Verse Text
iyaṁ tu vraja-devīṣu suprasiddhā virājate |
āsāṁ prema-viśeṣo ’yaṁ prāptaḥ kām api mādhurīṁ |
tat-tat-krīḍā-nidānatvāt kāma ity ucyate budhaiḥ ||284||
Translation
This very famous kāma-rūpa-bhakti appears with brilliance in the women of Vraja. They have a particular type of prema which has a special sweet-ness. It is called kāma by the wise because it is the cause of various amorous actions.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The author gives an example of this kāma-rūpa-bhakti. Its famous nature (suprasiddha) is illustrated in the following verse (which was spoken by the gopīs when Kṛṣṇa left them in the midst of the rāsa-līlā.)
yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu
bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu
tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit
kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ
O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path. SB 10.31.19
“But in such examples, the word kāma-rūpa actually should be kāmātmika, completely filled with thirst. The phrase kāma-rūpa expresses only bhakti composed of conjugal actions, and not the conjugal emotions, whereas the phrase kāmātmika (bhakti completely inundated with conjugal feelings) indicates bhakti endowed with conjugal feelings as well as actions. It would not be possible for that thirst composed only of actions to cause complete transformation into prema.”
However, even though this kāma-rūpa is composed of action, this action will produce a transformation because part of the action is the action of the mind. In the mind, the person thinks, “Kṛṣṇa will attain happiness from me.” Thus, the transformation into prema in the ātmā will take place (since both body and mind are involved).
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
Sensual Attraction
This extreme desire to serve the Lord is manifest in the transcendental land of Vraja. And it is specifically manifested among the gopīs. The gopīs’ love for Kṛṣṇa is so elevated that for our understanding it is sometimes explained as being “lusty desire.”