Meaning of Gopijanavallabhaya
Gopijanavallabhaya means Gopinatha, who sports with the gopis, and the Deity
who helps one attain pure love of God, the ultimate goal of life (prayojana).
Gopijanavallabhaya denotes Krishna, the beloved of the gopis, who enchants
them with His sweetness and gives them ecstatic love.
Gopijana—go means jnana, knowledge. It also means one who is realized by knowledge
of Govinda, or one who knows all the inner feelings of the devotees. Go means
Govinda, Shri Krishna, who always pastures and tends the cows in the valleys beside
Govardhana Hill.
The word gopi means the cosmic preserving force, or the women of Vraja. Krishna is
the vallabha, the Lord of that force and the Lord of the women of Vraja. The word
gopijanavallabha, therefore, means, "The lover of the gopis is preserving the force of
my devotion and pervading all of my senses (govinda)."
Vallabha—Shri Krishna, the blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the dear most
life of the gopis and all janas (living entities), and He pervades them all. Vallabha also
means a dense mass of bliss.
"Lord Sadasiva told Narada Muni, 'Anyone who meditates upon Radha and Krishna's
beautiful bodily features and ornaments while chanting the following prayers will
attain the eternal abode of Krishna and the gopis:'
gopijana-vallabha-caranau saranam prapadye, "I take shelter of He who is the beloved
of the gopis."
Namo gopijanavallabhabhyam, "I offer my respectful obeisances to the Divine Couple
who are very dear to the gopis." (SKS)
"I surrender to Radha and Krishna. Whatever is mine is in truth, Their property.
Everything is for Their sake. Everything is for Their enjoyment. It is not for me."
Gopijanavallabhaya—"Krishna wears yellow clothing and a long garland of fragrant
wild flowers. He has a beautiful swarthy complexion the color of a dark rain
cloud. His head is bedecked with a peacock feather.
His face is radiant like a million moons and His eyes are rolling. Yellow
karnikara flowers are tucked above His ears, and golden makara earrings as
effulgent as the rising sun hang below His ears. His forehead is adorned with a
circle of sandalwood containing a dot of kunkuma in its center.
"Syama's face is beautified by tiny pearl-like drops of perspiration. His eyebrows
playfully dance as He casts a sidelong glance at the face of His beloved Radhika. A
pearl dangles from the tip of His nose, His radiant teeth glisten like moonlight, and
His attractive lips are as red as ripe bimba fruit.
His hands are adorned with bracelets and a jeweled seal ring. He holds the murali in His
left hand and a lotus in His right. A sash of small jingling bells ornaments His
beautiful waist, and splendid ankle bells adorn His lotus feet." (SKS)
Meaning of Svaha
Svaha represents the potency of the Lord. It is usually chanted while offering
oblations into the fire. The word has both outer and inner meanings.
"Sva" can mean, "one who is conversant with the inner self." It can also mean, "I am a
maidservant of the gopis."
"Ha" can refer to, "the transcendental nature." It can also mean, "to sacrifice and give
everything to Krishna just as the gopis do."
"The word svaha means the jivatma is surrendered wholly to the light of the
Paramatma, the supreme spirit, Shri Krishna, who is one without a second, the
Supreme Lord, and the cause of all causes."(NP)
Additional definitions of svaha are given in Chapter eight.
Gopala-mantra Word Meanings
The Gopala-tapani Upanisad describes how the four Kumaras once asked their father
Brahma, "Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Whom does death fear? By
knowing whom does everything else become known? Who created this world?'
"Brahma replied by giving them the eighteen-syllable Gopala-mantra and said, 'Krishna
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Death fears Govinda. Everything becomes
known by understanding Gopijanavallabha. The Personality of Godhead created the
world by pronouncing the word svaha.'" (GU)
Shrila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments on these verses:
"The statement that death fears Govinda means that Krishna rescues the living
entities from the hands of death. The name Gopijanavallabha means Krishna, who is
very dear to the gopis. By knowing Krishna the entire spiritual and material worlds
become known."
"The four Kumaras were not yet satisfied for they wished to have a more elaborate
description of Krishna's transcendental qualities. So they asked Lord Brahma, 'Who
is Krishna? Who is Govinda? Who is Gopijanavallabha? What is svaha?’”
"Brahma replied, 'Krishna means He who delivers one from sin. Govinda means He who
is famous on the earth, in the Vedas, and among the surabhi cows. Gopijanavallabha
means He who enchants the gopis. Svaha means the potency of the Supreme. All
these names refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'" (GU)
Shrila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura further explains:
"The name papa-karsana (which Brahma used to describe Krishna) conveys two ideas:
(1) Krishna—whose transcendental pastimes attract the minds of even the sinful,
conditioned souls.
(2) Krishna—the merciful Supreme Person who liberated Putana, Agha, Kesi, and the
other demons He killed.
"The name Govinda means the Supreme Lord who is famous among the surabhi cows of
Vraja. Govinda is glorified in the verses of the Vedas, and He is famous on the earth
because He removed the burden of demoniac kings.
Govinda also means He who protects the cows, land and Vedas. Govinda is the supreme
protector who rescues the living entities from the cruel hands of death.
"Gopijanavallabha means He who enraptures the gopis, who are all manifestations of
His hladini-sakti. Gopijanavallabha enchants the gopis with His sweet beauty and other
transcendental qualities. He removes their materialism, and gives them ecstatic love
for Him. Thus He has become very dear (vallabha) to them.
"The word "svaha" means the Lord's potency by which everything is manifested."
(Shri Gopala-tapani-vivrtti)
In the preceding commentary, Shrila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has shown the
significance of each word of the Gopala-mantra, and how the mantra itself is a
complete means to cultivate Krishna-prema.
