Shloka 37
गोवर्धनोत्तरविस्मयः, रासलीलाप्रसङ्गः, तथा सर्वव्याप्तिवेदान्तोपदेशः
हस्तन्यस्ताग्रहस्तेयं तेन याति तथा सखी अनायत्तपदन्यासा लक्ष्यते पदपद्धतिः
hastanyastāgrahasteyaṃ tena yāti tathā sakhī anāyattapadanyāsā lakṣyate padapaddhatiḥ
With her hand placed in the grasp of her guide, she moves along; so too does her companion. Her footsteps are no longer self-directed—her very gait and pathway are seen to be governed by that guiding hold.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya, using an illustrative analogy)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Kṛṣṇa’s Vraja-līlā and the gopīs’ experience of pursuit and separation.
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: revealing
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Kṛṣṇa descends to delight Vraja and draw beings into bhakti through intimate līlā that overcomes ego and separation.
Leela: Madhurya
Dharma Restored: Prema-bhakti as the highest dharma, where the jīva’s movement becomes guided by the Lord’s will.
Concept: When the jīva’s ‘hand’ is placed in the Lord’s hold, its course is no longer self-driven but carried by divine guidance.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate deliberate surrender (śaraṇāgati) through daily remembrance and letting dharmic choices be ‘guided’ by devotion rather than impulse.
Vishishtadvaita: The dependent self (śeṣa) moves under the Lord’s governance (śeṣin) while retaining real individuality.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
Bhakti Type: Madhurya
FAQs
It illustrates how a person’s course can become shaped by a directing power—an ethical image for living under dharma and rightful guidance rather than impulsive self-will.
By depicting footsteps that are ‘not self-directed,’ he shows that when one is held and led, one’s movement follows the guide—an analogy for conduct guided by a higher principle.
Even when not named, the Purana’s underlying frame is that true order and right direction ultimately rest in the Supreme—Vishnu—who sustains the proper course of beings and worlds.