iti svāgham anusmṛtya
kṛṣṇe te kṛta-helanāḥ
didṛkṣavo vrajam atha
kaḿsād bhītā na cācalan
iti -- thus; sva-agham -- their own offense; anusmritya -- thinking back upon; krishne -- against Lord Krishna; te -- they; krita-helanah -- having shown contempt; didrikshavah -- wishing to see; vrajam -- to the village of Nanda Maharaja; atha -- then; kamsat -- of Kamsa; bhitah -- afraid; na -- not; ca -- and; acalan -- they went.
Thus reflecting on the sin they had committed by neglecting Lord Krishna, they became very eager to see Him. But being afraid of King Kamsa, they did not dare go to Vraja.
Realizing their offense against Lord Krishna, and finally appreciating His almighty position, the brahmanas naturally wanted to rush to Vraja and surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. But they were afraid that Kamsa would certainly kill them when his spies reported that they had gone to Krishna. The brahmanas' wives were absorbed in ecstatic Krishna consciousness and thus went to Krishna anyway, just as the gopis, simply to dance with the Lord, traveled in the dead of night through a forest inhabited by wild animals. But the brahmanas were not on such an advanced platform of Krishna consciousness and thus, overcome by fear of Kamsa, could not see the Lord face to face.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A . C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to the Tenth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled "The Brahmanas' Wives Blessed."
