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CHAPTER NINETY

Summary of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Glories

This chapter describes how Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with His queens in the lakes of Dvārakā. It also relates the queens’ ecstatic prayers in the mood of intense separation from Him, and summarizes the Lord’s pastimes.

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa continued to reside in His opulent capital of Dvārakā, together with the Yadus and His queens. He would enjoy sporting with His wives in the ponds on the palace grounds, squirting water on them with a syringe and being squirted in turn. With His graceful gestures, loving words and sidelong glances, He would enchant their hearts. In this way the queens would become totally absorbed in thoughts of Him. Sometimes, after playing with the Lord in the water, they would address various creatures — kurarī and cakravāka birds, the ocean, the moon, a cloud, a cuckoo, a mountain, a river and so on — declaring their great attachment to Śrī Kṛṣṇa on the pretext of commiserating with these creatures.

Lord Kṛṣṇa begot ten sons in the womb of each of His queens. Among these sons, Pradyumna was foremost, being equal to His father in all transcendental qualities. Pradyumna married Rukmī’s daughter, and from her womb Aniruddha was born. Aniruddha then married Rukmī’s granddaughter and begot Vajra, who was the only Yadu prince to survive the battle of iron clubs at Prabhāsa. From Vajra descended the remainder of the Yadu dynasty, beginning with Pratibāhu. The members of the Yadu dynasty are virtually innumerable; indeed, just to educate their children the Yadus employed 38,800,000 teachers.

Before Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, many demons took birth in human families to harass the people of the world and destroy brahminical culture. To subdue them, the Lord ordered the demigods to descend into the Yadu dynasty, which then expanded into 101 clans. All of the Yadus recognized Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and had unflinching faith in Him. While resting, eating, walking and so on, which they often did in His company, they would forget their own bodies in their transcendental happiness.

The Tenth Canto concludes with this promise of success for the sincere hearer: “By regularly hearing, chanting and meditating on the beautiful topics of Lord Mukunda with ever-increasing sincerity, a mortal being will attain the divine kingdom of the Lord, where the inviolable power of death holds no sway.”

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच
सुखं स्वपुर्यां निवसन् द्वारकायां श्रिय: पति: ।
सर्वसम्पत्समृद्धायां जुष्टायां वृष्णिपुङ्गवै: ॥ १ ॥
स्‍त्रीभिश्चोत्तमवेषाभिर्नवयौवनकान्तिभि: ।
कन्दुकादिभिर्हर्म्येषु क्रीडन्तीभिस्तडिद्‌द्युभि: ॥ २ ॥
नित्यं सङ्कुलमार्गायां मदच्युद्भ‍िर्मतङ्गजै: ।
स्वलङ्कृतैर्भटैरश्वै रथैश्च कनकोज्ज्वलै: ॥ ३ ॥
उद्यानोपवनाढ्यायां पुष्पितद्रुमराजिषु ।
निर्विशद् भृङ्गविहगैर्नादितायां समन्तत: ॥ ४ ॥
रेमे षोडशसाहस्रपत्नीनामेकवल्ल‍भ: ।
तावद्विचित्ररूपोऽसौ तद्गेहेषु महर्द्धिषु ॥ ५ ॥
प्रोत्फुल्ल‍ोत्पलकह्लारकुमुदाम्भोजरेणुभि: ।
वासितामलतोयेषु कूजद्‌द्विजकुलेषु च ॥ ६ ॥
विजहार विगाह्याम्भो ह्रदिनीषु महोदय: ।
कुचकुङ्कुमलिप्ताङ्ग: परिरब्धश्च योषिताम् ॥ ७ ॥

Text

śrī-śuka uvāca
sukhaṁ sva-puryāṁ nivasan
dvārakāyāṁ śriyaḥ patiḥ
sarva-sampat-samṛddhāyāṁ
juṣṭāyāṁ vṛṣṇi-puṅgavaiḥ
strībhiś cottama-veṣābhir
nava-yauvana-kāntibhiḥ
kandukādibhir harmyeṣu
krīḍantībhis taḍid-dyubhiḥ
nityaṁ saṅkula-mārgāyāṁ
mada-cyudbhir mataṅ-gajaiḥ
sv-alaṅkṛtair bhaṭair aśvai
rathaiś ca kanakojjvalaiḥ
udyānopavanāḍhyāyāṁ
puṣpita-druma-rājiṣu
nirviśad-bhṛṅga-vihagair
nāditāyāṁ samantataḥ
reme ṣoḍaśa-sāhasra-
patnīnāṁ eka-vallabhaḥ
tāvad vicitra-rūpo ’sau
tad-geheṣu maharddhiṣu
protphullotpala-kahlāra-
kumudāmbhoja-reṇubhiḥ
vāsitāmala-toyeṣu
kūjad-dvija-kuleṣu ca
vijahāra vigāhyāmbho
hradinīṣu mahodayaḥ
kuca-kuṅkuma-liptāṅgaḥ
parirabdhaś ca yoṣitām

Synonyms

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; sukham — happily; sva — in His own; puryām — city; nivasan — residing; dvārakāyām — in Dvārakā; śriyaḥ — of the goddess of fortune; patiḥ — the master; sarva — all; sampat — in opulent features; samṛddhāyām — which was rich; juṣṭāyām — populated; vṛṣṇi-puṅgavaiḥ — by the most prominent of the Vṛṣṇis; strībhiḥ — by women; ca — and; uttama — excellent; veṣābhiḥ — whose dress; nava — new; yauvana — of youth; kāntibhiḥ — whose beauty; kanduka-ādibhiḥ — with balls and other toys; harmyeṣu — on the rooftops; krīḍantībhiḥ — playing; taḍit — of lightning; dyubhiḥ — whose effulgence; nityam — always; saṅkula — crowded; mārgāyām — whose roads; mada-cyudbhiḥ — exuding mada; matam — intoxicated; gajaiḥ — with elephants; su — well; alaṅkṛtaiḥ — ornamented; bhaṭaiḥ — with foot-soldiers; aśvaiḥ — horses; rathaiḥ — chariots; ca — and; kanaka — with gold; ujjvalaiḥ — brilliant; udyāna — with gardens; upavana — and parks; āḍhyāyām — endowed; puṣpita — flowering; druma — of trees; rājiṣu — which had rows; nirviśat — entering (therein); bhṛṅga — by bees; vihagaiḥ — and birds; nāditāyām — filled with sound; samantataḥ — on all sides; reme — He enjoyed; ṣoḍaśa — sixteen; sāhasra — thousand; patnīnām — of wives; eka — the only; vallabhaḥ — beloved; tāvat — that many; vicitra — variegated; rūpaḥ — having personal forms; asau — He; tat — their; geheṣu — in the residences; mahā-ṛddhiṣu — richly furnished; protphulla — blooming; utpala — of water lilies; kahlāra — white lotuses; kumuda — night-blooming lotuses; ambhoja — and day-blooming lotuses; reṇubhiḥ — by the pollen; vāsita — made aromatic; amala — pure; toyeṣu — in bodies of water; kūjat — cooing; dvija — of birds; kuleṣu — where there were flocks; ca — and; vijahāra — He sported; vigāhya — diving; ambhaḥ — into the water; hradinīṣu — in rivers; mahā-udayaḥ — the all-powerful Lord; kuca — from their breasts; kuṅkuma — by the red cosmetic powder; lipta — smeared; aṅgaḥ — His body; parirabdhaḥ — embraced; ca — and; yoṣitām — by the women.

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvamī said: The master of the goddess of fortune resided happily in His capital city, Dvārakā, which was endowed with all opulences and populated by the most eminent Vṛṣṇis and their gorgeously dressed wives. When these beautiful women in the bloom of youth would play on the city’s rooftops with balls and other toys, they shone like flashing lightning. The main streets of the city were always crowded with intoxicated elephants exuding mada, and also with cavalry, richly adorned infantrymen, and soldiers riding chariots brilliantly decorated with gold. Gracing the city were many gardens and parks with rows of flowering trees, where bees and birds would gather, filling all directions with their songs.

Purport

Lord Kṛṣṇa was the sole beloved of His sixteen thousand wives. Expanding Himself into that many forms, He enjoyed with each of His queens in her own richly furnished residence. On the grounds of these palaces were clear ponds fragrant with the pollen of blooming utpala, kahlāra, kumuda and ambhoja lotuses and filled with flocks of cooing birds. The almighty Lord would enter those ponds, and also various rivers, and enjoy sporting in the water while His wives embraced Him, leaving the red kuṅkuma from their breasts smeared on His body..

One rule of poetic composition practiced by Vaiṣṇava authors is madhureṇa samāpayet: “A literary work should conclude in a mood of special sweetness.” Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the most tasteful narrator of transcendental topics, has accordingly included in this last chapter of the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam a description of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s water sports in the attractive setting of Dvārakā, followed by the rapturous prayers of the Lord’s queens.

