Text 4

Hearing the sound of the veṇu, all the rivers stop flowing and worship Kṛṣṇa’s feet with lotus flowers. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.15) states:

नद्यस् तदा तद् उपधार्य मुकुन्द-गीतम् आवर्त-लक्षित-मनोभव-भग्न-वेगाः
आलिङ्गन-स्थगितम् ऊर्मि-भुजैर् मुरारेर् गृह्नन्ति पाद-युगलं कमलोपहाराः

nadyas tadā tad upadhārya mukunda-gītam āvarta-lakṣita-manobhava-bhagna-vegāḥ
āliṅgana-sthagitam ūrmi-bhujair murārer gṛhnanti pāda-yugalaṃ kamalopahārāḥ

Hearing the song of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s flute, the Yamunā, Mānasī-gaṅgā and other rivers have become deluded by lust (kāma). Their hearts’ desires for love cause many whirlpools to surface and they stop flowing. Bringing lotuses as gifts with their arm-like waves, they embrace Madana-mohana and place His lotus feet on their breasts.

आहा! नदी कृष्ण-गीत श्रवण करिया
श्रोत-वेग फिराइल मोहित हैया

āhā! nadī kṛṣṇa-gīta śravaṇa kariyā
śrota-vega phirāila mohita haiyā

उर्मि-छले कृष्ण-पद आलिङ्गन कैल
ओ पद-युगले पद्म उपहार दिल

urmi-chale kṛṣṇa-pada āliṅgana kaila
o pada-yugale padma upahāra dila

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

Hearing the sweet sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute, the vraja-devīs, who are attached to Kṛṣṇa with profound love (kṛṣṇa-anurāgiṇī), have become overwhelmed with prema. They started speaking with sakhīs from their own groups about the effects of the sound of the flute (veṇu-nāda ) and other such topics. With metaphors, they describe how lifeless rivers exhibit transformations of love upon hearing the sweet sound of Kṛṣṇa’s veṇu. Although it is not possible for rivers to experience any feeling, the vraja-ramaṇīs, who are endowed with mahābhāva and controlled by its astonishing nature, do not consider whether a being is sentient or insentient, and they ascribe their own respective bhāvas everywhere they look. Whatever mood and relationship an uttama-adhikārī devotee has with his worshipable deity (iṣṭadeva), Śrī Bhagavān, that same mood and relationship is seen by him to exist in all living entities.

This is described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 8.273–274):

महा-भागवत देखे स्थावर-जङ्गम
ताहाङ् ताहाङ् हय ताङ्र श्री-कृष्ण-स्फुरण

mahā-bhāgavata dekhe sthāvara-jaṅgama
tāhāṅ tāhāṅ haya tāṅra śrī-kṛṣṇa-sphuraṇa

स्थावर-जङ्गम देखे, ना देखे तार मूर्ति
सर्वत्र हय ताङ्र इष्ट-देव-स्फूर्ति

sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe, nā dekhe tāra mūrti
sarvatra haya tāṅra iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti

While roaming in the charming Vṛndāvana forest, Nandanandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa arrives at the banks of the Yamunā or Mānasīgaṅgā, where He hears the sweet murmur of water, sees the beautiful lotus flowers floating on high waves, hears the sounds of cuckoo birds on the river banks, and is pleasantly touched by a gentle, fragrant breeze. Overwhelmed with immense elation, He plays a sweet melody on His muralī. Upon hearing it, the river stops flowing, and on the still waters of her breast, unlimited whirlpools appear. Gradually, the water of the river rises to the height of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s chest. The repeated crashing of waves causes the lotus flowers to break from their stems and present themselves at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.^[1]

Upon seeing these whirlpools in the rivers, the gopīs are unable to conceal their own bhāvas. One says, “O sakhī, hearing our prāṇakānta’s flute-song, this river is affected by lust (kāma) and has become senseless. His face is all-pleasing. It is radiant, fragrant, soft, sweet and attractive to the heart, like a kunda flower. This is why He is called Mukunda. With His soft, delicate lotus face, He relishes kissing, the biting of lips and other transcendental mellows of union. When these mellows are relished, all kinds of obligations are cut and, due to an increase in kāma, He observes with an agitated heart the gopīs’ lotus-navels, which look like whirpools.”

Another vraja-devī says, “When the rivers see Mukunda’s sweet beauty and hear the ascending and descending waves of sound from His veṇu, both of which enchant the whole universe, their hearts become afflicted with kāma. Now they have reversed their flow with great force, and instead of moving towards their husband, the ocean, they flow towards Kṛṣṇa. Their arm-like waves rise up higher and embrace Murāri’s chest.”

There is a reason why the gopīs call Kṛṣṇa ‘Murāri’. They say, “We have taken shelter of Śrī Nanda-nandana, who has all the qualities of Nārāyaṇa, the destroyer of the Mura demon. It is very sad, however, that we are always tormented by kāma, or Cupid. Although the killer of Mura is aware of this, He makes no arrangement to punish māra, or kāma (lust). Śrī Nārāyaṇa has become famous as Murāri by killing the demon Mura, thus making the demigods fearless. In the same way, if Kṛṣṇa destroys māra, He will become famous as Murāri and will be recognised as having the same qualities as Nārāyaṇa, otherwise not. With māra destroyed, we vraja-ramaṇīs will also breathe a sigh of relief.”

Āliṅgana-sthagita–The waves of the rivers move closer and closer to Kṛṣṇa’s chest and upon reaching it, they subside and ripple at His lotus feet. Seeing this, the gopīs, whose hearts are filled with overpowering love for Kṛṣṇa, say, “O sakhī ! Look, look! At first these anurāgī rivers were trying to bind Śyāmasundara in their embrace, but seeing His indifference, they have become ashamed. They have stopped trying to embrace Him and are again offering lotus flowers at His feet with their arm-like waves.”

Upon observing the behaviour of the Yamunā and other rivers, the vraja-ramaṇīs express various bhāvas. Seeing how the moods of Śrī Yamunā and Mānasī-gaṅgā are one with those of the goparamaṇīs is an unprecedented darśana.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that the river, after trying to embrace Śrī Kṛṣṇa, became ashamed and withdrawn, and instead presented lotus flowers at Kṛṣṇa’s feet.