SB 10.45.25

Almost unconscious because of separation from his son, Nanda returned to Vraja. Balarama and Krsna went to Vasudeva’s house and lived happily. Some relishers of rasa object to this incident of Krsna staying away from Vraja, not being able to tolerate even a slight decrease in prema. I will smash this objection by an explanation. Let those who want to accept it. The objection is this. It is clear that the content of verses 21-25 is unfavorable to prema. In the explanations given, prema is not established, for there is separation of Nanda and Krsna. Krsna being the supreme lord, may be able to give up Nanda, but how can Nanda give up Krsna and go to Vraja? How could he give up Krsna, who was more dear than a million life airs, for the cows in Vraja? Why did he not take up residence on the edge of Mathura instead? The reasons given in the verses for their staying in Mathura are weak, only meant to pacify Nanda. Even Krsna and Balarama were not convinced in their minds of what they spoke. It is described in the tenth canto that Balarama did return, but Krsna did not. However, the Padma Purana, Uttara khanda describes that after killing all the demons that he alone could kill, up to Dantavakra, Krsna did go back to Vraja. In the first canto of bhagavata also it is said, "The inhabitants of Dvaraka said, ‘O lotus eyed Krsna, when you went to Vraja with a desire to see the inhabitants there...’" However these evidences from the scriptures do not clearly show the presence of their prema. In the same way, when Krsna departed from Vraja for Mathura he pacified them by sending messengers with the words "I will return." Messengers is in the plural to indicate that he sent many messengers, or one messenger who repeated the same message, "I will return, I will return, I will return." What type of words were these? "sa premaih" they were full of love. " O gopis I am leaving you today because of an invitation to the dhanur yajna made by the King, which is difficult to refuse. It is not that I want to go. After seeing the dhanur yajna I will return the next day. If some other work comes I will also finish that tomorrow and return the next day." If these words were really what Krsna was thinking, then they can be called "sa premaih", filled with love, but if they are not, then they are deceitful. Krsna said to Vasudeva and Devaki (10.45.4), spreading his yoga maya potency, "I am unfortunate since I did not receive loving care and the natural happiness of residing in your house." There Krsna used words to bewilder Vauseva and Devaki. :Perhaps Krsna’s words to the gopis is similar. But then why does Sukadeva use the words "sa premaih", to describe Krsna’s words to the gopis? If Krsna had returned to Vraja the day after killing Kamsa without considering all his other duties such as killing Jarasandha, then one could understand that he was concerned with the gopis’ love. But if he did otherwise, one can only conclude that he was indifferent to their love. Therefore the word sa premaih would be false. One should carefully consider a solution to these objections. One should consider as follows. Vasudeva and Devaki are full of prema and cannot be neglected. But as well Nanda and those in Vraja have unequalled prema , and it would certainly be improper to ignore them. The purpose of the appearance of the Lord, to kill the demons and protect the devotees, must also be carried out. The various pastimes of Dvaraka and other places, such as kidnapping Rukmini, stealing the parijata tree, association with Yuddhisthira, must also be revealed. He must also fulfill his promise to the gopis to return after the dhanur yajna. He must also reveal the superiority of the gopis love to the world, by showing to Uddhava, the most knowledgeable of prema among all the persons in Dvaraka and Mathura, the gopis’ unparalleled prema revealed during painful separation for a lengthy period of time, like the revelation of the radiance of gold through heating by fire. All of these activities had to be carried out. Therefore, taking shelter of his inconceivably powerful yogamaya potency, Krsna along with Balarama, came before Nanda, and manifested two forms of himself, Nanda and others. His words to Nanda in verses 21-23, and the descriptions of the next two verses, presented by the first form have been explained. But Krsna and Balarama in their second form also speak, asking a question. "O father, we have been raised by you with great affection. But are we just your foster sons and not your begotten sons? We are asking you so please speak the truth. Ugrasena and the other Yadavas say that we are just your foster sons. Vasudeva and Devaki consider us their real sons, and showering on us great affection, have made all attempts to keep us in Mathura and prevent us from going to you. Though you are their dear friend, they have not even invited you to dine with them tomorrow according to the rules of etiquette. And no Yadava has come to see you today. Being very disturbed we have fled unnoticed to the edge of the city and come to your temporary residence." This is the meaning of verse 21 according to the second form of Krsna. In reply to this the second form of Nanda says, " In your previous life you were the son of Vasudeva. Gara muni said so during your name giving ceremony. "O Nanda, your son was in a previous life born from Vasudeva." I would guess that he would also have told this to Vasudeva. Therefore Vasudeva is eager to take you to his house, thinking of you as his son even in this birth. I know that he wants to take his own son Baladeva to his house also. Now I am asking you a question. Do you think of us as your foster parents, according to what they are saying? Have you become my foster son?" Krsna answered this question with tears in his eyes. "Parents develop more affection for sons coming from their own body than for their own soul. If I am only your foster son, how I become more dear to you than millions of your lives? Therefore I will no longer look at the face of that enemy Vasudeva." Then Nanda spoke to