Rasa-pancadhyayi II - The Search for Krsna

Bhāgavata 10.30.1

Śrī Śuka said: When Bhagavān suddenly disappeared, the women of Vraja, no longer seeing Him, burned in anguish like she-elephants separated from the leader of their herd.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

As Śrī Bādarāyaṇi spoke of Kṛṣṇa's disappearance, a flood of anguish arose even in him. His narration broke off, and the chapter therefore ends in the middle of the event. The honorific in “Śrī Śuka said” reflects how grief over the Lord's disappearance made his sweet speech faint and indistinct like a parrot's. The same should be understood in what follows. Regaining composure after a moment, he speaks almost as if lamenting.

The Lord “suddenly disappeared” because the gopīs could not reason out either the manner or cause of His disappearance. The lexicon defines “suddenly” as “unexpectedly,” and this surprise further intensified their pain. Calling them “the women of Vraja” conveys both the fitness and greatness of their anguish in separation, for He alone was their beloved. The image of she-elephants separated from the intoxicated leader of their herd reflects the saying that elephants are expert in love. It also shows that He alone was the support of their affection and that losing Him made their suffering extreme.

Bhāgavata 10.30.2

Their minds carried away by the Lord of Ramā's gait, affection, smiles, playful glances, charming speech, amorous pastimes, and graceful gestures, the impassioned women became absorbed in Him and assumed His many characteristic actions.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

This verse begins an extended description, lasting more than two chapters, of the anguish just mentioned. “Gait” is general. “Affection” is the lover-suited emotion directed toward them, while smiles and playfully expressive glances accompany it. Here vibhrama denotes the sweet movements of His brows and other features. “Pastime” means an amorous action, while the later vibhrama is a distinct state of erotic emotion, defined as instability of the mind arising from love.

Thus affection and mental instability belong to the mind; gait, smile, expressive glance, and amorous pastime belong to the body; and charming speech belongs to the voice. The list also implies His other emotions and gestures. Gait is mentioned separately because it is general. Smiles and glances arise with the very beginning of affection and are grouped with it, while speech and pastime emerge with vibhrama and are grouped accordingly. These are the former acts described in verses beginning “surrounded by the assembled gopīs” (10.29.43), by which their minds had been seized.

Becoming one in spirit with Him and wholly pervaded by Him, the impassioned women assumed all His varied actions, including those described with “extending His arms” (10.29.46). The word pramadā suggests women by nature endowed with heightened ecstasy, even before considering the extraordinary love they possessed. “Lord of Ramā” marks Him as ruler of the potency who presides over every wealth of form, virtue, sweetness, and majesty, revealing His unsurpassed excellence. Alternatively, Ramā is Śrī Rādhā, as before, foreshadowing His companionship with Her in the coming narrative.

Bhāgavata 10.30.3

Their bodies taking on the form of their beloved in His gait, smile, glance, speech, and other acts, those beloved women, wholly absorbed in Him and bewildered by Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, displayed His manner of play and declared to one another, “I am He!”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

This verse makes their identification with Him explicit. “Other acts” includes the amorous pastimes and graceful gestures already named, so their earlier qualifications need not be repeated. Their embodied forms, composed of senses and limbs, grew into likeness with His gait and the other qualities. They thus attained His mood both inwardly and outwardly. Calling them women implies that imitation of a woman's actions would ordinarily suit them, yet each instead told all the others, “I alone am that urbane lover for whom you are longing.”

Their amorous movement resembled Kṛṣṇa's, or Kṛṣṇa's pastimes had thrown them into a state of divine bewilderment. Their absorption in Him arose solely from the fullness of loving play, not from the contemplative practice of identifying oneself with the object of worship. The verse therefore calls them “the beloveds of their beloved”: they naturally loved Him, while He, even as remembered by them, possessed corresponding love for them.

This is the expressive action called līlā. Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi defines it: “Imitation of the beloved through charming dress and actions is called līlā” (11.28). Gīta-govinda similarly speaks of one “whose ornaments and play she had repeatedly observed, and who, absorbed in the thought ‘I am the enemy of Madhu,’ assumed His mood” (5.6).

Bhāgavata 10.30.4

Gathering 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.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

After a long while they recovered outward awareness, only to enter once more the state called divine madness. Their songs celebrated the deeds famous throughout Gokula, beginning with the killing of Pūtanā. As they will later sing, “From poisoned water, the serpent and demon, rain and wind, lightning and fire, the bull and Maya's son, and fear on every side, O best of beings, You have repeatedly protected us” (10.31.3). By singing these deeds they hoped He would again protect them.

They sang loudly so that He might hear their anguish from afar, or so that song might attract Him, who loves music. Their volume may also have arisen simply from the overflowing nature of their pain. They sang of Him alone: although His abandonment had caused supreme misery, still He alone filled their song. Gīta-govinda describes a similar condition:

“She recounts the multitude of His virtues, will not accept even a fancied fault, is filled with delight, and casts blame far away. Though Kṛṣṇa, His longing turning toward other young women, sports without me, still my contrary heart desires Him. What can I do?” (2.10)

They joined together to search every path thoroughly, to ease one another's pain through friendship, or simply because exceptional anguish drew them together. Their singing and searching occurred simultaneously: they wandered while singing and paused at intervals to ask questions.

Bhāgavata 10.30.5

O sacred fig, plakṣa, and banyan trees, have you seen Nanda's son, who stole our minds with His loving, smiling glances and then departed?

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

They address each tree separately and respectfully because every one is dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Why do they ask the trees about Him? “He stole our minds and went away.” Calling it theft suggests that the mind is a jewel. They have come seeking what was lost and ask these saintly trees about the thief.