Devanagari

उपगीयमानो गन्धर्वैर्मृदङ्गपणवानकान् ।
वादयद्भ‍िर्मुदा वीणां सूतमागधवन्दिभि: ॥ ८ ॥
सिच्यमानोऽच्युतस्ताभिर्हसन्तीभि: स्म रेचकै: ।
प्रतिषिञ्चन् विचिक्रीडे यक्षीभिर्यक्षराडिव ॥ ९ ॥

Text

upagīyamāno gandharvair
mṛdaṅga-paṇavānakān
vādayadbhir mudā vīṇāṁ
sūta-māgadha-vandibhiḥ
sicyamāno ’cyutas tābhir
hasantībhiḥ sma recakaiḥ
pratiṣiñcan vicikrīḍe
yakṣībhir yakṣa-rāḍ iva

Synonyms

upagīyamānaḥ — being glorified by song; gandharvaiḥ — by Gandharvas; mṛdaṅga-paṇava-ānakānmṛdaṅga, paṇava and ānaka drums; vādayadbhiḥ — who were playing; mudā — joyfully; vīṇāmvīṇas; sūta-māgadha-vandibhiḥ — by Sūta, Māgadha and Vandi reciters; sicyamānaḥ — being squirted with water; acyutaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; tābhiḥ — by them (His wives); hasantībhiḥ — who were laughing; sma — indeed; recakaiḥ — with syringes; pratiṣiñcan — squirting back at them; vicikrīḍe — He sported; yakṣībhiḥ — with Yakṣī nymphs; yakṣa-rāṭ — the lord of the Yakṣas (Kuvera); iva — like.

Translation

As Gandharvas joyfully sang His praises to the accompaniment of mṛdaṅga, paṇava and ānaka drums, and as professional reciters known as Sūtas, Māgadhas and Vandīs played vīṇās and recited poems praising Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa would play with His wives in the water. Laughing, the queens would squirt water on Him with syringes, and He would squirt them back. Thus Kṛṣṇa would sport with His queens in the same way that the lord of the Yakṣas sports with the Yakṣī nymphs.

Devanagari

ता: क्लिन्नवस्‍त्रविवृतोरुकुचप्रदेशा:
सिञ्चन्त्य उद्‍धृतबृहत्कवरप्रसूना: ।
कान्तं स्म रेचकजिहीर्षययोपगुह्य
जातस्मरोत्स्मयलसद्वदना विरेजु: ॥ १० ॥

Text

tāḥ klinna-vastra-vivṛtoru-kuca-pradeśāḥ
siñcantya uddhṛta-bṛhat-kavara-prasūnāḥ
kāntaṁ sma recaka-jihīrṣayayopaguhya
jāta-smarotsmaya-lasad-vadanā virejuḥ

Synonyms

tāḥ — they (Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens); klinna — wet; vastra — whose clothes; vivṛta — revealed; ūru — thighs; kuca — of their breasts; pradeśāḥ — the area; siñcantyaḥ — sprinkling; uddhṛta — scattered; bṛhat — large; kavara — from the braids of their hair; prasūnāḥ — whose flowers; kāntam — their consort; sma — indeed; recaka — His syringe; jihīrṣayayā — with the desire of taking away; upaguhya — embracing; jāta — arisen; smara — of feelings of lust; utsmaya — with wide smiles; lasad — glowing; vadanāḥ — whose faces; virejuḥ — they appeared resplendent.

Translation

Under the drenched clothing of the queens, their thighs and breasts would become visible. The flowers tied in their large braids would scatter as they sprayed water on their consort, and on the plea of trying to take away His syringe, they would embrace Him. By His touch their lusty feelings would increase, causing their faces to beam with smiles. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens shone with resplendent beauty.

Devanagari

कृष्णस्तु तत्स्तनविषज्जितकुङ्कुमस्रक्
क्रीडाभिषङ्गधुतकुन्तलवृन्दबन्ध: ।
सिञ्चन् मुहुर्युवतिभि: प्रतिषिच्यमानो
रेमे करेणुभिरिवेभपति: परीत: ॥ ११ ॥

Text

kṛṣṇas tu tat-stana-viṣajjita-kuṅkuma-srak
krīḍābhiṣaṅga-dhuta-kuntala-vṛnda-bandhaḥ
siñcan muhur yuvatibhiḥ pratiṣicyamāno
reme kareṇubhir ivebha-patiḥ parītaḥ

Synonyms

kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; tu — and; tat — their; stana — from the breasts; viṣajjita — becoming attached; kuṅkuma — the kuṅkuma powder; srak — on whose flower garland; krīḍā — in the sport; abhiṣaṅga — due to His absorption; dhuta — shaken; kuntala — of the locks of hair; vṛnda — of the mass; bandhaḥ — the arrangement; siñcan — sprinkling; muhuḥ — repeatedly; yuvatibhiḥ — by the young women; pratiṣicyamānaḥ — being sprinkled in return; reme — He enjoyed; kareṇubhiḥ — by she-elephants; iva — as; ibha-patiḥ — the king of elephants; parītaḥ — surrounded.

Translation

Lord Kṛṣṇa’s flower garland would become smeared with kuṅkuma from their breasts, and His abundant locks of hair would become disheveled as a result of His absorption in the game. As the Lord repeatedly sprayed His young consorts and they sprayed Him in turn, He enjoyed Himself like the king of elephants enjoying in the company of his bevy of she-elephants.

Devanagari

नटानां नर्तकीनां च गीतवाद्योपजीविनाम् ।
क्रीडालङ्कारवासांसि कृष्णोऽदात्तस्य च स्‍त्रिय: ॥ १२ ॥

Text

naṭānāṁ nartakīnāṁ ca
gīta-vādyopajīvinām
krīḍālaṅkāra-vāsāṁsi
kṛṣṇo ’dāt tasya ca striyaḥ

Synonyms

naṭānām — to the male performers; nartakīnām — the female performers; ca — and; gīta — by singing; vādya — and playing musical instruments; upajīvinām — who earned their livelihoods; krīḍā — from His sports; alaṅkāra — the ornaments; vāsāṁsi — and garments; kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; adāt — gave; tasya — His; ca — and; striyaḥ — wives.

Translation

Afterward, Lord Kṛṣṇa and His wives would give the ornaments and clothing they had worn during their water sports to the male and female performers, who earned their livelihood from singing and from playing instrumental music.

Devanagari

कृष्णस्यैवं विहरतो गत्यालापेक्षितस्मितै: ।
नर्मक्ष्वेलिपरिष्वङ्गै: स्‍त्रीणां किल हृता धिय: ॥ १३ ॥

Text

kṛṣṇasyaivaṁ viharato
gaty-ālāpekṣita-smitaiḥ
narma-kṣveli-pariṣvaṅgaiḥ
strīṇāṁ kila hṛtā dhiyaḥ

Synonyms

kṛṣṇasya — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; evam — thus; viharataḥ — who was sporting; gati — by the movements; ālāpa — conversing; īkṣita — glancing; smitaiḥ — and smiling; narma — by the jokes; kṣveli — playful exchanges; pariṣvaṅgaiḥ — and embraces; strīṇām — of the wives; kila — indeed; hṛtāḥ — stolen; dhiyaḥ — the hearts.

Translation

In this way Lord Kṛṣṇa would sport with His queens, totally captivating their hearts with His gestures, talks, glances and smiles, and also with His jokes, playful exchanges and embraces.

Devanagari

ऊचुर्मुकुन्दैकधियो गिर उन्मत्तवज्जडम् ।
चिन्तयन्त्योऽरविन्दाक्षं तानि मे गदत: श‍ृणु ॥ १४ ॥

Text

ūcur mukundaika-dhiyo
gira unmatta-vaj jaḍam
cintayantyo ’ravindākṣaṁ
tāni me gadataḥ śṛṇu

Synonyms

ūcuḥ — they spoke; mukunda — upon Lord Kṛṣṇa; eka — exclusively; dhiyaḥ — whose minds; giraḥ — words; unmatta — crazed persons; vat — as; jaḍam — stunned; cintayantyaḥ — thinking; aravinda-akṣam — about the lotus-eyed Lord; tāni — these (words); me — from me; gadataḥ — who am telling; śṛṇu — please hear.

Translation

The queens would become stunned in ecstatic trance, their minds absorbed in Kṛṣṇa alone. Then, thinking of their lotus-eyed Lord, they would speak as if insane. Please hear these words from me as I relate them.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that this superficial appearance of insanity in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens, as if they had become intoxicated by dhattūra or some other hallucinogenic drug, was in fact the manifestation of the sixth progressive stage of pure love of Godhead, technically known as prema-vaicitrya. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī refers to this variety of anurāga in his Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (15.134):

priyasya sannikarṣe ’pi
premotkarṣa-svabhāvataḥ
yā viśleṣa-dhiyārtis tat
prema-vaicitryam ucyate

“When, as a natural by-product of one’s extreme love, one feels the distress of separation even in the direct presence of the beloved, this state is called prema-vaicitrya.

Devanagari

महिष्य ऊचु:
कुररि विलपसि त्वं वीतनिद्रा न शेषे
स्वपिति जगति रात्र्यामीश्वरो गुप्तबोध: ।
वयमिव सखि कच्चिद् गाढनिर्विद्धचेता
नलिननयनहासोदारलीलेक्षितेन ॥ १५ ॥

Text

mahiṣya ūcuḥ
kurari vilapasi tvaṁ vīta-nidrā na śeṣe
svapiti jagati rātryām īśvaro gupta-bodhaḥ
vayam iva sakhi kaccid gāḍha-nirviddha-cetā
nalina-nayana-hāsodāra-līlekṣitena

Synonyms

mahiṣyaḥ ūcuḥ — the queens said; kurari — O kurarī bird (female osprey); vilapasi — are lamenting; tvam — you; vīta — deprived; nidrā — of sleep; na śeṣe — you cannot rest; svapiti — is sleeping; jagati — (somewhere) in the world; rātryām — during the night; īśvaraḥ — the Supreme Lord; gupta — hidden; bodhaḥ — whose whereabouts; vayam — we; iva — just as; sakhi — O friend; kaccit — whether; gāḍha — deeply; nirviddha — pierced; cetāḥ — whose heart; nalina — (like) a lotus; nayana — whose eyes; hāsa — smiling; udāra — liberal; līlā — playful; īkṣitena — by the glance.

