Shrimad Chaturasi Path — Pad 24 | Chaurasi Ji Ka Path Arth Sahit | रास-लीला — देवता भी रुक गए

Original pad (Devanagari)

आजु गोपाल रास रस खेलत,
पुलिन कल्पतरु तीर री सजनी ।
सरद विमल नभ चन्द्र विराजत,
रोचक त्रिविध समीर री सजनी ॥
चंपक बकुल मालती मुकुलित,
मत्त मुदित पिक कीर री सजनी ॥
देसी सुधंग राग रंग नीकी,
ब्रज जुवतिन की भीर री सजनी ॥
मघवा मुदित निसान बजायौ,
व्रत छाँड्यौ मुनि धीर री सजनी ।
जय श्री हित हरिवंश मगन मन श्यामा,
हरत मदन घन पीर री सजनी ॥

Transliteration

āju gopāla rāsa rasa khelata,
pulina kalpataru tīra rī sajanī.
sarada vimala nabha candra virājata,
rocaka trividha samīra rī sajanī.
caṁpaka bakula mālatī mukulita,
matta mudita pika kīra rī sajanī.
desī sudhaṁga rāga raṁga nīkī,
braja juvatina kī bhīra rī sajanī.
maghavā mudita nisāna bajāyau,
vrata chāṁḍyau muni dhīra rī sajanī.
jaya śrī hita harivaṁśa magana mana śyāmā,
harata madana ghana pīra rī sajanī.

Word-by-word meanings

āju — today; gopāla — Gopāla; rāsa rasa khelata — is playing the rāsa; pulina — on the bank; kalpataru tīra — beside the wish-fulfilling tree; rī sajanī — O sakhi; sarada — of autumn; vimala nabha — the spotless sky; candra virājata — the moon shines; rocaka — delightful; trividha samīra — the threefold breeze, cool, gentle and fragrant; caṁpaka — campaka; bakula — bakula; mālatī — mālatī; mukulita — in bloom; matta — intoxicated; mudita — joyful; pika — the cuckoos; kīra — the parrots; desī sudhaṁga — the lovely local dance; rāga raṁga — melody and colour; nīkī — beautiful; braja juvatina kī bhīra — the crowd of Vraja maidens; maghavā — Indra; mudita — joyful; nisāna — the kettledrum; bajāyau — is beating; vrata chāṁḍyau — have given up their vows; muni dhīra — the steadfast sages; magana mana — the absorbed mind; śyāmā — Śyāmā; harata — removes; madana ghana pīra — Śyāma's deep pain of love.

Translation

O sakhi, today Gopāla is playing the rāsa on the bank of the Yamunā, beside the wish-fulfilling tree. The autumn sky is spotless and the moon shines in it; a delightful threefold breeze — cool, gentle and fragrant — is blowing. The campaka, bakula and mālatī are in bloom, and the cuckoos and parrots are intoxicated with joy. Among the crowd of Vraja maidens, the lovely local dance, melody and colour are beautiful beyond words. Indra joyfully beats the kettledrum, and even the steadfast sages have given up their vows, drawn into this rāsa. Says Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa — Śyāmā's mind is absorbed in the rāsa, and She removes Śyāmasundara's deep pain of love.

Explanation

This rāsa stops even the gods and the sages. Indra beats his drum in joy, and the steadfast sages — men of unbroken vows — set their vows aside, drawn by the music. The moon, the fragrant breeze, the blooming flowers and the singing birds all become part of the dance. And at its centre is Śyāmā, whose love alone can soothe the deep pain of longing in Śyāma's heart. The pad shows the rāsa as an eternal, ever-present līlā, not a story of the past.

Summary

On the Yamunā's bank, the moonlit rāsa stops even gods and sages — and Śyāmā's love soothes Śyāma's longing.

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