hanta citram abalāḥ śṛṇutedaṁ
hāra-hāsa urasi sthira-vidyut
nanda-sūnur ayam ārta-janānāṁ
narma-do yarhi kūjita-veṇuḥ
vṛndaśo vraja-vṛṣā mṛga-gāvo
veṇu-vādya-hṛta-cetasa ārāt
danta-daṣṭa-kavalā dhṛta-karṇā
nidritā likhita-citram ivāsan
hanta - ah; citram - wonder; abalāḥ - O girls; śṛṇuta - hear; idam - this; hāra - (brilliant) like a necklace; hāsaḥ - whose smile; urasi - upon the chest; sthira - motionless; vidyut - lightning; nanda-sūnuḥ - son of Nanda Mahārāja; ayam - this; ārta - troubled; janānām - for persons; narma - of joy; daḥ - the giver; yarhi - when; kūjita - has vibrated; veṇuḥ - His flute; vrṇdaśaḥ - in groups; vraja - kept in the pasture; vṛṣāḥ - the bulls; mṛga - the deer; gāvaḥ - and the cows; veṇu - of the flute; vādya - by the playing; hṛta - stolen away; cetasaḥ - their minds; ārāt - at a distance; danta - by their teeth; daṣṭa - bit; kavalāḥ - whose mouthfuls; dhṛta - holding up; karṇāḥ - their ears; nidritāḥ - asleep; likhita - drawn; citram - an illustration; iva - as if; āsan - they were.
O girls! This son of Nanda, who gives joy to the distressed, bears steady lightning on His chest and has a smile like a jeweled necklace. Now please hear something wonderful. When He vibrates His flute, Vraja’s bulls, deer and cows, standing in groups at a great distance, are all captivated by the sound, and they stop chewing the food in their mouths and cock their ears. Stunned, they appear as if asleep, or like figures in a painting.
The word sthira-vidyut, “steady lightning,” refers to the goddess of fortune, who resides on the chest of the Supreme Lord. When the animals of Vṛndāvana hear the sound of the flute, they become stunned in ecstasy, and thus they stop chewing their food and cannot swallow it. The gopīs, in separation from Kṛṣṇa, marvel at the extraordinary effect of the Lord’s flute-playing.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī gives the following explanation of the compound word hāra-hāsa, which compares Lord Kṛṣṇa’s smile to a necklace: “The word can mean ‘He whose smile is brilliantly clear like a jeweled necklace’ or ‘He whose smile is reflected from His jeweled necklaces,’ because while Kṛṣṇa plays the flute He bends His head down and smiles. The word can also mean ‘He whose smile, like a jeweled necklace, casts its effulgence upon His chest’ or ‘He whose necklaces shine brilliantly, just like a smile.’”
