Shloka 15

गोवर्धनोत्तरविस्मयः, रासलीलाप्रसङ्गः, तथा सर्वव्याप्तिवेदान्तोपदेशः

Devanagari script

वनराजीं तथा कूजद्भृङ्गमालामनोरमाम् विलोक्य सह गोपीभिर् मनश् चक्रे रतिं प्रति

Transliteration

vanarājīṃ tathā kūjadbhṛṅgamālāmanoramām vilokya saha gopībhir manaś cakre ratiṃ prati

Translation

Beholding the forest’s royal splendor—made delightful by swarms of humming bees—and being in the company of the gopīs, he turned his mind toward love.

Word by Word

• vana-rājīm: the forest’s beauty/line of trees
• vana-rājīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक) + rājī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘वनस्य राजी’ (row/line/beauty of the forest)

• tathā: and also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (also)

• kūjat-bhṛṅga-mālā-manoramām: charming with garlands of humming bees
• kūjat-bhṛṅga-mālā-manoramām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘vana-rājīm’/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kūjat (kūj धातु-शतृ/वर्तमान कृदन्त) + bhṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + mālā (प्रातिपदिक) + manoramā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘कूजद्भृङ्गाणां माला’ इति, सा ‘मनोरमा’ (a charming garland/cluster of humming bees)

• vilokya: having seen
• vilokya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi√lok (धातु) + vilokya (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive); ‘विलोक्य’ = having seen

• saha: with
• saha: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: सह-इत्यव्यय; सहार्थे (with)

• gopībhiḥ: with the cowherd girls
• gopībhiḥ: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• cakre: he turned/made
• cakre: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘चकार/अकरोत्’

• ratim: love, desire
• ratim: Karma (Goal/object of inclination/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• prati: towards
• prati: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Directional/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: उपपद-प्रत्ययार्थक-अव्यय (preposition: towards)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Transition into erotic-rasa (rati) as Krishna observes the forest and companions with gopīs.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: suggestive, rasa-centered

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To awaken and sanctify loving devotion in Vraja through the rasa-līlā impulse stirred by the forest’s beauty and the gopīs’ presence.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Establishing prema-bhakti as a supreme dharma of the heart, transforming desire into divine rasa.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: In Krishna-līlā, even rati (desire) is transfigured into sacred rasa when centered on Bhagavān as the beloved.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Redirect powerful emotions toward the divine through disciplined remembrance, art, music, and ethically grounded devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Worldly aesthetics (prakṛti) are real and can become vehicles of communion with the Lord, not merely illusions to be denied.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Vrindavana (forest setting)
• Bhringa (bees)

FAQs

What is the significance of the forest imagery (bees, beauty) in the Vishnu Purana?

The charming Vṛndāvana setting functions as sacred ambience that naturally evokes rati (love), framing Krishna’s līlā as a spiritually charged revelation rather than ordinary romance.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the rise of love in this episode?

Parāśara narrates that, upon seeing the enchanting forest and being with the gopīs, Krishna’s mind is directed toward rati—signaling the unfolding of līlā where devotion and intimate affection become the medium of divine disclosure.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu (Krishna) in this context?

As Vishnu manifest as Krishna, he remains the Supreme Reality while engaging in humanlike intimacy; the verse presents love (rasa) as a pathway through which devotees perceive and participate in his transcendent sovereignty.