Since you inquired from me, I have fully described to you those activities of Lord Hari that were performed in His fifth year but not celebrated until His sixth.

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahmā said: My dear Lord, You are the only worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore I offer my humble obeisances and prayers just to please You. O son of the king of the cowherds, Your transcendental body is dark blue like a new cloud, Your garment is brilliant like lightning, and the beauty of Your face is enhanced by Your guñjā earrings and the peacock feather on Your head. Wearing garlands of various forest flowers and leaves, and equipped with a herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute, You stand beautifully with a morsel of food in Your hand.

COMMENTARY

This chapter relates how Brahmā, though maintaining a mood of reverence, immersed himself in the great ocean of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness. After praising Śrī Kṛṣṇa with great devotion mixed with knowledge, Brahmā asks some questions.

 

I am not afraid if the real devotees, who are relishing great bliss by collecting loads of jewels, mock my stance of selling jewels (offering a few jewels). Meditating with determination solely upon the lotus feet of my guru, my heart desires to cross of the ocean of Brahmā’s prayers.

 

Now Brahmā has directly realized that Nandanandana is the source of all forms of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Having attained firm devotion at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā profusely praises the Lord. Brahmā said, “My dear Vāsudeva! You are the source of countless forms, and are the only worshipable (īḍya) Lord. You are glorified by everyone in the universe from me down to the grass. In order to attain You, I offer these praises unto You.”

 

“Or, simply to please You, I glorify You in verse. Your transcendental body, dark blue like a fresh rain cloud, is wrapped in a garment more brilliant than lightning.”

 

Brahmā’s words describing Kṛṣṇa suggest two things: the earth gets relief from the scorching heat of summer through the cloud of Kṛṣṇa’s rain. And the cātaka bird, like devotees sustain their lives with the mercy pouring from the rain cloud of Kṛṣṇa.

 

Brahmā continues, “Guñjā berry earrings accent the beauty of Your face, flowers adorn Your hair, and a peacock feather rests atop Your head.” Brahmā’s description reveals the superiority of the lowly guñjā berries of Vraja to the precious jewels of Vaikuṇṭha. The forest garland of wild flowers and leaves around Kṛṣṇa’s neck is superior to those made of the pārijāta flowers from Svargaloka. By mentioning the morsel of yogurt rice in Kṛṣṇa’s hand, His stick and horn, Brahmā indicates the superiority of Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd boy form over all others. In mentioning Kṛṣṇa’s soft feet (mṛdu pade), Brahmā indicates that those wandering in the forest of Vṛndāvana become filled with ecstasy upon seeing Kṛṣṇa’s foot prints. By stating that Kṛṣṇa is the son of a cow herder (paśupa aṅga jāya), Brahmā shows the superior fortune of Nanda over Vasudeva.

 

|| 10.14.2 ||

asyāpi deva vapuṣo mad-anugrahasya

svecchā-māyāsya na tu bhūta-mayasya ko ’pi

neśe mahi tv avasituṁ manasāntareṇa

sākṣāt tavaiva kim utātma-sukhānubhūteḥ

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, neither I nor anyone else can estimate the potency of this transcendental body of Yours, which has shown such mercy to me and which appears just to fulfill the desires of Your pure devotees. Although my mind is completely withdrawn from material affairs, I cannot understand Your personal form. How, then, could I possibly understand the happiness You experience within Yourself?

 

COMMENTARY

Hearing Brahmā’s praises, Kṛṣṇa may object: “Listen Lord Brahmā! You are the master of all powers in this universe, while I am but the son of a cowherd man in the forest. You arc an ancient and exalted personality, and I am but a small boy. You are knowledgeable of all the Vedas, and endowed with the most exemplary conduct. But I am an ignorant keeper of cows, and so unaware of proper conduct that I run around with some yogurt rice in My hand. You are the supreme lord, full of bliss, and the controller of all illusion. But I am bewildered by your illusion, and wander about the forest grieving over lost calves. Thus I am not qualified for your praise.”

 

Fearing such objections from Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā spoke this verse, repenting for having offended Kṛṣṇa due to His ignorance. “I cannot estimate (avasituṁ) the greatness of Your transcendental body, engaging in childish play, what to speak of Your pastimes of youth (kaiśora). If I cannot understand the potency of Your transcendental body, then how could I possibly understand the happiness You experience within Yourself by herding the calves. I cannot comprehend the happiness Your cowherd friends feel, what to speak of the happiness You experience by directly playing with them. If a person with a controlled mind cannot understand that happiness, what can be said of those with uncontrolled minds?”

 

In this way Brahmā expressed five levels of ignorance. Brahmā described Kṛṣṇa’s body in this way to prove that the Supreme Lord cannot be understood by yoga, austerity or śāstric study. Kṛṣṇa is understood only by mercy.

 

Brahmā continued, “My Lord, although I offended You, due to Your magnanimity You have shown such mercy to me. That mercy consisted of revealing Your sweet human form after showing Your awesome viṣṇu-mūrtis. What is the cause of that mercy? Your body is sva icchā-maya. It appears in response to the desires of Your pure devotees who want to see and serve You. You show mercy out of affection for Your devotees. Though I am an offender, because I have a semblance of devotion I have become qualified to receive a drop of Your mercy.”

 

Patiently listening to Brahmā, Kṛṣṇa replied, “But to fulfill desires and show mercy are traits of human beings also.”

 

Brahmā responded, “But my Lord, Your body is not material (bhūta mayaysya). Your body is spiritual.”

 

Brahma Saṁhitā (5.32) says: aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti, “Every part of Kṛṣṇa’s body has all the potencies of other parts of the body.” This verse shows not only that the Lord can perform any bodily function with any of His limbs, but also that He can see through the eyes of His Viṣṇu expansions, and similarly that He can hear through the ears of any Viṣṇu expansion. Although the Lord can perform any function with any one of His senses, in His transcendental pastimes as Govinda He generally sees with His eyes, touches with His hands and hears with His ears. Thus Kṛṣṇa acts like the most beautiful and charming young cowherd boy.

 

Brahmā continued, “My Lord, You have shown me the form of Vāsudeva (deva vapu), who bestowed mercy (mad anugrahasya) by teaching me the four verses (catuḥ-śloki) of Bhāgavatam. To fulfill Your desires (icchā-maya), Your transcendental body is the source of these Vāsudeva forms (sva). Though Your body fulfills Your desires, it is spiritual and not like our bodies, which are products of matter (bhūta mayasya). I cannot estimate the potency of Your spiritual body, even though I have revealed the Vedas and studied the fruit of the Vedas, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. I cannot even understand the greatness of Your Vāsudeva forms, what to speak of the greatness of the original source of those transcendental forms, the two-armed form of Govinda. In this topmost of transcendental forms as an innocent cowherd boy, You intensely relish the pastimes of stealing butter, drinking the gopīs’ breast-milk, tending the calves, playing Your flute, and enjoying Your childhood pranks, which are extraordinary even in comparison with the activities of Your Viṣṇu expansions.”

 

|| 10.14.3 ||

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva

jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām

sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir

ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām

TRANSLATION

Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.

COMMENTARY

The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.8) states: tam eva viditvā, “Freedom is possible only by understanding Brahman.” If that is the case, then how can an ignorant person attain liberation? This verse answers the question.

 

Brahmā said, “Your devotees give up all endeavors for knowledge (prayāsam udapāsya). They simply spend their time hearing Your glories (bhavadīya vārtām) spoken by You and Your pure devotees (sammukharitāṁ). Staying in their social positions (sthāne sthitāḥ). they do not travel around to holy tirthas. Without doing anything else, devotees pass their lives hearing topics (śrutigatāṁ) about Your name, qualities and pastimes, and they offer all respects to these narrations with their bodies, minds and words. They use their intelligence to grasp the meaning of the subjects heard. In this way, the pure devotees conquer You, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.

 

“You are not conquered by those who attain liberation through jñāna. Indeed, to attain liberation from the cycle of repeated birth and death merely by hearing about You is astonishing. By knowledge of Brahman, which is but one aspect of the Absolute Truth, jñānīs cross the ocean of birth and death. That is the meaning of the Śruti statement, ‘Freedom is possible only by understanding Brahman.’”

 

|| 10.14.4 ||

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye

teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the best path for self-realization. If someone gives up that path and engages in the cultivation of speculative knowledge, he will simply undergo a troublesome process and will not achieve his desired result. As a person who beats an empty husk of wheat cannot get grain, one who simply speculates cannot achieve self-realization. His only gain is trouble.

COMMENTARY

One can achieve success by performing any one of the methods of bhakti such as hearing and chanting. The Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa confirms this, “Since one can easily attain the original Personality of Godhead by worshiping Him with devotion using leaves, flowers fruits and water, which are freely available, why does one need to endeavor for liberation separately?”

 

Though this is true, those who reject bhakti and pursue the path of speculative knowledge (jñāna) only gain trouble and botheration. This is the intention of the verse.

 

Śrīdhara Swami says that jñāna is a dry path, whereas bhakti is a cool stream flowing like a river of honey. The word śreyaḥ (supreme benefit) also refers to all the fruits of all other processes such as karma and jñāna. The path of bhakti gives all these fruits, and is thus called the śreyaḥ sṛtiṁ, the path of supreme benefit. The jñānīs who reject (udasya) the path of auspiciousness (śreyaḥ sṛtiṁ) get only suffering (kleśala). It is like beating a huge pile of empty husks of rice. The result of the effort is pain in the hands and no rice.

 

|| 10.14.5 ||

pureha bhūman bahavo ’pi yoginas tvad-arpitehā nija-karma-labdhayā

vibudhya bhaktyaiva kathopanītayā prapedire ’ñjo ’cyuta te gatiṁ parām

TRANSLATION

O almighty Lord, in the past many yogīs in this world achieved the platform of devotional service by offering all their endeavors unto You and faithfully carrying out their prescribed duties. Through such devotional service, perfected by the processes of hearing and chanting about You, they came to understand You, O infallible one, and could easily surrender to You and achieve Your supreme abode.

COMMENTARY

In the previous two verses, Brahmā used negative and positive statements to establish that devotional service is the means of attaining the Lord. The present verse describes the primary activities of bhakti, namely hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa.

 

Brahmā said, “O almighty Lord (bhūman), in this world there are many who practice bhakti (yoginaḥ) and offer their activities to You, engaging all their senses in works of devotion. Being fully absorbed in bhakti with faith, and disregarding varṇāśrama, they engage in hearing and chanting only about You. By the prema-bhakti which arises from hearing and chanting (kathopanītayā), they realize (vibudhya) Your form, qualities and pastimes, and thus attain Your eternal association in the spiritual world.”

 

This verse can also be taken as a rejection of the yoga process after having rejected jñāna in the previous verses. “After practicing yoga for a long time one may come to the platform of devotional service and attain firm devotion at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.”

 

|| 10.14.6 ||

tathāpi bhūman mahimāguṇasya te viboddhum arhaty amalāntar-ātmabhiḥ

avikriyāt svānubhavād arūpato hy ananya-bodhyātmatayā na cānyathā

TRANSLATION

Nondevotees, however, cannot realize You in Your full personal feature. Nevertheless, it may be possible for them to realize Your expansion as the impersonal Supreme by cultivating direct perception of the Self within the heart. But they can do this only by purifying their mind and senses of all conceptions of material distinctions and all attachment to material sense objects. Only in this way will Your impersonal feature manifest itself to them.

 

|| 10.14.7 ||

guṇātmanas te ’pi guṇān vimātuṁ hitāvatīṛnasya ka īśire ’sya

kālena yair vā vimitāḥ su-kalpair bhū-pāṁśavaḥ khe mihikā dyu-bhāsaḥ

TRANSLATION

In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to count all the atoms of the earth, the particles of snow, or perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the stars and other luminaries. But among these learned men, who could possibly count the unlimited transcendental qualities possessed by You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have descended onto the surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities?

