Text 21
tāḥ kṛṣṇa-mātaram apatyam anupraviṣṭāṁ
tulya-vyathāḥ samanugṛhya śucaḥ sravantyaḥ
tās tā vraja-priya-kathāḥ kathayantya āsan
kṛṣṇānane ’rpita-dṛśo mṛtaka-pratīkāḥ
tāḥ — those ladies; kṛṣṇa-mātaram — the mother of Kṛṣṇa (Yaśodā); apatyam — upon her son; anupraviṣṭām — fixing her vision; tulya — equally; vyathāḥ — pained; samanugṛhya — holding back firmly; śucaḥ — floods of sorrow; sravantyaḥ — spilling forth; tāḥ tāḥ — each of them; vraja-priya — of the darling of Vraja; kathāḥ — topics; kathayantyaḥ — speaking; āsan — they stood; kṛṣṇa-ānane — unto the face of Lord Kṛṣṇa; arpita — offered; dṛśaḥ — their eyes; mṛtaka — corpses; pratīkāḥ — resembling.
Although the elder gopīs were feeling just as much distress as she and were pouring forth a flood of sorrowful tears, they had to forcibly hold back Kṛṣṇa’s mother, whose consciousness was totally absorbed in her son. Standing like corpses, with their eyes fixed upon His face, these gopīs each took turns recounting the pastimes of the darling of Vraja.