meditation on the priya narma sakhas

[Paramananda das]

Ujjvala
Ujjvala has a splendid reddish complexion. His garments are decorated with star patterns and he is decorated with pearls and flowers.
His father is named Sagara and his mother is the chaste Veni-devi. He is thirteen years old and full of youthfull luster. (SSRKGD)
Subala
Subala has a fair complexion. He wears handsome blue garments and he is decorated wtih many kinds of jewels and flowers.
He is twelve-and-a-half years old and He glows with youthful luster. Although he is Krsna's friend, he is immersed in serving Krsna in many different ways.
He is expert at arranging the meeting of the divine couple. He is charming and full of transcendental love for Them. He is cheerful and full of good qualities. He is very dear to Krsna. (SSRKGD)
Arjuna
(not Pandava Arjuna)
Arjuna's glistening complexion is the color of a red lotus flower. His garments are the color of moonlight and He is decorated with many kinds of jewels.
His father is Sudaksina, his mother Bhadra-devi, and his elder brother Vasudama. He is always plunged in transcendental love for the divine couple.
He is fourteen-and-a half and full of the luster of youth. He wears a garland of forest flowers and many other kinds of flower-ornaments. (SSRKGD)
Gandharva
Handsome Gandharva has a complexion the color of moonlight. He wears red garments and many different ornaments. He is twelve years old and full of youthful luster. He is decorated with many kinds of flowers.
His mother is the saintly Mitra-devi and his father the great soul Vinoka. He is very playful and very dear to Sri Krsna. (SSRKGD)

Vasanta
Vasanta has a splendid fair complexion. His garments glitter like the moon and he is decorated with various jewels.
He is eleven years old. He is decorated with many different flower garlands. His mother is the saintly Saradi-devi and his father is the great soul Pingala. (SSRKGD)
Kokila
Kokila is fair-complexioned and very handsome. He wears blue garments and is decorated with many kinds of jewels.
He is eleven years and four months of age. His father is named Puskara and his mother is the famous Medha-devi. (SSRKGD)
Sanandana
Handsome Sanandana has a fair complexion. He wears blue garments and is decorated with many different ornaments.
He is fourteen years old. He wears garlands of flowers. His father is Arunaksa and his mother is Mallika-devi.
Handsome Sanandana is very happy to have the friendship of Lord Krsna. He is like the splendid monarch of all transcendental mellows. (SSRKGD)

Vidagdha
Vidagdha has a splendid complexion the color of a yellow campaka flower. He wears blue garments and a necklace of pearls.
He is fourteen years old and full of youthful luster. His father is named Matuka and his mother is Rocana-devi.
His elder brother is Sudama and his sister is Susila-devi. He is very dear to Sri Krsna. He is full of transcendental love for the divine couple. (SSRKGD)

Kunjas of the Eight Sakhas
Syama Kunda is surrounded by the kunjas of the eight main sakhas (cowherd boyfriends), called priya-narma sakhas. These boys are Krishna’s most intimate cowherd boy friends and they understand and are submissive to Krishna’s dealings with the gopis. The cowherd boys gave their kunjas to different sakhis to manage.
1. Subala Kunja (northwest) is on the side of Syama Kunda where Manasa-pavana Ghata is located. It is managed by Radharani. Radharani and the rest of the sakhis bathe daily at 12 noon at Manasa-pavana Ghata.
2. Madhumangala’s Kunja (north) is managed by Lalita Devi.
3. Ujjvala’s Kunja (northwest) is managed by Visakha Devi.
4. Arjuna’s Kunja (east) is managed by Citra Devi.
5. Gandharva’s Kunja (southeast) is managed by Indulekha.
6. Vidagdha’s Kunja (south) is managed by Campakalata.
7. Kokeela’s Kunja (southwest) is managed by Ranga Devi.
8. Sanandananda’s Kunja (west) is managed by Tungavidya Devi.
Sri Krsna's priya-narma sakhas (His most intimate of cowherd friends) like Subala   are inclined towards Srimati Radhika. They are pleased when Radhika and Krsna meet. There are also some priya-narma-sakhas who facilitate Candravali's relationship with Krsna, but Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura was greatly inclined to Srimati Radhika,Bhaktivinod Thakur and all the acaryas in our line are favorabel to Sri Radha

Nectar of Devotion
Sometimes the different names, forms, paraphernalia and transcendental qualities provoke fraternal love. For instance, Krishna's nice dress, His strongly built body, the all-auspicious symptoms on His body, His knowledge of different languages, His learned teachings in Bhagavad-gita, His uncommon genius in all fields of endeavor, His exhibition of expert knowledge, His mercy, His chivalry, His behavior as a conjugal lover, His intelligence, His forgiveness, His attraction for all kinds of men, His opulence and His happiness -- all provoke fraternal love.
The impetus to fraternal love upon seeing the associates of Krishna in Vrindavana is also very natural, for their personal bodily features, their qualities and their dress are all equal to Krishna's. These associates are always happy in their service to Krishna, and they are generally known as vayasyas, or friends of the same age. The vayasyas are fully confident of protection by Krishna. Devotees sometimes pray, "Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the vayasyas of Krishna, who are firmly convinced of Krishna's friendship and protection and whose devotion to Krishna is ever fixed. They are fearless, and on a level equal with Krishna they discharge their transcendental loving devotional service." Such eternal vayasyas are also found beyond the jurisdiction of Vrindavana, in places such as Dvaraka and Hastinapura. Except for Vrindavana, all the places of Krishna's pastimes are called puras (towns). Mathura and Hastinapura, the capital of the Kurus, are both puras. Personalities like Arjuna, Bhima, Draupadi and Sridama Brahmana are counted among Krishna's fraternal devotees in the puras.
