1.) Suht - Well-Wishers
"KŠa's well-wisher friends are a little bit older than KŠa, and they
have some parental affection for Him. Because of their being older than
KŠa, 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 KŠa (NOD pg. 322)."
Principal Suhts
"Counted among the well-wisher friends are Subhadra, MaŠal…bhadra,
Bhadravardhana, Gobha˜a, Yaka, Indrabha˜a, Bhadr€‰ga, V…rabhadra, Mah€guŠa,
Vijaya and Balabhadra (pg. 322)."
Their Bhakti
"My dear MaŠal…bhadra, why are you wielding a shining sword as though you
were running toward Ari˜€sura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are You
unnecessarily bearing that heavy plough? 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
Ari˜€sura in the shape of a bull, as you have imagined (pg. 322)."
The Foremost Suhts
"Among the well-wisher friends, MaŠal…bhadra and Balabhadra are the chiefs
(pg. 322)."
2.) Sakh€ - Friends
"Friends who are younger than KŠa, who are always attached to Him and who
give Him all kinds of service are called ordinary friends, or, simply,
friends (page 323)."
Principal Sahk€s
"The names of some sakh€s are Vi€la, Vabha, Ojasv…, Devaprastha,
Var™thapa, Maranda, Kusum€p…a, MaŠibandha and Karandhama (page 323)."
Because the sakh€s are younger than KŠa, they have a trace of
servitude. They greatly enjoy helping to dress KŠa, keeping KŠa informed
about the whereabouts of His cows, and other relishable tasks like fanning
and massaging Him. (See second full paragraph of page 323.)
The Foremost Sakh€
The foremost of all sakh€s is Devaprastha.
Devaprastha's Form
"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... (pg.
324)."
Devaprastha's Bhakti
KŠa began to recline and, "taking this opportunity, Devaprastha, out of
his strong affection for KŠa, immediately began to massage His legs (pg.
324)."
3.) Priya-Sakh€s - Confidential Friends
"The more confidential friends are called priya-sakh€s and are almost
KŠa'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 parental love or servitude, but the basic principle of the
confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level (pg. 324)."
Suhts are older than KŠa. Consequently, parental love mixes with
their friendship. Sakh€s are younger than KŠa. Thus, servitude mixes with
their friendship. Priya-sakh€s, however, are the same age as KŠa. Their
friendship is perfectly on the level of equality. It is pure friendship
without any influence of parental affection or servitude.
Principal Priya-Sakh€s
"®r…d€m€, Sud€m€, D€m€, Vasud€m€, Ki‰kiŠi, Stoka-kŠa, Aˆu, Bhadrasena,
Vil€s…, PuŠar…ka, Vi˜a‰ka and Kalavi‰ka (page 324)."
Their Bhakti
®r…mat… R€dh€r€Š…'s friend describes their devotional mood. (See pg. 324.)
®r…la R™pa Gosv€m… gives a second description: "Sometimes a
confidential friend would come before KŠa and embrace Him with great
affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and
cover KŠa's eyes with his hands. KŠa would always feel very happy by
such dealings with His confidential friends (pg. 325)."
®r…la Prabhup€da adds his own commentary, further illustrating the
devotional mood of the priya-sakh€s by describing KŠa's lau-stealing
friend, Madhuma‰gala. (See pg. 325)
The Foremost Priya-Sakh€
"Out of all these confidential friends, ®r…d€ma is considered to be the
chief (pg. 325)."
4.) Priya-Narma-Sakh€s - Most Intimate Friends
"There are other friends who are still more confidential. They are called
priya-narma, or intimate friends (pg. 325)."
The priya-narma are the most intimate and exalted of all devotees in
the sakhya mood, because KŠa engages them in the very confidential service
of arranging His meetings with the gop…s.
Principal Priya-Narmas
"Counted among the priya-narma friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva,
Vasanta and Ujjvala (NOD pg. 325)."
Their Bhakti
A gop… tells ®r…mat… R€dh€r€Š…, "My dear K€‰g… [delicate one], just see
how Subala is whispering Your message into KŠa's ear, how he is delivering
the confidential letter of ®y€m€-d€s… silently into KŠa's hand, how he is
delivering the betel nuts prepared by P€lik€ into KŠa's mouth, and how he
is decorating KŠa with garland prepared by T€rak€. Did you know, my dear
friend, that all these most intimate friends of KŠa are always engaged in
His service in this way? (pgs. 325 - 326)."
The Foremost Priya-Narma
"Out of the many intimate priya-narmas, Subala and Ujjvala are considered to
be the most prominent (pg. 326)."
Subala's Form
(Subala is slightly superior to Ujjvala): "His complexion is just like
molten gold. He is very, very dear to KŠa. He always has a garland around
his neck, and he wears yellow clothing. His eyes are just like lotus flower
petals... (pg. 326)."
Subala's Bhakti
When KŠa would speak to Subala no one else could understand what they were
saying; not even the assembly of sakh…s who are expert in understanding
KŠa's subtle gestures and movements. Subala's superior intimacy would thus
become evident. ®r…la Prabhup€da says, "The degree of intimacy shared by
KŠa 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
(pg. 326)."
Ujjvala's Form
"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 KŠa's, and on his neck there is
always a necklace of pearls (NOD pg. 326)."
Ujjvala's Bhakti
®r…mat… R€dh€r€Š… said, "My dear friend it is impossible for Me to keep My
prestige! I wanted to avoid talking to KŠa 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 gop… to resist
her love for KŠa... (page 326)."
Ujjvala always desires to glorify KŠa's very confidential love
