Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Sri Krsna-pada-padma-prapti-sopanam
The Stairway to Sri Krsna’s Lotus Feet Page 2
Chapter Two
Sridama-Radha-kalaha-varnana
Description of the Quarrel between Sridama and Radha Page 6
Chapter Three
Sri Radha-Sridama-sapodbhava
The Cursing of Sri Radha and Sridama Page 9
Chapter Four
Goloka-varnana
Description of Goloka Page 15
Chapter One
Sri Krsna-pada-padma-prapti-sopanam
The Stairway to Sri Krsna’s Lotus Feet
1 Sri Narada said: O brahmana, first I heard the beautiful and very wonderful Brahma-khanda from Brahma’s mouth.
2 Then, by his command, I came to you and heard the Prakrti-khanda, which is sweeter than nectar.
3 Now, unsatisfied even by hearing the Ganapati-khanda, which breaks the cycle of repeated birth, my heart yearns to hear a certain thing.
4-7 To me, a devotee and your surrendered disciple, please elaborately narrate the Sri Krsna-janma-khanda, which breaks the cycle of birth and death for all truths, which ends fruitive work, brings devotional service to Lord Hari, at once creates renunciation, cures the disease of repeated birth and death, plants the seed of liberation, is a boat to cross the ocean of repeated birth and death, is a medicine to cure the disease of trying to enjoy the fruits of work, is a stairway leading to Sri Krsna’s lotus feet, and is the life of the Vaisnavas and the purifier of the worlds.
8 By whose request did Lord Krsna, the most perfect and complete original Supreme Personality of Godhead come, accompanied by all His amsa incarnations, to the surface of the earth?
9 In what yuga, for what reason, and in what place did He appear? Who is His father, Vasudeva? Who is Devaki?
10 Please tell in what family, with Yogamaya’s aid expertly imitating the actions of ordinary men, He took birth? When He came what did He do? In what form did Lord Hari appear?
11 Afraid of Kamsa, He left the maternity room and went to Gokula. O sage, why was the fearless Supreme Person afraid of Kamsa, who was insignificant as a worm or an insect?
12 Dressed as a cowherd boy, what did Lord Hari do in Gokula? Why did the master of the universes enjoy pastimes with cowherd girls?
13 Who were these cowherd girls? Who were these cowherd boys? Who was Yasoda? Who was Nanda? What pious deeds had they performed?
14 Why did the saintly goddess Radha, who lives in Goloka and is Lord Hari’s dearest lover, come to Vraja and become a girl of Vraja?
15 How did these cowherd girls attain the unattainable Supreme Personality of Godhead? Why did He leave them and go to Mathura?
16 After removing the earth’s burden where did He go and what did He do? O very fortunate one, please tell the story of the Lord, hearing and chanting whose glories are the greatest of pious deeds.
17-19 O ocean of mercy, to me, who am your devoted disciple, please teach the rarely heard stories of Lord Hari, which are a boat to cross the ocean of repeated birth and death, a sword to cut the painful chains of material pleasures, blazing flames to burn the fuel of hosts of sins, the destroyer of sins for they who hear, the giver of liberation, nectar for the ears, and the destroyer of an ocean of grief.
20 By performing austerities, chanting mantras, giving great charity, seeing the holy places of the earth, studying the Vedas, fasting, following vows, worshipping the demigods, and being initiated to perform all yajnas, one does not attain even on sixteenth the benefit of hearing the glories of Lord Hari.
22 My father sent me here to learn from you. Who, approaching an ocean of nectar, would not wish to drink from it?
23 Sri Narayana Rsi said: I know that you are very fortunate, pious, and glorious. O purifier of the people, you wander here and there to purify the worlds.
24 As you hear their words, the people’s hearts are quickly revealed to you. You know how people’s hearts are disposed to their disciple, wife, daughter, granddaughter, relatives, son, and grandson, and how their hearts have glory, beauty, intelligence, eloquence and knowledge.
26 You are liberated, even while living in this world. You are completely pure. You are a pure devotee of Lord Krsna. With the dust of your feet you purify this earth, the maintainer of all.
27 By showing yourself you purify all the worlds. That is why you wish to hear the very auspicious topics of Lord Hari.
28 Where the topics of Lord Krsna are present there also are all the demigods, sages, philosophers, saints and holy places of pilgrimage.
29 By hearing the topics of Lord Hari the hearers become great saints free of all distress. They who hear the beautiful and auspicious topics of Lord Hari become holy places of pilgrimage..
30 Speaking the glories of Lord Hari, and delivering hundreds and hundreds of listeners, they purify the entire world.
31 Simply by asking his question, the inquirer purifies his family. Simply by hearing the hearer, purifies his family and all his relatives.
32 Pure as if he had performed austerities for hundreds of births, he is born in Bharata-varsa. Hearing the nectar of topics about Lord Hari, his life is a success.
33-34 The nine kinds of devotional service are: 1. Always worshipping the Lord, 2. Offering obeisances to Him, 3. Chanting His mantras, 4. Serving Him, 5. Remembering Him, 6. Glorifying Him, 7. Hearing His glories, 8. Yearning to attain Him, and 9. Surrendering to Him. Hearing of them, he performs these kinds of devotional service. In this way his birth in Bharata-varsa bears its fruits.
35 For him there are no obstacles. He lives a long life and never perishes. As a snake will not approach Garuda, so time does not approach him.
36 Lord Hari does not leave him for even a moment. Headed by anima-siddha, the mystic perfections approach, eager to serve him.
37 By Lord Krsna’s order, day and night the sudarsana-cakra stays by his side to protect him. Who can attack him? What can an attacker do to him?
38 As crickets, seeing a fire, will not approach, so Yamaraja’s servants do not approach him, even in his dreams.
39 Diseases, calamities, sufferings, and obstacles do not approach him. O sage, afraid of its own death, death itself will not approach him.
40 The rsis, munis, siddhas, and all the demigods become pleased with him. By Lord Krsna’s mercy he is always fearless and happy.
41 You are always attracted to the topics of Lord Krsna. In this birth you are your father, Brahma.
42 O king of brahmanas, how can I properly praise your birth from Lord Brahma’s mind? A person’s nature will be like his family’s.
43 Your father is Brahma, the creator of the worlds. Serving Lord Krsna’s lotus feet, he always performs the nine activities of devotional service.
44 A person who is attracted to topics of Lord Krsna, whose heart is plunged in remembering them, whose bodily hairs stand erect and who sheds tears to hear them, is said to be a devotee by the wise.
45 A person who with his heart, mind and words knows that his wife, children and everything are all the property of Lord Hari is said to be a devotee by the wise.
46 A person who is kind to all living entities and who knows that Lord Krsna is present everywhere in this world, is very wise. He is a devotee. He is the best of devotees.
47 Those happy persons who, alone in a secluded holy place, meditate on Lord Hari’s lotus feet, are also great devotees.
48 They who always sing the Lord’s holy names, chant mantras describing His glories, and hear and sing songs describing Him, are very great devotees.
49 A person who obtains sweet candies and is very happy at heart to offer them to Lord Hari, is a devotee. He is the best of the wise.
50 A person who, day and night, and even in his dreams, thinks of Lord Hari’s lotus feet, has used up all his past karma. He is a devotee.
51 The wise say that a person into whose ear a Visnu-mantra has entered from his guru’s mouth, is a very pure devotee.
52 A devotee delivers his family. He delivers seven generations before and seven generations after, seven generations of grandparents, children, grandchildren, and other relatives.
53 A devotee always delivers his wife, daughter, friend, disciple, granddaughter, servant, maidservant and son.
54 The devotee always desire to visit holy pilgrimage places. By the devotee’s touch and glance the sins sinners leave there are at once destroyed.
55 A place where a devotee stays for as long as it takes to milk a cow becomes a holy place. All the holy places on the surface of the earth are present in that place.
56-57 As if he were plunged in the Ganga of transcendental knowledge, as if he were rapt in the thought of Lord Krsna, as if he were in a forest of tulasi trees, a Krsna-temple, Vrndavana, Haridvara, or other holy places, a sinner who dies there attains the abode of Lord Hari.
58 When a sinner bathes in a holy place his sins flee. His sins are destroyed by a breeze that has touched a devotee.
59 As dry straw in a blazing fire, these sins cannot survive.
60 Seven lifetimes of sins are destroyed for whoever sees they who travel on the path of devotional service.
61 The pious credits earned in a hundred births are at once destroyed for they who blaspheme Lord Krsna or His saintly devotee.
62 They are cooked in the terrible hell called Kumbhipaka. They are eaten by worms for as long as the sun and moon exist.
63 Simply by seeing such a blasphemer all one’s piety is destroyed. If he sees him, a wise man bathes in the Ganga or glances at the sun, and in that way becomes purified.
64 Simply by a devotee’s touch a sinner becomes liberated. His sins are destroyed. Lord Krsna stays in his heart.
65 O brahmana, in this way I have described the glories of Lord Visnu and His devotees. Now please listen and I will tell you of Lord Hari’s birth.
Chapter Two
Sridama-Radha-kalaha-varnana
Description of the Quarrel Between Sridama and Radha
1-2 On whose request did Krsna come to the surface of the earth, what the Lord did before He returned to His own abode, how He removed the earth’s burden, and how He killed the demons, of all these I will, carefully thinking of what happened, tell you the story.
3 Listen and I will tell you of Lord Hari’s descent as a cowherd boy. His arrival in Gokula, and Radha’s descent as gopi.
4 Listen and I will tell you in detail what before you heard me tell only briefly in the story of Sankhacuda’s death.
5 Sridama quarrelled with Radha and She cursed him to become the demon Sankhacuda.
6 Then Sridama cursed Radha: Go to a human womb in Vraja! Become a girl of Vraja and walk on the earth’s surface!
7 Afraid of Sridama’s curse, She went to Sri Krsna and said: I will become a gopi! Sridama cursed Me! What will I do to prevent it! O breaker of fears please tell me.
8 How can I live without You? O Lord, without You every moment will become a hundred yugas.
9-10 My heart bursts into flames when the blinking of My eyes separates Us. O Lord glorious as the autumn moon, using the cakora birds of My eyes I drink the nectar of Your face day and night. I declare that You are My heart, My self, My mind and My body.
11 You are My eyes and My power to see. You are My life. You are My treasure. Awake of asleep, I always meditate on Your lotus feet. O Lord, without serving You I cannot live for a moment.
12 Hearing these words, Lord Krsna placed His beautiful beloved on His chest. He reassured Her and removed Her fears. He said:
13-14 O girl with the beautiful face, during the Varaha-kalpa I will go to the earth. You will go with Me and also take birth on the earth. O goddess, I will go to Vraja and enjoy pastimes (with You) in the forest.
15 You are more dear to Me than life. If I am present why should You be afraid?
Saying this, Lord Hari, the master of the universes, became silent.
16 For this reason the master of the universes went to Nanda’s Gokula. Why should He be afraid? Of what would He, the killer of fears, be afraid?
17 Pretending to fear the illusory potency, He assumed the appearance of a gopa, approached Radha, and enjoyed pastimes with Her.
18-19 To keep the promise He made when the demigod Brahma prayed to Him, Lord Krsna came to earth with the gopis, removed the earth’s burden and then returned to His own abode.
20 Sri Narada said: Why did Sridama quarrel with Radha? What you briefly told before, now please tell at length.
21 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One time, in a rasa-mandala in a secluded place in a great forest in Goloka, Lord Hari enjoyed pastimes with Sri Radha. Overcome with bliss, Radha could not understand Herself or anything else.
22 Leaving Her unsatisfied in the midst of Their pastimes, He went to enjoy amorous pastimes with Viraja, another gopi.
23 Beautiful Viraja resembled Radha. She has a billion beautiful gopi friends.
24 As she sat on a jewel throne, this gopi, who thought Lord Krsna more dear than life, and who was fortunate and glorious among women, saw Lord Hari approach.
25 Lord Hari looked at her, her face glorious as the autumn moon, and she, ravishingly beautiful, smiled, and with crooked eyes gazed at Him.
26 She was eternally sixteen years old, in the full bloom of youth. She wore exquisite garments and Her beauty was richer with jewel ornaments.
27 Seeing that she was being tortured by Kamadeva’s arrows and the hairs of all her limbs were erect with excitement, Lord Hari at once enjoyed pastimes with her.
28-29 In the great forest, in a secluded place, in a circle of jewels, on a bed made of flowers, as she embraced to her chest the Lord of her life, who is more glorious than millions of Kamadevas, Viraja fainted, overcome with the bliss by enjoying amorous pastimes with Lord Krsna.
30 Seeing Lord Hari embraced by her in the jewel pavilion, Radha’s friends at once told their mistress.
31 Hearing their words, Radha became angry and lay down on Her bed.
32 Her eyes like red lotus flowers, the goddess wept bitterly. The great goddess said to them: “Show Him to Me.”
33 If you speak the truth, then come with Me. I will give Krsna and this gopi the result They deserve.
34 When I punish her who will save her? With her quickly bring Lord Hari’s other lovers also.
35-36 Don’t bring that smiling, crooked-hearted, nectar-mouthed pot of poison to My home. Instead, take the Lord to My beautiful pavilion and keep Him there.
37 Hearing Radha’s words, some gopis became frightened, and they all folded their hands and humbly bowed their heads and necks.
38 Standing before Her, they all said to the Lord’s eternal beloved: “We will show You the Lord with Viraja.”
39 After hearing their words, beautiful Radha, ascended a chariot. She departed with 1 630 000 000 gopis, travelling on a chariot...
40 ...made of may regal jewels, splendid as millions of suns, roofed with thirty million domes made of regal jewels, splendid with a variety of colourful flowers, pulled by colourful horses,...
41 ...with ten thousand wheels, enchanting the heart, travelling as fast as the mind, beautiful with ten million pillars and many different glorious jewels,...
42 ...with many wonderful and colourful beautiful pictures, with many rubies in the inside rooms, with many jewels decorating the wheels,...
43 ...with four hundred thousand splendid and wonderful wheels decorated with wonderful bells and tinkling ornaments,...
44 ...with a hundred thousand jewel palaces, with doors made of the best of jewels, with jewel pictures,...
45 ...with domes of the best regal jewels, with splendid spires, with delicious foods and exquisite garments,...
46 ...beautiful with many jewel beds, jewel cups and cases, and golden platforms,...
47 ...with ten million ruby staircases, with very beautiful syamantaka and kaustubha jewels,...
48 ...splendidly beautiful with wonderful forests and lakes and hundreds of groves of millions of lotus flowers,...
49 ...with splendid jewel domes and spires eighty miles wide and eight hundreds miles high,...
50 ...splendid with ten million garlands of parijata, kunda, karavira and yuthika flowers,...
51 ...fragrant with many very beautiful campaka, nagesa, mallika, malati, and madhavi flowers,...
52 ...decorated with many garlands of kadamba flowers and thousand petal lotuses,...
53 ...decorated with wonderful forests, lakes, and colourful flower gardens, fast as the wind, the best of all chariots,...
54 ...covered with exquisite fine cloth, decorated with hundreds of jewel mirrors,...
55 ...decorated with sapphires and white camaras, fragrant with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
56 ...splendid with ten million parijata-decorated beds, ten million flags, and ten million bells,...
57 ...with ten million jewel beds covered with wonderful and colourful blankets, fragrant with campaka flowers, sandal and kunkuma,...
58 ...decorated with flower-pillows, and perfect for amorous pastimes, and also decorated with many beautiful things never seen or heard of before.
59 O sage, quickly descending from the chariot thus described, Lord Hari’s beloved goddess Radha, at once went to Him in the pavilion of jewels.
60 At the entrance She saw a handsome, smiling, lotus-faced guard accompanied by a hundred thousand gopas.
61 To that gopa, who was Sri Krsna’s dear friend named Sridama, goddess Radha, Her eyes now like red lotuses, angrily said:
62 Go away! O servant of a rake, go away! I will see what kind of beautiful lover Your master has now!
63 Hearing Radha’s words, strong and fearless Sridama, holding a stick in his hand, did not allow Her to enter.
64 Their lips trembling, the other gopis angrily pushed the servant Sridama.
65 Hearing a great commotion from the people of Goloka and understanding that Radha was angry, Lord Hari disappeared.
66 Hearing the word “Radha” and seeing Lord Hari disappear, Viraja became afraid. By practice of mystic yoga she gave up her life.
67 Her body at once became a river circling Goloka.
68 That river was filled with jewels, very deep, eight hundred million miles wide, and ten times as long.
Chapter Three
Sri Radha-Sridama-sapodbhava
The Cursing of Sri Radha and Sridama
1 O sage, when She went to the pavilion of amorous pastimes Radha did not see Lord Hari. Seeing the river that Viraja had become, She went home.
2 Seeing that His eternal beloved had become a river, Sri Krsna loudly wept on the beautiful shore of that Viraja River.
3 “O best, best of lovers, come to Me! O beautiful one, beautiful one, how can I live without you?
4 “By My blessing now become the most beautiful of women, and the empress of rivers.
5 :Now have a form more beautiful than the beautiful form you had. O chaste one, your previous form has now become a river.”
6 “Raise from the water and come to Me.”
Taking a new form, and beautiful like Radha, she approached Lord Hari.
7 Wearing yellow garments and her lotus face smiling, with crooked eyes she gazed at the Lord of Her life and He gazed at her.
8 She was oppressed by the burden of her hips and thighs, and her breasts were swollen and high.
9 She was the most beautiful of beautiful women, and She was fortunate and glorious among women. She was the colour of a beautiful campaka flower and her lips were ripe bimba fruits.
10 Her beautiful teeth were like ripe pomegranate seeds,, her face was an autumn moon, and her eyes were blossoming dark lotuses.
11 She was decorated with a dot of musk and many dots of red sindura. She was beautiful with beautiful designs and pictures. Her braided hair was very beautiful.
12 Jewel earrings resting on her cheeks, She was decorated with a necklace of jewels and glorious with a necklace of pearls. On the tip of her nose was an elephant pearl.
13 She was splendid with jewel armlets and bracelets and a bracelet of shells. She was opulent with many tinkling ornaments and tinkling jewel anklets.
14 Seeing her so beautiful and so full of love for Him, the Lord of the universes at once embraced her and kissed her again and again.
15 Going to a secluded place, the all-powerful Lord again and again enjoyed many different kinds of amorous pastimes, beginning with viparita-lila, with His beloved.
16 Accepting the Lord’s invincible semen, passionate and fortunate Viraja at once became pregnant.
17 After a hundred celestial years of pregnancy, she gave birth to seven handsome sons from the Lord.
18 In this way the Lord’s eternal beloved became the mother of seven sons. She was very happy with her seven sons.
19 One day, her heart filled with amorous desires, the saintly girl again enjoyed pastimes with Lord Hari in a secluded place in Vrndavana forest.
20 Then, frightened by his brothers, her youngest son came there and went to his mother’s lap.
21 Seeing her son was afraid, she who was an ocean of kindness left Lord Hari and placed the boy on her lap. Then Krsna went to Radha’s home.
22 When she had comforted the boy she noticed that her beloved was no longer there. Her heart filled with unsatisfied desires, she lamented greatly.
23 She angrily cursed her son: “You will become an ocean of salt-water. The living entities will never drink your water.”
24 Then she cursed all the boys: “Those fools will go to the earth! Fools, go to beautiful Jambudvipa on the earth!
25 “They will not stay together in one place, but will stay each in his own place. They will stay happily around different islands.
26 “They may enjoy pastimes with the rivers on these islands.”
In this way, because of his mother’s curse, the youngest boy became an ocean of salt-water.
27 The youngest then told the other boys about their mother’s curse. Unhappy, all the boys went to their mother.
28 After hearing their mother’s words, they offered obeisances to her feet. Then, their necks bowed with devotion, they all went to the surface of the earth.
29 O sage, they became seven oceans around the seven islands. From the youngest to the eldest, each ocean was twice as large as the preceding one.
30 They became oceans of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine, clarified butter, yoghurt, milk and sweet water. Their liquid will be used to cultivate grains on the earth.
31 In this way they became seven oceans around the seven islands of the earth. Unhappy in separation from their mother and brothers, all the boys wept.
32 Tormented by separation from her sons, chaste Viraja wept again and again. She fainted out of grief she felt for her sons and husband.
33 Understanding that she was drowning in an ocean of grief, Radha’s master, His lotus face smiling, came to her again.
34 When she saw Lord Hari she stopped weeping and lamenting. Gazing at her beloved, she became plunged in an ocean of bliss.
35 Overcome with passion, she placed Lord Hari on her lap and enjoyed pastimes with Him. In this way, even though she had abandoned her sons, Lord Hari became pleased with her.
36 His eyes and face filled with happiness, He gave her a benediction: “Beloved, I will always come to you.
37 “Like Radha you will be dear to Me. By the power of My blessing you will always protect your sons.”
38 Seeing Sri Krsna with Viraja as he spoke these words, Radha’s friends told their mistress.
39 Hearing this, Radha lay down in the palace of anger and wept. Then Krsna entered that palace and approached Her.
40 O Narada, accompanied by Sridama, Krsna stood at Radha’s door. When She who is the queen of the rasa dance saw Her beloved Lord Hari, She became angry and said:
41 O Lord Hari, You have many other lovers in Goloka. Go to them! Why do You need Me?
42 Even though Your dear lover Viraja, out of fear of Me, left her body and became a river, still You go to her!
43 Build a palace on her shore and stay with her. Stay with her. Go to her. She became a river. You became a river also.
44 Because they belong to the same class, it is glorious for one river to associate with another river. As they happily eat together and sleep together they feel great love for each other.
45 O crest jewel of divine persons, when they hear from Me that You are enjoying pastimes with a river, the great souls will smile.
46 They who say You are the master of the universes do not truly know Your heart. The Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul in the hearts of all, now desires to enjoy pastimes with a river!
47 After speaking these words, angry goddess Radha stopped. Surrounded by a hundred thousand gopis, She would not rise from Her bed.
48 Some gopis carried camaras in their hands, some carried fine garments, some carried betelnuts in their hands, and some carried flower-garlands in their hands.
49 Some carried cups of scented water in their hands, some carried lotus flowers in their hands, some carried red sindura in their hands, and some carried flower garlands in their hands.
50 Some carried jewel ornaments in their hands, some carried black kajjala, some carried flutes and vinas in their hands, and some carried combs in their hands.
51 Some carried aviras in their hands, some carried yantras in their hands, some carried scented oil in their hands, some most beautiful women carried karatalas in their hands, and some carried toy balls.
52 Some played mrdangas, murajas, flutes and karatalas, some expertly sang, and some expertly danced.
53 Some carried toys in their hands, some carried cups of honey in their hands, some carried cups of nectar in their hands, and some carried footstools in their hands.
54 Some carried garments and ornaments in their hands, some served Radha’s feet, some stood before Her with folded hands, and some spoke prayers glorifying Her.
55 How many stood before Her? O sage, millions and millions stood outside.
56 As Krsna stood at the door, Radha’s friends, who held sticks, would not allow Him to enter.
57 As the Lord of Her life stood before Her, Radha spoken to Him words that were inaccurate, not worthy to be spoken, improper, and very harsh.
58 O Krsna, O lover of Viraja, get away from Me! O Lord Hari, o restless debauchee, why do You trouble Me?
59 Go at once to Padmavati! Go to beautiful Ratnamala or Vanamala whose beauty has no equal!
60 O lover of a river, O master of the demigods, O guru of the demigods’ guru, I know who You are. Auspiciousnss to You! Go! Go from My asrama!
61 Again and again You act like a human! Rake, enter a human womb! Leave Goloka and go to Bharata-varsa!
62 O Susila, Sasikala, Padmavati, Madhavi, stop this criminal! What need have we for Him?
63 After hearing Radha’s words, the gopis spoke to Lord Hari words there were beneficial, truthful, gentle, sweet, and appropriate to that circumstance.
64 Some said: “O Lord Hari, for a moment go to another place. When Radha’s anger subsides we will bring You here.”
65 Some very affectionately said: “Go home for a moment. You make Radha blissful. Except for You, who can protect Her.
66 O sage, out of love for Radha some gopis said to Lord Hari: “For a moment go to Vrndavana forest until Her anger subsides.”
67 Some joked to the Lord: “O passionate one, by devotedly serving Her You will appease the jealous anger of Your passionate beloved.”
68 Some said the to Lord: “Go to another wife in the meantime, O Lord, we will bring the result You earnestly desire.”
69 Some stood smiling before Lord Hari and said: “Go to Her and pacify Her jealous anger.”
70 Some gopis spoke harshly to the Lord of their lives: “Who can see Radha’s lotus face now?”
71 Some said to the all-powerful Lord: “O Lord Hari, go to another place, and when Her anger is over You may return.”
72 Some beautiful and arrogant gopis said to Him: “IF You don’t go to another’s home, we will force You to go.”
73 Some beautiful gopis then surrounded the smiling, peaceful, and cheerful Supreme Lord of all and prevented Him from entering.
74 Forced by the gopis, Lord Hari, who is the first cause of the world’s causes, left and went to another’s home. Then Sridama became angry.
75 His lotus eyes now red, Sridama angrily spoke to the supreme goddesss, Sri Radha, whose lotus eyes were also red with anger.
76 Sridama said: O mother, why do You speak these harsh words to m master? O goddess, You rebuke Him without any consideration and for no reason.
77-79 You mock the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the master of Brahma, Ananta, Siva and is the master of Sarasvati, Laksmi, Laya, Maya and Prakrti, who is beyond the modes of material nature, who is self-satisfied, and whose desires are all fulfilled. Know that it is only because of Your service to Him and Your worship of His feet that You have become the best of goddesses and the queen of all. O beautiful one, You do not understand Him. How can I have the power to describe Him?
80 With a playful bend in His eyebrows He can create many millions of millions of goddesses like You. You do not understand Him, the Lord who is beyond the modes of material nature.
81 In Vaikuntha goddess Laksmi eternally serves Lord Hari with great devotion. She washes His lotus feet and dries them with her own hair.
82 With devotion Sarasvati always praises Him with beautiful prayers that are nectar for the ears. You do not understand Him, the great Supreme Personality of Godhead.
83 Frightened goddess Maya, who is the material energy and the personified life of all conditioned souls, always praises Him with devotion. O proud one, You do not understand Him.
84 Although they eternally offer prayers to Him, the Vedas cannot understand even one sixteenth of His glory. O beautiful one, You do not understand Him.
85 O goddess, with his four heads powerful Brahma, the father of the Vedas, glorifies Krsna. Brahma serves His lotus feet.
86 With this five heads, the guru of the yogis, offers prayers to Lord Krsna. His eyes filled with tears and the hairs of his body erect, he serves Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.
87 With His thousand heads Ananta Sesa again and again offers prayers to Lord Krsna, the all-pervading Supersoul. He devotedly serves Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.
88 Dharma, who is the protector and witness of everyone and the master of the worlds, happily and devotedly serves Lord Krsna’s feet always.
89 All-powerful Lord Visnu, who resides in Svetadvipa and is His partial incarnation, meditates on Lord Krsna as the Supreme at every moment.
90 The demigods, demons, sages, kings, manus, humans and philosophers serve Him though they cannot see His lotus feet even in a dream.
91 At once abandon Your pride and worship the lotus feet of Lord Hari, who merely by the play of bending His eyebrow destroys the material creation.
92 Brahma’s lifetime is an eye-blink for Lord Krsna. Twenty-eight Indras live their lives in Brahma’s day.
93 Brahma lives for 108 years calculated in this way. O Radha, You and the gopis and everyone and everything are under my master’s dominion.
94 Hearing Sridama’s very harsh and forceful words, She became suddenly angry. She stood up and spoke to him.
95 Going outside, Her hair loosened, Her lotus eyes reds, and Her lips trembling, She harshly spoke to him.
96 Sri Radha said: Rogue! Fool! Servant of a rake! Listen. I don’t know your master. You know everything about Him.
97 O lowest wretch in Vraja, Sri Krsna is your master and not Mine? You praise your father and rebuke your mother.
98 As the demons always insult the demigods, so you always insult Me! Therefore, O fool, become a demon!
99 Gopa, leave Goloka and go to a demoness’ womb. Fool, now I have cursed you. Who can protect you?
100 After thus cursing him, the queen of the rasa dance became silent. Then, with jewelled-handled camaras in their hands, Her friends served Her.
101 After hearing Her words, his lips trembling in anger, Sridama cursed Her: Go to the womb of a human woman!
102 You are angry like a human woman, therefore become a human woman on the earth! Mother, I have cursed You. Of this there is no doubt.
103 You will be eclipsed by a part of Your own shadow. The fools on the earth will say you are the wife of a petty king.
104 That petty king will be a partial incarnation of Lord Hari. He will be a great yogi born in a human womb because of Radha’s curse on him.
105 In Gokula You will attain Lord Krsna. You will stay with Him in the forest there and enjoy pastimes with Him. You will be separated from Him for a hundred years and then You will attain Him, Your Lord, again and return with Him to Goloka.
106 After speaking these words and after bowing down before Radha, Sridama went to Lord Hari. Bowing down before Lord Krsna, Sridama narrated the story of the cursings.
107 Sridama wept as never before. As weeping Sridama was about to go to the earth, Lord Krsna said to him:
108 You will become the king of demons. In the three worlds no one will defeat you.
109 After fifty yugas Siva’s spear will make you leave that body and with My blessings you will return to Me.
110 After hearing Lord Krsna’s words, grieving Sridama said to Him: You will never transform me into a person that has no devotion for You.
111 Saying this Sridama left his own asrama. Then, weeping again and again, Radha came there.
112 Saintly Radha loudly lamented, “Child, where are you going?” Then Sridama became Sankhacuda, the husband of Tulasi.
113 When Sridama had left, Goddess Radha approached Lord Hari. She told Him everything and He spoke to Her.
114 Lord Krsna told everything to His grieving beloved. Then, in the course of time, Sridama became Sankhacuda and then returned to the Lord.
