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Gopi-Gita Tikas

1) Jayati te ‘dhikam

VCT – In this 31st chapter shine forth the lotus flower of the songs of the gopis, which are fragrant
with the honey of pure love of God. Such sweetness was being manifested by their melodies, rhythms
and so forth. These songs attract the bee Krsna.

I offer my respectful obeisances to my guru Srila Sanatana Goswami. My only hope for maintaining
my life is to obtain the remnants of his prasad, and with such hope I keep on endeavoring for
auspiciousness.

Before (in the last verse of Ch.30) it was mentioned that the gopis sang. The question may be raised,
“What did they sing?” The answer is given in this verse beginning with the words ‘gopya ucuh’.

O beloved, by your birth Vraja is victorious because here no specific relationship is mentioned. Thus
(Vraja) becomes superexcellent for all living entities in general. In order to refute the idea that “It is
like this in Vaikuntha also”, they use the adverb ‘adhikam’, indicating that it is more glorious even
than Vaikunthloka. IOW, Vraja is indeed the best of all places.

They go on to state another symptom of this: The goddess of fortune, Maha-Laksmi, always resides
and renders service there by the definition of the root ‘Srin’ = sevAyAm. In Vaikuntha, on the other
hand, She is served rather than serving. Therefore, the implication is that Vraja is complete in all kinds
of opulences even more so than Vaikuntha itself.

“Because in this Vraja, which is for this reason full of the greatest happiness, we, Your beloved
girlfriends, have had to experience the most intolerable misery, such as no one anywhere has ever seen
or heard of. Therefore, we are not begging from You deliverance. Rather, just look at (Vrndavana)
only once and render the situation Yourself.” This they state by the word ‘atra’ meaning “in this
Vrndavana”. The word ‘hi’ here indicates certainty.

(If in response to the word) ‘just look’, (Krsna asks), “What should I look at?”, they say: “Your
devotees (janAh) are looking for You. Don’t doubt, “Why are these gopis allowing themselves to
suffer distress for so long?” This doubt they answer, “(Our) life airs have been offered (dhrta = arpita)
to You by ourselves, who have been maddened by You. If these life airs of ours were to remain within
us, then they would become burned by the fire of separation, therefore it would be better that instead
we die right away; that would make us happier. But they (life airs) remain happily comfortable w/n
You, who are Your own master, meaning that You are the most happy person. Thus if Your life airs
are happily situated, why do You let these bodies (of ours) meet calamity?” This implies the suggestion
“You derive constant happiness from seeing our misery.”

In this verse the second consonant of all the lines are the same, and also the 1 st and 7th consonants
match in each line. This is true for the most part throughout the other verses, as has been explained by
the Mukta-phala-tika (by Bopadeva).
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2) Sarad udasaye

SS – [Part Only] If Krsna were to ask, “So let them look for Me. What does that have to do with Me?”
they reply with the verse beginning ‘sarat’.

“O master of intimate enjoyment, O giver of benedictions, when You are acting with that eye of Yours
so as to be killing us, Your maidservants whom You acquired w/o having to pay any price, is that not
considered in this world to be murder? Is only murder with a weapon actually murder, or is not murder
with one’s eye also murder? Indeed it is murder.” “Therefore,” they imply, “You should show Yourself
in order to return the life airs which You stole with Your eyes.”

“You should please show Yourself”, should be understood as the implicit completion of each verse.

VCT – Krsna may object, “But why would I want to make you gopis unhappy, as you insinuate? They
reply with the idea, “Actually, You would like to kill us,” in the verse beginning ‘sarat’. With Your
eyes You beg for intimate enjoyment, and furthermore with Your eyes You are ‘vara-da’, You give
desired happiness. Moreover, with Your eye, which is throwing blazing heaps of the fire of pure love,
You are killing Your unpurchased maidservants. Is this not murder on Your part? Is only murder with
a weapon actual murder, while murder with one’s eyes is not murder? Rather, it certainly is.

“Therefore, O giver of benedictions, You who give the objects of desire, You are now ruining our
desired goals and happiness both in this life and in the next. Furthermore, if we were in fact Your
property, then there would be no fault in Your throwing away or burning up Your own possessions.
But actually You did not purchase us with any payment, nor have You taken us in marriage. Rather we
are Your unpurchased maidservants; out of our innocent foolishness we have become so on our own
volition.”

