Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.82.39

śrī-śuka uvāca

gopyaś ca krishnam upalabhya cirād abhīshtam

yat-prekshane driśishu pakshma-kritam śapanti

drigbhir hridī-kritam alam parirabhya sarvās

tad-bhāvam āpur api nitya-yujām durāpam

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukah uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; gopyah — the young cowherd women; ca — and; krishnam — Krishna; upalabhya — sighting; cirāt — after a long time; abhīshtam — their object of desire; yat — whom; prekshane — while seeing; driśishu — on their eyes; pakshma — of lids; kritam — the maker; śapanti — they would curse; drigbhih — with their eyes; hridī-kritam — taken into their hearts; alam — to their satisfaction; parirabhya — embracing; sarvāh — all of them; tat — in Him; bhāvam — ecstatic absorption; āpuh — attained; api — even though; nitya — constantly; yujām — for those who engage in yogic discipline; durāpam — difficult to attain.

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: While gazing at their beloved Krishna, the young gopīs used to condemn the creator of their eyelids, [which would momentarily block their vision of Him]. Now, seeing Krishna again after such a long separation, with their eyes they took Him into their hearts, and there they embraced Him to their full satisfaction. In this way they became totally absorbed in ecstatic meditation on Him, although those who constantly practice mystic yoga find such absorption difficult to achieve.

PURPORT

According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, just then Lord Balarāma saw the gopīs standing a short distance away. Seeing them trembling with eagerness to meet Krishna, and apparently ready to give up their lives if they could not, He tactfully decided to get up and involve Himself elsewhere. Then the gopīs attained the state described in the current verse. In referring to the gopīs' intolerant disrespect of Lord Brahmā, "the creator of eyelids," Śukadeva Gosvāmī is giving vent to his own subtle jealousy of the gopīs' favored position.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī offers an alternate understanding of the phrase nitya-yujām, which may mean "even of the Lord's principal queens, who tend to be proud of their constant association with Him."

In Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "Because they had been separated from Krishna for so many years, the gopīs, having come along with Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā, felt intense ecstasy in seeing Krishna. No one can even imagine how anxious the gopīs were to see Krishna again. As soon as Krishna became visible to them, they took Him inside their hearts through their eyes and embraced Him to their full satisfaction. Even though they were embracing Krishna only mentally, they became so ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy that for the time being they completely forgot themselves. The ecstatic trance which they achieved simply by mentally embracing Krishna is impossible to achieve even for great yogīs constantly engaged in meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna could understand that the gopīs were rapt in ecstasy by embracing Him in their minds, and therefore, since He is present in everyone's heart, He also reciprocated the embracing from within."

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