FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.31.2

शरदुदाशये साधुजातसत्- सरसिजोदरश्रीमुषा द‍ृशा । सुरतनाथ तेऽशुल्कदासिका वरद निघ्नतो नेह किं वध: ॥ २ ॥
śarad-udāśaye sādhu-jāta-sat-
[sharad-udaashaye saadhu-jaata-sat-]
sarasijodara-śrī-muṣā dṛśā
[sarasijodara-shree-mushaa drishaa]
surata-nātha te ’śulka-dāsikā
[surata-naatha te ’shulka-daasikaa]
vara-da nighnato neha kiṁ vadhaḥ
[vara-da nighnato neha kim vadhah]
śarat — of the autumn season uda - āśaye — in the reservoir of water sādhu — excellently jāta — grown sat — fine sarasi - ja — of the lotus flowers udara — in the middle śrī — the beauty muṣā — which excels dṛśā — with Your glance surata - nātha — O Lord of love te — Your aśulka — acquired without payment dāsikāḥ — maidservants vara - da — O giver of benedictions nighnataḥ — for You who are killing na — not iha — in this world kim — why vadhaḥ — murder .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śarad-udāśaye sādhu-jāta-sat-
śarat
of the autumn season
uda - āśaye
in the reservoir of water
sādhu
excellently
jāta
grown
sat
fine
sarasijodara-śrī-muṣā dṛśā
sarasi - ja
of the lotus flowers
udara
in the middle
śrī
the beauty
muṣā
which excels
dṛśā
with Your glance
surata-nātha te ’śulka-dāsikā
surata - nātha
O Lord of love
te
Your
aśulka
acquired without payment
vara-da nighnato neha kiṁ vadhaḥ
dāsikāḥ
maidservants
vara - da
O giver of benedictions
nighnataḥ
for You who are killing
na
not
iha
in this world
kim
why
vadhaḥ
murder .
  • surata-nātha — O Lord of love
    Vocative compound: surata (loving union) + nātha (lord, husband). The gopīs address Kṛṣṇa not as cosmic master but as the proprietor of the conjugal exchange itself — the kānta who owns the very category of love-making, and is therefore accountable to its laws.
  • aśulka-dāsikāḥ — maidservants acquired without payment
    Compound: a- (without) + śulka (bride-price) + dāsikāḥ (maidservants). A Gauḍīya touchstone phrase — the gopīs gave themselves to Kṛṣṇa with no contract, no dowry, no negotiation. This is the model of unmotivated, unconditional surrender (ahaitukī bhakti) at its most concentrated.
  • vara-da — O giver of benedictions
    Vocative compound: vara (boon) + da (giver). Spoken with controlled irony — the One famous for granting boons is, just now, withholding the only boon they want. The gopīs' complaint is laced with the intimacy that lets them tease.
  • nighnataḥ — for You who are killing
    Present participle of ni-√han, 'to strike down, kill'. The line 'na iha kim vadhaḥ' — 'isn't this murder?' — is one of the most quoted phrases of the Gopī-gīta. Viraha is not metaphor for them; it is execution by absence.
  • dṛśā — with Your glance
    Instrumental of dṛś. The glance is the instrument: Kṛṣṇa kills not with a weapon but with an eye. Rūpa Gosvāmī's analysis of cātur-vidha-sahaja-prema repeatedly returns to the kaṭākṣa as the precipitating cause of pūrva-rāga.
O Lord of love, in beauty Your glance excels the whorl of the finest, most perfectly formed lotus within the autumn pond. O bestower of benedictions, You are killing the maidservants who have given themselves to You freely, without any price. Isn’t this murder?

In the autumn season, the whorl of the lotus has a special beauty, but that unique loveliness is surpassed by the beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s glance.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Lord of love, in beauty Your glance excels the whorl of the finest, most perfectly formed lotus within the autumn pond. O bestower of benedictions, You are killing the maidservants who have given themselves to You freely, without any price. Isn't this murder?
Commentary

