Devanagari
गोप्य: किमाचरदयं कुशलं स्म वेणु-
र्दामोदराधरसुधामपि गोपिकानाम् ।
भुङ्क्ते स्वयं यदवशिष्टरसं ह्रदिन्यो
हृष्यत्त्वचोऽश्रु मुमुचुस्तरवो यथार्या: ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
gopyaḥ kim ācarad ayaṁ kuśalaṁ sma veṇur
dāmodarādhara-sudhām api gopikānām
bhuṅkte svayaṁ yad avaśiṣṭa-rasaṁ hradinyo
hṛṣyat-tvaco ’śru mumucus taravo yathāryaḥ
Synonyms
gopyaḥ
—
O gopīs
;
kim
—
what
;
ācarat
—
performed
;
ayam
—
this
;
kuśalam
—
auspicious activities
;
sma
—
certainly
;
veṇuḥ
—
the flute
;
dāmodara
—
of Kṛṣṇa
;
adhara
—
sudhām — the nectar of the lips
;
api
—
even
;
gopikānām
—
which is owed to the gopīs
;
bhuṅkte
—
enjoys
;
svayam
—
independently
;
yat
—
from which
;
avaśiṣṭa
—
remaining
;
rasam
—
the taste only
;
hradinyaḥ
—
the rivers
;
hṛṣyat
—
feeling jubilant
;
tvacaḥ
—
whose bodies
;
aśru
—
tears
;
mumucuḥ
—
shed
;
taravaḥ
—
the trees
;
yathā
—
exactly like
;
āryāḥ
—
old forefathers .
Translation
My dear gopīs, what auspicious activities must the flute have performed to enjoy the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips independently and leave only a taste for us gopīs, for whom that nectar is actually meant! The forefathers of the flute, the bamboo trees, shed tears of pleasure. His mother, the river on whose bank the bamboo was born, feels jubilation, and therefore her blooming lotus flowers are standing like hair on her body.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
My dear gopīs, what auspicious activities must the flute have performed to enjoy the nectar of Kṛṣṇa's lips independently and leave only a taste for us gopīs, for whom that nectar is actually meant! The forefathers of the flute, the bamboo trees, shed tears of pleasure. His mother, the river on whose bank the bamboo was born, feels jubilation, and therefore her blooming lotus flowers are standing like hair on her body.
KB 10.21.9
Another gopī said, “My dear friends, we cannot even think of His bamboo flute—what sort of pious activities did it execute so that it is now enjoying the nectar of the lips of Kṛṣṇa, which is actually the property of us gopīs?” Kṛṣṇa sometimes kisses the gopīs; therefore the transcendental nectar of His lips is available only to them. So the gopīs asked, “How is it possible that the flute, which is nothing but a bamboo rod, is always engaged in enjoying the nectar from Kṛṣṇa’s lips? Because the flute is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord, the mother and the father of the flute must be happy.”
The lakes and the rivers are considered to be the mothers of the trees because the trees live simply by drinking water. So the waters of the lakes and rivers of Vṛndāvana were in a happy mood, full of blooming lotus flowers, because the waters were thinking, “How is it that our son, the bamboo rod, is enjoying the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips?” The bamboo trees standing by the banks of the rivers and the lakes were also happy to see their descendant so engaged in the service of the Lord, just as persons who are advanced in transcendental knowledge take pleasure in seeing their descendants engage in the service of the Lord. The trees were overwhelmed with joy and were incessantly yielding honey, which flowed from the beehives hanging on their branches.
Purport
This translation is quoted from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
Caitanya-caritāmṛta
(
Antya-līlā
16.140).
In the guise of releasing flowing sap, the bamboo trees are actually crying tears of ecstasy upon seeing their child become an exalted devotee-flute of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Sanātana Gosvāmī gives an alternate explanation: The trees are crying because they are unhappy at not being able to play with Kṛṣṇa themselves. One may object that the trees in Vṛndāvana should not lament for that which is impossible for them to obtain, just as a beggar certainly doesn’t lament because he is forbidden to meet the king. But the trees are actually just like intelligent persons who suffer when they cannot obtain the goal of life. Thus the trees are crying because they cannot get the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"This flute has created a problem for us, causing us an ocean of disgrace." That is expressed in this verse.
"What piety (kusalam) did this flute perform?"
