VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 82
All Kings and the Inhabitants of Vrindâvana on Pilgrimage Reunite with Krishna
(Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma Meet the Inhabitants of Vṛndāvana)
This chapter describes how the Yādavas and many other kings met at Kurukṣetra during a solar eclipse and discussed topics concerning Lord Kṛṣṇa. It also relates how Kṛṣṇa met Nanda Mahārāja and the other residents of Vṛndāvana at Kurukṣetra and gave them great joy.
Hearing that a total eclipse of the sun was soon to occur, people from all over Bhārata-varṣa, including the Yādavas, converged at Kurukṣetra to earn special pious credit. After the Yadus had bathed and performed other obligatory rituals, they noticed that kings of Matsya, Uśīnara and other places had also come, as well as Nanda Mahārāja and the cowherd community of Vraja, who were always feeling the intense anxiety of separation from Kṛṣṇa. The Yādavas, overjoyed to see all these old friends, embraced them one by one as they shed tears of happiness. Their wives also embraced one another with great pleasure.
When Queen Kuntī saw her brother Vasudeva and other members of her family, she put aside her sorrow. Yet still she said to Vasudeva, "O brother, I am so unfortunate, because all of you forgot me during my tribulations. Alas, even one's relatives forget a person whom Providence no longer favors."
Vasudeva replied, "My dear sister, everyone is merely a plaything of fate. We Yādavas were so harassed by Kaḿsa that we were forced to scatter and take shelter in foreign lands. So there was no way for us to keep in touch with you."
The kings present were struck with wonder upon beholding Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His wives, and they began to glorify the Yādavas for having gotten the Lord's personal association. Seeing Nanda Mahārāja, the Yādavas were delighted, and each of them embraced him tightly. Vasudeva also embraced Nanda with great joy and remembered how, when Vasudeva was tormented by Kaḿsa, Nanda had taken his sons, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, under his protection. Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa embraced and bowed down to mother Yaśodā, but Their throats choked up with emotion and they could say nothing to her. Nanda and Yaśodā lifted their two sons onto their laps and embraced Them, and in this way they relieved the distress of separation. Rohiṇī and Devakī both embraced Yaśodā and, remembering the great friendship she had shown them, told her that the kindness she had done by raising and supporting Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma could not be repaid even with the wealth of Indra.
Then the Supreme Lord approached the young cowherd girls in a secluded place. He consoled them by pointing out that He is all-pervasive, being the source of all energies, and thus He implied that they could never be separated from Him. Having been at long last reunited with Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs prayed simply to have His lotus feet manifested in their hearts.
10.82.1
athaikadā dvāravatyāḿ
vasato rāma-kṛṣṇayoḥ
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'Then, as Râma and Krishna were living in Dvârakâ, was there one day [*] an eclipse of the sun as impressive as the end of the day of Brahmâ.
the words atha and ekadā are commonly used in Sanskrit literature to introduce a new topic. Here they especially indicate that the reunion of the Yadus and Vṛṣṇis at Kurukṣetra is being narrated out of chronological sequence.
that the events of this eighty-second chapter occur after Lord Baladeva's visit to Vraja (Chapter 65) and before Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya sacrifice (Chapter 74). This must be so, the ācārya reasons, since during the eclipse at Kurukṣetra all the Kurus, including Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma and Droṇa, met in friendship and happily shared the company of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. At the Rājasūya-yajña, on the other hand, Duryodhana's jealousy against the Pāṇḍavas became irrevocably inflamed. Soon after this, Duryodhana challenged Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers to the gambling match, in which he cheated them of their kingdom and exiled them to the forest. Right after the Pāṇḍavas' return from exile, the great Battle of Kurukṣetra took place, during which Bhīṣma and Droṇa were killed. So it is not logically possible for the solar eclipse at Kurukṣetra to have happened after the Rājasūya sacrifice.
10.82.2
yayuḥ śreyo-vidhitsayā
(2) The people knowing that beforehand, o King, came from everywhere to the field of Samanta-pañcaka ['the five lakes' at Kurukshetra] in the hope to benefit therefrom.
