dṛṣṭvā kumudvantam akhaṇḍa-maṇḍalaṁ
ramānanābhaṁ nava-kuṅkumāruṇam
vanaṁ ca tat-komala-gobhī rañjitaṁ
jagau kalaṁ vāma-dṛśāṁ manoharam
dṛṣṭvā - observing; kamut-vantam - causing the night-blooming kumuda lotuses to open; akhaṇḍa - unbroken; maṇḍalam - the disk of whose face; ramā - of the goddess of fortune; ānana - (resembling) the face; ābham - whose light; nava - new; kuṅkuma - with vermilion powder; aruṇam - reddened; vanam - the forest; ca - and; tat - of that moon; komala - gentle; gobhiḥ - by the rays; rañjitam - colored; jagau - He played His flute; kalam - sweetly; vāma-dṛśām - for the girls who had charming eyes; manaḥ-haram - enchanting.
Lord Kṛṣṇa saw the unbroken disk of the full moon glowing with the red effulgence of newly applied vermilion, as if it were the face of the goddess of fortune. He also saw the kumuda lotuses opening in response to the moon’s presence and the forest gently illumined by its rays. Thus the Lord began to play sweetly on His flute, attracting the minds of the beautiful-eyed gopīs.
The word jagau in this verse indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa played songs on His flute, as confirmed in text 40 by the words kā stry aṅga te kala-padāyata-veṇu-gītā. The word ramā may indicate not only Lord Viṣṇu’s consort but also Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the original goddess of fortune. Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared in the dynasty of the moon-god, and the moon plays a prominent role here in preparing for the Lord’s entrance into the midst of the rāsa dance.