Translation

The queens said: O kurarī bird, you are lamenting. Now it is night, and somewhere in this world the Supreme Lord is asleep in a hidden place. But you are wide awake, O friend, unable to fall asleep. Is it that, like us, you have had your heart pierced to the core by the lotus-eyed Lord’s munificent, playful smiling glances?

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that the transcendental madness (unmāda) of the queens filled them with such ecstasy that they saw their own mood reflected in everyone and everything else. Here they point out to the kurarī bird, whom they take to be sorrowing over separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa, that if the Lord actually had any concern for her or themselves, He would not be sleeping comfortably at that moment. They warn the kurarī not to expect Kṛṣṇa to hear her lamentation and show some mercy. In case the kurarī might think that Kṛṣṇa is sleeping with His queens, they deny this by saying that He is gupta-bodha: His whereabouts are unknown to them. He is out in the world somewhere this night, but they have no idea where to go looking for Him. “Ah, dear bird,” they cry, “even though you are a simple creature, your heart has been deeply pierced, just like ours. You must have had some contact, then, with our Kṛṣṇa. What keeps you from giving up your hopeless attachment to Him?”

Devanagari

नेत्रे निमीलयसि नक्तमद‍ृष्टबन्धु-
स्त्वं रोरवीषि करुणं बत चक्रवाकि ।
दास्यं गत वयमिवाच्युतपादजुष्टां
किं वा स्रजं स्पृहयसे कवरेण वोढुम् ॥ १६ ॥

Text

netre nimīlayasi naktam adṛṣṭa-bandhus
tvaṁ roravīṣi karuṇaṁ bata cakravāki
dāsyaṁ gata vayam ivācyuta-pāda-juṣṭāṁ
kiṁ vā srajaṁ spṛhayase kavareṇa voḍhum

Synonyms

netre — your eyes; nimīlayasi — you keep closed; naktam — during the night; adṛṣṭa — not seen; bandhuḥ — whose beloved; tvam — you; roravīṣi — are crying; karuṇam — pitifully; bata — alas; cakravāki — O cakravākī (female crane); dāsyam — servitude; gatā — attained; vayam iva — like us; acyuta — of Kṛṣṇa; pāda — by the feet; juṣṭām — honored; kim — perhaps; — or; srajam — the flower garland; spṛhayase — you desire; kavareṇa — in the braid of your hair; voḍhum — to carry.

Translation

Poor cakravākī, even after closing your eyes, you continue to cry pitifully through the night for your unseen mate. Or is it that, like us, you have become the servant of Acyuta and hanker to wear in your braided hair the garland He has blessed with the touch of His feet?

Devanagari

भो भो: सदा निष्टनसे उदन्व-
न्नलब्धनिद्रोऽधिगतप्रजागर: ।
किं वा मुकुन्दापहृतात्मलाञ्छन:
प्राप्तां दशां त्वं च गतो दुरत्ययाम् ॥ १७ ॥

Text

bho bhoḥ sadā niṣṭanase udanvann
alabdha-nidro ’dhigata-prajāgaraḥ
kim vā mukundāpahṛtātma-lāñchanaḥ
prāptāṁ daśāṁ tvaṁ ca gato duratyayām

Synonyms

bhoḥ — dear; bhoḥ — dear; sadā — always; niṣṭanase — you are making a loud sound; udanvan — O ocean; alabdha — not obtaining; nidraḥ — sleep; adhigata — experiencing; prajāgaraḥ — insomnia; kim — or else, perhaps; mukunda — by Kṛṣṇa; apahṛta — taken away; ātma — personal; lāñchanaḥ — marks; prāptām — obtained (by us); daśām — the condition; tvam — you; ca — also; gataḥ — have reached; duratyayām — impossible to become freed from.

Translation

Dear ocean, you are always roaring, not sleeping at night. Are you suffering insomnia? Or is it that, as with us, Mukunda has taken your insignias and you are hopeless of retrieving them?

Purport

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī states that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens here confuse the sea surrounding Dvārakā with the celestial Ocean of Milk, from which Lakṣmī and the Kaustubha gem arose long ago. These were taken (apahṛta) by Lord Viṣṇu, and they now reside on His chest. The queens presume that the ocean is anxious to see once again the mark of Lakṣmī’s residence and the Kaustubha jewel on the Lord’s chest, and they express their sympathy by saying that they also want to see these marks. But the queens desire even more to see the kuṅkuma marks on the Lord’s chest, which He “took” from their breasts when they last embraced Him.

Devanagari

त्वं यक्ष्मणा बलवतासि गृहीत इन्दो
क्षीणस्तमो न निजदीधितिभि: क्षिणोषि ।
कच्चिन्मुकुन्दगदितानि यथा वयं त्वं
विस्मृत्य भो: स्थगितगीरुपलक्ष्यसे न: ॥ १८ ॥

Text

tvaṁ yakṣmaṇā balavatāsi gṛhīta indo
kṣīṇas tamo na nija-dīdhitibhiḥ kṣiṇoṣi
kaccin mukunda-gaditāni yathā vayaṁ tvaṁ
vismṛtya bhoḥ sthagita-gīr upalakṣyase naḥ

Synonyms

tvam — you; yakṣmaṇā — by consumption; bala-vatā — powerful; asi — are; gṛhītaḥ — seized; indo — O moon; kṣīṇaḥ — emaciated; tamaḥ — darkness; na — not; nija — your; dīdhitibhiḥ — with the rays; kṣiṇoṣi — you destroy; kaccit — whether; mukunda-gaditāni — the statements made by Mukunda; yathā — like; vayam — us; tvam — you; vismṛtya — forgetting; bhoḥ — dear one; sthagita — stunned; gīḥ — whose speech; upalakṣyase — you appear; naḥ — to us.

Translation

My dear moon, having contracted a severe case of tuberculosis, you have become so emaciated that you fail to dispel the darkness with your rays. Or is it that you appear dumbstruck because, like us, you cannot remember the encouraging promises Mukunda once made to you?

Devanagari

किं न्वाचरितमस्माभिर्मलयानिल तेऽप्रियम् ।
गोविन्दापाङ्गनिर्भिन्ने हृदीरयसि न: स्मरम् ॥ १९ ॥

Text

kiṁ nv ācaritam asmābhir
malayānila te ’priyam
govindāpāṅga-nirbhinne
hṛdīrayasi naḥ smaram

Synonyms

kim — what; nu — indeed; ācaritam — action done; asmābhiḥ — by us; malaya — of the Malaya mountain range; anila — O wind; te — to you; apriyam — displeasing; govinda — of Kṛṣṇa; apāṅga — by the sidelong glances; nirbhinne — which has been shattered; hṛdi — in the hearts; īrayasi — you are inspiring; naḥ — our; smaram — lust.

Translation

O Malayan breeze, what have we done to displease you, so that you stir up lust in our hearts, which have already been shattered by Govinda’s sidelong glances?

Devanagari

मेघ श्रीमंस्त्वमसि दयितो यादवेन्द्रस्य नूनं
श्रीवत्साङ्कं वयमिव भवान् ध्यायति प्रेमबद्ध: ।
अत्युत्कण्ठ: शवलहृदयोऽस्मद्विधो बाष्पधारा:
स्मृत्वा स्मृत्वा विसृजसि मुहुर्दु:खदस्तत्प्रसङ्ग: ॥ २० ॥

Text

megha śrīmaṁs tvam asi dayito yādavendrasya nūnaṁ
śrīvatsāṅkaṁ vayam iva bhavān dhyāyati prema-baddhaḥ
aty-utkaṇṭhaḥ śavala-hṛdayo ’smad-vidho bāṣpa-dhārāḥ
smṛtvā smṛtvā visṛjasi muhur duḥkha-das tat-prasaṅgaḥ

Synonyms

megha — O cloud; śrī-man — O honored one; tvam — you; asi — are; dayitaḥ — dear friend; yādava-indrasya — of the chief of the Yādavas; nūnam — certainly; śrīvatsa-aṅkam — upon the one who bears (on His chest) the special mark known as Śrīvatsa; vayam — we; iva — just as; bhavān — your good self; dhyāyati — meditate; prema — by pure love; baddhaḥ — bound; ati — extremely; utkaṇṭhaḥ — eager; śavala — distraught; hṛdayaḥ — whose heart; asmat — as our (hearts); vidhaḥ — in the same manner; bāṣpa — of tears; dhārāḥ — torrents; smṛtvā smṛtvā — repeatedly remembering; visṛjasi — you release; muhuḥ — again and again; duḥkha — misery; daḥ — giving; tat — with Him; prasaṅgaḥ — association.

Translation

O revered cloud, you are indeed very dear to the chief of the Yādavas, who bears the mark of Śrīvatsa. Like us, you are bound to Him by love and are meditating upon Him. Your heart is distraught with great eagerness, as our hearts are, and as you remember Him again and again you shed a torrent of tears. Association with Kṛṣṇa brings such misery!