Vedic astronomers of five thousand years ago could predict eclipses of the sun and moon just as well as our modern astronomers can. The knowledge of the ancient astronomers went much further, however, since they understood the karmic influences of such events. Solar and lunar eclipses are generally very inauspicious, with certain rare exceptions. But just as the otherwise inauspicious Ekādaśī day becomes beneficial when used for the glorification of Lord Hari, so the time of an eclipse is also advantageous for fasting and worship.
The holy pilgrimage site known as Samanta-pañcaka is located at Kurukṣetra, the "sacred ground of the Kurus," where the Kuru kings' predecessors performed many Vedic sacrifices. The Kurus were thus advised by learned brāhmaṇas that this would be the best place for them to observe vows during the eclipse. Long before their time, Lord Paraśurāma had done penance at Kurukṣetra to atone for his killings. Samanta-pañcaka, the five ponds he dug there, were still present at the end of Dvāpara-yuga, as they are even today.
10.82.3-6
nṛpāṇāḿ rudhiraugheṇa
yatrāspṛṣṭo 'pi karmaṇā
lokaḿ sańgrāhayann īśo
yathānyo 'ghāpanuttaye
vṛṣṇayaś ca tathākrūra-
vasudevāhukādayaḥ
āste 'niruddho rakṣāyāḿ
(3-6) It is the place where Lord Paras'urâma, the greatest wielder of weapons, having rid the earth of its rulers with the streams of blood of the kings created the great lakes [see 9.16: 18-19]. Bhagavân Paras'urâma to that was, even though He was unaffected by karmic reactions, as the Controller to instruct the world in general of worship there like he was another [a common] person wishing to dispel the sin. So came, o son of Bharata, for the occasion a great number of people of Bhârata there on a holy pilgrimage. The Vrishnis, including Akrûra, Vasudeva, Âhuka [Ugrasena] and others wishing to eradicate their sins, went all to that holy place while Gada, Pradyumna and others with Sucandra, S'uka and Sârana and the army commander Kritavarmâ, remained home to guard the city.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa's grandson Aniruddha remained in Dvārakā to protect the city because He is originally Lord Viṣṇu's manifestation as the guardian of the spiritual planet Śvetadvīpa.
10.82.7-8
gajair nadadbhir abhrābhair
nṛbhir vidyādhara-dyubhiḥ
(7-8) Like effulgent Vidyâdharas came they in their chariots which resembled the seats of the gods, moving in waves with horses and bellowing elephants and masses of foot soldiers. Resplendent with their wives, with golden necklaces, flower garlands, attire and armor, appeared they on the road as supremely divine and majestic as the ones traveling through the sky.
10.82.9
brāhmaṇebhyo dadur dhenūr
(9) The greatly pious Yâdavas bathing and fasting there, with careful attention for the brahmins donated cows, garments, garlands, gold and necklaces.
10.82.10
(10) In the lakes of Paras'urâma as prescribed once more taking a bath [the next day to conclude their fast], prayed the Vrishnis, to their feeding of the twice-born sumptuously with the finest food: 'Let there be our devotion for Krishna.'
10.82.11
bhuktvopaviviśuḥ kāmaḿ
snigdha-cchāyāńghripāńghriṣu
(11) Then ate the Vrishnis with the permission of Krishna as their exclusive deity, comfortably sitting down in the cool shade of the trees.
10.82.12-13
matsyośīnara-kauśalya-
anyāḿś caivātma-pakṣīyān
nandādīn suhṛdo gopān
gopīś cotkaṇṭhitāś ciram
(12-13) They, having arrived there, saw their friends and relatives, the kings of the Matsyas, Us'înaras, Kaus'alyas, Vidarbhas, Kurus, Sriñjayas, Kâmbojas, Kaikayas, Madras, Kuntîs, Ânartas, Keralas and others, as also hundreds of allies and adversaries o King. They also met their friends, the gopas and gopîs headed by Nanda who had been anxious for so long [to see them].
