Shloka 14

अक्रूर-सत्कारः, मथुरायात्रा-विरहः, यमुनातटे दिव्यदर्शनम्, चतुर्व्यूह-नमस्कारः

Devanagari script

मथुरां प्राप्य गोविन्दः कथं गोकुलम् एष्यति नागरस्त्रीकलालापमधु श्रोत्रेण पास्यति

Transliteration

mathurāṃ prāpya govindaḥ kathaṃ gokulam eṣyati nāgarastrīkalālāpamadhu śrotreṇa pāsyati

Translation

Having reached Mathurā, how will Govinda ever return to Gokula? He will drink with his ears the honey-sweet prattle of the city women—so how could his heart turn back?

Word by Word

• मथुराम्: Mathurā
• मथुराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु: आप् ‘to obtain/reach’

• गोविन्दः: Govinda
• गोविन्दः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोविन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कथम्: how?
• कथम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• गोकुलम्: Gokula
• गोकुलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एष्यति: will go/return
• एष्यति: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; धातु: इ ‘to go’

• नागरस्त्रीकलालापमधु: the honey-like sweet talk of city women
• नागरस्त्रीकलालापमधु: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागर (प्रातिपदिक) + स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक) + कल (प्रातिपदिक) + आलाप (प्रातिपदिक) + मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (नागरस्त्रीणां कल-आलापः एव मधु इव)

• श्रोत्रेण: with the ear
• श्रोत्रेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• पास्यति: will drink
• पास्यति: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; धातु: पा ‘to drink’

Speaker

Pastoral women of Vraja (Gopīs) expressing anxious longing (as narrated by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna goes to Mathurā to confront tyrannical forces and fulfill the divine course of events, even as it causes Vraja’s separation.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Removal of oppressive rule and protection of the righteous in Mathurā and beyond.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Viraha reveals how exclusive love for Bhagavān makes even imagined rivals (worldly allure) feel like obstacles to devotion.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: When spiritual practice feels ‘separated’ from the divine, turn longing into steady remembrance rather than resentment or distraction.

Vishishtadvaita: Personal Bhagavān is approachable through emotion-filled prapatti; the devotee’s affective bond is a real mode of relation to the Supreme.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Govinda (Krishna)
• Mathura
• Gokula
• City women (nāgarastriyaḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of Mathurā versus Gokula in the Vishnu Purana?

Mathurā symbolizes Krishna’s public, royal sphere, while Gokula embodies intimate pastoral devotion; this verse highlights the devotees’ fear that worldly/courtly attraction may delay his return.

How does Sage Parāśara explain devotion through separation (viraha)?

By narrating the gopīs’ lament, the text shows that intense longing fixes the mind on Govinda alone—turning emotion into single-pointed remembrance (smaraṇa), a core bhakti discipline.

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

Even when appearing as a charming youth in Mathurā, Govinda remains the Supreme Reality; the verse frames his līlā as spiritually potent, drawing all hearts—rural and urban—toward the divine.