Śrī Jīva explains that the gopīs as well as Kṛṣṇa’s wives are Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śaktis. Jīvas are taṭastha-śakti, and as such, can never be on the same level as svarūpa-śakti even after siddhi. I examine his explanation below.
The gopīs and Kṛṣṇa’s wives are His svarūpa-śaktis
In Anuccheda 183, Śrī Jīva establishes that the 16000 wives of Kṛṣṇa (and by extension, the wives of Balarāma) are His svarūpa-śaktis. He writes:
śrī-mahiṣīṇāṁ tadīya-svarūpa-śaktitvaṁ skānda-prabhāsa-khaṇḍe śrī-śiva-gaurī-saṁvāde gopyāditya-māhātmye dṛṣṭam
– That the mahiṣīs [queens] are Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti is described in the Gopyāditya-māhātmya of the Skānda-prabhāsa-khaṇḍa in a dialogue between Śrī Śiva and Gaurī.
The verses he cites are rather long, and so I refer the reader to the Annucheda for them. In Anuccheda 186 of the Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva writes:
atha vṛndāvane tadīya-svarūpa-śakti-prādurbhāvāś ca śrī-vraja-devyaḥ
– the Vraja devīs are manifestations of Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti in Vṛndāvana.
He cites the famous verse of the Brahma-samhita to support this:
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmiI worship that original purusa, Śrī Govinda, who, being unalterably the very Self and dearmost object of love of all the residents of Goloka and other beloved associates (akhilātma-bhūtaḥ), ever resides only in Goloka, accompanied by the gopīs, who are expansions (kalābhiḥ) of His own intrinsic potency of delight [hlādini-śakti], being embodiments of His own form (nija-rūpatayā), and who are completely permeated by the rasa [of love], which is of the nature of consciousness and bliss.
Bramha-samhita 5.37
In his commentary on this verse, Śrī Jīva glosses the word nija-rūpatayā as sva-svarupatayā, meaning “with the gopis who are embodiments of His own essential being and form”.
So no, the jīva is not qualified to be a spouse of Bhagavān, and most certainly not qualified to be a gopī. Those roles are eternally taken by those beings who are constituted of Bhagavān’s own svarūpa-śakti. Likewise with the gopas. That is to say, these beings are basically Bhagavān Himself.
What about verses which depict jīvas becoming gopīs?
In Anuccheda 43 of the Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami makes reference to the Vedas personified, the sages of Daṇḍakāraṇya, and the sons of Agni. These three groups of jīvas attained gopī forms in Kṛṣṇa-līlā through the performance of austerities. Bhāgavata purāṇa 10.87.23 mentions the Vedas achieving gopī forms, Padma purāṇa uttara khaṇḍa 245.164-165 mentions that the sages of the Daṇḍaka forest achieved gopī forms, and the Mahākurma purāṇa, cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, states that the sons of Agni achieved gopī forms [see Anuccheda 43, Śrī Babaji’s commentary for details]. How is this to be reconciled with what was written above?
In explaining verse 10.1.21-23 from the Bhāgavata purāṇa which are instructions of Bhagavān relayed by Brahmā to the devas (that the devas and their wives should take birth on earth in advance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s birth), Śrī Jīva Goswami writes –
tat-priyārthaṁ tat-prītyai | sura-striyaḥ śrīmad-upendra-preyasy-ādi-rūpāḥ, kāścit sambhavantu militā bhavantu | sākṣād avatarataḥ śrī-bhagavato nityānapāyi-mahā-śakti-rūpāsu tat-preyasīṣv avatarantīṣu śrī-bhagavati tad-aṁśāntaravat tā api praviśantv ity arthaḥ | tat-priyāṇāṁ tāsām eva dāsy-ādi-prayojanāya jāyantām iti vā
“For His [Kṛṣṇa’s] pleasure, some of the wives of the suras, such as the consort of Śrī Upendra [an aṁśa of Bhagavān], should merge (sambhavantu) into Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds (tat-preyasīṣu). Just as all the diverse aṁśas of the original Bhagavān [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] enter into Him on the occasion of His direct avataric descent, let the consorts as well [of those aṁśas] enter into His beloveds (tat-preyasīṣu), who are embodiments of His eternal inseparable supreme potency, when they too descend along with Him. Alternatively, the compound tat-priyārthaṁ could be taken to mean, “for the purpose (artham) of rendering service to his (tat) beloveds (priyāṇāṁ), let them take birth. “
The problem here is that the wives of the devas, being jīvas, are not qualified to take birth as gopīs. Śrī Jīva presents two meanings of the verse –
- The wives of the devas refer to wives of Bhagavān’s expansions (such as Śrī Upendra), and so they can merge into the Kṛṣṇa’s eternal consorts such as Rukmiṇī, just as Bhagavān’s expansions all merge into Him when He descends on earth.