Baladeva. "O my dear son Baladeva, what do you think of this? " Baladeva said (verse 22), "Those who raise the children are the real parents. Therefore I will not stay in Vasudeva’s house without you and Krsna, even if Brahma himself commands." This verse has been previously explained in a similar way. Nanda Maharaja then thought, "If I take Baladeva back to Vraja, Vasudeva and others in Mathura will become full of sorrow. The self interested residents of Mathura will develop enmity towards me. But why should I develop enmity with them?" As Nanda was absorbed in thought, Krsna and Balarama suddenly spoke to him (verse 23). "O father, you should go back to Vraja. We will come later. It is not necessary to delay even a minute. You must know the instructions of niti sastra: if there is a relative what is the need of fire, and if there is a good friend, what is the necessity of medicine? If out of your kind nature, you cannot tolerate the Yadavas’ suffering, then listen. We will go to see your relatives (jnati) and Vasudeva(verse 23), giving happiness to your friends by letting them see us." When the two spoke in this way (verse 25), Nanda embraced Krsna and Balarama strongly with his two arms just as a miser holds his wealth to his chest and does not let it fall away. Therefore it is said that with eyes filled with tears of joy, Nanda, filled with love (pranaya vihvala), mounted his gold chariot and departed for Vraja. Therefore, by the influence of yogamaya, one Nanda separated from Krsna and went to Vraja alone and another Nanda, unseen by the other, was together with Krsna in Vraja. Thus in Vraja there were two separate manifestations of cowherd men, women and cows. One set were immersed in an ocean of suffering with Nanda in separation from Krsna, and another set were immersed in an ocean of bliss along with Nanda in association with Krsna. They existed simultaneously in Vraja without contacting each other. In Dvaraka Narada saw that in one place Devaki was caring for Krsna and feeding him, and simultaneously at another place Devaki in separation from Krsna was saying "O my son has gone out hunting, and has not returned. He must be pained by hunger and thirst." She then fell into deep lamentation. Bhagavatamrta says, "How astonishing that though two forms were present in the same place at once, each form was unaware of the other form and did not contact it." According to the statement "Though the expanded forms are not considered different from each other, they appear so to us.", there is no difference between all the expanded forms. Though that is so, by the influence of the lila sakti there is difference in self identity, activities etc. This will be revealed in the chapter on the power of yogamaya and in the story of Bahulasva and Srutadeva. The two different forms have two different functions. As gold,only on being subjected to intense fire, reveals its true nature and value, Krsna would send Uddhava, the best among all his devotees, to Vraja to show him the form in separation manifested in a most explicit manner, in order to show the supreme position of astonishing Vraja prema with its characteristics of divyonmada and citra jalpa. Uddhava, on seeing the forms of separation in their highest state, was most astonished. Understanding its superiority to all else, he would then announce to the world "These gopis, having attained the rare treasure of the highest possible prema for Krsna, the soul of all the living entities, are the wealthiest of all, and have reached the highest success in the universe." 10.47.58. "Krsna did not show as much mercy to Laksmi as he showed to the gopis by embracing their throats with his arms and fulfilling other their desires." 10.47.60. "I desire to take birth in the form of a creeper in Vraja to take the dust from the feet of the gopis, who giving up relatives, husbands and sons and social rules, went to meet Krsna, who is sought by the Vedas." 10.47.61. When these manifested forms in separation would later go to Kuruksetra, and show themselves to Vasudeva, Rukmini and others, they would create astonishment in them also. When Balarama went to Vraja, he also became astonished on seeing those forms in separation, reaching the extremes of madness. The second manifestation, that of Krsna and the inhabitants of Vraja being together, is to show that the prema of the gopis and others of Vraja who had taken shelter of him is unchanging and fixed. "The gopis, pained by separation, singing the pastimes of Krsna, passed two days." 10.39.37. It should be understood from this that the gopis, after Krsna left for Mathura, by singing the pastimes of Krsna for two days specifically, attained his association. On going to Vraja Uddhava tells Nanda and Yasoda, "Krsna is certainly keeping the promise he made after killing Kamsa, ‘We will come back after you.’" 10.46.35. The present tense, "he is keeping his promise" not the future, is used in this statement. When Uddhava entered Vraja, he first saw the forms manifesting association with Krsna. 10.46. 9. When Uddhava approached Nanda, the cows were mooing loudly with full milk bags and chasing their calves, and the bulls were mooing loudly as they engaged in fighting with each other for enjoying the cows. There was the sound of milking cows and the flute. (10.46.10). The cowherd men and women appeared splendid with all their ornaments. (10.46.11). As they pulled on the churning ropes with their bangled arms, the women of Vraja shone with the splendor of their jewels, which reflected the lamps’ light. Their hips, breasts and necklaces moved about, and their faces, anointed with reddish kumkuma, glowed radiantly with the luster of their earrings reflecting from their cheeks. (10.46.45). As the ladies of Vraja loudly sang the glories of lotus-eyed Krsna, their songs blended with the sound of their churning, ascended to the sky and dissipated all inauspiciousness in every direction.(10.46.46). These are all symptoms of the bliss generated by meeting with Krsna. Here the purpose and proof of the second expansion has been described.