Their pain makes them refer to Him indirectly as Nanda's son rather than pronounce Kṛṣṇa's name. Jealousy too prevents direct address. Moreover, one should not utter a thief's name, and even a name that merely identifies him would share that prohibition. “Have you perhaps seen Him?” expresses a question. If the trees have seen Him, the gopīs can take heart that He is wandering in that very direction and continue their search.

Bhāgavata 10.30.6

O kurabaka, aśoka, nāga, punnāga, and campaka trees, has Rāma's younger brother passed this way, He whose smile robs proud women of their pride?

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs think, “Those lofty trees must consider us insignificant and will surely tell us nothing.” They therefore question other trees. The kurabaka is red and unfading, while nāga here means the nāgakeśara tree.

They ask, “Did He go this way?” Alternatively, because He disappeared here, they ask whether the trees saw Him earlier. “This way” allows that they might glimpse Him even from afar. Yet He may still be difficult to find, so they hope to discover His footprints nearby and follow them. Many witnesses read “has gone”; commentators who follow that reading supply “this way” in explanation. “Rāma's younger brother” is another indirect designation like “Nanda's son.”

He may ask, “How did I steal the minds of proud women like you?” They answer that His very smile destroys the pride of such women, also implying that He acts without reflection. His deceptive smile had at once stolen the pride that accompanied their māna. That is precisely why they now search for Him. Separation from one so overwhelmingly enchanting makes life impossible even for a moment, and therefore they question the trees.

Bhāgavata 10.30.7

O auspicious Tulasī, beloved of Govinda's feet, have you seen your most beloved infallible Lord wearing you among swarms of bees?

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs reason, “Those trees are mostly masculine. They must side with Śrī Kṛṣṇa and, knowing of our māna, will refuse to tell us out of spite.” They therefore approach Śrī Tulasī, believing that as a woman she will take their side. They have always observed Kṛṣṇa's love for her and infer her exceptional good fortune. Concluding that she is therefore likely to have seen Him, they ask her this question.

Bhāgavata 10.30.8

O mālatī, mallikā, jāti, and yūthikā vines, did you see Mādhava pass this way, awakening your delight with the touch of His hand?

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

They then think, “Tulasī is proud because He honors her and will surely tell us nothing.” Becoming humbler, they question these flowering vines. Because the vines offer their blossoms, they too must serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but they are free from pride. In their agitation the gopīs address each one separately.

Commentators explain an implied “then what?” The continuing interrogative means: “We take it for granted that you saw Him, but did He also touch you?” Alternatively, the gopīs consider a meeting likely because His beautiful hand would have plucked their excellent flowers. Since He has now left them too, the vines share the gopīs' grief and ought to tell them where He went. By hinting at fingernail marks and similar signs upon these flowering maidservants, their words also contain jealous humor.

Bhāgavata 10.30.9

O cūta, priyāla, jackfruit, asana, kovidāra, rose-apple, arka, bilva, bakula, mango, kadamba, nīpa, and all other trees along the Yamunā's bank whose lives exist for the sake of others, please reveal Kṛṣṇa's path to us, who have lost our very selves.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Suspecting that the flowering vines are Kṛṣṇa's maidservants and will not reveal Him, the gopīs question other trees whom they trust as sage-like beings. The cūta is a kind of vine, while āmra is the mango tree. Poets do not ordinarily call the mango a vine, although vine-shaped mangoes can be seen in central regions. According to Viśva-prakāśa, the nīpa is the dust-kadamba, a great blossom rich in pollen. The priyāla is known for its attractive edible seed. The jackfruit bears a thorny fruit; the asana is the yellow sāla; and the kovidāra has paired leaves. In the Vindhya region it is called koyilāva and is a variety of kāñcanāra. Their intense longing is evident because they question even the lowly arka.

The trees may ask, “What benefit do we gain by telling you?” The gopīs answer that their very existence is for the sake of others. Śrīdhara Svāmī reads bhavaka without a long vowel, explaining bhava as birth. The reading bhavika, common in compound analysis, means auspiciousness or prosperity and reaches the same sense. In any case, because the trees dwell beside the Yamunā, a holy place, they must be truthful and compassionate. They should tell the truth rather than deceive the gopīs. The compound can mean trees whose bank lies near the river or trees situated along the Yamunā's bank.

The trees may then say, “Search for Him and catch Him yourselves.” To awaken compassion, the gopīs reveal their distress: “We have lost ourselves.” Separation has destroyed their awareness, leaving them nearly dead and unable to search unaided. Earlier they generally asked whether the plants had seen Him. Receiving no answer, they now speak more cleverly and ask only for the direction of His path.

Bhāgavata 10.30.10

O Earth, what austerity did you perform? You shine with bodily hairs standing erect in festival at the touch of Keśava's feet. Did this ecstasy arise when the expansive Lord strode upon you, or when He embraced you in the form of the Boar?

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Asking for His path makes the gopīs think of footprints, and they lower their eyes to the ground. Because the Earth extends everywhere, they consider it certain that she has seen Him. They interpret her tender shoots of dūrvā grass and other sprouts as hairs standing erect in ecstasy and conclude that this response must have arisen from the festival of contact with Śrī Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. By asking about her austerity, they proclaim His supreme excellence and describe the Earth's still greater good fortune.

Bhāgavata 10.30.11

O wife of the blackbuck, dear friend, did infallible Kṛṣṇa come here with His beloved, expanding the supreme delight of your eyes through the beauty of Their limbs? The fragrance of the jasmine garland worn by the chief of our clan, reddened by the kuṅkuma from His beloved's breasts as He embraced Her body, is carried here upon the breeze.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

A question arises here. It will soon become clear that Bhagavān disappeared after taking one particular gopī with Him. Why did the sage not state this explicitly at once? His intention is as follows. Among Bhagavān's many manifestations, I hold a special insistence upon Śrī Kṛṣṇa as Svayaṃ Bhagavān. Among His many associates, I especially cherish the residents of Vraja. Among them, I cherish the goddesses of Vraja still more. Everyone has understood these successive mysteries. Yet they have not understood that among those goddesses my devotion reaches its utmost degree in Śrī Rādhikā alone. These degrees of my insistence correspond to their degrees of excellence.

