesthetic theory based on Bharatamunis Nt. yastra provides a
heuristic framework for interpreting the poetry. The linkage of rasa, passion, and liquid is firmly rooted within traditional Indian aesthetics.19
The term rasa, which can be traced to Vedic sources, literally means sap
or essence.20 Rasa comes to be considered a taste, an emotional awareness that the audience apprehends as the experience of art. Although
Bharatamuni postulated eight rasaserotic (rngra); comic (hsya);
pitiable (karun.a); violent (raudra); heroic (vra); terrifying (bhaynaka);
disgusting (bbhats); and wondrous (adbhuta)it is only love, erotic and
other, that concerns the devotee.
Aestheticians such as the tenth-century Kashmiri aivite Abhinavagupta linked religious experience and aesthetics, but theoreticians of sixteenth-century Braj systematized this linkage and made the aesthetic
concepts rasa and bhva indispensable to Braj devotion. Although rasa
and bhva traditionally have had distinct meanings, they are conflated in
popular imagination. In traditional Indian aesthetics, the rasika (connoisseur of rasa) cultivates taste for the rasas or emotional statesas one
would for art or fine winethrough the arousal of bhva, the personal
and particular emotion. Each devotee enters into a relationship with
Krishna based upon the bhva to which the devotee is most inclined.
Rpa Goswm, one of the six Goswms affiliated with Gaud.ya
Vais.n.avism, wrote the Bhaktirasmr.tasindhu and the Ujjvalanlaman.i,
which synthesized and adapted aesthetic theory to Krishna devotion. Aesthetic theory had been applied to Krishna devotion long before Rpa
Goswm. For example, Jayadevas Sanskrit poem Gtagovinda links the
earthly erotic and divine forms of love, but the contributions of Rpa
Goswm and Vallabh (in his Subhodin) became the blueprint for Braj
devotional aesthetics, and aesthetics became the interpretive strategy for
experiencing union with Krishna. In Rpa Goswms most important
contribution, he subordinated and reorganized the traditional eight rasas
into five rasas that comprise the relationships through which the devotee
approaches Krishna. Ultimately, he considered the five rasas to be one:
rati, or love, which he further subdivided into nta (peace), dsya (servitude), sakhya (friendship), vtsalya (parental love), and mdhurya (erotic
love).21 Rpa also ranked the primary bhvas (peace, servitude, friendship,
parental love, and erotic love) in terms of their intimacy between the
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SINGING KRISHNA
devotee and Krishna, from minimal in the case of peace to maximal in the
case of the erotic.22 Vallabh theorized that rasa, which must be present in
sev, is transformed into the personal bhva, and the devotees personal
relationship with Krishna divinizes the passions.23 The devotee enhances
this personal and intimate relationship with Krishna through cultivating
bhva. Rasa and bhva are not produced by poetry, but rather the poetry
evokes emotions that exist a priori within each of us.24
Familiarity with the significance of the details facilitates the bhvas
arousal. Indian aesthetics offers two basic vibhvas (categories of stimulants): lambana and uddpan.25 lambana is a character, such as Krishna,
who stimulates a particular emotion, while uddpan is the scene and setting that arouses the emotion. When Paramnand sings of Yaod dressing
Krishna, Krishna himself is the lambana because the devotees relationship is with Krishna. Yaod is the raya (the recipient) because bhva for
Krishna arises within her. The uddpan comprises the details of the scenario (e.g., Krishnas clothing and adornments), which themselves are significant within Braj culture. For example, for many American women, a
description of a mother dressing a little girl in a frilly party dress and
Mary Janes evokes memories or associations because these details are
available to them either from personal experience or through enculturating sources such as the media or picture books.
Rgabilval
Mother dresses him in a yellow tunic.
She drapes a fine gold ornament on her son.
Embroidered gold threads embellish her darlings pants.
His bracelet is studded with jewels; and a diamond is emblazoned
upon his chest.
Mother Yaod stands and stares; she cant contain herself for joy.
She marks him with collyrium, and the women of Braj smile.
Father Nanda gives him his flute and tells him to play something.
Hearing this captivates the heart, Paramnand says, surrender to him.
(K465; P3/155; S573)
Yaod and Nanda delight in their small son. His fine clothes and
jewelry accentuate his beauty in this poem of the hot season. Krishnas
bejeweled resplendence marks Yaod and Nandas pride in him. The
gold-laden image is ironic because Krishna abandoned the treasures of
Vaikun.t.h when he appeared in Braj. Yet, this image points to a greater
61
truth: that the person of Krishna himself is the treasure. Watching him,
Yaod can barely contain her love and pride. Nanda completes the picture by offering him Mural, his flute. This image of Krishna with his flute
is one of the best known images of Braj and arouses not only tender love
for the child Krishna but also the more erotic love for the youth Krishna.
Although Krishnas beauty might be appreciated by anyone seeing it, the
strongest responses will come from those culturally conditioned to
respond to such stimuli. A devoteean ideal listenerintegrates these
stimuli into an interpretive framework so that each sound, image, and
concept makes sense in terms of this system of meaning. The devotee who
takes the midmorning r.ngr daran of Krishna in his fine dress knows
that Krishna is now ready to leave his home and can follow Krishna on his
adventuresand havocthrough Braj.
CHAPTER THREE
Krishnas Morning Games

Creating Intimacy through Treachery
During the midmorning, devotees hear tales of the divinity who has taken
the form of a mischievous young boy who tends the cows. These accounts
of Krishnas morning games are not bewildering or wondrous, but, in fact,
seem quite ordinary, and therein lies much of their potency. As a young
child, Krishna stays home with his mother, and, as an older child, he goes
to the forest with the cows, and both of these scenarios replicate the daily
activities of many families. The familiarity of the scenarios and activities
makes them readily accessible to devotees so that devotees can adopt an
appropriate emotional stance. However, Paramnandsand Krishnas
manipulations of the emotions are anything but ordinary.
GvlBoyhood Play
Every morning the gops arrive on Yaods doorstep to complain about
Krishnas destructive pranks. He steals butter from their houses and feeds
it to his friends. If he spots a pot of curd, he overturns it. When the girls
go to market to sell the milk, he traps them in narrow alleys and
demands a toll. Krishna infuriates everyone in Braj, but his seemingly
obnoxious behavior ultimately enhances the devotees intimacy with
Krishna. His pranks subvert the normal hierarchiesGod-human, Brahman-cowherdthat impede intimacy. Everything is upside-down in
Braj, devotees note, and images of crookedness demonstrate this Braj
perspective. Paramnands rhetorical strategies illustrate the topsy-turvy
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SINGING KRISHNA
and crooked nature of Braj, and his tableaus of destruction demonstrate the importance of the free flow of Krishnas rasa. Krishnas thievery
and lying become exemplary strategies for demolishing the constraints of
social decorum.
Rgasrang
Look at the splendid play of Gopl.
Brahma and Mahdev are amazed; Mother Yaod took
a stick and rope in her hands.
Oh, the boys told her what happened: darling Sym ate dirt.
She lifted his face and looked in his mouth;
the form of the expanded three worlds.
The Vedas narrate the qualities of Keav;
the 1,000 mouths of es.a became exhausted.
None of these qualities can be written; knowledge cannot
cross this difficult pass.
The sum of his deeds, qualities and birth are told,
but the depths of this esoteric tradition are incomprehensible.
Whoever takes refuge in him has no fear; he, Paramnand says,
destroys doubt.
(P1/141; S131)
When he suffers his punishment for eating dirt, Krishna bestows
upon Yaod the boon of intimacy, meanwhile briefly revealing to her the
immensity of his divinity. Krishna, like any toddler, constantly puts anything and everything into his mouth despite Yaods pleas. After the boys
tell Yaod that Krishna has eaten dirt, she looks in his mouth and sees his
awesome divinity, the immensity of the three worlds that is Krishnas
cosmic form. Yaods vision is similar to Krishnas revelation to Arjun in
the Bhagavad-Gt. Paramnand demonstrates the figure of speech seeing
is comprehension: Yaod sees and realizes Krishnas true form. The
deities Brahma and iva are spellbound, and even the thousand mouths of
es.a (the cosmic serpent) cannot adequately speak of Krishnas qualities.
Language is not adequate to describe Krishnas divinity, but Paramnands
words translate this theophany into sight.
Despite his divinity and grandeur, Krishna allows Yaod the joy of
performing her maternal duties, and he accepts her punishment.
Although he gives her a glimpse of his magnitude, he quickly erases this
65
memory, and again Yaod sees Krishna as a small boy. Krishnas concealment of his divinity is an aspect of his grace because Yaod could not possibly treat him as her son if she realized his divinity. Such awareness would
destroy the parental attitude: it would be difficult to punish god, so
Krishna erases any hierarchical distinctions that might separate him from
his devotees. The parental affections rely on the closeness between parent
and child, and Krishna gives Yaod that passion by submitting to her
maternal authority.
Krishna, though, is well aware of his own nature and incorporates
that awareness into his pranks.
Rgaasvar
The Brahman cant offer the meal.
Mother chastises, he is offering this pure food,
yet again and again you come and touch it.
I invited the Brahman for the ritual of mourning. You are teasing him,
Gopl.
He feeds his Th.kur, but you come and touch it.
Oh mother, you know nothing of this matter. How can you blame me?
Paramnand says, the Brahman closed his eyes and called me.
(K708)
Yaod has called the family priest to perform the rddha ritual, but
Krishna hints at his own divine statusand mocks the presumed superiority of the Brahmanby eating the offered food, and, in doing so,
ridicules those hierarchies that create social distances. As part of this
ritual, the Brahman tries to offer food to T.hkur, which is both a name of
god and the name by which most svarps of Krishna are known. Krishna,
as a deity, is the proper recipient of these offerings, but, as a lowly
cowherd boy, he defiles the food that the Brahman is offering to the
deities. No one, especially a non-Brahman, should touch an offering
before it is given to a deity because that would render it impure. Yaod,
ironically, is furious at Krishna for taking what is rightfully his. Krishna
manipulates Yaods and the Brahmans ignorance of his status. He teases
the Brahman by polluting the offerings and affects innocence, asking
How can you blame me? Paramnands poem wryly notes the irony of
Yaod denying Krishna what has been offered to him. Paramnand says,
in defense of Krishna, the Brahman called me, and I came, so devotees
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SINGING KRISHNA
can imagine Krishnas feigned bewilderment at his predicament. Speaking

as an observer, Paramnand comments on the irony of the situation. He
and the devotees understand Krishnas big joke.
As the prankster par excellence, Krishna has declared war on his own
village. He constantly torments his mother and the girls and women of
the village. Devotees revel in Krishnas plots and jokes, which illustrate the
dynamic of union and separation in Braj. Krishnas antics and subsequent
punishment by Yaod create an intimacy not possible in other contexts.
His boyhood appearance and playful nature allow much closer relationships than are typical between humans and deities. Most devotees
approach Krishna through either the parental or erotic categories, which
inspire more intimacy than friendship and servitude. Much of Rma
devotion, particularly that attributed to Tulsds, falls into the servitude
category that requires a greater distance and an inferior/superior relationship between Rma and the devotee. In Tulsds Vinayapatrik, the poet
Tulsds portrays himself as a lowly being unfit to grace Rmas court. In
this case, the devotees feel awe and love for the divine but do not participate in a personal relationship of a more egalitarian nature.
Krishna, though, has abandoned Vaikun.t.h for the pastoral and
humble setting of Braj and placed himself in a position of ungodlike
closeness with the people of Braj. Yet devotees emulate the people of Braj
and strive for this intimacy. Krishna does not partially enter his role as the
foster child of Yaod and Nanda but fully lives and partakes of this role.
He is not a godlike child, a temporary village resident, who exists on the
fringe of village life. Instead Krishna conceals his divinity so that the residents of Braj can intimately relate to him. If devotees saw him as other
than a mischievous little boy, such intimacy would be impossible. Devotees can approach Krishna as a Braj child or youth, and the residents of
Braj treat him as one of their own. Each devotee ultimately knows that
Krishna is Purus.ottama name of Krishna or Vis.n.u indicating the
supreme beingwith his six majestic qualities, but paradoxically this
knowledge causes a distance that impedes intimacy with Krishna.
Because the devotional community supports Paramnands connection to Vallabh, an ideal listener would likely contextualize the poetrys
philosophical basis according to Vallabhs ideas about Krishnas nature.
For example, how does Krishna as a deity participate in the phenomenal
world? Vallabh developed the philosophical system uddhdvaita (pure
nondualism), which posits that all existence is real, not illusory, and
exists within and through Krishna.1 Krishna as Brahman created the
67
world through play or sport (ll) and manifests himself in it for his own
delight. There is no necessity here, only the sense of free and spontaneous
play. The concept of creation through play has long roots in Indian
thought, and creation was considered an act of play even as far back as
the Brahma-Stras.2
The Vallabh Samprady conceives of a tripartite existence: jagat (the
world), aks.ar, the nirgun. (unqualified) Brahman, and Purus.ottam, the
sagun. (qualified) supreme entity that incorporates the first two. The qualified Purus.ottam contains and reveals Krishnas complete ll, and the
devotee knows the divine as Krishna. The aks.ar Brahman, an intermediate
stage, also reveals the ll, but incompletely. In the world (jagat), the
divine is concealed and only revealed to those who understand the nature
of Purus.ottam. That is, divinity permeates the world and all matter, but
most people are ignorant of this fact. This ignorance is the primary fault
(dos.a) of humans. Those knowledgeable of the nature of Purus.ottam see
Krishnas presence in all aspects of existence. Vallabhs categories of laukik
and alaukik make sense in this description of existence. Krishna permeates
jagat (the world), and devotees attitudes render things laukik or alaukik.
The aks.ar Brahman is the unqualified, nirgun. Brahman of the
Upanis.ads, philosophical-speculative texts developed between the 8th and
4th centuries BCE. They claimed that nothing could be said of Brahman
because qualifications are inherently limiting. Devotees and sages have
continuously debated whether the qualified or unqualified form of the
divine is the higher expression, although Krishna devotees unequivocally
state that the path of Krishna devotion is superior. The aks.ar Brahman is
the goal of the yogs (ascetics), who conceive of the divine as nonqualified.
Through meditation and wisdom, the ascetic strives for union with Brahman as a drop of water merges with the ocean, but this is an intermediate
goal for the devotee. The ascetic loses the self in Brahman, whereas the
devotee maintains a necessary duality for relationship with Krishna.
Those sages seeking union with Brahman often appear in Paramnands
poetry as stock characters whose search for the formless ironically leads
them even farther from the divine.
On the other side of the ocean of the formless Brahman exist
Krishnas ll and Purus.ottam. The devotee must crossand not merge
withthis aks.ar (unqualified) ocean before emerging on the shore of ll.
The devotee then sees and participates in the ll. Devotion to Krishna,
not ascetic practice, gains the devotee this reward. Paramnands poems
depict Krishna as a boatman who helps his devotees across this ocean. The
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SINGING KRISHNA
devotees who see Krishnas nonworldly play also understand the nature of
the three aspects of existence.
Devotees acting as one of the Braj characters must suspend their theological awareness and fully participate in the moment of the ll with the
immediacy of the characters involved, a process similar to the willing suspension of disbelief in reading a novel. Devotees bring only those elements of their own backgrounds that best help them engage with the
aesthetic of the poem.
The Gops Complaints to Yaod
Rgasrang
Mohan, you are the son of a great man.
I do not understand this. You, the clever gem of gems,
quarrel in the forest.
The wives and daughters come and go to the Yamuna embankment
for water.
You break our pitchers and twist our arms, we cant
go on the path.
Yaod should hear of this matter, or the great chief of the
cowherds.
Her one son, so darling with that lock of hair, has such odd behavior.
Hearing this speech delights my heart. Haris play is enchanting.
The life of Paramnandads, the creeper of Nanda grows.
(P1/244; S596)
This irate gop confronts Krishna with his mischief. You come from a
good family, she says, and you are clever, and yet you cause trouble all over
Braj. These women come daily to the Yamuna to get water for the householdvillage women throughout Braj perform this chore, bearing heavy
clay or metal pots. Krishna apparently has no regard for their labor. How
are they supposed to get water when he blocks the path and smashes their
pots? She threatens if Yaod or Nanda should hear of this matter but
then quickly relents, and here, her heart melts. When she sees darling
Krishna with his hair just so, her anger turns to delight, and she is captivated by his games. Krishnas odd behavior creates a form of mna,
which portends his adolescent love games with Rdh. The gops become
angry with Krishna but love him even more after their anger dissolves. In
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this poem and the next, Paramnands language suggests that love is war,
or at best a minor skirmish, and any tactics are permissible to increase
intimacy, whether twisting arms or breaking pots. Both sides retreat, and
the perceived loser seeks justice from Yaod.
Daily, the enraged gops appear at Krishnas house to complain to
Yaod about his behavior.
Rgabilval
Who can make you do anything?
You milk my cows and feed all the boys.
I went to Vrindavan just for a moment, and you have looted
the house of all the butter.
I beg and plead of you, but from afar you mock me.
When I complain to Yaod, you roll your eyes at me.
Separation from Paramnandads lord pleases my soul.
(S214)
The gop is furious. Krishna once again has destroyed her mornings
work by stealing all her milk and butter. This boy is out of control: Who
can make you do anything? To make matters worse, he has no remorse.
Instead, he mocks her from a safe distance. Complaining to Yaod is
futile, she has discovered. Krishna hides behind his protective mother and
rolls his eyes at her, and separation from Krishna, Paramnand says,
would be a relief for this gop. Narrating from this frustrated gops perspective, Paramnand illustrates a scene that must resonate with many
devotees. This mischievous boy not only wreaks havoc on his neighbors
and young boys in India are subject to very little disciplinebut he
ridicules the gops anger, which further enrages them. He knows his
mother will shelter him from their wrath and righteously proclaim his
innocencea point of view seen in other poems. What possibly infuriates
the gops even more is awareness of their intense attraction to Krishna.
Ironically the vehemence of the gops anger strengthens her love for
Krishna. The gops anger is an expression of love, and Krishnas breakage
and destruction are emblematic of freedom from the stranglehold of propriety, a freedom that facilitates the gops love.
Krishnas boyhood games and pranks intensify the passion Yaod and
the gops feel toward him. Through his grace, Krishna performs all of his
games for the devotees benefit, and these actions tighten the bond
between deity and devotees by enhancing the devotees bhva. Krishnas
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SINGING KRISHNA
escapades are not bad or evil, just mischievous. People shake their heads
and throw up their hands at his behavior but, at the same time, laugh at
his boldness and creativity. Krishna does what others would like to do but
are constrained from doing in the social realm. Just as we smile and forgive those who toe the line of acceptable social behavior and dare us to
challenge them, so, too, Krishna is appreciated. Krishna acts uponand
vicariously fulfillssome of our urges whether we acknowledge them or
not. He expresses the childlike trickster nature that most people suppress
to survive in society, so, consciously or not, we all cheer for him as he
repeatedly violates societal conventions.
Through his childhood and adolescence, Krishna constantly harasses
the gops. As a young boy he and his friends sneak into the womens
homes, steal their butter and curd, and smash the pots of hanging curd.
As a youth, he stops them on their way to market and demands a toll. The
incensed gops complain to Yaod about his boorish conduct, but Yaod
disputes these allegations. He is just a young boy. How could he do these
things? she asks, when they accuse him of ripping their blouses and stealing their milk. She accuses them of fabricating stories as a pretext to see
Krishna. Yet, when Yaod punishes Krishna for eating dirtthe sole
charge not levied by the gopsthe gops revile her as a bad mother. When
they see young Krishna tied to the heavy grinding mortar, the gops, who
demanded punishment all along, cannot bear this indignity and call
Yaod cruel.
These poems of boyhood pranks, complaints, and punishments create
a dynamic of separation and union within the devotees hearts. Krishnas
pranks and teasing make the gops simultaneously feel distant and close to
him; friendly teasing occurs in an atmosphere of closeness or intimacy.
The gops complain but are proud to be singled out for Krishnas attentions, thus their complaints are also boastsa situation Yaod wisely
understands. At the same time, their genuine anger at his pranks generates
an internal distance between the gops and Krishna. They complain to
Yaod, but she sees their complaints solely as a pretext to see Krishna.
The gops prove her assessment correct when they complain about
Krishnas punishment.
Yaod and devotees oscillate between feelings of irritation at and love
of Krishna, though no one can stay angry with Krishna for too long.
Krishna eventually charms the gops, and their anger disappears. The brief
separation caused by the feelings of anger strengthens their love for
Krishna, who is both in and outside the activity. He is wholly engaged in
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his Braj ll yet also orchestrates the scene by manipulating everyones

actions and passions, a role similar to the poet Paramnands. When
Paramnand visualizes the ll, he fully participates in the emotions, but,
as a poet, he makes narrative choices and observations that place him outside the action.
Poems about Krishnas boyhood pranks demonstrate vtsalya bhva
(the parental approach), but they also allude to the more intimate adolescent relationships between the gops and Krishna. The childhood play and
its accompanying parental approach are accessible for many devotees. His
childhood antics parallel his erotic youthful exploits such as the mna
(annoyance in love) or khan.d.it play of later years. His adolescent pranks
are overtly sexual. For example, he demands a toll on the road to market
and traps the gops on the ght. (steps to the river). The erotic approach is a
delicate matter because of the danger of misinterpreting the erotic
approach as km (something physically sexual) in a worldly manner,
rather than as an alaukik approach to devotion.
Poems with the erotic approach frequently embed erotic nuances
within the parental attitude so that only more sophisticated devotees would
appreciate, or even apprehend, these subtleties. Less sophisticated individuals would then hear the obvious parental approach and not misread the
erotic emotion in a worldly sense. Krishnas play, and particularly the erotic
approach, only makes sense if understood with an alaukik perspective.
Rgasrang
The clothes are in the Taml tree.
But what did the beautiful women of Braj take from
darling Ll who is curved in three places?
He saw their braceleted hands [which are] like nets over their
now revealed beautiful bodies.
You, your minds not immersed in his rasa, dont understand
the meaning of the boyhood play in Braj.
Night and day, Gopl who has huge restless eyes remains
with the group of cowherds.
The lord of Paramnand grazes the cow-wealth,
moving with the passion of the king of elephants.
(K530; P3/287; S829)
Paramnand narrates the scene in which Krishna has just stolen the
gops clothes while they are bathing. Naked, they are too ashamed to
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SINGING KRISHNA
come out of the water while Krishna sits in the tree and laughs. They
attempt to protect their modesty with their hands, but Krishna sees
through their netted hands. Paramnand suggests that there is more here
than meets the eye, although not everyone understands the meaning of
Krishnas Braj play. Like Krishna, devotees must look beyond the exterior
to see what is really there and see beyond the obvious. Just as Yaod and
the Brahman know Krishna as only a little boy, superficial sight is deceptive. This poem, like many, demonstrates layers of meaning within the
poems. Only those immersed in rasa, or passion, realize the identification
of Krishna as an elephant in rut. On one level, Krishnas play is meaningful, and the devotee uses this play to enhance the devotional relationship.
On another level, this poem suggests a more theological message: devotees
should not, and, indeed, cannot hide anything from Krishna. Devotees
should divest themselves of their worldly pretensions, such as modesty
and pride, before Krishna because these have no intrinsic value and only
impede devotion to Krishna. Krishnas actions might appear to be entertaining, but they carry deeper meanings for devotees. As devotees become
more sophisticatedconnoisseurs of rasa, they are better able to grasp
with alaukik sensibilitiessubtle nuances in the poetry.
Mixed Bhvas
Rgabilval
The boyhood play of Hari is captivating.
They laugh, watching Keav and Rma.
Mothers Rohin and Yaod are delighted.
In the courtyard, his body is resplendent with rubies.
Hearing his anklets jingle with each step, their hearts leap with joy.
The greatest love grows in the mothers. They lift both squirming and
wiggling boys onto their laps.
The most fickle one, the giver of all joy;
night and day they remain immersed in the rasa of his play.
Again and again the Braj women look at the lotus eyes
of Paramnands lord.
(P1/150; S93)
Paramnand sings of a simple courtyard scene with Krishna, Balarm,
and their mothers. Mothers Yaod and Rohin., Balarms mother, watch
73
in delight as their sons toddle across the courtyard, and they listen to the
jingling of the boys anklets. Devotees empathize with the mothers love
for their children. Although this poem depicts Krishnas childhood play, it
also resonates with the exploits of the youth Krishna. The sounds of the
jingling anklets suggest the sounds of young women and hence have
erotic connotations. Most women wear silver anklets that make their presence heard. The word capal (wavering or fickle) intimates his later love
play with the gops and foreshadows the accusations of fickleness and philandering that they subsequently fling at him. The descriptive elements
capal and wiggling point to Krishnas nature as crooked, not straight. This
poem exemplifies the concept of mixed bhvas in which both the
parental and erotic approaches are implied. In some poems, certain words
and images that ostensibly allude to the parental sentiment also indicate
Krishnas adolescent games. The adept devotee understands the esoteric
meaning of the poems.
Though Paramnands Vrt links him primarily to Krishnas bl-ll
(childhood play), his lyrics are more complex than simply a presentation
of this approach.3 Many of Paramnands poems illustrate Krishnas boyhood play yet, upon closer examination, also lead the devotee into the
erotic emotion or Swmin ll. In the Vallabh tradition, Swmin is the
term for Krishnas favorite gop, a term that often, although not necessarily, refers to Rdh. According to classical aesthetics, the bhvas were to be
kept separate; a work of art led to the arousal of one bhva, not to a mixture. Emotions were isolated, not mixed and conflated. Rpa Goswm
suggests that some bhvas can be mixed, but definitely not the parental
and erotic, which are antagonistic.4 Braj poetry, however, blends the
bhvas, and the boundarieswhich are of little significance to most devoteesbetween the mdhurya and vtsalya bhvas dissolve into the more
amorphous emotion of prem.5 Paramnands poetry consistently mixes the
two approaches, leading to a mix of the parental and erotic. Often, the
parental theme is overt and draws the sophisticated devotee into the concealed erotic approach.
The Vallabh Samprady is primarily associated with Krishnas childhood play as a mode of sev and devotion. The emotional attitudes are
often mixed, and what might appear as parental also has an element of the
erotic. The poems might be understood as coded texts in that the erotic
approach is often available to more adept devotees. The Vallabh Samprady distinguishes between private and public sev; the childhood scene
shrouds the erotic play because the erotic games are extremely esoteric and
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SINGING KRISHNA
not for public consumption, but only for the advanced and initiated.
Nondevotees might misinterpret Krishnas antics and pranks, but those
who are immersed in his ll and rasa know the truth and can relish
Paramnands subtleties.
The minds of the gops are already attached to Krishna. Krishna has
snared their affections, and their attraction will become more overtly
erotic as Krishna gets older. In the minds of the gops, the union is already
there: Krishna controls their hearts and minds. His mischiefwhether in
childhood or adolescencegives the gops the opportunity to develop the
passions of separation and also anger: the gops anger separates them emotionally from Krishna. While complaining, they are both angry and happy
to see him and taste this delicious mixture of union and separation.
Rgasrang
Hey Yaod, your boy Gopl does not heed my words.
He has never been like this before; he does not know what is
his own or someone elses.
Because of this resident of Nandas Gokul, no one wants to live
in this Braj.
There have been many boys before this, but none like him.
Hearing of Knhas strange deeds, Nandas wife laughed.
The wise one knows of the thievery of Paramnands lord, but
keeps it secret.
(S165)
This gop complains that Krishna does not listen to her words, and no
one wants to live in Braj with this strange boy. Yaod knows of his thievery but feigns ignorance, laughing at her sons antics. Paramnand suggests that Yaod is the wise one, while the complaining gops are fools. In
this trope of thievery, the gop accuses Krishna of stealing milk, but the
wise one knows that milk is love, and love is not a commodity that can
be stolen. In any normal social setting, the gops would be correct about
Krishnas theft, but, as Paramnands wise one knows, Krishnas only theft
is of the gops hearts and minds, which results in intimacy. Although the
gops are physically close to Krishna, he has created distance in their
minds. The gops complain that Krishnas mischief has driven everybody
out of Braj, but his actions make Braj all the more enticing.
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Rgasrang
Oh cowherd woman, Govind is under your spell.
You get up in the morning and come here first thing,
maddening my son.
Darling Sym is only five years old; he is captivated by your speech.
He sees your creeper hands from afar, your eyes speak to my son.
I dont understand this boy, his whole being is topsy-turvy.
My ears hear nothing, and my eyes see nothing;
the Vedas cant explain this mystery.
I know and understand that he is the son of another, yet he
lives in my own home.
Paramnand says, Yaod is frustrated, what kind of age has come?
(S188)
Yaod claims to not understand Krishnas behavior. She states that
his nature is topsy-turvy and wonders: what sort of age has come when a
child can act like this? She accuses the gops of enchanting her young son
and blames them for his behavior. On one level it appears that nothing is
as it should be: young Krishna is captivated by the gops hands and eyes.
But this enchantment is how things should be in Braj, and the Vedas
representing proprietyare no help for the reversals of Braj. Although
this poem overtly depicts the parental approach, the erotic attitude is
evoked, foreshadowing the gops relationship with the adolescent Krishna.
Although Krishna is a young child, his sexuality is clearly present even in
his early relationships with the gops.
Yaod loves her son and defends his trickery, but even she cannot
understand him. He is beyond her comprehension, and she blames the
gops for provoking him. Although he is merely five years old, they treat
him as they would an adolescent boy. Their speech and hand gestures
enchant Krishna so he cannot act appropriately for his age. Reference to
hand gestures as creeper-like is a common allusion suggesting the sensual movement and intertwining of vines, which themselves are sensual
and suggest the graceful movements of dance. The gops have driven
Krishna to madness by their inappropriate actions. The allusions to the
creepers encourage the devotee to read this poem in an erotic context.
The last three lines suggest Yaods realization that Krishna is not a
regular boy; she seems aware of her sons superhuman nature. Yet, this
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SINGING KRISHNA
reference is ambiguous; Krishnas behavior is clearly a mystery to Yaod.

On one level, Krishnas great energy and mischief often baffle Yaod, yet
this behavior is puzzling in a very human sense. His wild behavior is
unknowable, but he is still a normal boy. On another level, she intuits that
Krishnas mysterious nature extends far above and beyond that of a regular
boy: even the Vedas cannot explain this mystery. Yaods invocation of
the Vedas suggests that she must have some perception of her sons superhuman nature even though she might be barely conscious of this realization. Further, Yaod recognizes that, because she is Krishnas foster
mother, Krishna is the son of another. However, her parental love depends
on her seeing Krishna as her real son.
This poem also suggests a common theme: Krishnas childhood sexuality. Krishnas antics and the gops interaction with him suggest that
Krishna relates to the gops on a more sexual level than is obvious. Krishna
responds to devotees in whatever manner is appropriate for them. He
allows his devotees to meet him according to their needs and emotional
constitution, so he can at once fulfill the parental and erotic approaches.
In the dn-ll, the youth Krishna traps the gops in a narrow alley and
demands a toll.
Rgaknharau
Hey, you forest-dweller with the forest garland.
Your antics no longer please me; I laugh hesitatingly
at your inappropriate jokes.
I say, let go of my sari! Im not your fathers servant.
You have such passion, you are sassy and crooked.
Why dont you take a different path?
Who else is like you? You dont care that you frighten me.
Paramnand says, he makes mischief here and there
with a group of friends.
(S603)
Krishna has trapped the gop on the path. By addressing Krishna as
You, . . . with the forest garland, she alludes to his beauty by referring to
the forest garland, a well-known adornment of Krishna. This allusion suggests the gops initial attraction (or pleasure) at this surprise meeting with
Krishna. Her initial thoughts quickly turn sour as Krishna makes inappropriate jokes, and his teasing perhaps goes too far. She demands that he
77
release her sari and states that she is not one of his fathers servants that he
can treat in that way. This indignant gop wonders why Krishna cannot
just take another path and stop his mischief with the girls. Her anger and
exasperation with Krishna are the reverse of their attraction. She is furious
with him only because she loves him so much: without an emotional
investment, no reaction is possible.
She accuses Krishna of being sassy and crooked, qualities she intends
to be insulting to him. Yet, in the Braj aesthetic, Krishnas crookedness is
an asset because nothing is as it seems. Krishnas crooked sense of propriety defies laukik community norms, but he plays his games for the benefit
of his devotees, so the ll must be understood as alaukik. Paramnand
illustrates scenarios of grabbing and breaking blouse ties, and these images
graphically depict the destruction of normal social boundaries.
The gops relationship with the adolescent Krishna manifests an overt
sexuality and demonstrates the gops enjoyment of Krishnas playdespite
their complaints. This enjoyment illustrates an assumption within Braj
devotion: that because Krishna appears in the way most appropriate to
each devotee, any protests are merely window dressing. Krishnas beneficence and omniscience toward his devotees make him acutely aware of
each devotees needs and the best way to address those needs, so the gops
complaints are part of the game. The gop laughs at Krishnas jokesthat
usually carry sexual connotationsbut she complains nonetheless, albeit
a somewhat pro forma complaint. This poem makes several cultural
assumptions, such that the gops laughter rings true. The poem first
assumes a male cultural ideology in which men imagine that the girl
enjoys this treatment, and second, assumes that Krishna emerges from a
well-off family of the village, and thus the gops complaints would be ineffective. In the context of the ll, however, Krishnas pranks and the gops
pretextsor lies, depending on your perspectiveare games within a
game to snare devotees.
Rgasvar
Ma! Just now they have come to complain.
They have no business or purpose; they are arguing a lie.
I was with a group of my friends, and she yanked my arm roughly.
She squeezed my cheek and smeared me with butter,
and she grabbed rdma there.
Her throat was choked with emotion, and tears filled her eyes;
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SINGING KRISHNA
Yaods heart went out to him.

Paramnand says, the sage ukas song cannot capture this
boyhood play.
(S221)
Rgasrang
Gopl is so very innocent.
Why do you make up lies? When did he break the ties of your blouses?
Darling Sym is only five years old, such a delicate boy.
At the time, my boy with his curly hair was running and playing
with the cowherd boys.
Oh cowherd women, listening to your talk makes me ashamed.
Nandas wife stands there irritated: all of this is your doing!
Get up and go home! Dont act so impudent!
Women should protect their honor.
Paramnandads says, she knows about this habit of yours.
(S195)
In S221, Paramnand speaks for Krishna. Krishna argues that he did
nothing, but, for some reason, the girls grabbed him and smeared butter
on him, and now they tell lies about him. Krishna knows that his mothers
heart will melt at his protestations of innocence, and, sure enough, her
heart goes out to this victim of female cruelty. S195 continues with this
theme of the gops lies. Yaod teases them, but with some anger. She
believes that the girls are inventing stories of Krishnas behavior. He is
only five years old. Why would he be untying their blouses? Why would
her five-year-old son torment these older girls? Like any normal boy, he
was running around with his friends. Yaod then questions their virtue:
No upstanding girl would be running around the village after her son;
these gops should be home, guarding their reputations. Yaod is ashamed
for them. Paramnand says that Yaod knows their habits, which, ironically, can refer to either the gops lies or to Krishnas egregious behavior.
Yaod, however, has become wise to the gops tricks.
Every day Yaod endures a parade of complaining women, but she
knows that they come simply to see Krishna. They are entranced by
Krishnas rasa and will use any pretext to see him. Like Yaod, we know
the truth of the gop bhva. The devotees have the knowledge and perspective of Yaod and understand the fabrications. The devotee perceives
Krishnas games on different levels. On one level, the devotees see the play
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from an outsiders perspective and realize the truth of Yaods argument

in a manner that is similar to the omniscient narrator who knows and
reveals the thoughts of all the characters in a book. On another level,
depending on the roles they adopt, the devotees fully participate in the
thoughts and passions of Yaod and/or the gops (the two different perspectives that these poems have shown) but do not have the transcendent
birds-eye perspective.
Despite their complaints and anger, the gops cannot bear it when
Yaod punishes Krishna by tying him to a mortar. They vilify her and
doubt her maternal capabilities.
Rgasorath
Again and again she looks in Govinds mouth.
Lotus-eyed Hari catches his breath and cries. Yaod releases his bonds.
This is your son, born of your own womb: true or false?
What kind of boy of the household steals and eats butter
from his own home?
The fresh pot of curd I set aside was not available for worship
of the Yaks.as.
What is left for the gods and ancestors of a house
into which Krishna comes.
His name is the swords edge that cuts through Yamas snare.
Hari is bound by the rope of love. Yaod takes a stick in hand
and scolds him.
Paramnandads lord does as he pleases.
See the misery of the two sons of Kuber who up to that time
were bound.
(P1/142; S140)
Rgasrang
My darling Ll, I give you my blessing.
She embraces him and kisses the face of beautiful Symamurr.
Why is he tied to the mortar? Oh, what kind of a mother are you?
The wind was not so high. Why are the trees broken?
Again and again, Yaod considers the play of this incarnation.
Paramnands lord extends himself for the gods, philosophers,
renunciants and ritualists.
(S141)
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SINGING KRISHNA
The two sons of the Yaks.a Kuber, Nalakbar and Man.igrv, had been
imprisoned as the two Arjun trees that Krishna eventually uprooted when
Yaod bound him to the grinding mortar. The pair had become drunk
and sported with some women in the Gang. The sage Nrada spied
them, but they remained unashamedly naked. Nrada cursed them for
their vanity and sentenced them to live as trees. Nrada allowed them to
retain their memories so that they would not repeat their sin. Nalakbar
and Man.igrv were to remain the two Arjun trees for one hundred celestial
years, after which they would regain their celestial status. At the appointed
time, Krishna crawled between the trees and uprooted them, thus making
good on the sage Nradas word. The freed brothers recognized Krishna as
the lord even though he was tied to the mortar. They circumambulated
him and prostrated themselves before him.6
Krishna bestows grace upon Yaod and his devotees by allowing himself to be bound with the rope. As allegory, her binding of Krishna to the
mortar parallels the bond between Krishna and his devotees; as an avatr,
Krishna has bound himself in a human form (hiding his divinity) for the
benefit of his devotees. Paramnand manipulates the incongruity and
irony of Krishnas apparent childhood status and the enormity of his
divinity. The gop addresses him as the beautiful Symamurr, a name
that indicates his role as the foe of the demon Mura. This tiny child
bound by a rope is also the powerful slayer of demons. Ironically, while
Krishna allows himself to be bound by a rope, his own name is that which
severs the snare of Yama, the lord of the underworld. Krishnas rope of
love defeats the bonds of death. Yaod and the gops complain that no
offerings for the deities or Yaks.as are safe when Krishna is around. The
butter and curd designated for the gods mysteriously disappears when
Krishna is present. The allusion to Krishnas theft demonstrates the
reverse: that Krishna is the true recipient of these offerings. Yaods accusation alludes to the contrast between Krishnas human and divine status.
Krishna fulfills the role of the errant little boy so that Yaod and the
others might fully experience the parental mood of devotion by acting as
real parents to him. A parent who truly loves a child must also discipline
the child, and Yaod disciplines Krishna out of love. In taking her punishment, Krishna unconditionally adopts the guise of a little boy; he partakes in all aspects of childhood, including the loss of autonomy. Krishnas
full assumption of this role deepens the maternal bond with Yaod and
strengthens her love for him. She does not merely go through the motions
of motherhood: she is his mother in her eyes. She even endures the taunts
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of the gops who criticize her maternal skills. She and the devotees fully
experience the depths of parenthood.
Although Krishnas punishmentand that of Nalakbar and
Man.igrvis binding, the ethic of Braj is freedom and lack of restriction.
Krishnas smashing of the pots and his liberal distribution of their contents illustrates this freedom from restrictions and the free flow of rasaa
contrast from tightly regulated social mores.
Shattered Boundaries and Spilled Milk: Metonymies of Love

Rgasrang
I surrender to the son of Nanda.
Whose arm has Knha twisted? Whose sari has he torn?
I was just going to fill the pots with Yamuna water
when Giridhar met me on the way.
He smashed my pot and broke my nine-stringed necklace,
then he gave me much abuse.
Again Sym started to ask me: to which cowherd
family do you belong?
I am under the control of Paramnands lord;
the arrows of his eyes have struck me.
(S250)
The gop has gone to the banks of the Yamuna to fetch water: Krishna
rips her sari, breaks her necklace, and twists the gops arm. He breaks,
rips, or bends everything he can. Paramnand frequently sings of Krishnas
destruction of various items. Although the gops complain bitterly about
his wild behavior, Krishnas destruction of containers and boundaries
alludes to the shattering of worldly conventions. Items such as pots and
clothing confine and bind; they keep things in their designated place.
When Krishna smashes pots, breaks a necklace, or tears a blouse, he obliterates rules of decorum and propriety that bind people, particularly
women, to rigid behavioral codes. He frees devotees from worldly concerns and proprieties by smashing the laws and mores that constrain
behavior in the mundane world. The immaculate and modest gop with
necklace and well-tied sari is a model of decorum: Krishna destroys these
emblems of propriety so that the gops are no longer bound by worldly
convention but, like devotees, are free to enjoy Krishnas rasa.
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SINGING KRISHNA
In addition to breaking things, Krishna is a thief. He breaks into

houses to steal butter and traps women in narrow alleys, demanding milk
as a tax for safe passage. These stories establish his reputation as a thief of
butter, but, more important, when Krishna harasses the gops and steals
their wares, he is, in truth, stealing their love. Milk and butter, also identified with rasa, are metonymies for love. In this case, lovedepicted as
milk and butterappears as a commodity in the poetry, as something
that can be bought, traded, and stolen. Love is subject to laws of social
convention and economics in what John S. Hawley terms the economy
of love, and actions ignoble in the laukik become commendable in the
alaukik. In a worldly economy, theft of milk and butter is wrong. However, Krishnas thievery takes on a new meaning in the alaukik economy:
who can put a price on love?7
Whereas, in the simple village economy of money and goods, milk
can be bought and sold, such economics have no place in Krishnas
alaukik realm, which is judged under different criteria. Milk and love are
plentiful and should not be hoarded or subject to laws of supply and
demand. In the alaukik, where an infinite supply of the love/milk/rasa
exists, dispensing love increases the supply, unlike in the laukik economy
in which distribution diminishes the supply. Krishna disburses his love
and increases the supply far beyond its original proportions. Love transcends any system of monetary exchange, and, as a physical manifestation
of rasa, it flows freely. Poems such as these use this economic metaphor to
point to an opposite truth: that ultimately love is not reduced when distributed, but increased.
Thus Govind spoke to Rdh: whatever I demand, you should give.
If you offer some of this curd to me,
Ill give back much more.
(S228)
As curd expands from a small amount of culture, a little bit of love
grows, and we receive far more than is given. Love is an investment. The
donor does not lose the gift but instead gains a bounteous return. For
devotees, the love and devotion offered to Krishna result in access to the
infinitude of rasa that is Krishna.
The gops love, as represented by the curd, should not be purchased
for money. A monetary purchase would destroy the taste and ruin the
rasa, so Krishna argues that the gop should give him the curd for free.
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Rgasrang
Today Ill take the value of the curd.
He tore the elephant-pearl from Candrvals neck.
Ill give its price to you in secret.
He took her hands, and held her in the middle of the path.
Then he started a quarrel.
I swear on my father, I wont go.
Nandas son is so stubborn and mischievous.
When love is influenced by greed, sweet words become tasteless.
Those clever ones who know the greatness of
Paramnands lord praise Hari.
(P1/243; S623)
Rgadevagndhr
Rdh took her butter on the path.
It is invaluable for the customer, the Ll of Nanda.
She left Braj, and he grabbed her.
Tell me the proper price of the curd, he said. Ill take the whole pot.
He took some tax and stopped for a bit. Now, you wise girl, where
will you go after the curd is gone?
Nandas darling boy quarrels over the tax on the curd.
Meet with Paramnands lord and give everyone a share.
(S627)
Paramnand suggests that Krishnas trickery and quarreling enhance
the gops and, by extension, the devotees love for Krishna. The curd is the
gops love, and Krishna says he will take all of it. Krishna demands to
know the proper price of the curd, which, as he knows, is nothing: love
has no price tag. He asks what she will do when all of the love is gone. He
sarcastically refers to this simple country girl as a wise girl and banks on
her misunderstanding the rules of the alaukik economy where there is no
shortage of love. Indeed Paramnand comments that she should give a
share to everyone: Krishnas love can never be exhausted.
These poems contrast two metaphoric realms: the idea of love as a
limited commodity and love as free-flowing bounty. Foundational
metaphors and metonyms are not necessarily complementary or coherent,
but such inconsistency allows for a wide range of figurative expression. In
the laukik realm, love appears as a commodity, something that might be
bought and soldand even stolen, as a heart. In the alaukik realm, love
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SINGING KRISHNA
multiplies to meet the demand and flows endlessly. Paramnand illustrates

these contrasting metaphoric realms visually through the motifs of theft
and economics.
An infinite supply of love matched with an infinite demand exists for
all to freely taste of the rasa. It is difficult to determine whether Krishna or
Rdh (or both) is the primary actor in the first poem. The gop Candrvali is merely a foil for the action; her pearl has no real value. Both
Krishna and Rdh could speak the line about wanting the value of the
curd. Rdh wants the money that she would receive for selling the curd,
in which case, Krishna accuses her of greed. In any case, without regard
for who started it, a quarrel over who should receive the curd ensues.
Krishna speaks the lines about greed and love because he knows that purchasing the curd would spoil the rasa. Love quickly spoils when valued
according to laukik monetary standards.
Paramnands poems depict rasas as metonymically linked with substances, such as milk or food, which are, in turn, linked to emotional
responses. Krishnaas the abode of all rasasholds all the rasas within
him and is called the rasarja, the king of rasa. In an aesthetic sense, rasa
means love or emotion, but its original meaning, sap, suggests its embodied, fluid nature. In Paramnands poetry, Krishnas love takes on the
physical form of rasa, which appears in numerous liquid forms, such as
sap, juice, and milk, and embodies the metaphor of love as sustenance.
These embodiments of rasa physically represent Krishnas love and pus.t.
(grace) that sustain the devotees.
These embodiments of love remind the devotee of the presence of
Krishnas love in the world. The rasa flows freely in Braj; love is substantialized as a fluid and is identified with milk. Everything in Braj suggests
the vastness and abundance of the rasa of love. The liquid nature of rasa
breaks all boundaries and dissolves the false borders erected between the
laukik and alaukik. The different liquid metonymies particular to and
well known within the Indian tradition inculcate responses to Krishna
that are available primarily to those informed by this cultural paradigm.
The synaesthetic transformation is deeply connected with rasa theory.
The terms synaesthesia (a conflation of the senses) and rasa are not synonymous but are intertwined and interdependent in the context of Braj
poetry. First, as a gestalt, a total experience, synaesthesia is essential for
creating rasa or bhva in its capacity as the prevailing aesthetic mood. For
example, the total of the word images in the previous poem create for
devotees a mixture of anger and love. Second, synaesthesia underlies the
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embodied and multivalent nature of rasa. For example, Krishnas love is

nourishment to be seen, tasted, and felt so that devotees seeor comprehend, to stress the figure of speech that posits sight as comprehension
Krishnas love in its various manifestations. Paramnand plays with the
different forms of Krishnas rasa, or love, and allows the devotee to perceive Krishnas love through all five senses.
The use of rasa in its multiple connotations parallels the Vallabh Sampradys use of the word pus.t.i (literally, nourishment). Vallabh considered pus.t.i and anugraha (favor or support) to be synonymous.8 The basic
meaning suggests a condition of physical prosperity and success but
connotes causing something to flourish or prosper, both physically and
spiritually. Without the original condition of Krishnas grace, devotees
would not desire to serve Krishna or feel any passion toward Krishna, so
pus.t.i or anugraha are the sine qua non for devotion. In this case, pus.t.i and
rasa have similar patterns of multivalence: at one level, both suggest a
physical necessity. Rasa indicates both a liquid and the emotional attachment or desire for Krishna, while pus.t.i also indicates physical nourishment as well as the necessary, salvific grace.
Vallabh conceived of two levels of devotion: he distinguished
pus.t. imrg (the path of grace), in which humans depend on Brahmans
grace for their salvation, from marydmrg (the path of convention)
wherein human effort determines releasea lesser goal according to the
Samprady. Pus.t. i derives from the Sanskrit verb pus., which means to
nourish or cause to thrive. A primary connotation is of physical nourishment, but Vallabh extends the connotation to spiritual nourishment, in
this case, grace. The implication is that Krishnas grace will strengthen
the soul, which has become weak from impurity. The physically nourishing aspect of pus.t. i emerges in the idea of prasd in which consecrated
food (among other things) is first offered to Krishna then given back to
the devotees.9
The marydmrg is an initial or basic attitude of worship toward
Krishna characterized by rules and conventions. Attention to detail and
perfecting ritual technique similar to Vedic ritual techniques are among
the concerns at this level. At the maryd stage, human effort effectively
causes release. In contrast, in the pus.t.imrg (the higher path), grace is an
arbitrary gift from Krishna, and no cause-effect relationship exists
between Krishnas grace and human devotion.10 Whereas, in the
marydmrg, devotion is a means to an end, the pus.t.imrg stresses that
devotion to Krishna is an end in itself, thus a more elevated goal.
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SINGING KRISHNA
The pus.t.imrg emphasizes ones emotion or attitude toward Krishna

in contrast to the marydmrgs focus on convention and ritual. At the
pus.t.imrg stage, devotees have been graced with a loving relationship with
Krishna and attempt to deepen this relationship. The path of grace or
emotion is the heart of Krishna devotion. Though the marydmrg is
necessary, and ritual is important, the goal of each devotee is an intimate
relationship with Krishna.
Adept devotees use the erotic approach and the poems of complaint
to enhance their own emotions. The mixture of anger and love, desire and
frustration enable sophisticated devotees to heighten their bhva for
Krishna. These poems detailing the adolescent Krishnas teasing and thievery portray the erotic passion overtly, and devotees are able to interpret
Krishnas erotic pranks in an alaukik framework free of worldly social conventions. All of Krishnas actions, the devotees understand, exist to deepen
each devotees attraction toward Krishna.
Krishna constantly starts quarrels with the gops when he grabs them
and steals their milk. However, the standard conventions no longer apply
in Krishnas alaukik realm. Instead, the rasa has no price and flows freely,
nourishing and sustaining devotees. Although the gop wants to sell her
curd, Krishna steals it, demonstrating the inapplicability of laukik rules.
He grabs whatever bits of love he can. Like the bees full of the nectar of
rasa, Krishna is intoxicated by the taste of the curd/love and can no longer
restrain himself.
Rgasrang
Madhva, you have started this war with us.
As we go along the road, you demand a tax. That love is so sweet.
You are a boy, we are young women, now we humbly beg
you to stop your mischief.
This special rasa of the jasmine controls the bee,
so you should appease our anger.
After you appease us, well touch your feet.
Why do you break this love?
When will we meet Paramnands lord?
Now prove my doubts false.
(S607)
No matter how angry the gops might be, Krishnas unique rasa appeases
them. For this rasa, the gops anger and the appeasement are positive
87
because both strengthen the gops love and feelings for Krishna. Despite the
anger Krishnas pranks arouse, only his rasa will satisfy them. No one else in
Braj could have this effect on the gops. One of Krishnas strategies for securing the gops love is the motif of separation. Although he is physically present with them in these morning poems, he has created a psychological
distance through their frustration and anger. Yet this anger is not permanent
but only draws them closer in a cycle of anger and reconciliation.
Krishnas provocation of the gops, his pranks, and his antics create the
emotional counterpart to physical separation. He torments the residents
of Braj by stealing their curd and teasing the girls. He plays pranks on
everyone, including Brahmans; no one is safe. Krishna leads Braj in a
romp through a varied emotional terrain rather than a flat emotional
landscapefrom the greatest of joys to the worst of miseries.
Rgasrang
How can we live in one village? I must have patience.
Although Ive tried, I cant restrain my greedy eyes.
When Hari goes on the road to graze the cows, I come out to
take the curd.
My hair bristles with excitement. Delighted, my voice chokes with joy.
Bliss swells and fills me with joy.
Just a moment of averted eyes seems like an aeon as I burn with the
fires of separation.
Paramnand says, day after day, how can I stay on an honorable path?
(S422)
Krishna plays hide and seek with the gops by giving them a small
glimpse of himself then teases them by hiding. Through this game, which
is similar to his other manipulations of behavior, he recapitulates the
process of union and separation. In his love games, Krishna alternately
reveals and conceals himself, playing with the gops passions. The situation is never static; he always keeps them guessing. He offers himself then
tears himself away just when they are relieved of their anxieties, keeping
them constantly on the edge. Krishna orchestrates all this emotional turmoil as a gift of love for his devotees. The fires of separation burnbut
always more intensely after the brief but ultimately unsatisfactory union.
Devotees are never satiated.
Any separation is too harsh, and the mere blink of an eye seems an
entire age. The gops delirious joy at reuniting with Krishna matches the
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SINGING KRISHNA
depths of their despair in the darkest hours of their separation. Without

unionwhether emotional or physicaldevotees cannot have the passions of separation: they do not miss what they never had. However,
those who are the most intimate with Krishna feel the pain of his absence
most deeply.
To experience intensely any passions related to Krishna, particularly
those of separation, indicates the existence of the devotees relationship
with Krishna, so these passions are a great, if not the greatest, boon. The
contrived absences of Krishnas pranks, the mna (annoyance in love)
and khan.d.it (temporary infidelity) episodes, and then his final and ultimate absence all intensify the devotees passions. Although Krishnas
behavior, notably his lying and stealing, may appear to be antisocial, in
reality, these acts are gifts to the devotees. Like the gops and residents of
Braj, the devotees partake in the ever-changing states of union and separation. As the relationships develop and intensify and each devotee forges a
closer relationship with Krishna, the burning and pain of the separation
from Krishna become all the more harsh and intense and the greater is the
relief at the restoration of union. In reality, the stronger the agony of separation is felt, the closer is the underlying union with Krishna.
Rgaknharau
You play hide and seek with your two eyes.
Again and again she peeks through the door
at the form of the wily Madanagopl.
When she doesnt see Haris beauty, her heart becomes restless.
You and we are neighbors; the cowherd girls love his lotus feet.
You are so wise and all of us ignorant; your own true nature is
revealed.
Spellbound by the rasa of Paramnands lord, every day we come
because of our attraction to him.
(S506)
Krishnas game of hide-and-seek with Yaod is a microcosm of his
greater cycle of virbhva and tirobhva (manifestation and concealment)
in which he is alternately present and absent in the world. In one wellknown scenario, Krishna shuts his eyes, and the world is plunged into
darkness for that time. Paramnand demonstrates Yaods misery at even
the slightest separation from Krishna. As Purus.ottam, Krishna makes
himself known as nand (bliss) in the world and does not reveal himself in
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his fullness. All of Krishnas actions on earth dramatize this ontological

dynamic. Ontologically Krishna is always present whether devotees are
experiencing the fires of separation or exulting in the joys of union. Even
so, he hides his presence to give the illusion of separation, a feeling to be
cherished and cultivated. Axiomatically, something static produces no
change. If Krishna appeared consistently present, then no dynamic would
exist to enhance the devotees love and passion.
Krishnas gameswhether in the village or in the forest with the
cowsoccupy his and the devotees mornings. His constant pranks draw
the gops and devotees even closer to him by creating the illusion of separation and reunion, These morning poems focus on Krishnas presence in the
village as a young boy, and devotees hearing the poems in the morning can
play Krishnas games along with the gops. When Krishna is older, he takes
the cows to the forest for grazing, and Yaod does not see him all day. Only
those gops who have the honor of carrying his lunch to the forest experience
the joys of union and the food of love during Krishnas afternoon.
CHAPTER FOUR
Afternoon
Experiencing the Food of Love
The poems sung at middaywhen Krishna and his friends eat lunch
allow devotees to experience the gops joy at seeing Krishna, after they
have been separated all morning. Devotees also have been separated from
Krishna when the temple is closed in the morning, and this midday
daran helps them participate in Krishnas world through seeing Krishna
and through sharing the joy of reunion with the gops. After seeing
Krishnathrough the poetrytake lunch with the gops, devotees themselves will eat. Thus the poems help synchronize devotees lives with that
of Krishna. Understanding how this poetry is experienced in ritual context, that is, how it structures devotees lives, helps us understand how this
poetry functions as a threshhold to Krishnas world.
Rjbhog: A Lunchtime Tryst in the Forest

As a youth, Krishna grazes the cows in the forest with the other boys, leaving Yaod and the gops both proud and sad. Forest creatures delight in
his presence, but the gops lament the separation. Only the possibility of
serving Krishna and his friends their midday meal or of engaging in an
afternoon tryst eases their pain. The gops are joyous at their first sight of
Krishna after a separation whether at lunchtime or at the end of the day.
Sometimes Rdh and her friends carry tins of food to Krishna while he
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SINGING KRISHNA
and his friends remain in the forest with the cows. The gops are delighted
to perform this task because this is a chance to meet Krishna far from
their mothers watchful eyes. Here Paramnand uses the food as love
metaphor and illustrates Krishnas afternoon games through the extensions of this semantic realm, as in the following poem in which a gop
fears not being able to find Krishna.
Rgasrang
Again and again I have called out to you, I am losing heart.
Manmohan, where have you been up until now? Dont you want
to take your meal?
She got lost while coming on the road. Why couldnt she find
the path?
She asked again and again until she found him. Then you played
your flute.
Look at the sweat on my body! The sari on my chest is soaked.
She ran to the beloved lord of Paramnand and embraced him.
(K788; L106; P3/198; S297)
Somehow this gop got lost on the road and missed the path. Alone in
the forest, the young girl called out again and again to Krishna but
received no answer. Finally he called to her on his flute. Why didnt
Krishna call to her earlier, she wonders, suspecting that Krishna, prankster
par excellence, is playing a game with her. In witnessing this scene,
Paramnand sings the poem through the trope of separation. The sweat
on the gops sari embodies her fear of separation. This physical sign of loss
reminds devotees of the gops who become parched through endless crying
after Krishnas final departure from Braj. Those desiccated gops have lost
Krishnas sustaining love. Yet this fortunate girl will momentarily receive
the nourishment of Krishnas love as embodied in the foods he distributes
to his friends.
This motif of losing Krishna draws out the gops and devotees anticipation of reunion and implies that there might be no meeting. Extending the pain of separation felt by the gops and devotees foreshadows their
great loss when Krishna goes to Mathura. Krishna, of course, plays these
games for his devotees benefit, to nourish their passions. Similarly, when
the girl arrives, Krishna divides the food up among his friends. This distribution reveals Krishnas emotional and physical nourishment of his
devotees.
Afternoon
93
Rgasrang
Clean the grains and lets eat.
Who has prepared these elegant delicacies? Taste them all,
then offer them to everyone.
Ho, ho Subal, ho rdm and Arjun, Bhoj and Vil.
Gopl gave the order: Bring rice for every one.
He put the fruit into their cupped hands;
he gave everyone a share.
The rasa of Paramnands lord is enchanting, a bridge linking us
to this mound of love.
(P3/204; K819)
When Krishna offers food to his friends, he reveals his love for them,
and everyone shares Krishnas rasa. As the rasarja (king of rasa), Gopl
the one who protects his herdappears to the devotees bhvtmaka (full
of feeling) that is most accessible to each devotee. For the most sophisticated devotees, food and its preparation substitute for love and lovemaking. Krishna responds to all needs, and varieties of food are
metonymic for the multiple means by which he sustains his devotees. Just
as people savor various types of food, Krishna offers different forms of
love to meet each devotees needs.
Krishna is nirodha (the abode of all contradictions including stopping
or checking), the source and summation of all existence, a concept illustrated by his simultaneous appearance as both an adored baby and the
object of the gops desire. The usual meaning of nirodha is constraint or
restriction, but the term has a two-part connotation in the Vallabh Samprady. First, in taking birth in human form on the earth, Krishna limited
himself to certain qualities, and second, Krishnas wonderful qualities pull
devotees away from the world and toward devotion to Krishna. Nirodha is
both a means and a reward.1 As rastmaka, the abode of all the rasas,
Krishna is the source from which all rasas originate. He dispenses rasa,
giving his devotees whatever they need. Krishna has enough rasa for
everyone to have a share; there is no shortage. Paramnand expresses this
theological concept through poesies, elaborating upon the metonymic
equations that love is food and love is liquid, such as milk or water. Love
as liquid exemplifies Vallabhs metaphor from his Siddhntarahasya in the
S.od.aagrantha of Gang water as a purifying agent.2 Just as Gang water
purifies any water it encounters, rasa transforms laukik to alaukik, and
Krishnas love becomes a purifying agent.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Rgagaur
Nandanandana, the crown-jewel of rasikas.
Full of rasa, his incomparable beauty adorns
the gopas wives, like cooling sandal paste.
Rasa in his eyes, rasa in his sight; rasa in his speech,
humans and animals are spellbound.
Rasa in the village, rasa in his presence,
the rasa of his sweet speech seems to purify everything.
Intoxicated with rasa, sages roam about like the bees who seek
this rasa which has accumulated in Braj and Vrindavan.
The connoisseur of rasa adores the abode of Sym,
Paramnands heart flows with love.
(S547)
Paramnand describes the varieties of Krishnas amazing rasa, which
purifies or renders all things alaukik. The metaphoric equivalence of rasa as
liquid invokes qualities of liquid (e.g., water permeates everything; liquid
nectar is released from flowers). Krishnas rasa is omnipresent in all things
and courses through Paramnands heart. Krishna is the indescribable
rasika worshipped by all, the giver of all joy and bliss (S585). He is both
the abode and source of all rasa and the greatest connoisseur of rasa, both
the taster and the tasted. He is at once the cause of all rasa and its beneficiary. This concept suggests the necessity of duality within devotion. Krishna
needs a partner so that he might enjoy himself. Without the apparent multiplicity within unity, Krishna could not experience his own bliss.
Rgasrang
Rdh, why have you blossomed?
I think that you met and embraced Madhva,
your profound love is revealed.
Again and again, a smile on your beautiful face,
like a lotus half bloomed.
A crooked glance renders your eyes beautiful;
desire makes you dance, tadhe.
The passion maddened sages zig-zag like bees;
iva remains in daily meditation.
The servant Paramnand says, that very rasa of the abode of r,
he gave to Rdh.
(S827)
Afternoon
95
Rdh is the half-bloomed lotus whose rasa or nectar Krishna has ravished. Her joy at meeting Krishna is such that she cannot contain it. Her
smile and her crooked glances are sttvikabhvas, revealing her bliss, and
desire animates her feet to t-dhe, the dance rhythm. This lowly Braj girl
has received the rasa meant for r, Vis.n.us royal consort of the heavenly
Vaikun.t.h. Those who meditatelike ivawill not taste Krishnas nectar.
Paramnand structures this poem with the metaphor of love as intoxication and implies that iva, among those who meditate, impervious to
Krishnas intoxication, will not taste the rasa of Krishnas passion. Rdh,
however, intoxicated by Krishnas love, has become crooked and dances
with passion, having obviously abandoned her social shame. This
metaphor connotes Krishnas fickle nature because this intoxicating nectar
causes the bees to flit from flower to flower, tasting the nectar of each one.
The bees are symbolic substitutes for Krishna, and Krishna himself stands
accused of this very same crime: helping himself to the nectar of a gop
and then moving on to the next one. Several poems use the love-is-intoxication metaphor, yet each poem develops a different aspect of the
metaphor. The refinements of this metaphor subtly affect the devotees
reception, and the different entailments of this one metaphor fashion precisely each devotees understanding of the scenario.
The rasa of union gives the sages such ecstatic joy that they are like
bees. According to this poetic tradition, a bee intoxicated by nectar
appears delirious with joy and expresses this bliss through an erratic flight
pattern. Whereas bees normally have rigid patterns and social networks,
intoxicated bees violate their patterned flights, and their actions appear
haphazard. This movement is also a sttvikabhva in which uncontrollable
physical manifestationshere blissexpress passion. This bliss engulfs
the dispassionate austerities usually associated with sages. The rasa of
Krishnas love intoxicates any who taste it, including the intoxicated sages.
Krishna and Rdhs intoxicating beauty surpasses a newly bloomed
arbor. The dark Krishna and golden Rdh are entwined like the creeper
wrapped around the tall, dark taml tree (garcinia xanthocymus).
Rgasrang
Great beauty adorns the freshly bloomed arbor.
Such wondrous beauty: delicate golden creepers entwined around
the dark taml tree.
His face and eyes like a blooming lotus; seeing this splendor gives
such joy.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Paramnands lord is drunk like a bee,

the daughter of Vr.s.abhn is a garden of flowers.
(K966)
The simple substitutions of the final line draw upon the love-is-intoxication metaphor, and the entailments of the metaphor direct the scene.
Paramnand compares Krishna to a bee, drunk with the nectar of the
flowers that he has visited; the flower bed is Rdh. This nectar, rasa, the
liquid of love, is at once produced by love and representative of it.
Paramnand paints a delightful scene in this poem, yet the metaphor of
intoxication and the substitution of the bee for Krishna draw devotees
down a darker path. Because Krishnas fickleness and betrayal are intimately connected with the image of Krishna as the bee intoxicated with
Rdhs love, devotees know that neither Krishna nor the bee confines
himself to one flower and that the bee drunk on the nectar of one flower
quickly flies to another after drinking his fill. So this tableau, a garden of
delight, subtly encodes the seeds of Krishnas betrayal. The gops, too, are
intoxicated by love and can think of nothing but Krishna.
Rgarmakal
Oh friend, what should I do now?
After my eyes fell upon the son of Nanda, I cant remain apart from
him for even the blink of an eye.
Inside my mother and father frighten me, they invoke the
honor of the family.
Outside all voices speak out loudly: here comes the lover of Knha.
Neither night nor day passes easily for me; the house and
the courtyard are no longer pleasant.
The lord of Paramnand laughs, he has stolen my mind.
(K367; P3/99)
The gops under Krishnas spell cannot remain apart from him, even at
the expense of family shame. They care nothing for family attachments or
decorum. Their houses have become prisons, and they endure their neighbors taunts: here comes the lover of Knha. The previous poems illustrated the power of intoxication by love, and that love inhibits social
pretensions. This poem expresses a similar loss of shame through the
motif of entrapment and theft. Krishna is a thief, and he has stolen the
gops minds so that they only think of him.
Afternoon
97
This poem falls into the category of hilag, which suggests that the
gops have irrevocably been snared or snagged by love. Hilag is derived
from the Hindi verb in hilagan, which literally means attached or
joined and connotes snare, as a sari might snag on a thorn. In local sectarian usage, hilag suggests a manner of love that cannot be cured, which
is not an elite concept from Sanskrit poetics but a local Braj connotation.
Poems and scenes in the rsa lls dramatize episodes in which Rdhs sari
catches on a thorn, and Krishna stays behind to unsnag her. This scene
usually happens at midday when the gops and gopas are in the forest. Her
predicamentlike dropping the proverbial hankieis a pretext for a
quick meeting with Krishna.
The gops abandon all sense of propriety in their quest to see Krishna.
They think only about him.
Rgadhanar
My mind is united with Hari, joined only with Hari,
and has broken with all else.
So how can a dancer dance with a veil, fearing the
shame of society? She threw down the shawl.
All thought of before and after destroyed; he shattered my mind,
just like the pots shattered in the middle of the path.
This is the story, so tell me; oh friends, so what if
I turned my face in shame.
This body has drowned in the passion of love for my beloved,
the young Llagiridharan.
Paramnands lord laughs at the people of the Vedas
as if in great surprise.
(K417; P3/92; S431)
The gop throws off anything that stands between her and Krishna.
Just as a veil would hamper the movements of a dancer, social shame
inhibits the gops relationship with Krishna, so she throws off her shawl,
emblematic of modesty. This image of the veiled dance alludes to the gops
shame when Krishna stole their clothes. When they emerged from the
water naked, nothing stood between them and Krishna physically or emotionally. Each gop, too, wantslike each devotee wantsnothing
between her and Krishna. The gop claims that Krishna has shattered her
mind and that all thoughts of before and after have flowed out of her
mind just as milk pours out of a broken pot. She no longer cares to turn
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SINGING KRISHNA
her face in shame because she has drowned in Krishnas love. Aesthetically,
turning ones face in shame is the first step of love for the nyik, the
young heroine, but this girl has traveled well beyond the initial stages of
love.
This poem explores several entailments of the metonym of love as
liquid rasa, including the ocean of rasa in which the gop has drowned.
Paramnand illustrates this tactile experience of Krishnas love, and this
gop is fully immersed in Krishnas lovejoined only with Hari. Anything that prevents this immersion is an obstacle, and Paramnand illustrates the obstacles through a series of simple substitutions of physical
boundaries that contain the rasa. The veil of decorum and the pots that
Krishna shatters are physical boundaries that separate the gop from
Krishnas love. Most important though, Krishna breaks the minds
attachment to society or to anything that is not Hari, for the mind establishes itself as the greatest bulwark against immersion in Krishnas love.
Paramnand says the Braj lord laughs at those people of the Vedas, those
people who worry about ritual, prohibition, and society. Those devotees
who come to him with the single-mindedness of this entranced gop gain
his love.
Rgarmakal
I am entranced by the dust of his lotus feet.
How can I abandon Madanagopl after wandering about
for so many days?
My mother, father, brother and husband meet me.
Again and again, they stop me.
They slander and laugh at me; they scare and threaten me,
then I get up and creep out.
The strength of my intellect has made me shrewd, it is good I am
capable of such devices.
Paramnand knows the lord is the gem of gems, the clever
dancer applies the arts of love.
(K392)
The word at.aki (entranced) means stopped in the sense of both
stopped in ones tracks because of entrancement and stopped as in prevented from going, and, in this case, both senses are valid. The gop must
be wise and clever to sneak out of the house to meet her lover. This is also
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a hilag poem, and the metaphors of love as entrapment and love as war
structure the poem. The gop is doubly entrapped: she is captivated by
love and a captive of her family. Ironically, her entrapment is also her path
to freedom. Neither shame nor her familys attempts to stop her can prevent her sojourns with Krishna. And here we see an aspect of love as war
wherein the gops cleverness and strategyenhanced by Krishnaenable
her to outsmart her captors. In this war, Krishna and the gop are not
combatants but must collude to escape their oppressors.
Paramnand identifies Krishna with the cintman.i, the wish-fulfilling
stone, the gem of gems that relieves all anxieties caused by desire and
soothes anything that distresses the mind. Krishna is both the cause of
and the cure for the gops anxiety: he has caused her captivation and the
resulting anxiety, and, at the same time, he is the highly sought bounty,
the treasure in her battle against her family.
Rgasrang
Hey friend, my eyes are greedy.
I get agitated without seeing him. The sight of him gives relief.
He has a peacock crest and yellow clothes; the speech from his
mouth is lovely.
One cannot describe the beauty of his limbs. Seeing him exhausts
even Kmadeva.
The sound of his flute is enticing so that birds, deer and cows stare.
Paramnand says, in this way, they stand and watch the lord of love.
(P3/94; P3/173; S470)
Sight of Krishna relieves the gop of her anxieties. The gops eyes are
personified, and the part represents the whole. Her eyes are greedy for
sight of Krishnas indescribable beauty, which entrances not only the gops
but also Kmadeva, the god of love, and the animals of the forest. His
beauty immobilizes them so that they can only stand motionless, staring.
As above, Krishnas love entraps those who see him, whether animals or
gops. His beauty itself is a powerful agent and actively snares the viewers;
it is Krishnas chief weapon in his captivation of the gops. Like the gops
eyes, devotees eyes become greedy for the sight of Krishna, and their eyes
and minds remain focused on Krishna. Paramnands descriptions of
Krishnas beauty compel devotees to concentrate on Krishna much like
the forest animals that can only stop and stare.
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Rgasrang
The darling of Nanda controls my heart.
Oh friend, I took a peek, then turned and hid. From that moment
on I have been overjoyed.
This man of sophistication, this dark beauty has bound my heart.
Paramnands lord, who is an ocean of joy, his rasa flows
throughout Braj.
(S429)
This gop relinquishes her heart to Krishna after just one glance at
him. These vignettes depicting the gops sight of Krishna demonstrate the
power of vision to captivate and snare the devotee. Daran of Krishna
hooks devotees and reels them in until they see nothing but Krishna.
Seeing Krishna creates a powerful draw that inextricably links the gops
and Krishna. One glimpse of him, and they are caught. Ironically, the
gops hearts are bound by Krishna, whose rasa destroys boundaries, an
example of nirodha, which simultaneously constrains and pulls toward
devotion. Paramnand juxtaposes two contrasting metaphoric realms:
love as binding or captivation and love as freedom and without boundaries. And this contradiction points to a greater truth for the devotee: to
bind oneself to Krishna is freedom.
Mahtmya: Separation during the Afternoon Watch
The gops afternoon reunion with Krishna is followed by a long afternoon
period of separation. Krishna once again is off in the forests with the
cows, and the gops lament his absence. Temples are usually closed from
approximately one oclock (or lunchtime) until five or so when he returns.
The poetry sung in these periods highlights Krishnas divine magnificence
and not his ll.
Rgamlav
He holds the lotus which removes the pain of the devotees.
His lotus hand holds the disk Sudaran which protects his devotees.
He holds the conch which rent the enemys stomach;
Narasimha wielded the mace to destroy the wicked.
His four arms of Nryan. who relieves the earth
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of its burden hold these weapons.

The lord of humility who is merciful, the worlds guru,
and gem of gems removes the devotees anguish.
Oh lord of the servant Paramnand: dont ever abandon us.
(K1614; L330; L523; P1/81; P2/94; S1318)
Paramnand invokes the glory of Krishnas many forms and contrasts
this magnificence with the lowliness of the devotee who pleads for
Krishnas protection. Most devotees picture Krishna as a Braj boy, and
Paramnands poetry encourages that perception. Yet, for the devotee to
feel human emotions towards Krishna, the devotee must see Krishna as a
normal boy, not as a deity, so Krishna is rarely depicted in his glorious
four-armed form. Krishnas beneficent concealment of these qualities
makes a relationship possible. Paramnand also illustrates Krishnas divine
capacities, particularly his role as protector of his devotees. These poems
highlight the dsya, or servitude, bhva in which the devotee feels awe
toward a remote, but benign, deity.
Paramnand lists the traditional objects held by the four-armed figure
of Vis.n.u: the conch, mace, discus, and lotus. Each of these objects is a
weapon used to protect the world, and together they remind the devotees
of Vis.n.us power and commitment to protecting the earth and her
denizens. Hearing this poem, devotees would recall Vis.n.us fourth descent
to the earth in which he appeared as the fearsome Narasimha (man-lion).
The demon Hiran.yakaipu had won a boon from Brahm that he could
be destroyed by neither god, man, nor beast, neither by day nor by night.
This demon had reached such a point of invincibility that the gods had to
intervene. Vis.n.u assumed the form of Narasim
ha, the half-man, half-lion,
and destroyed Hiran.yakaipu at twilight.
Paramnand sings of Nryan., a title of Vis.n.u/Krishna, in his full
four-armed glory. Portraying Krishna with all of his qualities manifest
inspires the attitude of servitude, not the more egalitarian parental,
friendly, or erotic approaches typically depicted in the poetry. Nryan. is
the great and powerful god who removes the earths burdens.
Rgasrang
If I abandoned you, who would I go to as king?
If I bow my head to his feet in his doorway,
how could I be sold into the hands of others?
You are the lord of Laks.m, the hero of the three worlds. I bow to him,
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the supreme lord.

The wishing tree, the cow of plenty, the gem of gems:
I honor him who is the entire world.
Who gives more than you? Who is capable of more?
Surrendered to him, I am satisfied.
Paramnand says, if I abandon the ocean of Hari, then how could I
come to the river for refuge?
(S1321)
Paramnand pleads for Krishnas raya (shelter) and bows to his
majesty, recognizing that Krishna is the supreme lord. In this viniti (petition), Paramnand speaks as a humble penitent and shows no trace of the
mood of sassy gops who tease and insult Krishna in the ll. Many of
Paramnands ll poems point out the irony of the divine in the guise of a
small mischievous boy, but there is no irony here. Krishna is the wish-fulfilling cow, the gem of gems, who sustains the entire world.
Rgasrang
Why dont you take refuge in him?
As a mother nurtures with food, his lotus feet are a boat
for the ocean of existence.
Knowing our difficult situation, the guru of the world appeared
and helped.
The lord of the Yadus established Ugrasena. He made him king
and beat the drums.
He protected Nanda and the rest of the Braj folk,
the many milkmaids and cowherds.
Gopl, who is tender to his devotees and destroys misery,
lifted the mountain and protected them from Indras anger.
As Madhva, the giver of mercy, such a lord enchants
the three worlds.
The lord of Paramnandads, the destroyer of Kesi, vanquished
the family of Kama.
(S1317)
Take refuge in the lotus feet of Krishna, Paramnand says. Krishnas
own lotus feet are the boats that help devotees navigate the treacherous
ocean of existence. Devotees who are aware of the lotus flowers special
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qualities understand Paramnands symbolic substitution of the lotus for

Krishna. The lotus grows in shallow, still waters. Its bloomed flower sits
pristinely upon the surface, and its roots reach toward the muddy depths.
The lotus represents one like Krishna who is rooted in the laukik but
blooms in the alaukik.
Paramnand invokes the love-as-nurturance metaphor and expresses
this concept through the range of ways in which Krishna sustains his
devotees. For example, Krishna nurtures his devotees as a mother nourishes her child. Paramnand praises the heroic deeds of Krishna who
responded to the earths pleas and appeared in Braj to dethrone the tyrant
Kamsa. Kamsa had deposed Ugrasena, the benevolent king of Mathura,
and Krishna restored him to the throne after killing Kamsa. Calling
Krishna by the name Gopl, which means the protector of the cows,
Paramnand honors Krishnas protection of his Braj family and friends. As
Madhva, Krishnas charm captivates all three worlds, and he shows mercy
to his devotees.
The poems of viniti (petitioning), raya (shelter), and mahtmya (the
magnificence of the lord) are not sung during the part of the sev when
devotees view the image; these poems are either sung before or after sev
or at pada-man.d.als or bhajan (devotional singing) sessions. Often a devotee will sing these poems after sev to extinguish any ego claims to having
done sev. As a verbal prostration, this singing establishes the devotees
humility toward Krishna, in significant contrast to the poems about
Krishnas Braj play, which encourage an intimate parity between Krishna
and his devotees. Instead these poems inspire dsya bhva (attitudes of
servitude and humility) and emphasize Krishnas full glory with all of his
divine qualities in contrast to the devotees lowliness. As Parabrahman or
Purus.ottam, Krishna has six qualities that are manifest only in that form:
aivarya (majesty), vrya (strength), yaa (fame), r (fortune), jna
(knowledge), and vairgya (freedom from attachment).3
These poems that stress Krishnas magnificence arouse feelings of awe
and humility in devotees, yet this dsya bhva is the least satisfying for
both Krishna and his devotees. Most devotees are far more comfortable
relating to Krishna in terms of the bhvas that emphasize intimacy. It is
precisely because of this closeness between devotees and Krishna that long
periods of separation from Krishna are so difficult to endure for the devotees as well as the gops. Those days in which Krishna grazes the cows in
the forest are some of the longer periods of separation, yet at least the gops
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know that he will return at the end of the day. Nonetheless, they remember the moment when he left in the morning and anticipate the time
when he will return.
Rgasrang
Oh ma, Gopl went to the forest in the morning.
His lunch basket filled with rice and curd hangs over his shoulder;
he protects the herd of cows.
Hearing the cows low in the morning, the gopas sound their horns.
The boys leave in the same manner as a bee escapes the hollow
of a lotus as it opens in the morning.
His flute appears in his hand;
a necklace and a peacock feather adorn his body.
The hero of Braj poses like a dancer;
the gods and sages delight in seeing him.
Birds, deer and trees are all joyous while the gopas wives lament.
The wise Paramnand knows the grief of being separated from
Krishnas love.
(P2/107; S272)
While the forest creatures feel the joy of union, the gops feel the
pangs of separation from Krishna. They recall their last sight of him as he
left with the herd of cows, his lunch basket slung over his shoulder. They
see his fine clothing and peacock feather, making him even more alluring.
His graceful stature delights even the gods and sages. The gops and
Paramnand have only this remembered image of Krishna until they see
him again in the evening.
Vallabh himself saw viraha as the most important mode of relating to
Krishna and as a means of purifying devotees of worldliness. In Paramnands Vrt, Harirya quotes Vallabh as stating that everything is to be
given up for the experience of viraha. In the state of viraha, there is
absolutely no remembrance of laukik or Vedic affairs.4 The viraha scenarios are not remote and unimaginable situations but are close to real life
at least for those living a rural or village life. During the rainy season when
rivers swell and roads become impassable, travel is typically halted, and
lovers are reunited: the rainy season symbolizes union. Yet, if the lovers
happen to be separated at this timeas is the case when Krishna leaves
for Mathurathe separation is especially painful.
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Separation means nothing in a vacuum and must be understood in

conjunction with its opposite: samyoga (union). Paramnands Vrt illustrates the need of a previous union for the experience of separation. Prior
to his meeting with Vallabh, Paramnand had forgotten his ll activities
with Krishna, and, from birth, unknowingly suffered viraha. Once he
recalled the ll and experienced union with Krishna, he felt the gops
pains of separation. Vallabh asked Paramnand to sing of Krishnas childhood play because when one has experienced the childhood ll which is
samyoga rasa, then one will immediately understand viraha.5 The experience of separation implies an a priori union. Although feelings of anger
and separation might obscure the underlying union, union must still be
present. Krishna and those who love him participate in an eternal dance
of separation and union, a process that parallels virbhva (continual revelation) and tirobhva (concealment) of Purus.ottam in the world through
Krishnas ll.
The dynamic of separation and union in Braj is a playful one; Krishna
reveals and conceals himself for the devotees benefit. Ultimately, the separation is not real or ultimate: Krishna and his devotees are never
absolutely apart. Although devotees cultivate the pain of separation, ontologically, a monistic worldview denies the possibility of absolute separation. This monism does not invalidate the experience of separation. The
experience of separation is not an illusion or fantasy but exists within the
structure of Krishnas being as a necessary duality within unity. Within the
human realm, this separation might feel real, but because this dynamic of
separation and union occurs within a monistic whole, ontologically it is
not real. The motifs of separation in Krishnas play function as heuristic
devices enabling each devotee to engage the passions and create a relationship with Krishna, thus enacting union and reunion.
Paramnands poems exemplify a variety of modes of separation and
union. Some of these separationsthough causing distress to those
involvedoccur naturally and derive from patterns of daily life. As part
of Krishnas daily activities, he grazes his cows in the forests of Vrindavan,
and, during this period, all the women and girls of Braj mourn his
absence. Yaod and the other women are overjoyed upon his return
(van); they have awaited this sight of Krishna, who is now covered with
the dust kicked up by the cows. This particular image of the dust-covered
Krishna returning with the cows is a popular and endearing one in the
poetry. This period of separation is brief, and the women anticipateand
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are certain ofhis return in the late afternoon. At this time they do not
experience the anguish of Krishnas later and permanent departure.
Nonetheless, even the minor and manageable pain of missing him for
those few hours makes Krishnas return all the sweeter.
Public and Private Ll
During the afternoon while Krishna grazes the cows and during the night
while the rest of Braj and Yaod sleep, the devotee enjoys either the
anguish of separation or the joys of union along with the gops. Temples
are closed during those afternoon and night periods in which Krishna
engages in his erotic dalliances. Krishnas lovemaking is private, so no
temple would offer daran at this time. Most of Paramnands poems illustrate Krishnas boyhood games and only hint at his erotic nature.
Rgasrang
Ll is intent on this one game.
He seats himself in the middle of the boys,
he plays in this way.
He gives whatever pleases the heart;
he respects everybodys wishes.
Take Sankars.an with you and move the cows forward, Kanha.
Come brother, lets go to the forest Talaban and drink some
Yamuna water.
Brother Kanha, so well you saved us from the demon Rasabh.
Who could break your strength?
Laughing, they went to Gokul. They all knew it was evening.
The lord of Paramnand has a white umbrella spread over his head.
(S262)
Paramnand sees the cowherd boy Krishna in the forest, intent on his
game. Ll, a diminutive often used for young children, denotes Krishna as
a young child. He sits surrounded by his friends, and the cows graze
nearby. Evening approaches, and the boys move the cows toward their
home in Gokul. Paramnand emphasizes the relationship between
Krishna and his cowherd friends, which is the primary stance for those
devotees who are not inclined towards the erotic approach.
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Vallabh himself realized that the erotic approach could be misinterpreted by ignorant people and made distinctions between public and private ll. He took great pains to distinguish between prem (purified love)
and km (desire). For example, Vallabh states that the rsa ll dance,
though real, is devoid of sensualism. Devotees should not understand
the rsa ll (or rsapcdhyya) dance in the worldly, laukik sense but as
love in the alaukik sense of prem, not km.6 Paramnand himself frequently shrouded Krishnas esoteric erotic games within episodes of childhood play.
The movement inward from the parental approach to the erotic
approach relates to the Pus.t.imrg dichotomy of interiority and exteriority
seen in sev. Vallabh and the Vallabh Samprady distinguished between
public temple play and private arbor play. During the periods in which
the temple is open for daran, Krishnas games should be suitable for
family viewing, thus focusing on Krishnas childhood games and the
parental feelings of devotees as the predominant emotion. This childhood
play is the exoteric approach, while those accomplished devotees ascend to
the more esoteric erotic play and, ultimately, to the most sublime, love
play in the forest arbor. Paramnands poetry operates on each devotee relative to the devotees sophistication; the more sophisticated devotees grasp
subtleties that the less adept might not.
When the temples are closed, each devotee feels separation from
Krishna and so strives to retain proximity to Krishna by performing a
variety of poems. Devotees emphasize the erotic attitude at this time;
Krishna is with a gop, so the ll is private. During the evening, there is a
public display in which Yaod puts Krishna to bed, and, after this period,
he slips out to the forest arbor. In this period, the devotees experience
samyoga-ll (union) even while the temple is closed. Vallabh developed,
and his son Vit.t.halnth embellished, this sdhan (secret practice) in
which adept devotees experience union with Krishna while less sophisticated devotees experience separation. Vallabh and Vit.t.halnth feared that
a non-adept public might misinterpret the subtleties of the erotic
approach, so they shrouded it within the more accessible parental
approach. While Paramnands lyrics may outwardly indicate boyhood
play, the majority of the poems, either openly or subtly, evoke the mdhurya bhva (erotic stance).
The majority of Paramnands poems were composed for public sev,
because that is when Paramnand saw Krishnas ll and sung his lyrics.
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For Paramnand, as much as any devotee, the late afternoon reopening of

the temple must have been a welcome relief from the long separation from
Krishna. Krishnalike most residents of Brajrests in the afternoon.
The devotees next opportunity for daran is Utthpan, the time in which
Krishna has awoken from his nap and returns to Braj from the forest.
Utthpanvan: Krishnas Arrival in Braj

Rgasvar
Madhvas arrival is enchanting.
A peacocks crown and a garland of red berries;
the flute plays sweet sounds.
Syms charming body is smeared with dust raised by the cows;
he created this wondrous guise.
The son of Nanda is amidst the group of boys;
the amount of bliss expands.
For the groups benefit at the end of the day,
he reveals his beautiful dance steps.
Paramnand says, the gops hearts are in bliss,
he erased the pain of separation.
(S353)
van, Krishnas afternoon arrival, is one of the most significant
reunion periods of the day. The gops savor their first sight of Krishna
whose epithet Madhva evokes the sweet taste of honey. The sweet sounds
emanating from Krishnas flute have alerted the waiting gops to his arrival.
The gops joy at seeing him demonstrates their distress at the separation;
after all, they have been waiting all day for his return. The cloud of dust
that alerts the others to the boys and cows return home is a potent Braj
image. From afar, the women see the cloud of dust that precedes the boys.
Devotees and the gops cherish this dust trod upon by Krishna.
Many poems portray devotees taking this dust and putting it on their
own heads, enacting their voluntary self-subordination to Krishna. This
action parallels pran.m, the gesture in which one symbolically places
another persons feet upon his or her head, acknowledging their relative
social positions. In Nandads Bhramargt (Song of the Bee), Uddhava
wishes to be reborn as a creeper, so the gops feet and the dust of Vrinda-
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van will crown his head. Many Braj devotees today wear amulets filled
with Braj-raj, the dust of Braj, around their necks.
A popular narrative recapitulates the importance of this Braj dust.
While in Dwarka, the sage Nrada noticed that Krishna had a problem.
Krishna replied that he had a headache and that the only remedy was to
apply the dust from a pure devotees feet to his head. Nrada searched for
someone willing to offer this dust but was unsuccessful until he ultimately
arrived in Braj. Hearing of Krishnas plight, Rdh immediately sat down
and scraped the dust off her feet. Nrada tried to speak, but she told him
to rush back to Dwarka. Her only concern was Krishna. Finally she asked
why he had come all the way to Braj from Dwarka. He replied that no one
else would give him the dust for fear of going to hell. They believed that
to put the dust of their feet on his head would be blasphemy. Out of all
the devotees, only Rdh and the gops had no regard for their own salvation: their sole concern was Krishna. These gops who repeatedly risk their
social standingkalanka, literally, blemish or flawto serve Krishna
are considered the ideal devotees.7
Rgagaur
Mohan arrives with the cows.
He plays the flute, his body smeared with dust;
he puts an arm on rdms shoulder.
A yellow waist-band, red scarf and a fresh forest garland upon his chest.
A sweet earring decorates his cheek; a peacock feather-crest adorns
his head.
The Braj women watch him and bloom like lotuses,
their eyes drink the nectar of his beauty.
The lord of Paramnand has destroyed the fires of separation.
(K1066; P3/292)
Paramnand illustrates well-known signs of Krishnas beauty; his
yellow clothing and forest garland are familiar to devotees. Krishnas
cheek, the spot under the ear lobe where his earring touches his face, is
considered one of the most charming and sweetest parts of his body. The
sight of Krishna alleviates the burning pains of separation. Like the moon
whose cooling rays ease pain, Krishnas nectar heals burns like a soothing
balm. Krishna is a symbolic substitution for the moon, though his candram (moon-face) is understood, not stated explicitly. The kumud, the
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lotusand, by extension, the gopsblooms only in response to the

moon, Krishnas face. The gops drink greedily of this cooling nectar:
daran of Krishnas rasa has extinguished the fires of separation. Paramnands often-used metonym of rasa as liquid underlies this poem, and the
equivalence of beauty and nectar is one of numerous entailments of this
metaphor. Paramnand expresses the relief of Krishnas arrival using different facets of this metonym, and each variationwhether nectar or
milkevokes its own semantic field of perception for the listener.
Rgasvar
Knha, gray like a rain-cloud, sings and sings on the banks of the
Yamuna.
He has adopted the guise of a dancer and dances in a circle of Abhirs.
Sweet eyes and a beautiful voice, his lower lip holds the flute.
They circle the beautiful one with lotus-eyes; his body is smeared with
dust.
The flow of water slows, the cows stop chewing their straw.
The calves wont drink milk; their hearts are given over to the sound.
Deer, birds, trees, bees, sages and ascetics: all are captivated.
Paramnands lord Gopl plays in the forest.
(P2/429; S344)
Nature, too, is enamored of Krishna. The sight of Krishna renders
Braj immobile: animals become still, and rivers halt their course.
Ghanasym indicates Krishnas dark-blue color, similar to a cloud about
to burst. This much-anticipated cloudburst relieves the unbearable heat of
the hot season just as Krishnas arrival douses the fires of separation. This
symbolic substitute of Krishna for rain cloud equates the relief of seeing
Krishna to the relief of the monsoon rains.
Krishnas peacock dance adds another dimension to the monsoon
imagery. When Krishna arrives back in Braj, he dances like a peacock and
plays his flute amidst a circle of boys, offering the gops a tableau of his
splendor. Krishna is often portrayed as the master of the dance, which
suggests his grace and beauty as well as his sensuous charm. As the rasarja
or rasanyaka (hero of rasa), he is the master of all the bhvas and rasas
related to arts. As a sttvikabhva, Krishnas peacock dance manifests his
happiness at seeing the gopsparticularly when he dances after having
been separated from the gops all day. Seeing Krishnas joy is a boon for the
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gops, and the dance prolongs their sight of him. In Indian lore, the peacocks dance anticipates the arrival of the rainy season. Paramnands references to the monsoon heighten the erotic component of the poem
because all devotees know that the monsoon is the time for the reunion of
lovers.
The Braj residents realize that any meeting with Krishna is to be treasured, and the gopsno strangers to pretextstime their chores to end
just prior to his return.
Rgagaur
When she heard the call of the flute, she sank down.
At the time of the cows return, she came here on the pretext
of fetching water.
A peacocks crown adorns his head, his fickle eyes wander.
She met Paramnands lord in the cow pen,
because of that she was late.
(K1081; P3/291)
The gop heard Krishnas flute and knew it was time to be devious.
She feigned a need for water at the time of Krishnas return. The gop plots
a seemingly coincidental meeting, which delays her return home, but
these gops subordinate their household duties and family propriety to
meeting with Krishna. No matter how fleeting the union or how great the
risk of punishment, the gops know their priorities. Paramnand embeds a
variant of the metaphor of love as war in the poem. Like any war, this one
requires tactics and the full dedication of the warriors. While the gops
plotting pretext and her willingness to risk social standing point to her
warrior status, these actions also explicitly reveal the need to break boundaries. And this notion brings us back to the power of rasa, and one aspect
of rasa as liquid is the breaking of limits. This poem and others depict the
violation of social boundaries and norms. For devotees, rasa as Krishna
loves helps to break down the wall between Krishna and the devotees or
between the humans and the divine. Hearing this poetry and seeing
through to Krishnas world helps devotees see past the illusions of the
laukik realm and onto the more real alaukik realm.
Although the gops bent stature indicates the weight of some household chore, a more nuanced reading points to the weight of Krishnas rasa.
The rasa for Krishna weighs down her mind, so she can only think of
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him. The image of the bent gop alludes to the Braj theme of crookedness
in which crookedness is linked to a rakish sensuality. As water breaks its
bounds, rasa eliminates borders and cannot be contained.
Rgagaur
Giridhars whole body is crooked.
He moves with a crooked gait in Gokul; Oh, the beauty of this
romantic.
Crooked eyebrows, crooked gait; the crookedness of his heart.
The lord of Paramnandads has made a narrow alley in Braj.
(K1078; P3/297; P3/299; S554)
As Tribhangi, Krishnas body shows off its characteristic three bends.
In this classic pose, Krishna stands, holding his flute to his lips, one foot
crossed over the other and hips bent. This bent and crooked posture suggests both a rakish adolescent and a toddler. As a toddler, he staggers
across the floor, and when learning to speak, he lisps his words in a
charming baby-talk. His crooked eyebrows suggest more mature, erotic
charms and something rakishly alluring. The crooked alley, the sankar
khor or snko khor, embodies Krishnas crooked nature because, in this
winding and narrow alley that is wide enough for only one to pass, he
traps the girls and women of Braj and demands favors. Yet this poem of
arrival details the gops delightnot annoyanceat seeing Krishna.
Exemplars of Bhva: The Cows and the Gops
The gops are not the only creatures overjoyed to see Krishna. Perhaps no
animal is so affected by Krishna as the cow. The cows love Krishna unconditionally and cannot produce milk without him. Paramnand equates
the cows with ideal devotees.
Rgasrang
Listen to my pleas, Lady Yaod.
All of a sudden the cows trust only your son.
This evening after they came from the forest,
they were separated from Hari
and became agitated.
They will give no milk now that so much of the night has passed.
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I have come to tell you that I now realize the milk is useless.
How can we speak with Nanda? Talking like this scares me.
Hey, quickly go and get Madanagopl! Listen and do this,
wife of Nanda.
Paramnands lord arose and came, how can this be told?
(S390)
Rgagaur
Govind, your cow has grown.
Listen Braj lord, I cant collect enough milk for your greed.
Notorious, you eat according to your own wishes;
any scruples eased.
Beautiful Sym, they trust you, they must recognize you.
Ears perked, they watch me. They stand, peeping and spying.
Paramnand says, the boy of Nandas house grows.
(K689; P3/306; S396)
Like the gops, the cows pine for Krishna. They urgently need milkingbut only by Krishna. Although this might appear to be a ruse by the
women to see Krishnaa ploy we have seen beforein this case, they
speak the truth. The cows will let only Krishna milk them. The cows prosper under Krishnas touch, and only he can make them grow and produce
milk. The cows perked ears, a sttvikabhva, manifests their adoration of
Krishna. The gop in S390 who complains to Yaod has a serious concern: her cows had become agitated at not seeing Krishna and refused give
milk. The milkan economic and dietary staple in Brajhas gone bad.
This complaint, for once, is no pretext: how can they survive with no
milk, which, devotees know, is rasa, the embodiment of Krishnas love?
Without Krishnas presence, there is no sustenance.
The gop is frustrated by Krishnas greed for milk. Krishna has no
scruples about consuming copious amounts of milk, and the cows cannot
produce enough to meet his demands. Paramnand sings from the point
of view of this worried gop, yet he and the devotee can supply a broader
reading to these situations. Those who understand Krishnas economy of
love know that neither milk nor love is ever truly in short supply. Instead,
Krishnas rasa is an endless ocean, and any apparent shortageor the feeling of separation or lackresults from the devotees previous immersion
in Krishnas rasa. As compared to the situation of a person who floats on
the ocean seeking water, it is a matter of knowing where to look.
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However, these cows who so desperately yearn to be milked by

Krishna do not have access to the memories that allow devotees to contemplate these scenarios.
Rgagaur
Mother sent for Giridharan.
Without Sym, who can they trust? Sniffing,
they reject their own calves.
The other cowherds, the group of friends, and Balarm are defeated.
Mooing and lowing, they looked in all directions. My cow prefers
his touch.
The woman hears the speech. Both hands at her sides,
she glances at the boy Krishna.
Yaod smiles and joins Paramnands lord of Gokul.
(K697; P3/306; S225)
The gops mother has sent for Krishna. The cow pen is a scene of
desolation: the lowing cows look about for Krishna. His absence has even
eradicated their maternal devotion to their calves. This image of the
cows inability to nurse their calves is particularly resonant in Braj. The
cow is the mother who gives everything to her children. Indian mythology speaks of kmadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow, the cow of plenty that
appeared after the churning of the ocean of milk and that fulfills any
request. In reality, the cow is an economic and nutritional mainstay of
Braj. A cows rejection of her own calf is a harbinger of impending disaster and scarcity: a dearth of love, milk, and rasa. Without Krishna, this
cow gives nothing. Sight of Krishna is the catalyst for this cow of plenty.
When she sees Krishna, she will produce the milkand the love and
rasathat sustains Braj. The other cowherd boys and even Balarm are
only spectators to this drama: like stubborn gops, the cows accept no
substitute for Krishna.
Unlike the gops, the cows do not understand Krishnas absences and
cannot intellectualize the situation. No amount of rationalization can fill
the void left by him (similar to the Bhramargt story told in the Bhgavata Purn.a and by Nandads). The cows feel the pain of Krishnas
absences with full force and have no buffers between them and their feelings. Their bhva is one of pure faith and trust in Krishna. Both Paramnand and Vallabh compare the cows to the gops in terms of their simple
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adoration and trust of Krishna. They blindly and stubbornly trust that
Krishna knows what is best for them. The cows personify the types of
ideal devotees portrayed in Vallabhs Subodhin.8 Their steadfast unquestioning devotion to Krishna is a model, particularly for the gops, and
their dominant quality, tmasa (stubbornness), becomes a virtue in the
alaukik realm.
Cows produce rasa or milk, and milk, the food of love, cannot exist
without Krishna. The rasa is swallowed as a physical thing and as a form
of nourishment, but the rasa also should be savored, and devotees must
cultivate a taste to appreciate the subtleties of passion. When Yaod prepares food for Krishna, she encourages him to relish the different tastes in
the food. Preparing delicacies is her way of expressing her love for
Krishna. Not only are the foods metonymic for love, but the different
types of foods represent the six different tastes necessary to appreciate the
food as well as rasa and Krishnas ll itself. Soon after his return from the
forest, Yaod has the opportunity to feed Krishna.
Bhog and Sandhyrat:

