Śrīnivāsācārya celebrates Holi in his siddha deha

ŚRĪNIVĀSĀCĀRYA CELEBRATES HOLI IN HIS SIDDHA DEHA

From 'Bhakti Ratnākara' by Narahari Cakravarti.
6th wave, verses 145-165

eka dina śrīnivāsa vasanta samaye; śrī kṛṣṇera holī-krīḍā mānase bhāvaye [145]

phālguna-stha līlā nāme sthāna eka hoy; ebe phāgu-talā tāre sakale kohoy [146]

“One day Śrīnivāsa meditated on Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Holi-pastimes in the spring season. There is a place named Phālguna-stha līlā, which nowadays everyone names ‘Phāgu-talā.”

parama nirjana sthāna śobhā manohara; manda manda snigdha vāyu bohe nirantar [147]

caturdike kibā nava kadambera ban; śārī śuka pika ādi śabda rasāyana [148]

praphullita nānā puṣpe bhramara guñjare; lakṣa lakṣa mayūra mayūrī nṛtya kore [149]

kuraṅga kuraṅgīgaṇa phire matta hoiyā; sakhī-saha rāi kānu dekhe dāḍāiyā [150]

“It was a completely solitary place, most beautiful and captivating. A pleasant mild breeze blew there all the time. In all directions there were fresh Kadamba-forests where birds like the Mynas, parrots and cuckoos sang deliciously. Bees buzzed around the various blossoming flowers, and hundreds of thousands of peacocks and peahens were dancing. Deer and does wandered around in inebriation. There he/she saw Rādhā and Kānu standing with Their girlfriends.”

tathā vṛndā lakṣa lakṣa dāsīgaṇa saṅge; holī-khelā drabya sajja kore nānā raṅge [151]

vividha prakāra phalgu ādi sājāilā; vīṇādika nānā yantra sumeli korilā [152]

“There, Vṛndā and hundreds of thousands of her maidservants, arranged for all paraphernalia of the Holi-pastimes in different joyful ways, arranging for different types of coloured powders and assembled different musical instruments like the Vīṇā.”

sakhī saha rāi kānu ullāsa antare; holī-khelā ārambha korilā kuñjāgāre [153]

sakhīgaṇa veṣṭita rādhikā mahāraṅge; ḍāraye apūrbo phāgu śrī kṛṣṇera aṅge [154]

“Blissfully, Rāi and Kānu began to play Holi in the kuñja-cottage, with Their girlfriends. Surrounded by Her sakhīs, Rādhikā sprinkled amazing coloured powders over Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s body in great bliss.”

sakhīra iṅgite śrīnivāsa dāsī rūpe; phalguṇa yogāna rohi rādhikā samīpe [155]

“On the indication of the sakhīs Śrīnivāsa in his mañjarī svarūpa brought coloured powders to Rādhikā.”

ki adbhuta bandhāne khelaye rāi-śyāma; śobhā dekhi’ mūrcchita hoyen koṭi kāma [156]

“How wonderfully Rādhā and Śyāma played Holi! When they witnessed Their beauty, millions of Cupids fainted!”

uḍoye phalguna, hoilo aruṇa ācchanna; nāṇā yantra vādya kolāhole ruddha karṇa [157]

“Coloured powders flew up into the sky, covering it with a ruddy canopy. So many musical instruments played that their noise caused one to cover the ears.”

rasika śekhara kṛṣṇa kautukī apāra; sabāra upore phāgu varṣe anivāra [158]

sikta kori’ mṛgamada kuṅkumādi jale; āliṅgana cumbanādi kore nānā chale [159]

nirupama holī khelā khele dui jan; pulake pūrṇita lalitādi sakhīgaṇa [160]

“Kṛṣṇa, the crownjewel of connoisseurs, had the greatest fun, showering coloured powder over everyone, sprinkling everyone with water mixed with musk and kumkum, and embracing and kissing all the girls on different pretexts. While Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa played the matchless Holi-game, Their girlfriends, headed by Lalitā, were studded by goosebumps of ecstasy.”

sakale-i susthira hoiyā kathokṣaṇe; rāi kānu doṅhe bosāilā siṁhāsane [161]

śrama dūra kori koila cāmare bātās; śrīnivāsa dāsīra pūrilo abhilāṣa [162]

“After a while everyone calmed down and Śrīnivāsa, as a maidservant, seated Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa on Their throne, removing Their fatigue by fanning Them with a whisk. In this way her desire (for devotional service) was fulfilled.”

hoilo sevā samādhāna, bāhya jñāna hoite; dekhe phāgumoy aṅga – nāre lukāite [163]

jholamola kore phāgu, saugandha apāra; sthira hoite nāre nāsā sparśaye yāhāra [164]

niti niti aiche nānā mānase vihvala; ke varṇite pāre yaiche prema anargala [165]

“When his/her devotional service was finished he returned to external consciousness and saw that his (physical) body was (also) covered with the coloured powders, which he could not conceal. The powder was shimmering and was endlessly fragrant. No nose who would ever touch this fragrance could remain calm. In this way he was mentally overwhelmed in so many ways. Who can describe his boundless prema?

