CC Adi 4.217
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 217
- rādhā-saha krīḍā rasa-vṛddhira kāraṇa
- āra saba gopī-gaṇa rasopakaraṇa
SYNONYMS
rādhā-saha—with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; krīḍā—pastimes; rasa—of mellow; vṛddhira—of the increase; kāraṇa—the cause; āra—the other; saba—all; gopī-gaṇa—gopīs; rasa-upakaraṇa—accessories of mellow.
TRANSLATION
All the other gopīs help increase the joy of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with Rādhārāṇī. The gopīs act as the instruments of Their mutual enjoyment.
PURPORT
It is said that the gopīs are divided into five groups, namely the sakhīs, nitya-sakhīs, prāṇa-sakhīs, priya-sakhīs and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. All these fair-complexioned associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the Queen of Vṛndāvana-dhāma, are expert artists in evoking erotic sentiments in Kṛṣṇa. The parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs are eight in number, and in the ecstatic dealings of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā they side sometimes with Kṛṣṇa and at other times with Rādhārāṇī, just to create a situation in which it appears that they favor one against the other. That makes the exchange of mellows more palatable.