Vedanta Desika, in a verse, said Lord Narayana in His Krishna avatara was completely caught up in the affection of the Gopikas. Why would the Lord be caught up in the coils of their love? Such was the love of the Gopikas for Him that He willingly submitted to their affection, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse.
The Vedas describe the Parabrahman as being sweet like nectar. A sweet becomes unpalatable after a while because that is its very nature. But there is one sweet that we do not tire of, and that is the Lord Himself. That is why the verses of Nammazhvar that praise the Lord are sweeter than even the notes of the flute that the Lord plays.
The Gopikas were lost in their love for Krishna, who is sweeter than nectar. Greater love than theirs would be hard to find. They even abandoned their duties and rushed to Krishna the moment they heard Him playing the flute. That Krishna was charming to them is no surprise, for the Lord is the embodiment of all that is beautiful. But what was it about them that endeared them to Krishna? After all they were uneducated, simple women, whose lives revolved around their day-to-day existence. The Lord gave them a special place in His heart because of their love for Him. Is this not what the Lord expects of us — this kind of love and devotion?
And yet even the Gopikas, when they began to show traces of pride, were deprived of the Lord's company. Not able to bear His absence, they cried, and in that outpouring of theirs, Desika saw the Upanishads being echoed. They
consoled themselves by enacting episodes from the life of Krishna. One Gopika played the role of the snake Kaliya and another played Krishna dancing on the hood of the snake. It is understandable that a Gopika wanted to play the role of Krishna, the loved One. But why did one of them agree to play the role of a venomous snake? Her reasoning was that her head would be touched by the foot of the woman who played the role of Krishna.So even one who mimicked Krishna evoked devotion in the Gopikas! No wonder then that Desika saw their cries as echoing the Upanishads.
