kṛṣṇa-nÄma nÄ lao kene, kṛṣṇa-nÄma — dhanya
'gopÄ«' 'gopÄ«' balile vÄ kibÄ haya puṇya

 kṛṣṇa-nÄma - the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa;  - not; lao - You take; kene - why; kṛṣṇa-nÄma - the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa; dhanya - glorious; gopÄ« gopÄ« - the names gopÄ« gopÄ«; balile - on saying;  - or; kibÄ - what; haya - there is; puṇya - piety.


Text

“Why are You chanting the names ‘gopÄ« gopī’ instead of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is so glorious? What pious result will You achieve by such chanting?â€

Purport

It is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyÄ-mudrÄ vijñeha nÄ bujhaya: no one can understand the activities of a pure devotee. A student or neophyte devotee could not possibly understand why ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was chanting the name of the gopÄ«s, nor should the student have asked the Lord about the potency of chanting gopÄ« gopÄ«. The neophyte student was certainly convinced of the piety in the chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, but this sort of attitude is also offensive. Dharma-vrata-tyÄga-hutÄdi-sarva-Å›ubha-kriyÄ-sÄmyam api pramÄdaḥ: to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in exchange for the achievement of piety is an offense. This, of course, was unknown to the student. Thus he innocently asked, “What piety is there in the chanting of the name gopÄ«?†He did not know that there is no question of piety or impiety. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa or the holy name gopÄ« is on the transcendental platform of loving affairs. Since he was not expert in understanding such transcendental activities, his question was merely impudent. Thus ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, apparently greatly angry at him, reacted as follows.