Shloka 43
Paugaṇḍa Cowherding, Tālavana, the Slaying of Dhenukāsura, and Revival from Poisoned Yamunā Water
पीत्वा मुकुन्दमुखसारघमक्षिभृङ्गै- स्तापं जहुर्विरहजं व्रजयोषितोऽह्नि । तत्सत्कृतिं समधिगम्य विवेश गोष्ठं सव्रीडहासविनयं यदपाङ्गमोक्षम् ॥ ४३ ॥
pītvā mukunda-mukha-sāragham akṣi-bhṛṅgais tāpaṁ jahur viraha-jaṁ vraja-yoṣito ’hni tat sat-kṛtiṁ samadhigamya viveśa goṣṭhaṁ savrīḍa-hāsa-vinayaṁ yad apāṅga-mokṣam
หญิงชาววรินดาวันใช้ดวงตาดุจผึ้งดื่มน้ำผึ้งจากพระพักตร์อันงามของมุกุนทะ จึงสลัดความร้อนรุ่มแห่งการพรากจากตลอดวันทิ้งไป แล้วเมื่อพวกนางเหลือบมองด้วยความเขินอาย รอยยิ้ม และความนอบน้อม พระศรีกฤษณะทรงรับเหล่านั้นเป็นเครื่องสักการะอันเหมาะสม และเสด็จเข้าสู่หมู่บ้านคนเลี้ยงวัว
In Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda describes this incident as follows: “All the gopīs in Vṛndāvana remained very morose on account of Kṛṣṇa’s absence. All day they were thinking of Kṛṣṇa in the forest or of Him herding cows in the pasture. When they saw Kṛṣṇa returning, all their anxieties were immediately relieved, and they began to look at His face the way drones hover over the honey of the lotus flower. When Kṛṣṇa entered the village, the young gopīs smiled and laughed. Kṛṣṇa, while playing the flute, enjoyed the beautiful smiling faces of the gopīs.”
FAQs
This verse states that Kṛṣṇa’s apāṅga—His sidelong, mercy-filled glance—carries the power to grant mokṣa, because His personal presence and favor dissolve bondage and awaken pure devotion.
While Kṛṣṇa was away herding cows and roaming the forest with His friends, the gopīs felt intense separation; when He returned and they beheld His face, that distress was relieved like heat cooled by nectar.
By steady darśana through śravaṇa and kīrtana—hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names and līlās—one can absorb the mind in Him, reducing worldly anxiety and deepening bhakti.