Thus, while describing how He is the greatest emperor of thieves because of His maddening them with
His enchantment, they specifically mention the reservoir of water of the autumn season, which is full
of deep, clear water. There the lotus is well produced in terms of its growing in an excellent place and
of its having grown in an excellent manner, which is ‘sat’, meaning excellent. That lotus has w/n its
center a beauty or opulence, which He is stealing. ‘By that glance’ implies its beauty, fragrance,
gentleness and coolness.

“That glance has trespassed into the private inner quarters of a respectable person of such good
upbringing, which are inaccessible to ordinary people, and thus Your glance is a thief.”

“By Your scattering some bewildering powder (a standard technique of Vedic burglars) we have been
made intoxicated and have on our own turned over the wealth of our intimate love and also our life
airs. We have brought these and given them to You. Therefore, as we stated above that “we maintained
our lives for Your sake” so You have made us poverty-stricken and killed us.” The subtle implication
here is that “You have taken on the sin of killing countless thousands of women.” “Therefore” the
further implication is, “out of fear of this sin You should give us Your audience.”

3) Visa-jalapyayad
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SS – Furthermore, in this verse beginning ‘visa’, the gopis say, “O Lord, although You have mercifully
protected us from death many times, why are You now sending by Your glance Cupid to kill us?”

“O best of persons, You have protected us from destruction by drinking poisonous water of the
Yamuna, from the terrible raksasa Aghasura, from the rainstorm of Indra caused by great winds, from
the falling of thunderbolts, from Arista, from Vyomasura the son of Mayasaura and from all other
causes for fear, such as when You subdued Kaliya.” The implication is: “Why are You now neglecting
us?”

VCT – “Moreover,” Krsna may object, “If I want to kill you, then why did I protect you from previous
catastrophes? After acting so it would be inappropriate for Me to kill you.” The gopis reply to this in
the current verse.

From destruction by poisonous water, from the terrible raksasa Aghasura, and from the rain caused by
Indra. ‘Marutat’ means from Trnavarta, and ‘vaidyutanalat’ means from Indra’s throwing of his
thunderbolt weapon. From the bull Arista, the son of Maya named Vyoma, and from all other causes of
fear, such as in His lila of subduing Kaliya. “Because You, O best of men, have personally protected
us, thus we, whose lives are dedicated solely to You have been................ (page missing)

4) Na khalu gopika

SS – With the idea in mind that, “It is very unfitting for You, who has descended to protect the entire
universe, to neglect Your devotees” the gopis speak this verse ‘na khalu’.

VCT – “My dear gopis who are repeatedly talking irrationally, please maintain your peace. I am the
son of Nanda Baba, who gives happiness to everyone. And yet you have proposed that I am guilty of
the sin of murdering women, and that I betray the faith of those who trust Me. Therefore I will leave
this place and keep Myself in a secret place so that in this life you will never have to look upon Me.”

Anticipating such fearful words, the gopis feel remorseful and praise Krsna in order to gain His favor,
in the verse beginning ‘na’.

“You are not the son of the gopis, but rather the inner soul, the inspirer of the living beings’ internal
faculties, as well as their witness; that is to say you are the indwelling Supersoul. This we have heard
from the mouths of Bhaguri, Gargi, Paurnamasi and others. Thus, since we are only speaking as You
inspire us to do, please do not become angry, but rather be pleased with us. And we have heard how
You take birth as they state: Prayed for the protection the universe by Vikhanas, Brahma, You have
arisen in the family of the Satvatas, the Yadus. IOW, You have appeared on the sunrise-mountain of
Mother Yasoda’s womb.”

“But,” Krsna may object, “If you know all this, then why are you speaking so harshly?” This they
answer in the words beginning ‘he sakhe’. Taking in mind the idea, “You have submerged us in the
ocean of the transcendental mood of friendship with You,” they implicitly request, “While protecting
the entire universe, out of Your mercy please protect us as well, who are also a part of the universe.”
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Or else, “No one, among men, devas or animals, is capable of watching the unhappiness of those who
are dear to them. Inasmuch as You remain happy even while seeing our misery, we must therefore
speculate like this (that you are outside these three categories of creatures)” as they state in the words
beginning ‘na’. “You were not born in the womb of the gopi Yasoda, whose heart melts at even the
slightest distress felt be another. After all, we do not find any characteristic of her in You.”

“Then who am I?”

“We can only guess that You are the indwelling controller of all living beings. That Supersoul, even
while seeing the unhappiness of the jivas, remains sitting happily w/n their hearts. And we cannot
understand the reason for You, the crest-jewel of indifferent persons, to have appeared in this world, as
they state: ‘Requested by Vikhanas (Brahma), who desired the increase of his own creatures, to come
to this universe to protect it, You descended.’

