Shloka 14

Gopī-Vipralambha: The Search for Kṛṣṇa and the Revelation of Divine Footprints

Devanagari script

इत्युन्मत्तवचोगोप्य: कृष्णान्वेषणकातरा: । लीला भगवतस्तास्ता ह्यनुचक्रुस्तदात्मिका: ॥ १४ ॥

Transliteration

ity unmatta-vaco gopyaḥ kṛṣṇānveṣaṇa-kātarāḥ līlā bhagavatas tās tā hy anucakrus tad-ātmikāḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞ്, കൃഷ്ണാന്വേഷണത്തിൽ വ്യാകുലയായ ഗോപികൾ, അവനിൽ തന്മയരായി, ഭഗവാന്റെ വിവിധ ലീലകൾ അനുകരിച്ച് അഭിനയിച്ചു തുടങ്ങി।

Synonyms

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• unmatta-vacaḥ: speaking like madwomen
• unmatta-vacaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: unmatta (प्रातिपदिक) + vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (mad/deranged speech)

• gopyaḥ: the gopīs
• gopyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन

• kṛṣṇa-anveṣaṇa-kātarāḥ: distressed in searching for Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇa-anveṣaṇa-kātarāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + anveṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kātara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; विशेषणम्; (कृष्णस्य अन्वेषणेन कातराः)

• līlāḥ: pastimes
• līlāḥ: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: līlā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन

• bhagavataḥ: of the Lord
• bhagavataḥ: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/genitive); एकवचन

• tāḥ: those (pastimes)
• tāḥ: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd); बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tāḥ: those, those
• tāḥ: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd); बहुवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis/indeed)

• anucakruḥ: they reenacted / imitated
• anucakruḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); बहुवचन; धातुः √कृ (to do) उपसर्गः अनु-

• tad-ātmikāḥ: identifying with them / absorbed in them
• tad-ātmikāḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ātmika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (तदात्मिका = having that as their nature/identity)

Characters & Entities

• Gopīs
• Kṛṣṇa
• Bhagavān

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the gopīs’ madness in separation (viraha)?

This verse describes the gopīs as speaking like those “maddened” by love because their separation from Kṛṣṇa makes their absorption so intense that they reenact His pastimes while searching for Him.

Why do the gopīs reenact Kṛṣṇa’s līlās while searching for Him in Canto 10 Chapter 30?

Because their hearts are fully identified with Kṛṣṇa (tad-ātmikāḥ); remembering and acting out His pastimes becomes a natural expression of their devotion and a way to sustain their consciousness of Him during separation.

How can a devotee apply the teaching of this shloka in modern life?

By consciously keeping Kṛṣṇa at the center—through remembrance, kīrtana, and reflecting on His līlās—so that even times of longing or difficulty deepen one’s bhakti rather than weaken it.