Devanagari
यत्ते सुजातचरणाम्बुरुहं स्तनेषु
भीता: शनै: प्रिय दधीमहि कर्कशेषु ।
तेनाटवीमटसि तद् व्यथते न किंस्वित्
कूर्पादिभिर्भ्रमति धीर्भवदायुषां न: ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu
bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu
tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit
kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ
Synonyms
yat
—
which
;
te
—
Your
;
su
—
jāta — very fine
;
caraṇa
—
ambu — ruham — lotus feet
;
staneṣu
—
on the breasts
;
bhītāḥ
—
being afraid
;
śanaiḥ
—
gently
;
priya
—
O dear one
;
dadhīmahi
—
we place
;
karkaśeṣu
—
rough
;
tena
—
with them
;
aṭavīm
—
the forest
;
aṭasi
—
You roam
;
tat
—
they
;
vyathate
—
are distressed
;
na
—
not
;
kim svit
—
we wonder
;
kūrpa
—
ādibhiḥ — by small stones and so on
;
bhramati
—
flutters
;
dhīḥ
—
the mind
;
bhavat
—
āyuṣām — of those of whom Your Lordship is the very life
;
naḥ
—
of us .
Translation
O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path.
Purport
The translation of this verse is from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of
Caitanya-caritāmṛta
(
Ādi
4.173)
.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Thirty-first Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “The Gopīs’ Songs of Separation.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"O women experienced in love, those feet for which you have prayed are at present engrossed in wandering happily in the forest. Therefore there is no chance that they can be placed on your breasts."
Hearing that, the gopis began to weep. "Those tender feet which we are afraid to place upon our breasts for fear of injuring them, are wandering in the forest." With pitiful words, they express this feeling. "How improper, how unfair, that you boldly do this."
"Why are you afraid?"
They explain, "Our reason for fear is the hardness of our breasts."
"Then why do you hold them?"
"We hold them because we see that you gain satisfaction when those feet are held on our breasts (he priya). Seeing that you derive pleasure from pressing your feet on our breasts, we accept that, but we experience grief seeing that your feet will be pained as they are so tender. Therefore, we will hold them very carefully (sanaihr dadhimahi).Though we are friends with you, we are troubled because of fear of hurting you. (This is a symptom of mahabhava.) In other words, even in meeting with you, we have the misfortune of suffering. What is to be done now? Should we pray to the creator to make our breasts soft while doing austerities? That also will not make you happy. And yet, when our breasts are hard, it gives pain to your feet. Either way, we are in difficulty. Both in union and separation we are in difficulty. Though you are independent, how do you tolerate such difficulties? What is the purpose in wandering in the forest? Are your feet equipped for wandering from forest to forest? " In this way they scold him.
"I will do whatever is on my mind. What can you say to that?"
"Do your feet not hurt? Certainly they must, but just as you are merciless to us, so you are merciless to your own body. Do you endure the pain with the intention to make us suffer, knowing that if you suffer we suffer? Or do you regard your pain as bliss, since you get bliss from seeing us suffer? Or according to the principle that association breeds either good or bad qualities, just as your soft heart, by contact with our hard breasts, has become hard, so by contact with our hard breasts have your feet also become hard, not feeling pain from the rocks? Or have all the rocks and other hard objects become soft by contact with your glorious feet? Or is the earth, being merciful, or greedy to taste your sweetness, holding her tongue out as a resting place wherever your feet fall? Or have you, with an ocean of prema greater ours, attained a state of unmada due to separation from us, and therefore cannot feel the pain? Thinking of so many causes, our intelligence has become confused and we cannot conclude anything."
"That suffering which you display is suffering in name only. I don’t consider that suffering real suffering, since you still remain alive."
" Our life is in you, you are our life (bhavad ayusam). If you remain comfortable, though it is difficult, we will remain alive. But here is the real meaning: the creator, like you, intending to make us suffer, considered in this way: ‘If I leave their life spans with themselves, their live spans will burn up due to the fire of love given by me, and they will immediately die. Then who could I give suffering to? Therefore I will place their life spans in the care of my like minded friend Krsna, so they will remain alive and experience great suffering, in spite of its intensity’ Because of this arrangement, we do not die."
There is another way of understanding the phrase bhavad ayusam.
"Our intelligence cannot determine anything and is becoming bewildered, for it is certain that our life airs are now leaving our bodies, while you stand and watch."
" But how can you die when your life span is intact?"
