Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.1.31

gopyaḥ kāmād bhayāt kaḿso

dveṣāc caidyādayo nṛpāḥ

sambandhād vṛṣṇayaḥ snehād

yūyaḿ bhaktyā vayaḿ vibho

SYNONYMS

gopyaḥ — the gopīs; kāmāt — out of lusty desires; bhayāt — out of fear; kaḿsaḥ — King Kaḿsa; dveṣāt — out of envy; caidya-ādayaḥ — Śiśupāla and others; nṛpāḥ — kings; sambandhāt — out of kinship; vṛṣṇayaḥ — the Vṛṣṇis or the Yādavas; snehāt — out of affection; yūyam — you (the Pāṇḍavas); bhaktyā — by devotional service; vayam — we; vibho — O great King.

TRANSLATION

My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, the gopīs by their lusty desires, Kaḿsa by his fear, Śiśupāla and other kings by envy, the Yadus by their familial relationship with Kṛṣṇa, you Pāṇḍavas by your great affection for Kṛṣṇa, and we, the general devotees, by our devotional service, have obtained the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT

Different persons achieve different types of mukti — sāyujya, sālokya, sārūpya, sāmīpya and sārṣṭi — according to their own intense desire, which is called bhāva. Thus it is described here that the gopīs, by their lusty desires, which were based upon their intense love for Kṛṣṇa, became the most beloved devotees of the Lord. Although the gopīs at Vṛndāvana expressed their lusty desires in relationship with a paramour (parakīya-rasa), they actually had no lusty desires. This is significant of spiritual advancement. Their desires appeared lusty, but actually they were not the lusty desires of the material world. Caitanya-caritāmṛta compares the desires of the spiritual and material world to gold and iron. Both gold and iron are metal, but there is a vast difference in their value. The lusty desires of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa are compared to gold, and material lusty desires are compared to iron.

Kaḿsa and other enemies of Kṛṣṇa merged into the existence of Brahman, but why should Kṛṣṇa's friends and devotees have the same position? Kṛṣṇa's devotees attain the association of the Lord as His constant companions, either in Vṛndāvana or in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Similarly, although Nārada Muni wanders in the three worlds, he has exalted devotion for Nārāyaṇa (aiśvaryamān). The Vṛṣṇis and Yadus and the father and mother of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana all have familial relationships with Kṛṣṇa; Kṛṣṇa's foster father and mother in Vṛndāvana, however, are more exalted than Vasudeva and Devakī.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness