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Abhista-labha:TheAttainment of

AllDesires

. .

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TEXTS 12

[qGaaePaku-Maar ovacTaa& NaardqYaaMaNauSa*TYa iXa+aa&

[qk*-Z

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nija to myself; priyi dear; sakrtayan chanting; su-svaram in a melodious voice; atra here; ll the pas-

times; tasya His;pragyan singing loudly; anucintayanremembering; ca and; tadya His; ll-sthala-jtammany places of pastimes; etat these; vilokayan seeing;bhva an ecstatic mood; dae and state of excitement;gata obtaining;ye which; tayo of them; sva-citte inmy own mind; karaena by expressing; lajje I becomeembarrassed; katham how; parasmin to another;

kathayni can describe; aham I; te them.

r Gopa-kumra said: Following Nradas instructions,here in Vraja I went to see the many places of r Kaspastimes. I sang His names most dear to me, I sang aboutHis pastimes loudly and sweetly, I focused my mind uponthem and I attained such a state of ecstasy and becameso emotional that it embarrasses me even to think of it.

How then can I describe this to anyone else?

COMMENTARY: In this Sixth Chapter, Gopa-kumra goes toGoloka and meets r Ka. Ka shows him special mercy,and Gopa-kumra joins the pastimes of that world.

The first five verses show the good fortune Gopa-kumragained by following the instructions of r Nrada. This good

fortune will be his means of achieving Goloka. While visitingr Vndvana on earth, Gopa-kumra saw with his own eyesKa performing His cowherd pastimes. As a result, Gopa-kumras mind reached a rare level of ecstasy and manifestedsuch exceptional states as unmda(divine madness).

TEXT 3

Sada MahaTYaaR k-

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ABHA-LBHA: TheATTAINMENT of ALL DESIRES/ 2 7 1

sad mahrty karua-svarai rudannaymi rtrr divas ca ktara

na vedmi yad yat su-cird anuhitasukhya v tat tad utrti-sindhave

sad constantly; mah-rty in great distress; karuapitiful; svarai in tones; rudan crying; naymi I spent;rtr the nights; divas days; ca and; ktara dis-tressed; navedmi I did not know;yatyat all of which; su-

cirt for a long time; anuhitam practiced; sukhya forhappiness; v or; tat tat of that; uta otherwise; rti ofdistress; sindhave for (obtaining) an ocean.

I spent my days and nights in great distress, always cryingin a pitiful voice, not knowing whether the practice I hadso long been following would lead me to happiness or castme into an ocean of distress.

COMMENTARY: It is difficult for Gopa-kumra to describe hisembarrassing state, but because of his special affection for theMathur brhmaa he will try to explain it to some extent.Gopa-kumra began his spiritual practice the day he left home asa young boy, and now all his practice seems to be reaching itsculmination. But now he is uncertain whether the final result will

be happy. Gopa-kumra expresses himself here in a narrativepresent tense. Thus he says na vedmi literally, I do notknow. But this clearly implies that this doubt has been with himfor a long time and will continue for some time more.

TEXT 4

k-QaidPYaak-l/YaaiMa NaETaTa(ik-Maez davaiGaniXa%aNTare_hMa( )

vSaaiMa ik&- va ParMaaMa*TaaC^=SauXaqTal/[qYaMauNaaJal/aNTa" ))

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kathacid apy kalaymi naitatkim ea dvgni-ikhntare ham

vasmi ki v parammtccha-su-tala-r-yamun-jalnta

kathacit somehow; api although; kalaymi na I couldnot distinguish; etat this; kim whether; ea this; dva-agni of a forest fire; ikh the flames; antare within;aham I; vasmi was living; kimv or whether;parama

supreme; amta of the nectar; accha clear; su-talaand very cool; r-yamun of r Yamun; jala-anta inthe water.

I couldnt tell whether I was living in the flames of a forestfire or in the supreme nectar of the clear, cool waters of r

Yamun.

TEXT 5

k-daicdev& ik-l/ iNaiNaaeMYah&Xa#=SYa hSTae PaiTaTaae_iSMa k-SYaicTa( ))

Sada NYaMa& bhudu"%SaaGareSau%SYa GaNDaae_iPa Na Maa& SPa*XaeTKvicTa( ))

kadcid eva kila nicinomy ahaahasya haste patito smi kasyacit

sad nyamaja bahu-dukha-sgaresukhasya gandho pi na m spet kvacit

kadcit sometimes; evam thus; kila indeed; nicinomi thought; aham I; ahasya of a cheater; haste in thehand;patita fallen; asmi I was; kasyacit a certain one;sad constantly; nyamajam I was being submerged;bahu-dukha of great misery; sgare in an ocean;sukhasya of happiness; gandha a trace; api even; na not; mm me; spet would touch; kvacit ever.

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Sometimes I thought I had fallen into the hands of somegreat deceiver. I was always submerged in a vast ocean of

misery. Not even a drop of happiness ever touched me.

TEXT 6

wTQa& vSaiaku-e_iSMaNv*NdavNaiv>aUzaaeDaaE iNaMaGanae MaaehMav[JaMa( ))

ittha vasan nikuje sminvndvana-vibhae

ekad rodanmbhodhaunimagno moham avrajam

ittham in this manner; vasan residing; nikuje in thegrove; asmin this; vndvana-vibhae an ornament of

Vndvana; ekad one day; rodana of crying; mbhodhau in an ocean; nimagna drowning; moham unconscious-ness; avrajam I obtained.

In such a way I lived in this grove, this most attractiveornament of Vndvana. And one day, while immersed inan ocean of weeping, I fell unconscious.

TEXT 7

dYaalu/cU@aMai

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daylu of merciful persons; c-main the crown jewel;amun that; eva only; svayam in person; samgatya

who approached; kara-ambujena with His lotus hand;va to the flute; ratena which was fondly attracted;amta like nectar; talena cool; mat-gtrata from mylimbs; mrjayat who was wiping; rajsi the dust.

Then the crest jewel of all who are merciful appearedbefore me. With His own lotus hand, a hand cool like nec-

tar and always pleased to hold His flute, He wiped the dustfrom my limbs.

TEXT 8

NaqTaae_iSMa SaaLYa Mauhu" Sal/Il&/

Sa&ja& MahaDaUTaRvreaUTaEr(AaPaUYaR SaaEr>Ya>arE" Svk-IYaE" ))

nto smi saclya muhu sa-llasaj mah-dhrta-varea yatnt

ns-praviair apurnubhtair

prya saurabhya-bharai svakyai

nta brought; asmi I was; saclya being stirred;muhu again; sa-llam playfully; sajm to conscious-ness; mah-dhrta of great cheats; varea by the best;

yatnt with some endeavor; ns my nose; praviaiwhich entered; apur never before; anubhtai experi-enced; prya filling; saurabhya of fragrances; bharai

with the abundance; svakyai His own.

It wasnt easy, but that greatest of cheats playfully stirredme back to consciousness by filling my nostrils with His

unique heady fragrances, which I had never known before.

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COMMENTARY: r Madana-gopla-deva appeared in personbefore Gopa-kumra to award him the highest perfection. Gopa-

kumra was in a deep swoon, oblivious to everything aroundhim, but Kas presence awakened one of his senses, namelythe sense of smell. Because Ka, the most expert enchanter,knows very well how to stir the senses of even an unconsciousperson, Gopa-kumra wants to acknowledge Kas omni-science by speaking of Him as mahbhija-vara(the best ofthose who know everything), but the ecstasy of his love trans-

forms that original idea, and it comes out from his mouth asmah-dhrta-vara(the greatest of cheats). Gopa-kumras ec-stasy forces him to reason, Although Ka may now be wipingmy body with His own hands, soon enough that same Ka isjust as likely to abandon me.

TEXT 9

TadqYav-aBJaMaQaavl/aeKYaSaSaM>a[Ma& SaTvrMauiTQaTaae_hMa( )

AMau& ivDaTau| vrPaqTaveSaMauTaae hzR>araicTaaTMaa ))

tadya-vaktrbjam athvalokyasa-sambhrama satvaram utthito hamamu vidhartu vara-pta-vastre

samudyato hara-bharcittm

tadya His; vaktra-abjam lotus face; atha then; avalokya seeing; sa-sambhramam in perplexity; satvaram quickly;utthita standing up; aham I; amum Him; vidhartum

to take hold of; vara splendid;pta yellow; vastre thegarment; samudyata attempting; hara of joy; bhara aburden; cita accumulating; tm in my heart.

Then, seeing His lotus face, I quickly stood up. Not know-

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ing what I was doing, my heart filling with joy, I tried tocatch hold of His splendid yellow cloth.

TEXT 10

Sa NaaGareNd]ae_PaSaSaar Pa*TaaeiNaNaadYa&STaa& Maurl/I& Svl/Il/Yaa )

A>aU ku-aNTairTa" SaPaSaaE

MaYaa Na l/BDaae bTa DaavTaaPYal/Ma( ))sa ngarendro pasasra phato

nindayas t mural sva-llayabhc ca kujntarita sapady asau

may na labdho bata dhvatpy alam

sa He; ngara of heroes; indra the king; apasasra escaped; phata behind me; nindayan vibrating;tm that; muralm flute; sva-llay in His playful way;abht He was; ca and; kuja a grove; antaritawithin; sapadi suddenly; asau He; may by me; nanot; labdha attained; bata ah; dhvat running; apialthough; alam a lot.

That king of charming heroes blew His flute in His ownplayful way and escaped behind me. Suddenly He steppedinto a grove. And alas! though I ran about looking, Icouldnt find Him.

TEXT 11

ANTaihRTa& Ta& Tvivl/aeKYa MaUC^a|Pa[aae_PaTa& [qYaMauNaaPa[vahe )

WTaSYa veGaeNa SaMauMaaNaael/Bev Sa&ja& VYaik-r& Svd*q ))

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antarhita ta tv avilokya mrcchprpto pata r-yamun-pravhe

etasya vegena samuhyamnolabdhveva saj vyakira sva-d

antarhitam who had disappeared; tam Him; tu and;avilokya not seeing; mrcchm unconsciousness;prpta obtaining; apatam I fell; r-yamun of r Yamun;pravhe in the swift current; etasya its; vegena by theforce; samuhyamna being carried; labdhv regaining;iva as if; sajm normal consciousness; vyakiram Icast; sva-d my glance.

He had disappeared. Unable to see Him, I fainted and fellinto the swift current of the Yamun. And as it forcefullycarried me away, I seemed to regain normal awareness andlooked around.

COMMENTARY: Gopa-kumra says that he seemed to regainconsciousness (labdhv iva sajm) because he had not actu-ally lost his awareness; his fainting was not a material distur-bance but an external symptom of ecstasy. His recovery of nor-mal consciousness was also only apparent, because the abnor-mal bewilderment of his prema had still not subsided. Twoverses later he will describe his collecting his wits (cittamsamdhya), which shows that now, at this earlier moment, hewas still disoriented.

