Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 58

Uddhava Meets the Gopīs: Bhramara-gītā and Kṛṣṇa’s Message of Separation

Devanagari script

एता: परं तनुभृतो भुवि गोपवध्वो गोविन्द एव निखिलात्मनि रूढभावा: । वाञ्छन्ति यद् भवभियो मुनयो वयं च किं ब्रह्मजन्मभिरनन्तकथारसस्य ॥ ५८ ॥

Transliteration

etāḥ paraṁ tanu-bhṛto bhuvi gopa-vadhvo govinda eva nikhilātmani rūḍha-bhāvāḥ vāñchanti yad bhava-bhiyo munayo vayaṁ ca kiṁ brahma-janmabhir ananta-kathā-rasasya

Translation

[Uddhava ca lên:] Trong mọi kẻ mang thân trên cõi đất, chỉ các phụ nữ chăn bò này đạt viên mãn tối thượng, vì tình yêu thuần khiết của họ đã bén rễ nơi Govinda, Đấng là Tự Ngã của muôn loài. Tình yêu mà các bậc hiền triết sợ luân hồi và cả chúng ta hằng khao khát—với người đã nếm vị ngọt những chuyện kể về Đấng Vô Hạn, thì sinh làm Bà-la-môn cao quý, hay thậm chí sinh làm Phạm Thiên, có ích gì nữa?

Synonyms

• etāḥ: these (women)
• etāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural)

• param: indeed/supremely
• param: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/adverb): ‘indeed, supremely’

• tanu-bhṛtaḥ: embodied beings
• tanu-bhṛtaḥ: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (tanūṃ bhṛṇvanti iti)

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (singular)

• gopa-vadhvaḥ: the wives/women of the cowherds
• gopa-vadhvaḥ: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopa (प्रातिपदिक) + vadhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gopānāṃ vadhvaḥ)

• govindaḥ: Govinda
• govindaḥ: Viṣaya/Āśraya (विषय/आश्रय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: govinda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (singular)

• eva: alone/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• nikhilātmani: in the all-pervading Self
• nikhilātmani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nikhila (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (singular); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः: ‘in the all-self (the universal Self)’

• rūḍha-bhāvāḥ: whose love/feeling is firmly fixed
• rūḍha-bhāvāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rūḍha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural); कर्मधारयः (rūḍhaḥ bhāvaḥ yeṣām)

• vāñchanti: they desire
• vāñchanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vāñch (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (plural)

• yat: that which
• yat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (singular)

• bhava-bhiyaḥ: those fearful of worldly existence
• bhava-bhiyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + bhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural); तत्पुरुषः (bhavasya bhayaṃ)

• munayaḥ: sages
• munayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural)

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; उत्तमपुरुषार्थे; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• kim: what (use)?
• kim: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्न/निषेधार्थक निपात; अव्यय: ‘what (use)?’

• brahma-janmabhiḥ: by births as Brahmā (even)
• brahma-janmabhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन (plural); तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ janmāni)

• ananta-kathā-rasasya: of the nectar of the infinite one’s narrations
• ananta-kathā-rasasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक) + kathā (प्रातिपदिक) + rasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (singular); तत्पुरुषः (anantasya kathāyāḥ rasaḥ)

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that here the term brahma-janmabhiḥ, “brahminical births,” refers to the threefold birth by (1) seminal parenthood, (2) sacred-thread initiation and (3) sacrificial initiation. These cannot compare to pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Characters & Entities

• Govinda (Krishna)
• Gopīs
• Munis (sages)
• Uddhava

FAQs

What does Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.58 say about the gopīs?

It declares the gopīs the greatest among embodied beings because their love is firmly rooted in Govinda, the indwelling Self of all.

Why does Uddhava glorify the gopīs in Canto 10 Chapter 47?

After witnessing their unmatched separation-love and single-minded absorption in Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava acknowledges that even sages seek the devotion the gopīs naturally possess.

How can this verse be applied in modern life?

It teaches that real spiritual success is measured by sincere attachment to God and taste for divine hearing (Kṛṣṇa-kathā), not by status, background, or external credentials.