pati-sutÄnvaya-bhrÄtá¹›-bÄndhavÄn
ativilaá¹…ghya te 'nty acyutÄgatÄḥ
gati-vidas tavodgÄ«ta-mohitÄḥ
kitava yoṣitaḥ kas tyajen niśi
pati - husbands; suta - sons; anvaya - family; bhrÄtá¹› - brothers; bÄndhavÄn - friends; ativilaá¹…ghya - without caring for; te - Your; anti - dear shelter; acyuta - O infallible one; ÄgatÄḥ - have come; gati-vidaḥ - who know everything of our activities; tava - of You; udgÄ«ta - by the singing flute; mohitÄḥ - being attracted; kitava - O great cheater; yoá¹£itaḥ - beautiful women; kaḥ - who; tyajet - would give up; niÅ›i - in the dead of night.
“ ‘Dear Kṛṣṇa, we gopīs have neglected the order of our husbands, sons, family, brothers and friends and have left their company to come to You. You know everything about our desires. We have come only because we are attracted by the supreme music of Your flute. But You are a great cheater, for who else would give up the company of young girls like us in the dead of night?’
This verse, quoted from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.31.16), describes how the gopÄ«s went to the forest for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment in the dead of night. The gopÄ«s approached Kṛṣṇa to enjoy themselves with Him in the rÄsa dance. Kṛṣṇa knew this very well, but He was superficially trying to avoid them. He is therefore addressed by the gopÄ«s as kitava, a great cheater, because He first attracted them to come dance with Him, and yet when they actually came, neglecting the orders of their friends and relatives, He tried to avoid them by giving them so-called good instructions. These cunning instructions were too much for the gopÄ«s to tolerate; they therefore had a right to address Kṛṣṇa as kitava, a great cheater. They were all young girls, and they had come to Him to be enjoyed. How could He avoid them? The gopÄ«s therefore expressed great disappointment in this verse. They came voluntarily, but Kṛṣṇa was so cunning that He wanted to avoid their company. The gopÄ«s’ lamentation was certainly very appropriate, and in this way Kṛṣṇa tested their sincerity.
