The Koels coo the love-songs and the peacocks are seen strutting about; Kṛṣṇa is still in bed, but He is sure to leave shortly for the grazing fields, along with the cattle, and the prospect of separation from Him, a little hence, is so dreadful that the Gopīs have already begun to feel the pangs of separation, as if Kṛṣṇa has already left. It is a terrific gloom that

(i) Just to placate the love-intoxicated Gopīs, Śrī Kṛṣṇa repeatedly embraced them. Pleasurable in the extreme though, it only aggravated their misery, as they were tormented by the almost immediate prospect of separation from Him. It is this grief that is voiced forth now.

(ii) Finding that attempts, made by Him to pacify the Gopīs, have only intensified their grief,

(i) Kṛṣṇa: “You, girls, want me to stay at home all the time, but how can I do so, without discharging my duty, as a shepherd, namely, tending the cattle?”

Gopī: “Could you, in the discharge of your so-called duty, kill us? Killing women is even more heinous than slaying men. Separation from you means certain death for us and perhaps, You, who slew Thāṭakā and Pūthanā,

Lord Kṛṣṇa tried to disabuse the Gopīs, by saying: “My darlings, is there such a thing as my departing from Your midst and even if I am away, for a while, can I forget You, for a moment? I am very much alive to your overwhelming love for me and if at all I take the cows out. to the pastures, it is because I am duty bound to do the work assigned to me, by my parents. But

Even when Kṛṣṇa is by their side, the Gopis say that He has gone already to the grazing meadow. What is even worse, they fancy that He has teen away from them for a whole day and it is evening already, with its characteristic environments. In their exuberance of love, they find what actually is the early morn, transposed into the evening with the chill breeze, laden with

The Gopīs insist that Kṛṣṇa shall not go after the cattle but stay behind, seeing that they just can’t subsist without Him. While their spirits will get burnt out like wax, set on fire, their strength of mind is next to nothing and cannot, therefore, avert the catastrophe. Whereas there may be many a girl of comely shape to attend on Him when He is away from them, He is unto the Gopīs, their sole Sustainer and without Him they cannot subsist.

The Gopī sobs out: “Oh, Kṛṣṇa, we, on our part, suffer the pangs of separation from You, what with our thinning down terribly, losing our natural bloom and lustre and so on. But don’t you see that you tread over hill and dale on bare feet, feet which are too delicate to be pressed even by our soft hands, aching a great deal? What is even worse is the route you follow,

Then Kṛṣṇa retorted that it was not merely a matter of His tending the cows but also His fulfilling His engagements with those other ladies, as the Gopīs had themselves hinted at. Here then is the interesting, rather impressive reply of the Gopī. She says: “All that I want is that You should be right in our presence. As a compromise, I would not even mind Your flirting

(i) Kṛṣṇa was in no mood to swallow the Gopī’s statement, in the preceding song, that she would allow Him to flirt with other ladies, right in front of her. He thought it was a mere ruse to keep him back, as it was against their grain to suffer gladly Kṛṣṇa making love to other ladies, and that too, in their presence. He put it straight to the Gopī that He couldn’t bring

Kṛṣṇa to Gopīs: “Your misgivings are totally unwarranted; it is because of your overwhelming love for Me that you entertain such baseless fears. Nothing will happen to Me, be sure”.

Gopīs to Kṛṣṇa: “You are so charming, Oh, Kṛṣṇa, that we apprehend evil eyes will cast their spell on you. The Asuras, who stalk the forests, are doubly ferocious, bent upon carrying out

The Shepherdess in question acts as the mouthpiece of the Gopīs, with her remarkable capacity to plead their cause. Even as the Lord stayed with the Gopīs, in deference to their wishes, He will abide in those that chant this decad. Alternately, this decad is well-matched with the other decads of this hymnal and shall bestow the same results as those decads.