Verse Text
yathā padyāvalyām (158) –
bhrūvalli-tāṇḍava-kalā-madhurānana-śrīḥ
kaṅkelli-koraka-karambita-karṇa-pūraḥ |
ko ’yaṁ navīna-nikaṣopala-tulya-veṣo
vaṁśīraveṇa sakhi mām avaśīkaroti ||20||
Translation
From Padyāvalī: O friend! Who is this person wearing cloth the color of a gold streak on a touchstone, whose face is sweet with dancing eyebrows, whose ears are decorated with aśoka buds, who has brought me under His control by the sound of His flute?
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Valli in bhrū-valli is short for vallī, which means creeper. Thus, bhrū-valli means the graceful creepers of His eyebrows. The usage is found in Māgha-kāvya: nava-nāga-valli-dala-pūga-rasa (plentiful sap from the leaves of the new snake-like creepers) and in Gīta-govinda: mallī-valli-caṣcat-parāga (the quivering pollen on the jasmine creepers.) Instead of bhrū-valli sometimes bhrū-yugma (two eyebrows) is seen. Nikaṣopala-tulya-veṣa means cloth similar to a testing stone [Note: Nikaśa is a testing stone for gold. By rubbing gold on the stone for testing, the stone shows a golden line as a test of real gold.] by its yellow color. Kṛṣṇa’s cloth is compared to the fresh yellow color of this golden stone, though the word “yellow or gold like the lines on the testing stone” is missing in the phrase. It means “cloth with gold lines on it.” Avaśīkaroti means “He has made me so that I have no control over myself.” Or it can also mean “He has made me uncontrollable or independent of others, giving no respect to the opinion of others.” The suffix “ī” is added to avaśa and combined with kṛ to become avaśikaroti, to convey the sense of changing into a condition previously not existing. [Note: Pāṇini 5.4.50] Kaṇkelli means the aśoka plant (which has bright red flowers).
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
In the Padyāvalī this original cause of union is described when Rādhārāṇī tells one of Her constant companions, “My dear friend, who is this boy whose eyelids, dancing constantly, have increased the beauty of His face and attracted My desire for conjugal love? His ears are decorated with buds of aśoka flowers, and He has dressed Himself in yellow robes. By the sound of His flute, this boy has already made Me impatient.”