[5] It holds the rare distinction of being offered a flattering commentary by the philosopher Appayya Dikshita, who belonged to the Advaita school of thought; the poet Vedanta Desika himself was a proponent of the rival Vishishtadvaita philosophy.

The themes of love and separation, heroism, eroticism, and various forms of rasa (aesthetic experience) are combined in the poem to describe the story of the deity.

The seventh and the eighth cantos relate the legend of Krishna lifting the hill Govardhana and his rasa-lila, his dance with the milkmaids called the gopis.

The legends of his kingship in Dvaraka, his marriage to Rukmini and Satyabhama, the vanquishing of Narakasura, the stealing of the parijata tree, and his royal progress are detailed.

[8][9][10] The traditional first propitious hymn of the work, called the mangalashloka, venerates Krishna:[11] vande bṛndāvana vallavī janavallabhamjayantī sambhavam dhāma vaijayantī vibhūṣaṇamTo the one born on the occasion of Jayanti, the one who moves freely around Vrindavana, the darling of the gopis, the one who is adorned by the Vaijayanti, I offer my salutationsThis hymn was originally featured in one of the author's other works on Krishna, the Gopalavimshati.