Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mālā-stotra 52

yasya priyau śruti-dharau kavi-loka-vīrau

mitrau dvi-janma-vara-padma-śarāv abhūtām

tenāmbujākṣa-caraṇāmbuja-ṣaṭ-padena

rājñā kṛtā kṛtir iyaḿ kulaśekhareṇa

SYNONYMS

yasya — whose; priyau — beloved; śruti-dharau — expert in knowledge of the Vedas; kavi — of poets; loka — in the society; vīrau — eminent leaders; mitrau — two friends; dvi-janma — of the brāhmaṇas; vara — superior; padma — of the lotus; śarau — stems; abhūtām — have become; tena — by him; ambuja-akṣa — of the lotus-eyed Lord; caraṇa-ambuja — at the lotus feet; ṣaṭ-padena — by the bee; rājñā — by the king; kṛtā — made; kṛtiḥ — composition; iyam — this; kulaśekhareṇa — by Kulaśekhara.

TRANSLATION

This work was composed by King Kulaśekhara, a bee at the lotus feet of the lotus-eyed Lord. The king's two beloved friends are the twin stems of the exquisite lotus of the brāhmaṇa community, expert Vedic scholars renowned as leaders of the community of poets.

PURPORT

Like a bee at the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, King Kulaśekhara has made honey in the form of his exquisite poetry, which overflows with nectarean descriptions of the Supreme Lord. He has also cried out to the Lord for deliverance from the ocean of material suffering. By using a wide repertoire of metaphors, and by speaking from the depth of sincere Vaiṣṇava feelings, he has made his readers indebted to him. Now they may also become bees and drink the honey of the Mukunda-mālā-stotra.

Among the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, one is that he is a kavi, or poet. The subject of a devotee's chanting and hearing comprises the superexcellent name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. The qualified kavi receives Kṛṣṇa consciousness faithfully in paramparā and renders it into excellent poems and discourses. Thus it is said of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that "it emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit [of the desire tree of Vedic literature] has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls" (Bhāg. 1.1.3). Describing the contribution of Śukadeva Gosvāmī to the Bhāgavatam, Prabhupāda writes, "The Vedic fruit which is mature and ripe in knowledge is spoken through the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is compared to the parrot not for his ability to recite the Bhāgavatam exactly as he heard it from his learned father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner that would appeal to all classes of men." Like Śukadeva, King Kulaśekhara has imbibed the Vedic conclusions and added to them his own taste of devotional mellows.

In his Govinda-līlāmṛta, Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja ends each chapter of his work with a statement similar to King Kulaśekhara's here. He writes, śrī-caitanya-padāravinda-madhupa-śrī-rūpa-sevā-phale: "This book is the ripened fruit of my service to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who is a bumblebee relishing honey at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu."

The honey-sweet nectarean rasa of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also expressed by Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura in his Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta (92):

madhuraḿ madhuraḿ vapur asya vibhor

madhuraḿ madhuraḿ vadanaḿ madhuram

madhu-gandhi mṛdu-smitam etad aho

madhuraḿ madhuraḿ madhuraḿ madhuram

"This transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa is very sweet, and His face is even sweeter. But His soft smile, which has the fragrance of honey, is sweeter still."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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