TEXT 12

PaXYaaMYaiTa-aNTaMaNaaeJaveNaYaaNaeNa ke-NaaiPa MahaeDaRGaeNa )

ke-NaaiPa MaaGaeR

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kenpi mrgea mahdbhutenadentare kutracid gato smi

paymi I saw; atikrnta which superseded; mana-javena the speed of the mind;ynena by a vehicle; kenaapi some; mah-rdha way above; gena which was go-ing; kena api by some; mrgea path; mah-adbhutena most wonderful; dea-antare to another place; kutracitsomewhere; gata come; asmi I was.

I saw myself being transported to another place, alongsome wonderful path, by a vehicle flying faster than themind and higher than one could imagine.

COMMENTARY:Gopa-kumra couldnt identify the vehicle thattook him away, so he refers to it simply as a certain vehicle(ynena kenpi). He could only say that it was moving upward

at a speed greater than that of the mind. The path the vehicletook was also unfamiliar and not able to be identified, so Gopa-kumra couldonly describe it as most amazing.It was utterlydifferent from any road he had ever traveled before.

TEXT 13

icta& SaMaaDaaYa Ma*XaaiMa Yaavd(vEku-

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tam that; ita from there; asmi I reached; tvat then;tam that; vismita amazed; vkya seeing; vahan ex-

periencing;praharam delight;payan watching; ayodhy-dikam Ayodhy and other regions; atyagm I passed;tat them.

Collecting my wits, I was amazed to see I was passingthrough Vaikuha-loka, and going beyond. I watched withgreat delight as I passed Ayodhy and other realms.

COMMENTARY:Without delay, the vehicle sped past the domainof Lord Nryaa, in which Gopa-kumra had previously re-sided, and then past other supreme abodes, including Ayodhyand Dvrak.

TEXT 14

[qGaael/aek&- Ta& icraXaavl/Mb&Pa[aae >aaNTa& SavRl/aek-aePairaTa( )

AaSTae [qMaNMaaQaure Ma

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there appeared the same as in this divine Mathur-maala of the material world.

COMMENTARY:Gopa-kumra had long desired to attain Goloka,the land where his worshipable Lord, r Ka, eternally enjoysHis pastimes. The Mathur brhmaa, Gopa-kumras disciple,lacks the spiritual vision to understand Goloka properly, but togive him some idea of the glories of Goloka, Gopa-kumracompares it to the transcendental abode where the two of themnow sit. Golokas resemblance to the earthly Gokula is the veryreason why Goloka does without the mood of reverence forGods supremacy and displays instead the priceless treasure ofsuperexcellentprema.

TEXT 15

TaiSMaH[qMaQauraPae GaTva MaDauPaurqMahMa( )

A}aTYaaiMav Taa& d=*a ivSMaYa& hzRMaPYaGaaMa( ))tasmi r-mathur-rpe

gatv madhu-purm ahamatratym iva t dv

vismaya haram apy agm

tasmin that; r-mathur of r Mathur; rpe in the pro-totype; gatv coming; madhu-purm to Mathur City;aham I; atratym located here (on earth); iva as if; tm it; dv seeing; vismayam surprise; haram joy; api and; agm I experienced.

In that original land of Mathur, I visited Mathur City. Iwas surprised and happy to see that it resembled the

Mathur here on earth.

COMMENTARY:Gopa-kumra was astonished to see that evenabove Vaikuha things appeared as in the mortal world. Hewas pleased to find such arrangements for fulfilling his spiritualdesires.

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TEXT 16

TaSYaaMaXa*

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friends; akay out of fear; nautsahante did not dare;yath-kmam as they might desire; vihartum to enjoy;

ydav the Ydavas; sukham freely.

Out of fear of Kasa, whose family and friends wereenemies of the demigods, the Ydavas dared not enjoythemselves freely.

TEXT 18

TaSMaahuivDaa& baDaaMaiPa ivNdiNTa Tae_iNaXaMa( )ku-}aaPYaPaSa*Taa" ke-icTSaiNTa ke-_iPa TaMaai[Taa" ))

tasmd bahu-vidh bdhmapi vindanti te niam

kutrpy apast kecit

santi ke pi tam rit

tasmt on account of him; bahu-vidhm of many kinds;bdhm affliction; api also; vindanti experienced; tethey; aniam constantly; kutra api somewhere; apast fled; kecit some; santi were; keapi some; tam ofhim; rit under the shelter.

Because of him they constantly suffered all sorts of afflic-tion. Some of the Ydavas escaped elsewhere, and otherstook shelter of him.

COMMENTARY:Uddhava and other Ydavas went into exile inother districts. And some, like Akrra, became Kasas ordercarriers. As described in rmad-Bhgavatam(10.2.14):

pralamba-baka-cra-tvarta-mahanai

muikria-dvivida-ptan-ke-dhenukai

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anyai csura-bhplairba-bhaumdibhir vta

yadn kadana cakrebal mgadha-saraya

Under the protection of Magadharja [Jarsandha], the power-ful Kasa began persecuting the kings of the Yadu dynasty. Inthis he had the cooperation of demons like Pralamba, Baka,Cra, Tvarta, and Aghsura, and still others Muika,Aria, Dvivida, Ptan, Ke, and Dhenuka, as well as Bsuraand Naraksura and many other demonic kings on the surface ofthe earth.

te pit niviviukuru-pacla-kekayn

lvn vidarbhn niadhnvidehn koaln api

eke tam anurundhnjtaya paryupsate

Persecuted by the demonic kings, the Ydavas left their ownkingdom and entered various others, like those of the Kurus,Paclas, and Kekayas, the lvas, Vidarbhas, and Niadhas, andthe Videhas and Koalas. Some of the Ydavas, however, beganto follow Kasas principles and act in his service.

The Supreme Lord arranges for His pleasure pastimes tooccur in Goloka just as on earth. Were this not so, the hearts ofHis unalloyed devotees would not be fully satisfied.

TEXT 19

TaTaae_hMaiPa >aqTa" SaNk*-Taiv[aiNTaMaNa" )

iNa"Sa*TYa TvrYaaGaC^& [qMa*NdavNa& TaTa" ))tato ham api bhta san

kta-virnti-majjananistya tvaraygaccha

rmad-vndvana tata

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tata so; aham I; api also; bhta afraid; san being;kta having done; virnti at Virma-gha; majjana

bathing; nistya leaving; tvaray quickly; agaccham Iwent; rmat-vndvanam to rmad Vndvana; tatathen.

I too was afraid of Kasa. So as soon as I finished bathingat Virnti-gha I hurriedly left Mathur and went to glori-ous Vndvana.

COMMENTARY:It was very good for Gopa-kumra that he wasalready assuming the character of the Goloka-vss, for thatwould lead him to his final perfection.

TEXTS 2021

TaiSMaGaMYae_i%l/devTaaNaa&l/aeke-raaU>aarTavzRk-IYaa=YaaRvTaRdeXaSYa iNaPYa rqiTaMa( ))

idVYaa& idNaeXaaeMaNaaidNaETaa&>aaEMaq=& Na*>aazacirTaaidNaaiPa )MahacMaTk-ar>are

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mah-camatkra-bharea ruddhonyamajjam nanda-rasmbu-rau

tasmin there; agamye inaccessible; akhila all;devatnm to the demigods; loka-varm to the rulersof the planets; api also;pradnm to the Lords personalassociates; etasya of this (the ryvarta country); bh onearth; bhrata-varakya of Bhrata-vara; ryvarta-deasya of the ryvarta country; nirpya noticing; rtim the

ways; divym in the sky; dina-a of the sun (ruler of thedays); udgamana by the rising; din and so on; etmthis; bhaumm on the ground; n of humans; bh bythe language; carita behavior; din and so on; apialso; mah-camatkra of extreme astonishment; bhareaby an excess; ruddha stunned; nyamajjam I drowned;nanda-rasa of ecstatic rasa;ambu-rau in an ocean.

In that realm, beyond the reach of all the demigods, plan-etary rulers, and personal attendants of the Supreme Lord,I saw that life was going on just as here in this ryvartacountry in Bhrata-vara on earth. The sun was rising andthe other natural events were taking place every day inthe sky, and on the land the people were speaking and

behaving the same way as here. I was stunned by aston-

ishment extreme astonishment and immersed in anocean of ecstatic rasa.

COMMENTARY:Demigods like Srya and Candra, planetary rulerslike Indra and Brahm, and even associates of Lord Nryaalike r Garua cannot enter Goloka. Gopa-kumra, preparinghis student for descriptions of life there, now gives him a glimpseof how Goloka resembles Vndvana on earth. Gopa-kumrasaw for himself that the environment and culture of Goloka werejust like those of ryvarta, north central India, refined in civili-zation, where Vraja-bhmi is located. What he saw in the sky(divym) and on the ground (bhaumm) could hardly be distin-guished from the common experience of life on earth. This sight

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amazed him. He could now perceive the spiritual reality ofrasaas something tangible, and the ecstasy of that rasaat once filled

his heart and overflowed and left him swimming in an ocean ofthe nectar of devotion.

TEXT 22

+aa[MaTaae GaaePaaiNav vNae NaraNa( )PauZPaai

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TEXT 23

Tae c SaveR JaNaa" PaUvRd*SavRivl/+a

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yatnd dhairyam ivsty-pccha tn idam dart

tem them; darana by seeing; mtrea only; tdam of the same kind; bhvam loving affection; pnuvanobtaining; yatnt with endeavor; dhairyam composure;iva as if; sty assuming; apccham I asked; tnthem; idam this; dart with respect.

Simply by seeing them, I felt the same kind of loving affec-tion. Trying hard, I composed myself and respectfullyasked them the following questions.

COMMENTARY:The mere sight of these devotees made Gopa-kumra feel the same turbulent feelings they did. He managed tobring himself back to a condition almost sober (dhairyam ivastya), but not completely sober, otherwise he wouldnt have

asked questions he could already answer.

TEXT 25

ParMah&SaMaNaaerQadul/R>aE"ParMahzR>arE" PairzeivTaa" )

Pa[a-JaNaE" k-Mal/aPaTae"ParMaYaaCYaTadqYadYaal/Yaa" ))

paramahasa-manoratha-durlabhaiparama-hara-bharai parievit

praaya-bhakta-janai kamal-pateparama-ycya-tadya-daylay

parama-hasa of the topmost sages; manoratha in theimagination; durlabhai rarely obtainable; parama su-preme; hara of happiness; bharai by the abundance;

parievit served; praaya loving; bhakta-janai bythe devotees; kamal-pate of the husband of the goddess of

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fortune; parama supreme; ycya which is the object ofprayer; tadya His; day of the mercy; lay reser-

voirs.

O good people, you are served by a happiness so vast thatthe greatest sages cant obtain it even in dreams! You arereservoirs of the mercy of the Lord, the husband of thegoddess of fortune, mercy for which His loving devoteesalways pray.

COMMENTARY:Before placing his questions, Gopa-kumra ad-dresses the Goloka-vss in this way because he cannot compre-hend how the hearts of such supremely fortunate devotees couldbe disturbed. The kind of happiness these pure souls know can-not be imagined by sages fixed in the conception of Brahman,for the devotees of Goloka are much greater than liberated sagesand even greater than the servants of the Lord of Vaikuha, who

love Lord Nryaa with pure intent. Though the devotees ofNryaa admire and pray for the same mercy bestowed uponthe Goloka-vss, they never actually obtain it.

