Aṣṭa-kāliya-līlā – Anuśīlana.in

astācalaṁ cumbati bhānu-bimbe

astācalaṁ cumbati bhānu-bimbe
gṛhe gṛhe gokula-sundarīṇām |
divyānulepābharaṇāmbarāṇi
kṛṣṇāhriyante paritaḥ sakhībhiḥ ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.101)

“O Kṛṣṇa,
When the orb of the sun
Kisses the western horizon,
In house after house
The splendid unguents, ornaments, and garments
Of the beauties of Gokula
Are brought from all sides by [their] friends
[So that these beauties can be well-dressed when they meet Kṛṣṇa as he re-enters the village in the early evening from his day of cow-herding out in the forest].”

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vinyasta-śruti-pālir adya muralī-nisvāna-śuśrūṣā

vinyasta-śruti-pālir adya muralī-nisvāna-śuśrūṣā
bhūyaḥ prasrava-varṣiṇī dviguṇitotkaṇṭhā pradoṣodaye |
gehād aṅganam aṅganāt punar asau gehaṁ viśanty ākulā
govindasya muhur vrajendra-gṛhiṇī panthānam ālokate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.55)

“Today [i.e., throughout the day]
Wishing with her ears pricked
To hear the sound of the flute,
And again at the onset of evening,
With doubled longing
And milk streaming [from her breasts]
As she repeatedly entered the courtyard from the house
And the house from the courtyard,
The anxious queen of Vraja
Looked again and again at Govinda’s path
[i.e., the path by which he was expected to soon return home from the forest].”

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niculita-giri-dhātu-sphīta-patrāvalīkān

niculita-giri-dhātu-sphīta-patrāvalīkān
akhila-surabhi-reṇūn kṣālayadbhir yaśodā |
kuca-kalasa-vimuktaiḥ sneha-mādhvīka-medhyais
tava navam abhiṣekaṁ dugdha-pūraiḥ karoti ||
(Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka: 1.46; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sidhu: 3.4.47)

“[O Kṛṣṇa!]
Yaśodā conducts your first bath [after you return from the forest in the afternoon]
With the supremely pure streams of milk
Replete with the honey of her affection
Released from the urns of her breasts
That wash away all the dust from [i.e., raised by] the cows,
By which your leaves [i.e., the decorative leaf designs drawn on your body] made of minerals
Become covered over.”

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vijñāpya tātaṁ dohāya gato’sau gāś ca tā mudā

vijñāpya tātaṁ dohāya gato’sau gāś ca tā mudā |
militāḥ svābhitaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sāntvayāmāsa sāntvanaiḥ ||
śrī-hasta-mārjanaiḥ kaṇḍūyanair gāḥ prīṇayan hariḥ |
dudoha dohayāmāsa vatsāṁs tais taiś ca pāyayan ||
vatsā nipīyodara-pūram uccakais
tṛptiṁ gatā gopa-gaṇā yathepsitam |
dugdhvā nivṛttāś ca gavāṁ tathāpy aho
nodhaḥ-payaḥ-pūrtir avāpa hīnatām ||
kṛṣṇānanābjārpita-netra-cetasāṁ
gavāṁ svayaṁ saṁsravad audhasaṁ payaḥ |
gopāḥ stanādho-dhṛta-kumbha-sañcayaiḥ
sambhṛtya ninyuḥ purato vrajeśituḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 20.30–33)

“He informed his father and went to milk [the cows]. Kṛṣṇa comforted the cows delightedly assembled around him with comforting gestures. After pleasing them by scratching and wiping them with his beautiful hands, Hari milked the cows and had them [i.e., his fellow cowherds] feed the calves milk and milk [the other cows]. The calves drank a belly-full [of milk] and greatly felt satisfaction. The cowherds also milked [the cows] to the extent desired and desisted. Still, aho! The fulness with milk of the cows’ udders did not undergo depletion. The cowherds collected in pots held below their udders the milk flowing of its own accord from the udders of the cows, whose eyes and hearts were fixed on the lotus of Kṛṣṇa’s face, and [then] brought it before the king of Vraja [viz., Nanda Mahārāja].”

