Namaḥ 53–54 in Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava
A summary of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.21—the Veṇu-gītā
By Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda
Introduction
The names of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the following verses from obeisances [i.e., sections] 53–54 of Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava summarize the content of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.21, that is, the chapter known as the Veṇu-gītā wherein the Vraja-gopīs sing in praise of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s flute playing.
For an explanation of Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda’s compositional methodology in this Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava, see the introduction to opening section of the text.
The following translation and commentary draw from content in the Sanskrit commentary on Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava by Hari Dāsa Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja.
Namaḥ Fifty-three
śarad-vihāra-madhura śarat-puṣpa-vibhūṣaṇa |
karṇikārāvataṁsaṁ tvāṁ naṭa-veśa-dharaṁ bhaje ||211||
O you of sweet early autumn sport!
O you of early autumn flower adornments!
O you of karṇikāra ear ornaments!
I worship you,
Wearing the garb of a performer.
Commentary
For references for the names in this and the following verse, see SB 10.21.5.
The karṇikāra flower is described as a yellow flower with the shape of a water lily (utpala) by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda in his commentary on SB 10.21.5. The Medinī-kośa equates the karṇikāra with the drumotpala, that is, Pterospermum acerifolium, which is known in English as the Kanaka (Golden) Champa and as the Maple-leaved Bayur tree.
vinyasta-vadanāmbhoja-locana-prānta-nartaka |
bimbādharārpitodāra-veṇo jaya sugāyana ||212||
O you who cause the corners of your eyes,
Set within the lotus of your face,
To dance!
O you by whom a charming flute
Is placed upon your bimba lips!
May you triumph,
O you who sing excellent songs!
Commentary
Śrī Kṛṣṇa “causing the corners of his eyes to dance” refer to his casting side-long glaces. Bimba refers to a bright red gourd known as scarlet gourd in English and Coccinia grandis in Latin. “May you triumph” (jaya) suggests, “May you succeed in attracting the gopīs and enjoying with them!”
namo vaktrāvalokāya tribhaṅga-lalitāya te |
veṇu-mohita-viśvāya gopikodgīta-kīrtaye ||213|| (namaḥ 53)
Obeisance unto you of crooked glance,
You of thrice bending charm,
You by whose flute the universe becomes enchanted,
You whose glory is sung by the gopīs!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.6 for reference.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s “thrice bending charm” (tribhaṅga-lalitatva) refers to his posture bent at the knee, waist, and neck.
Namaḥ Fifty-four
cakṣuḥ-sāphalya-sampādi-śrīmad-vaktrābja-vīkṣaṇa |
nānā-mālā-lasad-veśa gopāla-sabha-śobhana ||214||
O you the sight of whose splendorous lotus face
Begets the success of the eyes!
O you whose dress shines with various garlands!
O you who are radiant in the company of cowherds!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.7–8 for reference.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s “various garlands” (nānā-mālā) refer to those made with mango sprigs and leaves, water lilies, lotuses, and other items.
sadātipuṇyavad-veṇu-pīyamānādharāmṛta |
vṛndāvanātikīrti-śrī-prada-padābja-lakṣaṇa ||215||
O you the nectar of whose lips
Is always being drunk
By the exceedingly fortunate flute!
O you the marks on whose lotus feet
Are fully conferring upon Vṛndāvana
Of tremendous renown and splendor!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.9–10 for reference.
apūrva-muralī-gīta-nāda-nartita-barhiṇa |
śākhotkīrṇa-śakuntaugha sarva-prāṇi-manohara ||216||
O you by the sound
Of the extraordinary songs
Of whose flute
Peacocks are inspired to dance!
O you because of flocks of birds
On the branches [of the trees around you]
Become like paintings
[i.e., transfixed in their perches
As they listen to the songs of your flute]!
O you who captivate the minds
Of all living beings!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.10 for reference.
vismārita-tṛṇa-grāsa-mṛgī-kula-vilobhita |
suśīla-rūpa-saṅgīta-devī-gaṇa-vimohana ||217||
O you by whom herds of deer,
Who have been made to forget [the] morsels of grass [in their mouths],
Are allured!
