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The Stealing of Clothes
The cold season [1] set in. The girls of Nanda’s Vraja observed a vow and worshipped Goddess Katyayani[2]. They ate only the purest food. They prayed, “O Katyayani! O ruler of the universe, O great Goddess of wonderful Yogic powers! Let the son of Nanda be our husband. We bow to your feet.” They observed the vow for a month. They took their bath every day in the river Yamuna in the early morning. One day, they left their clothes on the bank and went down into the river to bathe. They sang the praise of Krishna and sported in great joy in the river.
Sri Krishna together with all His friends went to the bank of the fiver to fulfil the object of their vow. He took away their clothes and quickly climbed the nearest Kadamba tree. He asked the girls to come up and take them. They did so. Krishna returned the clothes.
Krishna then said to the Gopis, “O virtuous and pure girls! I know your resolve. The vow you took has been observed well. You want to worship Me. I approve of it. You will succeed. Those who devote their mind and heart to Me will not obtain the limited objects of desire of this world, for when I become the object of their desire, their desires get burnt. Just as a grain fried or boiled does not germinate, so also the desires directed towards Me cannot lead to worldly enjoyments. Go back to Vraja. Your object in worshipping Katyayani is gained. You will sport with me during the coming autumnal nights.
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