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Gita Govinda 1.5

English (machine translation) 1.5

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English

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1.5.1

“I abide here; go, conciliate Rādhā with my words and bring her here.” / Thus appointed by the enemy of Madhu, the confidante herself went and spoke once more to Rādhā:

1.5.1.p1

|| Lyric Composition 10

1.5.1.p2

Sung in Deśīvarāḍi melodic mode and Rūpaka rhythmic meter.

1.5.2

While the breeze from the Malaya mountains blows, bringing near Madana, / and clusters of blossoms burst open to shatter the hearts of separated lovers,

1.5.2.p1

in separation from you, O friend, the one who wears a garland of wild flowers languishes! || Refrain

1.5.3

When the moon burns, he imitates death; / when Madana’s arrow falls, he laments, utterly bewildered.

1.5.4

When a swarm of bees hums, he closes his ears; / with separation lodged in his heart, night after night he falls into torment.

1.5.5

He dwells beneath the canopy of the forest, abandoning his charming abode; / he rolls on his bed of earth and laments your name repeatedly.

1.5.6

As the poet Jayadeva sings of the sports of separation, / may Hari arise through your merit in a mind rich with longing!

1.5.7

There where previously, together with you, the accomplishments of the Lord of Love were attained, / in that very bower, the great sacred ford of Manmatha, Mādhava once more, / constantly meditating on you and chanting the series of sacred mantras of your words alone, / yearns again for the nectar of tight embrace with the pitchers of your breasts.

1.5.7.p1

|| Lyric Composition 11

1.5.7.p2

Sung in Gurjarī melodic mode and Ekatālī rhythmic meter.

1.5.8

He who is the essence of amorous pleasure has gone to the rendezvous in attire captivating to Madana; / do not delay your going, O wide-hipped woman, follow that lord of your heart!

1.5.8.p1

Where gentle breezes blow on the bank of the Yamunā, in the forest dwells the one who wears a garland of wild flowers, / his pair of hands restless to stroke the swell of your plump breasts! || Refrain

1.5.8.p2

Note: [This line does not seem to be in all versions. Prabodhānanda does not comment on it.]

1.5.9

He plays his gentle reed flute calling your name, indicating the rendezvous;
he honors greatly, O slender one, even the dust stirred up by the wind that has touched your body.

1.5.10

When a wing flaps or a leaf rustles, he imagines your arrival;
he prepares the couch and with anxious eyes looks along your path.

1.5.11

Discard your noisy, restless anklet like a foe of passionate erotic play;
go to the bower, O confidante, dense with darkness, and wrap yourself in a dark cloak.

1.5.12

On Murāri's chest adorned with a necklace, as on a cloud with fluttering cranes,
like yellow lightning in inverted amorous play, you shine as the fruit of good deeds.

1.5.13

Offer your hips, their garments fallen away and girdle cast aside, uncovered;
on the couch of sprout-tendrils, O lotus-eyed woman, like a treasure that is a trove of joy.

1.5.14

Hari is proud, and this night too is coming to an end;
heed my words, prepare swiftly, fulfill the desire of the foe of Madhu.

1.5.15

As the illustrious Jayadeva, devoted to the service of Hari, recites this supremely delightful verse,
bow to Hari, his heart rejoicing, profoundly compassionate, attainable through merit.

1.5.16

He heaves sighs again and again; he looks ahead in every direction again and again; he enters the bower again and again, humming; he grieves deeply again and again;
he prepares the couch again and again; he looks around anxiously again and again; exhausted by the torment of Madana, O beloved, your lover waits.

1.5.17

Along with your obstinacy, the hot-rayed sun has entirely set;
and along with Govinda’s longing, the darkness has grown dense;
my lengthy entreaty matches the plaintive cry of the cakravāka birds;
so, O innocent woman, delay is in vain—this is the charming moment for the amorous rendezvous.

1.5.18

After an embrace, after a kiss, after scratch-marks of nails,
after the stirring of mind-born love, after agitated flurry, after the onset of lovemaking, when the lovers,
having set out on other errands, meet by chance in the dark and recognize each other by their words—
what rasa mixed with bashfulness is not experienced by the couple here?

1.5.19

Casting fearful, startled glances along the dark path,
stopping at every tree, advancing her steps slowly,
somehow arriving at the secret bower, her limbs trembling with desire—
O lovely-faced one, seeing you, may that blessed youth attain fulfillment!

1.5.20

The honey-bee to the charming lotus-face of Rādhā, the blue gem befitting the ornamentation on the diadems of the three worlds,
the destroyer of the burden of the earth, he who brings moonrise-joy to the minds of the fair women of Vraja at will,
a comet of destruction to Kaṃsa—may that son of Devakī protect you!

1.5.20.p1

Thus ends the fifth sarga, entitled “The Lotus-Eyed One Full of Longing,” in the description of the woman going to meet her lover, in the illustrious Gītagovinda.
|| 5

1.5.20.p3

Sixth Sarga:
Longing Vaikuṇṭha
Note: [dhanya-vaikuṇṭha-kuṅkumaḥ is read in some editions]

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Commentaries (4)

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