SB 10.43.22

These two verses are taken together. The word tau (the two boys) should be added as the object of the verse. The people seemed to drink them with their two wide open eyes. The dual case is used for the eyes to indicate that each person used his two eyes to drink. They seemed to lick the two boys with their tongues when they began describing the boys’ sweetness using their tongues. They seemed to be trying to smell them, with greed to obtain their fragrance from far off, by their nostrils which began breathing heavily and opened widely on facing the two boys. They seemed to embrace the boys with their arms when they moved their arms around in order to see their forms. Arms is used in the plural since when they moved their arms quickly, they appeared to be many rather than two per person. Desire for these actions developed among the qualified spectators, and thus they carried out actions resembling drinking, licking, smelling and embracing. Yathā-dṛṣṭam and yathāśrutam are avyayī-bhāvas (indeclinable compounds). First the word yathā should be discussed. It indicates qualification, successive actions, restriction, and similarity. An example of restriction is yathā balam: according to his strength. An example of qualification is yathā dānam: donation according to qualification. It indicates similarity like the word saha or sa as in savīṇam dhvanati: it sounded like a vīṇa. They had seen him break the bow. That much was the limit. They had heard that he lifted Govardhana. That much they had heard. According to that they spoke. This indicates qualification. Though limitation and qualification are different, here the meaning finally becomes qualification. Or similarity may be expressed by “They spoke about them similar to what they had heard and seen.” Or, they were qualified to see events such as breaking the bow according to what they had heard—that Kṛṣṇa was a portion of Nārāyaṇa and nothing more than that. Previously they had doubted, and now the confirmed this by seeing him personally. They remembered his form as Bhagavān, with qualities like his unequalled beauty, his sweetness or natural attractiveness of form and qualities which were now somewhat uncovered, and their unlimited nature (prāgalbhya). Previously they had doubted whether the two had these qualities and form or not. Having seen and heard about them, they would now not forget. They perceived them directly (smaritā iva). Or, though they remembered the qualities and form of the two always, now on seeing their form and qualities directly they were most astonished. The two seemed to be new objects of remembrance (smaritā iva). The words of astonishment are described in the following verses according to Śrīdhara Svāmī.