TEXT 26

ParMadqNaiMaMa& Xar

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look; kathayata please tell; asya of this; npa the king;viayasya of the region; ka who; gham the residence;

amuya his; kuta where; asya to it; ca and; vartma the road; kim which.

Please, please look with kindness upon this mostwretched person, who has come to you for shelter. Tellme, who is the king of this region? Where is his residence?

Which road leads there?

TEXT 27

>aae >aae" Sak-aku- Pa*C^NTa& DaNYaa" k*-PaYaTaa}a MaaMa( )dta Pa[TYautar& ik-iTSaeTaeNaaiPa Sauv[Taa" ))

bho bho sa-kku pcchantadhany kpayattra mm

datta pratyuttara kicitsaketenpi su-vrat

bho bho dear people; sa-kku in pitiful tones;pcchantam inquiring; dhany O most fortunate persons;kpayata please be merciful; atra here; mm to me;datta please give; pratyuttaram an answer; kicit

some; saketena by a gesture; api even; su-vrat Ofaithful ones.

Dear, dear most fortunate people, please be merciful tome, who am asking you with mournful cries. Please giveme some answer, O faithful devotees, if even only bygesture!

COMMENTARY: Not receiving an answer, Gopa-kumra firstguesses that perhaps these Goloka-vss are nearly deaf. Hetherefore repeats his address more distinctly, saying loudlybhobho(dear people, dear people). He then realizes they are notdeaf but simply paying no attention to him, so he tries to impress

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on them the sincerity of his request. He praises them as dhany(most fortunate) and su-vrat(faithful followers of regula-

tive principles). And if these devotees are following a vow ofsilence, at least they can answer him by hand signals.

TEXT 28

Ahae bTa MahaTaRSYa Xa*aaveNa MaaeihTaa" ))

aho bata mahrtasyautpi vacsi me

nna tasyaiva dhrtasyayya bhvena mohit

aho oh; bata alas; mah very much; rtasya of one

who is tormented; uta please hear; api and; vacsithe words; me my; nnam certainly; tasya for him; eva indeed; dhrtasya the deceiver; yyam you; bhvena by the behavior; mohit bespelled.

Oh, please hear the words of this tormented soul! Alas,you must be under the spell of that clever cheat.

COMMENTARY: Even after Gopa-kumras fervent plea, theGoloka-vss didnt respond. They didnt even look at him. ButGopa-kumra, rather than become angry with them for theirneglect, placed the blame on the enchanting Ka, who, afterall, had deceived Gopa-kumra just as He had them. Ka isindeed the most expert cheat; only He (tasyaiva) could bewilderthem like this, and no one else.

TEXT 29

wTQa& Mauhu" Sak-aTaYa| SaMPa*C^&STaaiNaTaSTaTa" )d*XYaMaaNaaNPaurae >aUTva v[JaSQaaNaaNYavaPanuvMa( ))

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ittha muhu sa-ktaryasampcchas tn itas tata

dyamnn puro bhtvvraja-sthnny avpnuvam

ittham in this manner; muhu repeatedly; sa-ktaryamanxiously; sampcchan asking; tn them; ita tatahere and there; dyamnn whom I saw;pura forward;bhtv going; vraja-sthnni the pasturing grounds;avpnuvam

I reached.

In this way I moved here and there, anxiously questioningeach person I met. And as I made my way forward, I cameto the pasturing grounds of the cowherds.

COMMENTARY:The anxiety Gopa-kumra felt upon His arrivalin Goloka was actually a symptom ofdainya, the transcendental,

unconditional humility that is the most important prerequisite forgaining eternal residence in Goloka.

TEXT 30

PairTaal/Ya&+au" PaurqMaek-a& ivdUrTa" )Ad]a+a& MaaDaurqSaarParqPaake-

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COMMENTARY:The other realms Gopa-kumra had visited inthe material and spiritual worlds were each great in their own

way, but none of them, not even Vaikuha, was as attractiveas this.

TEXT 31

TaTPaaeR cai>aTaae_[aEz& GaaePaqNaa& GaqTaMauTaMa( )dDNaa& MaQaNagaaeza!y& k-aNTa& >aUz

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/CHAPTER SIX294

k-ITaRYaNTa& dNTa& c iNaiv& v*Maek-l/Ma( )

TaSMaaTPa[YacaTauYar[aEz& Gada+araTa( ))GaaeParaJaSYa NaNdSYa TaC^\qk*-Z

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incessantly chanting Ka! Ka! With some skillfuleffort I made him speak, and I heard him say, in a choked

voice, that this town belonged to Nanda, the king of thecowherds, r Kas father. As soon as I heard those

words I fainted, overcome with delight.

COMMENTARY:From this verse we can understand that NandaMahrja was officially the ruler of the district.

TEXT 35

+aaSa*TYaaSYaa NYazqd& GaaePaure Paur" ))

kat tenaiva vddhenacetito ha daylun

dhvann agre bhistysy

nyada gopure pura

kat after a moment; tena by him; eva indeed;vddhena the old man; cetita brought back to conscious-ness; aham I; daylun who was compassionate; dhvan running; agre ahead; abhistya approaching; asyof that; nyadam I sat down; gopure in a gateway;pura

of the town.

After a moment that compassionate old man revived me,and I ran ahead and approached a gateway of the town andsat there in the gate.

TEXT 36

Ad*Ma[uTa& caNYaErSaM>aaVYa& VYal/aek-YaMa( )bhuPa[k-arMaaYa| l/+aXaSTa}a k-aei$=Xa" ))

adam aruta cnyairasambhvya vyalokayam

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/CHAPTER SIX296

bahu-prakram caryalakaas tatra koia

adam unseen; arutam unheard of; ca and; anyai by others; asambhvyam unimaginable; vyalokayam Isaw; bahu-prakram of many kinds; caryam wonders;lakaa by the hundreds of thousands; tatra there;koia and by the tens of millions.

And there I saw, by the hundreds of thousands and tens

of millions, all sorts of wonders, unseen, unheard of,unimaginable by anyone of this world.

COMMENTARY:About the amazing things he saw, Gopa-kumracannot say much to someone like the Mathur brhmaa,who has not seen anything comparable. But being kindly dis-posed toward this disciple,Gopa-kumra will try to help him

understand something.

TEXT 37

iNaeTau& NaaXak&- ik&- Tae ParMaaNaNdiNav*RTaa" )ik&- va du"%>arGa[STaa JaNaa" SaveR iJaaetaMa ))

nicetu naka ki te

paramnanda-nirvtki v dukha-bhara-grast

jan sarve dvijottama

nicetum to determine; naaakam I was not able; kimwhether; te they; parama the highest; nanda bliss;nirvt enjoying; kim v or whether; dukha-bhara

by terrible misery; grast gripped; jan the people;sarve all; dvija-uttama O best ofbrhmaas.

O best of brhmaas, I couldnt discern whether thepeople there were all enjoying the highest bliss or suffer-ing in the grip of terrrible misery.

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TEXT 38

GaaeiPak-aNaa& c YaqTa& [UYaTae raedNaaiNvTaMa( )TataaezSYa Xaucae vaNTYak-aYaeiTa Na buDYaTae ))

gopikn ca yad gtaryate rodannvitam

tat-toasya uco vntya-khayeti na budhyate

gopiknm by the cowherd women; ca and; yat what;gtam was sung; ryate was heard; rodana-anvitamaccompanied by crying; tat that; toasya of satisfaction;uca of lamentation; v or; antya-khay as the ex-treme limit; iti thus; na budhyate was not understood.

I heard the gops songs, coupled with their crying, butwere they songs of the greatest contentment or the greatestsorrow? I couldnt tell.

COMMENTARY:The behavior of the Goloka-vss, arising as theculmination of their wonderful love for Ka, puzzled Gopa-kumra. Such exaltedpremais beyond the understanding of allbut a few most fortunate persons.

TEXTS 3940

Pad& TaTPaXYaTaa MaTYaRl/aeke-_SMaqTYaev MaNYaTae )Yada Tau PaUvRPaUvaRNauSaNDaaNa& i-YaTae bhu ))

Tadai%l/aNaa& l/aek-aNaaMal/aek-aNaaMauPaYaRiPa )TaQaa l/aek-aiTal/aek-aNaa& vTaeRYaeTYavGaMYaTae ))

pada tat payat martya-loke smty eva manyate

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yad tu prva-prvnu-sandhna kriyate bahu

tadkhiln loknmaloknm upary api

tath lokti-loknvarteyety avagamyate

padam abode; tat that; payat observing; martya-loke

in the mortal world; asmi I am; iti thus; eva indeed;manyate he would consider; yad if; tu however;prva-prva on various previous experiences;anusandhnam reflection; kriyate is done; bahu suffi-cient; tad then; akhilnm all; loknm material plan-ets; aloknm nonplanetary regions; upari above; apialso; tath and; loka-ati-loknm transcendental abodes;varteya I am present; iti thus; avagamyate would be

understood.

A person seeing that place might think he was in thematerial world. But by carefully reflecting on whatever hehad seen before, he would understand he was now some-

where above all material planets, all higher nonplanetaryregions, and all the transcendental realms of the spiritual

world.

COMMENTARY:Because Goloka in the spiritual sky and Mathur-maala here on earth are nondifferent, at first Gopa-kumramistook one for the other. Reflecting back on his travels, how-ever, he reconsidered. He had been to Vaikuha, Ayodhy, andDvrak, and where he was now had all the signs of being evenmore exalted. Evidently this place was greater than the fourteenplanetary systems of the material world (loknm), the outercoverings of the material universe (aloknm), and the transcen-dent spiritual realms of Vaikuha (lokti-loknm). His presentlocation, therefore, must be above all other worlds.

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TEXT 41

AQa Ta}aaGaTaaMaek-a& v*a& NaTvaiTak-aku-i>a" )APa*C^& ivhrTYa KvaSaaE [qNaNdNaNdNa" ))

atha tatrgatm ekvddh natvti-kkubhi

apccha viharaty adyakvsau r-nanda-nandana

atha then; tatra there; gatm who came; ekm an;vddhm old lady; natv bowing down to; ati-kkubhi in an extremely plaintive voice; apccham I asked;viharati plays; adya today; kva where; asau He; r-nanda-nandana r Nanda-nandana.

Then an elderly lady came by. I bowed down to her andasked in a plaintive voice where r Nanda-nandana wasplaying today.

COMMENTARY:Gopa-kumra was still sitting inside the gatewayof Nanda Mahrjas cowherd village.

TEXT 42

[qv*aevacPa[aTaivRhTau| GahNa& Pa[ivae

Gaaei>avRYaSYaE MahaGa[JaeNa )Pa[a

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/CHAPTER SIX300

pra-pradt vraja-vsin nasya samysyati so dhunaiva

r-vddh uvca the elderly lady said;prta in the morn-ing; vihartum to play; gahanam the dense forest;

pravia entered; gobhi with His cows; vayasyaiyoung friends; ca and; mah respected; agra-jena withHis elder brother;pra-pradt the bestower of life; vraja-vsinm to the Vraja-vss; na us; syam in the

evening; samysyati will return; sa He; adhun to-day; eva indeed.

The elderly lady said: This morning that giver of life to usVraja-vss went into the dense forest to play, with Hiscows and friends and His respected elder brother. Later, atdusk, He will return.

