Rasa-pancadhyayi II - The Search for Krsna

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.1

Śrī Śuka said: “When Bhagavān suddenly disappeared, the women of Vraja, unable to see Him, burned in anguish like female elephants whose herd-leader has vanished.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

When describing Kṛṣṇa's disappearance, the fullness of Śrī Bādarāyaṇi's own anguish arose so strongly that his narration broke and a new chapter began in the middle of the account. Although the gopīs thus suffered, Bhagavān had taken with Him one woman who was supreme in every respect. Reflecting for a moment upon her extraordinary fortune, Śuka regained composure and continued.

“He suddenly disappeared” means they could not reason out the manner or circumstances of His disappearance. The Amara lexicon says that “suddenly” denotes what is unexpected. This unexpectedness should be understood as a cause of their increased torment.

They are “the women of Vraja.” Because He alone is dear to them, both the propriety and intensity of their burning separation are conveyed. The comparison with female elephants deprived of their intoxicated herd-leader shows that He alone sustained them and that separation from their sole support intensified their pain. (1)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.2

“Their minds swept away by the Lord of Ramā through His gait, loving smiles, playful glances, charming speech, pastimes, and amorous gestures, those impassioned women became wholly composed of Him and assumed each of His characteristic actions.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

This verse and the more than two chapters that follow manifest the depth of their torment.

“Gait” represents every bodily action. His smile and playful glances arose from love and therefore represent mental expression. His charming speech represents verbal expression, while His captivating pastimes and amorous gestures again encompass all three according to what is appropriate in each case.

“Pastimes” may mean such deeds as lifting Govardhana or such arts as playing the flute. “Amorous gesture” is defined as the instability of the mind's movements arising from erotic feeling. Each item later in the sequence is more excellent than the one before it. By these actions previously performed by Kṛṣṇa, their minds were seized.

They therefore became “composed of Him,” wholly absorbed in Him. Or this may form a separate sentence: they also became His very selves. Both imitation and complete identification will be described. “Impassioned women” literally means those possessing extraordinary intoxication, recalling the elevated pride mentioned previously. Or pramada means joy: although their essence is bliss, they had become supremely afflicted. (2)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.3

“In their gait, smiles, glances, speech, and other acts, the beloved gopīs assumed forms pervaded by the nature of their beloved. Wholly composed of Him, those powerless women declared, ‘I am He,’ and revealed the bewildering pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

This verse manifests their becoming Kṛṣṇa's very selves. “Gait and the rest” repeats the items just given, while “and others” includes His pastimes and amorous gestures. Because these have already been named, their previous modifiers are not repeated.

Their embodied forms, the aggregates of senses, limbs, and other components, became possessed by Kṛṣṇa's fully established pastimes. Thus they attained His state both inwardly and outwardly. Prahlāda describes the same condition: “Her mind and form imitated the emotions born from His emotion” (Bhāgavata 7.7.36).

Footnote 62 records the variant particle nv, and footnote 63 records the variant verb vyavediṣuḥ. (3)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.4

“Gathered together and singing loudly of Him alone, they searched from forest to forest like madwomen. They questioned the trees about the Person who, like space, dwells both within and without all beings.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

This was not merely imitation or absorption in His pastimes. Overwhelmed by separation, they searched here and there and questioned everything visible before them.

They sang “loudly” so that Kṛṣṇa might hear their pain from far away, or to attract Him because He loves song. Or the fullness of their anguish itself naturally made them sing that way. Although His abandonment and His being supremely inaccessible might seem to make singing of Him inappropriate, the words “of Him alone” show that even then He remained their sole beloved. Or they indicate that they knew how to sing only about Him.

“Gathered together” means they joined one another to search every path thoroughly, to soothe each other's pain through friendship, or simply because the extraordinary nature of their anguish drew them together.

Their being “like madwomen” explains why they questioned trees. The suffix can be neutral or disparaging and suggests that their hair and clothing were disordered. It also excludes deliberate calculation in their search and questioning; otherwise addressing trees would be inexplicable. Searching “from forest to forest” indicates extensive wandering here and there through every grove and therefore a search lasting a considerable time. (4)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.5

“O aśvattha, plakṣa, and banyan trees, have you perhaps seen Nanda's son, who stole our minds with His loving smiles and glances and then departed?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The word “you” can mean “by you” or “belonging to you.” By expressing relationship with the trees, the gopīs make it plausible that the trees have seen Him and invite them to speak affectionately.

Or overflowing prema naturally projects one's own feeling upon another as if that being shared the same nature. They address each tree separately out of reverence for its Vaiṣṇava character. The aśvattha is famously a manifestation of Viṣṇu. Bhagavān told Arjuna, while discussing His chief forms present on earth, “Know Me in every banyan tree,” and the banyan is therefore likewise sacred. By association the plakṣa may be included; some say these three trees are successively the abodes of Viṣṇu, Śiva, and Brahmā.

Because the gopīs question them in separation-madness, such deliberate theological intentions do not truly fit their mood. Where Śrīdhara Svāmī offers such explanations, he does so according to his declared purpose of revealing this five-chapter account as oriented toward liberation, not according to the gopīs' own emotion. Sanātana nevertheless records something in harmony with that interpretation to maintain continuity with earlier and later statements, since speaking of their own master as “Nanda's son” can support it. Or the phrase may imply His connoisseurship. Similar qualifications apply in what follows.

Why do they question the trees? “He stole our minds and went away.” Calling it theft suggests that their minds are precious jewels. They have come seeking what was lost and ask these saintly trees about the thief.