He says the word krishnaya denotes Madana-mohana, the merciful Deity of sambandhatattva
who establishes our eternal relationship with Krishna.
Govindaji, as the abode of abhidheya-tattva, inspires, enthuses and accepts our
devotional service.
The ultimate goal (prayojana) of bhakti is the pure loving service of Gopinatha, also
known as Gopijanavallabha, the darling beloved who pleases all the vraja-gopis.
The syllable Sva denotes the knower of the inner self, and the syllable ha
means to offer or to give. The word svaha generally refers to offering
oblations to the wife of Agnideva in a yajna.
In the Gopala-mantra, however, svaha means, I am a servant of the gopis. In
other words, ‘I want to give everything I have to Krishna just as the gopis are
doing.'
"The Kumaras further asked Lord Brahma, 'What is Krishna's form? How is He
glorified? How is He worshiped?'
Brahmaji answered them with verses suitable for mantra upasana.
'You should meditate with all your heart and soul on Shri Krishna. His eyes are
beautiful lotus flowers, His complexion is a glistening monsoon cloud, His
garments are lightning, and He has two arms.
Shri Krishna is full of transcendental knowledge. He wears a garland of forest
flowers, and He is the supreme controller. Krishna is surrounded by gopas, gopis
and surabhi cows, and resting under a kadamba tree.
Decorated with splendid ornaments, He stands in the middle of a red lotus
flower while being served by breezes cooled by the touch of Kalindi's waves.
By this meditation you will become free from repeated birth and death.'" (GU)
Finally Brahma instructed the Kumaras to repeatedly chant the eighteensyllable
Gopala-mantra. Anyone who purely chants this mantra even once will
quickly attain Krishna's blissful association.
Meaning of Gopala-mantra
"I offer oblations unto Lord Krishna, who is Govinda the lover of the gopis."
While chanting the Gopala-mantra, absorb the mind and heart in the following
meditations:
(1) "I worship Govinda, whose beautiful complexion resembles a fully blossomed blue
lotus. He has a moonlike face, and is very fond of wearing a peacock feather in His
hair. He bears the golden shrivatsa line of hairs on His chest along with the splendid
kaustubha gem.
Wearing yellow cloth, Krishna is indescribably beautiful. The gopis worship His body
with their lotus eyes. He is adorned with celestial ornaments and surrounded by the
cows and His gopa friends. He loves to play his sweet sounding flute."
(Gautamiya-tantra)
(2) "Meditate on Krishna going out behind the cows for go-carana ma. The honey-sweet
sound of Krishna's flute is dancing through the air. Being attracted, the vraja gopis
hide in the kunjas along the pathway. Some curious innocent deer also join them.
With their side-long glances the gopis bid farewell to Krishna and communicate their
hearts desire to meet later on."
(3) "Krishna is standing under the rays of the full moon on the banks of the
Yamuna. With His enchanting flute music He is attracting all the beautiful doeeyed
gopis to come join Him for a rasa dance.
In the same way, the sweet and beautiful features of Syamasundara should
attract me. In my sadhaka-rupa all of my senses should be attracted to
Govindaji."
Some acaryas indicate that a sadhaka should meditate on Shri Radha while
chanting the Gopala-mantra, because this mantra directly refers to Her.
Krishnaya means Krishna is attracting Radhika.
The word govindaya refers to Krishna who is called Govinda because Shrimati
Radhika pleases all of His senses. Krishna's five senses are always absorbed in
Shri Radha's form, taste, sound, touch, and smell.
The word govindaya can also mean that Govinda is pleasing all of Radhika's
senses.
Shrila Krishna dasa Kaviraja explains how Govinda pleases the senses of His
beloved gopis:
"One day Shri Radha said to Visakha, 'O my dear friend! Syama enchants the
eyes, and inundates the mountain-like minds of the vraja gopis with the ocean
of His nectarean beauty. He gives joy to their ears with His pleasant joking
words.
He pleases the sense of touch with His body, which is cooler than millions of
moons. Syamasundara fills the world with His ambrosial fragrance and with the
nectar of His lips. In this way He forcibly attracts all My five senses.”
(Govinda-lilamrta)
The word gopijanavallabha means that Gopijanavallabha (Krishna) is Radhika's
lover.
How to Chant Gopala-mantra
In the Bhakti Sandarbha, Shrila Jiva Gosvami says that while meditating on
the mantra some devotees conceive of the various emotions one experiences
upon being attracted to Krishna's flute at the time of milking the cows.
Other devotees may meditate thus:
"Although I myself am personally residing in Vraja, I am so unfortunate that I
am deprived of the direct worship of Radha and Krishna. Shri Gurudeva,
therefore, has instructed me in this Gopala-mantra. And as a result, my
devotional aspirations have reached perfection, and now I am personally
rendering service to Shri Vrajendranandana."
One should chant with a heart full of eagerness, "When will that day come?
When will I see Radhika and Syama in my heart of hearts?"
Mindless, mechanical chanting will not help.
If one chants from the heart, the mantra will bestow His direct darsana.
One will not get the full result of the mantra if he is sleepy, inattentive,
discouraged, or in anxiety while chanting.
Giridhari will appear before us, or as Shrila Prabhupada used to say, "We will
see Krishna dancing on the tip of our tongues."
This will definitely happen by chanting exactly according to the guru's
instructions. Chanting the mantra with firm faith, humility, exclusive
sentiment, tear-filled eyes, and a steady, concentrated mind devoid of all
desires for sense gratification will give one direct darsana of Krishna Himself.
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