Shloka 40
Gopī-Vipralambha: The Search for Kṛṣṇa and the Revelation of Divine Footprints
श्रीशुक उवाच अन्विच्छन्त्यो भगवतो मार्गं गोप्योऽविदूरित: । ददृशु: प्रियविश्लेषान्मोहितां दु:खितां सखीम् ॥ ४० ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca anvicchantyo bhagavato mārgaṁ gopyo ’vidūritaḥ dadṛśuḥ priya-viśleṣān mohitāṁ duḥkhitāṁ sakhīm
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: As the gopīs went on searching for the Lord’s path, they saw nearby their friend, bewildered and sorrowful from separation from her beloved.
FAQs
This verse shows that separation from Kṛṣṇa can overwhelm the devotee with intense longing, and that very longing becomes a powerful expression of bhakti as the gopīs continue searching for Him.
In the Rāsa-līlā narrative, Kṛṣṇa becomes unseen, and the gopīs, driven by love, follow His traces through Vṛndāvana, seeking where He went and what happened.
When spiritual life feels like “separation,” use it to deepen remembrance—through nāma-japa, kīrtana, and sincere prayer—turning longing into steady devotion rather than discouragement.