Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 25
Rāsa-līlā Begins; Divine Multiplication; Moral Doubt and Its Resolution
एवं शशाङ्कांशुविराजिता निशा: स सत्यकामोऽनुरताबलागण: । सिषेव आत्मन्यवरुद्धसौरत: सर्वा: शरत्काव्यकथारसाश्रया: ॥ २५ ॥
evaṁ śaśāṅkāṁśu-virājitā niśāḥ sa satya-kāmo ’nuratābalā-gaṇaḥ siṣeva ātmany avaruddha-saurataḥ sarvāḥ śarat-kāvya-kathā-rasāśrayāḥ
Although the gopīs were firmly attached to Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose desires are always fulfilled, the Lord was not internally affected by any mundane sex desire. Still, to perform His pastimes the Lord took advantage of all those moonlit autumn nights, which inspire poetic descriptions of transcendental affairs.
It is difficult to translate into English the word rasa, which indicates the spiritual bliss derived from one’s loving relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa. That bliss is experienced in the midst of spiritual pastimes with the Lord and His devotees. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that great Vaiṣṇava poets like Vyāsa, Parāśara, Jayadeva, Līlāśuka (Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura), Govardhanācārya and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī have tried in their poetry to describe the conjugal affairs of the Lord. These descriptions are never complete, however, since the Lord’s pastimes are unlimited; thus the attempt to glorify such pastimes is still going on and will go on forever. Lord Kṛṣṇa arranged an extraordinary season of beautiful autumn nights to enhance His loving affairs, and those autumn nights have inspired transcendental poets since time immemorial.
FAQs
This verse describes the autumn nights illuminated by moonbeams as the setting in which Kṛṣṇa lovingly enjoyed with the gopīs, with the atmosphere filled with rasa—sweet beauty, poetry, and intimate conversation.
Kṛṣṇa is called satya-kāma because His will is always fulfilled and perfectly pure; His pastimes are not driven by material need but by divine, self-sufficient bliss.
The verse points to wholehearted loving absorption in the Divine—cultivated through pure devotion, uplifting speech, and remembrance—transforming desire into God-centered affection rather than self-centered craving.