The interrogative implies the unfinished plea, “If you have seen Him, then tell us.” Separation leaves them unable to finish the sentence. If He was seen, they will search carefully right there; if His presence nearby can be inferred, they will regain hope, hold on to life, and remain. Or, because verse 4 says they were like madwomen, their extreme anguish prevented them from expecting an answer and the sentence simply ends in this broken form. The same should be understood in the following verses. (5)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.6

“O kuravaka, aśoka, nāga, punnāga, and campaka trees, has Rāma's younger brother, whose smile steals the pride of proud women, gone this way?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Thinking that the great trees would surely disdain such insignificant women and refuse to answer, the gopīs question others. The kuravaka is the red amlāna flower, and nāga means the nāgakesara.

They ask, “Did He go from here?” Or they may ask whether He was previously seen while present here. “This way” suggests that He might be visible even from a distance. Yet He may still be difficult to find. If He came near, they will search for His footprints here and use them to track Him.

Why do proud women ask about Him? His mere smile makes their pride unable to endure. Their pride was generated only by His own extraordinary cleverness, so it was not their fault. Or His smile had already stolen that pride; therefore they now search for Him. Or their meaning is that separation from so overwhelmingly enchanting a person makes them unable to live even for a moment.

Footnote 68 says that “gone” is the common reading, while “from here” is accepted by Śrīdhara Svāmī. (6)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.7

“O auspicious Tulasī, beloved of Govinda's feet, have you seen your dearest Acyuta, who wears you together with swarms of bees?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs think, “Those trees are male and serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Knowing our pride, they may jealously refuse to tell us.” They therefore regard Śrī Tulasī as their own intimate female friend and, because her extraordinary good fortune makes it likely that she has seen Him, they question her. (7)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.8

“O mālatī, mallikā, jāti, and yūthikā vines, did you perhaps see Mādhava pass this way, awakening your love by the touch of His hand?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Thinking that Tulasī, as a rival, might not reveal Him, the gopīs next question Kṛṣṇa's maidservants. They address each vine affectionately, considering them His servants because they offer Him excellent flowers. “You” has the same range of meaning as before. Earlier commentators understand an implied question, “Did He go this way?”

Or, as before, the gopīs consider it likely that the vines have seen Him. He would have awakened their love through the touch of His hand while passing, plucking their finest flowers. His coming near them is therefore entirely plausible.

A pun jokingly imagines scratches left upon these maidservants, because flowers are cut with the fingernails. They infer that He needed to gather flowers from His name Mādhava: He sports in honey, the nectar of sweetness, and therefore gathered them for the play of sweet rasa. Or He is the husband of Mā, Lakṣmī, and gathered them for her. This is spoken in jealousy. In truth, as before, Mā is Śrī Rādhā and the flowers are for Her ornamentation. Although the gopīs are not consciously investigating Rādhā at this moment, divine destiny, their purified nature, and spontaneous inspiration cause the truth to emerge by itself from their mouths. (8)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.9

“O mango, priyāla, jackfruit, asana, kovidāra, rose-apple, arka, bilva, bakula, mango, kadamba, and nīpa trees, and all others dwelling near Yamunā's bank whose lives exist for the sake of others, please reveal Kṛṣṇa's path to us, bereft of our very selves.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs think the previously addressed plants may be Kṛṣṇa's or Lakṣmī's servants and, out of caution, may refuse to reveal Him. They therefore question other trusted trees.

Cūta and āmra are distinct varieties of mango according to differences in flavor; kadamba and nīpa differ in color and other traits. Priyāla is a kind of śāla, and asana is yellow śāla. Though arka lacks excellent flowers and fruit, it is included because its blossoms are dear to Śiva. “All others” includes pīlu, karīra, madhūka, orange, coconut, areca, palmyra, banana, lavalī, jujube, and many more.

The trees might ask, “What purpose of ours would be served by telling you?” The gopīs call them beings whose birth exists for others' sake. Śrīdhara Svāmī reads bhavaka without the long vowel, explaining bhava as birth. With the long vowel, the reading found widely elsewhere, bhavika means welfare, prosperity, or auspicious advancement, yielding the same essential sense.

Their dwelling beside Yamunā especially suggests that they cannot bear another's suffering. Yamunā, daughter of the sun and sister of Yama, descended because she could not tolerate the suffering imposed through her brother's authority to punish the sinful realms. Her account is famous in the Yamunā-māhātmya of the Padma Purāṇa. Or, because these trees live at a sacred ford, they must speak truth and not deceive.

If the trees tell them to search for themselves, the gopīs arouse compassion by revealing their anguish: they are “bereft of self,” their knowledge destroyed by separation. Or their very self and beloved is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and He has abandoned them. Nearly dead, they cannot search by themselves. Earlier they generally asked whether Kṛṣṇa had been seen. Because these trees' virtues make such a sighting seem nearly certain, they ask only to be shown His path. (9)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.10

“O earth, what austerity did you perform? You shine with the hairs of your body standing erect in the festival of contact with Keśava's feet. Did this arise when His feet touched you now, from Urukrama's strides, or from the embrace of His boar form?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Having disclosed their own distress, the gopīs became helpless as even greater sorrow arose and they fell to the earth. Or, after asking for Kṛṣṇa's path, remembrance of that path made them cast their eyes upon the ground. Seeing tender blades of grass and other growth springing from it, they imagined them to be horripilation produced by contact with Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. Considering the earth supremely fortunate, they spoke in extreme anguish. (10)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.11

“O wife of the blackbuck, dear friend, did Acyuta come here with His beloved, spreading perfect delight before your eyes through their limbs? The fragrance of the jasmine garland of the leader of our family blows here, colored by the kuṅkuma from His beloved's breasts through the embrace of her body.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Like Śrī Tulasī, the doe is Kṛṣṇa's eternal beloved and might, from rivalry or obedience to His wish, refuse to tell them. Trusting her as a female friend, they ask her.

“O wife of the blackbuck” implies, “You too understand the pain of separation from a beloved, so please tell us.” The singular arises because the weight of their separation makes their gaze extend into the distance and perceive only one doe. The plurals “your eyes” and “you” honor her because Acyuta has approached her. Or the singular refers to the species, or they primarily address the one nearest among many.

