Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.29.21-22
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyPure Devotion Amid Kṛṣṇa’s Playful Words
“Now you have seen this Vṛndāvana forest, full of flowers and resplendent with the light of the full moon. You have seen the beauty of the trees, with their leaves trembling in the gentle breeze coming from the Yamunā. So now go back to the cowherd village. Don’t delay. O chaste ladies, serve your husbands and give milk to your crying babies and calves.”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa describes the moonlit, flowering forest and the gentle breeze from the Yamunā. Outwardly, He then tells the gopīs to return and attend to husbands, babies and calves.
- The purport reveals another meaning: these transcendental beauties stimulate loving exchanges, and Kṛṣṇa invites the gopīs to remain with Him.
- The gopīs cannot tell whether He is joking, inviting them to stay or sending them home. Their absolute purity, simplicity and devotion create the most beautiful pastimes.
Try this today
Spend a minute rereading the description of Vṛndāvana, remembering Kṛṣṇa as the object of the gopīs’ love.
Ask yourself
What draws my attention most in the gopīs’ purity, simplicity and devotion?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.