Krsna said, "How can you conclude that I desire to see your suffering?" "Not only do you want to see us suffer, but you are killing us." That is the intention of this verse. "By the glance of your eyes you are calling us for love making (surata natha), and giving us happiness (varada). By your glances which are emanating the blazing fire of prema, you are killing servants who were purchased for free (asulla dasika). Is this not murder? Certainly, for murder does not need a weapon. Therefore Varada, who have destroyed (da from di to destroy) our of happiness in this world and the next (vara), if you actually owned us there would be no fault in either protecting us or burning us. But do you own us? You purchased us without payment, without bestowal of the marriage thread. We are just free maidservants, we became your slaves of our own will, foolishly." In describing the glance, the gopis indicate the cause of Krsna’s power to bewilder, to madden, and to expertly steal. "Your eye steals the beauty within the best blooming lotus (sat sarsi ja) growing in the clear lakes of the autumn in the saintly place , Vraja (sadhu jatam)." In this way the gopis describe the extraordinary beauty , fragrance, coolness, and softness of Krnsa’s eyes, which are able to enter into the secluded inner chambers inaccessible to the common man, and steal the treasure. "Those thieving eyes, sprinkling a powder of mohana and unmada, made us crazy, and thus freely made us give our treasure of conjugal pleasure and our life airs, which they then offered to you. (thus in the previous verse they gopis said our life airs are held by you (tvayi dhrta asavah). Having our treasures stolen, we are dying. And by doing this thievery, you are willingly accepting the sin of killing thousands of women. If you fear such sin, you should reveal yourself to us."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Your eye steals the beauty of the center of the lotus, the height of beauty, which appears when it is born in the autumn lake. Wherever the beauty of your eye is seen, there is no longer beauty seen in the lotus. The beauty of the lotus is defeated by the ever-fresh beauty of your eye. Only one eye is mentioned because by one eye you indicate your love. And if one eye has such beauty what can be said of the beauty of both eyes. This phrase can be connected with surata-nātha: O requester of love, by your eye which defeats the beauty of the lotus. You have made us desirous of you. You have given the blessing of making that desire stronger (varada). Thus we are not at fault. Rather we have good qualities since are your servants without taking a fee. The fault is with you. Now, however it has become a great fault. You are killing us. In order to show his fault, they indicate that he is absorbed in theft in three ways. He does not consider the great fault from taking the wealth of the righteous, he has knowledge of others’ secret treasures, and trespasses the greatest obstacles. The first aspect of thievery is expressed in the lotus growing in the autumn lake. The producer of the lotus, the lake, is pure. It is birth is pure (sādhu-jata). The qualities and form of the lotus are proper (sat-sarasija). The second aspect is expressed by the center of the lotus hidden within its petals within the huge water body. The third aspect is expressed by the center of the lotus being surrounded by a thousand petals, difficult to see, and being situated an unfathomable depth of water in a lake filled by the monsoon rains. You have stolen the beauty of the lotus even though it hides in fear of you. What to speak of stealing us innocent gopīs who wander fearlessly in Vraja and Vṛndāvana. Let us forget about being stolen by you. The beauty of the lotus is kept within your eyes, by her craftiness. But we, on the other hand, being innocent, stolen by force, serving causelessly without hatred, without any fee, are being killed by you. This is most unjust. Will you not kill us? People will not know about your theft. Should you not kill us? You say you are requesting love and that you offer all benedictions. We know all about that. That is all lies since you are killing us. Or te aśūlka-dāsikāḥ can also mean te śukla-dāsikāh: we are your servants accepting a wage, the beauty of your eye. Still you kill us by rejecting us. O oppressor (nātha) of those who are have great love (su- rata)! O stopper of benedictions (vara da)! You should come here to rid yourself of your faults.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Śrī-muṣā suggests that his eyes are the greatest thieves. There is a theft of great treasure equal to Lakṣmī, placed amidst the excellent objects of the devotees, at the best time, in the inaccessible water. For such theft, death is proper punishment. Actually this expresses the great beauty of his eyes. One eye only is mentioned out of agitation from intense bhāva. Or even one eye defeats the lotus. We are unpaid, low class maidservants (aśukla-dāsikāḥ). Surata-nātha and varada indicate that he should not make them die. Then his reputation as the fulfiller of the devotees’ desires in love (surata) and his previously state as the giver of benedictions (varada) would be destroyed. Since you are the lord of enjoyment in love, you made us desire you. By giving benedictions you confirmed this. Thus there is no fault in our bold request. Or “O wise one! By our death you will be blamed.” O lord of love by the eyes (dṛśā surata-natha)! By your eyes alone you give the happiness of enjoyment in love. Because of this killing (nighnataḥ), by not bestowing benedictions, it is a sin, murder (vadhaḥ). Or by the price in the form of your eyes (stealing from us), we have paid the price. Or without price, the maidservants have been killed. Or by the pain of separation or by your rejection, their death happens by itself. They address him as lord of love and giver of blessings out of anger in love or intense pain of separation. You cause pain (nātha) to those who are most attracted to you (su-rata). You destroy your benedictions (varada) or are the supreme destroyer. Do means to destroy. Thus you should come to prevent faults in yourself.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
The gopīs say Kṛṣṇa's glance surpasses the loveliest autumn lotus, yet His seeming neglect feels like killing those who gave themselves to Him freely. Even pure love feels the sharp pain of perceived distance from the beloved.
Reflection Questions
  • When have you mistaken the Lord's silence for indifference rather than as an invitation to deeper longing?
  • What have you given freely to Kṛṣṇa without bargaining for return?

Kṛṣṇa's glance is the autumn lotus that has stolen the pond's beauty into itself; one look from those eyes leaves the gopīs as the lotus leaves the water it was born in — given freely, with no fee asked. To accept such a gift and then withdraw is not absence, the gopīs say, it is murder.

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