SB 10.46.6

Kṛṣṇa feared they would give up their lives. Thus he says that they maintain their lives with difficulty. Though their life airs begin to leave, they pull them back. How much long will they be able to maintain their lives? “With what effort do they maintain their lives?” Somehow or other they do it. Not mentioning the reason they maintain their lives because of shame at his own wavering words, he then shows clearly the reason, since there is no alternative. He had sent many messages saying he would return. They began to meditate on the day of my return after I first mentioned it. Then they fainted on thinking that I would be delayed. They then remembered my promise. This arouse naturally from the fainting. They maintain their lives with effort by repeatedly meditating, fainting, and then remembering that I will return. They are my cowherd wives (ballavyaḥ). This is like the formation brāhmanī (brāhmaṇa’s wife). In verse 4 Kṛṣṇa identified himself as a cowherd by saying “Make our parents (cowherds) happy.” They are not only my wives by conventional conduct. They are part of me, śaktis arising from my svarūpa. It was said already that they are absorbed in me (man-manaskā). The gopīs’ position is made clear in Brahma-saṁhitā: ānanda cinmaya rasa pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija rūpatayā kalābhiḥ | goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma bhūto govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi ||37|| I worship the Supreme Lord Govinda who, though regarding all the inhabitants as his very self, resides in Goloka exclusively with the young gopīs, who are embodiments of madhura-rasa. He accepts them as his wives, while they respond to his conjugal affection reciprocally. 5.37 That the gopīs think that they are married to other men is created by the līlā-śakti to show their unrestricted attraction for Kṛṣṇa. It is only an appearance that they seem to sleep with those men. This is clear in the following statement. nāsūyan khalu kṛṣṇāya mohitās tasya māyayā manyamānāḥ sva-pārśva-sthānv svān svān dārān vrajaukasaḥ The cowherd men, bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s illusory potency, thought their wives had remained home at their sides. Thus they did not harbor any jealous feelings against him. SB 10.33.37 They can never give up hope in me since they never lose faith in my words out of prema filled with the feeling that they belong to me. However this is a general statement. It is possible that some of them cannot maintain their lives. But they will be pacified by messages saying that I will return. All the people of Vraja should be pacified since they take me as their life. eṣāṁ ghoṣa-nivāsinām uta bhavān kiṁ deva rāteti naś ceto viśva-phalāt phalaṁ tvad-aparaṁ kutrāpy ayan muhyati sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte O Lord! What can you give to the people of Vraja whose houses, possessions, friends, dear ones, bodies, sons, life airs and hearts are dedicated only to you, since there is nothing superior to you or Vraja (which you have already given)? Thinking of this my mind becomes bewildered. You awarded yourself even to Pūtanā and her family members because she wore the disguise of a nurse. SB 10.14.35 aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because Kṛṣṇa gave them prema, which is the highest bliss, eternal and complete. SB 10.14.32 dustyajaś cānurāgo ’smin sarveṣāṁ no vrajaukasām nanda te tanaye ’smāsu tasyāpy autpattikaḥ katham Dear Nanda, how is it that we and all the other residents of Vraja cannot give up our constant affection for your son? And how is it that he is so spontaneously attracted to us? SB 10.26.13 Even the animals and trees experienced grief when Kṛṣṇa entered Kāliya’s lake and experienced joy when he came out. When Indra showered rain on Vraja Kṛṣṇa thought: tasmān mac-charaṇaṁ goṣṭhaṁ man-nāthaṁ mat-parigraham gopāye svātma-yogena so ‘yaṁ me vrata āhitaḥ I must therefore protect the cowherd community by my natural powers for I am there shelter, I am their protector, and indeed I am everything to them. I have taken a vow to protect my devotees. SB 10.25.18 Elders such as Upananda and friends like Śrīdāmā should be consoled since they are the best of devotees. Nanda will say: api smarati naḥ kṛṣṇo mātaraṁ suhṛdaḥ sakhīn gopān vrajaṁ cātma-nāthaṁ gāvo vṛndāvanaṁ girim Does Kṛṣṇa remember us? Does he remember his mother and his friends and well-wishers? Does he remember the cowherds and their village of Vraja, of which he is the master? Does he remember the cows, Vṛndāvana forest and Govardhana Hill? SB 10.46.18 The following should be understood about those not mentioned (only his parents and the gopīs were mentioned). Some who were to be