Footnote 69 playfully derives “wife of the blackbuck” through a grammatical rule concerning a husband's participation in sacrifice: the blackbucks are sacrificers in rites of other births, so the doe is a sacrificer's wife. This is praise based on what the gopīs see. (11)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.12

“O trees, as Rāma's younger brother wanders here with His arm resting upon His beloved's shoulder, a lotus in His hand, followed by Tulasī and swarms of bees blinded by intoxication, does He acknowledge your bows with loving glances?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs fix their gaze upon the does and, viewing the does' condition through the lens of their own separation, imagine that anguish has made them motionless too. Leaving them, the gopīs see trees bent beneath abundant fruit and flowers. Considering all those trees supremely saintly and their bows filled with humble love, they question them.

The details beginning with Kṛṣṇa's arm upon His beloved's shoulder arise because the previously perceived fragrance makes the gopīs infer that He came with her. They detect the fragrance of His beautiful arm mingled with the scent of a woman's shoulder, the fragrance of a lotus permeated by the aroma of His hand, and the Tulasī fragrance upon His body mixed with the scent of bees. Or they speak this way because such is the customary manner of sophisticated lovers.

Footnote 70 supplies the reading “upon the beloved's shoulder.” (12)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.13

“Let us question these creepers. Though they embrace the arms of their lord, the tree, they surely bear horripilation because they were touched by Kṛṣṇa's fingernails. Ah!”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs say to one another, “These trees are His devotees and follow His wishes, so perhaps they will not tell us. Let us instead question these creepers, who are female and therefore our own.” Their statements about the creepers embracing the trees with their arms and the rest arise entirely in conformity with the gopīs' own emotion. (13)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.14

“Speaking such words like madwomen and distraught in their search for Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs, wholly composed of Him, imitated His various pastimes.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Thus” means in the manner just described. Or the phrase repeats that these gopīs spoke words like those of the mad. Their statements arose solely from madness, reinforcing verse 4's comparison with madwomen. Their speech was mad because they questioned inappropriate beings and addressed each with those particular questions.

Why did they imitate the Lord's pastimes? Separation made them desperate in their search for supremely attractive Kṛṣṇa. Their imitation sprang from helpless anguish, not from whim or any thought of pleasure. This is further explained by saying they were “composed of Him,” their minds stolen by Him. Or “Him” refers to the pastimes: their intense absorption in imitation made it complete.

One may object that for those anguished by separation even remembering His pastimes makes life difficult to sustain. When the flames of separation, increased by the ghee of imitation, blazed in their hearts, how could the self remain? The verse answers that their selves existed in Kṛṣṇa alone. Connected with that supremely cool ocean of nectar, they did not depart. Had their selves remained in their own bodies, they would certainly have burned. Their minds were possessed by Kṛṣṇa; therefore they imitated helplessly, not by independent choice. (14)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.15

“One gopī became Pūtanā, while another, becoming Kṛṣṇa, drank from her breast. Another cried as an infant and struck with her foot a gopī who had become the cart.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Sanātana now expands upon their imitation. Earlier commentators have already suggested the distinctions among the roles. Although the text says they imitated, it elaborates their complete identification in order to show how perfect that imitation was.

Their imitation is threefold. A chiefly bodily action is generally reproduced through bodily action. An action joined with speech is generally reproduced through speech as well. An action joined with mental expression is reproduced in that same way. Although imagination is generally present everywhere, the threefold classification rests upon whichever element predominates.

Three verses first describe imitation dominated by bodily action. The gopī “becoming Pūtanā” imitated Pūtanā and the others solely through imagination accompanied by certain gestures and postures, not through costumes, which would have been wholly impossible. The next verse will therefore explicitly say that one gopī imagined herself the infant Kṛṣṇa.

Although their helplessness in separation might seem to prevent such enactment, their absorption in each pastime arose spontaneously from the very nature and magnitude of their anguish.

One may object that these supreme Vaiṣṇavīs should not imitate demons. Yet, possessed by some unfathomable and extraordinary variety of emotion, they imitated Kṛṣṇa's pastimes alone. Their dear friends inferred the roles into which each had entered. By fixing their minds there to relieve enormous pain, those companions made all the separation-stricken gopīs who enacted the different pastimes become composed of those līlās. Since demons and others are attendants within those particular pastimes, their imitation is entirely fitting and every action of the gopīs remains faultless. (15)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.16-17

“One became a demon and carried off another who imagined herself the infant Kṛṣṇa. Another crawled, dragging her feet while her anklets rang loudly. Two became Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, while some became cowherd boys. One killed a gopī who had become a calf demon, and another killed one who had become Bakāsura.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The “loud sounds” are the jingling of anklets. She crawled while dragging her feet with those sounds, for the gopīs actually wore anklets. This beautifully imitates Kṛṣṇa's crawling described in the phrase “charming with the ringing and resonant sounds” (Bhāgavata 10.8.22). The causative sense of the verb is not intended. (16)

“Becoming cowherds” means becoming cowherd boys, since at that time boys alone tended the calves. The word “and” includes a gopī becoming Aghāsura, whom another nearby gopī killed. (17)

Footnote 72 explains that she crawled while dragging her feet, accompanied by the ringing of the anklets; the causative meaning is not intended.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.18

“One gopī, going far away as Kṛṣṇa would, called another who followed her and played the flute. Other gopīs praised the latter, saying, ‘Excellent!’”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Sanātana will now describe verbal imitation in five verses. These first two reproduce Kṛṣṇa's wondrous summer pastimes before the killing of Pralamba. Speech predominates here. Or, as their identification deepened successively through imitation, the earlier expressions “becoming Kṛṣṇa” and the like are not repeated.