Purport

The ācāryas explain this verse as follows: The cloud acts as the friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa by shielding Him from the scorching rays of the sun, and certainly such an earnest well-wisher of the Lord must constantly meditate on Him with concern for His welfare. Although the cloud shares the Lord’s blue complexion, it is Lord Kṛṣṇa’s distinctive features, such as His Śrīvatsa mark, that especially attract him to this meditation. But what is the result? Simply unhappiness: the cloud is depressed and thus constantly sheds tears on the pretext of raining. “So,” the queens advise him, “it would be better for you not to take much interest in Kṛṣṇa.”

Devanagari

प्रियरावपदानि भाषसे मृत-
सञ्जीविकयानया गिरा ।
करवाणि किमद्य ते प्रियं
वद मे वल्गितकण्ठ कोकिल ॥ २१ ॥

Text

priya-rāva-padāni bhāṣase
mṛta-sañjīvikayānayā girā
karavāṇi kim adya te priyaṁ
vada me valgita-kaṇṭha kokila

Synonyms

priya — dear; rāva — of him whose sounds; padāni — the vibrations; bhāṣase — you are uttering; mṛta — the dead; sañjīvikayā — which brings back to life; anayā — in this; girā — voice; karavāṇi — I should do; kim — what; adya — today; te — for you; priyam — pleasing; vada — please tell; me — me; valgita — sweetened (by these sounds); kaṇṭha — O you whose throat; kokila — O cuckoo.

Translation

O sweet-throated cuckoo, in a voice that could revive the dead you are vibrating the same sounds we once heard from our beloved, the most pleasing of speakers. Please tell me what I can do today to please you.

Purport

As Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains, though the song of a cuckoo is very pleasant, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s wives perceive it as painful because it reminds them of their beloved Kṛṣṇa and exacerbates their pain of separation.

Devanagari

न चलसि न वदस्युदारबुद्धे
क्षितिधर चिन्तयसे महान्तमर्थम् ।
अपि बत वसुदेवनन्दनाङ्‍‍घ्रि
वयमिव कामयसे स्तनैर्विधर्तुम् ॥ २२ ॥

Text

na calasi na vadasy udāra-buddhe
kṣiti-dhara cintayase mahāntam artham
api bata vasudeva-nandanāṅghriṁ
vayam iva kāmayase stanair vidhartum

Synonyms

na calasi — you do not move; na vadasi — you do not speak; udāra — magnanimous; buddhe — whose intelligence; kṣiti-dhara — O mountain; cintayase — you are thinking; mahāntam — great; artham — about a matter; api bata — perhaps; vasudeva-nandana — of the darling son of Vasudeva; aṅghrim — the feet; vayam — we; iva — just as; kāmayase — you desire; stanaiḥ — on your breasts (peaks); vidhartum — to hold.

Translation

O magnanimous mountain, you neither move nor speak. You must be pondering some matter of great importance. Or do you, like us, desire to hold on your breasts the feet of Vasudeva’s darling son?

Purport

Here the word stanaiḥ, “on your breasts,” refers to the mountain’s peaks.

Devanagari

शुष्यद्‌ध्रदा: करशिता बत सिन्धुपत्न्‍य:
सम्प्रत्यपास्तकमलश्रिय इष्टभर्तु: ।
यद्वद् वयं मधुपते: प्रणयावलोक-
मप्राप्य मुष्टहृदया: पुरुकर्शिता: स्म ॥ २३ ॥

Text

śuṣyad-dhradāḥ karaśitā bata sindhu-patnyaḥ
sampraty apāsta-kamala-śriya iṣṭa-bhartuḥ
yadvad vayaṁ madhu-pateḥ praṇayāvalokam
aprāpya muṣṭa-hṛdayāḥ puru-karśitāḥ sma

Synonyms

śuṣyat — drying up; hradāḥ — whose lakes; karaśitāḥ — shriveled up; bata — alas; sindhu — of the ocean; patnyaḥ — O wives; samprati — now; apāsta — lost; kamala — of lotuses; śrīyaḥ — whose opulence; iṣṭa — beloved; bhartuḥ — of the husband; yadvat — just as; vayam — we; madhu-pateḥ — of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Madhu; praṇaya — loving; avalokam — the glance; aprāpya — not obtaining; muṣṭa — cheated; hṛdayāḥ — whose hearts; puru — thoroughly; karśitāḥ — emaciated; sma — we have become.

Translation

O rivers, wives of the ocean, your pools have now dried up. Alas, you have shriveled to nothing, and your wealth of lotuses has vanished. Are you, then, like us, who are withering away because of not receiving the affectionate glance of our dear husband, the Lord of Madhu, who has cheated our hearts?

Purport

During the summer the rivers do not receive downpours of water provided by their husband, the ocean, via the clouds. But the real reason for the rivers’ emaciation, as the queens see it, is that they have failed to obtain the loving glance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of all happiness.

Devanagari

हंस स्वागतमास्यतां पिब पयो ब्रूह्यङ्ग शौरे: कथां
दूतं त्वां नु विदाम कच्चिदजित: स्वस्त्यास्त उक्तं पुरा ।
किं वा नश्चलसौहृद: स्मरति तं कस्माद् भजामो वयं
क्षौद्रालापय कामदं श्रियमृते सैवैकनिष्ठा स्‍त्रियाम् ॥ २४ ॥

Text

haṁsa svāgatam āsyatāṁ piba payo brūhy aṅga śaureḥ kathāṁ
dūtaṁ tvāṁ nu vidāma kaccid ajitaḥ svasty āsta uktaṁ purā
kiṁ vā naś cala-sauhṛdaḥ smarati taṁ kasmād bhajāmo vayaṁ
kṣaudrālāpaya kāma-daṁ śriyam ṛte saivaika-niṣṭhā striyām

Synonyms

haṁsa — O swan; su-āgatam — welcome; āsyatām — please come and sit down; piba — please drink; payaḥ — milk; brūhi — tell us; aṅga — dear one; śaureḥ — of Śauri; kathām — news; dūtam — messenger; tvām — you; nu — indeed; vidāma — we recognize; kaccit — whether; ajitaḥ — the unconquerable one; svasti — well; āste — is; uktam — spoken; purā — long ago; kim — whether; — or; naḥ — to us; cala — fickle; sauhṛdaḥ — whose friendship; smarati — He remembers; tam — Him; kasmāt — for what reason; bhajāmaḥ — should worship; vayam — we; kṣaudra — O servant of Him who is petty; ālāpaya — tell Him to come; kāma — desire; dam — who bestows; śriyam — the goddess of fortune; ṛte — without; — she; eva — alone; eka-niṣṭhā — exclusively devoted; striyām — among women.

Translation

Welcome, swan. Please sit here and drink some milk. Give us some news of the descendant of Śūra, dear one. We know you are His messenger. Is that invincible Lord doing well, and does that unreliable friend of ours still remember the words He spoke to us long ago? Why should we go and worship Him? O servant of a petty master, go tell Him who fulfills our desires to come here without the goddess of fortune. Is she the only woman exclusively devoted to Him?

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī relates the following conversation between the queens and the swan:

The queens ask, “Is the unconquerable Lord doing well?”

The swan replies, “How can Lord Kṛṣṇa be doing well without you, His beloved consorts?”

“But does He even remember what He once told one of us, Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī? Does He recall that He said, ‘In all My palaces I see no other wife as dear as you’?”

“He does indeed remember this, and that is just why He sent me here. You should all go to Him and engage in His devotional service.”

“Why should we go worship Him if He refuses to come here to be with us?”

“But my dear oceans of compassion, He is suffering so much from your absence! How can He be saved from this distress?”

“Just listen, O servant of a petty master: tell Him to come here, as He should. If He is suffering from lusty desires, He has only Himself to blame, since He Himself is the creator of Cupid’s power. We self-respecting ladies are not going to yield to His demand that we go seek Him out.”

“So be it; then I will take my leave.”

“No, one minute, dear swan. Ask Him to come to us here, but without the goddess of fortune, who always cheats us by keeping Him all to herself.”

“Don’t you know that Goddess Lakṣmī is devoted exclusively to the Lord? How could He give her up like that?”

“And is she the only woman in the world who is completely sold out to Him? What about us?”

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच
इतीद‍ृशेन भावेन कृष्णे योगेश्वरेश्वरे ।
क्रियमाणेन माधव्यो लेभिरे परमां गतिम् ॥ २५ ॥

Text

śrī-śuka uvāca
itīdṛśena bhāvena
kṛṣṇe yogeśvareśvare
kriyamāṇena mādhavyo
lebhire paramāṁ gatim

Synonyms

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; iti — speaking thus; īdṛśena — with such; bhāvena — ecstatic love; kṛṣṇe — for Kṛṣṇa; yoga-īśvara — of masters of yoga; īśvare — the master; kriyamāṇena — behaving; mādhavyaḥ — the wives of Lord Mādhava; lebhire — they attained; paramām — ultimate; gatim — the goal.

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: By thus speaking and acting with such ecstatic love for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of all masters of mystic yoga, His loving wives attained the ultimate goal of life.