How the sons of Pandu, the Pandavas, enjoy Krishna's association is described as follows: "When Sri Krishna arrived in Indraprastha, the capital of the Kurus, Maharaja Yudhishthira immediately came out to smell the flavor of Krishna's head." It is the Vedic custom that a superior smells the heads of his subordinates when the subordinates offer respect to the superior by touching his feet. Similarly, Arjuna and Bhima embraced Krishna with great jubilation, and the two younger brothers, namely Nakula and Sahadeva, touched the lotus feet of Krishna with tears in their eyes and offered their respects. In this way all the five Pandava brothers enjoyed the fraternal friendship of Krishna in transcendental mellow. Of the five Pandavas, Arjuna is the most intimately connected with Krishna. He has a nice bow called Gandiva in his hand. His thighs are compared to the trunks of elephants, and his eyes are always reddish. When Krishna and Arjuna are together on a chariot, they become celestial beauties, pleasing to the eyes of everyone. It is said that once Arjuna was lying on his bed with his head upon Krishna's lap and was talking and joking with Krishna in great relaxation, enjoying Krishna's company with smiling and great satisfaction.
As far as the vayasyas (friends) in Vrindavana are concerned, they become greatly distressed when they cannot see Krishna even for a moment.
There is the following prayer by a devotee for the vayasyas in Vrindavana: "All glories to Krishna's vayasyas, who are just like Krishna in their age, qualities, pastimes, dress and beauty. They are accustomed to playing on their flutes made of palm leaves, and they all have buffalo-horn bugles ornamented like Krishna's with jewels such as indranila and with gold and coral. They are always jubilant like Krishna. May these glorious companions of Krishna always protect us!"
The vayasyas in Vrindavana are in such intimate friendship with Krishna that sometimes they think themselves as good as Krishna. Here is an instance of such friendly feeling: When Krishna was holding up Govardhana Hill with His left hand, the vayasyas said, "Dear friend, You have been standing for the last seven days and nights without any rest. This is very troublesome for us, because we see that You have undertaken a severely laborious task. We think, therefore, that You need not continue to stand in that way holding the hill. You can just transfer it onto Sudama's hand. We are very much aggrieved to see You in this position. If you think that Sudama is not able to support Govardhana Hill, then at least You should change hands. Instead of supporting it with Your left hand, please transfer it to Your right hand, so that we can give Your left hand a massage." This is an instance of intimacy, showing how much the vayasyas considered themselves to be equal to Krishna.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse 11, Sukadeva Gosvami tells King Parikshit, "My dear King, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the learned transcendentalist, He is the supreme happiness for the impersonalist, He is the supreme worshipable Deity for the devotee, and He is just like an ordinary boy to one who is under the spell of maya. And just imagine -- these cowherd boys are now playing with the Supreme Person as though they were on an equal level! By this anyone can understand that these boys must have accumulated heaps of the results of pious activities to enable them to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in such intimate friendship."
There is a description of Krishna's feeling for His vayasyas in Vrindavana. He once said to Balarama, "My dear brother, when My companions were being devoured by the Aghasura, hot tears poured down from My eyes. And as they were washing My cheeks, My dear elder brother, for at least one moment I completely lost Myself."
Within Gokula, Krishna's vayasyas are generally divided into four groups: (1) well-wishers, (2) friends, (3) confidential friends and (4) intimate friends. Krishna's well-wisher friends are a little bit older than Krishna, and they have some parental affection for Him. Because of their being older than Krishna, they always try to protect Him from any harm. As such, they sometimes bear weapons so that they can chastise any mischievous persons who want to do harm to Krishna. Counted among the well-wisher friends are Subhadra, Mandalibhadra, Bhadravardhana, Gobhata, Yaksha, Indrabhata, Bhadranga, Virabhadra, Mahaguna, Vijaya and Balabhadra. They are older than Krishna and are always thinking of His welfare.
One of the elderly friends said, "My dear Mandalibhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you were running toward Arishtasura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You unnecessarily bearing that heavy plow? My dear Vijaya, don't be unnecessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no need to make these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely you will see that it is only a thundercloud upon Govardhana Hill; it is not the Arishtasura in the shape of a bull, as you have imagined." These older, well-wishing friends of Krishna had imagined a large cloud to be the Arishtasura, appearing in the shape of a huge bull. In the midst of their excitement one of them ascertained that it was actually only a cloud on Govardhana Hill. He therefore informed the others not to take the trouble of worrying about Krishna, because there was no present danger from Arishtasura.
Among the well-wisher friends, Mandalibhadra and Balabhadra are the chiefs. Mandalibhadra is described as follows. His complexion is yellowish, and his dress is very attractive. He always carries a stick of various colors. He wears a peacock feather on his head and always looks very beautiful. Mandalibhadra's attitude is revealed in this statement: "My dear friends, our beloved Krishna is now very tired from working with the cows in the pasturing grounds and from traveling all over the forests. I can see that He is very fatigued. Let me massage His head silently while He is taking rest in His house. And you, Subala -- you just massage His thighs."
One devotee described the personal beauty of Baladeva as follows "Let me take shelter of the lotus feet of Balarama, whose beauty is enhanced by the earrings touching His cheeks. His face is decorated with tilaka made from kasturi [musk], and His broad chest is decorated with a garland of gunja [small conchshells]. His complexion is as white as an autumn cloud, He wears garments of blue color, and His voice is very grave. His arms are very long, touching His thighs, and He has shown His great strength by killing the Pralamba demon. Let me take shelter of this chivalrous Balarama."
