The Radhavallabha Songbook

[Nitaidas]

The Radhavallabha Songbook compiled by Guy Beck, PhD

This is another work that is nearly done. It contains 108 of the most central songs used by the Radhavallabha tradition in its liturgical worship. Each of t he songs has been recorded and in addition to a two CD set of samples, they are available in a complete set of 18 CDs that Dr. Beck has collected over a period of more than 20 years. The texts of the songs and their translations are gathered together in the book along with musical commentary by Dr. Beck. As the project draws to completion, I will post cover and sample versions of the book here along with some of the sample songs. We expect to finish this book by the end of November (2010).

[Nitaidas]

Here is the first song in the collection. It begins with a Sanskrit verse that usually opens all kirtans or samaj-gayans as they are called. I will post it and the words to the song with an English translation soon.

Here.

[Nitaidas]

sphuradvadanapaṅkajaḥ kanakakuṭadehadyutiḥ\\
praśastasukhasampadāṃ nidhirapūrvamānapradaḥ|\\
sakṛṣṇavṛṣabhānujācaraṇamādhurīcañcuraḥ\\
sadā madhuravākpaṭurjayati sādhuvaiyāsakiḥ||


He whose lotus face is glowing,\\
Whose skin shines like a sunlit peak,\\
Rarest honors he's bestowing,\\
Treasure-house of the joys most seek,\\
He who relishes ambrosia\\
At V\d{r}sabh\=anu's daughter's feet\\
Along with her much loved K\d{r}\d{s}\d{n}a,\\
He whose words are expertly sweet,\\
May sage Vy\=asa's holy son\\
Be known as the glorious one.\footnote{K\d{r}\d{s}\d{n}ad\=asa, second son of \'Sr{\=\i} Hita Hariva\d{m}\'sa,
{\it Kar\d{n}\=ananda} (1578 CE), verse 1.}

[Nitaidas]

The Spring Season in Vrndavana

madhu ritu vrindavana ananda na thora / \\
rajata nagari nava kusala kisora // \\
juthita jugala rupa-manjari rasala / \\
bithakita ali madhumadhavi gulala // \\
campaka bakula kula bibidha saroja / \\
ketuki medina mada mudita manoja // \\
rocaka rucira bahai trividha samara / \\
mukalita nuta nadata pika kira // \\
pavana pulina ghana manjula nikunja / \\
kisalaya sayana racita sukha punja // \\
manjira muraja dapha murali mridanga / \\
bajata upanga vina vara mukhacanga // \\
mrigamada malayaja kumakuma abira / \\
bandana agarasata surangita cira // \\
gavata sundari-hari sarasa dhamara / \\
pulakita khaga mriga bahata na vari // \\
jaya sri hita harivamsa hamsa-hamsini samaja / \\
aise ho karahu mila juga-juga raja //

Translation: Rupert Snell (1991, 206)

Joy is abundant in springtime V\d{r}ind\=avana, resplendent with young
skillful ladies and adroit youths. It is rich in two jasmines, in
beautiful buds and mango trees, and in bees worn out by rose and
spring jasmine. The god of love is delighted by groups of {\it
campaka} and {\it bakula} flowers, the various lotuses, and the
rapture of {\it ketak{\=\i}} and {\it medina}. A pleasant and
agreeable breeze of threefold nature blows, half-opened fresh blooms
are resonant with cuckoo and parrot. A bed of tender leaves is
created as a mass of delights in the dense and lovely bower by the
pure riverbank. Anklets, tambourine, frame-drum, flute, barrel-drum,
{\it upa\.nga}, noble {\it v{\=\i}\d{n}\=a} and mouth-harp resound.
Garments are colored by musk, sandal, saffron, red powder, {\it
bandana} and sap of aloe. The beautiful one and Hari sing a sweet
springtime song; birds and beasts are thrilled, and the river checks
its flow. Hita Hariva\d{m}\'sa, may the assembly of swan and pen rule
together thus from age to age!

[Nitaidas]

Here is the cover of the book.

[Nitaidas]

Here is another song sample from the Radhavallabha Songbook. It is another by Hita Harivamsa, himself.

Here.

