Lord consents to descend to earth and who are gopis

Sage Narada recounts a divine conversation between Sri Radha and Lord Kṛishna. When Krishna expresses His intent to descend to Earth to relieve its burden, Sri Radha overwhelmed with sorrow at the thought of separation, declares she cannot live without Him. She vows to leave her body if He departs alone. Touched by her devotion, Kṛishna promises to stay with her, remove Earth’s burden, and honor her word.

Sri Radha then expresses her heart’s attachment to Vrindavan, the Yamuna River, and Govardhana Hill, saying she cannot be happy without them. To comfort her, Krishna sends these sacred places to Earth along with a portion of His divine abode.

Later, when Lord Brahma asks about the gopis who will share in the divine rasa-Leela, Krishna explains that they are elevated souls: personified Vedas, great sages, women from sacred regions like Mithila, Kosala, and Ayodhya, Yajna- Sitas (when the divine was incarnated as Lord Rama), etc. All had received boons from Him in past ages to be born as gopis in His eternal realm of Vraja.

Yajna -Sitas: As King, Lord Rama needed a wife to perform yajnas (sacrificial rituals), but after Sita's exile, He refused to remarry. On the advice of His guru, Vasistha Muni, He created golden statues of Sita to serve as His consort during the rituals. When Rama prepared to leave the world, these golden statues requested to accompany Him, claiming they were His wives. Lord Rama explained that He could not accept more than one wife in that life but promised to accept them as His consorts in His next incarnation. True to His word, He later accepted them as the gopis when He incarnated as Lord Krishna.