Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 10
Sādhu-saṅga, the Gopīs’ Prema, and the Veda’s Culmination in Exclusive Surrender
रामेण सार्धं मथुरां प्रणीते श्वाफल्किना मय्यनुरक्तचित्ता: । विगाढभावेन न मे वियोग- तीव्राधयोऽन्यं ददृशु: सुखाय ॥ १० ॥
rāmeṇa sārdhaṁ mathurāṁ praṇīte śvāphalkinā mayy anurakta-cittāḥ vigāḍha-bhāvena na me viyoga- tīvrādhayo ’nyaṁ dadṛśuḥ sukhāya
Die Bewohner Vṛndāvanas, angeführt von den Gopīs, waren stets mit tiefster Liebe völlig an Mich gebunden. Als daher Akṛūra, der Sohn Śvaphalkis, Mich und Meinen Bruder Balarāma nach Mathurā brachte, litten sie unter heftigstem Trennungsschmerz und fanden in nichts anderem Glück.
This verse especially describes the sentiments of the cowherd girls of Vṛndāvana, the gopīs, and Lord Kṛṣṇa here reveals the incomparable love they felt for Him. As explained in the Tenth Canto, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s uncle Akrūra, sent by Kaṁsa, came to Vṛndāvana and took Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma back to Mathurā for a wrestling event. The gopīs loved Lord Kṛṣṇa so much that in His absence their consciousness was completely absorbed in spiritual love. Thus their Kṛṣṇa consciousness is considered the highest perfectional stage of life. They were always expecting that Lord Kṛṣṇa would finish His business of killing demons and return to them, and therefore their anxiety was an extremely moving, heartrending display of love. Anyone desiring true happiness must take to the devotional service of the Lord in the spirit of the gopīs, giving up everything for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord.
FAQs
This verse says that devotees whose hearts are deeply attached to Kṛṣṇa may feel such intense separation that they cannot see anything else as capable of giving happiness—showing the exclusivity and depth of pure bhakti.
Akrūra is identified as the one who brought Kṛṣṇa (with Balarāma) from Vraja to Mathurā, which became the immediate cause of the Vraja-devotees’ intense sorrow of separation described here.
By cultivating steady remembrance and heartfelt attachment to Kṛṣṇa—through nāma-japa, śravaṇa, and kīrtana—one gradually reduces dependence on worldly pleasures and learns to seek real happiness in devotion.