COMMENTARY:This old gopanticipates that when Ka returnshome (samysyati) He will expertly fulfill the individual expec-tations of each Vraja-vs. And if He doesnt come home ontime, she further implies, we will all die from disappointment.

TEXT 43

iTaiNTa YaiSMaNv]JavaiSaNaae JaNaaNYaSTae+a

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eyes; vartmani on the path; ymune along the Yamun;akhil all; ete these; nag trees; yasya whose; tat

Him; kaa for seeing; unmukh eager; santi are;ucchadai with erect leaves; eyati will come; nanucertainly; anena by this (path); sa He.

All the Vraja-vss are waiting on this path along theYamun, their eyes transfixed on the road. These treesstand with leaves erect, eagerly awaiting the chance to see

Him. Surely He will come along this path.

COMMENTARY: Discussing Kas imminent return has obvi-ously enlivened the elderlygop.

TEXT 44

[qGaaePaku-Maar ovacParMaaMa*TaDaarai>ari>aiz- wva>avMa( )TaYaa Ta& diXaRTa& MaaGaRMaek-d*ya VYal/aek-YaNa( ))

r-gopa-kumra uvcaparammta-dhrbhir

abhiikta ivbhavam

tay ta darita mrgameka-dy vyalokayan

r-gopa-kumra uvca r Gopa-kumra said; parama-amta of most refined nectar; dhrbhi by a downpour;abhiikta anointed; iva as if; abhavam I became; tay by her; tam that; daritam shown; mrgam at thepath; eka-dy with one-pointed attention; vyalokayan Ilooked.

r Gopa-kumra said: As if anointed by a downpour of thepurest nectar, I gazed with one-pointed attention down thepath the old lady had pointed out.

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/CHAPTER SIX302

TEXT 45

ParMaaNaNd>aareaTaae" k-QaNa )YaeNaaGa[e >avNdUre_Xa*

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sweet; rgea by a melody; kalitam enhanced;jagatfrom the entire world; vailakaya by distinction; cita

marked; vividha various; bhag with embellishments;vilasitam decorated; vraja-sthnm of those present in thecowherd village; tem them; sapadi at once; paramasupreme; kara with attractive force; balitam empow-ered.

Mixed with the mooing of cows, it was the supremely at-

tractive murmur of Kas enchanting flute. That sound sweet melodies of sportingly played notes, diverse withmusical embellishments was like nothing ever heardin the material world. Its attractive force at once over-

whelmed everyone in the cowherd village.

COMMENTARY:The first sounds Gopa-kumra heard from Kasflute were sweet but not very clear. Such an indistinct musicalsound is called kala. Then Gopa-kumra began to discern thedifferent notes of the scale, and then coherent melodies like themallra-rga.And then, as the sound came even closer, hecould hear subtle embellishments known as mrchan (chro-matic modulations).Meditating on the sound absorbed Gopa-kumras attention, and indeed that of everyone present.

TEXT 47

YaSMaaTSauSTaivTaiTaTaae dqgaRDaara rSaaNaa&gaaezSQaaNaaMaiPa TaNau>a*Taa& Nae}aTaae_[uPa[vaha" )

TaNMaaTa

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/CHAPTER SIX304

yasmt because of which; sasru there flowed; taru oftrees; vitatita from the rows; drgha long; dhr

downpours; rasnm of the various kinds of sap; ghoa inthe cowherd village; sthnm who were situated; api just;tanu-bhtm of the embodied beings; netrata from theeyes; aru of tears; pravh a mighty current; tat His(Kas); mtm of the mothers; api although;vivayasm elderly; kra with milk; pr filled;stanebhya from the breasts; klindy of the Yamun;

ca and;pracala rapidly moving;payasm from the wa-ter; te it; nyavartanta stopped; veg the forceful cur-rents.

By the power of that sound, sap flowed in a downpourfrom the long rows of trees, a flood of tears fell from theeyes of every embodied being in the village of the cow-herds, a shower of milk rained from the breasts of all of

Kas mothers, even the elderly, and the rapid currentsof the Yamun suddenly stood still.

COMMENTARY:As the living beings in the forest had all enjoyedthe association of Ka during the day, now in the eveningeveryone who lived in the village delighted in seeing Him again.Not only Mother Yaod but many other mothers of Ka,

including His aunts and nurses, responded ecstatically to thesound that promised His return. All the mothers of the cowherdboys and calves had in fact become Kas mothers when Kahad expanded Himself to replace the boys and calves stolen byBrahm.

Normally, nothing can stop the current of r Yamun, butthe sound of Kas flute is no ordinary force.

TEXT 48

Na JaaNae Saa v&XYauiriTa Garl&/ vaMa*TarSa&Na JaaNae Taadae_PYaXaiNaPazae vaMbuMa*dul/" )

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Na JaaNae caTYauZ

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/CHAPTER SIX306

praynti kcid vraja-yoito pariro-rpitlakaraopabhogyak

atha then; anupaymi I saw; ght from the houses;vinist coming out; tadya of Him; nrjana forworshipful greeting; vastu with items; paya in theirhands; praynti go forth; kcit some; vraja-yoitawomen of Vraja; apar others; ira on their heads;arpita held; alakaraa ornaments for decorating;upabhogyak

and food for offering.

Then I saw some women of Vraja come out of their homes,bearing in their hands the things needed to greet Kawith worship. Others who passed by held ornaments andofferings of food on their heads.

COMMENTARY:Some of the ladies carried lamps, flowers, mus-

tard seeds, and other articles for offering ratito Ka. Otherladies carried pots of butter on their heads and carried garlandsand fragrant sandalwood pulp and sweet and spicy yogurt, allmeant for Kas enjoyment.

TEXT 50

ik-i k-aitvNaPae+aMaa

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their frenzy of affection; vighna by the obstacle; kalitweakened; skhalantya stumbling; dhvanti they ran;

tasym in that; dii direction;yatra where; dhenu ofthe cows; hmb-rav the sounds of the mooing; veu ofthe flute; ninda with the vibration; mir mixed.

Other ladies, ignoring everything around them, ran to-ward the mingled sounds of the mooing of the cows andthe song of the flute. In the frenzy of love for Ka, the

ladies stumbled down the path.

COMMENTARY:When these gopsattempted to run forward, noth-ing could interfere but their own eagerness. This was evidence ofhow purely they loved Ka.

TEXT 51

k-aiiPaYaRGDa*Ta>aUzaavMaai[Taa"k-ai >aUMaaE NYaPaTaiNvMaaeihTaa" ))

kcid viparyag-dhta-bha yayukcic ca nv-kaca-bandhankulany ghntas taru-bhvam rit

kcic ca bhmau nyapatan vimohit

kcit some ladies; viparyak in disarray; dhta wearing;bha their ornaments; yayu went; kcit some;ca and; nv their belts; kaca-bandhana and the braid-ing of their hair; kul disordered; any others; gha-anta inside their houses; taru of trees; bhvam thecondition; rit resorted to; kcit some; ca and;bhmau to the ground; nyapatan fell; vimohit un-conscious.

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/CHAPTER SIX308

Some ladies ran with their ornaments in disarray, somecould hardly keep their belts and hair tied, some stayed in

their homes, stunned like trees, and others fell uncon-scious to the ground.

TEXT 52

Maaeh& GaTaa" k-aNa NaqYaMaaNaa

Da*Tva[ul/al/ad]RMau%a" Sa%qi>a" )YaaNTaqTara" Pa[eMa>araku-l/aSTa&

PaXYaETaiMaTYaail/i>aCYaMaaNaa" ))

moha gat kcana nyamndhtvru-llrdra-mukh sakhbhi

ynttar prema-bharkuls ta

payaitam ity libhir ucyamn

mohamgat who fainted; kcana some; nyamnwhile being carried; dhtv being held; aru with tears;lla and saliva; rdra wet; mukh their faces;sakhbhi by girlfriends; ynti went; itar others;

prema-bhara by the force of their love; kul distressed;

tam Him;paya come see; etam this; iti thus; libhi by their friends; ucyamn being told.

Some of the women who had fainted, their faces wet withtears and saliva, were carried forward by their girlfriends.Other ladies, pained by the urges of their love for Ka,

went ahead pressed on by their friends Come see Him!

COMMENTARY:The gopshad no need to specify to one anotherwho the object of their attraction was. They simply referred toKa as tam etam (Him, this person). Without any explicitdescription, they all knew whom they were talking about Ka, the Lord of their life.

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TEXT 53

TadqYaNaaMaeihTaGaaNaTaTParaivic}aveXaaMbrk-aiNTa>aUizTaa" )

rMaaiTaSaaE>aaGYaMadPa[hairk-aJaveNa k*-Za" SaMaNTaai>aDaaRv>YaSar& rYaaTa( ))tato ham api kenpy-

kyama ivgratadhvantbhi samantbhir

dhvann abhyasara rayt

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/CHAPTER SIX310

tata then; aham I; api also; kena api by someone;kyama being pulled; iva as if; agrata forward;

dhvantbhi along with the women who were running;samantbhi on all sides; dhvan running; abhyasaram I went forward; rayt quickly.

I too went forward, as if pulled by someone. Joining thethrong of gops rushing forward on all sides, I too began torun quickly.

COMMENTARY:The young gopscame out of their houses andrushed in groups to the path along the Yamun by whichKa was expected to return. These gopswere more fortunateand more beautiful than even Mah-lakm, the wife of LordNryaa.

TEXT 55AQaaPaXYa& dUraNMaDaurMaurl/IraiJaTak-rae

Javai"Sa*TYaaSaaE Sai%PaXauGa

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friend; iti thus; vadan speaking; eti He approached;lalitam sweetly.

Then from a distance I saw Him, His charming flute inhand. Running quickly, He emerged from among Hisfriends and animals and approached me, saying in a sweet

voice, Look, rdm! Here is My dear friend Sarpa, thesun who shines on the lotus of your family!

COMMENTARY:In texts 55 through 59, Gopa-kumra describeshis first impression upon seeing Ka in Goloka. Because Karecognized Gopa-kumra as His friend Sarpa, Ka left behindthe cowherd boys and the cows and ran forward to greet him.

TEXT 56

Ar

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/CHAPTER SIX312

did His garland of kadamba flowers. His fragrance per-fumed all directions, and His beautiful lotus face blossomed

with a playful smile.

TEXT 57

k*-Paavl/aek-aeSadq+aarEk->aUzardaNaheTauNaa>aUiMaSPa*XaaeNa*RTYaivl/aSaGaaiMaNaae" )

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SauJaaTaYaae" [qPadPaYaaeJaRvad(

oal/NaaeaSa>arEMaRNaaehr" ))dhar-tala-r-bhara-dna-hetun

bhmi-spor ntya-vilsa-gminosujtayo r-pada-padmayor javd

ucclanollsa-bharair manohara

dhar-tala the surface of the earth; r-bhara of supreme

splendor; dna the gift; hetun with the purpose of grant-ing; bhmi the earth; spo which were touching; ntya of dance; vilsa with the play; gmino which weremoving; sujtayo tender; r divine; pada-padmayoof His lotus feet;javt quickly; ucclana for walking withlarge steps; ullsa of eagerness; bharai by the abun-dance; mana-hara stealing the heart.

