Shloka 12

Hari’s Boon to Muchukunda, Security of the Yādus, and Balarāma’s Consolation in Vraja

Viraha-Bhakti

Devanagari script

गोप्यः पप्रच्छुर् अपरा नागरीजनवल्लभः कच्चिद् आस्ते सुखं कृष्णश् चलत्प्रेमलवात्मकः

Transliteration

gopyaḥ papracchur aparā nāgarījanavallabhaḥ kaccid āste sukhaṃ kṛṣṇaś calatpremalavātmakaḥ

Translation

Then the gopīs asked another messenger: “Does Kṛṣṇa—beloved even of the city women—abide in happiness, he whose very being is made of trembling, ever-shifting particles of love?”

Word by Word

• गोप्यः: the gopīs
• गोप्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पप्रच्छुः: asked
• पप्रच्छुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• अपरा: others (another group)
• अपरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘गोप्यः’ as ‘others/another group’)

• नागरीजनवल्लभः: beloved of the city-women
• नागरीजनवल्लभः: Sambodhyam/Addressed (Vocative sense/सम्बोधनार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागरी-जन + वल्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): ‘नागरीजनस्य वल्लभः’

• कच्चित्: whether, I wonder
• कच्चित्: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कच्चित् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय/particle (interrogative, expressing anxious inquiry)

• आस्ते: is, remains
• आस्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• सुखम्: in comfort; happily
• सुखम्: Karma/State (Object of state/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (accusative of state)

• कृष्णः: Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• चलत्प्रेमलवात्मकः: whose nature is (made of) wavering drops of love
• चलत्प्रेमलवात्मकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चलत् (कृदन्त, √चल्) + प्रेम + लव + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘चलन्तः प्रेमलवाः यस्य आत्मा/स्वभावः’ (having a nature consisting of moving/unstable drops of love)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Krishna narrative (as related by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He descends to delight the devotees, lighten Earth’s burden, and restore dharma through līlā among Vraja and beyond.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Bhakti as the supreme path—God’s accessibility to the lowly and love’s supremacy over worldly status.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Nagarī-jana (townspeople/women of the city)

FAQs

What is the significance of the gopīs asking whether Krishna is happy in the Vishnu Purana?

It highlights viraha-bhakti: even in separation, the devotees’ foremost concern is Krishna’s well-being, showing love that is self-forgetful and spiritually elevating.

How does Sage Parāśara explain devotion through separation in this context?

By narrating the gopīs’ questions and emotional language, the text frames longing itself as a sustained form of remembrance (smaraṇa) that keeps the mind fixed on the Supreme (Vishnu as Krishna).

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (as Krishna) in this verse?

Krishna is portrayed as the supreme object of love whose presence governs the devotees’ inner world; their devotion implicitly affirms his transcendence and centrality even when he is elsewhere.