rādhā-saha krīḍā rasa-vṛddhira kāraṇa
āra saba gopī-gaṇa rasopakaraṇa
rādhā-saha - with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; krīḍā - pastimes; rasa - of mellow; vṛddhira - of the increase; kāraṇa - the cause; āra - the other; saba - all; gopī-gaṇa - gopīs; rasa-upakaraṇa - accessories of mellow.
It is said that the gopīs are divided into five groups, namely the sakhīs, nitya-sakhīs, prāṇa-sakhīs, priya-sakhīs and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. All these fair-complexioned associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the Queen of Vṛndāvana-dhāma, are expert artists in evoking erotic sentiments in Kṛṣṇa. The parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs are eight in number, and in the ecstatic dealings of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā they side sometimes with Kṛṣṇa and at other times with Rādhārāṇī, just to create a situation in which it appears that they favor one against the other. That makes the exchange of mellows more palatable.