Gopika Geetha (Bhagavatha Purana) - Kannada

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 extrmely 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 Play᳚, in the first
half of Book Ten of the great and glorious Bhagavata Purana,
otherwise known as Paramahamsa-Samhita.

Bharata Natya Shastra:
rAsa = Name of a particular dance carried on by a number of
women dancing in a circle
with their hands interlocked, in the company of men
who dance with them with their arms placed round the
neck of their female partners.

Encoded by Sunder Hattangadi (sunderh@hotmail.com)

Browse Related Categories: