ಗೋಪೀಗೀತಮ್

The Gopis sang: Vraja shines all the more brightly by Your descent (in the house of Nanda and Yashoda); for Laxmi (the Goddess of beauty and prosperity) constantly dwells here (from that time in order to catch your glimpse). O beloved Lord! please(reveal Yourself and) see how your sweethearts, who have centered their life in you, are searching for you in every quarter. (1)

Is it no massacring here on Your part, O Granter of boons, who kill us, Your gratuitous slaves, O Bestower of enjoyment, by your (shaft-like) eyes, that steal the splendour of the interior of a lovely and full-blown lotus growing in an autumnal pond? (2)

We have been saved by You time and again, O jewel among men, from death through poisonous water, from (the clutches of) a demon disguised as a snake (Aghasura by name), from showers and storm as well as from strokes of lightning, from the demon that appeared in the form of a calf, as well as from Vyomasura (the son of the demon Maya), nay from every other peril. (3)

Surely You are no (mere) son of a cowherd woman (Yasoda), being the witness of the mind of all embodied souls. Solicited by Brahma, You appeared, O Friend, in the race of the Yadus for the protection of the universe. (4)

Place on our head, O beloved Lord, Your lotus-like palm, that has vouchsafed protection, O Chief of the Vrishnis, to those that have sought your feet from fear of transmigration, nay, which grants all desires and has clasped the hand of Shri (as a part of the marriage ceremony). (5)

O Alleviator of the suffering of the people of Vraja, O gallant Lord, whose very smile crushes the pride (born of unrequited love) of your own people, accept in your service, O Friend, us, Your avowed servants and reveal to us (poor women) Your charming lotus-like countenance. (6)

Set on our bosom your lotus feet, which dissipate the sins of all embodied beings that bow down to You, which follow (out of affection even) animal that live on grass, which are the abode of beauty and prosperity and which were dauntlessly placed on the hoods of a terrible snake (Kaliya), and thereby soothe the pangs of love pent up in our heart. (7)

Pray, revive with the nectar of Your lips O valiant One, these women, in the person of ourselves, who are ready to do Your bidding and who are getting charmed, O Lord with lotus eyes, by Your melodious speech, consisting of delightful expressions and pleasing even to the learned. (8)

Munificent are those men who extensively recite on earth Your nectar-like story, which is life-giving to the afflicted, has been celebrated by the wise, and eradicates all sins, which is auspicious to hear and is most soothing too. (9)

You hearty laugh, O Darling, loving glances and pastimes which are happy to contemplate on and Your covert jests uttered in secret, that went deep into our heart, really agitate our mind (now that you are away from us), O deceitful Lover! (10)

Our mind, O beloved Lord, grows uneasy to think that your feet, charming as a lotus, get pricked with spikes of corn, blades of grass and sprouts when You go out of Vraja pasturing the cattle. (11)

You kindle love in our heart, O gallant Lord, again and again, even as You reveal Yourself before us at the close of the day, wearing a countenance overhung by dark curly locks and soiled with the dust raised by cows (that constitute the wealth of the Gopas), and thus resembling a lotus (surrounded by black bees and covered with pollen). (12)

O Delighter of souls, pray set on our bosom, O Reliever of agony, Your most blissful lotus-like feet, which grant the desires of those that bow low to them, and are worshipped by Brahma (the lotus-born), which are the ornament of the earth and are worth contemplating upon in times of adversity. (13)

Vouchsafe to us, O heroic Lord, the nectar of your lips, which heightens our enjoyment and destroys all grief, nay which is fully enjoyed by the flute sounded by You and makes people forget all other attachments. (14)

When You proceed to the woods during the daytime, even half a moment becomes an age to us, who fail to see You. And dull-witted is he (Brahma) who has created rows of hair on the edge (and thus interrupted the joy) of eyes of us all, that eagerly behold without winking, Your splendid countenance overhung by curly hair (on Your return from the woods at eventide). (15)

Completely neglecting our husband, children, kinsmen, brothers and other relations, O immortal Lord, and enchanted by the shrill note of Your flute, we have sought Your presence, knowing as we did Your alluring ways. What man, O Trickster, would abandon helpless women at dead of night? (16)

Perceiving Your amorous advances made in secret, Your smiling countenance, which kindles love in our heart, Your loving glances and broad chest, the abode of Shri (the goddess of beauty and prosperity), our mind gets infatuated again and again through intense longing to meet You. (17)

Your manifestation on earth, O Darling, has put an end to the sorrows of the inhabitants of Vraja as well as of the denizens of the forest, and is extremely auspicious for the whole universe. Pray, unreservedly administer to us - whose mind is full of longing for You - at least a little of that remedy (in the form of Your company) which may relieve the pangs of heart of Your own people. (18)

You traverse the forest on those tender lotus-like feet which, O Darling, we have gently and timidly set on our hard bosom (for fear of injuring them). Are they not pained by coming in contact with gravel, etc.? The mind of us all, whose life is centered in You, reels at the very thought of it. (19)

Thus ends the 31st discourse, entitled The Gopi's Song (at the Lord's disappearance) during the Rasa Play, in the first half of Book Ten of the great and glorious Bhagavata Purana, otherwise known as Paramahamsa-Samhita.