Lalita Sasti : Appearance Day of Lalita Sakhi
Lalita is one of the principal eight sakhis of Srimati Radharani in Vrindavan. It means “playful and charming”. Srimati Radharani is also called as Lalita”. She is a very dear friend of Radha-Krsna. Lalita-sakhi and her assistants incarnate from time to time in the material realm to propogate the topmost mood of serving Radha-Krsna, namely to become a maid-servant of Srimati Radharani.
Rupa manjari (Rupa Goswami) is the assistant and follower of Lalita-sakhi; thus all who consider themselves as Rupanuga bhaktas (followers of Rupa Goswami) are ultimately the servants of lalita-devi and thus through the media of the parampara should always be longing to engage in the service of her lotus feet. When that day comes that we are able to please her, she will engage us in the intimate loving service of Sri Sri radha-Krsna according to our heart's desire.
Lalita-sakhi incarnated as Svarupa Damodara in the pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and acted as his personal secretary. "Sri Svarupa Damodara was the personification of ecstatic love, fully cognizant of the highest transcendental mellows in relationship with Lord Krsna. He directly represented Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu as His second expansion. In fact, no one could approach or present anything to Gauranga Mahaprabhu without his sanction. If someone wrote a book or composed verses and songs and wanted to recite them before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Svarupa Damodara would first examine them and then correctly present them. Only then would Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu agree to listen."
Information of Lalita Devi :
| Mother's Name: | Saradi |
|---|---|
| Father's Name: | Visoka |
| Husband's Name: | Bhairava |
| Complexion: | Like gorochana, a type of yellow pigment |
| Cloth: | Sikhi-piccha, like peacock feathers |
| Grove: | Her kunja to the North of Radha-kunda, named Lalitanandada, is colored tadid i,e, like lightening, with many ruby-studded features. |
| Service: | Her special seva is serving tambula, betel-nuts. |
| Age: | In the Nikunja-lila, her eternal age is 14 years, 8 months, 27 days; she is the eldest sakhi. |
| Mood: | Her bhava is khandita, or a jealous heroine who chastises her beloved. This pure mood is never manifest in relation to herself, however but only when there is a delay in the meeting of the Divine Couple. |
| Temperament: | Vama-prakhara, contrary and hot-tempered to enhance the pastimes of Radha & Krsna. |
| Favourite Instrument: | Vina |
| Favourite Tune: | Raga bhairava-kalingada |
| Maidservant: | Her chief assistant is Sri Rupa-manjari. |
| Girlfriends: | Her 8 closest sakhis are Ratna-prabha, Rati-kala, Subhadra, Bhadra-rekhika, Sumukhi, Dhanishtha, Kala-hamsi, Kalapini. |
Characteristics of Lalita Devi :
(1) The leader of all the sakhis of Srimati Radharani
(2) Very magnanimous like her father
(3) The instigator of most pastimes
(4) Always displays contrariness to Krsna's suggestions
(5) Frequently becomes angry and speaks outrageously insolent retorts to increase the intensity of the loving affairs between Radha & Krsna.
(6) Brilliant in composing and understanding riddles
(7) Unparalleled in fashioning things with flowers including awnings, dancing arenas, umbrellas, couches, bowers
(8) Expert in performing magic tricks and juggling.
Comments
I shared this article with my godbrother Uttamasloka Prabhu, and he pointed out several inaccuracies :
Uttamasloka Dasa <Lalita-sakhi and her assistants incarnate from time to time in the material realm to propogate the topmost mood of serving Radha-Krsna, namely to become a maid-servant of Srimati Radharani.>
They primarily descend with Lord Caitanya. I'm not aware of them descending in other circumstances. Where is the evidence for that?
And the 'topmost mood' of serving Radha is not to become a maidservant. One can also aspire to be a priya-sakhi, one of Radha's girlfriends, which is just as exalted and perhaps even more, according to Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's commentaries in Ujjvala-nilamani. Here is what Srila Prabhupada said in NOI, verse 8 purport:
And in the mādhurya-rasa, characterized by conjugal love, one can become like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī or Her lady friends such as Lalitā and Her serving maids (mañjarīs) like Rūpa and Rati. This is the essence of all instruction in the matter of devotional service.
<Rupa manjari (Rupa Goswami) is the assistant and follower of Lalita-sakhi; thus all who consider themselves as Rupanuga bhaktas (followers of Rupa Goswami) are ultimately the servants of lalita-devi and thus through the media of the parampara should always be longing to engage in the service of her lotus feet.>
This is more misinformation. The idea that only those who follow Rupa-manjari are 'Rupanugas' is completely bogus and that is not supported by any of the previous acaryas or Srila Prabhupada. Anyone and everyone who follows the teachings of Rupa Gosvami is a Rupanuga, regardless of which rasa they aspire for.
This is very nice, but there is no sastric reference as to where you copied all of this information from. Please add in all references to sastra. This is not the first time that I have seen quotes with no sastric reference on ISKCON Desire Tree. My desire is to see the references please. A lawyer quotes from statutes to show what he is saying is not made up but is authentic. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna