Veṇu Gīta

The 21st chapter of the 10th Skanda of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa is known as the Veṇu Gīta, the Song of the Flute. In autumn, Kṛshṇa plays his flute in the forests of Vṛndāvana. The gopikās of Gokula cannot stay within their house walls, and they speak to one another of what they see and feel. Their words describe how the music of Kṛshṇa’s flute touches all of nature: the river, the deer, the peacocks, the cows, the trees, the birds and the clouds.

The setting: autumn in Vṛndāvana

The Veṇu Gīta follows straight on from the description of the autumn season (śarat ṛtu) in Chapter 20, where autumn was praised through comparisons with dharma. In the śarat the lotus ponds are clear, the sky is washed clean and the rains have ended. Kṛshṇa enters the Vṛndāvana forests with the gopas and the cattle.

He is dressed for the occasion as the Bhāgavata describes. A peacock feather is in his dark hair, karṇikāra flowers are at his ears, a garland of wild forest flowers lies across his dark chest, he wears yellow garments, and a flute is at his lips.

The gopikās are back in the settlement with their household work. Suddenly they hear the sound of his flute carried on the autumn wind.

The gopikās’ description

The gopikās cannot go on with what they were doing. They begin to tell one another what they hear and see. Their speech is the Veṇu Gīta, a series of stanzas about Kṛshṇa and the effect of his music. They speak of these things.

His appearance. His dark form is like a rain-cloud. He wears yellow garments, yellow like lightning, and forest flowers. The peacock feather glows in his hair, the karṇikāra blossoms are at his ears, his flute is raised to his lips, and his companions are around him. The gopikās say: “He has entered the forest exactly as a dancer enters a stage, adorned, shining, the centre of everything.”

The river. The Yamunā hears the flute and stops her current, or so it seems to the gopikās. Her waves become gentle and her waters still, as if she is listening.

The deer. The female deer, grazing nearby, stop and stand without moving, with ears lifted and eyes fixed in the direction of the sound. Even the males stop and stare. Their mouths become soft and they seem to listen, with their heads resting on one another’s backs, wholly absorbed.

The peacocks. The peacocks begin to dance, with feathers spread and feet moving in rhythm. The animals and birds on the hills watch the peacocks dance and stand still themselves, as if struck dumb by the beauty of the flute and the dance together.

The cows. The cows in the meadow stop grazing. They stand with ears raised and heads lifted, forgetting their calves. The milk that was flowing from their udders stops. They stand as if in samādhi (deep absorption), lost in the music.

The trees and the clouds. The gopikās say that the trees are waving their branches not from the wind but in answer to the flute, like sādhus (holy people) who bow when the holy name is spoken. The clouds hear the music and lower themselves above Kṛshṇa. They stay there like a canopy and let fall only the gentlest drops of rain.

The fortune of the birds. The gopikās say: “The birds sitting in the branches of those trees, how very fortunate they are! They have closed their eyes and are listening, completely still, with their heads tilted downward, as if in meditation.”

The deer, the peacocks, the cows, the river and the trees all stop their own doings to listen. The gopikās themselves have left their household work and stand listening and watching.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 21