The Connoisseur of Rasa Eats and Goes to Bed
When Krishna grows older, Yaod urges him to relish his meal, to taste
his food and enjoy it as a connoisseur, not a glutton. The devotee, too,
must be a connoisseur and appreciate the delicacies and subtleties of the
rasas. Krishna only has to take what he likessweet things and nothing
else if that is his wishjust as the devotees experience Krishna according
to their own needs and tastes. Krishnas delight in the sweet taste mirrors
the devotees delight in Krishnas love. Yaods love for Krishna is substantiated in the food she prepares for him. Butter and milk are the physical manifestations of her emotion toward him and embody the rasa. Rasa
implies cultivation and nourishment in its metonymic identification as
pus.t.isubstantiation, food, or sustenanceall of which are central features of the Vallabh Samprady.9
This relationship accords with the Sampradys metonymic equation
of Krishnas love with prasd. Taste, both aesthetic and sensory, is an
important aspect of rasa. Nourishment and the cultivation of taste and
food are central for the apprehension of the rasas. Paramnand himself
identifies the rasas with the six basic flavors that Yaod feeds Krishna to
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cultivate these tastes. Similarly, devotees cultivate the rasas or bhvas as

tastes to enhance the aesthetic and emotional experience. After cultivating the tastes, devotees appreciate the subtleties and nuances overlooked
by others.
Rgadhanr
Gopl eats his food.
Yaod prepared the six rasas and put them
on the adorned gold plate.
She made supper and now watches her sons face with his
huge restless eyes.
Take whatever you want, my Mohan, sweets and honey treats.
This joy which the Braj women see is rare and hidden to
Sanaka and the other sages.
Long live the darling of Nanda, the lord of Paramnandads.
(K719; P3/77; S322)
Yaod has prepared the six different flavors in order to sharpen
Krishnas tastes. For example, when Yaod offers Krishna khr (milk pudding) at six months in his annaprana (first solid food) ceremony, she
arouses in him the rasa or taste for milk pudding just as devotees cultivate
a taste for the richness and fullness of Krishnas love. The ability to taste
these flavors resides within Krishna, but they first must be invoked and
enhanced, so he can derive the fullest experience of them. This process
parallels the devotees cultivation of tasting the rasas. The potential to
experience rasa lies within all humans, but, through practice and cultivation, each devotee can intensify the experience. Different stimuli evoke
different responses, just as different foods evoke their respective tastes.
Cultivation of the passions is an art that develops the devotees ability to
relish the subtleties and nuances and should be encouraged and enhanced;
practice actualizes the potential. For the devotee, this development is a
process of exposure to the various stimuli that evoke passion. These techniques enhance the devotees abilities to see Krishna. But, as with
Krishnas first tastes, awakening the various tastes is the first step in the
process of cultivation.
While Yaod and the gops offer Krishna sustenance, Krishna continually nourishes and creates the world: thus paradoxically the maintainer is
maintained. In addition to nourishing Krishna with food, Yaod and
Paramnand offer a blessing to him as one would to a small child. The
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117
poet knows Krishna as a normal child, so he blesses him as a child, which

would not be possible if Krishna was seen as a divinity. Normally blessings
only flow downward, from elder to younger, but, because of his total
absorption in the ll, Paramnand has forgotten Krishnas true identity.
As the poet, Paramnand notes the irony of offering a blessing to the
divine, another example of status reversal in Braj.
Yaod also frequently blesses Krishna as mother to child. When these
vri, nichvara, balihari or baleiy le (blessings) are performed by devotees
to ward off evil spirits, something, either food or coins, is usually offered.
These blessings also indicate surrender or acquiescence as in the devotees
total surrender to Krishna. An object is waved around the devotees head
and given away to remove and dispose of impure substances. The item or
the person who receives it absorbs the evil spirits, and the devotee receives
protection.
Yaod protects as well as nurtures Krishna. Like most children,
Krishna initially prefers the sweetness of milk pudding or butter to the
bitter flavors that require more sophistication. Similarly, developing a
taste for the sweetness of Krishnas love is far simpler than cultivating a
taste for the bittersweet pains of separation. Paramnand contrasts the
sweetness of Krishnas love with the saltiness or bitterness of buttermilk.
The gops slander him as the fickle bee who darts from flower to flower
and complain that Krishna, who once fed them milk pudding, now will
not even give them buttermilk.
Rgasrang
My own eyes have seen what people are talking about.
After speaking such sweet words, he made his lotus eyes just so.
Concerned with only his own desires, he invited himself
to be fed khr.
Once he fulfilled his desires, he forgot our misery. Now that he is
gone, he wont even give us buttermilk.
When we still had the treasure of youth, then he loved us.
Paramnands lord Hari took the form of a bee.
(S935)
Krishna once offered the gops khr (milk pudding), the sweetness of
the rasa of his love. He cultivated in them an appetite for his love, then,
true to his reputation, he took the form of a bee. He drank of their nectar
and flew off. Now that they are devoted to him, he has gone and will not
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even give them buttermilka poor but adequate substitute. Milk pudding is concentrated sweetened milk with all its desirable qualities intact.
Buttermilk is what remains after the richest and tastiest parts of the milk
have been removed. It is still a milk product, and thus rasa, but without
the fullness of milk. A taste of the richness of Krishnas love arouses passion for himas with the devotees and the gops. They relish the sweetness of union but instead taste the bitterness of separationa passion also
to be cultivated and relished.
Rgadhanr
Hari thoroughly ate his meal.
Delicacies of the 6-flavors, savory buttermilk; asking and asking,
Hari took some.
Yaod served, laughing and radiant; Krishna soaked with the rasa
of his boyhood play.
Paramnand says, she circled the food around Krishnas head
and gave it to Subal.
(K835; P3/86; S328)
Krishna enjoys even the salty taste of buttermilk, a more difficult taste
to cultivate. The savory, salty buttermilk also suggests a form of beauty, as
well as Krishnas sassiness. We salt food to bring out the taste, not to create
an entirely new taste, and likewise the poetry enhances the already existing
emotions. Saltinesslvan.ya, charm, one of the six tastesis a type of
female beauty and the rasa that enhances beauty as salt enhances a dish.10
Lvan.ya is frequently used in Brajbhs. poetry as an adjective describing
beauty (usually female beauty) and indicates a dark complexion.
The gops in the Bhramargt poems are lvan.ya, salty and sassy. They
have been lamenting Krishnas prolonged absence from Braj. When
Krishna hears of their misery, he sends a message and his greeting to the
gops with his friend Uddhava. When Uddhava speaks, a bee flies by, and
the gops heap insults upon the bee as if it were the fickle Krishna himself.
They accuse Krishna of philandering and taking nectar from many flowers. The bee personifies the fickle Krishna, who flies from flower to flower
tasting the nectar of each but who cannot settle on just one. Krishna takes
what he wants from each gop, then he finally leaves for Mathura and
never returns.
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Rgasrang
He created our hearts, he wont make them like that again.
Even if mended with our best efforts, once broken,
our hearts will break with just one tug.
Once spoilt milk goes sour, how can its true taste be shown?
This love is based on deceit, just like a calf is given
a little milk to taste.
If a drop from the svti constellation should fall into a snakes mouth,
then the snake tastes it as poison.
A soft plant near a thorny bush is torn, each and every moment
they touch.
Uddhava! We love Hari just as a fish needs water.
Paramnand, in a city of Digambaras,
what business is there for washermen?
(S1129)
Love and beauty are subjective in Braj culture. In this Bhramargt
poem, the gops are angry with Krishna for leaving them, and their anger
shapes their reactions to Krishnas activities: the mental framework determines interpretation. Similarly each devotees approach determines the
worldly or nonworldly mode of understanding. Krishna always remains
the same, but each devotees attitudinal approach flavors the devotees
taste of him. The subjectivity of the raindrops recipient determines its
taste. Similarly the identity and passions of the recipient determine the
nature and reception of the rasa, and the poetry operates upon devotees
according to how they hear the poems, just as the snakes wicked nature
changes the raindrop from nectar to poison by virtue of his evil. For
example, the svti constellation offers different gems or tastes depending
on the recipient; the drop does not have an objective identity in and of
itself. The ctak bird tastes this raindrop as a pearl, but the snake experiences it as venom.
In the gops lament to Uddhava in the Bhramargt, they complain that
Krishnas love is like milk gone bad. He has broken their hearts by leaving
them for good, and they accuse him of cultivating their love in bad faith.
The deceitful intent of the belovedas in this caseruins the taste, yet
this milk-love is the sole sustenance of the gops. Krishnas love is no more
optional for the gops than is water for fish. But the water must not be
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stagnant nor the milk sour. The image of spoiled milk reveals a triumvirate of relationships: milk is rasa is love. Love is substantiated in the form
of milk, which is also rasaliquid love as in the milk of the calf.
The more literal and precise translation of the fifth and sixth lines is
something like [His] love, intended to deceive, was like the small amount
[of milk from the] cow fed [to the calf simply to get the milk flowing so it
can be milked]. The gops claim that Krishna offered his love on the
premise of deceit; he gave them a small amount to get the love flowing but
never intended to continue giving them this love.11 The last line of the
poem refers to the Digambara sect of the Jains. The Digambaras are skyclad, having renounced even clothing. Dhobis (or washermen) have no
chance of survival in such an environment any more than the calf can survive without milk.
Neither the cows nor the gops can exist without the nourishment of
Krishnas love. Any separation from Krishna causes immense pain to the
residents of Braj as well as the devotees, yet devotees learn to cultivate the
nuances of separation to enhance their passion for Krishna. They appreciate Krishnas pranks and love games and relish those poems in which
Paramnand offers daran of these poignant episodes. Devotees trust that
Krishna acts only for their benefit, and Krishnas ll exists to enhance his
relationship with his devotees. When devotees hear and see poems illustrating Krishnas mischievous nature or those times of separation, they
incorporate these scenarios into their individual stores of knowledge and
become even more attuned to the nuances of the ll. Krishna plays some
of his most sophisticated games of love at night when he slips out of his
house after Yaod puts him to bed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Night
Playing the Game of Love
When devotees gather for the evening daran of Krishna, they see different aspects of him, and this mix of Krishnas babyhood sweetness with the
turbulence of his adolescent love games brings the listener into a complex
emotional realm. At this time, some of the poems might focus on Yaod
tenderly putting Krishna to bed, and appropriately the lights are dim and
the singing soft and sweet. Devotees experience the tenderness of a parent
putting a child to sleep for the night. What Yaod does not knowand
the devotee doesis that her sweet child is about to emerge from his
house and adopt his role as the cunning master of love games. Devotees
hearing the poems that depict Krishnas love games witness Krishnas masterful manipulations of the emotions at night under the cover of darkness.
Hearing these poems at night when they are likely to have the greatest resonance with devotees own emotional lives offers yet another level of synchronization with Krishnas cosmic realm.
ayan Mna: Divine Jealousy
When Rdh and Krishna slip out of their houses at night, they enjoy
their love games for the entire night and dally until morning. During this
time, Krishna plays some of his more sophisticated games, such as mna
and khan.d.it, which reveal particularly nuanced expressions of love. In
these games, Krishna arouses the divine jealousy that enhances the gops
and the devotees love for him.
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As Paramnand subtly manipulates his expressions of love through

the motif of mna, he plays with the figure of speech, to see is to know.
Paramnand shifts between the viewpoints of Rdh, Rdhs friend the
sakh, and the devotee, asking who really knowsor seesthe truth of
the ll. This poem depicts a typical mna scenario: the prideful Rdh
refusing to go to Krishna.
The Sakhs Counsel to Rdh about Her Sulking and Pride

Rgasrang
Lets go, I want you to meet Madanagopl.
My Mohan sits in a wonderful place and sweetly plays his flute.
Mohan sent this wise sakh to instruct you, Braj girl.
I am falling at your feet to appease your mna; dont dwell
on other matters.
Forget the shame of the elders, mother, father and brothers;
you should adore Ll.
Appease Paramnands lord well, offer your heart and
mind to the one with the forest garland.
(S706)
Lets go, the sakh, Rdhs friend, begs, pleading with Rdh to go
to Krishna. Paramnands choice of epithets demonstrates the absurdity of
the situation. How can Rdh resist Mohan, the intoxicating one, or
Madanagopl, whose name indicates exhilaration and passion? Yet
Krishna remains alone in this fine place, which can only be the forest
arbor he has lovingly designed for Rdh and himself. He plays his
enchanting flute, Mural, whose callunder any other circumstanceis
irresistible. Rdh should be entrapped or intoxicated by his siren call, yet
she sits apart, unenchanted.
The defining metaphor in this poem is love as war, and the sakh is the
necessary liaison between the enemy parties. Desperate, Krishna had sent
one of the sakhs to plead with Rdh and set her straight. He knows that
the sakhs are wise and can remedy this situation. Briefly, the sakh gives her
counsel: give up the mna, be quiet, and go to him. Do not worry about
societys expectations, she says. So what if your actions will bring dishonor
and shame to your family: surrender your heart and mind to Krishna.
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123
In these mna scenarios, lovers Rdh and Krishna have quarreled,

and the sakh mediates between them. Strategic episodes of separation,
such as mna and khan.d.it (a woman whose lover has been unfaithful) are
tactics in the battle of love that heighten the lovers passion. Krishna
manipulates the gops passion through these amorous battles and incites
jealousy and anger by manipulating their passions and playing one gop
off another.
These love games heighten erotic tensions and increase the gops
devotion to Krishna, who conducts these emotional manipulations out of
love but not to a point that would destroy love. With deftness and skill,
Krishna produces the proper passion. He is not clumsy but cognizant of
the nuances of these passions. One less adept might destroy the passion
just as blowing too hard on a small fire extinguishes it. As the rasarja
(king of the rasa), he is not only the abode of the rasa, but also the
supreme exemplar of the cultivation of rasa.
The sophisticated rasika cultivates a variety of emotional attitudes to
achieve the nuanced passions of love. Mna, best translated as pique or
anger in love, is an advanced love game and exemplifies the subtleties of
the ll as a play within a play or garbhaka, a game within a game, whose
goal is to enhance passion. Mna only occurs within the state of erotic
love and describes anger at the lover and not at anyone else. This mna is
not true anger that would occasion a final parting but consists of feelings
expressed while in love; if the pair are not in love, then it is not mna. In
these poems, sung during the night, mna has three aspects: Rdh in the
state of mna; mna prayatna, the sakh persuading Rdh to break the
mna; and mna-milpa, the resolution of the mna. All aspects are uddpan (aesthetically background stimuli) and enhance the mood of love and
the ultimate reunion.1
Rganyak
Ill stay angry indeed, Ill stay angry.
When ymasundar comes to the house,
then Ill speak angry words to him.
If he tries to make up, I wont do it;
Ill suffer the arrows of Kmadeva.
If Paramnands lord throws himself at my feet,
Ill still be stubborn.
(S766)
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As the sakh has come to plead with her, Rdh sulks, self-absorbed in
her own pride and anger, and states she does not intend to break mna
and is prepared to ignore even the most magnanimous gesture of humilityKrishna throwing himself at her feet. Although the import of this
scenario seems lost on Rdh, it demonstrates the depths of Krishnas love
for Rdh and for his devotees. Rdh is so angry that no reconciliation
appears possible despite the sakhs negotiation skills.
The mna dramas elevate the erotic tension between the lovers by
producing a series of minor separations ostensibly caused by Rdhs
pique toward Krishna. Krishna and Rdh have their pride, and neither
will give in to resolve mna. The sakh mediates between the pair, using
whatever tactics are necessary to reunite them. Mna functions as a little
separation, a temporary viraha, using the dynamic of separation and
union within the context of love. Union needs its antithesis, separation, in
order for love to flourish; fears of separation and loneliness give an edge to
union. The mna of separation resembles a regulated risk or danger that
heightens erotic tensions. Regulated risk is a technique to make love
grownot to break itjust as a daredevil seeks the thrill of cheating
death and the fear of death, not death itself. Finally the couple reunites
only after exhausting the range of passions from jealousy to loss to joy.
Reunion is important in this context, because like other poems, the
mna poems require resolution: Rdh and Krishna never remain apart
at the end of the night. Reconciliation poems always follow the mna
poems and fall into two categories. Mna milpa poems show paud.he
(reconciliation) between the two lovers, and mna chut. ve (abandonment of the mna) poems portray Rdh and Krishna sleeping in the
arbor after their tryst.
Like most lovers, Rdh and Krishna occasionally fight. They argue
perhaps Rdh is jealous of Krishnas attention to another gopand separate, each going in a different direction to sulk and wait for the other to
resolve the mna. While not all of the poems are addressed to Rdh
specifically, Rdh is that aspect of Swmin, the feminine, with whom the
mna episodes are associated. Rdhs tmasa (obstinate nature) manifests
itself in her tumultuous relationship with Krishna. She is stubborn and
unyielding regarding any obstacles in her love for Krishna but also is proud
and stubborn in her anger when she suspects Krishna of philandering.
Rdh usually is angry with Krishna for his real or imagined trysts
with another gop. If Krishna is not with her, then where else would he be?
With another gop, she reasons. Rdhs fear is well grounded. As we have
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seen in the khan.d.it poems, Krishna misses their scheduled evening

appointment and comes to Rdh in the morning, covered with the telltale marks of lovemaking. Rdh, reasonably, is furious and jealous. She
resents Krishnas relations with the other gops and punishes him by withholding her affections. Her righteous pride, which has caused mna,
masks her intense suffering.
The sakhs primary role in the mna poems is her role as the dt
(messenger).2 She has a crucial roleto unite the warring pair and save
their love. She travels back and forth between Rdh and Krishna and
devises various tactics to break Rdhs mna. The mna poems demonstrate the sakhs great skill as a strategian of love as she pleads, cajoles, and
even insults Rdh. She points out Rdhs immense pride and asks why
this pride should obstruct the flow of love. She warns Rdh about the
future loss of her beauty and desirability. Will Krishna still want her as her
beauty fades with age? The sakh tantalizes her with descriptions of
Krishnas beauty and the resplendent arbor. She appeals to Rdhs pride
by reminding her of her great beauty and Krishnas overwhelming passion
for her. The sakhs speech is not always true or, at best, is an exaggeration.
She uses any means possible to force Rdh to change her ways. These
poems reveal the dual perspectives of Rdh and the sakh. The sakh presents herself as a sophisticated woman, wise in the ways of love, and portrays Rdh, and occasionally Krishna, as maddened with pride and
ignorant of the ways of love. Although the devotee might realize that the
sakhs perspective is ultimately erroneousRdh knows exactly what she
is doingthe devotee engaged in the ll identifies with the sakh.
The sakhs pleading for resolution further underscores Rdhs apparent ignorance of the realities of love, and here Paramnand explores the
forms of knowledge itself. He manipulates the trope of separation through
the figure of speech seeing is believing, but what the sakh, Rdh, and the
devotees see is not always to be believed. The sakh appears to miss what
both Rdh and Krishna understand: anger is an expression of love, and
love in separation is a state to be enjoyed. Although the sakh presents herself as a teacher, she actually has far more to learn than Rdh. Rdh and
Krishna are the more appropriate pundits of love, with the sakh as the
erstwhile pupil who does not even realize the depths of her ignorance. The
sakhs role in this game is to appear ignorant and misguided regarding
love and to exaggerate the dangers of Rdhs mna.
The sakh instructs Rdh on how to act toward Krishna and tells
Rdh of Krishnas impassioned state. The sakh believes herself wiser than
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Rdh and thinks that she must persuade Rdh to break mna at any
cost. Though the sakh treats Rdh like an ignorant girl, Rdh knows
exactly what she is doing. Despite the sakhs admonitions, Rdhs
dharma includes mna. The sakh is an unwitting teaching aid in Paramnands illustration of Krishnas games. Whatever fears and anxieties the
sakh might entertain regarding the union, the devotees relish them, vicariously living the games. By highlighting the sakhs occasionally wrongheaded messages and desperate instructions to Rdh, the poems reflect
the reality of Krishnas llthat Krishna will never leave Rdh
through the contrast between the truth and the sakhs arguments.
The episodes of mna work as a dramatic instrument precisely
because the devotees know that Krishna will never abandon Rdh, and
the comic element prevents the drama from entering the real or the truly
revolutionary. Mna has rules. The lovers anger is not ultimate in a relationship-threatening sense but is a move in the dance of love. Krishna and
Rdhs jealousy and pouting are calculated moves, a well-choreographed
give and take. Even though Rdh, Krishna, the sakh, and the devotees all
know that mna will never break Rdhs and Krishnas love and that
Krishna will never leave Rdh (at least in mna), the sakhs instruction
and pleas to Rdh play an important role in devotion. The sakhs are part
of the ll, and the ll includes the sakhs pleas to Rdh. Of course,
everyone knows the ending of the story. In the Bhgavata Purn.a, Rdh
and Krishna never separate as a result of mna. The plot of the drama is
not the point; instead, the devotees engage in the immediacy of the ll
and live the story as it unfolds. Devotees cannot not remain outside as dispassionate observers, confident that mna will resolve in the end. Belief in
the possibility of Rdh and Krishnas parting gives the drama its emotional power. As the sakh fears that Rdhs pride might drive Krishna
away, the devotee, too, shares that fearas well as the delirious joy of
their eventual reunion. If the separation provoked no real anxiety, no
emotional engagement could exist, and the devotee could not relish the
intense passion that the play evokes.
The devotee, too, feels jealousy resulting from Krishnas inattention.
The devotees can experience mna in their own anger at Krishna for not
appearing in the world. Like Rdh, the devotees know that if Krishna is
not present, then he must be with someone elsethus provoking jealousy.
But how does a devotee show or control anger toward Krishna? Through
mna. Use of mna is an advanced technique and not for the novice; it
requires considerable skill in the cultivation of the appropriate passions.
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Mna reflects the intimacy of Rdh and Krishna, who have transcended the introductory stages of love. Krishna himself initiates Rdhs
jealousy to create mna because he enjoys it. From the aesthetic point of
view, mna is a crucial aspect of Rdh and Krishnas love: love in separation is just as important as love in union. Rdh and the devotees, of
course, do not have this equanimity as they participate fully within the
drama and experience all the passions. When Rdh acts out her mna, it
is not something wrong, an erroneous state the sakh must fix, but a dignified and essential aspect of their love. The devotees should not conceive of
mna as a harsh state to be endured but should enjoy the range and depth
of the bhva it facilitates. The pain of separation is enjoyable in and of
itself, as well as an enhancement of later union. Though the sakh tries to
convince Rdh otherwise, the wise devotee knows that shethe devotee
and Rdhshould emulate and relish mna.
Rgasrang
Why do you dam up the rasa of love?
He is young Giridhar, the darling Ll;
you are Rdh, a young girl.
Listen, if you know these words are right, join him.
You, the wheat-colored one, and the darling Sym, black like a
new rain cloud, are as if gold and emerald.
Again and again, I remind you of what happened before:
your loosened hair across his feet.
Why do you cast down and shatter this rasa of the lord of
Paramnand?
(S713)
The rasa-is-liquid metonym runs through the poem. The sakh asks
Rdh why she impedes the flow of love and reminds Rdh of her previous trysts, when she rested her flowing hair at his feet. Krishna is referred
to as the rasa-nyaka, the hero of rasa, the one who contains all pleasure
and enjoyment. Though not explicitly stated, the devotees understand
that the sakh is calling Rdh a fool. The knowledgeable devotee can
supply the background and the between-the-lines dialogue without which
the lyrics can be cryptic. Rdh and Krishna are both in the prime of
youth, so why should Rdh stop their natural affinity for one another?
Their youth, the setting, everything supports their union, yet Rdh
needlessly dams up the rivers of their affection. The rasa should run like a
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river, submerging anything in its path. Instead, Rdh blocks its course
and deprives Krishna of her love. The sakh claims that Rdh has disrupted her dharmic destiny, which is likened to the natural flow of a river.
By blocking the flow, she thwarts the natural order. Their loveas well as
Rdhs mnahas been preordained, and Rdh should not obstruct it.
Mna as destiny exposes yet another of the sakhs tactical maneuvers:
while it is Rdhs destiny to enact mna, the sakhs destiny is to argue for
its resolution.
Rgasrang
Your love is not like Goplalls.
Listen gop, youre insane with pride, you are false to your own nature.
Only the sophisticated courtly women know about this rasa.
Why are you using a touch-stone? His character is pure gold.
How much can I explain? Oh wise one, Nandas son is divine.
Meet with Paramnands lord as if you serve rs lord.
(S723)
The sakh claims that Rdhs pride blinds her to the truth of
Krishnas love. This pride, the sakh believes, can result in nothing good
and is a major obstacle to their love. Pride potentially extends mna to its
breaking point, so Rdh must abandon her pride, which, according to
the sakh, has no place in the scheme of their love. She states that although
Krishnas love is far greater than Rdhs, Rdh doubts his love. His love
is pure gold, yet Rdh wants to test it, as one tests the purity of gold with
a touchstone. This touchstone measures the purity of the gold, and
Krishna is considered as kancana braha, the most pure form of gold.
Rdh in her maddened state cannot perceive the reality of the situation and needs the sakhs guidance. Paramnands metaphor of love as
intoxication allows him to manipulate the tropes of madness or insanity
produced by love. The sakh suggests that Rdh is blind to the truth, yet
it is the sakh who errs in her advice to Rdh. The sakh counsels Rdh
to bend her pride and approach the lord humbly. In this poem, sev indicates the quality of pleasing more than servanthood. Rdh is advised to
please Krishna as one would Nryan., the master of r, or ones husband.
Rdhs pride is not totally misplaced. In the Braj tradition, Rdh is an
intimate and equal to Krishna who appeases and honors her. Rdhs relationship with Krishna appears in sharp contrast to Laks.ms more submissive relationship with Vis.n.u.
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The people of Braj know well Rdhs strength as an intercessor, but

Laks.m has a reputation for being ficklenot an asset in a liaison. While
Rdhs pride is valued, Laks.ms pride gets her into trouble in Braj.
Laks.m had also heard Krishnas call for the rsa ll dance and wanted to
join. With her courtly pride of Vaikun.t.h, she was rude to the humble
gops of Vrindavan (not realizing the reversal of status in Braj) when she
asked the whereabouts of the arbor. Laks.m never did find the location
and had to remain on the opposite shore of the Yamuna Riverseparated
from the unique devotion of Braj.
Paramnand uses the term mah k mt, which indicates the state in
which one is deluded with notions of grandeur. Rdhs pride derives
from the attitude that Krishna would not choose to be with other women
when he could be with her. The sakh claims that Rdh acts like a fool
and does not know the pure nature of the lord. In the eyes of her friend,
Rdh is inflated with pride, which stifles the expression of her love.
Naively, Rdh has erected a facade of pride, which conceals her more
simple and loving nature. The sakh believing herself wise, sophisticated,
and aware of the lords true nature, takes it upon herself to instruct Rdh.
She calls Rdh the wise one sarcastically, but her sarcasm reveals the
paradoxical truth: Rdh truly is wise.
Paramnand sings of the sakhs alarm at Rdhs stubborn pride and
her fears of nonreconciliation. The metaphor of love as war guides the
sakhs tactics; she argues that Rdhs pride is a weapon, a potent force
that blinds Rdh to the truth. Yet the devotee with sophistication and
subtlety ultimately understands Paramnands use of the sakhs and
Rdhs viewpoints to manipulate passion.
He left, if you want him again, listen to my counsel.
Gop woman, dont think of him just as the protector of the cows.
He is Paramnandads lord, dont abuse him with your pride.
(S698)
The sakh blames Rdhs pride for the lovers separation. Krishna left
Rdh, angry at her inflated ego. The sakh counsels Rdh about getting
Krishna back.
Rgasrang
Ive tried to make you appease the mna, but Im defeated.
All is gone, ruined by your pride; Madanamurr is dejected.
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Put on your blue sari, oh friend, take off your anklets.

So when you go on this dark moonless night, no one will know.
You just think about this and look inside yourself,
why have you arranged your part in such a way?
Just arrange it so that Nandakumr will find it even
more becoming.
Listen Rdh, why make obstacles? You are a clever, though naive,
woman.
Meet Paramnands lord who is all blissful with the rasa of love,
dont spill what you have already gained.
(S728)
Rdhs pride nearly defeats the sakh, who berates Rdh for letting
her pride create an obstacle to love. The sakh tells Rdh not to spill the
rasalove in the guise of liquidshe herself has collected. Rdh has
attained the great fortune of having Krishna for a lover but is, according
to the sakh, now missing out on the joys of union with him. Ironically,
the sakh uses Madanamurr, an epithet which suggests Krishna as a
Cupid or the intoxicating one (Madan) and the foe of Mura (Murr).
This term evokes the incongruity of anyone being able to resist the lure of
Krishna as Madanamurr. The sakh continues her instruction as she
advises Rdh on how to approach Krishna and how to meet him without
being seen or heard.
The first four lines are straightforward and can be taken at face value,
but the following lines are more sarcastic and hint at Rdhs acting as
something she is not. The sakh tells Rdh to look within herself and ask
why she arranges her part in such a way. The sakhs question points to
two issues. First, why Rdh would arrange her hair in such a way if she is
angry at Krishna, and, second, if Rdh is an inexperienced maiden, why
would she act like a more experienced woman? Regarding Rdhs part,
the sakh is probably alluding to Rdhs arranging her hair so it partially
conceals her face. This style is both immensely alluring and a physical representation of mna in that Rdh is concealing herself from Krishna. The
sakh realizes that Rdh is playing games and facetiously calls her a clever,
naive womana contradiction in terms. Rdh is actually a quite sophisticated woman who acts like a naive girl to increase her allure for Krishna.
Ironically, Rdh is wise because she does not overextend mna. She
quickly resolves it and ends the eclipse. She knows how to control and
manipulate mnahiding, yet still keeping Krishna interested, then ulti-
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mately resolving it before it goes too far. Her apparent ignorance and
inexperience enhance her attractiveness.
The sakh wrongly admonishes Rdh as a mugdh for her pride.
Rdh is frequently depicted as a mugdh, a young girl who is not fully
aware of her beauty and attractiveness to men. She hovers on the threshold between childhood and youth and is seen as an innocent. The vyaha
mugdh is the heroine on the edge of childhood and adolescence. Aesthetically, she should be unaware of her beauty because her ignorance
enhances her beauty. Mentioned first in the Nt.yastra and elaborated on
in later texts, the nyik-mugdha is the first and most attractive stage
because the girl is still afraid of love and does not recognize her own
beauty.3 This girl does not know what others see. Rdh is definitely neither a mugdh nor a kumrik, a young virgin. Rdh knows exactly what
she is doing and manipulates mna to her advantage.
Rgabilval
The moon faced one is full of anger.
Annoyed, the Braj girl pulls back her cloth, shooting arrow-like
glances as if Kmadeva.
Then an idea came to the girl, she took a jewel
and put it in her hand.
She was not hidden for long,
after a bit she became more clever.
When the one with the essence of the golden campa flower came to
the earth, the rising sun was frightened.
The one who takes shelter in Paramnands lord achieves great joy
and is released from suffering.
(S756)
Rdh, still full of anger and pride, continues to sulk and hide herself
from Krishna. Her great, bright beauty shames the sun, yet, because of her
anger, she deprives Krishna of this beauty. She pulls her cloth over her face,
hiding it partially, just as the moon is partially hidden during an eclipse.
Her eclipsed face is a simple substitution for both Rdhs mna and her
beauty, similar to her arranging her hair in such a way as to obscure her
face just like the eclipsed moon as seen in the previous poem (S728).
Though she deprives Krishna of her face, she shoots amorous, sidelong glances at him from behind her veil. She cannot be too angry with
him if she covertly flirts with him. Rdh is equivalent to Kmadeva, and
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we hear this poem through the metaphor of love as war. Rdhs beauty is
her arsenal, and her eyes and complexion are two weapons in it. The
image of eyes shooting glances out like arrows, for example, Kmadevas
flower arrows, is common in Indian poetics. In this case, the eyes are
weapons in the lovers arsenal arousing love and lust in the beloved.
Because the womans eyes and beauty caused the attraction, she is considered the aggressor when a mans lust is aroused. She is not a passive recipient of the lust but wields power through her sensuality. In classical Persian
poetry as well, the beloved or love object is believed to actively cause the
attraction.4 Her beauty is such that it threatens the rising sun. Rdh is
referred to as one with the complexion of campagrasa, one with the
golden complexion of the campa flower. The campa is a tree with golden
blossoms likened to Rdhs golden or wheat-colored complexion. Its
flowers are used to worship Pradyumna, an incarnation of Kmadeva in
the month of Jet.h.5
Setting the Stage: A Romantic Evening
and the Beauty of the Lovers
In persuading Rdh to abandon her mna, the sakh describes the scenariothe romantic evening, the beauty of the lovers, and their mutual
loveperfect except for Rdhs sulking. This stage setting shapes the
mood of both Rdh and the devotees who hear these poems. As uddpan
(background stimulus), these poems enhance passion through time, place,
and circumstance. The lushness of the scene indicates the plenitude
resulting from Krishnas love.
Rgasrang
Hey, come and see Mohans face.
Right now is our chance to meet ymasundar where he is playing.
Fate has created this dense bower of blooming trees.
He took fresh leaves and spread them out with his hand;
he has decorated it well.
The messenger spoke, and she was overjoyed.
Then she ran and clasped his feet.
When the lord of Paramnand appears,
sing out your bliss and good fortune.
(S699)
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Rgasrang
Lets go, my friend! ym is calling, he sings your name again and again.
See him seated, the splendor of Vrindavan. The trees bloom in each and
every spot.
The cuckoos call arouses the hearts bliss; the birds and bees have
lost their senses.
Birds create a panoply of sounds, all the creepers and
red flowers are abloom.
Intoxicated with passion, the youths are exuberant;
this is a splendid occasion.
The first union with Paramnands lord pleased her heart.
(S749)
Krishna awaits Rdh in an enchanting forest, and Paramnand
shapes this tableau through the metaphor of love as intoxication. This
description enhances the erotic and impassioned mood with which the
sakh hopes to ease Rdh from her state of mna to a mood of appeasement. The natural settings presented here are well-known elements of a
romantic tryst in Brajbhs. poetry, and these blooming plants represent
the overwhelming passion and exuberance indicated by intoxication. The
plants, trees, and creepers all have mythological associations so that each
plant suggests devotion to Krishna. S699 refers to drum, blooming trees
in the romantic arbor. Although drum can be used generically for trees,
here it connotes the prijta (Tree of Sorrow or Night Jasmine, sometimes
known as kalpavr.ks.a, the Wishing Tree) which arose after the churning of
the ocean of milk. This tree with its perfumed blossoms was established in
Indras pleasure garden, but Krishnas lesser wife, Satyabhma, wanted it
for her own garden in Dwarka. Krishna eventually prevailed and established the tree in Satyabhamas garden.6 This night blooming tree beautifies the arbor with its scent and its flowers, which drop in the early
morning and create a shower of flower petals.
In S749, the sakh refers to the flowering forest and the sweet voice of
the black cuckoo, a haunting cry lofting through Vrindavan. The scene
evokes such joy that the birds and the bees have lost their consciousness,
aware only of the bliss of this beautiful tableau. Similar to a present-day
description of a candlelit dinner or moonlit night, this elaboration of the
woodland pageant heightens Rdhs mood of love, so she will abandon
her state of mna and meet with Krishna. The Kma Sutra likened pala,
the red flower of the d.hka tree, Butea frondosa, to the nail marks
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inscribed upon the beloveds body by the lover, so the mention of this
flower offers the image of the lovers after the resolution of mna.7
To further heighten the mood, these poems anticipate the resolution
of mna and the resulting union. The last line of S699 assumes a narrative
leap to mna-milpa when Rdh experiences union with Krishna. Now
Rdh and Krishna are together, and Rdh sings to express the bliss of
the situation. This last line might also be translated grammatically in the
future tense: when Krishna gives his daran, you will sing auspicious
songs. This last line of S749 has either skipped ahead into the resolution
of mna and portrays the union of the lovers or recalls the first meeting of
the lovers and appeals to Rdhs nostalgia and desire to reexperience the
good times. The latter reading seems to make more sense, especially in
terms of Paramnands proficiency in creating for devotees sounds that
become sights so devotees can experience daran.
As further background, the sakh describes the beauty of the pair of
lovers and their great love for each other, both to further enhance the
mood of love and to convince Rdh to join Krishna. In the following
poem, the sakh praises Rdhs beauty as a means of enticing, if not bribing, her to meet with Krishna. She claims Brahm himself fashioned
Rdhs body and that Krishna came to Braj only to play with her, thus
pandering to Rdhs pride and vanity. As the liaison, the sakh notes that
Rdh has unleashed the deadliest weapon in her arsenal, her beauty.
Rgasrang
Why are you going out at night?
Hey Rdh, seeing your face, the moon is shamed.
When you and your friends go in the forest in the evening,
the swans and she-deer run from the woods in embarrassment.
The king of the animals looks at his own waist,
to what extent are you going to make enemies of them all
with your beauty?
Your body fashioned by Brahm with his great hand,
give it to the handsome Gopl.
Only because of you, the lord of Paramnand has created this
incarnation for the pleasure of play.
(S726)
Rdhs beauty is so great that the animals of the forest must run in
shame with regard to their own beauty. Swans with their lovely gait and
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135
she-deer with their eyes cannot compare to Rdhs charm; even the lion,
the king of the animals, looks with chagrin at his own slender waist after
seeing Rdhs. Rdh causes these animals to feel that she is their enemy
because her beauty so vastly outshines theirs. The sakh tells Rdh that
the creator designed Rdhs beauty himself and that she should rightly
offer this beauty to Krishna who himself is the creator.
Not to be outdone, Krishna enchants Rdh with his own beauty.
Rgasrang
It is meritorious to praise Nandall.
Watch the supreme radiance of his face, the beauty of which renders dull
Kmadevas luster.
His glance is excellent, his speech is excellent,
his singing is excellent, his movements and intellect are excellent.
The one with the lotus eyes is splendid in every way,
in this way his laugh steals his beloveds heart.
Which limb should I describe? The cooling properties of his body
are like the autumn moon.
Meet him Rdh, the ocean of the rasa of love, the lord
of Paramnands heart.
(S701)
The sakh tells Rdh that all aspects of Krishna are wonderful. His
beauty is also a powerful weapon in this battle of love. The sum of his
qualitieshis mind, his voice, and his naturewill defeat Rdhs heart
and break her pride. Her mna cannot stand up to Krishnas charms and
perfection. His face, lit like the moon, obscures Kmadevas light. Like the
autumn moon, his body soothes the gops misery. Each limb is more
beautiful than the next, so how can the sakh begin to describe this
unimaginable beauty? Krishnas beauty is immense, and he is the ocean
of the rasa of love. Rdh must go to him. How could she not? The sakh
appeals to Rdh with descriptions of Krishnas immense beauty and
hopes that Krishnas beauty will become a weapon to defeat Rdhs
mna. Yet again the sakh errs in her assumptions. Rdh fully realizes
Krishnas charms but uses mna as a tool to enhance their love, and the
oblivious sakh believes that her persuasions will mend the separation of
the lovers.
The sakh engages the tactic of memory and reminds Rdh of their
mutual lovehow Rdh and Krishna plotted their rendezvous and
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SINGING KRISHNA
flouted social conventions. Rdh and Krishna communicate through signals because their relationship defies all community mores and must
remain secret. Krishna, being wise, understands Rdhs signal: love is
war, and the pair are compatriots in this war of love.
Rgasrang
Hey Rdh, you signaled with your eyes.
You beckoned Mohan Mdhav from Nandas house.
He came from Braj to the forest; his heart was very clever.
ymaghan entered the bower hut, and you embraced, heart to heart.
The deer-eyed one and the lotus-eyed one were entwined together,
they drank the nectar of each others lower lips.
Paramnand says, I speak of that day we consider fruitful;
we live for that.
(S695)
The sakh chooses her epithets well. Krishna is often named as the
one with eyes like lotuses, and Rdhs eyes are like those of a deer. Both
epithets are signs of Rdh and Krishnas great beauty and are symbolic
substitutes for arrows of love. In Braj poetry, beauty is a potent force that
overwhelms its victim, as an arrow finds its mark. Mohan Mdhav indicates Krishna as the one who intoxicates with sweetness. ymaghan suggests Krishnas color of a dark gray rain cloud about to burst. This is a
les.a, a pun wherein the word has multiple meanings. Krishnas name ymaghan describes a real aspect of his beingliterally the monsoon rain,
but the relief of the upcoming union is the symbolic meaning. The sakh
hints at this relief to try to entice Rdh out of her mna. Rdhs love for
Krishna overshadows the shame her illicit meetings with Krishna will
bring upon herself and her family.
Rgasrang
She recognizes his amorous glance.
Rdh the wise city-woman meets him on the path and smiles
behind her veil.
The son of Nanda stands at the door and gives a secret sign.
The messenger says angrily, quickly lets go, get up, why delay?
To have obtained this passion is your great fortune,
she is immersed in his eyes.
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137
Paramnands lord is the enchanter of hearts,