Here are the words and translation:

prathama yathamati pranaun sri vrindavana atiramya\\
sri radhika kripa binu sabake manani agamya\\
vara yamuna jala sincana dinahi sarada-basanta\\
vividha bhanti sumanasa ke saurabha alikula manta\\
aruna nuta pallava para kujata kokila kira\\
nirtana karata sikhikula ati ananda adhira\\
bahata pavana ruci dayaka sitala-manda-sugandhu\\
aruna, nila, sita mukulita jahan tahan pusana-bandhu\\
atikamaniya virajata mandira navala nikunja\\
sevata sagana pritijuta dina minadhvaja-punja\\
rasika-rasi jahan khelata syama-syama kisora\\
ubhai-bahu-pariranjita uthe unide bhora\\
kanaka kapisa pata sobhita subhaga samvare anga\\
nila basana kamini ura kancuki kasumbhi suranga\\
tala rababa muraja dapha bajata madhura mridanga\\
sarasa ukati-gati sucata vara bansuri mukha canga\\
dou mili cancara gavata gauri raga alapi\\
manasa-mriga bala bodhata bhrikuti dhanusa driga campi\\
dou kara tarinu patakata latakata ita uta jata\\
ho-ho-hori bolata ati ananda kulakata\\
rasika lala para melata kamini bandana dhuri\\
piya picakarinu chirakata taki-taki kumakuma puri\\
kabahun-kabahun candana taru nirmita tarala hindola\\
cadhi dou jana jhulata phulata karata kalola\\
vara hindola jhakorana kamini adhika darata\\
pulaki-pulaki vepatha anga pritama ura lapatata\\
hita-cintaka nija-cerinu ura ananda na samata\\
nirakhi nipata nainana sukha trina torata bali jata\\
ati udara vivi sundara surata sura sukumara\\
jai sri hita harivamsa karau dina dou acala bihara


Translation: Rupert Snell (1991, 233-236)

Firstly, I bow as best I can to Śrī Vṛndāvana the most
pleasurable, which would be inaccessible to the minds of all but for
Śrī Rādhikā's favor. Irrigated by the Yamunā's excellent
water, autumn and spring endure there constantly, and swarms of bees
are drunk with the fragrance of many kinds of flowers. On ruddy young
shoots cuckoo and parrot warble, while troops of peacocks dance,
frenzied with delight. There flows a gentle breeze, cool, gentle, and
fragrant; reddish, blue and white lotuses are blooming in every place.
A most attractive dwelling adorns the fresh bower, and multitudes of
love gods ever serve joyfully with their attendants. Where the
youthful Śyāmā and Śyāma play in the lovers' round-dance,
the two delighted in each other's arms arise sleepily at dawn. [His]
blessed dark limbs are decorated in gold and tawny cloth; the
blue-clad loving lady has on her breast a bodice of fine saffron hue.
Cymbals, {\it rabab}, {\it muraja} and frame drum resound with the
sweet barrel-drum as in sweet proclamations excellent flute and
mouth-harp indicate the rhythm. The two sing a springtime song
together, tuning their voices to the Gaurī {\it rāga}. The bow
of the brow and the arc of the eye forcibly pierce the deer of the
mind [with the arrow of a glance]! Clashing cymbals together, the two
go swaying this way and that; ``Ho Ho Hori" they cry, calling out in
their great delight. The loving lady smears Lāla the voluptuary
with [yellow] {\it vandana} powder; taking aim again and again, the
lover sprinkles her with syringes filled with saffron. Sometimes a
lively swing is set up in a sandal tree; the two of them mount it and
swing to and fro, frolicking and blossoming with joy. The loving lady
is greatly alarmed by the lunges of that excellent swing, and with a
thrill of delight she wraps her quaking limbs around her beloved's
chest. Their well-wishing constant attendants feel an overflowing
joy; seeing how great is the pleasure of their eyes they make a
protective charm and dedicate themselves [to the pair]. Most
illustrious are these two beautiful ones, tender heroes of amorous
dalliance; Harivaṃśa, may the pair ever perform their
unremitting sport!

[Nitaidas]

Visit the website we have put up for Dr Beck's book. I will be posting more things there: pictures of the musicians and instruments, more music, pictures of the beautiful image Radhavallabha, and so forth. Plus there are links there to places where the book can be purchased. Every Vaishnava should have this collection.

You can get there Here.

[malati]

Glad you're back.

I have to get hold of the Caleb-Gita first (wonder when it will arrive) before I order Dr. Beck’s music book with sample cd. My only whinge is that being in Oz the cost of the postage is sometimes 50% - 100% of the price of the item itself, and that is not even an express postage. Do you know how much is the postage to Oz for the Beck's book? Btw, I broadcasted on Facebook the link to caleb-Gita Amazon.com order page. But of course, most on my fb network are IGMers, so I’m not holding my breath.

