evaá¹ Å›aÅ›aá¹…kÄmÅ›u-virÄjitÄ niÅ›Äḥ
sa satya-kÄmo 'nuratÄbalÄ-gaṇaḥ
siá¹£eva Ätmany avaruddha-saurataḥ
sarvÄḥ Å›arat-kÄvya-kathÄ-rasÄÅ›rayÄḥ
evam - thus; Å›aÅ›aá¹…ka-amÅ›u - with rays of moonshine; virÄjitÄḥ - beautifully existing; niÅ›Äḥ - nights; saḥ - He; satya-kÄmaḥ - the Absolute Truth; anurata - to whom are attracted; abalÄ-gaṇaḥ - women; siá¹£eva - performed; Ätmani - in His own self; avaruddha-saurataḥ - His transcendental lusty desire was checked; sarvÄḥ - all; Å›arat - in autumn; kÄvya - poetic; kathÄ - words; rasa-ÄÅ›rayÄḥ - full of all transcendental mellows.
“ ‘Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, who is the Absolute Truth, enjoyed His rÄsa 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 ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.33.25). The gopÄ«s are all transcendental spirit souls. One should never think that the gopÄ«s and Kṛṣṇa have material bodies. Vá¹›ndÄvana-dhÄma 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 gopÄ«s 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 gopÄ«s are on the spiritual platform. One has to be transcendentally realized before even considering relishing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa with the gopÄ«s. 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 gopÄ«s. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara GosvÄmÄ« are here talking about the relationship between Kṛṣṇa and the gopÄ«s; therefore the subject matter is neither mundane nor erotic. Being a sannyÄsÄ«, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was very strict in His dealings with women. Unless the gopÄ«s were on the spiritual platform, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu would have never even mentioned them to SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara GosvÄmÄ«. Therefore these descriptions do not at all pertain to material activity.
