The Moon Prelude

NOD  Ch. Qualities of Krishna[Krishna said] "The most opportune time is the full-moon night in autumn, like tonight.  The best place within the universe is Vrndavana, and the most beautiful girls are the gopis.  So, My dear friend Uddhava, I think I should now take advantage of all these circumstances and engage Myself in the rasa dance." 

Mādhurya-kadambini, 1.11

Here are some further highlights from Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s commentary on this verse in Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, 10.33.39:

"One who continuously hears, glorifies or writes poetry about this autumnal rāsa-līlā and similar pastimes of Kṛṣṇa described by other poets, first of all, even if he has the heart disease of material lust, he becomes imbued with prema. Then, by its effect, the disease of the heart is destroyed. Thus, it is understood here that this prema is independent; it is not weak or dependent like jñāna-yoga."

~ ~ ~

The moon 

haloed by vermillion, 1

swelled with waves of desire ²

in this autumn night,

               when the Lord of the stars*              

pierced with a glance ³

the copper moon disk. ⁴

Or was it His smiling lips

 kissing the moon rays red? ⁵

 The melodious sound of His flute ⁶

let silent  ardor

 sail on the ocean
of pleasure without harbor.⁷

Or was the inflamed

Moonface of His Beloved,
darting arrows⁸

by arching Her eyebrows⁹

and making the moon ball blush?

What was the alchemy

to cause lotuses to bloom¹⁰

under this full moon,

and for this jasmine scent

to saturate the air

out of  season ~¹¹

What was the reason?

The moonlight incited

a mood of lascivious play,

 innermost desires of the mind¹²

were unveiled.

So captivating was the moonlight

it impelled the heart to speak,¹³
to express love's secrets
by weaving moonbeams

with excitant mudras,¹⁴

with tones of the voice,¹⁵

with abstruse words ~ ¹⁶

all this was the cause.

Millions were the stars,¹⁷

and this one night became millions,¹⁸

the Moon lost its vermillion ¹⁹

and became a sparkling crystal.

In this rhapsody of splendor,

the shy lilies trembled,

as the scent of the Blue Lotus  ²⁰

blended with His sweat of sandal.

And as the Dark Gem sang of  ²¹

His pleasure to the moonshine,

the white pearls sang

with intense desire

His name,

just as mango-like hearts,^**

while ripening, do the same.

The melodies and the moonlight

flowed out upon the sands
of the river bank,

as the vault of heaven looked down upon 22

the circle of swans

dancing 

in the sweetest battle of love.

             (*) and (**) have notes at bottom page

1)       “Lord Krishna saw the unbroken disk of the full moon glowing with the red effulgence of newly applied vermilion…..”  SB10.29.3

2)      “Swelling of expectancy and desire the gopis hastily left their houses…” AnandaVCampu pg 275

3)      “Seeing the rising moon Krishna vibrated captivating tunes on His sweet murali” AnandaVCampu pg 272

4)      “The rising moon appeared like a copper clock in the sky announcing the time for relishing the sweet Rasa Dance.” AnandaVCampu pg 271

5)       “His lips brightened by the beams of the full moon light” KrishnaBook pg 259

6)      “Dear Krishna please pour the nectar of Your lips upon the fire within our hearts- a fire You ignited with Your smiling glances and the sweet  song of Your flute.”Sarartha Darsini 29.35

7)      “….the dark complexioned youth that plunges Radhika’s maidservants in the shoreless ocean of supreme bliss…”  Vrindavana Mahimamrta - Shataka 04.21

8)      “…the clever gopis piercing Krishna’s heart with the arrows of their loving glances..”AnandaVCampu  pg 286

9)      “Radhika, Lalita and Syama, their eyes reddened and their faces sprinkled with hot drop of perspiration, spoke to Madhava in an angry mood.”  AnandaVCampu pg281

10)   “[…] on this special night the lotuses also blossomed”  Sarartha Darsini pg 293

11)   “…although out of season, the jasmine flowers were blossoming in the autumn” Sarartha Darsini pg 293

12)   “Due to intensity of love the gopis yielded to the fickleness of their minds, gave up all shyness..” AnandaVCampu pg 288

13)   “Your smiles, Your sweet, loving glances ..[…]…they touch our hearts.”- The Gopi Gita –SB10.31.10

14)   “During the rasa dance the gopis exhibited all of these mudras to express their different moods.” AnandaVCampu pg 325

15)   “Krishna wanted the gopis to relish  […] the sweet sound of His voice” Sarartha Darsini pg 293

16)   “…He tested the gopis’ love with His clever riddles” AnandaVCampu pg 279

17)   “..sources as Kramadipika state that there were millions of Gopis in the Rasa dance” Sarartha Darsini pg 321

18)   “[…]  (Krishna) brought millions of other nights which were all needed for carrying out such loving pastimes.” Sarartha Darsini pg 293

19)   “As the moon continued its upward journey it turned more and more white in color.”  AnandaVCampu pg271

20)   “…[Krishna’s] natural blue-lotus fragrance was mixed with that of the sandalwood pulp” SB 10.33.11

21)   “Krishna sang about the autumn moon and its light upon the lotus ponds, while the gopis simply sang Krishna's name over and over again” Sri Vishnu Purana 5.13.52,56  (SBB III pg 763)
22)      “[…] The demigods and their wives were overwhelmed with eagerness to witness the rasa dance, and they soon crowded the sky with their hundreds of celestial airplanes.”  SB 10.33.3

(*)The Lord of the stars – Sri Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur in his commentary, in Sarartha Darsini (pg.294), mentions the Moongod as the leader of Krishna’s dynasty. Krishna also says in the Bhagavad Gita that “among the stars I am the Moon” (BG 10.21) so, the Moon is also a star. I took  poetic license to refer to Krishna as the “ Lord of the stars”, as He enjoyed the Moon, the moonlight as well as the stars (the Gopis) that night.

(**)Mangoes are used in two analogies which have inspired me to mention this in the poem.

Sri Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur in his Saratha Darsini (pg. 302), comments with this analogy comparing the ripening stages of mangoes and the gopi's love "ripeness" as a factor preventing them to join the Rasa Dance. This was to answer why some Gopis were restricted to join that night, but will in future nights.

Of the same flavor is Srila Prabhupada's comparison of devotional service to a mango : "whether it is unripe or ripe a mango is a mango".(1) Prabhupada meant that a devotee even in the beginning, but steadily following the program and personal sadhana, is on the path of perfection.

So, the stanza (**)"mango-like hearts / still ripening, do the same" is referring to all the devotees chanting Krishna's name as they are ripening to the stage of the Gopi's pure love.

(1) From Copper to Touchstone...by HH Satsvarupa Goswami