My heart hesitates to reveal directly this truth about Her, the supreme secret, yet fears the dishonesty of withholding knowledge and therefore wishes to make it known. I shall reveal it at suitable moments through suggestion, first in the speech of Her friends and, should that fail to convince, even in the words of Her rivals. If absorption ever compels me to speak directly, I still shall not pronounce Her name openly. Indeed, I shall not directly name even the other gopīs, what then to speak of Her.

In every rasa, suggestion rather than plain statement reveals the many flavors. When the context is firmly established and suggestion arises to disclose a particular truth, it becomes extraordinarily wondrous. With this purpose, the sage first reveals the secret through one of Rādhā's friends. When Bhagavān suddenly disappeared with Her, Her companions at first remained uncertain. They accompanied the gopīs searching only for Balarāma's younger brother and shared a measure of their divine madness, yet their own group remained somewhat apart. Absorbed in searching for the divine Couple, their subtle activity escaped the others' notice. Even before seeing the footprints described later, they discovered certain signs and spoke to the doe.

Every word in their single sentence conveys approving delight. Their friendship with the Couple, and their longing to see Them, form the sentence's true purport. “Perhaps” expresses possibility: “This is what we believe.” It may instead introduce a question: “This is what we ask. O friend, did infallible Kṛṣṇa approach you?”

The doe may reply, “He wanders the forest, so why is His coming near creatures like us surprising?” The gopīs answer, “He came with His beloved.” The doe may admit that this is wondrous yet ask why seeing Her beside Him gives greater joy than seeing Him alone. They reply that the varied ecstatic expressions upon the Couple's limbs expanded the supreme delight of the doe's eyes and those of her companions. Such a vision cannot be hidden from Rādhā's intimate companions. They understand the Couple's confidential nature and can know everything merely from the breeze carrying Their fragrance.

The scent comes first from the chief of their clan, then from His beloved, then from His embrace of Her body, then from the kuṅkuma upon Her breasts, and finally from His jasmine garland stained by that kuṅkuma. Speaking in a suggestive, yearning tone, they declare that this very fragrance is clearly arriving there.

Bhāgavata 10.30.12

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

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The doe remains fixed in silent contemplation. The gopīs fear that seeing their anguish in separation has made her rigid with overwhelming sympathy, so they leave her. Seeing trees bowed beneath fruits and flowers, they interpret this as humble affection and question them all.

Here too their approving delight is conveyed through praise. “O trees, does Rāma's younger brother acknowledge your bows with loving glances?” By asking this, they imply that both their affection and His mercy make them worthy recipients of His glance. One might object that He could hardly fail to honor such virtuous witnesses. The gopīs explain that His absorption in sweet play with His beloved prevents Him. As before, their knowledge of His confidential conduct comes merely from fragrance. “Wandering” generally explains His inattention: He is preoccupied with moving from one place of play to another.

The trees may ask, “He always wanders everywhere and sees us. What is special today?” The gopīs answer, “His arm rests upon His beloved's shoulder.” She is supremely tender toward Him, and His gentle arm lies upon Her soft shoulder.

The trees may respond, “If He came precisely to show Her to us, why would He not acknowledge our bows?” He carries a lotus in His right hand and is busy waving it to drive intoxicated bees away from His beloved as they follow the fragrance of Tulasī. How then could He acknowledge them?

The phrase “swarms of bees around the Tulasī” proclaims that the Tulasī of Their playground surpasses every fragrant thing. The Bhāgavata will describe bees “maddened by the honey of divinely fragrant Tulasī” (10.35.10). Blinded by drinking that nectar, they follow Him. Their presence also shows that contact with His beloved's limbs has released a distinctive perfume.

The verse thus continues to praise each detail. Earlier He wore the five-colored Vaijayantī garland (10.29.43). The address to Tulasī in 10.30.7 suggested another garland whose extraordinary excellence was especially relevant there. Verse 10.30.11 then revealed a jasmine garland. The present verse hints at the playful movements that caused those garlands to shift. Every phrase therefore conveys approving praise. The same suggestive method should be followed in interpreting its individual words. Such indirect speech belongs specifically to Rādhā's friends, a conclusion later confirmed from the rival gopīs' opposition in verses beginning “Her footprints disturb us” (10.30.30).

Bhāgavata 10.30.13

Ask these vines! Though they embrace the arms of their husband, the tree, they bear shoots standing high like hairs of ecstasy. Ah, surely Kṛṣṇa touched them with His fingernails.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

From this verse we learn that the signs just described never even entered the attention of the gopīs who will later ask, “Whose footprints are these?” (10.30.27). Since those signs leave no room for doubt, some gopīs may have noticed them faintly, yet, being free from either attachment or hostility toward Rādhā, paid them no heed and expressed only what they themselves desired. To show how their disposition differed from the preceding speakers, the sage suggests their indifference: “Ask these vines.”

The vines embrace the arms of the tree that is their husband, yet the gopīs tell one another to question them. How can they infer that the vines met Kṛṣṇa? “Surely” introduces their reasoning: He must have touched them with His fingernails. How do they infer even that? The vines bear tender shoots raised high like hairs standing on end. “Ah!” expresses wonder at this unprecedented condition: surely they did not stand so before.

Bhāgavata 10.30.14

Speaking such words like madwomen, the gopīs became helpless in their search for Kṛṣṇa. Wholly absorbed in Him, they reenacted His many divine pastimes.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Their words resemble those of madwomen in precisely the manner just described. Anguish in separation made them so helpless in searching for Kṛṣṇa that they could no longer perform even that task. Yet, because their loud singing continued as stated in 10.30.4, they reenacted at intervals the pastimes they sang, beginning with Pūtanā's death.

