Shrimad Chaturasi Path — Pad 36 Chaurasi Ji Ka Path Arth Sahit रास-लीला — यमुना तट पर दिव्य रास

Original pad (Devanagari)

आज वन नीको रास बनायौ ।
पुलिन पवित्र सुभग यमुना तट, मोहन बेनु बजायौ ।
कल कंकन किंकिनि नूपुर धुनि, सुनि खग-मृग सचु पायौ ।
जुवतिनु मण्डल मध्य श्याम घन, सारंग राग जमायौ ॥
ताल मृदंग उपंग मुरज डफ, मिलि रस-सिन्धु बढ़ायौ ।
विविध विसद वृषभानुनन्दिनी, अंग सुधंग दिखायौ ।
अभिनय निपुन लटकि लट लोचन, भृकुटि अनंग नचायौ ।
ताताथेई ताथेई धरत नूतन गति, पति ब्रजराज रिझायौ ।
सकल उदार नृपति चूडामणि, सुख-वारिद बरसायी ।
परिरम्भन चुम्बन आलिंगन, उचित जुवतिजन पायौ ।
बरसत कुसुम मुदित नभनायक, इन्द्र निसान बजायौ ।
श्री हित हरिवंश रसिक राधापति, जस-वितान जग छायौ ॥३६॥

[Note: the last six lines of this pad have no punctuation in the txt; '।' at couplet ends and '॥३६॥' at the end have been added per the file format — no words were changed.]

Transliteration

āja van nīko rās banāyau.
pulin pavitra subhag yamunā taṭ, mohan benu bajāyau.
kal kaṅkan kiṁkini nūpur dhuni, suni khag-mṛg sacu pāyau.
juvtinu maṇḍal madhya śyām ghan, sāraṁg rāg jamāyau.
tāl mṛdaṁg upaṁg muraj ḍaph, mili ras-sindhu baṛhāyau.
vividh visad vṛṣabhānunandinī, aṁg sudhaṁg dikhāyau.
abhinay nipun laṭaki laṭ locan, bhṛkuṭi anaṁg nacāyau
tātātheī tātheī dharat nūtan gati, pati brajarāj rijhāyau
sakal udār nṛpati cūḍāmaṇi, sukh-vārid barsāyī
parirambhan cumban āliṁgan, ucit juvtijan pāyau
barasat kusum mudit nabhanāyak, indra nisān bajāyau
śrī hita harivaṁśa rasik rādhāpati, jas-vitān jag chāyau. (36)

Word-by-word meanings

āja — today; van — in the forest; nīko — beautiful; rās — the rāsa; banāyau — arranged; pulin — the sandy bank; pavitra — holy; subhag — beautiful; yamunā taṭ — the bank of the Yamunā; mohan — Mohan; benu — the flute; bajāyau — played; kal — sweet; kaṅkan — bangles; kiṁkini — waist-bells; nūpur — anklets; dhuni — the sound; suni — hearing; khag-mṛg — birds and deer; sacu pāyau — were delighted; juvtinu — of the young women; maṇḍal — the circle; madhya — in the midst; śyām ghan — the dark cloud Śyāma; sāraṁg rāg — the Sāraṅga rāga; jamāyau — began; tāl — rhythm; mṛdaṁg — the mṛdaṅga; upaṁg — the upaṅga; muraj — the muraja; ḍaph — the hand-drum; mili — together; ras-sindhu — the ocean of rasa; baṛhāyau — increased; vividh — various; visad — [as written in the txt]; vṛṣabhānunandinī — the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu; aṁg — the limbs; sudhaṁg — beautiful limbs; dikhāyau — showed; abhinay — acting; nipun — expert; laṭaki laṭ — swaying tresses; locan — the eyes; bhṛkuṭi — the brows; anaṁg — Kāmadeva; nacāyau — made dance; tātātheī tātheī — the dance steps "tā-tā-theī"; dharat — placing; nūtan gati — new movements; pati — the Lord; brajarāj — the King of Braj; rijhāyau — pleased; sakal — all; udār — generous; nṛpati — the king; cūḍāmaṇi — the crest-jewel; sukh-vārid — the cloud of joy; barsāyī — showered; parirambhan — embrace; cumban — kisses; āliṁgan — hugging; ucit — proper; juvtijan — the young women; pāyau — attained; barasat — raining; kusum — flowers; mudit — joyful; nabhanāyak — the lord of the sky; indra — Indra; nisān — the kettledrum; bajāyau — beat; śrī hita harivaṁśa — Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa; rasik — the relisher; rādhāpati — the Lord of Rādhā; jas-vitān — the canopy of fame; jag — the world; chāyau — covered.

Translation

Today a beautiful rāsa has been arranged in the forest. On the holy and beautiful sandy bank of the Yamunā, Mohan has played His flute. Hearing the sweet sound of bangles, waist-bells and anklets, even the birds and deer are delighted. In the midst of the circle of young women, dark-cloud Śyāma has begun the Sāraṅga rāga. Rhythm, mṛdaṅga, upaṅga, muraja and ḍapha together swell the ocean of rasa. The daughter of Vṛṣabhānu shows the beauty of Her limbs and Her expert acting in various forms. With Her tresses, eyes and brows She makes even Kāmadeva dance. With the new movements of "tā-tā-theī" She pleases the Lord, the King of Braj. The gods, pleased, shower flowers, and Indra beats the kettledrums. Says Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa — the fame of the relishing Lord of Rādhā has spread over the world.

Explanation

This pad gives a grand description of the rāsa festival on the bank of the Yamunā — music, dance, instruments, the sound of anklets, the acting of Vṛṣabhānu's daughter and the shower of flowers from the gods all show the otherworldliness of the rāsa. And the closing line carries the deepest teaching: Harivaṁśa calls Kṛṣṇa "Rādhāpati", not "Kṛṣṇapati" — at the very centre of this rāsa stands Śrī Rādhā Herself. The rāsa is Hers; Kṛṣṇa only answers Her love.

Summary

The pad describes the divine pastime of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa on the sandy bank of the Yamunā, filled with music, dance and the rasa of the rāsa.

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