0.82.14
protphulla-hṛd-vaktra-saroruha-śriyaḥ
(14) Meeting again embraced they each other firmly experiencing the greatest delight with streams of tears, goose-pimpels and a choked-up voice, to which, because of the emotions, their hearts and faces bloomed as beautiful as lotuses.
10.82.15
striyaś ca saḿvīkṣya mitho 'ti-sauhṛda-
smitāmalāpāńga-dṛśo 'bhirebhire
(15) The women seeing one another, with great eyes filled with tears of pure love, smiled with the greatest friendship and closed each other in their arms pressing breasts to breasts that were smeared with kunkuma paste.
10.82.16
yaviṣṭhair abhivāditāḥ
(16) Next proved they their respects to the elders and received they obeisances from their younger relatives. After they had inquired after their well-being and the comfort of their journey proceeded they with talking amongst each other about Krishna.
These are the special dealings of Vaiṣṇavas. Even the family entanglements that delude ordinary conditioned souls are no encumbrance for those whose family members are all pure devotees of the Lord. Impersonalists have no capacity for appreciating these intimate dealings, since their philosophy condemns as illusory any kind of personal, emotional existence. When followers of impersonalism pretend to understand the loving relationships of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, they only create havoc for themselves and whoever listens to them.
10.82.17
(17) Kuntî seeing her brothers and sisters and their children, as well as her parents, her sisters-in-law and Mukunda, gave up her sorrow as she talked to them.
Even the constant anxiety of a pure devotee, apparently just the opposite of the impersonalists' śānti, can be an exalted manifestation of love of God, as exemplified by Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī, the aunt of Lord Kṛṣṇa and mother of the Pāṇḍavas.
10.82.18
kunty uvāca
ātmānam akṛtāśiṣam
nānusmaratha sattamāḥ
(18) Kuntî said: 'O respectable one, o brother, I feel frustrated in my desires because you, however saintly you are, didn't think of what happened to me in my misfortune [see also 1.8: 24]!
10.82.19
bhrātaraḥ pitarāv api
(19) Friends, relatives - sons, brothers and parents even - easily forget the one among them who is faring less in life.'
that Kuntī does not blame her relatives for her suffering. Thus she calls them "most saintly persons" and alludes here to her own bad fortune as the cause of her unhappiness.
10.82.20
amba māsmān asūyethā
(20) S'rî Vasudeva said: 'Dearest, don't be cross with us, men are the playthings of fate, because a person, whether he acts on his own accord or is directed by others, is always under the control of the Lord.
10.82.21
daivenāsāditāḥ svasaḥ
(21) Severely troubled by Kamsa we scattered in all directions [see 10.2: 7 and 10.4]; only now have we by Divine Ordinance been restored to our proper positions, o sister.'
10.82.22
vasudevograsenādyair
(22) S'rî S'uka said: 'All the kings there honored by Vasudeva, Ugrasena and the other Yâdavas, found peace in the supreme ecstacy of seeing Acyuta.
10.82.23-26
bhīṣmo droṇo 'mbikā-putro
kuntībhojo virāṭaś ca
bhīṣmako nagnajin mahān
purujid drupadaḥ śalyo
damaghoṣo viśālākṣo
(23-26) Bhîshma, Drona, the son of Ambikâ [Dhritarâshthra], Gândhârî with her sons as also the Pândavas and their wives, Kuntî, Sañjaya, Vidura and Kripa; Kuntîbhoja and Virâtha, Bhîshmaka, the great Nagnajit, Purujit, Drupada, S'alya, Dhrishthaketu, and he, the king of Kâs'i; Damaghosha, Vis'âlâksha, the kings of Maithila, Madra and Kekaya, Yudhâmanyu and Sus'armâ and Bâhlika and others with their sons, as also, o best of kings, many other kings resorting under Yudhishthhira, were all amazed to see the abode of S'rî, the personal form of S'âuri, along with His wives.
All these kings were now followers of Yudhiṣṭhira because he had subjugated each of them to earn the privilege of performing the Rājasūya sacrifice. The Vedic injunctions state that a kṣatriya who wants to execute the Rājasūya for elevation to heaven must first send out a "victory horse" to roam freely; any other king whose territory this horse enters must either voluntarily submit or face the kṣatriya or his representatives in battle.
