gopyaḥ kim Äcarad ayaá¹ kuÅ›alaá¹ sma veṇur
dÄmodarÄdhara-sudhÄm api gopikÄnÄm
bhuá¹…kte svayaá¹ yad avaÅ›iá¹£á¹a-rasaá¹ hradinyo
hṛṣyat-tvaco 'Å›ru mumucus taravo yathÄryaḥ
1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: CC(1)
gopyaḥ - O gopÄ«s; kim - what; Äcarat - performed; ayam - this; kuÅ›alam - auspicious activities; sma - certainly; veṇuḥ - the flute; dÄmodara - of Kṛṣṇa; adhara-sudhÄm - the nectar of the lips; api - even; gopikÄnÄm - which is owed to the gopÄ«s; bhuá¹…kte - enjoys; svayam - independently; yat - from which; avaÅ›iá¹£á¹a - remaining; rasam - the taste only; hradinyaḥ - the rivers; hṛṣyat - feeling jubilant; tvacaḥ - whose bodies; aÅ›ru - tears; mumucuḥ - shed; taravaḥ - the trees; yathÄ - exactly like; ÄryÄḥ - old forefathers.
My dear gopīs, what auspicious activities must the flute have performed to enjoy the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips independently and leave only a taste for us gopīs, for whom that nectar is actually meant! The forefathers of the flute, the bamboo trees, shed tears of pleasure. His mother, the river on whose bank the bamboo was born, feels jubilation, and therefore her blooming lotus flowers are standing like hair on her body.
This translation is quoted from ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda’s Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta (Antya-lÄ«lÄ 16.140).
In the guise of releasing flowing sap, the bamboo trees are actually crying tears of ecstasy upon seeing their child become an exalted devotee-flute of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« gives an alternate explanation: The trees are crying because they are unhappy at not being able to play with Kṛṣṇa themselves. One may object that the trees in Vá¹›ndÄvana should not lament for that which is impossible for them to obtain, just as a beggar certainly doesn’t lament because he is forbidden to meet the king. But the trees are actually just like intelligent persons who suffer when they cannot obtain the goal of life. Thus the trees are crying because they cannot get the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips.
