brahma-rÄtra upÄvá¹›tte
vÄsudevÄnumoditÄḥ
anicchantyo yayur gopyaḥ
sva-gá¹›hÄn bhagavat-priyÄḥ

 brahma-rÄtre - the nighttime of BrahmÄ; upÄvá¹›tte - being completed; vÄsudeva - by Lord Kṛṣṇa; anumoditÄḥ - advised; anicchantyaḥ - unwilling; yayuḥ - went; gopyaḥ - the gopÄ«s; sva-gá¹›hÄn - to their homes; bhagavat - of the Supreme Lord; priyÄḥ - the dear consorts.


Text

After an entire night of BrahmÄ had passed, Lord Kṛṣṇa advised the gopÄ«s to return to their homes. Although they did not wish to do so, the Lord’s beloved consorts complied with His command.

Purport

In the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (8.17) Lord Kṛṣṇa explains, “By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of BrahmÄ’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.†Thus one thousand ages entered within a single twelve-hour night when Lord Kṛṣṇa performed His rÄsa dance. ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« compares this inconceivable impression of time to the fact that many universes fit neatly within the forty-mile range of earthly Vá¹›ndÄvana. Or one may consider that mother YaÅ›odÄ could not encircle the small abdomen of child Kṛṣṇa with numerous ropes, and that at another time He manifested many universes within His mouth. The transcendence of spiritual reality above and beyond mundane physics is concisely explained in ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmī’s Laghu-bhagavatÄmá¹›ta:

evaá¹ prabhoḥ priyÄṇÄá¹ ca
 dhÄmnaÅ› ca samayasya ca
avicintya-prabhÄvatvÄd
 atra kiñcin na durghaá¹­am

“Nothing is impossible for the Lord, His dear devotees, His transcendental abode or the time of His pastimes, for all these entities are inconceivably powerful.â€

ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« further explains that the word vÄsudevÄnumoditÄḥ indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa advised the gopÄ«s, “To assure the success of these pastimes, you and I should keep them secret.†The word vÄsudeva, a name of Kṛṣṇa, also indicates Lord Kṛṣṇa’s plenary expansion who acts as the presiding Deity of consciousness. When the word vÄsudeva is understood in this context, the word vÄsudevÄnumoditÄḥ indicates that the presiding Deity of consciousness, VÄsudeva, manifested embarrassment and fear of their elders within the gopÄ«s’ hearts, and therefore it was only with great reluctance that the young girls returned home.