10.82.27
(27) Duely from Râma and Krishna having received proof of respect, praised the kings on their turn filled with joy, enthusiastically the Vrishnis, the personal associates of Krishna:
10.82.28
yat paśyathāsakṛt kṛṣṇaḿ
(28) 'O master of the Bhojas [Ugrasena], you've chosen a birth worthwile among men in this world, because you repeatedly see Krishna, who even by the yogis is rarely seen.
10.82.29-30
sparśottha-śaktir abhivarṣati no 'khilārthān
śayyāsanāśana-sayauna-sapiṇḍa-bandhaḥ
(29-30) His fame as vibrated by the Vedas, the water washing from His feet and the words of the revealed scriptures thoroughly purify this universe [see also B.G. 15: 15]. By the touch of His lotus-like feet has, even though her good fortune was ravaged by Time, the vitality of the earth awakened and rains she in abundance rain down upon us all that we desire. With seeing Him, touching Him and walking, conversing, lying down, sitting, eating, being married to and being connected with Him as a blood-relative, have you traveling the [normally] hellish path of family life now found Vishnu, the liberation and heaven who constitutes the cessation [of one's search in life. See also 5.14 and 7.14 and B.G. 11: 41-42].'
All Vedic mantras glorify Lord Viṣṇu; this truth is supported with elaborate evidence by learned ācāryas like Rāmānuja, in his Vedārtha-sańgraha, and Madhva, in his Ṛg-veda-bhāṣya. The words Viṣṇu Himself speaks, such as the Bhagavad-gītā, are the confidential essence of all scripture. In His manifestation as Vyāsadeva, the Supreme Lord composed both the Vedānta-sutras and Mahābhārata, and this Mahābhārata includes Śrī Kṛṣṇa's personal statement: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo/ vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham. "By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." (Bhagavad-gītā 15.15)
When Lord Viṣṇu appeared before Bali Mahārāja to beg three steps of land, the Lord's second step pierced the shells of the universe. The water of the transcendental river Virajā, lying just outside the universal egg, thus seeped inside, washing Lord Vāmana's foot and flowing down to become the Ganges River. Because of the sanctity of its origin, the Ganges is generally considered the most holy of rivers. But even more potent is the water of the Yamunā, where Lord Viṣṇu in His original form of Govinda played with His intimate companions.
In these two verses the assembled kings praise the special merit of Lord Kṛṣṇa's Yadu clan. Not only do they see Kṛṣṇa, but they are also directly connected with Him by dual bonds of marital and blood relationships. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī suggests that the word bandha, beside its more obvious meaning of "relation," can also be understood in the sense of "capture," expressing that the love the Yadus feel for the Lord obliges Him always to stay with them.
10.82.31
tatrāgamad vṛto gopair
anaḥ-sthārthair didṛkṣayā
(31) S'rî S'uka said: 'Nanda finding out that the Yadus with Krishna going first had arrived there, went to see Him, accompanied by the gopas with their belongings on their wagons.
The cowherds of Vraja were planning to stay at Kurukṣetra for some days, so they came equipped with adequate provisions, especially milk products and other foods for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.
10.82.32
(32) Delighted to see Him sprung the Vrishnis to life as if awakened from death and embraced they Him firmly, all exited about His presence after so long a time.
10.82.33
(33) Vasudeva, beside himself of love overenjoyed embracing, remembered the troubles created by Kamsa because of which he had to leave his sons in Gokula [see 10.3 & 10.5].
10.82.34
(34) Krishna and Râma embracing their [foster] parents offered Their respects and said, with throats filled with tears of love, nothing, o greatest hero of the Kurus.
After a long separation, a respectful child should first offer obeisances to his parents. Nanda and Yaśodā gave their sons no opportunity for this, however, for as soon as they saw Them they embraced Them. Only then could Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma offer Their proper respects.