COMMENTARY

“You possess unlimited, eternal qualities (guṇātmanaḥ) that arise from Your spiritual form.” This is confirmed in the scripture known as Brahma-tarka: gunaih svarupa bhutais tu guny asau harir isvarah, “The Lord possesses qualities which arise from His svarūpa, personal form.”

 

Brahmā said, “But who can count (vimātum) those qualities? No one can.” The avatāras such as Saṅkarṣaṇa, who descend on earth to extinguish the suffering of the world, actually have counted the number of atoms on the earth, the snowflakes, and even the particles of sunlight. Yet even such a personality as Saṅkarṣaṇa, who has been continuously chanting Kṛṣṇa’s glories since time immemorial, cannot come to an end of enumerating those glories.

 

There is another meaning of the word guṇātmanaḥ. The Lord is the protector of the world consisting of the three gunas, modes of material nature. “No one can come to an end of counting the qualities of You who engage in pastimes of protecting the universe. What to speak then of being able to describe the most astonishing qualities that You exhibit during Your sweet childhood pastimes in Vṛndāvana, wherein You steal yogurt from the Vraja-gopīs.”

 

|| 10.14.8 ||

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam

hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

COMMENTARY

Now that Brahmā has rejected other processes and accepted bhakti as the means to attain Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the process of bhakti is described. A devotee understands that the happiness and distress He undergoes due to performing bhakti and committing aparādhas are special mercy from the Lord. It is like the father who sometimes makes His child drink milk and sometimes makes him drink bitter neem juice. Sometimes the father embraces and kisses His son and other times He beats him. The devotee accepts whatever happens to him as the arrangement of Lord acting for His benefit.

 

The devotee thinks, “The Lord certainly knows what is best for me, even if I don’t know. Karma and time have no effect on a devotee, so this is Kṛṣṇa’s personal arrangement for me. Out of His mercy, Kṛṣṇa sometimes gives me happiness and sometimes gives me distress, considering how to engage me in His service.”

 

This point is confirmed in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (4.20.31): yathā cared bāla-hitaṁ pitā svayaṁ, tathā tvam evārhasi naḥ samīhitum, “As a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me.” The person who spends His life offering respects with body, mind and words to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa like Pṛthu Mahārāja while tolerating the suffering of austerities or other hardships becomes the recipient (dāyabhāk) of two results: liberation from material bondage and service to the Lord (mukti-pada).

 

As the inheritance from the father maintains the life of the son, so the attainment of liberation and service to the Lord maintains the life of the devotee. Thus while living in this world the devotee remains fixed on the path of devotion. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.87.17) says: dṛtaya iva śvasanty asu-bhṛto yadi te ’nuvidhā: “Only if they become Your faithful followers are those who breathe actually alive, otherwise their breathing is like that of a bellows.” One’s life becomes successful by serving Kṛṣṇa with devotion. Otherwise the body is just like a bellows inhaling and exhaling air.

 

|| 10.14.9 ||

paśyeśa me ’nāryam ananta ādye parātmani tvayy api māyi-māyini

māyāṁ vitatyekṣitum ātma-vaibhavaṁ hy ahaṁ kiyān aiccham ivārcir agnau

TRANSLATION

My Lord, just see my uncivilized impudence! To test Your power I tried to extend my illusory potency to cover You, the unlimited and primeval Supersoul, who bewilder even the masters of illusion. What am I compared to You? I am just like a small spark in the presence of a great fire.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā expresses His repentance in this verse. Rather than performing devotional activities, Brahmā thinks He has simply committed a great offense to Kṛṣṇa.

 

The word arya means a wise or worthy person. Brahmā said, “Oh Lord, see my anaryam, my contemptible behavior and foolishness. You may give suitable punishment or forgiveness; otherwise persons like me will commit further impropriety.”

 

Brahmā continued, “What was my bad conduct? You are my father and the source (ādya) of everything. Yet I offended You when You were enjoying lunch with Your friends in the forest. What was my foolishness? You have immeasurable (ananta) powers and You are the soul of all souls (parātmani). Revealing my foolishness, I misused my position to commit an offense against You. I have shown the ultimate foolishness in attempting to mystify You who bewilder even the masters of illusion. I desired to see Your powers by invoking my powers of illusion. But beside You, I am as insignificant as a spark emanating from a huge fire.”

 

|| 10.14.10 ||

ataḥ kṣamasvācyuta me rajo-bhuvo hy ajānatas tvat-pṛthag-īśa-māninaḥ

ajāvalepāndha-tamo-’ndha-cakṣuṣa eṣo ’nukampyo mayi nāthavān iti

TRANSLATION

Therefore, O infallible Lord, kindly excuse my offenses. I have taken birth in the mode of passion and am therefore simply foolish, presuming myself a controller independent of Your Lordship. My eyes are blinded by the darkness of ignorance, which causes me to think of myself as the unborn creator of the universe. But please consider that I am Your servant and therefore worthy of Your compassion.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā continued, “Though my bad conduct is worthy of punishment, my foolishness is worthy of forgiveness, so please be merciful and pardon me completely. Do not withhold Your mercy from this fallen one. Therefore, I address You as Acyuta, the infallible Lord. You should remember that the most fallen require more mercy, so kindly pardon my offense.”

 

Brahmā then identifies His low qualities. “I haven taken birth in the mode of passion (rajobhuvaḥ), and I foolishly think that I am separate from You.”

 

Brahmā explains His identity as a controller: “With great pride I think I am Your son (arising from Your navel), but I am blind (andha) in all eight eyes. But my pride will be destroyed when the moon of Your mercy shines upon me.”

 

How will forgiveness manifest? Kṛṣṇa considers: “This Brahmā (eso) is worthy of My mercy, because though He shows himself as the master elsewhere, towards Me he is a servant (nāthavān).” Or the meaning can be: “Out of foolishness, Brahmā made a show of independence in front of Me, but in truth Brahmā is controlled (nāthavān) because of dependence on My energy. Therefore I should show him mercy.”

 

|| 10.14.11 ||

kvāhaṁ tamo-mahad-ahaṁ-kha-carāgni-vār-bhū-

saṁveṣṭitāṇḍa-ghaṭa-sapta-vitasti-kāyaḥ

kvedṛg-vidhāvigaṇitāṇḍa-parāṇu-caryā-

vātādhva-roma-vivarasya ca te mahitvam

TRANSLATION

What am I, a small creature measuring seven spans of my own hand? I am enclosed in a potlike universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just as particles of dust pass through the openings of a screened window.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā said, “Though You create the universe, You are not proud. In comparison with that, what powers do I have to be proud of? Your universal form is surrounded by prakṛti (tamas), mahat tattva, ahaṅkāra (aham), ether (khaṁ), air, fire, water (vāḥ) and earth (bhūḥ). All the planets from Pātāla to Satyaloka are situated within that form of Yours. In that expanse, where am I, measuring only seven spans of my own hand? Countless universes pass through the pores of Your skin just as particles of dust pass through the holes of a window screen. Who can possibly measure that greatness?”

 

Here Brahmā equates Mahāviṣṇu, the creator of mahat-tattva, with Kṛṣṇa, and shows that in comparison to Kṛṣṇa, He is like a small bird compared to Garuḍa.

 

|| 10.14.12 ||

utkṣepaṇaṁ garbha-gatasya pādayoḥ kiṁ kalpate mātur adhokṣajāgase

kim asti-nāsti-vyapadeśa-bhūṣitaṁ tavāsti kukṣeḥ kiyad apy anantaḥ

TRANSLATION

O Lord Adhokṣaja, does a mother take offense when the child within her womb kicks with his legs? And is there anything in existence—whether designated by various philosophers as real or as unreal—that is actually outside Your abdomen?

COMMENTARY

In this verse Brahmā equates Kṛṣṇa with Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, saying, “As You are mother to the universe, You are also mother to me. Therefore You should forgive my offenses. When the child in the womb kicks the mother, the mother does not take offense. Whether philosophers prove that the universe is true or false, the fact is that it exists within Your belly. I am also within You, just like Your son. Therefore You should forgive my offense.”

 

This is similar to the Bhagavad-gītā verse (9.17): pitāham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ. I am the father, mother, grandfather and support of this universe.”

 

|| 10.14.13 ||

jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavode nārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālāt

vinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣā kintv īśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, it is said that when the three planetary systems are merged into the water at the time of dissolution, Your plenary portion, Nārāyaṇa, lies down on the water, gradually a lotus flower grows from His navel, and Brahmā takes birth upon that lotus flower. Certainly, these words are not false. Thus am I not born from You?

COMMENTARY

The son also comes out of the womb eventually. That is explained in this verse. Brahmā said, “It is stated that at the time of dissolution, the three planetary systems are merged into the water. Gradually a lotus flower grows from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and Brahmā appears upon that lotus flower. Others may or may not come from You, but certainly I am born from You.”

 

|| 10.14.14 ||

nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī

nārāyaṇo ’ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā

TRANSLATION

Are You not the original Nārāyaṇa, O supreme controller, since You are the Soul of every embodied being and the eternal witness of all created realms? Indeed, Lord Nārāyaṇa is Your expansion, and He is called Nārāyaṇa because He is the generating source of the primeval water of the universe. He is real, not a product of Your illusory Māyā.

COMMENTARY

Anticipating that Kṛṣṇa might say, “It is true that you are the son of Nārāyaṇa. But then who am I, O Brahmā?” Brahmā answers in this verse: “Are You not Nārāyaṇa, the supreme controller (adhīśa) of everything?” The Bhagavad-gītā states, ‘I pervade everything by one fragment of My energy.’

 

Brahmā: “As the Supersoul of all living entities You observe all action. Nārāyaṇa is merely a portion of You.”

Kṛṣṇa: “But I am called Kṛṣṇa because I am dark in color and live in Vṛndāvana. Viṣṇu is called Nārāyaṇa because He lies in the water (nara). How can I be Nārāyaṇa?”

 

Brahmā: “The word nāra means water but it also means living entity and ayana means shelter. The Lord who dwells in the water is one of Your expansions. Therefore I have appeared from Your womb. Just as the Vāsudeva form and Your youthful form as Kṛṣṇa are spiritual not material, so this form of Nārāyaṇa is also spiritual, existing at all times and places in the state of suddha-sattva (pure goodness), beyond the touch of matter. Your forms such as Matsya are also of the same category.”

 

|| 10.14.15 ||

tac cej jala-sthaṁ tava saj jagad-vapuḥ kiṁ me na dṛṣṭaṁ bhagavaṁs tadaiva

kiṁ vā su-dṛṣṭaṁ hṛdi me tadaiva kiṁ no sapady eva punar vyadarśi

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, if Your transcendental body, which shelters the entire universe, is actually lying upon the water, then why were You not seen by me when I searched for You? And why, though I could not envision You properly within my heart, did You then suddenly reveal Yourself?

COMMENTARY

Brahmā thinks, “Is it possible that this spiritual form arises from material water? It is not possible that the unlimited Lord Nārāyaṇa can exist in the limited waters of Garbhodaka.”

 

Brahmā said, “If Your transcendental body is actually situated upon the water, then why couldn’t I see You even after searching for a long time in the lotus stem? You may answer that You were there but that I could not see You. But then how could I suddenly see You through meditation, and then lose sight of You again? Though You are lying on the water and seem to be localized and therefore limited, You hold all the universes within You and are therefore unlimited. You exist at all times in all places, but by the covering of Your yogamāyā potency You are sometimes visible and sometimes invisible.”

