Shloka 7
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 adorns Himself with leaves, peacock feathers, and colored minerals, playfully imitating the look of a wrestler. Then, in the company of Balarāma and the cowherd boys, He sounds His flute to call the cows. At that time the rivers break their flow and stand still; their waters, stunned by love’s ecstasy, yearn for the dust of His lotus feet carried by the wind. Yet, like us, the rivers are of scant merit, and so they only wait, their “arms” trembling with prema.
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
The gopīs poetically describe nature responding to Kṛṣṇa: the rivers appear to stop because they long for the dust of His lotus feet carried by the wind, mirroring the gopīs’ own yearning.
Because that dust symbolizes Kṛṣṇa’s intimate presence and mercy; even a trace of it is portrayed as spiritually irresistible, awakening prema (pure love) in all beings—even rivers.
Cultivate longing for Kṛṣṇa’s presence through hearing and chanting; like the rivers “becoming still,” let the mind settle by focusing on the Lord’s feet—humility, service, and remembrance.