priya-rāva-padāni bhāṣase
mṛta-sañjīvikayānayā girā
karavāṇi kim adya te priyaḿ
vada me valgita-kaṇṭha kokila
priya -- dear; rava -- of him whose sounds; padani -- the vibrations; bhashase -- you are uttering; mrita -- the dead; sanjivikaya -- which brings back to life; anaya -- in this; gira -- voice; karavani -- I should do; kim -- what; adya -- today; te -- for you; priyam -- pleasing; vada -- please tell; me -- me; valgita -- sweetened (by these sounds); kantha -- O you whose throat; kokila -- O cuckoo.
O sweet-throated cuckoo, in a voice that could revive the dead you are vibrating the same sounds we once heard from our beloved, the most pleasing of speakers. Please tell me what I can do today to please you.
As Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti explains, though the song of a cuckoo is very pleasant, Lord Krishna's wives perceive it as painful because it reminds them of their beloved Krishna and exacerbates their pain of separation.
