SB 10.29.22 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

द‍ृष्टं वनं कुसुमितं राकेशकररञ्जितम् यमुनानिललीलैजत्तरुपल्लवशोभितम् ॥ २१ ॥ तद् यात मा चिरं गोष्ठं शुश्रूषध्वं पतीन् सती: क्रन्दन्ति वत्सा बालाश्च तान् पाययत दुह्यत ॥ २२ ॥

Verse text

dṛṣṭaṁ vanaṁ kusumitaṁ rākeśa-kara-raṣjitam yamunānila-līlaijat taru-pallava-śobhitam tad yāta mā ciraṁ goṣṭhaṁ śuśrūṣadhvaṁ patīn satīḥ krandanti vatsā bālāś ca tān pāyayata duhyata

Synonyms

dṛṣṭam — seen ; vanam — the forest ; kusumitam — full of flowers ; rākā — īśa — of the moon, the lord of the presiding goddess of the full-moon day ; kara — by the hand ; raṣjitam — made resplendent ; yamunā — coming from the Yamunā River ; anila — by the wind ; līlā — playfully ; ejat — trembling ; taru — of the trees ; pallava — with the leaves ; śobhitam — beautified ; tat — therefore ; yāta — go back ; mā ciram — without delay ; goṣṭham — to the cowherd village ; śuśrūṣadhvam — you must serve ; patīn — your husbands ; satīḥ — O chaste women ; krandanti — are crying ; vatsāḥ — the calves ; bālāḥ — the children ; ca — and ; tān — them ; pāyayata — breast-feed ; duhyata — feed with cow’s milk .

Translation

Now you have seen this Vṛndāvana forest, full of flowers and resplendent with the light of the full moon. You have seen the beauty of the trees, with their leaves trembling in the gentle breeze coming from the Yamunā. So now go back to the cowherd village. Don’t delay. O chaste ladies, serve your husbands and give milk to your crying babies and calves.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Now you have seen this Vṛndāvana forest, full of flowers and resplendent with the light of the full moon. You have seen the beauty of the trees, with their leaves trembling in the gentle breeze coming from the Yamunā. So now go back to the cowherd village. Don't delay. O chaste ladies, serve your husbands and give milk to your crying babies and calves. KB 10.29.21-22 When the gopīs appeared to be a little bit disturbed and angry from hearing the free advice of Kṛṣṇa, they diverted their attention to looking at the beauty of the forest. At that time the whole forest was illuminated by the bright shining of the moon, and the air was blowing very silently over the blooming flowers, and the green leaves of the trees were moving in the breeze. Kṛṣṇa took the opportunity of their looking at the forest to advise them. “I think you have come out to see the beautiful Vṛndāvana forest on this night,” He said, “but you must now be satisfied. So return to your homes without delay. I understand that you are all very chaste women, so now that you have seen the beautiful atmosphere of the Vṛndāvana forest, please return home and engage in the faithful service of your respective husbands. Some of you must have babies by this time, although you are very young. You must have left your small babies at home, and they must be crying. Please immediately go back home and just feed them with your breast milk.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura further explains text 22 as follows: “Lord Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Therefore don’t wait a long time before going, but go immediately.’ The word satīḥ means that the gopīs are loyal to their husbands; therefore Kṛṣṇa indicates that the gopīs should serve their husbands so the latter can accomplish their religious duties, and that the gopīs should also be considered worshipable because of their chastity. All this Kṛṣṇa says to the gopīs who are married. And now to the unmarried girls He says, ‘The calves are crying, so see to it that they get milk.’ To the muni-cārī gopīs He says, ‘Your babies are crying, so feed them milk.’” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura further reveals the hidden meaning of these two verses as follows: “In text 21 Kṛṣṇa might have said, ‘This Vṛndāvana is the very best of places, and moreover this is a full-moon night. Furthermore, we have the Yamunā on all sides, and there are cool, gentle, fragrant breezes blowing. These are all transcendental opulences that stimulate loving exchanges, and since I am also here as the foremost ecstatic opulence — the object of love — let us now test how much expertise you can show in relishing rasas. ’ “In text 22 He means to say, ‘Thus for a long time, for the entire duration of this night, don’t leave, but rather stay here and enjoy with Me. Don’t go serve your husbands and the gentle women — your mothers-in-law and so forth. It would not be fitting for you to waste such beauty and youth, which are gifts of the creator. Nor should you milk the cows or give milk to the calves and babies. What do you, who are so full of ecstatic attraction for Me, have to do with these affairs?’” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also explains that the gopīs could not really be sure exactly what Kṛṣṇa was doing — whether He was merely joking, inviting them to stay or instructing them to return home. Thus as Śrī Kṛṣṇa spoke about the beauty of the forest, the gopīs felt embarrassed and bewildered and looked upward at the trees, and as He spoke about the Yamunā they looked all around at the river. Their absolute purity and simplicity, along with their absolute devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the conjugal mood, created the most beautiful pastimes ever exhibited in this universe.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When the gopis began glancing all around in embarrassment, Krsna said, "As you are glancing at the flowering forest, I understand that you came here to see the forest." When they glanced upwards, he said, "I understand you are looking at this forest bathed in the rays of the full moon." When they glanced towards the Yamuna, he said, "By the gentle breeze which has touched the Yamuna the flowering sprouts of the trees are quivering. This increases the beauty of the forest. Now that your desire of seeing the forest has been fulfilled, please return home without delay." The other meaning is as follows. "Vrndavana is most attractive, and it is glowing with the light of the full moon this night. And all around is the Yamuna. And moreover, a cool, perfumed breeze is blowing here. These are the stimulants for love (uddipana) and I also, the main participant (alambana) am here. Thus there will be a test of your skill in tasting love tonight." "Thus, since your desire has been fulfilled in seeing the beauty of the forest (tat) , do not delay and quickly go. O chaste women, serve your husbands. " After saying this to those who were married, he said to the unmarried girls, "Go and milk the cows, for the calves are wailing." Then he said to the municari gopis, "Your babies are crying. Go and feed them milk." The other meaning in requestful mood is as follows. "As you have seen the beauty of the forest, do not go (na yata) for this whole night (ciram). Enjoy with me. You married women should not serve your husbands or mothers in law, because your beauty and youth given by the creator should not be wasted. It is not necessary to feed the cows and babies. What is the use of such things for those who have attraction to me?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