“But, bearing in mind that by devotion to You the jivas will become liberated, You situated Yourself
secretly so that no one would recognize You as the Supreme Lord. And then, in order to fulfill
Brahma’s desire that ‘When persons like Jarasandha, even though they are followers of God, fail to
accept You as the Lord, they will become demoniac, and that will increase the scope of my creation.’

“Furthermore, in order to hide Yourself by accepting the kinds of irreligious behavior which are
inimical to Yourself like stealing other men’s wives, envy, violence, false pride and so on, thus
rejecting Your own irrefutable laws of religious behavior, You have arisen in the Satvata dynasty.”

The address ‘O friend’ indicates that “by Your taking other men’s wives You have become our friend.”

5) Viracitabhayam

SS – “Therefore, please fulfill our following four prayers. O best of the Vrsnis, Your feet which have
granted fearlessness to those living beings who, out of fear of samsara, have approached them for
shelter. O beloved, please place on our heads that lotus hand of Yours which gives desired benedictions
and which has taken the hand of the goddess of fortune.
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Jiva – “Of You who are as if directly taking the hand of the goddess of fortune since all opulences are
coming under Your control in Your own Gokula.”

VCT – “But, My dear affectionately speaking gopis, it was only to be able to drink the nectar of Your
words in loving anger that I disappeared. Now I have fulfilled that desire, so please ask whatever boon
you like.”

Thus imagining that He is revealing His own satisfaction, each of the gopis individually take the
courage to pray for their desired boons in the 4 verses beginning ‘viracita’.

“O best of the Vrsnis, O sun, giving light to lotuses of Your own family, please place Your lotus hand
on our heads.” Why? This they answer, “That hand is ‘kamada’ meaning that it destroys the Lust
(Cupid), out of fear of whose arrows we have come to take shelter of You. And it should not be said
that this hand is powerless to do so since it has bestowed fearlessness to those persons who, out of fear
of samsara, have approached You for shelter. What great endeavor, then, would that hand have in
protecting one from fear of lust? Yet, ironically, that hand again makes us lusty.”

“But then I will place my hand on your breasts since I have the desire to do this.” “No” the gopis reply
by the word ‘sri-kara-graham’, meaning that “You have taken both the hands of Laksmi for the
purpose of holding her up. If You try to put Your hand on our breasts she will check You, and thus we
must also stop You.”

6) Vraja-janarti-han

SS – “O destroyer of the distress of the Vrajavasis, O hero, O You whose smile is the destroyer of the
false pride of Your devotees, O
friend, please give shelter to us, Your maidservants. The word ‘sma’ here indicates certainty. “First of
all, please show to these women, ourselves, Your sweet lotus face.”

VCT – Other gopis speak: “Among women, those who are residents of Vraja, You destroy their pain,
which arose from Cupid’s arrows. This also implies that You do not remove the pain of other women
such as the wives of the demigods. This is as stated, vyoma-yana-vanitah kasmalam yayur apasmrta-
nivyah (SB 10.35.3).

“O hero, O greatly victorious in crushing invincible death, You also do not tolerate the pride which
arose out of our good fortune and the haughtiness which is the characteristic of our coquettish (vamya)
nature.” The gopis say, “You whose smile destroys the haughtiness of Your devotees.”

Krsna says, “Then quickly select Your desired boons.”

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They reply, “Please serve us, Your maidservants.”

Krsna queries, “But if you are My maidservants, then why are you ordering Me to engage in your
menial service?”
They answer by saying, “O friend.”
“Then tell Me what service you want Me to perform.”
They reply to this by the words jala-ruhananam caru darsayam – “Please show us Your beautiful lotus
face.”

7) Pranata-dehinam

VCT – Other gopis speak, “Please place Your lotus feet on our breasts.” For what purpose? “Shatter
our lust.”

Here these gopis – who by their being able to have intimate relations with Krsna, are understood as
having the highest variety of pure love of God, who have no conception of avoiding unhappiness or
obtaining happiness for themselves, and whose every activity with their bodies, words and minds is
only for the purpose of giving happiness to Sri Krsna – are describing their own beauty, youthfulness,
and torment by lust only for the sake of inciting His enjoyment of conjugal pleasure.

Being the most skillful of women, they are not actually diminishing the mood of pure love by verbal
levity, but rather, just as one who, upon seeing that his gluttonous friend wants to eat, busies himself in
acquiring all four kinds of first-class foodstuffs desiring to feed his friend. But when questioned by
him says, “I’m endeavoring for my own sake, not yours.”

