Sri Sri Damodarastakam - Text 5

[Paramananda das]

Sri Sri Damodarastakam - Text 5
idam te mukhambhojam avyakta-nilair
vrtam kuntalaih nigdha-raktais ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me
manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih
O Lord! Your lotus like face is completely surrounded by very dark blue, glossy reddish- | tinted curling hair and is kissed again and again by mother Yasoda | Your lotus face is endowed with lips red as bimba fruits - may it always remain visible in my heart | The attainment of millions of other boons is completely useless to me

Dig-Darsini-Tika by Srila Sanatana Gosvami:

And furthermore, the longing to see Your sri-mukha, Your divine lotus face that is parama-manohara (supremely enchanting) is stated in this verse beginning with idam te. Sometime while one is meditating deeply within and perceives such indescribable beauty and splendour - that is what is revealed in this verse. His face is praphulla-kamalakara - it resembles a fully-blossomed lotus flower; nikhila-santapa-hari - His face is the remover of all kinds of distress; and paramananda-rasa-maya - and it is pervaded with the supreme mellows of pure bliss. That lotus face - manasi muhur-avirastam - may it be revealed again and again within my mind.

What does that lotus face look like? It is surrounded (vrtam) by curling hair (kuntala) that is very dark blue (avyakta-nila), glossy (snigdha) and tinged with red (rakta). The word vrtam suggests that just as a lotus flower is surrounded with hovering honeybees, similarly the Lord's lotus face is encircled with curly locks that bounce around whenever He moves. The word gopya ("by the gopi") indicates that His face is kissed again and again by either Sri Yasoda or by Sri Radha. The word muhuh (again and again) is relative to this word gopya, and it reads properly exactly where it is in the verse. This being the case, may that divine lotus face - muhus-cumbitam - kissed repeatedly by the supremely fortunate gopi-mama manasi - in my mind - avirastam - may it manifest even once. This is the meaning.

Or else - the word sada (always) found in the previous verse carries over to its definitive conclusion in the present verse, thereby indicating "may it always manifest" - this intention can also be accepted. Finally, that lotus face is especially described thus - bimba-vad-raktadharam - He Whose lips are cherry red like the bimba fruit. (If that form is manifest within my mind, I will be fully satisfied). Therefore it is said about laksa-labhaih, the attainment of millions and millions of other types of benedictions - alam - they are of no use to me whatsoever. This is the meaning. This is most definitely the message that is conveyed by the fifth verse.

Thus ends Sanatana Gosvami's Dig-Darsini-Tika
on the fifth sloka of Sri Damodarastakam