Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 6
Gopī-gīta in Separation: The Flute’s Call and Vraja’s Ecstatic Response
बर्हिणस्तबकधातुपलाशै- र्बद्धमल्लपरिबर्हविडम्ब: । कर्हिचित् सबल आलि स गोपै- र्गा: समाह्वयति यत्र मुकुन्द: ॥ ६ ॥ तर्हि भग्नगतय: सरितो वै तत्पदाम्बुजरजोऽनिलनीतम् । स्पृहयतीर्वयमिवाबहुपुण्या: प्रेमवेपितभुजा: स्तिमिताप: ॥ ७ ॥
barhiṇa-stabaka-dhātu-palāśair baddha-malla-paribarha-viḍambaḥ karhicit sa-bala āli sa gopair gāḥ samāhvayati yatra mukundaḥ
My dear gopī, sometimes Mukunda imitates the appearance of a wrestler by decorating Himself with leaves, peacock feathers and colored minerals. Then, in the company of Balarāma and the cowherd boys, He plays His flute to call the cows. At that time the rivers stop flowing, their water stunned by the ecstasy they feel as they eagerly wait for the wind to bring them the dust of His lotus feet. But like us, the rivers are not very pious, and thus they merely wait with their arms trembling out of love.
The gopīs state here that the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute causes even inanimate objects like rivers to become conscious and then stunned in ecstasy. Just as the gopīs could not always be in Kṛṣṇa’s physical association, the rivers could not come to the Lord’s lotus feet. Although they desired the Lord, their movement was checked by ecstasy, and their “arms,” their waves, trembled with love of Godhead.
FAQs
Because in separation they relive vivid details of His Vraja-līlā; describing His forest adornments intensifies their devotion and remembrance (smaraṇa-bhakti).
Mukunda means “the giver of liberation” (mukti). The gopīs call Him Mukunda to indicate that even His simple cowherd pastimes bestow the highest spiritual perfection through loving remembrance.
Practice conscious remembrance of Krishna through specific līlā-details—His form, dress, and activities—so the mind naturally returns to bhakti during daily life.