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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.20
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 20
- so 'haṁ nṛpendra rahitaḥ puruṣottamena
- sakhyā priyeṇa suhṛdā hṛdayena śūnyaḥ
- adhvany urukrama-parigraham aṅga rakṣan
- gopair asadbhir abaleva vinirjito 'smi
saḥthat — that; ahammyself — myself; nṛpaO Emperor-indraO Emperor — O Emperor; rahitaḥbereft of — bereft of; puruṣaby the Supreme Lord-uttamenaby the Supreme Lord — by the Supreme Lord; sakhyāby my friend — by my friend; priyeṇaby my dearmost — by my dearmost; suhṛdāby the well-wisher — by the well-wisher; hṛdayenaby the heart and soul — by the heart and soul; śūnyaḥvacant — vacant; adhvanirecently — recently; urukramathe wives of the all-powerful-parigrahamthe wives of the all-powerful — the wives of the all-powerful; aṅgabodies — bodies; rakṣanwhile protecting — while protecting; gopaiḥby the cowherds — by the cowherds; asadbhiḥby the infidels — by the infidels; abalālike a weak woman ivalike a weak woman — like a weak woman; vinirjitaḥI have been defeated asmiI have been defeated — I have been defeated.
O Emperor, now I am separated from my friend and dearmost well-wisher, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore my heart appears to be void of everything. In His absence I have been defeated by a number of infidel cowherd men while I was guarding the bodies of all the wives of Kṛṣṇa.
The important point in this verse is how it was possible that Arjuna could be defeated by a gang of ignoble cowherd men and how such mundane cowherd men could touch the bodies of the wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who were under the protection of Arjuna. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has justified the contradiction by research in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa and Brahma Purāṇa. In these Purāṇas it is said that once the fair denizens of heaven pleased Aṣṭāvakra Muni by their service and were blessed by the muni to have the Supreme Lord as their husband. Aṣṭāvakra Muni was curved in eight joints of his body, and thus he used to move in a peculiar curved manner. The daughters of the demigods could not check their laughter upon seeing the movements of the muni, and the muni, being angry at them, cursed them that they would be kidnapped by rogues, even if they would get the Lord as their husband. Later on, the girls again satisfied the muni by their prayers, and the muni blessed them that they would regain their husband even after being robbed by the rogues. So, in order to keep the words of the great muni, the Lord Himself kidnapped His wives from the protection of Arjuna, otherwise they would have at once vanished from the scene as soon as they were touched by the rogues. Besides that, some of the gopīs who prayed to become wives of the Lord returned to their respective positions after their desire was fulfilled. After the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa, He wanted all His entourage back to Godhead, and they were called back under different conditions only.