Hamsaduta verse

I was enjoying this verse as I bicycled into work this morning.


kritākṛṣṭi-krīḍaṁ kim api tava rūpaṁ mama sakhī
sakṛt dṛṣṭvā dūrād ahita-hita-bodhojjhita-matiḥ
hatā seyaṁ premānalam anu viśanti sarabhasaṁ
pataṅgīvātmānam murahara muhur dāhitavatī


My girlfriend Radha saw your form
as it played some kind of attracting game.
She saw it just once from afar,
but immediately lost all sense
of what is beneficial and what is not.
That benighted girl immediately rushed
into the fire of love, like a moth,
and there, O Murahara, she repeatedly
immolated herself.

Lalita spoke this verse to the swan, giving it to him as a message to be spoken to Krishna. This is the glorification of Krishna's rupa. But it emphasizes some important aspects of Krishna's character and the character of prema.


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