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hihī gaṅge godāvari śabali kālindi dhavale

hihī gaṅge godāvari śabali kālindi dhavale
hihī dhūmre tuṅgi bhramari yamune haṁsi kamale |
hihī rambhe campe kariṇi hariṇīti vraja-vidhur
muhur nāma-grāhaṁ nikhila-surabhīr āhvayad asau ||
nyastāṅgaḥ prapadopari praghaṭayan jānu-dvaye dohanīṁ
kāścid dogdhi payaḥ svayaṁ tv atha parāḥ svair dohayaty unmukhīḥ |
anyāḥ pāyayati sva-tarṇaka-gaṇān kaṇḍūyanaiḥ prīṇayann
itthaṁ nanda-sutaḥ prage sva-surabhīr ānandayan nandati ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 2.40–41)

“‘Hihī, Gaṅge!
Godāvari! Śabali! Kālindi! Dhavale!
Hihī, Dhūmre! Tuṅgi! Bhramari! Yamune! Haṁsi! Kamale!
Hihī, Rambhe! Campe! Kariṇi! Harini!’
Repeatedly taking their names in this way,
The Moon of Vraja calls all the cows.
Placing his body [weight] over the tips of his toes
And setting a milk vessel between his knees,
He personally milks some of the cows himself
And has other eager ones milked by his companions.
He pleases others by scratching [them]
And has their calves drink [their] milk.
In this way delighting his cows,
The Son of Nanda delights in the morning.”

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suciram api savatsās tvām anālokayantyo

suciram api savatsās tvām anālokayantyo
na khalu surabhayas tā yadyapi prasnuvanti |
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 2.14)

[Mother Yaśodā to Śrī Kṛṣṇa to prompt him to arise from bed and start his day:]
“Although they have been with their calves [this morning] already for a long time, the cows do not give any milk without seeing you.”

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kālindy-ādyās tava surabhayaḥ stabdha-karṇordhva-vaktrā

kālindy-ādyās tava surabhayaḥ stabdha-karṇordhva-vaktrā
hambā-rāvair uṣasi tṛṣitānn āhvayantyaḥ sva-vatsān |
yuṣman-mārge nihita-nayanās tvan-mukhālokanotkāḥ
sīdanty ūdho-bhara-janitayā pīḍayeti pratīhi ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.43)

[The parrot Dakṣa sings to prompt Śrī Kṛṣṇa to arise before dawn and return to his home in Nandīśvara from the secluded cottage where he had spent the night before the sun rises:]
“Ears pricked
Faces upraised,
Calling their thirsty calves with mooing sounds,
Eyes fixed on your path,
And longing to see your face,
At dawn
Your cows,
Kālindī and so on,
Are troubled by the ache
Produced by the weight of their [unmilked] udders.
You know this!”

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śrī-gopyas tv anugacchantyo bāṣpa-samruddha-kaṇṭhikāḥ

śrī-gopyas tv anugacchantyo bāṣpa-samruddha-kaṇṭhikāḥ |
gānāśaktāḥ skhalat-pādā aśru-dhārāsta-dṛṣṭayaḥ ||
kartuṁ vaktuṁ ca tāḥ kiñcid aśaktā lajjayā bhiyā |
mahāśokārṇave magnās tat-pratikāraṇe’kṣamāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.178–179)

“They—
The blessed gopīs—
However,
Following [him] further,
Their throats choked by weeping,
Unable to sing,
Their feet stumbling,
Their eyes obscured by streams of tears,
Unable to do or even say anything
Because of their shyness and fear,
Became submerged in an ocean of great sorrow
And unable to alleviate it.”

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sā carvāṇodyad-aruṇādhara-cāru-jihvā

sā carvāṇodyad-aruṇādhara-cāru-jihvā-
gaṇḍu-sthalānana-saroja-vilāsa-bhaṅgī |
bhrū-cāpa-locana-saroruha-nartana-śrī-
vidyotitā na vacasā manasāpi gamyā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.125)

“That [extraordinarily astonishing] expression of play
In his cheeks, charming tongue, and dawn-red lips
Emerging on his lotus face as he chews,
Illumined by the beauty of the dancing
Of the lotuses of his eyes
And the bows of his brows,
Is not graspable by speech or even the mind.”

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aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ

aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ
truṭir yugāyate tvām apaśyatām |
kuṭila-kuntalaṁ śrī-mukhaṁ ca te
jaḍa udīkṣatāṁ pakṣma-kṛt dṛśām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.31.15)

“[The gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] ‘When you go out to the forest during the day, a truṭi [i.e., half a milisecond] seems like a yuga for we who do not see you [all day], and the creator of lids for the eyes of we who eagerly behold your wavy locks and beautiful face [when you return in the late afternoon] is [considered by us to be] a fool.”

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