Text 21
evaṁ mad-arthojjhita-loka-veda
svānām hi vo mayy anuvṛttaye ’balāḥ
mayāparokṣaṁ bhajatā tirohitaṁ
māsūyituṁ mārhatha tat priyaṁ priyāḥ
evam — thus; mat — My; artha — for the sake; ujjhita — having rejected; loka — worldly opinion; veda — the opinion of the Vedas; svānām — and relatives; hi — indeed; vaḥ — of you; mayi — for Me; anuvṛttaye — for the loving propensity; abalāḥ — My dear girls; mayā — by Me; aparokṣam — removed from your sight; bhajatā — who is actually reciprocating; tirohitam — the disappearance; mā — with Me; asūyitum — to be inimical; ma arhatha — you should not; tat — therefore; priyam — with your beloved; priyāḥ — My dear beloveds.
My dear girls, understanding that simply for My sake you had rejected the authority of worldly opinion, of the Vedas and of your relatives, I acted as I did only to increase your attachment to Me. Even when I removed Myself from your sight by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you. Therefore, My beloved gopīs, please do not harbor any bad feelings toward Me, your beloved.
Here the Lord indicates that though the gopīs were already perfect in their love for Him, still, to inconceivably increase their perfection and show an example for the world, He acted as He did.