SB 10.39.29 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्यानुरागललितस्मितवल्गुमन्त्र- लीलावलोकपरिरम्भणरासगोष्ठाम् । नीता: स्म न: क्षणमिव क्षणदा विना तं गोप्य: कथं न्वतितरेम तमो दुरन्तम् ॥ २९ ॥

Verse text

yasyānurāga-lalita-smita-valgu-mantra līlāvaloka-parirambhaṇa-rāsa-goṣṭhām nītāḥ sma naḥ kṣaṇam iva kṣaṇadā vinā taṁ gopyaḥ kathaṁ nv atitarema tamo durantam

Synonyms

yasya — whose ; anurāga — with loving affection ; lalita — charming ; smita — (where there were) smiles ; valgu — attractive ; mantra — intimate discussions ; līlā — playful ; avaloka — glances ; parirambhaṇa — and embraces ; rāsa — of the rāsa dance ; goṣṭhām — to the assembly ; nītāḥ sma — who were brought ; naḥ — for us ; kṣaṇam — a moment ; iva — like ; kṣaṇadāḥ — the nights ; vinā — without ; tam — Him ; gopyaḥ — O gopīs ; katham — how ; nu — indeed ; atitarema — will we cross over ; tamaḥ — the darkness ; durantam — insurmountable .

Translation

When He brought us to the assembly of the rāsa dance, where we enjoyed His affectionate and charming smiles, His delightful secret talks, His playful glances and His embraces, we passed many nights as if they were a single moment. O gopīs, how can we possibly cross over the insurmountable darkness of His absence?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When He brought us to the assembly of the rāsa dance, where we enjoyed His affectionate and charming smiles, His delightful secret talks, His playful glances and His embraces, we passed many nights as if they were a single moment. O gopīs, how can we possibly cross over the insurmountable darkness of His absence? KB 10.39.29 They began to talk among themselves: “We have passed a very long night—which seemed only a moment—engaged in the rāsa dance with Kṛṣṇa. We looked at His sweet smile and embraced Him and talked with Him. Now, how shall we live even for a moment if He goes away from us?

Purport

For the gopīs, a long time in Kṛṣṇa’s association passed like a moment, and a single moment in His absence seemed like a very long time.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"There are other reasons for stopping him also. We spent all our nights as if they were a few seconds at the rasa mandala full of intimate discussions of rasa and sweet smiles tinged with love. Without Krsna, how can we cross the dark ocean of separation whose shore we cannot fathom? As much as we spent so many nights as if they were seconds, so now a moment of separation is a thousand yugas. So how will we pass the many nights that now await us in the future?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Though they were eager to stop him, seeing the impenetrable crowd of people, they could not find a means to approach him. In fear they speak. Though they speak of the rāsa dance, other pastimes are also included. Valgu-mantra means sweet messages secretly conveyed through hints. Sma indicates surprise. Nu indicates conjecture. Atitarema means “how will we cross over the dense darkness which is impossible to cross.” Just as many nights passed in a moment in the happiness of the rāsa dance, in the sorrow of separation a moment will become like a hundred yugas. We will not be able to tolerate that.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

His gentle smiles were filled with anurāga, with intense prema of the rāsa dance. This conquered us. He brought us to the rāsa dance filled with his smiles, his conversations filled with hints of madhura-rasa (valgu-mantra), and his bewildering glances. Sma means certainly. Nu indicates lamentation. How will we cross the most expansive ocean of darkness? O gopīs! It is most difficult for us, so soft with prema. Or “Misfortune due to karma should be tolerated by discrimination with determination.” This verse answers. Just as many nights passed with the happiness of the rāsa dance as if it were a second, so now with the sorrow of separation from him, a moment will be like a hundred yugas. We will not be able to tolerate it. Though his smiles, talks, glances and embraces out of love produced the highest bliss, in separation, remembering those features produces the greatest pain.