Purport

According to Ācārya Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, here Śukadeva Gosvāmī uses the present tense of the word kriyamāṇena to indicate that the Lord’s queens attained His eternal abode immediately, without delay. By this insight the ācārya helps refute the false notion that after Lord Kṛṣṇa’s departure from this world, some primitive cowherds kidnapped His queens while they were under the protection of Arjuna. In fact, as the self-realized Vaiṣṇava commentators elsewhere explain, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared in the guise of the thieves who abducted the queens. For further information on this subject, see Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.20.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī remarks that the supreme goal attained by these exalted women was not the liberation of the impersonal yogīs but the perfect state of prema-bhakti, pure loving devotion. Indeed, since they were already imbued with divine love of God from the very beginning, they possessed transcendental bodies of eternity, knowledge and bliss, in which they were fully able to relish the pleasure of reciprocating with the Supreme Lord in his most intimate, sweet pastimes. Specifically, in the opinion of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, their love of God matured into the ecstasy of madness in pure love (bhāvonmada), just as the gopīs’ love did when Kṛṣṇa disappeared from their midst during the rāsa dance. At that time the gopīs experienced the full development of ecstatic madness, which they expressed in their inquiries from the various creatures of the forest and in such words as kṛṣṇo ’haṁ paśyata gatim: “I am Kṛṣṇa! Just see how gracefully I move!” (Bhāg. 10.30.19) Similarly, the vilāsa, or flourishing transformation, of the ecstatic love of Lord Dvārakādhīśa’s principal queens has produced the prema-vaicitrya symptoms they have exhibited here.

Devanagari

श्रुतमात्रोऽपि य: स्‍त्रीणां प्रसह्याकर्षते मन: ।
उरुगायोरुगीतो वा पश्यन्तीनां च किं पुन: ॥ २६ ॥

Text

śruta-mātro ’pi yaḥ strīṇāṁ
prasahyākarṣate manaḥ
uru-gāyoru-gīto vā
paśyantīnāṁ ca kiṁ punaḥ

Synonyms

śruta — heard about; mātraḥ — merely; api — even; yaḥ — who (Lord Kṛṣṇa); strīṇām — of women; prasahya — by force; ākarṣate — attracts; manaḥ — the minds; uru — numerous; gāya — by songs; uru — in numerous ways; gītaḥ — sung about; — on the other hand; paśyantīnām — of those women who see him; ca — and; kim — what; punaḥ — more.

Translation

The Lord, whom countless songs glorify in countless ways, forcibly attracts the minds of all women who simply hear about Him. What to speak, then, of those women who see Him directly?

Devanagari

या: सम्पर्यचरन्प्रेम्णा पादसंवाहनादिभि: ।
जगद्गुरुं भर्तृबुद्ध्या तासां किं वर्ण्यते तप: ॥ २७ ॥

Text

yāḥ samparyacaran premṇā
pāda-saṁvāhanādibhiḥ
jagad-guruṁ bhartṛ-buddhyā
tāsāṁ kim varṇyate tapaḥ

Synonyms

yāḥ — who; samparyacaran — perfectly served; premṇā — with pure love; pāda — His feet; saṁvāhana — by massaging; ādibhiḥ — and so forth; jagat — of the universe; gurum — the spiritual master; bhartṛ — as their husband; buddhyā — with the attitude; tāsām — of them; kim — how; varṇyate — can be described; tapaḥ — the austere penances.

Translation

And how could one possibly describe the great austerities that had been performed by the women who perfectly served Him, the spiritual master of the universe, in pure ecstatic love? Thinking of Him as their husband, they rendered such intimate services as massaging His feet.

Devanagari

एवं वेदोदितं धर्ममनुतिष्ठन् सतां गति: ।
गृहं धर्मार्थकामानां मुहुश्चादर्शयत् पदम् ॥ २८ ॥

Text

evaṁ vedoditaṁ dharmam
anutiṣṭhan satāṁ gatiḥ
gṛhaṁ dharmārtha-kāmānāṁ
muhuś cādarśayat padam

Synonyms

evam — in this manner; veda — by the Vedas; uditam — spoken; dharmam — the principles of religion; anutiṣṭhan — executing; satām — of saintly devotees; gatiḥ — the goal; gṛham — one’s home; dharma — of religiosity; artha — economic development; kāmānām — and sense gratification; muhuḥ — repeatedly; ca — and; ādarśayat — He demonstrated; padam — as the place.

Translation

Thus observing the principles of duty enunciated in the Vedas, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the goal of the saintly devotees, repeatedly demonstrated how one can achieve at home the objectives of religiosity, economic development and regulated sense gratification.

Devanagari

आस्थितस्य परं धर्मं कृष्णस्य गृहमेधिनाम् ।
आसन् षोडशसाहस्रं महिष्यश्च शताधिकम् ॥ २९ ॥

Text

āsthitasya paraṁ dharmaṁ
kṛṣṇasya gṛha-medhinām
āsan ṣoḍaśa-sāhasraṁ
mahiṣyaś ca śatādhikam

Synonyms

āsthitasya — who was situated in; param — the highest; dharmam — religious principles; kṛṣṇasya — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; gṛha-medhinām — of those in the household order of life; āsan — there were; ṣoḍaśa — sixteen; sāhasram — thousand; mahiṣyaḥ — queens; ca — and; śata — one hundred; adhikam — plus.

Translation

While fulfilling the highest standards of religious householder life, Lord Kṛṣṇa maintained more than 16,100 wives.

Devanagari

तासां स्‍त्रीरत्नभूतानामष्टौ या: प्रागुदाहृता: ।
रुक्‍मिणीप्रमुखा राजंस्तत्पुत्राश्चानुपूर्वश: ॥ ३० ॥

Text

tāsāṁ strī-ratna-bhūtānām
aṣṭau yāḥ prāg udāhṛtāḥ
rukmiṇī-pramukhā rājaṁs
tat-putrāś cānupūrvaśaḥ

Synonyms

tāsām — among them; strī — of women; ratna — gems; bhūtānām — who were; aṣṭau — eight; yāḥ — who; prāk — previously; udāhṛtāḥ — described; rukmiṇī-pramukhāḥ — headed by Rukmiṇī; rājan — O King (Parīkṣit); tat — their; putrāḥ — sons; ca — also; anupūrvaśaḥ — in consecutive order.

Translation

Among these jewellike women were eight principal queens, headed by Rukmiṇī. I have already described them one after another, O King, along with their sons.

Devanagari

एकैकस्यां दश दश कृष्णोऽजीजनदात्मजान् ।
यावत्य आत्मनो भार्या अमोघगतिरीश्वर: ॥ ३१ ॥

Text

ekaikasyāṁ daśa daśa
kṛṣṇo ’jījanad ātmajān
yāvatya ātmano bhāryā
amogha-gatir īśvaraḥ

Synonyms

eka-ekasyām — in each one of them; daśa daśa — ten each; kṛṣṇaḥ — Kṛṣṇa; ajījanat — begot; ātma-jān — sons; yāvatyaḥ — as many as; ātmanaḥ — His; bhāryāḥ — wives; amogha — never frustrated; gatiḥ — whose effort; īśvaraḥ — the Supreme Lord.

Translation

The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose endeavor never fails, begot ten sons in each of His many wives.

Purport

The total number of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s sons was thus 161,080, and He also had a daughter by each wife.

Devanagari

तेषामुद्दामवीर्याणामष्टादश महारथा: ।
आसन्नुदारयशसस्तेषां नामानि मे श‍ृणु ॥ ३२ ॥

Text

teṣām uddāma-vīryāṇām
aṣṭā-daśa mahā-rathāḥ
āsann udāra-yaśasas
teṣāṁ nāmāni me śṛṇu

Synonyms

teṣām — of these (sons); uddāma — unlimited; vīryāṇām — whose prowess; aṣṭā-daśa — eighteen; mahā-rathāḥmahā-rathas, the highest class of chariot warriors; āsan — were; udāra — widespread; yaśasaḥ — whose fame; teṣām — their; nāmāni — names; me — from me; śṛṇu — hear.

Translation

Among these sons, all possessing unlimited valor, eighteen were mahā-rathas of great renown. Now hear their names from me.

Devanagari

प्रद्युम्नश्चानिरुद्धश्च दीप्तिमान् भानुरेव च ।
साम्बो मधुर्बृहद्भ‍ानुश्चित्रभानुर्वृकोऽरुण: ॥ ३३ ॥
पुष्करो वेदबाहुश्च श्रुतदेव: सुनन्दन: ।
चित्रबाहुर्विरूपश्च कविर्न्यग्रोध एव च ॥ ३४ ॥

Text

pradyumnaś cāniruddhaś ca
dīptimān bhānur eva ca
sāmbo madhur bṛhadbhānuś
citrabhānur vṛko ’ruṇaḥ
puṣkaro vedabāhuś ca
śrutadevaḥ sunandanaḥ
citrabāhur virūpaś ca
kavir nyagrodha eva ca

Synonyms

pradyumnaḥ — Pradyumna; ca — and; aniruddhaḥ — Aniruddha; ca — and; dīptimān bhānuḥ — Dīptimān and Bhānu; eva ca — also; sāmbaḥ madhuḥ bṛhat-bhānuḥ — Sāmba, Madhu and Bṛhadbhānu; citra-bhānuḥ vṛkaḥ aruṇaḥ — Citrabhānu, Vṛka and Aruṇa; puṣkaraḥ veda-bāhuḥ ca — Puṣkara and Vedabāhu; śrutadevaḥ sunandanaḥ — Śrutadeva and Sunandana; citra-bāhuḥ virūpaḥ ca — Citrabāhu and Virūpa; kaviḥ nyagrodhaḥ — Kavi and Nyagrodha; eva ca — also.

Translation

They were Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Dīptimān, Bhānu, Sāmba, Madhu, Bṛhadbhānu, Citrabhānu, Vṛka, Aruṇa, Puṣkara, Vedabāhu, Śrutadeva, Sunandana, Citrabāhu, Virūpa, Kavi and Nyagrodha.

