Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.20.42
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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mukundaḥ
—
Mukunda (Kṛṣṇa, the giver of liberation)
Mukunda — from mukti + da (giver). Gauḍīyas relish that He who gives mukti to others holds back nothing from the gopīs; He gives them not mukti but Himself. The name in this verse is theologically rich.
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vraja-yoṣitām
—
of the ladies of Vraja
Compound: Vraja + yoṣit (woman). The gopīs. The technical phrase used throughout Canto 10 for the highest mādhurya-bhaktas. Gauḍīyas treat Vraja-yoṣit as the gold standard.
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bodhaḥ
—
spiritual awakening, knowledge
From √budh — to wake. The wisdom that wakes one out of deha-identification. Gauḍīyas note that bodha relieves deha-tāpa; Mukunda relieves vipralambha-tāpa — and only Mukunda can do the second.
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deha-abhimāna-jam
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born of identification with the body
Compound: deha (body) + abhimāna (identification) + ja (born of). The tāpa specifically caused by body-identification. Gauḍīyas note: even after this tāpa is removed by bodha, the higher tāpa of Kṛṣṇa-separation remains — and Mukunda is its sole remedy.
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uḍupaḥ
—
the moon
Same as v. 19 — but now full and cool, not covered. The verse's structural twin to v. 19: there the moon is obscured, here it cools the world. The chapter moves the same emblem through its seasons.
As knowledge takes away suffering due to bodily identification, as Mukunda takes away the suffering of the women of Vraja, so the moon takes away the heat of the sun.
The moon in the first line is the object of comparison, though not mentioned. For materialists the moon takes away the heat of the sun. For the spiritualists ātmā-jñāna takes away suffering. For the fully devoted gopīs of Vraja Mukunda takes away suffering. This verse points out the special position of the gopīs. Because their suffering was indescribable and famous it is not mentioned. gopīnāṁ paramānanda āsīd govinda-darśane kṣaṇaṁ yuga-śatam iva yāsāṁ yena vinābhavat The young gopīs took the greatest pleasure in seeing Govinda, since for them even a moment without his association seemed like a hundred ages. SB 10.19.16 āśliṣya sama-śītoṣṇaṁ prasūna-vana-mārutam janās tāpaṁ jahur gopyo na kṛṣṇa-hṛta-cetasaḥ Except for the gopīs, whose hearts had been stolen by Kṛṣṇa, the people could forget their suffering by embracing the wind coming from the flower-filled forest. This wind was neither hot nor cold. SB 10.20.45
Mukunda, giving realization of the truth (bodhaḥ) to the gopīs by persons like Uddhava, relieved the gopīs suffering arising from bodily identification. I offer repeated respects to the explanations of the gopīs’ bhāva made by persons who understand the glories of the gopīs. It is the subject of much deliberation by many great souls. Pain arising from bodily identification is always removed by proper understanding, just as Mukunda relieves the gopīs’ pain of separation felt in the day at night. Or bodhaḥ can refer to Kṛṣṇa who by his flute informs the gopīs of the meeting place in the bower or the special rasa he is experiencing. This person, Mukunda, who gives special happiness as Bhagavān, took away the gopīs’ pain of not attaining Kṛṣṇa, arising from identifying themselves as bodies as belonging to others, by the sound of his enchanting flute.
- Which 'sun-burn' in my life would the right wisdom or presence soothe immediately?
- Am I seeking relief from the right source, or the wrong one?
The autumn moon cools every being scorched by the sun — but Kṛṣṇa Mukunda cools the Vraja-women only by being present, for they are scorched by His absence. The verse names Him as both Bodha (the wisdom that cools deha-identification) and Mukunda (the One who gave Himself to the gopīs and now must be re-given). Gauḍīyas read this as the chapter's quiet rāsa-foreshadowing: it is summer for the gopīs even in autumn.
When Hanumān serves Rāma, he asks for nothing — but Rāma gives him perpetual presence, the highest gift (Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa). Mukunda is the name of the One who gives mukti — and to the Vraja-gopīs, He gives more than mukti: He gives Himself.
Gauḍīyas note that mukti is mentioned in passing here, but the real point is the second half — Mukunda relieves the gopīs of separation by His own arrival. No moon, no breeze, no autumn cools them; only Him.
My note
Source: vedabase.io