115 In the Varaha-kalpa Radha went with Lord Hari to the earth. O sage, She attained a birth in Gokula in King Vrsabhanu’s home.
116 In this way I have spoken the transcendental narrations of Lord Krsna, which everyone yearns to hear. What more do you wish to hear?
Chapter Four
Goloka-varnana
Description of Goloka
1 Sri Narada said: Asked by whom, and for what reason did Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, come to the earth? O best of the knowers of the Vedas, please tell.
2 Sri Narayana Rsi said: In ancient times, during the Varaha-kalpa, bearing a great burden and filled with grief, the earth took shelter of the demigod Brahma.
3 Accompanied by hosts of demigods, who were all unhappy at heart to be so troubled by the demons, she went to the assembly of Brahma, which is very difficult to attain.
4 There she saw Brahma, the king of the demigods, who shone with spiritual power, who was cheerfully served by the kings of the rsis, munis and siddhas...
5 ...who happily smiled as he glanced at the Apsaras dancing and listened to the Gandarvas beautiful singing,...
6 ...and who chanted the two most sacred syllables Krs-na, the hairs of his body erect and his eyes filled with tears of the ecstasy of devotion.
7 O sage, accompanied by the demigods, the earth goddess then devotedly offered here respectful obeisances to four-faced Brahma and told him how she was burdened by the demons.
8 The hairs of her body erect and her eyes filled with tears, she offered prayers and wept. Brahma, the creator of the universe said to her: Why do you offer prayers and weep?
9 O beautiful one, why have you come? Please tell. It will be auspicious. Be steady. O beautiful one, why are you afraid of me?
10 Brahma comforted the earth-goddess and then respectfully asked the demigods, why have you come to me?
11 Hearing Brahma’s words, the demigods said to Prajapati Brahma: O Lord, the earth is overcome by the demons and we also are in the demons’ grip.
12 You are the creator of the worlds. Please stop (the demons). O Brahma, the earth has taken shelter of you. You should stop (the demons).
13 O grandfather, the earth is now tormented by the burden (of many demons). We are also tortured by them. Please remove the burden (they have brought).
14 After hearing the demigods’ words, Brahma, the creator of the worlds said to the earth-goddess: Child, throw your fears far away. Stand happily before me.
15 O Lotus-eyed one, who has brought this burden you cannot bear? O beautiful one, I will take away your burden. Things will be auspicious for you. That is certain.
16 When she heard these words, even though she was anxious and unhappy, she made her eyes and face cheerful and she anxiously spoke to him.
17 The earth goddess said: Father, please listen and I will tell the suffering in my heart. I cannot tell this to any but a faithful friend.
18 A weak woman should always be protected by her father, husband, sons and other relatives.
19 O father of the worlds, you created me. I am not shy to tell you. Listen, and I will tell you who has brought the burden that crushes me.
20 I cannot bear the burden of carrying great sinners that have no devotion to Lord Krsna and that blaspheme the devotees.
21 I am crushed by carrying the burden of they who do not perform their religious duties, who never do what they should, and who have no faith in the Vedas.
22 I cannot carry the burden of they who do not maintain their father, mother, guru, wife, sons and grandsons.
23 I am crushed by the burden of carrying they who speak lies, who have neither mercy nor truth, and who insult their spiritual masters.
24 I am crushed by the burden of carrying they who become enemies to their friends, who are ungrateful, who bear false witness, who are faithless, and who rob what is given them to protect.
25 I am crushed by the burden of carrying they who sell the auspicious Vedic prayers and hymns and the most auspicious name of Lord Hari.
26 I am crushed by carrying the burden of murderers, they who become enemies of their spiritual master, brahmanas who misuse the Vedic rituals, they who hunt animals, they who have transformed their body into a crematorium for burning the flesh of dead animals, and brahmanas who eat what sudras offer them.
27 I am crushed by the burden of carrying the fools who hinder the performance of worship, yajna, fasting, vows and sense-control.
28 I am crushed by carrying the burden of sinners who hate the cows, brahmanas, demigods, Vaisnavas, Lord Hari and devotion to hearing the glories of Lord Hari.
29 O Brahma, these demons crush me even more than Sankhacuda crushed me in the past.
30 I, who have no shelter, have told you everything. Please give me shelter. O Lord, please solve my problem.
31 After speaking these words the earth-goddess wept again and again. Seeing her weep, Brahma, who was an ocean of kindness said to her: I will remove the burden of these demons.
32 O earth, the remedy will come. In due course of time my master will remove your burden.
33-39 O beautiful one, the foolish demons that now place on you yantras, mangala-kumbhas, Siva-lingas, kunkuma, honey, sticks, sandal paste, musk, the dust of holy places, swords, gandaka swords, crystal, padmaraga jewels, sapphires, suryakanta jewels, rudraksa beads, kusa grass, Salagrama-silas, conchshells, tulasi, Deities, water, lamps, stone Deities, bells, offerings of flowers and food, emeralds, knotted sacred threads, mirrors, white camaras, gorocana, pearls, oyster shells, manikya jewels, the Puranas, fire, camphor, axes, silver, gold, red coral, jewels, kusa-brahmanas, water from holy places, milk, cow urine, and cow dung, will burn on the rope of time for ten thousand years.
40 In this way Brahma comforted the earth-goddess. Then, accompanied by her and the demigods, Brahma, the creator of the worlds, went to Lord Siva’s abode, Mount Kailasa.
41 Coming to that beautiful asrama, Brahma saw, staying under an eternal banyan tree by the shore of a river, Lord Siva...
42 ...who wore a tigerskin garment, who was decorated with the bones of Daksa’s daughter, who held a spear and trident, who had three eyes on each of his five faces,...
43 ...who was surrounded by siddhas and served by the kings of yoga, who happily smiled as he glanced at the dancing of the apsaras,...
44 ...who listened to the tumultuous music of the Gandharvas, who affectionately glanced at Parvati with crooked eyes,...
45 ...and who, the hairs of his body erect in ecstasy, with his five mouths chanted Lord Hari’s auspicious holy name on bead made from lotus seeds in the heavenly Ganga.
46 In that place Brahma, the earth-goddess and the bowing demigods stood before Lord Siva.
47 Lord Siva stood up and for a long time gazed at Brahma, the master of the universe. Lord Siva affectionately bowed his head and accepted Brahma’s blessing.
48 The demigods bowed down before Lord Siva and the earth goddess also bowed down with devotion. Lord Siva gave them his blessing.
49 Brahma told the news to Lord Siva, the husband of Parvati. Lord Siva, who is kind to the devotees, at once bowed his head when he heard it.
50 When, hearing of the devotees’ sufferings, Siva and Parvati became unhappy, Brahma comforted them.
51 Carefully reassuring them, Brahma and Siva then sent the earth-goddess and the demigods to their homes.
52 Then Brahma and Siva at once went to Yamaraja’s palace. After some thought, all three went to Lord Hari’s abode,...
53 ...the supreme realm of Vaikuntha, where old-age and death do not exist, which is situated in the spiritual sky above the material universes,...
54 ...which is ten million yojanas above Brahmaloka, which is eternal, which poets and philosophers cannot describe, which is wonderful, and which is made of jewels.
Note: a yojana is equal to eight miles.
55 Travelling at the speed of mind, they went to that beautiful place, where the royal paths are paved with rubies and sapphires. Entering Lord Hari’s palace, the three demigods saw Lord Hari,...
56 ...who sat on a jewel throne, was decorated with jewel ornaments, and was splendid with jewel bracelets, armlets, and anklets,...
57 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings, who wore yellow garments, who was decorated with a forest garland,...
58 ...who was peaceful, who was dear to Sarasvati, whose lotus feet were massaged by Laksmi, who was playful as millions of Kamadevas, who smiled, who had four arms,...
59 ...who was served by His associates Sunanda, Nanda, and Kumuda, whose entire body was anointed with sandal paste, and who was splendid with a beautiful jewel crown.
60 To Lord Hari, whose form was full of transcendental bliss, and who was overcome with kindness to the devotees, the three demigods headed by Brahma bowed down, O sage, with devotion.
61 Overcome with transcendental bliss, the hairs of the bodies erect, and their necks bowed with devotion, they offered prayers with great devotion.
62 Sri Brahma said: I offer my respectful obeisances to the infallible and peaceful Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the beloved of Laksmi and the master of all. We demigods are parts of the parts of the parts of the parts of the parts of Him.
63 O Lord untouched by matter, the Manus, the kings of sages, the human beings, and the moving and unmoving entities are parts of the parts of the parts of the parts of You.
64-65 Sri Siva said: Who has the power to properly glorify You, the immortal and imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead, who are the supreme controller and enjoyer, beginningless, the beginning of all, whose form is filled with bliss, whose form contains everything, who is the origin of the mystic perfections beginning with anima, who is the cause of all, whose knowledge is perfect, who grants perfection, and who is the form of perfection?
66 Sri Yamaraja said: Who has the power to describe that being whom the wise say is the topic of the Vedas, but whom the Vedas fail to describe?
67 The (material mind) can understand forms created by the modes of material nature, but You are not touched by the modes of nature. How can I offer prayers to You?
68 O great sage, a person who reads these prayers of the demigods headed by Brahma, prayers spoken in eloquent verse, become free from difficulties and attains his desire.
69 After hearing the demigods’ prayers, Lord Hari said to them: You go to Goloka and I will follow with goddess Laksmi.
70 Nara-Narayana, who live in Svetadvipa, will go to Goloka, and goddess Sarasvati will also go.
71 Ananta, My Maya, Karttikeya, Ganesa and Savitri, the mother of the Vedas, will also follow.
72 Here I am with Laksmi and My associates headed by Sunanda. There I am two-armed Krsna, with Radha and the gopis.
73 I am Narayana and I am Krsna. I am the Lord whom resides in Svetadvipa. All the demigods headed by Brahma are considered My partial expansions.
74 The living entities headed by the demigods, demons, and human beings are parts of the parts of the parts of the parts of Me. You go to Goloka and your goal will be accomplished (in the end).
75 To fulfil your desire, we will follow you. After speaking these words in the assembly, Lord Hari became silent.
76 Bowing down, all the demigods went to Goloka, the wonderful transcendental abode, which is free of old-age, and death,...
77 ...and which, by the wish of the all-powerful Lord, is situated five hundred million yojanas above Vaikuntha in the spiritual sky.
78 The demigods were eager to go to that place beyond description. Travelling at the speed of mind, they all went to the shore of the Viraja river.
79 The demigods became filled with wonder when they saw that beautiful and broad riverbank splendid with pure crystal,...
80 ...glittering with pearls, rubies, parasa jewels, and many kinds of blue, white, green and red jewels,...
81 ...somewhere beautiful with coral grass and decorated with priceless transcendental gems,...
82 ...somewhere filled with treasuries of rubies and sapphires Brahma had never seen before,...
83 somewhere filled with treasuries of emeralds, somewhere syamantaka jewels, and somewhere rucaka jewels,...
84 ...somewhere filled with treasuries of topaz, somewhere kaustubha jewels, and somewhere other jewels,...
85 ...somewhere filled with treasuries of jewels that are beyond description, and somewhere filled with beautiful and delightful pastime places.
86 After gazing at this place, the (three) demigods crossed to the farther shore, where they saw a beautiful mountain with a hundred peaks,...
87 ...splendid with parijata trees, filled with kalpa-vrksa trees and surabhi cows,...
88 ...ten million yojanas high, ten times as long, and five hundred millions yojanas wide,...
89 ...on its peak a beautiful walled rasa-dance circle ten yojanas across,...
90 ...with a thousand gardens of fragrant blossoming flowers attended by swarms of black bees,...
91 ...splendid with jewelled pastime palaces and with a thousand multiplied by ten million jewel pavilions,...
92-93 ...splendid with jewel staircases, beautiful jewel domes, and a splendid emerald pillar studded with rubies and its middle decorated with beautiful sapphires,...
94 ...splendid with jewel walls and four gates of many jewels,...
95 ...with many mango trees tied with diamonds, and with many banana trees,...
96 ...with the leaves of white-rice plants, with fruits, and with durva grass, anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
97 ...filled, O sage with many millions of youthful gopis decorated with jewel ornaments, splendid with jewel necklaces,...
98 ...decorated with jewel bracelets, armlets, and anklets, their cheeks splendid with jewel earrings,...
99 ...their fingers beautifully decorated with jewel rings, their toes splendid with a network of jewels,...
100 ...decorated with jewel ornaments, splendid with jewel crowns, their nostrils splendidly decorated with a gajendra-pearl ornament,...
101 ...the place below their curly hair splendid with a dot of red sindura, their complexions the colour of beautiful campaka flowers, (their limbs) anointed with sandal paste,...
102 ...dressed in yellow garments, their beautiful lips bimba fruits, the splendour of their faces eclipsing the autumn moonlight,...
103 ...their eyes eclipsing the beauty of lotuses blooming in autumn, their eyes glistening with black kajjala and designs drawn in musk,...
104 ...their braids decorated with malata blossoms that attract black bees greedy for nectar,...
105 ...their graceful motions defeating the elephants and khanjana birds, the crooked motions of their curved eyebrows suggesting a slight smile,...
106 ...splendid with teeth like ripe pomegranate seeds, decorated with raised noses opulent like the king of birds’ beak,...
107 ...their heavy breasts like the elephant king’s cheeks, their thighs firm and their hips broad,...
108 ...their hearts wounded by Kama’s arrows, passionately yearning to gaze on the full moon of (Lord Krsna’s) face...
109 ...(their forms) beautiful, attached to serving Sri Radha’s lotus feet, and by Radha’s order engaged in protecting that place,...
110 ...which was always filled with a hundred thousand pastime lakes filled with red and white lohita lotuses, splendid padma lotuses, sweetly humming black bees,...
111 ...and which had a thousand gardens of blossoming flowers and many forest cottages with couches of flowers,...
112 ...betel nuts and camphor, jewel lamps, white camaras,...
113 ...and wonderful, beautiful, and colourful flower garlands. O sage, after seeing this rasa dance circle, the (three) demigods left that mountain.
114 Then they saw Radha-Krsna’s favourite forest, which was named Vrndavana forest, which was extraordinarily beautiful and charming,...
115 ...which was a place where Radha and Krsna enjoyed pastimes, which was filled with kalpa-vrksa trees and gentle breezes carrying drops of water from the shore of the Viraja river,...
116 ...which was fragrant with musk designs everywhere, filled with new sprouts and with the cooing of cuckoos,...
117 ...beautiful with somewhere keli-kadamba trees, somewhere mandara trees, somewhere sandal trees, and somewhere campaka trees,...
118 ...scented with fragrant flowers of mango, nagaranga and panasa trees,...
119 ...filled with forests of tala, coconut, jambu, badari, kharjura,...
120 ...guvakamrataka, jambira, banana, sriphala, and pomegranate trees, O Narada,...
121 ...splendid with many piyala, sala, and banyan trees, with many trees bearing ripe tala fruits,...
122 ...with many beautiful nimba, salmali, tintidi, and with other kinds of trees,...
123 ...splendid with many kalpa-vrksa trees everywhere, with mallika, malati, kunda, ketaki, and madhavi vines,...
124 ...with many yuthika flowers, with five hundred million forest cottages, O sage,...
125 ...with jewel lamps, with decorations fragrant with incense, with fragrant breezes,...
126 ...and with beds made of flowers decorated with a network of flower garlands and scented with sandal filled with sweet sounds of bees greedy for nectar,...
127 ...filled with gopis beautifully decorated with jewel ornaments, by Radha’s order protected by five hundred million gopis,...
128 ...filled with thirty-two forests of which beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, secluded Vrndavana is the best,...
129 ...filled, O sage, with many perfectly ripe, sweet, delicious fruits, filled with many cows and barns,...
130 ...filled with a thousand fragrant gardens of blossoming flowers (attracting) hosts of bees greedy for nectar,...
131 ...and splendid with the jewel homes of five hundred million gopas whose forms were like Sri Krsna’s.
132 After gazing at beautiful Vrndavana, the (three) demigods went to circular Goloka, which was ten million yojanas in size,...
133 ...which was surrounded by a jewel wall with four gates protected by many gopa gatekeepers,...
134 ...and which had five hundred million asramas of Lord Krsna’s servants, asramas studded with jewels and filled with many delightful things,...
135 ...one billion asramas of Lord Krsna’s devotees, asramas even more beautifully made of many jewels,...
136 ...one hundred million asramas of Lord Krsna’s associates, asramas even more beautifully made of precious jewels,...
137 ...ten million jewel asramas of the Lord’s intimate associates, whose forms were like Lord Krsna’s,...
138 ...320 million jewel asramas of gopis purely devoted to Sri Radha,...
139 ...one hundred million beautiful jewel asramas of these gopis’ maidservants,...
140-44 ...and one billion beautiful asramas of they who, purified by austerities in a hundred births, became very firm devotees on earth in Bharata-varsa, awake or asleep rapt in meditation on Lord Hari, and chanting “Radha-Krsna! Krsna!” day and night, asramas made of many jewels, filled with many delightful things, splendid with flower couches, flower garlands, white camaras, jewel mirrors, many sapphires, curtains of fine cloth, and roofs decorated with many domes made of priceless jewels.
145 After gazing at this wonderful place, the (three) demigods went a little further and happily saw a beautiful and eternal banyan tree,...
146 ...five yojanas across and twice as many high, with a thousand trunks and countless branches,...
147 ...and beautiful with jewel platforms and many ripe jewel fruits. At the root of that tree the demigods saw many cowherd boys who had forms like Lord Krsna,...
148 ...and who were dressed in yellow garments, attached to playing, handsome, decorated with jewel ornaments, and all of whose limbs were anointed with sandal paste.
149 The demigods gazed at these close associates of Lord Hari and then looked far away at the beautiful royal path,...
150 ..which was paved with sapphires, rubies, diamonds, rucaka jewels, and jewels the colour of red sindura,...
151 ...which had many benches and jewel pavilions, which was anointed with sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma,...
152-3 ...which was splendid with many banana trees decorated with yoghurt drops, leaves, rice, fruit, flowers, sandal anointed flowers strung on fine threads, kunkuma, auspicious jewel bells, and branches filled with fruit,...
154 ...decorated with flower garlands anointed with sindura, kunkuma, and fragrant sandal,...
155 ...and filled with many playful gopis.
156-8 Then, seeing in the distance a beautiful place surrounded by a moat and jewel walls with sixteen gates guarded by gatekeepers, splendid with jewel stairways, beautiful curtains more pure than fire, mirrors, white camaras, wonderful jewel beds, and flower garlands and anointed with sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma, the demigods became very eager to proceed.
159 O Narada, after going a short distance they saw the beautiful asrama of Radha, who is the queen of the rasa dance,...
160 ...the queen of the demigods, the best of the gopis, and She who to Lord Krsna is more dear than life, a beautiful, beautiful asrama,...
161 ..that was completely indescribable, that no great pandita could describe, that was a great circle of six gavyutis,...
Note: A gavyuti is equal to two miles.
162 ...that had a hundred palaces, shone with the splendour of many jewels, was made of the best of the best of priceless jewels,...
163 ...was beautiful with many impassable deep moats, filled with a hundred flower gardens and many kalpa-vrksa trees, constructed with many jewels, surrounded by great walls,...
164 ...and was made with jewel benches and seven wonderful jewel gates, O sage,...
165 ...and a series of seven gates that led, one after the other, to a place of sixteen gates.
166 Gazing at this great wall as tall as a thousand bows and splendidly beautiful with many small jewel domes, the (three) demigods became filled with wonder.
167 Keeping it on their right, they happily went a small distance behind that asrama.
168 There they saw a billion asramas of many gopas and gopis.
169 They gazed again and again at the beautiful, beautiful ever new asramas of the gopas and gopis.
170 After thus seeing all of Goloka, the demigods returned to the beautiful circle of Vrndavana forest.
171 The demigods saw the mountain of a hundred peaks and went past it to the Viraja river. When they went past the Viraja river they saw nothing more.
172-3 Thus the demigods gazed at auspicious, wonderful, spiritual Goloka, which had a thousand lakes, which was made of jewels, and which, by the will of Lord Krsna and the wisdom of Sri Radha, was situated in the spiritual sky. The demigods then gazed at the beautiful dancing they saw there.
174 Then. O sage, as they heard beautiful, beautifully rhythmic, nectar songs there about the glories of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna, the demigods fainted.
175 Regaining consciousness in a moment, and their thoughts now fixed on Lord Krsna, the demigods gazed at the many beauties and wonders there in place after place.
176 They saw all the beautiful gopis dressed in many different kinds of garments, some with mrdangas in their hands, some with vinas in their hands,...
177 ...some with camaras in their hands, some with karatalas in their hands, some with various musical instruments in their hands, some making their jewel anklets tinkle melodiously,...
178 ...some making a whole network of jewel ornaments tinkle, some spontaneously dancing as they carried jugs on their heads,...
179 ...some dressed as men with others dressed as their heroines, some dressed as Krsna with others dressed as Radha,...
180 ...some in the mood of separation, and others happily embracing each other. As they gazed at these playful gopis, the (three) demigods smiled.
181 O Narada, going a little further, they saw the asramas of Radha’s friends, and then the homes of Her dearest friends,...
182 ...who in beauty, virtues, dress, appearance, youthful spirit, good fortune, and age were just like Her.
183 Now please hear the names of Sri Radha’s thirty-three gopi friends, who are beyond description.
184 They are Susila, Sasikala, Yamuna, Madhavi, Rati, Kadambamala, Kunti, Jahnavi, Svayamprabha,...
185 ...Candramukhi, Padmamukhi, Savitri, Sudhamukhi, Subha, Padma, Parijata, Gauri, Sarvamangala,...
186 ...Kalika, Kamala, Durga, Bharati, Sarasvati, Gangambika, Madhumati, Campaparna, Sundari,...
187 ...Krsnapriya, Sati, Nandani, and Nandana, their forms were like Sri Radha’s. Their asramas were made of jewels,...
188 ...decorated with many wonders, beautiful, splendid with many domes of priceless jewels,...
189 ...splendid, and made with the best of jewels. This world is beyond the material world. There is no world higher than this.
190 Above this there is nothing. What exists culminates in this world. In the same way, there is nothing below the seven realms of Rasatala.
191 Below them is only impassable and invisible water and darkness. Now you have heard from me all about the boundaries of the universe and what lies beyond the universe.
Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Canto Four Sri Krsna-janma-khanda
The Birth of Lord Krsna
Volume Two
Table of Contents
Chapter Five
Sri Brahma-krta-sri-krsna-stotra
Sri Brahma’s Prayers to Lord Krsna Page 2
Chapter Six
Sri Radha-Krsna-samvada
A Conversation of Sri Radha and Sri Krsna Page
Chapter Five
Sri Brahma-krta-sri-krsna-stotra
Sri Brahma’s Prayers to Lord Krsna
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After seeing all of Goloka, the joyful demigods again approached the first gate to Sri Radha’s palace.
2 The gate had two pillars of splendid jewels and great doors of priceless diamonds, topaz, and other jewels. At that gate the demigods saw peerless Virabhanu,...
3 ...who, wearing yellow garments and a jewel crown decorated with jewel ornaments, sat on a jewel throne.
5 Then, speaking to the gatekeeper Virabhanu, the demigods cheerfully asked permission to enter the very wonderful gate.
6 Without hesitating, the gatekeeper said to the great demigods, “Without Lord Krsna’s permission, I cannot allow you to enter.”
7 Then the gatekeeper sent some servants to Lord Krsna’s abode. O sage, when they returned with Lord Krsna’s permission, the gatekeeper allowed the demigods to enter.
8 After thanking the gatekeeper, the demigods proceeded to the second gate, which, very beautiful, wonderful, and pleasing to the heart, was even greater than the first.
9 O Narada, at that gate they saw handsome Candrabhana, who was dark and youthful, who held a golden staff,...
10 ...who sat decorated with golden ornaments, seated on a jewel throne, and very glorious in the company of five hundred thousand gopas.
11 After speaking with him, the demigods went to the third gate, which, glorious with the splendour of many precious jewels, was wonderful and very beautiful.
12 O Narada, at that gate they saw Suryabhana, who was young, dark and handsome, who had two arms and held a flute in his hand,...
13 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings,...
14 ...who was decorated with many jewels, who was very dear to Sri Sri Radha-Krsna, and who was accompanied, like a great king, by an entourage of nine hundred thousand gopas.
15 After speaking with him, the demigods went to the fourth gate, which was beautiful, splendid with many jewels, and more glorious than the other gates.
16 At that gate they saw handsome and very wonderfully decorated Vasubhana, who was one of the kings of Vraja,...
17 ...who was youthful and very handsome, who, decorated with beautiful ornaments and a jewel staff in his hand, sat on a jewel throne,...
18 ...whose lips were like ripe fruits, who smiled gracefully, and who was very handsome. After speaking with him, the demigods went to the fifth gate,...
19 ...which was glorious with walls of diamonds. There they saw the gatekeeper, who was named Devabhana,...
20 ...who was decorated with jewel ornaments, jewel necklaces, and a peacock-feather crown, who sat on a beautiful throne,...
21 ...who was decorated with jewel earrings and ornaments of kadamba flowers, who was anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
22 ...and held a staff in his hand, and who was like a great king surrounded by millions of subjects. After speaking with him, the joyful demigods went,...
23 ...to the sixth gate, which had two walls of diamonds, was decorated with flower garlands, and was splendid with many wonders.
24 At that gate they saw Satrubhana, who was splendid with many ornaments, who, accompanied by a million subjects, was one of the kings of Vraja,...
25 ...and whose cheeks were anointed with sandal and splendid with earrings. After speaking with him, the demigods quickly went to the seventh gate,...
26 ...which was filled with many wonders, and which was far more glorious than the preceding six gates. At that gate they saw Ratnabhana, who was to Lord Krsna very dear,...
27 ...whose limbs were all anointed with sandal, who was decorated with flower garlands and many beautiful jewel-ornaments,...
28 ...whose lotus face gently smiled, who, sitting on a jewel throne and surrounded by one million two hundred thousand gopas, was glorious like a great king,...
29 ...and who held a staff in his hand. After speaking with him, the leaders of the demigods happily went to the eight gate, which was more glorious than the preceding seven gates.
30 There they saw the gatekeeper, named Suparrsva, who was very handsome and charming, who smiled gracefully, who was splendid with sandal tilaka,...
31 ...whose lips were like banhujiva flowers, who was decorated with jewel ornaments, who was splendid with all ornaments, who held a jewel staff,...
32 ...and who was accompanied by one million two hundred thousand gopas. Then the demigods went to the beautiful ninth gate,...
33 ...which was a great wonder never seen before, which was splendid with a great network of flower garlands, and which had four courtyards paved with diamonds and precious jewels.
34 There they saw the gatekeeper, who was named Subala, who was handsome and graceful, who was decorated with many ornaments,...
35 ...who was very handsome, who was gloriously decorated with one million two hundred thousand diamonds, and who held a staff in his hand. After speaking with him, the demigods went to the next gate.
36 O sage, gazing at the tenth gate, which was more glorious than the rest, which had a glory that cannot be described, a glory that had never been seen or heard of before, the demigods became filled with wonder.
37 There they saw the gatekeeper named Sudama, who was handsome and charming, whose handsomeness cannot be described, who looked like Lord Krsna Himself,...
38-44 ...who held a staff in his hand, and who was accompanied by two million gopas. Then the demigods went to the next gate, which was very wonderful. There they spoke to the gatekeeper Sridama, who was one of the kings of Vraja, who was like Sri Radha’s own son, who wore yellow garments, sat on a beautiful throne of priceless jewels, was decorated with priceless jewel ornaments, was very handsome, was splendid with sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma, wore splendid earrings on his cheeks, wore a wonderful splendid crown of priceless jewels, all of whose limbs were decorated with a network of blossoming jasmine garlands, and who, accompanied by ten million gopas, was more glorious than the greatest kings. Then the demigods happily went to the twelfth gate, which had many courtyards paved with precious jewels,...
45 ...which was very difficult to attain, which had never been seen or heard of before, which was very wonderful, beautiful, and charming, and which had walls of diamonds.
46 At that gate the demigods saw many beautiful young gopis decorated with jewel ornaments,...
47 ...dressed in yellow garments, wearing graceful braids, all their limbs decorated with jasmine flowers,...
48 ...decorated with jewel armlets, anklets, and bracelets, their cheeks splendid with jewel earrings,...
49 ...anointed with sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma, and with broad hips and thighs.
50 Gazing at them, the millions of gopis most dear to Lord Krsna, the best of many billions of gopis, the demigods became filled with wonder.
51-52 O brahmana sage, after speaking with the,, the happy demigods went to the next palace, which had three gates, where they saw the most beautiful fortunate and splendid of the gopis.
53 All of these gopis were very fortunate. They were in the full bloom of youth. They were decorated with beautiful ornaments. They were dear to Sri Radha.
54-55 Gazing at these three wonderfully beautiful gates unlike anything else seen before and beyond the power of the wise to describe, and then speaking to the many gopis there, the demigods became filled with wonder. Then they entered the sixteenth very beautiful gate, the entrance to Sri Radha’s abode.
56 O sage, that gate was guarded by thirty-three gopis,...
57 ..who were beautiful, youthful and decorated with many virtues, whose beautiful garments were beyond description, who were decorated with jewel ornaments,...
58 ...who were decorated with jewel bracelets, armlets, and anklets, whose waists held a network of tinkling jewel-ornaments,...
59 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings, whose breasts were splendid with networks of blossomed jasmine garlands,...
60 ...whose moonlike faces robbed the autumn moon of its glory, who were decorated with a network of parijata garlands,..
