श्रीगोप्यस्त्वनुगच्छन्त्यो बाष्पसम्रुद्धकण्ठिकाः ।
गानाशक्ताः स्खलत्पादा अश्रुधारास्तदृष्टयः ॥
कर्तुं वक्तुं च ताः किञ्चिदशक्ता लज्जया भिया ।
महाशोकार्णवे मग्नास्तत्प्रतिकारणेऽक्षमाः ॥
śrī-gopyas tv anugacchantyo bāṣpa-samruddha-kaṇṭhikāḥ |
gānāśaktāḥ skhalat-pādā aśru-dhārāsta-dṛṣṭayaḥ ||
kartuṁ vaktuṁ ca tāḥ kiñcid aśaktā lajjayā bhiyā |
mahāśokārṇave magnās tat-pratikāraṇe’kṣamāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.178–179)
“They—
The blessed gopīs—
However,
Following [him] further,
Their throats choked by weeping,
Unable to sing,
Their feet stumbling,
Their eyes obscured by streams of tears,
Unable to do or even say anything
Because of their shyness and fear,
Became submerged in an ocean of great sorrow
And unable to alleviate it.”
Commentary
This verse describes the gopīs as Śrī Kṛṣṇa departs into the forest in the morning.
Śrī Sanātanapāda comments that the gopīs are spoken of as “they” (tāḥ) to convey that they are supremely dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or, to convey that they are adorned with all virtues (tās tad-eka-priyāḥ sarva-sad-guṇālaṅkṛtā vā). “To do anything” (kartuṁ … kiñcit) alludes to embracing Kṛṣṇa and so forth, and “or even to say anything” (vaktuṁ ca … kiñcid; apy-arthe ca-kāraḥ) alludes to the gopīs’ being unable to saying anything like, “How are we to live without you [while you are away for the day]?” (kiñcit katham asmābhir jīvitavyam ity-ādikaṁ vaktum apy aśaktāḥ). They were unable to do or say any of this “because of their shyness and fear” (lajjayā bhiyā), that is, because of their natural shyness and because of fear of elders and others who were present, or, because of their fear on account of shyness in front of elders and others who were present (lajjayā svābhāvikyaiva bhiyā ca guru-janādeḥ, tasmād eva vā, yad vā, guru-janādi-lajjayā yā bhīḥ, tayā). As per the principle, “By expressing one’s troubles, people become content” (nivedya duḥkhaṁ sukhino bhavanti), the gopīs under other circumstances might not have become overwhelmed by sorrow in Kṛṣṇa’s separation because they can express their sorrow to one another when they are alone amongst themselves and thus feel some relief [as is described in the Veṇu-gītā and Yugala-gītā in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam], but here while they were in the presence of elders and others, they could not alleviate their sorrow in this way, and thus they are said to have become submerged in an ocean of great sorrow (ity ādi-nyāyatas tenāpi tac choka-pratikāraḥ sambhavet tad-abhāvāc ca mahāśokārṇave magnā evety arthaḥ).