The following is an excerpt from a darśana with Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja in Bhubaneswar, India, on November 5, 1993, published in Kṛṣṇa Kathāmṛta Bindu Issue 144 (Gopaljiu.org/bindu-archive/)

Devotee: You have been speaking about spiritual pride. Once you gave a class about someone named Sukanyā. You said that the pride she had was not wrong.

Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: Sukanyā’s father married her to Cyavana Muni. Cyavana Muni was such an old man that he couldn’t move. Still, Sukanyā was chaste and devoted to her husband. She was the daughter of a great king, but she became humble and tolerant of everything. Finally, the Aśvinī-kumāras came and made that muni a very handsome young man.

Devotee: It says in the story that when the father came and saw her sitting next to this young man, he chastised her. At that time, she smiled because she was proud of her chastity.

Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: Yes. There is another similar story of a chaste lady who was married to a leper brāhmaṇa. Māṇḍavya Muni cursed her, “You are proud of your chastity. Therefore, I curse you — as soon as the sun rises in the morning, your husband will die. Then we will see how you maintain your devotion to your husband.”

Māṇḍavya Muni was thinking, “I’ll crush her chastity.” But she said, “If I am really chaste, then the sun will not rise tomorrow morning.” The next day, that is what happened. The sun didn’t rise. It was a problem for Lord Brahmā. “The sun is not rising. How will my creation be maintained? It will all be destroyed.” What was the nature of her pride? It is not the pride of a demon. She didn’t use this power of chastity whimsically. Only when a dangerous time came did she utilise it.

There is also the story of Sāvitrī, who by dint of her chastity brought back her husband from Yamarāja’s abode.

The following is an excerpt from a lecture on Bhagavad-gītā by Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja in New Vṛndāvana, on October 30, 1990, published in Kṛṣṇa Kathāmṛta Bindu Issue 335 (Gopaljiu.org/bindu-archive/)

There is a story in the Mahābhārata about five brothers: Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. They were known as the Pāṇḍavas, and they had a wife named Draupadī. These five brothers had one wife.

In the scriptures, Draupadī is known as a most chaste lady. The question arises as to how a lady who has five husbands can be considered chaste? “Chaste lady” means that she should have only one husband, and she should be devoted to that husband like the goddess Sītā. Sītā-devī is the ideal lady and wife. Sītā-devī had only one husband, Lord Rāma. She had developed one-pointed devotion towards Lord Rāma. That is a chaste lady. How is it that Draupadī, with five husbands, is a chaste lady?

There are these two considerations, tattva-vicāra and apara-vicāra, the absolute consideration and the apparent consideration. All our discussions should be based on tattva-vicāra, the absolute consideration, and not on the apparent consideration. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.24):

ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ
bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mām abhijānanti
tattvenātaś cyavanti te

[“I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognise My true transcendental nature fall down.”]

Na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te — “Those who do not understand the tattva-vicāra fall down.” This is a question of tattva.

You may say, “No, Draupadī is not at all a chaste lady. She is an unchaste lady.” This is an apparent consideration. How can a lady having five husbands be chaste? However, Draupadī is not at all unchaste. No, Draupadī is a chaste lady (satī). How is it? How could she maintain her chastity, being the wife of five husbands?

Draupadī had that potency. There was a condition at Draupadī’s svayaṁvara (the ceremony for the selection of her groom). Arjuna shot an arrow that hit the eye of a fish revolving at the end of a pillar by only seeing the reflection of the fish in a water pot below. Nobody else could do it, so Arjuna won Draupadī. Neither Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Nakula, nor Sahadeva got her. Arjuna did. So, according to the law, Draupadī should be the wife of Arjuna. But when they came to Mother Kuntī, they said, “Mother Kuntī, we have got a very nice gift today.”

The mother said, “All right, whatever you have got, you share it equally among all five brothers.”

They obtained Draupadī, so, carrying out their mother’s order, they should share equally. Thus, Draupadī became the wife of five husbands, but since she possessed extraordinary potency, she did not become unchaste.

