Shrimad Chaturasi Path — Pad 14 | Chaurasi Ji Ka Path Arth Sahit | सखी की चतुर मिलन-व्यवस्था

Original pad (Devanagari)

अधर अरुण तेरे कैसे के दुराऊँ ।
रवि ससि शंक भजन कियौ अपवस, अद्भुत रंगन कुसुम बनाऊँ ।
सुभ कौसेय कसिव कौस्तुभमनि, पंकज सुतन लै अंगनु लुपाऊँ ।
हरषित इन्दु तजत जैसे जलधर, सो भ्रम ढूँढ़ि कहाँ हौं पाऊँ ।
अम्बुन दम्भ कछू नहीं व्यापत, हिमकर तपै ताहि कैसे कै बुझाऊँ ।
जय श्रीहित हरिवंश रसिक नवरंग पिय, भृकुटी भौंह तेरे खंजन लराऊँ ॥

Transliteration

adhara aruṇa tere kaise ke durāūṁ.
ravi sasi śaṁka bhajana kiyau apavasa, adbhuta raṁgana kusuma banāūṁ.
subha kauseya kasiva kaustubhamaṇi, paṁkaja sutana lai aṁganu lupāūṁ.
haraṣita indu tajata jaise jaladhara, so bhrama ḍhūṁḍhi kahāṁ hauṁ pāūṁ.
ambuna dambha kachū nahīṁ vyāpata, himakara tapai tāhi kaise kai bujhāūṁ.
jaya śrīhita harivaṁśa rasika navaraṁga piya, bhṛkuṭī bhauṁha tere khañjana larāūṁ.

Word-by-word meanings

adhara — the lips; aruṇa — red; tere — Your; kaise ke — how; durāūṁ — can I hide; ravi — the sun; sasi — the moon; śaṁka bhajana kiyau apavasa — holding the fiery and cool moods in check (as per the meaning); adbhuta — wonderful; raṁgana — of colours; kusuma — flowers; banāūṁ — I shall adorn; subha — beautiful; kauseya — silk; kasiva — hiding; kaustubhamaṇi — the Kaustubha jewel; paṁkaja — lotus; sutana — pollen; aṁganu — the limbs; lupāūṁ — I shall cover; haraṣita — joyful; indu — the moon; tajata — emerging; jaise — like; jaladhara — the cloud; so bhrama — that delusion; ḍhūṁḍhi — searching; kahāṁ hauṁ pāūṁ — where shall I find; ambuna dambha kachū nahīṁ vyāpata — even water cannot cool it (as per the meaning); himakara — the moon; tapai — begins to burn; tāhi — it; kaise kai — how; bujhāūṁ — shall I cool; rasika navaraṁga piya — O relisher, my ever-fresh Beloved; bhṛkuṭī — the brow; bhauṁha — the eyebrows; tere — Your; khañjana — khañjana-like eyes; larāūṁ — I shall join.

Translation

The sakhi says to Śrī Kṛṣṇa — How can I hide Your red lips? If You must go in hiding, then the fiery and cool moods, like the sun and the moon, must be held in check. I will adorn You with flowers of wonderful colours, hide the Kaustubha jewel in silk, and try to cover Your limbs with lotus pollen. But when Your moon-like face shines with joy, like the moon emerging from a cloud, where shall I find a way to hide that? When the cool moon itself begins to burn, with what water shall I cool it? Says Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa — O relisher, my ever-fresh Beloved! Still, I shall find a way to join Your restless khañjana-like eyes with Rādhā's brows.

Explanation

The sakhi is asked to do the impossible — to hide Kṛṣṇa, whose very body shines with love. She tries every disguise: flowers, silk, lotus pollen. Yet His lips, His moon-like face and the longing in His eyes give Him away at once. The verse laughs gently at the effort: the Beloved cannot be hidden, because His eagerness to meet Rādhā shines through every covering. In the end the sakhi gives up hiding and does the wiser thing — she arranges the meeting itself.

Summary

Kṛṣṇa cannot be hidden — His shining face and longing eyes betray Him, so the clever sakhi arranges the meeting instead.

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