FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.8

उच्चैर्जगुर्नृत्यमाना रक्तकण्ठ्यो रतिप्रिया: । कृष्णाभिमर्शमुदिता यद्गीतेनेदमावृतम् ॥ ८ ॥
uccair jagur nṛtyamānā
[uchchair jagur nrityamaanaa]
rakta-kaṇṭhyo rati-priyāḥ
[rakta-kanthyo rati-priyaah]
kṛṣṇābhimarśa-muditā
[krishnaabhimarsha-muditaa]
yad-gītenedam āvṛtam
[yad-geetenedam aavritam]
uccaiḥ — loudly jaguḥ — they sang nṛtyamānāḥ — while dancing rakta — colored kaṇṭhyaḥ — their throats rati — conjugal enjoyment priyāḥ — dedicated to kṛṣṇa - abhimarśa — by the touch of Lord Kṛṣṇa muditāḥ — joyful yat — whose gītena — by the singing idam — this entire universe āvṛtam — is pervaded .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
uccair jagur nṛtyamānā
uccaiḥ
loudly
jaguḥ
they sang
nṛtyamānāḥ
while dancing
rakta-kaṇṭhyo rati-priyāḥ
rakta
colored
kaṇṭhyaḥ
their throats
rati
conjugal enjoyment
priyāḥ
dedicated to
kṛṣṇābhimarśa-muditā
kṛṣṇa - abhimarśa
by the touch of Lord Kṛṣṇa
muditāḥ
joyful
yad-gītenedam āvṛtam
yat
whose
gītena
by the singing
idam
this entire universe
āvṛtam
is pervaded .
  • rakta-kaṇṭhyaḥ — whose throats were colored
    Rakta = red/colored. Throat-pigment from betel and song. Gauḍīyas read rakta double-edged: also reddened by emotion, kaṇṭha being the seat of bhāva in singing.
  • kṛṣṇa-abhimarśa-muditāḥ — joyful from Kṛṣṇa's touch
    Abhimarśa (touch, contact) + mudita (joyful). Sparśa-bhakti — the rasa of physical contact with Bhagavān. Gauḍīyas: in mādhurya-rasa, touch is not preliminary to union; it is itself the union.
  • idam āvṛtam — this universe is pervaded
    Āvṛta from √vṛ (to cover). The gopīs' song covers the whole brahmāṇḍa. Echo of Gītā 8.22: puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ — Kṛṣṇa pervades all; here His devotees' song does the same, by His own power.
Eager to enjoy conjugal love, their throats colored with various pigments, the gopīs sang loudly and danced. They were overjoyed by Kṛṣṇa’s touch, and they sang songs that filled the entire universe.

According to an authoritative book on music called Saṅgīta-sāra, tāvanta eva rāgāḥ sūryāvatyo jīva-jātayaḥ, teṣu ṣoḍaśa-sāhasrī purā gopī-kṛtā varā: “There are as many musical rāgas as there are species of life. Among these rāgas are sixteen thousand principal ones, which were manifested by the gopīs. ” Thus the gopīs created sixteen thousand different rāgas, or musical modes, and these have subsequently been disseminated throughout the world. The words yad-gītenedam āvṛtam also indicate that even today devotees throughout the world sing the praises of Kṛṣṇa, following the example of the gopīs.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Eager to enjoy conjugal love, their throats colored with various pigments, the gopīs sang loudly and danced. They were overjoyed by Kṛṣṇa's touch, and they sang songs that filled the entire universe.
Commentary

The gopis danced and danced (nrtyamana), or were honored by Krsna for dancing, and sang and sang, with their throats tinged with various ragas (rakta kantha). Ragas are explained in the Sanita Sara. "There are as many ragas as there are species of life. Among those ragas the sixteen thousands produced by the gopis are best." They were attached to the affection showed by Krsna (rati priya). Being blissful because of the touch of Krsna, they did not feel any fatigue after dancing and dancing. The universe (idam) became filled (avrta) with this singing. Another meaning is "They were songs which even today all people of the universe sing."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Having described the prominent position of the gopīs’ dancing because of great joy, now the prominence of singing is described. While dancing they sang. This shows their skill in dancing since they could also sing at the same time. The goal of singing and dancing was Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure (rati-priyāḥ). One should not fear that they would become tired by singing and dancing for they were overjoyed by the touch of Kṛṣṇa. That was the only cause of their dancing. Their singing was so loud that it spread over the universe. Or, the universe became filled with their spontaneous rāgas, which made the universe prone to singing as well. The scriptures on music say that the gopīs’ rāgas numbers sixteen thousand. Saṅgīta-sāra says tāvanta eva rāgāḥ syur yāvatyo jīva-jātayaḥ teṣu ṣoḍaśa-sāhasrī purā gopī-kṛtā varā There are as many musical rāgas as there are species of life. Among these rāgas sixteen thousand principal ones were performed by the gopīs previously. Or, the gopīs were respected by Kṛṣṇa because of their dancing (nṛtyamānāḥ). Their throats were smeared with prema (rakta-kaṇṭhyaḥ). This indicates the great sweetness of their singing. The cause of the loud singing was their affection for Kṛṣṇa whose other name is Rati (rati-priyāḥ). They sang loudly because of Kṛṣṇa’s loud singing. Parāśara says: rāsa-geyaṁ jagau kṛṣṇo yāvat vyāyata-dhvaniḥ sādhu kṛṣṇeti kṛṣṇeti tāvat tad dviguṇaṁ jaguḥ When Kṛṣṇa sang at the rāsa dance the gopīs sang twice as loud, saying “Kṛṣṇa sings well. Kṛṣṇa sings well.” The reasons for their singing loudly are three: their voices were filled with prema, they were affection to him, and they were joyful with Kṛṣṇa’s touch. The related causes should be understood. Just as Kṛṣṇa became more beautiful because of the gopīs and the gopīs became more beautiful because of Kṛṣṇa, so the qualities of their singing and dancing became more attractive by Kṛṣṇa’s singing and dancing. This will be clear in later verses.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Dana (Charity / Generosity)Prema (Divine Love)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Svadhyaya (Self-study & Scripture Study)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Concepts
Jiva
Eager for conjugal love, the gopīs sing loudly enough to fill the universe; tradition says they manifested 16,000 musical rāgas. Pure love is not minor or private — it is a creative force that reshapes culture.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have you let cultural shyness shrink your expression of love for Kṛṣṇa?
  • What is one small creative act of devotion you have been postponing?

A single touch of Kṛṣṇa, and the gopīs' song fills the universe — not because their voices are loud, but because the universe was made to resonate with that frequency in the first place. Bhakti is not amplification; it is finally turning on the instrument the cosmos was tuned to play.

📝 My note

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