Gopikā Vastrāpaharaṇa (Bhāgavata Purāṇa)
In the month of Mārgaśīrsha, the young gopikās of Vṛndāvana kept the Kātyāyanī Vrata. They had one prayer: that Kṛshṇa become their husband. One morning, while they bathed in the Yamunā with their clothes on the bank, Kṛshṇa took all their clothes up into a kadamba tree. He said he would give them back only if the gopikās came out of the water and came to him with folded hands. The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the twenty-second chapter of the tenth Skanda.
The Kātyāyanī Vrata
In the winter month of Mārgaśīrsha, the gopikās of Vṛndāvana took up the Kātyāyanī Vrata, a vrata (vow) kept for a whole month. Each morning, at brahma-muhūrta (before dawn), they went to the Yamunā, took off their clothes on the bank and bathed in the cold water. While bathing, they made clay images of Devī Kātyāyanī, a form of Durgā-Śakti, and offered her flowers and food.
Their prayer was single and focused: “O Kātyāyanī Mahāmāye Mahāyoginī Adhīśvari, let Kṛshṇa, the son of Nanda, be our husband.” They said this prayer all through the month of their vrata.
The taking of the clothes
After the vrata had been kept for some days, Kṛshṇa came one morning to the Yamunā bank while the gopikās were bathing. He found their clothes piled on the bank, gathered them all and climbed into a tall kadamba tree nearby. He called to the gopikās and told them that if they wanted their clothes back, they must come out of the water and come to him.
The gopikās stood in the water, shy and laughing. They called back to him to stop his mischief and give back their clothes. Kṛshṇa did not give way. He said: “I am not joking. Come out and come to me with folded hands, and I will give back your clothes. I swear this is true.”
One by one, the gopikās saw that he would not change his mind. They came out of the water with their hands folded over their chests, and they came to Kṛshṇa. He gave each one her clothes back with a smile. Then he said to them: “You kept the Kātyāyanī Vrata with great sincerity, and I accepted it. Your vrata will be fulfilled. You will spend the śāradīya rātrīs (autumn nights) with me, as you have prayed.”
What the episode teaches
The Bhāgavata presents this episode with more than one layer of meaning. The outer layer is Kṛshṇa’s playful mischief as a child. The Vaishṇava commentary tradition teaches a deeper meaning: those who have given themselves wholly to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa must come to him with nothing hidden. In this teaching the clothes stand for the ego, the sense of being separate, and the barriers a jīva (living being) keeps between itself and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. To come to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa with folded hands, hiding nothing, is the sign of full śaraṇāgati (surrender). The gopikās who did this met the basic condition of bhakti (devotion).
Kṛshṇa’s promise that they would be with him on the śāradīya rātrīs is understood as the promise of the Rāsa Līlā, which is told in later chapters of the tenth Skanda.
Sources
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 22