Text 16

The pre-eminent gopī-bhāva is intended solely for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.19) states:

यत् ते सुजात-चरणाम्बुरुहं स्तनेषु भीताः शनैः प्रिय दधीमहि कर्कशेषु
तेनाटवीम् अटसि तद् व्यथते न किं स्वित् कूर्पादिभिर् भ्रमति धीर् भवद्-आयुषां नः

yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṃ staneṣu bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu
tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṃ svit kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṃ naḥ

O beloved, Your beautiful feet are even softer than a lotus. When we massage those soft, tender, lotus feet we fearfully, slowly and gently place them on our breasts in such a way that our hard breasts may cause them no pain. With those same soft feet, You wander behind the cows in the deep forest. Will Your lotus feet not be pierced by stones and other sharp things? Such thoughts make us extremely anxious. O Prāṇanātha, You are our life, so please stop wandering in the forest. Please, appear before us.

तोमार चरणाम्बुज ए कर्कश स्तने
सावधाने धरि सखे! क्लेश-भीत मने

tomāra caraṇāmbuja e karkaśa stane
sāvadhāne dhari sakhe! kleśa-bhīta mane

से पद-कमले वने कूर्पादिर दुःख
हय पाछे, शङ्का करि’ नाहि पाइ सुख

se pada-kamale vane kūrpādira duḥkha
haya pāche, śaṅkā kari’ nāhi pāi sukha

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

In this verse, the gopīs express their extremely deep prema. In previous verses, the gopīs described their condition in separation from Kṛṣṇa, but here their words openly express their anxiety for His happiness. The gopīs, who are covered by kāma–that is, their love for Kṛṣṇa–tried very hard to conceal their prema, but because it f lows so swiftly, it was revealed.

The gopīs suffer in their hearts at the thought of Kṛṣṇa coming to harm. This is the characteristic of mahābhāva. Only the gopīs are experienced in the sorrow of separation from their prāṇa-priyatama, and only the gopīs are experienced in the happiness of meeting with Him. In Text 14, the gopīs expressed how troubled they felt by the pain caused to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. For this reason, the current Text, again mentioning the suffering of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, is cited here. Text 15 described separation from Him during the day, and this Text describes separation from Him at night. In the daytime, Kṛṣṇa roams about herding the cows, and He can easily protect Himself from stone chips, thorns and sharp grass. But on the bank of the Yamunā, in the darkness of night, sharp objects on the ground are not easily seen. Thinking of this, the vraja-sundarīs’ hearts begin to melt and they express their moods with words of distress.

Śrī Vṛndā-devī puts great effort into making Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastime places, like the bank of the Yamunā, very pleasant and beautiful. There is no possibility of thorns or sharp grass being there, but nonethel ess, the damsels of Vraja fear that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet will suffer.

Aff licted by prema, the gopīs pray in this Text, “O life-giving Śyāmasundara, like beautifully blossoming lotus flowers, Your reddish lotus feet, which are extremely fragrant and sweet, mitigate any misery. Now these reddish lotus feet must be suffering from the injuries caused by stones, sharp grass, etc. as You roam from forest to forest. We are saddened by such thoughts.”

Upon hearing this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa might reply, “Oh, come now! What realisation do you have of My suffering?”

The gopīs answer, “Priya karkaśeṣu staneṣu bhītāḥ śanair dadhīmahi–O beloved, we consider You to be non-different from our bodies and to be the life of our life. How can we place Your supremely beautiful, tender lotus feet on our hard breasts? Please listen for a moment. Bhītāḥ śanaiḥ, we place them there very slowly and gently so that You may feel no pain at all. Therefore, when You do something Yourself that brings them pain, we drown in an ocean of sorrow.”

Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, “O love-stricken gopīs, why do you want to place My lotus feet on your hard breasts?”

“O Priya, You are our beloved, and the only duty of a lover is to increase the beloved’s happiness. Placing Your lotus feet on our breasts gives You supreme pleasure, and if You are happy, we are, too. For this reason, we place Your lotus feet there, but as soon as we remember their softness, our hearts melt.”

Kṛṣṇa says, “O mad gopīs, you all should perform some austerity to satisfy the Creator, and then pray to him for soft, tender breasts.”

The gopīs reply, “We are ready to perform this austerity, but there is a consideration. If our breasts were soft, You still may not be pleased, and if they are hard, they will cause You pain. We are unable to determine what to do and what not to do. You, however, behave the same way You treat Your feet–mercilessly.”

Hearing this Kṛṣṇa may reply, “O gopīs, what are you waff ling about?”

The gopīs say, “O Śyāmasundara, we are unable to calm our hearts at all.”

Kṛṣṇa replies, “Why do you suffer so much? Where is your affection for Me? What are the symptoms of affection? If the lover is unable to remain alive when the beloved is suffering severely, how is it that you are still alive?”

The gopīs say, “Bhavad-āyuṣām. You are our very life. Although we have endured much hardship, our lives do not end.” With loving anger they continue, “O Śyāmasundara, not only are You cruel to us, but so is the Creator; he has given us such a long life–only to suffer.”

This is the commentary of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura on this verse, which expresses the deep suffering in separation from Kṛṣṇa of the vraja-devīs, who are filled with mahābhāva.