"Our life has been offered to you (bhavad ayusam). Taking those durations, you can remain enjoying for a long time in Vraja."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
“What is that disease in the heart? Why destroy it?” Crying, they speak this verse. Your feet are soft like lotuses, but even softer (sujāta). Thus, gently we would like to place them on our breasts in fear, because our breasts are too hard. We want to do this because you are dear (priya) to us. It is suitable to hold them to our breasts since one keeps what is dear close to the heart. Thus we make this request. You are now wandering at night in the forest. They repeat a reason for holding his feet. They speak in this way out of increased affection, while worrying about disturbing him. Previously they mentioned that the sharp grass stubble spread everywhere would injure his feet while he wandered in various grassy areas herding the cows. Now they worry about the sharp stones on the bank of the Yamunā, which is covered with rough stones. Though there is no need to worry about sharp stones because of the nature of Vṛndāvana and the efforts of Vṛndā-devī, they develop worry since that is their nature. Aniṣṭāśaṅkīnīva bandhu-hrḍayāni bhavanti: a relative or intimate friend is always fearful of some injury to his beloved. (Abhijñāna-śakuntalā-nāṭaka) We are bewildered (bhramati) because we have placed our lives in you. This was previously mentioned in the beginning in the phrase tvayi dhṛtāsavaḥ (verse 1). It was again mentioned in the middle:
calasi yad vrajāc cārayan paśūn
nalina-sundaraṁ nātha te padam
śila-tṛṇāṅkuraiḥ sīdatīti naḥ
kalilatāṁ manaḥ kānta gacchati
Dear master, dear lover, when you leave the cowherd village to herd the cows, our minds are disturbed with the thought that your feet, more beautiful than a lotus, will be pricked by the spiked husks of grain and the rough grass and plants. SB 10.31.11
Thus his pain is reflected in their lives. Now, we cannot tolerate maintaining our lives at all. This anxiety is the disease in their hearts. The medicine is to dwell happily with caresses on the lap of their beloved. Please come quickly. Instead of aṭasi sometimes nayasi is seen. This means “you go.” It should thus be understood that all of the gopīs’ and Kṛṣṇa’s emotions were filled with pure prema. Thinking “These gopīs have prema solely for me,” he will inevitably give himself to them with the greatest joy. By understanding that it will happen because it is most fitting, one will develop desire for pastimes with similar prema. This will be considered elsewhere also. Those who relish rasa agree with this.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Till now they have made their request, expressing their desire in many ways. In conclusion, thinking of the Lord wandering in the forest, imagining the pain to his lotus feet, they lose interest in their request, and pray for his happiness while crying, showing intense prema.
Your feet are soft like lotuses, but even softer (sujāta). Thus, gently we would like to place them on our breasts in fear, because our breasts are too hard. We want to do this because you are dear (priya) to us. It is suitable to hold them to our breasts since one keeps what is dear close to the heart. Thus we make this request. You are now wandering at night in the forest. Out of intense prema, they repeat their statements without recognizing the repetition. This is not a fault, but a good quality. Previously they mentioned he was wandering in the forest (calasi) but that was during the day. Now it is in the night and he is wandering. During the day while herding the cows he wanders where there is lots of grass. He will not contact sharp stones. In the night, it is possible he will step on sharp stones. Though there is no need to worry about sharp stones because of the nature of Vṛndāvana, they develop worry since that is their nature. Aniṣṭāśaṅkīnīva bandhu-hrḍayāni bhavanti: a relative or intimate friend is always fearful of some injury to his beloved. (Abhijñāna-śakuntalā-nāṭaka)
We are bewildered (bhramati) because we have placed our lives in you. Thus his pain is reflected in their lives. Now, we cannot tolerate maintaining our lives at all. There is now more pain, with fainting. Instead of aṭasi sometimes nayasi is seen. This means “you go.”
This statement at the end reminds one of Rādhā, who is suggested by the words sva-jana in the previous verse. The pain in the heart of the previous verse can mean the worry about Kṛṣṇa’s pain as he wanders in the forest. We desire to extinguish (nisudanam) that pain. That will be achieved by seeing him. Naḥ in the plural indicates the whole group of her sakhīs, or all the gopis, according to one’s mood.
They mention twice his feet being injured because of the softness of his feet. They pray twice to place those feet on their breasts. Sāraṅgāṇāṁ padaṁbhujam: his lotus feet are the refuge of pure devotees who never talk or sing of any subject except his Lordship. (SB 1.11.26) They are unable even to do that because of their misery and devotion. Twice they pray for the nectar of his lips since it is the cause of their life. They constantly describe his face, since it is especially attractive. Other things could also be mentioned by the devotees having taste and sympathy with the pastime.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Thirty-first Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Gopīs' Songs of Separation."
10.32: The Reunion
verses: Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Chapter Summary
This chapter describes how Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifested Himself in the midst of the gopīs, who had become extremely disturbed by their separation from Him. After He consoled them, they expressed to Him their deep feelings of ecstasy.
The gopīs having shown in various ways their great eagerness to see Kṛṣṇa, the attractor of Cupid, He appeared before them wearing silken yellow garments and a beautiful flower garland. Some of the gopīs, overwhelmed with ecstasy at seeing Him, grasped His hands, others placed His arm on their shoulders, and others accepted the remnants of betel nut He had chewed. Thus they served Him.
One gopī, impelled by loving anger toward Kṛṣṇa, bit her lip and looked askance at Him. Because the gopīs were so attached to Kṛṣṇa, they were not satiated even by continuously gazing at Him. One of them then placed Kṛṣṇa within her heart, closed her eyes and, embracing Him within herself again and again, became absorbed in transcendental bliss, just like a yogī. In this way the pain the gopīs had felt because of separation from the Lord was dispelled.
Next Lord Kṛṣṇa went to the bank of the Yamunā in the company of the cowherd girls, His internal potencies. The gopīs then made a seat for Kṛṣṇa out of their shawls, and after He had sat down they enjoyed with Him by gesturing amorously. The gopīs still felt hurt that Kṛṣṇa had disappeared, so He explained to them why He had done so. He further told them that He had come under the exclusive control of their loving devotion and would ever remain indebted to them.