At that time, the love becomes very intense, but if the friend were to say, “All this endeavor on my part
is for your pleasure,” although true, it would diminish the mood of love. This is stated in the Prema
Samputa – ‘prema dvayo rasikayor...’ (Pure love is like a lamp that burns steadily w/n the house of two
lovers who know how to relish confidential mellows. But if that lamp is let outside through the door of
the mouth, it will quickly be extinguished, or at least become weak.) This is also ascertained by the
Supreme Lord’s own words, na paraye ‘ham (SB 10.32.22), which expresses His coming under the
control of the gopis and their lack of intent to gain their own happiness. We should understand that all
of the revealed scriptures state that He is controlled by pure love. It is not said that He is controlled by
lust. But

Krsna may complain, “I am afraid of committing sin.”

Which they answer with the implied idea, “Since You are the destroyer of the sins of all embodied
beings who surrender to You, how can there be any question of Your sinfulness?”
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“But then, My very gentle lotus-like feet will become hurt on your rough breasts.”

“You follow the grass-eating cows, and certainly the cows graze on hard areas of land. If even in such
places Your feet can tolerate the conditions, then in comparison the harshness of our breasts will be
comforting for Your feet.”

“But it is not a good idea to put My feet on your breasts since they are decorated with many jewels and
ornaments.”

To which they reply, “Your feet being the abode of beauty, will be the finest ornament on our breasts.”

“But I am afraid of your husbands.”

“You were not even afraid of the great serpent Kailya, since You placed those feet on the snake’s
hoods, so what to speak of being afraid of our husbands.”

8) Madhuraya gira

VCT – “My dear gopis, who are the only darlings of My life, O jewel-like lovers, I cannot be
indifferent to you, who are My only reason for living. My dear maidservants, how can You lose faith
in Me, who am perpetually bound by the golden cord of your pure love. Please trust Me, and
understand Me to be like a chunk of brilliant gold caught in the palms of your hands.”

Hearing these manifest words of His, other gopis speak: That voice which is so sweet on account of
manifesting syllables expressive of sweetness, which is wonderful to hear, and in which are words
which wonderfully denote tender objects of reference, by hearing that voice which understands well
those who are intelligent, who are expert in conjugal affairs, namely these maidservants of Yours, are
becoming bewildered. They are becoming bewildered by their excessive relishing of Your sweetness.
Please once again restore them to life with the nectar of Your lips. Or, alternatively, let us who are
becoming bewildered, drink the nectar of Your lips and thus become more bewildered.

9) Tava kathamrtam

SS – “We have died because of separation from You, and we have been cheated of the life-giving
nectar of Your topics by the pious souls who have drunk it.”

The topics themselves are nectar, and the reason for this is indicated by the word tapta-jivanam. How it
is superior to the commonly known amrta (of the demigods) is stated: It is praised by even those great
scholars who know the Absolute Truth. The nectar which the demigods enjoy, on the other hand, is
considered insignificant by these authorities. Moreover, it is ‘kalmaSApaham’, that which eradicates
material desires and material work, w/s the other kind of nectar is not like this. Moreover, it is ‘SrImat’
very pacifying, w/s the other nectar is intoxicating. Those persons who describe such nectarean topics
about You on the earth so that it becomes widely broadcast are most magnanimous. IOW, they are
bestowing life. Or else, those on this earth who describe such nectar are ‘bhUri-dAh’ in the sense that
they were very generous ie. they acted piously in previous lives.
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The following is implied here: Even those who merely describe the nectar of these topics are extremely
fortunate, what to speak of those who see You. Therefore we pray, “Please show Yourself to us.”

VCT – “Who can describe the great sweetness of topics spoken by you? Even topics related to You
spoken by other speakers are superior in sweetness to both kinds of nectar.” Therefore the gopis say,
“Your topics are nectar.” Why? It gives life to those who are by nature tormented by terrible diseases
and other causes of suffering, and also those tormented by samsara. This means that it also gives life to
those who are tormented by separation from You; thus it is better than both the nectar from heaven
and the nectar of liberation. It is glorified by poets such as Dhruva, Prahlada and others in verses like
4.9.10.

(The nectar of Your topics) removes all contamination, all sins, even those whose reactions have
already commenced (prArabdha); the nectar of heaven, OTOH, does not destroy (contamination), but
rather it creates it since it cause the increase of lust and so on. Even the nectar of liberation does not
destroy already commenced sinful reaction. (The nectar of hearing about Krsna) is auspicious because
it rewards all desirable things simply by being relished through aural reception, but the other two
nectars are not like that. ‘SrImat’ means bestowing opulences, even up to the pure love of God, and
‘Atatam’
means being disseminated constantly by it’s speakers; the other two nectars are not so. Those who
chant it (grnanti = kirtayanti) are the greatest givers; Even persons who give them everything they own
can never repay them.

