Kṛṣṇa was once informed, “You are the life and soul of all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. So because You have left Vṛndāvana, all of the servitors of Your lotus feet there are suffering. It is as if the lakes filled with lotus flowers have dried up from the scorching heat of separation from You.” In the example given here, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana are compared to lakes filled with lotus flowers, and because of the scorching heat of separation from Kṛṣṇa, the lakes—along with the lotus flowers of their lives—are being burned up. And the swans in the lakes, who are compared to the vitality of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, are no longer desiring to live there. In other words, because of the scorching heat, the swans are leaving the lakes. This metaphor is used to describe the condition of the devotees separated from Kṛṣṇa.