meeting him is good.
(S696)
Again, the sakh reminds Rdh of the love and secrets Rdh and
Krishna have shared. Because of societal constraints Krishna cannot
directly avow his love for Rdh but instead can only give her a glance or a
secret sign. The two have been risking shame and ostracism for their
love and have overcome great obstacles to their love with their signals and
secrets. Why should Rdhs pride and mna ruin all they have worked
for? The sakh believes that Rdhs delay will ruin the meeting they so
carefully planned with their secret signals and messages.
The sakh offers two additional arguments as part of her strategy to
force Rdh to capitulate. The first is that Rdh has obtained such great
fortune to have the opportunity to meet with Krishna. How can she waste
it? The sakh further argues that Rdhs delaying tactic might backfire on
her. Neither Krishna, the night, nor Rdhs youth and beauty will remain
forever; time passes, and these things are fleeting. Rdh is a fool to delay
the meeting on account of her foolish pride.
The Sakhs Warning

Rgasrang
In the first month of winter you practiced a vow,
you endured the cold water of the Yamuna.
you asked for the son of the gopa Nanda as your husband,
you were fortunate to receive it.
(S710)
The sakh admonishes Rdh for wasting her good fortune: to have
Krishna as a lover is an amazing boon. The sakh reminds Rdh of her
sacrifice to achieve this boon: she bathed in the Yamuna River in the
winter in the month of Mrgas.rs. to obtain Krishna. S703 simply mentions Rdhs performance to receive the boon, What great deeds did you
do for this fruit, oh woman? The idea that love is a perishable thing
underlies this poem; love can disappear.
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SINGING KRISHNA
If Rdh throws this boon away, the sakh warns, she will be flouting
her destiny because of her pride. Vara means both groom/husband and
boon. A married woman is saubhgyavat, one who is auspicious; saubhgya means good fortune, thus a married woman has good fortune.
Rgaasvar
Listen to my words, beautiful Rdh.
You have obtained an unfathomable ocean of rasa.
That rasa described in the Vedas as not that, not that,
you taste as the nectar of his lower lip.
The meditation that is practiced by iva and Brahm will not bring
him, yet you make him pick flowers for you in the bower.
You, daughter of the gopa Vrs.abhn,
embrace darling Mohan with love.
I cant speak of your fortune, Paramnand says, I can only sing
of one drop of this rasa.
(S742)
Rdh has achieved a treasure that even the sages through their
meditation cannot attain. Paramnands metonymic equivalence of rasa
as ocean is ironic: the traditional meditative goal of absorption into the
unqualified ocean of Brahman is superseded by the rasa which can only
be obtained through the figure of Krishna. Neti, neti, a description of
tman/Brahman given in Br.hadranyaka Upanis.ad 4.2.2, states that
ultimately Brahman is indescribable and unknowable. Neti, neti, not
this, not this, indicates that no qualities can be posited about Brahman as any qualities are limiting and incomplete. The ocean of Brahman into which the tman disappears is the ocean of rasa, which
constitutes Krishna. Rdh receives the boon of the ocean of rasa and
experiences this rasa as the nectar of his lower lip, yet she gets it
through the kisses of Krishna. While this rasa is unattainable by the
great sages with their intense austerities, Rdhs love and devotion
merit her this remarkable boon. She has achieved a union with Krishna
that wisdom and yoga cannot produce without devotion. The union
with Brahman is absolute, and no duality remains. However, the rasa
from Krishnas lower lip leads to the union of lovers wherein a necessary duality remains. Paramnand states that this great ocean of rasa is
so immense, he can only sing of one drop.
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Rgaknharau
Hey, mnin, dont do so much mna.
Your youth is like water in a cupped palm. When Gopl asks,
then give it to him.
Oh beautiful one, night and day, your beauty does not wax and wane
like the quarters of the moon.
He is the fruit of your good deeds and previous merit,
why not let his eyes drink their fill of your beauty?
I swear by his lotus feet, let your soul live for these moments.
Meet with the lord of Paramnand and fulfill the fruit
of your own birth.
(S733)
Paramnands liquid-is-rasa metonym illustrates the perishable nature
of beauty and youth, such as the image of water seeping out through a
pair of cupped hands. Let Krishnas eyes drink their fill, the sakh begs,
evoking the concept that Krishna will taste Rdhs diminishing beauty
through vision. Similarly, through each lunar cycle, the moon waxes and
wanes; the moons beauty ebbs and returns through time. Though each
month the moons beauty ebbs to its lowest point, we remain certain that
it will soon return in its full glory and again wax beautiful. Yet humans
have no such assurance regarding our own youth and beauty; we tend to
believe that once human beauty fades, it is gone forever. The sakh
reminds Rdh that she earned this boon of Krishna, the fruit of good
deeds and previous merit. She has no right to squander her good fortune
and to violate her destiny, the fruit of her own birth.
The sakh further cautions Rdh against any delay and warns Rdh
that once her beauty is gone, Krishna will no longer want her. At this
timeat the peak of her beautyKrishna desires Rdhs beauty and
love, so Rdh must give herself to Krishna while he still wants her. In this
poem, she warns Rdh that time is passing and, along with it, the night
and her youthful beauty.
Rgakedarau
Get up, why dont you look at Mohans face?
Why waste even a moment in vain without looking
at the beauty of Giridharan?
Your youth is like water in your hands, without the Braj lord
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SINGING KRISHNA
it will become useless and deteriorate.

Look at his lotus face in person with your very own eyes, and flourish.
My advice: give up mna, darling! Why do what is displeasing?
Paramnandads lord abandoned Vaikun.t.h and came to play in Braj.
(S738)
The sakh stresses that Rdhs beauty is transient and will fade just as
water leaks from cupped hands. She claims that Rdhs beauty will be in
vain if she does not give herself to the Braj lord. This argument reiterates
the point that Rdh was created to be with Krishna. Her destiny is
Krishna, and her beauty is useless unless Krishna partakes of it. Krishna
abandoned the celestial splendors of Vaikun.t.h to play with the gops in
Braj, and, if Rdh creates obstacles to this love, she will be wasting
Krishnas sacrifice as well as her own ephemeral beauty. Any moment not
spent with Krishna, drinking in his beauty, is a moment wasted and a violation of her dharmawhich is to rendezvous with Krishna. Paramnand
juxtaposes images of the loss of rasa with its free flow to highlight what is
at stake. Rdhs beauty and youthand the liquid rasaare as if quickly
leaking out of cupped hands, yet merely seeing Krishnas lotus face gains
the cooling effects of the rasa.
Rdh is on the threshold of abandoning her mna. She is ready to
join Krishna, and the sakh offers suggestions for flirting with him. The
sakh not only urges Rdh to run to Krishna but also instructs her on
how to act when she gets there, how to entice Krishna and enhance the
mood of love.
Rgaknharau
Oh, the bliss of Haris games.
You have managed to bring Madanagopl near,
play whatever games please him.
Take beautiful ymasundars arm and put it around your neck.
You are totally immersed in love, but take care,
lest you waste this occasion.
Nandas son is the dark taml tree, you are the golden creeper.
After that embrace, the servant Paramnands feet push away liberation.
(S740)
Now that the sakh senses Rdhs capitulation she coaches Rdh in
the fine arts of flirting. She tells Rdh what to do when she meets
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Krishna. If she loves Krishna then she should play with him. Yet, when
she is totally abandoned to this love, she also must be delicate and intuitive, or she will destroy their union. So the sakh offers Rdh her last
advice: how to act once they have met and her mna is appeased, and, at
the same time, the sakh warns Rdh not to waste this love, Paramnands
necessarily redundant use of the rasa-as-liquid metonym helps the devotee
hear the poem through this metonym, and thus the devotee sees the
sakhs warning through the image of love leaking away.
The poem foreshadows the union of the pair by invoking the image
of the intertwined tree and creeper. Brajbhs. poetry often compares the
golden creeper and the dark taml tree to Rdh and Krishna. The creeper
twines about the tree in an eternal embrace, a visual analog of the embrace
of the couple. This embrace of the couple, also a popular feature of the
rsa lls of Vrindavan, is called ek prn., do deh: the couple has two
bodies (do deh) but only a single breath (ek prn.) shared between them
and so are eternally united.
Still, before they can meet and embrace in this unionthe goal of
Rdh, the sakhs, and the devoteesRdh must end her mna. Paramnand stresses the importance of the union by stating that his feet push
away liberation. (The image of his feet kicking away the goal of the sages
makes it a particularly potent image.) Any relationship with Krishna is a
more complete goal than that of jna-mukti, meditative liberation. The
necessary duality of devotion takes precedence over the monistic absorption of mukti. Paramnand rejects nirgun., the unqualified liberation of the
sages in favor of devotional liberation in Krishnas play.
Rgasrang
Ll is coming. Hey, lets go my friend!
If you continue your obstinacy, youll ruin this thing;
be merciful, the dancer has danced enough.
Hearing this advice, she went to her beloved,
laughing like a running stream.
The pair met and lay together on the blissful bed,
Paramnand surrenders to them.
(S764)
The sakh says enough is enough. Rdh has kept Krishna waiting too
long, and she must end her mna. In this poem, which presents mna
chut.ve, the resolution of the mna, Rdh accepts the sakhs advice.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Laughing in victory, Rdh goes to Krishna, and the lovers continue their
lovemaking abed in the bower, the ultimate resolution of the mna.
The Sakhs Message to Krishna
Prior to Rdhs capitulation, the sakh brought a message to Krishna
about this prolonged game.
Rgasvar
Such is the situation Madhav, you should appease her.
If this pleases your heart, then you should go there.
Dont worry if she doesnt come, your desire for her has made her proud.
This womans mind is swollen with greatness in mna;
because of this, she is steadfast in her stubbornness.
The messenger said these words to him: face to face, she will accept
whatever you say.
Paramnands lord, the sophisticate of love,
knows about these matters.
(S752)
Rdh is so full of mna that she refuses to go to Krishna. Her pride
results from his attraction to her, and, according to the sakh, she is in
danger of destroying this attraction with her pride. The sakh tells Krishna
that Rdh will not break her mna, so Krishna must consider a strategic
appeasement: this opponent is utterly intractable. Rdh is extraordinarily
stubborn due to the great mna in her heart. Paramnand, however,
knows that Krishna understands everything.
In the following poem, the sakh tries to lure Gopl to follow her to
Rdh. Despite the flattery of the sakh, Rdh is immobile. The sakh
believes that Rdh wants the road of appeasement, but she is unable to
follow it. Like all the women of the Ahrs (the cowherd caste of which
Rdh and Krishna are members), Rdh is strong, not easily broken, and
her tough exterior keeps her rooted in her mna. Only Krishna can break
mna; it is beyond Rdhs ability. She has reached the limits of the technique of mna. According to the sakh, Rdh has started something she
cannot end.
The sakh must also speak to Krishna in her mission as the strategistlove counselor between the sparring lovers. She begs him to appease
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Rdhs mna, to give in and be the first one to make up. Someone must
go first, and waiting for the other to break first can be a long and dangerous affair. The sakh rightly claims that Rdh is full of pride and that
Krishna must accept her foolish pride as a part of her nature. He must
swallow his pride and go to her, because Rdh is too foolish and prideful
to fully understand the game she is playing.
Rgasrang
The mugdh wants the road of appeasement.
Lets go, Gopl! Be merciful here in the forest
amidst the splendid wealth of cows.
Even after my speech she has not come: Ive pleaded with her
many times.
Only you know the secret; you, Krishna the connoisseur of rasa,
know all these things.
She sits, a mass of pride; she keeps silent and does not speak.
The nature of this Ahr daughter is tough,
she wont budge from here.
Laughing, the Braj lord speaks to the messenger,
I dont accept your words.
Paramnands lord, the crown jewel of the rasikas,
the lord remains seated.
(S753b)
The sakh uses Rdhs pride as a tactic in getting Krishna to appease
her mna. She appeals to Krishnas desire to see Rdh and pleads for tolerance of Rdhs prideful nature. First, his desire to see her will overwhelm his proud determination to not be the first to make up. Second,
the sakh flatters him, suggesting that Rdh is incapable of making this
move and that he must be the big man and do it. The reference to Rdh
as a mugdh labels her as a naive young girl who is still unskilled in the
arts of love and who does not know what she is doing. The sakh implies
that Krishna must take responsibility for the situation. If he does not end
the mna, then no one will. Rdh is prevented from doing so by her
tmasa (obstinate nature). Nonetheless, Krishna, who is the pinnacle of
the rasikas, holding all rasas within himself, remains unmoved by the misguided sakhs pleas. He laughs and prolongs the war because he, as the
connoisseur of rasa, sees the mna as a game and knows that Rdhs
anger is an expression of her great love for him.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Rgasrang
Dejected, she remains seated.
The enchanted one cant tell anyone about her pain inside.
Her face is lifeless, and her lower lip withered.
Tears flow from her eyes.
At night she curses the moon; her rows of curls are burnt.
Rdh, your separation and loneliness: you endure the suns heat.
Quickly meet with Paramnands lord, the messenger says.
(S753a)
The sakh appeals to Krishnas pity, hoping that painting a bleak portrait of Rdhs condition will melt Krishnas heart, which is hardened
against her ploys. She dramatizes Rdhs condition with the epithet
Mohin, which means the enchanting woman but can also indicate the
one who is enchanted. Rdh is so besotted by Krishna that she cannot
function. Because of her outpouring of tears and the blazing heat of the
sun, Rdh has withered like an old flower in the late summer. The
metonym of love as liquid rasa is related to the concept of love as perishable: without protection it will evaporate. The implications of the lack of
rasa are clear: for Rdh, without the rasa of love, her beauty fades, and
she is desiccated. The rasa gives the lovers their vitality and youthful
essence, and without the influx of rasa, Rdh cannot survivephysically
or mentally. Just as a water-deprived plant grows old and dry, people
wither without rasa and the emotion of love. The rasas provide humans
with the sap and other essential liquids that are necessary for physical
survival. Similarly, the rasas give humans the nurturing necessary for emotional wellbeing.
The moonusually a friend with its cooling raysnow attacks
Rdh with its searing rays. As Krishna, the moon normally extinguishes
the fiery agony of separation, but with his prolonged absence in this mna
game, nothing dispels the heat, and the moon and sun combine forces of
heat as Krishna conceals himself and his cooling beneficence. Only
Krishnas presence eases the pain of separation, restores the cooling function of the moon, and offers the nourishing rasa, which will saturate and
replenish Rdh. Again Krishna must take the responsibility because
Rdh is in too weakened a state to save herself. She curses the moon,
which casts down fire, and dreams of the moons cooling nectar. Although
the devotees know that ultimately Krishna and Rdh will reunite, love
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games such as mna enhance each devotees passion by offering the experience of separation.
The Resolution of Mna
Ultimately, mna is resolved, and Rdh capitulates. The pair is headed for
a meeting and a resolution of their differences. Although Rdh has been
persuaded to abandon mna, she clearly retains remnants of her pride, and
these remnants are extremely pleasing to Krishna. The remaining bit of
pique showcases Rdhs beauty and makes her even more attractive.
Krishnas obsession grows as he keeps a respectful distance from her and
clears any obstacles in her path. Paramnand invokes the metaphor of love
as intoxication and substitutes the elephant in rut for Rdh.
Rgakedaro
Having placated her, Sym came to Sym.
Wherever the lovely one went, stopping here and there,
he followed her.
She acquired much beauty from that mna,
and so many marks have remained.
He is like a mahout still wary after the elephant in rut
has been calmed.
Sometimes forward, sometimes back, their eyes meet.
When there was a small piece of straw on the path,
he ran there to remove it.
Mohan became exceedingly fearful;
he makes some ornaments for her.
Paramnand says, those who know sing of this delightful
play of Giridhar.
(K1498; P3/349; S761)
Intoxication here leads not only to the lessening of inhibition, but
also to danger. Like the rut-driven elephant, Rdh is irrational with love
of Krishna, and Krishna, like the mahout (elephant driver), cannot let her
out of his sight, although he hesitates to come near. An elephant in this
state is wild, dangerous, and unpredictable, scaring even the mahout, who
is the only one competent to handle such an elephant.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Krishnas Mna
Krishna is shy and slightly afraid of Rdh and her mna, although he,
too, enjoys the cycle of the argument and its resolution. Again we see a
vision of Rdhs power and her equality with Krishnathough a mere
cowherd girl, she is proud and defiant, nobodys fool. She does not sit
submissively at Krishnas feet but instead has Krishna running here and
there to clear her path. Ultimately, she controls him through her sexuality
and beauty, making him powerless to resist her. Rdh knows the power
of her sexuality, essentially the only power available to her. Mohanwho
himself is captivating and charmingis captivated and entranced by her
charms. Paramnands metaphor of love as intoxication exists in tension
with the metaphor of love as entrapment or captivation. Mohanthe one
who intoxicatesis both powerful and powerless. Rdhs beauty has captivated Mohan.
Rgasrang
Take this message from Rdhik.
You sit far away in the shady bower, dont play such a game.
That moon-faced maiden has come and wandered through the
whole forest and now wants to go.
Seeing her, Hari remains silent,
shooting the harsh arrows of Kmadeva.
Hari, go quickly! How can you delay? She is standing
under the kadamb tree.
Love for your beautiful form grows within Paramnands lord.
(S755)
Krishnas silence and refusal to surrender indicate his participation in
mna. Instead of going to Rdh, he continues to shoot arrows of love at
her. Krishna is not actually accused of being in mna, but he does not
help the situation either. The sakh and the devotees know that Krishna is
madly in love with Rdh. The sakh wisely admonishes Krishna to abandon mna and reunite with Rdh.
Krishna is occasionally accused of creating mna, though of a different sort than that of Rdh. When Krishna has left for Mathura, and the
women slander him out of their inconsolable grief, his absence is referred
to as mna.
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Rgamalr
First he was kind and dried our eyes.
Now once having played in that very place,
we are maddened to the point of death.
So how can weanguished by this separationsurvive,
longing for his sight?
How can we accept his mna, (we who have tasted)
the nectar of his lower lip?
He has hidden his heart from us, when face to face,
he said sweet words.
The lotus hand of Paramnands lord held Govardhan.
(S949)
The gops consider Krishnas actions to be mna, but the contexts of
the two are different. The gops can only hope this separation is a form of
mna, which would presuppose a swift resolution. Instead, this poem
occurs in the context of the final parting, when the gops lament Krishnas
ultimate departure from Braj. He promised to go for only a week, but the
week dragged on and on until the onset of the rainy season, yet he still did
not return. That the rainy season is a time of the joyous reunion of lovers
only makes it more painful for the gops, who miss Krishna terribly. The
birahinsBraj women who are desperate for the sight of Krishnaburn
in the flames of separation. Now the rivers and streams are swollen,
making travel impossible and totally eliminating any hope of Krishnas
immanent return.
Krishnas departure from Braj, though, had little to do with the gops
and everything to do with his dharma, the reason he descended in the first
place. Krishnas short sojourn in Braj was over; it was time to slay the demon
Kamsa and resume the regal duties that were his destiny. His physical separation from the gops became permanent, due to necessity, not pique.
The Sakh in Mna Poems
The mna poems illustrate Paramnands skillful manipulation of different perspectives: the first suggests that Rdh is a fool and needs the wise
sakhs speech; and the second presents the sakh as the foil for Rdhs
wisdom, an apparently wrongheaded advisor to Rdh. We see the sakhs
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desperate tactics to force Rdh to appease her mna: she cajoles, begs,
and badgers Rdh, but little of what she tells Rdh is ultimately true.
The ll will continue, and Rdh and Krishna will be together. But the
sakh and the devotees live fully within the drama of the ll and fear that
the two might never reconcile due to Rdhs pride and mna. The sakhs
tactics utilize all aspects of the ll and the dharma of mna, and her cajoling and badgering are necessary aspects to maintain the fear of separation.
The separation and union produced by mna represent the playful
dynamic in which Krishna, as Purus.ottam, reveals and conceals his bliss in
the world, which reflects his theological game in which immanence is
alternately revealed and concealed. Mna reveals the tensions between
separation and union, revelation and concealment, and the dynamics in
the relationship between Rdh and Krishna parallel the relationship
between Purus.ottam and the world. While Purus.ottam playfully reveals
and conceals himself in the world, so Rdh and Krishna separate and
meet again.
In addition, the sakh functions for Paramnand as an instructional
foil. Her exaggerations and strategieswhat she must say and fully
believe in the context of mnapoint out the discrepancies between what
she says and the truth. Through the sakhs apparent ignorance and selfaggrandizement, devotees can better perceive the truth of the llthat
Krishna will never leave Rdh and that Rdhs youth and beauty will
never fade despite the sakhs arguments. Of course, according to the ll,
Krishna leaves for Mathura, and Rdh and the gops pine and waste away,
but the eternal ll will always be accessible to them and to accomplished
devotees. The sakhs statements point out in stark relief these truths to the
devotee. Though the sakh presents herself as a wise instructor, at times
she herself appears in need of instruction. Paramnand uses the apparently
misinformed sakhs self-presentation as an instructor to guide the devotee
and to show the truththat Rdh is skilled in the games of love and
knows exactly what she is doing.
The sakh desperately presents her strategies to Rdh as sheand the
devoteesknow that mna must be resolved. It cannot continue but is
only uddpan, a background stimulus, to heighten the emotional tension.
The devotees receive this teaching, which brings them closer to the
alaukik world of Krishnas ll. Mna as battle strategy uses sophisticated
techniques to enhance the passion. Frequently, as part of her argument,
the sakh invokes the beauty of the night. The physical aspects of Braj
particularly those evident at nightfurther stimulate the gops and devo-
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tees love for Krishna. In the mna poems, battle metaphors provide a
framework within which to interpret Krishnas actions. The sounds and
images invoked in the poems have metaphoric resonance that extend the
devotees understandings to a deeper and more complex level. Here again,
the devotees memoriesboth individual and collectiveprovide depth
to the lyrics describing the love play of Krishna and the gops.
At the end of the night, after Krishna and Rdh resolve their mna,
the couple is once again united in the bower. The sakhs job is complete,
and Rdhs friends serve the couple in the arbor. Soon dawn will arrive,
and the events of Krishnas daily ll will start again. Daily, Krishna repeats
his ll, and devotees follow these cycles through poetry and daran at the
appropriate times. The daily cycles occur within the larger context of the
annual cycles, and Paramnands poetry guides devotees through Krishnas
games as the poetry reflects the seasons and festivals of the annual cycle.
The mna poems reveal Krishnas manipulation of separation to enhance
Rdhs passion for him. Yet nothing could prepare the gops for the
anguish of separation from Krishna on arad Prn.im when they wept
and recalled their dance with Krishna under the autumn full moon.
CHAPTER SIX
Autumn to Spring
Gops, Birds, and the Moon
As we have seen in the previous chapters, devotees hear the poems sung in
daily cycles. Devotees see Krishnas games at the appropriate time of day,
and this synchronicity helps them homologize their lives with that of
Krishna. This daily cycle is set within a larger seasonal or festival cycle, and
these poems illustrate Krishnas games as they reflect the seasons. Paramnands description of the seasons and festivals parallels devotees experience
of them, for example, during the romantic autumn full moon, devotees see
the same moon as described in the poetry. Or during the boisterous springtime festival of Hol, devotees also celebrate the onset of spring and
exchange color as do Rdh and Krishna. As devotees live Krishnas experiences as portrayed in the poetry, dialectically their understanding of the
poetry grows as their own experience of the phenomena provides context.
When the gop gazes up at the full moon, she is reminded of Krishnas
beautiful moon face. Yet, seeing the moon without her beloved Krishna
saddens her, and her eyes fill with tears. As she reflects on her past adventures with Krishna, the full moon invokes a web of related memories and
symbols. She recalls her dance under the moons cool rays and the cakor
bird which eats only the moons rays.
arad: The Autumn Full Moon

Rgakedrau
Watching the full moon reminds me of the deer-eyed Madhavs face.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Again and again, recalling the rsa dance; I lower my head,

and my eyes fill.
How long will the Braj lord remain in Mathura? How long does it
take to kill the sinner Kamsa?
A cooling breeze arises on the banks of the Yamuna. Kma has
captivated our hearts in the darkness
On what day will Hari come again? Hell laugh and embrace us
with his lotus hands.
Separation from Paramnands lord dulls our faces
and chars our hearts.
(S1004)
The full moon is the center of a symbolic web that includes nectar,
the ocean, and birds, and Paramnands manipulation of these symbolic
substitutions illustrates the need for Krishnas grace as pus.t. (nourishment)
for the devotees survival. The nectar-producing moon is an ocean of rasa
and is the sole source of nourishment for the cakor and ctak birds whose
desire for the moon Krishna reflects that of the gops. The rasa-as-love
metonym dominates this symbolic nexus, and devotees see the necessity
of Krishnas love through a range of symbolic substitutions.
The full moon is significant not only for its symbolic function but
also for its regulatory function of the calendar. Most holidays and festivals
are determined according to the lunar calendar. The Indian subcontinent
has developed numerous calendrical systems, both solar and lunar, and
there are even regional differences among these. Braj and Uttar Pradesh
follow the Purn.mnt calendar, in which the lunar month goes from full
moon to full moon, but the month is named for the new moon, which
will occur a fortnight later.1 For the Braj devotional calendar, the lunar
calendar is most significant, although certain days which are determined
by the solar calendar, are celebrated. For example, Makar Samkrnti, the
advent of the sign Capricorn, is always on January 14. The Indian lunar
calendar is adjusted to the solar calendar, which is eleven days longer, so
technically this calendar is a luni-solar calendar. An intercalary month,
adhik ms, is inserted every few years to readjust this schedule.
The lunar calendar starts with the month Caitra (spanning the Gregorian months of March to April). Each lunar month is divided into two
parts: the light half, ukla paks.a, when the moon is waxing, and the dark
half, kr..sn.a paks.a, when the moon is waning. The tithi, or days of the
moon, are numbered by the state of the moon in each half. For example,
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153
ekdai kr..sn.a paks.a is the eleventh day of the dark half; on Ekdai, many
devotees fast or abstain from foods made with grain. Both the full moon
day, prn.im, the fifteenth day, and new moon day, amvasy, the fifteenth day, of each month are significant for the ritual calendar as well.
Most of these days each month are associated with a festival or ritual
observance. Dvl, for example, falls upon the amvasy of the month
vin, the darkest night of the year. On this night, Hindus invite Laks.m,
Vis.n.us consort and the goddess of prosperity, into their homes and businesses to gain prosperity in the coming year. Devotees light rows of oil
lamps to guide her way and keep these lamps lit throughout the night.
Indias year contains six seasons, each of which spans approximately
two months.
INDIAS SIX SEASONS
Season
Purn.mnt Months
Gregorian Months
Grs.ma
the hot season
Vars.
the rainy season
arad
autumn
Hemant
late autumn
iir
end of winter
Vasant
spring
Vaisakh and Jet.h