Earlier commentators explain “going far away.” Or the gopī called distant companions who remained in Vraja and elsewhere by signaling with flute notes, just as Kṛṣṇa summons them. Another followed her and played by singing or similar acts. The other gopīs should be understood to have entered the mood of cowherd boys. Footnote 73 records Śrīdhara's variant “imitating her.” (18)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.19

“Another placed her arm upon a companion and walked, saying with certainty, ‘I am Kṛṣṇa. Behold my graceful gait!’ Her mind was fixed on Him.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The particle nanu gives certainty: she emphatically declared it, so one should not doubt her statement “I am Kṛṣṇa.”

Or she said, “Cowherd boys and girls, look at my charming gait, my action or manner of walking.” “Her mind fixed on Him” means that her heart desired only what pleased Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This removes any fault in saying “I am Kṛṣṇa.”

Another wordplay yields: “I am Kṛṣṇa, complete in every quality, form, and excellence. Therefore behold the gopī named Lalitā who is My shelter.” The unfinished remainder is, “Ah, do you remember that He once said this?” As before, one should understand that Kṛṣṇa had said it earlier under the influence of some particular emotion. Why did she leave the sentence incomplete? Her mind had been stolen by Kṛṣṇa. Or the phrase simply confirms, as before, the perfection of her imitation. (19)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.20

“‘Do not fear the wind and rain. I have arranged your protection.’ Saying this, one gopī strained to hold her upper garment aloft with one hand.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

She spoke of wind and rain because imitation made them vividly present through speech alone. Or absorption in that particular pastime made wind and rain appear directly before her. The same applies later to “See the forest fire” in verse 22. Her “straining” suggests that anguish in separation had weakened her strength. She lifted the cloth, or held it firmly high above like Śrī Govardhana. (20)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.21

“O king, one gopī climbed upon another, pressed her foot upon her head, and said, ‘Wicked serpent, go away! I have appeared as the certain punisher of the vicious.’”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The particle nanu conveys certainty or direct address. If the text reads “O king,” Śuka addresses Parīkṣit in wonder. “Wicked serpent! Kāliya, leave this place, or I shall punish you.” She then declares, “I have appeared,” adding nanu to make the certainty emphatic.

Footnote 74 records the variant “climbing upon one gopī.” Footnote 75 records the variant particle nanv, adopted by Sanātana himself. (21)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.22

“Then another cried, ‘Cowherds, behold the terrible forest fire! Quickly close your eyes. I shall easily secure your safety.’”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The expression “and then” connects this to their imitation of subduing Kāliya. The phrase about closing their eyes likewise refers to what occurred there. One should understand that they imitated both occasions when Kṛṣṇa saved the cowherds from fire, including the fire in the Muñja forest. Or “among them” refers simply to the gopīs, after which she imitated the Muñja-forest event. The variant reading is self-explanatory. “Easily” means without effort. (22)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.23

“One slender, beautiful-eyed gopī was bound to a mortar with a garland by another. Feigning fear, she covered her face and enacted the semblance of terror.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Sanātana now describes imitation dominated by mental expression. The gopī was bound by “another,” someone different from the preceding women, an elderly messenger who arrived later and followed the mood of Kṛṣṇa's mother.

Or “another” means a garland utterly unlike anything worldly and supremely soft, for Kṛṣṇa too had earlier been bound by His mother with exquisitely tender ropes used for calves and cows.

Or she was first bound by one garland and then by another. As before, many bindings were required, and in conformity with the gopīs' absorption those garlands truly acquired the power to bind. (23)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.24

“While questioning Vṛndāvana's creepers and trees about Kṛṣṇa in this way, the gopīs saw the footprints of the Supreme Self in a region of the forest.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“In this way” means through the forms of questioning just described, or while repeatedly imitating those respective pastimes in the stated manner.

They saw the footprints because Kṛṣṇa attracts the heart. Casting their eyes upon the ground again, they now perceived them distinctly. When they earlier spoke of the earth's festival of contact with Keśava's feet (Bhāgavata 10.30.10), they possessed only a supposition. Now they actually saw the marks.

If they had seen them directly before, bewilderment in separation prevented recognition and made the seen as if unseen; therefore they did not follow them. Now complete absorption in imitation somewhat pacified their anguish, and through deliberate reasoning they recognized the marks. The prefix in the verb suggests this distinct recognition. He is “the Supreme Self,” their supremely beloved one, and the characteristic signs upon His feet enabled them to see the marks even at night. The earlier commentators explain the rest.

Alternatively, as twilight passed and the autumn full moon spread its light, the footprints became plainly visible even from a distance. Or “in this way” merely resumes the narrative, meaning that they saw them in the very midst of questioning. (24)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.25

“‘These are certainly the footprints of magnanimous Nanda's son. They are distinguished by the flag, lotus, thunderbolt, elephant goad, barleycorn, and other marks.’”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs then spoke to one another. The footprints and their signs are unmistakable: they can belong only to Nanda's son, no one else, because they are distinguished by the flag and the other emblems. “Magnanimous” supplies the reason: He is a great person. “And others” includes the discus, conch, and further signs.

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa gives additional detail:

Language: Sanskrit

“One cowherd woman, the finest of gopīs, looked upon the ground and spoke, every limb bristling and her lotus eyes wide open: ‘Friend, behold these footprints of Kṛṣṇa, whose playful gait adorns the earth, marked by lines forming a flag, thunderbolt, elephant goad, and lotus.’” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.13.31-32)

The Skanda Purāṇa explains the purpose of these emblems:

Language: Sanskrit

“At the base of His right great toe the unborn Lord bears a discus, fiercely cutting through worldly existence for those who bow to Him. At the base of the middle toe Acyuta bears an exceedingly beautiful lotus, enticing the bee-like minds of meditators. Below the lotus He bears a flag, the banner of victory over every misfortune. At the base of the little toe is the thunderbolt that splits the mountain of a devotee's sins. At the center of the heel is an elephant goad that subdues the elephant of a devotee's mind. Upon the joint of the great toe He bears a barleycorn filled with the wealth of enjoyment. At the base of the great toe of the left foot Bhagavān bears a conch with its mouth turned inward, illuminating all knowledge. The lotus and other marks appear there as upon the right foot.” (25)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.26

“Following His path by those various footprints, the powerless gopīs went forward. Seeing them closely joined with the footprints of a young woman, they spoke in distress.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Those various” means the marks distinguished by the flag and other signs. Repetition expresses either their abundance or that they belonged to Him alone. Though weakened by separation and searching, the gopīs continued seeking Kṛṣṇa's path ahead. Or “ahead” belongs with “seeing.”

