Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 16
Gopī-Vipralambha: The Search for Kṛṣṇa and the Revelation of Divine Footprints
दैत्यायित्वा जहारान्यामेको कृष्णार्भभावनाम् । रिङ्गयामास काप्यङ्घ्री कर्षन्ती घोषनि:स्वनै: ॥ १६ ॥
daityāyitvā jahārānyām eko kṛṣṇārbha-bhāvanām riṅgayām āsa kāpy aṅghrī karṣantī ghoṣa-niḥsvanaiḥ
One gopī took the role of Tṛṇāvarta and carried away another, who was acting like infant Kṛṣṇa, while yet another gopī crawled about, her ankle bells tinkling as she pulled her feet.
The gopīs started imitating all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, beginning from His earliest activities as a baby.
FAQs
This verse shows the gopīs, overwhelmed by love in separation, reenacting roles connected to Kṛṣṇa—some imagining baby Kṛṣṇa, others even taking the part of a demoness—revealing how deeply their minds are absorbed in Him.
While searching for Kṛṣṇa, their intense prema makes them relive His Vraja-līlās. They spontaneously dramatize familiar childhood episodes, indicating that remembrance of Kṛṣṇa becomes their only shelter.
Sincere devotion grows by constant remembrance—hearing and recalling Kṛṣṇa’s līlās so deeply that the mind naturally returns to Him, especially during times of absence or difficulty.