Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.23.50

likhanty adho-mukhī bhūmiḿ

padā nakha-maṇi-śriyā

uvāca lalitāḿ vācaḿ

nirudhyāśru-kalāḿ śanaiḥ

SYNONYMS

likhantī — scratching; adhaḥ-mukhī — her head bent down; bhūmim — the ground; padā — with her foot; nakha — nails; maṇi — gemlike; śriyā — with radiant; uvāca — she spoke; lalitām — charming; vācam — accents; nirudhya — suppressing; aśru-kalām — tears; śanaiḥ — slowly.

TRANSLATION

She stood and scratched the ground with her foot, which was radiant with the luster of her gemlike nails. Her head bent down, she spoke in slow yet charming accents, suppressing her tears.

PURPORT

Devahūti was so beautiful that her toenails appeared just like pearls, and as she scratched the ground it appeared as if pearls had been thrown on the ground. When a woman scratches the ground with her foot, it is a sign that her mind is very disturbed. These signs were sometimes exhibited by the gopīs before Kṛṣṇa. When the gopīs came in the dead of night and Kṛṣṇa asked them to return to their homes, the gopīs also scratched the ground like this because their minds were very disturbed.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness