FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.41.31

ऊचु: पौरा अहो गोप्यस्तप: किमचरन्महत् । या ह्येतावनुपश्यन्ति नरलोकमहोत्सवौ ॥ ३१ ॥
ūcuḥ paurā aho gopyas
[oochuh pauraa aho gopyas]
tapaḥ kim acaran mahat
[tapah kim acharan mahat]
yā hy etāv anupaśyanti
[yaa hy etaav anupashyanti]
nara-loka-mahotsavau
[nara-loka-mahotsavau]
Word-for-word
ūcuḥ — said paurāḥ — the women of the city aho — ah gopyaḥ — the cowherd girls (of Vṛndāvana) tapaḥ — austerity kim — what acaran — have executed mahat — great yāḥ — who hi — indeed etau — these two anupaśyanti — constantly see nara - loka — for human society mahā - utsavau — who are the greatest source of pleasure .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ūcuḥ paurā aho gopyas
ūcuḥ
said
paurāḥ
the women of the city
aho
ah
gopyaḥ
the cowherd girls (of Vṛndāvana)
tapaḥ kim acaran mahat
tapaḥ
austerity
kim
what
acaran
have executed
mahat
great
yā hy etāv anupaśyanti
yāḥ
who
hi
indeed
etau
these two
anupaśyanti
constantly see
nara-loka-mahotsavau
nara - loka
for human society
mahā - utsavau
who are the greatest source of pleasure .
Important Words
  • gopyaḥ — the cowherd girls
    Nominative plural of gopī. The Mathurā women name the gopīs even before knowing the full līlā. Vyāsa makes the Mathurā chorus introduce, in one word, the Bhāgavatam's highest topic. Gauḍīyas: gopī-bhāva is the parama-prāpti.
  • tapaḥ — austerity
    Accusative of tapas. The Mathurā women assume the gopīs' constant darśana must be the reward of vast tapasya. They cannot yet conceive that gopī-prema is itself the highest tapas. Gauḍīyas read this gently — Mathurā's bhakti is still karma-flavored.
  • mahā-utsavau — the greatest source of pleasure
    Compound: mahā (great) + utsava (festival). Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma named as the festival itself. Echoes verse 27 (utsavam). The body of Bhagavān is the celebration; mokṣa is only the door.
  • anupaśyanti — constantly see
    anu + √paś, present 3rd plural — see continuously. The verb of nirantara-darśana. The Mathurā women envy precisely the continuity, not just the seeing. Gauḍīyas note: bhakti is measured in its unbrokenness.
The women of Mathurā exclaimed: Oh, what severe austerities the gopīs must have performed to be able to regularly see Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, who are the greatest source of pleasure for all mankind!
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The women of Mathurā exclaimed: Oh, what severe austerities the gopīs must have performed to be able to regularly see Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, who are the greatest source of pleasure for all mankind!
Commentary

The word paurah refers to the women living in the city (pura) of Mathura.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Paurāḥ refers to the women of Mathurā since they praise only the gopīs. Paurāḥ instead of pauryaḥ is poetic license. It was previously shown that both men and women were overjoyed. Now he is glorified by all the citizens to show the reason why they could see his form. The gopīs represent all the inhabitants of Vraja. The two boys were joy for humans. This also represents all beings on earth, but humans are the most important. Therefore they are mentioned. Or the two were joy for the humans and all the fourteen worlds (loka). Or the two were joy for all jīvas (naraloka). The gopīs and others continually see (anupaśyanti) the two boys. The present tense is used because it was possible that the two would return there.

Related values & verses
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Mathurā's women exclaim: what severe austerities the gopīs must have performed to see Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma regularly! Even strangers recognize that intimate access to the Lord rests on hidden austerity.
Reflection Questions
  • What hidden austerity could you start that would make intimate access to Kṛṣṇa more available?
  • Where do you envy others' devotional fortune without honoring its cost?
Analogy

The Mathurā women look at Kṛṣṇa walking the avenue and immediately think upward — what tapas, what previous-life austerities, must the gopīs have done to drink this face every dawn? Bhāva measures itself by envying the deeper bhāva.

Stories
The Vraja women's own envy of Yaśodā

In SB 10.8 the elder gopīs of Vraja describe to mother Yaśodā the wonderful things they have seen her son do — and in the same breath confess that Yaśodā is the most fortunate of all, because she can bind Him with her rope. The Bhāgavatam systematically constructs a ladder of envy: aiśvarya-bhaktas envy dāsya-bhaktas, dāsyas envy sakhyas, sakhyas envy vātsalyas, all envy the gopīs.

The Mathurā women's exclamation here is the first rung. Gauḍīyas read this verse as Vyāsa's own theology in dialogue-form: gopī-bhāva is the apex; everyone else stands below it and looks up.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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