taṁ praśrayeṇāvanatāḥ su-sat-kṛtaṁ
sa-vrīḍa-hāsekṣaṇa-sūnṛtādibhiḥ
rahasy apṛcchann upaviṣṭam āsane
vijñāya sandeśa-haraṁ ramā-pateḥ
tam - him, Uddhava; praśrayeṇa - with humility; avanatāḥ - bowed down (the gopīs); su - properly; sat-kṛtam - honored; sa-vrīḍa - with shyness; hāsa - and smiling; īkṣaṇa - by their glances; sūnṛta - pleasing words; ādibhiḥ - and so forth; rahasi - in a secluded place; apṛcchan - they inquired; upaviṣṭam - who was seated; āsane - on a cushion; vijñāya - understanding him to be; sandeśa-haram - the message carrier; ramā-pateḥ - of the master of the goddess of fortune.
Bowing their heads in humility, the gopīs duly honored Uddhava with their shy, smiling glances and pleasing words. They took him to a quiet place, seated him comfortably and began to question him, for they recognized him to be a messenger from Kṛṣṇa, the master of the goddess of fortune.
The chaste gopīs were enlivened to see that a messenger had come from Kṛṣṇa. As Uddhava will discover during his stay in Vṛndāvana, the unique gopīs could not think of anything but their beloved Kṛṣṇa.