His tender, divine lotus feet touched the surface of the earthjust to grant her the gift of supreme splendor. Playfullydancing as they moved, they attracted everyones heart

with their great eagerness to walk quickly with large steps.

TEXT 59

kE-XaaerMaaDauYaR>araeSaC^\q=Gaa}aa>a[k-aNTYauJJvil/Taai%l/aXa" )

Ta}aTYaiNaTYaiPa[Yal/aek-icta=Ga[aauTaaNaek-MahtviSaNDau" ))

kaiora-mdhurya-bharollasac-chr-gtrbhra-knty-ujjvalitkhila

tatratya-nitya-priya-loka-citta-grhydbhutneka-mahattva-sindhu

kaiora of youth; mdhurya-bhara with all the sweetness;ullasat shining; r beautiful; gtra of His body; abhra

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/CHAPTER SIX314

like a cloud; knti by the effulgence; ujjvalita madebrilliant; akhila all; a the directions; tatratya living

in that place (Vraja); nitya eternally;priya dear; loka ofthe people; citta the hearts; grhya which captured;adbhuta amazing; aneka countless; mahattva of excel-lences; sindhu an ocean.

The effulgence of His cloud-colored body, shining with thefull sweetness of youth, lit up all corners of the sky. His

beauty, which captured the hearts of the ever-dear devo-tees of Vraja, was an ocean abounding with countlessexcellences.

COMMENTARY:Unable to express much more about the beautyof Kas body, which glowed like a new rain cloud, Gopa-kumra sums up Kas beauty by describing it as an ocean ofexcellences. As an ocean is constant and unfathomably deep, so

are all of Kas personal qualities. In Goloka, Kas beloveddevotees know the value of His beauty and other virtues be-cause the hearts of those devotees are completely attracted toHim, as His heart is to them.

TEXT 60

SvdqNal/aek-iPa[YaTaaiNaYaiN}aTaaebl/adQaaeTuTYa SaMaqPaMaaGaTa" )

Tadq+a

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fully; atha there; utplutya jumping; sampam close by;gata coming; tat Him; kaa from seeing; prema

by love; vimohitam bewildered; hi indeed; mm me;gales by the neck; ghtv seizing; sahas suddenly;apatat He fell; bhuvi on the ground.

He leaped forward and came close to me, compelled by theaffection of His helpless devotee. I fainted in love at seeingHim. He caught hold of me by the neck. And suddenly He

too fell to the ground.

COMMENTARY:Gopa-kumra was already aware, at least theo-retically, that Ka is very affectionate to His helpless devotees,but now he learned that Ka had affection specifically for him.Merely seeing Ka was enough to utterly enchant Gopa-kumra,but this new discovery pushed him toward the limit of ecstasy.

TEXT 61

+a

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/CHAPTER SIX316

A moment later I reawoke and carefully freed my neckfrom His grasp. I stood up and saw Him on the ground, in a

faint. Covered with dust, He was moistening the path withHis tears.

COMMENTARY:Even though Ka was unconscious, He wascrying so profusely that His tears were turning the dust on theroad into mud.

TEXT 62

GaaePYa" SaMaeTYaahurhae bTaaYa&k-ae_}aaGaTaae va ik-iMad& ck-ar )

WTaa& dXaa& Naae_SauGaiTa& iNaNaaYaha ha hTaa" SMaae v[JavaiSal/aek-a" ))

gopya sametyhur aho batyako trgato v kim ida cakra

et da no su-gati ninyah h hat smo vraja-vsi-lok

gopya gops; sametya coming; hu said; aho bataalas; ayam this; ka who; atra here; gata come;

v and; kim what; idam this; cakra has done; etm to this; dam condition; na our; asu of the lives;gatim the goal; ninya has brought; h h oh, oh;hat killed; sma we are; vraja-vsi residing in Vraja;lok the people.

Some gops came and said, Look! Who has come here?What has he done? He has put our life and soul into such astate! Alas! Alas! Just see, people of Vraja now we are alldead!

COMMENTARY:The gopsdidnt know who Gopa-kumra was,other than some stranger dressed as a cowherd boy.

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TEXT 63

k&-SaSYa MaaYaaivvrSYa >a*TYa"k-iivZYaTYaYaMa}a NaUNaMa( )

Wv& ivl/aPa& ivivDa& crNTYaSa(TaMaud]udTYa" Pairvv[uraTaaR" ))

kasasya myvi-varasya bhtyakacid bhaviyaty ayam atra nnam

eva vilpa vividha carantyastam udrudatya parivavrur rt

kasasya of Kasa; myvi the wizard; varasya best;bhtya servant; kacit some; bhaviyati must be; ayam this; atra here; nnam indeed; evam thus; vilpam lamentation; vividham various; carantya carrying on;

tam Him (Ka); udrudatya crying loudly; parivavru they surrounded; rt distressed.

This must be some servant of that great wizard Kasa.Lamenting like this in many ways, the gops cried loudly indistress as they surrounded Ka.

TEXT 64

AQaaSYa Pa*Taae veGaad( GaaePaSaa" SaMaaGaTaa" )d*=a Taad*GavSQa& Ta& du" k-

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/CHAPTER SIX318

condition; tam Him; rurudu they cried; karua pitiful;svarai in tones.

Then, from behind Ka, several groups of cowherdsquickly approached. Seeing Him in such a state, they cried

with pitiful voices.

TEXTS 6566

TaMaa-NdiNa& gaaer& dUraC^\uTva v[JaiSQaTaa" )v*a NaNdadYaae GaaePaa YaXaaeda Pau}avTSal/a ))

JarTYaae_NYaaSTaQaa daSYa" SaveR Ta}a SaMaaGaTaa" )DaavNTa" Pa[S%l/TPaada MauGDaa ha heiTa vaidNa" ))

tam kranda-dhvani ghoradrc chrutv vraja-sthit

vddh nanddayo gopyaod putra-vatsal

jaratyo nys tath dsyasarve tatra samgat

dhvanta praskhalat-pdmugdh h heti vdina

tam that; kranda of crying; dhvanim the sound;ghoram terrible; drt from afar; rutv hearing; vraja-sthit present in Vraja; vddh elder; nanda-dayaNanda and others; gop cowherds; yaod Yaod;

putra-vatsal very affectionate to her son;jaratya elderlyladies; any other; tath also; dsya maidservants;sarve all; tatra there; samgat assembled; dhvanta running; praskhalat stumbling; pd whose feet;mugdh bewildered; hh alas, alas; iti thus; vdina saying.

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From far away in the village, Nanda and the other eldercowherds heard this terrible sound of crying. So too did

Yaod, ever affectionate to her son, and so did the otherelder ladies and the maidservants. Together they all ran tothat place, their feet stumbling on the path. Bewildered,they too cried Alas! Alas!

TEXT 67

TaTaae Gaavae v*za vTSaa" k*-ZaDaaTaaSYaa NadNTa" ehTaae Ma*du )

AaGaTYaaGaTYa iJaga]NTaae il/hNTYaeTa& MauhuMauRhu" ))aru-dhrbhir dhautsy

nadanta snehato mdugatygatya jighranto

lihanty eta muhur muhu

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/CHAPTER SIX320

aru of tears; dhrbhi with floods; dhauta drenched;sy their faces; nadanta crying out; snehata out of

love; mdu gently; gatya gatya approaching one byone;jighranta smelling; lihanti they licked; etam Him;muhumuhu repeatedly.

The animals, all crying out in love, their faces drenchedwith floods of tears, approached Ka one by one andgently smelled and licked Him again and again.

COMMENTARY: The men, women, and animals all spontane-ously reacted so desperately because Ka was the exclusivecenter of their existence.

TEXT 69

%GaaSTaSYaaePaira >a[MaNTaae VYaaeiMNa du"i%Taa" )dNTa wv ku-vRiNTa k-ael/ahl/MaNaek-Xa" ))

khags tasyoparic cabhramanto vyomni dukhit

rudanta iva kurvantikolhalam anekaa

khag birds; tasya uparit above Him; ca and;bhramanta flying; vyomni in the sky; dukhit mis-erable; rudanta crying; iva as if; kurvanti they made;kolhalam a tumultuous noise; anekaa in great numbers.

Great numbers of birds, flying overhead, told also of theirmisery by making a tumultuous noise that sounded likepeople crying.

COMMENTARY:The birds roaming in the sky could not discernexactly what was going on below, but they responded sympa-thetically nonetheless.

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TEXT 70

SQaavraaNTataa" Sa" XauZk-a wva>avNa( )bhuNaaee-Na ik&- SaveR Ma*Taa wv cracra" ))

sthvar cntar uttaptsadya uk ivbhavan

bahunoktena ki sarvemt iva carcar

sthvar the nonmoving creatures; ca also; antawithin themselves; uttapt greatly pained; sadya sud-denly; uk dried up; iva as if; abhavan became;bahun much more; uktena with speaking; kim what isthe use; sarve all; mt dead; iva almost; cara-acar moving and nonmoving beings.

And the immobile creatures, in great pain within, seemedsuddenly to dry up. What more is there to say? All beings,moving and nonmoving, were on the verge of death.

TEXT 71

Ah& MahaXaaek-SaMaud]MaGan"Svk*-TYaMaU!" ParMaaiTaRMaa" )

iNaDaaYa TaTPaadYauGa& SvMaSTaedNPa[v*taae bhuDaa ivl/aPae ))

aha mah-oka-samudra-magnasva-ktya-mha paramrtim pta

nidhya tat-pda-yuga sva-masterudan pravtto bahudh vilpe

aham I; mah vast; oka of sorrow; samudra in anocean; magna drowning; sva by me; ktya about what

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/CHAPTER SIX322

should be done; mha bewildered; parama most se-vere; rtim torment; pta experiencing; nidhya plac-

ing; tat His; pda-yugam two feet; sva-maste on myhead; rudan sobbing;pravtta began; bahudh in vari-ous ways; vilpe lamenting.

As for me, I was drowning in a vast ocean of sorrow.Confused about what to do, severely tormented, I putKas feet on my head and began profusely sobbing and

lamenting.

COMMENTARY:When he put Kas feet on his head, he couldsee how beautiful, soft, and attractive they were.

TEXT 72

ivdUrvTas bl/>ad]devae_NauJaaePaMaak-LPavYaae_i>araMa" )Naql/aMbral/&k*==TaGaaErk-aiNTaSa(

TaTa" SaMaaYaaTSa>aYa& SaveGaMa( ))

vidra-vart balabhadra-devonujopamkalpa-vayo-bhirma

nlmbarlakta-gaura-kntistata samyt sa-bhaya sa-vegam

vidra far away; vart located; balabhadra-deva LordBalabhadra; anuja His younger brother; upama like;kalpa by whose dress; vaya and age; abhirmacharming; nla blue; ambara with a garment; alaktaadorned; gaura-knti white-complexioned; tata then;samyt approached; sa-bhayam fearful; sa-vegamquickly.

Then Lord Balabhadra, Kas older brother, quickly ar-rived from some distance away, full of fear. White-com-

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plexioned and arrayed in blue garments, He appearedcharming, for He was the same age as Ka and as nicely

dressed.

