SB 10.90.16 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

नेत्रे निमीलयसि नक्तमद‍ृष्टबन्धु- स्त्वं रोरवीषि करुणं बत चक्रवाकि । दास्यं गत वयमिवाच्युतपादजुष्टां किं वा स्रजं स्पृहयसे कवरेण वोढुम् ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

netre nimīlayasi naktam adṛṣṭa-bandhus tvaṁ roravīṣi karuṇaṁ bata cakravāki dāsyaṁ gata vayam ivācyuta-pāda-juṣṭāṁ kiṁ vā srajaṁ spṛhayase kavareṇa voḍhum

Synonyms

netre — your eyes ; nimīlayasi — you keep closed ; naktam — during the night ; adṛṣṭa — not seen ; bandhuḥ — whose beloved ; tvam — you ; roravīṣi — are crying ; karuṇam — pitifully ; bata — alas ; cakravāki — O cakravākī (female crane) ; dāsyam — servitude ; gatā — attained ; vayam iva — like us ; acyuta — of Kṛṣṇa ; pāda — by the feet ; juṣṭām — honored ; kim — perhaps ; vā — or ; srajam — the flower garland ; spṛhayase — you desire ; kavareṇa — in the braid of your hair ; voḍhum — to carry .

Translation

Poor cakravākī, even after closing your eyes, you continue to cry pitifully through the night for your unseen mate. Or is it that, like us, you have become the servant of Acyuta and hanker to wear in your braided hair the garland He has blessed with the touch of His feet?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Poor cakravākī, even after closing your eyes, you continue to cry pitifully through the night for your unseen mate. Or is it that, like us, you have become the servant of Acyuta and hanker to wear in your braided hair the garland He has blessed with the touch of His feet? KB 10.90.16 “Hello, cakravākī. Why have you closed your eyes? Are you searching after your husband, who may have gone to foreign countries? Why are you lamenting so pitiably? Alas, it appears that you are very much aggrieved. Or is it a fact that you also are willing to become an eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? We think that you are anxious to put a garland on the lotus feet of the Lord and then place it on your hair.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

They speak to the cakravaki. "Can you not see your husband (adrsta bandhuh)? Such a painful cry is possible because of separation from your child." They then speak of an alternative reason for the lament. "Perhaps you are like us, who have become servants of Acyuta, and desire to bind in your hair the garland which touched his feet."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Hearing the even more plaintive cry of the cakravākī they speak. Your dear lover is unseen. You cry with great pain and pitifully. Bata indicates lamentation. We are in a similar situation. We cannot cry so loudly on not seeing our husband, but we cry with a special emotion for the Lord. Becoming a servant like us, do you desire to wear in your hair the garland used as a pillow by the feet of the Lord full of all qualities and beauty (acyutasya)? Do you desire his touch indirectly in this way because of you intense love? Touching the feet is only suitable for the bhakti of a wife. Thus they ask the bird about an article that had touched his feet. Or, like us you have become a servant--becoming his lover, you desire the good fortune suitable for that position. They do not state this directly because of shyness. Similarly the wives of the brāhmaṇas said: prāptā vayaṁ tulasi-dāma padāvasṛṣṭaṁ keśair nivoḍhum atilaṅghya samasta-bandhūn We simply wish to remain here in the forest so we may carry upon our heads the garlands of tulasī leaves you may neglectfully kick away with your lotus feet. SB 10.23.29

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Hearing the even more plaintive cry of the cakravākī they speak. Your dear lover is unseen. You cry with great pain and pitifully. Bata indicates lamentation. We are in a similar situation. We cannot cry so loudly on not seeing our husband, but we cry with a special emotion for the Lord. Becoming a servant like us, do you desire to wear in your hair the garland accepted with love by the feet of the Lord who is full of all qualities and beauty (acyutasya)? The goal of this is to attain a service attitude. prāptā vayaṁ tulasi-dāma padāvasṛṣṭaṁ keśair nivoḍhum atilaṅghya samasta-bandhūn We simply wish to remain here in the forest so we may carry upon our heads the garlands of tulasī leaves you may neglectfully kick away with your lotus feet. SB 10.23.29 Though the bird does not have a braid, they refer to themselves, or imagine this out of madness) in prema. This should be understood in later verses also. Kim can indicate conjecture. Do you cry out because of a desire to carry the garland with devotion?