In the village of Vraja, the women anxiously wondered whether Akrura had arrived, or perhaps another agent sent by Kamsa, the one who had taken Krishna, their lotus-eyed beloved, away to Mathura. Their hearts ached as they pondered what atonement such a person might perform for them, to please their master. While their minds swirled with these questions, Uddhava, Krishna’s close companion, arrived after completing his morning rituals. As Uddhava entered, the women of Vraja gazed upon him with wonder. He was tall and noble, his arms long, his eyes fresh as blooming lotuses. Clad in yellow garments and adorned with a garland of lotuses, his face shone like a radiant lotus, his earrings glittering brightly. They recognized him immediately as the attendant of the Yadu lord, sent by their master to do something dear for Krishna’s parents. The gopīs could think of no other reason for Krishna to be remembered in Vraja. They knew that the bonds of affection among kin were nearly impossible to break, even for sages. Friendships, they reflected, are often formed for a purpose and last only as long as that purpose endures, just as men and women come together or as bees visit flowers. The destitute are abandoned by prostitutes, subjects forsake a powerless king, students leave their teacher when their lessons are complete, and priests depart after receiving their fees. Birds leave a tree when its fruit is gone, guests depart after eating, deer abandon a burned forest, and lovers leave a woman after their pleasure is spent. Absorbed in Govinda, their words, bodies, and minds lost all concern for worldly matters when Uddhava, Krishna’s messenger, arrived. They began to sing of Krishna’s beloved deeds and wept, unashamed, recalling again and again the acts of his childhood and youth. One gopī, seeing a honeybee and longing for union with Krishna, imagined the bee to be a messenger sent by her beloved, and spoke to it: “O bee, companion of the deceitful, do not touch the feet of my rival. Her garland, smeared with pollen from her breasts, stains your whiskers. Let the lord of bees carry the favor of those proud women, for you are his messenger, fit to be mocked in the Yadu assembly. “After enchanting us with the nectar of his lips but once, he abandoned us like a flower discarded by a bee. How does Padmā serve his lotus feet, whose mind is stolen by the praises of the glorious one? Why do you, six-legged one, sing here of the lord of the Yadus, the ancient master of our homes? Go sing of his exploits among his friends, for he has healed their pain and granted their desires. “What women, in heaven, earth, or the underworld, are unattainable to him, whose charming smile and playful brows deceive? We are humble, fortunate only to worship the dust of his feet; even among the wretched, his glorious name is heard. Leave his foot from your head; I know his sweet words. He sends you, skilled in persuasion, as his messenger. He has abandoned his wives and children here, and left without concern. What trust can be placed in him? “He wounded women who were unprotected and deformed by love, conquered by desire, just as hunters pursue the king of monkeys. Even mighty Bali was bound like a bird. Enough of friendship with the dark one; yet, the topics of his deeds are hard to abandon. “Those who once tasted the nectar drops of his playful acts, hearing them just once, were freed from all dualities, abandoning their homes and families, though destitute. Many wander here as mendicants, like birds. “We, trusting his crooked words as nectar, ignorant as chicks listening to their mother’s call, are Krishna’s wives, like deer. Again and again we recall the intense pain from his nail’s touch. Let other news be told, O messenger. “Dear friend, have you returned, sent by the beloved? Tell me, what do you seek? You are worthy of honor, O gentle one. How do you bring us to the side of the one who cannot be abandoned, when Lakshmi, his bride, always dwells upon his chest? “Is the noble son now in Mathurā? Does he remember his father’s house, his kin, and the cowherds? Does he ever speak of us, his servants? When will he place his mighty, fragrant arm upon our heads?” Śuka, the sage, narrates that Uddhava, hearing their longing for Krishna’s presence, comforted the gopīs with loving messages and spoke to them. Uddhava said, “You are truly fulfilled and honored in the world, for you have devoted your minds entirely to Vāsudeva, the Lord. Devotion to Krishna is attained by vows, austerity, sacrifice, recitation, study, self-restraint, and many other means. By your great fortune, you have established supreme devotion to the Lord of exalted fame—a devotion difficult even for sages to attain. “By destiny, you have abandoned sons, husbands, bodies, relatives, and homes, and chosen that Supreme Person, Krishna. The state of complete absorption in the Transcendent has arisen in you through separation; by this, you have bestowed a great favor upon me. “Listen to the dear message, bringing happiness, which I have brought in secret from your beloved husband. “The Blessed Lord said: ‘My separation from you is never complete, for I am present in all beings, just as the elements—space, air, fire, water, and earth—are present in all things. I am the foundation of mind, life-breath, elements, senses, and their qualities. ‘By Myself, within Myself, I create, destroy, and sustain Myself, through My own power, as the essence of elements, senses, and their qualities. The Self is made of knowledge, pure, distinct, and not bound by qualities; yet, through the workings of illusion, it appears to move through deep sleep, dream, and waking states. ‘By which one contemplates the objects of the senses—arising falsely like a dream—let one restrain the senses, remaining ever wakeful and self-possessed. This is the inner teaching, the yoga and discriminative wisdom of the wise: renunciation, austerity, self-control, and truth, like rivers flowing to the ocean. ‘Though I, your beloved, appear to be far from you, it is for the purpose of drawing your minds closer to Me, out of your longing for constant remembrance. Just as, when a beloved is far away, the mind dwells upon him, so too, for women, the heart is not as absorbed when he is near and visible to the eyes. ‘Fixing your entire mind on Me, freed from all other attachments, and remembering Me always, you will soon attain Me. Those blessed ones who, while I played at night in this forest of Vraja, could not join the dance, did not fail to attain Me, for they meditated on My heroic deeds.’” Śuka continues: Hearing these words from their beloved, the women of Vraja, filled with joy, spoke to Uddhava, recalling the message he had brought. The gopīs said, “By fortune, the wicked Kaṁsa, the enemy of the Yadus, has been slain; by fortune, Acyuta is now safe, having achieved all His aims with His kin. O gentle one, does the elder brother of Gadā, honored by the loving, bashful, smiling glances of the city women, bring them joy?” Thus, the hearts of the gopīs, though aching with longing, were soothed by the words and presence of Uddhava, who brought Krishna’s message of eternal union and love.