Shrimad Chaturasi Path — Pad 23 | Chaurasi Ji Ka Path Arth Sahit | रास-लीला — राधा के नयन सलोने

Original pad (Devanagari)

राधा प्यारी तेरे नैन सलोल ।
तैं निज भजन कनक तन जोवन, लियौ मनोहर मोल ॥
अधर निरंग अलक लट छूटी, रंजित पीक कपोल ।
तू रस मगन भई नहि जानत, ऊपर पीत निचोल ॥
कुच युग पर नख-रेख प्रगट मानौं, शंकर सिर ससि-टोल ।
जय श्री हित हरिवंश कहत कछु भामिनि, अति आलस सौं बोल ॥

Transliteration

rādhā pyārī tere naina salola.
taiṁ nija bhajana kanaka tana jovana, liyau manohara mola.
adhara niraṁga alaka laṭa chūṭī, rañjita pīka kapola.
tū rasa magana bhaī nahi jānata, ūpara pīta nicolā.
kuca yuga para nakha-rekha pragaṭa mānauṁ, śaṁkara sira sasi-ṭola.
jaya śrī hita harivaṁśa kahata kachu bhāmini, ati ālasa sauṁ bola.

Word-by-word meanings

rādhā pyārī — O dear Rādhā; tere naina — your eyes; salola — lovely, full of rasa; taiṁ — you; nija bhajana — by your own loving service; kanaka tana — golden body; jovana — youth; liyau manohara mola — have bought the Charming One as your own; adhara niraṁga — the faded colour of the lips; alaka laṭa chūṭī — the curls and locks have come undone; rañjita — coloured; pīka kapola — the pān-reddened cheeks; tū rasa magana bhaī — you are drowned in rasa; nahi jānata — you do not even know; ūpara — above; pīta nicolā — the yellow garment lies; kuca yuga para — upon the pair of breasts; nakha-rekha pragaṭa — the nail-marks are clear; mānauṁ — as if; śaṁkara sira sasi-ṭola — the crescent moon upon Śaṅkara's head; kahata kachu — you speak a little; bhāmini — O lovely lady; ati ālasa sauṁ bola — speaking with great languor.

Translation

O dear Rādhā, your eyes are so lovely and full of rasa. With your own loving service, your golden body and your youth, you have bought the Charming One as your own, as if paying His price. The colour has faded from your lips, your curls and locks have come undone, and your cheeks are coloured with the red of pān. You are so drowned in rasa that you do not even know the yellow garment lies upon you. The nail-marks are clear upon your pair of breasts, as if the crescent moon rested upon Śaṅkara's head. Says Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa — O lovely lady, you speak a little, with great languor.

Explanation

The sakhi teases Rādhā with a gentle paradox: the priceless Beloved has been "bought" — not with wealth, but with Rādhā's own golden youth and loving service. Love is the only price that can buy Him. And Rādhā is so lost in that love that She does not even notice whose garment lies upon Her. Her faded lips, undone hair, pān-red cheeks and the moon-like nail-marks all tell the story, while She speaks only a little, in a voice heavy with sweet languor.

Summary

Drowned in rasa, Rādhā does not even notice the yellow garment upon Her — Her eyes, Her hair and Her languorous voice tell everything.

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