Baladeva's affection for Krishna is illustrated in this statement to Subala: "My dear friend, please inform Krishna not to go to Kaliya's lake today. Today is His birthday, and so I wish to go along with mother Yasoda to bathe Him. Tell Him He should not leave the house today." This shows how Balarama, Krishna's elder brother, took care of Krishna with parental love, within the scope of fraternal affection.
Friends who are younger than Krishna, who are always attached to Him and who give Him all kinds of service are called ordinary friends, or, simply, friends. Such ordinary friends are called sakhas, and the names of some sakhas are Visala, Vrishabha, Ojasvi, Devaprastha, Varuthapa, Maranda, Kusumapida, Manibandha and Karandhama. All of these sakha friends of Krishna seek only to serve Him. Sometimes some of them would rise early in the morning and immediately go to Krishna's place and wait at the door to see Krishna and to accompany Him to the pasturing grounds. In the meantime, Krishna would be dressed by mother Yasoda, and when she would see a boy standing at the door, she would call him, "Well, Visala, why are you standing there? Come here!" So with the permission of mother Yasoda, he would immediately enter the house. And while mother Yasoda was dressing Krishna, he would try to help put on Krishna's ankle bells, and Krishna would jokingly strike him with His flute. Then mother Yasoda would call, "Krishna, what is this? Why are You teasing Your friend?" And Krishna would laugh, and the friend would also laugh. These are some of the activities of Krishna's sakhas. Sometimes the sakhas would take care of the cows who were going hither and thither. They would tell Krishna, "Your cows were going off here and there," and Krishna would thank them.
Sometimes when Krishna and His sakhas went to the pasturing ground, Kamsa would send a demon to kill Krishna. Therefore, almost every day there was a fight with some different kind of demon. After fighting with a demon, Krishna would feel fatigued, the hairs on His head would be scattered, and the sakhas would immediately come and try to relieve Him in different ways. Some friends would say, "My dear Visala, please take this fan of lotus leaves and fan Krishna so that He may feel some comfort. Varuthapa, you just brush the scattered hairs on Krishna's head which have fallen upon His face. Vrishabha, don't talk unnecessarily! Immediately massage Krishna's body. His arms have become tired from fighting and wrestling with that demon. Oh, just see how our friend Krishna has become tired!" These are some examples of the treatment given to Krishna by the sakhas.
One of the sakhas, known as Devaprastha, is described as follows. He is very strong, a ready scholar, and is very expert in playing ball. He wears a white dress, and he ties his hair into a bunch with a rope. Whenever there is a fight between Krishna and the demons, Devaprastha is the first to help, and he fights just like an elephant.
One of the gopis once said to her friend, "My dear beautiful friend, when Krishna, the son of Maharaja Nanda, was taking rest within the cave of a hill, He was keeping His head on the arms of Sridama, and He was putting His left hand on Dama's chest. Taking this opportunity, Devaprastha, out of his strong affection for Krishna, immediately began to massage His legs." Such are the activities of Krishna's friends out on the pasturing grounds.
The more confidential friends are called priya-sakhas and are almost Krishna's age. Because of their very confidential friendship, their behavior is only on the basis of pure friendship. The behavior of other friends is on the ground of paternal love or servitude, but the basic principle of the confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level. Some confidential friends are as follows: Sridama, Sudama, Dama, Vasudama, Kinkini, Stoka-krishna, Amsu, Bhadrasena, Vilasi, Pundarika, Vitanka and Kalavinka. By their various activities in different pastimes, all of these friends used to give transcendental pleasure to Krishna.
The behavior of these confidential friends is described by a friend of Radharani who told Radharani, "My dear graceful Radharani, Your intimate friend Krishna is also served by His intimate boyfriends. Some of them cut jokes with Him in mild voices and please Him very much by this." For example, Krishna had one brahmana friend whose name was Madhumangala. This boy would joke by playing the part of a greedy brahmana. Whenever the friends ate, he would eat more than all others, especially laddus, of which he was very fond. Then after eating more laddus than anyone else, Madhumangala would still not be satisfied, and he would say to Krishna, "If You give me one more laddu, then I shall be pleased to give You my blessings so that Your friend Radharani will be very much pleased with You." The brahmanas are supposed to give blessings to the vaisyas (farming and merchant caste), and Krishna presented Himself as the son of Maharaja Nanda, a vaisya; so the brahmana boy was right in giving blessings to Krishna. Thus Krishna was very pleased by His friend's blessings, and He would supply him with more and more laddus.
Sometimes a confidential friend would come before Krishna and embrace Him with great affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and cover Krishna's eyes with his hands. Krishna would always feel very happy by such dealings with His confidential friends.
Out of all these confidential friends, Sridama is considered to be the chief. Sridama used to put on a yellow-colored dress. He would carry a buffalo horn, and his turban was of reddish, copper color. His bodily complexion was blackish, and around his neck there was a nice garland. He would always challenge Krishna in joking friendship. Let us pray to Sridama to bestow his mercy upon us!
Sometimes Sridama used to address Krishna, "Oh, You are so cruel that You left us alone on the bank of the Yamuna, and we were all mad from not seeing You there! Now it is our great fortune that we are able to see You here. If You want to pacify us, You must embrace each one of us with Your arms. But believe me, my dear friend, a moment's absence from You creates great havoc, not only for us but for the cows also. Everything becomes disarranged, and we become mad after You."
