Nayana-ranjana Dasa
Srila Prabhupada's Quotes
Please accept my blessings. In your last letter you asked how to
celebrate Krsna's and Radha's birthday. As last year, on Krsna's with
fasting up to midnight, and Radha's fasting up to noon. Then feasting.
Certainly those who take Krsna's advent as that of an ordinary man are
great fools, but if one can simply understand the transcendental
nature of this event as well as His disappearance, he becomes
immediately liberated. (Letter to: Brahmananda, Vrindaban, 15 August,
1967)
In the spring you may lead a very big procession on Lord Caitanya's
birthday. This is a good plan to celebrate this great spring festival
out of doors. So make this a very opulent procession with large
Sankirtana Party and you may also celebrate in this way again with a
procession on Janmastami day. These two important subjects may be
observed in this way by all the three areas and similarly in other
centers also.(Letter to: Madhudvisa Los Angeles, 14 February, 1970)
Who is Sri Krsna?
Krsna is God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This fact is stated
and corroborated in the Vedic scriptures and by various authorities.
Lord Brahma in Brahma Samhita says, "Krsna who is known as Govinda is
the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is
the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of
all causes" (BS 5.1). In the Bhagavata Purana Krsna becomes the chief
object of devotion. After describing various incarnations of the Lord
such as Rama, Balarama, Vamana, Nrsimha, and Vishnu, Srila Sukadeva
Goswami states, "All of the above mentioned incarnations are either
plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but
Lord Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead" (SB 1.3.28).
Lord Shiva in Gita Mahatmya, states that "let there be only one God -
Krsna, the son of Devaki" (Verse 7). In the Padma Purana it is stated,
"By scrutinizingly reviewing all the revealed scriptures and judging
them again and again, it is now concluded that Lord Narayana is the
Supreme Absolute Truth, and thus He alone should be worshiped".
Similarly it is said in the Skanda Purana, "In the material world,
which is full of darkness and dangers, combined with birth and death
and full of different anxieties, the only way to get out of the great
entanglement is to accept loving transcendental devotional service to
Lord Vasudeva. This is accepted by all classes of philosophers".
The position of Krsna as God is confirmed by great personalities like
Narada, Asita, Devala, Vyasa, Parasara, Brahma and Shiva. Finally
Krsna Himself confirms this fact in the Bhagavad Gita to His friend
and devotee, Arjuna. He clearly says that He is "the Supreme Lord of
all planets and demigods" (BG 5.29), that "there is no truth superior
to Me" (BG 7.7) and - "I am the source of all spiritual and material
worlds. Everything emanates from Me" (BG 10.8).
What is the position of Krsna?
As God, there is no one equal to or greater than Krsna. He is the
original, unborn, eternal person, the most ancient, completely
independent, and the cause of all causes. Parasara Muni, the father of
Srila Vyasadeva and a great scholar who had himself held the position
of Vyasa in a previous kalpa, very nicely defines the position of
Bhagavana (God) as one Who is complete in six kinds of opulence namely
- wisdom, beauty, fame, power, wealth and renunciation. While there
are many great personalities who are very famous or very wealthy, only
Krsna as God is replete in all six opulence.
The scriptures not only give us the unique position of Krsna but also
give us a detailed description of all His aspects. They tell us that
above this temporary material universe is an eternal spiritual world
called Vaikuntha, and Krsna lives in the topmost planet of this
universe called Goloka Vrindavana which is full of palaces made of
touch-stone (cintamani), with trees that are capable of fulfilling all
desires (kalpa-vrksa) and cows that are called Surabhi.
Here Krsna eternally resides, served by hundreds and thousands of
goddesses of fortune. He sports with His most confidential and
intimate devotees, headed by Srimati Radharani. He has a form just
like us but His body is spiritual and thus eternal. His complexion is
dark-blue, like that of a rain-filled cloud and His eyes are like
lotus petals. He is ever youthful, full of bliss and His beauty excels
that of thousands of Cupids. He likes to play the flute, He sports a
crown with a peacock feather and He is adorned by the exquisite
Kaustubha jewel.
What is Krsna avatar?
In Caitanya-caritamrta (2.20.263-264) it is stated that the "avatara,
or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom of God for
creating and maintaining the material manifestation. And the
particular form of the Personality of Godhead who so descends is
called an incarnation, or avatara. Such incarnations are situated in
the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. When They descend to the
material creation, They assume the name avatar."
The Srimad Bhagavatam states that there are countless incarnations
just like the waves of the oceans. They fall in various categories
like lila (pastime), yuga (period of yuga), manvantara (period of
Manu), purusa (Vishnu expansions) and saktyavesa (empowered). These
avatars perform various pastimes based on the time, place and
circumstances, but their purpose is always the same - "to attract the
conditioned souls back to their eternal spiritual abode".
The incarnations emanate from Vishnu. Maha-Vishnu is the original
cause of all material creation and from Him Garbhodakasayi-Vishnu
expands and then Ksirodakasayi-Vishnu. Generally all incarnations
appearing within the material world are plenary portions of
Ksirodakasayi-Vishnu (also known as Hari).
However only once in a day of Lord Brahma (which lasts for 4.32
billion of our years), does Krsna descend in His original form, as the
avatari, the cause of all avatars. When Krsna appears all the
incarnations join with Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
complete whole and all the plenary portions and incarnations always
live with Him. So when Krsna appeared, Lord Vishnu was always with
Him, and while Krsna enjoyed His pastimes in Vrindavana, the killing
of the demons was actually carried out by the His Vishnu portion.
Since Krsna eternally resides in Vrindavana, when He left Vrindavana
at the age of ten, it was His Vasudeva expansion that actually left.
Appearance of Krsna
In the era of the Svayambhuva Manu, prajapati Sutapa and his wife
Prsni were instructed by Lord Brahma to have progeny. They performed
severe austerities for twelve thousand years of the demigods to have
the Lord as their child. Pleased by their austerities the Lord
appeared and granted them this benediction. Since He gave them this
benediction three times, in Satya-yuga He first appeared as the son of
Prsni and Sutapa and was called Prsnigarbha. In Treta-yuga they were
Aditi and Kasyapa Muni and the Lord appeared as Vamanadeva. Finally in
the Dvapara yuga, Krsna in His original form, appeared as the child of
Devaki and Vasudeva.
Krsna appeared specifically on the request of Bhudevi, the presiding
deity of the Earth planet. Distressed by the burden of many demons who
had appeared as powerful ksatriyas and were ruling the planet
impiously, she assumed the form of a cow and pleaded to Lord Brahma
for help. Lord Brahma with all the demigods prayed to Vishnu in
Svetadvipa by chanting the Purusa-sukta prayers. At this time the Lord
informed Brahma that in order to establish religiosity and destroy
evil, He would soon appear as His original Self. In the meantime the
various demigods were instructed to take birth in various families in
the Yadu dynasty and prepare for the appearance of the Lord.
Lifeline of Krsna
Historically, Lord Krsna appeared in the Dvapara yuga, on the midnight
of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Sravana. This
corresponds to July 19th 3228 BC. He exhibited His pastimes for a
little over 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the
new moon night of Phalguna. His departure marks the beginning of the
current age of corruption known as Kali.
The great scholar Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti neatly outlines Lord
Krsna's activities in this way. He was born in Mathura in the prison
cell of Kamsa and carried to Gokula. The first three years and four
months were spent in Gokula, then equal lengths of time in Vrindavana
and Nandagram. At the age of eleven He left Vrindavan for Mathura
where He lived for eighteen years and four months, and finally
ninety-six years and eight months in Dvaraka totaling about 126 years
of manifest pastimes. At the time of Mahabharata, when Krsna spoke the
Bhagavad Gita, He was about ninety years of age.
Pastimes of Krsna
The tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam describes the activities and
transcendental pastimes of Sri Krsna. They are also described in the
epic Mahabharata, specially in the Bhisma Parva which also contains
the Bhagavad-gita. The pastimes of Krsna appeal to the liberated
souls, those that are trying to get liberated and also to the gross
materialists.
