Shrimad Chaturasi Path — Pad 20 | Chaurasi Ji Ka Path Arth Sahit | निकुंज-लीला — सखी का मधुर दर्शन

Original pad (Devanagari)

मोहन लाल के रस माती ।
बधू गुपत-गोवत कत मोसौं, प्रथम नेह सकुचाती ॥
देख संभार पीत पट ऊपर, कहाँ चूनरी राती ।
टूटी लर लटकत मोतिन की, नख बिधु अंकित छाती ॥
अधर-बिंब खंडित मषि मंडित, गंड चलत अरुझाती ।
अरुन नैन घूमत आलस जुत, कुसुम गलित लटपाती ॥
आजु रहसि मोहन सब लूटी, विविध आपनी थाती ।
जय श्री हित हरिवंश वचन सुनि भामिनि, भवन चली मुसिकाती ॥

Transliteration

mohana lāla ke rasa mātī.
badhū gupata-govata kata mosoṁ, prathama neha sakucātī.
dekha saṁbhāra pīta paṭa ūpara, kahāṁ cūnarī rātī.
ṭūṭī lara laṭakata motina kī, nakha bidhu aṁkita chātī.
adhara-biṁba khaṇḍita maṣi maṇḍita, gaṇḍa calata arujhātī.
aruna naina ghūmata ālasa juta, kusuma galita laṭapātī.
āju rahasi mohana saba lūṭī, vividha āpanī thātī.
jaya śrī hita harivaṁśa vacana suni bhāmini, bhavana calī musikātī.

Word-by-word meanings

mohana lāla — Mohanlāla; ke rasa — in the rasa of; mātī — intoxicated; badhū — O bride; gupata-govata — are you hiding; kata — why; mosoṁ — from me; prathama neha — the first meeting of love; sakucātī — are you shy; dekha saṁbhāra — look, take care; pīta paṭa — the yellow garment; ūpara — upon you; kahāṁ — where is; cūnarī rātī — your colourful veil; ṭūṭī lara — the broken necklace; laṭakata — hangs; motina kī — of pearls; nakha bidhu — moon-like nail-marks; aṁkita — marked; chātī — on the breast; adhara-biṁba — the bimba-fruit lips; khaṇḍita — bitten; maṣi maṇḍita — darkened with colour; gaṇḍa — the cheeks; calata arujhātī — your gait falters; aruna naina — the red eyes; ghūmata — rolling; ālasa juta — full of languor; kusuma galita — the flowers have fallen; laṭapātī — the scattered locks; āju rahasi — today in secret; mohana — Mohan; saba lūṭī — has taken everything; vividha āpanī thātī — your varied treasure of beauty and rasa; vacana suni — on hearing these words; bhāmini — the lovely lady; bhavana calī — went toward the bower; musikātī — smiling.

Translation

The sakhi says to Śrī Rādhā — O bride, you are intoxicated with the rasa of Mohanlāla. Why are you hiding it from me? Are you shy because of the first meeting of love? Look and take care — a yellow garment is upon you; where is your colourful veil? Your pearl necklace hangs broken, and moon-like nail-marks are printed on your breast. Your bimba-fruit lips are bitten, your cheeks are darkened with colour, and your gait falters. Your red eyes roll with languor, the flowers have fallen from your hair, and your locks are scattered. Today in secret Mohan has taken your whole treasure of beauty and rasa. Says Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa — on hearing the sakhi's words, the lovely lady went smiling toward the bower.

Explanation

The sakhi reads the night in Rādhā's dress and body, point by point: another's yellow garment, the missing veil, the broken necklace, the nail-marks like the moon, the bitten lips, the reddened eyes, the fallen flowers. Rādhā tries to hide it out of shyness — it is, after all, the first meeting — but love leaves its marks, and the sakhi sees them all. Her teasing is not mockery; it is the joy of a friend who has seen her beloved friend made happy. Rādhā answers nothing; She only smiles and walks away to the bower.

Summary

Love cannot be hidden — the exchanged garment, the broken necklace and the nail-marks tell the whole story.

---

Radhe Radhe 🙏

If this pad touched your heart, please write with love in the comments — Radhe Radhe. Share this with your family and friends on WhatsApp, so that the sweetness of Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa's pads reaches them too. On Radha Krishna Vani we share the meaning of each pad in simple language. Which pad would you like to hear next? Do tell us in the comments. To stay connected, subscribe to the channel and press the bell.

Jai Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa 🙏 Radhe Radhe.