tad-darÅ›ana-smara-ká¹£obhÄd
ÄtmÄnaá¹ nÄvidan striyaḥ
visrasta-vÄsaḥ-kavara
valayÄ lekhya-mÅ«rtayaḥ
tat - Him; darÅ›ana - because of seeing; smara - due to the effects of Cupid; ká¹£obhÄt - by their agitation; ÄtmÄnam - themselves; na avidan - could not recognize; striyaḥ - the women; visrasta - disheveled; vÄsaḥ - their clothes; kavara - the locks of their hair; valayÄḥ - and their bangles; lekhya - (as if) drawn in a picture; mÅ«rtayaḥ - their forms.
The sight of Kṛṣṇa aroused Cupid in the hearts of the city women. Thus agitated, they forgot themselves. Their clothes, braids and bangles became disheveled, and they stood as still as figures in a painting.
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« states that since the women of MathurÄ immediately experienced symptoms of conjugal attraction when they saw Kṛṣṇa, they were the most advanced devotees in the city. The ten effects of Cupid are described as follows: cakṣū-rÄgaḥ prathamaá¹ cittÄsaá¹…gas tato ’tha saá¹…kalpaḥ nidrÄ-cchedas tanutÄ viá¹£aya-nivá¹›ttis trapÄ-nasaḥ/ unmÄdo mÅ«rcchÄ má¹›tir ity etÄḥ smara-daÅ›Ä daÅ›aiva syuḥ. “First comes attraction expressed through the eyes, then intense attachment in the mind, then determination, loss of sleep, becoming emaciated, disinterest in external things, shamelessness, madness, becoming stunned and death. These are the ten stages of Cupid’s effects.â€
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« also points out that devotees who possess pure love of Godhead generally do not exhibit the symptom of death, since this is inauspicious in relation to Kṛṣṇa. They do, however, manifest the other nine symptoms, culminating in becoming stunned in ecstasy.
