Excerpts from his Sārārtha Darśini, Tenth Canto Commentaries of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
kātyāyani mahā-māye, mahā-yoginy adhīśvañ nanda-gopa-sutam devi, patim me kuru te namah, iti mantram japantyas tāh, pūjām cakruh kamārikāh
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.4
[Each of the young gopīs performed her worship while chanting the following mantra: “O Kātyāyanī-devī, O great power of the Lord, O possessor of great mystic potency and mighty controller of everything, please make the son of Nanda Mahārāja my pati. I offer my obeisances unto you.”] The gopīs prayed, “Oh Kātyāyanī! Please make the son of Nanda Mahārāja my pati.” But goddess Kātyāyanī may object, “When you say please do it, what does that have to do with me? You should be allowed to do whatever you wish in this matter. I, on the other hand, shall simply inspire your parents to do the needful in this matter. Therefore, you should rather use the words, ‘Please cause someone to do it, or please give this.’ ” Anticipating this objection, the gopīs say in anxiety, “O great yoginī! My connection with Kṛṣṇa should be immediately arranged by you, without the unnecessary disturbance of my parents. 1 am too anxious for this and cannot wait. “Besides Kṛṣṇa has not taken brahminical initiation yet, so He is not ready for marriage. Therefore, Goddess, overlook the proper rituals of marriage, and in the Gandharva style let us marry Kṛṣṇa immediately.” Such is the implication. [Gandharva marriage is a love marriage by personal agreement without parental sanction] Kātyāyanī may object, “You are thinking of Kṛṣṇa as your husband and are anxious to have intimate connection with Him even without your parents’ knowing. But how can I possibly fulfill this desire of yours?” The gopī replies, “Oh Adhīśvarī! You have all powers; therefore nothing is impossible for you. You are Mahāmāyā, the supreme enchantress! Therefore, by the power of illusion you should bewilder my parents, so they will not know of my marriage and the secret of my intimate association with Kṛṣṇa.” Taking the word Devī to mean dīvyati (play), it refers to Kṛṣṇa who plays and causes one to play (devyati). Therefore, the gopī says, “Devī means Kṛṣṇa is indeed the husband, so please make Him so. Such a status of being a husband can be affected without marriage, and thus there is no harm even if I am married to some other cowherd man.” In this way, each of the gopīs separately meditates on the meaning of the mantra, chanted to petition goddess Kātyāyanī. The goddess Durgā mentioned in this verse is not the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa called Mahāmāyā but rather the internal potency (cit-śakti) of the Lord known as Yogamāyā. The distinction between the internal and external potency of the Lord is described in the Nārada-pañcarātra, in the conversation between śruti and vidyā: “Mahā-Viṣṇu’s inferior potency, known as Durgā, is dedicated to His loving service. Being the Lord’s potency, this inferior energy is nondifferent from Him (mahā-viṣṇu-svarūpinī).” The name Durgā is sometimes used to refer to the internal, superior potency, as stated in the Pañcarātra: “In all mantras used to worship Kṛṣṇa, the presiding deity is the spiritual Durgā.” Thus in the transcendental sound vibrations glorifying and worshiping the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the presiding deity of the particular mantra or hymn is called Durgā. To confuse the Yogamāyā Durgā with the Mahāmāyā Durgā is a mistake. Furthermore, although the pastimes of Vraja are on the platform of pure transcendence (śuddha-sattva), they somewhat resemble material pastimes in appearance. Therefore, there is no fault in the gopīs’ worship of Durgā, or Mahāmāyā. Independent thinkers who think that the name of Durgā and Mahāmāyā refer exclusively to the external potency of the Lord have no chance of getting even a touch of the breeze carrying the scent of prema on their body. This is from Vaiṣṇava-tosani.evaṁ māsaṁ vrataṁ ceruḥ kumāryah kṛṣṇa-cetasaḥ bhadrakālīṁ samānarcur bhūyān nanda-sutaḥ patiḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.5
