SB 10.35.4 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

हन्त चित्रमबला: श‍ृणुतेदं हारहास उरसि स्थिरविद्युत् । नन्दसूनुरयमार्तजनानां नर्मदो यर्हि कूजितवेणु: ॥ ४ ॥ वृन्दशो व्रजवृषा मृगगावो वेणुवाद्यहृतचेतस आरात् । दन्तदष्टकवला धृतकर्णा निद्रिता लिखितचित्रमिवासन् ॥ ५ ॥

Verse text

hanta citram abalāḥ śṛṇutedaṁ hāra-hāsa urasi sthira-vidyut nanda-sūnur ayam ārta-janānāṁ 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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

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. KB 10.35.4-5 Another gopī said, “My dear friends, Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful that the goddess of fortune always remains on His chest, and He is always adorned with a golden necklace. Beautiful Kṛṣṇa plays His flute in order to enliven the hearts of many devotees. He is the only friend of the suffering living entities. When He plays His flute, all the cows and other animals of Vṛndāvana, although engaged in eating, simply take a morsel of food in their mouths and stop chewing. Their ears raise up and they become stunned. They do not appear alive but like painted animals. Kṛṣṇa’s flute-playing is so attractive that even the animals become enchanted, and what to speak of ourselves.”

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.’”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