Asd. and rvan
Bhadrapad and Avin
Krtik and Mrgars.
Paus. and Mgh
Phlgun and Caitra
MayJune
JulyAugust
SeptemberOctober
NovemberDecember
JanuaryFebruary
MarchApril
Anthologies contain poetry for almost every day of the year. The
majority of these poems illustrate Krishnas life in Braj, although some
poems depict festival days related to Vis.n.us other descents or days related
to sectarian traditions, such as Vallabhs birthday. This calendrical system
predates Braj devotion, and this cycle of poetry reflects attempts to integrate Krishna devotion into what must have been preexisting festivals and
practices. Braj was and still is a rural agricultural community, and festivals
such as Hol that are interpreted in terms of Krishna have older agricultural roots. Certainly prior to the sixteenth century, many rituals and
practices reflected this agricultural lifestyle and later were incorporated
and adapted to devotional cycles.
The full moons of autumn, arad, and the end of winter, Phlgun, are
two such occasions. These dates are significant for the agricultural cycles,
and remnants of these emphases can be seen in practice. On the night of
Hol, which celebrates, among other things, the end of winter and the
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onset of new life, piles of straw and dung are burned. The autumn full
moon celebrates the bounty of harvest and that the goals of sustenance
have been reached. It is interesting that in the Krishna tradition, the night
of arad Prn.im is considered the ultimate fulfillment of the gops.
On arad Prn.im, Krishna dances the rsa ll with the gops, and
immediately after the dance, they play in the water (jal-ll). Aesthetically,
the gops are known as the sadya-snn, heroines (nyika) immediately
after the bath. This sadya-snn and the vayaha nyik (girl at puberty) are
two popular heroines among poets. Krishna is surrounded by these adoring young women as the group splashes each other and engages in exuberant horseplay in the river.
Rgat.od.
Gopl plays in the water of the Yamuna.
Gods, humans and demons watch in amazed stillness,
any shyness of mind and body forgotten.
Deer-musk, sandal-scented breeze, a clay pot of saffron;
fragrant aloe-wood and aromatic camphor:
so many fragrant items are sprinkled about.
The son of Nanda is immersed in the heaven of the young breasts;
they splash each other with youthful hands.
Oh, the beauty of the autumn season;
the pearl rain drop of the Svti constellation falls.
Paramnand, the golden splendor of the gop;
the luster of the blue gem that is Govinds body.
(S785)
Rgasrang
Meeting the hero of the Ydavs thrills me.
On the night of arad, the full moon risen, we play on the banks
of the Yamuna.
Hari sprinkles us; we sprinkle Hari; we jump in with a spray of blue.
Laughing, he drags her by the arm to the deep water;
an embrace with a melee of arms and garlands.
When they emerge, he stands in the water, watching the
clinging wet saris.
Surrender to the body of ym, Paramnands lord, the urbane lover.
(P2, 344; S786)2
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155
As Krishna, the hero of the Ydavs (Krishnas tribe of origin), and the
gops splash about in the Yamuna, everyone is immersed in his rasa. Rasa is
embodied in those liquids and fragrances that overwhelm any witnesses to
this scene. Fragrant woods, such as the aloe tree (Aquilaia agallocha)not
to be confused with the green fleshy leafed Aloe family native to Africa
and cinnamommom camphorathe source of camphor and a large evergreen with fragrant woodperfume the air. Water, saffron, and musk
drench the fortunate gops, while those unable to participate remain paralyzed in wonder. The rasa-is-liquid metonym shapes reception of this
poem, and the motif of immersion in rasa is highlighted.
The gops have no self-control under Krishnas spell and are doused
with his rasa whether they want it or not. After this immersion, they can
hide nothing from him; the wet, revealing saris illustrate their absolute
nakedness in all matters before Krishna. Immersion in rasa suggests
drowning in passion and Krishna; when the gops dive in the water, they
release a spray of blue, Krishnas color. The experience is total; water
envelops every part of their bodies. Similarly, Krishna pervades all aspects
of the devotees thoughts. Nothing isor should behidden or apart
from Krishna; all else is forgotten and cast away. Without buffers or
boundaries, immersion in Krishnas rasa is the ultimate intimacy.
The rsa ll dance is the gops ultimate achievement and is paralleled by the fulfillment of the ctak (a pied cuckoo, Cuculus melanoleucas,
or paph, Clamator jacobinus). Tradition holds that these birds wait an
entire year and subsist only on the raindrops that fall when the svti constellation (the fifteenth of twenty-seven constellations, naks.atra) appears
in autumn. This birds sweet voicePi kahn? (Where is my beloved?)
resounds throughout the forest, echoing the gops desire for Krishna. The
birds will die without the raindrops, and the suffering gops claim to
have the thirst of the ctak (S989). The gop is like the ctak always
watching the body of the sky (S1002) and, like the bird, wonders,
When will the dark clouds come? As the dark gray cloud, Krishna is
the cintman.i, the jewel that removes all anxieties. These imagesbirds,
the dark cloud, and jewelsare symbolic substitutions for Krishnas presence, and Paramnands juxtaposition of these images with the arad
Prn.im moon highlights their expression of the gops fulfillment and
sustenance. Each substitution reveals variant aspects of love as sustenance
and entails the related substitution of Krishna as the moon that itself
invokes love as immersion.
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SINGING KRISHNA
The ocean as rasa represents a mysterious and fathomless entity, the

abode of the unknown and the fearsome. Human attempts to conquer the
sea are futile, and this image suggests the loss of control that results from
love of Krishna. The only recourse is total submission to Krishna as Paramnands signature line in the latter poem advocates. The human ego is small
compared to Krishnas will and strength, but the devotees who abandon the
ego and take refuge in Krishna will be safe in this ocean. Complete submission to Krishna brings safety and freedom, and immersion is necessary for
participation in Braj play and for intimacy with Krishna.
Submitting to Krishnas ocean parallels abandoning the illusion of the
egos power and subsequently submitting the ego to the dictates of
dharma (duty). When Rdh withholds her love from Krishna during her
mna, the sakh asks why she made barriers to the flow/rasa of love
(S714). She claims that in staying away from Krishna she is breaking her
dharmic destiny of surrender to Krishna. The poems play with the norms
of dharma, reinterpreting these norms in terms of the Braj play. While
notions of dharma normally advocate adherence to social norms, Braj tradition ranks devotion to Krishna ahead of social convention. Immersion
in Krishnas rasa supersedes the petty dictates of the laukik world. Rasa,
the ocean in which the devotee wants to drown, is not the impersonal
Brahman of the Upanis.ads in which the individual loses all individual distinction but is the divine nectar of Krishnas lower lip. The devotee does
not obtain this nectar through meditation or austerities but through
Krishnas loving kiss.
Like the moon, Krishnaand sometimes Rdhcontrols the tides
and waves of the ocean of love, which stream through the devotees. When
Krishna draws tears from the gops, he is like the moon regulating the sea.
He is the moon, governing the human body, which is over 75 percent
water and has a salinity similar to that of the ocean. Waves of love surge
through the gops, overwhelming them just as people are swept away by a
particularly strong wave in rough surf.
Rgasrang
An ocean of bliss swells in Haris body.
He gazes upon rrdh, the full moon,
the tide swells in r Vrindvan.
The Yamuna holds some of this bliss here, the gops hold some there,
some of it spreads throughout the three-worlds.
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157
Neither those on the paths of action or knowledge can touch this ocean,
it remains trapped within the hearts of the rasikas.
Gently and slowly, the wise one is immersed, every moment
of his play is for the sake of his devotees.
Paramnand takes a little of the grace of Nandas son which
is seen by those who know.
(K872; P3/228; S551)3
Rdh as the moon controls the passion that runs through Krishna.
In Hari exists an ocean of grace and passion for Rdh, but the
moon/Rdh manipulates the waves of passion that course through him.
Again, Krishna allows himself the role of the lover so that he, too, might
partake of his own bliss. This bliss, however, is limited to those who are
eligible, the connoisseurs of rasa; those on the paths of karma (action or
ritual) and jna (wisdom or asceticism) cannot achieve this ocean.
Paramnands lyric vision accords those rasikas his special sight so that
they can see Krishnas ll in the world. Ironically, this rasa is trapped in
the hearts of the rasikas, a contrast to the predominant image of rasa as
free-flowing. As we have seen earlier, this point parallels an aspect of Vallabhs concept of nirodha, or restraint.
No limit to the rasa exists, and, for rasikas, there is no place where it
does not flow. It streams through the streets of Braj, and even the one
thousand heads of the serpent es.a cannot reach its end. No one can conceptualize this ocean but only apprehend it directly through experience of
immersion.
Rgagaur
This ocean of beauty has no limits.
Oh friend, it swells and fills Nandas house;
it flows, coursing through the streets of Braj.
Oh look friend, today we went to Gokul to sell the curd.
What can we say? Listen wise woman, one thousand mouths
can neither speak of this nor stem the flow.
Everyone speaks of this fathomless ocean
which the womb of Mother Yaod has produced.
The lord of Paramnand, the blue jewel of Indra,
the Braj women keep him in their hearts.
(S550)
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SINGING KRISHNA
Rgasrang
Look ma, an ocean of beauty!
The powers of intellect or reason cant plumb these depths.
My heart has drowned in this clever one.
His body so dark it is a fathomless ocean, his yellow waist cloth
a wave.
As he looks about and moves, his beauty is overwhelming;
a whirlpool cascades over his entire body.
Fish-shaped eyes, crocodile earrings, arms strong
like auspicious serpents.
The juncture of the strands of his pearl garlands are like the
confluence of two streams into the Gang.
Peacock crest, ornaments of jewels: glancing upon him gives joy.
Seemingly the ocean has produced the moon, ri and nectar
together.
Seeing his beauty all the gops remain,
thinking and pondering.
Though he remains in the memory of the sakhs, love has wasted
away our bodies.
Manmohan, Paramnands lord: do what we say.
(S564)
S564 portrays Krishna as an ocean of beauty immersing the gop. To
have daran of Krishna is to be immersed or drenched in this ocean of
rasa. His yellow clothing appears as waves, and streams and whirlpools
all powerful forces against which resistance is futilecascade over his
body. The experience is one of being pulled along and sucked in; water
envelops the victim until nothing else exists but water and its pull. Even
those who resist cannot last long, and none can return to the shore from
which they came. Krishnas powerful beauty draws in and submerges the
devotee until there is nothing else but Krishna, the fathomless ocean.
Paramnand extends the rasa-as-liquid metonym, so the qualities of water
shape how devotees hear of Krishnas love and beauty. To see Krishna is to
drown in his beauty. Further, Paramnand invokes the sense of touch to
describe the totality of absorption into Krishna and his world.
The aesthetic device of this poem is snga rpaka, a technique in
which all parts of Krishnas body, not only one part, are compared to
something, in this case, the ocean. The peacock crest, jewels, and glance
are compared with, respectively, the moon, Laks.m, and nectar, which
were three of the fourteen items that emerged from the whirlpool pro-
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159
duced by the churning of the ocean. Under the deity Vis.n.us directive, the
gods and demons churned the ocean of milk to recover the amr.ta (nectar)
and other items that had been lost. They used the snake Vrun. as the
rope and Mount Mandara as the churning stick. Fish-shaped eyes and
crocodile earrings are formulaic descriptions of beauty and are typically
applied to Krishna. Bhanvara translates as whirlpool, swirl, and black
bee, all tropes that describe Krishnas qualities. The whirlpool alludes to
the depths of his body and beauty, as whirlpools only form in very deep
water, and suggests the power of Krishnas rasa to draw in the devotee.
What devotee could resist the allure of Krishnas beauty? The flow of rasa
shatters all boundaries just as a whirlpool or tornado draws in everything
in its path and mixes everything up. This upside-downness is among the
characteristics many Braj residents recognize as the many reversals that
devotion to Krishna entails.
Rgasrang
Oh mother, his beauty! Now is the time to look.
On top of Mount Govardhan, a line of peacocks.
Ll stands covered in yellow clothes, a thundering cloud rains.
A peacock crest, crocodile earrings and a garland of berries.
Tell us what words cant describe: his beauty grows infinitely.
Paramnand says not even seeing him with four hundred thousand
eyes could sate me.
(S560)
Despite Krishnas ever-increasing bounty, sight or sound of him never
quenches the devotees thirst. Sight personified is an endless hunger or
thirst that craves daran of Krishnas infinitely increasing beauty. Paramnand expresses the idea of unrequited desire through the sense of taste and
hunger, a motif that becomes clearer in the following poem.
The gops thirst for Krishnas face: only the ocean of his beauty can
extinguish the fires of separation. Krishnas absence has burned the eyes of
the gops, and daran offers the only relief. Vision of Krishna soothes
parched eyes. Even daran assumes a liquid motif here: Krishnas beauty is
an ocean that thirsty eyes might sip. Daran of Krishnas oceanlike the
cooling rays of the moonrelieves their charred eyes.
Rgavibhava
Let us hail this land where we might meet the son of Nanda.
Let the inferno of separation be extinguished upon seeing the splendor
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SINGING KRISHNA
of his lotus face.

Let my eyes drink a drop of the ocean of his
beautiful form.
Let us live, again and again sipping his fiery salty beauty,
remaining with him on any pretext.
Let us touch his tender hands and his sweet limbs,
from his toe-nails to his head.
Let our speech, deeds and hearts bloom with this
unique passion.
Let us obtain the joy of this play, the merriment and sensuousness
of the rsa dance upon the earth.
Let us be immersed in the ocean of rasa
amidst a flock of devotees.
Let the lord of my life fulfill that one desire of my heart.
Let the illustrious ocean of compassion
crush the three types of torment.
Each moment my eyelids are closed seems an eon and
passes as a great burden.
Paramnand says, he is the wish-fulfilling tree,
the destroyer of misery for the downtrodden.
(S488)
Daran of Krishna is not just a pleasant addition to life but an
absolute essential. This ocean keeps the gops alive. They reminisce about
those wondrous days when they played with Krishna in Braj, and he
nourished them with his nectar. Krishna skillfully used his rasa to
encourage their love, and this nectar rasa nourished them. The metonym
of Krishnas love as nectar is embedded in a related complex of images:
the moon, birds, and nectar. The image of nectar as sustenance relates to
Krishna as the moon. The cakor (a partridge, Perdix rufus or Tetrao rufus)
stares endlessly at the moon, infatuated with the moons beauty, and survives solely on the nectar of moonbeams. Like birds and bees, though,
devotees not merely are sustained through the nectar of love but are
intoxicated.
When Krishna leaves Braj, the gops endure the removal of Krishnas
sustaining love. This nectar of love is the liquid that has sustained the
gopsthrough sight. Krishna cruelly encouraged their love, and his
departure inflicts untold agony.
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161
Rgasrang
Hey sakh! Tell me, when will Gopl come again?
My eyes have been thirsty for so many days. Drinking his nectar
keeps them alive.
He assumed the guise of a dancer in Braj and
played songs on his flute.
A peacock crest, garland of gunja seeds, he danced the rsa
with relish and abandon.
When he climbed the mountain, he waved his yellow
cloth and called the white cow.
The lord of Paramnandads enchants the hearts
of the young women of Braj.
(S1032)
Rgavihagarau
Separation haunts the women of Braj.
Without Gopl, they stand as if robbed,
their defeated bodies so weak.
In the morning Yaod gazes upon the path,
morning and evening she watches.
All those who cry out, saying Knha, Knha,
their eyes flow like drains.
This Mathura is like a line of collyrium,
whoever crosses it comes out black.
Paramnand says, being without the lord is like the stars
without the moon.
(P3/379; S1142)
The lack of Krishnas rasawhatever the formcauses thirst, which
ultimately threatens the very existence of the birahinis (those who are
experiencing separation). Paramnand illustrates the metaphor of love as
sustenance and nourishment through Krishnas final departure, which has
devastated all of Braj, particularly the gops. His mother stares blankly at
the path from dawn to dusk, praying for his return. The gops vilify this
Mathura [as] like a line of collyrium, whoever crosses it comes out black.
Collyrium, or kjal, is black paste applied to the eyes. This line has not
only made Krishna black, but the gops tears have stained their faces with
black as well. The line has darkened everyones lives.
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SINGING KRISHNA
They see a particularly beautiful image of Krishna: he stands upon a

hill, bedecked in a crest of peacock feathers and adorned with a garland of
red berries, but without Krishnas presence, they can no longer summon
the energy to care for themselves. They have only the strength to call out
his name. Their bodiesdesiccated from constant weepingreflect an
internal state of extreme suffering. That Krishnas rasa has drained out of
their eyes is evoked here by panre (the drain that draws water off the
roof ), which suggests the loss of copious amounts of water.
Rgasrang
Why should we want our youth?
Now seeing this body saddens me; it was meant for Krishna.
I am ashamed of my body, I cant speak,
my hair and speech are rotten.
My eyes cant see the path in the dark;
I am slow with the thirst of love.
Fate has thrust us in the third stage,
our condition has weakened.
Paramnand says, the gops are in the state of separation,
their minds are perpetually tormented.
(S903)
The gops condition decays without their lord. Body and youth,
meant only for Krishna, are wasted now. Krishnas departure has hurtled
them through the three stages of lifechildhood, youth, and old age
from nubile youth to decrepit old age. Their inconsolable sadness has
taken its toll, and their bodies have weakened almost to the point of not
functioning. The gop is now embarrassed by her own body. To highlight
the contrast, Rdh had once been accused of shaming the animals in
the forest with her beauty, but now her condition has deteriorated. In
this scheme, love is nourishment, and the gops partook of this drink
through their eyes. Now, with the rasa of Krishnas love gone, the
moons burning rays further parch the gops. They are virtually blind,
and their minds are tormented. How can they know anything without
sight? The trope of blindness represents their inability to seeand thus
to knowKrishnas ll.
Rgaknharau
Without the beloved Govind, who will soothe
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163
our burning eyes?

The autumn night moon now sears like the sun.
Each and every heart bears the torment. Nandas wife suffers.
Hair bristles with love; more and more tears flow.
I remember the sage Gargas words: I should fall at his feet.
Paramnand says, how could he forget his play?
(S999)
In Krishnas absence, the moon abandons its cooling function and
adopts the harsh qualities of the sun: the moon becomes very hot
(S913). Paramnand creates an interesting shift; the moon is usually
depicted as a soothing balm and the producer of nectar. Devotees have
redundantly heard Paramnands symbolic substitution of the moon for
Krishna, and this moon and its entailments has offered a relief and sustenance to the gops, bringing to mind the moons cooling rays and immersion into the ocean of rasa. Paramnands illustration of the burning
moon can only seem a betrayal as the gop is now engulfed only in fiery
misery, and salty tears sear her parched face. Paramnands systematic
inculcation of specific substitutions allows him to intensify the devotees
perception of the tableau by departing from the expected rhetoric.
As the moons rays beat down upon the gop, she cannot fathom how
Krishna could have abandoned them to this fate.
Rgasrang
It is meritorious to praise Nandall.
Watch the supreme radiance of his face, its splendor renders dull
Kmadevas luster.
His glance is excellent, his speech is excellent,
his singing is excellent, his movements and intellect are excellent.
The one with the lotus eyes is splendid in every way,
in this way his laugh steals his beloveds heart.
Which limb should I describe? The cooling properties of his body
are like the arad moon.
Meet him Rdh, the ocean of the rasa of love, the lord
of Paramnands heart.
(S701)
Rgagaur
Auspicious are the feet of Rdhs groom.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Auspicious and cooling, so very tender, the color of the lotus.

The beautiful half moons of his toe-nails are
uniquely resplendent, holding a multitude of splendor.
His anklets resound, the most playful one revels in the arbor.
The rasika Ll who delights the heart bridges the ocean of separation.
Paramnand says, every moment ym offers refuge to the powerless.
(S581)
The entire being of Krishnaeven his toenailsresonates with the
idea of cooling liquidity. Krishna as the lotus suggests its cooling properties, even more so as a blue lotus since blue, Krishnas color, is associated
with coolness. Krishnas beautiful toenails, like a half moon, are uniquely
resplendent, holding a multitude of splendor (S581). Not only does
Krishnas body reflect the moon, but he also inscribes it upon Rdh in
their love play. The moon evokes not only their last meeting but also the
physical marks of their lovemaking upon their bodies. Whether as the
moon or an ocean, Krishnas presence soothes the devotees and protects
them from the agonies of separation. When this moon disappears during
eclipse, nothing remains to protect the gops.
Rgasrang
Why am I always speaking of Braj?
Without Kamalanayan now the misery starts to burn
as if the suns myriad rays sear our hearts.
Without Symasundar, the moon of Gokul has been grabbed
just like an eclipse.
Who can vanquish the pain of separation? Such is my lot.
Paramnand says, without the lord, my eyes flow with tears.
(S1028)
In the form of the nectar of daran Krishnas rasa eases the burning
pain, yet the moon of Gokul has gone. Paramnand juxtaposes images of
cooling and burning to make both more resonant. Krishnas epithet
Kamalanayan (lotus eyes) suggests the cool water upon which the lotus
grows, and ymasundar in this poem indicates the importance of cooling liquid. ymasundar (the beautiful dark one) refers to the beauty of
Krishnas coloring, the color of a rain cloud, which signals the onset of the
much anticipated monsoon.
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165
Rgasrang
The beauty of his face is like a second moon.
Why shouldnt the heart of the lover of darling Madanagopl
have peace?
He churned the ocean and drank with his eyes, then the sages
practiced austerities.
In the beginning of the age, he wrung out the water of love,
Brahm gave a tilak of fame.
Up till then he remained hidden from all;
birds, snakes and gods couldnt find him.
This complete perfection is manifest to Paramnand,
the world sings his praises.
(S580)
The gop asks why her heart should not experience relief. The lord
himself created nectar to provide succor from excessive thirst for Krishna.
Rasa as nectar relieves the pained eyes of the gops. Seeing his beauty
soothes their eyes like a rain of nectar (S843). This nectar, which Krishna
wrung out in his churning, is at once the ambrosia of the gods and the
product of flowers. Krishna himself partook of this nectar through his
eyes and as the bee flitting from flower to flower.
Rdh wants to wring out the nicoy (essence) of Krishna but does not
want to offer anything in return. The following hilag poem illustrates
Krishnas essence as liquid. It is sung from the first day of the dark half of
Jet.h until the first day of the bright half of s.ad and is in the khan.d.it section in the Pus.t.imrg Krtan Samgrah.
Rgasuha
Seeing his lotus face never satisfies me.
How can a married woman experience this joy?
She stays at home all night, asleep.
As the cakor gazes upon the moon,
she continues looking towards his moon-face.
Rdh doesnt want to appease him even a little,
she wants to wring out her beloveds essence.
I have given everything to him. We are one soul with two bodies.
Paramnand says, only a rare few know the secret
of this wondrous devotion.
(K408; P2/353; S577)
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SINGING KRISHNA
Nicoy is like wringing out a cloth to get the water, squeezing out the
essence. The gop comments that Rdh wont give even a bit of akora
(something given to appease or placate) but wants to wring out Krishna.
When a cow is to be milked, the calf must be tied nearby to induce the
milking mood in the cow. If the calf dies, the cow is fed grain or hay to
distract it from its loss, then while eating, it can be milked. For the rasa
here as the cows milkto flow, the cow must be in the proper mood. In
Rdhs situation, her akora is her youth and beauty; she should attract
and appease Krishna with this offering.
The devotees, too, cannot only take and give nothing in return. The
devotees love and moods contribute to the development of rasa.
Although he also is the source of the moods, Krishna responds to the
devotees moods, not through necessity but through his beneficence. The
devotees must work to cultivate the appropriate mood to deepen their
intimacy with Krishnajust as any relationship cannot be one-sided. The
gops, however, accuse Krishna of encouraging their love and leaving them
with nothing but pain.
This gop wonders how a married woman can experience this joy,
an indication of her paraky status, a woman who is someone elses
wife. In the Gaud.ya tradition, Rdh is considered paraky, and love
with the paraky woman is considered the most erotic and passionate
love. While love within marriage is burdened with duty and obligation,
love outside of marriage is guided by itself alone. The Vallabh Samprady usually considers Rdh or Swmin to be svaky to Krishna.
The svaky woman must serve her husband; duty and obligation overwhelm the erotic aspect of the marriage. The paraky woman is present
solely due to her own desire.
While the married woman remains at home asleep, the paraky
woman gazes at the moon like a cakor. The cakor, infatuated with the
moons beauty, stares at the moon from sunset to sunrise, never taking its
eyes away, and ultimately its neck breaks from the strain.
Rgagaur
Oh Rdh! Nandakisor cries out.
The darling one whose body curves in three places,
Symasundar dances in the forest like a peacock.
Moment after moment you delay, oh beautiful one.
Why are you breaking his heart?
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167
The font of bliss, moon of Vrindvan,

you should gaze like the cakor.
What can I say about the greatness of your fortune?
You should pay attention to nothing else.
Oh woman, go to Paramnands lord!
Embrace him with the gift of your breasts.
(S747)
In this mna episode, Rdh delays while Krishna dances and waits in
the forest. The gop remonstrates with Rdh for her heartlessness in the
face of Krishnas obvious love. She cannot imagine how Rdh could be so
nonchalant about her great fortune. Krishnas love is the desire of every
gop. The gops desire for sight of Krishnas face parallels the mythical
cakors desire for the moon. In response to Krishnas great beauty, the sakh
urges Rdh to go to Krishna like the cakor and stare at Krishnas moonface. This admonition suggests that Rdh should sacrifice her life for a
glimpse of Krishna. Ironically, Rdh apparently disdains what all the
gops strive to achieve: Krishnas love.
Paramnand explores the multiple connotations of the term rasa
through the trope of vision. As a liquid, rasa hydrates the body and
soothes the burning eyes as water cools a burn. Yet the rasa also appears in
its more traditional dramatic form as indicating the passion that Krishna
arouses in the devotee or gop. Paramnand translates the joy of seeing
Krishna into the sensory experience of touch, as in drowning, and taste, as
in hunger and thirst, and relates the necessity of this rasa to the gops and
devotees in terms of vision.
The moon represents cooling liquid, whether the ocean or milk or
water, and in these guises reflects the gops and devotees deep desire and
need for Krishnas sustenance. It is appropriate that the gops fulfillment
came with the cool autumn full moon. On that night, all aspects of the
symbolic complex are engaged: the ctak receives the raindrop, the moon
is cooling, and the gops not only see but also dance with Krishna. The
great joy of fulfillment that the gops felt on arad Prn.im suggests its
opposite: the anguish of separation. Neither Krishna nor the moon can be
controlled; both can turn and sear the devotee with their power. The
greatest desire of the gops was fulfilled during the rsa dance under the
full moon of the autumn season. How did they obtain this boon?
Through a cold bath in the Yamuna.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Hemant: Vows of the Cold Winter

Rgasrang
Oh Mohan, Im defeated, youve won.
Hey, you smooth-talking dancer! Give back our clothes!
Our bodies shiver in the cold.
Rasika Goplall, how can you be so cruel towards such
blameless women?
We know that Paramnands lord teases in this way.
(P3/34; S588)
Rgarmakal
The lovely Braj girls went to the banks of the Yamuna and
sang Haris praises.
Desire in their eyes, arm in arm. Earrings shimmered in their ears.
Braids draped elegant shoulders. Red sashes upon their waists.
Baskets of flowers in their hands. Pearls and jewels garland their
chests.
On the advent of the winter month, they entered the water
and immersed themselves.
With so much love for the son of Nanda, they perform their vows
with longing.
Then Nandanandana stole their clothes
and climbed into the branches of the kadamb tree.
Oh Krishna, they sought from the gods Paramnands lord as
their husband.
(K363; P3/34; S260)
In the early in the morning of Hemant, the middle of winter, the
kumriks (younger girls) bathe in the cold Yamuna water. These poems
are sung in mangal r.ngr from the bright half of Krtik to the full moon
of Mgh. The girls observe the ktyyn vow (a maidens vow) in order to
gain Krishna as a husband. Their immersion in the Yamuna symbolizes
the idea of receiving the dhidaivika (or divine) body from the river. Yet,
while the gops shivered in the cold river, Krishna stole their clothing and
climbed into the kadamb tree on the bank. From his perch, he taunted
the trembling gops and dared them to emerge naked from the water. Any
devotee who has bathed in the Yamuna in winter knows that there is little
warmth in the air. Their shivering and hair standing on edge are not only
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169
responses to cold but, in another context, would be understood as

sttvikabhvas.
The gops claim that the smooth-talking Krishna has defeated them.
Paramnand confabulates a false win-loss dichotomy to explain the gops
achievement, suggesting that love is war, yet this war has no losers. The
gops complain that they have been defeated but know instead that they
have won Krishna. They lose their modesty and distance from Krishna
but gain intimacy. Their nakedness functions as allegory: there should be
nothing between a devotee and Krishna. Other poems have revealed
Krishnas role as one who breaks any boundaries that constrain his rasa.
For example, the gops complained bitterly when Krishna shattered their
pots of milk, yet Paramnands poetic technique suggests a more subtle
reading: that Krishna teases them and removes any borderswhether
pots or clothesso that they can bathe in his rasa. Their suffering pays
off. The rsa ll dance is a direct result of their vow.
It is interesting that, in most cases, girls vows to gain a husband are
well-established social conventions, for marriage and childbearing are the
dharma of women. Similarly, girls and women will performs vrats (vows,
such as fasting) to ensure the health of their husbands, fathers, and
brothers. Yet, on the night of arad moon, this vow culminates in the
clearest example of what appears to be the gops scandalous behavior.
Disregarding any social repercussions, Rdh and the other gops abandon all pretense to answer Krishnas call. When Krishna calls them to the
arbor, they show up in disarray because they had immediately dropped
whatever they had been doing. No worldly task matters as much as
Krishna. These gops are fiercely devoted to Krishna and willingly risk
their social standing. They happily trade their lokalj (honor of their
families) to meet with Krishna.
Rgasrang
He took the flute in his hand and laid it upon his lower lip.
Look at the play of the greatest lord, the thief of the hearts and
minds of the Braj women.
When they heard the sound of the flute, they abandoned their homes;
Madan abundantly multiplied his body.
Those who had forgotten their love for their husbands and sons
went off crying, hey Hari, hey Hari.
They laughed and bloomed like the lotus bud at sunrise.
Paramnands love is for the one with lotus feet; meeting with
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Krishna is a good thing.

(S777)
Paramnands poems implicitly praise the gops actions even though
they violate social norms. However, even Krishna himself criticizes the
gops. After he has summoned them with his flute, he insults them for
abandoning their families and acting in such a shameful manner even
though he himself called them. But these women are seen as ideal devotees, so how does this behavior reconcile with traditional standards? How
do we resolve the issue of the gops apparently licentious behavior with
their status as ideal devotees? Their activitiesfull of what appear to be
faults, if not sinsare rendered virtuous when understood as alaukik.
Devotees understand the poems as alaukik and feel prem, not km, for
Krishna. The way in which their behavior is understood parallels the perspectival distinction between laukik and alaukik.
The informed devotee understands the symbols and the context of
the poetry and the gops actions. Such a devotee knows the necessity of
Krishnas love but does not take the gops behavior as a model for laukik
activity, that is, behavior that is not related to Krishna. Instead, the gops
intense devotion to Krishna is a model for each devotees own strength of
attachment to him. So devotees willingly endure the chills of the cold
Yamuna River in hope of union with Krishna.
Vasant: Spring and Hol

As the winter chill ceases and the spring approaches, devotees look forward to Vasant, a time of revelry and renewal.
Rgabasant
Listen, darling beloved reveler, lets go play
some games.
Sandalwood and vermilion, perfumed yellow dye and red powder,
everyone throws rasa.
And they take red powder and yellow color, their play resplendent
in every bower.
You throw on us, we throw on you: well wear
each others color.
The heart of hearts knows this inner joy; he smiles,
Autumn to Spring
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darling and handsome.

Paramnand knows the connoisseur of rasa; he divides and
throws the rasa.
(L3/10; S1198)
During the springtime rites of Hol, colored dyes and powders are
playfully tossed about, and everyone sports an array of color. On the night
of the full moon of Phlgun, the Hol bonfires burn, and Hol is played
on the following day, the first day of the dark half of Caitra. As Bihr,
Krishna indicates his sporting and playful nature. During the time of
Hol, a festival celebrating departure of winter, rasa is embodied in colored water and powders that are sprinkled, tossed, or dumped with abandon. The variety of colorsmetonymic for rasarepresent the various
expressions of Krishnas love, much as various foods indicate Krishnas
accommodation of his devotees. So Krishna and the gops liberally douse
each other with colors that are displayed on their bodies and clothes as
emblematic of their love.
Braj residents say that playing Hol is an expression of loveeven
though it might not always feel that way. Playing with color is a means for
friends and family to express the love that Rdh and Krishna feel for each
other. Devotees who are knowledgeable about rasa and love, the rasika,
realize that the rasa must be distributed to all and that joyful abandon is
the most appropriate way to distribute Krishnas bliss.
Hol is a time when all things are upside down, and social realities
are reversed, much like midsummers night. Normal social categories and
hierarchies are abandoned or reversed at this time. Yet, for Braj, this
upheaval is the norm: Braj residents claim that everything is upside
down in Braj, and they appreciate a bent or crooked aesthetic where
things are not what they seem but slightly askew. The spicy and illicit
activities of Rdh and Krishna and their friends are cause for celebration. Krishnas abandonment of the regal luxuries of Vaikun.t. h for the
pastoral games of Braj exemplifies this inversion of priorities. In Braj, the
rural and the simple reign supreme over the regal and high born. Prototypes of ideal devotees arise from the cow-herding community of Braj,
particularly the gops, whose characteristics normally are viewed as tmasa
gun.a, the least desirable.
Braj residents view the aesthetic of crookedness as interesting and
spicy, in contrast to the more staid Rma and St, who uphold the values
that Krishna violates. St and Rma are lauded as staunch supporters of
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SINGING KRISHNA
dharmic virtue; they always demonstrate the highest ideals of behavior.