The “young woman” is a particular gopī. Or she is called a bride because her natural modesty makes her contracted on every side like a daughter-in-law. Or she is a bride through a special desire of Śrī Yaśodā. Sanātana has already explained why Śrī Rādhā, famous in Gokula as the intended bride when that wish once escaped Yaśodā's lips, is not named directly.

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa identifies the word:

Language: Sanskrit

“Some blessed, languid woman has gone with Him. These fortunate, delicate footprints are hers.” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.13.32) (26)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.27

“Whose footprints are these, belonging to one who went with Nanda's son while resting her forearm upon His shoulder, like a female elephant walking beside the bull elephant?”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

This verse through the verse ending in “certainly” explains the matter. The unspoken question is, “Whose are these footprints of the woman who went with Nanda's son? Identify her.”

Bhagavān's placing her forearm upon His own shoulder is an exceptional expression of rasa. Or He supported her so she could walk comfortably when stumbling at night, or so He could forcibly carry her far away. This indicates His greater love for her.

They describe that woman through the comparison with a female elephant, for she and Kṛṣṇa too walked in this manner out of the intoxication of desire and love. (27)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.28

“Surely this one has perfectly worshiped Bhagavān Hari, the Lord. Therefore Govinda, pleased with her, abandoned us and led her into a secluded place.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Afterward they recognize the footprints as those of Śrī Rādhā Devī. Reassured, they joyfully praise her fortune through an etymology of her name. “Surely” may express inference or certainty.

Hari removes every sorrow; Bhagavān is Śrī Nārāyaṇa; the Lord is able to fulfill a devotee's desire and is absolutely independent. “She alone has worshiped Him,” bringing the worshiped Lord under her control, whereas they have not. Otherwise their present anguish of separation could not exist. Her name Śrī Rādhā is thereby shown to mean “she who satisfies and perfectly worships.”

Govinda is equally hers and theirs because He is lord of Gokula, yet He specifically abandoned them, leaving them far away in the forest at night, and led her to a secret place inaccessible to them.

Alternatively, Govinda Himself was worshiped by her. To reveal her supreme fortune, Sanātana qualifies Govinda: He is Bhagavān, intent upon displaying the fullness of His majesty; Hari, who removes all anguish or steals every mind through His form and qualities; and the Lord, the life-master of the people of Vraja. She alone directly experienced Him in this way. The rest is the same. (28)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.29

“Friends, ah, blessed are these particles of dust from Govinda's lotus feet, which Brahmā, Śiva, and the goddess Ramā place upon their heads to remove sin.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“These” means the particles before them, and “friends” is direct address. Brahmā, Śiva, and Ramā are listed without a conjunction so that each may be understood as principal, fostering special devotion and unanimity among the gopīs. Nevertheless, their excellence increases successively.

The gopīs always see Brahmā, Śiva, and the others walking behind Kṛṣṇa and collecting the dust of His lotus feet. They therefore describe what they have directly seen, not an abstract assertion of His majesty. (29)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.30

“Her footprints greatly agitate us, for she alone stole away what belongs to all the gopīs and now privately enjoys the nectar of Acyuta's lips.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

These are the words of Śrī Candrāvalī's companions. “Greatly agitate” means that the footprints increase their disturbance or destroy the composure they displayed in the preceding verse. Or the prints stand higher from pride, as though placed above their heads.

She “stole” because she enjoys Him alone in secret, or because she carried Him off like a thief and only for that reason did He abandon them and come here. Otherwise, how could He have left?

“What belongs to the gopīs” means the common treasure of them all. Earlier commentators accept the variant “wealth” and gloss it as “everything they possess”; otherwise they would simply have explained “the object enjoyed by the gopīs.” Footnote 79 notes in English that the only person the editor has seen with this interpretation is the Rasikāhlādinī commentator, not Śrīdhara, and tentatively wonders whether it may be another commentator, perhaps Citsukha.

“Acyuta's lip” implies that He will not abandon her and go elsewhere. Or because she remains inseparable from Him, her enjoyment will continue for a long time. A pun makes His lip something that has fallen from their mouths: she enjoys what is left over from them.

On the reading in which the dust and the friends are all called blessed, “high” may become a sarcastic question: because these footprints have stepped beyond us, are they lofty enough to agitate us? Certainly not. This can be understood as the statement of all the gopīs. Footnote 77 records the variant “wealth.” (30)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.31

“Her footprints are no longer visible here. Surely the beloved lifted His dearest beloved because the soles of her tender feet were pained by shoots of grass.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Earlier commentators explain “lifted” as placing her upon His shoulder, in accord with the later words “Climb upon My shoulder” (Bhāgavata 10.30.39). Calling her His “dearest beloved” and Him “the beloved” is a spiteful utterance. On the final interpretation it instead reveals their mutual dearness and that His love for her surpasses His love for everyone else. His lifting her is therefore entirely fitting.

Or “lifted and carried” means that He raised her with both hands and bore her in His lap. Only then could the embraces and other flavors that perfectly establish her position as dearest beloved arise. (31)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.32

“Gopīs, look at these footprints of passionate Kṛṣṇa, sunk more deeply because He was burdened while carrying the young woman.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs explain the sign. By addressing the others as “gopīs,” the discerning speakers imply, “Women as clever as you must surely recognize this.”