61 ...whose beautiful braids were decorated with many ornaments, whose lips were ripe bimba fruits, whose smiling faces were lotus flowers,...
62 ...whose teeth were splendid as ripe-pomegranate seeds, whose beautiful complexions were like campaka flowers, whose waists, O sage, were gracefully slender,...
63 ...whose noses, splendid with elephant pearls, robbed the bird-king’s beak of its beauty,...
64 ...whose full, firm, and heavy breasts were like an elephant’s cheeks, whose hips were broad, and whose thoughts went to Lord Krsna.
65-69 Standing at the gate, with unblinking eyes the demigods gazed first at these gopis and then at Sri Radha’s very wonderful abode, which was splendid with two courtyards paved with precious jewels, set with sapphire pillars, decorated with rubies and networks of parijata flowers, and fragrant with scented breezes. After speaking to these gopis, the demigods, their hearts yearning to see Lord Krsna’s lotus feet, the hairs of their bodies erect, their necks bowed, and their eyes filled with tears of love, entered Sri Radha’s abode.
70 From afar the demigods could see Sri Radha’s abode, its many palaces clustered around a beautiful courtyard,...
71 ...pave with the best of priceless jewels, decorated with pillars of diamonds and many jewels,...
72 ...splendid with networks of parijata flowers, pearls, rubies, white camaras, and mirrors,...
73 ...decorated, O sage, with domes of priceless jewels and sandal wigs tied with silken ribbons,...
74 ...decorated with courtyards of many jewel pillars, anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
75 ...decorated with white paddy, white flowers, red coral, fruits, rice, durva grass, unbroken grains, fried grains, and arati ceremonies,...
76 ...splendid with fruits, jewels, jewel domes, sindura, kunkuma, and networks of parijata flowers,...
77 ...fragrant with breezes carrying the scents of flowers, beyond the power of description,...
78 ...splendid with many things not found in the material worlds, appointed with jewel couches covered with fine cloth,...
79 ...beautiful with networks of parijata flowers, many millions of jewel domes, and many treasuries of precious jewels,...
80 ...decoration with many beautiful and priceless things, pleasant with the sweet sounds of musical instruments,...
81 ...pleasant, O Narada, with the gopis’ beautiful singing, and with the music of vinas, mrdangas, and other instruments,...
82 ...splendid with Sri Radha’s many gopi friends and with many gopas very muck like Lord Krsna,...
83 ...and filled with beautiful songs describing the transcendental qualities of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. As they gazed at all this within Sri Radha’s abode, the demigods became filled with wonder.
84 Listening to the sweet singing and gazing at the graceful dancing, the demigods stood there, rapt in thought.
85 There the demigods saw a beautiful jewel throne in a circle of a hundred dhanus,...
86 ...which was decorated with many small jewel-domes, wonderful statues, wonderful gardens, flowers,...
87 ...which was, O brahmana, wonderfully glorious as ten million suns.
88 Rapt in meditation, the demigods saw in seven talas of that circle a great light, a light that robbed all other lights of their splendour, a light that was present everywhere, a light that was the seed of everything.
90 Their desires all fulfilled, the hairs of their bodies, erect, their necks respectfully bowed, and their eyes filled with tears, and the demigods, happily and with great devotion, bowed down before that light.
91 Rapt in meditation, the demigods bowed down, stood up, and then approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has assumed that form of light.
92 Meditating on this light, Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, stood with folded hands, Lord Siva on his right and Lord Yamaraja on his left.
93 Rapt in meditation, and with great devotion, Lord Brahma offered prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of bliss, beyond the modes of material nature, and greater than the greatest.
94 Sri Brahma said: I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who are the best of they who give benedictions, the origin of they who give benedictions, and the origin of all living entities.
95 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who is most auspicious, the giver of auspiciousness, the abode of auspiciousness.
96 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who has now assumed this form of light, who stays everywhere, who is not touched by matter, who stays in everyone’s heart, who is greater than the greatest, whose activities are not material, and who cannot be understood by the material mind.
97 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who has qualities, who has no qualities, who is the eternal Supreme Spirit, who has no form, who has a form, whose form is splendid.
98 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond description, who is both manifest and unmanifest, who is one only, without any rival, whose desires are all fulfilled, who has the power to assume any form He wishes.
99 To govern the world of three modes He assumes three forms. How can the demigods, who are His parts and parcels, understand Him? He is beyond the reach of the Vedas.
100 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who is the support on which everything rests, who is the creator of all forms, who is the seed of everything, who has no origin who is the end of everything, who is endless.
101 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, The wise describe hundreds of thousands of His transcendental forms and virtues. How can I describe Him?
102 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who has no form, who has a form, who has no senses, who has senses, who sees nothing, who is the witness of all.
103 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who has no feet, but goes everywhere, who has no eyes, but sees everything, who eats even though He has neither hands nor mouth.
104 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light. The saintly sages are able to describe Him in the Vedas. Still, He is not described in the Vedas.
105 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has now assumed this form of light, who is the master of all, who has no master to obey, who is the origin of all, who has no origin, who is in everyone’s heart, who is not in everyone’s heart.
106 Neither I, who create the universes and father the Vedas, nor Yamaraja who protects the pious, nor Siva who destroys the universe, nor anyone else has the power to glorify Him properly.
107 O Lord, as service to You, Yama protects the pious. When the time comes, Siva destroys the universe on Your order.
108 As a service to Your lotus feet I write everyone’s destiny and give the materialists the fruits of their labours. I have no power over Your devotees.
109 In this material universe shaped like an egg we are Your servants. How many servants do You have in the numberless universes?
110 Who can count the specks of dust in the world? Who can count the atoms in the universe? Who can properly glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master and father of all?
111 Maha-Visnu, who manifests the material universes, one by one, from His bodily pores, is but a sixteenth part of You, O Lord.
112 The impersonalist yogis meditate on Your form of light, the object of their desires. The devotees do not. Instead, they serve Your lotus feet.
113 O Lord, please unravel to us Your handsome, charming, youthful form, the form described in the mantras we chant, the form on which we meditate,...
114 ...a form dark as a monsoon cloud, dressed in yellow garments, transcendental, manifesting two arms, a flute in hand, gracefully smiling, handsome,...
115 ...decorated with a peacock feather crown and a network of malati flowers, anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
116 ...decorated with beautiful ornaments made of priceless jewels, splendid with a crown made of priceless jewels,...
117 ...the moon of its face robbing the blooming autumn-lotuses of their splendour, its lips splendid like ripe bimba fruits,...
118 ...and its handsome teeth like ripe pomegranate seeds, a form sitting under a pastime kadamba tree, a form yearning to taste the nectar of the rasa dance,...
119 ...a form that smiled as it glanced at the gopis’ faces, a form that rested on Sri Radha’s breast, a form that yearns to taste the nectar of transcendental pastimes. O Lord, we yearn to see this form of Yours.
120 After speaking these words, Brahma bowed down again and again. Then Siva and Yamaraja also recited this same prayer.
121 His eyes filled with tears, Brahma bowed down again and again. Then the three demigods stood up and recited the prayer again.
122 O sage, flooded by Lord Krsna’s light, Brahma, Siva and Yamaraja stood there, reciting that king of prayers again and again.
123 A person who, when he worships Lord Krsna, recites this prayer with devotion, attains very rare, intense, firm, and unwavering devotion for Lord Krsna.
124 He attains devotional service the demigods, demons, and kings of sages cannot attain. He attains the mystic powers beginning with anima siddhi. He attains the four kinds of liberation, beginning with salokya-mukti.
125 In this world he becomes like Lord Visnu Himself. He is famous. He is worshipped. His words are perfect. The mantras he recites are perfect.
126 He attains all good fortune. He is never in bad health. The world is flooded with his face. He attains knowledge, the gift of poetry, good children, and a lotuslike wife like the goddess of fortune herself.
127 For a long time He stays with his chaste and saintly wife and his good and faithful children. For a long time he is famous. Then, at the end, he attains the association of Lord Krsna.
Chapter Six
Sri Radha-Krsna-samvada
A Conversation of Sri Radha and Sri Krsna
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Meditating and praying, the demigods reverently stood before that light. Then they saw a handsome form at the centre of that light.
2 ...a handsome, blissful, smiling form splendid as a monsoon cloud, a form that enchants the three worlds,...
3 ...a form with shark-earrings glittering on its cheeks, a form with lotus feet splendid with jewel anklets,...
4 ...a form splendid with precious jewel ornaments and priceless yellow garments pure like fire,...
5 ...a form decorated with beautiful ornaments, a form that made its ornaments more beautiful, becoming the ornament of its ornaments,...
6 ...a form glancing with happy eyes, a form overcome with kindness for the devotees, a form with a great and splendid door-panel chest decorated with pearls and jewels,...
7 ...a form splendid with kaustubhas and other precious jewels. In this way, in the centre of that light the demigods saw the beautiful form of Sri Radha.
8 At Sri Radha, who with crooked eyes exchanged glances with Her smiling lover, whose splendid teeth eclipsed many rows of perfect pearls,...
9 ...whose face was happy with a gentle smile, whose eyes were autumn lotus flowers, whose beautiful face eclipsed the autumn moon,...
10 ...whose beautiful lips robbed the bandhujiva flowers of their glory, whose lotus feet were splendid with tinkling anklets,...
111 ...whose fingernails and toenails eclipsed the glory of the king of jewels, and the soles of whose feet were anointed with kunkuma,...
12 ...who was glorious with priceless jewel necklaces, who was glorious with priceless garments pure as fire,...
13 ...who at Her waist wore tinkling ornaments made with the kings of jewels, who was decorated with jewel bracelets, armlets, and necklaces,...
14 ...whose ears and cheeks were splendid with glorious earrings made from the kings of jewels,...
15 ...whose nose, beautiful as the king of bird’s beak, was decorated with an elephant pearl, whose braids were tied with a string of jasmine flowers,...
16 ...whose breast was splendid with many kaustubha jewels, who was decorated with a network of parijata garlands,...
17 ...whose fingers were decorated with many jewel rings,...
18 ...who was decorated with splendid conchshell ornaments strung with fine threads,...
19 ...who was decorated with jewel necklaces strung with red threads, whose beautiful form was glorious as molten gold,...
20 ...whose thighs were graceful, whose raised breasts were very full, who was decorated with all ornaments, and who was decorated with Her own sublime beauty,...
21 ...the demigods, filled with wonder, gazed. Then, all their desires fulfilled, the demigods offered prayers to Lord Krsna and Goddess Radha.
22 Sri Brahma said: O Lord, may the bumblebee of my mind always lovingly stay at the lotus flower of Your feet. Please give me the medicine that brings peace. Please save me from the fever of repeated birth and death. Please give me steady and mature devotional service to You.
23 Sri Siva said: I am drowning in the ocean of birth and death. The fish of my mind is trapped in the horrible and narrow well of repeated birth and death. O Lord, please rescue me from this horrible world of birth and death and give me loving devotion for Your lotus feet.
24 Sri Yamaraja said: O my Lord, may I have the association of Your devotees. Association with them is a sharp sword that cuts the bonds of repeated birth and death. Association with them is the only way to attain a place at Your lotus feet. Please give me devotional service to Your lotus feet birth after birth.
25 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After speaking these prayers the demigods, their heart’s desires fulfilled, respectfully stood before Lord Krsna. Sri Radha’s husband, who fulfils the desires of His devotees.
26 After listening to the demigods’ prayers, Lord Krsna, who is an ocean of mercy, and whose lotus face had blossomed with a smile, spoke the following auspicious and truthful words.
27 Sri Krsna said: Please come to My palace. I am always eager to ask about the welfare of they who take shelter of Me.
28 Please be free of all troubles. How could you be troubled while I am here?
29 I am present in everyone’s heart. I appear before they who offer prayers to Me. I know everything about why you have come.
30 In time, auspicious and inauspicious deeds will bear results. O demigods, all actions, great and small, bear results by the power of time.
31 At the proper time trees bear fruits and flowers. In some seasons the fruits are ripe. In other seasons the fruits are not ripe yet.
32 Happiness, suffering, calamity, good fortune, grief, and anxiety, which are the auspicious and inauspicious fruits of each person’s work, all come at the appropriate time.
33 What is not pleasing in the three worlds? What is unpleasing in the three worlds? It is the powers of time that makes things pleasing and unpleasing.
34 You have seen how, when the fruits of their past deeds have become ripe, kings and manus in this world are under the control of time.
35 What is now a single moment in Goloka is seven manvantaras in the material world.
36 Seven Indras have come and gone. Now it is the time of the eighth Indra. In this way My wheel of time turns day and night.
37 Indras, manus, and kings are all under the control of time. Their fame, piety, and sins remains only as words in history.
38 Even now on the earth there are many powerful and wicked kings who revile the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
39 In the course of time they also will submit to time’s power.
40 By My order time moves, the wind blows, fire burns and the sun shines.
41 O demigods, by My order clouds scatter rain, diseases strike material bodies, and death moves among the conditioned souls.
42 Brahmanas are devoted to brahmanical culture. Sages whose wealth is austerity are devoted to austerity. Brahmana sages are devoted to Brahman. Yogis are devoted to yoga.
43 They all perform their duties out of fear of Me. Only My devotees, who uproot the tree of karmic actions, are fearless.
44 O demigods, I am the time of time, the creator of the creator, the protector of the protector, the destroyer of the destroyer. I am greater than the greatest.
45 By My order Brahma, creates, Yamaraja protects, and Siva destroys.
46 I am the master of all, from Brahma down to the blades of grass. I give the fruits of work. I uproot the tree of karma.
47 Who can protect someone I would kill? Who can kill someone I would protect?
48 I am the protector of all. I am the destroyer of all. Still, I have no power to destroy the devotees. Their bodies are eternal.
49 The devotees are My followers. They worship My feet eternally. To protect them, I always stay by their side.
50 In the material world everyone dies and everyone is reborn again and again. But My devotees do not die. They are fearless. They never suffer.
51 Every wise man yearns to serve Me. They who pray for My service are fortunate. They who do not are filled with material desires.
52 Fruitive workers fear birth, death, old-age, disease and Yama’s punishments. They who are My devotees do not fear.
53 My devotees are not touched by piety or sin. I shake away their karma.
54 I am the devotees’ life. The devotees are My life. They meditate on Me always. I think of them day and night.
55 My sixteen spoke Sudarsana disc is very sharp. No living being has even one sixteenth of its splendour and power.
56 To protect them I place My disc by the devotees’ side. Still not confident of their protection, I personally stand by My devotees.
57 I am not happy in Vaikuntha. I am not happy in Goloka. I am not happy by Sri Radha’s side. I am happy in the company of My devotees. Wherever My devotees stay, there I stay day and night.
58 Sri Radha is more dear to Me than life. Day and night She rests on My chest. You are also more dear to Me than life. To Me the goddess of fortune is not more dear than My devotees.
59 O demigods, whatever a devotee offers Me with love I happily eat. I do not eat what non-devotees offer. They eat it alone.
60 Renouncing wife, children, and relatives, and ignoring you demigods, My devotees meditate on Me day and night. Day and night I think of them.
61-62 They who harm My devotees, brahmanas, cows, demigods, and Vedic yajanas quickly perish like straw thrust into a fire. I destroy them. Who can protect them?
63 I will go to the earth. O demigods, first return to your homes, and then, by your amsa expansions, quickly go to the earth.
64 After speaking to the demigods, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, called the gopas and gopis and spoke to them words that were sweet, truthful and appropriate.
65 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please listen. All of you please go to Nanda’s land of Vraja. O Radha, please go at once to the home of King Vrsabhanu.
66 King Vrsabhanu’s dear wife is the saintly gopi named Kalavati. She is Subala-gopa’s daughter. She is a partial incarnation of the goddess of fortune.
67 She is fortunate and glorious among women. She was the mind-born daughter of the pitas, but by Durvasa’s curse she was born in a house in Vraja.
68 At once go to Nanda’s Vraja and take birth in her womb. O girl with the lotus face, I will assume the form of a small boy and I will marry You.
69 O Radha, to Me You are more dear than life. To You I am more dear than life also. We are not different. We are one body eternally.
70 Listening, Sri Radha wept, overcome with love. O sage, with Her cakora-bird eyes She drank the moonlight of Lord Krsna’s face.
71 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please take birth on the earth in the beautiful palaces of the noble gopas.
72 Then everyone saw the arrival of a great chariot covered with diamonds, the king of jewels,...
73 ...a chariot decorated with a hundred thousand white camaras, ten thousand mirrors, red cloth pure as fire,...
74 ...a thousand jewel domes, and networks of parijata garlands,...
75 ...filled with glorious people, made of gold, beautiful, without compare, glorious and splendid as a hundred suns.
76 They also saw handsome and charming Lord Narayana, who wore yellow garments, held a conch, disc, club and lotus,...
77 ...wore a glorious crown and glorious earrings, was decorated with a forest garland and anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
78 ...had four arms, smiled, was overcome with compassion for His devotees, and was decorated with the best of ornaments made of the kings of jewels.
79 At His left side they saw beautiful, charming, and fair Goddess Sarasvati, who held a flute, vina and book in her hand, who was the queen of the higher planets, and who was knowledge personified.
80 At His right side they saw another beautiful and charming goddess, who smiled sweetly and was fair as molten gold and splendid as the autumn moon,...
81 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings, who wore priceless garments and priceless jewels,...
82 ...who was decorated with bracelets and armlets of priceless jewels, who wore tinkling jewel anklets,...
83 ...whose breast was splendid with a parijata garland, whose braids were beautiful with a jasmine garland,...
84 ...whose beautiful face robbed the autumn moon of its splendour,...
85 ...who was anointed with musk dots and red sindura tilaka, whose beautiful autumn-lotus eyes were decorated with mascara,...
86 ...who held a pastime lotus of a thousand petals, and who with crooked eyes gazed at Lord Narayana as He gazed at Her.
87 Accompanied by His two wives and His many associates, Lord Narayana quickly descended from the chariot and entered the beautiful assembly of gopas and gopis.
88 O demigods, the gopas and gopis at once rose and with folded hands joyfully recited the divine sages’ prayers from the Sama Veda.
89 Then Lord Narayana approached, entered Lord Krsna’s form and disappeared. When they saw this, everyone became filled with wonder.
90 Then Lord Visnu, the protector of the universes came, and descended from His golden chariot.
91-92 O sage, when handsome, smiling four-armed Lord Visnu, decorated with forest garlands, dressed in yellow garments, glorious with all ornaments and splendid as ten million suns, entered the assembly, everyone rose, gazed at Him, bowed down, and offered prayers.
93 Then Lord Visnu also merged into the form of Lord Krsna. Seeing this, everyone became filled with wonder.
94-95 Then the Lord’s incarnation that resides in Svetadvipa also came and merged into Lord Krsna’s body. Then hastily came Lord Sankarsana, the thousand-headed purusa-avatara, who was splendid like pure crystal and effulgent like a hundred suns.
96 Seeing this incarnation of Lord Visnu everyone offered many prayers. Then, with bowed head He Himself offered prayers to Lord Krsna, the husband of Radha.
97 O Narada, with His thousand heads He bowed down with devotion to Lord Krsna. Then Nara and Narayana Rsi, the two sons of Dharma Rsi, also came.
98 Then I merged into Lord Krsna’s lotus feet and Nara Rsi became Arjuna. Then Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yamaraja came to that place.
99 There the demigods saw a great chariot of gold and jewels,...
100 ...a chariot decorated with the kings of jewels, cloth pure as fire, many white camaras and ten thousand mirrors,...
101 ...splendid with many jewel domes, beautiful with networks of parijata garlands,...
102 ...beautiful, with a thousand wheels, fast as the mind, robbing the splendour of the summer’s midday sun,...
103 ...splendid with many pearls, rubies, and diamonds, wonderful with paintings, designs, statues, flowers, lakes and forests,...
104 ...a chariot that was, O sage, the best of all chariots owned by demigods or demons, a chariot Visvakarma carefully made for Lord Siva’s pleasure,...
105 A chariot four hundred miles high and eight hundred miles across, and splendid with a hundred palaces gracefully appointed with many beautiful couches and beds.
106 Then they saw a goddess decorated with jewel ornaments, her splendour robbing molten gold of its glory,...
107 ...a goddess who was very splendid, peerless, the root of material nature, the controller of material nature, with a thousand arms holding many weapons,...
108 ...gently smiling, overcome with compassion for her devotees, her cheeks splendid with jewel earrings, splendid with tinkling anklets made of the kings of jewels,...
109 ...decorated with jewel bracelets and armlets, her graceful waist decorated with a jewel belt,...
110 ...her chest glorious with many mandara garlands, her thighs firm and her raised breasts full,...
111 ...her beautiful face eclipsing the autumn moon’s splendour, her autumn lotus eyes splendid with graceful mascara,...
112 ...decorated with pictures and designs drawn in sandal, aguru, and musk, her beautiful lips splendid like new bandhujiva flowers,...
113 ...her teeth robbing pearls of their splendour, her braids decorated with blossomed jasmine flowers,...
114 ...an elephant pearl decorating the tip of her nose graceful like the bird king’s beak,...
115 ...a goddess splendid with garments pure as fire, and accompanied by her two sons as she cheerfully rode on a lion’s back.
116 Descending from the chariot, the goddess and her sons at once bowed down before Lord Krsna, the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then she sat on a great throne.
117 Ganesa and Karttikeya bowed down first to Lord Krsna, who is greater than the greatest, and then to Siva, Yamaraja, Sesa, and Brahma.
118 The demigoddess rose. Seeing the two boys, the demigods blessed them, had them sit in their midst, and happily began to talk with them.
119 As the goddess and the demigods stood before Lord Krsna in the assembly, the many gopas and gopis became filled with wonder.
120 Then, His lotus face smiling, Lord Krsna said to Goddess Laksmi: Please go to King Bhismaka’s jewel palace.
121 Eternal goddess, please take birth in Queen Vidabhi’s womb. O saintly one, I will go to Kundina and take your hand in marriage.
122 Seeing Goddess Parvati, the demigoddess quickly rose and had her sit on a beautiful jewel throne.
123 O king of brahmanas, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati sat together and talked among themselves.
124 the gopis happily talked with the three goddesses. Some gopis happily sat by their side.
125 Then Sri Krsna, the master of the universes, said to Parvati: O beautiful goddess, in an amsa incarnation please go to Nanda’s Vraja.
126 O beautiful one, O goddess of material nature, O creator and destroyer of the worlds, please take birth in Yasoda’s womb from Nanda’s seed.
127 I will arrange that in every village and city on the earth the people will worship you with devotion.
128 Offering you many splendid gifts, the people will worship you as their goddess.
129 O auspicious wife of Lord Siva, the moment you touch the earth My father will take you from the maternity room and place Me in your stead.
130 For a moment you will see Kamsa and then you will return to Lord Siva. Then I will remove the earth’s burden and return to My own abode.
131 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna said to Karttikeya: Child, in an amsa incarnation you will go to the earth.
132 O great demigod, then you should take birth in Jambavati’s womb. All the demigods should go in amsa incarnations to the earth. Then I will remove the earth’s burden.
133 O Narada, after speaking these words, Lord Krsna, the husband of Radha, sat on His beautiful throne, and the demigods, demigoddesses, gopas and gopis also sat in His company.
134 Then Brahma stood up and with folded hands humbly addressed Lord Krsna, the master of the universes.
135 Sri Brahma said: O Lord, please hear Your servant’s request. O great one, how and where we should descend to the earth? Please give us Your command.
136 A proper master always maintains, protects and rescues his servants. A proper servant always devotedly follows his master’s commands.
137 What demigods and demigoddesses in what forms, in what incarnations, with what names, and performing what actions, should descend to the earth?
138 Hearing Brahma’s words, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, replied: Now I will tell you all of this.
139 Sri Krsna said: Kamadeva will become Rukmini’s son Pradyumna. Rati will be reflected in Sambarasura’s house as saintly Mayavati.
140 You will become Pradyumna’s son Aniruddha. Sarasvati will go to Sonitapura and become Banasura’s daughter Usa.
141 Lord Sesa, the master of the universes, will go to Devaki’s womb. Then Yogamaya will pull (sankars) Him into Rohini’s womb. For this reason He will be called Sankarsana.
142 Ganga will come to the earth in a partial incarnation as Yamuna. Tulasi will appear in a half-incarnation as princess Laksmana.
143 Saintly Savitri, the mother of the Vedas, will be named Nagnajiti. Vasundhara will become Satyabhama. Goddess Sarasvati will become Saibya.
144 Rohini will become Princess Mitravinda, and the sun-god’s wife will partially appear as Ratnamala.
145 Svaha will partially appear as Susila. In this way, beginning with Rukmini, I will have nine wives. Goddess Durga will partially appear as Jambavati. Including her, I will have ten queens.
146 One day on Mount Kailasa, Lord Siva ordered Parvati: By a partial incarnation Parvati must go to Jambavan’s house.
147 Beloved, you must embrace Lord Visnu, who stays in Svetadvipa, and who once came to Mount Kailasa. Because I command you to do this, there will be no sin on your part.
148 Sri Brahma said: O Krsna, O husband of Radha, why did Lord Siva give this command to Parvati, that she should approach Lord Visnu, who resides in Svetadvipa?
149 Sri Krsna said: When all the demigods came to see the newborn infant Ganesa, on Lord Siva’s request Lord Visnu also came from Svetadvipa.
150 Lord Visnu happily saw Ganesa and then sat on a comfortable seat. Then all the demigods blissfully gazed on Lord Visnu, whose form enchanted the three worlds,...
151 ...who wore yellow garments, a crown and earrings, whose youthful dark forms was very handsome,...
152 ...who was anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, who was decorated with jewel ornaments, whose lotus face smiled,...
153 ...who sat on a jewel throne, who was surrounded by His associates, to whom all the demigods offered obeisances, to whom Lord Siva offered worship and prayers.
154 When Parvati saw Lord Visnu she became filled with a happiness that showed in her face and eyes. Embarrassed, chaste Parvati covered her face with her sari.
155-6 Her face covered, with unblinking crooked eyes chaste Parvati gazed again and again at Lord Visnu’s very handsome, wonderfully dressed form. The hairs of her body erect,, she became plunged in an ocean of bliss.
157 For a moment she gazed at splendid Lord Siva, more handsome than ten million Kamadevas, grasping a trident and axe, and three eyes on each of his five faces.
158 In the next moment she gazed at dark Lord Visnu, wearing yellow garments,, decorated with a forest garland, with one face and four arms.
159 Gazing at the one Supreme Lord who appears in many forms, Goddess Parvati, the controller of material bewilderment, fell under the control of Lord Visnu’s spiritual power of bewilderment. She became filled with passionate desire.
160 She thought: The three demigods Brahma, Visnu, and Siva, are my partial incarnations. Still Visnu is best, for He is in the mode of goodness.
161 Parvati gazed at Lord Visnu and in her thoughts devotedly worshipped Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul in everyone’s heart.
162 Lord Siva, who was also the Personality of Godhead, the master of the universes, and the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, knew what Parvati was thinking.
163 Taking her to a secluded place, Lord Siva spoke to Parvati. He taught her all that was auspicious and true.
164 Sri Siva said: O Parvati, please understand my words. You must become the passionate lover of Lord Visnu, the all-pervading Supersoul and Supreme Personality of Godhead.
165 Visnu, Brahma, and I are the one eternal Supreme Lord. We are not different. We are the one Lord manifest in different forms.
166 You are the potency of the Supreme Lord. You are the mother of all. You appear in many forms. You are Brahma’s wife Sarasvati. You are Goddess Laksmi who rests on Lord Narayana’s chest.
167 O saintly one, you are also Parvati, who rests on my chest.
After hearing Lord Siva’s words, Parvati, the queen of the demigods, spoke to him.
168 Sri Parvati said: O friend of the poor, O ocean of mercy, why have you no mercy for me? For a long time I performed austerities to attain you, the master of the universes.
169 Lord, you cannot reject a servant like me. O Siva, please do not speak these improper words to me.
170 Lord, I will obey your command. I will take birth in another body. Then I will become Lord Visnu’s lover.
171 Hearing these words, Lord Siva burst into laughter. In this way he reassured Parvati and removed her fears.
172 To keep her word chaste Parvati will take birth in Jambavan’s house. O Brahma, she will be named Jambavati.
173 Sri Brahma said: On the earth there are many different kinds of kings. Why will Parvati take birth in the home of a bear?
174 Sri Krsna said: In Treta-yuga, during the incarnation of Lord Rama, the demigods incarnated on the earth. At that time the king of the Himalaya’s incarnated as the bear Jambavan, a great servant of Lord Rama.
175 Because of a boon from Lord Rama, Jambavan is long-lived, handsome, and strong like ten million lions.
176 In this way Parvati will go to the earth and take birth in the house of Jambavan, who is an incarnation of her father, the king of the Himalayas. Now please hear more explanations from My mouth.
177 All the demigods should partially incarnate on the earth. O Brahma, as warrior-princes they will assist Me in battle.
178 Goddess Laksmi will partially incarnate as 16 000 princesses who will become My queens.
179 Yamaraja will partially incarnate as Pandu’s son Yudhisthira. Vayu will partially incarnate as Bhimasena. Indra will partially incarnate as Arjuna.
180 The Asvini-kumaras will partially incarnate as Nakula and Sahadeva. Surya will partially incarnate as the heroic warrior Karna. Yamaraja will personally appear as Vidura.
181 Kali will partially incarnate as Duryodhana. Varuna will partially incarnate as Santanu. Siva will partially incarnate as Asvatthama. Agni will partially incarnate as Dronacarya.
182 Candra will partially incarnate as Abhimanyu. Vasu will partially incarnate as Bhisma. Kasyapa will partially incarnate as Vasudeva. Aditi will partially incarnate as Devaki.
