Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.30.15
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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pūtanāyantyāḥ
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of one who was acting like the witch Pūtanā
Denominative participle from Pūtanā — 'behaving as Pūtanā.' The first of the chapter's līlā-anukaraṇa terms. Gauḍīyas note: the gopīs do not enact Kṛṣṇa's encounters with sages or kings — they enact the dramatic, embodied Vraja-līlās of His infancy.
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kṛṣṇāyantī
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another, who was acting like Kṛṣṇa
Denominative participle from Kṛṣṇa — 'behaving as Kṛṣṇa.' The masculine subject becomes feminine in re-enactment; rasa-śāstra accepts this without comment. Bhāva crosses sex; what matters is the mood.
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apibat-stanam
—
drank from the breast
From √pā (to drink) + stana (breast). The exact verb-phrase of SB 10.6 where Kṛṣṇa drains Pūtanā. The gopīs are performing scripture; their bodies have absorbed the canon.
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śakaṭā-yatīm
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another who was imitating a cart
Denominative from śakaṭa (cart). Refers to Śakaṭāsura, the cart-demon Kṛṣṇa kicked apart as an infant (SB 10.7). The gopīs play the cart, the kick, the cry — a one-verse compression of three pastimes.
The imitation of Krsna’s pastimes is described in four verses. One gopi acted as Putana and another as Krsna, pretending to drink milk from her breast. One gopis cried like a baby and kicked another gopi imitating the cart.
Their imitation is described in nine verses. Situated in their own natures, they acted like Pūtanā, and did not take on her contrary mentality. One gopī acted like Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇāyantī). The next verse indicates that someone assumed the mood of Kṛṣṇa. (This does not mean they became Kṛṣṇa.) “Drinking milk from her breast” is only acting since acting is being discussed. One of them took the role of the cart, placing hands and feet on the ground and raising up the body.
Their imitation is described in nine verses. Anucakruḥ in the previous verse indicates that the imitation was complete. They became absorbed in the enactment. Otherwise it would have just been stated that they imitated Kṛṣṇa. One can imitate the bodily actions with one’s body, verbal actions with one’s speech and mental activities with the mind. Though one truly imitates by assuming the mood of the other person, it depends on these three elements. First three examples of bodily imitation are described. One gopī imitated Pūtanā, by using her gestures, not by dress, since that was lacking at the time. The next verses explains that one gopī thought she was Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣnārbha-bhāvavān). This was done in the confusion generated from separation. Even though not perfectly accomplished, it occurred because of the nature of pain in separation, with absorption in the pastimes. Though it is not proper for exalted devotees to imitate demons, they were overcome with special, indescribable bhāvas and thus imitated his pastimes, thinking that their friends were also overcome with such bhāvas. With intention they imitated Pūtanā and others in order to dissipate their great suffering by contact with his mind by doing that. (verse 14) Or iti means thus they were pained by searching for Kṛṣṇa. The pastimes next (anu) made all the gopīs suffering separation become full of the pastimes (tad-ātmikāḥ). Thus it was suitable that they portray demons, since demons were involved in the pastimes. They were not at fault. One gopī imitated sucking her breast, not actually sucking her breast, since it was imitation. This applies to later actions also. One imitated a cart above another gopī imitating Kṛṣṇa.
When the master is away, the apprentices in the studio start drawing his portraits — one becomes the demon he slew, one becomes the demon's prey, one becomes the master himself raising his hand. The gopīs' Vṛndāvana becomes such a studio: Pūtanā-gopī suckling Kṛṣṇa-gopī, Śakaṭa-gopī receiving the kick, the absent līlā re-played in the empty hour.
The witch Pūtanā came to poison infant Kṛṣṇa with a coated nipple. He drank the poison — and her life with it — but also, the Gosvāmīs insist, accepted her as mother because she had assumed a mother's posture (SB 10.6).
Rūpa Gosvāmī's astonishing teaching from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: even a malicious approach, if it takes the form of relationship, can be accepted by Kṛṣṇa as bhakti. The gopī playing Pūtanā in this verse is, in re-enactment, both the murderess and the redeemed mother — the līlā holds the paradox.
My note
Source: vedabase.io