Calling Kṛṣṇa “passionate” is a jealous utterance; otherwise His carrying her would be impossible. In truth it indicates that His desire makes Him especially dependent upon her. On the final understanding it reveals His attachment to her. This verse is absent from many manuscripts.

Footnote 80 records the Toṣaṇī author's observation that this verse does not appear in many books. (32)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.33

“Here the magnanimous Lord set His beloved down to gather flowers. Here the lover plucked blossoms for His beloved. Look: these footprints are incomplete because He stood upon the fronts of His feet.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Seeing her footprints farther ahead, the gopīs speak. “Magnanimous” means the crown jewel of the refined. A jealous pun instead makes Him one whose self, His intelligence, is “great,” massive and dull like a mountain. This half-verse is found only in some manuscripts.

Footnote 81 says that this verse and a half is absent from some witnesses and therefore was left unnumbered by the Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī author. (33)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.34

“Here the lover certainly sat down and arranged the passionate woman's hair, placing those flowers in His beloved's coiffure.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Arranging the hair” means dressing and refining it, either with His own fingers or with a comb He had placed upon His head for this purpose. The word “but” begins a distinct observation. If the text reads “indeed,” it conveys certainty. Calling them “the passionate woman” and “the lover” reveals the purpose of arranging her hair: pleasure in amorous play. Or “lover” has the same jealous force as in the previous verse. “Certainly” expresses their confidence because the direct signs of His action are manifest. Footnote 82 records the variant “as a crest.” (34)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.35

“Though unbroken and self-delighting, He took pleasure with her, revealing the wretchedness of lustful men and the hard-heartedness of women.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The phrase can mean that Kṛṣṇa delights in Himself, by Himself alone, or that by His very nature He is satisfied. If the variant contains “and,” it coordinates this with “He took pleasure”: although He is satisfied in Himself, He nevertheless delighted with her. As explained before, this means that His self-satisfied condition did not remain operative at that moment. Its repetition strengthens the point. He was satisfied by her alone, delighted with her alone, and came under the control of her amorous gestures. Conquered by prema, He offered her His entire self and everything He possessed.

For the supreme lover of devotees, who is ruled by the prema of His beloved people, this is not a fault. It is instead the great virtue in which the essence of His divinity becomes manifest. Sanātana has explained this repeatedly and elaborated it in Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta.

Alternatively, “His own selves” are friends equal to Him, or the beloved gopīs who are dearer than His own self. Though attached to them, He remained undivided and complete while delighting with her wholly through body, mind, and speech. The rest is the same.

Nor did He benefit only His own beloved. He instructed others that men should not become enslaved by desire or controlled by women. Just as Bhagavān teaches men through His conduct, His beloved teaches women by displaying what the verse calls “hard-heartedness.”

In truth, neither her conduct nor her pride arose from a wicked heart. They were solely an exchange between two supremely refined lovers that increased their mutual prema, and such pride is entirely appropriate for a heroine who controls her beloved. Yet teachers devoted to rule-centered worship call the pride and its resulting words improper when directed toward the Lord. Any apparent fault is removed because the two act to instruct the world.

Another reading says that He displayed the wretchedness of Indra and other passionate males, who lack the joy of such development because of envy, and the poor understanding of women who worship contemptible husbands other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Or He instructed lustful men about wretchedness and women about hard-heartedness.

The intended principle is that if lovers possess skill in amorous play, men desiring union should not be pitiable but should accept such complete subordination to their beloveds. Women in turn should set aside modesty during love play, bring the man under control, and boldly enact gestures of independence. The speech and conduct about to be described illustrate this, or this may be the intent of the conduct already mentioned.

Alternatively, the verse directly describes their manner of love. Through extraordinary skill they enacted the varied bonds taught in erotic arts: the woman's feet resting upon the man's shoulders, biting his lower lip, grasping his hair upon her breast, reversing their roles, and similar acts. “Wretchedness” and “hard-heartedness” are terms used only from the viewpoint of sages fixed in knowledge and related disciplines. In reality they are poetic turns of phrase arising from their distinctive rasa.

A final grammatical reading takes “delighting in self” as a locative construction. He showed lustful men that delight directed only to oneself is wretched suffering because it prevents the enjoyment of love, and showed women that it is hard-hearted because it prevents service to one's beloved. He therefore disregarded self-delight and personally delighted with her. Sanātana declines to expand the alternatives further.

Such statements are entirely appropriate for the goddesses of Vraja, because even while knowing Bhagavān's true nature they never deviate from their own intimate mood, which consists wholly of exceptional rasa. Footnote 84 records the Rasikāhlādinī reading “and delighting in Himself.” (35)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.36

“Speaking and pointing out these things in this way, the gopīs wandered distractedly through the forest. Kṛṣṇa had abandoned the other women and led one gopī away.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“In this way” means by the process just described. As they successively pointed out the signs of the lovers' mutual play, each statement should be understood according to its respective meaning. Afflicted by separation, they spoke and demonstrated all these things; therefore they were “distracted,” their discrimination destroyed. Ruled by love for Him alone, they wandered here and there. Or they were entirely controlled by separation. (36)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.37

“She considered herself the foremost of all women: ‘Abandoning every gopī who desired Him, this beloved of mine serves me alone.’”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Some explain that the expression “then she thought” means she had not possessed such pride earlier while among the gopīs, but that it arose only now. In truth it means that the thought arose while she was experiencing that particular love. Or “herself” means her self whom He had delighted in that way.

The reason she considered herself foremost among all the women of Vraja was that He abandoned every gopī there, all of whom desired Him. “This one” means Kṛṣṇa of indescribable and astonishing greatness, supremely independent and exceedingly difficult to attain. Yet as “my beloved,” He directs His love to me alone. Or though beloved by everyone, He serves and lovingly follows me alone.

