Hari Gopinath Das

Flow of Emotion Across Līlā

the stages of gopīs’ love with references from both the Bhāgavata and Gauḍīya literature:

Unique Qualities of Gopīs’ Emotions

1. Exclusivity – They want nothing but Krishna, not even liberation.
2. Selflessness – They suffer gladly if Krishna is happy.
3. Intensity – Their love burns even stronger in separation (vipralambha).
4. Sweet Contradictions – Anger mixed with love, pain mixed with bliss.
5. Highest Ideal – Gauḍīyas say: Gopī-bhāva is the supreme goal of bhakti.

• Sneha → Māna → Praṇaya → Rāga → Anurāga → Mahābhāva
• Each stage deepens their emotions, with Śrī Rādhā alone reaching the full experience of Mahābhāva.

1. Sweet attraction (Sneha) – flute awakens prema.
2. Loving anger (Māna) – Krishna tests love by disappearing.
3. Bold intimacy (Praṇaya) – gopīs openly address Him in Gopī Geet.
4. Exclusive attachment (Rāga) – Uddhava hears their declaration of single-minded love.
5. Ever-fresh longing (Anurāga) – their love grows with Krishna’s absence.
6. Supreme ecstasy (Mahābhāva) – Rādhā reaches the absolute peak of devotion.

Śrī Rādhā’s Emotions

• Rādhārāṇī embodies mahābhāva.
• In separation, She experiences divyonmāda (divine madness).
• Her longing and tears nourish all other gopīs’ devotion.
• Caitanya Mahāprabhu (in Gauḍīya theology) came to taste Rādhā’s emotions for Krishna.

In the Bhāgavata, gopīs’ emotions unfold as stories: flute songs, rāsa-līlā, viraha, gopī gītā.

In Gauḍīya literature, these emotions are analyzed into rasas, bhāvas, and stages of prema.

Together, they reveal the gopīs’ love as the highest standard of bhakti, the model for all devotees.