RĀDHĀ-MĀDHAVA
by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī
gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana
yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī
[synonyms]
gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana
yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī
[synonyms]
Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava have their loving pastimes in the groves (kuñja) of Vṛndāvana. Gopī-jana-vallabha means "one who attracts and reciprocates loving pastimes with the gopīs. Giri-vara-dhārī is Kṛṣṇa's name in the pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. Yaśodā-nandana is the son of Yaśodā ("nanda" means son and is also the name of Kṛṣṇa's father, so Kṛṣṇa is also Nanda-nandana). Braja-jana-rañjana means the attractive darling of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. He is always playing in the groves (vana) of the bank (tīra) of the Yamunā River. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is also known as Yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī.
(Śrīla Prabhupāda is very fond of this song and sings it just before his lectures. In Allahabad and Gorakhpur Śrīla Prabhupāda fell into a trance after singing the first two lines, and after some time he came back into external consciousness and said, "Now just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." Śrīla Prabhupāda said that this song is "a picture of Vṛndāvana. Everything is there—Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Vṛndāvana, Govardhana, Yaśodā, and all the cowherd boys.")
[purport 1, 2]