SB 10.15.8 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

धन्येयमद्य धरणी तृणवीरुधस्त्वत्- पादस्पृशो द्रुमलता: करजाभिमृष्टा: । नद्योऽद्रय: खगमृगा: सदयावलोकै- र्गोप्योऽन्तरेण भुजयोरपि यत्स्पृहा श्री: ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

dhanyeyam adya dharaṇī tṛṇa-vīrudhas tvat- pāda-spṛśo druma-latāḥ karajābhimṛṣṭāḥ nadyo ’drayaḥ khaga-mṛgāḥ sadayāvalokair gopyo ’ntareṇa bhujayor api yat-spṛhā śrīḥ

Synonyms

dhanyā — fortunate ; iyam — this ; adya — now ; dharaṇī — the earth ; tṛṇa — her grasses ; vīrudhaḥ — and bushes ; tvat — Your ; pāda — of the feet ; spṛśaḥ — receiving the touch ; druma — the trees ; latāḥ — and creepers ; kara — ja — by Your fingernails ; abhimṛṣṭāḥ — touched ; nadyaḥ — the rivers ; adrayaḥ — and mountains ; khaga — the birds ; mṛgāḥ — and animals ; sadaya — merciful ; avalokaiḥ — by Your glances ; gopyaḥ — the gopīs ; antareṇa — in between ; bhujayoḥ — Your two arms ; api — indeed ; yat — for which ; spṛhā — maintains the desire ; śrīḥ — the goddess of fortune .

Translation

This earth has now become most fortunate, because You have touched her grass and bushes with Your feet and her trees and creepers with Your fingernails, and because You have graced her rivers, mountains, birds and animals with Your merciful glances. But above all, You have embraced the young cowherd women between Your two arms — a favor hankered after by the goddess of fortune herself.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This earth has now become most fortunate, because You have touched her grass and bushes with Your feet and her trees and creepers with Your fingernails, and because You have graced her rivers, mountains, birds and animals with Your merciful glances. But above all, You have embraced the young cowherd women between Your two arms-a favor hankered after by the goddess of fortune herself. KB 10.15.8 As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate because the footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body. “It is quite natural for these Vṛndāvana inhabitants to thus receive a great personality like You. The herbs, creepers and plants are also so fortunate to touch Your lotus feet. And by Your touching the twigs with Your fingernails, these small plants are also made glorious. As for the hills and the rivers, they too are now glorious because You are glancing at them. Above all, the damsels of Vraja, the gopīs, are the most glorious because You embrace them with Your strong arms, being attracted by their beauty.”

Purport

The word adya, “now,” indicates the time of Lord Balarāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance on the earth. In His form of Varāha, Lord Kṛṣṇa personally saved the earth, and, indeed, the earth is understood to rest perpetually on the potency of Śeṣa. Both Varāha and Śeṣa are expansions of Balarāma, who is Himself an expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s statement that “this earth has now become most fortunate” ( dhanyeyam adya dharaṇī ) indicates that nothing can equal the blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His personal form as Kṛṣṇa, appearing simultaneously with His plenary expansion, Balarāma. The compound word karajābhimṛṣṭāḥ, “touched by Your fingernails,” indicates that as Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would move through the forest They would pick fruits and flowers from the trees, bushes and creepers and use this paraphernalia in Their pleasure pastimes. Sometimes They would break leaves off the plants and use them with the flowers to decorate Their bodies. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would glance lovingly and mercifully at all the rivers, hills and creatures in Vṛndāvana. But the blessing received by the gopīs — being embraced directly between the Lord’s arms — was the supreme benediction, desired even by the goddess of fortune herself. The goddess of fortune, who lives in Vaikuṇṭha on the chest of Lord Nārāyaṇa, once desired to be embraced on the chest of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and thus she performed severe austerities to achieve this blessing. Śrī Kṛṣṇa informed her that her actual place was in Vaikuṇṭha and that it was not possible for her to dwell upon His chest in Vṛndāvana. Therefore she begged Kṛṣṇa to allow her to remain on His chest in the form of a golden line, and He granted her this benediction. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura recounts this incident from the Purāṇas.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

