prāyo batāmba vihagā munayo vane 'smin
kṛṣṇekṣitaḿ tad-uditaḿ kala-veṇu-gītam
āruhya ye druma-bhujān rucira-pravālān
śṛṇvanti mīlita-dṛśo vigatānya-vācaḥ
prayah -- almost; bata -- certainly; amba -- O mother; vihagah -- the birds; munayah -- great sages; vane -- in the forest; asmin -- this; krishna-ikshitam -- in order to see Krishna; tat-uditam -- created by Him; kala-venu-gitam -- sweet vibrations made by playing the flute; aruhya -- rising; ye -- who; druma-bhujan -- to the branches of the trees; rucira-pravalan -- having beautiful creepers and twigs; srinvanti -- they hear; milita-drisah -- closing their eyes; vigata-anya-vacah -- stopping all other sounds.
O mother, in this forest all the birds have risen onto the beautiful branches of the trees to see Krishna. With closed eyes they are simply listening in silence to the sweet vibrations of His flute, and they are not attracted by any other sound. Surely these birds are on the same level as great sages.
The birds resemble sages because they live in the forest, keep their eyes closed, observe silence and remain motionless. Significantly, it is stated here that even great sages become maddened by the sound of Krishna's flute, which is a completely spiritual vibration.
The word rucira-pravalan indicates that even the branches of the trees are transformed in ecstasy when struck by the vibration of Krishna's flute-song. Indra, Brahma, Siva and Vishnu, being primordial gods, travel throughout the universe and have extensive knowledge of the science of music, and yet even these great personalities have never heard or composed music like that which emanates from Krishna's flute. Indeed, the birds are so moved by the blissful sound that in their ecstasy they close their eyes and cling to the branches to avoid falling off the trees.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that the gopis would sometimes address each other as amba, "mother."
