Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 11
Veṇu-gīta-āhvāna and the Gopīs’ Appeal: The Opening of Rāsa-līlā
दु:सहप्रेष्ठविरहतीव्रतापधुताशुभा: । ध्यानप्राप्ताच्युताश्लेषनिर्वृत्या क्षीणमङ्गला: ॥ १० ॥ तमेव परमात्मानं जारबुद्ध्यापि सङ्गता: । जहुर्गुणमयं देहं सद्य: प्रक्षीणबन्धना: ॥ ११ ॥
duḥsaha-preṣṭha-viraha- tīvra-tāpa-dhutāśubhāḥ dhyāna-prāptācyutāśleṣa- nirvṛtyā kṣīṇa-maṅgalāḥ
Para sa mga gopī na hindi nakapunta kay Kṛṣṇa, ang di-matiis na pangungulila sa minamahal ay naging matinding apoy ng dalamhati na sumunog sa lahat ng masamang karma. Sa dhyāna ay naranasan nila ang yakap ni Acyuta; at ang gayong kaluguran ay umubos pati ng kanilang makamundong kabutihan. Bagaman Siya ang Paramātmā, inakala nila Siya bilang minamahal na lalaki at nakipag-ugnay sa gayong masidhing damdamin; kaya napawi ang mga gapos ng karma at agad nilang iniwan ang magaspang na katawan na binubuo ng mga guṇa.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments upon this verse as follows: “Here Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks in a peculiar way: he presents the intimate object the gopīs attained as if it were an external idea, thus keeping its true nature secret from outsiders, while at the same time he reveals to the confidential devotees well versed in the scientific conclusions of devotional service the internal meaning that is his real purport. Thus to outsiders Śukadeva says that Kṛṣṇa gave the gopīs liberation, but to the confidential hearers Śukadeva reveals that when the gopīs experienced separation from their beloved there arose in them both immeasurable unhappiness and immeasurable happiness, and that they gradually achieved their desired goal.
FAQs
This verse teaches that the gopīs’ intense pain of separation burned away inauspiciousness, showing that viraha-bhakti can powerfully purify the heart when centered on Kṛṣṇa.
Śukadeva explains that their absorption in Kṛṣṇa was so complete that, even in separation, they experienced His presence internally—an indication of their unmatched devotional trance.
When feeling distance from the Divine, one can intensify sincere remembrance—japa, kīrtana, and contemplation of Kṛṣṇa’s qualities—turning longing into steady purification and devotion.