Even Rma never let his love for St interfere with his duties as king: when
he rescued St, instead of accepting her claims of fidelity, he sacrificed her
in response to his subjects skepticism. Love was clearly subordinated to
duty. Rdh and Krishna, on the other hand, laugh at convention and let
nothing get in their way. Flouting social norms subverts established norms
of behavior, and their passionate love takes precedence over the austerities
of the sages and the dharmic virtue of St and Rma.
Rdh and Krishnas exuberant play breaks those borders of convention and restriction and allows all devotees access to Krishnas unlimited
rasa. Like Hol, all of Krishnas activities are play and are done for the benefit of his devotees. Nothing is done of obligation. The laukik world is one
of restrictions and limits, while in the alaukik realm these boundaries are
dissolved. In the mundane world, events occur due to necessity and duty,
while in the supramundane world, bliss and the effulgence of Krishnas
nature determine events. Like the rsa, events in the alaukik realm are
given a different interpretation than would be the case if they occurred in
the laukik. Apparently licentious behavior is sanctioned when grounded
in bhva for Krishna. Bhva for Krishna has the power to transform attitudes, events, and perspectives and is critical to understanding not only
the gops actions but also the nature of the world itself. Bhva transforms
laukik into the alaukik and elevates those passions rooted in the sensual
world to the ethereal.
After the fervor of Hol, the summers heat slowly rises upon the
Gangetic plain. Water becomes scarce, and shade and cooling agents are at
a premium. Those devotees responsible for a svarp of Krishna take great
pains to ensure the deitys comfort, and the rituals and poetry of the
summer months reflect these efforts. These rituals are not merely symbolic but assume that Krishnalike his devoteessuffers from the
summer weather.
C H A P T E R S EV E N
SummerSeeing Reality
The Synaesthetic Transformation
For devotees who hear the poetry that describes the summer heat, these
poems both shape and reflect their own experience of this heat. These
poems specifically illustrate the special role of the body as a means of
comprehending the poems. The poems are not fully grasped through the
intellect but through the embodied experience in which the poemsand
the sensual contextengage all the senses with the result that the comprehension of Krishnas world is ultimately a synaesthetic experience.
Grs.ma: The Hot Season

The exhausted lovers Rdh and Krishna are enthroned in the phlman.d.al (the palace of flowers), and revel in each others company while
their crushed garlands attest to their love play. Passion bubbles through
their sweet words, and they argue about who is more beautiful. Laughing,
they gaze at their reflection in the mirror and ask the sakh Lalit to judge
the contest of beauty. Krishnas reflection in the mirror parallels the idea
that the entire world is but a reflection of Krishna. This poem is sung in
Grs.ma, the summer season, when the heat has risen to an almost unbearable level. Not only are the flowers beautiful to the eye, but their moisture
and light fragrance offer some respite from the heat.
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SINGING KRISHNA
Rgasrang
They talk, bubbling with the passion of rasa.
The radiant pair are enthroned in the palace of flowers;
fragrance wafts through the air, and the river flows nearby.
Their faces side by side, they laugh and look in the mirror.
Love has exhausted them. Their garlands are crushed.
Paramnands lord, helpless with love, asks Lalit: which of us is
more beautiful, she or I?
(P3/265; S1220)
Many temples construct tableaus with elaborate flower palaces, filling
them with fragrance. The goal is to direct each devotees attention to
Krishnas alaukik realm. The sounds, smells, and sights are received by the
body, the locus of this religious experience in that the body is both the site
of sensory apprehension of the ll and the vehicle for serving Krishna.
Krishnas ll once occurred in the physical plane, so devotees use the
material world and its evoked emotional responses to see through to
Krishnas alaukik ll. Paramnand sings of birds, flowers, and trees in his
poetry, flora and fauna that, for the most part, still exist in the contemporary Braj landscape, so devotees can physically see, touch, smell, and hear
these phenomena. Devotees associate aspects of the material world with
Krishna through memory, and the sensual responsesrendered alaukik
arouse passion for Krishna. Also, and equally important, Krishna
according to the storyloves the smells and sights of Braj, so offering
Krishna flowers and his favorite foods pleases him.
When devotees crowd the temple for daran of the svarp, they do
not see a lifeless piece of stone or wood. Rather, through hearing Paramnands poetic language, devotees see Krishna engaged in Braj play.
Rgasrang
She drew a crescent-shaped mark of sandal and spread it
all over his body. An aromatic breeze perfumes the air.
In the way of lovers, their bodies languid, they embrace
and delight each other during the summer afternoon.
Rose scented water flows through the khas grass, screening
on all four sides.
It cools the house, their arbor palace.
No words can describe this beauty. This sight delights the eyes.
For his service, Paramnandads swings the fan.
(K932)
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In the summer month of Jet.h, nothing matters so much as alleviating

the overwhelming heat, and contemporary devotees practice the hot
season ll, which includes afternoon sandalwood applications. Water
poured through woven screens of khas grass creates a fragrant and cooling
breeze, a process similar to contemporary air coolers in which water circulated through straw or grass effectively cools the air in dry heat. Khas grass
itself is a sacred substance and is a part of many rituals. Different fragrances and pastessuch as henna for winter; kadamb for the rainy
season; and khas and gulb (rose) for summerappear not only in the
poetry but also in the temple itself for the svarps comfort, and Braj residents use the same techniques for Krishnas comfort as for their own.
Rgasrang
The sight of him coated with sandalwood stole my heart.
Donning a forest garland woven of camp blossoms and creepers,
like the golden-bodied Rdh.
A red kumkum mark on his forehead. An earring hangs from his ear.
His tender hands hold the finest lotus. Yellow garb adorns his waist.
The gods and sages stare and throw cascades of flowers;
seeing this, Madan turned his face in shame.
Paramnand asks, how can I speak of such joy, the ocean of bliss swells
like the tide.
(S1241)
Krishnas beauty shames even Madan, another name for Kmadeva,
the warrior of love. Like Kmadeva, Krishna captures the gops mind with
his sandalwood-covered body. The sandalwood fragrance that wafts
northward from the Malay hills is said to soothe the hearts of lovers.1
Paramnand illustrates the power of Krishnas beauty through his invocation of the ocean of bliss, which, in turn, evokes a semantic world that
guides devotees to Paramnands symbolic substitutions, such as Krishna
for the moon. The dialectical nature of the practice is evident here. The
systematic repetition of Paramnands varying literary techniques has
transformed each devotees conceptual framework that, in turn, structures
how the poems are heard. Such a devotee hears the trope of the potent
force of Krishnas beauty in the poetry and, with this framework in mind,
hears Paramnands trope of Krishnas thievery. Similarly, the gop is no
more able to stem the tide of Krishnas love than she is to preventeven if
she so desiredKrishnas theft of her heart. Paramnand explores the
trope of the power of love through two semantic realmsthe thief of love
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SINGING KRISHNA
and the love as ocean, each of which suggests different, but related, entailments that articulate the gops and devotees surrender when confronted
with Krishnas overwhelming love.
Because sandalwood evokes the tactile sense of coolness, a balm
against the hot, menacing sun, the sight of Krishnas sandalwood-clad
body captivates the gop. The cooling nature of the sandalwood functions
as a symbolic substitution for the cooling of Krishnas body. Further, the
name Krishna, like the epithet ym, equates him to a full rain cloud, also
a symbol for cooling. Each of these substitutions expresses varying aspects
of Paramnands metonymic equivalence of rasa is liquid. Devotees take
seriously the idea that Krishna is present in the world and understand that
he must be treated as a revered guest in their homes, which requires
actions such as adorning Krishna in the appropriate paste.
Possibly the earliest sectarian complaint in the sixteenth century is the
Vallabh Samprady claim that Madhavendra Puri, affiliated with the Bengali pujrs (temple servants), applied sandalwood paste during the winter
season to the image of Krishna known as rnthj. The sandalwood, a
cooling summer paste, chilled rnthj. rnthj then sent Madhavendra
Puri south for sandalwood paste (allegedly to get rid of him), and he never
returned. The story suggests Puris inattention to rnthjs real needs.
Another Vallabh Samprady sectarian complaint accuses other non-Samprady devotees of being more concerned with inflexible ritual than with
the comfort of rnthj, such as offering heavy clothes during summer.2
Even today devotees consistently state that they must respond to existing
physical conditions and adapt sev to these conditions.
Vallabh distinguished between mrti (image) and svarp (self-manifestation), and mandir (temple) and havel (home).3 Once consecrated,
the svarp is a living god and must be treated accordingly; the material
image and the deity are one and inseparable. A svarp and a mrti are
accorded similar sev, but the crucial distinction is that the deity is constantly present in the svarp, and the devotee must treat the svarp as if it
were a person with real physical needs. In contrast, the deity can enter and
leave the mrti at will or in response to an invitation by a devotee.
For the devotee and others with a laukik (worldly) attitude, the image
appears lifeless and inanimate, whereas, for the devotee with an alaukik
(nonworldly) attitude, the image is vibrant and alive, and the devotee feels
an intense emotion toward the deity.4 The devotees treat the svarp just as
they would treat Krishna if he were a guest in their homes, which arises
177
from Vallabhs emphasis on the havel (home). Devotees say, The guest is
Bhagavn (lord), when a guest enters the home. Instead of installing the
image in a temple, which was customary, Vallabh located the image in a
home. Unlike a temple which is public space, the home is considered the
private dwelling of the self-manifestation and, to respect Krishnas privacy, devotees may only enter during specific periods.5 The elements of
sev, such as offering choice foods, flowers, and fresh clothes, reflect not
only the guest-host structure of sev but also emphasize the embodied
nature of devotion.
Whatever its material construction, the svarp is not a symbol or representation of Krishna. The devotee who correctly perceives the alaukik
sees the svarp as Krishna, while a person with worldly sight might only
perceive a piece of decorated stone or metal. Manyparticularly Westernersassume that the svarp does not embody the divine presence
itself, but instead symbolizes the divine or is a representation that reminds
the devotee of or points to the transcendent divine. However, there is
nothing symbolic about the svarp: the divine freely manifests in material
form. The svarp has the same needs as any being on the earth; it must be
fed, bathed, and nurtured. Due to these all too human needs, the responsibility of caring for a svarp is enormousmuch like having a child
and is not something to take on lightly. The devotee must continually
attend to the svarps needs, remaining sensitive to the time of day, season
of the year, and other circumstances. Devotees consider Krishnas dependence a sign of his love for his devotees, because Krishna allows himself to
rely on his devotees and thus fulfills their need to care for him.
Vallabhs treatises, the Siddhntamuktval and the Siddhntarahasya
of the S.od.aagrantha, highlight the importance of the physical manifestation of the sacred and use the analogy of dirty water mixing with the pure
Gang to exemplify this process. Once dirty water mingles with the
Gang, it is purified, and the two cannot be separated. Similarly, the
worldly qualities of the devotee become nonworldly once that person
attains an alaukik perspective. This concept is important because it offers
a theological justification for Paramnands poetic mandate: to see beyond
the sensual world to the alaukik realm.
Vallabh determined three levels of manifestation analogous to
Purus.ottam (supreme being), aks.ar Brahman (nonqualified deity), and
jagat (creation): dhidaivika, dhytmika, and adhibhautika. The first two
are nonworldly, and the third is worldly. Using the Gang as an example,
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SINGING KRISHNA
he makes the following parallels: the goddess as Purus.ottam; the (pilgrimage/bathing spot) trtha as aks.ar Brahman; and the actual river as the jagat.
Rgabilval
ryamun pleases Gopl.
Whoever sees the Yamuna destroys the sins of countless births.
Whoever bathes in the Yamuna will never again come to distress.
Whoever drinks the water of the Yamuna is not subject
to the judgment of Dharmarj.
All the stories of the Padma Purn.a sing the glories of the boar who
raised the earth.
Paramnand obtains prsad from this trtha manifest in the world.
(S1380)
Within the Hindu tradition, rivers are considered to be aspects of the
goddess, and this analogy illustrates the triple manifestation of divinity
within the river. Vallabh claimed that anyone who ignores the physical
river and worships only the goddess and/or the trtha has missed the point
of the triple-aspect emanation. The trtha is a bathing spot on a river or
any pilgrimage destination, and, as such, it suggests the confluence of creation and divinity. Trtha is derived from the Sanskrit verb tr. (to cross
over), which also is the verbal root of avatr, (the one who has crossed
down or descended). Devotees who understand Krishna and his emanations worship all three aspects. The physical manifestation of the sacred is
prominent and accorded equal treatment with aks.ar Brahman, the more
abstract, nonmanifest divine.6 The dhidaivika is, of the three forms, the
fullest and the most praiseworthy as it incorporates all three aspects.
Devotees cannot see only the physical Gang and ignore the others as
that, too, would be a worldly perspective.
Paramnand builds many of his poems on the metaphoric edifice of
love as nourishment or sustenance and illustrates scenarios and concepts
with language that transforms the devotees in that the devotees perceive
the ll through these symbolic realms. Taking care of the image reflects
devotees relationships with Krishna: Krishna nourishes each devotee with
his rasa and love, while each devotee in turn nurtures Krishna.
When the rainy season finally arrives and breaks the heat, the svarps
needs change, and the ritual service reflects this change.
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Vars.: The Rainy Season

After enduring the slow buildup of heat during the summer season, devotees all over north India eagerly await the cooling rains of the monsoon.
When the rains come, the temperature drops significantly, and color
returns to the landscape.
Rgamalr
Why have you delayed? Oh Lotus-eyes, joy of my life,
why didnt you come right away?
The frogs, peacocks and cuckoos all speak, waking Kmadeva.
The month of rvan has come.
Our hearts and bodies have no respite from the anguish of separation.
Day after day passes; the promised week grows.
Now we count the days until the rainy season.
When a drop falls, our misery seems like penance.
Hari made his speech, then departed; oh listen,
the sakhs minds cant be diverted.
The lord of Paramnand, the gem of gems of the rasika,
will meet and embrace the one who pleases Madhuban.
(S984)
The rainy season is the most painful time for lovers to be separated,
and the trope of separation underlies all rainy season poems. During the
four months of the rainy season when rivers and streams flood, travel is
virtually impossible, so, during this season of romance, lovers are together
in one place. If they are apart, there is little hope of reunion. This time
should be one of great joy and liveliness: people cheer when the rains first
arrive and break the heat. Birds, animals, and humans rendered lifeless by
the oppressive heat regain energy, and the brown, parched landscape
bursts into a symphony of color.
The gops lament Krishnas continued absence during the rainy
seasonthe time of their anticipated reunion. They have counted the
days since his departure, but he still has not returned despite the rains.
The cuckoos cry out, voicing the gops desperation. For the connoisseurs
of passion, separation from the crown jewel of the rasikas (iroman.i)
(S1166) is exceedingly painful at this time.
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SINGING KRISHNA
In the month of rvan., Kmadeva has awakened from his slumber

and is armed with the weapons of love. Kmadevas presence is visually
manifest by the flowers of his arsenal, yet it seems that the gops have
lost both the battle of love and the object of their love. Those gops who
have been struck by Kmas amorous arrows have no lover upon whom
to lavish their devotion. Paramnand plays with the apparent inconsistencies physically manifest by the rainy season. The sleeping deity of
love wakes, and the gops lose the battle of love, that is, their hearts have
gone to Krishna, but he is no longer present. Yet in this trope of separation, the gops anguish reveals that they have actually won. Paramnand
reveals the truth to the devotees through the language of winning and
losing a war: winning Krishnas love itself is a victory, and to feel the
pain of separation from Krishna shows that his absence is only an illusion. Thus the losers win, and those who feel separation are really united
with Krishna.
RgaSorat.h
Oh my friend, Gopl has not come.
Without him, my life and mind, there is bliss; without him,
there is no joy.
Darling Mohan has taken so much time,
the piu of the rainy season has come.
The cuckoo looks in every direction, counting the stars
passing by.
Paramnand says, like the birds in the month of rvan.,
they watch the road, their minds full of hope.
They look for the feet of Hari, their eyes dying of thirst.
(S1006)
The koil, a sweet-voiced black cuckoo, invokes the image of the ctak
to illustrate the gops intense need and desire for Krishna. The cuckoo
looks at the passing stars, waiting for those that herald the arrival of
rvan., the month of rain. As the bird awaits the raindrop of rvan., similarly the gops hope for his arrival on the road, their eyes aching for a
glimpse of the nectar of his face. The cuckoo extends the interplay of
imagery that metonymically equates rasa and nectar with subsistence and
nourishment, or pus.t.i. The raindrop sustains the bird just as Yaod nurtures her children with food.
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Rgamalr
Large drops of rain splash in the courtyard where the two boys
eat breakfast.
Again and again, mother Yaod calls out: Ll, bring all the boys
in the house!
Every day you play, and your clothes get drenched.
Listen to my words: You should accept my blessings.
Whatever pleases Paramnands lord,
let him take some cooked food and milk-sweets.
(P2/379; S1260)
According to the Pus.t.imrg Krtan Samgrah, this poem, sung from the
third day of the bright half of Ad. until the tenth day of the bright half of
rvan., is a kale (rainy day breakfast) poem. The rainy season provides
Yaod a chance to mother her young son, and the rain and nurturance
themes sustain two related symbolic realms: rasa as rain and rasa as food.
Paramnand metonymically equates rasa with raina symbolic substitution for Krishnawhich eases the fires of separation. While Krishna and
his friends cavort in the rain, Yaod frets over Krishnas well-being. After
the intense heat of the hot season, people often feel cold during the monsoon rains. Yaod complains that their clothes get drenched in the rain.
Yet, to be drenched with Krishnas rasa is each devotees goal, and the
drenched clothes embody a symbolic attiring in Krishnas love.
Paramnand metonymically equates Krishnas rasa with food and
depicts love as nourishment or sustenance through the food. Yaod
admonishes Krishna to accept her blessing and eat her food, and devotees
cannot help but realize that Krishnas love sustains them. Yaod calls the
boys inside to offer them some cooked foods and ghaiy, the milk sweet
that exists only in Braj, whose residents note that it is not served or sold
anywhere else. According to Braj tradition, Krishna later claimed he never
had any ghaiy after leaving Braj, so this sweet represents the delights that
are available only in Braj and foreshadows Krishnas eventual absence
when the sweetness of the gops love will no longer be available. That this
particular sweet is available only in Braj highlights the notion of Braj as a
unique locus of Krishnas rasa. Sages, for example, strive for rebirth in Braj
to be near Krishna, and this sweet rasa, we have seen, is available only
through Krishnas lower lip, that is, through taste and lovemaking, not
meditative austerities.
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SINGING KRISHNA
During the rainy season, Rdh and Krishna play on swings on the
banks of the Yamuna. Cooled by a fragrant breeze and accompanied by
music, they enjoy the sultry air, and this verdant landscape reflects an
interior joy.
Rgamalr
Oh Mother, the moon of Gokul sways in his swing.
A slow fragrant breeze wafts from the swing built on the banks
of the Yamuna.
The drum beats a rhythm, and Krishnas flute sings out softly.
Peacock cry, and the cuckoo calls out. The dark gray cloud roars.
These Sravan days are auspicious. Rdhs heart blossoms with
delight.
All the Braj women swing the pair. Exhilarated, their hearts swell
with love.
Their parents Sri Vr.s.abhn and Kriti, Yaod and Nandababa
look on.
Seeing this beauty, Paramnand offers his blessings and devotes him
self to them.
(S1273)
The lushness of the rainy season reflects the fulfillment and richness
of this rainy season union. The aromatic breeze laden with moisture and
the heavy rain cloud are symbolic substitutes for the rasa-impregnated
scene. The characters and the scene are saturated with rasa, and Rdhs
heart has bloomed like the trees in the forest. Paramnand sings that these
halcyon days of rvan. are auspicious, and they are because everyone
Krishnas gops, his parents, and friendsis fulfilled by his presence.
Paramnands metonymic identification of rasa and liquid dominates the
poem. The rain and nectar are produced by the moon of Gokul, a symbolic substitution for Krishna. This water-saturated scene contrasts with
the desiccation of the gops when the moonand liquidis absent.
Of all Krishnas actions, noneeven when he slays demonsare of
necessity. Everything he does is for his and his devotees delight. For devotees, ll describes Krishnas activities in Braj as well as his creation of the
world. In his Subodhin, Vallabh defines ll as ever expanding bliss,
devoid of boredom and fatigue, as well as action everywhere but no passion (km). The latter suggests that km, the worldly desires, do not
occur in Krishnas play, and only prem, purified love, exists in the alaukik
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realm. Contrary qualities and attributes exist in the ll, such as the obstinacy of the young girls who love Krishna, but these contrary qualities are
nonetheless alaukik. Again, Krishna performs his activities through his
beneficence and effluence, not from necessity.
Krishnas eternal play is real and occurs in the alaukik realm that is in
the here and now. When Paramnand sees Krishnas ll, and devotees
hear Paramnands poetry and then see the ll, they see it as it occurs.
Similarly, Krishnas Braj activities are not perceived as allegorical. To the
casual observer, Krishnas ll is not manifest. Only those with special
visionaccorded through repetition of Paramnands poetic cycles
enjoy the alaukik eyes to see through the sensual world to Krishnas realm.
Through cyclic repetition, the poetry operates upon each devotee, so the
devotee sees Krishnas ll with ever-increasing clarity and depth. Paramnands poetrythrough the synaesthetic transformation of sound into
sighthelps bring the devotee into alaukik, this nonworldlyand very
realrealm.
In this capacity, Paramnands poems function as vehicles in sdhana,
a practice through which each devotee can accessthrough sight
Krishnas play. Hearing the poems, whether in the temple or at home, as
part of sev or individually, shifts the devotees perspective to the alaukik
and transforms the devotees perceptual and cognitive framework. In performance, the poetry becomes ritualized and offers a process for each
devotee to perceive and enter a supramundane reality.
The sensesrooted in the mundanebecome etherealized as devotees comprehend the transcendent reality of the alaukik. These senses
and the sensualbecome alaukik through their participation in ritual
practice. Devotees respond emotionally and sensually to Krishnas ll and
the material world, yet bhva for Krishna renders such responses alaukik.
Paramnands poetry provides a locus for this synaesthetic transformation.
The cyclic repetition of the poetry helps devotees perceive Krishnas
alaukik ll within the material world so that the devotees see divinity.
Poems describing the hot and rainy seasons demonstrate the importance of
the material world in serving Krishna. Not only must the devotee care for
the svarps material needs, but the world around usand our sensual
response to itelicits bhva for Krishna for those devotees who constantly
relate all thoughts and passions to Krishna. This bhva then transforms, or
renders alaukik, the senses as they are directed to Krishna, and devotees see
through these etheralized senses. And here we have the ultimate form of
synaesthesia, that the laukik is itself alaukik when properly viewed.
184
SINGING KRISHNA
Back to the Beginning

One purpose of this book is to create a path through Paramnands daily
and seasonal poetic cycle in order to replicate the manner in which devotees experience the poetry. The cycles of sev replicate Krishnas ll, and
these poems testify to Paramnands actual vision of Krishnas ll.
Paramnands deliberate and systematic language alters the way in which
devotees hear the poetry and thus alters the devotees themselves. Through
this repetition, adept listeners become even more sensitized to the nuances
and details of the poetry and become rasikas themselves, connoisseurs of
rasa, through their relationship to Krishna, the king of rasa. Throughout
their lives, devotees hear Paramnands poetry repeated day after day and
year after year and incorporate each rehearing into their personal memories, which then inform future reception of the poetry.
As with all cycles, but especially the cycles in Paramnands poesy,
eventually the cycles find an end, the point at which the cycle started. The
cycle laid out in this book began with the miserable gop, pining for the
loss of her Braj lord on the night of the autumn moon, the most romantic
night of the year.
Rgakedrau
Watching the full moon reminds me of the deer-eyed Madhvas face.
Again and again, as I remember the rsa dance, I hang my head,
and my eyes fill with tears.
Why did the Braj lord go to Mathura? Why must he slay
the sinner Kamsa?
A cooling breeze has arisen on the banks of the Yamuna;
in the darkness, Kma steals our hearts.
On that day when Hari returns, well rejoice when he embraces us in
his lotus arms.
Separation from the lord of Paramnand ravages our faces and sears
our hearts.
(S1004)
Paramnand sings of the gops mdhurya approach to Krishna, an
approach likely to be adopted by a devotee hearing this poem. Such a
devotee cultivates erotic feelings toward Krishna, using as a model the
real-world emotions aroused by a lover. These emotions, when directed
toward Krishna, are rendered alaukik. In this case, the devoteeby
185
adopting the persona of this goprelishes the anguish of separation, an

anguish that intensifies the love between lover and beloved. In this poem,
Paramnand plays with the concept of memorythe gops and the devoteesto heighten the passion. The gops vivid memories of the rsa ll
dance under the full moon remind her of her past pleasure and drive
home the harsh realization that Krishna is no longer available to her.
The literary tropes of separation and mdhurya bhva figure prominently in this poem and underscore the importance of aesthetic categories. Aesthetic terms and concepts adapted to Krishna bhakti by Braj
theologians such as Rpa Goswami and Vallabh provide structured roles
that direct the devotees emotional responses to Krishna. As devotees
become more sophisticated in these roles, their emotional responses to
the poetry become more nuanced, and they are able to play Krishnas
more advanced love games, such as mna. Cultivated devotees relish
these games that Krishna plays for the benefit of his devotees. Paramnands subtle literary techniques affect the ways the listener hears the
poetry, and, with each repetition, these subtle machinations operate on
each devotee with greater precision. Devotees who hear this poetry
cannot help but become more sensitive to Paramnands literary techniques, such as the tropes of separation or thievery, and can decode the
range of entailments associated with each symbolic realm, whether food,
rasa, or the moon.
Yaods admonitions to Krishna to develop his tastes reflect the devotees goal: to relish the emotions and tastes aroused in the poetry. These
emotional responses are latent in human beings, so they must be cultivated with some effort on the devotees part. As each devotee cultivates his
or her responses, the poems details evoke an ever-wider range of meaning.
The full moon triggers memories not only of the rsa ll dances but also
of Krishnas face, which is likened to the moon and the cakor bird, which
lives on the moons rays. The moon, which produces nectar, like milk as a
metonym for Krishnas love, evokes the sense of tasteexperienced
through sight, as the eyes drink the rasa of Krishnas love. The devotee
knows Krishna as the moon who directs the oceans tides, evoking the
concept of the ocean of rasa in which the devotee hopes to drown and
the metaphor of love as immersion. The sophisticated listener hears
through an infinite range of interconnected symbolic extensions that
paint Krishnas ll through sound. Paramnands rhetorical strategies are
the microscopic techniques that subtly alter the devotee to create the
macroscopic synaesthetic vision in which the senses are conflated.
186
SINGING KRISHNA
And, according to Braj tradition, Krishna makes this easy for his
devotees. With his grace, Krishna invites his devotees to participate in his
games. While devotees are free to accept this invitation, none play with
Krishna without his invitationand devotion itself is a sign of having
received Krishnas grace. Krishna manifests himself to his devotees in
forms they can best understand. For Braj devotees, he appears as the lovable youth Krishna, a form suitable for the rural population of sixteenthcentury as well as contemporary Braj. He did not appear as a remote king
or a Sanskrit pundit, spouting esoteric verses about the nature of reality.
In fact, Krishna explicitly ridicules these characters and offers the nectar
of his lower lip to his beloved Rdh, not to those who would meditate
their way to salvation.
When devotees speak of Krishnas play in Braj, they laugh because
Krishnas games and antics are funny. He plays pranks on Brahmans and
his neighbors and teases the girls. God has a sense of humor. It is important to remember the nature of Krishnas ll: it is play and never done of
necessity, but only for the benefit of his devotees. As play, Krishnas activities are joyful and spontaneous, and devotees who join Krishna in his ll
not only render their lives alaukik but also playful. Krishnas playful
behavior has destroyed any boundaries that might inhibit intimacy. Those
lives transformed by bhva become a form of sacred play: while devotees
participate in Krishnas world, Krishna is present in the devotees once
mundane world. This mingling or collapse of the laukik and alaukik is an
extension of the reflexivity and reciprocity of the experience of daran.
This process not only enlivens for the devotee all aspects of Krishna but
also enlivens with Krishna all facets of the devotees lives.
In this dialectical process, the natural world triggers memories of
Krishnas ll, and knowledge of the ll helps devotees (re)interpret the
world in terms of Krishnas play. Paramnand draws poetic images from
the actual flora and fauna of Braj, where, after all, Krishna once played his
games. The full moon and a river might elicit remembrance of the scene
of the gop upon the banks of the Yamuna. So every bird, tree, and plant
enhances the devotees connections to Krishnas alaukik realm by continually evoking bhva for him. These sensual responses to the material world
become alaukik and ethereal due to their connection to Krishna.
Krishna revealed himself to Paramnand in the svarp of rnthj.
That Paramnand composed his poems while seeing Krishnas ll suggests
that Braj devotion develops a unique nexus among poetry, divinity, and
the material world. Paramnands poetry presents a mythic framework
187
that directs and shapes the devotees passions. The markers in the poems
suggest emotional responses that sophisticated devotees use to interpret
their own experiences, thus creating a dialectical relationship between the
poetry and prior experience. As the devotees own passions and experiences become increasingly more aligned with Krishnas play, the poetry
becomes even more resonant. While internally each devotees thoughts
and emotions are synchronous with Krishna, homologizing their lives
with Krishnas sev cycle brings each devotees external life in tune with
the ll.
Devotees who repeatedly hear the poems have an immense repertoire
of associations and references to Krishnas ll, and this depth enhances
their daran of Krishnas ll. This process in which Paramnand paints
words through sound is highly individualized, so each devotee sees and
relates to Krishna according to his or her own disposition. The poetry
enables each devotee to apprehend Krishna through sight, which, in the
Hindu tradition, is one of the primary modes of communicating with
the divine. The dominant figure of speech underlying the poetry and
language itself is the metaphor of seeing the messageor Krishna
through words. This notion underlies the entire poetic process, which
implicitly claims by its existence that words can illustrate Krishnas ll.
The entire poetic process itself is a figure of speech, a mode used to
describe the process that we understand as the transformation of words
into vision.
This synaesthetic form of knowledge grants devotees an embodied
knowledge of Krishna; that is, devotees comprehend and experience
Krishnas ll with all their senses, and this knowledge is embedded in
their bodies as well as in their minds. As a parallel example, when an athlete learns a new skill, at first the movements seem awkward, and the athlete must keep in the conscious mind the various elements entailed in
performing the new skill. However, with repetition and practice, somatic
memory takes over. The movements seem natural, and intuition replaces
conscious thought. Similarly, devotees come to know Krishnas ll and
incorporate the ll intuitively, as a mental muscle memory, so to speak.
This memory extends beyond the mind to the body: Paramnands
metaphors and figures of speechso entrenched as to appear natural
involve the body to offer the devotee both the physical and the mental
experience of Krishnas world.
Paramnands powerful language is repeated endlessly in the ritual
cycle, repetition that allows for increasingly deeper knowledge of the ll.
188
SINGING KRISHNA
Just as the poetry is far more than mere words, the devotees comprehension of the ll extends beyond superficialand even consciousawareness. Paramnands experience and daran of Krishnas llas well as his
poetic skillallow him to manipulate language, to employ metaphors
that resonate both within the Braj cultural framework and within each
devotees own experience through the metaphor of sight as understanding.
Analyzing the poetic process in terms of the metaphor of sight not only
reveals the progressive components of the poetry but also highlights both
synaesthesiaconfusion of the sensesand an underlying notion of
knowledge itself: to see is to know. As Paramnands poemsthe poems
that sing the cycles of Krishnas daily and seasonal activitiesare sung, the
sounds, the words, and the experience are transformed for each devotee
into sight. The devotee sees through the ephemeral world to Krishnas
world, and therein lies the significance of Paramnands poetry.
Notes
Introduction
1. Eck, Daran: Seeing the Divine Image in India, 67.
1. Paramnands Poetic World

1. Eck, Daran: Seeing the Divine Image in India, 67; Banaras: Cosmos
and Paradise in the Hindu Imagination, 4156.
2. Barz, The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhcrya, 915. Frequently terms such as
laukik and alaukik are understood in terms of, respectively, profane and
sacred, yet, to do so obscures central issues about the terms sacred and profane. I
use sacred and profane guardedly because they are heavily invested with Christian (as well as Jewish and Islamic) concepts of the relationships between spirit
and material, sacred and profanewhich are usually perceived as discrete categories.
3. Hawley, Author and Authority in Bhakti Poetry, 273, 285.
4. The date of the Bhgavata Purn.a has not been settled, but most scholars claim it is a south Indian text written in the tenth century. Rukmani, Bhgavata Purn.a, 14, 322; Rocher, The Purn.as; Hardy, Viraha Bhakti, 538541.
5. See J.A.B. van Buitenin, On the Archaism of the Bhgavata Purn.a,
2340, and Hardy, Viraha Bhakti, 481547.
6. Barz, Bhakti Sect, 150.
7. Ibid.
189
190
SINGING KRISHNA
8. Hawley, Author and Authority in Bhakti Poetry, 273, 285.

9. S. K. Chatterjee, Indian Calendrical System, 60. In addition to the eight
as.t.aym, the day is divided into pahars (watches or guards, each of about three
hours) that are precisely calculated according to muhrtas, which are auspicious
moments of forty-eight minutes. Muhrtas also refers to specific periods of the
day, such as the Brahm muhrta at sunrise, a particularly auspicious time of day.
The prtah (early morning) period is the first three muhrtas after sunrise,
approximately two hours and twenty-four minutes.
10. Sullivan, Sound and Senses, 6.
11. Entwistle, Synaesthesia, 89, 98.
12. Lakoff and Johnson, Metaphors We Live By, 5.
13. Miller, The Love Song of the Dark Lord, 25; Siegal, Sacred and Profane
Dimensions of Love, 98102.
14. Bryant, Poems to the Child-God, 4546.
2. The End of the Night

1. Personal communication with Tony K. Stewart, October 2000.
2. Redington, Love Games of Krishna, 31.
3. Eck, Banaras: Cosmos and Paradise in the Hindu Imagination,
4156. Smith, The Samnysanirn.aya, 147.
4. Bryant, Poems to the Child-God, 125.
5. These collections are not standardized, and the categorization of the
poems frequently differs between collections. Some poems appear under different
headings in different collections, and a single poem might appear in as many as
three subject headings in one anthology. Poems might be assigned different composers or rgas in different collections. For example, a poem might be attributed
to Paramnand in one collection and to Srds (another As.t. achp poet) in
another. Generally, though, these poems are known well to devotees and are
clearly associated with one poet.
6. Shukla, Kavivara Paramnand Ds, 5590.
7. Hawley, Author and Authority in Bhakti Poetry, 273.
9. Ibid., 141.
10. Myvdin refers to advocates of ankaras Advaita-Vednta (nondualist)
thought. Pus.t.imrg tradition distinguishes Vallabhs definition of my, an illu-
Notes to Chapter 3
191
sory separation, from that of ankara by positing Krishnas presence in all aspects
of existence. Parekh, r Vallabhcrya, 130.
11. The poem is sung on the first day of Mgh (JanuaryFebruary), kr..sn.a.
Kr..sn.a paks.a (the dark half ) indicates the half of the month in which the moon is
waning.
12. Foucault, What Is an Author? 154.
13. Rinehart, The Portable Bullhe Shah: Biography, Authorship and Categorization in the Study of Punjabi Sufi Poetry, 23.
14. Ong, Text as Interpretation, 152, 154.
15. Miller, Kldsas World and His Plays.
16. Gupta, Plant Myths and Tradition in India, 51.
17. Miller, Kldsas World and His Plays, 3839.
18. Ibid., 2628.
19. The dating of the Nt.yaastra is uncertain, but it is usually dated no
later than the sixth century but with some elements dating back to the second
century BCE.
20. Adele Fiske, Notes on Rasa in Vedic and Buddhist Texts, 21528.
21. Wulff, Religion in a New Mode, 68283.
22. Ibid., 683.
23. Timm, Celebration of Emotion, 67.
24. Gerow, Indian Poetics, 267.
25. De, Vais.n.ava Faith and Movement, 18386.
3. Krishnas Morning Games

1. The following summary of relevant aspects of Vallabhs theology relies
upon Barz, The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhcrya, Parekh, r Vallabhcrya, and Shah,
rmad Vallabhcrya: His Philosophy and Religion.
2. Kinsley, The Divine Player, 1.
4. Bryant, Poems to the Child God, 2324.
5. Hawley, Krishna, the Butter Thief, 26264.
6. Bhgavata Purn.a 10.10.143.
7. Hawley, Krishna, the Butter Thief, 26187.
192
SINGING KRISHNA

9. Shah, rmad Vallabhcrya, 165. Parekh, r Vallabhcrya, 136.
10. Parekh, r Vallabhcrya, 136.
4. Afternoon
3. Ibid., 6970.
4. Ibid., 153.
5. Ibid., 150.
6. G. H. Bhatt, r Vallabhcrya and His Doctrines, 23.
7. Personal communication, Shrivatsa Goswami (September 25, 1992).
9. Lynch, Social Construction, 19.
10. Ingalls, Words for Beauty, 99.
11. Both(i) which translates as unmeasured amount or rough estimate is
not easily defined and not to be found in Braj dictionaries. I am grateful to Alan
Entwistle for his suggestion of Lamas Rajasthani dictionary.
5. Night
1. De, Vaishnava Faith and Movement, 21012; Masson and Patwarden,
Aesthetic Rapture, 49.
2. De,Vaishnava Faith and Movement, 20810.
3. Ingalls, Words for Beauty, 47, 95.
4. Kakar and Ross, Kings and Cuckolds: Passion as Power, 10632.
5. Gupta Shakti M., Plant Myths and Traditions in India, 4, 82.
6. Ibid., 6465.
7. Ibid., 5.
Notes to Chapter 7
193
6. Autumn to Spring
1. Chatterjee, Indian Calendrical System, 40.
2. In the Pus.t.imrg Krtan Samgrah (PKS), this poem is assigned rga t.od.
and is classified under the snna ytra (bathing) poems, which are assigned to be
sung on the full moon of Jet.ha.
3. The PKS assigns this poem to Rjabhog in the hot season, so it would
not be sung during arad Prn.im.
7. SummerSeeing Reality
1. Upadhyaya, Botanical Folklore, 11.
2. Bennett, Image Worship, 11920.
3. Barz, Bhakti Sect, 50. Also see Parekh, r Vallabhcrya, 142, and Bennett, Path of Grace, 201.
4. Barz, Bhakti Sect, 48. David Haberman, Journey, 170.
5. Barz, Bhakti Sect, 47. Haberman, Shrines of the Mind: A Meditative
Shrine Worshipped in Majar Sdhan, 29.
6. Barz, Bhakti Sect, 14; Haberman, Journey, 169.
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Barz, Richard. The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhcrya. Haryana: Thomson (India),

1976.
Bennett, Peter. Image Worship and Pus.t.i Mrga. Journal of Vaishnava Studies
1,4 (Summer 1993): 109134.
. The Path of Grace: Social Organization and Temple Worship in a Vaishnava Sect. Delhi: Hindustan, 1993.
Bhatt, G. H. r Vallabhcrya and His Doctrines. Baroda: r Vallabh, 1984.
Bryant, Kenneth. Poems to the Child-God: Structures and Strategies in the Poetry of
Srds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.
Chatterjee, S. K. Indian Calendrical System. Government of India, Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, 1998.
De, S. K. Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources. 2nd ed. Calcutta: Mukhopadhyaya, 1961.
Eck, Diana. Banares: Cosmos and Paradise in the Hindu Imagination. In The
Word and the World, ed. Veena Das. New Delhi: Sage, 1986, 4156.
. Daran, Seeing the Divine Image in India. Chambersburg, PA: Anima
Books, 1981.
Entwistle. Synaesthesia in Poetry and Ritual of the Pus.t.imrga. Journal of Vaishnava Studies 1, 3 (Spring 1993): 84103.
Fiske, Adele. Notes on Rasa in Vedic and Buddhist Texts. Mahfil 8, 34 (1971):
215228.
Foucault, Michel. What Is an Author? In Textual Strategies: Perspectives in PostStructuralist Criticism, ed. Josue V. Harari. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1979, 141: 161.
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196
SINGING KRISHNA
Gerow, Edwin. Indian Poetics. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1977.