The pastimes of Sri Krsna, known as Krsna-katha fall into two
categories. Words spoken by Krsna, as the Bhagavad Gita, and words
spoken about Krsna, as in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Souls in the
liberated stage derive great pleasure in relishing anything and
everything related to Krsna. For those that are trying to be
liberated, Krsna-katha makes their path of liberation very clear. By
studying the Gita one becomes fully conscious of the position of Sri
Krsna; and when one is situated at the lotus feet of the Lord, he
understands the narration's of Krsna as described in the Srimad
Bhagavatam.
Even the gross materialists are attracted by the pleasure pastimes of
Krsna with the Gopis and His wives. Even though the loving affairs of
Krsna have nothing to do with the gross, mundane sex affairs, they
attract the people engrossed in sense-gratification and gradually
elevate them to higher levels of spirituality.
Causeless mercy of Krsna
Even though Krsna is completely self sufficient and self satisfied, He
descends for the benefit of all the conditioned souls. His most
endearing quality is that of "bhakta vatsala". His pure devotees are
always trying to please Him, and He is always trying to please His
devotees. Just as He lives in the heart of His devotees, His devotees
constantly reside in Him.
Krsna is so merciful that He not only helps His devotees, but also
those who are envious of Him. Krsna destroys evil by providing them
with an opportunity to take up devotion.
On the greatly auspicious day of Krsna-Janmastami, let us all pray to
Sri Krsna for a drop of His causeless mercy, for only that alone is
sufficient to take us out from this material word, back home, back to
Godhead.
All glories to the appearance day of Lord Krsna!
All glories to Sri Krsna and His devotees!!
Janmastami and Back to Godhead Magazine
Sarasvati Thakura liked Abhayada and would be very pleased to see him
because he knew that Abhayada liked to preach. On the occasion of the
annual varsik-utsav (festival of Janmastami), in Sarasvati Thakura's
room, upstairs at the Baghbazaar Math, Jatisekhara saw Abhayada
sitting near his guru maharaja, who told him to start a magazine in
Bengali, giving him the idea, "ghore phirae chala - return back to
home, `Back To Godhead,' as a title. He also quoted a sloka in
Sanskrit: "yad gatva nanuvartante, tad dhama paramam mama (Gita
15.6)," on the same topic and then said, "This idea of going back to
Godhead is the basis of the Gaudiya Math." (from HH Bhakti Vikasa
Swami's book on SBSST)
Janmastami and Vamsidas Babaji
On Janmastami he was in Baleshvar, a town in North Orissa. At midnight
he said to Gopal, "Last year I gave You some palmfruit. This year I
shall give You some mango. Gopal, don't be impatient, mango is coming
to You." Within ten minutes a brahmana teacher called Jogendra
Mukherjee arrived, explaining how he had just dreamt that a sadhu
wanted a mango, so he went to the market and bought one. That brahmana
was then told, "Yes, yes, you come. He said he wanted a mango." (from
HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami's book on SBSST)
Chapter 6: Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
What happened in Goloka just before Krsna advented?
63 I will go to the earth. O demigods, first return to your homes, and
then, by your amsa expansions, quickly go to the earth.
64 After speaking to the demigods, Lord Krsna, the master of the
universes, called the gopas and gopis and spoke to them words that were sweet,
truthful and appropriate.
65 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please listen. All of you please go
to Nanda's land of Vraja. O Radha, please go at once to the home of King
Vrsabhanu.
66 King Vrsabhanu's dear wife is the saintly gopi named Kalavati. She is
Subala-gopa's daughter. She is a partial incarnation of the goddess of
fortune.
67 She is fortunate and glorious among women. She was the mind-born
daughter of the pitas, but by Durvasa's curse she was born in a house in Vraja.
68 At once go to Nanda's Vraja and take birth in her womb. O girl with
the lotus face, I will assume the form of a small boy and I will marry You.
69 O Radha, to Me You are more dear than life. To You I am more dear than
life also. We are not different. We are one body eternally.
70 Listening, Sri Radha wept, overcome with love. O sage, with Her
cakora-bird eyes She drank the moonlight of Lord Krsna's face.
71 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please take birth on the earth in
the beautiful palaces of the noble gopas.
72 Then everyone saw the arrival of a great chariot covered with diamonds,
the king of jewels,...
73 ...a chariot decorated with a hundred thousand white camaras, ten
thousand mirrors, red cloth pure as fire,...
74 ...a thousand jewel domes, and networks of parijata garlands,...
75 ...filled with glorious people, made of gold, beautiful, without
compare, glorious and splendid as a hundred suns.
76 They also saw handsome and charming Lord Narayana, who wore yellow
garments, held a conch, disc, club and lotus,...
77 ...wore a glorious crown and glorious earrings, was decorated with a
forest garland and anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
78 ...had four arms, smiled, was overcome with compassion for His
devotees, and was decorated with the best of ornaments made of the kings of
jewels.
79 At His left side they saw beautiful, charming, and fair Goddess
Sarasvati, who held a flute, vina and book in her hand, who was the queen of
the higher planets, and who was knowledge personified.
80 At His right side they saw another beautiful and charming goddess, who
smiled sweetly and was fair as molten gold and splendid as the autumn moon,...
81 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings, who wore priceless
garments and priceless jewels,...
82 ...who was decorated with bracelets and armlets of priceless jewels,
who wore tinkling jewel anklets,...
83 ...whose breast was splendid with a parijata garland, whose braids were
beautiful with a jasmine garland,...
84 ...whose beautiful face robbed the autumn moon of its splendor,...
85 ...who was anointed with musk dots and red sindhura tilaka, whose
beautiful autumn-lotus eyes were decorated with mascara,...
86 ...who held a pastime lotus of a thousand petals, and who with crooked
eyes gazed at Lord Narayana as He gazed at Her.
87 Accompanied by His two wives and His many associates, Lord Narayana
quickly descended from the chariot and entered the beautiful assembly of gopas
and gopis.
88 O demigods, the gopas and gopis at once rose and with folded hands
joyfully recited the divine sages' prayers from the Sama Veda.
89 Then Lord Narayana approached, entered Lord Krsna's form and
disappeared. When they saw this, everyone became filled with wonder.
90 Then Lord Visnu, the protector of the universes came, and descended
from His golden chariot.
91-92 O sage, when handsome, smiling four-armed Lord Visnu, decorated with
forest garlands, dressed in yellow garments, glorious with all ornaments and
splendid as ten million suns, entered the assembly, everyone rose, gazed at
Him, bowed down, and offered prayers.
93 Then Lord Visnu also merged into the form of Lord Krsna. Seeing this,
everyone became filled with wonder.
94-95 Then the Lord's incarnation that resides in Svetadvipa also came and
merged into Lord Krsna's body. Then hastily came Lord Sankarsana, the
thousand-headed purusa-avatara, who was splendid like pure crystal and
effulgent like a hundred suns.
96 Seeing this incarnation of Lord Visnu everyone offered many prayers.
Then, with bowed head He Himself offered prayers to Lord Krsna, the husband of
Radha.
97 O Narada, with His thousand heads He bowed down with devotion to Lord
Krsna. Then Nara and Narayana Rsi, the two sons of Dharma Rsi, also came.
98 Then I merged into Lord Krsna's lotus feet and Nara Rsi became Arjuna.
Then Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yamaraja came to that place.
99 There the demigods saw a great chariot of gold and jewels,...
100 ...a chariot decorated with the kings of jewels, cloth pure as fire,
many white camaras and ten thousand mirrors,...
101 ...splendid with many jewel domes, beautiful with networks of parijata
garlands,...
102 ...beautiful, with a thousand wheels, fast as the mind, robbing the
splendor of the summer's midday sun,...
103 ...splendid with many pearls, rubies, and diamonds, wonderful with
paintings, designs, statues, flowers, lakes and forests,...
104 ...a chariot that was, O sage, the best of all chariots owned by
demigods or demons, a chariot Visvakarma carefully made for Lord Siva's
pleasure,...
105 A chariot four hundred miles high and eight hundred miles across, and
splendid with a hundred palaces gracefully appointed with many beautiful
couches and beds.
106 Then they saw a goddess decorated with jewel ornaments, her splendor
robbing molten gold of its glory,...
107 ...a goddess who was very splendid, peerless, the root of material
nature, the controller of material nature, with a thousand arms holding many
weapons,...
108 ...gently smiling, overcome with compassion for her devotees, her
cheeks splendid with jewel earrings, splendid with tinkling anklets made of the
kings of jewels,...
