Mādhurya-kādambinī

Author: Viśvanātha Cakravartī

"The Rain-cloud of Sweetness" — a short prose treatise by Viśvanātha Cakravartī on how devotion grows in the heart, from the first faith to love of Kṛṣṇa. Its eight chapters are called "showers of nectar". The first argues that devotion depends on nothing and stands above knowledge, works and yoga; then, shower by shower, the stages of the path are described — faith, holy company, practice, the clearing of faults, steadiness, taste, attachment, feeling and love. Viśvanātha writes vividly, with parables, similes and scenes in which the devotee talks to himself, and honestly shows how the aspirant stumbles at every step.