Text 158
evaṁ śaśaṅkāṁśu-virājitā niśāḥ
sa satya-kāmo ’nuratābalā-gaṇaḥ
siṣeva ātmany avaruddha-saurataḥ
sarvāḥ śarat-kāvya-kathā-rasāśrayāḥ
evam — thus; śaśaṅka-aṁśu — with rays of moonshine; virājitāḥ — beautifully existing; niśāḥ — nights; saḥ — He; satya-kāmaḥ — the Absolute Truth; anurata — to whom are attracted; abalā-gaṇaḥ — women; siṣeva — performed; ātmani — in His own self; avaruddha-saurataḥ — His transcendental lusty desire was checked; sarvāḥ — all; śarat — in autumn; kāvya — poetic; kathā — words; rasa-āśrayāḥ — full of all transcendental mellows.
“ ‘Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the Absolute Truth, enjoyed His rāsa dance every night during the autumn season. He performed this dance in the moonlight and with full transcendental mellows. He used poetic words and surrounded Himself with women who were very much attracted to Him.’
This verse is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.25). The gopīs are all transcendental spirit souls. One should never think that the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa have material bodies. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is also a spiritual abode, and there the days and nights, the trees, flowers and water, and everything else are spiritual. There is not even a trace of material contamination. Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme Brahman and Supersoul, is not at all interested in anything material. His activities with the gopīs are all spiritual and take place within the spiritual world. They have nothing to do with the material world. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lusty desires and all His dealings with the gopīs are on the spiritual platform. One has to be transcendentally realized before even considering relishing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs. One who is on the mundane platform must first purify himself by following the regulative principles. Only then can he try to understand Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī are here talking about the relationship between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs; therefore the subject matter is neither mundane nor erotic. Being a sannyāsī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very strict in His dealings with women. Unless the gopīs were on the spiritual platform, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have never even mentioned them to Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. Therefore these descriptions do not at all pertain to material activity.