The gopīs’ parents would ask them, “What vrata are you following? Now cāturmāsya is over, so what vrata can you be following? What mantra do you chant and who is your guru?” But the gopīs only smiled and acted demure. Internally, by the power of their absorption, they began to witness the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in a continuous stream.
The gopīs had so much bhakti and prema for Kṛṣṇa and were worried about their future. As they meditated on Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, at the same time they thought, “Soon I will be young and my body will be very attractive. Many doglike men will come to attack and acquire me for their enjoyment. How can they be blind and not observe me? I desire to be the sole property of Kṛṣṇa.” They were afraid that soon they would be married off and sent out of Vraja.
Later, when the gopīs’ parents actually began to think about arranging their daughters’ marriage, Yogamāyā and Kṛṣṇa orchestrated a wonderful pastime: Lord Brahmā came and stole all the calves and sakhās. As he hid them in a cave, Kṛṣṇa considered He could not return home without all His friends and calves. He Himself then assumed the exact forms of each and every calf and friend. Kṛṣṇa could have immediately chastised Brahmā and recovered His associates, but to satisfy the desire of the Vrajavāsīs—of the mothers for Kṛṣṇa to be their son, of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa to be their beloved, and of the cows for Him to be their calf—Kṛṣṇa acted as if nothing had happened and returned to Gokula. This pastime continued for one year.
Since millions of lives, the conditioned souls have been suffering from the poisonous influence of their material desires and lust for sense gratification. To become free of this poison, we must take shelter of the Vraja-devīs. We must worship and pray to them. By their glorious grace, we will achieve our spiritual form and accept Kṛṣṇa as our eternal maintainer and guardian. This is the meaning of pati. Śrīla Gurudeva gives us this conception. He engenders greed to enter this mādhurya-rasa and to be Śrīmatī’s maidservant in Vraja. Then Kṛṣṇa will be so pleased. He will accept and maintain us with so much happiness, as we are the beloved maidservants of His dearmost Śrīmatījī. This is the goal of our performance of Kātyāyanī-vrata.