Gopī-gītā
Nineteen verses spoken by the gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.31.1–19.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ
tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ
hṛtaṁ tad evādya tathaiva śobhanam |
manye mahān asya kṛto hy anugraho
vibhraṁśito yac chriya ātma-mohanāt ||
yayā hi vidvān api muhyate yatas
tat ko vicaṣṭe gatim ātmano yathā |
tasmai namas te jagad-īśvarāya vai
nārāyaṇāyākhila-loka-sākṣiṇe ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.16–17)
“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to Vāmanadeva:] That this splendorous abode of Indra was [previously] given entirely [to Bali] and today taken entirely [back from Bali] by you is indeed proper, as I consider great favor has been shown to him [by you] in [his] being deprived of wealth, which is bewildering regarding the ātmā (self). Who perceives [i.e., can perceive] the actual nature of the ātmā in the presence of [wealth,] that by which even a learned and regulated person is bewildered? Obeisance unto him, the Lord of the universe, Nārāyāṇa, the observer of all beings [i.e., unto he who has greatly favored Bali by graciously depriving him of the wealth in his possession].”
steyaṁ hiṁsānṛtaṁ dambhaḥ kāmaḥ krodhaḥ smayo madaḥ
steyaṁ hiṁsānṛtaṁ dambhaḥ kāmaḥ krodhaḥ smayo madaḥ |
bhedo vairam aviśvāsaḥ saṁspardhā vyasanāni ca ||
ete pañcadaśānarthā hy artha-mūlā matā nṛṇām |
tasmād anartham arthākhyaṁ śreyo’rthī dūratas tyajet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.23.18–19)
“Theft, violence, falsity, deceit, lust, anger, perplexity, pride, quarrel [alt. treachery, disunion], enmity, mistrust, jealousy [alt., rivalry] and vices—these are considered the fifteen detriments (anarthas) of human beings rooted in wealth (artha) [i.e., wealth is a cause not only of forms of suffering but of sin as well]. Therefore, a seeker of well-being should give up the detriment (anartha) known as wealth (artha) from afar.”
arthasya sādhane siddhe utkarṣe rakṣaṇe vyaye
arthasya sādhane siddhe utkarṣe rakṣaṇe vyaye |
nāśopabhoga āyāsas trāsaś cintā bhramo nṛṇām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.23.17)
“In the earning, attainment, increasing, protecting, expending, loss, and enjoyment of wealth (artha), human beings undergo strain, fear, anxiety, and delusion [i.e., causes of suffering].”
ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvadarthaḥ
ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvadarthaḥ
syād apramatto vyavasāya-buddhiḥ |
siddhe’nyathārthe na yateta tatra
pariśramaṁ tatra samīkṣamāṇaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.3)
“Therefore, a wise person should accept articles [only] as necessary, being non-neglectful and of resolute mind. Should one’s object be attained otherwise [i.e., should what is necessary for one’s sustenance come of its own accord], then one should not endeavor for it, seeing clearly the labor therein [i.e., seeing the unfavorable consequences of unnecessarily endeavoring for what one already has attained].”
svamātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ
svamātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ |
dṛṣṭvā pariśramaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ kṛpayāsīt svabandhane ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.18)
“Seeing his own mother’s sweating body, the garland from her braid fallen loose, and her exertion, Kṛṣṇa, by his grace, became bound by his own [i.e., by his own mother; alt., by his own will].”
yādṛcchikatvaṁ na tu karma-janitatvaṁ
yādṛcchikatvaṁ na tu karma-janitatvaṁ … |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.10.17)
“Being yādṛcchika [lsly., “of independent cause”], and not rather, being produced by karma ….”
vande’haṁ durjanān pūrvaṁ sajjanāś ca tataḥ param
vande’haṁ durjanān pūrvaṁ sajjanāś ca tataḥ param |
mukha-prakṣālanāt pūrvaṁ pāyu-prakṣālanaṁ yathā ||
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā-prakāśa on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1)
“I offer obeisance to the wicked first, and thereafter to the virtuous, just as one washes one’s rear before washing one’s mouth.”
aho’tiramyaṁ pulinaṁ vayasyāḥ
aho’tiramyaṁ pulinaṁ vayasyāḥ
sva-keli-sampan mṛdulāccha-vālukam |
sphuṭat-saro-gandha-hṛtāli-patri-ka-
dhvani-pratidhvāna-lasad-drumākulam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.5)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “Aho! Friends! This bank is very pleasant, with amenities for our play; soft, clear sand; and an abundance of swaying trees and echoes of sounds from the water of birds and bees attracted by the fragrance of the blooming pools.”
manur api pareṇaivaṁ pratisandhita-manorathaḥ surarṣi
manur api pareṇaivaṁ pratisandhita-manorathaḥ surarṣi-varānumatenātmajam akhila-dharā-maṇḍala-sthiti-guptaya āsthāpya svayam ati-viṣama-viṣaya-viṣa-jalāśayāśāyā upararāma |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.1.22)
“His desire thus accomplished by Brahmā, Manu too, with the permission of Surarṣi [i.e., Nārada], designated his son to maintain law across the entire earth and [then] personally withdrew from [all] inclination towards the poisonous ocean of extremely arduous viṣaya.”