Purport

In the opinion of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the Aniruddha mentioned here is Lord Kṛṣṇa’s son, not His well-known grandson through Pradyumna.

Devanagari

एतेषामपि राजेन्द्र तनुजानां मधुद्विष: ।
प्रद्युम्न आसीत् प्रथम: पितृवद् रुक्‍मिणीसुत: ॥ ३५ ॥

Text

eteṣām api rājendra
tanu-jānāṁ madhu-dviṣaḥ
pradyumna āsīt prathamaḥ
pitṛ-vad rukmiṇī-sutaḥ

Synonyms

eteṣām — of these; api — and; rāja-indra — O most eminent of kings; tanu-jānām — sons; madhu-dviṣaḥ — of Kṛṣṇa, enemy of the demon Madhu; pradyumnaḥ — Pradyumna; āsīt — was; prathamaḥ — first; pitṛvat — just like His father; rukmiṇī-sutaḥ — son of Rukmiṇī.

Translation

O best of kings, of these sons begotten by Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Madhu, the most prominent was Rukmiṇī’s son Pradyumna. He was just like His father.

Devanagari

स रुक्‍मिणो दुहितरमुपयेमे महारथ: ।
तस्यां ततोऽनिरुद्धोऽभूत्नागायतबलान्वित: ॥ ३६ ॥

Text

sa rukmiṇo duhitaram
upayeme mahā-rathaḥ
tasyāṁ tato ’niruddho ’bhūt
nāgāyata-balānvitaḥ

Synonyms

saḥ — He (Pradyumna); rukmiṇaḥ — of Rukmī (the oldest brother of Rukmiṇī); duhitaram — the daughter, Rukmavatī; upayeme — married; mahā-rathaḥ — the great chariot warrior; tasyām — in her; tataḥ — then; aniruddhaḥ — Aniruddha; abhūt — was born; nāga — of elephants; ayuta — ten thousand; bala — with the strength; anvitaḥ — endowed.

Translation

The great warrior Pradyumna married Rukmī’s daughter [Rukmavatī], who gave birth to Aniruddha. He was as strong as ten thousand elephants.

Devanagari

स चापि रुक्‍मिण: पौत्रीं दौहित्रो जगृहे तत: ।
वज्रस्तस्याभवद् यस्तु मौषलादवशेषित: ॥ ३७ ॥

Text

sa cāpi rukmiṇaḥ pautrīṁ
dauhitro jagṛhe tataḥ
vajras tasyābhavad yas tu
mauṣalād avaśeṣitaḥ

Synonyms

saḥ — he (Aniruddha); ca — and; api — furthermore; rukmiṇaḥ — of Rukmī; pautrīm — the granddaughter, Rocanā; dauhitraḥ — (Rukmī’s) daughter’s son; jagṛhe — took; tataḥ — then; vajraḥ — Vajra; tasya — as his son; abhavat — took birth; yaḥ — who; tu — but; mauṣalāt — after the pastime in which the Yadus slaughtered each other with iron clubs; avaśeṣitaḥ — remained.

Translation

Rukmī’s daughter’s son [Aniruddha] married Rukmī’s son’s daughter [Rocana]. From her was born Vajra, who would remain among the few survivors of the Yadus’ battle with clubs.

Devanagari

प्रतिबाहुरभूत्तस्मात् सुबाहुस्तस्य चात्मज: ।
सुबाहो: शान्तसेनोऽभूच्छतसेनस्तु तत्सुत: ॥ ३८ ॥

Text

pratibāhur abhūt tasmāt
subāhus tasya cātmajaḥ
subāhoḥ śāntaseno ’bhūc
chatasenas tu tat-sutaḥ

Synonyms

prati-bāhuḥ — Pratibāhu; abhūt — came; tasmāt — from him (Vajra); subāhuḥ — Subāhu; tasya — his; ca — and; ātma-jaḥ — son; su-bāhoḥ — from Subāhu; śānta-senaḥ — Śāntasena; abhūt — came; śata-senaḥ — Śatasena; tu — and; tat — his (Śāntasena’s); sutaḥ — son.

Translation

From Vajra came Pratibāhu, whose son was Subāhu. Subāhu’s son was Śāntasena, from whom Śatasena was born.

Devanagari

न ह्येतस्मिन् कुले जाता अधना अबहुप्रजा: ।
अल्पायुषोऽल्पवीर्याश्च अब्रह्मण्याश्च जज्ञिरे ॥ ३९ ॥

Text

na hy etasmin kule jātā
adhanā abahu-prajāḥ
alpāyuṣo ’lpa-vīryāś ca
abrahmaṇyāś ca jajñire

Synonyms

na — not; hi — indeed; etasmin — in this; kule — family; jātāḥ — appearing; adhanaḥ — poor; a-bahu — not having many; prajāḥ — children; alpa-āyuṣaḥ — short-lived; alpa — small; vīryāḥ — whose prowess; ca — and; abrahmaṇyāḥ — not devoted to the brahminical class; ca — and; jajñire — were born.

Translation

No one born in this family was poor in wealth or progeny, short-lived, weak or neglectful of brahminical culture.

Devanagari

यदुवंशप्रसूतानां पुंसां विख्यातकर्मणाम् ।
सङ्ख्या न शक्यते कर्तुमपि वर्षायुतैर्नृप ॥ ४० ॥

Text

yadu-vaṁśa-prasūtānāṁ
puṁsāṁ vikhyāta-karmaṇām
saṅkhyā na śakyate kartum
api varṣāyutair nṛpa

Synonyms

yadu-vaṁśa — in the Yadu dynasty; prasūtānām — of those who were born; puṁsām — men; vikhyāta — famous; karmaṇām — whose deeds; saṅkhyā — the counting; na śakyate — cannot; kartum — be done; api — even; varṣa — in years; ayutaiḥ — tens of thousands; nṛpa — O King (Parīkṣit).

Translation

The Yadu dynasty produced innumerable great men of famous deeds. Even in tens of thousands of years, O King, one could never count them all.

Devanagari

तिस्र: कोट्य: सहस्राणामष्टाशीतिशतानि च ।
आसन् यदुकुलाचार्या: कुमाराणामिति श्रुतम् ॥ ४१ ॥

Text

tisraḥ koṭyaḥ sahasrāṇām
aṣṭāśīti-śatāni ca
āsan yadu-kulācāryāḥ
kumārāṇām iti śrutam

Synonyms

tisraḥ — three; koṭyaḥ — (times) ten million; sahasrāṇām — thousand; aṣṭā-aśīti — eighty-eight; śatāni — hundreds; ca — and; āsan — were; yadu-kula — of the Yadu family; ācāryāḥ — teachers; kumārāṇām — for the children; iti — thus; śrutam — has been heard.

Translation

I have heard from authoritative sources that the Yadu family employed 38,800,000 teachers just to educate their children.

Devanagari

सङ्ख्यानं यादवानां क: करिष्यति महात्मनाम् ।
यत्रायुतानामयुतलक्षेणास्ते स आहुक: ॥ ४२ ॥

Text

saṅkhyānaṁ yādavānāṁ kaḥ
kariṣyati mahātmanām
yatrāyutānām ayuta-
lakṣeṇāste sa āhukaḥ

Synonyms

saṅkhyānam — the counting; yādavānām — of the Yādavas; kaḥ — who; kariṣyati — can do; mahā-ātmanām — of the great personalities; yatra — among whom; ayutānām — of tens of thousands; ayuta — (times) ten thousand; lakṣeṇa — with (three) hundred thousand (persons); āste — was present; saḥ — he; āhukaḥ — Ugrasena.

Translation

Who can count all the great Yādavas, when among them King Ugrasena alone was accompanied by an entourage of thirty trillion attendants?

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains why specifically thirty trillion, rather than an indefinite number of tens of trillions, is stated here to be the number of King Ugrasena’s attendants. He does so by citing the interpretational rule of kapiñjalādhikaraṇa, the logic of “referring to pigeons”: Somewhere in the Vedas is found the injunction that “one should sacrifice some pigeons.” This plural number should be taken to mean not an indiscriminate number of pigeons, but precisely three of them, since the Vedas never leave any matter vague. The rules of Mīmāṁsā interpretation take three as the default number when no specific number is given.

Devanagari

देवासुराहवहता दैतेया ये सुदारुणा: ।
ते चोत्पन्ना मनुष्येषु प्रजा द‍ृप्ता बबाधिरे ॥ ४३ ॥

Text

devāsurāhava-hatā
daiteyā ye su-dāruṇāḥ
te cotpannā manuṣyeṣu
prajā dṛptā babādhire

Synonyms

deva-asura — among the demigods and demons; āhava — in wars; hatāḥ — killed; daiteyāḥ — demons; ye — who; su — very; dāruṇāḥ — ferocious; te — they; ca — and; utpannāḥ — arose; manuṣyeṣu — among human beings; prajāḥ — the populace; dṛptāḥ — arrogant; babādhire — they troubled.

Translation

The savage descendants of Diti who had been killed in past ages in battles between the demigods and demons took birth among human beings and arrogantly harassed the general populace.

