Shloka 22
Gopī-gīta Aftermath: Kṛṣṇa Returns and Explains Divine Non-Reciprocation
Rāsa-līlā Dialogue
न पारयेऽहं निरवद्यसंयुजां स्वसाधुकृत्यं विबुधायुषापि व: । या माभजन् दुर्जरगेहशृङ्खला: संवृश्च्य तद् व: प्रतियातु साधुना ॥ २२ ॥
na pāraye ’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā
No puedo pagar la deuda de vuestro servicio sin mancha, ni siquiera a lo largo de la vida de Brahmā. Me habéis adorado cortando las cadenas del hogar, tan difíciles de romper. Por ello, que vuestras propias obras gloriosas sean vuestra recompensa.
The translation and word meanings for this verse are taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Ādi 4.180) .
FAQs
In 10.32.22, Kṛṣṇa says He cannot repay the gopīs’ pure, faultless devotion even with a divine lifespan, and that their own saintly virtue should be their reward.
Because the gopīs abandoned even the “hard-to-break chains” of household attachment solely to serve Him; Kṛṣṇa acknowledges that such selfless prema exceeds any material or even celestial compensation.
Serve with sincerity rather than bargaining for results, and measure “reward” as inner purification and steadfast devotion—letting bhakti itself become the fruit.