Vaiṣṇava-dress, part 4

Vaiṣṇava-dress, part 4

On wearing Vaiṣṇava-dress the post-modern rationalist Vaiṣṇava-lobby may argue:

“The terms "dhoti" or "sari" are not Sanskrit words and not mentioned in scripture.”

Let us have look at the different Sanskrit-dictionaries -

अवगुण्ठन n. avaguNThana
1.the act of covering the head of women;
2.a veil (for the face) (fig. also);

(Apte Dictionary)

धटी f. dhaTI piece of cloth worn over the privities

(Spokensanskrit.org)

Now let's look at scripture -

The word 'dhoti' is mentioned in Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu  (2.1.351) -

smerāsyaḥ parihita-pāṭalāmbara-śrīś 

channāṅgaḥ puraṭa-rucoru-kañcukena |

uṣṇīṣaṁ dadhad aruṇaṁ dhaṭīṁ ca citrām 

kaṁsārir vahati mahotsave mudaṁ naḥ ||

Bhānu Swāmi's translation: "The enemy of Kaṁsa, smiling in great joy, and wearing a pink dhoti, orange turban, an excellent vest of shining gold, and multi-color sash, creates joy in us.”

Bhānu Swāmi has the dhoti's color wrong, but does translate dhaṭī as dhoti

Professor David L. Haberman has it right in his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu translation -

351. The Enemy of Kamsa, dressed in the following manner during the Great Celebration, is our delight. He has a smile on his face, a beautiful pink scarf placed over his shoulders, and a long shirt that glistens like gold covers his body; he wears a red turban on his head and a multi-colored cloth (dhoti) around his waist.

Both translate dhaṭī as dhoti. Bengalis pronounce the short 'a' as 'oh'

Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 3.4.31, describing Kṛṣṇa's śeṣa-kumāra age:

dhaṭī phaṇa-paḍī cātra kiñcid-vanya-vibhūṣaṇam |

laghu-vetraka-ratnādi maṇḍanaṁ parikīrtitam

Bhānu Swāmi's translation: 

“A long narrow cloth wrapped around the waist, cloth folded to resemble a serpent’s hood at the front, flower ornaments and a small stick in His hand are considered the ornaments of the last part of the kaumāra age.”

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā: 

dhaṭī svalpa-vistara-bahvāyamānaḥ paṭa-viśeṣaḥ. yaḥ khalu vicitra-parivṛtti-bāhulyenādharāṅge vicchittiṁ labhate 

dhaṭī = dhoti; svalpa = little; vistara - wide; bahu = much; āyamānaḥ = stretching; paṭa = cloth; viśeṣaḥ = kind of; yaḥ = who; khalu = surely; vicitra = wonderful; parivṛtti = surrounding; bāhulyena = with an abundance; adharāṅge = on the lower body; vicchitti = cut; labhate = attains

Jīva Gosvāmī’s Commentary, Bhānu Swāmi's translation:

"dhaṭī is a long, narrow cloth. It looks attractive, wrapping the lower half of the body in various ways."

The other 3 Vaiṣṇava-dress blogs from March 2012 and May 2017 are found
here, here and here. The now updated pdf on this topic on my website madangopal.com is here. 

Mahāprabhu’s associates, svakīya-vāda and aiśvarya mixtures

Mahāprabhu’s associates, svakīya-vāda and aiśvarya mixtures

Vaisnava - "At the end of the Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka Mahāprabhu tells Advaita ācārya:

dāsye kecana kecana praṇayinaḥ sakhye ta evobhaye

rādhā-mādhava niṣṭhayā katipaye śrī dvārakādhīśituh

sakhyādāv ubhayatra kecana pare ye vāvatārāntare

mayyābaddha hṛdo'khilān vitanavai vṛndāvanāsaṅginaḥ

“Some devotees are in a mood of servitude, some are fixed in a fraternal mood, some are fixed in the love of Rādhā and Mādhava, others in the Lord of Dvārakā and again others in My different avatāras like Rāma and Nṛsiṁha. I will lock you all in the chains of My love and give You attachment to Vṛndāvana!"

On the surface it seems from this verse that Mahāprabhu's associates are just conditioned souls who are being redeemed by Him, though they are supposed to be nitya siddhas. Plus there seems to be the possibility of being promoted from dāsya rasa, Dwārakā rati whatever, to Rādhā-Mādhava."

Advaitadās – You have to see the context. This verse comes at the end of a drama, which has a happy ending, just like the end of Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Lalita-mādhava drama where Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa get married. As for nitya-siddhas – they all have their sthāyi-bhāvas. Mahāprabhu failed to persuade Jīva Gosvāmī's father Vallabha to switch from Rāma-bhakti to Kṛṣṇa-bhakti.

Vaiṣṇava - Why Jīva Gosvāmī preached svakīya vāda (Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa marrying)?

Advaitadās – Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī writes in his Sādhana Dīpika: 

gopāla-dāsa-nāmā ko’pi vaiśyaḥ śrī-jīva-gosvāmi-pādānāṁ priya-śiṣyaḥ. tat-prārthanā-paravaśena tena svakīyātvaṁ siddhāntitam 

"There was a vaiśya named Gopāla, who was Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's dear disciple. He established the svakīya siddhānta because he was subdued by his prayer to do so."

Vaiṣṇava - In the Veṇu Gīta in the Śrīmad-bhāgavat the gopīs pray to the clouds, trees, birds etc. Is that just poetry or all they also all sentient beings who can respond?"

Advaitadās – According to Vedic vision even material elements are persons – Indra is rain, Vāyu is wind etc. - what to speak of elements in the all-sentient spiritual sky?

Vaiṣṇava – In his commentary on Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, Śrī Ānanda Gopāl Gosvāmī describes how Rādhākuṇḍa and Rādhārāṇī's sash-of-bells (kāñchi) talk back to Raghunātha Dās Gosvāmī. Is that not aiśvarya? This is not a sign of nara-līlā (human pastimes).

Advaitadas – I still think this is very sweet, but yes it is aiśvarya. Aiśvarya cannot be avoided altogether in Vraja-līlā though. Rādhā-Mādhava cross a distance of 50 kilometers in the evening, walking from Nandagrām and Yāvat to Vṛndāvana to dance the Rāsa at night. It takes them just a few moments to walk 50 km. Kṛṣṇa expands himself during the noon pastimes in Rādhākuṇḍa to enjoy in all eight sakhīs’ kuñjas at the same time. Without some aiśvarya-hocus pocus even sweet Vraja-līlās cannot be accomplished. This aiśvarya drowns in an ocean of mādhurya, though, depending on the mādhurya-capacity and inclination of the sādhaka. The same thing goes for all the marvelous buildings described in the eternal Vraja-līlās.