Devanagari
रामपत्न्यश्च तद्देहमुपगुह्याग्निमाविशन् ।
वसुदेवपत्न्यस्तद्गात्रं प्रद्युम्नादीन् हरे: स्नुषा: ।
कृष्णपत्न्योऽविशन्नग्निं रुक्मिण्याद्यास्तदात्मिका: ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
rāma-patnyaś ca tad-deham
upaguhyāgnim āviśan
vasudeva-patnyas tad-gātraṁ
pradyumnādīn hareḥ snuṣāḥ
kṛṣṇa-patnyo ’viśann agniṁ
rukmiṇy-ādyās tad-ātmikāḥ
Synonyms
rāma
—
patnyaḥ — the wives of Lord Balarāma
;
ca
—
and
;
tat
—
deham — His body
;
upaguhya
—
embracing
;
agnim
—
the fire
;
āviśan
—
entered
;
vasudeva
—
patnyaḥ — the wives of Vasudeva
;
tat
—
gātram — his body
;
pradyumna
—
ādīn — Pradyumna and the others
;
hareḥ
—
of Lord Hari
;
snuṣāḥ
—
the daughters-in-law
;
kṛṣṇa
—
patnyaḥ — the wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
aviśan
—
entered
;
agnim
—
the fire
;
rukmiṇī
—
ādyāḥ — led by Queen Rukmiṇī
;
tat
—
ātmikāḥ — whose consciousness was completely absorbed in Him .
Translation
The wives of Lord Balarāma also entered the fire and embraced His body, and Vasudeva’s wives entered his fire and embraced his body. The daughters-in-law of Lord Hari entered the funeral fires of their respective husbands, headed by Pradyumna. And Rukmiṇī and the other wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa — whose hearts were completely absorbed in Him — entered His fire.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The wives of Balarāma embracing his body also entered the fire. Vasudeva’s wives, embracing his body, entered the fire. The daughters-in-law of the Lord entered the funeral fires of their respective husbands, headed by Pradyumna. And Rukmiṇī and the other wives of Kṛṣṇa—whose hearts were completely absorbed in him—entered the fire.
Purport
It is understood that the anguished scene described here is a display of the Lord’s illusory potency, adding a final dramatic note to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes on the earth. In reality, Lord Kṛṣṇa returned to His eternal abode in His original body, and His eternal associates returned with Him. This final heartbreaking scene of the Lord’s pastimes is a creation of the Lord’s internal potency that brings the Lord’s manifest pastimes to a perfect dramatic end.