10.82.35
tāv ātmāsanam āropya
(35) Raising their sons on their laps and holding Them in their arms gave the so very fortunate two, he and Yas'odâ, up their sorrow [of being separated].
that after the initial embraces and obeisances, Vasudeva led Nanda and Yaśodā into his tent as they held the hands of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Following them inside were Rohiṇī, other women and men of Vraja, and a number of attendants. Inside, Nanda and Yaśodā took the two boys on their laps. Despite having heard the glories of the two Lords of Dvārakā, and despite seeing these opulences now before their eyes, Nanda and Yaśodā looked upon Them as if They were still their eight-year-old children.
10.82.36
pariṣvajya vrajeśvarīm
(36) Rohinî and Devakî next embraced the queen of Vraja and addressed her with their throats full of tears, remembering what she had done [for them] in her friendship:
Śrī Vasudeva invited Nanda outside to meet Ugrasena and the other elder Yadus. Taking this opportunity, Rohiṇī and Devakī talked with Queen Yaśodā.
10.82.37
avāpyāpy aindram aiśvaryaḿ
(37) 'What woman can forget the unceasing friendship of you and Nanda, o queen of Vraja; not even obtaining the wealth of Indra would do to repay you in this world.
10.82.38
(38) Before these Two could see their parents received They, residing with the two of you as their [foster] parents, the education and affection, nourishment and protection, my good lady. In the custody of you saints, who are strange to no one and as good of protection as eyelids to the eyes, had They nothing to fear.'
Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had not seen Their parents for two reasons: because of Their exile in Vraja, and also because They are never actually born and therefore have no parents. what Devakī thought before speaking this verse: "Alas, because for so long these two sons of mine had you, Yaśodā, as Their guardian and mother, and because They were immersed in such a vast ocean of ecstatic loving dealings with you, now that you are once more before Them They are too distracted to even notice me. Also, you are behaving as if insane and blind with love for Them, showing millions of times more maternal affection than I possess. Thus you simply keep staring at us, your friends, without recognizing us. So let me bring you back to reality on the pretext of some affectionate words."
Then, when Devakī failed to get any response from Yaśodā even after addressing her, Rohiṇī said, "My dear Devakī, it's impossible just now to rouse her out of this ecstatic trance. We are crying in the wilderness, and her two sons are no less bound up in the ropes of affection for her than she is for Them. So let us now go outside to meet with Pṛthā, Draupadī and the others."
10.82.39
gopyaś ca kṛṣṇam upalabhya cirād abhīṣṭaḿ
dṛgbhir hṛdī-kṛtam alaḿ parirabhya sarvās
(39) S'î S'uka said: 'The gopîs after so long a time seeing Krishna, their object of desire - for seeing whom they'd curse the maker of their eyelids [see 10.31: 15] - all took with their eyes Him into their hearts to embrace Him there to their satisfaction and attained the ecstatic absorbtion that even for the ones constantly engaged in meditation is difficult to attain.
just then Lord Balarāma saw the gopīs standing a short distance away. Seeing them trembling with eagerness to meet Kṛṣṇa, and apparently ready to give up their lives if they could not, He tactfully decided to get up and involve Himself elsewhere. Then the gopīs attained the state described in the current verse. In referring to the gopīs' intolerant disrespect of Lord Brahmā, "the creator of eyelids," Śukadeva Gosvāmī is giving vent to his own subtle jealousy of the gopīs' favored position. understanding of the phrase nitya-yujām, which may mean "even of the Lord's principal queens, who tend to be proud of their constant association with Him."
In Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "Because they had been separated from Kṛṣṇa for so many years, the gopīs, having come along with Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā, felt intense ecstasy in seeing Kṛṣṇa. No one can even imagine how anxious the gopīs were to see Kṛṣṇa again. As soon as Kṛṣṇa became visible to them, they took Him inside their hearts through their eyes and embraced Him to their full satisfaction. Even though they were embracing Kṛṣṇa only mentally, they became so ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy that for the time being they completely forgot themselves. The ecstatic trance which they achieved simply by mentally embracing Kṛṣṇa is impossible to achieve even for great yogīs constantly engaged in meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa could understand that the gopīs were rapt in ecstasy by embracing Him in their minds, and therefore, since He is present in everyone's heart, He also reciprocated the embracing from within."
