For Whom the Milkmaids Toll
The Evolution of Krishna’s Dāna-līlā
Keywords:
Dāna-līlā, Krishna, Rādhā, Bengali Vaishnavism, Śrī-kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, Gopāla-vijaya, Dāna-keli-kaumudī, Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Prema, Anurāga, Divine Love, Evolution of NarrativeAbstract
AbstractThis article traces the evolution of the Dāna-līlā, a popular pastime of Krishna involving the playful "taxing" of the Braj milkmaids, focusing on its transformations within Bengali Vaishnavism from the 15th to the 16th centuries. It examines three key textual representations: Baṛu Caṇḍīdāsa's Śrī-kṛṣṇa-kīrtana (SKK), Daivakīnandana Singh's Gopāla-vijaya (GV), and Rūpa Gosvāmī's Sanskrit Dāna-keli-kaumudī (DKK). The article argues that the advent of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and the theological developments initiated by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu led to a dissatisfaction with Caṇḍīdāsa's depiction, which featured a forceful and somewhat unrefined Krishna. This paved the way for more theologically nuanced and aesthetically refined versions like GV and ultimately DKK, which emphasizes the divine love (prema) of Rādhā as central to the līlā, shifting the focus from Krishna's coercive actions to the blissful inner turmoil and intense love (anurāga) experienced by Rādhā in her interactions with him.
