Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
अथैकदा द्वारवत्यां वसतो रामकृष्णयो: ।
सूर्योपराग: सुमहानासीत् कल्पक्षये यथा ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
athaikadā dvāravatyāṁ
vasato rāma-kṛṣṇayoḥ
sūryoparāgaḥ su-mahān
āsīt kalpa-kṣaye yathā
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
atha
—
then
;
ekadā
—
on one occasion
;
dvāravatyām
—
in Dvārakā
;
vasatoḥ
—
while They were living
;
rāma
—
kṛṣṇayoḥ — Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa
;
sūrya
—
of the sun
;
uparāgaḥ
—
an eclipse
;
su
—
mahān — very great
;
āsīt
—
there was
;
kalpa
—
of Lord Brahmā’s day
;
kṣaye
—
at the end
;
yathā
—
as if .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Once, while Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa were living in Dvārakā, there occurred a great eclipse of the sun, just as if the end of Lord Brahmā’s day had come.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Once, while Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa were living in Dvārakā, there occurred a great eclipse of the sun, just as if the end of Lord Brahmā's day had come.
KB 10.82.1
Once upon a time while Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were living peacefully in Their great city of Dvārakā, there was the rare occasion of a full solar eclipse, such as takes place at the end of every kalpa, or day of Brahmā. At the end of every kalpa the sun is covered by a great cloud, and incessant rain covers the lower planetary systems up to Svargaloka.
Purport
As Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura points out, the words
atha
and
ekadā
are commonly used in Sanskrit literature to introduce a new topic. Here they especially indicate that the reunion of the Yadus and Vṛṣṇis at Kurukṣetra is being narrated out of chronological sequence.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains in his
Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī
commentary that the events of this Eighty-second Chapter occur after Lord Baladeva’s visit to Vraja (Chapter 65) and before Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya sacrifice (Chapter 74). This must be so, the
ācārya
reasons, since during the eclipse at Kurukṣetra all the Kurus, including Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma and Droṇa, met in friendship and happily shared the company of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. At the Rājasūya-yajṣa, on the other hand, Duryodhana’s jealousy against the Pāṇḍavas became irrevocably inflamed. Soon after this, Duryodhana challenged Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers to the gambling match, in which he cheated them of their kingdom and exiled them to the forest. Right after the Pāṇḍavas’ return from exile, the great Battle of Kurukṣetra took place, during which Bhīṣma and Droṇa were killed. So it is not logically possible for the solar eclipse at Kurukṣetra to have happened after the Rājasūya sacrifice.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In the eighty second chapter there is a meeting of friends at Kuruksetra at the time of a solar eclipse, and Krsna bathes the inhabitants of Vraja in an ocean of prema.
Now (atha) begins an event which is not chronological. At one time (ekada), after Balarama went to Vraja, and before the rajasuya sacrifice, the pilgrimage to Kuruksetra took place, because at Kuruksetra, Dhrtarastra, Vidura, Yudhisthira, Bhisma and Drona were still on friendly terms and happy to see Krsna. It is not possible that the events at Kuruksetra happened after the Rajasuya because after that Duryodhana out of anger held the gambling match According to the Vana Parva of the Mahabharat, after that took place the killing of Salva and Dantavakra, at the same time as the exile of the Pandavas to the forest. After their return, the war in which Bhisma, Drona and others were killed took place. This is the order according to Vaisnava tosani.
An eclipse took place as if at the end of the kalpa. This means a full solar eclipse.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
A new topic is introduced (atha). Or the event took place after Sudāmā went to Dvārakā. This happened some time before the Rājasūya sacrifice. After leaving Mathurā and while residing in Dvārakā for some time, after Balarāma had visited Vraja, there was a solar eclipse, which lasted a long time (sumahān), like the end of Brahmā’s day.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Atha indicates auspiciousness. After a long separation, the people of Vraja went for an auspicious meeting with the Lord. It did not happen immediately after Śrīdāmā’s going to Dvārakā. It happened at some time (ekadā). Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were residing (vasatoḥ) in Dvārakā happily, after killing of Śālva, after the Rājasūya sacrifice of Yudhiṣṭhira. Balarāma gave pleasure to the inhabitants (rāma) and Kṛṣna gave them the highest bliss (kṛṣṇayoḥ). Or Balarāma was very joyful and Kṛṣṇa was full of the highest bliss because of the upcoming meeting with the people of Vraja. The eclipse was greater than any other, like the darkness at the end of the day of Brahmā, and lasted a long time.