183 Vasu will partially incarnate as Nanda-gopa. Vasu’s wife will partially incarnate as Yasoda. Laksmi will partially incarnate as Draupadi, who was born from a yajna pond.
184 Agni will partially incarnate as noble and powerful Dhrstadyumna. Satarupa will partially incarnate as Subhadra, born from Devaki’s womb.
185 In this way the demigods must go, by their partial expansions, to the earth and help to remove its burden. The demigods’ wives must also go, by their partial expansions, to the earth.
186 At that point Lord Krsna stopped speaking. O Narada, Brahma stood there, listening.
187 Sarasvati was at Lord Krsna’s left and Laksmi at His right. Parvati and all the demigods were before Him.
188 The gopis and gopas were before Him. Sri Radha rested on His chest. At that moment Sri Radha, the queen of Vraja spoke to Lord Krsna.
189 Sri Radha said: O Lord, please hear the words of Your maidservant. My life has become a blazing fire that burns without stop. My mind trembles, swinging to and fro.
190 When I look at You I cannot even blink. O Lord, how can I go to the earth without You?
191 O friend, how much time must pass before I will meet You again in Gokula? O master of My life, please tell the truth.
192 An eyeblink without You will be a hundred yugas for Me. What will I look on? Where will I go? Who will protect Me?
193 O master of My life, how can I for a moment think of mother, father, relatives, friends, brother, sister, or children when You are gone?
194 O master of illusions, please promise me that when I am on the earth You will not cover Me with illusion and make Me forget Your glories.
195 O Krsna, please turn My mind into a bumblebee always wandering among the nectar lotus-flowers of Your feet.
196 Wherever I may be born, please give Me service to You and remembrance of You.
197 You are Krsna and I am Radha. When I am on the earth may I never forget the glory of Our love. O Lord, please give Me this benediction.
198 As breath always stays with the body and as the body always stays with its shadow, may We two always stay together when We take birth. O Lord please give Me this benediction.
199 When We are on the earth let Us not be separated for even an eyeblink. O Lord, please give Me this benediction.
200 Who was it that used My life-breath to create Your body, feet, and flute?
201 How many glorious kinds of women are there? How many kinds of glorious men praised again and again? No woman is attached to her lover as I am to You.
202 How is it that I was created from half of Your body? There is no difference between Us. That is why My mind always thinks of You.
203 How is it that My mind, heart, and life were placed in Your body. And Your mind, heart and life were placed in Mine?
204 That is why an eyeblink’s separation from You brings a great catastrophe to My mind. That is why, when it hears that We may be separated, My life-force burns in an unending fire.
205 After speaking these words in the assembly of demigods, again and again Sri Radha grasped Lord Krsna’s lotus feet and loudly wept.
206 Then, placing Her on His lap and with His own garment wiping the tears from Her face, Lord Krsna spoke many true and beneficial words.
207 Sri Krsna said: Goddess, please listen and I will describe to You the yoga of the Supreme, a yoga even the kings of the yogis cannot understand, a yoga that cuts grief into many pieces.
208 O beautiful one, consider this: The entire universe is constructed of two things: resting places and things that rest in them. It is not possible for a resting thing to be separated from its resting place.
209 For the fruit the resting place is the flower. For the flower the resting place is the twig. For the twig the resting place is the branch. For the branch the resting place is the tree itself.
210 For the tree the resting place is the sapling. For the sapling, which is manifest from the seed, the resting place is the seed. For the seed the resting place is the earth.
211 For the earth the resting place is Lord Sesa. For Lord Sesa the resting place is the great tortoise beneath Him. For the tortoise the resting place is the wind. For the wind the resting place is I Myself.
212 For Me the resting place is You. I always rest in You. You have all powers. You are the root from which the material nature has sprung. You are the Supreme Goddess.
213 You are the resting place of all bodies. You are the resting place of the three mode of nature. You are the resting place of Me, for I am Your heart. Without You I cannot act. Only by Your grace have I the power to act.
214 From the man the seed is manifest. From the seed children are manifest. The resting place of both seed and children is the woman, who is manifest from material nature.
215 How can the spirit soul exist without the body? How can the body exist without the spirit soul? They are both the first cause. O goddess, how can the creation be manifest without them both?
216 O Radha, We are not different. We are the seed and the world grown from the seed. I am the soul and You are the body. Where the soul is present, there also is the body. We are not different. Why must You be so humble?
217 As whiteness is present in milk, as heat is present in fire, as fragrance is present in earth, and as coolness is present in fire, so I am always present in You.
218 As milk and its whiteness, fire and its heat, earth and its fragrance, and water and its coolness are one and cannot be separated, We are one also. We cannot be separated.
219 Without Me, You are lifeless. Without You, I am invisible. O beautiful one, without You I cannot exist.
220 Without clay a potter cannot make a pot. Without gold a goldsmith cannot make a gold ornament.
221 As the spirit soul is eternal, Your are also eternal. You are the material nature. You are all powerful. You are the eternal resting place of everything.
222 Laksmi, all-auspicious Sarasvati, Brahma, Siva, Sesa, and Yamaraja are dear as life to Me. But You are more dear than life to Me.
223 If this were not so, then why do the demigods and demigoddesses stay nearby, but You rest on My chest, O Radha?
224 O Radha, give up Your tears. I saintly one, give up this fruitless and mistaken worry and go to King Vrsabhanu’s house.
225 O beautiful one, use Your powers to create an artificial pregnancy in Kalavati. For nine months fill her womb with air.
226 When the tenth month comes leave Your natural form behind, accept the form of an infant girl and go to the earth.
227 At the time of giving birth, place Your form of a naked infant on the ground by Kalavati and cry like a newborn child.
228 O saintly one, in this way, without entering a mother’s womb, You will appear in Gokula. I also will appear without entering a mother’s womb. You and I do not enter a mother’s womb.
229 The moment I come to earth Vasudeva will carry Me to Gokula. Pretending to fear Kamsa, I will go there for Your sake.
230 I will be Nanda’s son in Yasoda’s house. O beautiful one, again and again You will happily see me and tightly embrace Me.
231 O Radha, because of the benediction I give You, You will remember everything. Following My own wish, I will enjoy pastimes with You in Vrndavana forest again and again.
232 Therefore, accompanied by thirty three virtuous friends and twenty one billion gopi-associates, please go to Vraja.
233-4 O Radha, after comforting with eloquent nectar words the numberless gopas and gopis left behind in Goloka, I will go to Vasudeva’s home in Mathura City.
235 The ten million gopas most dear to Me should take birth in the homes of the gopas. To enjoy pastimes with Me they should go to Vraja.
236 O Narada, then Lord Krsna stopped speaking. The demigods, demigoddesses, gopas and gopis were silent.
237 Then Brahma, Siva, Yama, Sesa, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati joyfully offered prayers to Lord Krsna.
238 Overcome with love and burning in the flames of imminent separation, the devoted gopas and gopis offered prayers to Lord Krsna and bowed down before Him.
239 Burning in the flames of imminent separation even though Her desires were all fulfilled, Sri Radha devotedly offered prayers to Her lover Krsna, who is more dear to Her than life.
240 Seeing that Sri Radha was weeping many tears of distress, Lord Krsna spoke to Her truthful words of enlightenment.
241 Sri Krsna said: O goddess more dear than life, please be peaceful. Give up You fears. What You feel I also feel. Why should You be unhappy while I am with You.
242 However, I will tell You something that is not good. You will be separated from Me for a hundred years.
243 O beautiful one, I will go to Mathura and because of Sridama’s curse, We will be separated.
244 In Mathura I will remove the earth’s burden, release My parents from bondage and give liberation to a florist, a tailor and a hunchback girl.
245 Then I will kill Kalayavana, deliver Mucukunda, build the city of Dvaraka, and see a Rajasuya-yajna.
246 Then I will marry 16 100 princesses and defeat many enemies.
247 Then I will help My friends, burn Varanasi, make Siva yawn and cut Banasura’s arms.
248 I will forcibly take the Parijata tree, see many saintly sages when I go on pilgrimage, and perform many other activities.
249 While on pilgrimage I will speak with My friends and relatives, help My father perform a yajna, and, at an auspicious moment, see You again.
250 There I will also see the gopis and again I will teach You the truth of spiritual philosophy.
251 From that time We will never really be separated for even a moment of the day or night. Then, after some time, I will return to Vraja.
252 Beloved, during the hundred years We are separated We will meet in Our dreams again and again.
253 In My Narayana form I will go to Dvaraka for those hundred years. In that way I will enjoy My pastimes there.
254 Then I will return to live with You in the forest. Then I will wipe away all the sufferings of My parents and the gopas and gopis.
255 When I have removed the earth’s burden I will return to Goloka with the gopas, gopis and You.
256 O Radha, in My form as eternal Lord Narayana I will return to Vaikuntha with Laksmi and Sarasvati.
257 My various incarnations will return to Svetadvipa, the home of religion, and the partial incarnations of the demigods and demigoddesses will all return to their respective abodes.
258 Then You and I will again live in Goloka. Beloved, now I have told You everything both good and bad. Who can stop from happening what I have foretold?
259 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna had Radha rest against His chest. All the demigods and their wives were astonished.
260 Then Lord Krsna said to the demigods and demigoddesses: O demigods, please return to your homes and prepare for your mission.
261 O Parvati, please go to Mount Kailasa with your husband and sons. At the proper time you will execute the mission I have given you.
262 As I have said, you will take birth as a partial incarnation. You will not be accompanied by Ganesa, who is the lord of the great and the small.
263-4 Bowing down before Lord Krsna, the demigods happily returned to their homes. Then, bowing again before Lord Krsna and before Laksmi and Sarasvati, they went, eager to execute their mission, to the earth. Then Lord Krsna described Sri Radha’s mission, a mission beyond what the demigods can attain.
265 Lord Krsna said to Sri Radha: Accompanied by the many gopas and gopis I have already named, please go to King Vrsabhanu’s home.
266 Beloved, first I will go to Vasudeva’s home in Mathura, and then, on the pretext of fearing Kamsa, I will go to Gokula, where You will be.
267 Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna. Tormented with the thought of being separated from Her love, She wept, Her eyes now red lotus flowers, again and again.
268 She began to go and then She returned. Again and again and again and again She left, returned, and gazed and gazed at Lord Krsna’s face.
269 With the cakora birds of Her unblinking eyes saintly Radha drank the nectar moonlight of Lord Krsna’s face.
270 Seven times the supreme goddess Radha circumambulated Lord Krsna. Seven times She bowed down and respectfully stood before Him.
271 Then twenty-one billion gopis and ten million gopas came there.
272 O Narada, accompanied by the multitudes of gopas and gopis, Sri Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna and respectfully stood before Him.
273 Accompanied by Her thirty-three close friends and by the many gopas and gopis, beautiful Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna and then went to the earth.
274 Then Radha-gopi went to Vrsabhanu-gopa’s home, the place Lord Krsna arranged for Her in Nanda’s Gokula.
275 When Radha went with the gopas and gopis to the earth, Lord Krsna became eager to go there also.
276 After speaking to the gopas and gopis and giving them their various duties, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, travelling as fast as the mind, went to Mathura.
277 Before all this Vasudeva and Devaki had six sons and Kamsa killed each one as soon as they were born.
278 By Lord Krsna’s order, Yogamaya pulled from Devaki’s womb the seventh embryo, who was an incarnation of Lord Sesa, ad place it in Rohini’s womb in Gokula.
Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Canto Four Sri Krsna-janma-khanda
The Birth of Lord Krsna
Volume Three
Table of Contents
Chapter Seven
Sri Krsna-janma-kirtana
The Story of Lord Krsna’s Birth Page 2
Chapter Eight
Sri Janmastami-vrata-pujopavasa-nirupana
Vows, Worship, and Fasting on Janmastami Page 9
Chapter Nine
Sri Nanda-putrotsava
The Festival for Sri Nanda’s Son Page 14
Chapter Ten
Putana-moksana
The Liberation of Putana Page 18
Chapter Eleven
Trnavarta-vadha
The Killing of Trnavarta Page 21
Chapter Seven
Sri Krsna-janma-kirtana
The Story of Lord Krsna’s Birth
1 Sri Narada said: O glorious one, please describe Lord Krsna’s glorious and sacred birth. This description frees the hearer from birth, death and old-age.
2 Whose son was Vasudeva? Whose daughter was Devaki? Who were Vasudeva and Devaki? Please describe their marriage.
3 Why did cruel Kamsa kill their six sons? On what day was Lord Krsna born? I wish to hear this. Please describe it.
4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Vasudeva was Kasyapa Muni in his previous birth, and Devaki was Aditi, the mother of the demigods. As a result of their previous deeds they attained Lord Krsna as their son.
5 Vasudeva was born from King Devamidha in the womb of Marisa. At the moment of his birth jubilant demigods sounded anaka and dundubhi drums. For this reason the elder saintly devotees gave Lord Krsna’s father the name Anakadundubhi.
6 Devaka, a king in the Yadu dynasty, was the son of King Ahuka. Devaka has a son, Jnanasindhu, and a daughter, Devaki.
8 Carefully following the rules of scripture, Garga Muni, the guru of the Yadu dynasty, performed the wedding ceremony of Vasudeva and Devaki.
9 There was a great reception for Vasudeva. At an auspicious moment King Devaka gave Devaki in marriage to Vasudeva.
10 O Narada, King Devaka then gave a dowry of a thousand horses and golden cups, a hundred beautiful and opulently decorated maidservants,...
11 ...many different kinds of gifts, many different kinds of jewels, many diamonds, which are the king of jewels, and many jewel cups.
12-14 Then Vasudeva took his bride, who was splendid as a hundred moons, decorated with splendid jewels, noble, glorious, able to enchant the three worlds, the best of women, a treasury of beauty, a treasury of virtue, smiling with crooked eyes, in full bloom of youth, and a perfect bride, placed her in his chariot and began to depart. Kamsa, who was filled with joy on the occasion of his sister’s marriage, accompanied them.
15 As Kamsa approached the chariot, a disembodied voice spoke from the sky.
16 The voice said: Why are you so happy, the king of kings? Hear these truthful words meant for your welfare. Devaki’s eight son will kill you.
17 Hearing this, powerful and sinful Kamsa, frightened by the oracle and filled with anger, grasped a sword in his hand and was about to kill Devaki.
18 Seeing Kamsa about to kill Devaki, intelligent Vasudeva, who was learned in the scriptures of ethics, spoke.
19 Sri Vasudeva said: You don’t know how a king should act. Please hear my auspicious words, which are perfectly appropriate, which are spoken by scripture, and which bring fame and destroy sin.
20 O king, if her eighth son will be your death, and you kill her instead of him, your reputation will be destroyed and you will go to hell.
21 If somehow he kills a ferocious beast that is attacking him, a wise man gives in charity coins equal to one karsapana. In this way, at the moment of his death, he is released from the sin of killing the beast.
22 In he kills an animal that is not attacking him, then, in order at the time of his death to be released from the sin, a wise man should perform an atonement a hundred times greater than the previous one. This is said by the demigod Brahma.
23 If without provocation he kills a higher animal, such as a goat, then the sin is a hundred times greater. Manu has said this.
24-26 If he kills a human being that is a mleccha, the sin is a hundred times grater than killing a higher animal. If he kills a pious sudra, the sin is a hundred times greater than killing a mleccha. If he kills a cow the sin is a hundred times greater than killing a pious sudra. If he kills a brahmana the sin is ten time greater than killing a cow.
27 By killing a woman one commits a sin equal to killing a brahmana.
28 O king, if one kills his own sister, who has taken shelter of him and deserves to be protected by him, he commits a sin a hundred times greater than killing a woman.
29 A person performs austerities, chants mantras, performs worship, sees holy places, feeds brahmanas, and performs yajnas in order that he may go to Svargaloka.
30 The saintly devotees see that this fearful material life is temporary like a dream or like bubbles in water. Therefore they always follow the principles of religion.
31 O saintly one, let your sister go. How many wise men are there? Ask them what you should do.
32 Friend, I will give you my eighth son. Why must I have an eighth son?
33 Or I will give you all my children. O best of the wise, none of them would be very dear to me.
34 O king of kings, let your sister go. She is like your own daughter. You, yourself reared her, every day giving her delicious foods to eat.
35 Hearing Vasudeva’s words, King Kamsa released his sister. Then Vasudeva took his bride to their palace.
36 O Narada, in the course of time six sons were born. Vasudeva gave each one to Kamsa, and Kamsa killed them all, one by one.
37 When Devaki was pregnant the seventh time, frightened Kamsa posted guards at her door. Then goddess Yogamaya protected the unborn child, pulling it out of Devaki’s womb and placing it in Rohini’s womb.
38 The guards said there was a miscarriage. Because the seventh child, who was the Personality of Godhead Himself, was pulled (sankarsana) from the womb, He was called Sankarsana.
39 Then Devaki became pregnant for an eight time. This time there was no child in her womb. It was filled with air.
40 When the ninth month passed and the tenth came, Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who sees everything, glanced at Devaki’s womb.
41 As a result of the Lord’s glance, Devaki, who was naturally the most beautiful of all women, suddenly became four times more beautiful.
42 Kamsa noticed that Devaki, her eyes and face blossoming with happiness, filled the ten directions with her splendour like the goddess Yogamaya.
43 She was splendid like all the stars together. Kamsa, the king of demons, gazed at her and became filled with wonder.
44 Kamsa said, “From this pregnancy will come the child that is the seed of my death.” Then he posted guards at the seven gates to guard Devaki and Vasudeva with great care.
45 O Narada, when the tenth month came Devaki’s pregnancy was complete. Numb and stunned, she began to tremble.
46 When Devaki’s womb was thus filled with air, Lord Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the lotus of her heart.
47 When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who maintains all the universes entered her womb, Devaki became stunned and filled with pain as she stayed in the confines of her palace.
48 Devaki became restless. One moment she would sit down, the next moment she would stand up, the next moment she would pace back and forth, and the next moment she would sleep.
49 Observing Devaki, and aware that the time of giving birth had come, noble-hearted Vasudeva meditated on Lord Krsna.
50 In the beautiful palace lit with jewel lamps Vasudeva reverently placed a sword, iron, water, fire,...
51 ...a person learned in chanting mantras, a learned brahmana, his relatives and their frightened wives.
52 When two hours of night had passed the sky became filled with clouds and lightning.
53 Great winds blew. The eight guards fell asleep. In their sleep they became motionless and unconscious as if dead.
54 Then the demigods Brahma, Siva, and Yamaraja came and offered prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Devaki’s womb.
55 The demigods said: You are the origin of the universes, but You have no origin. You are limitless, immutable, effulgent, sinless, and supremely exalted. You have no material qualities, for Your qualities are all spiritual. You are beyond the three modes of material nature.
56 Out of love for them You show Your transcendental form to the devotees. Your form is not material. You are independent. Your every desire is automatically fulfilled. You are the master of all. You are everything. You are the shelter of all transcendental qualities.
57 You are the origin of happiness and distress. You are the origin of all. You put an end to the demons. You are perfect. You are the shelter of everything. You are always fearless and free from any distress.
58 You are not material. You are not touched by matter. Your actions are not material. Your desires are all fulfilled. You are self-satisfied. You are eternal and free from any imperfection.
59 You are gentle, ferocious, difficult to please, unattainable, the author of the Vedas, the Vedas, the Vedangas, the knower of the Vedas, and the all-powerful Lord.
60 After speaking these words the demigods bowed down again and again. Tears of joy in their eyes, they showered flowers on the Lord.
61 A person who rises early and chants these forty-two names attains firm devotion for Lord Krsna. His desire to serve the Lord is fulfilled.
62 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After speaking these prayers, the demigods returned to their own abode. Then a great rain suddenly fell and no one moved about in Mathura City.
63 O sage, a terrible darkness covered the night. Seven muhurtas passed and the eighth muhurta came.
Note: One muhurta equals forty-eight minutes.
64 Then, at the most auspicious moments, a moment even the Vedas cannot properly glorify, a moment beyond all understanding, a moment when all auspicious planets were visible on the horizon and no inauspicious planets could be seen,...
65 ...a moment on the eighth tithi, O sage, when a half-moon had risen with the star Rohini and the auspicious Jayanti-yoga was present,...
66 ...at that moment the sun and the other planets both auspicious and inauspicious, gazed again and again at the horizon, became filled with awe, left their regular places and met in the sign Pisces.
67 Staying there, all the planets became auspicious. In this way, by the demigod Brahma’s order, all the planets happily stayed in the eleventh house for one muhurta.
68 Then the clouds rained, pleasantly cool winds blew, the earth became happy, and the ten directions became filled with joy.
69 Filled with joy, the sages, manus, yaksas, gandharvas, kinnaras, apsaras, demigods, and demigoddesses danced.
70 O Narada, the gandharva kings and the vidyadharis sang, the rivers happily flowed and the fires happily blazed.
71 In Svargaloka there was beautiful music of dundubhi and anaka drums. There was a great shower of parijata flowers.
72 The earth-goddess assumed the form of a human woman and visited Devaki’s maternity-room, there were loud sounds of conchshells and the sounds of ‘Victory!’ and ‘Hari!’
73 Then saintly Devaki fell to the ground and the air suddenly passed from her belly.
74 Then Lord Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, left the lotus-whorl of Devaki’s heart and manifested His transcendental form before her.
75-80 O sage, then Vasudeva and Devaki saw before them the supremely handsome and charming Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had two arms, a flute in His hand, glittering shark-earrings, a gentle smile, great mercy for His devotees, ornaments of the kings of jewels, a form dark like a monsoon cloud, yellow garments, limbs anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, an autumn moon face, handsome bimba fruit lips, a peacock feather crown, a splendid jewel-crown, a threefold bending form, and a forest garland, who had the mark of Srivatsa on His chest, who was youthful, peaceful and handsome, and who was the Lord of both Brahma and Siva.
81 His hands respectfully folded, his neck bent with devotion, tears in his eyes and the hairs of his body erect, the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s father, Vasudeva, filled with wonder, and his wife Devaki by his side, offered prayers to the Lord.
82-86 Sri Vasudeva said: O almighty one, how can I properly glorify You, who are beyond the material senses, not manifest in the material world, imperishable, beyond the modes of nature, all-powerful, not attainable by meditation, the Supersoul present in everyone’s heart, the supreme controller whose every desire is at once fulfilled, the Lord who assumes any form at will, the Supreme Spirit, untouched by matter, the seed of all existence, eternal, bigger than the biggest, smaller than the smallest, the most subtle, all-pervading, invisible, the witness present in all bodies, the Lord who has a transcendental form with a host of transcendental qualities, the Lord who has no material form, the material world, the master of the material world, beyond the material world, the master of all, present in all forms, the death that puts an end to all that is material, deathless, immutable, the resting place on which all depends, depends on no one, and the supreme perfect one?
87 Lord Sesa is not able to glorify You properly. Goddess Sarasvati is not able. Lord Siva is not able. Karttikeya is not able.
88 Lord Brahma, the author of the Vedas is not able to glorify You properly. Ganesa is not able. The guru of the guru of the kings of the yogis is not able.
89 The great sages, demigods, manus, and human beings cannot see You, even in their dreams. How can they glorify You properly?
90 Even the personified Vedas cannot glorify You properly. How can the scholars of this world glorify You? O Lord, please leave this present form and now become a small boy.
91 A person who at sunrise, noon, and sunset recites these prayers of King Vasudeva attains devotional service for the lotus feet of Lord Krsna.
92 He attains a noble and virtuous son devoted to serving Lord Krsna. He quickly passes through all dangers. He is delivered from the fears of his enemies.
93 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After hearing Vasudeva’s words, handsome and glorious Lord Krsna, overcome with feelings of kindness for His devotee, and His face beaming with happiness, spoke to him.
94 Sri Krsna said: Because of your great austerities I have now become your son. Please ask for a boon. Your future will be auspicious. Of this there is no doubt.
95 Formerly you were the prajapati Sutapa, the best of ascetics. You and your austere wife worshipped Me with great austerities.
96 When you saw Me you asked for the boon of having a son like Me. I gave you the boon of having a son like Me.
97 After giving you that boon I thought, “In the whole world there is no one like Me.” For that reason I have now become your son.
98 By the power of your austerities you were the great sage Kasyapa and your wife was chaste Aditi, the mother of the demigods.
99 You are Kasyapa, now appearing as My f father Vasudeva, Your wife is Aditi, the mother of the demigods, who is now Devaki.
100 As a partial incarnation, I appeared as Vamana and became the son of You and Aditi. Now, by the power of your austerities, I have appeared in My original form.
101 Thinking of Me either as your son or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you will attain Me. O wise one, you will be liberated even in this life.
102 O father, take me at once to Yasoda’s home in Vraja. Leave Me there and put Goddess Maya in My place.
103 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna assumed the form of a newborn infant. Vasudeva gazed at his sleeping, dark, infant son, on the ground before him.
104-5 Vasudeva said, “What happened when I looked at this child? Was I bewildered by Lord Visnu’s illusory potency? Did I, overcome with exhaustion, see a dream in this maternity room?” Vasudeva and his wife gazed at the infant in their lap. Then Vasudeva took the infant to Nanda’s Gokula.
106 Vasudeva quickly went to Nanda’s Vraja, entered the maternity room there, and saw that Yasoda was asleep on her bed, Nanda was asleep, and everyone in the house was also asleep.
107 He saw a gently smiling infant girl, naked and gazing at the housetop.
108 When he saw the infant girl, Vasudeva became filled with wonder.
109 Taking the girl with him, and leaving his son in her place, he quickly returned to his wife’s maternity room in Mathura.
110 There he placed the infant girl, who was the goddess Maha-maya. When she saw the girl cry again and again, Devaki became afraid.
111 Crying, the infant girl awakened the guards, who quickly came and took her away.
112 As they took the child to Kamsa, grieving Vasudeva and Devaki followed them.
113 O great sage, when he saw the beautiful infant girl crying again and again, Kamsa was not at all pleased. He did not feel any mercy for her.
114 Grabbing the infant, cruel Kamsa was about to throw her against the stone and kill her, when Vasudeva and Devaki very respectfully addressed him.
115 They said: O Kamsa, O best of kings, O philosopher wise in the science of morality, Please hear our beautiful, true, and righteous words.
116-7 O kinsman, you killed our six sons. You had no mercy on them. If you kill our eighth child, who is a weak girl, how will your power and glory triumph on the face of the earth? How can a weak girl attack and kill you in battle?
118 After speaking these words Vasudeva and Devaki openly wept before wicked Kamsa and his assembly.
119 After hearing their words, cruel Kamsa said to them, “Listen to my words. Try to understand and I will explain.
120 Kamsa said: Destiny can kill a mountain with a blade of grass, a lion or a tiger with a tiny worm, an elephant with a mosquito,...
121 ...a great warrior with a child, an enormous animal with tiny creatures, a cat with a mouse, a snake with a frog,...
122 ...a father with his son, an eater with his food, water with fire, and a fire with hay.
123 A single brahmana once drank the seven seas. In the seven worlds the wonderful workings of destiny are beyond our understanding.
124 By destiny a girl will be able to kill me. Therefore, I will not kill this girl. Here I will not think whether the time is right.
125 After speaking these words, Kamsa grabbed the infant girl and was about to kill her, when Vasudeva spoke.
126 He said, “O King, you will kill this girl for no reason. O ocean of kindness, please give her to me.” O great sage, when he heard these words, intelligent Kamsa became a little pacified.
127 Then a disembodied voice said, “Fool Kamsa, who is this girl you would kill? You do not understand how destiny works.
128 “Your killer is somewhere else. In time He will reveal Himself.” Hearing the words of destiny, King Kamsa released the infant girl.
129 Taking the girl with them, Vasudeva and Devaki returned to their own home. They pressed her to their heart and accepted her as their own daughter.
130 As if they had recovered their daughter from the grip of death, they gave charity to the brahmanas. O brahmana, that girl, who was named Ekanamsa, was a partial incarnation of Goddess Parvati. She was the exalted sister of Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
131 At the time of Rukmini’s marriage in Dvaraka, with great devotion Vasudeva gave her in marriage to Durvasa Muni, who was a partial incarnation of Lord Siva.
132 O sage, now I have told you everything of Lord Krsna’s birth. This narration brings happiness and piety. It rescues one from the world of birth, old-age and death.
Chapter Eight
Sri Janmastami-vrata-pujopavasa-nirupana
Vows, Worship, and Fasting on Sri Janmastami
1 Sri Narada said: Now please tell me of the vow of Janmastami, which is the great vow of vows. Please tell me the result attained by following the ceremony of Jayanti-yoga.
2 O great sage, what sinful reaction does one meet by not following this vow or by eating on that day? What pious result does one attain by fasting on that day?
3 O Lord, please describe the result of following this vow, including the rules governing the day before the fast, and breaking the fast on the following day.
4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: On the saptami (seventh day) and on the day after the fast (the navami or ninth day) one should eat havisya (rice and ghee) only. On the day of Janmastami (the eight day) one should rise at dawn.
5 O brahmana, one should rise early, bathe, perform his morning duties, and be determined to follow the vow and the fast for the pleasure of Lord Krsna.
6 O brahmana, by bathing and worshipping the Lord during the eight day (Janmastami) of the month of Bhadra (August-September) one attains the result of bathing and worshipping the Lord for a manvantara.
7 If on this day one offers only a little water to the pitas, he attains the result of performing sraddha at Gaya for a hundred years.
8 On that day, after bathing and performing his regular duties, a wise person should arrange for a maternity-room, place in it water, fire, and an iron sword, post guards,...
9 ...place many things there, place there an instrument for cutting the umbilical cord, have a midwife there,...
10 ...place there, O Narada, sixteen articles for worshipping the Lord, eight fruits and candies,...
11 ...the eight fruits and candies being jatiphala, kakkola, pomegranate, sriphala, coconut, jambira, kusmanda, and manohara,...
