gopikÄra preme nÄhi rasÄbhÄsa-doá¹£a
ataeva kṛṣṇera kare parama santoṣa
gopikÄra - of the gopÄ«s; preme - in the loving affairs; nÄhi - there is not; rasa-ÄbhÄsa - of an adulterated taste of mellow; doá¹£a - fault; ataeva - therefore; kṛṣṇera - of Lord Kṛṣṇa; kare - they do; parama santoá¹£a - highest satisfaction.
“There is no flaw or adulteration in the love of the gopīs; therefore they give Kṛṣṇa the highest pleasure.
RasÄbhÄsa occurs when one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa is adulterated. There are different types of rasÄbhÄsa — first class, second class and third class. The word rasa means “mellow,†and ÄbhÄsa means “a shadow.†If one tastes one kind of mellow and something extra is imposed, that is uparasa. If something is derived from the original mellow, it is called anurasa. If something is appreciated that is far removed from the original mellow, it is called aparasa. Uparasa, anurasa and aparasa are, respectively, first-, second- and third-class rasÄbhÄsas. As stated in the Bhakti-rasÄmá¹›ta-sindhu (4.9.1-2):
pÅ«rvam evÄnuÅ›iá¹£á¹ena vikalÄ rasa-laká¹£aṇÄ
rasÄ eva rasÄbhÄsÄ rasa-jñair anukÄ«rtitÄḥ
syus tridhoparasÄÅ› cÄnu- rasÄÅ› cÄparasÄÅ› ca te
uttamÄ madhyamÄḥ proktÄḥ kaniá¹£á¹hÄÅ› cety amÄ« kramÄt
