Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 35 Verses 4-5

Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 35: The Gopīs Sing of Kṛṣṇa as He Wanders in the Forest

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.35.4-5

hanta citram abalāḥ śṛṇutedaḿ

hāra-hāsa urasi sthira-vidyut

nanda-sūnur ayam ārta-janānāḿ

narma-do yarhi kūjita-veṇuḥ

vṛndaśo vraja-vṛṣā mṛga-gāvo

veṇu-vādya-hṛta-cetasa ārāt

danta-daṣṭa-kavalā dhṛta-karṇā

nidritā likhita-citram ivāsan

SYNONYMS

hanta — ah; citram — wonder; abalāḥ — O girls; śṛṇuta — hear; idam — this; hāra — (brilliant) like a necklace; hāsaḥ — whose smile; urasi — upon the chest; sthira — motionless; vidyut — lightning; nanda-sūnuḥ — son of Nanda Mahārāja; ayam — this; ārta — troubled; janānām — for persons; narma — of joy; daḥ — the giver; yarhi — when; kūjita — has vibrated; veṇuḥ — His flute; vrṇdaśaḥ — in groups; vraja — kept in the pasture; vṛṣāḥ — the bulls; mṛga — the deer; gāvaḥ — and the cows; veṇu — of the flute; vādya — by the playing; hṛta — stolen away; cetasaḥ — their minds; ārāt — at a distance; danta — by their teeth; daṣṭa — bit; kavalāḥ — whose mouthfuls; dhṛta — holding up; karṇāḥ — their ears; nidritāḥ — asleep; likhita — drawn; citram — an illustration; iva — as if; āsan — they were.

TRANSLATION

O girls! This son of Nanda, who gives joy to the distressed, bears steady lightning on His chest and has a smile like a jeweled necklace. Now please hear something wonderful. When He vibrates His flute, Vraja's bulls, deer and cows, standing in groups at a great distance, are all captivated by the sound, and they stop chewing the food in their mouths and cock their ears. Stunned, they appear as if asleep, or like figures in a painting.

PURPORT

The word sthira-vidyut, "steady lightning," refers to the goddess of fortune, who resides on the chest of the Supreme Lord. When the animals of Vṛndāvana hear the sound of the flute, they become stunned in ecstasy, and thus they stop chewing their food and cannot swallow it. The gopīs, in separation from Kṛṣṇa, marvel at the extraordinary effect of the Lord's flute-playing.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī gives the following explanation of the compound word hāra-hāsa, which compares Lord Kṛṣṇa's smile to a necklace: "The word can mean 'He whose smile is brilliantly clear like a jeweled necklace' or 'He whose smile is reflected from His jeweled necklaces,' because while Kṛṣṇa plays the flute He bends His head down and smiles. The word can also mean 'He whose smile, like a jeweled necklace, casts its effulgence upon His chest' or 'He whose necklaces shine brilliantly, just like a smile.' "

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