109 ...decorated with jewel bracelets and armlets, her graceful waist
decorated with a jewel belt,...
110 ...her chest glorious with many mandara garlands, her thighs firm and
her raised breasts full,...
111 ...her beautiful face eclipsing the autumn moon's splendor, her autumn
lotus eyes splendid with graceful mascara,...
112 ...decorated with pictures and designs drawn in sandal, aguru, and
musk, her beautiful lips splendid like new bandhujiva flowers,...
113 ...her teeth robbing pearls of their splendor, her braids decorated
with blossomed jasmine flowers,...
114 ...an elephant pearl decorating the tip of her nose graceful like the
bird king's beak,...
115 ...a goddess splendid with garments pure as fire, and accompanied by
her two sons as she cheerfully rode on a lion's back.
116 Descending from the chariot, the goddess and her sons at once bowed
down before Lord Krsna, the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then she
sat on a great throne.
117 Ganesa and Karttikeya bowed down first to Lord Krsna, who is greater
than the greatest, and then to Siva, Yamaraja, Sesa, and Brahma.
118 The demigoddess rose. Seeing the two boys, the demigods blessed them,
had them sit in their midst, and happily began to talk with them.
119 As the goddess and the demigods stood before Lord Krsna in the
assembly, the many gopas and gopis became filled with wonder.
120 Then, His lotus face smiling, Lord Krsna said to Goddess Laksmi: Please
go to King Bhismaka's jewel palace.
121 Eternal goddess, please take birth in Queen Vidarbhi's womb. O saintly
one, I will go to Kundina and take your hand in marriage.
122 Seeing Goddess Parvati, the demigoddess quickly rose and had her sit on
a beautiful jewel throne.
123 O king of brahmanas, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati sat together and
talked among themselves.
124 the gopis happily talked with the three goddesses. Some gopis happily
sat by their side.
125 Then Sri Krsna, the master of the universes, said to Parvati: O
beautiful goddess, in an amsa incarnation please go to Nanda's Vraja.
126 O beautiful one, O goddess of material nature, O creator and destroyer
of the worlds, please take birth in Yasoda's womb from Nanda's seed.
127 I will arrange that in every village and city on the earth the people
will worship you with devotion.
128 Offering you many splendid gifts, the people will worship you as their
goddess.
129 O auspicious wife of Lord Siva, the moment you touch the earth My
father will take you from the maternity room and place Me in your stead.
130 For a moment you will see Kamsa and then you will return to Lord Siva.
Then I will remove the earth's burden and return to My own abode.
131 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna said to Karttikeya: Child, in an
amsa incarnation you will go to the earth.
132 O great demigod, then you should take birth in Jambavati's womb. All
the demigods should go in amsa incarnations to the earth. Then I will remove
the earth's burden.
133 O Narada, after speaking these words, Lord Krsna, the husband of Radha,
sat on His beautiful throne, and the demigods, demigoddesses, gopas and gopis
also sat in His company.
134 Then Brahma stood up and with folded hands humbly addressed Lord Krsna,
the master of the universes.
135 Sri Brahma said: O Lord, please hear Your servant's request. O great
one, how and where we should descend to the earth? Please give us Your
command.
136 A proper master always maintains, protects and rescues his servants. A
proper servant always devotedly follows his master's commands.
137 What demigods and demigoddesses in what forms, in what incarnations,
with what names, and performing what actions, should descend to the earth?
138 Hearing Brahma's words, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes,
replied: Now I will tell you all of this.
139 Sri Krsna said: Kamadeva will become Rukmini's son Pradyumna. Rati
will be reflected in Sambarasura's house as saintly Mayavati.
140 You will become Pradyumna's son Aniruddha. Sarasvati will go to
Sonitapura and become Banasura's daughter Usa.
141 Lord Sesa, the master of the universes, will go to Devaki's womb. Then
Yogamaya will pull (sankars) Him into Rohini's womb. For this reason He will
be called Sankarsana.
142 Ganga will come to the earth in a partial incarnation as Yamuna.
Tulasi will appear in a half-incarnation as princess Laksmana.
143 Saintly Savitri, the mother of the Vedas, will be named Nagnajiti.
Vasundhara will become Satyabhama. Goddess Sarasvati will become Saibya.
144 Rohini will become Princess Mitravinda, and the sun-god's wife will
partially appear as Ratnamala.
145 Svaha will partially appear as Susila. In this way, beginning with
Rukmini, I will have nine wives. Goddess Durga will partially appear as
Jambavati. Including her, I will have ten queens.
146 One day on Mount Kailasa, Lord Siva ordered Parvati: By a partial
incarnation Parvati must go to Jambavan's house.
147 Beloved, you must embrace Lord Visnu, who stays in Svetadvipa, and who
once came to Mount Kailasa. Because I command you to do this, there will be no
sin on your part.
148 Sri Brahma said: O Krsna, O husband of Radha, why did Lord Siva give
this command to Parvati, that she should approach Lord Visnu, who resides in
Svetadvipa?
149 Sri Krsna said: When all the demigods came to see the newborn infant
Ganesa, on Lord Siva's request Lord Visnu also came from Svetadvipa.
150 Lord Visnu happily saw Ganesa and then sat on a comfortable seat. Then
all the demigods blissfully gazed on Lord Visnu, whose form enchanted the three
worlds,...
151 ...who wore yellow garments, a crown and earrings, whose youthful dark
forms was very handsome,...
152 ...who was anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, who was
decorated with jewel ornaments, whose lotus face smiled,...
153 ...who sat on a jewel throne, who was surrounded by His associates, to
whom all the demigods offered obeisances, to whom Lord Siva offered worship and
prayers.
154 When Parvati saw Lord Visnu she became filled with a happiness that
showed in her face and eyes. Embarrassed, chaste Parvati covered her face with
her sari.
155-6 Her face covered, with unblinking crooked eyes chaste Parvati gazed
again and again at Lord Visnu's very handsome, wonderfully dressed form. The
hairs of her body erect,, she became plunged in an ocean of bliss.
157 For a moment she gazed at splendid Lord Siva, more handsome than ten
million Kamadevas, grasping a trident and axe, and three eyes on each of his
five faces.
158 In the next moment she gazed at dark Lord Visnu, wearing yellow
garments,, decorated with a forest garland, with one face and four arms.
159 Gazing at the one Supreme Lord who appears in many forms, Goddess
Parvati, the controller of material bewilderment, fell under the control of
Lord Visnu's spiritual power of bewilderment. She became filled with
passionate desire.
160 She thought: The three demigods Brahma, Visnu, and Siva, are my partial
incarnations. Still Visnu is best, for He is in the mode of goodness.
161 Parvati gazed at Lord Visnu and in her thoughts devotedly worshiped
Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul in everyone's heart.
162 Lord Siva, who was also the Personality of Godhead, the master of the
universes, and the Supersoul in everyone's heart, knew what Parvati was
thinking.
163 Taking her to a secluded place, Lord Siva spoke to Parvati. He taught
her all that was auspicious and true.
164 Sri Siva said: O Parvati, please understand my words. You must become
the passionate lover of Lord Visnu, the all-pervading Supersoul and Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
165 Visnu, Brahma, and I are the one eternal Supreme Lord. We are not
different. We are the one Lord manifest in different forms.
166 You are the potency of the Supreme Lord. You are the mother of all.
You appear in many forms. You are Brahma's wife Sarasvati. You are Goddess
Laksmi who rests on Lord Narayana's chest.
167 O saintly one, you are also Parvati, who rests on my chest.
After hearing Lord Siva's words, Parvati, the queen of the demigods,
spoke to him.
168 Sri Parvati said: O friend of the poor, O ocean of mercy, why have you
no mercy for me? For a long time I performed austerities to attain you, the
master of the universes.
169 Lord, you cannot reject a servant like me. O Siva, please do not speak
these improper words to me.
170 Lord, I will obey your command. I will take birth in another body.
Then I will become Lord Visnu's lover.
171 Hearing these words, Lord Siva burst into laughter. In this way he
reassured Parvati and removed her fears.
172 To keep her word chaste Parvati will take birth in Jambavan's house. O
Brahma, she will be named Jambavati.
173 Sri Brahma said: On the earth there are many different kinds of kings.
Why will Parvati take birth in the home of a bear?
174 Sri Krsna said: In Treta-yuga, during the incarnation of Lord Rama, the
demigods incarnated on the earth. At that time the king of the Himalaya's
incarnated as the bear Jambavan, a great servant of Lord Rama.
175 Because of a boon from Lord Rama, Jambavan is long-lived, handsome, and
strong like ten million lions.
176 In this way Parvati will go to the earth and take birth in the house of
Jambavan, who is an incarnation of her father, the king of the Himalayas. Now
please hear more explanations from My mouth.
177 All the demigods should partially incarnate on the earth. O Brahma, as
warrior-princes they will assist Me in battle.
178 Goddess Laksmi will partially incarnate as 16 000 princesses who will
become My queens.
179 Yamaraja will partially incarnate as Pandu's son Yudhisthira. Vayu
will partially incarnate as Bhimasena. Indra will partially incarnate as
Arjuna.
180 The Asvini-kumaras will partially incarnate as Nakula and Sahadeva.
Surya will partially incarnate as the heroic warrior Karna. Yamaraja will
personally appear as Vidura.
181 Kali will partially incarnate as Duryodhana. Varuna will partially
incarnate as Santanu. Siva will partially incarnate as Asvatthama. Agni will
partially incarnate as Dronacarya.
182 Candra will partially incarnate as Abhimanyu. Vasu will partially
incarnate as Bhisma. Kasyapa will partially incarnate as Vasudeva. Aditi will
partially incarnate as Devaki.
183 Vasu will partially incarnate as Nanda-gopa. Vasu's wife will
partially incarnate as Yasoda. Laksmi will partially incarnate as Draupadi,
who was born from a yajna pond.
184 Agni will partially incarnate as noble and powerful Dhrstadyumna.
Satarupa will partially incarnate as Subhadra, born from Devaki's womb.
185 In this way the demigods must go, by their partial expansions, to the
earth and help to remove its burden. The demigods' wives must also go, by
their partial expansions, to the earth.
186 At that point Lord Krsna stopped speaking. O Narada, Brahma stood
there, listening.
187 Sarasvati was at Lord Krsna's left and Laksmi at His right. Parvati
and all the demigods were before Him.
188 The gopis and gopas were before Him. Sri Radha rested on His chest.
At that moment Sri Radha, the queen of Vraja spoke to Lord Krsna.
189 Sri Radha said: O Lord, please hear the words of Your maidservant. My
life has become a blazing fire that burns without stop. My mind trembles,
swinging to and fro.
190 When I look at You I cannot even blink. O Lord, how can I go to the
earth without You?
191 O friend, how much time must pass before I will meet You again in
Gokula? O master of My life, please tell the truth.
192 An eyeblink without You will be a hundred yugas for Me. What will I
look on? Where will I go? Who will protect Me?
193 O master of My life, how can I for a moment think of mother, father,
relatives, friends, brother, sister, or children when You are gone?
194 O master of illusions, please promise me that when I am on the earth
You will not cover Me with illusion and make Me forget Your glories.
195 O Krsna, please turn My mind into a bumblebee always wandering among
the nectar lotus-flowers of Your feet.
196 Wherever I may be born, please give Me service to You and remembrance
of You.
197 You are Krsna and I am Radha. When I am on the earth may I never
forget the glory of Our love. O Lord, please give Me this benediction.
198 As breath always stays with the body and as the body always stays with
its shadow, may We two always stay together when We take birth. O Lord please
give Me this benediction.
199 When We are on the earth let Us not be separated for even an eyeblink.
O Lord, please give Me this benediction.
200 Who was it that used My life-breath to create Your body, feet, and
flute?
201 How many glorious kinds of women are there? How many kinds of glorious
men praised again and again? No woman is attached to her lover as I am to You.
202 How is it that I was created from half of Your body? There is no
difference between Us. That is why My mind always thinks of You.
203 How is it that My mind, heart, and life were placed in Your body. And
Your mind, heart and life were placed in Mine?
204 That is why an eyeblink's separation from You brings a great
catastrophe to My mind. That is why, when it hears that We may be separated,
My life-force burns in an unending fire.
205 After speaking these words in the assembly of demigods, again and again
Sri Radha grasped Lord Krsna's lotus feet and loudly wept.
206 Then, placing Her on His lap and with His own garment wiping the tears
from Her face, Lord Krsna spoke many true and beneficial words.
207 Sri Krsna said: Goddess, please listen and I will describe to You the
yoga of the Supreme, a yoga even the kings of the yogis cannot understand, a
yoga that cuts grief into many pieces.
208 O beautiful one, consider this: The entire universe is constructed of
two things: resting places and things that rest in them. It is not possible
for a resting thing to be separated from its resting place.
209 For the fruit the resting place is the flower. For the flower the
resting place is the twig. For the twig the resting place is the branch. For
the branch the resting place is the tree itself.
210 For the tree the resting place is the sapling. For the sapling, which
is manifest from the seed, the resting place is the seed. For the seed the
resting place is the earth.
211 For the earth the resting place is Lord Sesa. For Lord Sesa the
resting place is the great tortoise beneath Him. For the tortoise the resting
place is the wind. For the wind the resting place is I Myself.
212 For Me the resting place is You. I always rest in You. You have all
powers. You are the root from which the material nature has sprung. You are
the Supreme Goddess.
213 You are the resting place of all bodies. You are the resting place of
the three mode of nature. You are the resting place of Me, for I am Your
heart. Without You I cannot act. Only by Your grace have I the power to act.
214 From the man the seed is manifest. From the seed children are
manifest. The resting place of both seed and children is the woman, who is
manifest from material nature.
215 How can the spirit soul exist without the body? How can the body exist
without the spirit soul? They are both the first cause. O goddess, how can
the creation be manifest without them both?
216 O Radha, We are not different. We are the seed and the world grown
from the seed. I am the soul and You are the body. Where the soul is present,
there also is the body. We are not different. Why must You be so humble?
217 As whiteness is present in milk, as heat is present in fire, as
fragrance is present in earth, and as coolness is present in fire, so I am
always present in You.
218 As milk and its whiteness, fire and its heat, earth and its fragrance,
and water and its coolness are one and cannot be separated, We are one also.
We cannot be separated.
219 Without Me, You are lifeless. Without You, I am invisible. O
beautiful one, without You I cannot exist.
220 Without clay a potter cannot make a pot. Without gold a goldsmith
cannot make a gold ornament.
221 As the spirit soul is eternal, Your are also eternal. You are the
material nature. You are all powerful. You are the eternal resting place of
everything.
222 Laksmi, all-auspicious Sarasvati, Brahma, Siva, Sesa, and Yamaraja are
dear as life to Me. But You are more dear than life to Me.
223 If this were not so, then why do the demigods and demigoddesses stay
nearby, but You rest on My chest, O Radha?
224 O Radha, give up Your tears. I saintly one, give up this fruitless and
mistaken worry and go to King Vrsabhanu's house.
225 O beautiful one, use Your powers to create an artificial pregnancy in
Kalavati. For nine months fill her womb with air.
226 When the tenth month comes leave Your natural form behind, accept the
form of an infant girl and go to the earth.
227 At the time of giving birth, place Your form of a naked infant on the
ground by Kalavati and cry like a newborn child.
228 O saintly one, in this way, without entering a mother's womb, You will
appear in Gokula. I also will appear without entering a mother's womb. You
and I do not enter a mother's womb.
229 The moment I come to earth Vasudeva will carry Me to Gokula.
Pretending to fear Kamsa, I will go there for Your sake.
230 I will be Nanda's son in Yasoda's house. O beautiful one, again and
again You will happily see me and tightly embrace Me.
231 O Radha, because of the benediction I give You, You will remember
everything. Following My own wish, I will enjoy pastimes with You in Vrndavana
forest again and again.
232 Therefore, accompanied by thirty three virtuous friends and twenty one
billion gopi-associates, please go to Vraja.
233-4 O Radha, after comforting with eloquent nectar words the numberless
gopas and gopis left behind in Goloka, I will go to Vasudeva's home in Mathura
City.
235 The ten million gopas most dear to Me should take birth in the homes of
the gopas. To enjoy pastimes with Me they should go to Vraja.
236 O Narada, then Lord Krsna stopped speaking. The demigods,
demigoddesses, gopas and gopis were silent.