When the gopīs out of anger mixed with love glanced elsewhere, Kṛṣṇa interpreted that glance in another way. The two verses are connected. By glancing away in anger, you have seen the forest with flowers. Looking upwards you have seen it lit by the moon. Looking towards the Yamunā you can understand that the leaves tremble from its breezes. Or, “We are indifferent to our relatives, since we have disobeyed their bewildering orders. Then why should we have fear?” He answers with these verses. But what is the purpose of coming here at night with such effort? Craftily, he meditates for a moment and then says, “Ah! I understand. By good fortunate you have come to see the beauty of my Vṛndāvana in the night. That is fine. Now you have done so.” With his finger he points out everything. “You have seen the flowering trees, colored by the moon, trembling in the breeze of the Yamunā.” The real meaning is as follows: your love will increase by seeing the forest in this condition. Another meaning of verse 21 is as follows. Not only are you free from fear at this place, but in this place you can find real happiness. He points out the uddīpanas for love personally. You have seen the forest endowed with all qualities. Therefore, do not return to the village. Since you have fulfilled your desire of seeing the beauty of the forest (tad), do not delay and go to the village (goṣṭham) roaring (ghoṣayati) with the sounds of cows and songs while churning the yogurt. Or, go to the place where the cowherds live, where everyone makes a living by herding cows. Ghoṣam is sometimes seen instead of goṣṭham. It is proper that all of you go there, since you are cowherd women. Do not delay to serve your husbands, since you are all chaste (satīḥ). Otherwise you will not be considered faithful to them. It is not proper to remain with me though I am the Supreme Lord. The gopīs say, “We should give up husbands who hate and cannot tolerate our service to you, who are most worthy of service. Worshipping your lotus feet, we reject service to our husbands completely.” Fearing such a response, Kṛṣṇa again speaks, taking shelter from the viewpoint of compassion, to produce pity for the children and calves who are crying. You must feed the calves and milk the cows for the children. The cows out of affection show trust when you come close to them. The truth is this. Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad says sa vo hi svāmī bhavati: Kṛṣṇa is your husband. Brahma-samḥitā says śriyaḥ kāntāh kāntaḥ paramapuruṣah: there are many gopīs and one lover, Kṛṣṇa. The ten syllable mantra and the śruti and smṛti statements also show that these gopīs were the wives of Kṛṣṇa. Bhāgavatam says kṛsṇa-vadhvaḥ: they are the wives of Kṛṣṇa. (SB 10.33.9) It is not possible that these supreme Lakṣmīs could marry anyone else. The gopīs’ perception that they were married to others was arranged in order to increase their longing for Kṛṣṇa. Just as Kṛṣṇa took shelter of yogamāyā for the rāsa dance (SB 10.29.1), so the perception that they were married to others arose from yogamāyā. By making false forms of the gopīs, he fooled the cowherds who thought that they were husbands of the gopīs. nāsūyan khalu kṛṣṇāya mohitās tasya māyayā manyamānāḥ sva-pārśva-sthān svān svān dārān vrajaukasaḥ The cowherd men, bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s illusory potency, thought their wives had remained home at their sides. Thus they did not harbor any jealous feelings against him. SB 10.33.37 Since the real gopīs had no intimate relations with their husbands, they did not have children. The children mentioned in this verse are children belonging to their brothers and others. They treated these children as their sons and thus protected them. In the following verse as well, the word “son” is used to indicate Kṛṣṇa’s son Samba, though in the verse he is mentioned as Balarāma’s son (sa-sūtaḥ): pratigṛhya tu tat sarvaṁ bhagavān sātvatarṣabhaḥ sa-sutaḥ sa-snuṣaḥ prāyāt suhṛdbhir abhinanditaḥ Balarāma, chief of the