12-13 ...and the sixteen articles for worship being a sitting place, garments, padya, madhuparka, arghya, water for acamana, water for bathing, a bed, fragrances, flowers, food-offerings, betel nuts, ointments, incense, lamps, and ornaments,...
14 ...wash his feet, put on clean clothes, perform acamana, say the word ‘svasti’, sit on the seat,...
15 ...place a pot there, worship the five deities, invite Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to appear there,...
16 ...invite Vasudeva, Devaki, Yasoda, Nanda, Rohini, Balarama, Goddess Sasthi, Goddess Vasundhara,...
17 ...Rohini, Brahma, Asthami, the Sthana-devata, Asvatthama, Bali, Hanuman, Vibhisana,...
18 ...Krpacarya, Parasurama, Vyasadeva, and Markandeya and then meditate on Lord Krsna.
19 Then a wise person should place a flower to his head and meditate on the description of the Lord spoken in the Sama Veda. O Narada, please listen and I will tell you that description, which Lord Brahma told the Kumaras in ancient times.
20 I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is an infant boy, who is splendid as a dark monsoon cloud, who is very handsome, whose lotus face is smiling, whom Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yama glorified for how many days? Whom the kings of sages cannot approach in their meditations, whom the munis, siddhas, and sons of Manu cannot attain, whom the kings of the yogis cannot imagine in their thoughts, who is the greatest, who is without peer, who is all-seeing witness.
21 The follower of this vow should thus meditate on the Lord. Then, reciting mantras, he should offer the flower, and all the other articles to the Lord. Please hear these mantras.
22 Here are the mantras: O Lord Krsna, please accept this all-beautiful jewel throne, wonderfully decorated with graceful and colourful pictures and designs.
23 O Lord Krsna, please accept these wonderful and colourful garments pure as fire and made by Visvakarma from threads of pure gold.
24 O Lord Krsna, please accept this golden pot filled with water to wash Your feet. Please accept this pure padya water and this beautiful flower.
25 O Lord Krsna, please accept these gold pots of honey, ghee, yoghurt, milk and sugar.
26 O Lord Krsna, please accept this durva grass, whole rice, white flower, clear water, sandal, aguru, and musk.
27 O Supreme Lord, please accept this clear, pure, sweet, scented acamana water.
28 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented Visnu-oil, amalaki paste, and bath water.
29 O Lord Krsna, please accept this beautiful bed made of the best of jewels and covered with exquisite cloth.
30 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented paste made of musk the powdered tree-roots.
31 O Supreme Lord, please accept this fragrant flower so dear to all the demigods and grown from a blossoming tree.
32 O Lord Krsna, please accept this offering of ripe fruits, sugar-candy, svastika candy and other candies.
33 O Lord Krsna, please accept this laddu, modaka, ghee, milk, molasses, honey, fresh yoghurt, and buttermilk.
34 O Lord Krsna, please accept these betel nuts mixed with camphor and other things, which I offer to You with devotion.
35 O Supreme Lord, please accept this beautiful avira powder made with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma.
36 O Lord Krsna, please accept this incense made by cooking the nectars of many trees, incense very dear to all the demigods.
37 O Lord Krsna, please accept this splendid and auspicious lamp that destroys the terrible blinding darkness.
38 O Lord Krsna, please accept this pure drinking-water scented with camphor and other fragrances, water that is the life of all living entities.
39 O Lord Krsna, as an ornament for Your transcendental body please accept this garland of many flowers on a fine thread.
40 O Supreme Lord, please accept these fruits, which are the seeds of trees, and which make one’s dynasty prosper.
41 In this way, at that place, one should offer many appropriate things to Lord Krsna.
42 The person following this vow should then devotedly worship the many deities there and then offer them all three palmfuls of flowers.
43-45 In this way one should worship Sunanda, Nanda, Kumuda, the gopas, the gopis, Sri Radha, Ganesa, Karttikeya, Brahma, Siva, Parvati, Laksmi, Sarasvati, the dik-palas, the planets, Sesa, Sudarsana, the liberated associates of the Lord, and all the demigods, and one should offer obeisances to them, falling to the ground like a stick. Then one should offer food and daksina to the brahmanas.
46 Then the person following this Janmastami vow should hear the chapter of scripture describing Lord Krsna’s birth, and then he should, sitting on a seat of kusa grass, keep an all-night vigil.
47 At dawn he should perform his regular duties and then he should worship Lord Krsna. Then he should feed the brahmanas and then he should chant the glories of Lord Krsna.
48-49 Sri Narada said: When a person follows the Janmastami vow, fasts, and keeps the all-night vigil, what result does he attain? What is the sin one commits by eating on this holy day? O best of the knowers of the Vedas, referring to the Vedas, Vedangas and ancient Samhitas, please, please describe this.
50 Sri Narayana Rsi said: If (in the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadra) even only a quarter of the astami is present at midnight, that day is considered Janmastami, the time when Lord Krsna was born.
51 Because it brings victory (jaya) and piety, this day is called Jayanti. A wise person should fast, follow the Janmastami vow, and keep an all-night vigil on this day.
52 This is the most auspicious of all times. The demigods Brahma and knowers of the Vedas say this.
53 One who fasts, follows the Janmastami vow, and keeps an all-night vigil on this day becomes freed from the sins of ten million births. Of this there is no doubt.
54 One should not celebrate Janmastami on an astami mixed with the saptami. Even if the star Rohini (is conjoined with the moon) this astami is not considered Janmastami.
55 Lord Krsna, the son of Devaki, was born on an astami unmixed with the saptami, an astami when the star Rohini was conjoined with the moon. When this most auspicious moment, an astami when the moon is conjoined with Rohini, is passed, a person who has followed the Janmastami vow should break his fast.
56 When the tithi of Janmastami is over, one should remember Lord Krsna, worship the devas and asuras, and break his fast. Breaking the fast in this way is very purifying and destroys all sins.
57 Breaking the fast in this way, an essential part of the fast, brings purification and the attainment of other results. The breaking of the fast should be performed during daytime.
58 Otherwise, if the fast is not broken during the daytime, the results of fasting, following the Janmastami vow, and breaking the fast are all destroyed.
59 One should not break the fast at night. The only exception is the Rohini-vrata, when the fast may be broken at night, but not at midnight.
60 In the morning one should worship the brahmanas and demigods and then break the fast. All the saintly persons agree this is the best time to break the fast. Only in the Rohini-vrata is it not the best time.
61 If follows the Janmastami vow on a Janmastami when Mercury is conjoined with the moon, he will never again enter a mother’s womb.
62-63 If one a certain Janmastami the navami begins at sunrise and the moon is conjoined with Mercury or the star Rohini, that Janmastami is very auspicious. Such a Janmastami occurs perhaps in a hundred years. One who follows the Janmastami vow on that day delivers ten million of his relatives.
64 Lord Krsna is pleased with His devotees that observe the fast of Janmastami, even though, because of not having sufficient wealth, they cannot perform the Janmastami vow.
65 To one who follows the vow, worshipping the Lord with various articles and keeping an all-night vigil, Lord Krsna, the enemy of the demons, gives the result of following the Janmastami vow.
66 A person who observes Janmastami in a way appropriate to his financial means attains the proper result, but a wealth person who does not observe Janmastami in a way appropriate to his wealth does not attain the same result.
67 A wise person should not break his fast during Janmastami or while the star Rohini is still conjoined with the moon. To do that is to destroy his past pious deeds and the transcendental result earned by fasting.
68 Breaking the fast during the tithi of Janmastami destroys one’s pious deeds eight times over, and breaking the fast while the star Rohini is conjoined with the moon destroys one’s pious deeds four times over. Therefore one should be careful to break his fast when Janmastami and the star Rohini have passed.
69 O best of sages, when the tithi of Janmastami and the star Rohini both end at midnight, a person following the Janmastami vow should break his fat on the third day from Janmastami.
70 O Narada, one who eats during the midnight of Janmastami attains the sinful reaction of killing a brahmana.
71 On a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) one should not eat even fruit or betel nuts, or even drink water. Eating these is like eating stool or cow’s flesh, or like drinking urine. What, then, can be said of eating rice?
72 The wise say that night lasts for 9 hours and is bounded, at its beginning and end, by sunrise and sunset, which last for 48 minutes each.
73 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) follows the Janmastami vow and keeps an all-night vigil becomes free from the sins of a hundred births. Of this there is no doubt.
74 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) fasts but does not follow the Janmastami vow or keep the all-night vigil, attains the result of performing an asvamedha-yajna.
75 He is freed from the sins performed in the infancy, childhood, youth, and age of seven lifetimes.
76 One who eats on Lord Krsna’s birthday is lowest of mankind. His sinful reaction like that of having raped his mother and murdered a hundred brahmanas.
77 His pious credits of ten million births are at once destroyed. He become impure. He becomes unfit to worship the demigods or the pitas.
78 At the end of his life he enters the hell called Kalasutra (the rope of time). As long as the sun and moon shine in the sky he is devoured by worms with teeth sharp like spears.
79 When his time in hell is over he rises to the earth, where he becomes a worm in stool for sixty thousand years.
80 Then he becomes a vulture for ten billion births, a pig for a hundred births, a dog for a hundred births, and a jackal for a hundred births.
81 Then he becomes a snake for seven births and then a row for seven births. Then he takes birth as a human being, where he is unable to speak and where he becomes a leper, always suffering.
82 Then he becomes a butcher and then a hunter of wild beasts. At the end he becomes a thief and a murderer, a man with no scruples.
83 Then he becomes a washerman, then an oil-merchant, and then a professional brahmana, always impure at heart.
84 If one is unable to fast he should feed a brahmana and give him charity equal to twice the value of the food.
85 Or, he should chant mantras to Goddess Laksmi a thousand times, or he should practice pranayama twelve times.
86 Thus I have described, as I heard it from Yamaraja’s mouth, the fasting, vows and worship performed on Janmastami.
Chapter Nine
Sri Nanda-putrotsava
The Festival of Sri Nanda’s son
1 Sri Narada said: After Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Yasoda’s home in Gokula, what did King Nanda do to celebrate the birth of a son?
2 What did Lord Krsna do there? How many years did the Lord stay there? O master, please describe the Lord’s childhood pastimes there.
3 How in the forest there did Lord Krsna keep the promise He made to Radha in Goloka?
4 What was Vrndavana like? What was the rasa-dance circle like? Please tell. O master, please describe the Lord’s rasa dance and the water pastimes.
5 What austerities did Nanda, Yasoda, and Rohini perform? Before the appearance of Lord Krsna, where did Lord Balarama rake birth?
6 This recounting of Lord Krsna’s pastimes is nectar sweeter than any other. Especially in the mouth of a poet, it brings new and sweet poetry at every step.
7 Please describe the Lord’s pastimes in the rasa-dance circle. A poet’s words are more glorious when he himself has seen the events he describes.
8 You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna Himself. Because You are His incarnation, You are full of transcendental bliss. You are the guru of the guru of the kings of the yogis.
9 You have described how You entered the feet of Lord Krsna, the master of Goloka. Therefore You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna. You are Lord Krsna.
10 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Brahma, Siva, Sesa, Ganesa, Kurma, Yamaraja, Nara, Karttikeya, and I are nine incarnations of Lord Krsna.
11 Who can describe the glories of Lord Krsna, the master of Goloka? We incarnations of Krsna cannot understand Him. How can the great philosophers understand Him. How can the great philosophers understand Him?
12 O sage, Varaha, Vamana, Kalki, Buddha, Kapila, and Matsya are among His primary incarnations. How many are His secondary incarnations?
13 The primary forms of the Lord are Nrsimha, Rama, and the splendid master of Svetadvipa. The most perfect, full, most complete, original form of the Supreme Lord is Sri Krsna, who resides in Goloka, the highest realm in the spiritual sky.
14 In Vaikuntha He appears in many forms as four-armed Lord Narayana, the beloved of Laksmi. In Goloka and Gokula He appears in His original form as two-armed Lord Krsna, the beloved of Radha.
15 The yogi’s meditate on His Brahman light, but the devotees meditate on His lotus feet. How can there be a light without a source?
16 O brahmana, listen and I will describe the austerities of Nanda, Yasoda and Rohini, austerities that enabled them to see Lord Krsna face to face.
17 In his previous birth Nanda was the ascetic Drona the best of the Vasus, and saintly Yasoda was his ascetic wife Dhara.
18 In her previous birth Rohini was Kadru, the first mother of the snakes. Listen and I will describe to you what they did in their previous birth.
19-20 O sage, in Bharata-varsa, on Mount Gandhamadana, near Gautama Muni’s asrama, in a secluded place by the Suprabha river, Drona and Dhara performed austerities for ten thousand years so they might see Lord Krsna face to face.
21 When after this time they still could not see Lord Krsna, Drona and Dhara decided to enter a lake of fire.
22-23 Then a disembodied voice, its speaker seeing that they wished to die, said, “O best of the Vasus, in your next birth, on the earth, you will see Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom the yogis cannot see, whom the philosophers cannot attain by their thinking, to whom Brahma and the demigods bow down. He will become your son.
24 Hearing this, Drona and Dhara happily returned to their home. Taking birth on the earth, they saw Lord Krsna face to face.
25 Thus I have described the activities of Nanda and Yasoda. Now please hear the activities of Rohini when she was a demigoddesses.
26 O sage, one time, on the day most suitable to conceive a child, saintly Aditi, the mother of the demigods sent a message of this to her husband, Kasyapa Muni.
27 The beautiful goddess, carefully bathed and wearing jewel ornaments, decorated and dressed herself very elaborately. In the mirror she carefully examined her face,...
28 ...which was decorated with dots of musk and sindura, beautiful with patra ornaments and jewel earrings,...
29 ...beautiful as an autumn moon, its autumn lotus eyes splendid with mascara, its beautiful nose decorated with an elephant pearl, its mouth gracefully curved in a smile,...
30 ...its teeth splendid like ripe pomegranate seeds, its beautiful always smiling lips splendid like ripe bimba fruits,...
31 ...and its features so beautiful they charmed the hearts of the regal sages.
32 After carefully examining her face in this way, the beautiful goddess, wounded by Kamadeva’s arrows, stayed at home, waiting for her husband to come and looking for him on the path.
33 Then Aditi heard the news that Kasyapa was with Kadru, that he was sweetly playing with her and resting on her breast.
34 Tortured with amorous desires, and her hopes to satisfy them now destroyed, saintly Aditi became filled with anger when she heard this news. Out of love for him she would not curse her husband, but she did curse Kadru.
35 She said: That sinful woman has no right to live in the world of the demigods. She should leave Svargaloka and go far away to the womb of a human being.
36 Hearing of this curse from a messenger, Kadru cursed Aditi. Kadru said: Aditi should go to the womb of a human being, a womb in the world where there is old age and death.
37 Then Kasyapa said to Kadru: O girl with the beautiful smile, when you go to the human world, I will go with you.
38 Give up your fears. Be happy. You will see Lord Krsna face to face.
After speaking these words, Kasyapa went to Aditi’s home.
39 Powerful Kasyapa fulfilled Aditi’s desire, and as a result Indra, the leader of the demigods was born.
40 In this way Aditi became Devaki, Kadru became Rohini, and Kasyapa became Vasudeva, Lord Krsna’s noble father.
41-43 O sage, what I have told you is very confidential. Now please hear the birth story of Lord Balarama, who is limitless, immeasurable, thousand-headed Lord Sesa. By Vasudeva’s order, Rohini fled to Gokula to protect Balarama from the danger of Kamsa.
44 By Lord Krsna’s order goddess Maya (Parvati) took Devaki’s eighth pregnancy, placed it in Rohini’s womb, placed the unborn child in Gokula, and then returned to Mount Kailasa.
45-46 After some days in Nanda’s house, Rohini gave birth to a gently smiling son splendid as molten silver, a son who was the Personality of Godhead Himself.
47 When Lord Balarama was born the demigods in Svargaloka sounded conchshells, played dundubhis, anakas, murajas, and other musical instruments, and called out “Victory!”
48 Jubilant Nanda gave many kinds of charity to the brahmanas. The midwife cut the umbilical cord and bathed the infant boy.
49 The lavishly decorated gopis called out “All glories!” Then Nanda celebrated a great for the birth of his foster son.
50 Then Yasoda happily gave charity to the gopis and brahmanis. She gave them oil, sindura, and many other things.
51 O child, thus I have told the stories of Lord Balarama’s birth, Nanda and Yasoda’s austerities and Rohini’s activities.
52 Now please hear the beautiful story of the celebration for Nanda’s son, a story that brings happiness and liberation, a story that stops birth, death, and old age.
53 Lord Krsna’s auspicious pastimes are the life of the devotees. They destroy all that is inauspicious and they bring devotional service to the Lord.
54 Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Nanda’s home, and then happily took Nanda’s daughter to his own home.
55 O sage, I have already described her activities. Now please hear of Lord Krsna’s blissful and auspicious pastimes in Gokula.
56 After Vasudeva left for his own home, Nanda and Yasoda woke up in the auspicious and glorious maternity room.
57 They gazed at their very handsome son glorious like a new monsoon cloud, naked, resting on the ground and looking up at the ceiling,...
58 ...His face an autumn moon, His eyes dark lotus flowers, crying and laughing, His transcendental form resting in the dust,...
59 ...and His two hands leaving impressions of a club and lotus in the dust. Nanda and his wife gazed at Krsna, and Krsna gazed at them.
60 The midwife bathed the infant boy with cool water and cut the umbilical cord. The gopis happily called out, “All glories!”
61 All the gopis and brahmanis, young and old, with large hips and the breasts that moved as they ran, hurried to the maternity room.
62 All gave their blessings, happily gazed at the infant boy, placed Him on their laps, and praised Him. Some stayed there.
63 Nanda bathed, put on clean garments, and with a happy heart performed the rituals learned through the disciplic succession.
64 He fed the brahmanas, had them give their auspicious blessings, had the musicians play on their instruments, and gave charity to the poets.
65 Then Nanda happily gave charity to the brahmanas. He respectfully gave them diamonds, coral, and many precious jewels,...
66 ...seven mountains of grains, much gold and silver, a mountain of wealth, many garments, a thousand beautiful cows,...
67 ...yoghurt, milk, rock candy, butter, ghee, honey, many candies, a flood of laddus, many delicious modakas,...
68 ...land rich with many crops, horses fast as the wind, many betel nuts, and much oil. After giving this charity Nanda became happy in his heart.
69 To protect the maternity room he engaged many gopis peaceful at heart and many brahmanas expert at chanting Tantric mantras.
70 He had the brahmanas recite the Vedas, chant Lord Krsna’s holy names, and worship the demigods.
71 Many beautiful smiling brahmanis, young and old, and bringing their children with them, came to Nanda’s home. Nanda gave them jewels and many other valuable things in charity.
72 Many smiling elderly gopis decorated with jewel ornaments hurried to Nanda’s home. He respectfully gave them fine garments, silver, and thousands of cows.
73 Books in hand, many eloquent astrologers learned in the jyotir Veda came to Nanda’s home.
74 Nanda bowed to them and happily honoured them. All gazed at the transcendental infant boy and gave their blessings.
75 After all was done, Nanda, the king of Vraja, had the astrologers predict what good and evil lay in the future.
76 In Nanda’s home the infant boys Krsna and Balarama sucked their mother’s breasts and grew as the waxing moon grows.
77 O sage, pleased at the ceremony for the infant boy, Yasoda and Rohini happily gave in charity oil, sindura, and betel nuts to the women there.
78 After placing many blessings on the infant boy’s head, the women returned to their homes. Yasoda, Rohini, and Nanda, filled with happiness, stayed in their home.
Chapter Ten
Putana-moksana
The Liberation of Putana
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: As, surrounded by his courtiers, he sat on a golden throne Kamsa heard an eloquent disembodied voice in the sky.
2 The voice said: Fool, what are you doing? Now you should worry about your fate. Your killer is now born on the earth. O king, do something to stop him.
3 Helped by goddess Maya, Vasudeva gave his son, who will kill you, to Nanda. Then he took Nanda’s daughter and gave her to you.
4 Nanda’s daughter is Goddess Maya, and Vasudeva’s son is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Vasudeva’s son will kill you. At this moment He is growing up in Nanda’s house.
5 Devaki’s seventh pregnancy was not a miscarriage, as you heard. Her child did not die. Goddess Maya placed the unborn child in Rohini’s womb.
6 That child was born. He is powerful Balarama, an incarnation of Lord Sesa. He and Vasudeva’s son, who will both kill you, are now growing up in Nanda’s house.
7 Hearing these words, Kamsa bowed his head. Filled with worry, he pushed his meal away.
8 Calling her to the assembly, King Kamsa, who though himself a great moralists, spoke to his good sister Putana, who was more dear than life to him.
9 Kamsa said: Putana, go at once on a mission to Gokula. Smear poison on your breasts and give them to the infant in Nanda’s house.
10 Child, you can travel as fast as the mind. You are learned in the science of magic and illusion. O mystic yogini, transform yourself into a human being and go to Vraja.
11 O famous one, because of a great mantra you received from Durvasa Muni you have the power to assume any form and go to any place.
12 O Narada, after speaking these words King Kamsa stood up in the assembly. Then Putana, who had the power to travel wherever she wished, bowed down before him and left.
13 Then she transformed herself into a girl fair as molten gold, decorated with a jasmine garland and many ornaments, with beautiful braided hair,...
14 ...happily decorated with a musk dot and red sindura, and wearing a belt and anklets that softly tinkled,...
15 ...and travelled to Vraja, where she saw Nanda’s beautiful palace surrounded by a series of impassable deep moats,...
16 ...a palace Visvakarma had built of sapphires, emeralds, rubies and other jewels,...
17 ...a palace with splendid wonderful, and elaborately detailed golden domes, with great walls touching the sky, with four gates,...
18 ...with iron doors, and with gatekeepers, a palace beautiful and charming, filled with beautiful women,...
19 ...filled with golden domes, precious pearls, rubies, cintamani jewels, with ten million cows,...
20 ...and with a hundred thousand gopa servants and a thousand maidservants eager for their duties.
en beautiful smiling Putana, who was actually a great devotee, entered Nanda’s palace. When they saw her, the gopis did not think that she was a demoness.
22 They said among themselves, “Is she Goddess Laksmi? Is she goddess Durga come to see the infant Krsna?” All the gopis bowed down before her, asked her about her welfare, placed her on a throne, and offered her padya.
23 Saintly Putana asked about the welfare of the gopas and of the infant Krsna, sat on the throne, smiled, and accepted the padya.
24 All the gopis said to her: O goddess, who are you? Where do you live? What is your name? Why have you come here? Please tell.
25 Hearing their words, beautiful Putana said to them: I live in Mathura. I am a brahmana’s wife.
26 I have heard the good news that Nanda now has a great son.
27 Hearing this, I have come here to see and bless Him. Please bring Him. I will see and bless Him, and then I will go on my way.
28 Hearing the brahmani’s words, Yasoda became happy at heart. Bowing down, she placed her son in the brahmani’s lap.
29 Saintly Putana placed the infant on her lap and kissed Him again and again. Making herself comfortable, she offered her breast to the child.
30 Putana said: Oh! He is wonderful. O beautiful gopi, your boy is very handsome. He is like Lord Narayana Himself.
31 Infant Krsna happily drank from Putana’s poison breast. Cradled on Putana’s chest, He smiled and drank both the poison milk and Putana’s life as if He were drinking nectar.
32 O sage, pulling back from infant Krsna, saintly Putana suddenly died and fell to the ground. Lying on the ground with her face up, she suddenly changed into a gruesome monster.
33 Suddenly leaving that gigantic body, she manifested a spiritual body and entered a chariot of precious jewels,...
34 ...a chariot decorated with ten thousand white camaras and ten thousand mirrors, a chariot whose passengers were many effulgent associate of the Lord,...
35 ...a chariot splendid with fine cloth pure as fire, a chariot decorated with jewel domes wonderful with colourful designs,...
36 ...a chariot beautiful with a hundred wheels and splendid with the light of many jewels. The associates of the Lord placed Putana on the chariot and took her to the realm of Goloka, the highest place in the spiritual world.
37 Gazing at this wonder, the gopas and gopis became filled with wonder. When Kamsa heard of it, he also became filled with wonder.
38 O sage, Yasoda took her boy, placed Him on her lap, and gave Him her breast. Then she had the brahmanas perform auspicious rituals for His protection.
39 When Nanda happily burned Putana’s monstrous body, it became fragrant like sandal, aguru, and musk.
40 Sri Narada said: O sage, who was that woman in the form of a demoness? She must have been a great devotee. By the power of what pious deeds was she able to see Lord Krsna and then go to His transcendental abode?
41 Sri Narayana Rsi said: When King Bali’s daughter Ratnamala saw Lord Vamana’s handsome form in the yajna area, she at once felt for Him the love a mother feels for her son.
42 She thought: If I had a son like Him, I would cradle Him to my chest and give Him my breast.
43 Understanding her mind, in another birth Lord Krsna drank from her breast. An ocean of mercy that fulfils all desires. He made her His mother.
44 O sage, the demoness Putana gave a poison breast to Lord Krsna and still she attained liberation and became His mother. Except for Lord Krsna, whom should I worship?
45 O brahmana, thus I have described Lord Krsna’s transcendental qualities. The pastimes I tell you are supremely sweet at every step.
Chapter Eleven
Trnavarta-vadha
The Killing of Trnavarta
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One d in Gokula, Nanda’s wife, saintly Yasoda, held infant Krsna to her chest as she performed her household duties.
2 Seeing the demon Trnavarta coming to Gokula as a whirlwind, and understanding his intent, infant Krsna made Himself suddenly very heavy.
3 Unable to hold Him, Yasoda put her boy down. She put Him to sleep and then she went to the Yamuna.
4 Then the whirlwind demon came, grabbed Krsna and, whirling around and around, took him eight hundred miles into the sky.
5 After breaking many tree branches and for the moment blinding Gokula, the magician demon finally crashed to the ground.
6 Free, by Lord Krsna’s touch, of his past karma, the demon mounted a beautiful chariot and travelled to Lord Krsna’s spiritual abode.
7 This demon had been the king of Pandya-desa, but by the curse of Durvasa Muni, he became a demon. By the touch of Sri Krsna’s feet, he went to Goloka.
8 O sage, the gopas and gopis frightened by the whirlwind demon did not find the infant Krsna sleeping in His cradle.
9 Overcome with grief, everyone beat their chests. Some cried piteously and some fainted.
10 After a great search, the people of Vraja found infant Krsna, His limbs covered with dust, sitting in a flower garden,...
11 ...by a lake, staring at the sky, frightened, and crying without stop.
12 Picking up his son and pressing Him to his chest, grieving Nanda gazed again and again at His face and wept.
13 Yasoda and Rohini gazed at the boy, wept, pressed Him to their breast, and kissed His face again and again.
14 Yasoda bathed her boy, had ceremonies performed to bring Him auspiciousness, and, her face and eyes filled with happiness, gave Him her breast.
15 Sri Narada said: Why did Durvasa Muni curse the king of Pandya-desa? O brahmana, please tell the story.
16 Sri Narayana Rsi said: In the country of Pandya-desa there was a very powerful king named Sahasraksa who, wounded by Kamadeva’s arrows, married a thousand wives.
17 In a beautiful and secluded garden by a riverbank on beautiful Mount Gandhamadana, he enjoyed with his wives.
18 Biting and scratching, he enjoyed many conjugal pastimes, beginning with the pastime of viparita, with his passionate wives.
19 A great yogi, that king expanded himself into a thousand forms to enjoy pastimes on the land and in the water.
20 Expanded into a thousand forms, the naked king enjoyed with his naked wives on the beautiful shore of the Puspabhadra river.
21 At that moment, on his way to visit Lord Siva in Mount Kailasa, and accompanied by a hundred thousand disciples, Durvasa Muni came by that path.
22 When he saw the sage, the king, absorbed in his passionate activities, did not stand up, bow down, or greet him with pleasant words or a handshake.
23 Seeing this, Durvasa became angry and, his lips trembling, cursed the king, “Sinner, become a demon! Loose your yoga powers and go to the earth!”
24 “O lowest of men, you will live on the earth for a hundred thousand years and then, because you will be touched by Lord Krsna’s feet, you will go to Goloka.
25 “O beautiful queens, you must take birth again and again in the royal palaces of the different countries of the earth, again and again the daughters of mighty kings.”
26 After speaking these words, Durvasa Muni, his compassionate disciples lamenting, “Alas! Alas!”, continued on to Lord Siva’s abode.
27 When Durvasa Muni had departed, the king wept by the riverside, and his beautiful wives, tormented by the thought of being separated from him, also wept.
28 Again and again they lamented: O master, O best of lovers, without you, where will we go? Where will you go now?
29 Never again will we enjoy pastimes with you in secluded places. Never again will you rule your kingdom. Never again will we return to our homes.
30 Never again will we see your face, which robs the moon of its splendour. Never again will you embrace us with your arms and hold us to your chest.
31 Speaking these words, they gathered before him on the riverside, grasped his feet, wept and fainted.
32 O Narada, the king built a lake of fire, and, remembering Lord Krsna’s lotus feet, entered it with his wives.
33 All the demigods in the sky lamented, “Alas! Alas!” The sages commented, “Destiny is very powerful”.
34 The king became Trnavarta and went to Lord Krsna’s spiritual abode. The queens took birth on the earth and eventually attained the fulfilment of their desires.
35 In this way I have told you everything of Lord Krsna’s transcendental glories and I have told you how a king became liberated by Durvasa Muni’s curse.
Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Canto Four Sri Krsna-janma-khanda
The Birth of Lord Krsna
Volume Four
Table of Contents
Chapter Twelve
Sakata-bhanjana-kavaca-nyasa
The Cart is Broken and the Kavaca is Placed Page 2
Chapter Thirteen
Sri Krsnanna-prasana-nama-karana-prastava
Sri Krsna’s Anna-prasana and Nama-karana Page 5
Chapter Fourteen
Vrksarjuna-bhanjana
The Breaking of the Arjuna Tree Page 17
Chapter Twelve
Sakata-bhanjana-kavaca-nyasa
The Cart is Broken and the Kavaca is Placed
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One day in her home Nanda’s wife, Yasoda, cradled the hungry infant Krsna to her chest and happily offered Him her breast.
2 At that moment many gopis, young and old, and accompanied by their children, came to Nanda’s palace.
3 At once placing the still unsatisfied infant in His cradle, saintly Yasoda bowed before them and then happily stood up to perform the autthana ceremony.
4 Then Yasoda happily gave them gifts of oil, sindura, betel nuts, candies, garments and ornaments.
5 Then hungry infant Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the master of material nature, with the aid of His yogamaya potency extended His foot.
6 O sage, at that moment His foot hit a solidly built cart. From the kick of the Supreme Lord, who maintains all the universes, the cart at once broke into pieces.
7 When the cart broke the pots of yoghurt, milk, butter, ghee, and honey there also fell and broke.
8 Seeing this surprise, the gopis and gopas ran there, pushed by fear. Among the broken pieces of wood they saw the infant Krsna.
9 The pots of milk and honey were all fallen and broken. Pushing them aside, Yasoda picked up the infant Krsna.
10 Infant Krsna, all His limbs carefully protected by Yogamaya, cried with hunger. Yasoda gave Him her breast and wept with grief.
11 The gopas asked the boys, “How did the cart break? I don’t see anything that could so suddenly have caused it. How did this amazing thing happen?”
12 The boys said, “O gopas, please hear our words. The cart broke because Sri Krsna kicked it.”
13 Hearing these words, the gopas and gopis laughed. They didn’t believe it. They said, “That’s a lie.”
14 A group of exalted brahmanas at once blessed the infant Krsna. One brahmana placed his hand on Krsna’s limbs and recited Kavaca (shield) prayers for protection.
15-16 O king of brahmanas, I will recite for you that kavaca, which protects from all dangers, which Goddess Yoganidra gave to the demigod Brahma as he rested in the lotus navel of Lord Visnu, the master of the universes who was sleeping on the ocean, and which Brahma recited out of fear of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha.
17 Sri Yoganidra said: Throw your fears far away. As long as Lord Visnu is here and as long as I am here, why should you be afraid? Be happy, O master of the universe.
18 May the Lord who removes all danger protect your face. May the Lord who killed the Madhu demon protect your head. May the all-attractive Lord protect your eyes. May the Lord of Radha protect your nose.
19 May the husband of the goddess of fortune protect your ears, neck and the top of your head. May the Lord who pleases the cows, land and senses protect your cheeks. May the Lord who has beautiful hair protect your hair.
20 May the Lord who is the master of the senses protect your lips. May the Lord who is the elder brother of Gada protect your teeth. May the Lord who is the king of the rasa dance protect your tongue. May the Lord who appeared as Vamana protect your palate.
21 May the Lord who gives liberation protect your chest. May the Lord who kills the demons protect your abdomen. May the Lord who rescues His devotees protect your navel. May the Lord who is present everywhere protect your jaw.
22 May the Supreme Person protect your hips, buttocks and private parts. May the husband of Sita protect your knees. May the all-powerful Lord always protect you.
23 May the Lord who appeared as Nrsimha protect you from all dangers. May the Lord who appeared as Varaha protect your feet. May the Lord who is all-powerful protect you always.
24 May the Lord who is the resting place of all living entities protect you from above. May the Lord who is the goddess of fortune’s husband protect you from below. May the Lord who protects the cows protect you from the front. May the Lord who killed Ravana protect you from fire.
25 May the Lord who wears a garland of forest flowers protect you from the south. May the Lord who appears as the son of Vaikuntha-devi protect you from the southwest. May the Lord who appears as the son of Vasudeva and who sits on throne of lotuses protect you from the west.
26 May the Lord who never takes birth and who is famous and glorious always protect you from the northwest. May the Lord who never ends, although He puts an end to everything material, always protect you from the north.
27 May the Lord who controls everything protect you from the northeast. May the Lord who defeats His enemies protect you from all directions. May the Lord who appeared in the Raghu dynasty protect you on land, in water, in our space, and in your dreams.
28 O Brahma, thus I have spoken this very wonderful kavaca, which Lord Krsna Himself kindly gave to me when I remembered Him a long time ago.
29 In a terrible battle I saw in the sky the demon Sumbha was once defeated by this kavaca.
30 By the power of this kavaca the demon, who had fought a terrible battle in the sky for a hundred years, at once fell to the earth and died.
31 When Sumbha was killed, merciful Lord Krsna appeared in the sky, gave me a garland and this kavaca, and then returned to Goloka.
32 O wise Brahma, I have told you a story of the Lord’s mercy in another kalpa. By the power of this kavaca there need never be fear in your heart.
33 I have seen millions and millions perish kalpa after kalpa. Only Lord Krsna and I remain here eternally.
34 After speaking these words and giving Brahma the kavaca, Goddess Yoganidra disappeared. Then Brahma, staying on the lotus flower of the Lord’s navel, became fearless.
35 An intelligent person will always wear this kavaca in an amulet around his neck or on his left arm.
36 He need never fear poison, fire, snakes or enemies. The Supreme Personality of Godhead protects him in the water, on land, in the sky, and while he sleeps.
37 By remembering this kavaca one is safe in battle, in a thunderstorm, in a calamity, or when one’s life is in danger.
38 Wearing this kavaca around his neck, Lord Siva easily killed ferocious Tripura, the king of the demons.
39 Wearing this kavaca around her neck Goddess Kali devoured the demon Raktabija. Wearing this kavaca around His neck, Lord Sesa carries the universe as if it were a sesame seed.
40 By the mercy of this kavaca Sanat-kumara became the witness of pious deeds. By the mercy of this kavaca we are all victorious.
41 Then the brahmana placed the kavaca around Lord Krsna’s neck. In this way Lord Krsna Himself wore that kavaca around His neck.
42 O sage, in this way I have described to you the unparalleled power of the kavaca of infallible and limitless Lord Krsna.
Chapter Thirteen
Sri Krsnanna-prasana-nama-karana-prastava
Sri Krsna’s Anna-prasana and Nama-karana
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: O great sage, please hear Lord Krsna’s peerless glories, which remove obstacles and sins and bring great piety.
2 One day Nanda’s wife, Sri Yasoda, sat on a golden throne and gave her breast to the hungry infant Krsna.
3 At that moment a great brahmana, splendid with brahmanical power and accompanied by a great host of disciples, came to her home.
4 Again and again he chanted the names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead on japa beads of pure crystal. He wore white garments and carried a staff and parasol. His teeth were splendid. He was like the sacred writings of astrology personified. He had travelled to the farther shore of the Vedas and Vedangas.
5 He had lotus eyes, an autumn moon face, matted hair, and a complexion fair like molten gold.
6 He was a disciple of Lord Siva. He was a leader of the yogis. In the posture of explaining scripture, he was happily teaching his disciples.
7 How many different ways could he easily and playfully explain the passages of the Vedas? He was like the glories of the four Vedas manifested in a single person.
8 Goddess Sarasvati stayed in his voice. He was expert at presenting the conclusions of the Vedas. Day and night he was rapt in meditation on Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.
9 He was liberated even while living in this world. He was the leader of the perfect souls. He could see and know everything. The moment she saw him, Yasoda stood up and bowed down to offer respects.
10 She offered him padya, ga, madhuparka and a golden throne. Happily smiling, she made her infant son, who is in reality the king of all the sages, bow down to him.
11 In his mind the sage bowed a hundred times before the infant Krsna. Reciting Vedic mantras, the sage happily blessed Him.
12 Yasoda bowed down before the disciples. They blessed her. To each one she offered padya and other gifts.
13 The sage and his disciples washed their feet and sat on their comfortable seats. Saintly Yasoda respectfully folded her hands. She was eager to ask about the future of her child.
14-16 Placing her child in her lap and respectfully bowing her head, Yasoda spoke: Although it is not proper for me to ask questions of an auspicious sage filled with spiritual bliss, still I wish to ask a question. I am a weak and foolish woman. Please forgive me. Great saints always forgive the mistakes of the foolish.
17 Who are you? Are you Angira, or Atri, or Marici, or Gotama, or Kratu, or Praceta, or Pulastya, or Pulaha,...
18 ...or Durvasa, or Kardama, or Vasista, or Garga, or Jaigisvaya, or devala, or powerful Lord Kapila?
19 Are you Sanat-kumara, or Sanaka, or Sananda, or Sanatana, or Bodhu, or Pancasikha, or Asuri or Saubhari?
20 Are you Visvamitra, or Valmiki, or Vamadeva, or Kasyapa, or Samvarta, or Utathya? Are you Kaca, or Brhaspati,...
21 ...or Bhrgu, or Sukra, or Cyavana, or Nara, or Narayana, or Sakti, or Parasara, or Vyasa, or Sukadeva, or Jaimini,...
22 ...or Markandeya, or Lomasa, or Kanva, or Katyayana, or Astika, or Jagatkaru, or Rsyasrnga, or Vibhandaka,...
23 ...or Paulastya, or Agastya, or Saradvan, or Srngi, or Samika, or Aristanemi or Mandavya or Paila,...
24 ...or Panini, or Kanada, or Sakalya or Sakatayana, or Astavakra, or Bhaguri, or Sumantu, or Vatsa,...
25 ...or Jabali, or Yajnavalkya, or Vaisampayana, or Yati, or Hamsi, or Pippalada, or Maitreya, or Karusa,...
26 or Upamanyu, or Goramukha, or Aruni or Aurdhva, or Kaksivan, or Bharadvaja, or Vedasira, or Sankukarna or Saunaka?
27 Of these glorious sages who are you? O Lord, please tell me. If I am not worthy to hear your reply, please tell me.
28 Even a servant may ask a question of the master, To whom may a servant ask a question, if not to his master?
29 Now I am fortunate. Now I have attained the goal of life. Now my life is a success. Today the touch of the dust of your lotus feet has destroyed all my sins for millions of births.
30 By the touch of the water that washed your feet the ground has become purified. By your visit my home has become a holy place.
31 O brahmana, you are one of the great saints described in the scriptures. Because of my past pious deeds I am now able to see you.
32 Your disciples, splendid as the summer midday sun, are the Vedas personified. With the dust of their feet they purify my family here in Gokula.
33 If they are pleased at heart they may bless my son. The blessings of a brahmana bring auspiciousness and happiness.
34 After speaking these words, saintly Yasoda respectfully stood before the sage, and then sent a messenger to bring Nanda.
35 Hearing Yasoda’s words, the great sage and his many disciples smiled, their smiles filling the ten directions with light.
36 Then the pure-hearted sage happily spoke to Yasoda words that were auspicious, truthful, proper and affectionate.
37 Sri Garga said: Your nectar words are proper for this time and place. One who takes birth in a family is like his family members.
38 All the gopas are lotus flowers and Giribhanu is the sun that shines on them. His saintly and lotuslike wife is named Padmavati.
39 You are her daughter Yasoda. You increase the glory of your family. You have attained Nanda, the best of the gopas, as your beloved.
40 O saintly one, I know the real identity of you, Nanda, and your boy. I will tell Nanda in a secluded place.
41 I am Garga, for a long time the priest of the Yadavas. Vasudeva sent me here to do something no one else can do.
42 Then Nanda, hearing the news, came and bowed down, falling like a stick to the ground. He bowed his head before the great sage and his disciples, and they all blessed him.
43 Then Garga, the best of the wise, rose from his seat and, taking Nanda and Yasoda with him, went to a beautiful and secluded place.
44 Garga, Nanda and Yasoda carrying her infant son, sat down comfortably in that secluded place. Then Garga told them his secret.
45 Sri Garga said: O Nanda, now I will tell you something very auspicious. Vasudeva sent me here to tell you this. Please listen.
46 Your elder brother exchanged your children in their maternity rooms. Afraid of Kamsa, Vasudeva took your daughter and gave you his son.
47 He sent me to perform in secret the boy’s ana-prasana (first grains) and namanukarana (name giving) ceremonies here in Vraja.
48 This boy is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Responding to the appeal of Brahma, the demigod of creation, and aided by His Yogamaya potency, He has come to this earth.
49 He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, the master of Sri Radha and the king of Goloka. In the world of Vaikuntha He is Sri Narayana, the beloved of Laksmi.
50 In Svetadvipa He is Sri Visnu, the maintainer. He is Nara-Narayana Rsi. Kapila is His partial expansion. He is never born.
51 He showed His form, resplendent with all powers, to Vasudeva, and then He became an infant.
52 Now He, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is not born of a mother’s womb, has appeared on the earth, left His maternity room and come to your home.
53 Employing His Yogamaya potency, Lord Krsna created His mother’s false pregnancy, filling her womb with air. At the appropriate time, presenting the illusion that He was born in the usual way, He revealed His transcendental form to Vasudeva.
54 Yuga after yuga He has different colours and names. O gopa, in the past He has been white, red, or yellow. Now He is black.
55 He is the Supreme Lord. In the Satya-yuga He was white and very splendid and powerful. In the Treta-yuga He was red. In the Dvapara-yuga He was yellow.
56 Now, in the Kali-yuga, He is black (krsna), handsome and very glorious. That is why He, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is called Krsna.
57 In the name Krsnah, the k stands for Lord Brahma, the r for Lord Sesa, the s for Lord Siva, the n for Yamaraja,...
58 ...the a for Lord Visnu who resides in Svetadvipa and the h for Nara-Narayana Rsi.
59 He is the master of all power and glory. He is the form of all forms. He is the resting place of everything. He is the seed from which everything has come. That is why He is called Krsna.
60 Krs and n both mean liberation, and the letter a means the generous giver. Because He is the giver of liberation He is called Krsna.
61 Krs means with no material activities, n means the activities of devotional service, and the letter a means the generous giver. Because He is the giver of devotional service, which is not material, but is beyond the material world, He is called Krsna.
62 Krs means uprooting past karma, n means devotional service, and the letter a means the attainment. Because it is by His mercy one uproots his past karma and atttained devotional service, He is called Krsna.
62 O Nanda, if one remembers the name Krsna he gains the result of remembering ten million other names of the Lord.
63 By remembering, speaking, or hearing the name Krsna one destroys the sins of ten million births.
64 Of all the names of Lord Visnu, Krsna is the best name. It is the most beautiful and the most auspicious. It gives the purest devotional service.
66 By speaking the letter k, the devotee attains freedom from repeated birth and death. By speaking the letter r he attains peerless devotional service. By speaking the letter s, he attains unwavering devotion to the Lord.
67 By speaking the letter na, he attains the Lord as His eternal companion. By speaking the letter h, he attains a dark form like the Lord’s. Of this there is no doubt.
68 O Nanda, by speaking the letter k, one makes Yama’s servants tremble. By speaking the letter r one makes calamities flee. By speaking the letter s, one makes sins flee.
69 By speaking the letter n, one makes diseases flee. By speaking the letter a, one makes death flee. Frightened of the holy name, they all flee.
70 O king of Vraja, when one remembers, speaks, or hears the name Krsna, Lord Krsna’s servants mount their chariots and fly to him from Goloka.
71 Even if they have the power to count the grains of dust on the earth, the great scientists and philosophers will never have the power to count all the glories of Lord Krsna’s name.
72 From Lord Siva’s mouth I heard the glories of Lord Krsna’s name. My guru knows only a little of Lord Krsna’s qualities, names and powers.
73 Brahma, Sesa, Yamaraja, the demigods, and the sages, manus, Vedas, saints and human beings cannot understand even one sixteenth of the glory of Lord Krsna’s name.
74 O Nanda, as far as I am able to understand, as far as I have understood, and as far as I have heard from my guru’s mouth, I have described the glories of your son.
75 Your son is all-attractive (krsna), dressed in yellow garments (pitambara), the killer of Kamsa (kamsa-dhvamsi), famous (vistara-srava), the son of Devaki (devaki-nandana), the husband of the goddess of fortune (srisa), the son of Yasoda (yasoda-nandana), the Lord who takes away all troubles (hari).
76 He is eternal (sanatana), infallible (acyuta), all-pervading (visnu and sarva-gati), the master of all (sarvesa), the Lord who appears in many forms (sarva-rupa-dhrk) the resting place of everything (sarvadhara), and the cause of all causes (sarva-karana-karana).
77 He is Radha’s friend (radha-bandhu), the person who stays in Radha’s heart (radhikatma), Radha’s life (radhika-jivana), Radha’s companion (radhika-sahacari), and the person that floods the manasa lake of Radha’s thoughts (radha-manasa-puraka).
78 He is Radha’s wealth (radha-dhana), Radha’s limbs (radhikanga), He whose heart is attached to Radha (radhikasakta-manasa), Radha’s life (radha-prana), Radha’s master (radhikesa), and Radha’s lover (radhika-ramana).
79 He is the thief of Radha’s heart (radha-citta-caura), the person for whom Radha is more dear than life (radha-pranadhika), the supreme master (prabhu), the Supreme Personality of Godhead (paripurnatamam brahma), the pleasure of the cows, land and senses (govinda), the person whose flag is marked with the insignia of Garuda (garuda-dhvaja).
80 O Nanda, please listen to these names, which stop the repetition of birth and death. Keep these names always in your pure heart.
81 As you have heard the names of the younger boy, Krsna, now please hear some of the names of the older boy Balarama.
82 Because He was pulled (sankarsana) from the womb, He is called Sankarsana). Because the Vedas say He has no (an) end (anta), He is called Ananta.
83 Because He is very strong (bala), he is called Baladeva. Because He carries a plough-weapon (hala and musala), He is called Hali and Musali. Because He wears blue garments He is called Sitivasa.
84 Because He enjoys pastimes with Revati, He is called Revati-ramana. Because He stayed in Rohini’s womb, He is called Rauhineya.
85 You have heard me recite the names of the elder son. Now I will go home. O Nanda, please go to your home and be happy.
86 When they heard the brahmana’s words, Nanda and Yasoda were stunned, and the infant Krsna smiled.
87 Then Nanda bowed down and, his head humbly bent and his hands folded, humbly spoke.
88 Sri Nanda said: If you go, then what great soul will perform the auspicious ceremonies? Please stay for a moment and perform the nama-karana and anna-prasana.
89 You spoke a great flood of Krsna’s names and you also spoke the ten names, beginning with Radha-pranadhika, that mention a person named Radha. What do these names mean? Who is Radha?
90 When he heard Nanda’s words, the great sage smiled and said: I will tell you a great secret.
91 Sri Garga said: O Nanda, please listen and I will tell you a story I heard from Lord Siva’s mouth, an account of activities that happened very long ago in the realm of Goloka.
92 Sridama and Radha quarrelled. From that quarrel Sridama was cursed to become a demon and Radha was cursed to become a gopi in Gokula.
93 She became the daughter of Vrsabhanu and Kalavati. Originally manifested from half of Lord Krsna’s body, She is like Her master.
94 She is the first goddess, the root of all nature, She stays always in Goloka, but by Lord Krsna’s order She has come, without entering a mother’s womb, to this world.
95 Radha created Her mother’s false pregnancy, filling her womb with air. At the appropriate time, presenting the illusion that She was born in the usual way, She appeared as an infant girl.
96 In this way, by Lord Krsna’s order, Radha appeared on the earth and grew up, like a waxing moon, in the land of Vraja.
97 Her form is half of Lord Krsna’s splendour. She and Krsna are one form appearing as two. The Vedas never say They are different from each other.
98-99 He is Her husband. She is His wife. He is Her lover. She is His beloved. Their two forms are equal in splendour, beauty, virtue, power, intelligence, wisdom and opulence. Because She came to this earth first, She is a little older than He. He always thinks of Her and She always thinks of Him, Her beloved.
100 She is made of His life breath. He is the form of Her life breath. To please Her, He came to Gokula.
101-2 He went to Gokula to keep the promise He made to Radha in Goloka. He only pretended that fear of Kamsa was His motive in going to Gokula. He is the Supreme Lord, the controller of fear. How can He be afraid?
103 The Sama Veda explains how Lord Narayana explained to the demigod Brahma, who was sitting on the lotus of the Lord’s navel, the derivation of the word Radha.
104 On Brahmaloka Brahma repeated that explanation to Lord Siva, and on the top of Mount Kailasa Lord Siva repeated that explanation to me.
105 O Nanda, please hear this explanation, which the Vedas cannot attain and the suras, asuras and the kings of the munis yearn to hear, and which brings with it the highest liberation.
106 The letter r uproots the sins and the good and bad karma of ten million births. The letter a uproots death, disease, and finding a home in a mother’s womb.
107 By hearing, remembering, and speaking the letter dh, one puts an end to death. By hearing, remembering, and speaking the letter a, one puts an end to the bonds that tie him to the material realm.
108 The letter ra brings unwavering devotional service to Lord Krsna’s lotus feet, service that all the great saints yearn to attain, service that brings eternal transcendental bliss, service that brings all perfections, service that is all-powerful and glorious.
109 The letter dh brings association with the Lord, eternal spiritual existence like Him, opulence like His, a form like His, and transcendental knowledge like His.
110 The letter a brings power, glory, charitableness, yogic power, yogic consciousness, and eternity as they are present in Lord Krsna. It brings remembrance of Lord Krsna.
111 When one remembers the two syllables of Radha’s name, sins, lamentation, death, sufferings, and a network of illusions all tremble in fear. Of this there is no doubt.
112 Thus you have heard a prayer describing the glories of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. I have glorified Them as far as my own knowledge goes. I do not have the power to describe all of Their glories.
113 O Nanda, in nearby Vrndavana forest Radha and Krsna will marry. The creator Brahma, happily kindling the sacred fire that will bear witness to Their vows, will be the priest that performs the ceremony of Their marriage.
114 Your son will deliver the son of Kuvera, steal and eat the gopis’ yoghurt and ghee, kill Dhenukasura, eat the tala fruits in the forest,...
115 ...playfully kill Baka, Kesi, and Pralamba, deliver the brahmanas’ wives and enjoy eating their offering of delicious food and drink,...
116 ...stop the indra-yajna, protect Gokula from Indra, steal the gopis’ garments, make their vow successful,..
117 ...return their garments, give them the blessing they desired, and steal their hearts with the music of His flute.
118 On a springtime full-moon night, in the circle of the rasa dance, He will enjoy a beautiful and blissful rasa-dance festival.
119 He will enjoy with them, fulfil their desires, and happily play with them in the water.
120 Then, because of Sridama’s curse, for a hundred years He will be separated from Radha, the gopis, and the gopas.
121 He will go to Mathura, and the gopis will lament. He will enlighten them with transcendental knowledge.
122 He will protect Akrura and his chariot from the gopis’ attack. He will mount the chariot and promise to return.
123 Accompanied by His father, brother, and the vraja-gopas, He will cross the Yamuna in Vraja. He will reveal His true identity, enlightening Akrura.
124 In the evening He will observe a jubilant festival on seeing the city of Mathura. He will give a florist, a tailor, and a hunchback girl liberation from the bonds of repeated birth and death.
125 He will break Lord Siva’s bow, enter the yajna arena, kill an elephant and many wrestlers, and enter the royal view-stand.
126 Then he will quickly kill Kamsa, release His own parents from their chains, give you transcendental knowledge and crown Ugrasena king.
127 Speaking transcendental knowledge, He will comfort Ugrasena’s daughters in law. He and His brother will observe the sacred-thread ceremony and learn transcendental knowledge from the mouth of a sage.
128 He will return His guru’s dead sons. He will return home and defeat the armies of a king and a wicked yavana.
129 He will build Dvaraka city, give liberation to Mucukunda, and happily return to Dvaraka.
130 He will enjoy pastimes with His many queens and He will make them happy by giving them many children and grandchildren.
131 He will free Himself from the false rumour that He had stolen a jewel. He will help the Pandavas, remove the earth’s burden, and enjoy many pastimes.
132 In His pastimes He will help Yamaraja’s son perform a rajasuya-yajna. He will take a parijata tree and then He will crush Indra’s pride.
133 He will grant the fulfilment of Satya’s vow. He will cut off Banasura’s many arms, make Lord Siva yawn and defeat Siva’s armies.
134 He will kidnap Bana’s daughter, release Aniruddha from captivity, burn Varanasi City, and rescue a brahmana from poverty.
135 He will return a brahmana’s sons, defeat many demons, and go on a pilgrimage where He will see you again.
136 He will return to Vraja and again enjoy pastimes with Sri Radha. He will send His Narayana expansion back to Dvaraka.
137 His mission on earth accomplished, Sri Krsna, the master of the universes, will return with Radha to the world of Goloka.
138 Then Lord Narayana will return with Laksmi to Vaikuntha, Nara-Narayana Rsis will return to the asrama of Dharma Muni, and Lord Visnu will return to the Ksirodaka Ocean.
139 O Nanda, thus I have described the boy’s future, which is described in the Vedas. Now please hear why I have come here at this time.
140 Please perform the boy’s anna-prasana ceremony in the month of Magha (January-February) on Thursday, the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, an auspicious day when the moon and stars are pure and the star Revati is conjoined with the moon,...
141 ...when the full moon is in Pisces, Libra is auspicious, and there is a beautiful subha-yoga.
142 On that rare and most auspicious day consult with learned panditas and happily perform the sacred ceremony.
143 After speaking these words, Garga, the king of sages, went outside. Happy Nanda and Yasoda made preparations for that sacred ceremony.
144 Then the adult gopas and gopis, and the boys and girls also, all came to Nanda’s home to see Garga Muni.
145 They gazed on Garga, the best of sages, whose brahmanical splendour shone like the summer midday sun, who was teaching his many disciples the secrets of yoga and happily answering their questions,...
146 ...who was sitting on a golden throne, smiling, holding the yoga-mudra posture, and gazing at the opulences of Nanda’s palaces,...
147 ...who with eyes of knowledge could see the past, present and future,...
148 ...who by the power of perfect mantras was gazing at the Supreme Lord sitting in his heart, who was also gazing at the same Supreme Lord, the smiling infant in Yasoda’s lap, right before his eyes,...
149 ...who, gazing at the transcendental form he saw before in the meditations given by Lord Siva, became filled with transcendental happiness, whose desires were in this way all fulfilled,...
150 ...whose hairs stood erect with joy, whose eyes were filled with tears, who was plunged in an ocean of love, and who in his heart meditated on worshipping the Lord and bowing down before Him again and again.
151 The people all bowed their heads before the sage and he, sitting on a golden throne, blessed them all. Then he stood up and they all returned to their own homes.
152 Jubilant Nanda at once sent many auspicious invitation letters to all near and far.
153 In the place of the ceremony gracefully flowed a stream of yoghurt, a stream of milk, a stream of ghee, a stream of molasses, a stream of oil, a stream of honey,...
154 ...a stream of butter, a stream of buttermilk, and a stream of sugarcane juice.
155 There were a hundred tall mountains of whole rice, a hundred mountains of flat rice, and seven mountains of salt.
156 There were sixteen hills of ripe fruits, wheat, barley and perfect laddu candies.
157 O Narada there was a mountain of modaka candies and seven very tall mountains of svastika and kapardaka candies.
158 There was a great open air pavilion of betelnuts, camphor and scented water.
159 There was an abundance of sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma, as well as many golden and jewel ornaments.
160 There were many beautiful ornaments of pearls and coral, and there were many beautiful garments.
161 Then Narada happily arranged that his son’s anna-prasana ceremony be performed in a courtyard filled with banana trees and new mango buds.
162 He happily arranged to have made a beautiful garment for the ceremony, a garment woven with fine threads and anointed with sandal.
163 In the courtyard were many auspicious pots filled with fruits and leaves and splendid with sandal, aguru, musk, and flower garlands.
164 O Narada, that place was splendid with many garlands, fine garments, cows, madhuparkas, sitting places,...
165-7 ...fruits, and lotus flowers. There was a great sound of dundubhi drums, dakkas, patahas, mrdangas, anakas, murajas, flutes, sannahanis, brass instruments and many other kinds of beautiful musical instruments. Many Vidyadhari girls danced with grace.
168 There were gandharvas singing very beautiful melodies and there were many chariots and golden thrones.
169-72 Then a messenger came to the courtyard and jubilantly said to Nanda: Look! Accompanied by his wife, servants, four hundred thousand chariots, as many elephants, ten million horses, as many palanquins, many kings of the rsis and munis, many learned brahmanas, and many poets, sannyasis, gopas, and gopis, Candrabhanu has come! Who can count how many are in his entourage?
173 Hearing this, Nanda at once went to them, respectfully greeted them, brought them to the courtyard, gave them a place to stay, and worshipped them.
174 Placing his head to the ground, Nanda offered respects to the rsis and the others. He offered them padya with great care and attention.
175 In this way Nanda’s palace became filled with guests and gifts. There was such a great tumult the people could not even hear each other talk.
176 Then, to please Sri Krsna, Kuvera happily showered gold for two and a half hours, filling the land of Gokula.
177 Embarrassed to show their feelings of joy and wonder, the guests simply bowed their heads and gazed at King Nanda’s wealth.
178 Then King Nanda bathed, put on clean garments, and anointed his body with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma.
179 Placing their feet on a beautiful golden stool, Nanda washed the feet of Garga Muni and the many sages. Then he placed himself as their servant, ready for their command.
180 Then, after meditating on Lord Visnu, pronouncing the word svasti, and performing acamana, Nanda performed the anna-prasana ritual as described in the Vedas. Then he fed the infant Krsna.
181 Then, following Garga Muni’s order, at an auspicious moment happy Nanda gave the infant boy the name Krsna.
182 Then Nanda fed his son rice cooked with ghee, and gave Him the name Krsna. Nanda made many musical instruments play. He had many auspicious rituals performed.