- The wives of the devas are jīvas, who can serve the gopīs in Vṛndāvana and the queens in Dvārakā. The wives of the devas do not have the intrinsic eligibility necessary to become Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds or wives, who are His eternal counterparts and direct embodiments of His own svarūpa-śakti.
Śrī Jīva is entirely consistent with what Śrī Caitanya taught the jīvas – to serve Kṛṣṇa’s devotees. Thinking oneself as a sakhā or gopī goes against Śrī Caitanya’s teachings. In the Caitanya tradition, one must aspire to be a servant always, in keeping with one’s humble position as taṭastha-śakti, which is eternally inferior to the svarūpa-śakti.
Śrī Jīva highlights this point in the context of the three groups of jīvas mentioned above:
tad evaṁ śrutīnāṁ ca daṇḍakāraṇya-vāsināṁ munīnāṁ cāgni-putrāṇāṁ ca śrī-gopikāditva-prāptir yat śrūyate, tad api pūrvavad eva mantavyam |
In this way, when it is said that the śrutīs, the sages of Daṇḍakāraṇya, and the sons of Agni attained the position of Kṛṣṇa’s gopīs, that too should be understood precisely along the lines of what has been explained here [i.e. they attained servitorship of them].
Proof that the jīvas cannot appear as gopīs
Śrī Jīva Goswami emphatically rejects the notion that the devas’ wives, who are jīvas, can literally appear as gopīs (which is the meaning that arises from a literal reading of verse 10.1.23; see Anuccheda 43 for the verse itself) –
atra prasiddhārthe, nāyaṁ śriyo’ṅga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto’nyāḥ [bhā.pu. 10.47.60] iti virudhyeta | na ca sura-strīṇāṁ sambhava-vākyaṁ śrī-mahiṣī-vṛnda-paraṁ, tāsām api tan-nija-śakti-rūpatvena darśayiṣyamāṇatvāt |
In this regard, if the literal meaning of the above verse were to be accepted [i.e. the wives of the devas (sura-striyaḥ) would personally appear as Kṛṣṇa’s beloved gopīs], it would contradict Uddhava’s statement [glorifying the unique position of the gopīs]:
nāyaṁ śriyo’ṅga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto’nyāḥ rāsotsave ’sya bhuja-daṇḍa-gṛhīta-kaṇṭha-labdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vraja-vallabhīnām –
The grace bestowed upon the cowherd women of Vraja, whose longing was fulfilled when Kṛṣṇa danced with them in the rāsa festival, placing His stout arms about their necks, as not attained by Lakṣmī (Śrī), who is ever attached to His breast, nor by the celestial damsels, who are favored with the fragrance and splendor of a lotus. How then could other women expect to receive such grace? (SB 10.47.60)
The gopīs’ position is so unique, that Uddhava was moved to proclaim that even Śrī Lakṣmī, Bhagavān’s svarūpa śakti, could not attain the grace received by the gopīs. What then is the position of jīvas like the wives of the devas?
