Shloka 43
Draupadī Meets Kṛṣṇa’s Queens — Narratives of the Lord’s Marriages and the Queens’ Bhakti
व्रजस्त्रियो यद् वाञ्छन्ति पुलिन्द्यस्तृणवीरुध: । गावश्चारयतो गोपा: पदस्पर्शं महात्मन: ॥ ४३ ॥
vraja-striyo yad vāñchanti pulindyas tṛṇa-vīrudhaḥ gāvaś cārayato gopāḥ pada-sparśaṁ mahātmanaḥ
వ్రజ స్త్రీలు, గోప బాలురు, పులిందీ స్త్రీలు, తృణ-వీరుధలు, గోవులు—ఇవన్నీ మహాత్ముని పాదస్పర్శాన్ని ఎలా కోరుతాయో, అలాగే మేము కూడా ఆయన పాదధూళి స్పర్శాన్నే కోరుతున్నాము; ఆయన గోవులను మేపుతుండగా ఆ ధూళి గడ్డి-చెట్లపై పడుతుంది।
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī reminds us of the jealous rivalry that always existed between the queens of Dvārakā and the gopīs of Vraja. The gopīs considered the sophisticated women of Dvārakā the most serious threat to their hold on Śrī Kṛṣṇa, confessing their anxiety to Uddhava: kasmāt kṛṣṇa ihāyāti prāpta-rājyo hatāhitaḥ/ narendra-kanyā udvāhya.
FAQs
This verse says that everyone in Vraja—from the gopīs to forest people, cows, and even grasses and creepers—yearns for the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s feet, showing the supreme value of His lotus feet as the object of devotion.
To emphasize that Kṛṣṇa’s presence sanctifies all of Vraja and that devotion there is so intense that even non-human life is portrayed as yearning for His foot-touch—highlighting Vraja’s unique, all-pervading bhakti.
Cultivate “pada-sparśa-bhāvanā”—keeping Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet at the center through daily remembrance, chanting, and humble service—so that devotion becomes natural and constant, like the Vraja residents’ longing.