10.82.40
āśliṣyānāmayaḿ pṛṣṭvā
(40) The Supreme Lord approaching them more privately informed, embracing them, after their health and said with a smile the following:
that Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself by His vibhūti-śakti to embrace each of the gopīs individually, thus waking each of them from her trance. He inquired, "Are you now relieved of your pain of separation?" and laughed to help lighten their spirits.
10.82.41
gatāḿś cirāyitāñ chatru-
(41) 'Dear girlfriends, do you still remember Us, We who intent on destroying the enemy party because of that duty stayed away so long?
10.82.42
apy avadhyāyathāsmān svid
akṛta-jñāviśańkayā
(42) Maybe you think bad of Us being afraid that We've put you out of Our mind - but in fact is it the Supreme Lord who brings together and separates the living beings.
the gopīs' thoughts: "We are not like You, who, with Your heart shattered by remembering us day and night, gave up all sense enjoyment in Your distress of separation. Rather, we have not remembered You at all; in fact, we have been quite happy without You." In response, Kṛṣṇa here asks whether they resent His ingratitude.
10.82.43
vāyur yathā ghanānīkaḿ
saḿyojyākṣipate bhūyas
(43) The way the wind brings together masses of clouds, grass, cotton and dust, and scatters them again, is the Creator of the living doing the same with His beings [compare 10.5: 24-25].
10.82.43
vāyur yathā ghanānīkaḿ
saḿyojyākṣipate bhūyas
(44) By the love for Me that in good fortune developed on the part of your good selves, have you obtained Me; and indeed is it the devotional service to Me that leads the living beings to immortality [compare B.G. 9.33].
the gopīs then replied, "But that Supreme Lord You are blaming is none other than Yourself, O most clever of speakers. Everyone in the world knows this! Why should we be ignorant of this fact?" "All right," Lord Kṛṣṇa then told them, "if this is true, I must be God, but still I am conquered by your loving affection?'
10.82.45
ādir anto 'ntaraḿ bahiḥ
(45) Like the ether, the water, the earth, the air and the fire of material things, o ladies, am I verily inside present as well as outside, am I the beginning as well as the end of all created beings [see also e.g. 10.9: 13-14].
Lord Kṛṣṇa implies the following idea in this verse: "If you know that I am the Supreme Lord, there should be no question of your suffering any separation from Me, since I pervade all existence. Your unhappiness must be due to a lack of discrimination. Therefore please take this instruction from Me, which will remove your ignorance.
"But the truth of the matter is that you gopīs were in your previous lives great masters of yoga, and thus you must already know this science of jñāna-yoga. Furthermore, whether I try to teach this to you in person or through My representative, such as Uddhava, it will not produce the desired result. Jñāna-yoga simply causes suffering for those who are fully immersed in pure love of Godhead."
10.82.46
bhūteṣv ātmātmanā tataḥ
paśyatābhātam akṣare
(46) These material entities, who this way exist within the elements of creation and as well exist as the âtmâ [the Soul, self and person] that according its own true nature pervades all, you should see as both being present within Me, within the Imperishable, Supreme Truth [see also e.g. 1.3: 1, 3.26: 51, 10.59: 29, B.G. 9: 15 and siddhânta].'
One should properly understand the relationships among the material objects of this world, the elements comprising their basic substance, the individual spirit souls and the one Supreme Soul. The various objects of material enjoyment, such as pots, rivers and mountains, are manufactured from the basic material elements — earth, water, fire and so on. These elements pervade material things as their cause, while the spirit souls pervade them in their special role as their enjoyer (svātmanā). And ultimately, the material elements, their products and the living entities are all manifested within and pervaded by the imperishable, perfectly complete Supreme Soul, Kṛṣṇa.