Just to make sure that there is no wiggle room left for the jīva-can-take-the-position-of-antaraṅgā-śakti theory, Śrī Jīva Goswami concludes –
na ca sura-strīṇāṁ sambhava-vākyaṁ śrī-mahiṣī-vṛnda-paraṁ, tāsām api tan-nija-śakti-rūpatvena darśayiṣyamāṇatvāt |
Nor should it be conjectured that this statement, regarding the appearance of the wives of the suras, implies that they attained the position of Kṛṣṇa’s wives [in Dvarakā] instead, because it will be shown that they too belong to His own intrinsic potency.
Summary
1. Being taṭastha śakti, no jīva has the qualification to be a gopī. The gopīs are manifestations of Bhagavān’s svarūpa śakti. By extension, no jīva has the qualification to be a sakhā.
2. When jīvas are mentioned as achieving gopī forms in Krsna-līlā, it is to be understood that they became the servants of the gopīs.
Categories: Bhagavān, jīva-tattva
Can you also explain what happens to the jiva who is successful in raganuga-bhakti
That jiva gets the bhava of the guru. If in the Gaudiya parampara, after death the jiva becomes a servant of the servant of the gopis
Thank you _/\_
Elsewhere in a comment you mentioned that the servant of a gopi is a manjari. (Question 1) So the maximum stage a jiva can achieve in Bhakti path at the time of leaving the material world is the servant of a manjari (provided the guru of that jiva is a manjari)?
Also, someone told me that the 9th stage in devotional service (prema-bhakti) is not on the material platform but it’s on the spiritual platform where the jiva continues to render service after leaving the material world. (Question 2) If this is true, can a jiva later become a manjari by rendering more service (of course with the blessing of the jiva’s guru-manjari)?
“(Question 1) So the maximum stage a jiva can achieve in Bhakti path at the time of leaving the material world is the servant of a manjari (provided the guru of that jiva is a manjari)? ”
* Yes for bhakti in the Caitanya tradition. The guru is also a jiva.
Also, someone told me that the 9th stage in devotional service (prema-bhakti) is not on the material platform but it’s on the spiritual platform where the jiva continues to render service after leaving the material world.
* Prema bhakti is a result of sadhana bhakti. If prema bhakti is spiritual, sadhana bhakti is also spiritual. Sadhana bhakti is not on the ‘material’ platform. *
(Question 2) If this is true, can a jiva later become a manjari by rendering more service (of course with the blessing of the jiva’s guru-manjari)?
* A manjari is a servant of the gopis. The guru is also a jiva, and their disciple is also a jiva. Both become manjaris.
Thank you for your responses, and the correction on prema-bhakti. Agree that bhakti (both sadhana and sadhya) is spiritual _/\_
Thank you for the article.
When you quote here that the Gopis are swarupa Shakti, yes they are. But this does not establish that kanta bhava towards krishna is restricted only to jivas of Swarupa Shakti. Therefore this bhava of a kanta can be either from a manjari or as gopi without breaking the principle of raganuga and anugatya, where this is done as acts of service to the Gopis, yes there are constraints to this so that raganuga bhakti in principle is not broken which are discussed in ujjwala nilamani 8.137 of vishwanath much clearly. This makes sense when it is seen that bhavollasa rati is a sanchari bhava essentially but has attained a special state, the sthayi is still madhurya or ujjwala rasa.
Nobody is denying that the bliss of servitude is greater than the bliss of association, but the principle of raganuga is much more active when the kanta bhava becomes sanchari to bhavollasa rati (as explained in murali vilasa and in whose light ananga manjari samputika is seen) That is in act of servitude of anugatya to Gopis. You can call them manjaris or Gopis, but the thing of question is the mood of a kanta.
In the krsna nayika prakaran of ujjwala nilamani, text 53 vishwanath chakravarthy and jiva goswami discuss elaborately on the attainment by devas and devis. Also discussing regarding laksmi and how the principle of raganuga was broken because Siva, Brahma or laksmi identify themselves as atma bhuta or sakti of bhagawan.
