SB 10.15.42 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तं गोरजश्छुरितकुन्तलबद्धबर्ह- वन्यप्रसूनरुचिरेक्षणचारुहासम् । वेणुम्क्वणन्तमनुगैरुपगीतकीर्तिं गोप्यो दिद‍ृक्षितद‍ृशोऽभ्यगमन् समेता: ॥ ४२ ॥

Verse text

taṁ gorajaś-churita-kuntala-baddha-barha- vanya-prasūna-rucirekṣaṇa-cāru-hāsam veṇum kvaṇantam anugair upagīta-kīrtiṁ gopyo didṛkṣita-dṛśo ’bhyagaman sametāḥ

Synonyms

tam — Him ; go — rajaḥ — with the dust raised by the cows ; churita — smeared ; kuntala — within His locks of hair ; baddha — placed ; barha — a peacock feather ; vanya — prasūna — with forest flowers ; rucira — īkṣaṇa — charming eyes ; cāru — hāsam — and a beautiful smile ; veṇum — His flute ; kvaṇantam — sounding ; anugaiḥ — by His companions ; upagīta — being chanted ; kīrtim — His glories ; gopyaḥ — the gopīs ; didṛkṣita — eager to see ; dṛśaḥ — their eyes ; abhyagaman — came forward ; sametāḥ — in a body .

Translation

Lord Kṛṣṇa’s hair, powdered with the dust raised by the cows, was decorated with a peacock feather and forest flowers. The Lord glanced charmingly and smiled beautifully, playing upon His flute while His companions chanted His glories. The gopīs, all together, came forward to meet Him, their eyes very eager to see Him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Lord Kṛṣṇa's hair, powdered with the dust raised by the cows, was decorated with a peacock feather and forest flowers. The Lord glanced charmingly and smiled beautifully, playing upon His flute while His companions chanted His glories. The gopīs, all together, came forward to meet Him, their eyes very eager to see Him. KB 10.15.42 … They played Their flutes, and the boys praised Their uncommon activities in the forest. Their faces were decorated with tilaka and smeared with the dust raised by the cows, and Kṛṣṇa’s head was decorated with a peacock feather. Both He and Balarāma played Their flutes, and the young gopīs were joyous to see Kṛṣṇa returning home.

Purport

Superficially, the gopīs were young married girls, and therefore they would naturally be ashamed and fearful of casting loving glances at a beautiful young boy like Śrī Kṛṣṇa. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all living beings are His eternal servants. Thus the gopīs, although the most pure-hearted of all great souls, did not hesitate to come forward and satisfy their love-struck eyes by drinking in the sight of beautiful young Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs also relished the sweet sound of His flute and the enchanting fragrance of His body.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse the young girls of Vraja are described in particular. The gopis approached him, whose locks of hair was covered with dust raised by the cow hooves, who was decorated with forest flowers and peacock feather, who had attractive glance and smile. Another meaning is: His glance emitted a beautiful smile. The gopis’ eyes had a desire to see Krsna. The eyes could not follow the order of the gopis, who wanted to give up watching him because of their shame. Becoming independent , and jealous of the ears’ hearing Krsna’s flute and the nostrils’ smelling his fragrance, the eyes gave up the shelter of the gopis and went to Krsna by themselves in order to gain the treasure of Krsna. All of the women came out from their houses (sameta), and began to go towards Krsna while saying to their husbands, "Are you going to stop me or kill me?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Two verses describe how the young cowherd girls who had grown beyond childhood particularly gazed at him. This suggests the appearance of their attraction for him. The description of his head starts from the top and proceeds downwards. Though he wore other garments and ornaments, they are not described. Those items which were particularly used in going to the forest are described. He played his flute to attract them and give them joy. This happened naturally with the flute, but Kṛṣṇa particularly made this his goal. His glories were sung by his followers, as they sang along with the melody of his flute which produced songs based on rāgas. Balarāma is not mentioned in the verse, since it would not be suitable for him to share Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya-rasa. Because of separating on some pretext, Kṛṣṇa’s nature without his brother became prominent even in the presence of the elders. There are three indications of his coming to Vraja: the dust rising from the cows, playing his flute, and the praise by his followers. The gopīṣ had eyes which desired to see him. This indicates their eyes independently developed this desire. That indicates their deep anurāga. They developed some anxiety from seeing the first dust in the distance. His return from herding cows was later than previously. Out of eagerness they gathered together since they were of one mind in friendship and their shame and fear disappeared in a group, and since they all ran from their houses simultaneously to the path where Kṛṣṇa would come or to a high place where they had previous gathered.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Two verses speak of the gopīs’ and Kṛṣnā’s bliss on seeing each other, as Kṛṣṇa returns in the evening dressed in his forest costume. Kuntala means hair or locks. īṣkaṇam means glancing. His beauty from head to foot is described. Though other ornaments may be there, these are the chief ornaments of his evening forest dress and are selected because they are the most beautiful. He plays his flute to attract them and give them joy. This happened naturally with the flute, but Kṛṣṇa particularly made this his goal. Close by (upa) and with flute accompaniment, he was praised with songs glorifying him for killing Dhenuka (upagīta). There was only one cause for the gopīs’ eagerness to see him. That he was returning was known by the dust raised by the cows, his flute playing and the glorification by his followers. The gopīs were those who had surpassed childhood. On some pretext Balarāma followed far behind in the order that the gopīs could enjoy the younger brother without restriction. The reason for their coming is mentioned. Their eyes desired to see him (didṛksata-dṛṣaḥ) because of various worries that arose from seeing the dust from far off. His coming was delayed more than when he herded the calves. The gopīs gathered together (sametāḥ) because then they could be without fear or shame, or because they were friends. Or individually they ran from their houses in haste and arrived on the path at the same time. Or previously they had gathered together out the pain of separation.