Shloka 23

Veṇu-gīta-āhvāna and the Gopīs’ Appeal: The Opening of Rāsa-līlā

Devanagari script

अथ वा मदभिस्‍नेहाद् भवत्यो यन्त्रिताशया: । आगता ह्युपपन्नं व: प्रीयन्ते मयि जन्तव: ॥ २३ ॥

Transliteration

atha vā mad-abhisnehād bhavatyo yantritāśayāḥ āgatā hy upapannaṁ vaḥ prīyante mayi jantavaḥ

Translation

അല്ലെങ്കിൽ എന്നോടുള്ള മഹാസ്നേഹത്താൽ നിങ്ങളുടെ ഹൃദയങ്ങൾ വശപ്പെട്ട് നിങ്ങൾ ഇവിടെ വന്നിരിക്കാം. അത് നിങ്ങള്ക്ക് യുക്തമായതുതന്നെ; കാരണം എല്ലാ ജീവികൾക്കും എന്നോടു സ്വാഭാവികമായ സ്നേഹം ഉണ്ടല്ലോ।

Synonyms

• atha: now/then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Discourse particle (अनन्तर/प्रस्ताव-अव्यय)

• vā: or
• vā: Vikalpa (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Alternative particle (विकल्प-अव्यय)

• mat-abhisnehāt: from affection for me
• mat-abhisnehāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + abhisneha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'my' + 'affection'); Ablative (पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग)

• bhavatyaḥ: O ladies
• bhavatyaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• yantrita-āśayāḥ: whose intentions are restrained/controlled
• yantrita-āśayāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yantrita (प्रातिपदिक; √yam/yantr, धातु + kta) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष sense: 'controlled' + 'intention'); Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with implied 'bhavatyaḥ' as subject

• āgatāḥ: have come
• āgatāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-gam (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: kta-participle used predicatively; Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic/causal particle (निपात)

• upapannam: proper, fitting
• upapannam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upapanna (प्रातिपदिक; upa-√pad/√pād + kta)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); predicative with implied 'etat'

• vaḥ: for you / of you
• vaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive/Dative (षष्ठी/चतुर्थी), Plural (बहुवचन); enclitic pronoun

• prīyante: are pleased
• prīyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prī (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, present), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• mayi: in me / toward me
• mayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• jantavaḥ: creatures, beings
• jantavaḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Gopīs

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about why the gopīs came to Kṛṣṇa in the rāsa-līlā?

In this verse, Kṛṣṇa acknowledges that the gopīs came because intense love for Him irresistibly drew their hearts, and He affirms that such attraction to Him is natural and fitting.

Why did Kṛṣṇa say this to the gopīs in Bhagavatam 10.29?

Kṛṣṇa is addressing the gopīs who arrived in Vṛndāvana after hearing His flute; He frames their coming as the inevitable effect of divine love and hints at the theological truth that the soul’s real satisfaction is in Him.

Practical application of “living beings find joy in Me” in modern life?

The verse points to redirecting the heart’s search for fulfillment toward devotion—through nāma-japa, kīrtana, and remembrance—so that transient pleasures are replaced by steadier inner satisfaction rooted in the Divine.