Niśānta-līḷā (5:36 a.m.—6:00 a.m.)
Rādhā-Mādhava, wrapped in sweet talk, forgot all about going home. The sakhīs smiled broadly, intoxicated with pleasure. Only Vṛndā-devī worried over the coming daylight[1].
Vṛṇdā doubted for a moment whether Rādhā-Mādhava’s love sports had finished or not, since the brilliant full moon faces of Rādhā and Her sakhīs had just risen even though the dark night had gone. The Vedas say that as darkness[2] disappears, to that degree light[3]arises. As illumination increases, anxiety and sorrow disappear from the heart. However, for Vṛndā the opposite occured. Such astonishing actions are common in Vraja, which is beyond the scope of the śrutis[4].
An old female monkey named Kakkhaṭī, who knows when to act, took a signal from Vṛndā and recited poetry while sitting nearby in a tree:
“Daybreak, being praised by virtuous men, comes like a female ascetic wearing red cloth and matted locks (jaṭilā) that appear like rays of light emanating from her head[5].”
The gopīs’ faces paled immediately on hearing the syllables ja-ṭi-lā[6]. The rising sun of excessive fear and anxiety arose in them to dry up the ocean of their blissful pastimes[7].
[1] Govinda-līlāmṛta 1.106
[2] Ignorance
[3] Wisdom
[4] Krishna-bhāvanāmṛtam 2.56-57
[5] Govinda-līlāmṛta 1.107-108
[6] Rādhārani’s mother-in-law
[7] Krishna-bhāvanāmṛtam 2.60
This is a section of the book “Vrindavana Lila”.
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