COMMENTARY:Unable to keep up with Ka when Ka hadrun to meet Gopa-kumra, Balarma had fallen behind with theother cowherd boys. But now He anxiously hurried forward,concerned for Kas safety. Gopa-kumra saw that Balarmawas of the same kioraage as Nanda-nandana, but differed fromHim in being white like the fibers in a lotus stem and beingdressed in blue.

TEXT 73

ivXaardeNd]" PairTaae ivl/aeKYadN+aYaaRMaNauJaSYa k-

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/CHAPTER SIX324

COMMENTARY:At first Balarma cried in distress to see Ka insuch a condition. But He quickly gathered His wits and looked

all around to find out what had made Ka faint.

TEXT 74

SaMMaaJaRYaaMaaSa MadqYaPaaiaUTal/aTa( ))

sammrjaym sa madya-pinrmat-tad-agni tath tam uccakai

hvyaym sa vicitra-kkubhiprotthpaym sa mayaiva bh-talt

sammrjaym sa He caused to be wiped; madya my;pin with the hand; rmat beautiful; tat His (Ka's);agni limbs; tath and; tam to Him; uccakai in aloud voice; hvyaym sa made me call; vicitra various;kkubhi with plaintive cries;protthpaym sa He causedto be lifted; may by me; eva only; bh-talt from theground.

He wiped Kas beautiful limbs clean with my hand andmade me loudly call out to Him with many plaintive cries.

Then He made me lift Ka up from the ground.

TEXT 75

Saae_[uDaaraPairMauid]Tae Tae[qNae}aPae odMaql/YaTSa" )

Maa& vq+Ya hzaRTPairr>Ya cuMbNa(l/aMaGaC^=TPairTaae_vl/aeKYa ))

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sadyo ru-dhr-parimudrite ter-netra-padme udamlayat sa

m vkya hart parirabhya cumbanlajjm agacchat parito valokya

sadya suddenly; aru-dhr by a flood of tears;parimudrite which were sealed; te the two; r beauti-ful; netra-padme lotus eyes; udamlayat opened; saHe (Ka); mm me; vkya seeing; hart joyfully;

parirabhya He embraced;

cumban kissing;

lajjm em-barrassment; agacchat He obtained; parita all around;

avalokya looking.

Suddenly Ka opened His eyes, sealed till then by a floodof tears. Seeing me, He joyfully embraced and kissed me.But then He looked around and became embarrassed.

COMMENTARY: Ka had become helplessly bewildered bylove for His friend, and He was embarrassed by the thought thatfrom His tearful reaction to Gopa-kumras arrival everyonecould see this.

TEXT 76

icrad*Pa[aauvr" )

ivic}a& SaMPa[n& ivdDadi%l/a&STaaNv[JaJaNaaNa(SaMaaNaN [qMaaNaivXaid>aGaaMaq v[JavrMa( ))

cirda-pra-priya-sakham ivvpya sa tu mkare dhtv vma-sva-kara-kamalena prabhu-vara

vicitra samprana vidadhad akhils tn vraja-jannsamnandya rmn aviad ibha-gm vraja-varam

cira for a long time; ada not seen; pra-priya asdear as His own life; sakham a friend; iva as if; avpya

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/CHAPTER SIX326

obtaining; sa He; tu and; mm me; kare by thehand; dhtv taking; vma left-side; sva-kara-kamalena

by His lotus hand; prabhu-vara the best of Lords;vicitram various; sampranam questions; vidadhat pre-senting; akhiln all; tn them; vraja-jann the peopleof Vraja; samnandya greeting; rmn the blessed Lord;aviat entered; ibha-gm with the gait of an elephant;vraja the cowherd village; varam best.

That best of Lords took my hand in His own His own leftlotus hand and received me as a long-lost bosom friend.He asked me various questions. Then He greeted all thepeople of Vraja and entered the best of cowherd villages

with the gait of an elephant.

COMMENTARY:Kas closest friends are as dear to Him as lifeitself. Holding Gopa-kumras hand, Ka welcomed him with

such questions as Dear friend, are you healthy and happy?

TEXT 77

vNYaa Ma*GaaSTaSYa ivYaaeGadqNaaGaNTau& ivNaa Ta& ih ku-Taae_PYaXa-a" )

Pa[aTa>aRivZYaTPa[>audXaRNaaXaaSa(TaSQauv[RJaair iNaXaa& NaYaNTa" ))

vany mgs tasya viyoga-dngantu vin ta hi kuto py aakt

prtar-bhaviyat-prabhu-daranstasthur vraja-dvri ni nayanta

vany of the forest; mg the animals; tasya fromHim; viyoga because of separation; dn miserable;gantum to go; vin without; tam Him; hi indeed;kuta api anywhere; aakt unable; prta in themorning; bhaviyat upcoming;prabhu of the Lord; darana

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for the seeing; whose hope; tasthu they stood;vraja of the cowherd village; dvri at the entrance; nim

the night; nayanta spending.

The forest animals were miserable because now they hadto part from Him. Unable to go anywhere without Him,they simply stood at the entrance of the village, ready tospend the entire night there in the hope of seeing theirLord again the next morning.

TEXT 78

oqYaaeqYa PaXYaNTaae ivhGaaSTa& v[JaaNTare )ra}aavd=*a -aeXaNTaae dNTa wv iNaYaRYau" ))

uyoya payantovihags ta vrajntare

rtrv adv kroantorudanta iva niryayu

uya uya flying high in various directions;payantawatching; vihag the birds; tam Him; vraja-antare inthe cowherd village; rtrau at night; adv not seeing;kroanta making loud noises; rudanta crying; iva

like; niryayu they flew away.

The birds flew here and there high over the village towatch Him, but when night came and they could no longersee Him they cried out as if weeping and flew away.

COMMENTARY:All the creatures in Goloka, including the junglebeasts and the birds, are fixed in unalloyed devotion to Ka.

TEXT 79

GaaedaehNaaNaNTarMaaGa[he

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/CHAPTER SIX328

SaM>aal/Na& SaaDau GavaMak*-Tva

TaaE >a[aTaraE JaGMaTauraTMaGaehMa( ))go-dohannantaram grahea

nandasya putra-praaykulasyasambhlana sdhu gavm aktv

tau bhrtarau jagmatur tma-geham

go of the cows; dohana the milking; anantaram after;

grahea on the insistence; nandasya of Nanda;putrafor his sons; praaya with affection; kulasya who wasfeeling anxious; sambhlanam attention; sdhu properly;gavm to the cows; aktv without giving; tau the two;bhrtarau brothers;jagmatu went; tma Their; geham to the home.

At the insistence of Nanda Mahrja, who was anxious with

love for his sons, just after milking the cows the two broth-ers went to Their home. They went home at once, not evengiving the cowsproper attention.

COMMENTARY:Nanda Mahrja anxiously told Ka, My boy,You must be tired from so much wandering in the forest. Gohome with Your elder brother and take Your bath. I will look

after the cows. Please dont delay any longer or Your mother willbe unhappy and scold me. Please cooperate and go right now.

TEXT 80

ehuvTSTaNYad*Ga[uDaarYaaDaaETaaMbra&GYaa TvrYaa YaXaaedYaa )

>aUTva Paurae_k-air Saraeih

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bhtv puro kri sa-rohikaypraty-aga-nrjanam etayor muhu

sneha due to love; snuvat flowing; stanya milk; dkfrom her eyes; aru of tears; dhray with a flood; dhauta washed; ambara her clothing; agy and body; tvaray quickly;yaoday Yaod; bhtv coming;pura infront; akri did; sa-rohikay along with Rohi; prati-aga of all the limbs; nrjanam worship by offering of

lamps; etayo of the two of Them; muhu repeatedly.

Mother Yaod quickly came to meet the boys, her cloth-ing and body wet with the milk flowing from her breastsand the tears that flooded from her eyes in love. Together

with Rohi, she offered lamps to both brothers, worship-ing each limb of Their bodies again and again.

COMMENTARY:The mothers of the two boys worshiped Themby offering ratito all the parts of Their bodies.

TEXT 81

NaqraJaYaNTYaaTMaiXaraehE" SauTa&

Saail/iTa eh>are

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/CHAPTER SIX330

decide; rakiyati will keep; ri on her head; kim or;nije her own; vaka-antare on the breast; v or;

jahara-antare in the womb; v or.

Yaod performed rati to her son Ka by caressingHim with her own hair, and affectionately embraced andkissed Him. She couldnt decide whether she ought to keepHim on her head, at her breast, or within her womb to pro-tect Him.

TEXT 82

Ta}aEv NaqTa& Pa[ar& SauTaSYa TaMa( ))

tatraiva nta praaykulena mtena svaya krita-mt-vandanam

s llaym sa mud sva-putra-vaddv mayi prema-bhara sutasya tam

tatra there; eva just; ntam brought;praaya by love;kulena who was anxious; mm me; tena svayam by

Himself; krita made to do; mt to His mother;vandanam offering of respects; s she; llaym sa ca-ressed; mud happily; sva own; putra-vat just like ason; dv seeing; mayi for me;prema of love; bharam the abundance; sutasya of her son; tam that.

Ka, anxious with love for me, brought me there outside

His home and had me offer respects to her. And MotherYaod, seeing the great love Ka had for me, happilycaressed me as though I were her own son.

COMMENTARY: Inspired by Kas obvious love for Gopa-kumra, Yaod also took Gopa-kumra on her lap and embraced

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him. She had seen how enthusiastically Ka had greeted himwhen he and Ka had first met on the road.

TEXT 83

TaavdaGaTYa iMail/Taa YauGaPata}a GaaeiPak-a" )k-aiyaJaeNa ke-NaaiPa k-aiTSavaRNaPae+aYaa ))

tvad gatya milityugapat tatra gopik

kcid vyjena kenpikcit sarvnapekay

tvat then; gatya coming; milit met; yugapat allat once; tatra there; gopik the gops; kcit some;vyjena by an excuse; kena api some; kcit some;

sarva everyone; anapekay disregarding.

Then the gops all arrived there at once. Some had madeexcuses for coming, and others had paid no regard to whatanyone thought.

COMMENTARY:The gopswere beyond concern for public opin-ion and ordinary religious principles.

TEXTS 8485

MaaTa*>Yaa& aPaNaarM>a& a>Yaa& >a[a}aaeRYaae" k*-TaMa( )Aal/+Ya >aGavaNaah bvqriTal/MPa$=" ))

MaaTaraE >a[aTaravava& +auDaaTaa SvSTadaedNaMa( )iNaZPaa >aaeJaYaeQaa& NaaE TaaTaMaaNaaYYa SaTvrMa( ))

mtbhy snpanrambhadvbhy bhrtror dvayo ktam

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lakya bhagavn haballav-rati-lampaa

mtarau bhrtarv vkudhrtau svas tad odanam

nipdya bhojayeth nauttam nyya satvaram

mtbhym by the mothers; snpana of bathing;rambham the commencement; dvbhym by the two;bhrtro of the brothers; dvayo two; ktam done;lakya seeing; bhagavn the Lord; ha said; ballavwith the cowherd girls; rati for intimate enjoyment; lampaa eager; mtarau O mothers; bhrtarau the two broth-ers; vm We; kudh by hunger; rtau distressed;sva are; tat therefore; odanam rice; nipdya pre-paring; bhojayethm please feed; nau Our; ttam fa-

ther; nyya bringing; satvaram quickly.

