The supreme limit of beauty is found in Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone

In the Prīti Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami seeks to establish that prīti for Śrī Kṛṣṇa reaches its supreme limit. This prīti, which He elicits in the gopīs, is impelled by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s beauty. Naturally, beauty must reach its zenith in Him alone. In Anuccheda 80, Śrī Jīva examines a verse from the Bhāgavata, which discusses Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s beauty. Interestingly, Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, who composed the Caitanya Caritamrta based on the Sandarbhas, further analyzes this particular verse in Madhya-līlā 21.101-106. Babaji has written a beautiful commentary on Anuccheda 80 of the Prīti Sandarbha where he also presents translations of the Madhya-līlā verses. Below, I examine this topic.

SB 3.2.12: Śrī Uddhava speaks to Śrī Vidura

The happiness that great persons like Śrī Jīva derive from the verses of the Bhāgavata are testimony to the intrinsic power in these verses. Indeed, the Sandarbhas are replete with verses that are cited repeatedly in various contexts. Śrī Jīva Goswami was the one who made these verses popular with Gauḍiyas, and later writers like Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja honored these verses in Bengali compositions. Their mysterious power is only accessible by such great persons, but at least one can try to grasp some notion of what these verses must have meant to them by studying their writings.

The verse in question is spoken by Śrī Uddhava to Śrī Vidura, and goes as follows:

yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga-māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam |
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhaga-rddheḥ paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam||[bhā.pu. 3.2.12]

Śrī Jīva Goswami’s commentary on SB 3.2.12

Before translating this verse, I present word-meanings based on Śrī Jīva Goswami’s commentary. Where Śrī Jīva did not comment, I consulted Śrī Vīśvanātha’s commentary.

yat = that [form] which; martya-līlaupayikaṁ=martya-līlāsu aupayikamupayuktaṁ (Śrī Vīśvanātha) = was suitable for human-like play; gṛhītam = āviṣkṛtam = was revealed; darśayatā = darśayitum (Śrī Vīśvanātha) = to demonstrate; sva-yogamāyā-balaṁ = sva-cic-chakter vīryam = the power of His cit-śakti; vismāpanaṁ svasya ca = [that form] caused astonishment even to Himself [tatrāpi pratikṣaṇam apy apūrva-prakāśāt, because it discloses unprecedented novelty (apūrva-prakāśāt) at each and every moment]; [yataḥ] saubhaga-rddheḥ paraṁ padaṁ = saubhaga-rddheḥ parā pratiṣṭhā = [because] it is the supreme repository of the wealth of beauty; bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam = bhūṣaṇānām api bhūṣaṇāny aṅgāni yasyeti [tam] (Śrī Vīśvanātha)= whose limbs are the ornaments of the ornaments even.

Putting this together, the verse can be translated as follows:

That form, which was suitable for human-like play, was revealed [by Śrī Kṛṣṇa] to demonstrate the power of His cit-śakti. It caused astonishment even to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself [as it discloses unprecedented novelty at each and every moment], [and because] it is the supreme repository of the wealth of beauty. The limbs [of that form] are the ornaments of the ornaments even [i.e. they are supremely beautiful]

Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s composition explains SB 3.2.12

Below, I provide the verses composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja to explain SB 3.2.12 with Babaji’s translations of the Bengali verses. Babaji explains how these verses are a gloss on 3.2.12, which I reproduce below as well.

Mahāprabhu speaks to Śrī Sanātana Goswami as follows:

kṛṣṇera yateka khelā, sarvottama nara-līlā, nara-vapu tāhāra svarūpa gopa-veśa, veṇu-kara, nava-kiśora, naṭa-vara, nara-līlāra haya anurūpa

Of all the divine sports of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, His humanlike play (nara-līlā) is supreme above all, for this humanlike form (nara-vapu) is His very own eternal constitutional form (svarūpa). Distinguished by a charming cowherd dress and a flute held in His hand, eternally blooming with the freshness of youth and appearing like the crown of artistic dancers — this form is perfectly suited to His humanlike play. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 21.101)

Here, martya-līlaupayikaṁ in SB 3.2.12 = nara-līlāra haya anurūpa in CC 21.101.

Babaji did not translate 21.102, so I do so below:

kṛṣṇera madhura rūpa, śuna, sanātana ye rūpera eka kaṇa, ḍubāya saba tribhuvana, sarva prāṇī kare ākarṣaṇa

Hear, O Sanātana, about the delightful form of Kṛṣṇa. One drop of this form drowns the three worlds, and attracts all beings.

