Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.39.34
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anuvrajya
—
having followed (Him)
Anu + √vraj — to walk after. The same root that gives 'Vraja.' The gopīs literally vraj after their Vraja-pati — a play of words the Bhāgavata audience would catch instantly.
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anurañjitāḥ
—
made colored / pleased (by His glances)
Anu-rañj = to dye, to color, to please. His glance dyes them in His own color — the precise mechanism of bhakti-rasa, where the devotee takes on the Lord's hue.
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pratyādeśam
—
(awaiting) some instruction / reply
Praty-ādeśa = a response-command. They stop and wait for some word — any word — that will tell them what to do with their lives now. The wait that will fill the rest of their days.
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kāṅkṣantyaḥ
—
hoping / longing
Present participle, feminine plural — those (women) longing. The verb stretches them across all the remaining verses of this chapter and forward into Uddhava's visit at SB 10.46.
Sitting on the chariot, Krsna turned it towards them, seeing that their live airs were rising up. Glancing at them he seemed to say, "O my beloved girls, do not be sad. After satisfying these people I will return to you." Therefore they were joyful (anuranjita). When their legs became a little mobile, they began to follow after the chariot like the cowherd boys who were blissfully walking behind. But they desired some answer from him, and thus they remained standing there. As he had assuaged their fears with glances, they desired that he should have done so with words as well.
They waited for words which would counter Akrūra’s words and oppose Kṛṣṇa going from Vraja (pratyādeśam—refusal). Or they waited for a message through a messenger, as a response to their pleas for him to stop leaving. They remained there, standing on a raised area, looking attentively at him as he went further in the distance.
The word ca means tu, and indicates a new topic. They were different from the cowheds who went along with Kṛṣṇa. They followed him because he was dearer than their lives (dayitam). If they did not follow, their prāṇas would follow him anyway. They were pacified by him (anurañjitāḥ) because he was most attractive (kṛṣṇam). He jumped from the chariot and embraced them and then mounted the chariot again. They waited from him to counter the instruction not to follow him (pratyadeśam). Or not being inclined to go, he would counteract Akrūra’s words by returning. Or through messengers he would send an answer to his previous words.
- Where could partial reassurance from Kṛṣṇa be enough for you to keep walking?
- What instruction are you currently 'standing still' to hear?
Like a king who, leaving the queens at the palace gate, sends a single look back to soften their sorrow — Kṛṣṇa's glances 'somewhat pacify' the gopīs and they walk along behind the chariot for a stretch. Then they stop, waiting for one final instruction from Him.
My note
Source: vedabase.io