They did so because they were “wholly absorbed in Him”: their very selves and minds rested in Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and they were intensely attached to Him. Such absorption clearly explains their imitation. Yet they did not lose their own natures and experience absolute identity with Him. Verse 10.30.20 says that one gopī “tried” to raise her garment, and 10.30.19 has another declare, “I am Kṛṣṇa; behold my gait,” using His name to establish Kṛṣṇa's identity in every instance.

Their imitation of Pūtanā and the other demons likewise arose from fear centered on Kṛṣṇa and caused by Him. Their hearts were covered by contemplation of His childhood, but an extraordinary abundance of general affection made them attain Kṛṣṇa's mood, and from that position they experienced His fear. Because He was absent, no maternal mood touched them; they remained in Kṛṣṇa's mood. Thus two mutually incompatible emotions did not improperly combine. All this arose suddenly because divine madness pervaded them at that time, not for any other reason.

Bhāgavata 10.30.15

One gopī, acting as Kṛṣṇa, drank from the breast of another who acted as Pūtanā. Another became an infant, cried, and struck with her foot a companion imitating the cart demon.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Nine verses beginning here elaborate how their absorption in Him produced imitation. A gopī “acting as Pūtanā” behaved like Pūtanā while retaining her own nature; she did not assume Pūtanā's hostile inner emotion. The gopī “acting as Kṛṣṇa,” however, also entered His feeling, as the phrase “possessing the conception of Kṛṣṇa's infancy” in the next verse will show. The same principle applies to the following imitations. “She drank the breast” denotes imitation only, since the physical act itself is not the point. The companion acting as the cart demon supported herself upon hands and feet, face downward, raising her body high like a cart.

Bhāgavata 10.30.16-17

One gopī acted as a demon and carried away another who held the conception of Kṛṣṇa as a child. Another crawled, dragging her feet as her anklets rang. Two became Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, while several acted as cowherd boys. One struck a companion imitating the calf demon, and another struck one acting as the crane demon.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopī who possessed “the conception of Kṛṣṇa as a child” held His very childhood disposition. The one acting as a demon “carried her away,” meaning that, absorbed in the demon's fear of Him, she demonstrated an imitation of seizing the child. The ringing sounds were those of tiny bells. The crawling gopī dragged her feet accompanied or served by their sound, for the gopīs themselves actually wore anklets. She thus charmingly imitated the infant crawling described as “beautiful with the ringing and resounding of bells” (10.8.22).

Bhāgavata 10.30.18

One gopī imitated Kṛṣṇa calling cows that had strayed far away, while another followed her, playing upon a flute. The others praised her, saying, “Well done!”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The preceding verses described imitation alone. They now imitate the varied summer pastimes that preceded the killing of Pralamba. Because Kṛṣṇa's adolescence, the foundation of amorous rasa, manifests in these acts, the next two verses once again describe the expressive action called līlā, imitation of the beloved.

The grammatical form “far-going” is not required to follow the usual inflection because the rule governing the feminine of compounds ending in “coming” is optional. It therefore means cows that had gone far away. “Others” means gopīs who imagined themselves cowherd boys.

Bhāgavata 10.30.19

Another gopī, her mind fixed upon Him, placed her arm upon a companion and walked about, declaring, “I am Kṛṣṇa! Just behold My graceful movement.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Movement” here means His playful dance.

Bhāgavata 10.30.20

“Do not fear the wind and rain. I have arranged your protection.” Speaking thus, one gopī tried to raise the edge of her garment with one hand.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Absorption in the Govardhana pastime caused the wind and rain to appear directly before her inner vision. The same applies when a gopī later says, “Behold the forest fire” in verse 22. Those pastimes were not included among the earlier examples because excessive terror contracts amorous rasa.

Bhāgavata 10.30.21

O King, one gopī climbed upon another after placing her foot upon that companion's head and declared, “Go away, wicked serpent! I have surely appeared as the wielder of punishment against the evil.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

She climbed up after first stepping upon her companion. Nanu either expresses certainty or introduces an address. On the reading “O King,” Śuka addresses Parīkṣit in wonder. “Wicked serpent” is a contemptuous address to Kāliya. “Go” means “leave this place, or I shall punish you,” as her following words explain: “I have appeared as the bearer of punishment against the wicked.” This speech must imitate either the feeling of Kṛṣṇa's actual words during the pastime or their remaining purport.

Bhāgavata 10.30.22

There one gopī said, “O cowherd boys, behold the terrible forest fire! Quickly close your eyes, and I shall easily secure your safety.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The particle “and” links this enactment to the imitation of Kāliya's subduing. Many witnesses read, “There one said, O cowherd boys.” A harsher vocative found elsewhere is not accepted because it lacks sweetness. We learn that during the original pastime Śrī Kṛṣṇa likewise instructed the cowherds to close their eyes. “Behold the fierce forest fire” gives His reason. Its fierceness means that it could rob their eyes of light, a pretext for telling them to close their eyes. The same should be applied to the fire in the muñja forest, which is therefore not described separately.

Grammar would ordinarily produce another form of “cover,” owing to the phonetic change prescribed by Pāṇini 8.2.38. The transmitted apidadhvam is therefore either an archaic usage, a scribal error, or an instance of voicing to the fourth consonant of the class. “Easily” means without effort.

Bhāgavata 10.30.23

There one slender, beautiful-eyed gopī was bound with a flower garland by another to a companion acting as the mortar. Frightened, she covered her face and assumed an imitation of Kṛṣṇa's fear.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Another” is the gopī who merely performed the actions of Vraja's queen Yaśodā. The slender gopī had become thin at once from the anguish of separation and now imitated Kṛṣṇa. “At the mortar” means at a companion acting as the mortar. “Beautiful-eyed” indicates that she enacted fear even with startled glances.

Covering her face with her hands, she assumed the natural fear of a child and imitated Kṛṣṇa's frightened emaciation, trembling, slight crying, words, and other expressions. Similar enactments of His other pastimes should be inferred wherever appropriate.

Bhāgavata 10.30.24

While thus questioning Vṛndāvana's vines and trees about Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs saw in one part of the forest the footprints of the Supreme Self.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Thus questioning” means that they framed their questions through repeatedly singing and reenacting His various pastimes. The wonder is that they saw the actual footprints of the Supreme Self, the original form from whom all beings arise, within the forest of His own play. Sages can only infer with difficulty His padas, words or indications, in the Vedas. The gopīs directly saw His padas, the marks of His feet. Ah, even in this single respect all sages fail to equal them. How much further beyond comparison are their eternal belonging to Him and the other states attained through such exceptional love?

Some commentators arrange the passage beginning with His disappearance (10.30.1) in five stages: first anguish alone, second searching accompanied by song, third imitation of the killing of Pūtanā and other pastimes, fourth renewed searching, and fifth seeing the footprints. In my explanation there are four stages: first anguish alone; second imitation of the actions beginning with extending His arms (10.29.46); third searching accompanied by song, with intermittent imitation of Pūtanā's death and other deeds; and fourth seeing the footprints.

Bhāgavata 10.30.25

These are plainly the footprints of magnanimous Nanda's son, for they are distinguished by the well-known marks of the banner, lotus, thunderbolt, goad, barleycorn, and others.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The gopīs then said to one another, “These footprints are clearly recognized as the footprints of Nanda's son.” How do they know? By the banner and other marks, for those signs upon His feet are famous. He bears them because He is magnanimous, the Supreme Person. “And others” includes the remaining marks.

In a dialogue between Brahmā and Nārada, the Padma Purāṇa says concerning Śrī Kṛṣṇa:

“I have seen sixteen marks upon His feet: eight signs upon the right and seven upon the other. On the right are the banner, lotus, thunderbolt, goad, barleycorn, svastika, upward line, and octagon. O best of Vaiṣṇavas, I shall now tell you the seven upon the other foot: rainbow, triangle, pitcher, crescent moon, sky or dot, fish, and cow's hoofprint. Hear also of the sixteenth mark, O best of divine sages. A sign resembling a rose-apple fruit is seen here or there.”

Krama-dīpikā 3.14 lists “fish, goad, wheel-spoke, conch, banner, barleycorn, lotus, and thunderbolt.” Śrī Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 2.59 says, “His two feet are marked with a conch, banner, and parasol.” The Mathurā-maṇḍala-māhātmya of the Ādi-varāha Purāṇa says:

“Where Kṛṣṇa freely mingled and sported according to His delight, in that spiritual and virtuous place His feet left the mark of the discus.”

Adding the discus, conch, and parasol gives nineteen marks. The Skanda Purāṇa's list of only six, beginning with the discus, applies to Śrī Viṣṇu and other manifestations. The Padma Purāṇa, in the same discussion of Kṛṣṇa's sixteen marks, explains:

“O learned one, whenever all these marks are seen, there is no doubt that the Supreme Brahman named Kṛṣṇa has appeared upon the earth. In an avatāra, O best of Vaiṣṇavas, only two, three, four, or perhaps five may be seen.”

That text also gives their fixed positions:

“Know the banner in the middle, and the lotus at a distance of three finger-widths. The thunderbolt is on the right side, with the goad before it. The barleycorn lies at the base of the big toe, while the svastika may be here or there. Beginning at the first part of the foot and extending to the middle is the upward line known in the Padma. O child, the octagon measures eight finger-widths. The sages say that these are indicated upon the right foot. I shall now describe the places upon the other foot. At a measure of four finger-widths near the toes, know the rainbow, which is nowhere else. The triangle is assigned to the middle; the pitcher may be here or there. At a measure of eight finger-widths is the crescent moon. The dot and fish marks are respectively at the beginning and end. The cow's hoofprint has two clefts and is measured from the first of the first toes.”

The same source further describes the banner as lotus-shaped with a triangular pennant at its end. “At a measure of three fingers” means leaving that distance from the tip of the middle toe, as the later reasoning shows. A Skanda dialogue likewise says that the banner lies below the lotus. “Here or there” means in any of several aesthetically fitting places. The upward line extends from the beginning of the foot, the space between the big and second toes, to its central region.

The octagon's location should be understood by leaving eight finger-widths from the front of the foot, not as an eight-finger-wide figure. Such a mark could not fit if that were its own size, since the Hayagrīva, Matsya, and other traditions establish the foot as fourteen finger-widths long and six wide. The phrase concerning the lotus's three-finger measure is interpreted by the same principle.

Elsewhere the rainbow mark is explained by its freedom from material qualities and by its possession of all such colors. The four-finger measure similarly gives the space left from the toes, for the mark rests below the middle toe. Its longitudinal placement should also be understood according to what produces beauty. “Assigned to the middle” means the triangle lies in the center of the foot, while the crescent lies below the triangle at a distance of eight finger-widths because its two tips partly embrace the triangle.

“Dot” is a synonym for “sky.” This sign consists of outer and inner circles, for the same text describes it as “joined by two lines.” The dot lies above all the signs, the fish below them all, and the two-cleft cow's hoofprint two finger-widths from the first mark, meaning the rainbow and those following it. The banner resembles the whorl of a lotus and has a triangular pennant at its end. Its compound retains the locative ending. That triangle must lie on the right side because the upward line occupies the left. The sixteenth mark may occur on either foot because its position is not fixed. Describing it as resembling a rose-apple specifies its color and shape rather than making it a line drawing. As for the discus and conch, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa says:

“Seeing the ground, one noble cowherd woman spoke, every limb thrilling and the lotuses of her eyes blossoming: ‘Friends, look! These footprints belong to Kṛṣṇa, whose movement is adorned by divine play. They bear lines shaped like the banner, thunderbolt, goad, and lotus.’” (5.13.31-32)

Bhāgavata 10.30.26

Following those many footprints as they searched for His path, the women came farther on and saw them closely mingled with the footprints of a young woman. Afflicted, they spoke.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Those many footprints” are adorned with the banner and other marks. Repetition indicates numerous locations, for stretches covered with dūrvā grass and similar ground interrupted the visible trail. “Farther on” means beyond the point to which Kṛṣṇa had carried Her upon His lap. Though weakened by separation and the search, the women continued tracing Kṛṣṇa's path. The “young woman” is Śrī Rādhā, for the following verses establish Her alone as supremely fortunate.

Bhāgavata 10.30.27

“To what woman do these footprints belong? She went with Nanda's son, resting His forearm upon Her shoulder, like a she-elephant walking beside her bull elephant.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

All the gopīs ask this question. They know that the prints belong to a woman from their small size, their shallow impression, and other features appropriate to a woman's foot. As before, they refer to Kṛṣṇa indirectly as Nanda's son. The implied statement is: “Let us identify whose footprints these are.”

Bhagavān placed His forearm upon Her shoulder as an exchange of special rasa. It also steadied Her as She stumbled at night, helped Her walk comfortably, and enabled Him to lead Her far away with gentle force. This reveals His greater affection for Her. The comparison to an elephant couple expresses the same truth, for a she-elephant and bull walk in that way under the intoxication of desire and affection.

Bhāgavata 10.30.28

“Surely this gopī perfectly worshiped Bhagavān Hari, the sovereign Lord, for Govinda was pleased with Her and, abandoning us, led Her alone to a secluded place.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Rādhā's intimate friends are restrained by the depth of their confidential relation, Her rivals are at first overwhelmed by pain, and neutral gopīs are not deeply invested in either side. Therefore Her well-wishers speak first. “Surely” may express inference or certainty. Hari removes every sorrow; Bhagavān is Śrī Nārāyaṇa; and the sovereign Lord can grant His devotee's desire and remains fully independent.

“She alone worshiped Him”: by worship She brought Him under Her control, while the others did not. The phrase also reveals the derivation of Her name, for She who propitiates and worships is called Rādhā. The evidence is that Govinda distinctly abandoned them, leaving them far behind in the forest at night, and led Her to a secluded place inaccessible to them. Alternatively, while leaving all the gopīs, He took Her alone into privacy.

Bhāgavata 10.30.29

“Ah, friends, blessed are these particles of dust from Govinda's lotus feet. Brahmā, Śiva, and goddess Ramā have placed them upon their heads to dispel sin and sorrow.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The neutral gopīs now speak. “These” identifies the dust before them. They address all the gopīs simultaneously as “friends” because shared pain has nearly united them in one emotion, and because the wonder is so great. The past tense “have placed” communicates certainty. Brahmā, Śiva, and Ramā increase successively in excellence. Ramā is called goddess to emphasize Her superiority still further, while placing the dust upon the head reveals the fullness of their devotion. “Sin” may mean an offense or the sorrow of separation and similar pains.

The dust is blessed because it belongs to Govinda's feet. The genitive ending has been dropped by a Vedic license. Even particles of dust become fortunate by gaining that relationship, while the gopīs, lacking it, feel lower still. Love itself creates this contemplation of the foot-dust's greatness. Love magnifies excellence even where it is absent, what then when excellence is real? A surpassing love therefore produces a surpassing vision of greatness.

In another beloved narrative, Bharata says of the Earth touched by his deer's feet, “Ah, what austerity has this ascetic Earth performed?” (5.8.23), similarly describing her good fortune through the touch of the beloved's footprints.

Bhāgavata 10.30.30

“Her footprints greatly agitate us, for She alone stole Kṛṣṇa away from all the gopīs and now privately enjoys the nectar of infallible Kṛṣṇa's lips.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Rādhā's rivals now speak. “Greatly” intensifies their extreme pain. “Stole away” refers to Her enjoying Him alone in secret. Alternatively, that enchantress took Him by theft, and only for that reason did He abandon them and come here. How else could He have done so? “The gopīs” means all of them generally. Some witnesses read “wealth,” taking Kṛṣṇa as wealth belonging to them alone, but that interpretation overlooks the commentators' explanation that all gopīs are intended. The reading “in secret” is found everywhere. Because He is infallible, He will not abandon Her and go anywhere else, and thus She enjoys His lips.

Bhāgavata 10.30.31

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

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Because Rādhā's rivals speak from jealousy, commentators explain that Kṛṣṇa placed Her upon His shoulder. “Here” means where they see His prints no longer mixed with Hers. Alternatively, Her friends too may speak this verse. In their mouths, “whose tender soles were pained” is affectionate praise, and “His dearest” means She who is the object of His exceptional love. “Lifted” means that He took Her into His arms with both hands and carried Her upon His lap.

Bhāgavata 10.30.32

“Gopīs, look at these more deeply sunken footprints of Kṛṣṇa as He carried the young woman, burdened by Her weight and enslaved by desire.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Her rivals now speak with envy. By addressing the gopīs, they imply, “You consider yourselves clever, so notice this.” Calling Him “a desirous man” means that in their jealous view He is ruled merely by passion and is not a connoisseur of the rasa of love.

