Shloka 27
Akrūra’s Mission: The Departure from Vraja and the Yamunā Vision of Viṣṇu-Ananta
अनार्द्रधीरेष समास्थितो रथं तमन्वमी च त्वरयन्ति दुर्मदा: । गोपा अनोभि: स्थविरैरुपेक्षितं दैवं च नोऽद्य प्रतिकूलमीहते ॥ २७ ॥
anārdra-dhīr eṣa samāsthito rathaṁ tam anv amī ca tvarayanti durmadāḥ gopā anobhiḥ sthavirair upekṣitaṁ daivaṁ ca no ’dya pratikūlam īhate
Nakasakay na sa karwahe si Kṛṣṇa na tila matigas ang puso, at ang mga hangal na pastol ay nagmamadaling humabol sa kaniya sakay ng mga karitong hila ng baka. Pati ang matatanda’y walang sinasabi upang pigilan Siya. Ngayon, ang tadhana’y laban sa atin.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī reveals what the gopīs thought: “These foolish cowherd men and elders are not even trying to stop Kṛṣṇa. Don’t they realize they are committing suicide? They are helping Kṛṣṇa go to Mathurā, but they will have to come back to Vṛndāvana and will certainly die in His absence. The whole world has become nonsensical.”
FAQs
This verse portrays the gopīs’ intense grief and helplessness: they feel Akrūra is hard-hearted, that his companions arrogantly rush the chariot, and that even destiny has turned against them as Kṛṣṇa departs.
Because he proceeds to take Kṛṣṇa away despite their overwhelming sorrow; from their standpoint of love-in-separation, anyone enabling that departure appears unfeeling and cruel.
When you feel distant from God, transform longing into remembrance—chanting, hearing, and prayer—so the pain of separation deepens sincerity rather than leading to despair.