Sūkti Sudhākara

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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labdhārcāś cāru-veśaiḥ śabalita-vapuṣaḥ prāpta-bhogāvalīkā

labdhārcāś cāru-veśaiḥ śabalita-vapuṣaḥ prāpta-bhogāvalīkā
vatsaiḥ pṛktāḥ pramodaṁ pṛthutaram abhajan dhenavaḥ satyam eva |
kintu śrī-kṛṣṇa-dṛṣṭi-pramada-valayitā yarhi tarhy eva no cet
kecid yadvad bhajante madhura-vidhurataḥ saṁskṛtaṁ ṣāḍavādi ||
(Gopāla-campū: 1.18.71)

“Receiving worship, becoming of variegated figures because of [being outfitted with] charming decorations, obtaining numerous foods, and becoming united with their calves, the cows felt very great delight, but only indeed truly [do they feel delight] then when they become enveloped in the delight of seeing Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When this does not occur, they become like some who eat prepared ṣāḍavas and so on because of avoiding sweets [i.e., they feel no real delight at all just as persons who abstain from eating sweets for medical reasons instead eat medicinal formulations known as ṣāḍavas to recover their health yet feel no real delight in only eating such sour medicines].”

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pratyekaṁ gāva etā bahir api ca hareḥ prāṇa-rūpā yad āsāṁ

pratyekaṁ gāva etā bahir api ca hareḥ prāṇa-rūpā yad āsāṁ
śaśvat tṛptau ca tṛptiṁ kṣudhi ca kalayati kṣud-vikāraṁ sa eṣaḥ |
ānīyānīya caitā nija-hṛdi vidadhad ghrāṇa-saukhyaṁ dadhānaḥ
śliṣyann uccair vicinvann aśanam upadadat pālayan svena bhāti ||
usrāṇāṁ prāṇa-sāmyaṁ vahati harir amūs taṁ vinā rikta-cittāś
citra-prāyāḥ samantād yad iha vana-tati-śrī-nibhā visphuranti |
(Gopāla-campū: 1.12.31–32)

“And every one of these cows, although outside [Hari’s body], is like an embodiment of Hari’s vital air (prāṇa), since he always feels satisfied when their satisfaction occurs and [he feels] the pang of hunger when their hunger occurs. He repeatedly fetches them, takes pleasure in smelling them, and holds them to his heart; he embraces them, avidly inspects them, and feeds them; he along with those who are his own shines as he protects them. Hari sustains the cows like his vital air (prāṇa), and without him they become of void hearts and [motionless] like pictures since they appear like the beauty of the forests all around here [i.e., since they remain motionless like the beautiful trees in Goloka when he disappears from their sight].”

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patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati |
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 9.26)

[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “One who with bhakti offers a leaf, flower, fruit, or water to me—I partake of that offered out of bhakti from one of pure heart.”

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gāvo’py atra tadīya-saurabha-marud-vistāram āvistarām

gāvo’py atra tadīya-saurabha-marud-vistāram āvistarām
āghrāyāgata-śīghratāḥ samabhajaṁs taṁ tatra tā yūthaśaḥ |
yasmin rambhaṇa-śabda-yuk-khura-ghaṭā-saṅghaṭṭa-ghaṇṭā-ravaiḥ
sārdhaṁ gopa-śatātataṁ jharijharīty unnadditaṁ vyānaśe ||
kṛtvā daṇḍavad ānatiṁ mura-ripur yarhi kṣitiṁ saṅgatas
tarhy āghrāya gavāṁ tatir muhur amuṁ līḍhe sma bāspākulā |
yarhy utthāya tadīya-kaṇṭha-ghaṭanā-kṛd bāhur eṣa sthitas
tarhy eṣā ca tad-aṅga-saṅgata-galā dugdhaṁ sma dugdhe svayam ||
(Gopāla-campū: 2.30.22–23)

“Upon smelling an increasing waft of his fragrance in the wind, the cows here too quickly came over and met him in herds there where the rumbling sound jharijhari mixed with the sounds of their bells and the striking of their hooves combined with their mooing pervaded the hundreds of cowherds spread out [around Kṛṣṇa]. When the Enemy of Mura bowed like a stick [to the cows], touching the ground, then the herd of cows smelled and licked him repeatedly with tears in their eyes. When he arose and reached for their necks with his arms, then they also held their throats against his body [so he could rub them], and their milk flowed out [from their udders] of its accord.”

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gāvas tato goṣṭham upetya satvaraṁ

gāvas tato goṣṭham upetya satvaraṁ
huṅkāra-ghoṣaiḥ parihūta-saṅgatān |
svakān svakān vatsatarān apāyayan
muhur lihantyaḥ sravad audhasaṁ payaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.24)

“Then, swiftly arriving to the cowpens, the cows repeatedly licked and fed the milk flowing from their udders to their own respective elder calves who had assembled after being called with mooing sounds.”

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tato vidūrāc carato gāvo vatsān upavrajam

tato vidūrāc carato gāvo vatsān upavrajam |
govardhanādri-śirasi carantyo dadṛśus tṛṇam ||
dṛṣṭvātha tat-sneha-vaśo’smṛtātmā
sa go-vrajo’tyātmapa-durga-mārgaḥ |
dvipāt kakud-grīva udāsya-puccho
’gād dhuṅkṛtair āsru-payā javena ||
sametya gāvo’dho vatsān vatsavatyo’py apāyayan |
gilantya iva cāṅgāni lihantyaḥ svaudhasaṁ payaḥ ||
gopās tad-rodhanāyāsa-maughya-lajjoru-manyunā |
durgādhva-kṛcchrato’bhyetya … ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.29–32)

“Then, the cows grazing on grass at the top of Govardhana Hill from afar saw the [elder] calves grazing near the cowpens. Becoming captivated by affection for them and forgetful of themselves after seeing [them], that herd of cows, their tails raised, their necks [raised up] on their humps, and appearing like two-legged creatures, went quickly [down the hill towards their calves] with moos and streams of milk [flowing from their udders], overrunning their own keepers and taking up a difficult path. After arriving at the bottom [of the hill], the cows, although they had [other, younger] calves [elsewhere], fed these [elder] calves [they were running towards] the milk from their udders and licked the bodies [of these calves] as if they were swallowing [them]. After arriving [there] with hardship because of the difficult path, the cowherd men became very upset because of the embarrassment caused by their failure in their endeavor to stop them [i.e., the cows became so eager to meet Śrī Kṛṣṇa out of affection for him that they could not be contained even by the expert cowherd men of Vraja and when the cows overran them, the cowherd men felt embarrassed that they could not control the cows].”

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aho’tidhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ

aho’tidhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ
stanyāmṛtaṁ pītam atīva te mudā |
yāsāṁ vibho vatsatarātmajātmanā
yat-tṛptaye’dyāpy atha nālam adhvarāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.31)

“Aho! O Vibhu! Exceedingly fortunate are the cows and ladies of Vraja, the nectar of whose breast-milk was drunk profusely with delight in the form of their elder calves and sons by you, for the satisfaction of whom still today sacrifices are not sufficient.”

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