apy eṇa-patny upagataḥ priyayeha gātrais
tanvan dṛśāḿ sakhi su-nirvṛtim acyuto vaḥ
kāntāńga-sańga-kuca-kuńkuma-rañjitāyāḥ
kunda-srajaḥ kula-pater iha vāti gandhaḥ
api -- whether; ena -- of the deer; patni -- O wife; upagatah -- has been encountered; priyaya -- together with His beloved; iha -- here; gatraih -- by His bodily limbs; tanvan -- producing; drisam -- of the eyes; sakhi -- O friend; su-nirvritim -- great pleasure; acyutah -- the infallible Lord Krishna; vah -- your; kanta -- of His girlfriend; anga-sanga -- because of the physical contact; kuca -- on the breast; kunkuma -- by the vermilion powder; ranjitayah -- colored; kunda -- of jasmine flowers; srajah -- of the garland; kula -- of the group (of gopis); pateh -- of the master; iha -- around here; vati -- is blowing; gandhah -- the fragrance.
O friend, wife of the deer, has Lord Acyuta been here with His beloved, bringing great joy to your eyes? Indeed, blowing this way is the fragrance of His garland of kunda flowers, which was smeared with the kunkuma from the breasts of His girlfriend when He embraced Her.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti provides the following charming commentary on this verse:
"The gopis spoke to a doe, 'O friend, wife of the deer, from the bliss in your clear eyes we can tell that Sri Krishna has expanded your joy with the beauty of His limbs, His face and so forth. You are eager to realize the ecstasy of seeing Krishna, and thus your eyes are following Him. In fact, He is never lost to you.'
"Then the gopis, seeing the doe continue to walk in her natural way, exclaimed, 'Oh, are you telling us that you have seen Krishna? Look! As this deer walks she constantly turns her head back to us; as if to say, "I will show Him to you; just follow me and I will show you Krishna." In this merciless Vrindavana, she is the only merciful person.'
"As the gopis follow the doe they happen to lose sight of her, and they cry out, 'Oh, why can't we see the deer who is showing us the way to Krishna?'
"One gopi suggests that Krishna must be somewhere in the vicinity and that the deer, being afraid of Him, must have hidden herself to avoid the possible mistake of revealing His presence. Conjecturing in this way, the gopis detect a fragrance that has by chance blown their way, and they repeatedly declare with great joy, 'Yes! Yes! This is it! By Krishna's physical contact with His girlfriend, His jasmine garland was smeared with the kunkuma powder on Her breasts, and the fragrances of all these things are reaching us.' Thus the gopis smelled the aroma of the two lovers' bodies, of Krishna's jasmine garland, and of the cosmetic powder on the breasts of His lover."
