nāsūyan khalu kṛṣṇāya
mohitās tasya māyayā
manyamānāḥ sva-pārśva-sthān
svān svān dārān vrajaukasaḥ
na asuyan -- were not jealous; khalu -- even; krishnaya -- against Krishna; mohitah -- bewildered; tasya -- His; mayaya -- by the spiritual potency of illusion; manyamanah -- thinking; sva-parsva -- at their own sides; sthan -- standing; svan svan -- each their own; daran -- wives; vraja-okasah -- the cowherd men of Vraja.
The cowherd men, bewildered by Krishna's illusory potency, thought their wives had remained home at their sides. Thus they did not harbor any jealous feelings against Him.
Because the gopis loved Krishna exclusively, Yogamaya protected their relationship with the Lord at all times, even though they were married. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti quotes from the Ujjvala-nilamani as follows:
maya-kalpita-tadrik-stri
silanenanusuyubhih
na jatu vraja-devinam
patibhih saha sangamah
"The gopis' jealous husbands consorted not with their wives but with doubles manufactured by Maya. Thus these men never actually had any intimate contact with the divine ladies of Vraja." The gopis are the internal energy of the Lord and can never belong to any other living being. Krishna arranged their apparent marriage to other men simply to create the excitement of parakiya-rasa, the love between a married woman and her paramour. These activities are absolutely pure because they are the Lord's pastimes, and saintly persons since time immemorial have relished these supreme spiritual events.
