Shloka 43
Uddhava Meets the Gopīs: Bhramara-gītā and Kṛṣṇa’s Message of Separation
ता: किं निशा: स्मरति यासु तदा प्रियाभि- र्वृन्दावने कुमुदकुन्दशशाङ्करम्ये । रेमे क्वणच्चरणनूपुररासगोष्ठ्या- मस्माभिरीडितमनोज्ञकथ: कदाचित् ॥ ४३ ॥
tāḥ kiṁ niśāḥ smarati yāsu tadā priyābhir vṛndāvane kumuda-kunda-śaśāṅka-ramye reme kvaṇac-caraṇa-nūpura-rāsa-goṣṭhyām asmābhir īḍita-manojña-kathaḥ kadācit
พระองค์ทรงระลึกถึงราตรีเหล่านั้นหรือไม่—เมื่อในป่าวฤนทาวันอันงามด้วยดอกบัว ดอกมะลิ และแสงจันทร์ พระองค์ทรงรื่นรมย์กับพวกเรา ผู้เป็นที่รัก ในวงราสะซึ่งกังวานด้วยเสียงกรุ๋งกริ๋งแห่งกำไลข้อเท้า ขณะที่พวกเราสรรเสริญลิลากถาอันไพเราะของพระองค์
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives the following deep realization about this verse: “The gopīs knew that no place could be as beautiful as Vṛndāvana. Nowhere else in the universe could one find such a charming scene as the Vṛndāvana forest, which was scented with pious flowers and illumined by the full moon’s light reflected from the serene waves of the sacred Yamunā River. No one loved Kṛṣṇa as much as the gopīs, and thus no one else could understand Him as well. The gopīs rendered intimate service to Kṛṣṇa that only they could perfect. Thus the gopīs were distraught to think that Lord Kṛṣṇa was bereft of Vṛndāvana and bereft of their service. Free of all material lust, they were overwhelmed with disappointment because they could not give Kṛṣṇa happiness by their loving service. They simply could not imagine Kṛṣṇa enjoying anywhere else as He did in Vṛndāvana in their company.”
FAQs
This verse shows the gopīs recalling the moonlit rāsa nights in Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṇa’s anklets jingled and His sweet words captivated them—remembrance intensifies their devotion in separation.
They are speaking from viraha (painful separation): by questioning His remembrance, they reveal the depth of their love and the way Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes remain their only life-support.
Keep Kṛṣṇa present through deliberate remembrance—hearing/chanting His names and līlās—so that longing becomes steady practice rather than distraction.