Or else: “Songs about You are sweet if they are accompanied by the sight of You, but otherwise they
create very undesirable consequences”, as the gopis state: “Your topics are mrtam, the cause of death.”
Why? “Because by them one’s life becomes distressed,” just like, it is implied as the completion of the
idea, water (poured) into burning oil (which produces scalding).

But then why are (these topics) glorifies in the Puranas and other scriptures?

This they answer, “that (they) are praised by poets such as Vyasa, (such praise) being related merely
because of the natural propensity of poets to make some sort of description.”

The word ‘kalmaSApaham’ implies that it destroys past contamination by one’s having to suffer
misery. “When ordinary people listen to (these topics), they are auspicious, and thus (the narrations) do
not stop. But if the people are intelligent, they can appreciate how hearing (these topics) will result in
unhappiness and refuse to listen to them, (then the narrations cease). They are disseminated by evil
men who are ‘SrImat’, blinded by the intoxication of their wealth, who with the hope, ‘The whole
world should die.’ Disseminate (these topics) even at great expense of money going country to country
and village to village, hiring speakers to narrate the Puranas. Therefore those who chant (these topics)
in this world are ‘bhUri-da’, meaning that they cause the death (dyanti = khandayanti = marayanti) of
many of their hearers, and thus, while spreading their trap of these topics and sitting peacefully as if
they were gentle souls, they are actually committing genocide. “For this reason,” it is implied,
“intelligent persons avoid (these chanters), keeping them at a further distance than even contagious
disease. This is as stated by the verse SB 10.47.18 yad-anucarita-lila-karna-piyusa-viprut.

“There are many in this world whose lives have been ruined simply by once tasting the drops of nectar,
sifted through their ears, of the pastimes enacted by Krsna. Relishing then even once, these wretched
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souls are immediately deprived of all conception of duality. Thus at once they give up their equally
wretched family life and, just like birds, take to the profession of wandering beggars.”

But actually this is a glorification on the pretext (of condemnation), expressing the super-excellence of
the topics and of their speakers.

10) Prahasitam priya

SS – “But then you should be overjoyed simply by hearing topics about Me, so why do you need to see
Me?”

“No, our minds have become agitated by Your sporting, and even by hearing these topics we cannot
find any peace.”

Kuhaka = Kapata deceiver

Samvidah = joking words in secret encounters

VCT – “But if we cannot see You then for us everything that is connected to You is a cause of extreme
misery,a s they state in the verse beginning ‘prahastiam’. The intimate association and the joking
conversations which touch the heart; this implies that even though we want to forget You because You
give us suffering, we are not able to do so. The word ‘dhyana-mangalam’ is an adjective applying to
all four (smiling, glances, sporting and conversations). These agitate (ksobhayanti = vyAkulayanti) out
minds. As soon as these enter our minds, they immediately give pleasure, but then a moment later give
the greatest misery. Therefore “O deceiver” implying that medicinal pills given by a quack are at first
very nice tasting, but then they create sever burning and kill the patient.

11) Calasi yad vrajac

SS – “Our minds are melting out of love for You, so why are You acting deceptively toward us?”

VCT – “Furthermore, You are not only making us miserable today, You try (at other times as well) to
give us other misery even at the cost of making Yourself also unhappy. At that time our minds become
ill by imagining that (Your feet), which are more beautiful than a lotus and very tender, must be pained
by the spikes of wheat, the grass and the young sprouted plants.”

‘Kalilam’ can also mean accepting quarrel (kalilatAm). This condition makes our minds quarrel with
our own selves. And this quarreling is as follows:

“O mind, if He were troubled by His wandering into the forest, wouldn’t He have left the cowherd
village and gone away into the forest to live there permanently? So why do you lament uselessly?”

“Ah, foolish gopis, the soles of His two lotus feet are more tender than even a land-growing lotus
flower, and there are stones, grass, sprouting plants and pebbles in the forest. How then is He not going
to experience pain?”

“O simple mind, He is walking on the path, where the sand is soft.”

“Ah, undiscriminating girls, aren’t the cows grazing along the path (thus making the path rough)?
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“O mind, you are blinded by love. Doesn’t He have eyes to see the stones and grass?” How is He going
to step on them?”

“Ah, you girls lack any trace of real love! What will happen if He does step on them because of
walking swiftly or because of wandering off the path?”