They had a condition that Draupadī should spend one month with one husband. The first month, she would spend with Yudhiṣṭhira; the next month with Bhīma, then Arjuna, then Nakula, and finally Sahadeva. In this way, she divided her time. During that period, no other brother will enter that apartment. If someone broke the condition, he would be banished to the forest. That condition was in place, and it was strictly adhered to. After one month had passed, Draupadī entered the fire. Remember that Draupadī was born out of the fire of a sacrifice. She is not an ordinary lady. She is known as yājñasenī. Yudhiṣṭhira had enjoyed her body. And afterwards, she entered the fire and obtained a new body. Then she went to Bhīma’s apartment with a new body. In this way, she was maintaining her chastity. Can an ordinary woman do it? No! Therefore, Draupadī was a chaste lady.

The following is an excerpt from a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja on Hawaii’s North Shore on January 26, 2007

Later, the ruler of that country, King Koluttunga II, heard that Rāmānujācārya was very strongly preaching his philosophy. Koluttunga II wanted him killed, fearing that if he remained alive, the Śaiva-sampradāya (comprised of so-called devotees of Lord Śiva) would be finished. He sent a message telling Rāmānujācārya to come at once for a debate.

Rāmānujācārya and all his associates knew the king wanted to kill him. His disciple Kūreśa told him, “Gurudeva, please do not go. I will go in your place. Please give me your daṇḍa and sannyāsa cloth.” Insisting, Kūreśa took them from him and gave him his own white cloth. He told Rāmānuja to leave that place at once. Then, having taken his Guru’s sannyāsa cloth and daṇḍa, Kūreśa went to the palace of the king.

In the palace, there was a great debate, during which Kūreśa defeated all the king’s paṇḍitas. However, Kūreśa was alone, so the king’s paṇḍitas told everyone that he had been defeated. They forcibly detained him and released him only after blinding him by plucking out both of his eyes. He then searched for his Gurudeva, who was now very far away. Fortunately, after some time, he came to the same village where Rāmānujācārya was residing.

Within that village, there were two disciples – one very rich and one very poor. Rāmānujācārya told his disciples to go to the house of the wealthy devotee, because his group was over fifty in total, and ask him to prepare prasādam and a place to stay for all of them.

Two of Rāmānuja’s disciples went to the rich man’s house and gave him this message. The rich man felt extremely happy and became wholly absorbed in preparing for the arrival of Rāmānujācārya and all of his devotees. However, he didn’t come back out to share these plans with his two god-brothers at the door. After waiting for some time, the disciples returned to Rāmānujācārya and reported that they had visited the house of the wealthy devotee, but he had left them waiting and had not returned. Rāmānujācārya replied, “Oh, then we will all go to the house of that poor man.”

That very poor brāhmaṇa used to go and beg for ingredients so that his wife could cook prasādam. He had only one piece of proper cloth, which his wife used, so when he would go begging, he would take the cloth of his wife.

On that particular day after midday, he could not collect any more, and he decided to return home. In the meantime, before his return, Śrī Rāmānujācārya, with all of his disciples, suddenly came to his house. His wife was very happy to see her Gurudeva, but she also felt ashamed because she had no suitable clothes to wear. Śrī Rāmānuja understood this, and he gave her his own cādar. She wrapped this around herself and came into his presence.

After she gave a mat for her Gurudeva and his followers to sit on, she wondered, “How shall I arrange prasādam for everyone?” She remembered that one of her neighbours, who was a wealthy businessman, was very attracted to her and had lusty desires toward her. He had previously told her of his desires, but she was very chaste and had always rejected his proposals. However, in her current predicament, she went to that man and told him that she would fulfil his desire.

She was thinking, “What is the use of my chastity if I cannot serve my Gurudeva? For my Gurudeva, I should be prepared to do anything.” She told the rich man, “I am ready to do what you want, but in return, I want you to arrange many ingredients so that I can cook and give prasādam to my Gurudeva and all of his disciples.” Hearing this, the rich man became very joyful and gave her more than she had asked for. Taking all that he gave her, she prepared very good prasādam for all the devotees, and everyone was happy.

While Rāmānujācārya and all the devotees were resting after prasādam, her husband returned home. He asked her, “Gurudeva and all his disciples have come. How are we going to arrange for their needs?”

