Canto Ten - Chapter 29

Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: Bhagavān beheld those autumn nights when the jasmine flowers had opened. Desiring to enjoy loving pastimes, He took shelter of Yogamāyā.

Then the lord of the stars rose, gently painting the eastern horizon's face with crimson rays and dispelling the sorrow of all who saw him, like a long-absent beloved returning to his lover.

Kṛṣṇa saw the moon's unbroken orb, glowing red with fresh vermilion like the face of Ramā, and the forest colored by its tender rays. He began to play a sweet song that captivated the hearts of the lovely-eyed women.

Hearing that music, which intensified love, the women of Vraja, their minds seized by Kṛṣṇa, hurried to where their beloved stood. Their earrings swung with their haste, and each departed without noticing the others.

Some who were milking cows abandoned the milking in their intense eagerness. Others left milk heating upon the stove or left the saṃyāva they were cooking and departed.

Some left while serving food, others while nursing their infants, attending their husbands or eating their own meals.

Some were applying ointments or cleansing themselves, and others were anointing their eyes. Some went to Kṛṣṇa wearing their garments and ornaments in disarray.

Although their husbands, fathers, brothers and relatives tried to restrain them, their very selves had been stolen by Govinda. Enchanted, they did not turn back.

Some gopīs had been confined inside their homes and could find no way out. Closing their eyes, they meditated upon Kṛṣṇa with minds absorbed in His presence.

The unbearable, searing pain of separation from their dearest Kṛṣṇa burned away their inauspicious karma, while the bliss of embracing Acyuta in meditation exhausted the merit that bound them to worldly happiness.

Though they approached Him with the conception of a paramour, He was in truth the Supreme Self alone. Their bonds immediately exhausted, they relinquished bodies formed of the material qualities.

Śrī Parīkṣit said: Sage, the gopīs knew Kṛṣṇa as their supreme beloved, not as Brahman. Since their understanding was still directed toward qualities, how did the flow of the material qualities cease for them?

Śrī Śuka said: I already explained to you how the king of Cedi attained perfection even while hating Hṛṣīkeśa. What need, then, is there to speak of those who loved Adhokṣaja?

O King, the imperishable, immeasurable Bhagavān, who is beyond the material qualities yet the source of all qualities, manifests for the supreme welfare of humanity.

Those who constantly direct desire, anger, fear, affection, a sense of unity or loving friendship toward Hari truly attain complete absorption in Him.

You should not be astonished at this in the case of unborn Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, Lord of the masters of yoga, for contact with Him brings liberation.

Seeing the women of Vraja arrive near Him, Bhagavān, the finest of speakers, bewildered them with charming words.

Śrī Bhagavān said: Welcome, greatly fortunate ladies. What pleasing service may I perform for you? Is all well in Vraja? Please tell Me why you have come.

This night is terrifying and filled with fearsome creatures. Slender-waisted ladies, return to Vraja. Women should not remain here.

Your mothers, fathers, sons, brothers and husbands are searching for you because they cannot find you. Do not cause your relatives such fear.

You have now seen the flowering forest, colored by the full moon's rays and beautified by tender leaves trembling playfully in the Yamunā breeze.

Therefore, chaste ladies, return at once to the cowherd settlement and attend your husbands. Your calves and children are crying; feed the children and milk the cows.

Or perhaps your deep affection for Me has brought your hearts under its control and caused you to come. That is indeed fitting, for all living beings feel affection for Me.

A woman's highest dharma is to serve her husband without deceit, to care for his relatives and to nourish her children properly.

A woman who desires an honorable place in the world should not abandon a husband who is ill-tempered, unfortunate, aged, foolish, sick or poor, provided he is not grievously sinful.

For a respectable woman, adultery obstructs heaven, destroys reputation, offers only trifling pleasure, brings hardship and fear, and is condemned everywhere.

Love for Me arises through hearing, seeing, meditating upon and repeatedly glorifying Me, not to the same degree through physical proximity. Therefore return to your homes.

Śrī Śuka said: Hearing these displeasing words spoken by Govinda, the gopīs became despondent. Their hopes shattered, they fell into unbearable anxiety.

