tato 'viśan vanaṠcandra
jyotsnÄ yÄvad vibhÄvyate
tamaḥ praviá¹£á¹am Älaká¹£ya
tato nivavṛtuḥ striyaḥ
tataḥ - then; aviÅ›an - they entered; vanam - the forest; candra - of the moon; jyotsnÄ - the light; yÄvat - as far; vibhÄvyate - as was visible; tamaḥ - darkness; praviá¹£á¹am - entered; Älaká¹£ya - noticing; tataḥ - thereupon; nivavá¹›tuḥ - they desisted; striyaḥ - the women.
In search of Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs then entered the depths of the forest as far as the light of the moon shone. But when they found themselves engulfed in darkness, they decided to turn back.
The gopÄ«s entered a part of the forest so dense that even the light of the full moon couldn’t penetrate it. This scene is also described in the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa:
praviá¹£á¹o gahanaá¹ kṛṣṇaḥ
padam atra na laká¹£yate
nivartadhvaá¹ Å›aÅ›Äá¹…kasya
naitad dīdhiti-gocaraḥ
“One gopÄ« said, ‘Kṛṣṇa has entered such a dark part of the forest that we cannot possibly see His footprints. Therefore let us turn back from this area, which even the light of the moon cannot reach.’â€