She replied, “I have done everything. There is nothing to worry about. They have all taken prasādam and are resting now.”

Her husband asked, “How did you make all those arrangements?”

She told him the story of the lusty neighbour. She said, “I was thinking that my Gurudeva has come; if I cannot serve him, then what is the use of my chastity? So I went and told that lusty man that if he would give me all the ingredients to make very nice prasādam, then I would offer myself. He did as I asked, so now that it is night, I must go to him.”

Her husband told her, “I will come with you.”

It was raining at that time, so they took an umbrella and went to the house of that rich person along with the mahā-prasādam. The wife entered his home alone, and the man became very happy. The man asked her, “It is raining heavily tonight, and it appears you have come all alone. Didn’t anyone bring you?” She told him, “My husband came with me,” and she gave him the prasādam remnants of Rāmānujācārya. The lusty man took those remnants and became transformed entirely. He fell flat at the lotus feet of that lady and begged her, “Excuse me. Excuse me.”

The lady and her husband then returned to their house. The next day, their neighbour came to Rāmānujācārya and prayed to him, “I want to be initiated by you.” Rāmānujācārya then initiated him.

In the meantime, Kūreśa arrived in the village of the poor devotee couple where Rāmānujācārya was staying. Seeing Kūreśa, Rāmānujācārya called out his name. Kūreśa went to his Gurudeva and wanted to take his darśana, but he had no eyes. Rāmānujācārya put his hand over Kūreśa’s wounds, and two eyes at once manifested. He could see again.

Śrīla dāsa: Regarding the lady disciple of Rāmānujācārya in the drama performance last night, if she had some desire to enjoy with that merchant, would she have done what she did?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Her only obligation was to her Guru, and therefore Śrī Rāmānuja wanted to glorify her, for the world to see that a lady disciple can be like this. She had no obligation to her father, mother, husband or anyone. She decided, “I must go and serve my Gurudeva. I am not this body or this false ego. Let this body serve Sri Gurudeva.” She had to think whether guru-sevā is the highest morality or worldly morality is the highest. She decided, “There is no value in chastity if it doesn’t assist in my Guru’s service.”

Devotee: When is one justified or qualified in severing one’s material obligations for the service of Guru and Krsna, because if one has some motivation, he falls down.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: There are so many symptoms. Words alone – “I want to serve” – will not do. The devotee must be very strong – like the lady who decided, “There is no use of chastity if it doesn’t serve my Guru.” Her self-realised Guru therefore empowered her, and that is why, when she gave prasādam remnant to the lusty food-store owner, he was at once purified and gave up his lusty desire.

The following is an excerpt from Maharṣi Durvāsā & Śrī Durvāsā-āśrama, Second Edition, by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja

 

Maharṣi Durvāsā’s āśrama is a very ancient place. Here, Durvāsā performed austerities by which he attained numerous perfections. In three yugas, also, this āśrama is famous. From all over India, people come to see it and pray for the fulfilment of their various material desires.

Maharṣi Atri was a mentally born son (mānasa-putra) of Brahmā, the creator of the material universes. Once, the three demigods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa appeared before Atri to grant him a boon. Upon receiving darśana of all three of them, Atri became very satisfied. With great love and a faltering voice, he offered them prayers. The three gods were pleased and told him to accept a boon of his choice from them. After consulting his wife, Anusūya, he asked that the three of them — Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa — become their sons. Saying, “So it shall be,” the three demigods departed for their own abodes.

After some time, as Devarṣi Nārada was playing his vīṇā and singing the glories of Bhagavān, he met Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī and Umā, and made a point of highly extolling the glories of Anusūyā’s chastity to them. He said, “Due to her chastity, Anusūyā, the wife of Atri, is now the most famous woman in the entire universe. Within all three worlds, there is no woman more chaste than she is.”

