Verse Text
śrī mathurā-maṇḍalaṁ yathā—
taṭa-bhuvi kṛta-kāntiḥ śyāmalā yās taṭinyāḥ
sphuṭita-nava-kadambālambi-kūjad-dvirephā |
niravadhi-madhurimṇā maṇḍiteyaṁ kathaṁ me
manasi kam api bhāvaṁ kānana-śrīs tanoti ||243||
Translation
The power of residing in the district of Mathurā: The splendor of Mathurā’s forest [Note: Mathurā refers to Vraja as well as the city of Mathurā.] made beautiful by being situated on the bank of the Yamunā, where buzzing bees take shelter of newly blooming kadamba trees, ornamented with unlimited sweetness, produces an extraordinary state of bhāva in my mind.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The ecstasy or bhāva mentioned in this verse is directed to Śyāmasundara.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
Again, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described Mathurā-maṇḍala: “I remember the Lord standing by the banks of the Yamunā River, so beautiful amid the kadamba trees, where many birds are chirping in the gardens. And these impressions are always giving me transcendental realization of beauty and bliss.” This feeling about Mathurā-maṇḍala and Vṛndāvana described by Rūpa Gosvāmī can actually be felt even by nondevotees. The places in the 168-square-mile district of Mathurā are so beautifully situated on the banks of the river Yamunā that anyone who goes there will never want to return to this material world. These statements by Rūpa Gosvāmī are factually realized descriptions of Mathurā and Vṛndāvana. All these qualities prove that Mathurā and Vṛndāvana are situated transcendentally. Otherwise, there would be no possibility of invoking our transcendental sentiments in these places. Such transcendental feelings are aroused immediately and without fail after one arrives in Mathurā or Vṛndāvana.