Devanagari

तन्निग्रहाय हरिणा प्रोक्ता देवा यदो: कुले ।
अवतीर्णा: कुलशतं तेषामेकाधिकं नृप ॥ ४४ ॥

Text

tan-nigrahāya hariṇā
proktā devā yadoḥ kule
avatīrṇāḥ kula-śataṁ
teṣām ekādhikaṁ nṛpa

Synonyms

tat — of them; nigrahāya — for the subduing; hariṇā — by Lord Kṛṣṇa; proktāḥ — told; devāḥ — the demigods; yadoḥ — of Yadu; kule — in the family; avatīrṇāḥ — descended; kula — of clans; śatam — one hundred; teṣām — their; eka-adhikam — plus one; nṛpa — O King (Parīkṣit).

Translation

To subdue these demons, Lord Hari told the demigods to descend into the dynasty of Yadu. They comprised 101 clans, O King.

Devanagari

तेषां प्रमाणं भगवान् प्रभुत्वेनाभवद्धरि: ।
ये चानुवर्तिनस्तस्य ववृधु: सर्वयादवा: ॥ ४५ ॥

Text

teṣāṁ pramāṇaṁ bhagavān
prabhutvenābhavad dhariḥ
ye cānuvartinas tasya
vavṛdhuḥ sarva-yādavāḥ

Synonyms

teṣām — for them; pramāṇam — authority; bhagavān — Lord Kṛṣṇa; prabhutvena — on account of His being the Supreme Personality of Godhead; abhavat — was; hariḥ — Lord Hari; ye — they who; ca — and; anuvartinaḥ — personal associates; tasya — His; vavṛdhuḥ — prospered; sarva — all; yādavāḥ — the Yādavas.

Translation

Because Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Yādavas accepted Him as their ultimate authority. And among them, all those who were His intimate associates especially flourished.

Devanagari

शय्यासनाटनालापक्रीडास्‍नानादिकर्मसु ।
न विदु: सन्तमात्मानं वृष्णय: कृष्णचेतस: ॥ ४६ ॥

Text

śayyāsanāṭanālāpa-
krīḍā-snānādi-karmasu
na viduḥ santam ātmānaṁ
vṛṣṇayaḥ kṛṣṇa-cetasaḥ

Synonyms

śayyā — of sleeping; āsana — sitting; aṭana — walking; ālāpa — conversing; krīḍa — playing; snāna — bathing; ādi — and so on; karmasu — in the activities; na viduḥ — they were not aware of; santam — present; ātmānam — their own selves; vṛṣṇayaḥ — the Vṛṣṇis; kṛṣṇa — (absorbed) in Kṛṣṇa; cetasaḥ — whose minds.

Translation

The Vṛṣṇis were so absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that they forgot their own bodies while sleeping, sitting, walking, conversing, playing, bathing and so on.

Devanagari

तीर्थं चक्रे नृपोनं यदजनि यदुषु स्व:सरित्पादशौचं
विद्विट्‌स्‍निग्धा: स्वरूपं ययुरजितपरा श्रीर्यदर्थेऽन्ययत्न: ।
यन्नामामङ्गलघ्नं श्रुतमथ गदितं यत्कृतो गोत्रधर्म:
कृष्णस्यैतन्न चित्रं क्षितिभरहरणं कालचक्रायुधस्य ॥ ४७ ॥

Text

tīrthaṁ cakre nṛponaṁ yad ajani yaduṣu svaḥ-sarit pāda-śaucaṁ
vidviṭ-snigdhāḥ svarūpaṁ yayur ajita-para śrīr yad-arthe ’nya-yatnaḥ
yan-nāmāmaṅgala-ghnaṁ śrutam atha gaditaṁ yat-kṛto gotra-dharmaḥ
kṛṣṇasyaitan na citraṁ kṣiti-bhara-haraṇaṁ kāla-cakrāyudhasya

Synonyms

tīrtham — sacred place of pilgrimage; cakre — made; nṛpa — O King (Parīkṣit); ūnam — lesser; yat — which (glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa); ajani — He took birth; yaduṣu — among the Yadus; svaḥ — of heaven; sarit — the river; pāda — whose feet; śaucam — (the water) which washes; vidviṭ — enemies; snigdhāḥ — and loved ones; svarūpam — whose personal form; yayuḥ — attained; ajita — who is undefeated; parā — and supremely perfect; śrīḥ — the goddess of fortune; yat — whose; arthe — for the sake; anya — of others; yatnaḥ — endeavor; yat — whose; nāma — name; amaṅgala — inauspiciousness; ghnam — which destroys; śrutam — heard; atha — or else; gaditam — chanted; yat — by whom; kṛtaḥ — created; gotra — among the lines of descent (of various sages); dharmaḥ — the religious principles; kṛṣṇasya — for Lord Kṛṣṇa; etat — this; na — not; citram — wonderful; kṣiti — the earth’s; bhara — of the burden; haraṇam — the removal; kāla — of time; cakra — the wheel; āyudhasya — whose weapon.

Translation

The heavenly Ganges is a holy place of pilgrimage because her waters wash Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet. But when the Lord descended among the Yadus, His glories eclipsed the Ganges as a holy place. Both those who hated Kṛṣṇa and those who loved Him attained eternal forms like His in the spiritual world. The unattainable and supremely self-satisfied goddess of fortune, for the sake of whose favor everyone else struggles, belongs to Him alone. His name destroys all inauspiciousness when heard or chanted. He alone has set forth the principles of the various disciplic successions of sages. What wonder is it that He, whose personal weapon is the wheel of time, relieved the burden of the earth?

Purport

From beginning to end, the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been exclusively dedicated to reciting the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, Mathurā and Dvārakā. As Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out, this verse sums up the Tenth Canto by mentioning five special glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa that even His expansions, plenary portions and incarnations do not display.

First, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s reputation eclipsed that of the holy Ganges when He descended into the Yadu dynasty. Previous to this, Mother Ganges was the most sacred of all tīrthas, being the water that had bathed Lord Vāmanadeva’s lotus feet. Another river, the Yamunā, became even greater than the Ganges by contacting the dust from Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet in the districts of Vraja and Mathurā:

gaṅgā-śata-guṇā prāyo
māthure mama maṇḍale
yamunā viśrutā devi
nātra kāryā vicāraṇā

“The renowned Yamunā in My domain of Mathurā is hundreds of times greater than the Ganges. About this there can be no dispute, O goddess.” (Varāha Purāṇa)

Second, Lord Kṛṣṇa gave liberation not only to His surrendered devotees but also to those who considered themselves His enemies. Devotees like the cowherd girls of Vraja and others attained His personal association by entering into His eternal pleasure pastimes in the spiritual world, while inimical demons killed by Him attained the sāyujya-mukti of merging into His divine form. When He was present on this earth, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s compassion extended to His family, friends and servants, and also to His enemies and their families, friends and servants. Great authorities like Lord Brahmā have mentioned this fact: sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā. “My Lord, You have already given Yourself to Pūtanā and her family members simply because she dressed herself as a devotee.” (Bhāg. 10.14.35)

Third, Goddess Lakṣmī, Lord Nārāyaṇa’s constant companion, whom great demigods serve menially to win her slight favor, was unable to win the privilege of joining the intimate company of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s devotees in Vraja. Despite her eagerness to participate in the rāsa dance and other pastimes enacted by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and despite the severe austerities she underwent to achieve that end, she could not transcend her natural mood of reverence. The sweetness and intimacy Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested in Vṛndāvana constitute a unique kind of opulence found nowhere else, even in Vaikuṇṭha. As Śrī Uddhava says:

yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga-
māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagarddheḥ
paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam

“To exhibit the strength of His spiritual potency, Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested a form just suitable for His humanlike pastimes in the material world. This form was wonderful even for Him and was the supreme abode of the wealth of good fortune. Its limbs were so beautiful that they increased the beauty of the ornaments worn on different parts of His body.” (Bhāg. 3.2.12)

Fourth, the name Kṛṣṇa is superior to the name Nārāyaṇa and to those of all of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s other expansions. These two syllables — kṛṣ and ṇa — combine together to destroy all inauspiciousness and illusion. When recited, the name Kṛṣṇa becomes śruta-matha; that is to say, the recitation of Kṛṣṇa’s name totally crushes (mathnāti) the excellence of all other spiritual practices described in the revealed scriptures (śruta). In the words of the Brahmāṇda Purāṇa:

sahasra-nāmnāṁ puṇyānāṁ
trir āvṛttyā tu yat phalam
ekāvṛttyā tu kṛṣṇasya
nāmaikaṁ tat prayacchati

“By uttering the single name of Kṛṣṇa just once, one attains the same benefit as that gained by reciting Lord Viṣṇu’s thousand names three times.”

Fifth, Lord Kṛṣṇa solidly reinstated dharma, the bull of religion, on his four legs of compassion, austerity, cleanliness and truth. Thus dharma could once again become go-tra, the protector of the earth. Śrī Kṛṣṇa also established the religious function of Govardhana-pūjā to honor His favorite hill, the cows and the brāhmaṇas. He also became the hill (gotra) Himself, assuming its form to accept the cowherds’ offerings. Moreover, He cultivated the dharma, or loving nature, of Vraja’s divine cowherds (gotras), whose love for Him has never been equaled.

These are just a few of the wonderful features of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s unique personality.