When the three goddesses heard these words of Devarṣi, their faces revealed their disappointment. They were proud of being renowned as the most chaste women within the three worlds and could not tolerate that another woman might be more chaste than they were. They insisted that their respective husbands – Śrī Brahmā, Śrī Viṣṇu and Śrī Maheśa – put such a difficult test before Anusūyā’s chastity that she would be unable to pass it. The three husbands tried to convince their wives that, because Anusūyā is most austere, extremely chaste and a great devotee of Bhagavān, by attempting to test her chastity, they were risking defeat. Still, their wives were insistent.

Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśa arrived at the āśrama of Śrī Atri and Anusūyā at Citrakūṭa. At that time, the austere Anusūyā was alone in the āśrama, which was situated in a dense jungle within a mountain range. Atrijī was in a nearby mountain cave, immersed in worshipping Bhagavān. Upon seeing the three demigods enter their āśrama, Anusūyā stood up and offered praṇāma with folded hands. “How can I serve you, our worshipable guests?” she asked. She then came to them with water and with some fruits and roots in her hands. But they were not ordinary guests. They said, “If you give us alms while being completely naked, we will accept them. Otherwise, we will be dissatisfied and go away.”

Upon hearing these strange words,  Anusūyā thought for a moment. She then requested them to wait there and went to her husband, Atrijī, telling him of the remarkable condition they had placed on their acceptance of alms. Atrijī meditated on it and understood that these three guests were none other than Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśa. He told his wife, “These are not three ordinary guests but Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśa themselves. Welcome and honour them according to their desire; there will be no harm.” Anusūyā returned to her āśrama and said to the three gods, “I agree to serve you according to your desire, but according to my desire, you must also become newborn babies and sit on my lap.” At once, they became babies and began to play on her lap, and she began nurturing the three children with great love. The three children were named Candramā, Dattātreya and Durvāsā.  Brahmājī had descended as Candramā, Viṣṇu as Dattātreya and Maheśa as Durvāsā.

After some time, the three goddesses Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī and Umā became very worried because their husbands had not returned. They had come to know from Devarṣi Nārada that their husbands had become babies and were playing on the lap of Anusūyā. They adopted the dress of ordinary women and together went to Anusūyā’s āśrama. After welcoming and honouring them, Anusūyā asked them, “Who are you?”

They replied, “We are your daughters-in-law.”

“How have you become my daughter-in-law?” she asked. Hesitating due to some shame, they replied, “Those three children playing in your lap are none other than our husbands. Because our husbands have become your sons, we have therefore become your daughters-in-law.”

Smiling, Anusūyā said, “What do you want?”

“We want our husbands back,” they replied. “Please be merciful and return them to their original forms so we will be able to serve them again.”

Anusūyā said, “They will remain with me in their present forms as my sons while simultaneously returning to their original forms and accompanying you back to your respective abodes.”

This story is from the beginning of Satya-yuga. The complete narration of this story can be found in the  Purāṇas and in the Mahābhārata.

An excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California, on June 22, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007

Śrīpāda Nemi Mahārāja: What is the ladies’ position in varṇāśrama-dharma? You have always emphasised that ladies and gentlemen are equal in bhakti.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Sītā-devī, Arundhatī, Anasūyā, Gārgī, Maitrī, Draupadī, Kuntī, and other Vaiṣṇavīs have been given so much respect in our śāstra and Vedic culture – on the same level as ṛṣis and maharṣis (the best of the great sages and saints).

Śrīpāda Sajjana Mahārāja: Śrīla Prabhupāda has said that ladies are very good and men are very good, but together they are not very good.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If a man and woman are gṛhastha, it is okay for them to associate with each other. If they are not gṛhastha, their association will be the cause of their fall-down; this is māyā. Kāmadeva, Cupid, has defeated even Viśvāmitra, Brahmā, and Śaṅkara (Lord Śiva).* The only personalities he could not defeat were Nara-nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and Nārada.

Śrīpāda Nemi Mahārāja: In ISKCON, there was a problem because, supposedly, according to the ISKCON members’ understanding of varṇāśrama-dharma, ladies are less intelligent and in a lower position.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, no. Never think like this.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: He is saying that in ISKCON, they used to think like this, and they proclaimed that their conception was according to the principles of varṇāśrama.

Śrīpāda Nemi Mahārāja: That conception created a big problem.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, certainly. They don’t give respect to ladies, but I do, and I want everyone to do the same. We give respect according to an individual’s qualifications.