Also added (p.24) to the end of my translation-collection of  'Bhakti Ratnākara' on madangopal.com

The Lord's eternal divine attire and weapons

In 2006 I made a number of blogs decrying fools who claim to be ‘post-modernists’ who want to ‘modernize’ Kṛṣṇa-līlā by dressing Him up with jeans, jacket and mobile phone. A row broke out at Banki Bihāri Mandir at the time, when a pūjārī actually dressed the Lord like this. At the time I quoted some evidence from the 12^th canto Bhāgavata, showing the adhyātmika or symbolic meanings to Kṛṣṇa’s apparel, trying to show it is all spiritual and part of His svarūpa. However, Śrīla Jīva Goswāmīpāda has already refuted the bizarre ideas of the post-modernists by quoting elaborately from Śrīmad Bhāgavata in his Bhagavat Sandarbha. In paragraph 47 he writes -

tatra paricchadānāṁ tat-svarūpa-bhūtatve tad-aṅga-sahitatayaivāvirbhāva-darśana-rūpaṁ liṅgam āha dvayena—

“The Lord’s apparel is a part of His svarūpa and is manifest along with His divine body, as shown in the following two verses:

tam adbhutaṁ bālakam ambujekṣaṇaṁ

catur-bhujaṁ śaṅkha-gadādy-udāyudham

śrīvatsa-lakṣmaṁ gala-śobhi-kaustubhaṁ

pītāmbaraṁ sāndra-payoda-saubhagam

mahārha-vaidūrya-kirīṭa-kuṇḍala-

tviṣā pariṣvakta-sahasra-kuntalam

uddāma-kāñcy-aṅgada-kaṅkaṇādibhir

virocamānaṁ vasudeva aikṣata

"Vasudeva looked at the extra-ordinary lotus-eyed little boy, who had four arms in which He held the conch, discus, mace and lotus. His chest was decorated with the mark of Lakṣmī, and the brilliant Kaustubha gem graced His neck. He was dressed in yellow; His body had the beautiful hue of a dense cloud, and was decorated with a brilliant belt, armlets, bangles and other ornaments. His helmet and earrings sparkled with invaluable multicolored vaidurya gems, and His hair was scattered in thousands of strands." (SB 10.3.9-10)

This describes the birth of the Lord. It is obvious that no ordinary person is born all decorated and thus the ornaments are innate parts of the Lord’s divine body.

Plus:

caityasya tattvam amalaṁ maṇim asya kaṇṭhe

“The Kaustubha gem, the embodiment of all pure conscious beings, decorates the neck of the Lord.” (SB 3.28.28) 

If the Kaustubha gem is the embodiment of all pure beings, how it can be an ancient Indian jewel that can be swapped for another, more modern medallion?

In the next paragraph, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī shows that also the Lord’s weapons belong to His Svarūpa. He quotes Viśvarūpa saying to Indra:

yathaikātmyānubhāvānāṁ vikalpa-rahitaḥ svayam

bhūṣaṇāyudha-liṅgākhyā dhatte śaktīḥ sva-māyayā

tenaiva satya-mānena sarva-jño bhagavān hariḥ

pātu sarvaiḥ svarūpair naḥ sadā sarvatra sarva-gaḥ

Just as the complete Reality, Svayam Bhagavān, is experienced as free from distinction for those established in exclusive identity with Him, [similarly] through His own māyā, He Himself employs energies in the form of ornaments, weapons and insignia. On the truth of this statement, may the omniscient and omnipresent Lord Hari always protect us everywhere, by all the potencies and manifestations that are identical to His essential Being. (SB 6.8.32-33)

The advent of Vāmana deva is described as follows in the Bhāgavata (8.18.12):

yat tad vapur bhāti vibhūṣaṇāyudhair

avyakta-cid vyaktam adhārayad dhariḥ

babhūva tenaiva sa vāmano baṭuḥ

saṁpaśyator divya-gatir yathā naṭaḥ

The Lord assumed His unmanifest spiritual form, which became manifest with ornaments and weapons. Then, as His parents watched, He, like an actor, in that very form, became Vāmana, the boy brāhmaṇa.

The Lord’s famous Sudarśana Cakra cannot be swapped for a pistol either -

tvam agnir bhagavān sūryas tvaṁ somo jyotiṣāṁ patiḥ

tvam āpas tvaṁ kṣitir vyoma vāyur mātrendriyāṇi ca

O Sudarśana Cakra, you are Fire, the Sun, who is Lord of the cosmos; and the Moon, the master of all luminaries. You are Water, Earth and Sky; you are the air, the five sense objects, and the senses as well. (SB 9.5.3)