 

|| 10.14.16 ||

atraiva māyā-dhamanāvatāre hy asya prapañcasya bahiḥ sphuṭasya

kṛtsnasya cāntar jaṭhare jananyā māyātvam eva prakaṭī-kṛtaṁ te

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, in this incarnation You have proved that You are the supreme controller of Māyā. Although You are now within this universe, the whole universal creation is within Your transcendental body—a fact You demonstrated by exhibiting the universe within Your abdomen before Your mother, Yaśodā.

COMMENTARY

It seems like a contradiction to say that Nārāyaṇa, who lies on the water of the universe, holds the universe within His abdomen. One may find a pot within a house, but one could hardly expect to find the house within the same pot. One may argue that the spiritual body of Nārāyaṇa holds an illusory universe within it, and is situated within another real universe. But if that is so, then Brahmā himself cannot be really situated in the Lord’s abdomen. In order to establish the oneness of the universe within the Lord and that outside the Lord, Brahmā speaks this verse.

“O supreme controller of illusion (māyā-dhamana)! In order to show that the external universe also exists within Your abdomen, You produced an illusion for mother Yaśodā. By the influence of Your yogamāyā potency You appeared within this universe and simultaneously exhibited all the universes within Your body. Similarly though I am within Your abdomen, I arose from Your abdomen and am situated here. Thus You are still my mother.”

|| 10.14.17 ||

yasya kukṣāv idaṁ sarvaṁ sātmaṁ bhāti yathā tathā

tat tvayy apīha tat sarvaṁ kim idaṁ māyayā vinā

TRANSLATION

Just as this entire universe, including You, was exhibited within Your abdomen, so it is now manifested here externally in the same exact form. How could such things happen unless arranged by Your inconceivable energy?

COMMENTARY

Brahmā said, “Since the external universe and that within the Lord’s belly are exactly the same, the one within His belly must be one created by the illusion of the Lord. Just as the universe within Your belly became visible, the external universe also remained visible when You showed the universal form to Your mother. Was the universe exhibited within Your belly a reflection of the external universe? How can that be?

 

“The universe was there along with You. Can a reflection of a mirror be seen in a mirror? As the universe visible within Your belly contained You, so the external universe also contained You. Because there was not even a trace of difference between the two universes, the universe within Your belly could not exist without the work of māyā. Taking Your mother’s realization and mine as proof, I conclude that I exist within You by Your yogamāyā potency. Therefore, I pray that You will please forgive me for my offense, as a mother forgives Her child who kicks Her while residing in the womb.”

 

|| 10.14.18 ||

adyaiva tvad ṛte ’sya kiṁ mama na te māyātvam ādarśitam

eko ’si prathamaṁ tato vraja-suhṛd-vatsāḥ samastā api

tāvanto ’si catur-bhujās tad akhilaiḥ sākaṁ mayopāsitās

tāvanty eva jaganty abhūs tad amitaṁ brahmādvayaṁ śiṣyate

TRANSLATION

Have You not shown me today that both You Yourself and everything within this creation are manifestations of Your inconceivable potency? First You appeared alone, and then You manifested Yourself as all of Vṛndāvana’s calves and cowherd boys, Your friends. Next You appeared as an equal number of four-handed Viṣṇu forms, who were worshiped by all living beings, including me, and after that You appeared as an equal number of complete universes. Finally, You have now returned to Your unlimited form as the Supreme Absolute Truth, one without a second.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā continued, “The universe You displayed within Your belly and the universe displayed outside that You showed to Your mother, and all the unlimited universes passing in and out of the pores of Your Mahā-Viṣṇu form are produced by Your material energy and are therefore designated as māyikā. This I have already understood. But today I have realized the existence of thousands upon thousands of spiritual universes formed through Your inconceivably powerful svarūpa-śakti. There is not one object that exists independent of You in the thousands of universes that You have shown today? For everything is emanating from You.

 

“O Kṛṣṇa! Today You have shown me that both You Yourself and everything within this creation are manifestations of Your inconceivable potency. First You appeared alone, and then by Your svarūpa-śakti You expanded as all the cowherd boys and calves of Vraja. Next by yogamāyā You covered all the cowherd boys and calves and revealed countless four-handed Viṣṇu forms composed of Your svarūpa-śakti. All these viṣṇu-mūrtis were being worshiped by all conscious entities from the blades of grass to all the Brahmās. After that You appeared as an equal number of complete universes. Then by Your desire yogamāyā covered all this and revealed the one form (advayam) of the pure perfect Brahman with immeasurable incomparable beauty. For my benefit You remain uncovered before my eyes through the potency of yogamāyā.”

 

|| 10.14.19 ||

ajānatāṁ tvat-padavīm anātmany ātmātmanā bhāsi vitatya māyām

sṛṣṭāv ivāhaṁ jagato vidhāna iva tvam eṣo ’nta iva trinetraḥ

TRANSLATION

To persons ignorant of Your actual transcendental position, You appear as part of the material world, manifesting Yourself by the expansion of Your inconceivable energy. Thus for the creation of the universe You appear as me [Brahmā], for its maintenance You appear as Yourself [Viṣṇu], and for its annihilation You appear as Lord Trinetra [Śiva].

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “Not understanding anything about Your transcendental position, the impersonalists think You are simply material (mahāmāyā). Persons who think themselves learned, but are ignorant of the path of bhakti (tvat padavīm), say that You (ātma) disperse Yourself in the material energy (anātmani) by Your own will (ātmanā), and though without form, You appear (bhasi) with a form in the material world. For creation of the universe You appear as me [Brahmā] (aham), for its maintenance (vidhāne) You appear as Yourself [Viṣṇu] (tvam), and for destruction You appear as Śiva (tri-netraḥ).

 

“Though You are without form, You take a form to appear in the material world as Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Śiva. Thus the form of Nārāyaṇa situated in the Garbhodaka Ocean and all the avatāra forms are all composed of māyā. Your expansions as the calves, boys and the four handed forms of Viṣṇu are all māyā. This is the conception of the ignorant.”

 

|| 10.14.20 ||

sureṣv ṛṣiṣv īśa tathaiva nṛṣv api tiryakṣu yādaḥsv api te ’janasya

janmāsatāṁ durmada-nigrahāya prabho vidhātaḥ sad-anugrahāya ca

TRANSLATION

O Lord, O supreme creator and master, You have no material birth, yet to defeat the false pride of the faithless demons and show mercy to Your saintly devotees, You take birth among the demigods, sages, human beings, animals and even the aquatics.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā continued, “You thus appear in various places in different avatāra forms and also show Your original form to prevent Your devotees from being defeated by these mental speculators. You appear in different avatāra forms for the purpose of subduing the false pride of the nondevotees (asatāṁ), and to show mercy to Your faithful devotees (satāṁ), so they can remember Your blissful transcendental forms, qualities and pastimes.”

 

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.2.35), the demigods prayed to Kṛṣṇa within the womb of Devakī, “O Lord, cause of all causes, if Your transcendental body were not beyond the modes of material nature, one could not understand the difference between matter and transcendence. Only by Your presence can one understand the transcendental nature of Your Lordship, who are the controller of material nature. Your transcendental nature is very difficult to understand unless one is influenced by the presence of Your transcendental form.”

 

|| 10.14.21 ||

ko vetti bhūman bhagavān parātman yogeśvarotīr bhavatas tri-lokyām

kva vā kathaṁ vā kati vā kadeti vistārayan krīḍasi yoga-māyām

TRANSLATION

O supreme great one! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! O Supersoul, master of all mystic power! Your pastimes are taking place continuously in these three worlds, but who can estimate where, how and when You are employing Your spiritual energy and performing these innumerable pastimes? No one can understand the mystery of how Your spiritual energy acts.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “You come as Rāma to kill Rāvaṇa, and as Kṛṣṇa to relieve the burden of the universe. Your white, red, black and śyāma avatāras appear to institute religion, not to defeat the philosophical wranglers. Actually no one can fully understand where, when, why and how You will appear.

 

“O Unlimited Lord, cause of all causes! If Your transcendental body were not beyond the modes of material nature, no one could understand the difference between matter and transcendence. Only by Your presence can one understand the transcendental qualities of Your Lordship, the controller of material nature. O supreme great one! O Personality of Godhead! Although You expand throughout the material universe, You are still full with six opulences. Although You enjoy all opulence, You witness everything in Your expansion as Paramātmā.

 

“O master of all mystic power! You display inconceivable powers by the agency of yogamāyā. Who can understand when, where, why and how Your spiritual energy acts to display Your transcendental pastimes (uti) within the three worlds (trailokyām)? Your unlimited spiritual form is full of all opulences, and though it is not material it exists everywhere in the material universe.

 

“But how is it possible to satisfy simultaneously all Your devotees at all times with Your transcendental pastimes? By Your inconcei-vable energy, yogamāyā perfectly carries out the work of presenting different pastimes to Your various devotees at the suitable time.”

 

|| 10.14.22 ||

tasmād idaṁ jagad aśeṣam asat-svarūpaṁ

svapnābham asta-dhiṣaṇaṁ puru-duḥkha-duḥkham

tvayy eva nitya-sukha-bodha-tanāv anante

māyāta udyad api yat sad ivāvabhāti

TRANSLATION

Therefore this entire universe, which like a dream is by nature unreal, nevertheless appears real, and thus it covers one’s consciousness and assails one with repeated miseries. This universe appears real because it is manifested by the potency of illusion emanating from You, whose unlimited transcendental forms are full of eternal happiness and knowledge.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “In summary, the universe is material and the medium-sized form of Kṛṣṇa is suddha-sattva, completely spiritual. The very essence of the material world is that its existence is temporary (asat). It is unreal like a dream, but nevertheless it appears real and covers one’s consciousness (asta dhiṣaṇam). The universe appears real because it is manifested by the illusory energy (māyāta) of You, whose unlimited transcendental forms are full of sandhinī-śakti (nitya), hlādinī-śakti (sukha) and saṁvit-śakti (bodha).”

 

Another meaning: “O Lord, Your form is full of mercy, whereas this universe is full of inauspiciousness. What is the necessity of considering this universe at all if it is false? But the world is not false (svapna a bham). From the point of view of material pleasure the ignorant think it is wonderful (sad iva), but in reality it is full of misery.”

 

|| 10.14.23 ||

ekas tvam ātmā puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ satyaḥ svayaṁ-jyotir ananta ādyaḥ

nityo ’kṣaro ’jasra-sukho nirañjanaḥ pūrṇādvayo mukta upādhito ’mṛtaḥ

TRANSLATION

You are the one Supreme Soul, the primeval Supreme Personality, the Absolute Truth—self-manifested, endless and beginningless. You are eternal and infallible, perfect and complete, without any rival and free from all material designations. Your happiness can never be obstructed, nor have You any connection with material contamination. Indeed, You are the indestructible nectar of immortality.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “Although You do have infinite forms, You are also present in one transcendental form by Your inconceivable energy. You are the one Supreme Soul (eka ātmā), and at the same You expand Yourself as the Supersoul to enter every living being.”

 

Here Kṛṣṇa may protest: “But the Supersoul has no form. He is not a person. After all, the word ‘person’ generally refers to a being that has a form. You say I am a person. Am I a young person?”

 

Brahmā replies: “No, You are the oldest.”

Again Kṛṣṇa protests: “I am the son of Nanda Baba and I am a young boy of Vraja. It is not right to say that I am the oldest.”

 

Brahmā: “It is true that You are the son of Nanda, but it is also true that You exist eternally (satyaḥ) in all three phases of time. Therefore You are the oldest person (puruṣa).”

 

Kṛṣṇa: The supreme person (puruṣa) you describe is the creator of time, karma and everything else. How is it possible that I am He?”

 

Brahmā: “Please do not argue. You are self-effulgent (svayaṁ-jyotiḥ).

Kṛṣṇa: “Am I like the sun, limited within a certain area of space?”

