Text 9
cūta-priyāla-panasāsana-kovidāra
jambv-arka-bilva-bakulāmra-kadamba-nīpāḥ
ye ’nye parārtha-bhavakā yamunopakūlāḥ
śaṁsantu kṛṣṇa-padavīṁ rahitātmanāṁ naḥ
cūta — O mango creeper; priyāla — O priyāla tree (a kind of śāla tree); panasa — O jackfruit tree; āsana — O āsana tree (a yellow śāla); kovidāra — O kovidāra tree; jambu — O rose-apple tree; arka — O arka plant; bilva — O bel-fruit tree; bakula — O mimosa tree; āmra — O mango tree; kadamba — O kadamba tree; nīpāḥ — O nīpa (a smaller kind of kadamba); ye — who; anye — others; para — of others; artha — for the sake; bhavakāḥ — whose existence; yamunā-upakūlāḥ — living near the bank of the river Yamunā; śaṁsantu — kindly tell; kṛṣṇa-padavīm — the path Kṛṣṇa has taken; rahita — who have been deprived; ātmanām — of our minds; naḥ — to us.
O cūta, O priyāla, O panasa, āsana and kovidāra, O jambu, O arka, O bilva, bakula and āmra, O kadamba and nīpa and all you other plants and trees living by the banks of the Yamunā who have dedicated your very existence to the welfare of others, we gopīs have lost our minds, so please tell us where Kṛṣṇa has gone.
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the cūta is a mango creeper, whereas the āmra is a mango tree. He goes on to explain that the nīpa, though not a very prominent tree, bears large flowers, and that the gopīs’ desperation to find Kṛṣṇa is clearly shown by the fact that they approached the insignificant arka plant.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives the following information about Vṛndāvana’s trees: “The nīpa is ‘the dust kadamba,’ and it has large flowers. The kadamba proper has smaller flowers and a very pleasant fragrance. The kovidāra is a particular kind of kañcanāra [mountain ebony tree]. Even though the arka plant is very insignificant, it always grows near Lord Gopīśvara [the Śiva deity in Vṛndāvana forest] because it is dear to him.”