Mahāprabhu dāsa: Can ladies take management positions in this society?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Oh, so much. In India, Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister.

Mahāprabhu dāsa: So, ladies, do not just make babies?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They can make so many babies. Indira Gandhi had two very beautiful sons, and one of her sons became the Prime Minister. Her daughter-in-law, Sonya Gandhi, also has one son and one daughter, and her son may also become Prime Minister. In America, Clinton’s wife may become the President.

Mahāprabhu dāsa: I am a family man, Śrīla Gurudeva. I have a family, and I’ve noticed that the girls are often more intelligent than the boys.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, sometimes they are.

The following is an excerpt from Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja’s commentary in the form of a chapter-endnote on Jaiva-dharma

 

Ahalyā – the wife of the great sage Gautama Ṛṣi. Indra, the chief of the devas, was infatuated with the beauty of Ahalyā. Once in Satya-yuga, while Gautama Ṛṣi was away, Indra assumed the form of Gautama by mystic power and had union with Ahalyā. When Gautama returned, he was able to comprehend the entire situation through his yogic power. Furious with his wife, Gautama cursed her to become a stone. Ahalyā was deeply aggrieved and fell crying at Gautama’s feet to beg for deliverance from the curse. Gautama consoled her by saying that in Tretā-yuga, when Bhagavān Rāmacandra would appear on the earth, He would touch the stone with His foot, and she would thus be delivered from the curse.

Usually, Satya-yuga is followed by Dvāpāra and then Tretā in the cycle of the four yugas. Ahalyā appealed to Gautama, saying that she would not be able to bear waiting so long for the appearance of Rāmacandra. Gautama assured her that in this particular cycle of the four yugas, Tretā would follow Satya. By the desire of Gautama Ṛsi, the order of the yugas was reversed. When Rāmacandra appeared, He touched that stone with His foot, and Ahalyā was released from the curse. Thus Ahalyā, who had assumed the form of a stone, was liberated from the state of covered consciousness (āchādita-cetana), at which time she was reunited with her husband.

The following is an excerpt from Exclusive Guardianship by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja

 

Draupadī had five husbands, but if we take her name, then we will be purified:

ahalyā-draupadī-kuntī-tārā-mandodarī yathā
pañcakanyā smaret nityaṁ mahāpātaka nāśanam

 All five of these ladies had more than one husband, but they gained them by circumstance. The scholars may make you feel cautious, but do not think in that way: if you take their name, you will be purified — such is their position.

The following is an excerpt from the Pinnacle of Devotion, 2nd edition by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja

Those who have no connection with Kṛṣṇa, even if they are chaste in their marriage relationships, are like prostitutes (vyabhicāra). On the other hand, whether a lady is married or not, if she is serving Kṛṣṇa, chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names, remembering Kṛṣṇa, and thinking Kṛṣṇa to be her beloved, her chastity is considered superior to all goddesses and other chaste ladies.

You may have heard of the names Arundhatī, Sāvitrī, and Damayantī, and there were many other chaste ladies like them in Indian culture. You may have also heard the names of Draupadī, the wife of the five Pāṇḍavas; Kuntī, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas; Mandodarī, the wife of Rāvaṇa; Ahalyā, the wife of Gautama Ṛṣi**, and Tārā, the wife of both Sugrīva and Vāli.

At first, Tārā was married to Vāli, but when he was shot and killed, she became the wife of Sugrīva. Mandodarī was the wife of Rāvaṇa, but after Lord Rāmacandra killed him, she lived with Vibhīṣaṇa. Kuntī had five husbands: Sūrya (the sun god), Pāṇḍu, Yamarāja (also known as Dharmarāja), Vāyu (the god of air), and Indra (the king of heaven). However, she is still considered superior to all other chaste ladies. Draupadī also had five husbands, but she is still celebrated as a kanyā (sacred, unmarried girl). Although these five ladies were apparently married to someone else, and although some of them even had more than one husband, they always thought, “Kṛṣṇa is my beloved, my heart and soul.” Their marriages, therefore, were not obstacles to their bhakti. These ladies are glorified and honoured as kanyā because they loved Kṛṣṇa or Rāma more than their husbands.