 

Brahmā: “No, You are limitless (ananta), not restricted by time and space. Your other avatāras are also the same.”

Kṛṣṇa: “The Supreme has many incarnations, so am I just one of them?”

Brahmā: “You are the source (ādyaḥ) of all avatāras; the root of all incarnations.”

Kṛṣṇa: “In the next lifetime of Brahmā will I again incarnate in this form?”

 

Brahmā: ‘’No, You are nitya, eternal. Although the universe is ancient, real and eternal, at the end of my lifetime it is no longer manifested in the same form. Because it will disappear, therefore it is anitya, temporary. On the other hand, You will remain eternally in this form as the son of Nanda. Therefore Your form is eternal and unchanging because You are the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

“The Vedic literatures confirm this by saying: yo ’sau saurye tiṣṭhati, “Lord Kṛṣṇa is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead who formerly appeared in the Sūrya-vaṁśa [as Lord Rāma].” The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad states:

yaḥ sākṣāt para-brahmeti govindaṁ sac-cid-ānanda-

vigrahaṁ vṛndāvana-sura-bhūruha-talāsīnam

 

“Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, and who sits under a kalpa-vṛkṣa tree in Vṛndāvana forest, is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.” You Yourself affirm in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27): brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, ‘I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman.’”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “But those who have bodies are subject to the six transformations, and are therefore disintegrating at every moment. How is it possible that I am like that?”

Brahmā: “No, You are not like that. You are unchanging and indestructible (akṣaraḥ).”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “Those who have bodies also are subject to happiness and distress.”

 

Brahmā: “You are always full of bliss (ajasra-sukhaḥ).”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “But as a child I was greedy to drink My mother’s breast milk and steal the gopīs’ butter and yogurt. As a boy I showed anger toward Kāliya and a host of others. In My teenage years I was lusty to enjoy with the gopīs. Therefore I am impure, and contaminated by lust and a host of other vices.”

Brahmā: “That is not true. You are spotless (nirañjanaḥ). Your so-called lust and other qualities are all pure and spiritual.”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “Still, I am dependent on the gopīs and many others. Because I need them, therefore I am not perfect and complete.”

 

Brahmā: “You are perfect and complete (pūrṇa). Your being controlled by the prema of Your devotees does not negate Your perfection and completeness.”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “Is there someone else like Me?”

 

Brahmā: No one else is like You; You are beyond compare (advayaḥ).”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “Very well then, because there is no one else like Me, I am therefore the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, many people think I am simply a transformation of transcendental knowledge.”

 

Brahmā: “You are not a transformation of transcendental knowledge (mukta upādhitaḥ). The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (2.24) states: vidyāvidyābhyāṁ bhinnaḥ, ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond both knowledge and ignorance.’ This is so because You are beyond all limiting designations. In the Śruti-sāstra it is said: amṛtaṁ śāsvatam brahma, ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternal. He is far beyond any limiting designation.’” In this passage the word amṛta may also be interpreted to mean “He who never dies.”

 

|| 10.14.24 ||

evaṁ-vidhaṁ tvāṁ sakalātmanām api svātmānam ātmātmatayā vicakṣate

gurv-arka-labdhopaniṣat-sucakṣuṣā ye te tarantīva bhavānṛtāmbudhim

TRANSLATION

Those who have received the clear vision of knowledge from the sunlike spiritual master can see You in this way, as the very Soul of all souls, the Supersoul of everyone’s own self. Thus understanding Your original personality, they are able to cross over the ocean of illusory material existence.

COMMENTARY

The gist of this verse is: “Even the worshipers of Your feature as the impersonal Brahman can, if they get the good fortune of devotion to Your personal form as Paramātmā (ātmātmatayā), develop faith in You and attain the status of śānta-bhaktas, devotees in the rasa of neutrality or passive adoration.”

 

Brahmā prayed, “With devotion they see Kṛṣṇa as the Supersoul, who has a charming handsome personal form that delights the eyes, mind and heart. They realize that Kṛṣṇa has all the qualities (evaṁ-vidhaṁ) described in the previous verses, and that He is the Supersoul present in all living entities (sakalātmānam).” This is also described in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: paramātmatayā kṛṣṇe, jātā śāntī ratir matā, “By understanding that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul, one attains the neutral stage of devotional service (śānta-rati).”

 

The question may be asked: “How does this take place?”

 

Brahmā answers, “The spiritual master is like the sun. By studying the Upaniṣads under him and obtaining his mercy, one attains the proper vision to see Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā, and the knowledge to cross over the ocean of illusions known as material existence.”

 

|| 10.14.25 ||

ātmānam evātmatayāvijānatāṁ tenaiva jātaṁ nikhilaṁ prapañcitam

jñānena bhūyo ’pi ca tat pralīyate rajjvām aher bhoga-bhavābhavau yathā

TRANSLATION

A person who mistakes a rope for a snake becomes fearful, but he then gives up his fear upon realizing that the so-called snake does not exist. Similarly, for those who fail to recognize You as the Supreme Soul of all souls, the expansive illusory material existence arises, but knowledge of You at once causes it to subside.

COMMENTARY

“Do they cross the ocean of māyā or not? Why do you say “as if” (iva) they transcend it? Why did the previous verse say that the material world is false or unreal (anṛta)?”

 

Verses 24-25 describe the vivarta-vāda theory of the impersonalists, who claim that the material world is unreal and the act of transcending the material world is also unreal or false. That is why the word “as if” is sarcastically used here in describing the act of transcending the material world. Those who are unaware (ātmatayā avijānatām) that the individual spirit soul (ātmānam) is full of knowledge and bliss must enter the material realm. It is because of ignorance that no one can understand the true nature of the soul, and because of ignorance the material world of five elements was created. The word pralīyate (disappears) implies that by Sāṅkhya, yoga, renunciation, austerity, and devotion (bhakti) one attains transcendental wisdom, realizes that the body is different from the soul, and destroys the ocean of material existence. Such a person no longer mistakes a rope for a snake, and with this understanding he is liberated from fear. By ignorance the material world continues, and by knowing Kṛṣṇa the material world ceases.

 

|| 10.14.26 ||

ajñāna-saṁjñau bhava-bandha-mokṣau dvau nāma nānyau sta ṛta-jña-bhāvāt

ajasra-city ātmani kevale pare vicāryamāṇe taraṇāv ivāhanī

TRANSLATION

The conception of material bondage and the conception of liberation are both manifestations of ignorance. Being outside the scope of true knowledge, they cease to exist when one correctly understands that the pure spirit soul is distinct from matter and always fully conscious. At that time bondage and liberation no longer have any significance, just as day and night have no significance from the perspective of the sun.

COMMENTARY

This verse states that the ideas of material bondage and liberation are both illusions. When one is situated in transcendental knowledge one knows that they are not different from each other. When one understands that he is a pure spirit soul, different from the external material body, then he is no longer bewildered by the illusion of material bondage and liberation. As day and night do not exist on the sun, material bondage and liberation do not exist when one understands the spiritual truth.

 

|| 10.14.27 ||

tvām ātmānaṁ paraṁ matvā param ātmānam eva ca

ātmā punar bahir mṛgya aho ’jña-janatājñatā

TRANSLATION

Just see the foolishness of those ignorant persons who consider You to be some separated manifestation of illusion and who consider the self, which is actually You, to be something else, the material body. Such fools conclude that the supreme soul is to be searched for somewhere outside Your supreme personality.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “Those who think they are knowledgeable of spiritual things (but are actually not), do not respect Your transcendental form in Vraja. As previously mentioned, such persons are simply beating empty husks. They think Your supreme spiritual body is material, another manifestation of illusion. They consider the self, which is actually You, to be something material. Thus they search for that supreme soul elsewhere. Just see the ignorance of these foolish people!”

 

The Vivarta-vādīs (evolutionists) and Pariṇāma-vādīs (transfor-mationists) debate about the material world instead of the Perfect Lord. The form of this cit Brahman is described in several verses of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:

śabda-brahmātmanas tasya

 

“Brahmā is the personal representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the source of transcendental sound and is therefore above the conception of manifested and unmanifested.” (SB 3.12.48)

yat tad vapur bhāti vibhūṣaṇāyudhair

avyakta-cid-vyaktam adhārayad dhariḥ

babhūva tenaiva sa vāmano vaṭuḥ

sampaśyator divya-gatir yathā naṭaḥ

 

“The Lord appeared in His original form, with ornaments and weapons in His hands. Although this ever-existing form is not visible in the material world, He nonetheless appeared in this form. Then, in the presence of His father and mother, He assumed the form of Vāmana, just like a theatrical actor.” (SB 8.18.12)

satya-jñānānantānanda-mātraika-rasa-mūrtayaḥ

“The viṣṇu-mūrtis [manifested by the gopa named Kṛṣṇa] all had eternal, unlimited forms, full of knowledge and bliss and existing beyond the influence of time.” (SB 10.13.54)

 

Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad says:

 

yaḥ sākṣāt para-brahmeti govindaṁ sac-cid- ānanda-

vigraham vṛndāvana-sura-bhūruha-talāsīnam

 

“The Absolute Truth Himself is Govinda, who has an eternal form of bliss and knowledge and who is sitting beneath the shady desire trees of Vṛndāvana.”

 

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (2.36) states:

 

tāsāṁ madhye sākṣād brahma gopāla-purī

 

“Among all these [abodes], the residence of Lord Gopāla is directly the Absolute Truth.”

 

Brahmā prayed, “Ignoring these scriptural statements that show Brahman has a body and exists in a spiritual abode [dhāma], people remain in darkness. They are so fallen that they accept a blind guru parampara and discuss vivartavāda. They are in the most lamentable of all lamentable conditions in my creation.”

 

Another reading of ajṅa janata (ignorant people) is jṅa janata. In this case it could be translated “what foolishness of so called learned men.”

 

|| 10.14.28 ||

antar-bhave ’nanta bhavantam eva hy atat tyajanto mṛgayanti santaḥ

asantam apy anty ahim antareṇa santaṁ guṇaṁ taṁ kim u yanti santaḥ

TRANSLATION

O unlimited Lord, the saintly devotees seek You out within their own bodies by rejecting everything separate from You. Indeed, how can discriminating persons appreciate the real nature of a rope lying before them until they refute the illusion that it is a snake.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “The jñānīs think that Your form is an attribute of māyā. Your saintly devotees (santaḥ), however, seek out the pure form of the living entity (jīva) free from the covering of māyā. By rejecting that which is material, not spiritual (atat), they seek out the jīva which takes birth among countless species (ananta bhavam) in various bodies (antarbhave). To reject everything material, one must first reject the false conception that ‘I am the material body.’”

 

Next, the procedure is mentioned. Brahmā continued, “How can one appreciate the real nature of a rope lying before him until He refutes the illusion that it is a snake? In the Vedas it is said asaṅgo ’yaṁ puruṣaḥ, “The soul has nothing to do with this body.” Thus the jīva has no bodily suffering. But due to ignorance the jīva identifies with its body and thus experiences various miseries. Without rejecting everything related to the body, can one realize His spiritual identity just by cultivating transcendental knowledge? No, one cannot know the soul without rejecting all attachments to the material body.”

 

|| 10.14.29 ||

athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya- prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi

jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavān-mahimno na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan

TRANSLATION

My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “Only by Kṛṣṇa bhakti is it possible for the living entity, who has discarded His material coverings, to realize the bliss of Brahman. Being blessed with a particle of mercy from Your lotus feet, He can understand the greatness (mahimno) of Your personality. Matsya avatāra says:

 

madīyam mahimānam ca, paraṁ brahmeti sabditam,

 

‘Advised and favored by Me, you will know everything about My glories (mahimān), which are known as ParaBrahmā, because they will manifest within your heart.’” (SB 8.24.38)

 

Śrīdhara Swami explains this verse as follows: “By Kṛṣṇa’s mercy one can know the Supreme Brahman. To obtain a particle of the Lord’s mercy means that the jñāni performed mixed devotional service previously. The Lord bestows the mercy of bhakti-yoga to that jñāni who, giving up avidyā and vidyā, accepts pure bhakti. However, one who gives up bhakti in preference to jñāna and enthusiastically pursues Brahman, though He is a guru for thousands of jñānīs, studies scripture and practices yoga for a long time, will never know the true nature of the Lord.”

