Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.30.13
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesJoy From Kṛṣṇa’s Touch
“Let us ask these creepers about Kṛṣṇa. Even though they are embracing the arms of their husband, this tree, they certainly must have been touched by Kṛṣṇa’s fingernails, since out of joy they are manifesting eruptions on their skin.”
What the purport teaches
- The gopīs proposed asking the creepers about Kṛṣṇa, seeing signs of joyful rapture on them.
- They reasoned that embracing their husband, the tree, would not by itself produce such signs.
- They therefore concluded that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s fingernails must have touched the creepers as He moved through the forest.
Try this today
Read this verse slowly and pause to remember the joy the gopīs attributed to Kṛṣṇa’s touch.
Ask yourself
What do the gopīs’ words reveal about the joy of contact with Kṛṣṇa?
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.