śākhā-khaṇḍa-śikhaṇḍi-tāṇḍava-kalaṁ prollāsi-vallī-drumam |
bhrājan-mañju-nikuñjakaṁ khaga-kulaiś citraṁ vicitraṁ mṛgair
nānā-divya-saraḥ-sarid-giri-varaṁ dhyāyāmi vṛndāvanam ||
I meditate on Vrindavan, where you can hear the clear sound of the koil’s song and the wafting tones of the flute’s sweet tune, watch the peacocks display their artistic dance beneath the branches, see the trees enthusiastically embraced by the vines, the delightful bowers rendered colorful by the various birds and beasts, and all the divine lakes and streams, as well as Govardhana, the best of mountains.(1.7)
śrī-vaikuṇṭha-dvārakā-janma-bhūmiḥ |
kṛṣṇasyātho goṣṭha-vṛndāvanaṁ tat
gopy-ākrīḍaṁ dhāma vṛndāvanāntaḥ ||
Within this Vrindavan, you can find everything, the gross, the subtle, the causal and Brahman, the fourth state of consciousness, Vaikuntha, Dwaraka and Mathura, Krishna’s birthplace. There you will find the terrain on which Krishna grazed the cows with his friends, and his most secret effulgent abode, his playground with the gopis. (1.8)
śrīmad-rādhā-kuñja-vāṭī cakāsti |
ādyo bhāvo yo viśuddho’tipūrṇas
tad-rūpā sā tādṛśonmādi sarvāḥ ||
Here shines Radha’s beautiful flower grove cottage, which is most amazing, more wonderful than all these other aspects of Vrindavan. The original mood of erotic love in its purest and most perfect form is embodied in it, intoxicating all the Vraja gopis. (1.9)
vaidagdhyānyo’nyānurāgādbhutaughau |
nityābhaṅga-pronmadānaṅga-raṅgau
rādhā-kṛṣṇau khelataḥ svāli-juṣṭau ||
In that spot, through the descent of beauty, form and expertise in the arts of love, accompanied by their sakhis, play the Divine Couple of Radha and Krishna, this embodiment of infinitely wondrous mutual love, engaged in eternal, uninterrupted, deeply intoxicating erotic games. (1.10)
Here, Prabodhananda Saraswatipada shows his predilection for the doctrines of the Radhavallabhi Sampradaya, of which he must be considered a founding member. Some of the differences with other rasika sampradayas are discussed here.
Where the dhama is concerned, those who call themselves followers of the sakhī-bhāva make a distinction between Vrindavan, Vraja and the Kunja, as is clearly stated in these verses. The development is given beginning with the standard Upanishad (Mandukya) hierarchy of four stages of consciousness culminating in the turīya state sought for by the Advaitavadins, i.e. Brahman. Higher than that is Vaikuntha, and the various dhams of Krishna lila--Dvaraka, Mathura, and Vrindavan.
However, Prabodhananda makes a further distinction between Vrindavan, where Krishna’s parents and vātsalya-rasa are dominant, and Vraja, where Krishna engages in his pastimes with the other cowherds and the cows. Where those pastimes are present, Radha and Krishna’s most intimate lilas cannot take place. Therefore those following the sakhī-bhāva have conceived of an abode of the Lord that is exclusively dedicated to the madhura-līlā. This is usually called the Kunja.
Since the Kunja is only possible where Radha and Krishna are present, and where Radha has no competitors, the sakhī-bhāva sampradāyas even consider līlās like the Rāsa to be a part of the Vraja and not the Kunja.
A similar hierarchy can be found in Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the Upadeshamrita (9) of Rupa Goswami, which leads to Radha Kund as the most intimate or most secret portion of Vrindavan.
In the Kunja, Srimati Radharani is most clearly manifest in her svādhīna-bhartṛkā svarūpa. The mood is that of the nitya-vihāra, where Radha and Krishna are never separated for a moment. There is no viraha. Though Prabodhananda as a sādhaka may express viraha from Radha, he never writes of Radha's separation from Krishna.
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