“Our dear brother mind, you speak correctly. The creator has given us life only to make us experience
all this misery.”

“My dear miserable girls, you please stay alive, but now I, together with your vital airs, am going to
leave your bodies.”

12) Dina-pariksaye

SS – “But at the end of the day, showing Your lotus-like face, covered with blue locks of hair with
thick dust from the cows – Your face appearing like a lotus dusted with pollen by the long lines of
agitated bees – simply puts Cupid in our minds by repeatedly showing us that face! But You do not
give us Your association, and thus You are a cheater.”

VCT – “Even when we have Your direct association, You are not willing to make us happy.”

Dina-pariksaye means in the late afternoon. Covered with blue locks, hair twisted by the gentle wind.
(Dhana can mean both wealth and cows.)

“Carrying Your sweet face, which appears like a lotus flower smeared with a covering of dust from
Your swinging garlands. As we see that face repeatedly, which is turning from side to side on the
pretext of collecting cows and looking for Your friends, thus becoming visible to us, [we become
agitated -pcd].

Thus You, knowing well Your nature of giving ecstasy to everyone by Your sight, are simply giving us
the pangs of Cupid with the idea, ‘Let me immerse these girls in the ocean of distress.’

That same person who has made us consider the path of religiosity of well-bred women to be like
feverish poison and has made us madly intoxicated is now making us cry and is attracting us to join
him in the forests. O hero, O You who induce Cupid to cast His arrows to ruin the religious principles
of the women of Vraja.”

13) Pranata-kamadam
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SS – “Therefore now You should give up Your duplicity and act thusly.”

“O destroyer of distress, Olover, Your lotus feet are worshiped by Padmaja, Brahma, and they are to be
meditated upon in danger, meaning that simply by being meditated upon they counteract danger. They
are also ‘Santamam’ meaning most comfortable even when being engaged in serving. Please place
those lotus feet on our breasts to subdue the burning pain of lust.”

VCT – “But if You have decided that I always create misery, than I am not going to have anything
more to do with all of you.” Fearing that He will become angry like this, they lament, “Alas, alas,
blinded by the misery which is the consequence of our own karma, we have wisely ascribed fault to
You.” Praising Him as the giver of all happiness in order to please Him, they express the idea, “You
are our goal” and pray to Him for relief from their misery in the two verse beginning ‘pranata’.

(“Your lotus feet, which) bestow desires to those who are bowed down (pranatAnAm = namrAnAm),
even if they are offenders, which are worshiped by Padamja, Brahma for the counteraction of his own
offenses. Thus, they imply, kindly forgive our offense. ‘Darani mandanam’ indicates that “You should
also decorate our breasts by placing Your foot on them.” ‘Dhyeyam Apadi’ implies the idea “Please
save us from danger,” in accordance with the statement of Garga Muni, ‘anena sarva-durgani yuyam
anjas tarisyatha.’
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The reason for all this is stated by the word ‘Santamam’ meaning ‘representing all good fortune’ and
also ‘representing happiness’.

‘O destroyer of distress’ indicates that (“You should do this) to destroy our distress. Nor will You feel
any fatigue by placing Your foot on our breasts; rather You will feel pleasure”, as they state: “O
enjoyer, let us arrange the fulfillment of the desire of You who are eager to enjoy.”

14) Surata-vardhanam

SS – “O hero, please give us the nectar of Your lips. It is sufficiently kissed by Your vibrating flute,
which implies that it is enhanced by the fragrance of the nectar of the flute’s song. ‘Causing to forget
other attachments’ means that it makes them forget all desires for any other happiness such as rulership
of the whole world.

JG – Your lips themselves are nectar for when men chew the remnants of Your betel and so on...., and
what to speak of women?
[There seems to be something missing]

VCT – “O You who exactly resemble Dhanvantari, O crest-jewel of physicians, please give some
medicine to us, who are laid low by the disease of lust. And You should not say, ‘How can I give this
to you without a substantial price being paid?’ Rather You, who are a great hero in giving charity,
should give it w/o any payment even to the most wretched person, who is being deprived of his life, for
the sake of restoring his life to him.”

It makes one forget all other attachment...

“But in this world there is the bad diet of attachment to wealth, followers, family and so forth. And this
medicine should not be given to those who follow such a bad diet.”

“This is such a wonderful herbal drug that it counteracts bad dietary habits; this can be known from the
example of our own cases. Please give this to us who are women of the human species, O
magnanimous hero of charity.”

