Text 17
tato jalāśayāt sarvā
dārikāḥ śīta-vepitāḥ
pāṇibhyāṁ yonim ācchādya
protteruḥ śīta-karśitāḥ
tataḥ — then; jala-āśayāt — out of the river; sarvāḥ — all; dārikāḥ — the young girls; śīta-vepitāḥ — shivering from the cold; pāṇibhyām — with their hands; yonim — their pubic area; ācchādya — covering; protteruḥ — they came up; śīta-karśitāḥ — pained by the cold.
Then, shivering from the painful cold, all the young girls rose up out of the water, covering their pubic area with their hands.
The gopīs had assured Kṛṣṇa that they were His eternal servants and would do whatever He said, and thus they were now defeated by their own words. If they delayed any longer, they thought, some other man might come along, and this would be unbearable for them. The gopīs loved Kṛṣṇa so much that even in that awkward situation their attachment to Him was increasing more and more, and they were very eager to stay in His company. Thus they did not even consider drowning themselves in the river because of the embarrassing situation.
They concluded that they could do nothing but go forward to their beloved Kṛṣṇa, putting aside their embarrassment. Thus the gopīs assured each other that there was no alternative and rose up out of the water to meet Him.