After glorifying Balarama by describing the service of the trees and animals, Krsna praised him by showing how others are attracted to him for showing them mercy. "Today this earth has become fortunate" means "In material time there is succession of avataras, but the touch of your feet now is more auspicious than that of previous avataras. How is the earth fortunate? The grass on the earth had become fortunate by contacting your feet. The trees and creepers have become fortunate by the touch of your nails in plucking flowers. The rivers and mountains have become fortunate by your merciful glance, or by glances which bring about auspiciousness (sadaya avalokana or sat aya avalokana). The dark creepers (gopyah) which beauty itself beautifies (yat sprha srih) are fortunate because they are touching your chest." Gopyah can also mean the gopis. Thus the meaning can also be: "The gopis have become fortunate for they have attained your chest which is desired even by Laksmi (sri)." The bhagavatamrta says: Though Laksmi is situated on the chest of Narayana, lord of Vaikuntha, she desired the chest of Krsna. Therefore she took the form of a gopi." There is a puranic story. Seeing Krsna’s beauty, Laksmi began to perform austerities to attain Krsna. Seeing her do this, Krsna said,"Why are you doing austerities?" She replied, " I want to sport in the form of a gopi with you in Vrndavana." "That is difficult to attain." "O Lord, I desire to reside on your chest as a golden line." "Let it be so," said Krsna. In this way Laksmi resides on Krsna’s chest.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Having praised the inhabitants for their service, Kṛṣṇa praises them along with the earth for getting the mercy of Balarāma. The earth has become most fortunate today. She has been fortunate to have the touch of avatāras from the beginning of time. She is glorified especially for attaining the mercy of Varāha, who lifted her from the ocean, and Śeṣa who carries her on his hoods. But she is most fortunate today because of you. She is most worthy of praise. Let her good fortune be. Among the things that grow from the earth, the lowly grassy creepers of Vṛndāvana, such as dūrva, are most fortunate because your foot has touched them. The words “they are most fortunate” should be supplied with each item. Tvat means “your.” This word should be added to the descriptions of each of Balarāma’s limbs mentioned in the verse. The trees and creepers have been touched by your fingers, to feel the softness of the buds or to pluck flowers for making ornaments. Later it will be said: mālaty adarśi vaḥ kaccin mallike jāti-yūthike prītiṁ vo janayan yātaḥ kara-sparśena mādhavaḥ O mālati, O mallikā, O jāti and yūthikā, has Mādhava gone by here, giving you pleasure with the touch of His hand? SB 10.30.8 Karajaiḥ also means “by the fingernails.” Kṛṣṇa writes on new shoots using his fingernails, showing his cleverness. He does this to stimulate the love of the gopīs. pṛcchatemā latā bāhūn apy āśliṣṭā vanaspateḥ nūnaṁ tat-karaja-spṛṣṭā bibhraty utpulakāny aho Let us ask these creepers about Kṛṣṇa. Even though they are embracing the arms of their husband, this tree, they certainly must have been touched by Kṛṣṇa’s fingernails, since out of joy they are manifesting eruptions on their skin. SB 10.30.13 The rivers and mountains have been touched by your feet. These words should be supplied. The feet are the main item in touching these. nadyas tadā tad upadhārya mukunda-gītam āvarta-lakṣita-manobhava-bhagna-vegāḥ āliṅgana-sthagitam ūrmi-bhujair murārer gṛhṇanti pāda-yugalaṁ kamalopahārāḥ When the rivers hear the flute-song of Kṛṣṇa, their minds begin to desire Him, and thus the flow of their currents is broken and their waters are agitated, moving around in whirlpools. Then with the arms of their waves the rivers embrace Murāri’s lotus feet and, holding on to them, present offerings of lotus flowers. SB 10.25.15 hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kandamūlaiḥ Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, along with their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant. SB 10.21.18 Another meaning gopī is a type of grass. This is depicted on the chest of Balarāma. Kṛṣṇa hints at a marriage of the daughters of cowherds with a person born in a cowherd family and performing a cowherd occupation. Thus he indicates that Balarāma will be married with some gopīs for whom he will develop attraction in the future. Even Lakṣmī, situated on the chest of the lord of Vaikuṇṭha desires this. This is stated by Kāliya’s wives. kasyānubhāvo ’sya na deva vidmahe tavāṅghri-reṇu-sparaśādhikāraḥ yad-vāñchayā śrīr lalanācarat tapo vihāya kāmān su-ciraṁ dhṛta-vratā O Lord, we do not know how the serpent Kāliya has attained this great opportunity of being touched by the dust of your lotus feet. For this end, the goddess of fortune performed austerities for centuries, giving up all other desires and taking austere vows. SB 10.16.36 In other places in Gokula, Lakṣmī did not attain Kṛṣṇa since she did not have the same devotion as the gopīs and did not follow after the gopīs who were qualified for Kṛṣṇa. The last statement concerning the gopīs and Balarāma indicates the highest attainment of mercy among all beings, male or female and for the devotees.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Having described the glories of most dear items seen individually, again Kṛṣṇa describes everything in general. Or, what is the use of describing particulars? Everything in the forest is fortunate! Thus he begins with the words dhanyeyam. The earth from the beginning has been ornamented with various avatāras. The earth felt pleasure when Varāha lifted her. Śeṣa, who is you, Balarāma, holds the earth on his head. But now, the earth has become most fortunate when you have appeared in Mathurā, or reside as a cowherd in Vraja performing paugaṇḍa pastimes. The word adya (today) is applied to all the statements in the verse. Dhanyeyam means the earth is fortunate. The word tvat (your) should be applied appropriately in the list of Balarāma’s limbs which give fortunate to the items. The grass and bushes are fortunate. The inhabitants of Svarga are not here with sticks. The grass and shrubs are fortunate because of receiving the touch of your feet. The earth is fortunate because the abundance of special ornaments arising from his extraordinary feet in the places trod by the cows. The trees and creepers were touched by his nails in picking the fruits and flowers and picking leaves for making ornaments. Rivers like Yamunā and mountains like Govardhana were fortunate by the touch of his feet. Birds like peacocks and animals like deer, situated in the distance, became fortunate by his merciful glance. Though he did touch some things directly, in general everything benefited by his glance, from far off. Items which had more possibility of getting the direct touch are mentioned. The gopīs for whom Balarāma had affection became fortunate by the embrace of his arms. Or the word api can indicate “other items as well.” Thus the gopīs were the most fortunate of all, being the greatest of the recipients of mercy in the whole list, since they not only received his embraces, but his glances, and touch of his fingernails and feet. To say that Lakṣmī who resides always on Viṣṇu’s chest desires to be on Balarāma’s chest is not suitable. The meaning is this. Lakṣmī, seeing the unequalled sweetness of Kṛṣṇa, desires him and performed austerities to achieve this. kasyānubhāvo ’sya na deva vidmahe tavāṅghri-reṇu-sparaśādhikāraḥ yad-vāñchayā śrīr lalanācarat tapo vihāya kāmān su-ciraṁ dhṛta-vratā O Lord, we do not know how the serpent Kāliya has attained this great opportunity of being touched by the dust of your lotus feet. For this end, the goddess of fortune performed austerities for centuries, giving up all other desires and taking austere vows. SB 10.16.36