Shloka 22
Gopī-gīta Aftermath: Kṛṣṇa Returns and Explains Divine Non-Reciprocation
Rāsa-līlā Dialogue
न पारयेऽहं निरवद्यसंयुजां स्वसाधुकृत्यं विबुधायुषापि व: । या माभजन् दुर्जरगेहशृङ्खला: संवृश्च्य तद् व: प्रतियातु साधुना ॥ २२ ॥
na pāraye ’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā
Ich vermag die Schuld eures makellosen Dienstes nicht zu vergelten, selbst nicht innerhalb der Lebensspanne Brahmās. Ihr habt Mich verehrt, indem ihr die schwer zu zerreißenden Ketten des Hauses durchtrenntet. So mögen eure eigenen ruhmreichen Taten euch zur Vergeltung werden.
The translation and word meanings for this verse are taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Ādi 4.180) .
FAQs
In 10.32.22, Kṛṣṇa says He cannot repay the gopīs’ pure, faultless devotion even with a divine lifespan, and that their own saintly virtue should be their reward.
Because the gopīs abandoned even the “hard-to-break chains” of household attachment solely to serve Him; Kṛṣṇa acknowledges that such selfless prema exceeds any material or even celestial compensation.
Serve with sincerity rather than bargaining for results, and measure “reward” as inner purification and steadfast devotion—letting bhakti itself become the fruit.