Flutes – Anuśīlana.in

gāvaś ca kṛṣṇa-mukha-nirgata-veṇu-gīta

gāvaś ca kṛṣṇa-mukha-nirgata-veṇu-gīta-
pīyūṣam uttabhita-karṇa-puṭaiḥ pibantyaḥ |
śāvāḥ snuta-stana-payaḥ-kavalāḥ sma tasthur
govindam ātmani dṛśāśru-kalāḥ spṛśantyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.21.13)

“The cows—
Drinking in the nectar
Of the flute song
Emanating from Kṛṣṇa’s mouth
With the cups of their uplifted ears—
And the calves—
Into whom mouthfuls of milk
From the udders [of their mothers] flowed [but were not being swallowed],
Stood still [i.e., became spellbound],
Embracing Govinda in their minds through their eyes
And shedding tears.”

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tava kṛṣṇa keli-muralī

tava kṛṣṇa keli-muralī
hitam ahitaṁ ca sphuṭaṁ vimohayati |
ekaṁ sudhormi-suhṛdā
viṣa-viṣameṇāparaṁ dhvaninā ||
(Stava-mālā: Govinda-virudāvalī: 38)

“O Kṛṣṇa!
Your play-flute vividly bewilders
The well-disposed and the ill-disposed,
One [i.e., the well-disposed] with a sound
That is friendly like a wave of nectar [and causes one to faint out of bliss],
And the other [i.e., the ill-disposed] with a sound
That is dreadful like poison [and causes one to faint out of fear].”

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sambhrāntaiḥ saṣaḍ-aṅga-pātam abhito vedair mudā vanditā

sambhrāntaiḥ saṣaḍ-aṅga-pātam abhito vedair mudā vanditā
sīmantopari gauravād upaniṣad-devībhir apy arpitā |
ānamraṁ praṇavena ca praṇayato hṛṣṭātmanābhiṣṭutā
mṛdvī te muralī-rutir mura-ripo śarmāṇi nirmātu naḥ ||
(Stava-mālā: Govinda-virudāvalī: 37)

“Bowed to on all sides by the reverent Vedas
Accompanied by [their] six limbs,
Placed out of veneration atop the part [in the hair]
Even by the devīs of the Upaniṣads,
And highly praised out of admiration
By bowing praṇava [i.e., the syllable Om] with a rejoicing mind—
O Enemy of Mura—
May the gentle sound of your flute
Create delights for us.”

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raṇati hare tava veṇau

raṇati hare tava veṇau
nāryo danujāś ca kampitāḥ khinnāḥ |
vanam anapekṣita-dayitāḥ
karabālān projjhya dhāvanti ||
(Stava-mālā: Govinda-virudāvalī: 20)

“O Hari!
When your flute resounds,
Women [i.e., the gopīs] begin trembling and perspiring [out of love (rati)],
Become unaware of their husbands,
Drop the hair in their hands [they were braiding],
And run to the forest [to meet you];
Asuras also begin trembling and perspiring [out of fear of death],
Become unaware of their wives,
Drop the swords in their hands,
And run to the forest [to hide from you].”

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buddhīnāṁ parimohanaḥ kila hriyām uccāṭanaḥ stambhano

buddhīnāṁ parimohanaḥ kila hriyām uccāṭanaḥ stambhano
dharmodagra-bhiyāṁ manaḥ-karaṭināṁ vaśyatva-niṣpādanaḥ |
kālindī-kalahaṁsa hanta vapuṣām ākarṣaṇaḥ subhruvāṁ
jīyād vaiṇava-pañcama-dhvanimayo mantrādhirājas tava ||
(Stava-mālā: Govinda-virudāvalī: 12)

“O Swan [i.e., O Frolicker] on the Kālindī!
Beguiling the thoughts,
Causing the abandonment of the shyness,
Paralyzing the mighty fear on account of dharma,
Accomplishing the subjugation of the elephant-like minds,
And drawing near the bodies
Of they of fine brows [i.e., the gopīs],
May the emperor of mantras
Constituted of the fifth note of your flute
Triumph!”

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tava muralī-dhvanir amarī

tava muralī-dhvanir amarī-
kāmāmbudhi-vṛddhi-śubhrāṁśuḥ |
acaṭula-gokula-kulajā-
dhariyāmbudhi-pāna-kumbhajo jayati ||
(Stava-mālā: Govinda-virudāvalī: 4)

“The sound of your flute—
The bright-rayed moon
For swelling the ocean
Of the ladies of Svarga’s desire,
The Agastya for drinking the ocean
Of the composure of the unwavering noble ladies of Gokula—
Triumphs!”

