Source
Texts:
The
Reunion
Text
1
S'rî
S'uka said: 'Thus the gopîs went on singing and
speaking, crying endearingly out aloud, hankering, o King, for
the audience of Krishna.
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: O King, having thus sung and
spoken their hearts out in various charming ways, the
gopîs began to weep loudly. They were very
eager to see Lord Krishna.
Text
2
The
son of Vasudeva [or S'auri, 'the Son of the Hero'], the
Bewilderer of [Cupid] the bewilderer of the mind,
appeared directly before them smiling with His lotuslike face,
wearing a yellow garment and a garland.
Then
Lord Krishna, a smile on His lotus face, appeared before the
gopîs. Wearing a garland and a yellow garment,
He directly appeared as one who can bewilder the mind of
Cupid, who himself bewilders the minds of ordinary
people.
Text
3
To
see Him, their dearest, returned, opened the girls full of
affection their eyes wide open and stood they all at the same
time up as if their life had returned to their
bodies.
When
the gopîs saw that their dearmost Krishna had
returned to them, they all stood up at once, and out of
their affection for Him their eyes bloomed wide. It was as
if the air of life had reentered their bodies.
Text
4
One
of them joyfully seized the hand of S'auri with her folded
palms while another one put His arm, adorned with sandalwood
paste, around her shoulder.
One
gopî joyfully took Krishna's hand between her
folded palms, and another placed His arm, anointed with
sandalwood paste, on her shoulder.
Text
5
A
slender one with her hands joined took the remnants of the
bethel He had chewed and another one took His lotus feet and
placed them on her burning breasts.
A
slender gopî respectfully took in her joined
hands the betel nut He had chewed, and another gopî,
burning with desire, put His lotus feet on her
breasts.
Text
6
One,
with frowning eyebrows biting her lips was, beside herself in
her love of God, agitated throwing sidelong looks like she
would do something to him.
One
gopî, beside herself with loving anger, bit her lips
and stared at Him with frowning eyebrows~ as if to wound Him
with her harsh glances.
Text
7
Another
one [said to be Râdhâ] with staring eyes
staring His lotus face could, although having the full taste,
just like saints meditating on His feet, not get
enough.
Another
gopî looked with unblinking eyes upon His lotus
face, but even after deeply relishing its sweetness She did
not feel satiated, just as mystic saints are never satiated
when meditating upon the Lord's feet.
Text
8
One of them,
placed Him through the openings of her eyes in her heart and
kept on embracing Him there with her eyes closed, while her
hairs stood on end being drowned in ecstasy as if she was a
yogi. [*]
One
gopî took the Lord through the aperture of her
eyes and placed Him within her heart. Then, with her eyes
closed and her bodily hairs standing on end, she
continuously embraced Him within. Thus immersed in
transcendental ecstasy, she resembled a yogî
meditating upon the Lord.
Text
9
All of them
enjoying a supreme jubilation at the sight of Kes'ava gave up
the distress of their separation, just like people in general
do when they meet with a spiritually enlightened
person.
All
the gopîs enjoyed the greatest festivity when
they saw their beloved Kes'ava again. They gave up the
distress of separation, just as people in general forget
their misery when they gain the association of a spiritually
enlightened person.
Text
10
In the midst of
them, who were fully relieved of their sorrow, appeared Acyuta,
the Supreme Lord, even more brilliant, my dearest, like the
Original Personality surrounded by all His transcendental
potencies.
Encircled
by the gopîs, who were now relieved of all
distress, Lord Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
shone forth splendidly. My dear King, Krishna thus appeared
like the Supersoul encircled by His spiritual
potencies.
Text
11-12
The Almighty
One taking them with Him arrived at the soft sandbanks of the
Yamunâ that the auspicious river had collected by the
hands of her waves. There the kunda and mandara flowers with
their bees bloomed fragrant in the autumnal breeze while the
moon, plentifully shining, with its rays dispelled the dark of
night.
The
almighty Lord then took the gopîs with Him to
the bank of the Kâlindî, who with the hands of
her waves had scattered piles of soft sand upon the shore.
In that auspicious place the breeze, bearing the fragrance
of blooming kunda and mandâra flowers, attracted many
bees, and the abundant rays of the autumn moon dispelled the
darkness of night.
Text
13
By
the ecstasy of seeing Him was the pain of the desires in their
heart driven away; they attained the ultimate fulfillment of
their souls as is revealed by the scriptures in arranging a
seat for their dear friend with their shawls that were smeared
by the kunkuma of their breasts [see also
10.87:
23].
Their
heartache vanquished by the ecstasy of seeing Krishna, the
gopîs, like the personified Vedas before them,
felt their desires completely fulfilled. For their dear
friend Krishna they arranged a seat with their shawls which
were smeared with the kunkuma powder from their
breasts.