[Thus, for a whole month, the unmarried gopīs carried out their vow and properly worshiped the goddess Bhadrakālī, fully absorbing their hearts in Kṛṣṇa meditating: “May the son of King Nanda become my pati.”] They worshiped Bhadrakālī with the vow, “May the son of Nanda be my pati.” When the gopīs saw Kṛṣṇa’s determination, they were filled with loving ecstasy. Although embarrassed, they were overjoyed to receive such attention from Kṛṣṇa. He was joking with them as if they were His wives or girlfriends, and the gopīs’ only desire was to achieve such a relationship with Him.dṛḍham pralabdhās trapayā ca hāpitāḥ prastobhitāh kridana-vac ca kāritāh vastrāṇi caivāpahṛtāny athāpy amuṁ tā nābhyasūyan priya-saṅga-nirvṛtāḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.22
[Although the gopīs had been thoroughly tricked, deprived of their modesty, ridiculed and made an object of play and although their clothing had been taken away, they did not feel inimical toward Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Rather, they were simply happy to have this chance to associate with their beloved.] Even though the gopīs were treated contemptuously, they still acted favorably toward their beloved by doing what would have been impossible for others to do. And astonishingly, the gopīs became blissful by this. The gopīs had been deceived to the extreme by Kṛṣṇa’s words criticizing their nakedness. After forcing them to give up their modesty, Kṛṣṇa mocked them, insisting that they come get their clothing. He made the vraja-kumārīs dance like puppets (krīḍana-vat). When Kṛṣṇa said, “I am telling the truth. This is not a joke,” the gopīs did not find fault in Him. Nor did they criticize Kṛṣṇa when He told them to hold their folded hands above their heads as atonement. Though all this was done to them, the gopīs felt blissful because they got to meet their beloved (priya). They actually became even more attached to Kṛṣṇa for doing all these things. The conclusion is that when one is considered dear (priya), whatever that dear one does is experienced with pleasure, even if it gives pain.sañkalpo viditah sādhvyo, bhavatinām mad-arcanam, mayānumoditah so ’sau, satyo bhavitum arhati
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.25
[[Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:] O saintly girls, I understand that your real intent in this austerity has been to worship Me. I approve of this and thus your endeavors must bear fruit.] Kṛṣṇa said, “O chaste women! Though out of modesty you have not mentioned that your real purpose (saṅkalpa) in worshiping Me (mad arcanam) was to please Me, I know and I accept it. Because your desire was pure it will be fulfilled. Since I am controlled by prema, nothing is impossible for My premī-bhaktas to attain.” At this point, the kṛpā-śakti, mercy potency, made the Lord’s power more evident among the gopīs, though the power was still under the control of prema, and subject to the pastimes. By this power, Kṛṣṇa understood the gopīs were performing austerities in the worship of Kātyāyanī to attain Him, and thus He gave them the results.na mayy āveśita-dhiyāà, kāmaḥ kāmāya kalpate, bharjitā kvathitā dhānāḥ, prāyo bījāya neśate
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.26
The desire of those whose hearts are fixed on Me does not lead to material desire for mundane enjoyment, just as grains burned by the sun and then cooked can no longer sprout. Kṛṣṇa said, “If someone worships Me impurely or improperly, I can make that offering pure because I am full of good qualities. What then to say of your absolutely pure desire and pure love? The desire of one absorbed in Me does not lead to material desire for sense enjoyment. Because the object of love is the topmost spiritual entity, it results in the disappearance of material desire. Just as barleycorns roasted in the fire can never grow new sprouts.”yātābalā vrajam siddha, mayemā ramsyathā ksapāh, yad uddiśya vratam idam, cerur āryārcanam satīh
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.22.27
[Go now, O pure-hearted, back to Vraja. Your desire is fulfilled, for in My association you will enjoy the coming nights. After all, this was the reason for performing Kātyāyanī-vrata.] Bearing in mind that the most auspicious time for a lover's first tryst is the night, Kṛṣṇa speaks like this to the gopīs. Kṛṣṇa said, “O women, although you are perfected (siddha) beings, you have taken the role of sādhakas (practicioners) to increase the sweetness of My pastimes on earth. In the near future (imā ksapā) you will enjoy (raṁsyathā) with Me, and thus fulfill the purpose (yat) for which you under took austerities in worshiping Durgā (ārya). O pure women! (satī).”[Sārārtha-darśini English Translation © 2004 Mahanidhi Swami]