FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.84.1

శ్రీశుక ఉవాచ శ్రుత్వా పృథా సుబలపుత్ర్యథ యాజ్ఞసేనీ మాధవ్యథ క్షితిపపత్న్‍య ఉత స్వగోప్య: । కృష్ణేఽఖిలాత్మని హరౌ ప్రణయానుబన్ధం సర్వా విసిస్మ్యురలమశ్రుకలాకులాక్ష్య: ॥ ౧ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
śrutvā pṛthā subala-putry atha yājñasenī
[shrutvaa prithaa subala-putry atha yaajnasenee]
mādhavy atha kṣitipa-patnya uta sva-gopyaḥ
[maadhavy atha kshitipa-patnya uta sva-gopyah]
kṛṣṇe ’khilātmani harau praṇayānubandhaṁ
[krishne ’khilaatmani harau pranayaanubandham]
sarvā visismyur alam aśru-kalākulākṣyaḥ
[sarvaa visismyur alam ashru-kalaakulaakshyah]
śrī - śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said śrutvā — hearing pṛthā — Kuntī subala - putrī — Gāndhārī, the daughter of King Subala atha — and yājñasenī — Draupadī mādhavī — Subhadrā atha — and kṣiti - pa — of the kings patnyaḥ — the wives uta — also sva — (Lord Kṛṣṇa’s) own gopyaḥ — gopīs kṛṣṇe — to Kṛṣṇa akhila — of all ātmani — the Soul harau — the Supreme Lord Hari praṇaya — loving anubandham — attachment sarvāḥ — all of them visismyuḥ — became amazed alam — greatly aśru - kala — with tears ākula — filling akṣyaḥ — whose eyes .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī - śukaḥ uvāca
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
śrutvā pṛthā subala-putry atha yājñasenī
śrutvā
hearing
pṛthā
Kuntī
subala - putrī
Gāndhārī, the daughter of King Subala
atha
and
yājñasenī
Draupadī
mādhavy atha kṣitipa-patnya uta sva-gopyaḥ
mādhavī
Subhadrā
atha
and
kṣiti - pa
of the kings
patnyaḥ
the wives
uta
also
sva
(Lord Kṛṣṇa’s) own
gopyaḥ
gopīs
kṛṣṇe ’khilātmani harau praṇayānubandhaṁ
kṛṣṇe
to Kṛṣṇa
sarvā visismyur alam aśru-kalākulākṣyaḥ
akhila
of all
ātmani
the Soul
harau
the Supreme Lord Hari
praṇaya
loving
anubandham
attachment
sarvāḥ
all of them
visismyuḥ
became amazed
alam
greatly
aśru - kala
with tears
ākula
filling
akṣyaḥ
whose eyes .
  • praṇaya — loving attachment
    In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, praṇaya is a named stage of prema — the rasa in which the lover and beloved share a single life-breath without formality. Rūpa Gosvāmī places it just above prema and below sneha and rāga. Here Śuka picks the precise word to describe the queens' bond with Kṛṣṇa.
  • anubandham — attachment, binding cord
    From anu (after, along) + √bandh (to bind). Not casual liking but a continuous tether of the heart. Gauḍīyas read it as the cord by which Bhagavān keeps His devotees in place even when He appears to leave.
  • gopyaḥ — the gopīs
    Kṛṣṇa's own (sva) — the verse calls them sva-gopyaḥ. Gauḍīyas hold the gopīs as the topmost reservoir of mādhurya-rasa, the residents of Vraja whose love is acintya. Their tears at Kurukṣetra inaugurate the rasa-exchange that will dominate the chapter's later half.
  • akhila-ātmani — the Soul of all
    akhila (whole, all) + ātman (Self). Kṛṣṇa is Paramātmā in every being — yet Gauḍīyas read this not as Advaitin merging but as acintya-bhedābheda: He is the in-dweller and simultaneously distinct, available to each heart as a beloved Person.
  • aśru-kala — with tears
    kala = with the small, broken sounds of weeping. Gauḍīyas treat such tears as aṣṭa-sāttvika-bhāva: the body's involuntary witness to interior prema. The verse closes on this somatic sign because it is the diagnostic mark of authentic rasa.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Pṛthā, Gāndhārī, Draupadī, Subhadrā, the wives of other kings and the Lord’s cowherd girīfriends were all amazed to hear of the queens’ deep love for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and Soul of all beings, and their eyes filled with tears.

Draupadī is the chief hearer in this assembly of exalted women, since, as explained by Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, she had asked the question that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens answered by relating their respective stories. Since Gāndhārī and the other ladies named here were not even mentioned in the previous chapter as having been present, Ācārya Śrīdhara concludes that they must have heard the queens’ narrations only secondhand. Indeed, Draupadī would never have spoken so freely in the presence of Pṛthā and Gāndhārī, her elders, or before the gopīs, whose attitude toward the queens of Dvārakā was not particularly sympathetic. Even though the gopīs joined in shedding tears, it was more because of their being reminded of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes than because of any loving affinity between them and the queens. We should remember, of course, that there is always perfect harmony on the spiritual platform. Apparent conflict between pure devotees is nothing like mundane envy and strife. The jealousy of the gopīs was more show than substance, being exhibited by them as an ecstatic symptom of their overflowing love for Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmipāda further analyzes the phrase sva-gopyaḥ as implying that these gopīs were the queens’ sva-svarūpa, the original prototypes of whom the queens were specific expansions.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Pṛthā, Gāndhārī, Draupadī, Subhadrā, the wives of other kings and the Lord's cowherd girīfriends were all amazed to hear of the queens' deep love for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and Soul of all beings, and their eyes filled with tears.
Commentary

