Shloka 44

गोवर्धनोत्तरविस्मयः, रासलीलाप्रसङ्गः, तथा सर्वव्याप्तिवेदान्तोपदेशः

Devanagari script

काचिद् भ्रूभङ्गुरं कृत्वा ललाटफलकं हरिम् विलोक्य नेत्रभृङ्गाभ्यां पपौ तन्मुखपङ्कजम्

Transliteration

kācid bhrūbhaṅguraṃ kṛtvā lalāṭaphalakaṃ harim vilokya netrabhṛṅgābhyāṃ papau tanmukhapaṅkajam

Translation

One gopī, knitting her brows and tilting her forehead in playful, feigned displeasure, gazed upon Hari; with bee-like eyes she drank in the lotus of his face.

Word by Word

• काचित्: a certain (gopī)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काचित् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भ्रू-भङ्गुरम्: with a frown/knitted brows
• भ्रू-भङ्गुरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रू (प्रातिपदिक) + भङ्गुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) — भ्रुवो भङ्गुरम् (भ्रूभङ्गः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (ललाटफलकम् विशेषयति)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund) — पूर्वकालक्रिया: 'having made'

• ललाट-फलकम्: the forehead surface
• ललाट-फलकम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललाट (प्रातिपदिक) + फलक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) — ललाटस्य फलकम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• हरिम्: Hari (Kṛṣṇa)
• हरिम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विलोक्य: having looked at
• विलोक्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-लोक् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यपन्त अव्यय (gerund) — 'having looked at/observed'

• नेत्र-भृङ्गाभ्याम्: with (her) bee-like eyes
• नेत्र-भृङ्गाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + भृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारय) — नेत्रे एव भृङ्गौ (eyes like bees); पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), द्विवचन

• पपौ: she drank (in), imbibed
• पपौ: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तत्-मुख-पङ्कजम्: his lotus-face
• तत्-मुख-पङ्कजम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक) + पङ्कज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) — तस्य मुखपङ्कजम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Varieties of gopī-bhāva in Kṛṣṇa’s presence

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To relish and reciprocate the gopīs’ intimate love, transforming even feigned displeasure into deeper union.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Sanctification of loving intimacy (prema) as a legitimate mode of approaching the Supreme.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Devotion can take nuanced interpersonal forms—teasing, feigned anger, and longing—yet remains a mode of absorption in Hari’s beauty.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Offer even complex emotions to God by redirecting attention from ego to loving remembrance, letting feeling become prayer.

Vishishtadvaita: Relational plurality (bhakta-bhagavān sambandha) is real within the one Lord; intimacy does not negate divinity but manifests it.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (Hari)
• Krishna
• Gopī

FAQs

What is the significance of the 'bee-like eyes' and 'face-lotus' imagery in the Vishnu Purana?

It depicts bhakti as a form of total absorption—devotees 'drink' the Lord’s beauty through unwavering gaze, expressing love that naturally fixes the mind on Hari.

How does Sage Parāśara explain devotion in this Krishna context?

By narrating the gopīs’ spontaneous, emotionally rich responses to Krishna, Parāśara presents devotion as an inner, lived experience where the Supreme Lord becomes the sole object of awareness.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (Hari) in this verse?

Hari appears as Krishna, showing that the Supreme Vishnu is not only cosmic ruler but also personally accessible—drawing souls through grace, beauty, and intimate līlā.