Of the twenty-four Ekādaśīs that appear in the course of twelve months, Utpannā Ekādaśī marks the first Ekādaśī of the year. It comes in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa (November/December), during the dark fortnight, kṛṣṇa-pakṣa. According to the sequence of Ekādaśī-vratas, the first Ekādaśī appeared at the end of Cāturmāsya. Around the world, people observe New Year at different times, such as on the 1st of January, on Gaura-pūrṇimā, Dīpāvalī and so on. The end of the Cāturmāsya-vrata signifies the beginning of a New Year for following Ekādaśī-vrata. Starting from Utpannā Ekādaśī, a new schedule of sādhana begins. By this time the rāgānuga devotees have completed their austerities and vows, praying for entrance into Vraja-maṇḍala. Many devotees attain perfection and come to reside in Vraja.
On the full moon night of Śaradīya-rāsa-pūrṇimā, Kṛṣṇa played the flute, calling the names of the nitya-siddha and sādhana-siddha gopīs, and they all quickly ran to the forest for rāsa-līlā. Why were the sādhana-siddhas eager to partake in the rāsa-līlā?
Early in the morning, without any prior cause or invitation, Kṛṣṇa would go to the houses where the śruticāris, municāris, ṛṣicāris, upaniṣadcāris, and all the perfected sādhakas had taken birth as gopīs. Many of the sādhakas were from Tretā-yuga, who had been chanting the gopāla-mantra. Now they had taken birth in Vraja-maṇḍala and attained Gopāla. This was all by the mercy and power of the gopāla-mantra. Although the gopāla-mantra is supremely powerful, something else is required to attain perfection.
In Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.3.158), Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has written:
kṛṣṇasya nana-vidha-kīrtaneṣu tan-nāma-saṅkīrtanam eva mukhyam tat-prema-sampat-janane svayaṁ drāk śaktaṁ tataḥ śreṣṭha-tamaṁ mataṁ tat
[Nāma-saṅkīrtana is prominent among all the types of kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa. It is considered better than all others because it has the potency to instantly invoke the wealth of prema for Kṛṣṇa.] Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī says, “The gopāla-mantra has the power to send you to Goloka Vṛndāvana. But you will not be able to attain the perfection of prema without nāma-saṅkīrtana.” Thus, the sādhakas as gopīs continued their chanting of gopāla-mantra, but they also added nāma-saṅkīrtana, in order to perfect their bhāva. From the time they were all very small children, Kṛṣṇa would come to their homes early every morning to steal butter. He would go near them, glance over them, talk to them, tease them, and pinch them. Yet before any of these little gopīs could raise a fuss and cry, Kṛṣṇa would quickly run away. Sometimes, Kṛṣṇa would feed His sakhās butter and He would also give the gopīs butter. In this way, from their very childhood, He established an unshakeable relation with each of them. Although they were little children, their love and affection for Kṛṣṇa was unparalleled. The very Gopāla they had meditated on in their previous births for thousands of years had now appeared before them. On the Śaradīya-rāsa-pūrṇimā in Kartika, some of the sādhana-siddha gopīs who had heard His flute playing were unable to run into the forest to meet Him. Why? Some were unable to go because they were too young, and others were stopped by their relatives. Although they were very young, the desire in their hearts was that of a mature youth. Drinking the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty, they became restless. They didn’t know what to do. How could they tell anyone of their heart’s longing? Impatient at heart, they could not tolerate this longing. Ordinarily living entities become crazy and intoxicated by their youth. But the little gopīs were not maddened by mundane desire like others; rather their eagerness was to continuously drink the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental name, form, qualities, and pastimes. How did they drink this nectar? By chanting the gopāla-mantra. They never neglected to chant this mantra. In this way, they were connected to Kṛṣṇa. The gopāla-mantra has three parts: klīṁ—kṛṣṇāya, govindāya, and gopījana-vallabhāya. Some of the gopīs would chant, “klīṁ kṛṣṇāya svāhā,” while others would chant, “klīṁ govindāya svāhā,” and others would chant, “klīṁ gopī-jana-vallabhāya svāhā. In previous times the gopāla-mantra was only 6 syllables and 12 syllables. Anybody who purely chants a perfect mantra will have the mantra-devatā appear before him. After taking darśana of the Lord, the devotee cannot tolerate being separated from the Lord. Nothing in this world will be tasteful for the devotee. Kṛṣṇa would go house-to-house, taking many things. He didn’t come to steal only butter, but to become friends with the gopīs, and to steal their hearts. The little gopīs who were sādhakas in their previous life would wait anxiously for Kṛṣṇa. They thought, “When is Gopāla coming? When is Gopījana-vallabha coming? When is our Prāna-vallabha Gopīnātha coming?” By chanting the gopāla-mantra, the statement, “Choḍata puruṣa abhimāna,” will be realized. All false ego and mundane conceptions will be removed. Then with a clean heart you will continuously chant the holy name. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam, the congregational chanting of the holy names conquers Kṛṣṇa. At the end of Cāturmāsya is the Hemanta-rāsa-pūrṇimā. Kṛṣṇa again played His flute and the hearts of the nitya-siddha and sādhana-siddha-gopīs immediately began burning with the fire of anticipation to meet Him. The gopīs could no longer tolerate staying in their houses. They began to weep bitterly. They would go to the corner of a room, or anywhere they could find a secluded spot, and, thinking intently on their beloved, they would chant, “Gopāla, Gopījana-vallabha.” They would chant without cessation, and on feeling intense pangs of separation from their beloved Gopāla, they would sometimes come to the banks of the Yamunā. They would cry and pray to Yamunā, “He Yamune! He Sūrya-putrī! He Kālinda-nandinī! Please help us!” The gopīs offered entreaties to Yamunā-devī. Sūrya-putrī Yamunā called Vṛndā-devī, who came and told the young gopīs, “I eternally stay in this forest. I am Vāna-devī, the forest goddess. I know how your heart is afflicted by pain. Do not worry. I will give all of you a siddha-mantra, and then you will never suffer. You only need a month to achieve perfection, but you must duly chant this mantra. You must worship the deity of Kātyāyanī-devī on the bank of the Yamunā, where Yamunā-devī herself will bear witness to your worship. Your beloved Kṛṣṇa will then meet with you and accept you. “If you follow this program, nobody will share or contaminate your heart. Your minds will not be stolen away. You will be one pointed in the service of your beloved, and all of you will be pleased and sweet by nature. The mood of how to continuously please Kṛṣṇa will come in your hearts and your service tendency will blossom. The nitya-siddha-gopīs will help and accept you all. This mantra is only meant to manifest your relationship with the nitya-siddha Vraja-devīs.” The gopīs pray, “Nanda gopa-sutam devī—how can I get a relationship with those devīs who possess Nanda-nandana? How can I be related with Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and the Vraja-devīs? He Nanda-nandana! I have been chanting Your mantra for a long time, but still, a relationship between Your family and ourselves has not manifested. We have no relation with Your personal associates and friends. When will Rādhikā bless us by accepting and teaching us?” Perfection is achieved by chanting the siddha-mantra, but what kind of perfection? Does one attain the perfection of love of God, or perfection in attainment of one’s spiritual form? The mantra bestows the shelter of the nitya-siddha Vraja-devīs. The gopīs only thought about how to surrender to the nitya-siddha-gopīs and realize their relationship with them. Without this relationship, everything else is worthless. One may think, “I am engaged in the service of Gurudeva and God.” But if you have no relationship with Gurudeva’s servants, then who will help and teach you? How will you understand the nature of your service to Gurudeva and God? Therefore, it is necessary to approach the servants of guru and learn from them. By being related to God’s family, everything will come in your heart. By chanting the mantra, you can develop a sweet relationship with God. The gopīs chanted the mantra given by Paurṇamāsī and worshiped Kātyāyanī-devī. They prayed to receive Śrīmatī Rādhārānī’s and the Vraja-devīs’ mercy. They didn’t pray to