A jñānī with realization of these facts should feel no separation from the Lord in any situation, but the gopīs of Vraja are much more elevated in their Kṛṣṇa consciousness than ordinary jñānīs. Because of their intense love for Kṛṣṇa in His most humanlike, all-attractive aspect as a young cowherd boy, Kṛṣṇa's internal potency, Yogamāyā, covered their knowledge of His majestic aspects, such as His all-pervasiveness. Thus the gopīs were able to relish the intense ecstasy caused by their love in separation from Him. Only in jest is Śrī Kṛṣṇa ascribing to them a lack of spiritual discrimination.
10.82.47
(47) S'rî S'uka said: 'The gopîs, who with this instruction about the âtmâ thus were instructed by Krishna, eradicated with the help of the constant meditation on Him the subtle covering of the soul [see linga, 7.2: 47 and 4.29] and arrived at the full understanding of Him.
"The gopīs, having been instructed by Kṛṣṇa in this philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, remained always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus became liberated from all material contamination. The consciousness of the living entity who falsely presents himself as the enjoyer of the material world is called jīva-kośa, which means imprisonment by the false ego. Not only the gopīs but anyone who follows these instructions of Kṛṣṇa becomes immediately freed from the jīva-kośa imprisonment. A person in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always liberated from false egoism; he utilizes everything for Kṛṣṇa's service and is not at any time separated from Kṛṣṇa."
10.82.48
(48) They said: 'With that what You said o Lord with the Lotusnavel, we wish that our minds, however they are engaged in household affairs, are ever wakefull to Your lotusfeet which, by the great yogis and highly learned philosophers are kept in their hearts to meditate upon, for they are, for those who fell in the dark well of a material existence, the only shelter for reaching the other side [see also 7.5: 5, 10.51: 46, 7.9: 28, 7.15: 46].'
Revealing the jealous mood in which the gopīs spoke these deceptively reverential words, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives their statements as follows: "O Supreme Lord, O directly manifest Supersoul, O crest jewel of instructors in definitive knowledge, You were aware of our excessive attachment to home, property and family. Therefore You previously had Uddhava instruct us in the knowledge that dispels ignorance, and now You have done so Yourself. In this way You have purified our hearts of contamination, and as a result we understand Your pure love for us, free from any motivation other than assuring our liberation. But we are only unintelligent cowherd women; how can this knowledge remain fixed in our hearts? We cannot even meditate steadily on Your feet, the focus of realization for great souls like Lord Brahmā. Please be merciful to us and somehow make it possible for us to concentrate on You, even a little. We are still suffering the reactions of our own fruitive work, so how can we meditate on You, the goal of great yogīs? Such yogīs are immeasurably wise, but we are mere feeble-minded women. Please do something to get us out of this deep well of material life."
Pure devotees are never motivated by a desire for material elevation or spiritual liberation. And even if the Lord offers them such benedictions, the devotees often refuse to accept them. As stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.20.34),
na kiñcit sādhavo dhīrā
"Because My devotees possess saintly behavior and deep intelligence, they completely dedicate themselves to Me and do not desire anything besides Me. Indeed, even if I offer them liberation from birth and death, they do not accept it." It is quite appropriate, therefore, that the gopīs respond with a trace of jealous anger to Lord Kṛṣṇa's attempt at teaching them jñāna-yoga.
Thus, according to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the words the gopīs speak in this verse may be interpreted as follows: "O sun who directly destroys the darkness of ignorance, we are scorched by the sun-rays of this philosophical knowledge. We are cakora birds who can subsist only on the moonlight radiating from Your beautiful face. Please come back to Vṛndāvana with us, and in this way bring us back to life."
And if He says, "Then come to Dvārakā; there we will enjoy together," they reply that Śrī Vṛndāvana is their home, and they are too attached to it for them to take up residence anywhere else. Only there, the gopīs imply, can Kṛṣṇa attract them by wearing peacock feathers in His turban and playing enchanting music with His flute. Only by His appearing again in Vṛndāvana can the gopīs be saved, not by any other kind of meditation on Him or theoretical knowledge of the self.
Thus end of the Tenth Canto, Eighty-second Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma Meet the Inhabitants of Vṛndāvana."
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