BRS 1.2.59

The meaning of rasena in this verse is “by sweetness composed of the highest levels of prema.” The verb utkṛṣyate has a causative sense included in it, and thus it means, “is made eminent, or is shown as supreme.” This takes place because that is the nature of His rasas (eṣā rasa-sthitiḥ). Thus the meaning should be, “the very nature of Kṛṣṇa’s rasas shows His form as superior.” The queens other than the principal eight queens (who were satisfied with their relationship with Kṛṣṇa) describe the supreme attractiveness of Kṛṣṇa’s form during the pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra. na vayaṁ sādhvi sāmrājyaṁ svārājyaṁ bhaujyam apy uta | vairājyaṁ pārameṣṭhyaṁ ca ānantyaṁ vā hareḥ padam || kāmayāmaha etasya śrīmat-pāda-rajaḥ śriyaḥ | kuca-kuṅkuma-gandhāṭhyaṁ mūrdhnā voṭhuṁ gadā-bhṛtaḥ || vraja-striyo yad vāṣchanti pulindyas tṛṇa-vīrudhaḥ | gāvaś cārayato gopāḥ pāda-sparśaṁ mahātmanaḥ || O saintly woman, we do not desire dominion over the earth, the sovereignty of the King of heaven, unlimited facility for enjoyment, mystic power, the position of Lord Brahmā, immortality or even attainment of the kingdom of God. We simply desire to carry on our heads the glorious dust of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet, enriched by the fragrance of kuṅkuma from His consort’s bosom. We desire the same contact with the Supreme Lord’s feet that the young women of Vraja, the aborigine Pulinda women near the grass and the cowherd boys tending the cows desire—the touch of the dust. SB 10.83.41-43 In the verse quoted, sāmrājyam means position as king of the earth. Svārājyam means the position of Indra. We do not want those positions, nor do we want even the enjoyments offered by these positions (bhojyam). We do not want to rule over others by acquisition of siddhis (vairājyam). We do not want the post of Brahmā (pārameṣtḥyam). In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.8.2, there is a description of bliss, starting with the bliss of humans: te ye śatam mānuṣā ānandāḥ. Multiplying that by hundreds of times, one finally arrives at the amount of bliss of Lord Brahmā, and finally the bliss of brahman. The infinity of that bliss (ānantyam) is shown by the words yato vāco nivartante: from which words turn away—words cannot describe it. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.9.1) Even that infinity of bliss available in brahman we do not desire. Moreover, we do not desire the abode of the lord of Lakṣmī with sāmīpya and other benedictions (hareḥ padam). We do not want dependence on these things. “Then what better thing do you desire to attain?” “We desire to carry on our heads the dust of the feet of the holder of the club—the feet of Him who is known to all as our husband (etasya). And in addition, we desire those feet which are endowed with the special treasure of being filled with the fragrance of the kuṁkuma of śrī (śriyaḥ).” “But if you women reject the place of the Lord with sāmīpya, you just also reject the feet (padam) of Viṣṇu, smeared with the fragrance of kuṁkuma from Lakṣmī’s breasts. If śrī refers to Rukmiṇī, then you already have those feet with her fragrance.” Therefore, the phrase “filled with the kuṁkuma from the breast of śrī” must have a different meaning (neither Lakṣmī nor Rukmiṇī). To understand the real meaning, there should be further specification. This is given in the next line with the phrase vraja-striya: we desire the dust that the women of Vraja desired. pūrṇāḥ pulindya urugāya-padābja-rāga- śrī-kuṅkumena dayitā-stana-maṇḍitena | tad-darśana-smara-rujas tṛṇa-rūṣitena limpantya ānana-kuceṣu juhus tad-ādhim || The aborigine women of the Vṛndāvana area become disturbed by lust when they see the grass marked with reddish kuṁkuma powder. Endowed with the color of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, this powder originally decorated the breasts of His beloveds, and when the aborigine women smear it on their faces and breasts, they feel fully satisfied and give up all their anxiety. SB 10.21.17 What they desired the queens also desire. Using the present tense (vāṣchanti) instead of the past tense indicates continuous desire. By mentioning the Pulinda women who got the dust, they hint that they also (being women) are qualified for attaining those feet. Tṛṇa vīrudha refers to grasses like dūrva. The queens express themselves in this way because they hope to develop an experience and mood similar to the women of Vraja from the continuous influence of those feet infused with the fragrance of kuṁkuma of Kṛṣṇa’s lovers. The type of desire of the inhabitants of Vraja is described as kevalena hi bhāvena in the following verse. kevalena hi bhāvena gopyo gāvo nagā mṛgāḥ ye ’nye mūḍha-dhiyo nāgāḥ siddhā mām īyur aṣjasā The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the gopīs, cows, unmoving creatures such as the twin arjuna trees, animals, living entities with stunted consciousness such as bushes and thickets, and snakes such as Kāliya, all achieved the perfection of life by unalloyed love for Me and thus very easily achieved Me. SB 11.12.8 By mentioning the cowherd boys at the end of the list (gāvo cārayanto gopā—the cowherd boys who herd the cows), [Note: Gāvaḥ is actually nominative case. Both Jīva and Viśvanātha indicate that the word should be gāḥ in the accusative. Viśvanātha, in his Bhāgavatam commentary, takes carataḥ as a modifier of