“The nectar of Your lips is fully tasted by Your vibrating flute even though it is a hollow bamboo
stick.”
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15) Atati yad bhavan

SS – “Furthermore, even a moment is miserable when You are invisible, joyous when You are visible.
Realizing this fact, we have abandoned all material association and approached You just like sannyasis.
But why then are You so wanton to reject us?

“And when somehow at the end of the day persons get the chance to fully see Your divine face, the
creator of eyebrows, Brahma, is a dull fool. Even a moment’s interference is intolerable.

VCT – “Moreover, it is simply our evil fate which is creating our misery, so what can You do? When
You go to the forest of Vrndavana then for us who cannot see You for even a truti (1/2700 of second)
becomes equal to an entire millenium. During the day all the people of Vraja experience the equivalent
of 3 months’ suffering of separation, but for us, these 3-three hour periods become as long as a billion
ages. There can be no reason for this other than our bad karma. And then at the end of the day
somehow we gopis eagerly see Your divine face, the creator of eyelids is so foolish because he
produces unhappiness.”

“Thus when You are invisible there is an unfathomable ocean of misery, yet even when You are visible
the mere moment of checked vision caused but the eyelids, factually lasting 900 trutis, becomes like
900 millennia. Thus in both cases there is misery due to our bad karma.”

“One who cuts off his own eyelids is clever. Let such clever persons look fully on His divine face, but
not us, who are not so clever.”

16) Pati-sutanvaya

SS – “Therefore, O infallible one, we have come to You after putting aside our husbands, children,
brothers and other family members who are related to these husbands and children. O cheater, who but
Youself would reject such women, coming of their own accord in the middle of the night? No one at
all, only You.”

VCT – Those gopis who, at the time of the resounding of the flute, were held back at home by their
husbands, now speak jealously in this verse.

“Those, ourselves, who know the ‘gati’, the 10 th and last stage of life, who have reached their end. O
Acutya, but now You have become fallen so why are You, contrary to Your real nature, called
Acutya?”
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If He replies, “Then why have you come here?”

“We have become bewildered by Your loud song, deprived of all discrimination.”

“Ah, foolish girls, just try to tolerate this pain.”

“O cheater, who besides a pitiless person as You would reject gentle ladies who have come of their
own accord? No one at all.”

“O maddened one, what young boy in his right mind would reject young girls who have come in the
middle of the night? Although You are a cheater, now You are the one being cheated.”

17) Rahasi samvidam

SS – “O please treat our heart disease. The main cause of this disease was our having previously seen
You, and since then You have abandoned us. So now, by Your close company, please treat our heart
disease.”

“Also seeing Your large, expansive chest, the abode of Laksmi, a great hankering arises and thus our
minds repeatedly become bewildered.”

VCT – “What can be done? Your five kinds of bewilderment, like the five arrows of Cupid, have
entered the apertures of our eyes and are creating a blazing fire in our hearts.”

“First (of the five bewilderments) there is ‘samvidam’ mutual conversations expressing powerful
requests for conjugal enjoyment. Second, there of the rise of lust in the heart, the rise of Cupid that is
caused by Your glances upon us. Third, there is Your face, upon which is an excellent smile. Fourth,
there is Your loving glance, and fifth there is Your large, broad chest. Repeatedly seeing these causes
an intense hankering. And by this hankering, the mind becomes bewildered; it becomes stunned by the
blazing fire of eagerness.”
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18) Vraja-vanaukasam

SS – “And Your appearance is for the residents of the forest of Vraja, for all of them w/o
discrimination --- the eradicator of unhappiness. And thus it is the form of all auspiciousness.
Therefore, for the sake of those whose minds are absorbed in hankering for You, namely ourselves,
please release even a little of that something; that is to say, instead of being miserly please give it.
What is that something? The very confidential counteractant of the heart diseases of Your devotees,
about which You know very well.” This is the gopis’ hidden implication.

VCT – “Furthermore, Your intention in reagard to us girls of respectable families – who are free from
offensive behavior, but whom You have entranced and brought to the forest in the middle of the night
– is not simply to burn us to death with the fire of anxious expectation, but rather to save our lives by
granting us You intimate contact.”

In this verse the gopis speak the reasoning behind this statement: “Your appearance is for the residents
of the forests of Vraja, for all of them w/o discrimination; for them it is that w/n which all auspicious
things are found, and thus it is the eradicator of all distress. Therefore for the sake of us, whose minds
are focused on the idea of fulfilling Your hankering that arose from seeing us, You should please
release just a little of that something; that is to say, instead of being miserly please give it.”

