ādi-purāṇe ca śrīmad-arjuna-vākyaṁ—
trailokye bhagavad-bhaktāḥ ke tvāṁ jānanti marmaṇi |
keṣu vā tvaṁ sadā tuṣṭaḥ keṣu prema tavātulam ||
śrī-bhagavad-vākyaṁ—
na tathā me priyatamo brahmā rudraś ca pārthiva |
na ca lakṣmīr na cātmā ca yathā gopī-jano mama ||
bhaktā mamānuraktāś ca kati santi na bhū-tale |
kintu gopī-janaḥ prāṇādhika-priyatamo mama ||
na māṁ jānanti munayo yoginaś ca parantapa |
na ca rudrādayo devā yathā gopyo vidanti mām ||
na tapobhir na vedaiś ca nācārair na ca vidyayā |
vaśo’smi kevalaṁ premṇā pramāṇaṁ tatra gopikāḥ ||
man-māhātmyaṁ mat-saparyāṁ mac-chraddhāṁ man-manogatam |
jānanti gopikāḥ pārtha nānye jānanti marmaṇi ||
nijāṅgam api yā gopyo mameti samupāsate |
tābhyaḥ paraṁ na me pārtha nigūḍha-prema-bhājanam ||
(Ādi Purāṇa; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.34–40; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.4.184, 213)
“Also a statement of Śrīmad Arjuna [to Śrī Kṛṣṇa] in Ādi Purāṇa: ‘Which bhaktas of Bhagavān throughout the three worlds know you in truth? With whom are you always pleased? For whom do you have unparalleled prema? The reply of Śrī Bhagavān: ‘O royal, neither Brahmā, nor Rudra, nor Lakṣmī, nor myself are so beloved to me as the gopīs. How many devoted bhaktas do I have on the surface of the earth? [So many.] The gopīs, however, are beloved to me more so than [even] my life [so, it goes without saying they are more dear to me than all my other bhaktas]. The sages and yogīs do not know me, O tormenter of enemies. Not even Rudra or any of the other devas know me as the gopīs do. I am not captivated by austerities, by [study of] the Vedas, by observances of conduct, or by knowledge. [Rather, I am captivated] Only by prema. The gopīs are the evidence (pramāṇa) of this. The gopīs know my greatness, my service, my desire, and my intent. O Pārtha, no one else knows [these] in truth. O Pārtha, there are no greater vessels of highly confidential prema for me than the gopīs, who care even for their own bodies as my own [i.e., they care for their own bodies only because they consider them instruments for my service].”
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