Sunday, August 14, 2011

Shri Venu Geet: Fifth Shloka

Shri Krishna's Flute is The Breath of Love 

barhapidam nata-vara-vapuh karnayoh karnikaram
bibhrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantim ca malam
randhran venor adhara-sudhayapurayan gopa-vrndair
vrndaranyam sva-pada-ramanam pravisad gita-kirtih
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.21.5)
Shri Krishna Enters Vrindavan 

Shri Krishna is entering Vrindavan with the cowherd boys. He has a peacock feather on His head, blue karnika flowers in his ears,a yellow pitambar drapes his body and the Vaijanti Mala made of five types of fragrant flowers, garlands His neck. The dark god has the beauteous form of a great dancer performing on the royal stage. He breathes the nectar of His lips into the openings of the flute.
Earthly Vrindavan is Marked by Krishna's Footprints 

Walking behind, the cowherd boys sing His glories which purify mankind. In this manner earthly Vrindavan becomes superior to even Vaikunth( where the god forever dwells) because this perfect landscape is marked by the footprints of Krishna.
The Cowherdesses are Enraptured by Krishna's Beauty

Commentary by Shri Manohar Baba: Although the cowherdesses of Vraja were intoxicated by divine madness and unable to give an account of their romantic dalliance with Krishna in the past. However on listening to the flute play, the gopis enraptured by the Supreme Lover's ineffable beauty became intensely desirous of having Krishna for themselves. Their infatuation with Madana, stripped them of the ability to give His description.
Shri Krishna is a Superb Dancer

Thus developing the gopibhava Shri Shukdev ji says that Krishna is wearing the fresh plume of an entranced peacock in His dark curly locks and is adorned with ornaments studded with gems, pearls, diamonds and gold.Dark-hued Krishna, the best of the natas, is flaunting His expertise by a superb performance. He tucks the karnika flowers behind His left ear at times and in His right ear at times, exhibiting His capricious nature.
Lord Krishna Dressed in Yellow 

The one who is dressed in glowing yellow garments (pitambar) which adds a distinctive beauty to His form in the Sharad Ritu (the golden-hue attains a particular radiance in the autumnal and spring season). The One who is wearing a garland of the vanamala, stringed with fragrant five-hued flowers and the One who fills the openings of the flute with the nectar of His lips.
The Flute Play of Krishna Passionately Draws the Gopis
According to Shridhar Svami Pad, Shri Shukdev ji endorses that the venu or flute is flooded with the nectar of Krishna's lips. The underlying bhava emphasises that the flute in the hands of Krishna is not just a musical instrument but the breath of love. The flute play with its melodious notes passionately draws the gopis (representing the hungering devotees of the dark god) in a delicious anguish to His side.
Note: It was the fifth shloka that actually attracted Mahatma Shukdev ji to listen to the 'Shrimad Bhagavat' from his father Bhagwan Ved Vyas. In the rest of the 14 shlokas ,the gopis sing the glories of Krishna's flute which captivates all living beings, and fills them with the bhava of shringara bhakti or ecstatic devotion.The scene motivates the cowherdesses to sing the much famed Gopi Geet in the 10th Canto of the Shrimad Bhagavat's 21st chapter.

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