SB 10.70.20 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.70.20

मृदङ्गवीणामुरजवेणुतालदरस्वनै: । ननृतुर्जगुस्तुष्टुवुश्च सूतमागधवन्दिन: ॥ २० ॥

mṛdaṅga-vīṇā-muraja-

[mridanga-veenaa-muraja-]

veṇu-tāla-dara-svanaiḥ

[venu-taala-dara-svanaih]

nanṛtur jagus tuṣṭuvuś ca

[nanritur jagus tushtuvush cha]

sūta-māgadha-vandinaḥ

[soota-maagadha-vandinah]

Word-for-word

mṛdaṅga — of mṛdaṅga drums vīṇā — vīṇās muraja — and of murajas, another kind of drum veṇu — of flutes tāla — cymbals dara — and conchshells svanaiḥ — with the sounds nanṛtuḥ — they danced jaguḥ — sang tuṣṭuvuḥ — offered praise ca — and sūta — bards māgadha — reciters of history vandinaḥ — and panegyrists .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

mṛdaṅga-vīṇā-muraja-

mṛdaṅga

of mṛdaṅga drums

vīṇā

vīṇās

muraja

and of murajas, another kind of drum

veṇu-tāla-dara-svanaiḥ

veṇu

of flutes

tāla

cymbals

dara

and conchshells

svanaiḥ

with the sounds

nanṛtur jagus tuṣṭuvuś ca

nanṛtuḥ

they danced

jaguḥ

sang

tuṣṭuvuḥ

offered praise

and

sūta-māgadha-vandinaḥ

sūta

bards

māgadha

reciters of history

vandinaḥ

and panegyrists .

Important Words

mṛdaṅga — two-headed clay drum
The mṛdaṅga is the Gauḍīya saṅkīrtana instrument par excellence; Mahāprabhu's parties were known by its sound. Its appearance here in Bhagavān's morning court establishes it as the eternal kīrtana-instrument.
veṇu — flute
Veṇu in any Bhāgavata verse cannot be heard without recalling Kṛṣṇa's own flute at Vraja. Here in Dvārakā He has put down His flute and is being played for — the Vraja-instrument has become His courtly companion.
tuṣṭuvuḥ — they praised, offered stuti
Stuti — formal verses of praise — is one of the nine limbs of bhakti (śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, pāda-sevana, arcana, vandana, dāsya, sakhya, ātma-nivedana). The royal bards perform vandana daily.
māgadha — reciter of itihāsa, royal historian
The māgadha recounts the king's ancestry. For Kṛṣṇa, this means reciting the līlās of His own previous avatāras and ancestors — itihāsa as theology. The Bhāgavatam itself is the perfected māgadha-recital.

These performers would dance and sing to the sounds of mṛdaṅgas, vīṇās, murajas, flutes, cymbals and conchshells, while professional poets, chroniclers and panegyrists would recite the Lord’s glories.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Commentary

Groups danced and other groups sang. The bards and others offered praises.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

The singing and dancing of the bards was more exceptional than the previous singing and dancing.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

The description is further enhanced. They sang and danced with drums etc. Or the chief performers (natācāryāḥ) would serve by dramatic gestures (tāṇḍavaih) and the female dancers would dance and sing with instrumental accompaniment. Muraja is a type of drum.

Related values & verses

Related values

Bhakti (Devotion)Prema (Divine Love)

Concepts

RasaJiva

Personal Guidance

Mṛdaṅgas, vīṇās, flutes, cymbals, conchshells — and poets reciting the Lord's glories. The court of Kṛṣṇa is a court of music and praise. Bhakti is sung as much as thought.

Reflection Questions

What part does music play in my devotional life?
How could singing or hearing kīrtana more often shift my mood?

Analogy

Drums, vīṇās, flutes, cymbals, and conches — the whole orchestra of creation — playing in His court, with bards reciting His own glories: it is like the sea reciting itself back to the moon that pulls it. Bhakti makes the kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa the centre of every gathering, even His own.

Stories

Saṅkīrtana at Śrīvāsa-aṅgana

In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the saṅkīrtana parties at Śrīvāsa's house in Navadvīpa used the same instruments — mṛdaṅga, kartāla, vīṇā, śaṅkha — that this verse names in Dvārakā.

The Six Gosvāmīs codified saṅkīrtana with these same instruments. The Dvārakā morning court here is the source-image: kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa's own presence is the eternal rasa, repeated wherever vaiṣṇavas gather.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io