183 Then he happily gave to the brahmanas many ornaments of jewels and gold, many delicious foods, and many costly garments.
184 To the poets and sannyasis he gave so much gold no one could carry it away.
185 To the brahmanas, sannyasis and guests he fed delicious sweets.
186 Again and again in Nanda’s Gokula there were loud sounds of “Give them more! Give them more! Please eat more! Please eat more!”
187-8 To Garga Muni King Nanda humbly gave precious jewels, costly garments, ornaments, coral, and beautiful golden cups, all made by Visvakarma.
189 To Garga Muni’s disciples and to the other brahmanas he gave large quantities of gold.
190 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Then Garga Muni took infant Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to a secluded place, bowed down before Him, and happily offered prayers to Him.
191 Tears in his eyes, the hairs of his body erect, his head bowed, and his hands folded, Garga Muni offered respects to Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.
192 Sri Garga Muni said: O Lord Krsna, O master of the universes, O Lord who breaks the devotees’ fears, please be pleased with me. Please give me service to Your lotus feet.
193 What is the use of the wealth Your father gave me? Instead please give me unwavering devotion to You, devotion that rescues the devotees from all fears.
194 O Lord, I do not desire transcendental knowledge, the life of a demigod, any of the different kinds of liberation, or the mystic powers that begin with anuma-siddhi.
195 In my heart I do not desire to become Indra or Manu, or to enjoy heavenly pleasures in Svargaloka for a very long time if by attaining these things I cannot serve Your feet.
196 O Lord, I will not love in Your realm, have opulence like Yours, stay always near You, or have a transcendental form like Yours, if by accepting these things I cannot serve Your feet.
197 If I can always remember Your lotus feet I do not care whether I live in Goloka or in hell.
198 Because of pious deeds in many past births I obtained from Lord Siva the mantra of Your holy names. By chanting Your names I now know and see everything and I have the power to go anywhere.
199 O ocean of mercy, O friend of the poor, please be merciful to me. Please place me at Your lotus feet, protect me, and make me fearless. If You protect me, what can death do to me?
200 By serving Your lotus feet, Siva became victorious over death. He became the great destroyer, the guru of the yogis, and the master of all.
201 By serving Your lotus feet, Brahma became the creator of the universe. O Lord, in each of his days fourteen Indras live out their lives and finally perish.
202 By serving Your feet, Yamaraja became the witness of all deeds, the protector, the giver of results, and the victor that defeated invincible time.
203 By serving Your lotus feet, thousand-headed Lord Sesa became able to carry the earth and all the planets on His head as if they were all a single mustard seed.
204 Laksmi-devi, the best of all goddesses and the giver of all wealth and good fortune, uses her hair as a towel to dry Your lotus feet.
205 By again and again remembering Your lotus feet, Goddess Maya became the great potency and the seed of all, the goddess that is greater than the greatest.
206 By serving Your feet, Parvati became the very intelligent queen of all goddesses. She attained Lord Siva as her beloved master.
207 By serving Your lotus feet, Sarasvati became the mother-goddess of knowledge, the goddess worshipped by all.
208 By serving Your feet, Savitri became the mother of the Vedas. She purifies the three worlds. Brahma and the brahmanas yearn to attain her.
209 By serving Your lotus feet Vasundhara became the earth goddess. To maintain the people she became the mother of grains and jewels.
210 Radha was born from Your left side. She is Your equal in power and glory. She holds Your feet to Her breast. Who can describe all the ways She serves you?
211 O Lord, as You are merciful to Indra and the demigods and Laksmi and the demigoddesses, please be merciful to me also. Your mercy is the same for all.
212 O Lord, I will not go home and I will not accept the wealth You have offered. Please protect me. Please make ma a servant of Your lotus feet.
213 After speaking these prayers, Garga Muni fell down before Lord Krsna’s feet. Tears in his eyes and the hairs of his body standing up, he wept.
214 Hearing Garga Muni’s words, Lord Krsna, who loves His devotees, smiled and said to him, “May you have love and devotion for Me.”
215 A person who at sunrise, noon and sunset recites these prayers of Garga Muni attains unwavering love and devotion for Lord Krsna. He serves and remembers Lord Krsna always.
216 A person who devotedly serves Lord Krsna leaves this world of birth, death, old-age, disease, lamentation, bewilderment, and a host of troubles, far behind.
217 At the appropriate time he goes to Lord Krsna’s abode and enjoys with Him. From then on he is never separated from Lord Krsna.
218 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After speaking these prayers and presenting the infant Krsna to King Nanda, Garga Muni said to him: O gopa, please give your permission, and then I will return home.
219 This world of birth and death is caught in a network of illusion. It is filled with surprises. In this world people meet, and then are quickly separated. They are like bubbles of foam in the ocean.
220 Hearing Garga Muni’s words, Nanda wept. Separation from great saints is worse than death.
221 As Garga Muni and disciples were about to depart, Nanda, the gopas, and the gopis began to weep.
222 O sage, they all affectionately and humbly bowed before Garga Muni, who blessed them all, and then happily returned to Mathura.
223 Happy at heart and now very wealthy by Nanda’s charity, the rsis, munis, gopas, and guests returned to their homes.
224 Taking with them many candies, horses, golden ornaments, and other gifts from Nanda, the poets also returned to their homes.
225 Filled to their necks with delicious foods, and carrying heavy burdens of many valuable gifts, the happy sannyasis could barely walk.
226 Some walked very slowly, some rested on the ground, some stopped on the road, and some stood up and began walking again.
227 Some danced, some sang, and some recited poems composed in ancient times.
228 Some recited the histories of great kings like Marutta, Sveta, Sagara, Mandhata, Uttanapada, Nahusa, Nala, and the histories of Lord Rama’s asvamedha-yajna and Rantideva’s many pious deeds.
229 Some repeated the stories of these kings, stories heard from the mouths of their elders, and others carefully listened.
230 They travelled, stopped, slept, and travelled again. In this way, after many days, the happy pilgrims all returned to their own homes.
231 Staying in a palace opulent like Kuvera’s, Nanda and Yasoda happily held infant Krsna to their chest.
232 Like two slowly waxing moons, the two boys, Krsna and Balarama, grew day by day. Happily holding a cow’s tail or a wall, They began to stand up straight.
233 O sage, crawling about in the courtyard, and now able to speak with broken words, day after day the two boys delighted Their parents.
234 Soon Krsna could crawl through the house and courtyard and Balarama could walk with His legs.
235 Balarama was one year older than Krsna. Day after day crawling in the courtyard, the boys delighted Their parents more and more.
236 Soon the two Supreme Lords, now accepting the role of small boys, could easily walk in the village of Vraja and easily speak distinct words.
237 O sage, Garga Muni went to Vasudeva’s palace in Mathura. Vasudeva devotedly bowed before the sage and asked about the welfare of Krsna and Balarama.
238 Garga Muni told him the boys were well and happy and then described the great anna-prasana festival. Hearing all this, Vasudeva became plunged into an ocean of tears of joy.
239 Filled with happiness and love, Devaki asked again and again. Plunged in an ocean of tears of joy, she wept again and again.
240 Garga Muni blessed them and then returned home. Staying in their palace opulent like Kuvera’s own abode, Vasudeva and Devaki became very happy.
241 O Narada, in a previous kalpa you were the great gandharva Upabarhana, the husband of fifty beautiful wives.
242 Youthful and expert at amorous pastimes, you were more dear than life to them. Then, by the curse of the demigod Brahma, you became the son of a brahmana and a servant girl.
243 By eating the remnants of food left by the Vaisnavas, you became the son of the demigod Brahma. Now, because of your service to Lord Krsna, you have the power to see everything, know everything, and remember your past births.
244 Thus I have described to you the pastime of Lord Krsna’s anna-prasana ceremony. This description rescues on from the world of birth, death, and old-age.
Chapter Fourteen
Vrksarjuna-bhanjana
The Breaking of the Arjuna Tree
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One day Yasoda went to bathe in the Yamuna. Seeing the house filled with milk-products, the boy Krsna smiled.
2 Then Krsna drank all the yoghurt, milk, ghee, buttermilk, and butter that was in the house.
3 When boy Krsna had just finished eating a cartful of svastika candies made with honey and ghee, and He was about to wipe the evidence from His mouth with the edge of His yellow dhoti,...
4 ...the gopis Yasoda, returned home from her bath, saw Him, and she also saw that in her home all the pots were now broken and emptied of the milk-products, honey, and other foods they once contained.
5 Seeing all this, she asked the children nearby: Who did this terrible thing? Tell the truth.
6 Hearing Yasoda’s words, the children said: Your boy ate everything, and that is the truth. He did not even give us some.
7 Hearing the children’s words. Yasoda became angry. Her eyes now red lotus flowers, she grabbed a stick and ran after Krsna.
8 She could not catch the fleeing child Krsna, who cannot be caught by the meditations of Lord Siva and the yogis.
9 Exhausted from running, and her lips, palate, and throat now dry, saintly, angry Yasoda stopped for a moment.
10 At that moment merciful Lord Krsna, who is the Supreme Person and the master of all the universes, approached His mother and smiled.
11 Then she took Lord Krsna by the hand, led Him home, with a cloth tied Him to a tree, and hit Him.
12 After tying Krsna to a tree, Yasoda went inside the house. In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ruler of all the universes, stood at the roots of a tree.
13 O Narada, when the Lord Krsna touched that tree tall as a mountain, it suddenly fell to the ground, making a frightening sound.
14 From that tree came a splendid, opulently dressed person, who climbed a splendid chariot and went away, returning to his own home.
15 Dressed in gold and decorated with jewels, the smiling, fair-complexioned youth bowed down before Lord Krsna, the master of the universes.
16 When she saw the tree fall, frightened Yasoda at once put her crying, handsome dark boy on her lap.
17 The gopas and gopis of Gokula ran to her house, made the boy stop His crying and rebuked Yasoda.
18 The brahmanas blessed the boy. Nanda gave charity to the poets and had a brahmana chant the holy names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
19 The people of Gokula said: O Nanda and Yasoda, you are not very intelligent. Somehow or other, in your old age you have a son.
20 Wealth, rice, jewels, and everything else are meant for one’s children. If their children do not enjoy them, they are worthless.
21 O cruel one, for the sake of some milk products you tied your son to the base of a tree. Then you went about your household duties. Then, by destiny, the tree fell.
22 Fortunately, your boy survived the tree’s fall. Fool, if He had died, what would be the use of all your wealth?
23 After speaking these words to her, everyone returned to their own homes. Then Nanda, his eyes now red lotus flowers, spoke to his wife.
24 Sri Nanda said: Carrying my son around my neck, I will go on pilgrimage. Please leave my home. What need have I for you?
25 A pond is better than a hundred wells. A lake is better than a hundred ponds. A yana is better than a hundred lakes. A son is better than a hundred yajnas.
26 Pious deeds, such as austerity and charity, bring happiness in the next life. A good son, however, brings happiness in both this life and the next.
27 Every man loves his wife, but a wife is an iron chain of material desires. She is illusion personified. She is a basket of dear illusions.
28 A son is more dear than a wife. A son is more dear than life itself. There never was, now will there ever be any relative more dear than a son.
29 After speaking these words to his wife, Nanda stayed in his palace and did not leave for pilgrimage. Yasoda and Rohini became very diligent in their household duties.
30 Sri Narada said: Who was the opulently dressed person that had thus assumed the form of a tree? O Lord, how did he become a tree?
31 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One day Kuvera’s son Nalakuvara, who was handsome and glorious, went to the Nandana gardens to enjoy with the apsara Rambha.
32-3 In a beautiful and secluded lake shore flower garden fragrant with flower breezes, he made a bed of flowers with silken sheets, jewel lamps, fragrant ointments of sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, and with flowers everywhere.
34 He took Rambha there and they enjoyed the eight kinds of amorous pastimes, beginning with viparita, to their heart’s content.
35 In that place they enjoyed six kinds of kisses and three kinds of embraces.
36 Expert in amorous pastimes and learned in the Kama-sastra, he took her from the water to the land, and from the land to the water, enjoying with her pastimes of amorous scratching and biting.
37 At that moment Devala Muni saw Nalakuvara enjoying these amorous pleasures with naked, dishevelled, buxom, broad-hipped Rambha.
38 Her limbs scratched and bitten and the hairs of her body erect, she gazed, smiling with pleasure, at the Lord of her life, and he gazed, smiling with pleasure, at her.
39 The sage glanced at Rambha who, her eyebrows crooked and her cheeks splendid with earrings, was filled with lusty desires,...
40 ...who was decorated with jewel bracelets, armlets, anklets,...
41 ...colourful jewel necklaces, flower garlands, sindura dots, and a network of tinkling ornaments,...
42 ...and he also glanced at Nalakuvara, who was so rapt in amorous pleasures that he did not stand up to offer respects to the sage. The great sage said to him, “Sinner, become a tree!”
43 Then he cursed lusty Rambha, “Become a human woman! You will become Janmejaya’s beautiful wife.”
44 To Nalakuvara he said, “Go to Gokula and become a tree. When Lord Krsna touches you, you may return home.”
45 To Rambha he said, “O Rambha, when you enjoy with Indra, you may also return to your home.” After speaking these words, the sage returned to his asrama.
46 In this way Nalakuvara, the handsome and glorious son of Kuvera was able to return to his home. I have told you that story, now I will tell you the story of Rambha.
47 Rambha took birth on the earth in King Sucandra’s house. She was his very beautiful daughter. She was like Goddess Laksmi personified.
48 With great ceremony the great king Sucandra gave his opulently decorated daughter in marriage to King Janmejaya.
49 She became the beautiful first queen of King Janmejaya. In many secluded places he enjoyed with her again and again.
50 One day the king began an asvamedha-yajna. Indra at once stole the horse and rode to the palace.
51 Hearing that the handsome yajna horse had come, the chaste and beautiful queen eagerly went alone to see it.
52 Descending from the horse, Indra raped the chaste queen. Although she resisted, he enjoyed with her there in the palace.
53 Overcome with pleasure, Indra did not know whether it was day or night. Because of their union, the queen employed mystic powers to leave her body.
54 Embarrassed and frightened of the king, Indra fled to Svargaloka. When he heard what had happened, and when he saw that his wife was now dead, the king lamented again and again.
55 In this way Rambha left her human body and returned to Svargaloka. When the yajna was completed, the king gave the brahmanas their full daksina.
56 O great sage, in this way I have told you all about the breaking of the arjuna tree and the release of Nalakuvara and Rambha from a sage’s curse.
57 Thus I have told you all about this one of Lord Krsna’s sanctifying pastimes, which free one from birth, death and old age. ow I will tell another of His pastimes.
Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Sri Krsna-janma-khanda
The Birth of Lord Krsna
Canto Four
Volume Five
Chapter Fifteen
Sri Radha-Krsna-vivaha
The Wedding of Sri Radha-Krsna Page 2
Chapter Sixteen
Baka-kesi-pralamba-vadha-vrndavana-gamana
The Killing of Baka, Kesi and Pralamba, and the Journey
to Vrndavana Page 11
Chapter Fifteen
Sri Radha-Krsna-vivaha
The Wedding of Sri Radha-Krsna
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One day, taking infant Krsna with Him, Nanda tended the cows in a banyan grove of Vrndavana forest.
2 He drank the sweet water of a lake, made the cows drinks also, and, holding infant Krsna to his chest, he sat at the roots of a banyan tree.
3 O sage, then Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who was playing the role of an infant, employed His Yogamaya potency to suddenly cover the sky with clouds.
4-5 Seeing the cloud-covered sky, darkened forest, howling winds, ferocious thunder, great rainstorm, wildly shaking trees, and falling branches, Nanda became afraid.
6 Nanda said: How can I go home now and leave the calves behind? If I do not go home, what will become of my boy?
7 As Nanda spoke these words, infant Krsna, pretending to be afraid, cried and clutched His father’s neck.
8-22 At that moment beautiful Radha, walking more gracefully than the khanjana birds and the rajahamsa swans, her beautiful face glorious as the autumn moon, her glistening eyes robbing the midday autumn lotuses of their beauty, Her beautiful eyelashes wonderfully splendid with black kajjala, Her beautiful nose crushing the beauty of the bird-king’s beak, Her nose decorated with a great and precious pearl, Her earrings robbing the midday summer sun of its splendour, Her lips robbing the ripe bimba fruits of their beauty, Her splendid teeth eclipsing rows of pearls, Her smile destroying the splendour of jasmine flowers just beginning to bloom, gracefully decorated with musk and sindura dots, Her beautiful cheeks graceful with curly locks of hair, the hairs of Her boy erect with joy, Her breast decorated with necklaces of the kings of jewels, Her firm breasts more graceful than a pair of sriphala fruits, beautiful with painted pictures and decorations, splendid with precious jewels, Her waist very graceful, Her deep navel marked with wonderful tri-bali lines, decorated with a belt of precious jewels, her knitted eyebrows Kamadeva’s weapons to bewilder the minds of the kings of the yogis, Her firm thighs graceful like elephant trunks, Her feet robbing the land-growing lotuses of their splendour, Her feet anointed with red lac and decorated with jewel pasakas, Her lac-anointed toenails robbing the regal jewels of their splendour, decorated with tinkling anklets of precious jewels, decorated with jewel bracelets and armlets, beautiful conchshell ornaments, and many finger rings, splendid with garments pure as fire, Her fair complexion robbing beautiful campaka flowers of their glory, and holding a splendid pastime-lotus and a jewel mirror to see the beauty of Her face, approached the infant Krsna.
23 Seeing Radha, illuminating the ten directions with a splendour greater than ten millions suns, suddenly come to that secluded place, Nanda was very surprised.
24 His head bowed and his eyes filled with tears, he said to Her: From Garga Muni’s mouth I have learned that to the Supreme Personality of Godhead You are more dear than Goddess Laksmi.
25 I also know that this boy is the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead, beyond the modes of nature and superior even to Lord Maha-Visnu. Still, I am just an ordinary human being, bewildered by Lord Visnu’s illusory potency.
26 O beautiful one, now You may take my son and enjoy with Him as You like. When Your desires are all fulfilled, You will return Him to me.
27 After speaking these words, he fearfully gave the crying infant to Her. She accepted Him with a sweet and happy smile.
28 She said to Nanda: Take care that this secret is not revealed. How many births of pious deeds have made you able to see Me?
29 Garga Muni told you, and therefore you know the secret of why Krsna and I have come to Gokula and Vraja.
30 Please ask for whatever your heart desires. I can easily give to you what even the demigods cannot attain.
31 Hearing Radha’s words, Nanda said to Her: Please give me devotion to the feet of Lord Krsna and Yourself. I do not desire anything but that.
32 O supreme goddess, O mother of the universes, please grant the rare boon that Yasoda and I will always stay near You and Krsna.
33 Hearing Nanda’s words, Goddess Radha said to him: I will give to you devotional service that has no equal.
34 Day and night You and Yasoda will always remember Lord Krsna and Me in the blossoming flower of your hearts. This memory of Us is very difficult to attain.
35 I give you the blessing that the illusory potency will not cover You and Yasoda. At the end, leaving your human forms behind, you two will go to Goloka.
36 After speaking these words, She held infant Krsna to Her breast, to Her heart’s content embracing Him for a long time with both arms.
37 Holding Him to Her breast, embracing and kissing Him again and again, and hairs of Her body erect, She remembered the circle of the rasa dance.
38 Then Radha suddenly saw a jewel palace with a hundred jewel domes...
39 ...opulent with many wonders, beautiful with wonderful gardens, splendid with ruby pillars,...
40 ...fragrant with sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma, decorated with jasmine flowers, furnished with many flower couches,...
41 ...filled with many pleasures, decorated with splendid mirrors and many pearls, rubies and the kings of jewels,...
42 ...splendid with great doors made of the kings of jewels, decorated with cloth, ornaments and beautiful pennants,...
43 ...splendid with seven stairways of jewels the colour of kunkuma, and also splendid with flower gardens frequented by swarms of bees.
44 Seeing this, Goddess Radha happily entered the palace. There she saw betelnuts scented with camphor and spices,...
45 ...a jewel pot of cool, clear, nectarean water, and, O Narada, many jewel pots filled with nectar and honey.
46 There She saw the handsome, youthful, and dark Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was anointed with sandal paste, who was splendid and playful like ten million Kamadevas,...
47 ...who, dressed in yellow garments, smiling, charming, and His face and eyes happy, was reclining on a flower couch,..
48 ...who wore tinkling anklets made of the kings of jewels and bracelets and ornaments made of the best of jewels,...
49 ...whose cheeks were splendid with earrings made of the kings of jewels, whose chest was splendid with the regal Kaustubha jewel,...
50 ...whose face robbed the autumn moon of its splendour, whose eyes eclipsed the splendour of the autumn lotuses,...
51 ...who was embraced by a jasmine garland, who wore a triple crown of peacock feathers, and who was looking at the jewel palace.
52 Noticing that there was no longer any infant on Her lap, Radha gazed at the youth before Her. Even though She remembered everything perfectly, She was still filled with wonder.
53 Gazing at this handsome form, Radha became bewildered with passionate love. The two cakora birds of Her eyes happily gazed at the moon of this person’s face.
54 Radha gazed at Him with unblinking eyes. The hairs of Her body stood up. She smiled. Tormented with amorous desires, She yearned to embrace Him.
55 As passionate Radha, Her lotus face smiling, gazed at Him, Lord Krsna spoke to Her.
56 Sri Krsna said: O Radha, You must remember what happened in Goloka. O beloved, now I will fulfil the promise I made to You.
57 O Radha, O girl with the beautiful face, I love You more than anyone. You are identical with Me. We are not different.
58 As whiteness is always present in milk, as heat is always present in fire, and as fragrance is always present in earth, so I am always present in You.
59-60 AS without clay a potter cannot make a pot and without gold a goldsmith cannot make a golden earrings, so without You I cannot create the world. You are the place where the world rests and I am the perfect seed from which it sprouts.
61 O saintly one, recline on this couch. Become the splendour decorating My chest. As an ornament is the body’s splendour, so You are My splendour.
62 When You do no stand by My side, the people call Me Krsna. When You do stand by My side the people call Me splendid Krsna (Sri Krsna).
63 You are splendour. You are opulence, You are the resting place of everything. For everyone, and also for Me, You are all power.
64 I am not an ordinary man and You are not an ordinary woman. That is the conclusion of the Vedas. O infallible one, You have the power to assume any form You wish, and I have that power also.
65 When I choose to appear as the Brahman effulgence, You also appear as the Brahman effulgence. When I choose not a manifest a form, You also do not manifest a form.
66 O beautiful one, when I choose to become the seed that begets everything, then by Your mystic powers You become the most beautiful of all women.
67 You are half of My body. You are the Supreme Goddess, the root of all nature. In power, intelligence, knowledge, and glory, You are My equal.
68 One who thinks We are different is the lowest of men. He stays in the hell called Kalasutra for as long as the sun and moon shine in the sky.
69 He makes seven generations of ancestors and seven generations of descendants fall down. The piety he earned in ten million births is destroyed.
70 They who foolishly insult Us are the lowest of men. They burn in hell through the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas.
71 When one, suddenly frightened, calls out, “Ra!” I give him transcendental devotional service. When one adds the syllable “dha”, I, eager to hear his chanting, visit him.
72-3 O Radha, they who present to Me the sixteen offerings and devotedly serve Me during their entire lifetime are very dear to Me, but one who chants the name “Radha” is even more dear.
74-5 Brahma, Sesa, Siva, Yama, Nara-Narayana Rsi, Kapila, Ganesa, and Karttikeya are not as dear. Laksmi, Sarasvati, Durga, Savitri, Prakrti, and all the goddesses are not as dear.
76 To Me they are as dear as life, but You are more dear than life. They stay in different place, but You stay on My chest.
77 In My four-armed form of Narayana I hold Goddess Laksmi to My chest. In My original form of Krsna, I hold You to My chest always.
78 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna reclined on the beautiful couch. Her head humbly bowed, Radha spoke to Her Lord.
79 Sri Radha said: I know this. I remember everything. Lord, how could I forget? By the mercy of Your lotus feet I am all that You have said of Me.
80 O master of illusion, why do you put devotees like Me into illusion? Many devotees like Me are bewildered by Your maya potency.
81 By one devotee’s curse I have become a gopi on the earth, and You and I will be separated for a hundred years.
82 Why are some dear to the Supreme Lord and some not dear to Him? As they render service to Him, He grants His mercy to them accordingly.
83 You have the power to transform blade of grass into a mountain and a mountain into a blade of grass. Therefore You are equally kind to the competent and the incompetent, to the husband and to the wife.
84 O Lord, You are reclining on this couch and I am standing before You. This moment of Our conversation is like a hundred yugas. I cannot measure the time We have now spent together.
85 Please place Your lotus feet on My head and breast. Please extinguish the fire of separation that burns in My heart.
86 My glance at once fell on Your lotus feet. Only with a great effort am I able to pull My eyes from Your lotus feet and gaze at the rest of Your transcendental form.
87 Gazing, one by one, on each limb, My eyes finally rest on Your lotus face. I have no power to pull them to any other place.
88 Hearing Radha’s words, Lord Krsna smiled and spoke to Her the truthful and auspicious philosophy of the Sruti and smrti sastras.
89 Sri Krsna said: Beloved, for whatever happens to anyone in any place or any lifetime there is nothing to lament. I have already explained this to You.
90 O beautiful one, please wait for a moment. When the proper time comes I will fulfil Your desire and make You happy.
91 O Radha, I will not erase what fate has written. How can the demigod Brahma erase it?
92 I am the father of Brahma. What fate has written for Brahma and the demigods and for the lesser creatures also, is not to be broken.
93 At that moment, carrying a garland and a kamandalu in his hands and his four faces gently smiling, the demigod Brahma came before Lord Krsna.
94 His head humbly bowed, the hairs of his body erect, and tears in his eyes, Brahma bowed down before Lord Krsna and praised Him in many prayers.
95 Offering prayers and bowing down, Brahma approached Sri Krsna. Again bowing down with devotion, he then approached Sri Radha.
96-7 He bowed his head before the lotus feet of Sri Radha, the mother of all. With great respect he washed Her feet with water from his kamandalu and then dried them with the towel of his hair. Then folding his hands, he spoke many prayers.
98 Sri Brahma said: O mother, by Lord Krsna’s mercy I can now see Your lotus feet, which are rarely seen by the people of the earth and other places.
99 In ancient times I performed austerities for sixty thousand years in Puskara-tirtha on the earth.
100 After that Lord Krsna, the giver of boons, came to offer a boon. “Ask for a boon”, He said, and I happily asked for what I long desired.
101 Then I said, “O Lord beyond the modes of material nature, at this very moment please show me Sri Radha’s lotus feet, which are very difficult for anyone to see.”
102 “In time I will show them to you. For now, My child, please wait”, Lord Krsna said and left.
103 O mother of all, the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead never go in vain. Because of His boon I am now able to see Your lotus feet, which everyone in Goloka and on the earth yearns to see.
104 The demigoddesses in the celestial planets are born into the material world. But You are born from half of Lord Krsna’s transcendental boy. You are His equal in all respects.
105 “This is Sri Krsna, and this is, You, Radha. This is You, Radha and this is Sri Krsna Himself.” Neither the Vedas nor I can say this of You two. We cannot distinguish between You and say that one is different than the other. Who can say it?
106 O mother, above the material world is the spiritual world of Vaikuntha and Goloka. O mother, as the spiritual world is eternal, so You are also eternal.
107 As the living beings in all material universes are part and parcel of Lord Krsna, so You are the powers and abilities that reside within all living beings.
108 All males are part and parcel of Lord Krsna and all females are part and parcel of You. Lord Krsna is the Supersoul present in the bodies of all conditioned souls. You are the resting place of Him.
109 O supreme mother, Lord Krsna’s breath created You, and You breath created Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of You two, who is the creator and who the created?
110 O supreme mother, as Lord Krsna is eternal, so are You. Is He the part and parcel of You, or are You the part and parcel of Him? Who can say?
111 I am the creator of the material universe and the father of the Vedas. By learning the Vedas from the guru’s mouth one becomes wise.
112 Still, I do not have the power to praise even a hundredth part of Your virtues and glories. What Vedic scripture or what great philosopher has the power to praise You?
113 Intelligence is the father of prayers, and You, O mother, are the mother of intelligence. Who has the power to praise You?
114 What everyone has seen a philosopher can describe. What philosopher can describe something no one has seen or heard of before?
115 Neither I, Lord Siva, Lord Sesa, Goddess Sarasvati, nor all the Vedas have the power to praise You. O goddess, we do not have to power to praise You properly.
116 I have described Your glories as far as I am able. Please do not criticise me. They who are supremely powerful are equally kind to both the wise and the foolish.
117 A child may be virtuous one moment and mischievous the next, but the mother and father, out of love, forgive any mischief he may do.
118 After speaking these words Brahma, the creator of the universe, bowed down before Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s lotus feet, before which all the devotees yearn to bow. Then Brahma respectfully stood before the divine couple.
119 One who morning, noon and night recites these prayers spoken by the demigod Brahma attains devotional service to the feet of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna.
120 Pulling up all past karma by its roots, defeating invincible death, and jumping over all other worlds, He goes to the supreme abode of Goloka.
121 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After hearing Brahma’s prayers, Sri Radha said to him, “O creator Brahma, you may ask a boon, whatever your heart desires.’
122 Hearing Sri Radha’s words, Brahma said to Her, “Please give me devotion for the feet of You both.”
123 When Brahma said this, Radha at once replied, “So be it”. Then Brahma, the ruler of a material universe, devotedly bowed again before Her.
124 Then, sitting between Them both, Brahma ignited a sacred fire and, meditating on Lord Krsna, properly offered oblations.
