Chapter 21 - The Song of Gopīs (cowherd-women)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

[Note: Chapter 19 according to Padaratnāvalī’s text. He thinks that the object of this chapter is to emphasize that everyone should perform devotion, the means of spiritual knowledge, according to his capacity—sva-yogyatānusāreṇa harau jñāna-sādhanaṃ bhaktiḥ kartavyā /]

Śrī Śuka continued:

1. In this beautiful forest, with its waters made crystalclear by the Autumn, and caressed by a breeze surcharged with the fragrance of beds of lotuses, Lord Kṛṣṇa entered deep, along with his cows and cowherds.

2. While grazing the cattle, Kṛṣṇa, in company of cowherds and Balarāma, entered deep into the forests, the lakes, rivers and mountains wherein were resonant with the warbling of flocks of enraptured birds and hummings of bees; through the glades of trees adorned with their floral wealth; and he played^[1] charmingly on his flute.

3. When the damsels of Vraja heard from a distance that enchanting music of the flute exciting erotic sentiments,^[2] some of them sung unto their friends the excellences of Kṛṣṇa,^[3] in his absence.

4. Hardly did they begin to describe when, remembering his dalliance with them, they could not proceed, as their mind was distracted by the vehement force of passion, Oh King.

5. (The cowherd women depict their mental vision of Kṛṣṇa as he entered Vṛndāvana. This visualization of Kṛṣṇa distracted the Gopīs as mentioned in the above verse.)

Possessed of a charming personality like an accomplished actor,^[4] graced with a crown of peacock feathers,^[5] his ears decorated by karṇikāra flowers, clad in garments (brilliant) yellow like molten gold, wearing the Vaijayantī wreath made of flowers of five different colours, (consisting of tulasī, kunda, mandāra, pārijāta and lotuses^[6]) filling the holes of his flute with the nectar of his lips^[7] and accompanied by the cowherds^[8] singing his glory, Kṛṣṇa entered the Vṛndāvana forest, beautified with his foot-prints.

[Padaratnāvalī’s text adds:]

5(A). Kṛṣṇa wore a crest of peacock’s feathers and appeared as a forest-dweller with Karṇikāra flowers adorning his ears. He rested his face on his left arm (his face was turned to the left). Breathing through the flute with appropriate histrionic movements of eye-brows and fingers, he made all the hosts of cowherds sing classical music (the Gāndharva Veda as compiled by Bharata), and gave delight to all the creatures in the world.

6. Listening to the music of the flute which bewitched and transported the hearts of all beings, all the women of Vraja embraced him mentally, as they were (each) engaged in describing it.

The cowherd women sang:^[9]

7. “This is the highest reward of being blessed with eyes; we do not know if there can be any greater felicity than this, Oh friends. Those only have enjoyed the fruit who have drunk to their hearts’ content (ni-pītam) (the charm) of the countenance of the sons of Nanda as they played on the flute, casting around their loving side-glances at the time of tending their cattle to the forest, along with their cowherd-companions.

8. Picturesquely clad in garments intertwined with tender mango-leaves, with tufts of peacock feathers, and bunches of flowers (decorating the head), and wearing wreaths of lilies and lotuses, and singing^[10] and dancing freely sometimes in the midst of the group of cowherds, they (Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma) appeared exceedingly beautiful like actors on the stage.

9. Oh Gopīs! What infinitely great meritorious acts must have been performed by this flute, in consequence of which it can freely enjoy to its heart’s content, the nectar flowing from the lips of Dāmodara (Kṛṣṇa)—which is the legitimate monopoly of Gopīs—and leaves but little to others; the rivers (which like mothers nourished with their waters the life of the bamboo of which the flute is made) which enjoyed a part of it, expressed their ecstasy with the blooming of lotuses (like hair standing on their ends with joy). The bamboos (the parent of the flute) like righteous elderly people shedding tears of joy to find a great devotee of the Lord born in their family, shed drops of dew.

10. Oh friend! Vṛndāvana which has attained the splendid beauty of bearing the imprints of the lotus-feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa,^[11] has enhanced the glory of the earth (far above that of the heaven). While seeing the rapturous dance of peacocks on hearing the music of Kṛṣṇa’s flute, which they felt to be deep and low rumbling of clouds, all other animals on the hills stood motionless.^[12]

11. Blessed are the female deer which though lacking in reasoning, capacity (due to their birth in animal species) offer, along with their mates, the black-antelopes, their worship to him with their loving glances, on hearing the music of flute played by the picturesquely dressed Kṛṣṇa, the son (or delight) of Nanda (while our cowherd-husbands are too petty-minded to tolerate it, if we do the same).