Among all chaste ladies, the gopīs are the most superior. Ordinary ladies have the mood that someone other than Kṛṣṇa – someone in a body made of earth, water, fire, air, stool, urine, and so many other abominable things – is their pati (husband). Pati actually means ‘he who saves one from all sufferings, sorrows, and death, and who supports with prema and knowledge.’ Such a person is truly pati. Our husbands cannot do this. They cannot save us from becoming old; they cannot save us from our hair turning white.

So actually, our beloved, our husband, our ‘all-in-all’ is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There is no impediment in bhakti for those who think like this, even if they are married.

As explained earlier, the gopīs of Vṛndāvana were married by the trick of Yogamāyā. They are non-different from Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the hlādinī-śakti (internal pleasure-giving potency) and svarūpa-śakti (personal intrinsic potency) of Kṛṣṇa. Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are like the sun and its heat, or water and its liquidity, which cannot be separated. The gopīs who easily took part in rāsa-līlā and served Śrī Kṛṣṇa are kāya-vyūha (manifestations of Śrīmatī Rādhikā). Although externally they are married to other gopas, those marriages are false. Those marriages are only meant to create a mood in the gopīs that “We are wives of other gopas.” Because they love Kṛṣṇa, they have no connection with their husbands at all. Such love is called parakīya. Parakīya-rasa means that the gopīs are married to other persons, but their affection and love are only for Kṛṣṇa. Whether or not they are actually married to anyone else***, they are all parakīya and are far superior to any other chaste lady.

The following is an excerpt from the book Śrī Vraja-maṇḍala Parikramā, 2nd edition by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja

Khelanvana lies two miles south-east of Ūjānī. Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Balarāma played many kinds of games with the sakhās when they came here for cow herding. Śrīmatī Rādhikā also played here with Her sakhīs. This place is called Khelanvana because they used to play (khelnā) here.

Nanda Bābā resided here for some time with the gopīs, gopas and cows. Vṛṣabhānu Bābā also stayed here with his whole family and herd of cows.

Jaṭilā and Koṭilā thought themselves to be the only chaste women in Vraja, and they considered Rādhikā to be not even slightly chaste. They always spoke ill of Rādhikā and made propaganda against Her. Kṛṣṇa was aware of all this. One day, He pretended to be ill to the point of death. Yaśodājī called expert doctors and brāhmaṇas skilled in mantras, but no one was able to help. Finally, Yogamāyā Pūrṇimā arrived on the scene. She said, “If any chaste lady brings water from the Yamunā in this earthen water-pot, which has hundreds of holes, and if I then bathe Kṛṣṇa with mantras and with that water, then Kanhaiyā can become healthy. Otherwise, it will be impossible to save Him.” Yaśodā called Jaṭilā and Kuṭilā and requested them to bring water from the Yamunā in that special pot. They went separately to the Yamunā to fill the pot, but were unable to retain even a drop of water in it. They left the pot on the Yamunā’s shore and returned home by another path so as not to meet anyone.

Yogamāyā Pūrṇimā then advised Yaśodā-maiyā to request Śrīmatī Rādhikā to bring water in that hundred-holed pot. Upon being repeatedly requested, Śrīmatī Rādhikā finally agreed to go to the Yamunā. She successfully brought back water in that pot without spilling even one drop. Pūrṇamāsī sprinkled Kṛṣṇa with that water, and He immediately regained His health. All the Vrajavāsīs were amazed to see this wonderful incident, and Rādhikā’s chastity was praised everywhere.

* Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja explained elsewhere that Cupid did not actually defeat these great personalities; rather, they played that pastime to teach us conditioned souls how careful we must be in this regard.

** Ahalyā, though the wife of Gautama Ṛṣi, also had some connection with Indra. However, she loved only Lord Rāmacandra and was delivered by Him.

*** According to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam commentaries of Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, even the gopīs who were not yet married, although knowing they would eventually marry other gopas, considered Kṛṣṇa their beloved. They also joined in Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā.

Source: Purebhakti.com

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net

Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)