तं हि चिन्तयमानायाः शोकोऽयं हृदि वर्धते।
नदीनामिव वेगेन समुद्रसलिलं महत्॥
taṁ hi cintayamānāyāḥ śoko ’yaṁ hṛdi vardhate
nadīnām iva vegena samudra-salilaṁ mahat
tam hi = about Him; cintayamānāyāḥ = while thinking; śokaḥ ayam = the sorrow; hṛdi = in her heart; vardhate = increased; nadīnām = of the rivers [that flow into it]; iva = just as; vegena = by the forceful [flow]; samudra-salilam = water of the ocean [increases]; mahat = the expansive.
While thinking about Him, the sorrow in her heart increased just as the expansive water of the ocean [increases] by the forceful [flow] of the rivers [that flow into it].
1 Dr BNK Sharma paraphrases this on the basis of Śrī Jayatīrtha’s commentary thus: “When the waters of the river join the sea, a perceptible measure of increase in the volume of water can be seen at the confluence.”
It is a common saying that the ocean increases by the forceful [flow] of the rivers [that flow into it].
GLOSS. In Madhvācārya’s commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā (2.50), it has been stated that there is definitely a slight increase in the ocean [when a river] enters into it (asti ceṣat samudre ’pi dvāri).1