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Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.32.8
pulakāńgy upaguhyāste
yogīvānanda-samplutā
SYNONYMS
tam — Him; kācit — one of them; netra — of her eyes; randhrena — through the aperture; hridi — in her heart; kritvā — placing; nimīlya — closing; ca — and; pulaka-ańgī — the hair on her limbs standing on end; upaguhya — embracing; āste — she remained; yogī — a yogī; iva — like; ānanda — in ecstasy; samplutā — drowned.
TRANSLATION
One gopī 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 yogī meditating upon the Lord.
PURPORT
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura states that the seven gopīs mentioned so far in this chapter are the first seven of the eight principal gopīs, whose status allowed them to immediately approach Śrī Krishna upon His reappearance. The ācārya quotes a verse from the Śrī Vaishnava-toshanī that gives the names of these seven as Candrāvalī, Śyāmalā, Śaibyā, Padmā, Śrī Rādhā, Lalitā and Viśākhā. The eighth is understood to be Bhadrā. Śrī Vaishnava-toshanī itself quotes a verse from the Skanda Purāna that declares these eight gopīs to be the principal among the three billion gopīs. Detailed information about the hierarchy of gopīs is available in Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī's Ujjvala-nīlamani.
The Padma Purāna confirms that Śrī Rādhā is the foremost of the gopīs:
"Just as Śrīmatī Rādhārānī is most dear to Krishna, Her bathing pond is similarly dear. Of all the gopīs, She is the most beloved of the Lord."
The Brihad-gautamīya-tantra also names Śrīmatī Rādhārānī as Krishna's foremost consort:
"The transcendental goddess Śrīmatī Rādhārānī is the direct counterpart of Lord Śrī Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord." (This translation is Śrīla Prabhupāda's English rendering of Caitanya-caritāmrita, Ādi 4.83.)
Additional information about Śrī Rādhā is given in the Rig-pariśishta (the supplement to the Rig Veda): rādhayā mādhavo devo mādhavenaiva rādhikā/ vibhrājante janeshu. "Among all persons, it is Śrī Rādhā in whose company Lord Mādhava is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious in His."
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
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