If He asks, “What is that something?” They say, “The medicinal lotus flower which is the
counteractant for the heart diseases of Your devotees, for the disease in our breasts. If You can apply
this on our breasts then that will allow us to save our own lives by fulfilling Your hankering.”

19) Yat te sujata

SS – Made auspicious by the wonderful state of their love, the gopis speak the verse beginning ‘yat’.
“O dear one, being anxious in our minds about Your very tender lotus feet being bruised on our hard
breasts, we are taking hold of them only slowly. Yet with those feet You wander about the forest.”

If we take the alternate reading nayasi (instead of atasi), the idea is: “You lead the animals, or else You
meet someone else or make someone meet You (nayasi = prapyasi).

“Thus won’t those lotus feet become pained by the small stones and so on? How indeed could they not
experience pain? When we, whose very life You are, think like this, our minds become bewildered.”

VCT – “But my dear expert relishers of spiritual mellows, those lotus feet of mine which you are
praying for are now absorbed in the pleasure of wandering about the forest. Therefore they do not have
any opportunity to be placed on your breasts.” In reply to this they tearfully speak the verse beginning
‘yat te’.

“We are afraid of placing Your extremely tender lotus feet on our breasts, and yet (pitifully spoken)
You are wandering with those feet about the forest. Alas, alas, what an unbecoming and rashly unfair
thing to do!”
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“But why are you girls afraid?”

The gopis reply beginning with ‘karkesu’. “The reason for our being afraid is the hardness of our
breasts.”

“Then why do you hold my feet on them?”

“O Priya, You are gratified when You place Your feet on them, so it is with regard to Your happiness
that we do so.”

Furthermore, “Even at that moment when we directly see Your joy in pressing Your feet on our
breasts, we imagine, from seeing how very tender Your feet are, that they are feeling pain. This
thought (Sanair dadhImahi) creates distress for us.”

This remorse in fearful anticipation of the beloved’s distress despite the mood of intimate contact is a
symptom of mahabhava.

“Even when we have direct contact providence has written misery on our foreheads.” The further
implication is, “What can we do? If we pray to the creator with severe austerities to make our breasts
softer, that will undo Your happiness. And when they are hard, Your feet feel pain. In both cases we’re
in anxiety.”

“All right, let us suffer difficulty in this way in both meeting and separation. But even though You are
independent-minded, can You tolerate such difficulty? So why do these lotus feet go wandering in the
forest? Isn’t that a bad idea?”

“But whatever enters my mind at any time I immediately carry out. What business is this of Yours?”

“Do You suppose Your feet will not suffer pain? Certainly they will. But You are merciless both to us
and to Your own feet. Perhaps You tolerate such pain by thinking, ‘By my discomfort these gopis will
become extremely discomforted, and therefore I, who am trying to make them miserable, have to
tolerate even my own misery.’ Aah, Pyari? Or maybe You are so greatly pleased by seeing our misery
that You view even that pain as pleasurable? Mmmm? Or else, according to the logic, ‘Faults and good
qualities arise from association,’ originally Your heart was very gentle, but by with contact our hard
breasts it also has become hard. Inasmuch as Your feet have become hard by associating with our
breasts, they should not feel pain from the stones. Or maybe by the very excellence of the touch of
Your feet the stones will become soft. Or maybe by chance You will also fall into the ocean of love for
us as we have for You and then, wandering about tormented by separation from us, You will become
insane [like us] and not even notice the pain suffered by Your feet. As we study this situation our
minds become bewildered, and they cannot find any definite conclusions.”
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“But,” Krsna may say, “even though you are manifesting so much misery on your own part, I do not
consider such misery actual misery. After all, you are still alive.”

‘Bhavad-AyuSAm’ meaning “of those whose lives are only in You” or else, “whose life is You.” “As
long as You are auspiciously present, then even if we have to suffer this much tribulation, we will not
lose our lives.”

The idea behind this is that, “Just like You, the creator is engaged in trying to make us miserable, and
his reasoning is as follows: ‘If I immediately give these gopis their life, then as soon as I do they will
die being burned up by the blazing torment of conjugal attraction. And then who will I have available
to give unhappiness to? Therefore let me deposit their life-spans w/n My friend Krsna, who is just like
me, so that they will not die, and I will be free to continue making them suffer.’ This is why we are not
dying. Or else, it is for this reason, namely because of not being able to ascertain why we are still alive
that our minds are confused. But just see, how our vital forces are surely leaving our bodies now.”

“But if the duration of your lives still remains, then how does your demise occur?”

Bhavad-AyusAm: “We are now giving the duration of our lives to You. May You use them for playing
in Vraja for a long time.”
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