Varieties of Love for Krsna 131

is clear that the sages of Dandakaranya desired conjugal love in the
manner of the gopis, although they were well aware of the Supreme
Lord as both Krsna and Lord Ramacandra. They knew that Rama-
candra was an ideal king and could not accept more than one wife;
but Lord Krsna, being the full-fledged Personality of Godhead, could
fulfill the desires of all of them in Vrndavana. These sages also con-
cluded that the form of Lord Krsna is more attractive than that of
Lord Ramacandra, and so they prayed to become gopis in their fu-
ture lives to be associated with Krsna. Lord Ramacandra remained
silent, and His silence shows that He accepted the prayers of the
sages. Thus they were blest by Lord Ramacandra to have association
with Lord Krsna in their future lives. As a result of this benediction,
they all took birth as women in the wombs of gopis at Gokula, and,
as they had desired in their previous lives, they enjoyed the company
of Lord Krsna, who was present at that time in Gokula Vrndavana.
The perfection of their human form of life was thus achieved by
their generating a transcendental sentiment to share conjugal love
with Lord Krsna.

Conjugal love is divided into two classifications—namely, conjugal
love as husband and wife and conjugal love as lover and beloved. One
who develops conjugal love for Krsna as a wife is promoted to
Dvaraka, where the devotee becomes the queen of the Lord. Those
who develop conjugal love for Krsna as a lover are promoted to Go-
loka Vrndavana, to associate with the gopis and enjoy loving affairs
with Krsna there. We should note carefully, however, that this con-
jugal love for Krsna, either as gopi or queen, is not limited only to
women. Even men can develop such sentiments, as was evidenced by
the sages of Dandakaranya. If someone simply desires conjugal love
but does not follow in the footsteps of the gopis, he is promoted to
association with the Lord at Dvaraka.

In the Maha-kiirma Purana it is stated: “Great sages who were the
sons of fire gods rigidly followed the regulative principles in their de-
sire to have conjugal love for Krsna. As such, in their next lives they
were able to associate with the Lord, the origin of all creation, who

is known as Vasudeva, or Krsna. Every one of them got Him as their
husband.”