The pride of this supremely discerning heroine who controls her beloved is appropriate and nourishes their rasa. Kṛṣṇa will therefore soon grant a response precisely suited to it. (37)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.38

“Then, going farther into a region of the forest and swelling with pride, she told Keśava, ‘I cannot walk. Carry me wherever You wish.’”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Then” means after her pride arose, or after leaving either that place of pride or the place of love. Going forward with Him through various forest regions, she became proud.

Or, confident that He must certainly follow her, she went ahead by herself and addressed even Keśava, the Supreme Lord. The name may instead mean the killer of Keśī, devoted to benefiting Vraja, or it may indicate that His beauty had enchanted her according to the previously explained derivation.

Thus she spoke: “I cannot walk,” meaning she was exhausted by love. Modesty prevented her from saying so directly. Or her pride itself made her speak in this way. If Kṛṣṇa says, “Innocent girl, we must travel farther to another lovely place beyond the others,” she answers, “Carry me.” As before, He should place her upon His lap or otherwise bear her wherever He desires. (38)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.39

“Addressed in this way, He told His beloved, ‘Climb upon My shoulder.’ Then Kṛṣṇa disappeared, and the young woman lamented.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

He said, “Climb upon My shoulder, My own limb.” Because the verse calls her His beloved, He spoke this playfully.

Or skandha may mean His body, chest, waist, or a group. The Viśva lexicon gives trunk, body, root of the arm, and group among its meanings. “Climb” can therefore mean, “Rise to the elevated ground by the Yamunā's current,” since the gopīs were then standing there. Or it may allude to the elevation created by their pride.

“Then” means afterward, from that place, or away from her. The conjunction can begin a new movement or coordinate His disappearance with what precedes. Its purpose has already been explained. The name Kṛṣṇa, the concentrated form of supreme bliss, indicates that He disappeared only to create exceptional bliss. For this very reason the verse calls her His beloved.

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa gives additional detail:

Language: Sanskrit

“Behold: Nanda's son abandoned the woman made proud by the honor of His binding flowers in her hair and went away by this path. Another, unable to follow quickly because her heavy hips slowed her, hurries where she must go, standing upon the fronts of her feet. Friend, He proceeds while she rests the tips of her hands upon Him; the sequence of her uncontrolled footsteps can be seen. By the mere touch of His hand that rogue dishonored her. Her footprints turn back slowly in despair. Surely Kṛṣṇa told her, ‘Hurry; I shall return to you,’ for this line of footprints hastens onward.” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.13.35-39)

That proud woman, whose life rested solely upon seeing Him, burned in anguish and lamented repeatedly. (39)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.40

“Alas, my lord! My lover! Dearest one! Where are You? Where are You, mighty-armed one? O friend, reveal Your presence to me, Your wretched maidservant.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Alas” expresses grief or can accompany each anguished address. “Lord” means master of her life; “lover” means husband or giver of erotic delight; “dearest” means supremely beloved; and “mighty-armed” means giver of a firm embrace. Each successive address supplies the reason for the one before it.

Alternatively: “O Lord, my master! More than that, O lover, giver of happiness and performer of varied play! Therefore, by Your very nature, O dearest one, dearer even than my own self! For You are mighty-armed, the supremely enchanting concentrated form of eternity, consciousness, and bliss.” Or it means “supreme enjoyer,” indicating the constant abundance of love's happiness.

Or He is “Lord” as king of Vraja, “lover” because He fulfills the purpose of a husband, “dearest” because He is a paramour, and “mighty-armed” through His supreme beauty. Overwhelmed and repeatedly crying “Where are You?” she falls to the earth, remembering and desiring His embrace: “O mighty-armed one!”

She asks Him not to remain far away and merely call, “I am here.” “Reveal Your presence to me” means “be present directly before me.” Why should He? Because she is His maidservant, and moreover destitute. If she reaches her final condition He will later grieve, so she calls Him “friend,” supremely beloved.

Or “friend” means the utterly trustworthy one: when revealing His presence He must not deceive her again as before.

Kṛṣṇa may answer, “Dearest, I did not go anywhere after leaving you. I remain right beside you.” She replies, “In my bewilderment I cannot see You. As my friend, reveal Yourself.” The rest is the same.

Although the broken mind of separation does not require logical coherence in lament, and incoherence itself becomes an excellence, every stray word spoken by such a lover serves all meanings. Sanātana therefore writes a little according to his capacity. The same applies below.

She should then be understood to have fainted and fallen to the ground, for the next verse calls her bewildered. Or this follows from His invitation that she climb His shoulder.

Another possibility is that the bewilderment of prema-vaicittya prevented her from seeing Kṛṣṇa even while He stood before her. The text says He disappeared, but in truth, for sport, He may have remained silently there. Her remorse then arose from the prema-vaicittya that experiences separation in presence. When Kṛṣṇa saw the other gopīs approaching, however, He should be understood actually to have become invisible.

Footnote 86 records the variant “power” for “devotion” in Sanātana's statement about writing according to capacity. (40)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.41

“Searching along Bhagavān's path, the gopīs saw not far away their friend, bewildered and suffering from separation from her beloved.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

One reading says they saw her even from very far away because of her exceptional radiance. Or they were searching from afar, having gone a considerable distance ahead. By joining a negative prefix, however, the verse says they saw her nearby. Their own overwhelming distraction had prevented them from hearing her anguished cries even at close range.

She suffered from separation from her beloved, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and afterward became unconscious. Dust clung to her from rolling upon the ground; thorns wounded her and blood covered her limbs; abundant tears and lamentation marked her face and breasts. These signs and such bewilderment could have no cause other than separation from Him.

Calling her “bewildered” reveals that her love surpassed that of all the others. Their own separation made them imitate His pastimes, while her bewilderment resembled the final extremity of life.