Bhāgavata 10.30.33

“Here the magnanimous Lord set His beloved down to gather flowers. Here the loving Kṛṣṇa plucked blossoms for His beloved. Look at these partial footprints, made as He stood upon the fronts of His feet.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Rādhā's friends again speak the first half-verse. “Magnanimous” means the crown of all refined lovers. This verse and a half is absent from some witnesses and therefore sometimes receives no number.

Other friends then say, “Here He gathered flowers.” “The loving Kṛṣṇa” means He who shows exceptional love. The final half-verse gives the evidence for their preceding statement. The implied phrase after “footprints” is “at each flowering tree.” This explains their plurality. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa says:

“Surely Dāmodara stood tall and gathered flowers here, for only the front portions of the magnanimous Lord's feet have pressed the ground.” (5.13.34)

Bhāgavata 10.30.34

“Here the lover arranged the amorous woman's hair. Surely He sat here while adorning His beloved's crown with those flowers.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Seeing a fallen piece of the garland called garbhaka, Rādhā's rivals again speak the first half-verse. “But” marks a new observation; a variant “indeed” expresses certainty. “The amorous woman's hair was dressed by her lover” indicates that He adorned it for the pleasure of amorous play.

Seeing signs that He sat in this way, Her friends speak the second half. They know that He crowned Her with flowers because they have often seen such adornment in their own land.

Bhāgavata 10.30.35

Though self-delighting, complete, and rejoicing in His own Self, He sported with Her, thereby revealing the wretchedness of lust-driven men and the corrupt-heartedness of ordinary women.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Having praised through the gopīs' own speech His play with Her, the sage now praises it directly. Kṛṣṇa rejoices in His own Self. His personal expansions, including the Lakṣmīs of Vaikuṇṭha and the beloveds connected with Vraja, are manifestations of Himself, so He depends upon nothing outside Himself. He is fulfilled by Himself alone. As ātmārāma, He remains absorbed in the bliss of His own essential nature. Yet, though He is so, He ignored every other manifestation and rejoiced with Her. The pronoun “Her” conveys the unique distinction present in the speaker's mind: She is both the supreme abode and supreme object of His love.

On the variant “He sported with Her, and, delighting in His Self,” the phrase ātmārāma would otherwise appear repetitive. “Delighting in Himself” must therefore mean that He is completely fulfilled. “And” confirms that just as the gopīs inferred His play with Her, so He truly did sport. The intended meaning remains the same.

One may object that He is also seen sporting with Lakṣmī and His other beloveds. The verse therefore calls Him “unbroken.” Those other relationships never draw His mind away from Her as an offended heroine is separated in heart from her lover. He is never broken away from Her by Lakṣmī or any other cause. This reveals that Her love has conquered Him. Hers is such love that it controls even one of His nature, while His love for Her is such that it eclipses even His self-delighting completeness.

His splendor thereby defeats lustful men and women who lack such submission to a love centered on so exalted an object. “Lustful men” are those whose desire seeks to gratify a body sustained by food and water that transform into waste. It does not refer to the self-satisfied gopīs, whose forms are eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, nor to those whose spiritual nature itself helps explain His play. Their fitness to shine beside Him will later be declared in the words “the gopīs, their grief dispelled” (10.32.10).

“The corrupt-heartedness of other women” means their vicious delight and pride after gaining control of men subject to such degraded conditions. Śrī Rukmiṇī-devī says:

“A foolish woman who has not smelled the honey of Your lotus feet regards as her beloved a living corpse, covered by skin, beard, hair, nails, and head-hair, and filled within with flesh, bone, blood, worms, excrement, mucus, bile, and air.” (10.60.45)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa's distinction has already been established. The phrase “who has not smelled the honey of Your lotus feet” also indicates that the few women capable of experiencing His unique nature must themselves be equally extraordinary.

Thus “revealing their wretchedness and corrupt-heartedness” is a poetic turn like saying that the moon, marked by its own stain, rises from Ramā's face to display its defeat, or describing a glance that steals the beauty from the center of a fine lotus (10.32.2). The verse spontaneously proclaims the unsurpassed excellence of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. It does not mean that He consciously imitated ordinary lovers, as a mocker might, merely to demonstrate their misery. Such an interpretation would contradict His delight in His own Self. His submission to His devotees' love, however, is accepted in many statements, including “I do not desire even Myself apart from My saintly devotees” (9.4.64).

Bhāgavata 10.30.36

Thus showing one another these signs, the bewildered gopīs wandered onward, following the gopī whom Kṛṣṇa had led away in the forest after abandoning all the other women.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Within such love, māna can assume two states. When only the beloved appears in consciousness, the permanent emotion abounds in joy and similar feelings. When awareness of others somehow arises, that same permanent emotion becomes rich in pride and related feelings. Because Rādhā's intense attachment predominated, Her consciousness remained filled only with Kṛṣṇa for a long time and thus abounded in joy. When some outward awareness now emerged, the other state appeared.

Her reason for considering Herself supreme is that Kṛṣṇa, whose wondrous greatness is indescribable, who is perfectly independent and exceedingly difficult to attain, abandoned every gopī although they all desired Him. Yet this beloved serves and follows Her, loving Her alone. Even when others arose in Her awareness, She thought specifically of the gopīs rather than ordinary women as the earlier speakers had done. This too displays Her exceptional nature.

Bhāgavata 10.30.37

She then considered Herself superior to every woman: “My beloved abandoned all the gopīs who desire Him and now attends upon Me alone.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Some authorities reject the two half-verses beginning with “thus” that appear around this point in certain arrangements. If the first is accepted, Śuka's direct statement “He sported with Her” (10.30.35) becomes awkwardly attributed elsewhere. If the second is accepted, the independent opening “and She” becomes difficult to establish.

Having praised the love of the divine Couple, the narration now describes the loving indignation born within Their play, and Kṛṣṇa's efforts to appease it, all for the nourishment of that love. “She then considered” reveals that while Rādhā remained among the other gopīs this particular intoxication had not arisen; it appeared only now.