237 Then Brahma, Siva, Yama, Sesa, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati joyfully
offered prayers to Lord Krsna.
238 Overcome with love and burning in the flames of imminent separation,
the devoted gopas and gopis offered prayers to Lord Krsna and bowed down before
Him.
239 Burning in the flames of imminent separation even though Her desires
were all fulfilled, Sri Radha devotedly offered prayers to Her lover Krsna, who
is more dear to Her than life.
240 Seeing that Sri Radha was weeping many tears of distress, Lord Krsna
spoke to Her truthful words of enlightenment.
241 Sri Krsna said: O goddess more dear than life, please be peaceful.
Give up You fears. What You feel I also feel. Why should You be unhappy while
I am with You.
242 However, I will tell You something that is not good. You will be
separated from Me for a hundred years.
243 O beautiful one, I will go to Mathura and because of Sridama's curse,
We will be separated.
244 In Mathura I will remove the earth's burden, release My parents from
bondage and give liberation to a florist, a tailor and a hunchback girl.
245 Then I will kill Kalayavana, deliver Mucukunda, build the city of
Dvaraka, and see a Rajasuya-yajna.
246 Then I will marry 16 100 princesses and defeat many enemies.
247 Then I will help My friends, burn Varanasi, make Siva yawn and cut
Banasura's arms.
248 I will forcibly take the Parijata tree, see many saintly sages when I
go on pilgrimage, and perform many other activities.
249 While on pilgrimage I will speak with My friends and relatives, help My
father perform a yajna, and, at an auspicious moment, see You again.
250 There I will also see the gopis and again I will teach You the truth of
spiritual philosophy.
251 From that time We will never really be separated for even a moment of
the day or night. Then, after some time, I will return to Vraja.
252 Beloved, during the hundred years We are separated We will meet in Our
dreams again and again.
253 In My Narayana form I will go to Dvaraka for those hundred years. In
that way I will enjoy My pastimes there.
254 Then I will return to live with You in the forest. Then I will wipe
away all the sufferings of My parents and the gopas and gopis.
255 When I have removed the earth's burden I will return to Goloka with the
gopas, gopis and You.
256 O Radha, in My form as eternal Lord Narayana I will return to Vaikuntha
with Laksmi and Sarasvati.
257 My various incarnations will return to Svetadvipa, the home of
religion, and the partial incarnations of the demigods and demigoddesses will
all return to their respective abodes.
258 Then You and I will again live in Goloka. Beloved, now I have told You
everything both good and bad. Who can stop from happening what I have
foretold?
259 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna had Radha rest against His
chest. All the demigods and their wives were astonished.
260 Then Lord Krsna said to the demigods and demigoddesses: O demigods,
please return to your homes and prepare for your mission.
261 O Parvati, please go to Mount Kailasa with your husband and sons. At
the proper time you will execute the mission I have given you.
262 As I have said, you will take birth as a partial incarnation. You will
not be accompanied by Ganesa, who is the lord of the great and the small.
263-4 Bowing down before Lord Krsna, the demigods happily returned to their
homes. Then, bowing again before Lord Krsna and before Laksmi and Sarasvati,
they went, eager to execute their mission, to the earth. Then Lord Krsna
described Sri Radha's mission, a mission beyond what the demigods can attain.
265 Lord Krsna said to Sri Radha: Accompanied by the many gopas and gopis I
have already named, please go to King Vrsabhanu's home.
266 Beloved, first I will go to Vasudeva's home in Mathura, and then, on
the pretext of fearing Kamsa, I will go to Gokula, where You will be.
267 Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna. Tormented with the thought of
being separated from Her love, She wept, Her eyes now red lotus flowers, again
and again.
268 She began to go and then She returned. Again and again and again and
again She left, returned, and gazed and gazed at Lord Krsna's face.
269 With the cakora birds of Her unblinking eyes saintly Radha drank the
nectar moonlight of Lord Krsna's face.
270 Seven times the supreme goddess Radha circumambulated Lord Krsna.
Seven times She bowed down and respectfully stood before Him.
271 Then twenty-one billion gopis and ten million gopas came there.
272 O Narada, accompanied by the multitudes of gopas and gopis, Sri Radha
bowed down before Lord Krsna and respectfully stood before Him.
273 Accompanied by Her thirty-three close friends and by the many gopas and
gopis, beautiful Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna and then went to the earth.
274 Then Radha-gopi went to Vrsabhanu-gopa's home, the place Lord Krsna
arranged for Her in Nanda's Gokula.
275 When Radha went with the gopas and gopis to the earth, Lord Krsna
became eager to go there also.
276 After speaking to the gopas and gopis and giving them their various
duties, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, traveling as fast as the
mind, went to Mathura.
277 Before all this Vasudeva and Devaki had six sons and Kamsa killed each
one as soon as they were born.
278 By Lord Krsna's order, Yogamaya pulled from Devaki's womb the seventh
embryo, who was an incarnation of Lord Sesa, and place it in Rohini's womb in
Gokula.
Chapter 7:
Sri Krsna-janma-kirtana
The Story of Lord Krsna's Birth
1 Sri Narada said: O glorious one, please describe Lord Krsna's glorious
and sacred birth. This description frees the hearer from birth, death and
old-age.
2 Whose son was Vasudeva? Whose daughter was Devaki? Who were Vasudeva
and Devaki? Please describe their marriage.
3 Why did cruel Kamsa kill their six sons? On what day was Lord Krsna
born? I wish to hear this. Please describe it.
4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Vasudeva was Kasyapa Muni in his previous birth,
and Devaki was Aditi, the mother of the demigods. As a result of their
previous deeds they attained Lord Krsna as their son.
5 Vasudeva was born from King Devamidha in the womb of Marisa. At the
moment of his birth jubilant demigods sounded anaka and dundubhi drums. For
this reason the elder saintly devotees gave Lord Krsna's father the name
Anakadundubhi.
6 Devaka, a king in the Yadu dynasty, was the son of King Ahuka. Devaka
has a son, Jnanasindhu, and a daughter, Devaki.
8 Carefully following the rules of scripture, Garga Muni, the guru of the
Yadu dynasty, performed the wedding ceremony of Vasudeva and Devaki.
9 There was a great reception for Vasudeva. At an auspicious moment King
Devaka gave Devaki in marriage to Vasudeva.
10 O Narada, King Devaka then gave a dowry of a thousand horses and golden
cups, a hundred beautiful and opulently decorated maidservants,...
11 ...many different kinds of gifts, many different kinds of jewels, many
diamonds, which are the king of jewels, and many jewel cups.
12-14 Then Vasudeva took his bride, who was splendid as a hundred moons,
decorated with splendid jewels, noble, glorious, able to enchant the three
worlds, the best of women, a treasury of beauty, a treasury of virtue, smiling
with crooked eyes, in full bloom of youth, and a perfect bride, placed her in
his chariot and began to depart. Kamsa, who was filled with joy on the
occasion of his sister's marriage, accompanied them.
15 As Kamsa approached the chariot, a disembodied voice spoke from the
sky. 16 The voice said: Why are you so happy, the king of kings? Hear these
truthful words meant for your welfare. Devaki's eight son will kill you.
17 Hearing this, powerful and sinful Kamsa, frightened by the oracle and
filled with anger, grasped a sword in his hand and was about to kill Devaki.
18 Seeing Kamsa about to kill Devaki, intelligent Vasudeva, who was
learned in the scriptures of ethics, spoke.
19 Sri Vasudeva said: You don't know how a king should act. Please hear
my auspicious words, which are perfectly appropriate, which are spoken by
scripture, and which bring fame and destroy sin.
20 O king, if her eighth son will be your death, and you kill her instead
of him, your reputation will be destroyed and you will go to hell.
21 If somehow he kills a ferocious beast that is attacking him, a wise man
gives in charity coins equal to one karsapana. In this way, at the moment of
his death, he is released from the sin of killing the beast.
22 In he kills an animal that is not attacking him, then, in order at the
time of his death to be released from the sin, a wise man should perform an
atonement a hundred times greater than the previous one. This is said by the
demigod Brahma.
23 If without provocation he kills a higher animal, such as a goat, then
the sin is a hundred times greater. Manu has said this.
