SB 10.80.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

त्रीणि गुल्मान्यतीयाय तिस्र: कक्षाश्च सद्विज: । विप्रोऽगम्यान्धकवृष्णीनां गृहेष्वच्युतधर्मिणाम् ॥ १६ ॥ गृहं द्वय‍ष्टसहस्राणां महिषीणां हरेर्द्विज: । विवेशैकतमं श्रीमद् ब्रह्मानन्दं गतो यथा ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

trīṇi gulmāny atīyāya tisraḥ kakṣāś ca sa-dvijaḥ vipro ’gamyāndhaka-vṛṣṇīnāṁ gṛheṣv acyuta-dharmiṇām gṛhaṁ dvy-aṣṭa-sahasrāṇāṁ mahiṣīṇāṁ harer dvijaḥ viveśaikatamaṁ śrīmad brahmānandaṁ gato yathā

Synonyms

trīṇi — three ; gulmāni — contingents of guards ; atīyāya — passing ; tisraḥ — three ; kakṣāḥ — gateways ; ca — and ; sa — dvijaḥ — accompanied by brāhmaṇas ; vipraḥ — the learned brāhmaṇa ; agamya — impassable ; andhaka — vṛṣṇīnām — of the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis ; gṛheṣu — between the houses ; acyuta — Lord Kṛṣṇa ; dharmiṇām — who follow faithfully ; gṛham — residence ; dvi — two ; aṣṭa — times eight ; sahasrāṇām — thousands ; mahiṣīṇām — of the queens ; hareḥ — of Lord Kṛṣṇa ; dvijaḥ — the brāhmaṇa ; viveśa — entered ; ekatamam — one of them ; śrī — mat — opulent ; brahma — ānandam — the bliss of impersonal liberation ; gataḥ — attaining ; yathā — as if .

Translation

The learned brāhmaṇa, joined by some local brāhmaṇas, passed three guard stations and went through three gateways, and then he walked by the homes of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s faithful devotees, the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis, which ordinarily no one could do. He then entered one of the opulent palaces belonging to Lord Hari’s sixteen thousand queens, and when he did so he felt as if he were attaining the bliss of liberation.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The learned brāhmaṇa, joined by some local brāhmaṇas, passed three guard stations and went through three gateways, and then he walked by the homes of Lord Kṛṣṇa's faithful devotees, the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis, which ordinarily no one could do. He then entered one of the opulent palaces belonging to Lord Hari's sixteen thousand queens, and when he did so he felt as if he were attaining the bliss of liberation. KB 10.80.16-17 It was of course very difficult to reach the palaces of the kings of the Yadu dynasty, but brāhmaṇas were allowed to visit. When the brāhmaṇa friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa went there, he, along with other brāhmaṇas, had to pass through three military encampments. In each camp there were very big gates, and he also had to pass through them. After the gates and the camps, there were sixteen thousand big palaces, the residential quarters of the sixteen thousand queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The brāhmaṇa entered one palace which was very gorgeously decorated. When he entered this beautiful palace, he felt that he was swimming in the ocean of transcendental pleasure. He felt himself constantly diving and surfacing in that transcendental ocean.

Purport

When the saintly brāhmaṇa entered the precincts of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s palaces and then actually entered one of the palaces, he completely forgot everything else, and thus his state of mind is compared to that of one who has just achieved the bliss of spiritual liberation. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī quotes from the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, wherein we learn that the brāhmaṇa actually entered the palace of Rukmiṇī: sa tu rukmiṇy-antaḥ-pura-dvāri kṣaṇaṁ tūṣṇīṁ sthitaḥ. “He stood for a moment in silence at the doorway of Queen Rukmiṇī’s palace.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

He passed through three encampments of troops protecting the outer gates (gulmani), and three courtyards with long rooms protecting the inner gates (kaksa), and, accompanied by some brahmanas living there, passed near the houses of the unconquerable Vrsnis and Andhakas. He entered into the chief house among all the sixteen thousand palaces of the sixteen thousand queens. That was the palace of Rukmini as confirmed by the Padma Purana: "He remained silent for a second at the door of Rukmini’’s palace." Forgetting everything else for a short time, he remained as if merged in the happiness of brahman.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The description of a gulma, part of an army, is as follows: nava-dvipaṁ nava-rathaṁ sapta-viṁśati-saptikam gulmaṁ taj jñaiḥ smṛtaṁ pañca-catvārīmśat padātikam A gulma has forty-five foot soldiers, nine elephants, nine chariots and is twenty-seven horses. However in this case gulma refers to places for housing troops to protect the city. He passed three such barracks. How could he enter the houses which were all well-fortified? They possessed dharma of the Lord who was firmly fixed at all times in his own glories such as being kind to the brāhmaṇas (acyuta). Or as Vaiṣṇavas (acyuta-dharminām), they naturally respected brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. He then entered the palace of Rukmiṇī, the best of the palaces. Padma Purāṇa says sa tu rukmiṇyāntaḥ-pura-dvari kṣaṇaṁ tūṣṇīṁ sthitaḥ: he remained silent for a moment at the door of Rukmiṇī’s palace. Later it is said tāvac chrīr jagṛhe hastam: Śrī or Rukmiṇī grabbed his hand. She was the chief queen. It is said rāghavatve ‘bhavat sītā rukmiṇī krṣṇa-janmani: when Rāma appeared his consort was Sītā and when Kṛṣṇa appeared she came as Rukmiṇī. He felt like he had entered the bliss of Brahman. This example is used only to show that he forgot everything else.