Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.39.27
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anārdra - dhīḥ
—
whose mind is unsoftened / dry
An-ārdra = not-moistened, hence unrelenting. The Gauḍīya paradox: He whose nature is to melt every heart is called dry-hearted by His most loved devotees — viraha inverts the world's categories.
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durmadāḥ
—
intoxicated (ones) / foolish
Strong word for the cowherds — 'mad with excitement,' so they hurry rather than mourn. Vipralambha colours even the gopas' enthusiasm as misdirected.
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sthaviraiḥ upekṣitam
—
ignored by the elders
The kula-vṛddhas, who should restrain the young, say nothing. The gopīs note this institutional silence as evidence that fate itself is colluding — there is no human authority left to appeal to.
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daivam
—
fate / providence
The cosmic 'arrangement.' Same as the diṣṭam Kṛṣṇa spoke of in v.10 — but now read as adversary. Whose side is Daiva on? Gauḍīyas: Daiva is Kṛṣṇa Himself; He is conspiring with Himself for higher rasa.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī reveals what the gopīs thought: “These foolish cowherd men and elders are not even trying to stop Kṛṣṇa. Don’t they realize they are committing suicide? They are helping Kṛṣṇa go to Mathurā, but they will have to come back to Vṛndāvana and will certainly die in His absence. The whole world has become nonsensical.”
Akrura, in coming to Vraja has spread cruelty everywhere. Though seeing us crying, the hard hearted Krsna simply sits on the chariot. Sridama and other cowherd boys are following behind Krsna in a cart, but they have become very foolish because they are not aware that when Krsna does not return here, they will also die. The elders do not stop him from going and thus overlook their own lives. And today fate has been unkind to us. If fate were kind to us, it would have produced some obstacle to his going. It is certain that the inhabitants of Vraja will no longer live."
Ah! Akrūra, a messenger of Kaṁsa, is cruel. Now the soft-hearted merciful son of Nanda has become hard hearted towards us. They speak in extreme pain. He is hard-hearted because he is now seated firmly (sam—sthithaḥ) on the chariot. Foolish cowherds like Śrīdāmā hurry behind (anu) the chariot, using carts (anobhiḥ). Or, being situated among the carts, the cowherds have mounted them and move quickly. Or they hurry to go at every second (tam anu) since they are insane. Otherwise they would have carefully considered first.
- When did community consensus last contradict what your devotional heart wanted?
- How do you hold dissent without becoming cynical?
Like a stone-hearted captain who has boarded the ship without a glance back at the dockside families — Kṛṣṇa has mounted the chariot, the cowherds are hurrying after Him in their bullock-carts, and not even the elders speak a single sentence to stop Him. The gopīs blame Daiva itself for going against them today.
My note
Source: vedabase.io