Verse Text
yathā padyāvalyāṁ –
vāsaḥ samprati keśava kva bhavato mugdhekṣaṇe nanv idaṁ
vāsaṁ brūhi śaṭha prakāma-subhage tvad-gātra-saṁsargataḥ |
yāminyām uṣitaḥ kva dhūrta vitanur muṣṇāti kiṁ yāminī
śaurir gopa-vadhūṁ chalaiḥ parihasann evaṁvidhaiḥ pātu vaḥ ||83||
Translation
An example from Padyāvalī (283) – Rādhā said: O Kṛṣṇa, where do You stay (vāsa) now? Kṛṣṇa said: O Rādhā, with bewitching eyes! Can you not see that I am wearing my cloth (vāsam)? Rādhā said: How crafty You are! I am talking about Your residence, not your cloth! Kṛṣṇa said: O Rādhā with natural sweet aroma! I am fragrant (vāsa) by touching your limbs. Rādhā said: O cheater! Where did You stay during the night (yāminyām uṣitaḥ)? Kṛṣṇa said: How could I be stolen by the night, which does not even have a body (yāminyā muṣitaḥ)? In this way may Kṛṣṇa, who joked with Rādhā using tricky words, protect you!
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
In this connection there is a statement in Padyāvalī which contains the following conversation between Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. One morning, when Kṛṣṇa came to Rādhā, Rādhā asked Him, “My dear Keśava, where is Your vāsa at present?” The Sanskrit word vāsa has three meanings: one meaning is residence, one meaning is fragrance, and another meaning is dress.
Actually Rādhārāṇī inquired from Kṛṣṇa, “Where is Your dress?” But Kṛṣṇa took the meaning as residence, and He replied to Rādhārāṇī, “My dear captivated one, at the present moment My residence is in Your beautiful eyes.”
To this Rādhārāṇī replied, “My dear cunning boy, I did not ask You about Your residence. I inquired about Your dress.”
Kṛṣṇa then took the meaning of vāsa as fragrance and said, “My dear fortunate one, I have just assumed this fragrance in order to be associated with Your body.”
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī again inquired from Kṛṣṇa, “Where did You pass Your night?” The exact Sanskrit word used in this connection was yāminyāmuṣitaḥ. Yāminyām means “at night,” and uṣitaḥ means “pass.” Kṛṣṇa, however, divided the word yāminyāmuṣitaḥ into two separate words, namely yāminyā and muṣitaḥ. By dividing this word into two, it came out to mean that He was kidnapped by Yāminī, or night. Kṛṣṇa therefore replied to Rādhārāṇī, “My dear Rādhārāṇī, is it possible that night can kidnap Me?” In this way He was answering all of the questions of Rādhārāṇī so cunningly that He gladdened this dearest of the gopīs.