apy āyāsyati govindaḥ
sva-janān sakṛd īkṣitum
tarhi drakṣyāma tad-vaktraṁ
su-nasaṁ su-smitekṣaṇam
api - whether; āyāsyati - will come back; govindaḥ - Kṛṣṇa; sva-janān - His relatives; sakṛt - once; īkṣitum - to see; tarhi - then; drakṣyāma - we may glance upon; tat - His; vaktram - face; su-nasam - with beautiful nose; su - beautiful; smita - smile; īkṣaṇam - and eyes.
Will Govinda return even once to see His family? If He ever does, we may then glance upon His beautiful face, with its beautiful eyes, nose and smile.
Now that Kṛṣṇa had become a prince in the great city of Mathurā, Nanda had lost hope that He would come back to live in the simple cowherd village of Vṛndāvana. But he hoped against hope that Kṛṣṇa would come back at least once to visit the simple cowherd folk who had raised Him from birth.
