Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.16
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhavatyaḥ
—
you
Honorific second-person plural pronoun. Even when teasing, Kṛṣṇa addresses them with the elevated form — the līlā preserves their dignity. Mādhurya does not degrade; it elevates.
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dāsyaḥ
—
My servants
Same word the gopīs used in verse 15 — He turns it back on them. The dāsya-bhāva they offered is now the rope by which He pulls them out of the water. In Gauḍīya doctrine, sincere śaraṇāgati always returns as His instrument.
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śuci-smitāḥ
—
whose smiles are fresh
Compound: śuci (pure, clean) + smita (smiling). He has read their inward smile from verse 12 already. They are pure-smiling — He names what is most beautiful about them even while testing them.
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kruddhaḥ
—
angry
Past participle of √krudh. He echoes their threat from verse 15 — 'so what if the king becomes angry?' The dismissal is also a tattva-statement: no worldly authority binds Bhagavān, and one who has taken His shelter is beyond Kaṁsa's reach.
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kariṣyati
—
will be able to do
Future of √kṛ. 'What can he do?' — the rhetorical question that voids Kaṁsa from the līlā. The gopīs' fear is gently demolished; only Kṛṣṇa's will is operative here.
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments, “When the gopīs saw that Kṛṣṇa was strong and determined, they had no alternative but to abide by His order.”
The gopis being defeated by their own words, then stood speechless. Krsna then spoke. "The truthfulness of your words will be tested by this. If you are truely my servants, then you will do whatever I say. Then , please come forward with a smile and take your clothes. If you are not true to your words, then I will not give them. If you fail this test of dharma , then I will not give you your clothing." Suci smita means a smile expressing conjugal love. This revealed the gopis’ true mood to Krsna. "As I am stronger, you should use sama instead of bheda (creating fear in the opponent). If you make the king angry what can you accomplish."
He becomes victorious when the young gopīs agree to be his servants. He uses the respectful word bhavatyaḥ in order to increase their enthusiasm. He uses the word sva in order to show the necessity that they quickly take their clothing. By alluding to their pure smiles he hints that they are not really suffering from cold and that their shivering is faked. Or when you smile nicely I will give the clothing but if you approach with gloomy faces I will not give the clothing. If you do not do this I will not give even a scrap of clothing. If I give anything, I will give some torn pieces to some of you. Even if the king of the cowherds is angry what will he do? Well, he will do nothing, since he has great affection for me, his son. Saying that, he used some of the cloth as a seat, some pieces as a bed, and some pieces as flags. By tying them to the branches, some he made into a swing and began swinging, and some he threw here and there over the tree. It will be explained that he later gathered the cloth from these places and put it all on the tree trunk.
- Which 'king' have I threatened the Lord with when He gently calls my bluff?
- Where am I more invested in public posturing than in actual maidservant-status?
A master accepting the servants' own words as the binding term: 'If you are truly my servants, then act like servants and come up here unconditionally.' The gopīs trapped themselves in verse 15 by calling themselves dāsyaḥ; in verse 16 He simply holds them to it.
My note
Source: vedabase.io