Seeing their friend reunited with them in such a state, all the gopīs surrounded her and wept. Friendship made their suffering equal to hers, and especially doubled their own pain. All their former rivalry and related feelings therefore vanished spontaneously and went far away.

Afterward, through great effort, they slowly restored her consciousness and, with wonderful cleverness, brought her slightly back to herself. Then they should be understood to have asked what had happened. (41)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.42

“Hearing her account of the honor she had received from Mādhava and of the dishonor caused by her own misconduct, the gopīs were filled with supreme astonishment.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The implied sense is that they heard everything she related. Or, fearing that her sorrow would rise again, they did not question her; yet when her friends gathered, she spontaneously described what had happened in the form of a lament. These may be understood as separate sentences or as one.

The two conjunctions in “hearing both the honor she received and the dishonor” indicate that each was equally prominent. Kṛṣṇa had delighted with her in so many ways, yet suddenly disappeared at the very occasion of rasa. And this honor came from Mādhava, even the beloved of Lakṣmī. Or Mādhava means He who always plays in honey-like, sweet rasa.

She thereby understood: “Some other woman, not I, is more qualified than I to receive such honor. Even I received it solely through the greatness of His compassion, not through any qualities of my own.” Thus one should speak and think of every blessing as arising from Śrī Bhagavān's compassion and other virtues, and every misfortune as arising from one's own fault. Her conduct should be understood as instruction even for saintly people.

Alternatively, durātmya can be analyzed as the state of one whose self, or whose very Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is far from Kṛṣṇa. The dishonor then arose because she had gone far from Him. Their “supreme astonishment” came from witnessing such extraordinary favor and restraint in immediate succession. (42)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.43

“Then the women entered the forest as far as the moonlight could be discerned. Seeing that the path had entered darkness, they turned back from there.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Even so, in the agitation of supreme prema they joined that gopī and searched once more. “As far as the moonlight could be discerned throughout the forest,” they entered the woods and searched for Him. When they saw that His path had entered darkness because the forest was exceedingly dense, they turned back from that part of the woods.

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa likewise says:

Language: Sanskrit

“Kṛṣṇa has entered the dense forest, and His footprint cannot be seen here. Turn back; this place lies beyond the reach of the moon's rays.” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.13.43)

Footnote 87 records that some manuscripts read “Hari's” in place of “the women.” (43)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.44

“Their minds fixed upon Him, their speech about Him, their actions imitating His, and their very selves absorbed in Him, they sang only of His virtues and did not remember themselves or their homes.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

How could one suggest that they might go to their homes? They did not even remember them. “Their own homes” can mean residences filled with varied pleasures belonging to them. It can also mean homes to which habit might have led them for household duties. Alternatively, “self and houses” names the body or indwelling knower together with the dwelling, or the body as a dwelling. Thus the verse includes the enjoyer, the means of enjoyment, and the objects enjoyed.

The three expressions beginning with “their minds fixed upon Him” explain why they forgot these things: mind, speech, and body were completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. Their minds dwelt upon Him by remembering His qualities and by forming varied intentions concerning Him. Their speech dwelt upon Him as they spoke with one another about Him and at times called to Him. Their bodies dwelt upon Him by imitating His actions as before, falling prostrate to offer obeisance, stringing flower garlands for Him, spreading a bed for Him, and performing similar acts. Thus “their very selves were of Him”: they were wholly filled with Him. Or they had offered their selves to Him in precisely this manner.

They therefore sang only His virtues, not faults such as cruelty even though He had abandoned them. They sang because Śrī Bhagavān loves song. He Himself has said:

Language: Sanskrit

“I do not dwell in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the hearts of yogīs. O Nārada, I remain wherever My devotees sing.”

Song is thereby declared supreme in every respect because it brings Śrī Bhagavān under one's control.

Alternatively, at that moment they lacked deliberate awareness of Him and acted solely from the intrinsic force of overwhelming separation. Even then, because singing is stated last and the participial construction gives it prominence in recollection, its excellence remains established. Since speaking and singing cannot occur simultaneously, one should understand that they sometimes spoke and sometimes sang. Or some of them spoke while others sang.

Another interpretation takes the four expressions beginning with “their minds fixed upon Him” as their eternal nature. Now, afflicted by separation, they therefore sang. As before, “their very selves were of Him” may avert the final extremity of separation. Or the verse describes them precisely to avert that condition, either because their nature intensified the pain of separation or because absorption in Him sustained them.

Their minds were like His mind, free from fear and similar limitations. Their speech resembled His speech, filled with grave yet sweet sounds, meanings, graceful turns, humor, and more. Their actions resembled His actions, including wonderful embraces and other gestures. Their very forms resembled His body, enchanting through imitations of His threefold-bending posture. Even so, the statement that they sang only His qualities describes their own nature. It also indicates that through every such act their longing to attain Him only increased and never subsided. The rest is as explained before. (44)

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.30.45

“Returning to the bank of the Yamunā, their awareness filled with Kṛṣṇa, they gathered and sang of Kṛṣṇa, longing for His return.”

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

They returned to the riverbank thinking, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa abandoned us there; surely, out of compassion, He may have returned to that very place to console us.” Or, unable to see Him, they desired at least to behold the place where He had played with them.

Therefore the verse calls them “filled with awareness of Kṛṣṇa.” They contemplated Kṛṣṇa as the one who attracts the heart or grants supreme bliss. They imagined that He had gone there, or remembered the play He had performed there.

They “gathered” and sang loudly so that Śrī Kṛṣṇa might hear. Or they came together because separation itself follows the maxim that suffering shared among five is no suffering. They sang “Kṛṣṇa,” the concentrated form of supreme bliss; the implication is that only by singing of Him did their lives not depart.

His coming alone was the object of their longing. No other desire arose in them in any way, and their longing for His arrival did not cease. In their extreme pain of separation, however, “arrival” means that they desired merely to see Him, nothing more. Footnote 89 records the variant “those who longed.” (45)