Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.21.16
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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prema
—
out of love
Prema — in Rūpa Gosvāmī's lexicon (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu), the highest stage of mature bhakti, beyond bhāva. Strikingly, the Bhāgavatam attributes prema here not to a gopī but to a cloud — Vraja's non-sentient inhabitants share in the same rasa as her sentient ones.
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sakhyuḥ
—
for his friend
Genitive of sakhi — friend. The cloud is named Kṛṣṇa's sakhā; sakhya-rasa is the second of the five primary rasas in Gauḍīya theology, and here a cloud occupies it. Bhakti elevates by relation, not by substance.
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ātapatram
—
an umbrella
Ātapa (heat) + trā (protector). Royalty's emblem. The cloud spontaneously offers Kṛṣṇa a chatra — the same chatra that brāhmaṇas later try to give Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and that demigods carry over Rāma. Vraja gives it without ceremony.
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sva-vapuṣā
—
out of his own body
Sva (own) + vapus (body). The cloud spends its body to make the umbrella — ātma-nikṣepaḥ, self-offering, the fifth limb of śaraṇāgati. Inanimate Vraja models surrender as well as any devotee.
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kusuma-āvalībhiḥ
—
with droplets of water vapor, which are like groups of flowers
Kusuma (flower) + āvali (line, row). Even the cloud's water-droplets are reimagined as a garland of flowers — the same metaphor that names the gopīs' garlands; rasa-langauge crosses element-boundaries in Vraja.
Śrīla Prabhupāda states in his Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “The scorching heat of the autumn sunshine was sometimes intolerable, and therefore the clouds in the sky appeared in sympathy above Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and Their boyfriends while They engaged in blowing Their flutes. The clouds served as a soothing umbrella over Their heads just to make friendship with Kṛṣṇa.”
"Those who are in sakhya bhava of friendship have made a success of their lives. The cloud increased its size out of prema to cover Balarama and Krsna and the cowherd boys from the intense heat of the sun. The cloud made a light umbrella (atapatra) over his friend Krsna with his body and a collection of water drops (kusuma vali). The cloud regarded himself as Krsna’s friend because they were so similar: they both take away suffering by a shower of rasa; they are both dark colored; they both the color of lightening (krnsa’s dhoti); and both give off sweet sounds. In this way the cloud gives happiness to Krsna, but we cannot. How unfortunate we are."
In two verses the gopīs conceal their emotions as previously. Not being able to conceal their emotions, they imagine emotions in unconscious entities in two previous verses. In this verse they hide their feelings by describing sakhya-rasa. The cloud sees by means of lightning as eyes (this phrase should be added). In the very intense heat (ātape), Kṛṣṇa with the boys herds the many cows, for which plenty of grass is necessary. Since there are many boys, lots of shade is necessary. He plays the flute loudly (udīryantam) in order to attract the clouds behind him (anu). Filled with prema, a cloud rises and increases in size, by means of water drops (kusumāvalībhiḥ). The cloud is a friend to Kṛṣṇa because he is the same color. The cloud makes an umbrella out of his body. That umbrella is made of water droplets. Out of friendship, the cloud offers his own body or treasure. The cloud is most fortunate and we are unfortunate since we cannot even see him sufficiently. The truth is this. When they herd the cows in the heat, his friends become tired and the cows begin to wander restlessly. At that time, he plays on his flute the mallara-rāga (named after the clouds) to attract the clouds. With the appearance of this pastime, some gopīs now make a poetic image.
Other river which purify the universe at other times, friends of Yamunā and Mānasa-gaṅgā situated in Vṛndāvana, which attained the variegated pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, are also fortunate. How can we describe the fortune of the cloud situated in the unconscious sky, arising from vapors? Kṛṣṇa loudly played his flute again and again (anu) and herded the unlimited cows and buffalos in joy, bringing them together over many areas (sam—cārayantam), by his desire with the cowherd boys in the autumn season which was sometimes hot (ātape). This indicates that Kṛṣṇa became tired. Anu venum can also mean “after playing the flute.” Or he aroused the cloud by the flute (udīrayantam anu venum). Filled with prema, a cloud rises and increases in size, by means of water drops (kusumāvalībhiḥ). The cloud is a friend to Kṛṣṇa because he has the same color. The cloud makes an umbrella out of his body. That umbrella is made of water droplets. Out of friendship, the cloud offers his own body or treasure. Or in the extreme heat (pravṛddhe ātape) the cloud makes an umbrella from his body for our dear friend (sakhyuḥ) and expresses prema by drops of water (tears). Thus the cloud does not shed tears of sorrow by rain, but in bliss. The cloud is most fortunate and we are unfortunate since we cannot even see him sufficiently.
The summer sun is hot on Kṛṣṇa's head and the cloud above Him cannot bear it. He expands out of love, climbs higher, and spreads his vapour-body — flower-droplets and all — into an umbrella for his Friend. Sakhya-rasa even in meteorology: the cloud refuses to be a cloud and becomes a chatra.
Two chapters later, in Bhāgavatam 10.24–25, Kṛṣṇa Himself will lift Govardhana Hill to become a literal umbrella over Vraja against Indra's rain. The cloud's instinct in this verse — vyadhāt ātapatram, 'he made an umbrella' — is the same prema, expressed first by sky for boy and then returned by boy for village.
Gauḍīyas hear in the cloud's love a forecast of Govardhana-līlā: Vraja's elements have always sheltered Kṛṣṇa; in 10.25 He simply returns the favour.
My note
Source: vedabase.io