24-26 If he kills a human being that is a mleccha, the sin is a hundred times
grater than killing a higher animal. If he kills a pious sudra, the sin is a
hundred times greater than killing a mleccha. If he kills a cow the sin is a
hundred times greater than killing a pious sudra. If he kills a brahmana the
sin is ten time greater than killing a cow.
27 By killing a woman one commits a sin equal to killing a brahmana. 28
O king, if one kills his own sister, who has taken shelter of him and deserves
to be protected by him, he commits a sin a hundred times greater than killing a
woman.
29 A person performs austerities, chants mantras, performs worship, sees
holy places, feeds brahmanas, and performs yajnas in order that he may go to
Svargaloka.
30 The saintly devotees see that this fearful material life is temporary
like a dream or like bubbles in water. Therefore they always follow the
principles of religion.
31 O saintly one, let your sister go. How many wise men are there? Ask
them what you should do.
32 Friend, I will give you my eighth son. Why must I have an eighth son?
33 Or I will give you all my children. O best of the wise, none of them
would be very dear to me.
34 O king of kings, let your sister go. She is like your own daughter.
You, yourself reared her, every day giving her delicious foods to eat.
35 Hearing Vasudeva's words, King Kamsa released his sister. Then
Vasudeva took his bride to their palace.
36 O Narada, in the course of time six sons were born. Vasudeva gave each
one to Kamsa, and Kamsa killed them all, one by one.
37 When Devaki was pregnant the seventh time, frightened Kamsa posted
guards at her door. Then goddess Yogamaya protected the unborn child, pulling
it out of Devaki's womb and placing it in Rohini's womb.
38 The guards said there was a miscarriage. Because the seventh child,
who was the Personality of Godhead Himself, was pulled (sankarsana) from the
womb, He was called Sankarsana.
39 Then Devaki became pregnant for an eight time. This time there was no
child in her womb. It was filled with air.
40 When the ninth month passed and the tenth came, Lord Krsna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead who sees everything, glanced at Devaki's womb.
41 As a result of the Lord's glance, Devaki, who was naturally the most
beautiful of all women, suddenly became four times more beautiful.
42 Kamsa noticed that Devaki, her eyes and face blossoming with happiness,
filled the ten directions with her splendor like the goddess Yogamaya.
43 She was splendid like all the stars together. Kamsa, the king of
demons, gazed at her and became filled with wonder.
44 Kamsa said, "From this pregnancy will come the child that is the seed
of my death." Then he posted guards at the seven gates to guard Devaki and
Vasudeva with great care.
45 O Narada, when the tenth month came Devaki's pregnancy was complete.
Numb and stunned, she began to tremble.
46 When Devaki's womb was thus filled with air, Lord Krsna, the original
Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the lotus of her heart.
47 When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who maintains all the
universes entered her womb, Devaki became stunned and filled with pain as she
stayed in the confines of her palace.
48 Devaki became restless. One moment she would sit down, the next moment
she would stand up, the next moment she would pace back and forth, and the next
moment she would sleep.
49 Observing Devaki, and aware that the time of giving birth had come,
noble-hearted Vasudeva meditated on Lord Krsna.
50 In the beautiful palace lit with jewel lamps Vasudeva reverently placed
a sword, iron, water, fire,...
51 ...a person learned in chanting mantras, a learned brahmana, his
relatives and their frightened wives.
52 When two hours of night had passed the sky became filled with clouds
and lightning.
53 Great winds blew. The eight guards fell asleep. In their sleep they
became motionless and unconscious as if dead.
54 Then the demigods Brahma, Siva, and Yamaraja came and offered prayers
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Devaki's womb.
55 The demigods said: You are the origin of the universes, but You have no
origin. You are limitless, immutable, effulgent, sinless, and supremely
exalted. You have no material qualities, for Your qualities are all spiritual.
You are beyond the three modes of material nature.
56 Out of love for them You show Your transcendental form to the devotees.
Your form is not material. You are independent. Your every desire is
automatically fulfilled. You are the master of all. You are everything. You
are the shelter of all transcendental qualities.
57 You are the origin of happiness and distress. You are the origin of
all. You put an end to the demons. You are perfect. You are the shelter of
everything. You are always fearless and free from any distress.
58 You are not material. You are not touched by matter. Your actions are
not material. Your desires are all fulfilled. You are self-satisfied. You
are eternal and free from any imperfection.
59 You are gentle, ferocious, difficult to please, unattainable, the
author of the Vedas, the Vedas, the Vedangas, the knower of the Vedas, and the
all-powerful Lord.
60 After speaking these words the demigods bowed down again and again.
Tears of joy in their eyes, they showered flowers on the Lord.
61 A person who rises early and chants these forty-two names attains firm
devotion for Lord Krsna. His desire to serve the Lord is fulfilled.
62 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After speaking these prayers, the demigods
returned to their own abode. Then a great rain suddenly fell and no one moved
about in Mathura City.
63 O sage, a terrible darkness covered the night. Seven muhurtas passed
and the eighth muhurta came.
Note: One muhurta equals forty-eight minutes.
64 Then, at the most auspicious moments, a moment even the Vedas cannot
properly glorify, a moment beyond all understanding, a moment when all
auspicious planets were visible on the horizon and no inauspicious planets
could be seen,...
65 ...a moment on the eighth tithi, O sage, when a half-moon had risen
with the star Rohini and the auspicious Jayanti-yoga was present,...
66 ...at that moment the sun and the other planets both auspicious and
inauspicious, gazed again and again at the horizon, became filled with awe,
left their regular places and met in the sign Pisces.
67 Staying there, all the planets became auspicious. In this way, by the
demigod Brahma's order, all the planets happily stayed in the eleventh house
for one muhurta.
68 Then the clouds rained, pleasantly cool winds blew, the earth became
happy, and the ten directions became filled with joy.
69 Filled with joy, the sages, manus, yaksas, gandharvas, kinnaras,
apsaras, demigods, and demigoddesses danced.
70 O Narada, the gandharva kings and the vidyadharis sang, the rivers
happily flowed and the fires happily blazed.
71 In Svargaloka there was beautiful music of dundubhi and anaka drums.
There was a great shower of parijata flowers.
72 The earth-goddess assumed the form of a human woman and visited
Devaki's maternity-room, there were loud sounds of conchshells and the sounds
of 'Victory!' and 'Hari!'
73 Then saintly Devaki fell to the ground and the air suddenly passed from
her belly.
74 Then Lord Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, left the
lotus-whorl of Devaki's heart and manifested His transcendental form before
her.
75-80 O sage, then Vasudeva and Devaki saw before them the supremely handsome
and charming Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had two arms, a flute in His
hand, glittering shark-earrings, a gentle smile, great mercy for His devotees,
ornaments of the kings of jewels, a form dark like a monsoon cloud, yellow
garments, limbs anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, an autumn moon
face, handsome bimba fruit lips, a peacock feather crown, a splendid
jewel-crown, a threefold bending form, and a forest garland, who had the mark
of Srivatsa on His chest, who was youthful, peaceful and handsome, and who was
the Lord of both Brahma and Siva.
81 His hands respectfully folded, his neck bent with devotion, tears in
his eyes and the hairs of his body erect, the Supreme Personality of Godhead's
father, Vasudeva, filled with wonder, and his wife Devaki by his side, offered
prayers to the Lord.
82-86 Sri Vasudeva said: O almighty one, how can I properly glorify You, who
are beyond the material senses, not manifest in the material world,
imperishable, beyond the modes of nature, all-powerful, not attainable by
meditation, the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, the supreme controller
whose every desire is at once fulfilled, the Lord who assumes any form at will,
the Supreme Spirit, untouched by matter, the seed of all existence, eternal,
bigger than the biggest, smaller than the smallest, the most subtle,
all-pervading, invisible, the witness present in all bodies, the Lord who has a
transcendental form with a host of transcendental qualities, the Lord who has
no material form, the material world, the master of the material world, beyond
the material world, the master of all, present in all forms, the death that
puts an end to all that is material, deathless, immutable, the resting place on
which all depends, depends on no one, and the supreme perfect one?
87 Lord Sesa is not able to glorify You properly. Goddess Sarasvati is
not able. Lord Siva is not able. Karttikeya is not able.
88 Lord Brahma, the author of the Vedas is not able to glorify You
properly. Ganesa is not able. The guru of the guru of the kings of the yogis
is not able.