Gupta, Shakti M. Plant Myths and Traditions in India. Delhi: Manoharlal, 1991.
Haberman, David. Journey through the Twelve Forests. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
. Shrines of the Mind: A Meditative Shrine Worshipped in Manjar Sdhana. Journal of Vaishnava Studies 1, 3 (Spring 1993): 1835.
Hardy, Friedhelm. Viraha-bhakti: The Early History of Kr..sn.a Devotion in South
India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983.
Hawley, John S. Author and Authority in the Bhakti Poetry of North India.
Journal of Asian Studies 47, 2 (May 1988): 269290.
. Krishna, the Butter Thief. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989.
. Sr Ds Poet, Singer, Saint. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Ingalls, Daniel H. H. Words for Beauty in Classical Sanskrit Poetry. In Indological Studies in Honor of W. Norman Brown. American Oriental Series vol. 47,
ed. Ernest Bender. New Haven, Conn: American Oriental Society, 1962,
87107.
Kakar, Sudhir, and John M. Ross. Kings and Cuckolds: Passion as Power. In
Tales of Love, Sex and Danger. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992, 106132.
Kinsley, David. The Divine Player: A Study of Krishna Ll. Delhi: Benarsidass,
1979.
Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1981.
Lynch, Owen. The Social Construction of Emotion in India. In Divine Passions: The Social Construction of Emotions in India, ed. Owen Lynch. Delhi:
Oxford University Press, 1990, 336.
Masson, J. L. and Patwarden, M. V. Aesthetic Rapture: The Rasdhyya of the
Nt.yastra. 2 vols. Poona: Deccan College, 1970.
Miller, Barbara Stoler. Kldsas World and His Plays. In Theater of Memory,
ed. Barbara Stoler Miller. New York: Columbia University Press (1984): 341.
. The Love Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadevas Gtagovinda. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1977.
Ong, Walter J. Text as Interpretation: Mark and After. In Oral Tradition in Literature: Interpretation of Context, ed. John Miles Foley. Columbia: University of
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Paramnandasgar. Edited by Sribrajbhushan Sharma. Kankaroli: Vidyavibhag.
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Parekh, Bhai Manilal C. Shri Vallabhcarya: Life, Teachings and Movement.

Rajkot: Harmony House, 1943.
Redington, S. J. Vallabhcrya on the Love Games of Kr..sn.a. Delhi: Benarsidass,
1983.
Rinehart, Robin. The Portable Bullhe Shah: Biography, Authorship and Categorization in the Study of Punjabi Sufi Poetry. Numen 46 (1999): 23.
Rocher, Ludo. The Purn.as. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1986.
Rukmani, T. S. A Critical Study of the Bhgavata Purn.a. Varanasi: Chowkambha
Sanskrit Series Office, 1970.
Shah, J. G. rmad Vallabhcrya: His Philosophy and Religion. Nadiad: Pustakalaya, 1969.
Shukla, Govardhan Nath. Kavivara Paramnand aur Vallabh Samprady. Aligarh:
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Siegal, Lee. Sacred and Profane Dimensions of Love in Indian Traditions as Exemplified in the Gitogovinda of Jayadeva. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1978.
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Tagare, Ganesh (trans. and annotat.). Bhgavata Purn.a. Delhi: Banarsidass,
1989.
Timm, Jeffrey. Celebration of Emotion: Vallabhs Ontology of Affective Experience. Philosophy East and West 41, 1 (January 1991): 5975.
Upadhyaya, K. D. Botanical Folklore. In Tree Symbol Worship in India, ed.
Sankar Sen Gupta. Calcutta: Indian Publications, 1965, 118.
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Chicago Press, 1966, 2340.
Index
Ad.el, 38
dhytmika, 177178
adhibhautika, 177178
dhidaivika (divine body), 37, 168,
177178
Ahrs (cowherd caste), 142, 143
akora (something given to appease or placate), 166
aks.ar (nonqualified deity), 67, 177178
lambana, 60
alaukik (supramundane world), 1, 10, 12,
1416, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 28,
3031, 44, 47, 67, 7172, 77, 82,
8386, 93, 94, 103, 107, 111, 115,
170, 172, 174, 176177, 182186
amr.ta (nectar), 159, 160
nand (bliss), 8889
annual cycles
autumn, 151167
calendrical systems for, 152153
lunar, 7, 2324, 139, 151167
six seasons of India, 153
spring, 151, 153154, 170172
summer, 173188
winter, 168170
anugraha (favor/support), 85
apardh nyaka (criminal hero), 47
Arjun, 64, 80
s.ad, 165
raya (shelter), 102, 103

As.t.achp poets, 5, 1011, 21, 3637, 40,
50
As.t.aym (periods of daily ritual cycle),
2527
At.aki (entranced), 9899
author-function (Foucault), 41
autumn, 151167
van, 105, 108
avatrs (incarnations), 11, 38, 54, 80, 178
virbhva (manifestation), 8889, 105
Balarm (brother of Krishna), 11, 2526,
34, 51, 58, 7273
bl-ll (boyhood play), 38, 73
Bhagavad-Gt, 64
Bhagavn, 53
Bhgavata Purn.a, 11, 20, 31, 3435, 38,
40, 51, 114, 126
bhajan (devotional singing), 103
bhakti (Krishna devotion), 11, 28, 31, 185
Bhaktirasmr.tasindhu, 59
bhan.it (signature line), 1922, 37,
4041, 56
Bhanvara (whirlpool, swirl, black bee), 159
Bharatamuni, 59
bhva (foundational emotional experience), 18, 35, 43, 44, 66, 6970,
101, 115116, 127, 172, 183, 186
199
200
SINGING KRISHNA
bhva (continued)
cows as exemplars of, 112115
gops as exemplars of, 113115
linkage with rasa (essence), 59, 60, 72,
78, 8487, 127
mixed bhvas, 7281
bhvan (constant recollection), 35
bhvtmaka (devotees), 22
bhavtmaka (full of feeling), 93
bhog (meal), 26, 115120
Bhramargt (Song of the Bee), 108109,
114, 118, 119120
Birahins (those who are experiencing separation), 147, 161, 171
blindness, 1415
blue (color of Krishna), 4547, 155, 164
Brahm, 6465, 138
Brahma-Stras, 20, 67
Brajbhs., 1920, 133
Braj region
Brajbhs. as vernacular of, 1920, 133
calendrical systems for, 152153
as center of Krishna devotion, 11
described, 11
early languages and literature of, 13
Krishna leaves, 11, 34, 58, 92, 103,
104, 118, 119120, 160
life of Krishna in, 1112, 1819, 2528
Br.hadranyaka Upanis.ad, 138
Bryant, Kenneth, 1
Caitanya, 4
cakor bird, 152, 160, 165167, 185
campagrasa (one with the golden complexion of the campa flower), 132
candram (moon-face), 109110
Candrval, 83, 84
capal (wavering or fickle), 73
ctak bird, 152, 155, 180
Caturbhujds, 37
Caurs Vais.n.ava k Vrt, 38
Chandrabhg, 2122, 37, 38
chp (name or seal of popular poets), 21, 37
Chitaswm, 37
Cintman.i (wish-fulfilling stone), 99, 155
colors, 4547, 49, 58, 60, 109, 155, 158,

164, 170171, 175, 179
context-free autonomous discourse (Ong),
42
daily cycles, 2, 6, 10, 12, 2528. See also
sev (ritual service)
dn ll, 76
daran (seeing activities of Krishna), 3,
46, 10, 1314, 16, 21, 22, 27,
3132, 3738, 5557, 100,
106108, 120, 121, 134, 149,
158160, 164, 174, 185188
dsya (servitude), 101
dharma (duty), 140, 148, 156, 169
Dharmarj, 178
dhrupad style, 5
Digambaras, 120
dsy bhva (servitude stance), 3435, 66,
103104
dt (messenger), 125126
Dwarka, 11, 109
economy of love (Hawley), 82
Eighty-Four Hymns of Hita Harivama
(Snell), 1
Ekda, 38
Entwistle, Alan, 28
flowers, 4546, 102104, 109110, 173,
180
flutes, 5, 5455, 61, 92, 104, 111, 122,
169, 170
Foucault, Michel, 41
fragrances/scents, 4546, 5859, 155,
170, 174177, 182
Gang water, 93, 158, 177178
garbhaka (game within a game), 123
Garga, 163
Gaud.ya Vais.n.avism, 4, 59
Gesamkunstwerk, 28
ghaiy (milk sweet), 181
Ghanasym, 110
Giridhar, 81, 127
Index
Giridharan, 114, 139
Gtagovinda, 29, 59
Gokul, 74, 112, 114, 164
Gokulnth, 38
golden creeper, 43, 9596, 140141
Gopl (name for Krishna), 51, 52, 64, 78,
93, 102, 103, 110, 116, 128, 134,
139, 154, 161, 178, 180
gopas (cowherding boys)
relationship with Krishna, 18, 19, 21
gops (cowherding girls). See also Rdh
autumn full moon and, 151167
as exemplars of bhva, 113115
lunchtime with Krishna, 91100
prankster activities of Krishna, 6389
relationships with Krishna, 1419,
2124, 2627, 3335, 4261,
6872, 124125
Goswami, Gopal Bhatt, 4
Goswami, Rpa, 59, 73, 185
Goswami, Shrivatsa, 4
Govardhan, 147, 159
Govind, 75, 162163
Govindaswm, 20, 37
Graha, 2324
Grs.ma, 153, 173178
guja berries, 45, 161
gvl (cowherding), 26, 6389
Haladhar (Balarm; brother of Krishna),
58
Hari (name for Krishna), 58, 79, 83, 87,
98, 119, 140, 152, 157, 169, 180,
184
Havel (home), 176177
Hawley, John S., 1, 82
Hemant, 153, 168170
hilag poems, 9799, 165166
Hiran.yakaipu, 101
Hol (spring festival), 151, 153154,
170172
horripilation, 47
ideal listener, 34, 44, 61, 66
Indra, 133
201
jagat (creation), 67, 177178

jal-ll (play in the water), 154
Jayadeva, 59
jhnk (tableau), 27
jna-mukti (meditative liberation), 141
jna (wisdom or asceticism), 157
kjal (black paste applied to the eyes), 161
kalanka (blemish or flaw), 109
kale (rainy day breakfast), 181
kalpan (imagination), 35
kalpavr.ks.a (Wishing Tree), 133
Kmadeva, 29, 30, 99, 123, 131132,
135, 175176, 180
kmadhenu (wish-fulfilling cow), 114
Kamalanayan, 2325, 164
kamal (lotus), 53
Kma Stra, 29, 133134
km (love), 30, 71, 107, 170, 182
Kamsa, 11, 33, 34, 102, 103, 152
Knha (name for Krishna), 51, 81, 96,
106, 110111
Kannauj Brahmans, 38
Kapr, 38
karma (action or ritual), 157
Krtik, 168
ktyyn vow (maidens vow), 168
Keav, 72
Kesi, 102
Khan.d.it nyik (broken-hearted heroine),
47, 124125
Khan.d.it (temporary infidelity), 88
Khan.d.ita (woman whose lover has been
unfaithful), 47, 71, 123
khas grass, 174175
khr (milk pudding), 117118
Kriti, 182
koil (black cuckoo), 180
Krishna
alaukik (supramundane world) of, 1,
10, 12, 1416, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25,
28, 3031, 44, 47, 67, 7172, 77,
82, 8386, 93, 94, 103, 107, 111,
115, 170, 172, 174, 176177,
182186
202
SINGING KRISHNA
Krishna (continued)
beauty of, 45, 109, 135, 158, 162, 165,
175176
bhakti (Krishna devotion), 11, 28, 31,
185
as boatman helping devotees across
ocean, 6768
as Brahman, 6568
as connoisseur of love, 4548
crooked nature of, 111112
daran (seeing activities of ), 3, 46, 10,
1314, 16, 21, 22, 27, 3132,
3738, 5557, 100, 106108, 120,
121, 134, 149, 158160, 164, 174,
185188
dress and accoutrements, 27, 4546, 49,
5861, 104, 109
family of, 9, 11, 18, 22, 2527, 50,
5158, 6061
four-armed depiction, 101
gops (cowherding girls) and, 1419,
2124, 2627, 3335, 4261,
6872, 124125
hierarchy of emotional stances toward,
18, 3435, 66, 71
as incarnation of Vis.n.u, 11
leaves Braj, 11, 34, 58, 92, 103, 104,
118, 119120, 160
life in Braj, 1112, 1819
ll (activities), 2, 6, 13, 15, 1822,
2628, 31, 3538, 4144, 4750,
5258, 6768, 7071, 74, 105,
106108, 117, 120, 148, 174, 175,
178, 182188
Madanamurri as name for, 17
moon and, 7, 2324, 39, 49, 52, 53,
57, 109110, 144145, 156157,
163164, 167, 175176, 182, 185
morning activities, 25, 5158
nighttime activities, 4251
Paramnands poetry as threshhold into,
23
popularity of, 5, 1112
Rdh as lover of, 1618, 27, 4446,
50, 53, 68, 8284, 9192, 94, 96,
121149, 156157, 165166,
171172, 173, 182183

as rain cloud, 110
sakh counsel to, 142145, 161
sensual images of, 3, 9, 4548, 5859,
183
separation metaphor, 17, 38, 43, 8789,
91, 92, 100106, 107, 117,
119120, 124127, 144, 161162,
179185
sev (ritual service), 2, 3, 47, 11, 24,
2528
shattering of worldly conventions,
8189
stories of life on earth, 1112
Kr.s.n.ads, 37
Ks.atriya, Kapr, 38
Kuber, 79, 80
kumrik (young virgin), 131, 168
Kumbhanads, 37
kumud (lotus), 109110
Laks.m, 128129, 153, 158
Lalit (friend of Rdh), 45, 173174
Ll (name for Krishna), 52, 79, 83, 106,
127
laukik (mundane world), 1, 12, 1416, 20,
2223, 3031, 67, 77, 8286, 93,
103, 104, 107, 111, 156, 170, 172,
176177, 186
lvan.ya (saltiness), 118
ll (activities of Krishna), 2, 6, 13, 15,
1822, 2628, 31, 3538, 4144,
4750, 5258, 6768, 7071, 74,
105, 106108, 117, 120, 148, 174,
175, 178, 182188
lokalj (honor of their families), 169
lotus flower, 53, 102104, 109110
lunar cycles, 7, 2324, 139
autumn full moon, 151167
calendrical systems and, 152153
Madan, 130, 175
Madanagopl (name for Krishna), 29, 98,
113, 122, 140
Madanamurr (name for Krishna), 16, 17,
129130
Index
Madhavendra Puri, 176
Mdhav, 43, 142
Madhva (name for Krishna), 33, 34, 43,
86, 94, 102, 103, 108, 151, 184
Mgh, 168
Mahbhrata, 20
Mahdev, 6465
mahtmya (magnificence of the lord), 103
Makar Samkrnti, 152
Malik, Vidur, 2, 56
mna chut.ve (abandonment of the mna),
123, 124, 141142
mna-milpa (resolution of the mna),
123, 124, 134, 145
mna (pique in love), 16, 17, 68, 71, 88,
121149, 167, 185
abandonment of, 123, 124, 141142
jealousy in, 121132
of Krishna, 146147
resolution of, 123, 124, 145
rules of, 126
sakh counsel to Krishna, 142145, 161
sakh counsel to Rdh, 122132,
137142, 156
sakh role summarized, 125126,
147149
setting stage for, 132137
mna prayatna (state of mna), 123
Mandara, 159
mandir (temple), 176
mangal (early morning), 25, 5158
mangal r.ngr, 168
Man.igrv, 80, 81
Manmohan (name for Krishna), 92, 158
marydmrg (path of convention), 8586
Mathura, 11, 33, 58, 92, 103, 104, 118,
161, 184
my (illusory), 40
Myvdins, 39, 40
mdhurya bhva (erotic stance), 35, 54,
66, 71, 73, 86, 106108, 184, 185
metaphors of Paramnand
apparent destruction of love, 4748
blindness, 1415
conceptual structure of images and,
2830
203
Krishna as sun, 5253

love as free-flowing bounty, 8386
love as intoxication, 2122, 9498,
133134, 145, 146
love as limited commodity, 8386
love as liquid rasa, 17, 5253, 57, 110,
111112, 127128, 138141, 144,
152, 155160, 163164, 167, 176
love as perishable, 4748
love as purifying agent, 93
love as snare, 9799
love as sustenance, 1415, 17, 2930,
5557, 7476, 8189, 92, 96,
9899, 102104, 110, 115118,
162, 165, 178, 180, 181
love as treasure, 4547, 128129
love as war, 13, 17, 2930, 56, 6871,
7677, 8687, 99, 122123,
131132, 169
milk as metonymic for love, 5557,
7476, 8189, 113115, 117120,
166
nature of, 3, 13
separation from Krishna, 17, 38, 43,
8789, 91, 92, 100106, 107, 117,
119120, 124127, 144, 161162,
179185
transformation process and, 2832
Miller, Barbara Stoler, 42
Mohan Mdhav, 136
Mohan (name for Krishna), 21, 68, 109,
122, 132, 138, 139, 146, 168, 180
Mohini (enchanting woman, one who is
enchanted), 144
monsoon imagery, 110
moon. See also lunar cycles
autumn full moon, 151167
Krishna and, 7, 2324, 39, 49, 52, 53,
57, 109110, 144145, 156157,
163164, 167, 175176, 182, 185
of Vrindavan, 39, 40
mugdh (young girl who is not fully aware
of her beauty), 131, 143
mukha mor.i (turning ones face in shame),
49
Mur, 17, 80, 130
204
SINGING KRISHNA
Mural (flute), 5455, 61, 122

mrti (image), 176
Nalakbar (son of Kuber), 80, 81
Nandads, 37, 108109, 114
Nanda (foster father of Krishna), 11, 18,
21, 26, 29, 57, 6061, 66, 68, 74,
78, 81, 83, 100, 102, 108, 113, 116,
154, 157, 159, 163, 168, 182
Nandakumr, 130
Nandall, 163
Nandanandana, 94
Nandarn, 57
Nrada, 80, 109
Narasimha (man-lion), 100, 101
Nryan., 100101
Nathdvara, 4
Nt.yastra, 59, 131
nyik (heroine), 98
nicoy (essence), 165166
nirgun., 67, 141
nirodha (abode of all contradictions), 93,
100, 157
nitya (constant) cycle, 12
nityall, 36
Ong, Walter J., 42
padas (short lyrics), 19, 36
Padma Purn.a, 178
palaa (red flower of dhaka tree), 133134
panre (drain that draws water off the
roof ), 162
Parabrahman, 103
Paraky status, 166
Paramnand
background and context of, 4, 5, 1011,
3542
4041, 56
death of, 3637
described, 1
influence on modern Braj devotees, 23
linguistic tools and aesthetic structures
of, 1316, 2832
linkage with Vallabh Samprady, 3942
metaphors of. See metaphors of Paramnand

narrative stance, 22, 46
nonsectarian sources on, 3738
poetry of. See Paramnands poetry
sectarian lines and, 4
visions of Krishnas activities, 19, 21,
3132, 3536, 3738, 5556
Paramnandasgar (compilation of
Paramnands poetry), 19, 3637
Paramnands poetry. See also Paramnand
about, 1619
aural/oral form of, 3
4041, 56
body of, 1012
critical perspective on, 13
daily and annual cycles in, 2, 6, 10, 12,
2528
dialectical relationship between text and
Krishna devotees daily lives, 13,
3335
ideal listener, 34, 44, 61, 66
literary techniques in, 3, 6364,
111112. See also metaphors of
Paramnand
multiple uses of, 67
pada (poem/lyric) form, 19, 36
physical landscape of, 2
poetic environment of, 1925
popularity of, 5
research context for, 36
as situated poetry, 67
sound as sight in, 13
as threshhold into Krishnas world, 23,
916
prijta tree, 13, 2122
pastes, 161, 175176
paud.he (reconciliation), 124
Persian poetry, 132
Phlgun, 171
phl-man.d.al (palace of flowers), 173
Poems to the Childhood God (Bryant), 1
Pradyumna, 132
Pran.m, 108109
prasd (consecrated offerings), 6, 85, 115
Index
205
prem (purified love), 30, 107, 170,

182183
progressive hierarchy of emotional stances,
18, 3435, 66, 71
pujrs (temple servants), 176
Purn.as, 52
Purus.ottam (supreme being), 6667,
8889, 103, 105, 148, 177178
Pus.t.imrg, 36, 107
Pus.t.imrg Krtan Samgrah, 36, 165, 181
Pus.t.i (state of grace), 39, 84, 8586, 115,
152, 180
types of, 5960

rsa ll dance, 41, 54, 55, 97, 107, 129,
141, 154, 155, 185
rasa nyaka (hero of the rasa), 127
rasarja (king of the rasa), 84, 93, 123
rasika (connoisseur of art), 29, 44, 123,
143, 157, 179, 184
rasikarja (connoisseur of emotion),
4648, 94
Rawat, C. B., 2
Rinehart, Robin, 41
Rohin., 26, 7273
Rdh
beauty of, 46, 131, 134135, 139140,
162
counsel from sakh, 122132, 137142,
156
as Krishnas lover, 1618, 27, 4446,
50, 53, 68, 8284, 9192, 94, 96,
121149, 156157, 165166,
171172, 173, 182183
pride of, 128, 129, 131, 137, 142
Rdhraman. temple
evening service, 2, 4546, 121149
location of singers in, 5
nature of service in, 56
in research context, 46
rgas of Paramnand, nature and uses of,
57
Rh, 2324
rjabhog (midday meal), 26, 91108
Rajasthan, 11
Rma, 5, 43, 66, 72, 171172
Ramyan.a, 43
rasa (essence/passion), 18, 21, 45, 49, 64,
72, 8384, 94, 95, 96, 113, 114,
115117, 171, 184
linkage with bhva, 59, 60, 72, 78,
8487, 127
as liquid, 17, 5253, 57, 110, 111112,
127128, 138141, 144, 152,
155160, 163164, 167, 176
power of, 111112
reorganization of traditional, 5960
tasting of, 116118
sdhan (secret practice), 107, 183

sagun. (qualified deity), 67
sakh (male friend), 37
sakh (female friend), 27
Chandrabhga, 2122, 37, 38
counsel to Krishna, 142145, 161
counsel to Rdh, 122132, 137142,
156
Lalit (friend of Rdh), 45, 173174
role in mna poems, 125126, 137149
sakhya bhva (friendship stance), 3435,
54, 66
samsra (transience), 40
samyoga (union), 105, 107
sandalwood, 174176
sandhyrat (dinner), 26, 11520
snga rpaka, 158159
Sankrsan, 106
nta (peace/repose), 35
arad Prn.im, 154, 167
sttvikabhvas (crooked glances), 47, 95,
113, 168169
Satyabhma, 133
Saubhgyavat (one who is auspicious), 138
ayan (bedtime), 2627, 3335, 121149
jealousy and, 121132
sakh counsel to Krishna, 142145, 161
sakh counsel to Rdh, 122132,
137142
sakh role in mna poems, 125126,
137149
scents/fragrances, 4546, 5859, 155,
170, 174177, 182
206
SINGING KRISHNA
separation metaphor, 17, 38, 43, 8789,

91, 92, 100106, 107, 117,
119120, 124127, 144, 161162,
179185
es.a (cosmic serpent), 64, 157
sev (ritual service), 2, 3, 47, 11, 24,
107108, 176, 187
bhog (meal), 26, 115120
daily periods in, list, 2527
gvl (cowherding), 26, 6389
integration of the senses (synaesthesia)
in, 2732, 4548, 5859, 184,
187188
mangal (early morning), 25, 5158
rjabhog (midday meal), 26, 91108
sandhyrat (dinner), 26, 115120
ayan (bedtime). See ayan (bedtime)
r.ngr, 2526, 5861
utthpan (after the nap), 26, 108115
Siddhntamuktval, 177
Siddhntarahasya, 93, 177
iir, 153
St, 171172
sitars, 5
iva, 5, 64, 95, 138
Smaran. (evocation from memory), 23, 28
Snell, Rupert, 1
S.od.aagrantha, 93, 177
solar calendar, 152
Sonajuh, 38
spring, 151, 153154, 170172
rddha ritual, 65
r, 43, 95
r Vr.s.abhn, 182
r Navantapriyaj (Krishna as child who
loves butter), 24, 38, 56-7, 82
rnthj (form of Krishna), i, 38, 176
rrdh, 156
rvr.s.abhn, 4445
ryamuna, 178
r.ngr (adornment), 2526, 5861
Stewart, Tony K., 35
Subodhin (Vallabh), 115, 182
uka, 78
Sullivan, Lawrence, 2728
summer, 173188
sun
as metaphor for Krishna, 5253
solar calendar, 152
Srds/Sr Ds, 1, 37
Svaky, 166
Svarp (self-manifestation), 15, 38, 65,
174, 175178, 186187
Swmin (feminine), 73, 124
ymaghan (name for Krishna), 136
ymasundar (name for Krishna), 2324,
123, 132, 140
ym (name for Krishna), 4647, 57,
6465, 75, 78, 81, 108, 113, 114,
127, 133, 154, 176
ymamurr (name for Krishna), 79, 80
synaesthesia, 2732, 4548, 5859,
8485, 184, 187188
tabla (drums), 5
taml tree, 43, 9596, 140141
tmasa gun.a (least desirable), 171
tmasa (stubbornness), 115, 124
tambura (drone instrument), 5
Th.kur, 65
tilak, 165
tirobhva (concealment), 88-9, 105
Trtha, 178
Tok, 37
Tribhangi, 112
Tulsds, 66
Uddpan (background stimulus), 60, 123,
132, 148
Ugrasena, 103
Ujjvalanlaman.i, 59
Upanis.ads, 67, 40, 156
utsava (festival) cycle, 12
Uttar Pradesh, 11, 152
utthpan (after the nap), 26, 108115
Vaikun.t.h, 6061, 66, 95, 129, 140, 171
Vais.n.avism, 11, 18
Vallabh Samprady, 4, 5, 1011, 15, 20,
25, 3542, 6667, 7374, 85, 93,
104, 107, 115117, 153, 166,
176178, 182, 185
Index
vara (groom/husband or boon), 138
Vars., 153, 179183
Vrts, 11, 20, 3738, 39, 73, 105
Vrun, 159
Vasant, 153, 170172
vtsalya bhva (parental love stance), 35,
66, 71, 73, 107
Vedas, 20, 38, 52, 64, 75, 76, 138
vibhvas (categories of stimulants), 60
Vinayapatrik, 66
viniti (petitioning), 102, 103
viraha (separation from Krishna), 17, 38,
43, 8789, 91, 92, 100106, 107,
117, 119120, 124127, 144,
161162, 179185
Vis.n.u, 11, 43, 95, 101, 128129, 153,
159
Vis.n.u (r), 43
Vit.t.halnth, 25, 37, 40, 107
vrats (vows), 7, 169
Vrindavan
moon of, 39, 40, 167
pilgrimage road circling, 2
207
temples of, 4
Vr.s.abhn, 96
Vysa (divine sage), 20
winter, 168170
Ydavs (Krishnas tribe of origin), 154,
155
Yamuna River, 68, 81, 110, 129, 137, 152,
154155, 167169, 178, 182, 186
Yaod (foster mother of Krishna), 9, 11,
18, 22, 35, 114116, 157, 161, 180,
181, 182, 185
in daily periods of sev, 2527, 50,
5158, 6061, 107, 121
flavors of food, 116118
gops complaints to, 6889
maternal authority over Krishna, 6366,
70, 7981
yellow (color of Krishna), 4546, 49, 58,
60, 109, 158, 170, 175
yoga, 138
yogs (ascetics), 67
RELIGIOUS STUDIES / ASIAN STUDIES
SINGING KRISHNA
Sound Becomes Sight in Paramnands Poetry
A. Whitney Sanford
Singing Krishnaa introduces Paramnand, one of north Indias greatest
medieval poet-saints, whose poetry has been sung from the sixteenth century
to the present in ritual service to the Hindu deity Krishna. A. Whitney
Sanford examines how hearing Paramnands poetry in ritual context serves
as a threshold for devotees between this world and Krishnas divine world.
To see Krishna is a primary goal of the devotee, and Paramnand deftly
constructs a vision through words. Sanford employs the dual strategies of
interpreting Paramnands poemswhich sing the cycles of Krishnas
activitiesand illustrating the importance of their ritual contexts. This
approach oers insight into the nature of the devotional experience that is
not accessible by simply studying the poetry or rituals in isolation. Sanford
shows that the signicance of Paramnands poetry lies not only in its beauty
and historical importance but nally in its capacity to permit the devotee to
see through the ephemeral world into Krishnas world.
The beautiful lyrics of Paramnands poetry are a welcome addition to the
growing body of Indic poetry in translation. Sanfords excellent book guides
us through the poetry and takes us right to its sources.
Constantina Rhodes Bailly, author of Shaiva Devotional Songs of Kashmir:
A Translation and Study of Utpaladevas Shivastotravali
A. Whitney Sanford is Assistant Professor of Religion at the University
of Florida.
State University of New York Press
www.sunypress.edu

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singingDkrishna

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STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

PARAMNANDS POETIC WORLD

THE END OF THE NIGHT:

KRISHNAS MORNING GAMES:

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Paramnand is one of north Indias greatest medieval poets who sang in

benefit from scholarship on Paramnand and his poetry, which represent

The Research Context

other contemporary Braj poets, wrote for a similar audience of insiders

The Experience of the Temple

moment. There is no prescribed liturgy or preset order of poems; the

Situated Poetry: Sound Becoming Sight

Plan for the Book: Following the Cycles

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Paramnands Poetic World

It is important to know that sight and sound are privileged modes in

Paramnands Poetic World

Paramnands Poetic World

Paramnands poetry constantly bombards devotees with rich images

Daranbeing both a reciprocal and a reflexive processnot only

Paramnands Poetic World

Krishna. While the sentiment may at first appear to a non-Indian reader

About Paramnands Poetry

Paramnands Poetic World

Paramnands vivid illustrations of Krishnas life in Braj entice the

Paramnands Poetic World

Devotees appropriate the emotional attitudes of the characters in the

Paramnands Poetic Environment

Paramnands Poetic World

It is important that devotees know that Paramnands vision of

prijta tree is particularly auspicious as it is one of the five types of trees

Paramnands Poetic World

Individuals apprehend the truth of this poetry according to their

Paramnands Poetic World

earrings, different crests, and flowered garlands that devotees

Paramnands Poetic World

to be asleep all night in his bed. Krishna, however, sneaks out

It is important not to conflate synaesthetic apprehension with

Synaesthesia, Metaphor, and Transformation

Paramnands Poetic World

Paramnands Poetic World

These transformationsthemselves the path of bhaktireflect the

The End of the Night

Late in the evening, poets sing of a romantic moonlit nightand the

ayan: While Braj Sleeps

The End of the Night

this is generally considered above, but occasionally considered below or at

corpus of Paramnands poetry. For devotees, Paramnands sight of

The End of the Night

1585. At present there exists a corpus of approximately one thousand to

The End of the Night

Paramnands Vrt emphasizes that Paramnand came to Vallabh

r Gusainj (his son Vit.t.halnth, and an epithet to indicate a Vallabhite

The End of the Night

The End of the Night

The memory functions as a repository for all knowledge of Krishnas

The End of the Night

demonstrate the qualities of freshness and potency, yet incorporate the

The End of the Night