pÄda-nyÄsair bhuja-vidhutibhiḥ sa-smitair bhrÅ«-vilÄsair
bhajyan madhyaiÅ› cala-kuca-paá¹aiḥ kuṇá¸alair gaṇá¸a-lolaiḥ
svidyan-mukhyaḥ kavara-rasanÄgranthayaḥ kṛṣṇa-vadhvo
gÄyantyas taá¹ taá¸ita iva tÄ megha-cakre virejuḥ
pÄda - of their feet; nyÄsaiḥ - by the placement; bhuja - of their hands; vidhutibhiḥ - by the gestures; sa-smitaiḥ - smiling; bhrÅ« - of their eyebrows; vilÄsaiḥ - by the playful movements; bhajyan - bending; madhyaiḥ - by their middles; cala - moving; kuca - covering their breasts; paá¹aiḥ - by the cloths; kuṇá¸alaiḥ - by their earrings; gaṇá¸a - on their cheeks; lolaiḥ - rolling; svidyan - perspiring; mukhyaḥ - whose faces; kavara - the braids of their hair; rasanÄ - and their belts; Ägranthayaḥ - having tightly tied; kṛṣṇa-vadhvaḥ - the consorts of Lord Kṛṣṇa; gÄyantyaḥ - singing; tam - about Him; taá¸itaḥ - bolts of lightning; iva - as if; tÄḥ - they; megha-cakre - in a range of clouds; virejuḥ - shone.
As the gopīs sang in praise of Kṛṣṇa, their feet danced, their hands gestured, and their eyebrows moved with playful smiles. With their braids and belts tied tight, their waists bending, their faces perspiring, the garments on their breasts moving this way and that, and their earrings swinging on their cheeks, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s young consorts shone like streaks of lightning in a mass of clouds.
ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« explains that according to the analogy of lightning flashing in clouds, the perspiration on the lovely faces of the gopÄ«s resembled drops of mist, and their singing resembled thunder. The word Ägranthayaḥ may also be read agranthayaḥ, meaning “loosened.†This would indicate that although the gopÄ«s began the dance with their hair and belts tightly drawn, these gradually slackened and loosened.
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« points out that the gopÄ«s were expert at exhibiting mudrÄs (precise hand gestures that express feelings or convey meanings associated with the theme of a performance). Thus sometimes Kṛṣṇa and the gopÄ«s would artistically move their interlocked arms together, and sometimes they would separate arms and exhibit mudrÄs to act out the meaning of the songs they were singing.
The word pÄda-nyÄsaiḥ indicates that the gopÄ«s artistically and gracefully placed the steps of their dancing feet in an enchanting way, and the words sa-smitair bhrÅ«-vilÄsair indicate that the romantic movements of their eyebrows, smiling with love, were most charming to behold.