89 The great sages, demigods, manus, and human beings cannot see You, even
in their dreams. How can they glorify You properly?
90 Even the personified Vedas cannot glorify You properly. How can the
scholars of this world glorify You? O Lord, please leave this present form and
now become a small boy.
91 A person who at sunrise, noon, and sunset recites these prayers of King
Vasudeva attains devotional service for the lotus feet of Lord Krsna.
92 He attains a noble and virtuous son devoted to serving Lord Krsna. He
quickly passes through all dangers. He is delivered from the fears of his
enemies.
93 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After hearing Vasudeva's words, handsome and
glorious Lord Krsna, overcome with feelings of kindness for His devotee, and
His face beaming with happiness, spoke to him.
94 Sri Krsna said: Because of your great austerities I have now become
your son. Please ask for a boon. Your future will be auspicious. Of this
there is no doubt.
95 Formerly you were the prajapati Sutapa, the best of ascetics. You and
your austere wife worshiped Me with great austerities.
96 When you saw Me you asked for the boon of having a son like Me. I gave
you the boon of having a son like Me.
97 After giving you that boon I thought, "In the whole world there is no
one like Me." For that reason I have now become your son.
98 By the power of your austerities you were the great sage Kasyapa and
your wife was chaste Aditi, the mother of the demigods.
99 You are Kasyapa, now appearing as My f father Vasudeva, Your wife is
Aditi, the mother of the demigods, who is now Devaki.
100 As a partial incarnation, I appeared as Vamana and became the son of
You and Aditi. Now, by the power of your austerities, I have appeared in My
original form.
101 Thinking of Me either as your son or as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, you will attain Me. O wise one, you will be liberated even in this
life.
102 O father, take me at once to Yasoda's home in Vraja. Leave Me there
and put Goddess Maya in My place.
103 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna assumed the form of a newborn
infant. Vasudeva gazed at his sleeping, dark, infant son, on the ground before
him.
104-5 Vasudeva said, "What happened when I looked at this child? Was I
bewildered by Lord Visnu's illusory potency? Did I, overcome with exhaustion,
see a dream in this maternity room?" Vasudeva and his wife gazed at the infant
in their lap. Then Vasudeva took the infant to Nanda's Gokula.
106 Vasudeva quickly went to Nanda's Vraja, entered the maternity room
there, and saw that Yasoda was asleep on her bed, Nanda was asleep, and
everyone in the house was also asleep.
107 He saw a gently smiling infant girl, naked and gazing at the housetop.
108 When he saw the infant girl, Vasudeva became filled with wonder. 109
Taking the girl with him, and leaving his son in her place, he quickly returned
to his wife's maternity room in Mathura.
110 There he placed the infant girl, who was the goddess Maha-maya. When
she saw the girl cry again and again, Devaki became afraid.
111 Crying, the infant girl awakened the guards, who quickly came and took
her away.
112 As they took the child to Kamsa, grieving Vasudeva and Devaki followed
them.
113 O great sage, when he saw the beautiful infant girl crying again and
again, Kamsa was not at all pleased. He did not feel any mercy for her.
114 Grabbing the infant, cruel Kamsa was about to throw her against the
stone and kill her, when Vasudeva and Devaki very respectfully addressed him.
115 They said: O Kamsa, O best of kings, O philosopher wise in the science
of morality, Please hear our beautiful, true, and righteous words.
116-7 O kinsman, you killed our six sons. You had no mercy on them. If you
kill our eighth child, who is a weak girl, how will your power and glory
triumph on the face of the earth? How can a weak girl attack and kill you in
battle?
118 After speaking these words Vasudeva and Devaki openly wept before
wicked Kamsa and his assembly.
119 After hearing their words, cruel Kamsa said to them, "Listen to my
words. Try to understand and I will explain.
120 Kamsa said: Destiny can kill a mountain with a blade of grass, a lion
or a tiger with a tiny worm, an elephant with a mosquito,...
121 ...a great warrior with a child, an enormous animal with tiny
creatures, a cat with a mouse, a snake with a frog,...
122 ...a father with his son, an eater with his food, water with fire, and
a fire with hay.
123 A single brahmana once drank the seven seas. In the seven worlds the
wonderful workings of destiny are beyond our understanding.
124 By destiny a girl will be able to kill me. Therefore, I will not kill
this girl. Here I will not think whether the time is right.
125 After speaking these words, Kamsa grabbed the infant girl and was about
to kill her, when Vasudeva spoke.
126 He said, "O King, you will kill this girl for no reason. O ocean of
kindness, please give her to me." O great sage, when he heard these words,
intelligent Kamsa became a little pacified.
127 Then a disembodied voice said, "Fool Kamsa, who is this girl you would
kill? You do not understand how destiny works.
128 "Your killer is somewhere else. In time He will reveal Himself."
Hearing the words of destiny, King Kamsa released the infant girl.
129 Taking the girl with them, Vasudeva and Devaki returned to their own
home. They pressed her to their heart and accepted her as their own daughter.
130 As if they had recovered their daughter from the grip of death, they
gave charity to the brahmanas. O brahmana, that girl, who was named Ekanamsa,
was a partial incarnation of Goddess Parvati. She was the exalted sister of
Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
131 At the time of Rukmini's marriage in Dvaraka, with great devotion
Vasudeva gave her in marriage to Durvasa Muni, who was a partial incarnation of
Lord Siva.
132 O sage, now I have told you everything of Lord Krsna's birth. This
narration brings happiness and piety. It rescues one from the world of birth,
old-age and death.
Chapter 8:
Sri Janmastami-vrata-pujopavasa-nirupana
Vows, Worship, and Fasting on Sri Janmastami
1 Sri Narada said: Now please tell me of the vow of Janmastami, which
is the great vow of vows. Please tell me the result attained by following
the ceremony of Jayanti-yoga.
2 O great sage, what sinful reaction does one meet by not following
this vow or by eating on that day? What pious result does one attain by
fasting on that day?
3 O Lord, please describe the result of following this vow, including
the rules governing the day before the fast, and breaking the fast on the
following day.
4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: On the saptami (seventh day) and on the day
after the fast (the navami or ninth day) one should eat havisya (rice and
ghee) only. On the day of Janmastami (the eight day) one should rise at
dawn.
5 O brahmana, one should rise early, bathe, perform his morning
duties, and be determined to follow the vow and the fast for the pleasure of
Lord Krsna.
6 O brahmana, by bathing and worshiping the Lord during the eight day
(Janmastami) of the month of Bhadra (August-September) one attains the
result of bathing and worshiping the Lord for a manvantara.
7 If on this day one offers only a little water to the pitas, he
attains the result of performing sraddha at Gaya for a hundred years.
8 On that day, after bathing and performing his regular duties, a wise
person should arrange for a maternity-room, place in it water, fire, and an
iron sword, post guards,...
9 ...place many things there, place there an instrument for cutting
the umbilical cord, have a midwife there,...
10 ...place there, O Narada, sixteen articles for worshiping the Lord,
eight fruits and candies,...
11 ...the eight fruits and candies being jatiphala, kakkola,
pomegranate, sriphala, coconut, jambira, kusmanda, and manohara,...
12-13 ...and the sixteen articles for worship being a sitting place,
garments, padya, madhuparka, arghya, water for acamana, water for bathing, a
bed, fragrances, flowers, food-offerings, betel nuts, ointments, incense,
lamps, and ornaments,...
14 ...wash his feet, put on clean clothes, perform acamana, say the
word 'svasti', sit on the seat,...
15 ...place a pot there, worship the five deities, invite Sri Krsna,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to appear there,...
16 ...invite Vasudeva, Devaki, Yasoda, Nanda, Rohini, Balarama, Goddess
Sasthi, Goddess Vasundhara,...
17 ...Rohini, Brahma, Asthami, the Sthana-devata, Asvatthama, Bali,
Hanuman, Vibhisana,...
18 ...Krpacarya, Parasurama, Vyasadeva, and Markandeya and then
meditate on Lord Krsna.
19 Then a wise person should place a flower to his head and meditate on
the description of the Lord spoken in the Sama Veda. O Narada, please
listen and I will tell you that description, which Lord Brahma told the
Kumaras in ancient times.
