Devanagari
उद्धव उवाच
कृष्णद्युमणिनिम्लोचे गीर्णेष्वजगरेण ह ।
किं
नु न: कुशलं ब्रूयां गतश्रीषु गृहेष्वहम् ॥ ७ ॥
Verse text
uddhava uvāca
kṛṣṇa-dyumaṇi nimloce
gīrṇeṣv ajagareṇa ha
kiṁ nu naḥ kuśalaṁ brūyāṁ
gata-śrīṣu gṛheṣv aham
Synonyms
uddhavaḥ uvāca
—
Śrī Uddhava said
;
kṛṣṇa
—
dyumaṇi — the Kṛṣṇa sun
;
nimloce
—
having set
;
gīrṇeṣu
—
being swallowed
;
ajagareṇa
—
by the great snake
;
ha
—
in the past
;
kim
—
what
;
nu
—
else
;
naḥ
—
our
;
kuśalam
—
welfare
;
brūyām
—
may I say
;
gata
—
śrīṣu — with good fortune gone away
;
gṛheṣu
—
in the house
;
aham
—
I .
Translation
Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Vidura, the sun of the world, Lord Kṛṣṇa, has set, and our house has now been swallowed by the great snake of time. What can I say to you about our welfare?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Uddhava said: Since Kṛṣṇa has disappeared like the sun, how can I describe the condition of us, his friends, devoid of splendor, whose houses have been swallowed by the snake of lamentation?
First Uddhava brings out the philosophical conclusion in order to pacify Vidura, who was overcome with grief. By his own external appearance he conveys the unfortunate condition of all those afflicted by the pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa, like the sun, has set, how can I speak of the welfare of us, his friends whom you asked about, in houses swallowed by the darkness of lamentation, taking the form of a huge snake? While in a particular place one sees the setting of the sun deity along with his associates and his charier within the zodiac, in other places people see the sun rising, and at positions of forenoon and noon. Similarly when Kṛṣṇa who immerses the universe in his sweet pastimes is seen to disappear from one universe along with his devotees in Gokula, Mathurā and Dvārakā, he is seen to appear in other universes performing pastimes such as birth, rāsa dance, killing Kaṁsa, and marrying Rukmiṇī. The rising, noontime and setting of the sun are not actually different forms of the sun, since they are appearances only. However, Kṛṣṇa’s birth and other actions are not apparent but real since they are all eternal. This is the difference. It has been shown that all of the pastimes of the Lord are eternal in the First Canto, and in the Tenth Canto this is again shown with evidence. Just as in a country affected by the setting sun, dark appears, the lotuses wither, the cakravāka birds lament and thieves, dacoits, Rākṣasas and ghosts become joyful, when Kṛṣṇa disappears from one universe, the world is devoured by the snake of lamentation, the righteous people wither, the devotees lament, the devatās in charge of religion become unsettled and the irreligious people rejoice. This is indicated by Uddhava’s statement about being devoured by the snake.
Purport
The disappearance of the Kṛṣṇa sun may be explained as follows, according to the commentary of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Vidura was struck with great sorrow when he got the hint of the annihilation of the great Yadu dynasty as well as of his own family, the Kuru dynasty. Uddhava could understand the grief of Vidura, and therefore he first of all wanted to sympathize with him by saying that after the sunset everyone is in darkness. Since the entire world was merged in the darkness of grief, neither Vidura nor Uddhava nor anyone else could be happy. Uddhava was as much aggrieved as Vidura, and there was nothing further to be said about their welfare.
The comparison of Kṛṣṇa to the sun is very appropriate. As soon as the sun sets, darkness automatically appears. But the darkness experienced by the common man does not affect the sun itself either at the time of sunrise or of sunset. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance and disappearance are exactly like that of the sun. He appears and disappears in innumerable universes, and as long as He is present in a particular universe there is all transcendental light in that universe, but the universe from which He passes away is put into darkness. His pastimes, however, are everlasting. The Lord is always present in some universe, just as the sun is present in either the Eastern or the Western Hemisphere. The sun is always present either in India or in America, but when the sun is present in India, the American land is in darkness, and when the sun is present in America, the Indian hemisphere is in darkness.
As the sun appears in the morning and gradually rises to the meridian and then again sets in one hemisphere while simultaneously rising in the other, so Lord Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance in one universe and the beginning of His different pastimes in another take place simultaneously. As soon as one pastime is finished here, it is manifested in another universe. And thus His
nitya-līlā,
or eternal pastimes, are going on without ending. As the sunrise takes place once in twenty-four hours, similarly the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa take place in a universe once in a daytime of Brahmā, the account of which is given in the
Bhagavad-gītā
as 4,300,000,000 solar years. But wherever the Lord is present, all His different pastimes as described in the revealed scriptures take place at regular intervals.
As at sunset the snakes become powerful, thieves are encouraged, ghosts become active, the lotus becomes disfigured and the
cakravākī
laments, so with the disappearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the atheists feel enlivened, and the devotees become sorry.