Devanagari

जयति जननिवासो देवकीजन्मवादो
यदुवरपरिषत्स्वैर्दोर्भिरस्यन्नधर्मम् ।
स्थिरचरवृजिनघ्न: सुस्मितश्रीमुखेन
व्रजपुरवनितानां वर्धयन् कामदेवम् ॥ ४८ ॥

Text

jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo
yadu-vara-pariṣat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam
sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ su-smita-śrī-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitānāṁ vardhayan kāma-devam

Synonyms

jayati — eternally lives gloriously; jana-nivāsaḥ — He who lives among human beings like the members of the Yadu dynasty and is the ultimate resort of all living entities; devakī-janma-vādaḥ — known as the son of Devakī (No one can actually become the father or mother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore devakī-janma-vada means that He is known as the son of Devakī. Similarly, He is also known as the son of mother Yaśodā, Vasudeva and Nanda Mahārāja.); yadu-vara-pariṣat — served by the members of the Yadu dynasty or the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana (all of whom are constant associates of the Supreme Lord and are the Lord’s eternal servants); svaiḥ dorbhiḥ — by His own arms, or by His devotees like Arjuna who are just like His own arms; asyan — killing; adharmam — demons or the impious; sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ — the destroyer of all the ill fortune of all living entities, moving and not moving; su-smita — always smiling; śrī-mukhena — by His beautiful face; vraja-pura-vanitānām — of the damsels of Vṛndāvana; vardhayan — increasing; kāma-devam — the lusty desires.

Translation

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is He who is known as jana-nivāsa, the ultimate resort of all living entities, and who is also known as Devakīnandana or Yaśodā-nandana, the son of Devakī and Yaśodā. He is the guide of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty arms He kills everything inauspicious, as well as every man who is impious. By His presence He destroys all things inauspicious for all living entities, moving and inert. His blissful smiling face always increases the lusty desires of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana. May He be all glorious and happy!

Purport

The translation and word meanings for this verse are taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 13.79). According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has composed this beautiful verse to console those who lament the fact that Lord Kṛṣṇa did not continue to manifest His intimate pastimes down to the present time. Here Śrī Śukadeva reminds his listeners that the Lord is eternally present in this world — in His holy abode, His name and the recitation of His glories. This idea is expressed by the word jayati (“He is victorious”), which is in the present tense rather than the past.

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains this verse as follows in Kṛṣṇa: “Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī thus concludes his description of the superexalted position of Lord Kṛṣṇa by glorifying Him in the following way: ‘O Lord Kṛṣṇa, all glories unto You. You are present in everyone’s heart as Paramātmā. Therefore You are known as Jananivāsa, one who lives in everyone’s heart.’ As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati: ‘The Supreme Lord in His Paramātmā feature lives in everyone’s heart.’ This does not mean, however, that Kṛṣṇa has no separate existence as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Māyāvādī philosophers accept the all-pervading feature of Parabrahman, but when Parabrahman, or the Supreme Lord, appears, they think that He appears under the control of material nature. Because Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Devakī, the Māyāvādī philosophers accept Kṛṣṇa to be an ordinary living entity who takes birth within this material world. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī warns them: devakī-janma-vādaḥ, which means that although Kṛṣṇa is famous as the son of Devakī, actually He is the Supersoul, or the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“The devotees, however, take this word devakī-janma-vāda in a different way. The devotees understand that actually Kṛṣṇa was the son of mother Yaśodā. Although Kṛṣṇa first of all appeared as the son of Devakī, He immediately transferred Himself to the lap of mother Yaśodā, and His childhood pastimes were blissfully enjoyed by mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja. This fact was also admitted by Vasudeva himself when he met Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā at Kurukṣetra. He admitted that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were actually the sons of mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja. Vasudeva and Devakī were only Their official father and mother. Their actual father and mother were Nanda and Yaśodā. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes Lord Kṛṣṇa as devakī-janma-vāda.

“Śukadeva Gosvāmī then glorifies the Lord as one who is honored by the yadu-vara-pariṣat, the assembly house of the Yadu dynasty, and as the killer of different kinds of demons. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, could have killed all the demons by employing His different material energies, but He wanted to kill them personally in order to give them salvation. There was no need of Kṛṣṇa’s coming to this material world to kill the demons. Simply by His willing, many hundreds and thousands of demons could have been killed without His personal endeavor. But actually He descended for His pure devotees, to play as a child with mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja and to give pleasure to the inhabitants of Dvārakā. By killing the demons and by giving protection to the devotees, Lord Kṛṣṇa established the real religious principle, which is simply love of God. By following the factual religious principles of love of God, even the living entities known as sthira-cara were also delivered from all material contamination and were transferred to the spiritual kingdom. Sthira means the trees and plants, which cannot move, and cara means the moving animals, especially the cows. When Kṛṣṇa was present, He delivered all the trees, monkeys and other plants and animals who happened to see Him and serve Him both in Vṛndāvana and Dvārakā.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa is especially glorified for giving pleasure to the gopīs and the queens of Dvārakā. Śukadeva Gosvāmī glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa for His enchanting smile, by which He enchanted not only the gopīs of Vṛndāvana but also the queens at Dvārakā. The exact words used in this connection are vardhayan kāmadevam. In Vṛndāvana, as the boyfriend of many gopīs, and in Dvārakā, as the husband of many queens, Kṛṣṇa increased their lusty desires to enjoy with Him. For God realization or self-realization, one generally has to undergo severe austerities and penances for many, many thousands of years, and then it may be possible to realize God. But the gopīs and the queens of Dvārakā, simply by enhancing their lusty desires to enjoy Kṛṣṇa as their boyfriend or husband, received the highest type of salvation.”

In this way Śrīla Prabhupāda wonderfully illuminates the meaning of this verse by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, which summarizes Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

Devanagari

इत्थं परस्य निजवर्त्मरिरक्षयात्त-
लीलातनोस्तदनुरूपविडम्बनानि ।
कर्माणि कर्मकषणानि यदूत्तमस्य
श्रूयादमुष्य पदयोरनुवृत्तिमिच्छन् ॥ ४९ ॥

Text

itthaṁ parasya nija-vartma-rirakṣayātta-
līlā-tanos tad-anurūpa-viḍambanāni
karmāṇi karma-kaṣaṇāni yadūttamasya
śrūyād amuṣya padayor anuvṛttim icchan

Synonyms

ittham — (described) in this manner; parasya — of the Supreme; nija — His own; vartma — path (of devotional service); rirakṣayā — with the desire of protecting; ātta — who has assumed; līlā — for pastimes; tanoḥ — various personal forms; tat — to each of these; anurūpa — suitable; viḍambanāni — imitating; karmāṇi — activities; karma — the reactions of material work; kaṣaṇāni — which destroy; yadu-uttamasya — of the best of the Yadus; śrūyāt — one should hear; amuṣya — His; padayoḥ — of the feet; anuvṛttim — the privilege of following; icchan — desiring.

Translation

To protect the principles of devotional service to Himself, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the best of the Yadus, accepts the pastime forms that have been glorified here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One who desires to faithfully serve His lotus feet should hear of the activities He performs in each of these incarnations — activities that suitably imitate those of the forms He assumes. Hearing narrations of these pastimes destroys the reactions to fruitive work.

Devanagari

मर्त्यस्तयानुसवमेधितया मुकुन्द-
श्रीमत्कथाश्रवणकीर्तनचिन्तयैति ।
तद्धाम दुस्तरकृतान्तजवापवर्गं
ग्रामाद् वनं क्षितिभुजोऽपि ययुर्यदर्था: ॥ ५० ॥

Text

martyas tayānusavam edhitayā mukunda
śrīmat-kathā-śravaṇa-kīrtana-cintayaiti
tad dhāma dustara-kṛtānta-javāpavargaṁ
grāmād vanaṁ kṣiti-bhujo ’pi yayur yad-arthāḥ

Synonyms

martyaḥ — a mortal; tayā — by such; anusavam — constantly; edhitayā — increasing; mukunda — about Lord Kṛṣṇa; śrīmat — beautiful; kathā — of the topics; śravaṇa — by hearing; kīrtana — chanting; cintayā — and meditating; eti — goes; tat — His; dhāma — to the abode; dustara — unavoidable; kṛta-anta — of death; java — of the force; apavargam — the place of cessation; grāmāt — from one’s mundane home; vanam — to the forest; kṣiti-bhujaḥ — kings (like Priyavrata); api — even; yayuḥ — went; yat — whom; arthāḥ — for the sake of obtaining.

Translation

By regularly hearing, chanting and meditating on the beautiful topics of Lord Mukunda with ever-increasing sincerity, a mortal being will attain the divine kingdom of the Lord, where the inviolable power of death holds no sway. For this purpose, many persons, including great kings, abandoned their mundane homes and took to the forest.

Purport

For the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s Tenth Canto, this verse is the phala-śruti, the promise of success given to one who hears it. The process of devotional service begins with hearing topics about the Supreme Lord. When one has heard these topics properly, he can then proceed to chant them for others’ benefit and reflect on their significance. This leads to faithful adherence to the principles of devotional service, which culminates in absolute faith in Lord Kṛṣṇa. Such perfect faith gives one the right to enter the Lord’s intimate service and, in due course of time, return to one’s eternal, spiritual life in one of the Lord’s personal domains.

Humbly offering his comments on the Tenth Canto at the lotus feet of his worshipable Lord, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī prays:

mad-gavīr api gopālaḥ
svī-kuryāt kṛpayā yadi
tadaivāsāṁ payaḥ pītvā
hṛṣyeyus tat-priyā janāḥ

“If Lord Gopāla mercifully accepts the cows of my words, then His dear devotees may enjoy the pleasure of drinking their milk — the nectar produced by hearing them.”

Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Ninetieth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Summary of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Glories.”

The Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was completed on December 27, 1988, the anniversary of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s disappearance.

END OF THE TENTH CANTO