Kṛṣṇa, “Nanda-sutam patiṁ me kurute namaḥ—O Nanda-nandana, You should be our husband.” Rather, they chanted, “Nanda-gopa sūta devīm patiṁ me kurute namaḥ—O Devī, O Śrīmatī Rādhikā, O beloved of Kṛṣṇa, we accept You as our maintainer, guardian, and everything.” The gopīs prayed in their hearts, “O Nanda-nandana, we chanted Your gopāla-mantra for a long time. We would meet You every day when You would come to our homes. But it was not possible to determine whether You were pleased with our services or not.” Therefore, they thought, “From where will we get the pure mood and service tendency? How can we please Śrīmatī Rādhikā?” Therefore, they prayed, “O Devī Rādhike! You are the nearest and dearest of Nanda-nandana, Nanda-gopa sutam devī, please be merciful to us.” They requested and prayed for that Devī to be their guardian who would nourish and protect their prema. By saying, “Kurute namaḥ,” they all surrendered to and took shelter of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. They understood all the confidential meanings of the mantra. The gopīs were engaged in performing rigid austerities. They would not eat any grains throughout the entire day. They would sometimes drink milk and water and they would eat a few pieces of fruit. Their parents asked them, “Why are you engaging yourself in such strong austerities? Please tell us the reason? You look frail and skinny. You don’t comb your hair and don’t change your dress. You sleep on the ground. What kind of austerities are these? Who has taught you this vrata?” They would ask further questions like, “Who gave you the mantra? Who has advised you in this way? Why are you going to the Yamunā in the early morning?” But the gopīs would not answer. Their parents asked for some days and then stopped questioning them. Although the gopīs took birth in Vṛndāvana, they still had the impressions of their austerities in previous lives. And they could not forget the gopāla-mantra. They were also a little proud. They had not yet fully realized the mood of man-manā-bhāva (Gītā 18.65). This was one problem. It is not hard to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, as in the statement, “sarva-dharmān parityajya, māṁ ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (Gītā 18.66).” But, it is difficult to perform one-pointed surrender like the Vraja-devīs. Rādhe śaraṇaṁ vraja, without surrendering to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, your surrender to Kṛṣṇa and residence in Vraja is incomplete. By saying Kṛṣṇa, this may refer to Dvārakādīśa or Golokapati, but not necessarily to Gokulapati, Gopījana-vallabha, and Gopīnātha, the dearmost lover of the Vraja-devīs. Without surrender to Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, the most beloved (vallabha) of all His gopīs (gopī-jana), nothing is achieved. These gopīs deeply thought on how they would become qualified to achieve the shelter of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. Thus they chanted the mantra given to them by Paurṇamāsī-devī. By the mercy and shelter of their guru Paurṇamāsī, they followed Utpannā Ekādaśī. Ekādaśī is the embodiment of Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa and karuṇā-śakti, and is the personification of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy (kṛpā-mūrti). She is also the embodiment of ekadāśa-bhāva, eleven permanent moods specific to one’s spiritual body, beginning with sambandha (relationship), vayasa (age), nāma (name), and rūpa (form). Ekādaśī-devī first appeared on the bank of the Yamunā in Vṛndāvana. She prayed to Kṛṣṇa, “What is my duty? What am I to do?” Kṛṣṇa replied, “On the bank of the Yamunā, there are many young girls. They are engaged in chanting mantra, doing tapa, and engaging in deity worship. They offer foodstuffs and continuously sing My pastimes, but they don’t really know anything. They lack knowledge and intelligence. You should help them and give them the proper mood. You should teach them all the specialties of love. Help them make their eleven senses transcendental. Their love and affection for Me should not be temporary, but it must be permanent. It should always increase and never wane. Therefore, you must help them.” Hari-katha spoken by Sripada Premananda Prabhu; rendition by Rasik Mohan Das This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.