Text
14
He,
the Supreme Lord and Controller, for whom the masters of Yoga
arrange a seat in their hearts, seated there resplendently was,
present in the assembly of the gopîs thus
exhibiting His personal form, worshiped as the exclusive
reservoir of all beauty and opulence in the three
worlds.
Lord
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for whom the
great masters of mystic meditation arrange a seat within
their hearts, took His seat in the assembly of
gopîs. His transcendental body, the exclusive
abode of beauty and opulence within the three worlds, shone
brilliantly as the gopîs worshiped Him.
Text
15
Honoring Him,
the inciter of Cupid, with smiles, with playful glances,
sporting their eyebrows and massaging the feet and hands upon
their laps, offered they their praise, but still being somewhat
incensed they addressed Him.
S'rî
Krishna had awakened romantic desires within the
gopîs, and they honored Him by glancing at Him
with playful smiles, gesturing amorously with their
eyebrows, and massaging His hands and feet as they held them
in their laps. Even while worshiping Him, however, they felt
somewhat angry, and thus they addressed Him as
follows.
Text
16
The
fine gopîs said: 'Some answer to the love of those
who respect them, some show respect [to the ones of
action] while that is not the case and some are of no love
for any of the two; please o dearest, tell us how it factually
is.'
The
gopîs said: Some people reciprocate the
affection only of those who are affectionate toward them,
while others show affection even to those who are
indifferent or inimical. And yet others will not show
affection toward anyone. Dear Krishna, please properly
explain this matter to us.
Text
17
The Supreme
Lord said: 'Those who as friends mutually reciprocate
exclusively for their own sake, are in that endeavor indeed not
to the principle, not of true friendship; they are only after
their own self-interest.
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said: So-culled friends who
show affection for each other only to benefit themselves are
actually selfish. They have no true friendship, nor are they
following the true principles of religion. Indeed, if they
did not expect benefit for themselves, they would not
reciprocate.
Text
18
They who devout
are of mercy with those who do not reciprocate, the way e.g.
one's parents are, are faultless to the principle in this and
of real friendship, o slender girls.
My
dear slender-waisted gopîs, some people are
genuinely merciful or, like parents, naturally affectionate.
Such persons, who devotedly serve even those who fail to
reciprocate with them, are following the true, faultless
path of religion, and they are true well-wishers.
Text
19
Some are sure
not even to answer to the love of the devout; what indeed
should one say of those who do not reciprocate, of the
[spiritually] self-satisfied, of the ones who have all
their desires fulfilled, of the ingrates and of those who are
inimical towards the venerable?
Then
there are those individuals who are spiritually
self-satisfied, materially fulfilled or by nature ungrateful
or simply envious of superiors. Such persons will not love
even those who love them, what to speak of those who are
inimical.
Text
20
I then my
friends, do not always reciprocate with those who are of
worship so that their [- and your -] propensity is
motivated and there with them, like with a poor man who is most
afraid of losing his acquired wealth, is no thought of anything
else [see also B.G.:
4.11 and
10.
29: 27].
But
the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of
living beings even when they worship Me, O
gopîs, is that I want to intensify their loving
devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained
some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so
anxious about it that he can think of nothing else.
Text
21
Thus with your
for My sake defying of what the people, the scriptures and your
relatives say vanished I, my dear girls, in fact reciprocating
indeed with your compliance unto Me [**];
you should therefore not grumble about your Beloved, my dear
ones.
My
dear girls, understanding that simply for My sake you had
rejected the authority of worldly opinion, of the Vedas and
of your relatives, I acted as I did only to increase your
attachment to Me. Even when I removed Myself from your sight
by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you.
Therefore, My beloved gopîs, please do not
harbor any bad feelings toward Me, your beloved.
Text
22
Not even living
as long as a god in heaven am I able to repay you who so free
from deceit are worshiping Me; let that cutting with the
difficult to overcome chains of your household lives be
returned [be rewarded] by its own
virtue.
I
am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even
within a lifetime of Brahmâ. Your connection with Me
is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all
domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore
please let your own glorious deeds be your
compensation.
*
S'rîla
Vis'vanâtha Cakravartî Thâkura states that
the seven gopîs mentioned so far in this chapter
are the first seven of the eight principal gopîs
of which the S'rî Vaishnava-toshanî in a
verse gives the names as being Candrâvalî,
S'yâmalâ, S'aibyâ, Padmâ, S'rî
Râdhâ, Lalitâ and Vis'âkhâ. The
eighth is understood to be Bhadrâ. The Skanda
Purâna declares these eight gopîs to be the
principal ones among the three billion gopîs and
Râdhâ is, as confirmed in the Padma
Purâna, Brihad-gautamîya-tantra and the
Rig-paris'ishtha, the Lord's most beloved one.
**
In fact is intermitted reinforcement as practiced by Krishna so
evanescent here, giving the strongest bond so confirms modern
behavioral science; and s0 are there with all His religions
everywhere in the world days of materially motivated work where
we do not see Him, as He vanishes to the background, and days
of prayer where we do meet with Him.
