Bhojana-sthala (Bhatrola-gaon)

Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami

From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:

Here, Kṛṣṇa relished various delicious cooked grains and foodstuffs brought by the yajña-patnīs, the wives of the brāhmaṇas.

Having been persuaded by Kṛṣṇa, the cowherd boys had gone to the residence of the yajña-patnīs and begged for some foodstuffs for Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva. Simply upon hearing the names of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the yajña-patnīs became overwhelmed with transcendental emotions. They left their homes to have darśana of Kṛṣṇa, eagerly bringing various delicious cooked foodstuffs on large plates. Nothing could stop them, not even the objections of their husbands. Some brāhmaṇas forcefully locked their wives in their houses, but these women gave up their bodies in the fire of separation from Kṛṣṇa and went to meet Him. When the brāhmaṇīs approached Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they became enchanted upon seeing His dark-complexioned form, which resembles a fresh rain cloud. The yellow garments on His dark-complexioned limbs wavered like steady lightening.

The wives of the brāhmaṇas became so overwhelmed with prema upon seeing Kṛṣṇa that they did not want to return home to their husbands. After Kṛṣṇa instructed them to go, however, they somehow readied themselves to do so. Upon returning home, they found that the attitude of their husbands had entirely changed. The brāhmaṇas now began to praise their wives’ transcendental devotion to Kṛṣṇa, and they condemned their three types of birth – namely seminal, brahminical and sacrificial – and their knowledge and expertise in Vedic rituals123.

There is a point to be considered here. Kṛṣṇa told the wives of the brāhmaṇas to return home, and they obeyed Him. When the gopa-ramaṇīs heard the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute, they came to Kṛṣṇa, and He similarly told them to return to their husbands. They did not return, however, and Kṛṣṇa danced and performed rāsa-līlā with them. How is this? The answer is that only the gopīs have the qualification to participate in Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā and other such pastimes. In Vraja, Śrī Kṛṣṇa wears the dress of a gopa and He is absorbed in the mood of a gopa. Therefore, only the gopīs who themselves took birth from the wombs of gopīs have the qualification to participate in Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa and other pastimes in the nikuñjas. Lakṣmī from Vaikuṇṭha and the wives of the brāhmaṇas have no qualification to enter these confidential pastimes. They were therefore sent away. It may be that after performing arduous worship for many lifetimes under the guidance of the rāgātmikā gopīs, such personalities may one day take a birth from the wombs of gopīs in manifested Vraja. Then, by the influence of their association with eternally liberated gopīs, they may eventually become qualified to serve in the nikuñjas and so forth.