Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 3
Gopī-gīta in Separation: The Flute’s Call and Vraja’s Ecstatic Response
श्रीगोप्य ऊचु: वामबाहुकृतवामकपोलो वल्गितभ्रुरधरार्पितवेणुम् । कोमलाङ्गुलिभिराश्रितमार्गं गोप्य ईरयति यत्र मुकुन्द: ॥ २ ॥ व्योमयानवनिता: सह सिद्धै- र्विस्मितास्तदुपधार्य सलज्जा: । काममार्गणसमर्पितचित्ता: कश्मलं ययुरपस्मृतनीव्य: ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-gopya ūcuḥ vāma-bāhu-kṛta-vāma-kapolo valgita-bhrur adharārpita-veṇum komalāṅgulibhir āśrita-mārgaṁ gopya īrayati yatra mukundaḥ
The gopīs said: When Mukunda vibrates the flute He has placed to His lips, stopping its holes with His tender fingers, He rests His left cheek on His left arm and makes His eyebrows dance. At that time the demigoddesses traveling in the sky with their husbands, the Siddhas, become amazed. As those ladies listen, they are embarrassed to find their minds yielding to the pursuit of lusty desires, and in their distress they are unaware that the belts of their garments are loosening.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states that this chapter consists of a collection of statements the gopīs made at various times as they stood in small groups here and there in Vṛndāvana.
FAQs
In this verse, the gopīs vividly describe how Kṛṣṇa rests His cheek on His arm, places the flute to His lips, and makes it sing through the movement of His soft fingers—showing the flute-song as a direct expression of His irresistible divine charm.
Because their love is absorbed in remembering Kṛṣṇa’s every gesture; in separation, His posture, eyebrows, lips, and flute become the focus of their meditation and the language of their devotion.
Use it as a meditation: visualize Kṛṣṇa’s form and flute-playing to steady the mind, transform longing into remembrance (smaraṇa), and deepen loving attention in daily sādhana.