SB 10.32.20
Devanāgarī
नाहं तु सख्यो भजतोऽपि जन्तून् भजाम्यमीषामनुवृत्तिवृत्तये । यथाधनो लब्धधने विनष्टे तच्चिन्तयान्यन्निभृतो न वेद ॥ २० ॥
Text
nāhaṁ tu sakhyo bhajato ’pi jantūn bhajāmy amīṣām anuvṛtti-vṛttaye yathādhano labdha-dhane vinaṣṭe tac-cintayānyan nibhṛto na veda
Synonyms
na—do not;aham—I;tu—on the other hand;sakhyaḥ—O friends;bhajataḥ—worshiping;api—even;jantūn—with living beings;bhajāmi—reciprocate;amīṣām—their;anuvṛtti—propensity (for pure love);vṛttaye—in order to impel;yathā—just as;adhanaḥ—a poor man;labdha—having obtained;dhane—wealth;vinaṣṭe—and it being lost;tat—of that;cintayā—with anxious thought;anyat—anything else;nibhṛtaḥ—filled;naveda—does not know.
Translation
But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopīs, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth and then lost it, and who thus becomes so anxious about it that he can think of nothing else.
Purport
According to the ācāryas, as Lord Kṛṣṇa began to speak this verse the gopīs looked at one another with squinting eyes, trying to hide the smiles breaking out on their faces. Even as Lord Kṛṣṇa was speaking, the gopīs had begun to realize that He was bringing them to the highest perfection of loving service.