From the outset, let me say: This book is not for everyone.
It is not for readers who are not already quite well-read in books of Vaisnava tradition and theology, especially Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. And preferably one has read these books at least once if not more times, cover to cover. Nor is The Story of Pearls for readers who are not ready to suspend their tendencies to see transcendent lila as mundane sense pleasure.
Well then, who is it for? Assuming one has thoroughly and carefully read and discussed with practicing Vaisnavas the aforementioned books, it might be cautiously taken up by readers who are mature and thoughtful, and who are thus able to appreciate and relish the richness of the “serious play” that the original author, Raghunathdas Goswami (16th century), intended for his qualified readers.
As I read this rendition (for let us be aware, as explained in the Introduction to this edition, we are reading a [Slovenian] translation of an [English] translation* of a [Bengali] rendition of the original [Sanskrit] poem), I find myself wishing that I could have met its author. What sort of person was Raghunathdas? As we know from the Caitanya-caritamrita (which one should also have read completely prior to reading Mukta-carita), Raghunathdas, aside from being intensely devoted to Radha-Krishna and to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, was extremely renounced and austere. And this should be kept well in mind as we read Mukta-carita.
Cynics might jump to the conclusion that Raghunathdas was only outwardly an ascetic who inwardly compensated for his outward asceticism with fantasies such as we read in Mukta-carita. For in this work, Raghunathdas portrays Sri Krishna as one given to dallying with young girls and speaking to them with rather suggestive language. But no, let us not indulge in such cynical “hermeneutics of suspicion.” Let us understand, rather, that Raghunathdas’s utter renunciation of sense pleasures enabled him to fully comprehend and relish (indeed, participate in) such pastimes of Krishna, and then to write of them in perfect poetic Sanskrit form. And in this form he could creatively stretch the limits of language to portray the incomparable love of Krishna and his consorts, thereby challenging us to stretch (or to “unlimit”) our understanding of divine love, even as we read of apparently worldly (and occasionally rather silly slapstick) banter among Krishna and his friends over Krishna’s pearl “harvest.”
But, we may wonder, for whom did Raghunathdas write such literature? That he wrote in Sanskrit suggests that it was intended for a very learned readership—not just learned in the difficult language which is Sanskrit, but also in the intricacies of Sanskrit poetics. And of course, he is writing for fellow devotees. Sometimes I like to think that he was writing only for his close friends, the other ascetic Goswamis of Vrindavan, especially Rupa, Sanatana, Jiva, Raghunatha Bhatta, and Gopala Bhatta (and possibly others of whom we know little).
Yet here we have this charming, playful drama that celebrates Krishna’s magic (planting and later harvesting pearls in Vrindavan’s soil) and mischief(teasing the gopis, to their great delight), now rendered in a language that Raghunathdas most probably would not have known existed, for readers who live thousands of kilometers away from Vrindavan (some of whom may never be able to go to Vrindavan)! This is certainly a wonder, such that we can marvel at the opportunity that Raghunathdas and his Source of inspiration, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and their later followers, have given us.
In such a spirit of amazement and wonder, one may carefully, reverentially, and thoughtfully relish this brief adventure story from Krishna’s unlimited pastimes, and one may reflect deeply on its meaning. There is “much more here than meets the eye,” (and indeed, in translation, we unavoidably miss much of the artful Sanskrit word-play of the original), but with humility and faithful remembrance of the irreducibly non-mundane truth that is Krishna-lila, we may, in due course, develop the longing for deep attraction and love for Krishna that enables us to fully and properly relish such pastimes, as given to us by such exalted transcendentalists as Raghunathdas. In this way we may become properly thankful to them for so mercifully bestowing upon us such gifts.
So, if you understand yourself to be sufficiently prepared to read this in a properly devotional way, keep reading, and all best wishes!
In service to the Vaisnavas,
Krishna Kshetra Swami (Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies).
* I wish to express my appreciation for the dedicated translation service of my godbrother Dasaratha-suta Das, who has brought many important works of Vaisnava acaryas to the English speaking world, including Mukta-carita.