Devanagari
ततोऽविशन्वनं चन्द्रज्योत्स्ना यावद् विभाव्यते ।
तम: प्रविष्टमालक्ष्य ततो निववृतु: स्त्रिय: ॥ ४२ ॥
Verse text
tato ’viśan vanaṁ candra
jyotsnā yāvad vibhāvyate
tamaḥ praviṣṭam ālakṣya
tato nivavṛtuḥ striyaḥ
Synonyms
tataḥ
—
then
;
aviśan
—
they entered
;
vanam
—
the forest
;
candra
—
of the moon
;
jyotsnā
—
the light
;
yāvat
—
as far
;
vibhāvyate
—
as was visible
;
tamaḥ
—
darkness
;
praviṣṭam
—
entered
;
ālakṣya
—
noticing
;
tataḥ
—
thereupon
;
nivavṛtuḥ
—
they desisted
;
striyaḥ
—
the women .
Translation
In search of Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs then entered the depths of the forest as far as the light of the moon shone. But when they found themselves engulfed in darkness, they decided to turn back.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In search of Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs then entered the depths of the forest as far as the light of the moon shone. But when they found themselves engulfed in darkness, they decided to turn back.
KB 10.30.42
Then all the gopīs, including Rādhārāṇī, proceeded further into the forest, until they could no longer see the moonlight.
When they saw that it was getting gradually darker, they stopped.
Purport
The
gopīs
entered a part of the forest so dense that even the light of the full moon couldn’t penetrate it. This scene is also described in the
Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
praviṣṭo gahanaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ
padam atra na lakṣyate
nivartadhvaṁ śaśāṅkasya
naitad dīdhiti-gocaraḥ
“One
gopī
said, ‘Kṛṣṇa has entered such a dark part of the forest that we cannot possibly see His footprints. Therefore let us turn back from this area, which even the light of the moon cannot reach.’”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When Radha regained consciousness through the loudly wailing of the gopis and their services of fanning, the gopis began questioning her.
"What has happened to you?"
Radha said, "Why did I become separated from you? I did not know my own foolish and helpless nature. But now I have understood slightly that the pride and offense I manifested is due to the hardhearted nature on both sides. It is Krsna’s hard heartedness that he left you all burning in thousands of fires of separation, while enjoying with me alone. Then I said in meanness to the mischievous son of a king, "I cannot move. Take me were you want." That was my hard heartedness, for in saying that I committed offense. Thus in two ways, my mind fell into the greatest sorrow. This was manifested as displeasure towards Krsna, humility before the gopis and misery for myself."
When Sukadeva uses the word "dauratmya" he is simply repeating the words of Radha, like a parrot. The word duratma actually means one whose body is far away from Krsna, she from whom Krsna is far. One who possess this feeling is called dauratmya. In other words, one who feels separation from Krsna is dauratmya.
The gopis were completely amazed. "O dear friend, in giving to you what should be given to you alone, it was not hard hearted on his part. And for you, independent in nature, and tired from pastimes, to give him an order is not hard hearted on your part. Rather this is favorable for increase of rasa. But for the favorable lover to ignore the order of the woman after enjoying her and bring her to such a miserable stats is certainly unfavorable to rasa and is dauratmya. How has the ocean of mercy, the possessor of the greatest prema, the pinnacle of the greatest rasa, done such a thing?" In this way they became completely astonished.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Supported by her sakhīs because of her completely agitated condition, she and the other gopīs again began searching for him. They went searching into the forest as far as the moon spread its light. Inferring from his foot prints that Kṛṣṇa had gone deep into the dense forest, they then left the forest. This is described in Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
praviṣṭo gahanaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ padam atra na lakṣyate
nivartadhvaṁ śaśāṅkasya naitad dīdhiti-gocaraḥ
Kṛṣṇa has entered such a dark part of the forest that we cannot possibly see his footprints. Therefore let us turn back from this area, which even the light of the moon cannot reach.
They turned back because it was not possible for women (striyaḥ) to enter the dark forest. Since they were deeply fearful by nature, they speculated that he had entered the deep forest because of receiving ill treatment from them. They were eager to get out that place since it was difficult to penetrate. Instead of tataḥ sometimes hareḥ is seen but this is not accepted by Śrīdhara Svāmī. Tataḥ is found twice in the verse. The second tataḥ with nivavṛtuḥ means “they gave up searching for Kṛṣṇa” since it has no meaning in combination with the previous phrase. And tataḥ meaning “from Hari” is also unsuitable since the meaning would be “they gave up Kṛṣṇa.”