Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 20
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
गोप्योऽनुरक्तमनसो भगवत्यनन्ते तत्सौहृदस्मितविलोकगिर: स्मरन्त्य: । ग्रस्तेऽहिना प्रियतमे भृशदु:खतप्ता: शून्यं प्रियव्यतिहृतं ददृशुस्त्रिलोकम् ॥ २० ॥
gopyo ’nurakta-manaso bhagavaty anante tat-sauhṛda-smita-viloka-giraḥ smarantyaḥ graste ’hinā priyatame bhṛśa-duḥkha-taptāḥ śūnyaṁ priya-vyatihṛtaṁ dadṛśus tri-lokam
The young gopīs, whose minds were ever attached to Kṛṣṇa, the unlimited Bhagavān, remembered His loving friendship, His smiling glances, and His words with them. Seeing their dearmost seized by the serpent, they burned in intense sorrow and beheld the three worlds as empty, robbed of the beloved.
FAQs
This verse describes their minds as fully attached to the unlimited Lord, constantly recalling His friendship, smiles, glances, and words, and feeling the whole world empty when He was seized by the serpent.
Because their entire happiness and meaning of life centered on Krishna; when He was forcibly removed from their sight, everything else—even the vast three worlds—felt void and joyless.
It teaches single-pointed remembrance: even in anxiety or loss, keep the mind fixed on Krishna’s qualities and pastimes, letting remembrance deepen devotion rather than weaken it.