FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.82.47

శ్రీశుక ఉవాచ అధ్యాత్మశిక్షయా గోప్య ఏవం కృష్ణేన శిక్షితా: । తదనుస్మరణధ్వస్తజీవకోశాస్తమధ్యగన్ ॥ ౪౭ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
adhyātma-śikṣayā gopya
[adhyaatma-shikshayaa gopya]
evaṁ kṛṣṇena śikṣitāḥ
[evam krishnena shikshitaah]
tad-anusmaraṇa-dhvasta-
[tad-anusmarana-dhvasta-]
jīva-kośās tam adhyagan
[jeeva-koshaas tam adhyagan]
śrī - śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said adhyātma — about the soul śikṣayā — with instruction gopyaḥ — the gopīs evam — thus kṛṣṇena — by Kṛṣṇa śikṣitāḥ — taught tat — on Him anusmaraṇa — by constant meditation dhvasta — eradicated jīva - kośāḥ — the subtle covering of the soul (false ego) tam — Him adhyagan — they came to understand .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī - śukaḥ uvāca
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
adhyātma-śikṣayā gopya
adhyātma
about the soul
śikṣayā
with instruction
gopyaḥ
the gopīs
evaṁ kṛṣṇena śikṣitāḥ
evam
thus
kṛṣṇena
by Kṛṣṇa
śikṣitāḥ
taught
tad-anusmaraṇa-dhvasta-
tat
on Him
anusmaraṇa
by constant meditation
dhvasta
eradicated
jīva-kośās tam adhyagan
jīva - kośāḥ
the subtle covering of the soul (false ego)
tam
Him
adhyagan
they came to understand .
  • adhyātma-śikṣayā — with instruction about the soul
    Compound: adhyātma (concerning the self) + śikṣayā (instruction, instrumental). Adhyātma is the body of teaching about ātmā and Paramātmā. The gopīs receive both rasa and tattva — Gauḍīyas honour this combination as the complete bhakti.
  • tat-anusmaraṇa — by constant meditation on Him
    Compound: tat (on Him) + anusmaraṇa (continuous remembrance). The mechanism by which the kośas dissolved: continuous smaraṇa — the third of the nine limbs of bhakti (SB 7.5.23). Gauḍīyas: smaraṇa is what burns the ego-sheath, not jñāna-vicāra alone.
  • tam adhyagan — they came to understand Him
    Phrase: tam (Him) + adhyagan (they understood, aorist of adhi-√i). The gopīs adhyagan — they got Him fully. Not theoretical jñāna but personal grasp. Gauḍīyas: bhakti yields the most complete tattva-jñāna; jñāna is bhakti's by-product.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Having thus been instructed by Kṛṣṇa in spiritual matters, the gopīs were freed of all tinges of false ego because of their incessant meditation upon Him. And with their deepening absorption in Him, they came to understand Him fully.

Śrīla Prabhupāda renders this passage as follows in Kṛṣṇa: “The gopīs, having been instructed by Kṛṣṇa in this philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, remained always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus became liberated from all material contamination. The consciousness of the living entity who falsely presents himself as the enjoyer of the material world is called jīva-kośa, which means imprisonment by the false ego. Not only the gopīs but anyone who follows these instructions of Kṛṣṇa becomes immediately freed from the jīva-kośa imprisonment. A person in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always liberated from false egoism; he utilizes everything for Kṛṣṇa’s service and is not at any time separated from Kṛṣṇa.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Having thus been instructed by Kṛṣṇa in spiritual matters, the gopīs were freed of all tinges of false ego because of their incessant meditation upon Him. And with their deepening absorption in Him, they came to understand Him fully.
Commentary

One should the vaisnava tosani for the esoteric meaning of the above five verses. By these instructions on knowledge (adhyatma siksaya), the gopis were enlightened (siksitah). The interior (kosa) of their night lotus-like lives which had been destroyed by intense, constant thinking of him arising from separation from him, was slightly revived, as they had a hope that they could attain him. Such gopis understood him (adyagan). "He who taught us about dharma at the beginning of the rasa lila, even though we are not intellectuals, and through Uddhava again taught intellectual knowledge, is now again, teaching us knowledge. We should know that this is his nature and is hard for him to give up." That is what they understood about him. It is not suitable to say that jiva kosa means the material body of the gopis, because the eternal associates of the Lord do not have material bodies. It cannot be accepted that even the sadhana siddha gopis who enjoyed with Krsna had material bodies.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The results of the teachings are described. Having accepted the instructions under the supervision of Kṛṣṇa, by constantly thinking of the meaning of what he taught, they destroyed the obstructions to their living--thoughts such as “We will not live.” Consequently they understood him. They understood that they would attain him. At first they did not know him as the object which they could definitely attain. The second meaning is as follows, by constant remembrance of his form which spreads everywhere, they developed intense prema: they realized him. By this they destroyed their (ātma) conviction that they could not attain him (kośa). They then understood that they would attain him (tam adhyagan). The third meaning is as follows. By remembering his manifestation of his aprakaṭa pastimes, they destroyed the covering consisting of the prakaṭa pastimes which caused feelings of separation. These hidden meanings are taken because of the suggestiveness of the figurative language (jīva-kośāḥ). Others will take the meaning to be “Understanding instructions about ātmā they understood the ātmā.”

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

In the manner described, the gopīs were taught by Kṛṣṇa with teachings indicating Kṛṣṇa (adhyātma). By contemplating his teachings (tat), they almost destroyed the bodies of their ātmās, pained by separation, or they destroyed the characteristics of other jīvas. They understood that he was always performing pastimes like the rāsa dance with them in Vṛndāvana.

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses
Concepts
Lila

When the sun teaches the eye to see, the eye does not become the sun — it merely opens. Kṛṣṇa's adhyātma-instruction dissolves the gopīs' jīva-kośa not by erasing them but by clearing the film of false ego. They understand Him fully; they remain themselves.

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