Devanagari
ललितगतिविलासवल्गुहास-
प्रणयनिरीक्षणकल्पितोरुमाना: ।
कृतमनुकृतवत्य उन्मदान्धा:
प्रकृतिमगन् किल यस्य गोपवध्व: ॥ ४० ॥
Verse text
lalita-gati-vilāsa-valguhāsa-
praṇaya-nirīkṣaṇa-kalpitorumānāḥ
kṛtam anukṛtavatya unmadāndhāḥ
prakṛtim agan kila yasya gopa-vadhvaḥ
Synonyms
lalita
—
attractive
;
gati
—
movements
;
vilāsa
—
fascinating acts
;
valgu
—
hāsa — sweet smiling
;
praṇaya
—
loving
;
nirīkṣaṇa
—
looking upon
;
kalpita
—
mentality
;
urumānāḥ
—
highly glorified
;
kṛtam anukṛtavatyaḥ
—
in the act of copying the movements
;
unmada
—
andhāḥ — gone mad in ecstasy
;
prakṛtim
—
characteristics
;
agan
—
underwent
;
kila
—
certainly
;
yasya
—
whose
;
gopa
—
vadhvaḥ — the cowherd damsels .
Translation
Let my mind be fixed upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose motions and smiles of love attracted the damsels of Vrajadhāma [the gopīs]. The damsels imitated the characteristic movements of the Lord [after His disappearance from the rāsa dance].
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The gopīs were worshipped by Kṛṣṇa’s expert actions, emotional displays, words and glances. Attaining those qualities, they responded in harmony to his most extraordinary displays of love, blinded by the madness of love. How amazing that these gopīs attained the nature of Kṛṣṇa himself.
Purport
By intense ecstasy in loving service, the damsels of Vrajabhūmi attained qualitative oneness with the Lord by dancing with Him on an equal level, embracing Him in nuptial love, smiling at Him in joke, and looking at Him with a loving attitude. The relation of the Lord with Arjuna is undoubtedly praiseworthy for devotees like Bhīṣmadeva, but the relation of the
gopīs
with the Lord is still more praiseworthy because of their still more purified loving service. By the grace of the Lord, Arjuna was fortunate enough to have the fraternal service of the Lord as chariot driver, but the Lord did not award Arjuna with equal strength. The
gopīs,
however, practically became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with the Lord. Bhīṣma’s aspiration to remember the
gopīs
is a prayer to have their mercy also at the last stage of his life. The Lord is satisfied more when His pure devotees are glorified, and therefore Bhīṣmadeva has not only glorified the acts of Arjuna, his immediate object of attraction, but has also remembered the
gopīs,
who were endowed with unrivalled opportunities for rendering loving service to the Lord. The
gopīs
’ equality with the Lord should never be misunderstood to be like the
sāyujya
liberation of the impersonalist. The equality is one of perfect ecstasy where the differential conception is completely eradicated, for the interests of the lover and the beloved become identical.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“Though you are omniscient, the prema that you desire in my charioteer pastime is in Arjuna alone. It is understood that among all the associates with prema, he is the chief.” That is not so. Your dear gopīs have the most exalted prema among all devotees. They are superior to Arjuna. No one can dare to pray for their position. Let that be! I will be successful at my death just by indicating their nature. Thus he speaks this verse.
He was expert at physical arts such as dancing in the rāsa-līlā, expert in expressing mental qualities such as dhira-lalita, expert in words with joking, expert with the eyes at glancing to show all aspects of prema. The gopīs were to be worshipped by all these skilful actions of Kṛṣṇa. In order to please them, Kṛṣṇa endowed them with all the best, outstanding qualities of himself. The result of their extreme prema, was that Kṛṣṇa, in giving all his own qualities, attempted to please them with conciliating love. That display of love, which is without restraints for either party, showed extreme control of Kṛṣṇa by the gopīs and was filled with great bliss. Control of the Lord, manifested as a result of Arjuna’s prema, was that Kṛṣṇa became his messenger and charioteer. That role had restraints for both parties. Arjuna could thus not attain intimacy with the Lord.
He became compliant by offering all his qualities to them (gopīs). They had a mutual friendship filled with happiness because of mutual compliance. Then he bestowed an extraordinary fortune—the dancing, songs and speech during the rāsa-līlā. And in response, the gopīs did the same (anukṛta-vatya). In harmony with him, they offered him dancing, songs and speech in the rāsa-līlā. There was no need to teach them anything. They were blinded by the increase of great prema (unmadāndhāḥ). They did not need practice. How astonishing (kila)! They attained all his extraordinary qualities such as skills in dancing and singing. Kṛṣṇa did not give his unique, extraordinary power to Arjuna.
Kṛtam can also refer to Kṛṣṇa’s actions such as lifting Govardhana. They imitated those actions. Instead of unmada sometimes unmāda is seen. This indicates madness in separation. In that extreme state some of them even merged with the Lord. This is the highest level of exalted prema. Since I am situated between the two limits, why can I not attain your pastime as the charioteer, which I desire?