125 Then Lord Krsna rose from His couch, sat by the fire, and, as Brahma recited the mantras, properly offered oblations.
126 Then Brahma, the father of the Vedas, bowed down before Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Then he had Radha circumambulate Lord Krsna seven times.
127 Then he had Radha circumambulate the sacred fire. Then he bowed down before Lord Krsna. Then he offered a sitting place to Sri Radha.
128 Then he had Lord Krsna take Radha’s hand and then he had Lord Krsna recite seven Vedic mantras.
129 Then grandfather Brahma, the knower of the Vedas, placed Radha’s hand on Lord Krsna’s chest, and Lord Krsna’s hand on Radha’s back. Then he had Radha recite the mantras.
130 Then Brahma had Radha happily place a knee-length parijata garland around Lord Krsna’s neck.
131 Then Brahma had Radha bow before Lord Krsna and then he had Lord Krsna place a beautiful garland around Radha’s neck.
132 Then Brahma had Lord Krsna sit down and then he had smiling Radha, Her thoughts fixed on Lord Krsna, sit at Lord Krsna’s left.
133 O Narada, then Brahma had Radha and Krsna fold Their hands and recite five Vedic mantras.
134 Then Brahma had Radha again bow down before Lord Krsna. Then, as if he were the father and She were his daughter, Brahma gave Radha to Lord Krsna. Then Brahma respectfully stood before Lord Krsna.
135 Then the demigods, the hairs of their bodies erect with joy, sounded many dundubhis, anakas, murajuras, and other kinds of drums.
136 The demigods showered parijata flowers, the gandharvas sand, and the apsaras danced.
137 Smiling, Brahma said to Him, “Now please give me as daksina devotion for the lotus feet of You both.”
138 Hearing Brahma’s words, Lord Krsna said to him, “You will have very firm devotion for My lotus feet.”
139 “Now go to your own abode. All will be auspicious for you. Of this there is no doubt. Son, by My command please perform the duties I have given to you.”
140 O sage, hearing the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s words, Brahma bowed down before Sri Radha and Krsna and then happily went to his own abode.
141 After Brahma’s departure, smiling Goddess Radha gazed again and again with crooked eyes at Lord Krsna’s face. Then She shyly covered Her own face.
142 Wounded by Kamadeva’s arrows and the hairs of Her boy now erect, She bowed before Lord Krsna and affectionately approached His couch.
143 Then She anointed Lord Krsna’s forehead and chest with tilaka markings of sandal, aguru, musk, and kunkuma.
144 Then She affectionately offered Lord Krsna a beautiful jewel cup of nectar and honey. Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, drank it.
145 Then Radha respectfully offered Lord Krsna delicious betelnuts scented with camphor and spices. Lord Krsna chewed them.
146 As Lord Krsna watched, Smiling Radha drank the nectar Lord Krsna offered Her and chewed the betelnuts He offered Her.
147 Lord Krsna happily offered Her the betelnuts He had chewed. She chewed them with great respect. She drank the nectar of His lotus face.
148 Lord Krsna begged for the betelnuts Radha had chewed. Radha refused, smiled, and cheerfully said, “Please forgive Me.”
149 Then Lord Krsna anointed all of Radha’s limbs with sandal, aguru, and kunkuma.
150 Kamadeva eternally meditates on Lord Krsna’s lotus feet. Still, to please Sri Radha, Lord Krsna voluntarily placed Himself under Kamadeva’s control.
151 O sage, the servants of Lord Krsna’s servants defeat Kamadeva at every moment. Still, Lord Krsna, who is the supremely independent Personality of Godhead whose desires are always fulfilled, happily accepted defeat at Kamadeva’s hands.
152 Then Lord Krsna took Radha’s hand, placed Her on His chest, loosened Her garments, and kissed Her in four ways.
153 In Their amorous battle Her tinkling ornaments, the red ointment on Her lips, and the pictures and designs drawn with perfumes on Her limbs were all broken.
154 O sage, as They enjoyed amorous pastimes Her sindura tilaka and marks of red lac were all wiped away.
155 Filled with pleasure, and the hairs of Her body erect, Radha did not know whether it was day or night.
156 Pressing Her limbs against His, Lord Krsna, the most learned scholar of the Kama-sastra, enjoyed eight kinds of amorous pastimes with Radha.
157 Pulling smiling, crooked-eyed Radha to Him, Lord Krsna scratched and bit all Her limbs.
158 As They enjoyed amorous pastimes there was a beautiful sound from the tinkling of Radha’s bracelets, anklets, and tinkling ornaments.
159 In a secluded place Lord Krsna, the most learned scholar of the Kama-sastra, untied Radha’s braids and removed Her ornaments and garments.
160 Then Radha untied Krsna’s hair and removed His ornaments and garments. They were both expert in these pastimes. Neither was unhappy at this.
161 Then Lord Krsna forcibly took a jewel mirror from Radha’s hand. Radha responded by forcibly taking the flute from Krsna’s hand.
162 Lord Krsna sweetly stole Radha’s heart and mind, and Radha sweetly stole Lord Krsna’s heart and mind.
163 O great sage, when the amorous battle ended, smiling, crooked-eyed Radha lovingly returned the flute to Lord Krsna.
164 Then Lord Krsna returned Her mirror, gave Her a splendid pastime-lotus, made Her braids again beautiful, and marked Her again with sindura tilaka.
165 Lord Krsna dressed Her and decorated Her with ornaments and with wonderful and colourful pictures and designs drawn in perfume. Neither Visvakarma, nor even Radha’s gopi friends know how to make such graceful and beautiful decorations. How can they be described here?
166 As Radha was about to dress and decorate Him, Lord Krsna suddenly abandoned His form of Her youthful lover and suddenly became an infant again.
167-8 Seeing that the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead had again become the crying, frightened, hungry infant that Nanda gave Her, Radha sighed. Her heart was shaken. Overcome with the grief of separation, She looked for Her lover here and there.
169 Distressed, She plaintively appealed, “O master of illusions, why do You show this illusion to Your maidservant?”
170 Radha fell to the ground and wept, and infant Krsna also wept. Then a disembodied voice said:
171-2 O Radha, why do You weep? Remember Krsna’s lotus feet. Until the time of pastimes in the rasa-dance circle, every evening You will leave a shadow of Your form at home and You will come here and enjoy amorous pastimes with Lord Krsna to Your heart’s content. Please don’t weep.
173 O beautiful one, please place on Your lap the infant that I the master of all illusions and the Lord of Your life, abandon Your lamenting and go home.
174-5 O Narada, hearing these words, Goddess Radha placed the infant Krsna on Her lap. She gazed at the jewel palace, the flower garden, and the forest, and then She suddenly left Vrndavana forest and, travelling as fast as the mind, arrived in half an eyeblink at Nanda’s palace.
176 Her eyes were red and Her clothing in disarray. As She was about to give the infant to Yasoda, Radha sweetly said:
177 I had to endure many difficulties on the path as I tried to carry this very big, hungry, crying, child Your husband gave to Me in the cow-pasture.
178 O Yasoda, the sky was filled with clouds, it rained again and again, and the path was muddy and almost impassable. My clothes were ruined. It was very difficult to carry your child.
179 O saintly Yasoda, please take your boy, give Him your breast, and make Him happy. I have been gone from home a long time. I must return at once.
180 Speaking these words, and giving her the infant Krsna, Radha went home. Saintly Yasoda took her infant, kissed him, and gave Him her breast.
181 From that time on, every evening Radha would leave Her household duties at home, go to that place in Vrndavana forest, and enjoy amorous pastimes with Lord Krsna.
182 O child, in this way I have told you something of Lord Krsna’s beautiful, sacred, peerless, delightful pastimes, which bring to the hearer liberation from the world of birth and death.
Chapter Sixteen
Baka-kesi-pralamba-vadha-vrndavana-gamana
The Killing of Baka, Kesi, and Pralamba, and the journey to Vrndavana
1 Sri Narayana Rsi said: One day, after eating and drinking at breakfast, Lord Krsna went with the boys and cows to the forest to enjoy pastimes.
2 There Krsna herded the cows and played many games with the boys.
3 With Balarama, the boys and the cows, Lord Krsna went to Madhuvana and drank the sweet water there.
4 In that place there was a powerful demon that had the form of a ferocious white duck. Its face was very ugly and so was its fearsome body big as a mountain.
5 Seeing Krsna, Balarama, the boys and the cows in the pasture, the demon easily swallowed Them all as Agastya Muni swallowed the demon Vatapi.
6 Seeing that Lord Krsna was swallowed by a duck, all the demigods became afraid. Weapons in hand, they ran to the spot.
7 Indra threw his thunderbolt, made from a sage’s bones. The duck did not die, but one of its wings went up in flames.
8 O Narada, Candra threw his frost weapon and the duck suffered with the cold. Surya’s son Yamaraja threw his club and the duck was knocked unconscious.
9 Vayu threw his wind weapon and the duck was blown to another place. Varuna threw his hailstone weapon and the duck suffered terribly.
10 Agni threw his fire weapon and the duck’s remaining wing went up in flames. Kuvera threw his half-moon weapon, and the duck’s feet were cut off.
11 Siva threw his spear and the duck demon fell unconscious. The rsis and munis gave their blessings to protect Krsna in the fearful situation.
12 Then Lord Krsna, the supreme controller, expanded His spiritual effulgence and made every limb and internal organ of the demon’s body burst into flames.
13 The demon vomited all it had swallowed and then suddenly gave up its life. After killing this duck powerful Lord Krsna, accompanied by the boys and cows, went to a beautiful grove of keli-kadamba trees.
14 To that place came a powerful demon that had assumed the form of a great bull big as a mountain.
15 The demon bull caught Lord Krsna in its horns and whirled Him around and around. The frightened boys ran, screaming.
16 Fully aware that His brother was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Balarama laughed and said to the boys, “Why are you afraid?”
17 Then, grabbing the demon’s horns, Lord Krsna whirled him around and around, threw him into the sky and made him come crashing to the ground.
18 Crashing to the ground, the great demon at once gave up his life. All the boys laughed. They sang and danced with joy.
19 After killing Pralamba, Lord Krsna went with Balarama and the cows to Bhandiravana forest.
20 Seeing Krsna coming, a horse demon, pawing the ground with its hooves, suddenly charged.
21 The demon picked up Lord Krsna, threw Him into the sky, and made Him fall headfirst to the ground.
22 Then the demon grabbed Lord Krsna and with its teeth tried to rip Him apart. The demons teeth became broken, as if it had tried to chew a thunderbolt.
23 Burned by Lord Krsna’s spiritual effulgence, the demon fell to the ground and gave up its life. Then many dundubhi drums suddenly sounded and there was a great shower of flowers.
24-7 Then Lord Krsna’s handsome and charming liberated associates, their two-armed spiritual forms effulgent, wearing yellow garments, crowns, earrings, forest garlands, and tinkling anklets, their limbs anointed with sandal and kunkuma, flutes in their hands, their faces gently smiling, their hearts overcome with mercy for the devotees, and their features and dress those of gopas, suddenly came there, riding on a splendid chariot made of the best of jewels.
28 Wearing splendid garments and jewel ornaments, they approached Lord Krsna in Bhandiravana forest.
29 Bowing before Lord Krsna, and glorifying Him with prayers, they went to Goloka, the highest place in the spiritual world.
30 Having once been demons, they were now devotees, liberated associates of Lord Krsna.
31 Sri Narada said: Who were these divine persons, these devotees that had been demons? What wonderful story did you hear of them? O noble one, please tell their story.
32 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Please hear, O brahmana, and I will tell you the ancient story of their activities, a story I heard from Lord Siva’s mouth during the Surya-parva festival at Puskara-tirtha.
33 As we were discussing Lord Krsna’s glories, Brahma, Yama, the sages and I asked Lord Siva to tell their story.
34 O son of Brahma, O fortunate one, I will now tell you all the details of this story, which purifies the worlds. Please listen carefully.
35 A gandharva king name Gandhavaha, who was very austere and devoted to Lord Krsna, lived on Mount Gandhamadana.
36 O sage, he had four noble gandharva sons who, day and night, awake or asleep, always meditated on Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.
37 Disciples of Durvasa Muni, they devotedly worshipped Lord Krsna. Every day they worshipped Lord Krsna, offered Him lotus flowers, and the drank some water.
38 Their names were Vasudeva, Suhotra, Suparsva, and Sudarsaka. Performing austerities for a long time at Puskara-tirtha, they made friends with the siddhas there.
39 Studying yoga under Durvasa Muni, the eldest brother became the best of the yogis. He became a siddha and accepted a wife. He shone with spiritual splendour.
40 Leaving his material body behind, he became a liberated associate of Lord Krsna.
41 One day at sunrise the three remaining brothers went to Citra-sarovara Lake to gather lotuses for Lord Krsna’s worship.
42 O sage, observing them gathering lotuses, Lord Siva’s servants at once came and bound up the three devotees.
43 The strong servants brought the weak devotees to Lord Siva. Seeing Lord Siva, everyone bowed their heads to the ground.
44 Lord Siva, overcome with kindness for the devotees and his face smiling with happiness, offered His blessings.
45 Lord Siva said: Who are you? You have stolen lotuses from Parvati’s lake, where a hundred thousand yaksas stand guard so Parvati can fulfil her vow.
46 So that her husband will become fortunate, every day for three months she offers a thousand lotuses to Lord Krsna.
47 Hearing Lord Siva’s words, the frightened devotees, their heads humbly bowed and their hand folded, spoke to Lord Siva.
48 The gandharvas said, O master, we are gandharvas, the sons of Gandhavaha. We offer lotus flowers to Lord Krsna and then drink some water.
49 O master, we did not know this lake was protected by Parvati. Please take all our lotuses and make our gathering them a success.
50 O Lord Siva, today we will neither offer lotuses nor will we drink water. But then, why should we not drink water? After all, we have offered these lotuses to You.
51 O master, now we have become purified. Now we are directly offering lotus flowers to the same person we always meditated on, the same person we worshipped with lotus flowers day after day.
52 The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one. Who can be His rival? How can He have a material form? How can He have a material form? Out of kindness to His devotees, He employs His Yogamaya potency to expand in a great variety of spiritual forms.
53 You are our master. O Lord, please accept these lotus flowers. O infallible one, please fulfil the desire of our hearts by showing to us the form of Lord Krsna, who...
54 ...has two arms, is dark, handsome, and youthful, wears yellow garments, holds a pastime flute in His hand, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,...
55 ...has one face and two eyes, is anointed with sandal and aguru and decorated with jewel ornaments, has a gentle smile and a face filled with happiness,...
56 ...wears a peacock-feather crown and a jasmine garland, has a chest splendid with kaustubha, the king of jewels,...
57 ...is splendid with garlands of parijata flowers, and is more splendid, charming, handsome, and playful than many millions of Kamadevas,...
58 ...on whom the gopis gaze with crooked eyes, who is in the full bloom of youth, who rests on Radha’s breast,...
59 ...whom Brahma and the demigods glorify with prayers, bow down before, meditate on, and yearn to attain the company of, who is self-satisfied, whose desires are all fulfilled, and who is overcome with feelings of mercy for the devotees.
60 After speaking these words, the gandharvas, the hairs of their bodies erect as they remembered Lord Krsna’s transcendental form, respectfully stood before Lord Siva.
61 Tears in his three eyes as he heard their words and remembered Lord Krsna’s transcendental form, Lord Siva said to the gandharvas:
62 I know that you are great devotees of the Lord. You travel here and there to purify the worlds with the dust of your lotus feet.
63 I yearn to see Lord Krsna’s devotees. It is very rare that a devotee of Lord Krsna comes to these three worlds.
64 You are very dear to Me, to Parvati, and to all the demigods. You devotees of Lord Krsna are to me more dear than my own devotees are.
65 However, O fortunate ones, please hear the promise I made about Parvati’s vow, a promise I cannot break.
66 The promise was during the time of Parvati’s vow, whoever takes lotus flowers from this lake will at once take birth as a demon. Of this there is no doubt.
67 However, no real calamity even happens to the devotees of Lord Krsna. Therefore, after one birth as demons, you will all go to the world of Goloka.
68 My sons, O you who yearn to see Lord Krsna’s transcendental form with your own eyes, you will see Him on the earth, in the forest of Vrndavana.
69 O best of devotees, you will see Lord Krsna. Then you will die, mount a splendid transcendental chariot, and go to Lord Krsna’s own abode.
70 Because you are so eager to see the form of Lord Krsna, you may now see Him.
After speaking these words, Lord Siva allowed them to see Lord Krsna’s form.
71 With tear-filled eyes gazing at that supremely handsome form, they bowed down, and then took birth as the kings of demons.
72 Vasudeva had already been liberated, Suhotra became the duck demon Bakasura, Sudarsana became Pralamba, and Suparsvaka became the horse-demon Kesi.
73 In this way, by the blessing of Lord Siva, they saw Lord Krsna’s transcendental form, were killed by Lord Krsna and finally went to Lord Krsna’s abode.
74 O brahmana, in this way I have described to you Lord Krsna’s pastime of giving liberation to Baka, Kesi and Pralamba. By hearing this pastime one attains liberation.
75 Sri Narada said: O noble one, by your mercy I have heard all these wonderful pastimes. What was the vow Parvati was observing? That is what I wish to hear now.
76 O master, who I worshipped in this vow/ What is the result of following this vow? What restrictions are observed in it? What offerings are made in it? What are the things necessary for it?
77 How long does this vow last? What is the reason for it? O master, please reflect on this and describe it to me, for I am very eager to hear.
78 Sri Narayana Rsi said: This vow lasts for three months. It’s purpose is to increase the husband’s good fortune. In this vow Sri Sri Radha and Krsna are the object of worship.
79 It begins on the day of visuva and ends on the day of daksinayana. The day before beginning the vow one must fast by eating only havisya (rice and ghee).
80 Then, at the time of Vaisakha-sankranti, one should bathe in the Ganga. Then, by the Ganga’s bank, in the village of Salagrama, in a jewel palace, or in the water, one should follow the vow.
81 Then one should worship the five demigods, and then one should devotedly meditate on the Lord Krsna, the master of Sri Radha. Please listen and I will describe to you that meditation.
82-4 I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is dark like a new monsoon cloud, who wears yellow silk garments, whose smiling face is an autumn moon, whose eyes are blossoming lotus flowers, who is splendidly anointed with sandal paste, who again and again enchants the gopis’ hearts, on whom Radha gazes, who rests on Radha’s breast, and whom Brahma, Sesa, Siva, Yama and all the demigods glorify with many prayers.
85 With this meditation the woman following the vow should worship Lord Krsna. Then, following the description in the Madhyandina-ruti, one should happily meditate on Sri Radha.
86-93 I worship beautiful Sri Radha, who is the queen of the rasa-dance, eager to enjoy the rasa-dance, She who stays in the rasa-dance circle, the goddess of the rasa-dance, She who rests on the chest of the rasa-dance’ king, expert at enjoying nectar pastimes, the beloved of He who is expert at enjoying nectar pastimes, she who is the best of they who are expert at enjoying nectar pastimes, who is very graceful, delightful, beautiful, and charming, whose eyes rob the autumn lotus flowers of their splendour, whose eyebrows are gracefully bent, whose eyes are splendid with mascara, whose face is an autumn moon, who has a beautiful gentle smile, whose complexion is the colour of beautiful campaka flowers, who is decorated with sandal paste, a musk dot, sindura dots, and beautiful pictures and design drawn in perfumes, who is splendid in garments pure like fire, whose beautiful cheeks are splendid with jewel earrings, whose breast I splendid with a necklace of the kings of jewels, who is splendid with jewel bracelet, armlets, tinkling anklets, and tinkling ornaments, who I served by Brahma and the demigods and even by Lord Krsna, the supreme object of service for everyone, whom Lord Krsna, the mater of everyone praises with many prayers, and who is the seed from which everything was born.
94 Every day one should meditate on Sri Radha in this way, devotedly worship Her with Lord Krsna, and present sixteen offerings to Her.
95 O sage, the woman that follows this vow should meditate and worship in this way every day, and every day she should offer 1008 lotus flowers to Sri Radha.
96 The woman that follows this vow should devotedly offer fruit and flowers to Radha and Krsna. Carefully pronouncing the word ‘svaha’ she should salute Lord Krsna.
97 Every day she should devotedly offer 108 ripe and unbroken mangoes, bananas or plantains.
98 O sage , every day she should devotedly feed a hundred brahmanas.
99 Every day the woman following the vow should perform an agnihotra-yajna and devotedly offer 108 oblations to Radha and Krsna.
100 O Narada, in this way she should offer into the fire oblations of sesame and ghee. Every day she should perform Krsna-kirtana with musical instruments.
101 In this way she should observe the vow for three months. O Narada, please hear what she should do on the day of pratista, when the vow is completed.
102 She should offer ninety thousand unbroken lotus flowers. Then she should feed a thousand brahmanas delicious sweet rice and pistaka cakes carefully cooked by a brahmana.
103 Then she should offer 9710 fruits, and then she should offer many kinds of delicious foods.
104 Then an expert brahmana should perfectly establish a sacred fire and offer into it ninety thousand oblations of sesame and ghee.
105 Then she should devotedly offer costly garments, delicious foods, fruits, sacred threads, flowers, scents and ninety laddu candies.
106 Then she should offer ninety jars of cool water. Completing the vow in this way, she should then offer daksina to the officiating priest.
107 Then she should offer the daksina described in the Vedas, that is she should give to the priest a thousand bulls with golden horns.
108 O brahmana, this three month vow I have described to you increases the good fortune of the performer’ husband and gives to her many very pious descendants.
109 By the power of this vow her husband becomes fortunate for a hundred births and for a hundred births she is the mother of saintly children.
110 She is never separated from her husband and children. Her husband and children become like her servants, faithfully following her orders.
111 By the power of the vow she becomes saintly and always devoted to Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Awake or asleep, she always remembers Lord Krsna.
112 I will now describe to you this best of vows, a vow described in the Sama Veda, a vow followed by our mothers.
113 Making Agastya Muni her priest, Svayambhuva Manu’s wife, Satarupa, followed this vow in the beginning.
114 O sage, the Devahuti followed this vow, then Caruhuti followed it, and then, making Pulastya Muni her priest, Srutyukta followed it.
115 Making Kratu Muni her priest, Rohini followed this vow. Rati also devotedly followed this vow. Her priest was Gautama Muni.
116 Brhaspati’s wife, Tara, devotedly followed this vow, performing it with great opulence. Her priest was Vasista Muni.
117 Seeing what Brhaspati’s wife had done, Saci also performed this vow with great opulence. Her priest was Brhaspati.
118 Then Svaha performed the vow with opulence greater than all others. Her priest was Marici Muni.
119 O brahmana, when she saw this, Goddess Parvati, with folded hands, humbly bowed head, and a cheerful demeanour, spoke to Lord Siva.
120 Sri Parvati said: O master of the universe, please give me permission to follow the best of vows, a vow to please the Lord we worship.
121 O master, worshipping Lord Krsna brings all auspiciousness. Worshipping others, giving charity, studying the Vedas, going in pilgrimage, and circumambulating the earth are not equal to one sixteenth the value of worshipping Lord Krsna.
122 A person who, seeing Him within and without, remembers Lord Krsna at every moment, is liberated even while living in this world. Simply by seeing him, one attains liberation.
123 The dust of his lotus feet purifies the earth. The sight of him purifies the three worlds.
124 By meditating again and again on Lord Krsna’s lotus feet, Brahma, Visnu, Yamaraja, Sesa, Ganesa, and you have become glorious like Him.
125 One who always meditates on Lord Krsna attains Him. He attains virtues, power, glory, intelligence, and knowledge like His.
126 By remembering Lord Krsna, meditating on Him, performing austerities for His sake, and serving Him, I have attained an exalted husband like Him.
127 In this way I have attained a very virtuous husband and sons. I have attained everything very easily. The desires of my heart are all fulfilled.
128 In this way I have attained a husband like you, sons like Karttikeya and Ganesa, and a father like King Himalaya, who is an incarnation of Lord Krsna Himself.
129 Women are proud of their husband, children, and father. How did I attain three such exalted relatives? How?
130 Hearing Parvati’s words, Lord Siva became very pleased. Smiling, and the hairs of his body erect, he spoke sweet words.
131 Sri Siva said: O goddess, You are Maha-Laksmi in person. What is not attainable for you? You have all opulences. You have limitless powers.
132 O goddess, a person who keeps you in his home attains all opulences. A person to whose home you do not bring opulences finds death better than life.
133 O goddess that brings happiness, it is by your power and your mercy that Brahma, Visnu and I are able to create, maintain and destroy the universe.
134 Who is King Himalaya? Who am I? Who are Karttikeya and Ganesa? Without you we are powerless. With you we are powerful controllers of the universe.
135 The Vedas say that a chaste wife should obey her husband. O chaste and devoted one, I order you to follow this vow. Follow it more opulently than your predecessors.
136 Saintly Sanat-kumara will be your priest. I will provide brahmanas, lotuses and the ingredients of worship.
137 Appoint, O beautiful one, Kuvera as your treasurer. I will be the superintendent of charity. Goddess Laksmi will personally give the charity.
138 Agnideva will be the cook. Varuna will supply the water. The yaksas will be the bearers, and Karttikeya will supervise their activities.
139 Vayu will be the sweeper, Indra will serve the meals, and Candra will be the supervisor.
140-1 Surya will say who should and should nor receive charity. O beautiful beloved, make the offering proper for this vow, and then after that offer even more fruits and flowers to Lord Krsna.
142 Feed at least as many brahmanas as prescribed for the vow, but politely invite more, numberless brahmanas.
143 At the end of the vow give charity of gold, jewels and coral and give daksina to the priest.
144 Speaking these words, Lord Siva intructed her to follow the vow. Parvati followed it with opulence greater than all the others.
145 O brahmana, thus I have told you of Parvati’ vow. The brahmanas were not able to carry away all the jewels they received in charity at Parvati’s vow.
146 Now you have heard everything about this. O Narada, now please hear of Lord Krsna’s childhood pastimes, which are newer and newer at every step.
147 After killing these great demons, Lord Krsna returned with the boys and cows to His own home, which was as opulent as Kuvera’s palace.
148 The boys told everyone what had happened in the forest. Everyone was astonished. Nanda was terrified.
149 Calling together the elder gopas and gopis, Nanda considered what to do.
150 Deciding to leave that place, he had the gopas prepare carts for a journey to Vrndavana.
151 Hearing Nanda’s order, the gopas, gopis, boy and girls, all prepared to leave.
152 Dressed in many colourful garment, accompanied by Krsna and Balarama, and happily singing Krsna’s glories, as they went, they travelled to Vrndavana forest.
153 Some played flutes and others played vinas, karatalas, and conchshells.
154 Some played horns and others played other musical instruments. Some gopa boy decorated their ears with new leaves.
155 Some decorated their ears with flower buds and some with blossomed flower. Some wore leaf-crowns and some flower-crowns.
156 Some wore forest-flower garlands and others wore garlands reaching their knees. O king of brahmanas, in this way there were ninety million gopa boys.
157 Millions and millions of adult gopis and millions of elderly gopis with broad hips and moving breasts happily travelled in that journey.
158 O sage, wearing splendid garments and many ornaments, Radha’s beautiful, smiling, and virtuous young gopi friends happily travelled in that journey.
159 Some rode on palanquins and some on chariots. Radha rode on a chariot of gold.
160 Nanda, Sunanda, Sridama, Giribhanu, Vibhakara, Virabhanu and Candrabhanu happily rode on elephants.
161 Along with them went jewel-decorated Queen Yasoda and Rohini.
162 Riding on a golden chariot, jewel-decorated Krsna and Balarama went with great happiness.
163 Millions and millions of gopas, young and old, went, some on horseback, some on elephant, and some in chariots.
164 Riding on bulls and donkeys and singing and playing karatalas, Nanda’s servants happily went.
165 Decorated with golden ornaments, Sri Radha’s seven billion happily smiling maidservants also went.
166 Some carried sindura, some kajjala and some garments pure like fire.
167 Some carried sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, some golden cup and some mirrors.
168 Some carried white camaras, some betelnuts, some ball for playing games, and some toy dolls.
169 Some beautiful girls carried foods, some toys and games, some garments and ornaments, and some flower garlands.
170 Some carried red lac, some sang songs, and some carried colourful pictures. In this way the gopis happily went.
171 O sage, millions and millions of beautiful gopi went on palanquins, millions and millions on horseback, and millions and millions on chariots.
172 Millions and millions of carts and bulls carried a great host of possessions.
173 Millions of horses, camels, birds, and elephants bearing rider holding goads, went to Vrndavana forest.
174 O sage, arriving in Vrndavana, and seeing neither people nor houses, everyone stayed under the roots of trees or whatever they could find a suitable place.
175 Lord Krsna said to the gopas: O people, please hear My words. In this place there are many beautiful houses.
176 Lord Krsna said: In this place many houses built by the demigods are hidden. Without first pleasing the demigods, no one can see them.
177 O gopas, stop here and worship the goddess of this forest. In the morning you will happily see many beautiful houses.
178 With abundance incense, lamps, flowers, sandal pate, and offerings of food, worship Goddess Parvati, who stays at the root of a banyan tree.
179 Hearing these words, the gopas worshipped the goddess, ate their supper, and then happily slept at night.
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9 comments:
Thank the bhakt for his service to Krshna
Hare Krishna,
Many thanks. I was searching for this purana.
Ys,
Mukunda
Hare Krishna,
Could you please send soft copy to me.
Many thanks.
Ys,
Mukunda
It is great auspicious of my fortune I could get from Lord Krishna s mercy.
Sir, I want telugu total 2 voluems PLs reply
Great job hare Krishna. . Plz let me know is this complete Brahma vaivartha Purana. ..if not Give me the link for complete
The Part eleven is not there. Could you please share or upload the same?
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