SB 10.16.14 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तानालक्ष्य भयोद्विग्ना गोपा नन्दपुरोगमा: । विना रामेण गा: कृष्णं ज्ञात्वा चारयितुं गतम् ॥ १३ ॥ तैर्दुर्निमित्तैर्निधनं मत्वा प्राप्तमतद्विद: । तत्प्राणास्तन्मनस्कास्ते दु:खशोकभयातुरा: ॥ १४ ॥ आबालवृद्धवनिता: सर्वेऽङ्ग पशुवृत्तय: । निर्जग्मुर्गोकुलाद् दीना: कृष्णदर्शनलालसा: ॥ १५ ॥

Verse text

tān ālakṣya bhayodvignā gopā nanda-purogamāḥ vinā rāmeṇa gāḥ kṛṣṇaṁ jṣātvā cārayituṁ gatam tair durnimittair nidhanaṁ matvā prāptam atad-vidaḥ tat-prāṇās tan-manaskās te duḥkha-śoka-bhayāturāḥ ā-bāla-vṛddha-vanitāḥ sarve ’ṅga paśu-vṛttayaḥ nirjagmur gokulād dīnāḥ kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasāḥ

Synonyms

tān — these signs ; ālakṣya — seeing ; bhaya — udvignāḥ — agitated by fear ; gopāḥ — the cowherds ; nanda — puraḥ — gamāḥ — headed by Nanda Mahārāja ; vinā — without ; rāmeṇa — Balarāma ; gāḥ — the cows ; kṛṣṇam — Kṛṣṇa ; jṣātvā — understanding ; cārayitum — to herd ; gatam — gone ; taiḥ — from those ; durnimittaiḥ — bad omens ; nidhanam — destruction ; matvā — considering ; prāptam — attained ; atat — vidaḥ — not knowing His opulences ; tat — prāṇāḥ — having Him as their very source of life ; tat — manaskāḥ — their minds being absorbed in Him ; te — they ; duḥkha — by pain ; śoka — unhappiness ; bhaya — and fear ; āturāḥ — overwhelmed ; ā — bāla — including the children ; vṛddha — old persons ; vanitāḥ — and ladies ; sarve — all ; aṅga — my dear King Parīkṣit ; paśu — vṛttayaḥ — behaving as an affectionate cow does toward her calf ; nirjagmuḥ — they went out ; gokulāt — from Gokula ; dīnāḥ — feeling wretched ; kṛṣṇa — darśana — for the sight of Lord Kṛṣṇa ; lālasāḥ — anxious .

Translation

Seeing the inauspicious omens, Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men were fearful, for they knew that Kṛṣṇa had gone to herd the cows that day without His elder brother, Balarāma. Because they had dedicated their minds to Kṛṣṇa, accepting Him as their very life, they were unaware of His great power and opulence. Thus they concluded that the inauspicious omens indicated He had met with death, and they were overwhelmed with grief, lamentation and fear. All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the children, women and elderly persons, thought of Kṛṣṇa just as a cow thinks of her helpless young calf, and thus these poor, suffering people rushed out of the village, intent upon finding Him.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Seeing the inauspicious omens, Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men were fearful, for they knew that Kṛṣṇa had gone to herd the cows that day without His elder brother, Balarāma. Because they had dedicated their minds to Kṛṣṇa, accepting Him as their very life, they were unaware of His great power and opulence. Thus they concluded that the inauspicious omens indicated He had met with death, and they were overwhelmed with grief, lamentation and fear. All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the children, women and elderly persons, thought of Kṛṣṇa just as a cow thinks of her helpless young calf, and thus these poor, suffering people rushed out of the village, intent upon finding Him. KB 10.16.13-15 Observing the inauspicious signs, the cowherd men, including Mahārāja Nanda, became very anxious out of fear. At the same time they were informed that Kṛṣṇa had gone to the pasturing ground without His elder brother, Balarāma. As soon as Nanda and Yaśodā and the cowherd men heard this news, they became even more anxious. Out of their great affection for Kṛṣṇa, and being unaware of the extent of His potencies, they became overwhelmed with grief and anxiety because they had nothing dearer than Kṛṣṇa and because they had dedicated their everything—life, property, affection, mind and activities—to Kṛṣṇa. Because of their great attachment for Kṛṣṇa, they thought, “Today Kṛṣṇa is surely going to be vanquished!” All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana came out of the village to see Kṛṣṇa. The assembly consisted of children, old men, women, animals and all living entities; they knew that Kṛṣṇa was their only means of sustenance.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Seeing the inauspicious omens, the inhabitants left Gokula. This is described in three verses. Seeing the omens, they thought Krsna had died (nidhanam matva). But what kind of death can God have? Nidhana can also mean great treasure. Krsna had obtained a great treasure: he was joyfully playing in the Yamuna. The inhabitants were like animals. They lost their power of knowledge and thinking out of great lamentation.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Disaster could not happen if Balarāma were present since he was full capable, affectionate and profound, and always occupied with helping Kṛṣṇa. Three verses can be taken as one sentence with the verb in verse 15. Or, this verse can be taken separately with the verb babhūvūḥ understood. Seeing the omens, the cowherds headed by Nanda became agitated with fear. Nidhanam means death. They thought Kṛṣṇa had died. But by the ingenuity of words, the phrase can mean “great treasure” (nitarām + dhanam). They thought of him as the greatest treasure. They did not think about his powers (atad-vidaḥ). “Why did they develop doubts?” He was their life, and their minds were always absorbed in him. They were famous for their complete dedication to him alone. Because of their natural affection they lost their intelligence and became like animals. Or in their affection they were like the cows (paśu-vṛttayaḥ). They stumbled about and fell down constantly (dīnāḥ). They become greedy to see Kṛṣṇa, who attracts everyone’s heart. “Where is he? How is he?” Or by their very nature they were greedy to see him.