In the eighty fourth chapter there is mutual praise between Krsna and the sages, questions by Vasudeva, performance of yajna by Vasudeva and Nanda’s departure for Vraja. Though Gandhari (subalaputri), Draupadi (yajnaseni) and Subhadra (madhai) all heard the discussions of the queens, those such as Gadadhari did not hear directly, because it was not fitting for them to be involved in the intimate discussion with questions and answers between Draupadi and the queens in such independent way. Because Draupadi and Subhadra were intimate friends of the same age with the queens, it was proper that they heard directly. The cowherd women living in another place because of their different caste, heard even more indirectly. The word (uta) indicates this separation of distance. By the word "sva" since they identified themselves as the internal energy of Krsna, they would have carry on their intimate pastimes such as embracing without others seeing every night at that place. But in Kuruksetra, a holy place, one should understand that they carried out the practice of brahmacarya and did not engage in such activities. The gopis were also astonished and shed tears on hearing the queens’ pastimes, because they were pastimes concerning Krsna, and they saw there a very slight similarity to their own emotions. It should be understood that the gopis did not have overwhelming attraction to the queens’ pastimes.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The previous subject is concluded by praising it. Draupadī was the main person who heard since she made the proposal and asked the question. Gāndhārī and others were secondary listeners since only they names are given. They heard from others, not directly since it would have been improper that independently she would make the attractive proposal and have the queens speak in front of them. Kuntī and Gāndhārī are mentioned first since they were senior. The word atha, indicating distinction from the rest, used with Draupadī and Subhadrā, indicates that the two were at this time on the same level. Then the wives of other kings are listed. They heard from the previous persons or from others. The gopīs are mentioned separately from all the others by use of the word uta to indicate they were far away and also not directly hearers. The word sva announces that their prema was hundreds of times greater than the previously mentioned persons. Thus it was astonishing that they listened. Or the word sva can indicate they were under his protection and were his dear friends. Thus the gopīs are mentioned separately with the word sva. Kuntī and Gāndhārī were amazed at the queens’ dedication as Kṛṣṇa’s wives. Draupadī was amazed because of the queens’ bhāva. Subhadrā was amazed by their affection for Kṛṣṇa. The wives of the kings were amazed according to their qualification. The gopīs were amazed at the queen’s bhāva which was intense like their own. Each was amazed according to how each took shelter of Kṛṣṇa. The phrase praṇayānubandham (attachment in love) indicates that each woman was amazed according her own capacity. Not only were they amazed at the queens’ love but felt joyful affection for the Lord. Some felt general prema and others felt more specific emotions similar to the queens’ for their eyes became filled with streams of tears. “Some felt like this since they had great affection for Kṛṣṇa, but why did the others also have tears?” This is because Kṛṣṇa is attractive to all, since he is the root form of all material and spiritual beings (akhilātmani), and attractive to all by his form and qualities (harau).

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The word atah repeated indicates amazement or it means “and.” Even the gopīs (uta) were amazed, though they had indescribable prema. What to speak of Kuntī and others. The list is in order less capacity for amazement, because of lesser awareness of Kṛsṇa as the Lord. Among the all, the gopīs awareness of his greatness was covered by their great prema. The queens had love of Kṛṣṇa, svayam bhagavān, who appeared to reveal his nature as bhagavān, while attracting all hearts. He was dearest of all (akhilātmani) and attracted everyone (harau). They could all have prema for Krṣṇa but the queens all had strong love, or natural inclination for love (praṇayānubandham). Hearing of their love, all of them, or all other women, were amazed. Their eyes were filled with tears because of love or because of adbhūta-rasa manifeseting.

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
Related verses

When the queens' love for Kṛṣṇa is described, the listening women — Pṛthā, Gāndhārī, Draupadī, Subhadrā, the gopīs — fill with tears like vessels of different shapes filling at the same monsoon: one rain, many forms of overflow. Bhagavān is the single rasa-cloud; vātsalya, sakhya, mādhurya, and the protective love of a mother-in-law are the differently shaped pots He fills.

Kuntī's prayers at Kṛṣṇa's departure

Earlier in the First Canto (SB 1.8), when Kṛṣṇa is preparing to leave Hastināpura for Dvārakā, Pṛthā stands in the road and begs Him to keep sending calamities so that she may keep seeing Him. Her tears here at Kurukṣetra are continuous with that prayer — the same praṇaya-anubandha, simply remembered through the queens' words.

Gauḍīyas read Kuntī as the standing instance of how viraha sharpens darśana: every separation deepens the binding cord.

The gopīs at Kurukṣetra

Sūrya-grahaṇa-līlā has already gathered the gopīs and the queens onto the same field. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 13) reads Mahāprabhu's Ratha-yātrā ecstasy as the gopīs longing to pull Kṛṣṇa back to Vraja. Here, before that climactic exchange, the women are already weeping — Vraja-rasa flowing into Hastināpura's eyes.

📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 84