śrī-śuka uvāca
adhyātma-śikṣayā gopya
evaḿ kṛṣṇena śikṣitāḥ
tad-anusmaraṇa-dhvasta-
jīva-kośās tam adhyagan
sri-sukah uvaca -- Sukadeva Gosvami said; adhyatma -- about the soul; sikshaya -- with instruction; gopyah -- the gopis; evam -- thus; krishnena -- by Krishna; sikshitah -- taught; tat -- on Him; anusmarana -- by constant meditation; dhvasta -- eradicated; jiva-kosah -- the subtle covering of the soul (false ego); tam -- Him; adhyagan -- they came to understand.
Sukadeva Gosvami said: Having thus been instructed by Krishna in spiritual matters, the gopis were freed of all tinges of false ego because of their incessant meditation upon Him. And with their deepening absorption in Him, they came to understand Him fully.
Srila Prabhupada renders this passage as follows in Krishna: "The gopis, having been instructed by Krishna in this philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, remained always in Krishna consciousness and thus became liberated from all material contamination. The consciousness of the living entity who falsely presents himself as the enjoyer of the material world is called jiva-kosa, which means imprisonment by the false ego. Not only the gopis but anyone who follows these instructions of Krishna becomes immediately freed from the jiva-kosa imprisonment. A person in full Krishna consciousness is always liberated from false egoism; he utilizes everything for Krishna's service and is not at any time separated from Krishna."