Out of curiousity (I'm through and through CV), how is the Vallabha sampradaya different from CV? Perhaps Dr Beck can give us a brief summary. Is he initiated into the sampradaya?

And my friend, check your email from time to time.

Regards

[Nitaidas]

Oct 28, 2011 14:18:39 GMT -6 malati said:

Glad you're back.

I have to get hold of the Caleb-Gita first (wonder when it will arrive) before I order Dr. Beck’s music book with sample cd. My only whinge is that being in Oz the cost of the postage is sometimes 50% - 100% of the price of the item itself, and that is not even an express postage. Do you know how much is the postage to Oz for the Beck's book? Btw, I broadcasted on Facebook the link to caleb-Gita Amazon.com order page. But of course, most on my fb network are IGMers, so I’m not holding my breath.

Out of curiousity (I'm through and through CV), how is the Vallabha sampradaya different from CV? Perhaps Dr Beck can give us a brief summary. Is he initiated into the sampradaya?

And my friend, check your email from time to time.

Regards

Hi Malati. Thanks for spreading the word. I understand that now the company that prints our books has a plant in Australia. They can print the book there and send it to you more quickly. Order it from Amazon.co.au That should insure that it gets printed there. Same with all our books, including Guy Beck's. They also have a plant in the UK for servicing the EU. They have recently become connected with companies in Brazil for South America. Only poor India and China remain. Perhaps they will use their Brazilian strategy there.

Yes, I have noticed that there has been a steady stream of new recipes and improved recipes coming from Oz. I will try my best to get them incorporated into the book at their proper places. It does somewhat complicate the process though. It would have been better to have submitted a more complete and carefully checked ms. I am working on the book. If I don't respond to every new recipe or correction, don't think that I have not received it. Everything gets to me.

Guy Beck is or was IGM. So from my point of view, he has yet to be initiated into CV. Still, he is a great musician and naturally was drawn to the Radhavallabha musical tradition which is closer to the classical form of Indian music than Bengali kirtan. As the story goes, Hita Harivamsa, the founder of RV, was a disciple of Gopala Bhatta Goswami. At some point he had a vision of RK lila in which Radha gave him some prasadi betal nut. He accepted it and was thrown out of the CV tradition for taking betal nut. Where that story comes from, I am not sure. It is probably a later fabrication. Anyway, CV and RV are very close, sharing an important text, the Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi. There are some other minor differences too. I think I recall a post somewhere on this forum pointing to a place where Jagat had some things to say about that. Anyone else recall this? We are sister traditions along with the Vallabha tradition, the Haridasi tradition, the Nimbarka tradition, and so forth. The songs collected in Beck's book are really lovely and the recordings are, well how can one describe them? Alaukika? If you listen carefully enough you can probably hear Radhika's ankle bells in the background. CV does not have a monopoly on R & K.

[vkaul1]

Two things from Jagat that may be of interest.

jagadanandadas.blogspot.com/2011/10/charisma-and-legitimacy-in-vaishnava.html . Good article from Jagadananda Das on the four sampradaya doctrine and its possible origins.

And I had asked him another question, Jagat ji, given that Nimbarka in his Vedanta Sutra commentary does not refer to neither Sankara or Ramanuja, some scholars say that he predated them. Secondly, they believe that there were some later works that were attributed to Nimbarka that speak about Radha and they are not from the same author. What do you think of this?

I am sincerely confused about Nimbarka's dates and contributions. There is great competition in Vraj about several things. One is who first instituted Radha-Krishna worship. Others are the Rasa-lila tradition, the supremacy of Radha, sakhi-bhava, 84-kos parikrama, etc., etc. Many of these questions have clearly been fudged by messing with the historical data.

All I can say is that in the beginning of the 16th century in Vrindavan, there were a number of saints and sadhakas who were suddenly overwhelmed by a vision of Radha and Krishna devotion in madhura-rasa.

Who was first and who was second? Too close to call. Besides they all knew each other and probably hung out. I am biased in favor of Gaudiya positions on many, but I think the Goswamis were also influenced when they came to Vrindavan.

[Nitaidas]

Thanks for this Vivekji. I think it must have been you who posted that link that I recall to Jagat's discussion of the Radhavallabha tradition. You are the only one who posts things like that. Anyway, there was some subtle difference. I doubt that the RV tradition has anything like the manjari identity. But I don't know.

