Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.16
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhūri - puṇyāḥ
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of abundant piety
Compound: bhūri (much) + puṇya (merit). The Bhāgavatam uses this phrase for those whose past sukṛti has ripened into the chance for darśana. Gauḍīyas read it as bhakti-unmukhī-sukṛti — the merit that turns the face toward Bhagavān.
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sa - smita - mukham
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with smiling face
Compound: sa (with) + smita (smile) + mukha (face). His face on the road carries the same smile as His face in the arena (verse 12). The Bhāgavatam keeps the smile constant across rasas — vātsalya, sakhya, mādhurya all see it.
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sa - daya - avalokam
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with merciful glance
Compound: sa + daya (mercy) + avaloka (glance). The kaṭākṣa — the side-glance — is in Gauḍīya theology the channel by which Bhagavān transmits anugraha. The gopīs are receiving kaṭākṣa-vidyā on a village road.
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veṇum
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flute
Accusative of veṇu. The instrument that the Mathurā women bring up twice (cf. 13). They will never hear it themselves; but they have already heard about it. Bhakti often begins as hearing-about.
"When Krsna goes to the forerst from Vraja in the morning, and when he returns from the forest in the evening, they hear his flute and come out of their houses. They see him in the small groves situated on the cow paths. Seeing that they are suffering due to separation, he glances on them mercifully to fulfill their desires. This is the fortune of the women of Vraja."
This verse describes how they drink his beauty with their eyes. In the morning he goes with the cows and the cowherd boys while playing his flute. Understanding his presence by hearing the flute (niśamya), they quickly come out of their houses. Mention of the flute also suggests the beauty of his face. tat tvan-mukhaṁ katham ivāmbuja-tulya-kakṣaṁ vācām avāci nanu parvaṇi parvaṇīndoḥ | tat kiṁ bruve kim aparaṁ bhuvanaika-kānta- veṇu tvad-ānanam anena samaṁ nu yat syāt || In describing your face, how can it be compared to a lotus? Since the moon withers with each phase, words of comparison with your face also wither. Do you speak of comparing your face to another face? How can I say that your face is equal to another face? Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 97 The gopīs become so weak (abalāḥ) that they are unable to milk the cows because of hearing the flute and their continuously intense prema. Thus they stumble and fall here and there. Or they are so weak that they cannot go to meet him, and thus they simply look at him on the road. He becomes even more beautiful with his smile and his merciful glance. He thus enters Vraja in the most remarkable way (ā—viśataḥ), revealing his excellent forest dress, with the cows and cowherd boys.
Part This verse describes how they drink his beauty with their eyes. In the morning he goes with the cows and the cowherd boys while playing his flute. Understanding his presence by hearing the flute (niśamya), they quickly come out of their houses. Mention of the flute also suggests the beauty of his face. tat tvan-mukhaṁ katham ivāmbuja-tulya-kakṣaṁ vācām avāci nanu parvaṇi parvaṇīndoḥ | tat kiṁ bruve kim aparaṁ bhuvanaika-kānta- veṇu tvad-ānanam anena samaṁ nu yat syāt || In describing your face, how can it be compared to a lotus? Since the moon withers with each phase, words of comparison with your face also wither. Do you speak of comparing your face to another face? How can I say that your face is equal to another face? Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 97 The gopīs become so weak (abalāḥ) that they are unable to milk the cows because of hearing the flute and their continuously intense prema. Thus they stumble and fall here and there. Or they are so weak that they cannot go to meet him, and thus they simply look at him on the road. He becomes even more beautiful with his smile and his merciful glance. He thus enters Vraja in the most remarkable way (ā—viśataḥ), revealing his excellent forest dress, accompanied by the cows and cowherd boys.
- Where would running outside at sunset to see the Lord seem foolish to you — and what does that reveal?
- What 'piety' has earned you the small sightings you currently have?
Morning and evening, Kṛṣṇa walks the road of Vraja with the cows, the flute moving the air. The gopīs come out of their houses just to be seen by Him — like sunflowers turning when the curtain is pulled. Darśana is not their reward; it is their faculty.
My note
Source: vedabase.io