Vallabhacharya says, “Mukunda Rati Vardhini” in the second verse of the Shree Yamunashtakam. Why does Vallabhacharya refer to Rati, the goddess of carnal desire along with Mukunda, a form of Krishna that grants us Moksha when we know very well that Krishna always endorses divine unconditional love – Ananda?
When we take a close look at the art forms and the ideas that were evolving during Vallabhacharya’s lifetime, we discover a beautiful but lesser-known definition of both Rati and Kama. With this knowledge, we can instantly draw the connection between Rati and Yamunaji and Kama and Krishna.
Nari paintings
Several centuries ago kings built halls known as ‘Chitra Mantapas.’ Paintings depicting scriptural stories were drawn on the walls and ceilings of these Mantapas. Amongst these vast collections of paintings, we find images of Rati on the Pancha Nari Turaga and Kama on the Navanari Kunjara shooting floral arrows at each other. The women are dressed in long trousers and bodices and hold different postures.
The Vaishnava literature of Bengal states that the Nava Nari Kunjara and the Pancha Nari Turaga occupy an important place in Krishna’s Raas Leela. This story helps us connect the facts…
Bhakti Yoga And The Five Stages Of Love
One day Krishna, as usual, disappears when Radha and the gopis fight over Him. The minute He vanishes, Radha and the gopis regret their actions. Krishna too cannot live without Radha and his gopis. But Krishna disappears because He wants the gopis to go through the five stages of love and understand the value of Yamunaji’s Atma Prem before they merge with Him and attain Moksha. According to Bhakti yoga, the five stages of love are
Kama: Physical Desire
When Krishna disappears one gopi laments and says, “Who can resist Krishna’s handsome looks? All of us are attracted to Him. And we rejoice in the ecstasy of uniting with Him every night. O Krishna, we miss you. And none of us can contain our desire for you despite our best attempts to do so.”
Shringara: Intimacy
Another gopi sighs with remorse and says, “Krishna does not satisfy our physical desires alone. He alone understands our whims and fancies. We all are emotionally attached to Him only because we can share all our feelings and confide in Krishna. He plays games, composes poems, sings and dances with us to change our mood and help us cope with our emotions.”
Maitri: Compassion
A third gopi chirpily says, “Hmm. That’s right. But I think we love Krishna the most only because He always looks at us with compassion. He never judges us. Always forgives us. And He is always there for us and that comforts us a lot. We all love that beautiful feeling where we can just be ourselves and accepted totally too, don’t we?”
Bhakti: Devotion
Another gopi solemnly says, “Did you notice something? We haven’t even realized this so far. Haven’t we all become more compassionate, understanding and forgiving in our interactions with others? We have learnt to look at all beings with love and are able to connect to the divinity residing in the other. Our love for Krishna has slowly transformed to devotion. It has become unconditional. Is this what Bhakti all about?”
Atma Prem: Self-love
Radha finally comes out of her stupor and says, “Even Bhakti is not enough for Krishna. We still have to learn a whole lot more from Yamunaji. Look at Her. She loves Krishna too. But she never expects anything from Him. She always says, “The Bhakti that I nurture for Krishna is more than enough to sustain me. Krishna lives within me. So, I, Yamuna, love myself as much as I love Krishna. For Krishna is in my Atma and Krishna is my Atma too.”
Radha and the gopis sigh when they realize their folly. They say, “The love that we have for Krishna is fickle and shallow. We have a long way to go yet. No wonder Krishna disappears so very often from our lives. We succumb to our desires and fly into jealous fits of rage because we want to confine the love that we have for Krishna to ourselves.”
Radha and her sakhis wipe their tears with determination. They search for Krishna everywhere. For a long while. The gopis beg Krishna for forgiveness. But Krishna remains firm in His absence.
The significance of the Pancha Nari Turaga
That is when Yamunaji arrives. She holds the hands of all the gopis firmly in hers and helps them evolve to the final stage of love – Atma Prema. Krishna loves Yamunaji the most for this trait of hers – She leads all the gopis towards Him so that He can bless them with Moksha.
This entire process is captured in the paintings and sculptures of the Pancha Nari Turaga. We can see Yamunaji as Rati sitting on top of the horse, (Turaga in Sanskrit) that the gopis create. These Pancha Nari Turaga paintings symbolise Rati, as Yamunaji, who dwells in the highest realm of love – the realm of Atma Prem.
Nava Nari Kunjara
When Krishna sees the intensity of the gopis’ love, and Yamunaji leading them towards Him – He reappears – as Mukunda – the supranatural form of Kama – seated on a resplendent elephant ( Kunjara in Sanskrit) that contain nine other gopis within it. Now we discover another beautiful and lesser-known aspect of Kama in the paintings of Nava Nari Kunjara.
The nine naris in the Nava Nari Kunjara represent the nava rasas of human nature.
The Nine Rasas
Rasas are human emotions. And the nine rasas that the gopis experience with Krishna and in their lives are – Hasya (joy), Bhaya (fear), Raudra ( anger), Shringar (love), Veerya (courage), Karuna ( sadness), Adbhuta ( amazement), Vibhatsya ( disgust) and Shanti ( calmness).
Significance of the Nava Nari Kunjara
We assume that it is Kama, the god of love, who sits atop the Nava Nari Kunjara. But Kama actually symbolises Mukunda, who is the supra-natural and transcendental form of Kamadeva in Vrindavan.
As Mukunda, Krishna welcomes Yamunaji who sits atop the Pancha Nari Turaga because He knows that the gopis have experienced the five stages of love and evolved to the highest and purest state of love – Atma Prem.
But as Mukunda, he sends the gopis a clear message when He sits atop the Nava Nari Kunjara. He says, “Yes, as human beings everyone, including myself, will surely experience all the nine rasas of life. That is but natural. And that is what my leelas are all about too. We must experience all our emotions fully first. But instead of getting embroiled in the myriad rasas of our materialistic lives, we must learn to remain unaffected by our emotions – the nine rasas of human nature too. Only then can we experience bliss and find a place for ourselves in Goloka.”
When we look at this phrase, “Mukunda Rati Vardhini” in this context we understand the metaphor that Vallabhacharya is drawing our attention to. We too need to reflect on the ideas that are contained in the paintings of the Pancha Nari Turaga and the Nava Nari Kunjara. Repeatedly.
But Vallabhacharya makes it simpler for all of us. He says, “It is enough if we nurture Bhakti for Yamunaji alone. She takes care of the rest. Always. She is infinitely kind. And easy to please too. And Yamunaji will connect us to Krishna every time we falter and fumble through our lives. Unfailingly.”
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