Shloka 49

गोवर्धनोत्तरविस्मयः, रासलीलाप्रसङ्गः, तथा सर्वव्याप्तिवेदान्तोपदेशः

Devanagari script

हस्ते प्रगृह्य चैकैकां गोपिकां रासमण्डले चकार तत्करस्पर्शनिमीलितदृशं हरिः

Transliteration

haste pragṛhya caikaikāṃ gopikāṃ rāsamaṇḍale cakāra tatkarasparśanimīlitadṛśaṃ hariḥ

Translation

Then Hari, taking each gopī by the hand within the rāsa-circle, made her close her eyes—absorbed in the sweetness of His touch.

Word by Word

• हस्ते: in the hand
• हस्ते: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• प्रगृह्य: having taken/holding
• प्रगृह्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र + ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having taken/holding)

• च: and
• च: Nipāta (conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• एकैकाम्: each one
• एकैकाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (of गोपिकाम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (each single one)

• गोपिकाम्: a gopī
• गोपिकाम्: Karma (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• रासमण्डले: in the rāsa circle
• रासमण्डले: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रास (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; (रासस्य मण्डले)

• चकार: made, caused
• चकार: Kriyā (मुख्य क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्करस्पर्शनिमीलितदृशम्: with eyes closed at the touch of her hand
• तत्करस्पर्शनिमीलितदृशम्: Karma-predicative (object complement describing गोपिकाम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक) + स्पर्शन (प्रातिपदिक) + निमीलित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + दृश्/दृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: (तस्य करस्पर्शे निमीलिताः दृशः यस्य) — 'whose eyes were closed due to the touch of her hand'

• हरिः: Hari
• हरिः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To bestow intimate grace through touch, drawing each gopī into absorbed sweetness within the rāsa-maṇḍala.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: The supremacy of personal communion with Bhagavān over all other delights.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhagavān’s grace is individually bestowed—each soul is ‘taken by the hand’ into direct experience, producing inward absorption.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Approach practice as personal relationship: pray, listen, and respond as if addressed individually, not merely as part of a crowd.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s accessibility (saulabhya) and affection (vātsalya/karuṇā) toward finite selves is real and particular, not abstract.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Krishna
• Gopikas

FAQs

What is the significance of the rāsa-maṇḍala in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse the rāsa-circle functions as a sacred, ordered space where Hari stands as the center of harmony; the gopīs’ absorption shows devotion becoming total, eclipsing ordinary perception.

How does Sage Parāśara explain devotional absorption in this episode?

By narrating that a mere touch of Hari’s hand makes the gopīs close their eyes, Parāśara highlights bhakti as an inward, transformative experience initiated by divine grace rather than personal effort alone.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (Hari) in this context?

Hari appears as Krishna, and His touch becomes a vehicle of spiritual enthrallment—implying that the Supreme Lord is both transcendent and intimately accessible, drawing devotees into single-pointed love.