mahātmanaḥ (Kṛṣṇa), whereas Jīva seems to take it as a corruption for carantaḥ, modifying gopāḥ.] the queens suggest that cowherd boys are disqualified since they are males, even though some of them, as very close friends (priya- narma-sakhas), [Note: Most intimate and confidential friend like Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva, Vasanta, and Ujjvala, are some of Kṛṣṇa’s priya-narma-sakhas.] also experience such sentiments. The meaning is this. The scriptures describe the desire of Lakṣmī, most famous among women, but even she was not qualified, according to Kāliya’s wives. kasyānugraho ’sya na deva vidmahe tavāṅghri-reṇu-sparśādhikāraḥ | yad-vāṣchayā śrīr lalanācarat tapo vihāya kāmān suciraṁ dhṛta-vratā || O Lord, we do not know how the serpent Kāliya has attained this great opportunity of being touched by the dust of Your lotus feet. For this end, the goddess of fortune performed austerities for centuries, giving up all other desires and taking austere vows. SB 10.16.36 Uddhava has also said the same thing. yā vai śriyārcitam ajādibhir āpta-kāmair yogeśvarair api yad ātmani rāsa-goṣṭhyām kṛṣṇasya tad bhagavataḥ caraṇāravindaṁ nyastaṁ staneṣu vijahuḥ parirabhya tāpam The goddess of fortune herself, along with Lord Brahmā and all the other demigods, who are masters of yogic perfection, can worship the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa only within her mind. But during the rāsa dance Lord Kṛṣṇa placed His feet upon these gopīs’ breasts, and by embracing those feet the gopīs gave up all distress. SB 10.47.62 Not even a woman in the position of Rukminī is qualified, because of difference in time and place. Nor is the devotion expressed by Lakṣmī comparable to the devotion of the women of Vraja. 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 gopīs received benedictions from the Lord that neither Lakṣmīdevī nor the most beautiful dancers in the heavenly planets could attain. In the rāsa dance, the Lord showed His favor to the most fortunate gopīs by placing His arms on their shoulders and dancing with each of them individually. No one can compare with the gopīs, who received the causeless mercy of the Lord. SB 10.47.60 In the Matsya Purāṇa, one sees that Rukmiṇī and Rādhā are placed on equal level in terms of śakti, with such verses as rukmiṇī dvāravatyāṁ tu rādhā vṛndāvane vane (Rukmiṇī in Dvārakā and Rādhā in Vṛndāvana). However, according to the reasoning śāstra-dṛṣṭyā tūpadeśo vāma-devavat: instructions given by Indra about worshipping himself as the Brahman are to be understood as spoken out of ecstasy as in the case of Vāmadeva (Vedānta Sūtra 1.1.30), non-difference is taught from the perspective of ahaṁgrahopāsanā scriptures between the Supreme Lord and Indra, or even Durgā. Therefore, Rādhā is the most perfect Lakṣmī. Thus Bṛhad-gautamīya-tantra says: devī kṛṣṇamayī proktā rādhikā para-devatā | sarva-lakṣmī-mayī sarva-kāntiḥ sammohinī parā || Rādhā is the supreme deity, full of Kṛṣṇa, full of all Lakṣmīs, full of all beauty, the most attractive. There is a statement in the Bhāgavatam pointing out that the woman who is most famous among all women is Rādhā, the most outstanding śrī (which is indicated by the queens): anayārādhito nūnaṁ bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ | yan no vihāya govindaḥ prīto yām anayad rahaḥ || Certainly, this particular gopī has perfectly worshipped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, Govinda, since He was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place. SB 10.30.28 As well, there is the following verse: apy eṇa-patny upagataḥ priyayeha gātrais tanvan dṛśāṁ sakhi su-nirvṛtim acyuto vaḥ kāntāṅga-saṅga-kuca-kuṅkuma-raṣjitāyāḥ kunda-srajaḥ kula-pater iha vāti gandhaḥ O friend, wife of the deer, has Lord Acyuta been here with His beloved, bringing great joy to your eyes? Indeed, blowing this way is the fragrance of His garland of kunda flowers, which was smeared with the kuṁkuma from the breasts of His girlfriend when He embraced Her. SB 10.30.11 “We would also like to possess the undeviating love possessed by the women of Vraja. May we also see right now those feet smeared with the fragrance of kuṁkuma throbbing with prema. The women of Vraja not only desire the dust of those feet. They desire the touch of those feet. We also desire the touch of those feet.” Alternatively, pāda-sparśam can modify pāda-rajaḥ. In that case, the meaning would be “We desire the dust of His feet, which has touched His feet.” This will be non-different from constant contact with the Lord. What type of person is He? He is the highest among all because His nature is to be everywhere at all times (mahā), and He is ātmā, having a nature (ātmā) which reveals the highest beauty and other qualities. Śuka says: tatrātiśuśubhe tābhir bhagavān devakī-sutaḥ madhye maṇīnāṁ haimānāṁ mahā-marakato yathā In the midst of the dancing gopīs, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared most brilliant, like an exquisite sapphire in the midst of golden ornaments. SB 10.33.6 Therefore, it is proper to say that the devotees (including the gopīs) whose hearts are stolen by Govinda (in Vraja) are the best, and that Kṛṣṇa is the best. By mentioning that the form of Kṛṣṇa is outstanding, His beauty also is indicated. Though this is a topic for the siddha devotees, it is hoped that others will become like-minded. Thus, it has been explained here.