There are other friends who are still more confidential. They are called priya-narma, or intimate friends. Counted among the priya-narma friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva, Vasanta and Ujjvala. There was talk among the friends of Radharani, the gopis, about these most intimate friends. One gopi addressed Radharani thus: "My dear Krisangi [delicate one], just see how Subala is whispering Your message into Krishna's ear, how he is delivering the confidential letter of Syama-dasi silently into Krishna's hand, how he is delivering the betel nuts prepared by Palika into Krishna's mouth, and how he is decorating Krishna with the garland prepared by Taraka. Did you know, my dear friend, that all these most intimate friends of Krishna are always engaged in His service in this way?" Out of the many intimate priya-narmas, Subala and Ujjvala are considered to be the most prominent.
Subala's body is described as follows. His complexion is just like molten gold. He is very, very dear to Krishna. He always has a garland around his neck, and he wears yellow clothing. His eyes are just like lotus flower petals, and he is so intelligent that by his talking and his moral instructions all the other friends take the highest pleasure. Let us all offer our respectful obeisances unto Krishna's friend Subala!
The degree of intimacy shared by Krishna and Subala can be understood by the fact that the talks between them were so confidential that no one else could understand what they were saying.
The description of Ujjvala, another intimate friend, is given as follows. Ujjvala always wears some garment of orange color, and the movements of his eyes are always very restless. He likes to decorate himself with all kinds of flowers, his bodily hue is almost like Krishna's, and on his neck there is always a necklace of pearls. He is always very dear to Krishna. Let us all worship Ujjvala, the most intimate friend of Krishna!
About the confidential service of Ujjvala, this statement is to be found, addressed by Radharani to one of Her friends: "My dear friend, it is impossible for Me to keep My prestige! I wanted to avoid talking to Krishna anymore -- but just see! There again is His friend Ujjvala, coming to Me with his canvassing work. His entreaties are so powerful that it is very difficult for a gopi to resist her love for Krishna, even though she may be very bashful, devoted to her family duties and most faithful to her husband."
The following is a statement by Ujjvala, showing his jubilant nature: "My dear Krishna, O killer of Aghasura, You have extended Your loving affairs so much that You can be compared to the great ocean, which is without limitations. At the same time, the young girls of the world, who are all searching after the perfect lover, have become just like rivers running into this ocean. Under the circumstances, all these rivers of young girls may try to divert their courses to some other place, but at the end they must come unto You."
Among the groups of different friends of Krishna, some are well known from various scriptures, and some are well known by popular tradition. There are three divisions among Krishna's friends: some are eternally in friendship with Krishna, some are elevated demigods, and some are perfected devotees. In all of these groups there are some who by nature are fixed in Krishna's service and are always engaged in giving counsel; some of them are very fond of joking and naturally cause Krishna to smile by their words; some of them are by nature very simple, and by their simplicity they please Lord Krishna; some of them create wonderful situations by their activities, apparently against Krishna; some of them are very talkative, always arguing with Krishna and creating a debating atmosphere; and some of them are very gentle and give pleasure to Krishna by their sweet words. All of these friends are very intimate with Krishna, and they show expertise in their different activities, their aim always being to please Krishna.
Chapter 42: Fraternal Loving Affairs
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Nectar of Devotion
Krishna's pauganda age can be further divided into three periods -- namely the beginning, middle and end. In the beginning of the pauganda age there is a very nice reddish luster on His lips, His abdomen is very thin, and on His neck are circles like those on a conchshell. Sometimes, some outside visitors would return to Vrindavana to see Krishna and, upon seeing Him again, would exclaim, "My dear Mukunda, Your beauty is gradually increasing, just like the leaf on a banyan tree! My dear lotus-eyed one, Your neck is gradually manifesting circles like those of the conchshell. And in the shining moonlight Your teeth and cheeks are competing with the padmaraga jewels in their beautiful arrangement. I am sure that Your beautiful bodily development is now giving much pleasure to Your friends."
At this age Krishna was garlanded with various kinds of flowers. He used to put on a silk dress, colored with various kinds of dye. Such beautiful decorations are considered cosmetics for Krishna. Krishna would wear this dress when He used to go into the forest to tend the cows. Sometimes He would wrestle there with His different friends, and sometimes they would dance all together in the forest. These are some of the specific activities of the pauganda age.
The cowherd friends of Krishna were so happy in His company that they expressed their transcendental feelings within themselves thus: "Dear Krishna, You are always busy tending the cows which are scattered all over beautiful Vrindavana. You have a beautiful garland, a small conchshell, a peacock feather on Your turban, yellow-colored silk cloth, decorations of karnikara flowers on Your ears and a mallika flower garland on Your chest. Appearing so beautiful, when You pretend, just like an actor, to be fighting with us, You give us unlimited transcendental bliss."
When Krishna is more grown up, in the middle age of pauganda, His nails become finely sharp, and His chubby cheeks become lustrous and round. On the two sides of His waist above His belt there are three distinct lines of folded skin, called trivali.
The cowherd boyfriends of Krishna felt very proud of their association with Him. At that time the tip of His nose defeated the beauty of sesame flowers, the luster of His cheeks defeated the glow of pearls, and the two sides of His body were exquisitely beautiful. In this age Krishna wore a silk dress that glittered like lightning, His head was decorated with a silk turban covered with gold lace, and in His hand He carried a stick about fifty-six inches long.* Seeing this exquisitely beautiful dress of Krishna, one devotee addressed his friend in this manner: "My dear friend, just look at Krishna! See how He is carrying in His hand a stick which is bound up and down with golden rings, how His turban with golden lace is showing such a beautiful luster, and how His dress is giving His friends the highest transcendental pleasure!"
