Text 1501
Lord Caitanya's Travels to the Holy Places
373
TRANSLATION
“Although Krṣṇa assumed the four-armed form of Nārāyaṇa, He could not attract the serious attention of the gopīs in ecstatic love.
TEXT 1500
গোপীনাং পশুপেন্দ্রনন্দনজুষো ভাবস্ত কস্তাং ক্বতী বিজ্ঞাতুং ক্ষমতে দুরূহপদবীশকারিণ: প্রক্রিয়াম্ । আবিষ্কৃর্বতি বৈষ্ণবীমপি তন্তুং তস্মিন্ ভুজৈর্জিষ্ণুভি-র্ষাসাং হস্ত চতুর্ভিরদ্ভুতরুচিং রাগোদয়: কুক্বতি ॥ ১৫৮
gopīnāṁ paśupendra-nandana-juṣo bhāvasya kas tāṁ kṛtī vijñātuṁ kṣamate durūha-padavī-sañcāriṇaḥ prakriyām āviṣkurvati vaiṣṇavīm api tanuṁ tasmin bhujair jiṣṇubhir yāsāṁ hanta caturbhir adbhuta-ruciṁ rāgodayaḥ kuñcati
SYNONYMS
gopīnām —of the  gopīs ;  paśupendra-nandana-juṣaḥ —of the service of the son of Vraja's King, Mahārāja Nanda;  bhāvasya —ecstatic;  kaḥ —what;  tām —that;  kṛtī —learned man;  vijñātum —to understand;  kṣamate —is able;  durūha —very difficult to understand;  padavī —the position;  sañcāriṇaḥ —which provokes;  prakriyām —activity;  āviṣkuvrati —He manifests;  vaiṣṇavīm —of Viṣṇu;  api —certainly;  tanum —the body;  tasmin —in that;  bhujaiḥ —with arms;  jiṣṇubhiḥ —very beautiful;  yāsām —of whom (the  gopīs );  hanta —alas;  caturbhiḥ —four;  adbhuta —wonderfully;  rucim —beautiful;  rāga-udayaḥ —the evoking of ecstatic feelings;  kuñcati —cripples.
TRANSLATION
“‘Once Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested Himself as Nārāyaṇa with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopīs saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings abated. A learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopīs’ ecstatic feelings, which are firmly centered upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. The wonderful feelings of the gopīs in ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitute the greatest mystery of spiritual life.’”
PURPORT
This is a verse spoken by Nārada Muni in  Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka  (6.14), a drama written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. This verse clarifies the verse  siddhāntatas   tv abhede ‘pi , which Kavirāja Gosvāmī quotes from  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu . Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself spoke it to Vyeṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa. The verse was quoted