 

|| 10.14.30 ||

tad astu me nātha sa bhūri-bhāgo bhave ’tra vānyatra tu vā tiraścām

yenāham eko ’pi bhavaj-janānāṁ bhūtvā niṣeve tava pāda-pallavam

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, I therefore pray to be so fortunate that in this life as Lord Brahmā or in another life, wherever I take my birth, I may be counted as one of Your devotees. I pray that wherever I may be, even among the animal species, I can engage in devotional service to Your lotus feet.

COMMENTARY

Kṛṣṇa said, “O Brahmā, crest jewel of all knowers of sādhana and sādhya (practice and goal)! What is your desire after describing jñāna and bhakti in your prayers? Consider carefully Brahmā and pray for the most valuable thing!”

 

Indicating himself as a servant, Brahmā replies to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “Oh master (nātha)! Yes, I have discerned the most auspicious thing of all (bhūri bhāga). Whether I get a high birth as Lord Brahmā (bhava atra), or a low birth as a deer (tiraścām) for many births with no chance for liberation since I will lose the opportunity to attain bhakti, I pray to take birth as one of Your devotees, either advanced or neophyte.”

 

The following is an outline of Brahmā’s prayers: In the first verse of this chapter Brahmā expressed the excellence of the Lord’s sweetness. In the second and thirtieth verses praising the Lord’s power, Brahmā exhibited a mixture of bhakti and jñāna. In the third verse (jñāne prayasam) he concludes that bhakti is superior. In the eighth verse he shows the supremacy of pure (kevala) bhakti to Kṛṣṇa. In the nineteenth and twenty-seventh verses he derides kevala-jñāna. In the fourth and fifth verses Brahmā shows the uselessness of kevala-jñāna and the success of kevala-bhakti. In the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth verses he discusses jñāna mixed with bhakti. In the twenty-fourth verse he discusses śānta-bhakti and in the thirtieth verse he discusses dāsya-bhakti.

 

From the thirty-first verse, Brahmā, having submerged in the ocean of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness, praises the devotees immersed in vātsalya-rāga, parental love, and other intimate relationships with the Lord.

 

|| 10.14.31 ||

aho ’ti-dhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ stanyāmṛtaṁ pītam atīva te mudā

yāsāṁ vibho vatsatarātmajātmanā yat-tṛptaye ’dyāpi na cālam adhvarāḥ

TRANSLATION

O almighty Lord, how greatly fortunate are the cows and ladies of Vṛndāvana, the nectar of whose breast-milk You have happily drunk to Your full satisfaction, taking the form of their calves and children! All the Vedic sacrifices performed from time immemorial up to the present day have not given You as much satisfaction.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā prayed, “Though totally unqualified, I have prayed to become Your devotee. If You wish, You may fulfill it. Certainly it is not proper for me to pray to attain the elevated stage of Your devotees engaged in the spontaneous attraction of vātsalya-bhāva and other moods. I can only praise them.” This is expressed in two verses.

 

Brahmā prayed, “The cows and gopīs of Vraja are supremely fortunate.” The word aho expresses extreme surprise.

 

“You, with Your transcendental body full of eternal bliss and knowledge, have taken the form of the cowherd boys and the calves to drink the nectarean milk from their mothers’ breasts with extreme bliss. With each mouthful You experienced ever-increasing bliss (atīva mūda). In Your form as calves You could not even tolerate the time it took to milk the cows. Without taking the form of the cowherd boys it would not have been possible to drink the milk of so many different mothers. O powerful one (vibho)! You took many forms out of extreme greed to drink. You could not even miss the nectar from one breast. Since they gave You such bliss, there is no doubt that the bodies of the cows and mothers were transcendental, full of eternal knowledge and bliss. All the Vedic sacrifices performed by myself, Śiva and others from time immemorial up to the present day with perfect actions and mantra chanting have not given You as much satisfaction.”

 

|| 10.14.32 ||

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām

yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

TRANSLATION

How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcen-dental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend.

COMMENTARY

After praising the rāgātmikā vātsalya-prema (deep spontaneous parental affection) of the Vrajavāsīs, Brahmā glorified those with rāgātmikā sakhya-prema (mitraṁ), and all those relishing intimate relationships with the Lord. The neuter case is used instead of the masculine case as a matter of traditional usage.

 

The word anandaṁ indicates Brahman as described in the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.9.34): satyam vijñānam ānandaṁ brahma: “The supreme reality is divine knowledge and bliss.” The word parama is used with it to indicate that Kṛṣṇa is the basis of Brahman. The word pūrṇam indicates that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is distinct from the avatāra forms who are also brahma svarūpa.

 

Kṛṣṇa is the friend (mitra), but not a temporary friend. Kṛṣṇa is the eternal friend (sanātana) of Śrīdāmā and others (yat). From this eternal friendship it is also understood that Śrīdāmā and others are also eternal. If I make a statement “He is an excellent brāhmaṇa because His brahminical qualities are excellent,” then the person’s excellence is also understood. Similarly in speaking of the eternality of Kṛṣṇa’s friendship, the friends are also understood to be eternal. This must be explained since the word mitra connotes simply an ordinary friend.

 

All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana ruled by Nanda Mahārāja (nanda gopa vrajaukasām) down to the birds and beasts were fortunate. What then to speak of Nanda himself and His cowherd men? Who can describe the fortune of those who became the friend of paramānandaṁ brahma sanātanam? It is indescribable.

 

The gopas themselves say, “O Nanda! Everyone in Vraja has uncontrollable attraction to your son, and He has natural affection for us. What is the cause?” (SB 10.26.13) The cause is that Kṛṣṇa is pūrṇaṁ brahma, the complete Absolute Truth. Therefore, the inhabitants of Vraja give the topmost bliss to Kṛṣṇa, and receive the topmost bliss in return. Witnessing this exchange of love, Lord Brahmā repeats the phrase aho bhāgyaṁ twice to indicate His extreme bliss and astonishment.

 

|| 10.14.33 ||

eṣāṁ tu bhāgya-mahimācyuta tāvad āstām

ekādaśaiva hi vayaṁ bata bhūri-bhāgāḥ

etad-dhṛṣīka-caṣakair asakṛt pibāmaḥ

śarvādayo ’ṅghry-udaja-madhv-amṛtāsavaṁ te

TRANSLATION

Yet even though the extent of the good fortune of these residents of Vṛndāvana is inconceivable, we eleven presiding deities of the various senses, headed by Lord Śiva, are also most fortunate, because the senses of these devotees of Vṛndāvana are the cups through which we repeatedly drink the nectarean, intoxicating beverage of the honey of Your lotus feet.

COMMENTARY

“The inhabitants of Vraja have also made us [the demigods] most fortunate.” That is the intention of this verse.

 

Brahmā prayed, “What to speak of the fortune of the Vrajavāsīs, we have also become fortunate. Who can describe it? The demigods like Śiva and I (śarvādayo), who are the eleven deities in charge of the senses, have become most fortunate. Through the senses of the Vrajavāsīs we have tasted the extremely intoxicating nectar (madhv-amṛtāsavaṁ) of the sweet sound of Kṛṣṇa’s ankle bells.”

 

In this way Brahmā expresses His determination to see, hear, touch, taste, smell, sing about and massage the Lord. Besides the ten senses, there is mind, intelligence, false ego, consciousness and their presiding deities. Of these fourteen, the genital and anus are rejected as lowly. Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) is the presiding Lord of consciousness. Excluding these three, leaves the eleven senses and their presiding deities. Therefore, Brahmā prays, “We, the eleven presiding deities of the senses are experiencing Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness through the eleven senses of the inhabitants of Vraja.”

 

Something else should be considered here. The sun, moon, demigods, men, animals and all the other entities of the spiritual world are sac-cid-ānanda, eternal, full of bliss and knowledge. The material sun, moon and demigods are all expansions of the spiritual prototypes. The demigods of the material realm are specifically empowered agents of the demigods of the spiritual world. The material senses cannot act independently. Only by the sanction and power of the demigods can the material senses experience material objects. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates independently experience the Lord’s form and sound by their own spiritual senses, without any influence of the mundane demigods. In his enthusiasm, however, Brahmā identified his power to control material intelligence with the senses of the inhabitants of Vraja.

 

Furthermore, the material senses enjoy the objects of the mundane world, but the presiding deities, who facilitate this pleasure, do not enjoy. However, without the presence of Brahmā and the other presiding deities in the intelligence, mind, eyes and nose, the senses of even those fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness could not experience the sense objects of form or smell. This is the opinion of those who know the soul.

 

Because of their eagerness to taste the sweetness Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā and others were able to experience bliss despite two faults: Though Brahmā and the other presiding deities of the senses are mere instigators (karta) of the action of the senses, they took on the role of being enjoyers (bhokta). Although they are the demigods of the material senses, they took on the role of being demigods of the spiritual senses. These are the contrary actions seen in Kṛṣṇa-prema. In Padyāvalī it says that one reaches perfection by lying and criticizing. Factually, the senses of the Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates are spiritual like the Lord, so how could material demigods enter their spiritual senses?

 

There is another meaning of the verse. Sometimes a devotee will praise His own fortune out of greediness to taste Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness. “The good fortune of the inhabitants of Vraja is incomparable. But we ten demigods (dikpalas) are very fortunate. Why?” Then touching his finger to his senses, Brahmā continued, “Hey Kṛṣṇa! With our senses we also experience Your beauty and sweetness as You leave Vraja to herd the calves.”

 

|| 10.14.34 ||

tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ

yad gokule ’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam

yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukundas

tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva

TRANSLATION

My greatest possible good fortune would be to take any birth whatever in this forest of Gokula and have my head bathed by the dust falling from the lotus feet of any of its residents. Their entire life and soul is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, the dust of whose lotus feet is still being searched for in the Vedic mantras.

COMMENTARY

“I have given up my control of the universe and the quest for future liberation. But now, how can I get the dust of the feet of the inhabitants of Vraja?” Thinking thus, Brahmā speaks with certainty.

 

|| 10.14.35 ||

eṣāṁ ghoṣa-nivāsinām uta bhavān kiṁ deva rāteti naś

ceto viśva-phalāt phalaṁ tvad-aparaṁ kutrāpy ayan muhyati

sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā

yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte

TRANSLATION

My mind becomes bewildered just trying to think of what reward other than You could be found anywhere. You are the embodiment of all benedictions, which You bestow upon these residents of the cowherd community of Vṛndāvana. You have already arranged to give Yourself to Pūtanā and her family members in exchange for her disguising herself as a devotee. So what is left for You to give these devotees of Vṛndāvana, whose homes, wealth, friends, dear relations, bodies, children and very lives and hearts are all dedicated only to You?

COMMENTARY

Here Brahmā may ask: “O Lord, perhaps You do not want to clearly say if I may attain the dust of the feet of inhabitants of Vraja or not. Well then, please answer one other question (uta) that is on my mind? What reward will You give the residents of Vraja?”

 

Kṛṣṇa replied, “Brahmā, though you know all the truths of the Vedas, can’t you understand the answer?”

 

Brahmā said, “Our minds (nas cetah) are bewildered about this.” By using the plural form of nas (our) Brahmā means “Not only my heart, but also the hearts of Śiva, the four Kumāras, Nārada, and all the wise philosophers are bewildered.”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “Exactly what is the state of your minds?”

