Divine Flora, Divine Love: The Place of Natural Scenery in the Ultimate Vision of Kr̥ṣṇa Bhakti

Abstract

The last chapter of the first section investigates the wondrous and sensuous beauty of plants, trees, fruits and flowers in the Rāsa Līlā as described in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Graham Schweig explores the role of flora within the experience of devotion (bhakti) as expressed in the Vaiṣṇava narrative celebrating Kr̥ṣṇa, and the interdependent dialectical relationship between natural phenomena and the movements of the bhakta’s or devotee’s heart.