At the end of Krishna's pauganda age, Krishna's hair sometimes hangs down to His hips, and sometimes it becomes scattered. In this age His two shoulders become higher and broader, and His face is always decorated with marks of tilaka. When His beautiful hair scatters over His shoulders, it appears to be a goddess of fortune embracing Him, and this embracing is highly relished by His friends. Subala once addressed Him in this way: "My dear Kesava, Your round turban, the lotus flower in Your hand, the vertical marks of tilaka on Your forehead, Your kumkum-flavored musk and all of Your beautiful bodily features are defeating me today, although I am usually stronger than You or any of our friends. Since this is so, I do not know how these features of Your body can fail to defeat the pride of all the young girls of Vrindavana. When I am so defeated by this beauty, what chance is there for those who are naturally very simple and flexible?"
At this age Krishna took pleasure in whispering into the ears of His friends, and the subject of His talks was the beauty of the gopis, who were just tarrying before them. Subala once addressed Krishna thus: "My dear Krishna, You are very cunning. You can understand the thoughts of others; therefore I am whispering within Your ear that all of these five gopis, who are most beautiful, have been attracted by Your dress. And I believe that Cupid has entrusted them with the responsibility of conquering You." In other words, the beauty of the gopis was capable of conquering Krishna, although Krishna is the conqueror of all universes.
The symptoms of the kaisora age have already been described, and it is at this age that devotees generally most appreciate Krishna. Krishna with Radharani is worshiped as Kisora-kisori. Krishna does not increase His age that although He is the oldest personality and has innumerable different forms, His original form is always youthful. In the pictures of Krishna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra we can see that He is youthful, although at that time He was old enough to have sons, grandsons and great-grandsons. The cowherd boyfriends of Krishna once said, "Dear Krishna, You need not decorate Your body with so many ornaments. Your transcendental features are themselves so beautiful that You do not require any ornamentation." At this age, whenever Krishna begins to vibrate His flute early in the morning, all of His friends immediately get up from bed just to join Him in going to the pasturing grounds. One of the friends once said, "My dear cowherd friends, the sound of Krishna's flute from above Govardhana Hill is telling us that we need not go to search Him out on the bank of the Yamuna."
Parvati, the wife of Lord Siva, told her husband, "My dear Pancamukha [five-faced], just look at the Pandavas! After hearing the sound of Krishna's conchshell, known as Pancajanya, they have regained their strength and are just like lions."
At this age, Krishna once dressed Himself up exactly like Radharani, just to create fun among His friends. He put on golden earrings, and because He was blackish, He smeared the pulp of kumkum all over His body in order to become as fair as She. By seeing this dress, Krishna's friend Subala became very astonished.
Krishna played with His intimate friends sometimes by fighting or wrestling with their arms, sometimes by playing ball and sometimes by playing chess. Sometimes they carried one another on their shoulders, and sometimes they exhibited their expertness at whirling logs. And the cowherd friends used to please Krishna by sitting together with Him on couches or on swings, by lying together on their beds, by joking together and by swimming in the pool. All these activities are called anubhava. Whenever all the friends would assemble in the company of Krishna, they would immediately engage in all these functions, especially in dancing together. Regarding their wrestling, one friend once asked Krishna, "My dear friend, O killer of the Agha demon, You are very proudly wandering among Your friends trying to exhibit Your arms as very strong. Is it that You are envious of me? I know that You cannot defeat me in wrestling, and I also know that You were sitting idly for a long time because You were hopeless of defeating me."
All the friends were very daring and would risk any difficulty, because they were confident that Krishna would help them to be victorious in all adventures. They used to sit together and advise one another what to do, sometimes inducing one another to be engaged in welfare work. Sometimes they would offer betel nuts to one another, decorate one another's faces with tilaka or smear pulp of candana on one another's bodies. Sometimes, for the sake of amusement, they used to decorate their faces in strange ways. Another business of the friends was that each of them wanted to defeat Krishna. Sometimes they used to snatch His clothing or snatch away the flowers from His hands. Sometimes one would try to induce another to decorate his body for him, and failing this, they were always ready to fight, challenging one another to combat in wrestling. These were some of the general activities of Krishna and His friends.
Another important pastime of the friends of Krishna was that they served as messengers to and from the gopis; they introduced the gopis to Krishna and canvassed for Krishna. When the gopis were in disagreement with Krishna, these friends would support Krishna's side in His presence -- but when Krishna was not present, they would support the side of the gopis. In this way, sometimes supporting one side, sometimes the other, they would talk very privately, with much whispering in the ears, although none of the business was very serious.
The servants of Krishna were sometimes engaged in collecting flowers, decorating His body with valuable ornaments and trinkets, dancing before Him, singing, helping Him herd the cows, massaging His body, preparing flower garlands and sometimes fanning His body. These were some of the primary duties of the servants of Krishna. The friends and servants of Krishna were combined together in serving Him, and all of their activities are known as anubhava.
When Krishna came out from the Yamuna after chastising the Kaliya-naga, Sridama wanted to embrace Him first, but he could not raise his arms because of his great feeling of respect.
When Krishna used to play on His flute, the vibration appeared just like the roaring of clouds in the sky during the constellation of Svati. According to Vedic astronomical calculation, if there is rain during the constellation of the Svati star, any rain falling on the sea will produce pearls, and rain falling on a serpent will produce jewels. Similarly, when Krishna's flute roared like a thundercloud under the Svati constellation, the resulting perspiration on Sridama's body appeared to be just like pearls.
