Devanagari
ते तत्र तत्राब्जयवाङ्कुशाशनि-
ध्वजोपपन्नानि पदानि विश्पते: ।
मार्गे गवामन्यपदान्तरान्तरे
निरीक्षमाणा ययुरङ्ग सत्वरा: ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
te tatra tatrābja-yavāṅkuśāśani-
dhvajopapannāni padāni viś-pateḥ
mārge gavām anya-padāntarāntare
nirīkṣamāṇā yayur aṅga satvarāḥ
Synonyms
te
—
they
;
tatra tatra
—
here and there
;
abja
—
with the lotus flower
;
yava
—
barleycorn
;
aṅkuśa
—
elephant goad
;
aśani
—
thunderbolt
;
dhvaja
—
and flag
;
upapannāni
—
adorned
;
padāni
—
the footprints
;
viṭ
—
pateḥ — of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the cowherd community
;
mārge
—
upon the path
;
gavām
—
of the cows
;
anya
—
pada — the other footprints
;
antara
—
antare — dispersed among
;
nirīkṣamāṇāḥ
—
seeing
;
yuyuḥ
—
they went
;
aṅga
—
my dear King
;
sa
—
tvarāḥ — rapidly .
Translation
The footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the entire cowherd community, were marked with the lotus flower, barleycorn, elephant goad, thunderbolt and flag. My dear King Parīkṣit, seeing His footprints on the path among the cows’ hoofprints, the residents of Vṛndāvana rushed along in great haste.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the entire cowherd community, were marked with the lotus flower, barleycorn, elephant goad, thunderbolt and flag. My dear King Parīkṣit, seeing His footprints on the path among the cows' hoofprints, the residents of Vṛndāvana rushed along in great haste.
KB 10.16.18
Finally, by following the footprints marked with flag, bow and conchshell, …
Purport
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī comments as follows: “Since Lord Kṛṣṇa had passed along the path some time previously, why weren’t His footprints, which were surrounded by those of cows, cowherd boys and so on, smudged over and brushed away? Why hadn’t His footprints been obliterated by those of the beasts and birds of Vṛndāvana forest? The answer is indicated by the word
viś-pati,
master of the cowherd community. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is actually the wealth of all living beings, all the inhabitants of the forest of Vraja would carefully preserve His footprints as great treasures, the very ornaments of the earth. Thus no creature within Vṛndāvana would ever walk upon Lord Kṛṣṇa’s footprints.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
This verse describes how they recognized his footprints. Vis pateh means of the leader of the vaisyas and refers to Krsna. Excluding the other foot prints of cows, they followed the footprints of Krsna. There is the hint here of discerning yogis, going through the path of the Vedas (like cows), pursuing the path of the highest truth by rejecting all illusory appearances.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
They saw there, where he had stepped, the foot prints of the master of the cowherds (viś-pateḥ). Though he had departed from the village long ago, and was surrounded by cows, his foot prints were not erased because the earth had kept those prints as her ornaments. Those prints were the abode of prema for all. They had such great power that even the non-conscious wind could disturb them. These are the three reasons why the prints remained. This is summarized by the words of the previous verse bhagavat-lakṣaṇaiḥ (having the qualities of the Lord). It is astonishing that the prints could be the shelter of such prema, and that they could not be stepped on by Kāliya.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
They saw his footprints everywhere (tatra tatra) where he had stepped. “Why were footprints not erased, since he, surrounded by friends, had tread there long before? Why had the animals and birds not erased the prints?” He was the master (pati) of all living beings (viś). The earth thus preserved those prints as her ornaments. The inhabitants of Vraja accepted those prints as the greatest treasure. No one would step on those prints.