Yādavas, accepted all these gifts and then departed with his “son” (actually Kṛṣṇa’s son) and daughter-in-law as his well-wishers bid him farewell. SB 10.68.53 Since they did not have breast milk, they fed their brothers’ children cow milk (tān pāyayata). In verse 6 of this chapter, it was said that some gopīs were feeding the infants milk. This does not mean that they fed their own children their breast milk, but rather that they were feeding other children cow milk. If these had been children born from their wombs, these women would have improper for them to be leaders in the dancing and singing in the rāsa dance. The rasa of that dance would have been destroyed. The sons who went looking for these gopīs in the forest in the night must have been much older, and thus their mothers must have been middle-aged. The gopīs were thus not the mothers of the sons mentioned in this chapter. Vaisampāyana says yuvatī gopakanyāś ca rātrau samkālya kālavit: Kṛṣṇa met with the young daughters of cowherds in the night. And Śukadeva has described the gopīs who came as the most beautiful uddīpanas for the dance. Remembering the beauty of these gopīs as ālambanas along with the uddīpana of the night with the moon, Kṛṣṇa decided to perform the rāsa dance (SB 10.29.1). Śukadeva also states that they were younger than Kṛṣṇa. tatrātiśuśubhe tābhir bhagavān devakī-sutaḥ madhye maṇīnāṁ haimānāṁ mahā-marakato yathā A tumultuous sound arose from the armlets, ankle bells and waist bells of the gopīs as they sported with their beloved Kṛṣṇa in the circle of the rāsa dance. SB 10.33.6 vyarocataiṇāṅka ivoḍubhir vṛtaḥ: among the assembled gopīs , the infallible Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared just like the moon surrounded by stars. (SB 10.29.43) Taḍita iva tā megha-cakre virejuḥ: Kṛṣṇa’s young consorts shone like streaks of lightning in a mass of clouds. (SB 10.33.7) Thus when Kṛṣṇa directly says that they have children, he is joking, not finding fault in them. Joking is evident when it is said that he bewildered them by his clever words. Prahasya sa-dayaṁ gopīr ātmārāmo ’py arīramat: joking with the gopīs he enjoyed with them. (SB 10.29.43) Thus the present verse when he speaks of children it is a joke, using imaginary words. If the words were true and thus critical of the gopīs, the greats distaste in rasa would arise, just as it would be unsuitable to criticism water and then drink it. Poets accept proper behavior in the hero. Thus the supreme hero Kṛṣṇa who appeared for showering the most excellent rasa of his pastimes, praised by the greatest poets, would not act in such bad taste. anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ mānuṣaṁ deham āsthitaḥ bhajate tādṛśīḥ krīḍa yāḥ śrutvā tat-paro bhavet When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to his devotees, he engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to him. SB 10.33.36 evaṁ śaśāṅkāṁśu-virājitā niśāḥ sa satya-kāmo ’nuratābalā-gaṇaḥ siṣeva ātmany avaruddha-saurataḥ sarvāḥ śarat-kāvya-kathā-rasāśrayāḥ Although the gopīs were firmly attached to Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose desires are always fulfilled, the Lord was not internally affected by any mundane sex desire. Still, to perform his pastimes the Lord took advantage of all those moonlit autumn nights, which inspire poetic descriptions of transcendental affairs. SB 10.33.36 Thus the husbands were apparent only and the “sons” were sons of others. Another meaning of verse 22 is as follows. Therefore since you have no fear of relatives and all ingredients and beauty of the forest are present, do not go quickly. If you go, go only after great delay, after the end of night. The word ca indicates that mā (do not) should be applied to the other verbs in the sentence. O chaste women! Do not serve your husbands and do not go there. He jokes in order to destroy the happiness of their independent decisions. The calves and children are not crying. Therefore do not feed them. This also indicates their independent nature.