Gopikā Yugala Gīta
Gopikā Yugala Gīta · gopikā-yugala-gīta, “the song of the gopīs in pairs”
The Gopikā Yugala Gīta, also called the Yugala Gīta, “the song of the gopīs in pairs”, is the song that the gopīs of Gokula sang to one another during the day, while Śrī Kṛshṇa was away in the forest with the cows. Śuka Maharshi tells it to Parīkshit Mahārāja in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 35. When Śrī Kṛshṇa went to the forest, the minds of the gopīs went with him, and they passed the long days singing his līlās. They speak to one another, “O gopīs!”, “O friend!”, “O devīs of Gokula!”, and twice to Yaśodā herself, and in each section they tell what the music of his flute does to the worlds: the siddha women in their vimānas forget themselves; the bulls, the cows and the deer stand still like painted pictures, the grass still in their mouths; the rivers stop their flow and their waves tremble with love; the trees bow like devotees and rain honey; the birds of the lake sit by him with closed eyes like yogīs; the cloud thunders softly and holds its shade over him like an umbrella; Indra, Śiva and Brahmā bow their necks to listen and cannot grasp the rāga and tāla of his song. They sing of the marks on his feet, of the gopīs standing still like trees at his glance, and of his return at evening, when Śrī Kṛshṇa-candra comes home with the herds, dust on his garland, the gopas singing his glory, and the heat of the day is removed for Gokula by his darśana. For the women of Gokula, Śuka says, Śrī Kṛshṇa alone was their life.
The setting
Śuka says: when Śrī Kṛshṇa went to the forest, the minds of the gopīs went with him. Singing Śrī Kṛshṇa’s līlās, they passed the days with difficulty. Then he gives their words. The text calls the chapter the Gopikā Yugala Gīta; the song is a series of the gopīs’ words to one another, given section by section, and the word yugala, “pair”, is not explained further.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 35
The gīta
1. The siddha women in the sky
To the gopīs: “O gopīs!”
When Śrī Kṛshṇa, the giver of moksha, rests his left cheek on his left shoulder, sets the flute to his lower lip, places his tender fingers on its holes and plays, his eyebrows dance. At that time the young siddha women who travel the path of the sky in vimānas with the siddhas hear the music and are first filled with wonder. At once, their minds overcome by the arrows of Manmatha, they forget the knots of their saris and, abashed, fall into enchantment.
2. The Śrīvatsa and the deer
“Listen, young women! Have you heard this wonder?”
Śrī Kṛshṇa‘s smile, like a string of pearls, is reflected on the necklace at his throat. On his chest, dark like a cloud, is the Śrīvatsa, like a lightning flash that does not move. This Śrī Kṛshṇa, son of Nanda, gives happiness to those in distress. When he plays the flute, not only the bulls and cows of Gokula but the deer of the forest, hearing it from afar, have their minds stolen. They gather in herds and listen without moving, so that the half-bitten tufts of grass stay in their mouths. With ears pricked up they look as if asleep, or as if they were pictures drawn by a painter.
3. The rivers stand still
“O friend!”
Śrī Kṛshṇa, the giver of moksha, adorns himself with peacock feathers on his head, bunches of flowers and tender shoots in his curls, and red ochre and the colours of the rocks on his body, so that his dress is like that of wrestlers. When, with Balarāma and the gopas, he calls the cows by their names with the flute, the flow of the rivers stops. The rivers too long for the dust of his lotus feet that the wind carries to them; but they too have no more puṇya than we, for they have not gained the good fortune of touching his feet. Their waves, which are like their arms, tremble with love, and their waters become still.
4. The creepers and the trees
As Vishṇu, the cause of the world and complete, is praised by the devas who attend him, and Lakshmī is always with him, so the gopas who stay close to Śrī Kṛshṇa as he roams Vṛndāvana describe his prowess well, and his wealth too is eternal. When he blows the flute to call the cows grazing on the hill slopes, the creepers and trees of the forest seem to show the fullness of joy within them. The trees, rich with flowers and fruits, their branches bowed with the weight, are like devotees bowing in namaskāra, their bodies thrilled with love, and they rain streams of honey.
5. The birds of the lake
“O friend!”