In such love, māna has two states. When consciousness contains only the beloved, the permanent emotion abounds in joy and similar feelings. When awareness of others arises and some outward consciousness returns, the other state appears. Her reason for considering Herself supreme is this: Kṛṣṇa, whose wondrous greatness is indescribable, who is absolutely independent and extremely difficult to attain, abandoned all the gopīs although they desired Him. Yet the beloved now serves and follows Her, loving Her alone. Even when others entered Her awareness, She thought of the gopīs rather than ordinary women. This too reveals Her exceptional position.

Bhāgavata 10.30.38

Going still farther with Him into a particular part of the forest, She became proud and said to Keśava, “I cannot walk any farther. Carry Me wherever Your heart desires.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

After considering Herself supreme, She went gradually farther with Him into a special forest region and became proud. She addresses Him as Keśava, He who weaves and arranges Her hair. What did She say because of this intimacy? “I cannot go on.” Her implied pretext is that so much wandering has exhausted Her.

He might respond, “Innocent girl, there is a delightful place farther ahead and still more distant from the others. We should go there.” She therefore says, “Carry Me.” As before, the meaning is: “Take Me upon Your lap and carry Me there Yourself.”

Bhāgavata 10.30.39

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

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

Her speech, filled with feigned weariness and similar gestures, suited a heroine whose lover is completely under Her control. Hearing it, Kṛṣṇa also responded with playful humor by disappearing. The first three quarters of the verse convey this sequence.

Bhāgavata 10.30.40

“Alas, my Lord! My lover, my dearest, where are You? Where are You, mighty-armed one? O friend, reveal Your presence to Me, Your poor maidservant.”

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The verse gives Her lament beginning “Alas, my Lord!” The particle hā expresses grief or forms an anguished address and should be understood with each of Her invocations.

Bhāgavata 10.30.41

Searching along Bhagavān's path, the gopīs saw not far away their companion, anguished and unconscious from separation from her beloved.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

“Not far away” means at no very great distance, for obstacles would have blocked a more distant view. Yet Her extraordinary beauty, surpassing the splendor of the full moon, also made Her visible from afar. She suffered and therefore became bewildered to the point of fainting.

The gopīs now call Her their companion. Sharing Her pain, and especially seeing that She too had been abandoned alone, dissolved their jealousy and united them in one feeling. Her own intimate friends, however, should be understood to have entered an especially intense absorption in love at this moment.

Bhāgavata 10.30.42

Hearing Her account of the extraordinary honor She had received from Mādhava and of the dishonor that followed from Her own supposed fault, the gopīs were filled with supreme wonder.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

The words “hearing what She related” imply that after recognizing Her cries, the gopīs asked further questions. They heard the entire event as She described it: “I did not understand how I became separated from all of you. I recovered awareness of Myself only when I was already far away,” and so forth.

They especially heard that Mādhava, the Lord desired even by Lakṣmī as Her beloved and the master of every wealth of virtue, had granted Her supreme honor, itself the attainment of unparalleled good fortune. They also heard that Her own supposed wickedness in the form of pride had brought the dishonor of abandonment. All three things, Her account, the honor, and the dishonor, caused their supreme wonder.

The word “wickedness” merely repeats Rādhā's own humble language. Its deeper wordplay is different: one whose body or self is far from Śrī Kṛṣṇa is dūrātmā, and the state of such a person is daurātmya. Her “fault” was therefore distant separation from Him. Every feature of His conduct with Her, including disappearing together, was more difficult to comprehend than His conduct with all of them. Such honor had never been seen even among millions like themselves, while dishonoring even Her after granting it seemed utterly impossible. Hence their supreme astonishment.

Bhāgavata 10.30.43

Then the women entered the forest as far as the moonlight remained visible. Perceiving that He had entered the darkness, they turned back from there.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

In utmost agitation, Rādhā leaned upon Her friends and joined them in searching again. They entered and searched the forest for as far as moonlight could be discerned spreading through it. From footprints and other signs they inferred that Śrī Kṛṣṇa had entered the darkness of a very dense thicket, and so they turned back from that forest. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa says:

“Kṛṣṇa has entered the deep forest, and His footprints can no longer be seen here. Turn back, for this place lies beyond the reach of the moon's rays.” (5.13.43)

Bhāgavata 10.30.44

Their minds fixed upon Him, their conversation about Him, their actions directed toward Him, and their very selves absorbed in Him, they sang only His virtues and remembered neither themselves nor their homes.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

After turning back, the gopīs became submerged in supreme grief, fearing that He might suffer in the thicket, as they will later ask, “Are Your feet not pained by stones and sharp grass?” (10.31.19). Their minds remained with Him inside that obstructed place. Their conversation concerned Him alone and consisted of recalling His possible suffering. Their actions also centered on Him: they circled the thicket, hoping by another effort to find a place from which He might emerge. Their very selves, their entire endeavor, rested in Him.

Because His concealment produced these states, they sang only the qualities His act now revealed, such as compassion governed by submission to their love. They did not sing supposed faults such as abandoning them. Through their song they tried to make Him hear. They did not remember even themselves, what then to speak of their homes?

Bhāgavata 10.30.45

Returning to the bank of the Yamunā, their hearts filled with Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs assembled and sang of Him, longing for His return.

Jīva Gosvāmī's Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī

They feared that even there their own presence might obstruct Him, so they abandoned every remaining path of search. They reasoned: “If all of us gather at the very riverbank where He sported, no barrier will impede the sound. Our loud singing, filled with humility, loving reproach, and other feelings, will travel far. Hearing it, Śrī Kṛṣṇa will Himself become compassionate and return quickly.” Absorbed in this conception of Him, they acted accordingly.