Brahmā: “Although with great intelligence we searched in all times and places, our minds have become bewildered trying to think (ayat) of what type of reward You could give them. There is no reward (viśvaphala) superior to You, and You have already given Yourself eternally to the Vrajavāsīs as their son and other intimate loving relationships. If something better than You existed, then You would have given it to the people of Vraja. However, no such thing exists. That is why our minds are now bewildered.”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “O Brahmā, you are really ignorant of the truth. Knowing that the Vrajavāsīs would manifest such astonishing spontaneous love for Me, I have in advance given Myself to them as their son, friend or lover, and they are satisfied with this. Others may be grateful for gifts that have already been given, but I am grateful for gifts that will be given in the future, and I reciprocate with these gifts even before they are given.”

 

Brahmā: “That is true, my Lord, You are certainly doing what is proper. But though Pūtanā was sinful, just by imitating a devotee she and all her family attained You personally. But the inhabitants of Vraja, who, out of great affection, gave up all attachments such as house, wealth, friends, pleasurable objects, body and mind for You, also attained You. First You gave Yourself to the degraded sinner Pūtanā, and then You gave Yourself to the Vrajavāsīs, who are the exalted crest-jewels of all saintly persons. Since You have already given Yourself to Pūtanā, You cannot rightly give Yourself again as a gift to someone else. In essence this is highly improper. Therefore You are now in debt to the residents of Vraja.” Brahmā communicated this message by the movements of his nose, eyes, eyebrows and neck.

 

|| 10.14.36 ||

tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenās tāvat kārā-gṛhaṁ gṛham

tāvan moho ’ṅghri-nigaḍo yāvat kṛṣṇa na te janāḥ

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, until people become Your devotees, their material attachments and desires remain thieves, their homes remain prisons, and their affectionate feelings for their family members remain foot-shackles.

COMMENTARY

Here Lord Kṛṣṇa may protest: “The sannyāsīs will object that the inhabitants of Vraja, who are all householders, have fallen into a network of material life, bound by attachment to wife, children, and a host of other persons and things.”

 

Brahmā replies, “Yes. That is true for most materialistic gṛhastas (gṛhaṁ). However, what to speak of the householders of Vraja, even Your ordinary devotees in other places are superior to these sannyāsī critics. Attachment, hatred and other material emotions are great thieves because they steal the great treasure of pure bliss from the soul. The rebellious souls are bound by their karma, placed in the prison cell of household life, and tied with foot-shackles to a host of illusions, so that they cannot criticize the Supreme Lord after having lost their wealth.

 

“O Kṛṣṇa, as long as people do not get the mercy of Your devotees and become Your followers, they remain in this position. However, when they become Your devotees, they develop attachment for bhakti and aversion to things obstructing bhakti, and then they repose all their love in You. In this way, the thieves of material attraction, hatred and love become sanctified by becoming fixed in You, and then help the devotee by giving him spiritual bliss, knowledge and a host of advantages.

 

“In that way the same home, which was formerly a prison cell created by favorable and unfavorable karmic reactions, becomes for Your devotee a place filled with service to You by hearing and chanting Your glories, and a host of other activities meant to please You. These activities carry one to Your eternal abode. Thus when a devotee awakens his affection for You, then the bewilderment (mõha) from objects such as his wife and sons becomes a cause for expressing (anubhāvas) his prema for You. How can householders like this be compared to ordinary sannyāsīs?

 

“My son Sanat-kumāra criticizes the non-devotee sannyāsīs and praises the superiority of the devotee householders in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.22.40):

kṛcchro mahān iha bhavārṇavam āplaveśāṁ

saḍ-varga-nakram asukhena titīrṣanti

 

“The ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross because it is infested with many dangerous sharks. Although those who are non-devotees undergo severe austerities and penances to cross that ocean, we recommend that you simply take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are like boats for crossing the ocean. Although the ocean is difficult to cross, by taking shelter of His lotus feet you will overcome all dangers.”

 

“The residents of Vraja have thousands of times more love for You than householders who live in other places. Though You are the pūrṇa brahma, You show Yourself as dependent upon these premika-bhaktas by taking the form of their son, friend or lover to become their submissive servant.”

 

|| 10.14.37 ||

prapañcaṁ niṣprapañco ’pi viḍambayasi bhū-tale

prapanna-janatānanda-sandohaṁ prathituṁ prabho

TRANSLATION

My dear master, although You have nothing to do with material existence, You come to this earth and imitate material life just to expand the varieties of ecstatic enjoyment for Your surrendered devotees.

COMMENTARY

Some think that the pūrṇa-brahma becoming the son of Nanda Mahārāja in Vraja cannot be real or absolute, and that the devotees who accept this are in illusion. In reply to this Brahmā recites this verse: “Though You are always beyond the influence of material nature, You are ever situated within the material world. You assume forms and relationships similar to those found in the material world, but Your relationships are not false and temporary like those of material fathers and sons. Your forms and relationships are completely transcendental and eternally existing. Though Your pastimes are eternal and transcendental, they appear similar to material activities. Why do You need to imitate material activities? You appear in the material world to further increase the bliss that Your devotees taste from relishing Your pastimes.”

 

Just as a lamp does not shine as brightly in sunlight as it does in the shade, or as a diamond does not look as brilliant on a silver platter as it does on a plate of blue glass, Govinda’s pastimes do not appear as astonishing in Vaikuṇṭha as they do in the material world.

 

|| 10.14.38 ||

jānanta eva jānantu kiṁ bahūktyā na me prabho

manaso vapuṣo vāco vaibhavaṁ tava go-caraḥ

TRANSLATION

There are people who say, “I know everything about Kṛṣṇa.” Let them think that way. As far as I am concerned, I do not wish to speak very much about this matter. O my Lord, let me say this much: As far as Your opulences are concerned, they are all beyond the reach of my mind, body and words.

COMMENTARY

Here Śrī Kṛṣṇa might say: “O Brahmā, if this is all true, then please tell me how many wise philosophers are there like You who can so brilliantly explain everything about My transcendental form, My Vraja devotees, My pastimes and My devotional service?”

 

Fearing that Śrī Kṛṣṇa might say this, Brahmā then speaks this verse with shame, fear and repentance. Brahmā says, “I am of that category; I am the greatest fool!”

 

Kṛṣṇa protests, “If that is so, then why have you spoken all these words?”

 

Brahmā replies, “Kim bahūktyā, what is the use of all my words? Speaking too much in Your presence is simply a sign of my foolishness.”

 

Kṛṣṇa: “My dear Brahmā, you are trying to cheat Me with your words.”

 

Brahmā: “Although I have meditated on them, my mind has no power (na me prabho manaso) to understand Your opulences. My eyes (vapuṣā) cannot grasp Your transcendental form and my words (vāco) cannot describe You. As I said previously in verse seven, guṇātmanas te ’pi guṇān vimātuṁ, “who can possibly count Your unlimited transcendental qualities?”

 

Another meaning is: “I cannot grasp the powers of Your mind with my senses. How, then, could I possibly understand the happiness You experience within Yourself (sākṣāt tavaiva kim utātma-sukhānubhūteh 10.14.2)? I cannot understand anything about Your body or any of Your words which are the Vedas. Indeed, when You are standing before me silently, I cannot speak even a word. In Your presence persons like me are totally insignificant.”

 

|| 10.14.39 ||

anujānīhi māṁ kṛṣṇa sarvaṁ tvaṁ vetsi sarva-dṛk

tvam eva jagatāṁ nātho jagad etat tavārpitam

TRANSLATION

My dear Kṛṣṇa, I now humbly request permission to leave. Actually, You are the knower and seer of all things. Indeed, You are the Lord of all the universes, and yet I offer this one universe unto You.

COMMENTARY

Śrī Kṛṣṇa replied, “Very well, perhaps you do not know the full extent of My power and opulence. Still, I do not know the full extent of your power and opulence either.”

 

Embarrassed, distraught and incapable of answering anymore, Brahmā speaks this verse: “Please give me permission to leave (anujānīhi)! I am not worthy to stay here even for a moment. As I am most fallen I should go to a suitably fallen place like Brahmaloka, my dear kṛṣṇa.” Here the word Kṛṣṇa means “O Lord, please attract my mind and heart to Vṛndāvana.”

 

Brahmā continued, “I have prayed that You make me a blade of grass in Gokula (10.14.34), yet You have not responded, even by so much as a glance. Therefore, what more shall I do standing here? It is better that I quickly go away. For I have become an offender by interrupting Your lunch-pastimes on the bank of the Yamunā. Therefore, I could not taste the nectar of even one word from Your lips. Therefore I will quickly depart and go far away. Now please reclaim Your calves, and finish Your pastimes with Your dear friends, joking and laughing with them on the riverbank. Why should I recklessly repeat my request again and again?”

 

With this intention Brahmā says in this verse, “Indeed, You (tvam) know (vetsi) everything (sarvaṁ) about my mind, body, and senses. Just because I created this universe does not mean that I am its master. You are the master, not only of this one universe but of all universes (jagatām nātho). Therefore, I now offer to You this very small universe, which is Your property to begin with. Please do with this universe whatever You wish.”

 

|| 10.14.40 ||

śrī-kṛṣṇa vṛṣṇi-kula-puṣkara-joṣa-dāyin

kṣmā-nirjara-dvija-paśūdadhi-vṛddhi-kārin

uddharma-śārvara-hara kṣiti-rākṣasa-dhrug

ā-kalpam ārkam arhan bhagavān namas te

TRANSLATION

My dear Śrī Kṛṣṇa, You bestow happiness upon the lotuslike Vṛṣṇi dynasty and expand the great oceans consisting of the earth, the demigods, the brāhmaṇas and the cows. You dispel the dense darkness of irreligion and oppose the demons who have appeared on this earth. O Supreme Personality of Godhead, as long as this universe exists and as long as the sun shines, I will offer my obeisances unto You.

COMMENTARY

Brahmā said, “O Lord, if You don’t want to speak to me because I am an offender, then at least show me some mercy by giving the nectar of Your glance. By drinking this nectar I will be able to maintain my life for the rest of the kalpa.” After expressing this feeling, Brahmā offered his respectful obeisances to Kṛṣṇa.

 

Referring to Kṛṣṇa’s right eye, which is the original form of the sun, Brahmā says, vṛṣṇi-kula-puṣkara-joṣa-dāyin, “As the sun You make the lotus flower of the Vṛṣṇi dynasty bloom and fill them with joy. Then, referring to Kṛṣṇa’s left eye, which is the original form of the moon, Brahmā says, kṣmā-nirjara-dvija-paśūdadhi-vṛddhi-kārin, “O moon, who expands the ocean to nourish all the inhabitants of earth, the demigods (nirjara) in Svargaloka, and the birds and cows (dvija-paśūdadhi) in Vṛndāvana, please mercifully expand the good fortune of me, the lowest of the demigods.

 

“With Your two eyes as the sun and moon please dispel the blinding darkness of ignorance (śārvara-hara) and mercifully destroy my impiety (uddharma), which was seen in my attempt to bewilder even You with my mystic potency. Please remove it so that I will never make such a mistake again.” The Amara-kośa dictionary says, śārvaras tv andha-tamasaḥ, “Śārvara means blinding darkness.”

 

“Brahmā said, “O Lord, even though You have killed many demons on the earth (kṣiti-rākṣasa-dhruk) such as Aghāsura, nevertheless You gave them residence in Your own spiritual abode. I am also a demon like them. I am a brahma-rākṣasa from Satyaloka, who has come to the earth to disturb You and Your intimate friends and calves. Therefore, as You punished the other demons, You should also purify me with punishment. If he sees that his master is either merciful or cruel, the servant is encouraged to continue living. But if he sees that his master is indifferent and does not care at all, then a servant no longer desires to maintain his life.”

