Radha heard the name Krishna. Its very syllables caught her attention. She noticed how that sound changed her thoughts. In the verse she speaks of what she feels within. This is the first of three impressions she names.
Then came the sound of a flute. That sound also stirred her heart. Radha describes it as a new wave of powerful feeling. In this verse the flute is more than a decoration of the forest. Its voice reaches Radha's heart directly.
She also looked upon a picture of Krishna. In it she saw His dark, cloudlike radiance. The pictured form stayed in her mind. Thus name, sound and picture touched her in three ways. Radha speaks of them as though they were three people.
In her confusion she reproaches herself for this attachment. Her words in the drama express the pain of longing. The poet adds no new meeting to this scene. He holds the moment of her inward response. The name, the flute and the portrait fill her thoughts.