consoled are included with Nanda. Others were not consoled because of a certain reason, but they were peaceful. In Gokula there are three types of prema: prema with predominance of longing (parents and gopīs), prema with predominance of familiarity (friends) and prema without discrimination (cows). That prema when it becomes intense, even elsewhere, produces a direct appearance of Kṛṣṇa. agre samgrayati kām api keli-lakṣmīm anyāsu dikṣv api vilocanam eva sākṣi | hā hanta hasta-patha-dūram aho kim etad āśā-kiśoram ayam amba jagat-trayaṁ me || He has directly manifested in front of me an indescribable wealth of his pastimes. He is in other directions also. My eye is the witness. Oh! What misfortune! He is out of reach of my hand. Is that him? Ah! For me, the three worlds have become filled with this youth of my aspiration. Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 60 Jayadeva also describes this: śliṣyati cumbati jaladhara-kalpam harir upagata iti timiram analpam nātha hare! sīdati... “When she sees the dense darkness that resembles a raincloud, she embraces and kisses it. Oh, Hari has come. saric-chaila-vanoddeśān mukunda-pada-bhūṣitān ākrīḍān īkṣyamāṇānāṁ mano yāti tad-ātmatām When we see the places where Mukunda enjoyed his sporting pastimes—the rivers, hills and forests he decorated with his feet—our minds become totally absorbed in him. SB 10.46.22 The friends and the cows think that Kṛṣṇa is actuallly present when he shows his sphūrti. They think the sphūrti is his direct form since they cannot distinguish the two. Those who are filled with longing however cannot trust even his directly presence, what to speak of his showing a sphūrti. Later they have great doubt because of intense longing. This is shown in the queens of Dvārakā when they play with Kṛṣṇa in the water. Therefore only the gopīs and the parents among the inhabitants of Vraja feel separation. Thus in verse 3 Kṛsṇa mentions them only. iti saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya nandaḥ kṛṣṇānurakta-dhīḥ aty-utkaṇṭho ’bhavat tūṣṇīṁ prema-prasara-vihvalaḥ Thus intensely remembering Kṛṣṇa again and again, Nanda Mahārāja, his mind completely attached to the Lord, felt extreme anxiety and fell silent, overcome by the strength of his love. SB 10.46.27 iti gopyo hi govinde gata-vāk-kāya-mānasāḥ kṛṣṇa-dūte samāyāte uddhave tyakta-laukikāḥ Thus speaking, the gopīs, whose words, bodies and minds were fully dedicated to Lord Govinda, put aside all their regular work now that Kṛṣṇa’s messenger, Uddhava, had arrived among them. SB 10.47.9 The cows whose prema was indiscriminate and the cowherd boys with familiarity remained in Vrja expereincing a meeting with Kṛṣṇa as a sphūrti. The cows because of their nature of less intelligence were convinced that Kṛsṇa was actually present. The cowherd boys were firmly convinced that Kṛṣṇa would come from Mathurā to join them. They would talk of this in private. Thus the joy of the cows is described in verse 9. Thus onlly his parents and the gopīs had to be consoled with care. There was no alternative. The cowherd boys would become peaceful without personal consolation. Consoling them would, on the contrary, produce doubt. Thus among entities with three types of prema some were consoled or not consoled. Others in Vraja who follow their bhāvas were treated accordingly. The gopīs will say: akrūra āgataḥ kiṁ vā yaḥ kaṁsasyārtha-sādhakaḥ yena nīto madhu-purīṁ kṛṣṇaḥ kamala-locanaḥ Perhaps Akrūra has returned—he who fulfilled Kaṁsa’s desire by taking lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa to Mathurā. SB 10.46.48 The gopīs’ speech showing their great sorrow was experienced by others also. evaṁ niśā sā bruvator vyatītā nandasya kṛṣṇānucarasya rājan gopyaḥ samutthāya nirūpya dīpān vāstūn samabhyarcya daudhīny amanthun While Kṛṣṇa’s messenger continued speaking with Nanda, the night ended, O King. The women of the cowherd village rose from bed and, lighting lamps, worshiped their household deities. Then they began churning the yogurt into butter. SB 10.46.44 This verse shows the gopīs’ joy, which was also experienced by others. The trees and birds, whose saṁskāras were destroyed by previously seeing and touching Kṛṣna, also experienced this joy. When Kṛṣṇa entered and emerged from Kāliya lake, the trees felt sorrow and joy what to speak of the animal. Appearance of joy and sorrow arose from time which had a similar nature, being absorbed in thel pastimes bestowing favorable or unfavorable situations. Thus auspicous or inauspicous omens would occur on earth and in the heavens. Some say that the cowherd boys were pacified by sometimes going to Mathurā. But this is not true for Nanda asks later “Does Kṛṣṇa remember the cowherd boys?” (verse 18)