Shloka 41
निवृत्तास् तास् ततो गोप्यो निराशाः कृष्णदर्शने यमुनातीरम् आगम्य जगुस् तच्चरितं तदा
nivṛttās tās tato gopyo nirāśāḥ kṛṣṇadarśane yamunātīram āgamya jagus taccaritaṃ tadā
Then those cowherd maidens, their hope of beholding Kṛṣṇa frustrated, turned back. Reaching the bank of the Yamunā, they began at once to sing of his deeds and līlās—letting remembrance become their only sight of him.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How the gopīs respond to separation—turning to song at the Yamunā bank.
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: compassionate
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Kṛṣṇa draws the gopīs from frustrated seeking into kīrtana, making remembrance itself the mode of encounter.
Leela: Moksha-dana
Dharma Restored: Kīrtana/smaraṇa as sustaining dharma in separation; devotion transforms loss into worship.
Concept: When direct vision fails, bhakti converts separation into presence through singing and remembrance of the Lord’s līlā.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Use kīrtana, stotra-recitation, and narrative remembrance as steady supports during spiritual dryness or absence of ‘felt’ presence.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord is personally accessible through loving remembrance; relationship (sambandha) is real and persists beyond sensory contact.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
Bhakti Type: Madhurya
FAQs
It shows that when direct darśana is denied, devotion transforms into kīrtana and smaraṇa—remembering and singing Krishna becomes a living encounter with him.
Parāśara frames their disappointment not as mere loss but as a narrative turn: separation intensifies love, and that intensified love expresses itself as song recounting Krishna’s līlā.
Krishna’s apparent absence highlights divine sovereignty: the Supreme draws the heart beyond sensory contact into steadfast bhakti, where remembrance and praise become a path to communion.