Uddhav and the Love of the Gopis

Uddhav was Krishna's friend and minister, a man of great learning. One day Krishna took his hand and said: Uddhav, go to Vraj. Comfort my parents and take my message to the gopis. They are very sad without me. Wearing Krishna's yellow cloth, Uddhav reached Vrindavan by chariot.

It was evening and the cows were coming home. Nand Baba and Yashoda embraced Uddhav and wept as they asked about Krishna. Uddhav explained that Krishna was not an ordinary son but the Lord Himself, present in every heart. But the parents' hearts only kept remembering their little one.

In the morning the gopis recognised Krishna's chariot and surrounded Uddhav. Just then a bumblebee flew by. One gopi, taking the bee to be Krishna's messenger, began to speak to it: you are just like your master, drinking the nectar of flowers and flying away! This is called the Bhramar Geet: a complaint overflowing with love.

Uddhav gave Krishna's message: I am never far from you; just as space, water and air are in everything, I am in all of you. Find Me through meditation. The gopis replied: Uddhav, meditation is for someone who still has a mind of their own. Krishna has taken our minds away. With what mind should we meditate?

Uddhav stayed in Vraj for several months. Seeing the gopis' love, his pride in knowledge melted. He said: before their love all my learning is small. I only wish to become some vine or shrub in Vrindavan, so that the dust of these gopis' feet may fall on me. Then he returned to tell Krishna about Vraj.