I think not citing Sankara or Ramanuja is pretty weak evidence of being before them. It seems pretty clear that Nimbarka is best dated to the 13th century. I have a short work of his called the Dasasloki, kind of a response to or parallel of Sankara's work of the same name. It has a commentary by Purusottama Acarya. I have posted and will continue to post some of that in an appropriate place in this forum. Actually, I want to post both even though it is highly unlikely that Sankara wrote the work attributed to him. It nevertheless has a nice commentary by Madhusudana Sarasvati on it. I think I started a translation of that at one point. There is an apocryphal story about Sri Visvanatha Cakravartin converting to the Nimbarka tradition towards the end of his life. It is mentioned in Klostermaier's translation of the Ragavartmacandrika, I believe.

[malati]

Nitaidasji

I ordered Caleb-Gita on 11 Oct on Amazon U.S. and my point is, it has not arrived yet. Good that the Beck’s book can be ordered via Amazon Oz, that would be a great savings cost on postage.

Would it be better for you to have my latest updated cookbook file? I can send by the same portal you downloaded the previous file; if it had become messier to work on it now. Would you like me to do that? And would you like me to remove all the pics and just send the text version of the file?

And btw, you are really a naughty meanie, when you said this. "Guy Beck is or was IGM. So from my point of view, he has yet to be initiated into CV."

Also, I am not a Chinese but in the interest of factual accuracy, China now is the second largest economy in the world and I think that your printer not having a branch there has nothing to do with economy (China is a giant market with 1.35 billion people) but has more to do with socio-political.



Vkaul
Thanks for that link to Jagat’s blog but I am a bit of a radical, I have boycotted J’s site a few years ago so I don’t visit it. Besides there are so many CV materials around that will last me a lifetime so I don’t need more sites to visit. Not that I’m saying his blog does not contain some or many truths, just that I don’t like to hear from a self-confessed sahajiya.

I’m currently reading an essay from Nitaidas’ site which I lately have rediscovered. www.bhajankutir.net/opening.html And have just finished his very nice Reassembling the Giant essay. There are so many great materials there.

Regards

[vkaul1]

Nov 1, 2011 11:27:09 GMT -6 Nitaidas said:

Thanks for this Vivekji. I think it must have been you who posted that link that I recall to Jagat's discussion of the Radhavallabha tradition. You are the only one who posts things like that. Anyway, there was some subtle difference. I doubt that the RV tradition has anything like the manjari identity. But I don't know.

I think not citing Sankara or Ramanuja is pretty weak evidence of being before them. It seems pretty clear that Nimbarka is best dated to the 13th century. I have a short work of his called the Dasasloki, kind of a response to or parallel of Sankara's work of the same name. It has a commentary by Purusottama Acarya. I have posted and will continue to post some of that in an appropriate place in this forum. Actually, I want to post both even though it is highly unlikely that Sankara wrote the work attributed to him. It nevertheless has a nice commentary by Madhusudana Sarasvati on it. I think I started a translation of that at one point. There is an apocryphal story about Sri Visvanatha Cakravartin converting to the Nimbarka tradition towards the end of his life. It is mentioned in Klostermaier's translation of the Ragavartmacandrika, I believe.

Actually I had seen this book www.amazon.com/gp/product/8121507944/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=8121511216&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=01E78WF7VXP6EXB02CAT Nimbarka; A Pre-Samkara Vedantin and His Philosophy" in the library and the author had given several reasons in support of this argument and many academics seems to back the author. The arguments are about the archaic style of Nimbarka's commentary, absence of any polemics against other Vedantin schools of his time, difference in style between later manuscripts attributed to Nimbarka that contain Radha etc among many other things he has mentioned.

In this article, that was also posted by Jagat ji, www.purebhakti.com/teachers/bhakti-yoga-masters/778-srila-bhakti-prajnana-kesava-gosvami.html In this lecture, Keshava Maharaja even deny that any person like Nimbarka existed and they distinguish between Nimbarka and Nimbadatya. And Nimbarka sampradaya had claimed that Mahaprabhu was initiated by Kesava Kashmiri and VCT was in Nimbarka Sampradaya. So there are certainly some documents to that affect.

[vkaul1]

Some more from Jagat ji:

But I heard one person with academic credentials (PhD) saying that sakhi/manjari bhava sadhana is an accretion into Gaudiya Vaishnavism coming through the Nimbarka sampradaya!!