Though the words vamsi and murali are in feminine gender, the word venu is in the masculine, like the word dara a masculine word meaning wife. "What piety did it perform to be Krsna’s wife? None, because it took birth as a non moving creature, a low birth from performing no pious acts. But yet the flute drinks the nectar from Damodara’s lips. Can that be tolerated? No, because it should be the gopis right to taste that nectar (gopikanam) . Krsna was born as a gopa and we were born as gopis. Therefore we have a right to taste those lips, not the flute."
"Furthermore the flute has the audacity to manifest a male in form and still enjoy (bhunkte). Furthermore this enjoyment is done in unmarried state, utterly alone, and by thievery. The flute announces it to the real owners of the treasure, ourselves, by blowing air. But this is not just regular blowing air, it is the sound of enjoyment the flute gets by association with Krsna. And we must keeping hear that sound! So much the flute enjoys that it leaves nothing left, not even a morsel. Though we are the rightful claimants of that lip nectar, the flute leaves nothing for us, not even his remnants. Such is his audacity!"
"Those who have not performed pious acts act in the same way. Because (yat) the rivers see the flute enjoying the nectar of his lips, became happy, blooming with lotuses, like standing of hair on end (hrsyat tvacah). All the trees, pouring out their honey, seem toweep in joy. Just as devotees on hearing the glories of the Lord shed tears of joy and have their hair stand on end, hearing the sound of the flute, the rivers and trees become decorated with the symptoms of bhava. The rivers are female friends of the flute and the trees are male friends or messengers. The flute, rivers and trees are all our enemies. Therefore where should we hide the flute, so that it does not get the nectar of Krnsa’s lips? This sancari bhava of envy manifested in the gopis.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
What to speak of the cowherds’ fortune, what can we say of the flute’s good fortune? The gopīs express their desire mixed with envy, while imaging falsely because of madness produced by the appearance of mahā-bhāva. Though it appears to us to be a dry piece of wood, how many pious acts has this flute performed in this life or previous lives? We will also do such pious acts for that purpose to get such benefit. Sma indicates dismay. The characteristic of the flute is described beginning with the words yad avaśiṣṭa-rasaṁ. By addressing Kṛṣṇa as Dāmodara they suggest that he and they had a special, natural relationship which started from early childhood, with the first sprouts of their present emotions. Therefore we gopīs should enjoy him. The flute is male (ayam) and thus unsuitable to enjoy with him. The flute always drinks the nectar of his lips as its only enjoyment, since we do not see it enjoying anything else. “We see that after associating with Dāmodara’s lips, the lips are still juicy, not dried up. Therefore the flute did not enjoy the lips at all.” No. What remains now is only a taste. It drank the nectar completely and left only a trickle. O gopīs! Therefore the flute’s birth is fortunate and not our birth. Why were you gopīs born? Instead of saying “our” they say “of the young gopīs (gopīkānām).” This indicates that though others may enter into their group they are not qualified for his lips since they do not have the special qualifications of the gopīs. They say this out of their identity as gopīs and out of special taste for beauty. Another meaning is that they protect (gop) their bodies by aspiring for him alone. That flute not only resides constantly in your lover’s hand, heart and mouth, but enjoys the nectar of his lips without taking your permission. Or, how does the flute enjoy? It does not leave any remains at all (another meaning of avaśiṣṭa) as in the phrase vaṣṭi-bhāgurirallopam:
vaśiṣṭa means “remaining” and avaśiṣṭa means “not remaining.” Not even a drop remains. Or, because of continuing to have (avaśiṣṭa) great attraction (rasa), the flute never ceases to enjoy. Or, what is the nature of that nectar? Giving up all other rasa, the flute enjoys even the rasa remaining for the gopīs. The symptoms of the flute’s pious acts are mentioned. Seeing the good fortune of the flute, the rivers, endowed with great fortune, have their hairs standing on end in the form of lotuses blooming. Or, “the remaining rasa” can be part of this statement if the word yat does not mean “because.” The rivers taste the remaining rasa (the sound) of the flute (yat) since their hairs are standing on end. Moreover, seeing the good fortune of the flute, coming from the same plant family, all the plants release tears of honey, just as forefathers seeing the good fortune of their family members release tears. Another meaning spoken out of hatred appears. “In such company, what fault does the flute alone have?” The flute should be kept hidden (gopyaḥ) somewhere at least.