SB 10.21.18 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

हन्तायमद्रिरबला हरिदासवर्यो यद् रामकृष्णचरणस्परशप्रमोद: । मानं तनोति सहगोगणयोस्तयोर्यत् पानीयसूयवसकन्दरकन्दमूलै: ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kandamūlaiḥ

Synonyms

hanta — oh ; ayam — this ; adriḥ — hill ; abalāḥ — O friends ; hari — dāsa — varyaḥ — the best among the servants of the Lord ; yat — because ; rāma — kṛṣṇa — caraṇa — of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma ; sparaśa — by the touch ; pramodaḥ — jubilant ; mānam — respect ; tanoti — offers ; saha — with ; go — gaṇayoḥ — the cows, calves and cowherd boys ; tayoḥ — to Them (Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma) ; yat — because ; pānīya — with drinking water ; sūyavasa — very soft grass ; kandara — caves ; kanda — mūlaiḥ — and edible roots .

Translation

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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

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. KB 10.21.18 Another gopī began to praise the unique position of Govardhana Hill in this way: “How fortunate is this Govardhana Hill, for it is enjoying the association of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, who are accustomed to walking on it. Thus Govardhana is always in touch with the lotus feet of the Lord. And because Govardhana Hill is so obliged to Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, it is supplying different kinds of fruits, roots and herbs, as well as very pleasing crystal water from its lakes, in presentation to the Lord. The best presentation offered by Govardhana Hill, however, is newly grown grass for the cows and calves. Govardhana Hill knows how to please the Lord by pleasing His most beloved associates, the cows and the cowherd boys.”

Purport

This translation is quoted from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Madhya 18.34) . Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains the opulence of Govardhana Hill as follows: Pānīya refers to the fragrant, cool water from the Govardhana waterfalls, which Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma drink and use to wash Their feet and mouths. Govardhana also offers other beverages, such as honey, mango juice and pīlu juice. Sūyavasa indicates dūrvā grass, used to make the religious offering of arghya. Govardhana also has grass that is fragrant, soft and conducive to the strong growth of cows and increased production of milk. Thus this grass is used for feeding the transcendental herds. Kandara refers to the caves where Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Their friends play, sit and lie down. These caves give pleasure when the weather is too hot or too cold, or when it is raining. Govardhana also features soft roots for eating, jewels for ornamenting the body, flat places for sitting, and lamps and mirrors in the form of smooth stones, glistening water and other natural substances.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"Oh friends, without the shelter of a great devotee our desires will not be fulfilled. From Gargi we have heard the glories of the devotees of Hari, and that Govardahan is the chief devotee among them. Therefore now let us go and bathe in the Manasa Ganga and have darsana of the form of Narayana called Harideva, the presiding deity of Govardhana. Our elders will not have any suspicions about us either. Also, Krsna is on the slope of Govardhana playing." Using this logic the gopis, desiring to have a meeting with Krsna, they began to glorify Govardhana in order to have their desires fulfilled. "Oh (hanta), how astonishing! There are three main devotees (hari dasa): yudishthira, uddhava and Govardhana.(the word Haridasa occurs in three places in bhagavatam: haridasya rajarse raja suyam mahodaya for Yudhisthira; krsnam samsmarayan reme haridaso vrajaukasam for Uddhava, and the present verse for Govardhana) Of these, Govardhana is the best. Govardahan showed its joy at the touch of Krsna’s feet by becoming soft. Though made of stone, by the touch of Krsna’s feet, it became like mud, so that it held the foot marks of Krsna marked with ankusa, flag and thunderbolt. It has tears in the form of waterfalls and grass sprouting as rising of hair on the body. These are signs of Govardhana’s joy. The phrase rama krsna in this verse (Balarama and Krsna) is used to hide the gopis emotions for Krsna, for they actually meant ramaniya krsna, Krsna, with whom we enjoy conjugal pastimes. Abala (women) can also means weak. "Oh women who are weak, under the control of your husbands, taking shelter of Govardhana is your strength." Yat signifies cause. "Because Govardhana worships Krsna and Balarama along with the cows and other boys, out of joy, in order to please Krsna." He worships offering water (paniya) for footwash and acamaniya, offering drinking water from the cool fragrant waterfalls (paniya), offering naivedya in the form of drinks made from honey, mango and pilu juice, offering arghya in the form of darba (suyavasa) and luscious grass to feed the cows so they give good milk. Another meaning of paniya suvo is waterfall. "Govardhana worshiped the lord by offering seat and bed in the form of caves, to give pleasure in the heat or cold, and radishes for eating." These items also indicate the other items of worship such as jeweled palanquin, lamps, mirror and other articles. By all these things Govardhana worshiped Krsna.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

In talking about other subjects in Vraja, they hide their emotions by other rasas in two verses. They point out Govardhana (ayam) with their fingers, since they live near Govardhana. Hari indicates that Kṛṣṇa steals away all the sins, suffering and hearts of everyone in the universe. That he is the presiding deity is famous in scriptures and local lore. Govardhana is the best servant among all is natural servants. His superiority is shown by the fruits he yields. He feels great joy at the touch of their feet, with hairs standing on end, perspiration, and tears by sprouting shoots and flowing with water drops. He gives respect elaborately (vi—tanoti) in the form of all items. Pānīya refers to water and honey. The long vowel in sūyavasa is poetic license for metrical reasons. This refers to soft items or nourishing items that produce milk etc. Pānīyasuva (another version) can also mean waterfalls. Pānīya-bhuva is another version, meaning water and pleasant places for sitting. Kandara refers to caves, equipped with jeweled beds, chairs, lamps and mirrors. With these items Govardhana serves Kṛṣṇa and the others. O young women (with no strength-- abalāḥ)! Because you do not have strength you do not have the good fortune to serve. This is our great misfortune. As in their first verse, the gopīs hide their feelings but another meaning becomes evident. Amarakoṣa says that rāma means blue, beautiful and white. Thus the mountain becomes joyful with the touch of the feet of Kṛṣṇa, who is most beautiful (rāma). Tayoh later in the verse can refer to his two feet. Or, Govardhana gives joy to Kṛṣṇa’s two feet by makes the stones appropriately warm or cool according to the season. Or Govardhana takes pleasure in supplying (sparśa) opportunities for playful (rāma) Kṛṣṇa’s activities (caraṇa). Amara-kośa says sparśana can mean giving. Govardhana is always anxious to encourage Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Or, Govardhana gives bliss to Kṛṣṇa, us and the world by supplying opportunities for Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Or, the touch of Govardhana is pleasurable like the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s feet. By touching Govardhana, one accomplishes the bliss of touching Kṛṣṇa’s feet, since he holds a treasure of the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s feet as he constantly performs various pastimes filled with prema at that place. Kṛṣṇa should be addressed with tasya in the verse but instead tayoḥ (dual form) is used out of respect to his two lotus feet.