Introduction: Often it is believed that Kṛṣṇa never met the cowgirls or Gopikās (Gopikā from now onwards) after leaving the Vraja community. As per Śrīmadbhāgavatpurāṇa [1], the most succinct biography of Kṛṣṇa, they both met again in Kurukṣetra. The details of this event will be presented in this article.
Occasion and location: There was a solar eclipse named Sarvagrāsa (literally, all eating) which is similar to eclipse before the final-deluge (pralaya). Around that time, Kṛṣṇa and other Yaduvaṁśīs gathered at the Samantapañcakatārtha in Kurukṣetra. This shrine was made by Paraśurāma, where he made five huge blood-pools after killing the atrocious rulers, and performed sacrifice to establish order on the earth. See for instance,
athaikadā dvāravatyāṁ vasato rāmakṛṣṇayoḥ|
sūryoparāgaḥ sumahānāsītkalpakṣaye yathā||
[Śloka 1, Adhyāya 82, Daśamaskandha]
The visitors: The list of visitors to the shrine is long. Apart from Yaduvaṁśīs, Matsya, Uśīnara, Kosala, Vidarbha, Kuru, Sṛñjaya, Kāmboja, Kaikaya, Madra, Kunti, Ānarta, Kerala, and others are mentioned to visit the place. Apart from these, Nanda and other cowherds visited the place having heard about Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma being there. After meeting Yaśodā and other Vraja folks, Kṛṣṇa went to meet Gopikā. See for instance,
matsyośīnarakausalyavidarbhakurusṛñjayān|
kāmbojakaikayānmadrānkuntīnānartakeralān||
anyāṁścaivātmapakṣīyānparāṁśca śataśo nṛpaḥ|
nandādīnsuhṛdo gopāngopīścotkaṇṭhitāściram||
[Śloka 13—14, Adhyāya 82, Daśamaskandha]
Gopikā and Kṛṣṇa dialogues: Kṛṣṇa saw that Gopikā are mentally uniting themselves with Him. He went in privacy with them and embraced them. He asked their well-being and then revealed the secrets Bhakti (devotion) and Brahmajñāna to the Gopikā. This teaching is similar (though different in length), to Bhagavadagītā, Uddhavagātā, or the teachings to Akrūra. See for instance,
ahaṁ hi sarvabhūtānāmādiranto’ntaraṁ bahiḥ|
bhautikānāṁ yathā khaṁ vārbhūrvāyurjyotiraṅganā||
Only I am present in the beginning, end, and middle of all the living-beings, just like all the physical substances are made of the elements sky, water, earth, air, and fire.
[Śloka 46, Adhyāya 82, Daśamaskandha]
One crucial difference compared to other teachings is that Gopikā immediately became tanmaya (in unison with Kṛṣṇa) after the meeting, unlike the case of Arjuna, Uddhava, or Akrūra.
References:
[1] Śrīmadbhāgavatpurāṇa, Gitapress.
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