देवदत्तामिमां वीणां स्वरब्रह्मविभूषिताम् ।
मूर्च्छयित्वा हरिकथां गायमानश्चराम्यहम् ॥३२॥

deva-dattÄm imÄá¹ vīṇÄá¹
svara-brahma-vibhÅ«á¹£itÄm
mÅ«rcchayitvÄ hari-kathÄá¹
gÄyamÄnaÅ› carÄmy aham

 deva - the Supreme Personality of Godhead (ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa); dattÄm - gifted by; imÄm - this; vīṇÄm - a musical stringed instrument; svara - singing meter; brahma - transcendental; vibhÅ«á¹£itÄm - decorated with; mÅ«rcchayitvÄ - vibrating; hari-kathÄm - transcendental message; gÄyamÄnaḥ - singing constantly; carÄmi - do move; aham - I.


Text

And thus I travel, constantly singing the transcendental message of the glories of the Lord, vibrating this instrument called a vīṇÄ, which is charged with transcendental sound and which was given to me by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Purport

The musical stringed instrument called the vīṇÄ, which was handed to NÄrada by Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, is described in the Liá¹…ga PurÄṇa, and this is confirmed by ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«. This transcendental instrument is identical with Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa and NÄrada because all of them are of the same transcendental category. Sound vibrated by the instrument cannot be material, and therefore the glories and pastimes which are broadcast by the instrument of NÄrada are also transcendental, without a tinge of material inebriety. The seven singing meters, namely á¹£a (á¹£aá¸ja), á¹› (ṛṣabha), gÄ (gÄndhÄra), ma (madhyama), pa (pañcama), dha (dhaivata) and ni (niá¹£Äda), are also transcendental and specifically meant for transcendental songs. As a pure devotee of the Lord, ÅšrÄ« NÄradadeva is always fulfilling his obligation to the Lord for His gift of the instrument, and thus he is always engaged in singing His transcendental glories and is therefore infallible in his exalted position. Following in the footsteps of ÅšrÄ«la NÄrada Muni, a self-realized soul in the material world should also properly use the sound meters, namely á¹£a, á¹›, gÄ, ma, etc., in the service of the Lord by constantly singing the glories of the Lord, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ.