Gopī-gītā
Nineteen verses spoken by the gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.31.1–19.
Gopī-bhāva
kṛṣṇe gate madhupurīṁ bata ballavīnāṁ
kṛṣṇe gate madhupurīṁ bata ballavīnāṁ
bhāvo’bhavat sapadi yo laya-vahni-tīvraḥ |
premāsya hetur uta tattvam idaṁ hi tasya
mā tad-viśeṣam aparaṁ bata boddhum iccha ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.232)
“The cause of the gopīs’ bhāva, intense like the fire of [universal] destruction, that immediately arose when Kṛṣṇa went to Madhupurī is prema, and this [i.e., this state] is indeed its [i.e., prema’s] very nature. Bata! Do not desire to understand anything other than this description.”
Praṇaya-gīta
Eleven verses spoken by the gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.29.31–41.
yat tv ahaṁ bhavatīnāṁ vai dūre varte priyo dṛśām
yat tv ahaṁ bhavatīnāṁ vai dūre varte priyo dṛśām |
manasaḥ sannikarṣārthaṁ mad-anudhyāna-kāmyayā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.47.34; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 161)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to the gopīs:] I, your beloved, however, remain afar from your eyes for the sake of nearness of mind [i.e., for the sake of drawing your minds near to me] out of desire for [you all to engage in] continuous meditation upon me.”
tās tu vṛndāvaneśvaryāḥ sakhyaḥ pañca-vidhā matāḥ
tās tu vṛndāvaneśvaryāḥ sakhyaḥ pañca-vidhā matāḥ |
sakhyaś ca nitya-sakhyaś ca prāṇa-sakhyaś ca kāścana |
priya-sakhyaś ca parama-preṣṭha-sakhyaś ca viśrutāḥ ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 4.50)
“The sakhīs of Vṛndāvaneśvarī [i.e., Śrī Rādhā] are considered to be of five types. They are known as sakhīs, nitya-sakhīs, prāṇa-sakhīs, priya-sakhīs, and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs.”
tac ca śrī-ballavī-prāṇanātha-pāda-sarojayoḥ
tac ca śrī-ballavī-prāṇanātha-pāda-sarojayoḥ |
premaiva tad-vraja-prema-sājātīyaṁ na cetarat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.214)
“That [i.e., your sādhana to attain your Iṣṭadeva], moreover, is simply prema for the lotus feet of the beautiful ballavī’s Beloved [lit., the Lord of the gopīs’ prāṇas, that is, hearts, lives, or vital airs] which resembles the [highly celebrated] prema for him [found] in Vraja, and is not otherwise.”
vinā rādhāṁ kṛṣṇo na khalu sukhadaḥ sā na sukhadā
vinā rādhāṁ kṛṣṇo na khalu sukhadaḥ sā na sukhadā
vinā kṛṣṇaṁ dvābhyām api vinānyā na sarasāḥ |
vinā rātriṁ nendus tam api na vinā sā’pi ruci-bhāk
vinā tābhyāṁ jṛmbhāṁ dadhati kumudinyo’pi na tarām ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.193)
“Certainly, without Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa is not delightful, and she is not delightful without Kṛṣṇa. And alas, without both of them, others [i.e., the sakhīs] are not beautiful [alt., impassioned, lit., imbued with rasa]. Neither the moon without the night, nor it without that [i.e., nor the night without the moon] are resplendent. And without them both, white water lillies do not fully blossom.”
ity unmatta-vaco gopyaḥ kṛṣṇānveṣaṇa-kātarāḥ
ity unmatta-vaco gopyaḥ kṛṣṇānveṣaṇa-kātarāḥ |
līlā bhagavatas tās tā hy anucakrus tad-ātmikāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.30.14)
“Having spoken such maddened words, the gopīs, distraught as they searched for Kṛṣṇa, acted out the various līlās of Bhagavān, their minds absorbed in him.”
vijaya-ratha-kuṭumba ātta-totre
vijaya-ratha-kuṭumba ātta-totre
dhṛta-haya-raśmini tac-chriyekṣaṇīye |
bhagavati ratir astu me mumūrṣor
yam iha nirīkṣya hatā gatāḥ sva-rūpam ||
lalita-gati-vilāsa-valguhāsa-
praṇaya-nirīkṣaṇa-kalpitoru-mānāḥ |
kṛtam anukṛtavatya unmadāndhāḥ
prakṛtim agan kila yasya gopa-vadhvaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.9.39–40; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 81)
[Bhīṣmadeva:] “Let me, desiring death, have rati for Bhagavān, who is sightly on account of his splendor, holding the reins of horses [in his left hand] and grasping a whip [with his right] as he protects the chariot of Vijaya [i.e., Arjuna]; by seeing whom the dead [in the battle of Kurukṣetra] attained their own forms [i.e., mukti]; and whose nature the wives of the gopas verily attained as they were highly honored by [his] charming movements, play, attractive smiles, and loving glances, [thus] blinded by [the] madness [of prema], and [so became] engaged in imitating his deeds.”
vanaṁ gṛhaṁ no’bhavad ālayo vanaṁ
vanaṁ gṛhaṁ no’bhavad ālayo vanaṁ
dviṣat suhṛd bandhu-gaṇaś ca vairiṇaḥ |
viṣaṁ ca pīyūṣam utāmṛtaṁ viṣaṁ
yad-artham asmāt tvād ṛte mriyāmahe ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.292)
“[The gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Without you, for the sake of whom the forest has become our home and our abode the forest, our enemies well-wishers, and our friends enemies, poison ambrosia and even nectar poison, we are dying.”