When Krishna and Subala were embracing one another, Srimati Radharani became a little envious, and hiding Her hot temperament She said, "My dear Subala, you are very fortunate because even in the presence of superiors you and Krishna have no hesitation in putting your arms on each other's shoulders. I think it must be admitted that in your previous lives you have succeeded in many kinds of austerities." The idea is that although Radharani was accustomed to putting Her arms on Krishna's shoulders, it was not possible for Her to do such a thing in the presence of Her superiors, whereas Subala could do so freely. Radharani therefore praised his good fortune.
When Krishna entered the lake of Kaliya, His intimate friends became so perturbed that their bodily colors faded, and they all produced horrible gurgling sounds. At that time all of them fell down on the ground as if unconscious. Similarly, when there was a forest fire, all of Krishna's friends neglected their own protection and surrounded Krishna on all sides to protect Him from the flames. This behavior of the friends toward Krishna is described by thoughtful poets as vyabhicari. In vyabhicari ecstatic love for Krishna there is sometimes madness, dexterity, fear, laziness, jubilation, pride, dizziness, meditation, disease, forgetfulness and humbleness. These are some of the common symptoms in the stage of vyabhicari ecstatic love for Krishna.
When there are dealings between Krishna and His friends which are completely devoid of any feelings of respect and they all treat one another on an equal level, such ecstatic love in friendship is called sthayi. When one is situated in this confidential friendly relationship with Krishna, one shows symptoms of love such as attraction, affection, affinity and attachment. An example of sthayi was exhibited when Arjuna told Akrura, "My dear son of Gandini, please ask Krishna when I shall be able to embrace Him in my arms."
When there is full knowledge of Krishna's superiority and yet in dealings with Him on friendly terms respectfulness is completely absent, that stage is called affection. There is one brilliant example of this affection. When the demigods, headed by Lord Siva, were offering respectful prayers to Krishna, describing the glorious opulences of the Lord, Arjuna stood before Him with his hand on His shoulders and brushed the dust from His peacock feather.
When the Pandavas were banished by Duryodhana and forced to live incognito in the forest, no one could trace out where they were staying. At that time, the great sage Narada met Lord Krishna and said, "My dear Mukunda, although You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-powerful person, by making friendship with You the Pandavas have become bereft of their legitimate right to the kingdom of the world -- and, moreover, they are now living in the forest incognito. Sometimes they must work as ordinary laborers in someone else's house. These symptoms appear to be very inauspicious materially, but the beauty is that the Pandavas have not lost their faith and love for You, in spite of all these tribulations. In fact, they are always thinking of You and chanting Your name in ecstatic friendship."
Another example of acute affection for Krishna is given in the Tenth Canto, Fifteenth Chapter, verse 18, of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the pasturing ground Krishna felt a little tired and wanted to take rest, so He lay down on the ground. At that time, many cowherd boys assembled there and with great affection began to sing suitable songs so that Krishna would rest very nicely.
There is a nice example of the friendship between Krishna and Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. When the fighting was going on, Asvatthama, the son of Dronacarya, unceremoniously attacked Krishna, although according to the prevailing rules of chivalry one's chariot driver should never be attacked by the enemy. Asvatthama behaved heinously in so many ways that he did not hesitate to attack Krishna's body, although Krishna was acting only as charioteer for Arjuna. When Arjuna saw that Asvatthama was releasing various kinds of arrows to hurt Krishna, he immediately stood in front of Krishna to intercept all of them. At that time, although Arjuna was being harmed by those arrows, he felt an ecstatic love for Krishna, and the arrows appeared to him like showers of flowers.
There is another instance of ecstatic love for Krishna in friendship. Once when a cowherd boy named Vrishabha was collecting flowers from the forest to prepare a garland to be offered to Krishna, the sun reached its zenith, and although the sunshine was scorching hot, Vrishabha felt it to be like the moonshine. That is the way of rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord; when devotees are put into great difficulties -- even like the Pandavas, as described above -- they feel all their miserable conditions to be great facilities for serving the Lord.
Another instance of Arjuna's friendship with Krishna was described by Narada, who reminded Krishna, "When Arjuna was learning the art of shooting arrows, he could not see You for so many days. But when You arrived there, he stopped all His activities and immediately embraced You." This means that even though Arjuna was engaged in learning about the military art, he had not forgotten Krishna for a moment, and as soon as there was an opportunity to see Krishna, Arjuna immediately embraced Him.
One servant of Krishna named Patri once addressed Him like this: "My dear Lord, You protected the cowherd boys from the hunger of the Aghasura demon, and You protected them from the poisonous effects of the Kaliya snake. And You also saved them from the fierce forest fire. But I am suffering from Your separation, which is more severe than the hunger of Aghasura, the poison of Lake Kaliya and the burning of the forest fire. So why should You not protect me from the pangs of separation?" Another friend once told Krishna, "My dear enemy of Kamsa, since You have left us, the heat of separation has become extraordinary. And this heat is felt more severely when we understand that in Bhandiravana You are being refreshed by the waves of the cooling river known as Bhanu-tanaya [Radharani]." The purport is that when Krishna was engaged with Radharani, the cowherd boys headed by Subala were feeling great separation, and that was unbearable for them.
Another friend addressed Krishna thus: "My dear Krishna, O killer of Aghasura, when You left Vrindavana to kill King Kamsa in Mathura, all the cowherd boys became bereft of their four bhutas [the elements earth, water, fire and space]. And the fifth bhuta, the air, was flowing very rapidly within their nostrils." When Krishna went to Mathura to kill King Kamsa, all the cowherd boys became so afflicted by the separation that they almost died. When a person is dead it is said that he has given up the five elements, known as bhutas, as the body again mixes with the five elements from which it was prepared. In this case, although the four elements earth, water, fire and ether were already gone, the remaining element, air, was still very prominent and was blowing through their nostrils furiously. In other words, after Krishna left Vrindavana, the cowherd boys were always anxious about what would happen in His fight with King Kamsa.