Now, he explains the words, sva-yoga-māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam —

yogamāyā cic-chakti, viśuddha-sattva-pariṇati, tāra śakti loke dekhāite ei rūpa-ratana, bhakta-gaṇera gūḍha-dhana, prakaṭa kailā nitya-līlā haite

With the intent to disclose to the world the power of His conscious intrinsic potency, yoga-māyā, which is a transformation of the state of unalloyed being (viśuddha-sattva), Kṛṣṇa manifested from out of His eternal divine play (nitya-līlā) this exquisite jewel-like form, the secret treasure of all devotees.

Here, gṛhītam = prakaṭa kailā, and yoga-māyā = cit-śakti. Next, he explains the words vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhaga-rddheḥ paraṁ padaṁ —

rūpa dekhi’ āpanāra, kṛṣṇera haila camatkāra, āsvādite mane uṭhe kāma ‘sva-saubhāgya’ yāṅra nāma, saundaryādi-guṇa-grāma, ei-rūpa nitya tāra dhāma

On seeing His own form, Kṛṣṇa was overcome with astonishment (camatkāra), and the yearning arose within His mind to relish its beauty. This form is the eternal ground and refuge (nitya-dhāma) of the entire host of captivating qualities, such as beauty (saundarya), that are collectively designated simply as “His elegance” (svasaubhāgya)

Here, Babaji cites Śrī Rūpa Goswami’s Lalita Mādhava that describes Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s wonder at seeing His own reflection in a wall made of precious gems —

aparikalita-pūrvaḥ kaś camatkāra-kārī sphurati mama garīyān eṣa mādhurya-pūraḥ
ayam aham api hanta prekṣya yaṁ lubdha-cetāḥ sarabhasam upabhoktuṁ kāmaye rādhikeva

What is this transcendent profusion of sweetness that appears before Me now, inducing in Me a feeling of wonder that I have never experienced before? How remarkable, that even I Myself find that My heart is overcome by greed on witnessing such beauty, and I anxiously desire to enjoy it, just as Rādhikā does!
(Lalita-mādhava 8.34)

Finally, Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja explains the words bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam —

bhūṣaṇera bhūṣaṇa aṅga, tāheṅ lalita tri-bhaṅga, tāhāra upara bhrūdhanu-nartana terache netrānta bāṇa, tāra dṛḍha sandhāna, vindhe rādhā-gopī-gaṇa-mana

Kṛṣṇa’s limbs are indeed the ornaments of His ornaments, charming in every feature and extended in graceful threefold bending form. Moreover, His arched eyebrows gracefully dance like the quivering bow of Cupid. And the sidelong glances shot from the corners of His gently sloping eyes are arrows infallibly aimed to pierce the minds of the gopīs headed by Rādhā.

Babaji concludes by stating that 21.106 explains the word ‘ca’ in vismāpanaṁ svasya ca. He specifies the identity of those (ca) who were astonished by His beauty, in addition to Himself —

brahmāṇḍopari paravyoma, tāhāṅ ye svarūpa-gaṇa, tāṅ-sabāra bale hare mana pati-vratā-śiromaṇi, yāṅre kahe veda-vāṇī, ākarṣaye sei lakṣmī-gaṇa

Whatever expansions of Bhagavān are found to exist both within the limitless universes and beyond in the spiritual sky — all of them without exception have their minds forcibly stolen away by the astonishing beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s form. Indeed, even their divine consorts, the Lakṣmīs, who are celebrated by the Śrutis themselves as the crown jewel of all women who are exclusively devoted to their husbands and no other, are irresistibly drawn to His beauty.

Summary

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s beauty has no equal in all of existence.
• This beauty is described in verses like SB 3.2.12 below.
• The supremacy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s beauty elicits a corresponding highest manifestation of prīti in the gopīs.

SB 3.2.12
yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga-māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam |
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhaga-rddheḥ paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam||

That form, which was suitable for human-like play, was revealed [by Śrī Kṛṣṇa] to demonstrate the power of His cit-śakti. It caused astonishment even to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself [as it discloses unprecedented novelty at each and every moment], [and because] it is the supreme repository of the wealth of beauty. The limbs [of that form] are the ornaments of the ornaments even [i.e. they are supremely beautiful]