12. Beholding Kṛṣṇa, whose handsome appearance and amiable disposition were enhancing the delight of women, and listening to the enchanting music played upon by him, celestial damsels moving in the aerial cars (seated on the laps of their heavenly husbands) became infatuated under the spell of the god of love, and had the chaplets of flowers drop down from the braids of their hair, and the folds of their garments slip down and unsettled.

13. And the cows quaffed, with goblets in the form of their ears raised erect, the nectar-like melodious music of the flute flowing from the mouth (i.e. the breath) of Kṛṣṇa, and the calves stood entranced and motion-less^[13], holding in their mouth the mouthful of milk sucked from the flowing udders (of their mothers).^[14] Through (the medium of) their eyes, they embraced Govinda (Lord Kṛṣṇa), with tears of joy trickling from their eyes.

14. How wonderful! Oh mother! The birds in this forest must most probably be considered as sages, for (just as sages desirous of visualizing Kṛṣṇa follow different branches of the Veda, and perform the duties prescribed therein, without any desire for the fruits accruing from them), the birds are perching on the branches of trees covered with charming fresh foliage (without flowers and fruit obstructing Kṛṣṇa’s sight) in order to have complete (unobstructed) view of Kṛṣṇa with un-winking eyes,^[15] and to listen to the melodious music of the flute (with full absorbing attention), remaining speechless and oblivious to the external world (like sages happily absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s music or praise).

15. Listening to the music of Kṛṣṇa with wrapt attention, even the (inanimate) rivers exhibited their passion for him, by the whirlpools which thereby diminished the rapidity of their currents (flowing to the sea, their Lord), and (under the pretext of) offering him the present of lotuses, they, with the arms in the form of waves, clasped the pair of his feet, as if to camouflage their act of embracing.

16.^[16] Perceiving^[17] that in the heat of the sun, Kṛṣṇa pasturing the cattle of Vraja in company of Balarāma and cowherds, and himself following them playing on the flute, the rain-cloud (due to Kṛṣṇa’s being similar to it in complexion and dispelling heat-like distress of the people) arose and out of overflowing friendliness to him, spread out his body as an umbrella. over them, and showered him with flowers^[18] (i.e. flower-like showers).

17. Perfectly accomplished of purpose are the Pulinda (including aboriginal and backward class) women who, after being overcome and distressed with passion at the sight of the saffron (colour) sticking to the blades of grass (as well as rocks and other places)—the saffron-paste originally applied to the breast of the Divine Consort^[19] (of Kṛṣṇa) and rendered still more charming by its contact with the reddish, lotus-like feet of the Lord of high renown (or whose glory is sung in the Vedas)—got cured of those pangs (of having avision of Kṛṣṇa) by smearing their faces and breasts with that paste.

18. “Alas! Oh friends! Even this mount Govardhana is the foremost among the servants (devotees) of Lord Hari, inasmuch as it derives extremely high delight from the touch of the feet of Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, and it receives them with respect, catering to their needs and to those of their (cowherd) friends and cattle, by offering fresh water, good grazing ground, caverns for shelter and edible bulbs and roots.

19. Oh friend! Of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma who tend their cattle from one forest to another along with their young cowherd friends, and characterised by carrying ropes^[20] (for tying hind-legs of cows when milking), and string-nooses (for controlling unruly cows), it is, however, wonderful that the sublimely sweet and melodious notes of their flutes cause motionlessness in mobile corporeal beings, and induce bristling with joy (which is a form of motion) among the (immobile) trees.”

20. While describing to each other such (fascinating) sports of the Lord who ranged over the forest called Vṛndāvana, the cowherd-ladies became completely absorbed in them (or in him).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

cukāja—(i) played on. sounded—Bhāvāratha Dīpikā, Bhāgavata Candrikā, Siddhāntapradīpa

(ii) conveying an erotic invitation to Gopīs—Padaratnāvalī, Subodhinī

[2]:

Subodhinī says that it was a divine music. Hence it could be heard from such a long distance.

[3]:

SG. & VT. carefully exclude elderly ladies like Yaśodā and Rohiṇī from this effect. In them, motherly affection was awakened. While Rādhā being deeply moved conveyed her feelings to her friends like Lalitā. The text of the Bh. P., however, is silent about names of erotically excited gopīs, including Rādhā.

[4]:

v.l. naṭa-vara-vapuḥ—(i) The most beautiful among all the forms assumed so far by the Lord.—VT.

(ii) Just as an actor puts on a special dress for playing a particular part on the stage, the Lord assumed this human form with this special dress on the stage of the world.—SG.

(iii) By looking at which (form), all beings dance with joy—SG.

