Verse Text
nave raty-aṅkure jāte hari-bhaktasya kasyacit |
vibhāvatvādi-hetutvaṁ kiṣcit tat kāvya-nāṭyayoḥ ||96||
Translation
When the enjoyer of poetic works newly develops a sprout of rati, those poetic works become somewhat of a cause for realizing vibhāva and the other elements.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
“Then poetic works are useless for developing rati.” This verse answers the doubt. If a new sprout of rati appears in a person who is knowledgeable of poetic works (hari-bhaktasya), then poetry or drama concerning the Lord become somewhat of a cause for realizing vibhāva and the other elements. The genitive case has the sense of locative (“in a person” instead of “belonging to a person”). It may be said that poetic works are one type of cause for a person who has already developed rati, but they are not a cause for a person who has not already developed rati.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
In this connection Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī gives an example of the clouds in the sky. The clouds in the sky arise from the ocean, and when the clouds become water again and fall to the ground, they glide back to the ocean. Thus the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa is compared to the ocean. The pure devotee is the pleasure-possessing cloud, and when he is filled with transcendental loving service, then he can bestow his mercy as a downpour of rain—and the pleasure potency returns to the ocean of Kṛṣṇa.