Uddhava Meets the Gopīs: Bhramara-gītā and Kṛṣṇa’s Message of Separation
नायं श्रियोऽङ्ग उ नितान्तरते: प्रसाद: स्वर्योषितां नलिनगन्धरुचां कुतोऽन्या: । रासोत्सवेऽस्य भुजदण्डगृहीतकण्ठ- लब्धाशिषां य उदगाद् व्रजवल्लभीनाम् ॥ ६० ॥
nāyaṁ śriyo ’ṅga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto ’nyāḥ rāsotsave ’sya bhuja-daṇḍa-gṛhīta-kaṇṭha- labdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vraja-vallabhīnām
Amigo mío: este favor de amor íntimo no lo recibió ni la diosa Śrī (Lakṣmī); ¿qué decir entonces de las doncellas celestiales, fragantes y radiantes como el loto? En el festival del rāsa, la gloria surgió en las gopīs de Vraja, cuyos cuellos fueron ceñidos por los brazos del Señor y que obtuvieron Su bendición.
The word meanings and translation for this verse are taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Madhya 8.80) .
This verse states that even Lakṣmī, eternally devoted to Kṛṣṇa, does not receive the particular intimate fortune that the Vraja gopīs received during the rāsa festival—what to speak of the heavenly maidens.
In the context of Uddhava witnessing the gopīs’ unmatched love in separation, Śukadeva highlights that their prema is so exclusive and selfless that it grants them Kṛṣṇa’s most intimate favor, surpassing all other devotees’ forms of fortune.
The verse encourages seekers to value wholehearted devotion over status, beauty, or prestige—cultivating sincere love and remembrance of Kṛṣṇa as the highest “fortune.”