Shloka 19

The Gopīs Glorify the Song of Kṛṣṇa’s Flute

Veṇu-gīta

Devanagari script

गा गोपकैरनुवनं नयतोरुदार- वेणुस्वनै: कलपदैस्तनुभृत्सु सख्य: । अस्पन्दनं गतिमतां पुलकस्तरुणां निर्योगपाशकृतलक्षणयोर्विचित्रम् ॥ १९ ॥

Transliteration

gā gopakair anu-vanaṁ nayator udāra veṇu-svanaiḥ kala-padais tanu-bhṛtsu sakhyaḥ aspandanaṁ gati-matāṁ pulakas taruṇāṁ niryoga-pāśa-kṛta-lakṣaṇayor vicitram

Translation

Hỡi các bạn, khi Kṛṣṇa và Balarāma cùng các bạn chăn bò dắt đàn bò đi khắp rừng, tiếng sáo cao quý và ngọt lành của Ngài khiến muôn loài đang chuyển động bỗng sững lại, còn cây cối bất động cũng run lên vì rợn ngợp hoan hỷ. Cả những sợi dây Ngài mang theo để buộc chân sau bò lúc vắt sữa—thật kỳ diệu biết bao!

Synonyms

• gāḥ: cows
• gāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• gopakaiḥ: by the cowherd boys
• gopakaiḥ: Karta/Agent-instrument (कर्ता-सहायक/तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural

• anu-vanam: through the forests
• anu-vanam: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण, adverbial locus)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva (अव्ययीभाव) used adverbially; accusative-form fixed: ‘along/through the forest(s)’

• nayatoḥ: (the two) lead
• nayatoḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Dual (द्विवचन)

• udāra: noble; splendid
• udāra: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural understood with veṇu-svanaiḥ; adjective (विशेषण)

• veṇu-svanaiḥ: with flute-sounds
• veṇu-svanaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + svana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural; tatpuruṣa: veṇoḥ svanāḥ (वेणोः स्वनाः)

• kala-padaiḥ: with sweet notes
• kala-padaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kala (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया), Plural; karmadhāraya: kalāni padāni (कलानि पदानि) ‘sweet notes/phrases’

• tanu-bhṛtsu: among living beings
• tanu-bhṛtsu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (सप्तमी), Plural; tatpuruṣa: tanūn bhṛtaḥ (तनून् भृतः) ‘embodied beings’

• sakhyaḥ: O friends
• sakhyaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural; vocative-like address in context to gopīs (contextual संबोधन)

• aspandanam: motionlessness; stillness
• aspandanam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-spandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; a- (नञ्) negation

• gati-matām: of those that move
• gati-matām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक) + mat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (षष्ठी), Plural; bahuvrīhi-like adjectival sense ‘having movement’, but formed as tatpuruṣa/derivative; qualifies implied beings

• pulakaḥ: horripilation; goosebumps
• pulakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular

• taruṇām: of the young (women)
• taruṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (षष्ठी), Plural

• niryoga-pāśa-kṛta-lakṣaṇayoḥ: of the two marked by the noose of separation
• niryoga-pāśa-kṛta-lakṣaṇayoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niryoga (प्रातिपदिक) + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त, क्त) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive (षष्ठी), Dual; tatpuruṣa chain: niryogasya pāśaḥ (निर्योगस्य पाशः) ‘bond of separation’ + tena kṛtaṃ lakṣaṇam (तेन कृतं लक्षणम्) → ‘marked by the bond of separation’; dual refers to two (Rāma-Kṛṣṇa) or two parties contextually

• vicitram: wonderful; astonishing
• vicitram: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-citra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective qualifying aspandanam/pulakaḥ as a wonder

Purport

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would sometimes wear Their cowherding ropes on Their heads and sometimes carry them on Their shoulders, and thus They were beautifully decorated with all the equipment of cowherd boys.

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Balarama
• Gopas (cowherd boys)
• Gopis of Vraja

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the power of Krishna’s flute in Venu Gita?

This verse says Kṛṣṇa’s flute music is so spiritually potent that it stills moving beings and makes even trees show ecstatic symptoms like goosebumps, as if bound by loving connection to Him.

Why are the gopīs describing nature becoming motionless and trees getting goosebumps?

They are expressing how all of Vraja responds to Kṛṣṇa’s presence: creation itself participates in devotion, revealing bhakti’s ecstatic signs when touched by His flute song.

How can a modern devotee apply the lesson of this shloka in daily life?

Cultivate attentive hearing (śravaṇam) of Kṛṣṇa-kathā and devotional music; the verse teaches that sincere, absorbed listening can still the restless mind and awaken loving connection to the Divine.