O you whose excellent disposition, figure, and music
Are enchanting to the devīs [of Svarga]!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.11–12 for reference.
gāḍha-rodita-go-vṛnda premotkarṇita-tarṇaka |
nirvyāpārī-kṛtāśeṣa-muni-tulya-vihaṅgama ||218||
O you because of whom the cows deeply cry!
O you because of whom the calves
Have their ears pricked out of prema!
O you because of whom the birds,
Like sages,
Become completely still
[i.e., silent and closed-eyed in meditation
Upon the sound of your flute]!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.13–14 for reference.
gīta-stabdha-sarit-pūra cchatrāyita-balāhaka |
pulindī-prema-kṛd-ghāsa-lagna-pādābja-kuṅkuma ||219||
O you because of whose [flute-] songs
The river’s flow stops!
O you the clouds over whom
Act like parasols [to shade you from the sun]!
O you for the grass upon which the kumkum from whose lotus feet
The Pulindīs express prema!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.15–17 for reference.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet become smeared with kumukum from the bosoms of the gopīs in the course of his līlās with them in the forest. This kumkum then sticks to blades of grass in the forest when Kṛṣṇa goes walking about, and when the young girls of the forest tribes such grass caked with this kumkum, they collect it and rub it on their own bosoms and faces out of prema for Kṛṣṇa.
hari-sevaka-varyatva-sampad-govardhanārcita |
sva-prema-paramānanda-citrāyita-carācara ||220||
O you who are worshiped by Govardhana,
Who has the fortune of being the best of Hari’s servants!
O you because of the supreme bliss
Of prema for yourself
All mobile and immobile entities
Become like paintings [i.e., transfixed]!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.18–19 for reference.
Govardhana, praised by the gopīs as the best of Hari’s servants, worships Śrī Kṛṣṇa with excellent drinking water, grass, caves, bulbs, roots, fruits, flowers, and so forth. “All mobile and immobile entities” (carācara) can also mean “the world,” in which case the sense that it is as though everything throughout the entire world becomes so overwhelmed by the paramount bliss of prema for Śrī Kṛṣṇa that the world as whole as if comes to a standstill.
rāga-pallavita-sthāṇo gītānamita-pādapa |
gopāla-vilasad-veśa gopī-māra-vivardhana ||221||
O you out of love for whom
[Tree] Trunks emit new sprouts!
O you because of whose songs
Trees lay bowed!
O you with the sportive garb of a cowherd!
O you who strongly increase the passion of the gopīs!
Commentary
See SB 10.21.19–20 for reference.
“The sportive garb of a cowherd” (gopāla-vilasad-veśa) refers to the dress Śrī Kṛṣṇa wears during the day in the forest and his accoutrement at that time, namely, a stick [for herding the cows], a flute, a horn, a rope, a guñjā-bead necklace, and so forth. Because the gopīs find Śrī Kṛṣṇa especially attractive in such garb, he is described as “O you who strongly increase the passion of the gopīs” (Gopī-māra-vivardhana).
aśeṣa-jaṅgama-sthāṇu-svabhāva-parivartaka |
ādrī-kṛta-śilā-kāṣṭha nirjīvojjīvanāva naḥ ||222|| (namaḥ 54)
O you who reverse the natural condition
Of all moving and inert beings!
O you by whom stone and wood are melted!
O you who highly enliven the lifeless!
Please protect us.
Commentary
See SB 10.21.20 for reference.
“O you who reverse the natural condition of all moving and inert beings!” (Aśeṣa-jaṅgama-sthāṇu-svabhāva-parivartaka) refers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa causing moving beings to become stationary and setting inert beings in motion by means of the wonders of his appearance, qualities, and activities. “O you who highly enliven the lifeless!” (Nirjīvojjīvana) refers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa bringing to life entities that are devoid of consciousness by bestowing prema upon them. “Please protect us” (ava naḥ) suggests, “Please nourish and safeguard us by inducing us to become absorbed in thought and meditation upon your līlās and by bestowing upon us the joy of service to yourself.”
Meter
Anuṣṭup
Source
Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava editions by Hari Dāsa Dāsa and Purī Dāsa Mahāśaya.