Mother Yaod and Mother Rohi got ready to batheKa and His brother. But when Lord Ka saw this, be-ing eager to enjoy with the cowherd girls, He said, Dearmothers, We brothers are very hungry. So please makesome rice, send for Our father, and feed Us right away.

TEXT 86

TaC^\uTvahu" iPa[Ya& GaaePYa" [qYaXaaede v[Jaeir )deiv raeihi

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vari Queen of Vraja; devi divine; rohii O Rohi;kartavyt from the work; asmt this; viramatm please

desist;yuvm you.

Upon hearing those words, the gops said affectionately:r Yaod, Queen of Vraja, and dear Rohi-dev, please setthis work of bathing aside.

COMMENTARY:The gopswere happy to hear Kas requestbecause it gave them an excuse for sending away MotherYaod, Rohi, and Balarma.

TEXT 87

Xaqga]& >aaeJaNaSaaMaGa[q=& SaMPaadYaTaMaeTaYaae" )vYaMaev Sau%& SaMYaKaPaYaeMaaicraidMaaE ))

ghra bhojana-smagrsampdayatam etayo

vayam eva sukha samyaksnpayemcird imau

ghram quickly; bhojana for feeding; smagrm theitems; sampdayatam please prepare; etayo of these two;

vayam we; eva only; sukham happily; samyak prop-erly; snpayema will bathe; acirt without delay; imauThem.

Please quickly prepare everything to feed these two boys.We shall gladly give Them a proper bath without delay.

TEXT 88

[qYaXaaedaevacPa[QaMa& TvrYaa JYae" aPaiYaTva Pa[hqYaTaaMa( )NaNdSYaaNaYaNaaYaa}a >aaeJaNaaQaaRYa bail/k-a" ))

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/CHAPTER SIX334

r-yaodovcaprathama tvaray jyeha

snpayitv prahyatmnandasynayanytra

bhojanrthya blik

r-yaod uvca r Yaod said; prathamam first;tvaray quickly; jyeha the elder boy; snpayitvhaving bathed;prahyatm send Him; nandasya of Nanda;nayanya

for bringing;atra here; bhojana-arthya

for the meal; blik O girls.

r Yaod said: Dear girls, first quickly bathe the olderboy. Then send Him to fetch Nanda for the meal.

COMMENTARY: Unsuspecting, Yaod addressed the gops asblik, innocent girls.

TEXT 89

[qSaPa ovacPa[XaSYa Tacae & raMa& Taa" k-iTaicd( d]uTaMa( )AaaVYa Pa[ezYaaMaaSauSTaYaaeGaeRh& Pa[ivYaae" ))

r-sarpa uvcapraasya tad-vaco hdya

rma t katicid drutamplvya preaym sus

tayor geha praviayo

r-sarpauvca r Sarpa said; praasya praising; tat-vaca her words; hdyam welcome; rmam Balarma;t they; katicit some; drutam quickly; plvyabathing;preaymsu dispatched; tayo the two of them(Yaod and Rohi); geham the house;praviayo whilethey entered.

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r Sarpa said: Welcoming and praising Yaods words,several of the gops quickly bathed Balarma and sent Him

off. Meanwhile, the two mothers went into the house.

COMMENTARY:Gopa-kumra has now assumed his original iden-tity as Kas friend Sarpa. From now on he will be referred toby that name.

In the presence of Kas elder brother, the gopswere shy.They were not able to relax and enjoy His company as they did

Kas. Therefore they were glad to see Balarma and the twomothers go as soon as possible.

TEXT 90

[qk*-Z

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/CHAPTER SIX336

nary wiping either with cloths they had brought from theirhomes or with their own shawls.

TEXT 91

v&Xaq=& SaPaqiMav YaaCYaMaaNaa&Taai>a" k-raBJaa iJaga*+YaMaaa&GYaa Sa Tau Maa& Pa[baeDYaic+aePa dUraNMaMa Mau-hSTae ))

va sapatnm iva ycyamntbhi karbjc ca jighkyamm

saketa-bhagy sa tu m prabodhyacikepa drn mama mukta-haste

vam the flute; sapatnm a rival consort; iva as if;ycyamnm being asked for; tbhi by them; kara-abjt from the lotus hand; ca and; jighkyammwhich they wanted to take; saketa-bhagy with the sign ofa gesture; sa He; tu and; mm to me; prabodhyaalerting; cikepa threw; drt at a distance; mama my;mukta open; haste into the hand.

But when they asked for His flute, who was like their rivalconsort, and tried to snatch it from His lotus hand, Kamade a sign to alert me and threw it from a distance intomy open palm.

COMMENTARY:The gopswere removing Kas ornaments oneafter another, but He didnt want the girls to take His flute. Thegirls, seeing the flute as a competitor for the nectar of His lips,had some ill feelings toward it and might dispose of it. As it was,several of the girls were greedily demanding, Give it to me! No,give it to me! and were threatening to rip it away by force.Therefore Ka wrinkled His eyebrows to signal Sarpa, who

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was standing some distance behind Him, and swiftly threw itinto Sarpas outstretched hand.

TEXT 92

A>YaJYaaetaMaTaElE/STaa" k-TauRMauTaRNa& XaNaE" )Aarei>are SvhSTaaBJak-aeMal/SPaXaRPaa$=vE" ))

abhyajyottama-tailais t

kartum udvartana anairebhire sva-hastbja-

komala-spara-pavai

abhyajya smearing; uttama fine; tailai with oils;t they (the gops); kartum to do; udvartanam re-moval of the excess oil; anai slowly; rebhire began;

sva their own; hasta-abja with the lotus hands; komalasoft; spara in touching;pavai which were expert.

The gops smeared fine oils on Ka and slowly removedthe excess with their soft lotus hands, expert in touch.

TEXT 93

TaQaaiPa SaaEku-MaaYaaRa l/Il/ak-aETauk-Taae_iPa va )Sa k-raeTYaaiTaRSaqTk-ar& SaMa& [qMau%>aii>a" ))

tathpi saukumryd vll-kautukato pi v

sa karoty rti-stkrasama r-mukha-bhagibhi

tath api nonetheless; saukumryt because of His ten-derness; v or; ll playful; kautukata out of naughti-ness; api v or else; sa He; karoti made; rti ofpain; st-kram a sound made by suddenly drawing in ones

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/CHAPTER SIX338

breath; samam along with; r beautiful; mukha of Hisface; bhagibhi with distortions.

Yet Ka, either because His body was so tender or elsesimply out of playful naughtiness, suddenly drew in His

breath, making a sound of pain, and distorted His beautifulface.

TEXT 94

Pau}aEk-Pa[aaSTau SaiSMaTa}aaSa& GaqTaEiNaRZPaaTae_SYa TaTa( ))

sutasya sa-smita vaktravkytho viyate gham

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tbhis tu sa-smita-trsagtair nipdyate sya tat

sutasya of the son; sa-smitam smiling; vaktram face;vkya seeing; atha u then; viyate was entered; gham the house; tbhi by them; tu but; sa-smita withlaughter; trsam and fear; gtai with singing; nipdyate was finished; asya His; tat that.

But when she saw her sons smiling face she went backinto the house. And the gops, laughing yet afraid, startedto sing as they finished Kas massage.

COMMENTARY:The gopswere amused by Kas false show ofpain and frightened by Mother Yaods rebuke. They startedsinging not only because He was very fond of songs but alsobecause they wanted to prevent Mother Yaod from hearing

any further outcries.

TEXT 96

AQa k-aeZaga$=I>a*TaE" ))

atha koai su-vsais taymunair nirmalair jalai

sa-lla snpaym sratna-kumbha-gha-bhtai

atha next; ka-uai warm; su-vsai fragrant; tamHim;ymunai of the Yamun; nirmalai clear;jalaiwith water; sa-llam playfully; snpaym su they bathed;ratna-kumbha in jewel-studded vessels; gha and smallclay pots; bhtai which was carried.

Next they playfully bathed Him with warm, clear, fragrant

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water, carried from the Yamun in jewel-studded vesselsand small clay pots.

COMMENTARY:Careful to make Kas bath water just slightlywarm, not hot, the gopsused the freshest, most fragrant waterthey could find, namely water from the river Yamun.

TEXT 97

NaqTaE" SvSvGa*haNMaal/ale/PaNaaMbr>aUz

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bhogya ca nibhta kicidbhojayitvokta-vastubhi

muhur nrjana ktvdadhus tni sva-mrdhasu

bhogyam food; ca and; nibhtam secretly; kicitsome; bhojayitv feeding; ukta prescribed; vastubhiwith items; muhu again and again; nrjanam worship;ktv doing; dadhu they placed; tni those items; sva-mrdhasu on their own heads.

They stealthily fed Him something, worshiped Him againand again with prescribed items, and then placed thoseitems on their heads.

COMMENTARY:The gopsstealthily fed Ka butter and othernice food. They wanted to keep these dealings confidential, andthey specifically wanted to keep Yaod from finding out andbecoming angry that Ka was being fed between meals andmight therefore get indigestion. After feeding Him, the gopsworshiped Him with standard paraphernalia, such as camphorlamps and mustard seeds.

TEXT 99

idVYacNdNak-aXMaqrk-STaurqPaMaud]Yaa )Gal/>aal/k-Paael/adaE ic}aYaaMaaSauruTaMa( ))

divya-candana-kmra-kastur-paka-mudray

gala-bhla-kapoldaucitraym sur adbhutam

divya first-class; candana of sandal paste; kmra saf-fron; kastur musk; paka and clay; mudray withmarks; gala His throat; bhla forehead; kapola cheeks;dau and so on; citraym su they decorated; adbhutam wonderfully.

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/CHAPTER SIX342

They decorated His throat, His forehead, His cheeks, andso on with wonderful designs made with first-class pastes

of sandal, saffron, and musk.

TEXT 100

Sa>aav& vq+YaMaaYa YaTa" )Pa[v*taa Nae}ak-Male/ TaSYaaeJJvl/iYaTau& Mauda ))

sa-bhva vkyams thasta sastabhya yatnata

pravtt netra-kamaletasyojjvalayitu mud

sa-bhvam with love; vkyam being looked at; t they; hastam their hands; sastabhya keeping steady;yatnata with endeavor;pravtt they became engaged;

netra-kamale the lotus eyes; tasya His; ujjvalayitum tomake brilliant; mud with pleasure.

While He lovingly gazed at the gops, they tried hard tokeep their hands steady, as with pleasure they set aboutdaubing collyrium on His lotus eyes to make them shine.

COMMENTARY

:Because Kas loving glance made the gopsecstatic, their hands began to tremble, and they had difficultyapplying Kas kajjalaneatly.

TEXT 101

vNYa-I@aSau%& k*-ZaUirXaSTaaSau >aazTae )

ivic}aai

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vanya in the forest; kr of sporting; sukham about thepleasure; ka Ka; bhria freely; tsu with them;

bhate spoke; vicitri various; ca and; narmijokes; kcit a certain; ca and; tanute expanded; ratim conjugal attraction.

