3.1
A
BANDONING THE BEAUTIES of Vraja,
Krishna* enshrined Radha in his heart—
she was the chain that bound him to this world.
His heart gored by Love’s arrows, a suffering
Krishna searched high and low for Radha;
And then, in a grove on the banks of the Yamuna,
he despondently repented:
SEEING ME SURROUNDED by a gaggle of girls,
my beloved has up and fled;
I surely should have stopped her, but,
feeling guilty, I let her go instead;
Oh me, oh my, I am bereft!
She’s mad at me, she’s up and left!
Refrain
What will she do? What will she say
after long separation rife with strife?
Nothings matters now—not family, fortune, home,
nor, for that matter, even life;
Oh me, oh my, I am bereft!
She’s mad at me, she’s up and left!
3.5
I picture her: her brow is knit
in jealous anger festered,
Her lotus flower face is flush
as if by buzzing bees she’s pestered;
Oh me, oh my, I am bereft!
She’s mad at me, she’s up and left!