Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 19.207-209
Kṛṣṇa’s Disappearance Brings Rādhārāṇī Grief
“ ‘My dearmost Kṛṣṇa, You are worshiping Me and giving up the company of all the other gopīs, who wanted to enjoy themselves with You.” Thinking like this, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī considered Herself Kṛṣṇa’s most beloved gopī. She had become proud and had left the rāsa-līlā with Kṛṣṇa. In the deep forest She said, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, I cannot walk any more. You can take Me wherever You like.” When Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī petitioned Kṛṣṇa in this way, Kṛṣṇa said, “Just get up on My shoulders.” As soon as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī began to do so, He disappeared. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī then began to grieve over Her request and Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance.’
What the purport teaches
- Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī considered Herself Kṛṣṇa’s most beloved gopī because He had left the other gopīs to be with Her. She became proud and left the rāsa-līlā with Him.
- In the deep forest, She told Kṛṣṇa that She could no longer walk and asked Him to take Her wherever He liked. Kṛṣṇa invited Her to get on His shoulders.
- As soon as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī began to do so, Kṛṣṇa disappeared. She then grieved over Her request and His disappearance.
Try this today
Read the passage slowly and write down the feelings it explicitly describes, in their order.
Ask yourself
What change in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s feelings does this passage describe?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.