Gita Govinda -Jayadeva 191

Gita Govinda -Shri Jayadeva Gosvami

Act Four : snigdha madhusüdanaù

The Tender Slayer of Madhu

Scene Nine

Song 9

Verse 10

äväso vipinäyate priya-sakhé-mäläpi jäläyate täpo ’pi çvasitena däva-dahana-jvälä-kaläpäyate säpi tvad-viraheëa hanta hariëé-rüpäyate hä kathaà kandarpo ’pi yamäyate viracayan çärdüla-vikréòitam Translation “O Shri Kṛṣṇa, my sakhé Rädhä is behaving exactly like a deer. She considers her residence to be the forest and her friends to be like hunters with a net. The flames of the blazing forest fire in her body are intensified by her own sighs of pain. Alas, alas! Playing just like a tiger, Kandarpa has become death personified as he begins to maul her life airs.” Commentary A picture of Rädhä’s pitiful condition is being painted by her intimate companion. Rädhä is exactly like a deer when she is bereft of Kṛṣṇa’s association. This fair-complexioned Rädhä resides in the forest, considering it to be her home. Being scorched by separation from her beloved, she wants to flee, but the net of the hunter-like sakhés is spread out before her. Her movements thus restricted, she continuously feels frustrated. Even her dearmost sakhés seem to be fettering her like deer-hunters equipped with a trap. As a deer becomes alarmed and confused upon seeing a forest fire, similarly, she does not know what to do when her long breaths mix with the heat of her body and set her ablaze like a firebrand.