Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.2
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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rāsa-krīḍam
—
the pastime of the rāsa dance
Rāsa from √ras (to relish, taste) — same root as rasa. Krīḍa = play, never work. Gauḍīyas: the rāsa is the supreme krīḍā because it is Kṛṣṇa tasting His own hlādinī-śakti through the gopīs.
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govindaḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa, giver of pleasure to the cows and the senses
Go (cows, senses, earth) + vinda (one who finds, gives pleasure to). Brahma-saṁhitā 5.29: surabhīr abhipālayantam. The very name selected here foregrounds the Vraja-pastoral frame against any abstract reading.
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anuvrataiḥ
—
by the faithful gopīs
Anu (after, following) + vrata (vow). The gopīs are anuvratā — they have taken Kṛṣṇa as vow. Gauḍīyas: this is the technical mood of mādhurya-bhakti — one-pointed exclusive vow.
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strī-ratnaiḥ
—
jewels among women
Strī (woman) + ratna (jewel). Rūpa Gosvāmī classes the gopīs as the ratna-koṣa of bhakti — every rasa-jewel resides in them. Not a compliment but an ontological status.
When the rasas of singing, dancing, kissing, embracing combine together, it becomes rasa. Amusement composed of rasa is called rasa krda. He mixed with those gopis, jewels among women, who were now favorable, being of the same mind (anuvarta), who had their hands joined together.
When his mind was in harmony with their minds (tatra), he then began the rāsa dance, a huge festival, which he desired to perform previously, on attaining these women which he most desired. He had the excellent of the supreme male by revealing his outstanding powers and sweetness as the lord of Gokula (govindaḥ). They were the best of all women (srtī-ratnaiḥ). Nānārtha-varga says ratna means best of a species. This shows the best ingredients for the rāsa dance. They were furthermore influenced by the most intense prema for him (prītaiḥ) and were solely dependent on him (anuvrataiḥ). There were many hands. Anyonyam refers to all the gopīs, rather than one gopī being with him. There was a gopī on either side of him holding his neck. That is the characteristic of the rāsa dance. naṭer gṛhīta-kaṇthanām anyonyātta-kara-śriyām nartakīnām bhaved rāso maṇḍalī-bhūya nartanam Rāsa dance is defined as women holding the neck of the male dancer on either side and forming a circle. They thought “He should remain in this circle and not leave.” Thus they held their hands tightly (ābaddha).
- Whom in your spiritual community could you 'link arms' with rather than serve Kṛṣṇa alone?
- What keeps you from joining the circle when devotion turns festive?
The rāsa-maṇḍala is not a dance arranged at the Yamunā's bank — it is the Yamunā's bank arranged around a dance that always was. Kṛṣṇa does not begin the rāsa; He lets the world catch up to it.
When Rūpa and Sanātana came to Vraja on Mahāprabhu's order, much of the topography was forgotten. By meditation and inquiry they recovered the rāsa-sthalī, Vaṁśīvaṭa, Sevā-kuñja — the very tatra of this verse.
Gauḍīyas hold that these places were never lost in the eternal līlā; they were lost only to ordinary sight. The Gosvāmīs' archaeology is a recovery of seeing, not of soil.
My note
Source: vedabase.io