Shloka 14
Trivakrā’s Transformation and the Breaking of Kaṁsa’s Bow
Mathurā-līlā Prelude
तद्दर्शनस्मरक्षोभादात्मानं नाविदन् स्त्रिय: । विस्रस्तवास:कवरवलया लेख्यमूर्तय: ॥ १४ ॥
tad-darśana-smara-kṣobhād ātmānaṁ nāvidan striyaḥ visrasta-vāsaḥ-kavara valayā lekhya-mūrtayaḥ
కృష్ణ దర్శనంతో నగర స్త్రీల హృదయాల్లో మన్మథుడు కదిలాడు. ఆ కలవరంలో వారు తమను తాము మరచిపోయారు. వారి వస్త్రాలు, జడలు, గాజులు చెదిరిపోయి, చిత్రంలోని రూపాల్లా నిశ్చలంగా నిలిచారు.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī states that since the women of Mathurā immediately experienced symptoms of conjugal attraction when they saw Kṛṣṇa, they were the most advanced devotees in the city. The ten effects of Cupid are described as follows: cakṣū-rāgaḥ prathamaṁ cittāsaṅgas tato ’tha saṅkalpaḥ nidrā-cchedas tanutā viṣaya-nivṛttis trapā-nasaḥ / unmādo mūrcchā mṛtir ity etāḥ smara-daśā daśaiva syuḥ. “First comes attraction expressed through the eyes, then intense attachment in the mind, then determination, loss of sleep, becoming emaciated, disinterest in external things, shamelessness, madness, becoming stunned and death. These are the ten stages of Cupid’s effects.”
FAQs
This verse says that merely seeing Kṛṣṇa overwhelms ordinary self-control—His beauty stirs deep emotion (described as Cupid’s agitation), leaving the onlookers stunned and outwardly disarranged.
Because they became motionless in astonishment and attraction—like portraits—while their clothes, hair, and bangles slipped out of place, showing how completely Kṛṣṇa’s presence captivated them.
It teaches the power of darśana and remembrance: regularly bringing Kṛṣṇa into one’s attention through worship, hearing, and contemplation naturally draws the mind away from distraction and toward heartfelt devotion.