Ka spoke freely with them about how He enjoyed sport-ing in the forest. And by joking with them in variouscharming ways, He inspired their special conjugal love.

COMMENTARY:In this situation Ka took the liberty to touchsome of the gopson their breasts.

TEXT 102

WvMaNYaaeNYaSaaEhadR>arPa[k-$=NaeNa ih )

veXa" SaMaai& NaaYaaiTa l/aePYaMaaNaSTaQaa Mauhu" ))evam anyonya-sauhrda-

bhara-prakaanena hivea sampti nyti

lopyamnas tath muhu

evam thus; anyonya mutual; sauhrda of loving ex-

changes; bhara of the multitude;prakaanena while mani-festing; hi indeed; vea the decoration; samptim tocompletion; na yti did not reach; lopyamna beingerased; tath also; muhu again.

In the midst of all these loving exchanges, the decorationnever quite got finished. The gops had to keep erasingtheir attempts and trying again and again.

COMMENTARY:These distractions made it difficult for the gopsto finish the final touches of putting tilakaon Kas forehead,painting His hands, and so on. Several times they decided, Thishasnt been done right. Erase it and do it again.

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TEXT 103

>aUYaae >aUYaae YaXaaeda c Pau}aehaTauraNTara )bihiNaRGaRTYa PaXYaNTaq vdTYaev& zev Taa" ))

bhyo bhyo yaod caputra-snehturntar

bahir nirgatya payantvadaty eva rueva t

bhya bhya several times; yaod Yaod; ca and;putra for her son; sneha by affection; tura disturbed;ntar her heart; bahi outside; nirgatya coming;

payant seeing; vadati spoke; evam thus; ru inanger; iva as if; t to them.

Mother Yaod, her heart perturbed by affection for her

son, came outside several times to see what was going onand spoke to the girls as if angry.

COMMENTARY:Mother Yaod was only apparently angry (ruiva). She could never actually harbor any ill feelings towards theyoung gops.

TEXT 104

[qYaXaaedaevacl/ael/Pa[k*-TaYaae baLYaadhae GaaePaku-Maairk-a" )aNaal/r

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aho O; gopa of the cowherds; kumrik youngdaughters; snna the bathing; alakaraam and decorat-

ing; na not; asya His; adhun now; api even;samapadyata has been finished.

r Yaod said: O daughters of the cowherds, you are justunreliable children. Havent you finished bathing anddecorating Him yet?

COMMENTARY:Having known these girls from the beginning oftheir lives, Yaod was very familiar with their behavior. Theycouldnt carry out such a simple task in a reasonable time, andthis proved her judgment of them.

TEXT 105

[qSaPa ovacTaaSaa& iNarq+aMaaaPa[eTYa Saab]vqTa( ))

r-sarpa uvcats nirkamn

parita sva-priya muhuparihsotsuka citta

vddhbhipretya sbravt

r-sarpa uvca r Sarpa said; tsm as they (thegops); nirkamnm looked on; parita on all sides;sva-priyam at their belowed; muhu continuously;

parihsa for humorous conversation; utsukam eager;cittam His mind; vddh an elderly lady; abhipretya no-

ticing; s she; abravt spoke.r Sarpa said: As the gops stood around their belovedKa, glancing at Him again and again, one elderly ladynoticed that Ka seemed eager for some joking words.She therefore spoke up.

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TEXT 106

Are Paui}a YaXaaede_}a hzaRdeTYa iNarq+YaTaaMa( )>avTYaa" XYaaMal&/ Pau}a& iNaNYau" SauNdrTaaiMaMaa" ))

are putri yaode trahard etya nirkyatm

bhavaty ymala putraninyu sundaratm im

areputri O daughter;yaode Yaod; atra here; hart happily; etya coming; nirkyatm should be seen;bhavaty your; ymalam dark-blue; putram son;ninyu they have brought; sundaratm to a beautifulstate; im these girls.

My goodness, come here, my daughter Yaod! You will

be happy to see this! These girls have made your dark-blueson very handsome.

TEXT 107

SvDaa}Yaa vaKYaMaak-aUTvai>aPa[eTYa TaMaR SaraeziMav Saab]vqTa( ))

sva-dhtry vkyam karyamukhary punar bahi

bhtvbhipretya tan-narmasa-roam iva sbravt

sva-dhtry of her nurse; vkyam the words; karyahearing; mukhary of Mukhar;puna again; bahioutside; bhtv coming; abhipretya understanding; tather; narma joking; sa-roam angrily; iva as if; s she(Yaod); abravt said.

Hearing these joking words from the elderly lady (her

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nurse Mukhar), Yaod again came outside. And whenshe understood the joke, she spoke out as if angry.

TEXT 108

[qYaXaaedaevacSahJaaXaezSaaENdYaRNaqraiJaTaPadaMbuJa" )JaGaNMaUiDNaR NarqNaiTaR MadqYaXYaaMaSauNdr" ))

r-yaodovcasahajea-saundarya-

nrjita-padmbujajagan-mrdhni narnarti

madya-ymasundara

r-yaod uvca r Yaod said; sahaja natural; aeaby all; saundarya beauty; nrjita-pada-ambuja Hewhose lotus feet are worshiped; jagat of the universe;mrdhni on the head; narnarti dances with abandon;madya my; yma-sundara dark and beautiful Ka.

r Yaod declared: All kinds of natural beauty worshipthe lotus feet of my ymasundara, who dances with aban-don on the head of the universe.

COMMENTARY:There may be many beautiful boys in the world,but in the eyes of Mother Yaod her son excels all of them. Afterall, He is not onlysundarabut also yma; in other words, Hisdark complexion makes His beauty unique.

TEXT 109

WTaTPaadNa%aGa[Ek-SaaENdYaRSYaaiPa NaahRiTa )SaaENdYaR>aar" SavaRSaaMaaSaa& NaqraJaNa& Da]uvMa( ))

etat-pda-nakhgraika-saundaryasypi nrhati

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saundarya-bhra sarvsms nrjana dhruvam

etat His; pda-nakha of a toenail; agra of an end;eka one; saundaryasya of the beauty; api even; naarhati does not deserve; saundarya-bhra the combinedbeauty; sarvsm of all; sm of them; nrjanam wor-ship; dhruvam certainly.

For sure, the beauty of all these gops combined deservesnot even a show of respect from the beauty of even the tipof one of His toenails.

COMMENTARY:Someone might argue with Yaod that althoughno ones beauty approaches Kas, r Rdh and Her gopcom-panions are exceptions; after all, they are the most beautiful be-ings in creation. But Yaod says no, not even their beauty dares

stand in comparison with His. Whatever little beauty they mayhave is of no use, since they are not meant to become His wives.

TEXT 110

[qSaPa ovacTaTSaaENdYa| Saa c l/av

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ion; lakm the splendor; tat that; mdhuryam sweet-ness; tasya His; kim whether; varitam syt can be de-

scribed; dravyai with things;yogy suitable; laukikaibelonging to this world; na not; upam comparison;syt there can be; kim v or else; anyena with anyoneelse; dvrak-indrea with the Lord of Dvrak; na not;api even.

r Sarpa said: Is it possible to describe His beauty, the

splendor of His effulgent complexion, or His charmingsweetness? With that sweetness no things in this world cancompare, nor can even the sweetness of God Himself inother forms, not even as the Lord of Dvrak.

COMMENTARY:In His unique bodily luster, in the sublime pro-portion and symmetry of all His limbs, and in the overall splen-dor and charm of His form, Kas beauty is amazing. Attemptsto compare His eyes and other features to beautiful things suchas lotuses do little justice to His beauty. In fact, it is useless tocompare Kas beauty even to that of r Viu and other formsof Godhead, who imitate the ways of the material world, or evento that of r Nryaa, or the Lord of Ayodhy, or r YadunthaKa of Dvrak.

TEXT 111

k*-Z

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/CHAPTER SIX350

ka Ka; yath as; ngara of romantic heroes;ekhara-agrya the most superb; rdh Rdh; tath

so; ngarik of heroines; vara-agry the most superb;rdh Radh; yath as; ngarik of heroines; vara-agry the most superb; ka Ka; tath so; ngara of heroes; ekhara-agrya the most superb.

As Ka of all romantic heroes is the most superb, soRdh of all romantic heroines. And as Rdh of all hero-ines is the most superb, so Ka of all heroes.

COMMENTARY:The only beauty than can truly compare withKas is the equal beauty of rmat Rdhr. The two loversare comparable only with one another.

TEXT 112

aTvaGaTa& GaaeParaJa& bl/raMae

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TEXT 113

NaNdae >aaeJaNaXaal/aYaaMaaSaqNa" k-Nak-aSaNae )>aaeJaNa& k-TauRMaare>ae TaQaa TaaE TaSYa PaaRYaae" ))

nando bhojana-lymsna kanaksane

bhojana kartum rebhetath tau tasya prvayo

nanda Nanda Mahrja; bhojana-lym in the dininghall; sna seated; kanaka golden; sane on his seat;bhojanam the meal; kartum to take; rebhe started;tath also; tau the two (Ka and Balarma); tasya his;

prvayo at the sides.

Nanda sat down on his golden seat in the dining hall and

began to have his meal, with the two brothers at his sides.

COMMENTARY:Ka and Balarma also had golden seats.

TEXT 114

YaXaaedaNaNdNaae vaMae di+a

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Yaods darling child sat on his left, the son of Rohi onhis right. And at the strong insistence of these brothers, I

sat directly opposite, in my own place.

COMMENTARY:For the oldest son to sit on his fathers right isstandard etiquette. And this also made it easier for Nanda Mah-rja to feed Ka with his own hand. The two brothers asked forSarpa to sit just opposite them and Nanda. Though Sarpa wasserved separately, Nanda shared his own food with his two sons.This was acceptable for him to do with two boys who had notyet received the sacred-thread initiation.

TEXTS 115116

[qraeih

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purandaram the emperor; sarva all; sat-gua withgood qualities; sampannam endowed; annam food;

bhukte (Ka) ate; catu-vidham of four kinds (to bechewed, licked, sucked, and drunk).

From inside the house r Rohi sent the emperor ofmeals, arranged in many jewel-bedecked vessels of goldand silver. Mother Yaod with great affection served thefood, of all four kinds and endowed with all good qualities,

and Ka began to eat.

COMMENTARY:Since r Ka was the star attraction at lunch,Sarpa gives particular attention to how Ka was fed. MotherRohi arranged the meal artistically on excellent serving dishesand sent it out to the dining hall. The food displayed all admirablequalities good fragrance, good color, good taste, and so on.

TEXT 117

Pa*Qak( Pa*Qak( k-cael/aSau ivic}aaSau Pa[PaUirTaMa( )ivSTaqa*XaMa( ))

pthak pthak kacolsuvicitrsu prapritam

vistra-kanaka-sthalyntv kavalayan bham

pthakpthak separately; kacolsu in bowls; vicitrsuvarious; prapritam filled; vistra large; kanaka gold;sthalym on a platter; ntv being brought; kavalayandevouring; bham heartily.

He heartily devoured the various delicacies, which filledmany separate bowls, brought in on a large gold platter.

COMMENTARY:Literally, kavalayanmeans rolling the food intomorsels to be chewed and swallowed.

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Documents

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