SB 10.19.16 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

गोपीनां परमानन्द आसीद् गोविन्ददर्शने । क्षणं युगशतमिव यासां येन विनाभवत् ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

gopīnāṁ paramānanda āsīd govinda-darśane kṣaṇaṁ yuga-śatam iva yāsāṁ yena vinābhavat

Synonyms

gopīnām — for the young cowherd girls ; parama — ānandaḥ — the greatest happiness ; āsīt — arose ; govinda — darśane — in seeing Govinda ; kṣaṇam — a moment ; yuga — śatam — a hundred millenniums ; iva — just as ; yāsām — for whom ; yena — whom (Kṛṣṇa) ; vinā — without ; abhavat — became .

Translation

The young gopīs took the greatest pleasure in seeing Govinda come home, since for them even a moment without His association seemed like a hundred ages.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The young gopīs took the greatest pleasure in seeing Govinda come home, since for them even a moment without His association seemed like a hundred ages. KB 10.19.16 As they approached the village, all the gopīs became very joyous. Throughout the day the gopīs used to think of Kṛṣṇa while He was in the forest, and in His absence they were considering one moment to be like twelve years. Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Nineteenth Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Devouring the Forest Fire.”

Purport

After saving the cowherd boys from the blazing forest fire, Kṛṣṇa saved the cowherd girls from the blazing fire of separation from Him. The gopīs, headed by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, have the greatest love for Kṛṣṇa, and even a single moment’s separation from Him seems like millions of years to them. The gopīs are the greatest devotees of God, and their specific pastimes with Kṛṣṇa will be described later in this work. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Swallowing the Forest Fire.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Although everyone was blissful when Krsna entered the village, the bliss of Yasoda with her strong parental affection was outstanding. This was described in chapter 14.47. Now, in this verse, the bliss of the gopis headed by Radha is described as Krsna entered the village. In terms of both quality and quantity, the gopis’ love was supreme. Parama means there was nothing beyond it. Which gopi? Her uncommon quality is mentioned. She experienced a moment’s (ksanam) separation (yena vina) from Krsna as a hundred yugas. Ksanam in neuter instead of regular masculine geneder is traditional usage here. To experience a moment as a hundred yugas is the quality of adhirudha mahabhava, the highest state of prema, after proceeding through rati, prema, sneha,mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga, and mahabhava. According to Ujjvala Nilamani the gopis such as Radha possess this type of mahabhava.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Just as he gave bliss on attaining him to the boys after rescuing them from the forest fire, he gave bliss to the gopīs after they had burned in the fire of separation. This was a daily event, but is described on this particular day after the forest fire. The gopīs achieved the highest limit of bliss on seeing Kṛṣṇa. They are described. For them a moment was like a hundred yugas in his absence. They say this in their own words: aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ truṭi yugāyate tvām apaśyatām kuṭila-kuntalaṁ śrī-mukhaṁ ca te jaḍa udīkṣatāṁ pakṣma-kṛd dṛśām When you go off to the forest during the day, a tiny fraction of a second becomes like a millennium for us because we cannot see you. And even when we can eagerly look upon your beautiful face, so lovely with its adornment of curly locks, our pleasure is hindered by our eyelids, which were fashioned by the foolish creator. SB 10.31.15 Śukadeva also describes them in order to show their intense prema: gopyaś ca kṛṣṇam upalabhya cirād abhīṣṭaṁ yat-prekṣaṇe dṛśiṣu pakṣma-kṛtaṁ śapanti dṛgbhir hṛdī-kṛtam alaṁ parirabhya sarvās tad-bhāvam āpur api nitya-yujāṁ durāpam While gazing at their beloved Kṛṣṇa, the young gopīs used to condemn the creator of their eyelids. Now, seeing Kṛṣṇa again after such a long separation, with their eyes they took him into their hearts, and there they embraced him to their full satisfaction. In this way they became totally absorbed in ecstatic meditation on him, although those who constantly practice mystic yoga find such absorption difficult to achieve. SB 10.82.39 The gopīs mentioned in the verse are the young gopīs. What was their supreme bliss? A moment seemed like a hundred yugas in his absence. It is not possible to describe that bliss in essence, since it is beyond words and thought. However, by describing the opposite, some indication of the bliss can be given. They became extremely blissful at the moment they were able to see him. This indicates that when they blinked their eyes, they were situated again in separation. The neuter ending on kṣaṇam is poetic license. Their full development of rati in seven stages, bhāva, prema, praṇaya, māna, rāga, anurāga,and mahābhāva should be understood from Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi written by Rūpa Gosvāmī.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Just as he destroyed the forest fire for the boys, he freed the gopīs from the fire of separation. They experienced the highest bliss in seeing Govinda--he who is surrounded by cows and cowherds as the king of the cows. Or they developed the highest bliss from seeing how Kṛṣṇa was king of the cows by saving the cows and boys from the forest fire. Just by seeing him they experienced bliss. How can one describe that bliss? Seeing him was the highest bliss. The reason is given. Kṣaṇam in the neuter is poetic license. Though a moment does not have a hundred yugas in it, by the pain of separation they felt like this. A moments separation produced this result for them but seeing him somehow or other produced the highest bliss. This is mentioned in relation to the forest fire, but applies always to the gopīs’ condition. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Nineteenth Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Swallowing the Forest Fire." 10.20: The Rainy Season and Autumn in Vṛndāvana verses: Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30-31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 Chapter Summary To enhance the description of Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes in this chapter the beauty of Vṛndāvana during autumn and the rainy season. In the course of his presentation he gives various charming instructions in metaphorical terms.