Akrūra’s Mission: The Departure from Vraja and the Yamunā Vision of Viṣṇu-Ananta
यस्त्वं प्रदर्श्यासितकुन्तलावृतं मुकुन्दवक्त्रं सुकपोलमुन्नसम् । शोकापनोदस्मितलेशसुन्दरं करोषि पारोक्ष्यमसाधु ते कृतम् ॥ २० ॥
yas tvaṁ pradarśyāsita-kuntalāvṛtaṁ mukunda-vaktraṁ su-kapolam un-nasam śokāpanoda-smita-leśa-sundaraṁ karoṣi pārokṣyam asādhu te kṛtam
Ngài đã cho chúng tôi thấy gương mặt Mukunda—được viền bởi mái tóc đen, đẹp với đôi má thanh tú và sống mũi cao, lại rạng ngời bởi nụ cười thoảng nhẹ xua tan khổ não. Nay Ngài khiến gương mặt ấy khuất mắt; việc làm này của Ngài thật chẳng phải lẽ.
This verse shows the gopīs’ love at its peak: even a moment without Kṛṣṇa’s darśana feels unbearable, and His remembered smile becomes the very medicine that removes sorrow—yet separation makes their longing even stronger.
Akrūra had enabled their seeing Kṛṣṇa’s enchanting face, but as he prepared to take Kṛṣṇa toward Mathurā, the gopīs felt he was making Kṛṣṇa ‘out of sight’ to them; in the intensity of love, they call that act ‘not proper.’
When you cannot feel immediate “darśana” or closeness, deepen remembrance—through nāma-japa, śravaṇa of Kṛṣṇa-kathā, and steady practice—so that longing becomes a force that purifies and strengthens devotion rather than discouraging it.