bho bhoḥ sadā niṣṭanase udanvann
alabdha-nidro 'dhigata-prajāgaraḥ
kim vā mukundāpahṛtātma-lāñchanaḥ
prāptāḿ daśāḿ tvaḿ ca gato duratyayām
bhoh -- dear; bhoh -- dear; sada -- always; nishtanase -- you are making a loud sound; udanvan -- O ocean; alabdha -- not obtaining; nidrah -- sleep; adhigata -- experiencing; prajagarah -- insomnia; kim va -- or else, perhaps; mukunda -- by Krishna; apahrita -- taken away; atma -- personal; lanchanah -- marks; praptam -- obtained (by us); dasam -- the condition; tvam -- you; ca -- also; gatah -- have reached; duratyayam -- impossible to become freed from.
Dear ocean, you are always roaring, not sleeping at night. Are you suffering insomnia? Or is it that, as with us, Mukunda has taken your insignias and you are hopeless of retrieving them?
Srila Sridhara Svami states that Lord Krishna's queens here confuse the sea surrounding Dvaraka with the celestial Ocean of Milk, from which Lakshmi and the Kaustubha gem arose long ago. These were taken (apahrita) by Lord Vishnu, and they now reside on His chest. The queens presume that the ocean is anxious to see once again the mark of Lakshmi's residence and the Kaustubha jewel on the Lord's chest, and they express their sympathy by saying that they also want to see these marks. But the queens desire even more to see the kunkuma marks on the Lord's chest, which He "took" from their breasts when they last embraced Him.
