Uddhava-sandeśa

Author: Rūpa Gosvāmī

"The Message by Uddhava" — Rūpa Gosvāmī’s poem of 131 verses in mandākrāntā, the metre of Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta. It is the companion of the Haṁsadūta, with the message going the other way. Kṛṣṇa, now a prince in Mathurā, stands on the roof of his palace, looks towards Vraja — and freezes. He calls his friend and counsellor Uddhava and sends him to the gopīs. The first half of the poem is the road, described by Kṛṣṇa himself: every place on the way he remembers by his own līlās, and tells them with longing. The second half is the message: Kṛṣṇa speaks to each of the gopīs by name, recalls jokes, quarrels and secret meetings, and ends with Rādhā. Here it is not the gopīs who pine for God, but God for them.