The rasa-lila is at its height — and suddenly Krishna vanishes. First he leads Radhika away alone, and after a while disappears even from her. Unable to bear the separation, Srimati Radharani loses consciousness and falls to the ground. The gopis come running — and seeing how fierce her separation is, they are filled with compassion for her. "We too were suffering," they say, "but what is our suffering beside hers? Her love is like a great conflagration, and our separation only a small firefly against it." And now a wonder happens. Before, in Venu-gita and Pranaya-gita, the gopis stood apart, in separate circles, competing for Krishna from four sides. But now — as many lakes and ponds, divided by their banks, merge into one the moment a flood comes — so the flood of separation merges all the gopis into a single circle. They gather on the bank of the Yamuna and begin to weep together. Thus is born the Gopi-gita — a song sung not apart, but with one heart.