[5]:

MR. (Miśra Rāmakṛṣṇa in his com. Prema-mañjarī) quotes from Kṛṣṇo-yāmala.

rādhā-priya-mayūrasya patraṃ rādhekṣaṇa-prabham /
bibharti śirasā kṛṣṇas taṣyāś cūḍānibhaṃ yataḥ //

A poetic explanation that Kṛṣṇa wore the feathers of a peacock due to the similarity of the ‘eye’ (eye-like bright bluish coloured centre) of the feather to Radhā’s eye.

[6]:

MR. in his com. (mentioned above) quotes a verse giving names of flowers woven in the Vaijayantī wreath:

tulasī-kunda-mandāra-pārijāta-saroruhaiḥ /
pañcabhiḥ kusumair etair vanamālā prokīrtitā //

[7]:

The musical notes issuing from the flute were sweet like nectar to the ear, but this sweetness is transferred poetically to the breath that issued from Kṛṣṇa’s lips (mouth)—Subodhinī

[8]:

Balarāma is implied in Kṛṣṇa as that was the inseparable pair.

[9]:

It is presumed that the gopīs, one after another sing these verses. The names of gopīs given in SG or VT are not mentioned in the Text of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa The gopīs express their eagerness to be with Lord Kṛṣṇa to enjoy his company personally, and each regards herself as unfortunate as compared even with inanimate objects like rivers and Govardhana hill which are supposed to enjoy Kṛṣṇa’s melodious music on the flute.

[10]:

gāyamānau—Some times when exhausted they invited other cowherd boys to sing at intervals and exhibited their superiority. The cowherd boys are blessed as they could fully enjoy the singing and dancing of Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa who felt shy to do so at Vraja among elderly people. Hence the Gopīs felt that they are extremely unfortunate, as they missed the free exhibition of dancing and singing of Kṛṣṇa—SG.

VT. repeats SG. Subodhinī explains how this Lord’s act was full of all raśas. His rasa theory is beyond the scope of a footnote.

[11]:

The epithet is Devakī-suta ‘the son of Devakī’, and not Yaśodā-suta ‘the son of Yaśodā’. In fact, the gopīs did not know that Kṛṣṇa was Devakī’s son, and they presumed that he was Yaśodā’s son. The narrator Śuka and members of the audience, knew that Kṛṣṇa was Devakī’s son, and hence the author of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa who represented that it was Śuka who reported even this speech of Gopīs, used the term Devakī-suta, without being aware of the slip. SG., VT., VC defend it by quoting from Bṛhadviṣṇu Purāṇa that ‘Yaśodā’ and ‘Devakī’ are two names of Nanda’s wife.

dve nāmnī nanda-bhāryāyā yaśodā devakītyapi /

But the quotation is not found in my (Gita Press, Gorakhpur) edition of Viṣṇu Purāṇa Other annotators accept the epithet Devakī-Śuta as Kṛṣṇa, and have just ignored the textual slip. SG.’s defence that Devakī merely gave birth to Kṛṣṇa, but he was really brought up by Yaśodā (suta-śabdeṇa kevalaṃ tayā prasūta eva, putras tu yaśodāyā eva iti bhāvaḥ) is merely a coverup.

[12]:

SJ. interprets the motionlessness as ‘swoon due to the impact of divine love’ (prema-mūrcchā). This blessed state is not enjoyed even in Vaikuṇṭha. The gopīs regret their misfortune of not being transported to that swoon-like state. This shows the unsatiable nature of Divine Love.

[13]:

This is the manifestation of Sāttvika-vikāra—SG.

[14]:

Padaratnāvalī (and as an alternative explanation SG. & VT.) regard snuta- stana-payaḥ-kavalāḥ an adj. qualifying gāvaḥ (cows), and interpret: “With milk flowing from their udders and a mouthful of grass in their mouth”. I think the music of the flute enchanted both the cows and the calves, and they forgot even to swallow the mouthful of milk. Hence my translation as above.

[15]:

v.l. sṛṇvanti mīlitadṛśaḥ ‘Listening with half-closed eyes’—SG. “Listen with closed eyes without looking at anything else”—Siddhāntapradīpa

[16]:

VT. states that noticing the effect of the heat of the Sun on the cattle and cowherds, Kṛṣṇa played the musical mode called mallāra rāga) (Megha-malhāra rāga) cm his flute, which effected a shower. It is believed that if this rāga (musical mode) is scientifically sung, it brings rain-showers immediately.

[17]:

With its eyes of lightning—VT.

[18]:

The flowers of the clouds are the rain-drops—megha-puṣpaṃ ghana-rasam quote SG. and VT.

[19]:

VT. insists that she is no other than Rādhā.

[20]:

niryoga-pāśa etc.—Extremely powerful bonds or ties created by yoga—Padaratnāvalī