I was wondering also if there was a Nimbarka connection to the Gaudya sampradaya. There is some circumstantial evidence, namely the 18-akshara mantra and Kama-gayatri, in particular the first. These things are found in Krama-dipika, which (may or may not be) a Nimbarki text (it is claimed now, but I find it hard to prove), which is also an important source for the Haribhaktivilasa.

The other thing is the role of the Kumaras in certain Pancharatra-Agama/late Upanishadic sources, particularly thinking of Gopala-tapani here, but also Sanatkumara-samhita and others. But again, I was surprised that Gaudiyas had four or five commentaries on GTU, but no Nimbarkis mentioned, though there are a few quotes from it in some texts of unknown date, but probably pre-Chaitanya. (Mantra-rahasya-shodasi, Vedanta-sutra-bhashya of KK, though haven't seen Shrinivas Acharya). I tried to plumb the depths of that one without much success.

Whatever the case, the importance of GTU in Nimbarka sampradaya seems minimal. Ranchor (Tatia Sthan?) writes a commentary in 18th, but it seems derivative of the Gaudiya commentaries. My question was, when did the 18-akshar mantra as principal diksha mantra tradition come into GV? In the introduction to Mantra-shodasi, which is attributed to Nimbarka himself, it is said that Nimbarkacharya initiated with this mantra. I would easily accept that this mantra tradition is older in Nimbarka sampradaya than Gaudiya, which started with ? Madhavendra Puri? Who knows?

[Nitaidas]

Nov 1, 2011 17:19:25 GMT -6 vkaul1 said:

Nov 1, 2011 11:27:09 GMT -6 Nitaidas said:

Thanks for this Vivekji. I think it must have been you who posted that link that I recall to Jagat's discussion of the Radhavallabha tradition. You are the only one who posts things like that. Anyway, there was some subtle difference. I doubt that the RV tradition has anything like the manjari identity. But I don't know.

I think not citing Sankara or Ramanuja is pretty weak evidence of being before them. It seems pretty clear that Nimbarka is best dated to the 13th century. I have a short work of his called the Dasasloki, kind of a response to or parallel of Sankara's work of the same name. It has a commentary by Purusottama Acarya. I have posted and will continue to post some of that in an appropriate place in this forum. Actually, I want to post both even though it is highly unlikely that Sankara wrote the work attributed to him. It nevertheless has a nice commentary by Madhusudana Sarasvati on it. I think I started a translation of that at one point. There is an apocryphal story about Sri Visvanatha Cakravartin converting to the Nimbarka tradition towards the end of his life. It is mentioned in Klostermaier's translation of the Ragavartmacandrika, I believe.

Actually I had seen this book www.amazon.com/gp/product/8121507944/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=8121511216&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=01E78WF7VXP6EXB02CAT Nimbarka; A Pre-Samkara Vedantin and His Philosophy" in the library and the author had given several reasons in support of this argument and many academics seems to back the author. The arguments are about the archaic style of Nimbarka's commentary, absence of any polemics against other Vedantin schools of his time, difference in style between later manuscripts attributed to Nimbarka that contain Radha etc among many other things he has mentioned.

In this article, that was also posted by Jagat ji, www.purebhakti.com/teachers/bhakti-yoga-masters/778-srila-bhakti-prajnana-kesava-gosvami.html In this lecture, Keshava Maharaja even deny that any person like Nimbarka existed and they distinguish between Nimbarka and Nimbadatya. And Nimbarka sampradaya had claimed that Mahaprabhu was initiated by Kesava Kashmiri and VCT was in Nimbarka Sampradaya. So there are certainly some documents to that affect.

Yeah. I looked at this and other sources. Absence is not a very strong proof for anything. So the fact that Nimbarka does not mention Sankara does not prove that he was earlier than Sankara. I also find that the evidence that Sankara mentioned Nimbarka is unconvincing. He mentions a bhedabheda view, but that does not mean it is the view of Nimbarka. There were other earlier Bhedabhedis. Moreover, Nimbarka is not mentioned by Ramanuja or Madhva or any of the later Advaitins like Vacaspati Misra and so forth. Therefore, the view that Nimbarka was a pre-Sankarite Vedanta is a bunch of hokum in my view. I also don't trust the credentials of this author. Look where he was educated and where he teaches. He is just a Nimbarki toady. Besides, what advantage would Nimbarka have if he were pre Sankara? Does that make what he says any more true or less false?