Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 16

Gopī-Vipralambha: The Search for Kṛṣṇa and the Revelation of Divine Footprints

Devanagari script

दैत्यायित्वा जहारान्यामेको कृष्णार्भभावनाम् । रिङ्गयामास काप्यङ्‌‌‌घ्री कर्षन्ती घोषनि:स्वनै: ॥ १६ ॥

Transliteration

daityāyitvā jahārānyām eko kṛṣṇārbha-bhāvanām riṅgayām āsa kāpy aṅghrī karṣantī ghoṣa-niḥsvanaiḥ

Translation

一位牧女扮作特里纳瓦尔塔妖，掳走了扮作婴儿奎师那的另一位；又有一位牧女匍匐爬行，脚铃叮当如牧歌回响，拖着双足而行。

Synonyms

• daityāyitvā: having acted like a demon
• daityāyitvā: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक) + √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive); अव्यय; ‘acting as a demon’

• jahāra: carried off
• jahāra: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन

• anyām: another (gopī)
• anyām: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd); एकवचन

• ekaḥ: one (gopī)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); एकवचन

• kṛṣṇa-arbha-bhāvanām: thinking (her) to be baby Kṛṣṇa
• kṛṣṇa-arbha-bhāvanām: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + arbha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāvanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd); एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कृष्णस्य अर्भभावना = imagining/considering as baby Kṛṣṇa)

• riṅgayām: made (her) crawl
• riṅgayām: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √riṅg/raṅg (धातु; चलने)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन; causative stem (णिच्): ‘made (someone) crawl’

• āsa: did / was
• āsa: Kriya (क्रिया/auxiliary)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन; सहायक-क्रिया (auxiliary with riṅgayām)

• kā: some (gopī)
• kā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रयोग (some)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (also/even)

• aṅghrī: (her) two feet
• aṅghrī: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅghri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd); द्विवचन (dual)

• karṣantī: dragging
• karṣantī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle)

• ghoṣa-niḥsvanaiḥ: with the sounds of the cowherd-settlement
• ghoṣa-niḥsvanaiḥ: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghoṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + niḥsvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/instrumental); बहुवचन; (घोषस्य निःस्वनैः)

Purport

The gopīs started imitating all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, beginning from His earliest activities as a baby.

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Gopīs (Vraja-devīs)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the gopīs imitating Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes?

This verse shows the gopīs, overwhelmed by love in separation, reenacting roles connected to Kṛṣṇa—some imagining baby Kṛṣṇa, others even taking the part of a demoness—revealing how deeply their minds are absorbed in Him.

Why are the gopīs described as acting like a demoness and baby Kṛṣṇa in Canto 10 Chapter 30?

While searching for Kṛṣṇa, their intense prema makes them relive His Vraja-līlās. They spontaneously dramatize familiar childhood episodes, indicating that remembrance of Kṛṣṇa becomes their only shelter.

What is a practical lesson from the gopīs’ behavior in this shloka?

Sincere devotion grows by constant remembrance—hearing and recalling Kṛṣṇa’s līlās so deeply that the mind naturally returns to Him, especially during times of absence or difficulty.