Therefore laskmidevi could not even become a manjari according to the commentary as vishwanath specifically uses the term prana sakhi. Then would that mean the tatastha jivas are in some way superior to Bhagawan’s swarupa Shakti ?absolutely not, there is prema taratamya between them as indicated by vishwanath in his commentary in UN 8.137, this harmonises exactly how jiva goswami talks in his krsna sandarbha.
Furthermore a lot of the parivars in nabadwip have this understanding and there have been pranalis astonishingly as krsna kantas in those schools too. When we go through vamsi siksha, which are the instructions of mahaprabhu to vamsivadananda thakur this should be clear.
Therefore as jiva mentions the Gopis that being talked are the nitya siddha Gopis therefore when the sakhis are analysed in UN we see a follower and followed category, parama prestha, prana sakhis being in the followed category. Priya sakhis and nitya sakhis being the follower category. It further elaborates that by sadhana one can be only a follower category and it also is clear even among the follower category those who are nitya siddha and those who are sadhana siddha have a difference or gradation in prema.
Is not intention therefore of jiva to establish the superiority of swarupa Shakti Gopis with regards to the laksmis?
Again the problem is not many read these texts in their original bangla script and they don’t listen in parampara, so they may not be able to reconcile with the goswami shastras, but that is alright.
Mukund ji, good points. My response below:
When you quote here that the Gopis are swarupa Shakti, yes they are. But this does not establish that kanta bhava towards krishna is restricted only to jivas of Swarupa Shakti.
* I do not understand what you mean by ‘jivas of svarupa sakti’. All jivas are tatastha sakti. Maybe the article above is confusing: when I state that a jiva cannot become a consort of Bhagavan, I mean the jiva cannot directly take the position of His consorts. Likewise, the jiva cannot directly take the position of the gopis. Those are fixed positions, occupied only by Bhagavan’s svarupa sakti. The jiva can indirectly attain the bhava of the gopis or the consorts- through servitorship or through merging in their bodies, as explained in the article.*
*In hindsight, I find my article somewhat harsh. I was trying to convey, again, that for *the Gaudiya sampradaya*, anugatya – servitorship- is the essence of manjari bhava. I have now edited the article.*
Nobody is denying that the bliss of servitude is greater than the bliss of association, but the principle of raganuga is much more active when the kanta bhava becomes sanchari to bhavollasa rati (as explained in murali vilasa and in whose light ananga manjari samputika is seen) That is in act of servitude of anugatya to Gopis. You can call them manjaris or Gopis, but the thing of question is the mood of a kanta.
*The question is not of the mood of a kanta in *this article*. In this article, I am trying to convey that the gopis’ position is higher than that of any jiva, even if the jiva has the bhava of a manjari. *
Is not intention therefore of jiva to establish the superiority of swarupa Shakti Gopis with regards to the laksmis?
*The purpose of Anuccheda 43 is to establish the superiority of Krsna, His consorts, His gopis, and His associates over the jivas. To establish Him as Isvaresvara.
Again the problem is not many read these texts in their original bangla script and they don’t listen in parampara, so they may not be able to reconcile with the goswami shastras, but that is alright.
* The Sandarbhas are the siddhanta. Anything else outside of them has to be understood/interpreted in light of the Sandarbhas.
Great post and great blog. Thank you for your efforts.
Glad it’s useful
A small correction from the previous comment.
It is krsna vallabha prakaran and not krsna nayika prakaran from ujjwala nilamani.
http://jagadanandadas.blogspot.com/2020/04/bhakti-sandarbha-3202-4-love-for.html?m=1
This blogpost from jagat ji should throw some light
Also known as Hari Priya prakaran in some editons
Thank you for your response, in regards to writing jiva of swarupa Shakti, it was my error, jivas are tatastha, I realised this syntax error quite later.
It is now quite clear what you were trying to imply from the article, I put up these points as one may interpret it wrongly🙏.
Your reply in regards to the essence being servitorship regardless of being a kanta or not is now clarified. Thank you for editing the article.
Yes, the sandarbhas are the Siddhanta and all the Bengali literature should be seen in its light, that is what I meant by reconcile. Thank you for the article and blog, it helps a lot of devotees
My pleasure