Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 15
Gopī-Vipralambha: The Search for Kṛṣṇa and the Revelation of Divine Footprints
कस्याचित् पूतनायन्त्या: कृष्णायन्त्यपिबत् स्तनम् । तोकयित्वा रुदत्यन्या पदाहन् शकटायतीम् ॥ १५ ॥
kasyācit pūtanāyantyāḥ kṛṣṇāyanty apibat stanam tokayitvā rudaty anyā padāhan śakaṭāyatīm
One gopī imitated Pūtanā, while another acted like infant Kṛṣṇa and pretended to suck her breast. Another gopī, crying in imitation of infant Kṛṣṇa, kicked a gopī who was taking the role of the cart demon, Śakaṭāsura.
FAQs
This verse shows the gopīs in separation reenacting Kṛṣṇa’s early Vraja līlās—like Pūtanā’s defeat and the Śakaṭa episode—because intense love naturally turns into vivid remembrance and dramatic reliving of His deeds.
In the forest of Vṛndāvana, overwhelmed by longing for Kṛṣṇa, they imitate His pastimes to keep His presence alive in their hearts; their play becomes a form of bhakti-filled meditation on His protective, divine līlā.
It encourages devotees to remember Kṛṣṇa concretely—through narrations, kīrtana, and contemplative recollection of līlās—so that devotion becomes heartfelt and constant rather than merely theoretical.