What to speak of the intelligent wives of the devatas, the inferior animals also became completely bewildered. One other gopi spoke. "This is more astonishing than the most astonishing thing. O young women (abalah -literally weak persons), whose vow of chastity to husband has become stolen by Krsna. On his chest like a cloud effulgent with a necklace like a string of flying crames, flashes the golden line of Laksmi, like stationary lightning. O gopis , the hot sun of your vows of chastity have been covered by that cloud of Krsna’s chest with its lightening and flying cranes. He makes you who are suffering become the object of ridicule for society (narma da). When does he do this? When he blows his flute (kujita venuh). Just on hearing the flute, your belts become loose. When you attain the state of unmada, you become the object of ridicule for all people. Krsna not only enchants you women, but also the animals and other entities. When the bulls, cows and forest animals chew on the grass, and the sound of the flute enters their bodies through their ears, they cannot swallow the grass, but remain stunned, listening to the flute. Their hearts are stolen by the sound of the flute. Their senses are so bewildered that they appear as if sleeping. The chewed grass remained in their mouths, not falling to the ground. They attain the sancari bhava called jadya. Breathing becomes weak, and they remain standing still, like painted pictures. Rather than being like statues, being like painted pictures gives more astonishment. It was as if a remarkable artist had painted pictures on the canvas of the sky. This gives rise to adbuta rasa.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Having come to the edge of the forest, he plays his flute in order to gather together all the cows and cowherds, to give joy to the forest inhabitants and to tell the people of Vraja following him to return home while comforting them. What to speak of the people, all the animals in the forest and Vraja become bewildered. Hanta expresses their astonishment. They then directly speak. “This is astonishing (citram).” O girls (abalāḥ—weak persons)! On hearing the sound of the flute, they have lost the power of their senses to speak because of the agitation caused by prema. Please listen! They give instructions. He has motionless lighting on his chest. This refers to the famous line of Lakṣmī on his chest, but they do not mention this since it is famous. It is astonishing because the lightning is motionless. His chest is compared to a cloud, which accompanies lightning. Worried that Lakṣmī is a competing lover, they become envious on seeing that she stays on his chest without moving away. Along with the clouds and lightning is the image of a crane, indicated by the words hāra (crane) and hāsa (white). This image of the cloud indicates the ability of the chest to relieve suffering. He is the son of Nanda (one who gives joy to the universe). Therefore by his nature he should give us bliss. He gives bliss to those suffering, like the cows and deer. He (ayam) has come out of his house now! Or, he can now be experienced by everyone. He plays the flute. Or, he has an attractive smile (hāra-hasaḥ). Or, his chest is charming and bright. The bulls kept in Vraja for pulling carts, and the black deer, the cows that go to the forest with him, and other animals also, cannot swallow, chew or spit out the grass in their mouths because their hearts have become attracted by the sound of the flute. They fear making any sound that will interrupt the flute. In holding the grass in their mouths they also say, “Do not play the flute any longer, for we will faint.” They appear to be sleeping. But sleeping people also move. No, they are like painted pictures of bulls and cows. A painted picture (likhita-citram) is more astonishing than an engraved image. The singular is used to indicate the group.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Having come to the edge of the forest, he plays his to give joy to the forest inhabitants, his assistants who have been separated from him by the night and to send the gopīs home following him and pained by separation. The bewilderment of the bulls and other animals of Vraja, by giving mercy to the people of Vraja with his flute, is joyfully described in two verses. Hanta expresses surprise. How astonishing (citra). O girls (abalāḥ)! This (abalāḥ also means weak) suggests that the gopīs have lost the power of their senses because of the disturbance of prema. He has stationary lightning on his chest. This is Lakṣmī, who is fickle and golden. His chest is compared to cloud. This is called adbhūta upamā. Lakṣmī on his chest is like stationary lightning on a cloud. This indicates special beauty. Or not knowing about this line who is Lakṁsī on his chest, they describe it as lightning. He is the son of Nanda. Nanda means he who gives joy to the world. Having his father’s nature, Kṛṣṇa also gives joy to the world. Ayam indicates that he is now leaving the house. The sound of his flute is also very close. Or nandasūnuḥ means the son who gives joy all of Vraja. Ayam indicates that everyone is directly experiencing him. He gives joy (narmadoḥ) to the suffering people. With his flute he announces his journey to the forest, where he will be during the day to the animals and birds of the forest and village, who were separated from him during the night. His flute comforts the gopīs. Kujita-venuḥ is in the past tense (he played his flute) to indicate that the bulls and others did not hear it immediately, since they were far away. It can be inferred that he had his left arm touching his left cheek as described in the previous verses. That is usually how he plays his flute. Hanta can also express joy or lamentation. He has an attractive smile (hāra-hāsaḥ). He has Lakṣmī, whose special effulgence (vidyut) remains always (sthira) one his chest. He has a flute which sounds to give joy to suffering people. The sound of the flute in this verse can also indicate that it is not a song, just some sounds. All the animals in Vraja—the bulls, the kṛṣṇasāra deer, cows and one year old calves (males and females included in the words bulls and cows) react to the sound. The new calves are far from their mothers. Others being new, are kept within Vraja. These are all indicated here. The buffalos and boars also are similarly affected by the flute. The bulls are specifically mentioned because Kṛṣṇa has affection for them. The deer in Vraja are mentioned since they are friends with the other animals in Vraja. Or the deer are mentioned to represent all other animals. That is implied in the verse. The order of the animals is according to increasing excellence of attraction to the Lord. The deer are superior to the bulls and the cows are superior to the deer. They have more intelligence to relish the song of the flute. The assisting cowherds are not mentioned since they are always completely full of bliss. Their hearts are stolen by the playing (vādya) of the flute, without even seeing him. Thus his playing is mentioned again. They have mouthfuls of chewed grass in their mouths, which is neither swallowed nor spit out, because their hearts have been stolen. It is as if they fear making any noise when they hear the flute. Their ears are raised to hear the flute. In sleeping there is some movement. The example of a painted picture is given to indicate there is no movement at all. The word likhita is used so that the word citra does not mean simply “astonishing” but instead means picture. The depiction in the picture is exact. Or hearing the flute once in the distance, their hearts become agitated. By hearing it again they put their front feet over their ears to prevent the sound, fearing death by separation. They do not swallow food, to prevent the sound from entering within. Then they seem to faint by seeing him and constantly hearing the sound. This response is considered superior to that of the heavenly women.