Now comes the next verse:
gopyas tapah kim acaran yad amusya rupam
lavanya-saram asamordhvam ananya-siddham
drgbhih pibanty anusavabhinavam durapam
ekanta-dhama yasasah sriya aisvarasya
Srimad-Bhag. 10.44.14 and Brhad-bhag. 2.7.135
The ladies of Mathura said, “Which austerities did the vraja-gopis perform by which they could always drink through their eyes the nectar of Sri Krsna’s form, which is the very essence of loveliness, which is unequalled or unsurpassed, which is perfect in itself and always appears new and fresh, which is extremely rare to behold and is always the exclusive shelter of all fame, splendor, and opulence?”
When Krsnacandraji entered the wrestling arena with Balarama, the ladies of Mathura spoke this verse in glorification of the gopis. They said, “In this assembly, adharma is taking place, so we should not remain here.” One should not remain in a place where sinful activities are being committed. When the attempt was made to disrobe Draupadi, that was also an assembly of adharma, and men of good values should not have stayed there. So why then did Grandfather Bhisma remain there? At that time sinful reaction did not come to him because he knew well the greatness of Bhagavan and His devotees, and he remained silent so that their greatness would be shown.
He could have taken a stand against the evil men who were offending Draupadi, and he was certainly capable of killing them all single-handedly; but even though Draupadi implored him to help her, he remained silent. He was a jnani-bhakta, and he knew that if someone is surrendered to Bhagavan, then He would protect them accordingly. That was his thinking, but what were those evil like Duryodhana thinking? “What will Bhagavan do? He has no power to stop us, so we will do as we please” and they tried to disrobe her.
Bhakti Rasayana page 95 [CC-by-ND GVP]