Shloka 9
Gopī-gīta: The Song of the Gopīs in Separation
Viraha-bhakti
तव कथामृतं तप्तजीवनं कविभिरीडितं कल्मषापहम् । श्रवणमङ्गलं श्रीमदाततं भुवि गृणन्ति ये भूरिदा जना: ॥ ९ ॥
tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmaṣāpaham śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad ātataṁ bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥ
تیری کَथा کا امرت اس مادّی دنیا کی تپش میں جلتے ہوئے جیووں کی جان ہے؛ شاعروں اور رشیوں نے جس کی ستائش کی، وہ گناہوں کی میل کچیل کو مٹا دیتا ہے۔ اسے سننا سراسر برکت ہے؛ یہ روحانی شان سے بھرپور اور دنیا بھر میں پھیلا ہوا ہے۔ جو لوگ زمین پر اس کا گیت اور پیغام پھیلاتے ہیں، وہ یقیناً سب سے بڑے سخی ہیں۔
King Pratāparudra recited this verse to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu during Lord Jagannātha’s Ratha-yātrā festival. While the Lord was resting in a garden, King Pratāparudra humbly entered and began massaging His legs and lotus feet. Then the King recited the Thirty-first Chapter of the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the songs of the gopīs. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta relates that when Lord Caitanya heard this verse, beginning tava kathāmṛtam, He immediately arose in ecstatic love and embraced King Pratāparudra. The incident is described in detail in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Madhya 14.4-18), and in his edition Śrīla Prabhupāda has given extensive commentary on it.
FAQs
In 10.31.9 the gopīs say Kṛṣṇa’s kathā is “kathāmṛta” (nectar): it revives those burned by misery, is praised by the wise, destroys sin, and is inherently auspicious to hear.
In the Gopī-gīta, the gopīs are suffering in separation from Kṛṣṇa; they proclaim that remembrance, hearing, and singing of His līlā is their very life-support and the highest good for the world.
Make daily time for listening/reading Bhagavatam, kīrtana, or sincere discussion of Kṛṣṇa’s qualities; the verse teaches that such śravaṇa and kīrtana purify the heart and steady one amid stress and sorrow.