Shloka 12
Uddhava Meets the Gopīs: Bhramara-gītā and Kṛṣṇa’s Message of Separation
गोप्युवाच मधुप कितवबन्धो मा स्पृशाङ्घ्रिं सपत्न्या: कुचविलुलितमालाकुङ्कुमश्मश्रुभिर्न: । वहतु मधुपतिस्तन्मानिनीनां प्रसादं यदुसदसि विडम्ब्यं यस्य दूतस्त्वमीदृक् ॥ १२ ॥
gopy uvāca madhupa kitava-bandho mā spṛśaṅghriṁ sapatnyāḥ kuca-vilulita-mālā-kuṅkuma-śmaśrubhir naḥ vahatu madhu-patis tan-māninīnāṁ prasādaṁ yadu-sadasi viḍambyaṁ yasya dūtas tvam īdṛk
Die Gopī sprach: „O Honigbiene, Freundin des Betrügers, berühre Meine Füße nicht mit deinen schnurrbartgleichen Fühlern, die mit dem Kuṅkuma von Kṛṣṇas Girlande beschmiert sind, zerdrückt an der Brust einer Rivalin! Möge Madhupati Kṛṣṇa die stolzen Frauen von Mathurā zufriedenstellen; wer einen Boten wie dich sendet, wird in der Versammlung der Yadus verspottet.“
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī indirectly chastised Kṛṣṇa by chastising the bumblebee, which She took for His messenger. She addressed the bumblebee as madhupa, “one who drinks the nectar (of flowers),” and She addressed Kṛṣṇa as madhu-pati, “the Lord of Madhu.”
FAQs
This verse shows that the gopīs’ sharp words are not ordinary resentment but intense love in separation—so deep that even Kṛṣṇa’s messenger (symbolized by the bee) becomes unbearable when it reminds them of His other associations.
She imagines the bee’s whiskers are stained with kuṅkuma from Kṛṣṇa’s other beloveds, so she rejects even the gesture of reverence, expressing the pain of feeling “replaced” while still being wholly absorbed in Him.
Transform feelings of distance, disappointment, or longing into remembrance of the Divine—using the mind’s intensity to deepen prayer, chanting, and steadiness rather than letting it turn into cynicism.