Text 15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.15) describes that for the gopīs, even one moment seems like a hundred yugas when they do not have darśana of that beautiful face adorned with curling locks:

अटति यद् भवान् अह्नि काननं त्रुटिर् युगायते त्वाम् अपश्यताम्
कुटिल-कुन्तलं श्री-मुखं च ते जड उदीक्षतां पक्ष्म-कृद् दृशाम्

aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṃ truṭir yugāyate tvām apaśyatām
kuṭila-kuntalaṃ śrī-mukhaṃ ca te jaḍa udīkṣatāṃ pakṣma-kṛd dṛśām

O Śyāmasundara, when You go to the forest to herd the cows during the day, the Vrajavāsīs are unable to see You and thus they feel one moment to be like a yuga. And in the evening, when You return and we see Your beautiful lotus face covered with curling locks, the blinking of our eyelids becomes painful because it obstructs our darśana. Is the Creator, who made these eyelids, ignorant, or is he foolish?

पूर्वाह्ने कानने तुमि याओ गो-चारणे
त्रुटि युग-सम हय तव अदर्शने

pūrvāhne kānane tumi yāo go-cāraṇe
truṭi yuga-sama haya tava adarśane

कुटिल-कुन्तल तव श्री-चन्द्र-वदन
दर्शने निमेष-दाता विधिर निन्दन

kuṭila-kuntala tava śrī-candra-vadana
darśane nimeṣa-dātā vidhira nindana

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

Even a fraction of a second seems like a yuga for the gopīs when they are aff licted by separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and when they meet Him, one yuga seems like a moment. This condition is called mahābhāva.

In this Text, the gopīs address Śrī Kṛṣṇa as bhavān. Bhavān is a term of honour, but here, the gopīs address Kṛṣṇa as such due to their jealous love.

Aṭati yad bhavān–The gopīs say, “O Kṛṣṇa! You are arasajña, ignorant of mellows. But we are rasajña, well-versed in mellows. Even so, You continue to roam in the forest. By wandering here and there with foolish cows, Your intelligence has become as dull as theirs. This is the effect of faulty association. Because You graze animals all day, Your intelligence has become like theirs.” The gopīs, who have been apart from Kṛṣṇa all day, eagerly await His return to Vraja so that they can have darśana of His beautiful lotus face. Upon hearing the gopīs, Śrī Kṛṣṇa may say, “O vraja-devīs, you are always seeing My face. What is so special about My face when I return from cowherding?”

The vraja-devīs reply, “Kuṭila-kuntalaṃ śrī-mukhaṃ ca–Your beautiful lotus face is decorated by curly locks, but because they are scattered all over Your face, we cannot see it.” With anger born of affection, the vraja-devīs are saying, “When this curly hair covers Your face, You are the only one to relish its sweetness. This further torments our minds, which are already burning in separation from You.”

Udīkṣatām–The gopīs say, “Furthermore, we open our eyes wide and raise our faces in an endeavour to see You, but because the Creator, who fashioned our eyelids, is foolish (dṛśāṃ pakṣma-kṛd jaḍaḥ), we cannot take complete darśana of You. This Creator, being irrational and of meagre intelligence, has created eyelids for the eyes. For darśana of such a beautiful lotus face, he has only given two eyes, and on top of that, he has covered them with eyelids that constantly blink and obstruct our gazing upon You.”

Adhirūḍha-mahābhāva is characterised by the feeling that each moment is like a kalpa when one is separated from Kṛṣṇa, and the feeling that a kalpa is like a moment when one is meeting Him. In this Text, this bhāva is clearly visible in the vraja-devīs.