Text 16
īkṣito ’ntaḥ-pura-strīṇāṁ
sa-vrīḍa-prema-vīkṣitaiḥ
kṛcchrād visṛṣṭo niragāj
jāta-hāso haran manaḥ
īkṣitaḥ — looked upon; antaḥ-pura — of the palace; strīṇām — of the women; sa-vrīḍa — shy; prema — and loving; vīkṣitaiḥ — by glances; kṛcchrāt — with difficulty; visṛṣṭaḥ — getting free; niragāt — He went out; jāta — appeared; hāsaḥ — a smile; haran — removing; manaḥ — their minds.
The palace women would look upon Lord Kṛṣṇa with shy, loving glances, and thus He would get free from them only with difficulty. He would then set off, His smiling face captivating their minds.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī describes this scene as follows: “The shy, loving glances of the palace women, hinting at their agitation, implied, ‘How can we tolerate this torment of being separated from You?’ The idea here is that because the Lord was captured by their affection, He smiled, indicating ‘My dear restless ladies, you are so overwhelmed by this little bit of separation. I am coming back later today to enjoy with you.’ And then, with His smile captivating their minds, He got away only with difficulty, freeing Himself from the bondage of their loving glances.”