Another friend once informed Krishna, "When one of Your friends was feeling much separation from You, there were tears covering his lotus eyes, and so the black drones of sleep became discouraged from entering his eyes and left that place." When there is a lotus flower, the black drones fly into it to collect honey. The eyes of Krishna's friend are compared to the lotus flower, and because they were full of tears the black drones of sleep could not collect honey from his lotus eyes and therefore left the place. In other words, because he was too much afflicted, his eyes were full of tears, and he could not sleep. This is an example of staying up at night because of separation from Krishna.
An example of helplessness is described in the following statement: "Due to Krishna's departure from Vrindavana to Mathura, Krishna's dearest cowherd boys felt as mentally light as possible. They were like fragments of cotton, lighter than the air, and were all floating in the air without any shelter." In other words, the minds of the cowherd boys became almost vacant on account of Krishna's separation. An example of impatience was also shown by the cowherd boys when Krishna went to Mathura. Out of the sorrow of separation, all these boys forgot to take care of their cowherding and tried to forget all the melodious songs they used to sing in the pasturing ground. At last they had no desire to live anymore, being separated from Krishna.
An example of stillness was described by a friend of Krishna's who informed Him in Mathura that all the cowherd boys had become just like leafless trees on the tops of hills. They appeared almost naked, being skinny and frail, and did not carry any fruits or flowers. He informed Krishna that all the cowherd boys residing in Vrindavana were as still as the trees at the tops of hills. Sometimes they felt diseased from their separation from Krishna, and being so greatly disappointed, they were aimlessly wandering on the banks of the Yamuna.
There is also an example of madness caused by separation from Krishna. When Krishna was absent from Vrindavana, all the cowherd boys became bewildered, and having given up all kinds of activities, they appeared to be mad and forgot all their regular business. They were sometimes lying down on the ground, sometimes rolling in the dust, sometimes laughing and sometimes running very swiftly. All of these symptoms gave them the appearance of madmen. One friend of Krishna's criticized Him by saying, "My dear Lord, You have become the King of Mathura after killing Kamsa, and that is very good news for us. But at Vrindavana all the residents have become blind from their continuous crying over Your absence. They are full only of anxieties and are not cheered at all by Your becoming the King of Mathura."
Sometimes there were also signs of death caused by separation from Krishna. Once Krishna was told, "My dear enemy of Kamsa, because of their separation from You, the cowherd boys are suffering too much, and they are now lying down in the valleys, breathing only slightly. In order to sympathize with the boys' regrettable condition, even the forest friends, the deer, are shedding tears."
In the Mathura-khanda chapter of the Skanda Purana, there is a description of Krishna and Balarama, surrounded by all the cowherd boys, always engaged in taking care of the cows and calves. When Krishna was met by Arjuna at a potter's shop in the city of Drupada-nagara, because of the similarity of their bodily features they made intimate friendship. This is an instance of friendship caused by the attraction of similar bodies.
In the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Seventy-first Chapter, verse 27, it is stated that when Krishna arrived in the city of Indraprastha, Bhima was so overwhelmed with joy that with tears in his eyes and a smiling face he immediately embraced his maternal cousin. Following him were his young brothers Nakula and Sahadeva, along with Arjuna, and they all became so overwhelmed at seeing Krishna that with full satisfaction they embraced the Lord, who is known as Acyuta (the infallible). There is a similar statement about the cowherd boys of Vrindavana. When Krishna was on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, all the cowherd boys came to see Him, wearing jeweled earrings in their ears. Becoming so greatly overjoyed, they extended their arms and embraced Krishna as their old friend. These are instances of full satisfaction in friendship with Krishna.
In the Tenth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse 12, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is stated that even after undergoing severe penances and austerities and performing the yogic principles, the great mystic yogis can hardly become eligible to achieve the dust of the lotus feet of Krishna, but the same personality of Godhead, Krishna, is easily available to the vision of the residents of Vrindavana. This means there is no comparison to the great fortune of these devotees. The friendly relationship of the cowherd boys with Krishna is a particular type of spiritual ecstasy almost similar to the ecstasy of conjugal love. This ecstasy of loving affairs between the cowherd boys and Krishna is very difficult to explain. Great expert devotees like Rupa Gosvami express their astonishment at the inconceivable feelings which are in Krishna and His cowherd boyfriends.
This particular type of ecstatic love shared between Krishna and His confidential friends further develops into parental love, and on from there it may develop into conjugal love, the most exalted humor, or mellow, of ecstatic love between Lord Krishna and His devotees.
from Jaiva Dharma chapter 5
Vrajanatha: What are the qualities of sakhya-rati (love in
friendship)?
Gosvami: When a devotee is firmly convinced that Krsna is his
equal, his love for Krsna is called sakhya-rati. In sakhya-rati
there are joking, laughing, and other like activities.

Vrajanatha: O master, now I understand the priti rasa (dasya
rasa). Now please explain the rasa that is called preya-bhakta
rasa or 'sakhya-rasa'.
Gosvami: In this rasa Krsna and His friends are the alambanas.
Krsna, who is the prince of Vraja, and who holds the flute in His
two hands, is the visaya. Krsna's friends are the asraya.
Vrajanatha: I wish to understand the different kinds of
friends Krsna has and their qualities and features.
