SB 10.35.8-11
ādi-pūruṣa ivācala-bhūtiḥ
vana-caro giri-taṭeṣu carantīr
veṇunāhvayati gāḥ sa yadā hi
vyañjayantya iva puṣpa-phalāḍhyāḥ
praṇata-bhāra-viṭapā madhu-dhārāḥ
prema-hṛṣṭa-tanavo vavṛṣuḥ sma
divya-gandha-tulasī-madhu-mattaiḥ
ali-kulair alaghu gītām abhīṣṭam
ādriyan yarhi sandhita-veṇuḥ
cāru-gītā-hṛta-cetasa etya
harim upāsata te yata-cittā
hanta mīlita-dṛśo dhṛta-maunāḥ
Maddened by the divine, honeylike aroma of the tulasī flowers on the garland Kṛṣṇa wears, swarms of bees sing loudly for Him, and that most beautiful of all persons thankfully acknowledges and acclaims their song by taking His flute to His lips and playing it. The charming flute-song then steals away the minds of the cranes, swans and other lake-dwelling birds. Indeed they approach Kṛṣṇa, close their eyes and, maintaining strict silence, worship Him by fixing their consciousness upon Him in deep meditation.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has made several illuminating comments on these verses. He gives the analogy that just as when householder Vaiṣṇavas hear a saṅkīrtana party approaching they become ecstatic and offer obeisances, so the trees and creepers in Vṛndāvana became ecstatic when they heard Kṛṣṇa’s flute and bowed low with their branches and vines. The word darśanīya-tilaka in text 10 indicates not only that the Lord is “the most excellent (to see),” but also that He decorated Himself with attractive reddish tilaka taken from the mineral-rich earth of Vṛndāvana forest.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also points out that tulasī, although exalted in many ways, is not normally considered an especially fragrant plant. However, early in the morning tulasī emits a transcendental fragrance that ordinary people cannot perceive but that transcendental personalities fully appreciate. The bees who are privileged to swarm about the flower garlands worn by the Supreme Personality of Godhead certainly appreciate this fragrance, and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes from the Bhāgavatam (3.15.19) to the effect that the most fragrant plants in Vaikuṇṭha also appreciate the special qualifications of Tulasī-devī.
The word sandhita-veṇuḥ in text 10 indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa placed His flute firmly upon His lips. And the melody emanating from that flute is certainly the most enchanting of sounds, as the gopīs describe in this chapter.