They lowered their sorrowful faces. Their sighs dried their bimba-red lips, and their feet traced lines upon the ground. Their tears, darkened by eye cosmetic, washed the vermilion from their breasts. Bearing an immense burden of pain, they stood silently.

Kṛṣṇa was their dearest beloved, yet He had spoken as though He were not dear. Having renounced every other desire for His sake, the devoted gopīs wiped their tear-filled eyes and replied in voices choked with emotion and loving indignation.

The gopīs said: Almighty Lord, You should not speak so cruelly. We have abandoned every worldly object and come to the shelter of Your feet. O unconquerable one, reciprocate with Your devotees and do not reject us, just as the primeval Lord accepts those who seek liberation.

Dear Kṛṣṇa, as the knower of dharma You have said that a woman's own duty is to serve her husband, children and relatives. Let this teaching apply to You, the Lord who is the proper recipient of every instruction, for You are the dearest beloved, relative and Self of all embodied beings.

Those who understand their true welfare place their love in You, their own Self and eternally dearest beloved. What use have they for husbands, children and others who bring suffering? Supreme Lord, be gracious to us. Lotus-eyed one, do not sever the hope we have cherished in You for so long.

You have easily stolen the minds we once absorbed in our homes and the hands we once engaged in household work. Our feet will not move one step from the shelter of Your feet. How can we return to Vraja, and what would we do there?

Beloved, flood the fire of longing in our hearts, kindled by Your smiles, glances and sweet song, with a stream of nectar from Your lips. Otherwise the fire of separation will consume our bodies, and through meditation we shall attain the path to Your feet, dear friend.

Lotus-eyed one, once we touched the soles of Your feet, a festival for Ramā and the cherished treasure of the forest people. Delighted by You, from that moment we have been utterly unable to stand directly before any other man.

Although Śrī has attained a place upon Your chest, served by Your devotees, she still longs for the dust of Your lotus feet together with Tulasī. Even the other gods strive for her gracious glance. Like her, we have surrendered to the dust of Your feet.

Destroyer of distress, be gracious to us. We left our homes and came to the shelter of Your feet, longing to worship You. Ornament of all men, our hearts burn with intense desire born of Your beautiful smiles and glances. Please grant us service to You.

Seeing Your face framed by curling locks, the splendor of Your earrings upon Your cheeks, the nectar of Your lips, Your smiling glance, Your two arms that grant fearlessness and Your chest, the sole pleasure-garden of Śrī, we have become Your maidservants.

Dear Kṛṣṇa, what woman anywhere in the three worlds would not depart from respectable conduct when enchanted by the long, sweet notes of Your flute and when beholding Your form, the very treasure of beauty in all three worlds? Even cows, birds, trees and deer erupt in signs of ecstasy upon seeing it.

It is clear that, like the primeval Lord who protects the celestial realm, You have taken birth to dispel the fear and suffering of Vraja. Friend of the afflicted, therefore place Your lotus hand upon the burning breasts and bowed heads of Your maidservants.

Śrī Śuka said: Hearing the gopīs' anguished appeal, the Lord of the masters of yoga smiled. Though satisfied entirely within Himself, He compassionately began to delight with them.

Acyuta shone amid the assembled gopīs, whose faces blossomed beneath His loving glance. His actions were noble, and the radiance of His broad smile and jasmine-white teeth made Him resemble the moon surrounded by stars.

As the gopīs sang of Him, He sang in reply. Wearing His Vaijayantī garland and leading hundreds of groups of women, He wandered through the forest and adorned it with His presence.

With the gopīs He entered the Yamunā's riverbank, where the sand was cool and a breeze carrying the fragrance of water lilies joyfully stirred the water.

Extending His arms to embrace them, touching their hands, locks of hair, thighs, waistbands and breasts, playfully grazing them with His fingernails, and exchanging jokes, glances and smiles, He awakened the power of love within the beautiful women of Vraja and delighted them.

Receiving such honor from great-hearted Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, the proud gopīs began to consider themselves superior to every other woman upon the earth.

Seeing their pride and intoxication with their good fortune, Keśava disappeared from that very place in order to pacify their pride and bestow His grace upon them.