Gosvami: Their forms, qualities, and garments are like those
of Krsna's servants. However, Krsna's friends are confident to
approach Krsna as equals. They are not filled with awe and
veneration like Krsna's servants. These friends are of two kinds:
1. friends in Dvaraka and 2. friends in Vraja. Arjun, Bhimsena,
Draupadi, and Sridama Vipra are among the friends in Dvaraka, and
the other cities. Among them, Arjuna is the best. The friends in
Vraja are always eager to see Krsna. Krsna is their very life.
They are the best of Krsna's friends. In Vraja, Krsna has four
kinds of friends: 1. suhrt (well-wishers), 2. sakha (friends), 3.
priya-sakha (confidential friends) and 4. priya-narma-vayasya
(intimate friends). Krsna's well-wisher friends are a little bit
older than Krsna and they have some parental affection for Him.
Because of their being older than Krsna, they always try to protect
Him from any harm. As such, they sometimes bear weapons so that
they can chastise any mischievous persons who want to harm Krsna.
Counted among the well wisher friends are Subhadra, Mandalibhadra,
Bhadravardhana, Gobhata, Yaksa, Indrabhata, Bhadranga, Virabhadra,
Mahaguna, Vijaya, and Balabhadra.* Among these friends Balabhadra
and Mandalibhadra are the best. Friends who are younger than
Krsna, who are always attached to Him, and who give Him all kinds
of service are called ordinary friends, or simply friends. Such
ordinary friends are called sakhas, and the names of some sakhas
are Visala, Vrsabha, Ojasvi, Devaprastha, Varuthapa, Maranda,
Kusumapida, Manibandha, and Karandhama.* Among them Devaprastha is
the best. The more confidential friends are called priya-sakhas
and are almost Krsna's age. Because of their very confidential
friendship, their behaviour is only on the basis of pure
friendship. Some confidential friends are as follows: Sridama,
Sudama, Dama, Vasudama, Kinkini, Stoka-krsna, Amsu, Bhadrasena,
Vilasi, Pundarika, Vitanka, and Kalavinka. There are other friends
who are more confidential than the suhrt, sakha and priya-sakha
friends. They are called priya-narma or intimate friends. Counted
among the priya-narma friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva,
Vasanta, and Ujjvala.* Among them, Ujjvala, who is always eager to
speak joking words, is the best. Among these friends some are
nitya-siddha (eternally perfect), others are suracara (demigods who
eventually attained this rasa) and others are sadhaka (human beings
who by performing devotional service eventually attained this
rasa). The friends serve Krsna in many different ways. Thus they
perform a wonderful variety of different activities.
Vrajanatha: What are the uddipanas of this rasa?
Gosvami: Krsna's age, His beauty, His bugle, His flute, His
conchshell, His pleasing attitude, His exceptional joking
abilities, His great power, and His playful activities all provoke
(uddipana) love in friendship for Him. When Krsna is spending His
days as a cowherd boy, he is in the kaumara and pauganda ages. In
the kaisora age, when Krsna appeared in Gokula, He acted as a
cowherd boy, and then, when He was sixteen, He went to Mathura.
Vrajanatha: I request that you explain to me the anubhavas of
Krsna's friends.
Gosvami: Krsna played with His intimate friends sometimes by
fighting or wrestling with their arms, sometime by playing ball,
and sometimes by playing chess. Sometimes they carried one another
on their shoulders and sometimes they exhibited their expertness at
whirling logs. And the cowherd friends used to please Krsna by
sitting together with Him on couches or on swings by lying together
on their beds, by joking together, and by swimming in the pool,* by
playing with the monkeys and other animals and by dancing, singing
and other activities. All these activities are called anubhava.
The suhrt friends used to sit together and advise one another what
to do, sometimes inducing one another to be engaged in welfare
work. The sakha friends would offer betel nuts to one another,
decorate one another's faces with tilaka, or smear pulp of candana
on one another's bodies. The priya-sakha friends wanted to defeat
Krsna. Sometimes they used to snatch His clothing or snatch away
the flowers from His hands. Sometimes they would try to induce one
another to decorate His body for Him, and failing this, they were
always ready to fight, challenging one another to combat in
wrestling. The priya-narma-sakha friends would make arrangements
for Krsna's madhura-lila. Like the servants, these friends also
decorated Krsna with forest flowers and fanned Him.
Vrajanatha: What are the sattvika bhavas and sancari-bhavas of
this rasa?
Gosvami: They are like those for dasya-rasa, only a little
more.
Vrajanatha: What is the sthayi-bhava for this rasa?
Gosvami: Srila Rupa Gosvami explains (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
3.3.105):
"When there are dealing between Krsna and His friends, which
are completely devoid of any feelings of respect and they all treat
one another on an equal level, such ecstatic love in friendship is
called sthayi."*
Vrajanatha: What does the word 'visrambha' mean here?
Gosvami: It is said (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 3.3.106):
"Visrambha means firm confidence that one is equal to his
friend."
Vrajanatha: How does this kind of friendship develop?
Gosvami: The stages of sakhya-rasa are: prema, sneha, raga and
pranaya.
Vrajanatha: What are the qualities of pranaya?
Gosvami: In this kind of love awe and veneration are
completely absent, even in situations where they might be
appropriate. Sakhya-rasa is very wonderful and unprecedented.
Sakhya-rasa is very different from either dasya-rasa or vatsalya-
rasa. Among all the rasa, sakhya-rasa is especially dear to Krsna.
And why not? Krsna and His friends have a very close relationship.
In some ways the spiritual ecstasy of sakhya-rasa is almost similar
to the ecstasy of madhurya-rasa.