SB 10.30.35 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

इत्येवं दर्शयन्त्यस्ताश्चेरुर्गोप्यो विचेतस: । यां गोपीमनयत्कृष्णो विहायान्या: स्त्रियो वने ॥ ३५ ॥ सा च मेने तदात्मानं वरिष्ठं सर्वयोषिताम् । हित्वा गोपी: कामयाना मामसौ भजते प्रिय: ॥ ३६ ॥

Verse text

ity evaṁ darśayantyas tāś cerur gopyo vicetasaḥ yāṁ gopīm anayat kṛṣṇo vihāyānyāḥ striyo vane sā ca mene tadātmānaṁ variṣṭhaṁ sarva-yoṣitām hitvā gopīḥ kāma-yānā mām asau bhajate priyaḥ

Synonyms

iti — thus ; evam — in this manner ; darśayantyaḥ — showing ; tāḥ — they ; ceruḥ — wandered ; gopyaḥ — the gopīs ; vicetasaḥ — completely bewildered ; yām — which ; gopīm — gopī ; anayat — He took ; kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa ; vihāya — abandoning ; anyāḥ — the other ; striyaḥ — women ; vane — in the forest ; sā — She ; ca — also ; mene — thought ; tadā — then ; ātmānam — Herself ; variṣṭham — the best ; sarva — of all ; yoṣitām — women ; hitvā — rejecting ; gopīḥ — the gopīs ; kāma — yānāḥ — who are impelled by lusty desire ; mām — Me ; asau — He ; bhajate — is accepting ; priyaḥ — the beloved .

Translation

As the gopīs wandered about, their minds completely bewildered, they pointed out various signs of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. The particular gopī whom Kṛṣṇa had led into a secluded forest when He had abandoned all the other young girls began to think Herself the best of women. “My beloved has rejected all the other gopīs,” She thought, “even though they are driven by Cupid himself. He has chosen to reciprocate with Me alone.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

As the gopīs wandered about, their minds completely bewildered, they pointed out various signs of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. The particular gopī whom Kṛṣṇa had led into a secluded forest when He had abandoned all the other young girls began to think Herself the best of women. "My beloved has rejected all the other gopīs," She thought, "even though they are driven by Cupid himself. He has chosen to reciprocate with Me alone." KB 10.30.35-36 In this way, all the gopīs pointed out the faults of the particular gopī who had been taken alone by Kṛṣṇa. They said that this chief gopī, Rādhārāṇī, must be very proud of Her position, thinking Herself the greatest of the gopīs. “Yet how could Kṛṣṇa take Her away alone, leaving all of us aside, unless She is extraordinarily qualified and beautiful?

Purport

Previously all the gopīs had become proud of their association with Kṛṣṇa and then suddenly lost His association. Only Rādhārāṇī remained with Him. Now She has also become proud of that association and will suffer a similar fate. The Lord arranges all this to reveal the gopīs’ unparalleled devotion for Him, a devotion whose intensity fully manifests in moments of separation.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

After showing the good fortune of Radha through the statements of the gopis, Sukadeva himself concludes with his own words. Though Krsna is self satisfied (atmarama), he enjoyed in the company of Radha, because he enjoys (ratah) with the most splendid soul (su atma =svatma), Radha. He does not enjoy as atma rama as much as he enjoys with Radha. There is another reading taya ca atamratah. However in that version atma ratah would have the same meaning as atmarama and thus there would be the fault of repetition or redundancy (punar ukti). Thus the phrase would have to be explained as follows. Ca means certainly, taya means with Radha and atma rata means to enjoy with eagerness. Atma means intellect, eagerness or effort, determination according to the Amara kosa. "Though Krsna is atma rama he enjoyed particularly and eagerly with Radha." "But if this is so, does this not indicate that Krsna is incomplete?" This is so, but Krsna is still complete (akhandita), because Radha is Krsna’s hladini sakti, arising form his very svarupa. Though she has the form of hladini sakti, during pastimes, her form transforms into the essence of joy, called prema, and prema reaches its highest pinnacle as mahabhava. Thus Krsna enjoys more happiness with Radha, the essence of all joy, than with the happiness arising from his quality as atmarama. Thus in the tantras it is said, "The great sakti called hladini is the supreme sakti. The essence of that sakti is in the form of mahabhava, embodied in Radha, who is supreme in all qualities." Thus, though Krsna is atmarama, he is eager to enjoy with Radha, and still he is perfect. By this display of enjoyment, he also gives benefit to the materialistic thinkers who are ignorant of the nature of the Lord, and hides from them his nature as an enjoyer. Krsna enjoyed with Radha to show the lowness of the lusty man and the hard hearted nature of the lusty woman. Because a person controlled by lust or woman cannot understand, he gave them instruction. If a man is controlled by lust, he becomes miserable. When he is in that miserable position, the woman becomes hard hearted. Krsna and his dear gopis show this through their actions, and thereby hide their nature of spiritual conjugal love while holding their conversations. This is the significance of ca in this verse. To show the miserable nature of man and the hard hearted condition of women, and (ca) to hide the nature of prema rasa, Krsna enjoyed with Radha in this way. Another meaning is: Krsna enjoyed with Radha so that all suffering lovers seeing Krsna’s condition could understand their miserable condition , and all women, seeing the nature of Radha, could see their own hard hearted condition, according to the principle of "As I experience, so does the whole world." Another meaning is : Krsna acted as he did to show those who appreciate rasa that the man becomes subservient in pleading for satisfaction and the woman shows reluctance. This is all done for the nourishment of rasa.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Śrīdhara Svāmī does not accept these two verses since the first verse does not match the first line of previous verse spoken by Śukadeva and the second verse does not match the second line of the previous verse. Having praised the love of the couple, Śukadeva now describes her pastime of māna and his attempt to please her in order to nourish the rasa. Now she began to think of her special position. Previously she did not have pride when staying amongst the other gopīs but now such thoughts arose. There are two types of māna: that which is permanently filled with great joy which manifests when the lover is present and that which is permanently filled with great pride which manifests when some other object appears. Rādhā developed great joy extending for a long period, when Kṛṣṇa appeared with her alone. Now that māna manifested somewhat externally. She felt superior because he (asau) had given up all other gopīs who were filled with desire. The word asau (that person) indicates a rare person, supremely independent, with inconceivable greatness. That great person, showing affection for only me (priyaḥ), serves me (bhajate). Though māna would appear to others also, it would be to other gopīs, not to other women. In that way, māna is special, just as prema is special.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

They showed the signs of the couple’s play one after the other or explained them. Or speaking in this way (iti) and showing the signs, filled with pain of separation (tāḥ), without intelligence or helpless because of separation (vicetasaḥ), since they had love only for him, they wandered about or went forward. Some say, “When she was among the others she did not have such pride. It arose at this time.” But actually tadā means “having such rati” she thought in this way. Or she thought herself most enjoyed by him (tad) among all the women of Vraja, because he gave up all gopīs, though loved by him (kāmayānā). He, having indescribable, wondrous glories, supremely independent and most rare (asau), who loves only me (priya), follows me. Or though he loves the others also, he follows me. The pride of the svādhīna-bhartṛkā, the best of skilful women lovers, nourishes rasa. His response and mercy will manifest later.