Shloka 7
Gopī-gīta: The Song of the Gopīs in Separation
Viraha-bhakti
प्रणतदेहिनां पापकर्षणं तृणचरानुगं श्रीनिकेतनम् । फणिफणार्पितं ते पदाम्बुजं कृणु कुचेषु न: कृन्धि हृच्छयम् ॥ ७ ॥
praṇata-dehināṁ pāpa-karṣaṇaṁ tṛṇa-carānugaṁ śrī-niketanam phaṇi-phaṇārpitaṁ te padāmbujaṁ kṛṇu kuceṣu naḥ kṛndhi hṛc-chayam
Your lotus feet destroy the past sins of all embodied souls who surrender to them. Those feet follow the cows in the pastures and are the eternal abode of Śrī Lakṣmī. Since You once placed them on the hoods of Kāliya, place them upon our breasts and cut away the lust within our hearts.
In their appeal, the gopīs point out that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet destroy the sins of all surrendered conditioned souls. The Lord is so merciful that He even goes out to herd the cows in the pasturing ground, and thus His lotus feet follow them about in the grass. He has offered His lotus feet to the goddess of fortune and has placed them upon the hoods of the serpent Kāliya. Therefore, considering all this, the Lord should place His lotus feet on the gopīs’ breasts and satisfy their desire. That is the logic the gopīs employ here.
FAQs
It says Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet destroy the sins of the surrendered, are the abode of all auspiciousness, and are worthy of worship—so the gopīs beg Him to place those feet on their hearts to remove their inner torment.
They recall that even the serpent Kāliya received the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s feet on his raised hoods, implying that those supremely purifying feet should also be granted to them in their intense devotion and separation.
It teaches surrender and heartfelt prayer: by taking refuge in the Lord’s feet—through remembrance, chanting, and humility—one seeks purification and relief from inner anxiety and longing.