 

Then Brahmā thought within his heart, “Alas! Alas! Thinking that it was not proper for my master Kṛṣṇa, who is the most exalted Lord of all lords, to hold a stick, be decorated with guñjā, mineral dyes, peacock feathers, and other simple ornaments, and enjoy pastimes with cowherd boys, I foolishly committed an offense to Him and to His friends. Let me beg forgiveness from them.”

 

In the phrase ā-kalpam ārkam arhanā- kalpam ārkam arhan bhagavān namas te, “O Supreme Personality of Godhead, as long as this universe exists and as long as the sun shines, I will offer my obeisances unto You,” the word ā-kalpam means “including Your guñjā necklace and other ornaments;” ārkam means “even the lowly ārka tree, which bears flowers that cannot be offered to the Lord.”

 

Here Brahmā says, “Everything in Vraja, including even Your ornaments and even the lowly ārka tree are objects of my worship (arhan). O Lord who can be merciful or merciless, who can grant me auspiciousness or trouble, I offer my respectful obeisances (namas te) to You.” [Concluding Brahmā’s prayers, Viśvanātha Cakravarti Thakura offers the following prayer]

 

sarva-saṁśaya-hṛt sarva-bhakti-siddhānta-santatiḥ

astu brahma-stutiś citta-bhittau me cāru-citritā

 

“May these prayers of Lord Brahmā, which remove all doubts and teach all the definitive conclusions of devotion, remain forever impressed upon my heart.”

 

|| 10.14.41 ||

śrī-śuka uvāca

ity abhiṣṭūya bhūmānaṁ triḥ parikramya pādayoḥ

natvābhīṣṭaṁ jagad-dhātā sva-dhāma pratyapadyata

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Having thus offered his prayers, Brahmā circumambulated his worshipable Lord, the unlimited Personality of Godhead, three times and then bowed down at His lotus feet. The appointed creator of the universe then returned to his own residence.

COMMENTARY

What was Brahmā’s desire (ābhīṣṭaṁ)? Actually he desired to attain Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa, however, sent Brahmā back to his own home in brahmaloka, which is very dear to him. Brahmā is the creator of the universe, and if he suddenly abandons his post, the universe would not function properly. In the Vedānta-sūtra (3.3.14.33) it is said: yāvad adhikāram avisthitir adhikārikāṇām, “Authorities should fulfill the duties of their posts for as long as they are assigned.” Thus, it is understood that after fulfilling his responsibilities in the post of Brahmā, Brahmā would attain his desired goal of residence in Vṛndāvana.

 

|| 10.14.42 ||

tato ’nujñāpya bhagavān sva-bhuvaṁ prāg avasthitān

vatsān pulinam āninye yathā-pūrva-sakhaṁ svakam

TRANSLATION

After granting His son Brahmā permission to leave, the Supreme Personality of Godhead took the calves, who were still where they had been a year earlier, and brought them to the riverbank, where He had been taking His meal and where His cowherd boyfriends remained just as before.

COMMENTARY

By remaining silent, Kṛṣṇa gave Brahmā permission to leave. It is said: maunaṁ sammati-lakṣaṇam, “Silence means consent.” Brahmā had asked permission to go in verse 39: anujānīhi māṁ kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa remained silent through the entirety of Brahmā’s prayers. Seeing the Lord’s silence, Brahmā took that as His permission to depart. Kṛṣṇa could not break His silence because He was playing exactly like an innocent young cowherd boy, the son of the king of Vraja, in the pastime of bewildering Brahmā. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s silence here was deliberate.

 

Kṛṣṇa’s searching for the calves and boys was like an actor’s assuming a certain role from the beginning to the end of a play. In Śrimad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.16 it is said:

tato vatsān adṛṣṭvaitya puline ’pi ca vatsapān

ubhāv api vane kṛṣṇo vicikāya samantataḥ

 

“Thereafter, when Kṛṣṇa was unable to find the calves, He returned to the bank of the river, but there He was also unable to see the cowherd boys. Thus He began to search for both the calves and the boys, as if He could not understand what had happened.”

 

Brahmā began his prayers in verse one with the word naumīdya. While the four-headed Brahmā was offering his prayers, Kṛṣṇa maintained His role as a young cowherd boy and thus remained silent. Kṛṣṇa’s silence indicates the following thoughts: “Where did this four-headed Brahmā come from? What is he doing? What are these words he keeps on speaking? I am busy looking for My calves. I am just a cowherd boy and do not understand all this.”

 

In this way, by remaining silent throughout Brahmā’s prayers, Kṛṣṇa concluded His dramatic performance. Thus, in the presence of His servant Brahmā, Kṛṣṇa pretended to be ignorant of His own powers and opulences. Kṛṣṇa did this like an actor playing a part on the stage. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.13.61) says:

tatrodvahat paśupa-vaṁśa-śiśutva-nāṭyaṁ

brahmādvayaṁ param anantam agādha-bodham

vatsān sakhīn iva purā parito vicinvad

ekaṁ sa-pāṇi-kavalaṁ parameṣṭhy acaṣṭa

 

“Then Lord Brahmā saw the Absolute Truth—who is one without a second, who possesses full knowledge and who is unlimited— assuming the role (actor:nātyaṁ) of a child in a family of cowherd men and standing all alone, just as before, with a morsel of food in His hand, searching everywhere for the calves and His cowherd friends.” (SB 10.13.61)

 

However, being overwhelmed by the mahā-prema, great sweetness of love, of Yaśodā and other Vrajavāsīs in vātsalya-rāsa and the other rāsas, Kṛṣṇa sees that His own knowledge of His powers and opulences becomes covered. This ignorance is not a pretense; it is real. Therefore, it is not described as nātyaṁ, “play-acting.”

 

Kṛṣṇa brought (āninye) the calves, who were absorbed in eating grass (avasthitān), back to the same place (prāg) on the bank (pulinam) of the river, where the cowherd boys were sitting in the exactly their same positions (svakam) taking lunch. In that place were the original cowherd boys (yathā-pūrva-sakhaṁ), who were different from the cowherd boy expansions who performed pastimes for one year with Kṛṣṇa.

 

|| 10.14.43 ||

ekasminn api yāte ’bde prāṇeśaṁ cāntarātmanaḥ

kṛṣṇa-māyāhatā rājan kṣaṇārdhaṁ menire ’rbhakāḥ

TRANSLATION

O King, although the boys had passed an entire year apart from the Lord of their very lives, they had been covered by Lord Kṛṣṇa’s illusory potency and thus considered that year merely half a moment.

COMMENTARY

Four verses (43-46) show how the inconceivable power of yogamāyā allowed the cowherd boys to be unaware of the passage of one year, and thus conclude their lunch pastimes with Kṛṣṇa, who arrived with a morsel of food in His hand as previously. Without (antarā) Kṛṣṇa (prāṇeśam), one year became like a moment as they were covered (āhatā) by yogamāyā. Usually in meeting Kṛṣṇa, a long time seems very short, but in this case, separation from Kṛṣṇa seemed very short due to the influence of yogamāyā (māyā).

 

|| 10.14.44 ||

kiṁ kiṁ na vismarantīha māyā-mohita-cetasaḥ

yan-mohitaṁ jagat sarvam abhīkṣṇaṁ vismṛtātmakam

TRANSLATION

What indeed is not forgotten by those whose minds are bewildered by the Lord’s illusory potency? By that power of Māyā, this entire universe remains in perpetual bewilderment, and in this atmosphere of forgetfulness no one can understand his own identity.

COMMENTARY

Because it also bewilders the living entity, Kṛṣṇa’s external potency Mahāmāyā is given as an example to indicate the power of Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual Yogamāyā potency. Here Brahmā says, “As a conditioned soul forgets his spiritual identity (vismṛta-ātmakam) due to being bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s external illusory potency, Mahāmāyā, the cowherd boys and calves for one year forgot the suffering of being separated from the Lord because they were bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s internal illusory potency, Yogamāyā.

 

|| 10.14.45 ||

ūcuś ca suhṛdaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ sv-āgataṁ te ’ti-raṁhasā

naiko ’py abhoji kavala ehītaḥ sādhu bhujyatām

TRANSLATION

The cowherd boyfriends said to Lord Kṛṣṇa: You have returned so quickly! We have not eaten even one morsel in Your absence. Please come here and take Your meal without distraction.

COMMENTARY

After congratulating (sv-āgatam te) Kṛṣṇa for having brought the calves back so quickly (ati-raṁhasā) from the forest, the cowherd boys said (ūcuḥ), “We thought You would take at least a half an hour to bring back the calves, who had wandered far away, but You have bought them in an instant. Without You we have not eaten a morsel, so please come here.”

 

|| 10.14.46 ||

tato hasan hṛṣīkeśo ’bhyavahṛtya sahārbhakaiḥ

darśayaṁś carmājagaraṁ nyavartata vanād vrajam

TRANSLATION

Then Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, smiling, finished His lunch in the company of His cowherd friends. While they were returning from the forest to their homes in Vraja, Lord Kṛṣṇa showed the cowherd boys the skin of the dead serpent Aghāsura.

COMMENTARY

Smiling (hasan) to show His joy, Kṛṣṇa ate with the boys. The word abhyavahṛtya, “after finishing their lunch,” means that even though a year had passed the food did not show any lack of taste. The word darśayaṁs, “showing,” means that Kṛṣṇa told His friends: “Look! Here is the dead snake covered with blood.” Yogamāyā had carefully preserved the snake’s corpse so that the boys would spread the news of the killing of Aghāsura in the village of Vraja. Leaving their forest pastimes (nyavartata vanād vrajam), Kṛṣṇa and the boys returned home.

 

|| 10.14.47 ||

barha-prasūna-vana-dhātu-vicitritāṅgaḥ

proddāma-veṇu-dala-śṛṅga-ravotsavāḍhyaḥ

vatsān gṛṇann anuga-gīta-pavitra-kīrtir

gopī-dṛg-utsava-dṛśiḥ praviveśa goṣṭham

TRANSLATION

Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body was decorated with peacock feathers and flowers and painted with forest minerals, and His bamboo flute loudly and festively resounded. As He called out to His calves by name, His cowherd boyfriends purified the whole world by chanting His glories. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa entered the cow pasture of His father, Nanda Mahārāja, and the sight of His beauty at once produced a great festival for the eyes of all the cowherd women.

COMMENTARY

Kṛṣṇa affectionately (gṛṇann) called each of the calves by name. Beholding Kṛṣṇa created a feast for the eyes (gopī-dṛg-utsava-dṛsiḥ) of the elder cowherd ladies such as mother Yaśodā, who loved Kṛṣṇa with parental affection, vātsalya-rasa.

 

|| 10.14.48 ||

adyānena mahā-vyālo yaśodā-nanda-sūnunā

hato ’vitā vayaṁ cāsmād iti bālā vraje jaguḥ

TRANSLATION

As the cowherd boys reached the village of Vraja, they sang, “Today Kṛṣṇa saved us by killing a great serpent!” Some of the boys described Kṛṣṇa as the son of Yaśodā, and others as the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

COMMENTARY

The cowherd boys sang, “One snake was killed by this child of Yaśodā and Nanda, or by this small boy who gives fame and bliss. He also saved us from that awesome snake.”

 

Here the word yaśodā-nanda-sūnunā means, “He who is the good fortune (ānanda or yaśah) of Nanda and Yāsodā. Because this is a sāka-pārthiva karmadhāraya-samāsa, its middle word is elided. The words vayam avitāḥ mean, ‘“We were protected from a great serpent.”