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa, the most beautiful of the beautiful, draws a lovely tilaka and wears the vanamālā. Bees, intoxicated with the honey of the divinely fragrant tulasī in that vanamālā, gather in swarms and hum loudly. He loves sound; honouring that humming, he sets the flute to his lips and sings. By that sweet music the minds of the cranes, the swans and the other birds of the lake are stolen. They give up their calls, hold their minds in check, come to Śrī Kṛshṇa, close their eyes like the masters of yoga, and sit close to him.
6. The cloud over Govardhana
“O devīs of Gokula!” (the gopīs to one another)
Śrī Kṛshṇa, graceful with his garland and earrings, roams the slopes of Govardhana with Balarāma. In his joy he blows the flute, giving joy to the world, and makes it resound. Then the cloud, fearing it might seem unruly before Śrī Kṛshṇa, the elder of the world, follows the sound of the flute and thunders very softly. More, it rains on Śrī Kṛshṇa, its dear friend, dark like itself, drops of water like a shower of flowers, and holds an umbrella over him with its shade.
7. The chiefs of the devas listen
“O Yaśodā!”
Your son is expert in the many games of the gopas. He sets the flute to his lip, red like the dondapanḍu, the fruit of the ivy gourd, and sings; he has learned the many ways of playing the flute by himself. The chiefs of the devas, Indra, Śiva, Brahmadeva and the others, listen to his song at those times, bowing their necks, and their minds are drawn by it. But however skilled in music they are, they cannot recognise the rāga and tāla of that song, and they stand lost in it.
8. The marks on his feet
Śrī Kṛshṇa walks on feet like lotus petals, which bear the marks of the dhvaja (flag), the vajra, the lotus and the aṅkuśa (goad), and as he walks the pain the earth suffers from the hooves of the cattle goes away. He walks with the stateliness of an elephant, playing the flute, and as he goes he casts playful glances at us. By them a surge of love arises in us, and we stand motionless like trees; in that enchantment we do not know that our hair-knots have come undone or our upper cloths slipped.
9. The counting garland and the does
Śrī Kṛshṇa loves the fragrant tulasī garland greatly. He keeps a string of gems with him to count the cows. Once, counting the cows on all sides with that string, his hand on the shoulder of a dear gopa boy, he played the flute. That music steals the hearts of the does. Leaving their mates, the bucks, like the gopīs who have given up hope in their homes, they come to Śrī Kṛshṇa, the ocean of every good quality, and stay there.
10. On the bank of the Yamunā
“O Yaśodā, full of puṇya!”
Śrī Kṛshṇa, the son of Nanda and your darling child, sported on the bank of the Yamunā, giving joy to those who love him. He wore a dress fit for a festival, with a garland of gannēru flowers, and around him were the gopas and the wealth of cows. Then the wind blows gently and favourably, honouring him with the touch of sandal, and hosts of gandharvas, reciting stotras, surround him and serve him with instruments, songs and offerings.
11. The return at evening
This Śrī Kṛshṇa-candra, Śrī Kṛshṇa the moon, born of Yaśodā’s womb, does good to Gokula and to the cows; that is why he lifted Govardhana. When in the evening he gathers all the cows into one herd and comes playing the flute, the gopas coming with him sing his glory, and on the path even the elders bow at his feet. Though he is tired, his radiance has not lessened. The darśana of him, wearing a garland covered with the dust of the hooves, is a great feast for the eyes. This Śrī Kṛshṇa-candra is coming with the wish to fulfil the heart’s wishes of us, his friends.
12. His face at evening
He who honours his friends has eyes a little unsteady from the joy of coming home. His face, as he wears the vanamālā, has grown pale; even so, the lustre of his golden earrings still adorns his tender cheek. This master of the Yādavas comes walking with the stateliness of a lord of elephants. For Gokula and the cows the heat of the day is removed at evening by the darśana of him, who is like the moon.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 35
The beings drawn by the flute
The gīta names, in its order, those whom the flute of Śrī Kṛshṇa draws: the young siddha women in the sky with the siddhas; the bulls and cows of Gokula and the deer of the forest; the rivers; the creepers and the trees; the cranes, the swans and the other birds of the lake; the cloud over Govardhana; Indra, Śiva, Brahmadeva and the other chiefs of the devas; the gopīs themselves; the does; the wind; and the hosts of gandharvas.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 35
Śuka’s close
“O Parīkshit Mahārāja! For the women of Gokula, Śrī Kṛshṇa alone was their life, and his darśana alone was their great festival. Their minds were fixed on him, and even during the day they found joy only in singing his līlās.” The chapter gives no phalaśruti for this gīta.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 35
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 35