When it is sung
Sung daily at the evening aarti of Krishna temples, at Janmashtami at midnight when the birth is marked, at Radhashtami, and at any household Krishna puja. It is the aarti of the Vrindavan and Mathura temples in particular, where the text is known to every visitor.
Full text, with meaning
Each line of the verse, with its romanisation beneath and what the verse says after it.
Tek (the refrain)
आरती कुंजबिहारी की।
Aarti Kunj Bihari ki
श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥ टेक॥
Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
Meaning
The aarti of Kunj Bihari — the one who wanders the groves — of Shri Girdhar, the mountain-lifter, Krishna, the slayer of Mura. Three names, three stories: the lover in the forest, the boy who held up Govardhan, the god who killed a demon.
Verse 1
गले में बैजंती माला, बजावै मुरली मधुर बाला।
Gale mein baijanti mala, bajavai murli madhur bala
श्रवन में कुण्डल झलकाला, नंद के आनंद नंदलाला॥
Shravan mein kundal jhalkala, Nand ke anand Nandlala
श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
Meaning
A garland of vaijayanti flowers at his throat, the boy plays a sweet flute; earrings flash at his ears — he is Nandlala, the joy of Nanda. The first verse stays close: throat, ear, the sound of the flute.
Verse 2
गगन सम अंग कांति काली, राधिका चमक रही आली।
Gagan sam ang kanti kali, Radhika chamak rahi aali
लतन में ठाढ़े बनमाली, भ्रमर-सी अलक, कस्तूरी तिलक, चंद्र-सी झलक,
Latan mein thadhe Banmali, bhramar-si alak, kasturi tilak, chandra-si jhalak
ललित छबि श्यामा प्यारी की। श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Lalit chhabi Shyama pyari ki. Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
Meaning
His body is dark as the sky, and beside him Radhika shines, friend. Banmali stands among the vines — curls black as bees, a musk mark on the brow, a glow like the moon — the graceful beauty of the beloved dark one. The verse is built from short flashes, each a single feature, and the tune speeds up to match.
Verse 3
कनकमय मोर-मुकुट बिलसै, देवता दरसन को तरसै।
Kanakmay mor-mukut bilsai, devta darsan ko tarsai
गगन सों सुमन रासि बरसै, बजे मुरचंग, मधुर मिरदंग, ग्वालिनी संग,
Gagan son suman raasi barsai, baje murchang, madhur mridang, gwalini sang
अतुल रति गोपकुमारी की। श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Atul rati gopkumari ki. Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
Meaning
A golden peacock crown gleams; even the gods long for a glimpse. Heaps of flowers rain from the sky, the jew’s harp sounds, the sweet mridang — with the cowherd women, the boundless love of the gopi girls. Here the picture widens from his face to the whole dance.
Verse 4
जहाँ ते प्रगट भई गंगा, सकल-मल-हारिणि श्रीगंगा।
Jahan te pragat bhai Ganga, sakal-mal-harini Shri Ganga
स्मरन ते होत मोह-भंगा, बसी सिव सीस, जटा के बीच, हरै अघ कीच,
Smaran te hot moh-bhanga, basi Siv sees, jata ke beech, harai agh keech
चरन छबि श्रीबनवारी की। श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Charan chhabi Shri Banwari ki. Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
Meaning
From those feet the Ganga arose — the Ganga that carries off every stain; remembering her, delusion breaks. She lives on Shiva’s head, in the knot of his hair, and washes away the mud of sin — such is the beauty of the feet of Banwari. The verse ties Krishna to Vishnu’s cosmology: the river in Shiva’s hair flows from Vishnu’s feet.
Verse 5 (closing)
चमकती उज्ज्वल तट रेनू, बज रही बृन्दाबन बेनू।
Chamakti ujjwal tat renu, baj rahi Brindaban benu
चहूँ दिसि गोपि ग्वाल धेनू, हँसत मृदु मंद, चाँदनी चंद, कटत भव-फंद,
Chahun disi gopi gwal dhenu, hansat mridu mand, chandni chand, katat bhav-phand
टेर सुनु दीन दुखारी की। श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Ter sunu deen dukhari ki. Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
आरती कुंजबिहारी की। श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Aarti Kunj Bihari ki. Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari ki
Meaning
The bright sand of the riverbank glitters; the flute of Vrindavan is playing. Gopis, cowherds and cattle on every side; a soft, slow smile, moonlight from the moon — and the noose of worldly existence is cut. Hear the cry of the poor and the suffering. After five verses of looking, the last line is the only request in the whole aarti.
About this aarti
Most aartis are lists — attributes, weapons, favours granted. Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki is a set of scenes. Each verse holds one image still: the boy with the flute; Radha beside the dark figure among the vines; the crown and the falling flowers; the Ganga rising from his feet; the riverbank at dusk with the herd coming home. Nothing is argued and nothing is asked until the final line.
The form matches. A standard aarti verse is two lines of even length. Here each verse has a long middle line that breaks into short internal phrases — bhramar-si alak, kasturi tilak, chandra-si jhalak — and singers take those at double speed before the refrain slows everything down again. The rhythm is a large part of why temples keep it.
The names in the refrain carry the theology. Kunj Bihari is the private Krishna of the Vrindavan groves; Girdhar is the boy who lifted Govardhan hill to shelter the village; Murari is the god who killed the demon Mura. The aarti holds the lover, the protector and the warrior in one breath, then spends its verses almost entirely on the first.
The text is in Braj Bhasha, the dialect of the Mathura region and the language of Surdas and the Krishna poets. Spellings like bajavai, tarsai and barsai are Braj verb forms, not errors, and the aarti is sung with them intact across the Hindi belt. It is anonymous and traditional, and appears in every standard printed collection.
A note on the text
The text follows the Gita Press Aarti Sangrah, the standard printed collection, from the scanned copy cited below; obvious scanning errors have been corrected against the same copy (the scan reads “स्थामा” for श्यामा, “भोर-मुकुट” for मोर-मुकुट, “थेनू” for धेनू and “मुरक्॑ंग” for मुरचंग). Gita Press prints the name in its Braj spelling कृष्न throughout; the standard कृष्ण is used here. Some printings and most recordings add further lines to the closing verse, and the internal phrases of verses 2 to 5 are set out in different line breaks in different books — the words are the same.
Sources
These texts are in the public domain. The verse is reproduced from the cited source; the English meaning and the background notes on this page are original writing.