 

|| 10.14.49 ||

śrī-rājovāca

brahman parodbhave kṛṣṇe iyān premā kathaṁ bhavet

yo ’bhūta-pūrvas tokeṣu svodbhaveṣv api kathyatām

TRANSLATION

King Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, how could the cowherd women have developed for Kṛṣṇa, someone else’s son, such unprecedented pure love-love they never felt even for their own children? Please explain this.

COMMENTARY

In the previous chapter (13) it was said:

vrajaukasāṁ sva-tokeṣu sneha-vally ābdam anvaham

śanair niḥsīma vavṛdhe yathā kṛṣṇe tv apūrvavat

 

“Although the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, the cowherd men and cowherd women, previously had more affection for Kṛṣṇa than for their own children, now, for one year, their affection for their own sons continuously increased, for Kṛṣṇa had now become their sons. There was no limit to the increment of their affection for their sons, who were now Kṛṣṇa. Every day they found new inspiration for loving their children as much as they loved Kṛṣṇa.”

 

In this way the parents of Vraja had more love for Kṛṣṇa, who was the son of another, than for their own sons. Here King Parīkṣit asks about this, “How is it that this love for Kṛṣṇa appearing as their own sons was not manifested before the pastime of bewildering Brahmā?

 

Usually parents have more love for their own children, even if others’ children have better qualities. What was the cause of this contradiction to normal experience?”

 

|| 10.14.50 ||

śrī-śuka uvāca

sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ nṛpa svātmaiva vallabhaḥ

itare ’patya-vittādyās tad-vallabhatayaiva hi

TRANSLATION

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, for every created being the dearmost thing is certainly his own self. The dearness of everything else—children, wealth and so on—is due only to the dearness of the self.

COMMENTARY

In five verses (50-54) Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains: “O king, in this material world it is seen that the natural tendency is to love oneself more than one’s children or other persons one may claim as one’s own. By understanding this one will come to understand the final truth.”

 

The word vallabhaḥ (dearmost) means “according to material vision, the object of great love.” That love is different for each different body, as is affirmed here by the word itare (others).

 

|| 10.14.51 ||

tad rājendra yathā snehaḥ sva-svakātmani dehinām

na tathā mamatālambi-putra-vitta-gṛhādiṣu

TRANSLATION

For this reason, O best of kings, the embodied soul is self-centered: he is more attached to his own body and self than to his so-called possessions like children, wealth and home.

COMMENTARY

The preference for one’s own self over attachment to sons, wealth or house is natural.

 

|| 10.14.52 ||

dehātma-vādināṁ puṁsām api rājanya-sattama

yathā dehaḥ priyatamas tathā na hy anu ye ca tam

TRANSLATION

Indeed, for persons who think the body is the self, O best of kings, those things whose importance lies only in their relationship to the body are never as dear as the body itself.

COMMENTARY

Fools consider the self to be the material body (deha-ātma-vādināṁ). To describe the nature of such persons Śukadeva Gosvāmī here declares that the attachment of such persons for their own body (self) is more than for their sons, wealth and house.

 

|| 10.14.53 ||

deho ’pi mamatā-bhāk cet  tarhy asau nātma-vat priyaḥ

yaj jīryaty api dehe ’smin jīvitāśā balīyasī

TRANSLATION

If a person comes to the stage of considering the body “mine” instead of “me,” he will certainly not consider the body as dear as his own self. After all, even as the body is growing old and useless, one’s desire to continue living remains strong.

COMMENTARY

This verse explains how the materialists, who affirm that the material body is the self, eventually become wise. Then they also understand that self is the soul, not the material body, and the soul is to be loved, not the material body. The body is dear only because of the soul.

 

When a person who thinks “I am this body” becomes a little wise, he begins to understand, “I am not this body. Rather, this body is mine.” At that time the soul becomes dear to him. Then the material body is not as dear as the soul to him. This means the body is only dear because it has a relationship with the soul.

 

The second half of this verse gives the direct experience of ordinary persons as evidence to prove this. A person may see that the death of the material body is naturally very painful. Thus he will pray, “Let my death not be painful.” Although such a person may intelligently understand that he is actually a spirit soul and not the material body, still his yearning to remain alive in the material body may be even stronger than that knowledge.

 

|| 10.14.54 ||

tasmāt priyatamaḥ svātmā sarveṣām api dehinām

tad-artham eva sakalaṁ jagad etac carācaram

TRANSLATION

Therefore it is his own self that is most dear to every embodied living being, and it is simply for the satisfaction of this self that the whole material creation of moving and nonmoving entities exists.

COMMENTARY

Thus it is proved by ordinary vision that everyone loves his own self more than he loves his children or other persons. In the word carācaram (moving and nonmoving entities) cara refers to wife, children and other persons, and acara refers to nonmoving posses-sions such as one’s clothing, home and household paraphernalia.

 

|| 10.14.55 ||

kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam ātmānam akhilātmanām

jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra dehīvābhāti māyayā

TRANSLATION

You should know Kṛṣṇa to be the original Soul of all living entities. For the benefit of the whole universe, He has, out of His causeless mercy, appeared as an ordinary human being. He has done this by the strength of His internal potency.

COMMENTARY

This verse establishes the conclusion of the discussion: “When one sees the truth he realizes that the individual spirit soul is only an intermediate object of love. The final, highest object of love is Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone.”

 

Brahmā said, “Kṛṣṇa is the soul of the universe and the Supersoul present in the hearts of all conditioned souls.” A person loves children and other persons because they bring pleasure to his own material body. In the same way a person loves his own material body because it brings pleasure to himself, the spirit soul. Also in the same way a person loves his true self, his spiritual identity, because he brings pleasure to the Supersoul. The Supersoul is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose spiritual form is perfect and complete. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.42) Kṛṣṇa declares: viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam, ekāṁṣena sthito jagat, “With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire creation.”

 

The conclusion is that because Kṛṣṇa is the highest object of love, the greatest love is felt for Him. Thus the Vraja-gopīs loved Kṛṣṇa even more than they loved their own sons. Furthermore, how can the conditioned souls, who have no love and devotion for Kṛṣṇa, and whose knowledge is covered by māyā, directly perceive Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is revealed only by bhakti? They cannot directly perceive Kṛṣṇa because such persons have given all their love to their children and others. However, because Vrajavāsīs were beyond the touch of māyā and full of love for Kṛṣṇa they could directly perceive the Lord. Thus it was natural that they showed more love for Kṛṣṇa than their own sons.

 

When Kṛṣṇa appears in the world to benefit the conditioned souls (jagad-dhitāya), the ignorant think He has a material body (dehīvā) like their own; a body created by māyā. But, that is only an appearance, not the fact. Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatī explains: sac-cit-sukaika-vapuṣaḥ puruṣottamasya, nārāyanasya mahimā na hi mānam eti

 

“No one can count all the glories of Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss.” He also declares:

 

cid-ānandākāraṁ jalada-ruci-sāraṁ,

stitti-girāṁ vraja-strīṇāṁ hāram

 

“Kṛṣṇa charms all the women of Vraja. The Vedas declare that Kṛṣṇa’s form, dark like a monsoon cloud, is eternal and full of bliss.”

 

Someone may object: “The Supersoul cannot be seen by the senses, but Kṛṣṇa was easily seen by everyone. Therefore Kṛṣṇa cannot be the Supersoul.” This verse answers: “To benefit the living entities in the material world, Kṛṣṇa appears, by His causeless and inconceivable mercy, to be an ordinary conditioned soul. Thus Kṛṣṇa is directly perceived by the senses of the conditioned souls, although in ordinary circumstances Kṛṣṇa is never perceived by the material senses.

 

Lord Nārāyaṇa says in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta that though Kṛṣṇa is eternally unmanifest, He becomes visible by His own desire. Otherwise who can see Him? Sanātana Gosvāmī says that Kṛṣṇa becomes manifest by His own power, but He is not revealed to the eye as an object of sense perception. Outside of Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa bestows His sweetness through His mercy to favorable persons. To inimical persons Kṛṣṇa shows His form, but devoid of sweetness for perfecting their meditation involving their material senses. As a result of their meditation, Kṛṣṇa bestows liberation to extinguish their offenses. This is how Kṛṣṇa gives auspiciousness to them.

 

Although Kṛṣṇa covers His supreme majesty to appear like an ordinary mortal before the inhabitants of Vraja and before inimical persons, it is improper to call Kṛṣṇa a jīva with a material body (dehi). Therefore this verse describes Kṛṣṇa as dehīvābhāti, appearing to be a soul with a human body. Madhvācārya quotes the Varāha Purāṇa: “For the Lord there is no difference between the body and soul (deha and dehi).”

 

|| 10.14.56 ||

vastuto jānatām atra kṛṣṇaṁ sthāsnu cariṣṇu ca

bhagavad-rūpam akhilaṁ nānyad vastv iha kiñcana

TRANSLATION

Those in this world who understand Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is see all things, whether stationary or moving, as manifest forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such enlightened persons recognize no reality apart from the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENTARY

This verse states that after considering all the objects of love such as sons, body and soul, the wise conclude that Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of love.

 

In this verse the word vastutaḥ (in truth) has the sense of “but finally.” Therefore, those who know Kṛṣṇa see Him as the cause of all moving and non-moving entities. Because Kṛṣṇa is the creator of all, in one sense. He is the same as His creation.

 

|| 10.14.57 ||

sarveṣām api vastūnāṁ bhāvārtho bhavati sthitaḥ

tasyāpi bhagavān kṛṣṇaḥ kim atad vastu rūpyatām

TRANSLATION

The original, unmanifested form of material nature is the source of all material things, and the source of even that subtle material nature is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. What, then, could one ascertain to be separate from Him?

COMMENTARY

Someone may ask, “Why is this so?” This verse answers. Bhāva means the unmanifested material nature (pradhāna), which is the cause (ārtho) of the material world. Thus bhāvārtho means Kṛṣṇa, who is the creator of pradhāna, which is itself the cause of the material world. Therefore the verse says, kim atad vastu rūpyatām, “Who is greater than Kṛṣṇa?”

 

The word vastūnām means the senses and intelligence, and bhāvārtho means the ātmā, the soul who is the cause of the senses. The cause of the soul is Kṛṣṇa. What can be said to be different from Kṛṣṇa (kim atad vastu rūpyatām)? Therefore, because He is the complete whole, Kṛṣṇa is the final object of all service.

 

|| 10.14.58 ||

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ

mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ

bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ

padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

TRANSLATION

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.

COMMENTARY

In this way it is proved that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the final object of pure spiritual love. Only by taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet does one get liberated and finally realize Him. The outstanding position of Kṛṣṇa’s devotee is now made clear.

 

Devotees take shelter (āśritaḥ) only of the boat (plavaṁ) of the lotus feet (pada-pallava) of Kṛṣṇa (murāreḥ), whose fame (yaśaḥ) is charming, beautiful, and pleasing to the heart (puṇya).

 

Someone may ask, “What is that boat like?” The boat of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet gives shelter to the great devotees (mahat-padam) who have taken complete shelter (sam:samyak:samāśritā). For these devotees the ocean of the material world (bhavambudhih) becomes like the water in a calf’s hoof-print (vatsa-padam) that can be crossed without any great effort. Their goal is the supreme transcendental abode (paraṁ padaṁ) of Vaikuṇṭha or Śrī Vṛndāvana. Great devotees never fall into difficulty (vipadam) because their minds are not attached to anything except the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

 

|| 10.14.59 ||

etat te sarvam ākhyātaṁ yat pṛṣṭo ’ham iha tvayā

tat kaumāre hari-kṛtaṁ paugaṇḍe parikīrtitam

TRANSLATION

 

|| 10.14.60 ||

etat suhṛdbhiś caritaṁ murārer aghārdanaṁ śādvala-jemanaṁ ca

vyaktetarad rūpam ajorv-abhiṣṭavaṁ śṛṇvan gṛṇann eti naro ’khilārthān