Text 23
śuṣyad-dhradāḥ karaśitā bata sindhu-patnyaḥ
sampraty apāsta-kamala-śriya iṣṭa-bhartuḥ
yadvad vayaṁ madhu-pateḥ praṇayāvalokam
aprāpya muṣṭa-hṛdayāḥ puru-karśitāḥ sma
śuṣyat — drying up; hradāḥ — whose lakes; karaśitāḥ — shriveled up; bata — alas; sindhu — of the ocean; patnyaḥ — O wives; samprati — now; apāsta — lost; kamala — of lotuses; śrīyaḥ — whose opulence; iṣṭa — beloved; bhartuḥ — of the husband; yadvat — just as; vayam — we; madhu-pateḥ — of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Madhu; praṇaya — loving; avalokam — the glance; aprāpya — not obtaining; muṣṭa — cheated; hṛdayāḥ — whose hearts; puru — thoroughly; karśitāḥ — emaciated; sma — we have become.
O rivers, wives of the ocean, your pools have now dried up. Alas, you have shriveled to nothing, and your wealth of lotuses has vanished. Are you, then, like us, who are withering away because of not receiving the affectionate glance of our dear husband, the Lord of Madhu, who has cheated our hearts?
During the summer the rivers do not receive downpours of water provided by their husband, the ocean, via the clouds. But the real reason for the rivers’ emaciation, as the queens see it, is that they have failed to obtain the loving glance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of all happiness.