Akrūra's Return Journey
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as 'Akrūra,' which means 'not cruel.' In the beginning we appreciated Your workmanship in giving us these eyes to see the beautiful face of Krṣṇa, but now, just like a foolish creature, You are trying to take out our eyes so we may not see Krṣṇa here again. Krṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, is also very cruel! He must always have new friends; He does not like to keep friendship for a long time with anyone. We  gopīs  of Vṛndāvana, having left our homes, friends, and relatives, have become Krṣṇa's maidservants, but He is neglecting us and going away. He does not even look upon us, although we are completely surrendered unto Him. Now all the young girls in Mathurā will have the opportunity. They are expecting Krṣṇa's arrival, and they will enjoy His sweet smiling face and will drink its honey. Although we know that Krṣṇa is very steady and determined, we are threatened that as soon as He sees the beautiful faces of the young girls in Mathurā, He will forget Himself. We fear He will become controlled by them and will forget us, for we are simple village girls. He will no longer be kind to us. We therefore do not expect Krṣṇa to return to Vṛndāvana. He will not leave the company of the girls in Mathurā."
The  gopīs  began to imagine the great functions in the city of Mathurā. Krṣṇa would pass through the streets, and the ladies and young girls of the city would see Him from the balconies of their respective houses. Mathurā City contained different communities, known then as Daśārha, Bhoja, Andhaka and Sātvata. All these communities were different branches of the same family in which Krṣṇa appeared, namely the Yadu dynasty. They were also expecting the arrival of Krṣṇa. It had already been ascertained that Krṣṇa, who is the rest of the goddess of fortune and reservoir of all pleasure and transcendental qualities, was going to visit Mathurā City.
The  gopīs  then began to condemn the activities of Akrūra. They stated that he was taking Krṣṇa, who was more dear than the dearest to them and who was the pleasure of their eyes. He was being taken from their sight without their being informed or solaced by Akrūra. Akrūra should not have been so merciless but should have taken compassion on them. The  gopīs  went on to say: "The most astonishing feature is that Krṣṇa, the son of Nanda, without consideration, has already seated Himself on the chariot. From this it appears that Krṣṇa is not very intelligent. Yet He may be very intelligent—but He is not very civilized. Not only Krṣṇa, but all the cowherd men are so callous that they are already yoking the bulls and calves for the journey to Mathurā. The elderly persons in Vṛndāvana are also merciless; they do not take our plight into consideration and stop Krṣṇa's journey to Mathurā. Even the demigods are very unkind to us; they are not impeding His going to Mathurā."