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niśamya gītāṁ tad anaṅga-vardhanaṁ

niśamya gītāṁ tad anaṅga-vardhanaṁ
vraja-striyaḥ kṛṣṇa-gṛhīta-mānasāḥ |
ājagmur anyonyam alakṣitodyamāḥ
sa yatra kānto java-lola-kuṇḍalāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.29.4)

“Upon hearing that song [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s flute] intensifying of kāma [i.e., of prema for Śrī Kṛṣṇa], the women of Vraja, their minds stolen by Kṛṣṇa, their departing [from wherever they were upon hearing the flute’s song] unseen by one another, and their earrings swinging from [the] swiftness [of their running through the forest to meet Kṛṣṇa], arrived where he, their lover, was present.”

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gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī

gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī-
kalaṁ līlā-gīta-svara-madhura-rāgeṇa kalitam |
jagad-vailakṣaṇyācita-vividha-bhaṅgi-vilasitaṁ
vrajasthānāṁ teṣāṁ sapadi paramākarṣa-valitam ||
yasmāt sasrus taru-vitatito dīrgha-dhārā rasānāṁ
ghoṣa-sthānām api tanu-bhṛtāṁ netrato’śru-pravāhaḥ |
tan-mātṝṇām api vivayasāṁ kṣīra-pūraḥ stanebhyaḥ
kālindyāś ca pracala-payasāṁ te nyavartanta vegāḥ ||
na jāne sā vaṁśy udgirati garalaṁ vāmṛta-rasaṁ
na jāne tan-nādo’py aśaṇi-paruṣo vāmbu-mṛdulaḥ |
na jāne cātyuṣṇo jvalita-dahanād vendu-śiśiro
yato jātonmādā mumuhur akhilās te vraja-janāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.46–48)

“[I heard] The soft sound of an enchanting flute,
Greatly delightful [as it blended] with the sounds of the mooing of cows,
Furnished with sweet melodies (rāgas) of sportively sung notes,
Embellished with various modalities [i.e., manners of modulation, etc.]
Filled with otherworldliness,
And instantly possessed
Of paramount attraction of those residents of Vraja.^
Because of it,
Long streams of sap
Poured out from clusters of trees,
Streams of tears [poured out] from the eyes
Of all embodied beings—
Even those situated [at a distance] in the village,
Streams of milk [poured out] from the breasts
Of all his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] mothers—
Even the elderly,
And the rapids
Of the Kālindī’s swiftly flowing waters
Reverted.
I do not know
Whether that flute
Emits poison or nectar.
I do not know
Whether even the sound of it
Is as harsh as thunder
Or as soft as water.
And I do not know
Whether it is hotter than a blazing fire
Or cooler than the moon;
All those people of Vraja
Became maddened and bewildered by it.”

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aho vaidagdhī sā madhura-madhurā śrī-bhagavataḥ

aho vaidagdhī sā madhura-madhurā śrī-bhagavataḥ
samākarṣaty uccair jagati kṛtinaḥ kasya na manaḥ |
kula-strīṇāṁ tāsāṁ vana-bhuvi tathākarṣaṇam atho
tathā vāk-cāturyaṁ sapadi ruditaṁ tābhir api yat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.151)

“Aho! What adept’s mind in this world does Śrī Bhagavān’s sweet, sweet artistry [in flute playing], [his] thereby attracting those noble women [i.e., the gopīs] into the region of the forest, and [his] similar expertise with speech because of which weeping was resorted to immediately even by them [i.e., the gopīs, once he spoke to them upon their arrival in his midst in the forest], not intensely attract in full?”

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rādhādyās tāḥ parama-bhagavatyas tu paty-ātmajādīn

rādhādyās tāḥ parama-bhagavatyas tu paty-ātmajādīn
lokān dharmān hriyam api parityajya bhāvaṁ tam āptāḥ |
yenājasraṁ madhura-kaṭukair vyākulās tad-vikārair
mugdhāḥ kiñcit taru-gatim itā nānusandhātum īśāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.147)

“They, the supremely fortunate Rādhā and company, however, have completely relinquished [their] husbands, sons, and so forth, the worlds [i.e., the prospects of conventional weal in this life on Earth and future lives in other planes such as Svarga], duties, and even shyness and reached to that bhāva by which they become as a result of the pungent and sweet transformations thereof constantly unsettled, bewildered, possessed of the condition of trees [i.e., transfixed], and unable to understand anything.”

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