Shloka 13

अक्रूर-सत्कारः, मथुरायात्रा-विरहः, यमुनातटे दिव्यदर्शनम्, चतुर्व्यूह-नमस्कारः

Devanagari script

दृष्ट्वा गोपीजनः सास्रः श्लथद्वलयबाहुकः निशश्वासातिदुःखार्तः प्राह चेदं परस्परम्

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā gopījanaḥ sāsraḥ ślathadvalayabāhukaḥ niśaśvāsātiduḥkhārtaḥ prāha cedaṃ parasparam

Translation

ایک دوسرے کو دیکھ کر گوپیوں کا گروہ—آنسوؤں سے بھری آنکھوں، بازوؤں پر ڈھیلی پڑی چوڑیوں اور بھاری آہوں سے سخت غم زدہ ہو کر—آپس میں یوں کہنے لگا۔

Word by Word

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

गोपीजनःthe group of cowherd women

सास्रःtearful

श्लथद्वलयबाहुकःwhose armlets had become loose (on the arms)

निशश्वासातिदुःखार्तःafflicted with extreme sorrow, sighing

प्राहsaid

चand

इदम्this

परस्परम्to one another

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya); within the narrative, the gopīs begin speaking to each other.

Characters & Entities

Gopis (cowherd women)

FAQs

What is the significance of the gopīs’ tears and loosened bangles in the Vishnu Purana?

They are classic signs of viraha (love-in-separation), showing how devotion to Krishna (Vishnu) transforms the whole being—mind, breath, and body—into remembrance.

How does Sage Parāśara frame the gopīs’ grief in the dialogue with Maitreya?

Parāśara narrates their collective condition as a devotional crisis—sorrow expressed through breath and tears—before introducing their spoken reflections, which carry the theological and emotional meaning of Krishna’s līlā.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu (as Krishna) in this context?

Krishna’s apparent absence intensifies bhakti: the Supreme Lord, while complete in Himself, draws devotees into deeper surrender through longing, making separation itself a vehicle of realization.