20 I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is an infant boy,
who is splendid as a dark monsoon cloud, who is very handsome, whose lotus
face is smiling, whom Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yama glorified for how many
days? Whom the kings of sages cannot approach in their meditations, whom
the munis, siddhas, and sons of Manu cannot attain, whom the kings of the
yogis cannot imagine in their thoughts, who is the greatest, who is without
peer, who is all-seeing witness.
21 The follower of this vow should thus meditate on the Lord. Then,
reciting mantras, he should offer the flower, and all the other articles to
the Lord. Please hear these mantras.
22 Here are the mantras: O Lord Krsna, please accept this all-beautiful
jewel throne, wonderfully decorated with graceful and colorful pictures and
designs.
23 O Lord Krsna, please accept these wonderful and colorful garments
pure as fire and made by Visvakarma from threads of pure gold.
24 O Lord Krsna, please accept this golden pot filled with water to
wash Your feet. Please accept this pure padya water and this beautiful
flower.
25 O Lord Krsna, please accept these gold pots of honey, ghee, yogurt,
milk and sugar.
26 O Lord Krsna, please accept this durva grass, whole rice, white
flower, clear water, sandal, aguru, and musk.
27 O Supreme Lord, please accept this clear, pure, sweet, scented
acamana water.
28 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented Visnu-oil, amalaki paste,
and bath water.
29 O Lord Krsna, please accept this beautiful bed made of the best of
jewels and covered with exquisite cloth.
30 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented paste made of musk the
powdered tree-roots.
31 O Supreme Lord, please accept this fragrant flower so dear to all
the demigods and grown from a blossoming tree.
32 O Lord Krsna, please accept this offering of ripe fruits,
sugar-candy, svastika candy and other candies.
33 O Lord Krsna, please accept this laddu, modaka, ghee, milk,
molasses, honey, fresh yogurt, and buttermilk.
34 O Lord Krsna, please accept these betel nuts mixed with camphor and
other things, which I offer to You with devotion.
35 O Supreme Lord, please accept this beautiful avira powder made with
sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma.
36 O Lord Krsna, please accept this incense made by cooking the nectars
of many trees, incense very dear to all the demigods.
37 O Lord Krsna, please accept this splendid and auspicious lamp that
destroys the terrible blinding darkness.
38 O Lord Krsna, please accept this pure drinking-water scented with
camphor and other fragrances, water that is the life of all living entities.
39 O Lord Krsna, as an ornament for Your transcendental body please
accept this garland of many flowers on a fine thread.
40 O Supreme Lord, please accept these fruits, which are the seeds of
trees, and which make one's dynasty prosper.
41 In this way, at that place, one should offer many appropriate things
to Lord Krsna.
42 The person following this vow should then devotedly worship the many
deities there and then offer them all three palmfuls of flowers.
43-45 In this way one should worship Sunanda, Nanda, Kumuda, the gopas,
the gopis, Sri Radha, Ganesa, Karttikeya, Brahma, Siva, Parvati, Laksmi,
Sarasvati, the dik-palas, the planets, Sesa, Sudarsana, the liberated
associates of the Lord, and all the demigods, and one should offer
obeisances to them, falling to the ground like a stick. Then one should
offer food and daksina to the brahmanas.
46 Then the person following this Janmastami vow should hear the
chapter of scripture describing Lord Krsna's birth, and then he should,
sitting on a seat of kusa grass, keep an all-night vigil.
47 At dawn he should perform his regular duties and then he should
worship Lord Krsna. Then he should feed the brahmanas and then he should
chant the glories of Lord Krsna.
48-49 Sri Narada said: When a person follows the Janmastami vow, fasts,
and keeps the all-night vigil, what result does he attain? What is the sin
one commits by eating on this holy day? O best of the knowers of the Vedas,
referring to the Vedas, Vedangas and ancient Samhitas, please, please
describe this.
50 Sri Narayana Rsi said: If (in the dark fortnight of the month of
Bhadra) even only a quarter of the astami is present at midnight, that day
is considered Janmastami, the time when Lord Krsna was born.
51 Because it brings victory (jaya) and piety, this day is called
Jayanti. A wise person should fast, follow the Janmastami vow, and keep an
all-night vigil on this day.
52 This is the most auspicious of all times. The demigods Brahma and
knowers of the Vedas say this.
53 One who fasts, follows the Janmastami vow, and keeps an all-night
vigil on this day becomes freed from the sins of ten million births. Of
this there is no doubt.
54 One should not celebrate Janmastami on an astami mixed with the
saptami. Even if the star Rohini (is conjoined with the moon) this astami
is not considered Janmastami.
55 Lord Krsna, the son of Devaki, was born on an astami unmixed with
the saptami, an astami when the star Rohini was conjoined with the moon.
When this most auspicious moment, an astami when the moon is conjoined with
Rohini, is passed, a person who has followed the Janmastami vow should break
his fast.
56 When the tithi of Janmastami is over, one should remember Lord
Krsna, worship the devas and asuras, and break his fast. Breaking the fast
in this way is very purifying and destroys all sins.
57 Breaking the fast in this way, an essential part of the fast, brings
purification and the attainment of other results. The breaking of the fast
should be performed during daytime.
58 Otherwise, if the fast is not broken during the daytime, the results
of fasting, following the Janmastami vow, and breaking the fast are all
destroyed.
59 One should not break the fast at night. The only exception is the
Rohini-vrata, when the fast may be broken at night, but not at midnight.
60 In the morning one should worship the brahmanas and demigods and
then break the fast. All the saintly persons agree this is the best time to
break the fast. Only in the Rohini-vrata is it not the best time.
61 If follows the Janmastami vow on a Janmastami when Mercury is
conjoined with the moon, he will never again enter a mother's womb.
62-63 If one a certain Janmastami the navami begins at sunrise and the
moon is conjoined with Mercury or the star Rohini, that Janmastami is very
auspicious. Such a Janmastami occurs perhaps in a hundred years. One who
follows the Janmastami vow on that day delivers ten million of his
relatives.
64 Lord Krsna is pleased with His devotees that observe the fast of
Janmastami, even though, because of not having sufficient wealth, they
cannot perform the Janmastami vow.
65 To one who follows the vow, worshiping the Lord with various
articles and keeping an all-night vigil, Lord Krsna, the enemy of the
demons, gives the result of following the Janmastami vow.
66 A person who observes Janmastami in a way appropriate to his
financial means attains the proper result, but a wealth person who does not
observe Janmastami in a way appropriate to his wealth does not attain the
same result.
67 A wise person should not break his fast during Janmastami or while
the star Rohini is still conjoined with the moon. To do that is to destroy
his past pious deeds and the transcendental result earned by fasting.
68 Breaking the fast during the tithi of Janmastami destroys one's
pious deeds eight times over, and breaking the fast while the star Rohini is
conjoined with the moon destroys one's pious deeds four times over.
Therefore one should be careful to break his fast when Janmastami and the
star Rohini have passed.
69 O best of sages, when the tithi of Janmastami and the star Rohini
both end at midnight, a person following the Janmastami vow should break his
fat on the third day from Janmastami.
70 O Narada, one who eats during the midnight of Janmastami attains the
sinful reaction of killing a brahmana.
71 On a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) one should not eat
even fruit or betel nuts, or even drink water. Eating these is like eating
stool or cow's flesh, or like drinking urine. What, then, can be said of
eating rice?
72 The wise say that night lasts for 9 hours and is bounded, at its
beginning and end, by sunrise and sunset, which last for 48 minutes each.
73 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami)
follows the Janmastami vow and keeps an all-night vigil becomes free from
the sins of a hundred births. Of this there is no doubt.
74 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) fasts
but does not follow the Janmastami vow or keep the all-night vigil, attains
the result of performing an asvamedha-yajna.
75 He is freed from the sins performed in the infancy, childhood,
youth, and age of seven lifetimes.
76 One who eats on Lord Krsna's birthday is lowest of mankind. His
sinful reaction like that of having raped his mother and murdered a hundred
brahmanas.
77 His pious credits of ten million births are at once destroyed. He
become impure. He becomes unfit to worship the demigods or the pitas.
78 At the end of his life he enters the hell called Kalasutra (the rope
of time). As long as the sun and moon shine in the sky he is devoured by
worms with teeth sharp like spears.
79 When his time in hell is over he rises to the earth, where he
becomes a worm in stool for sixty thousand years.
80 Then he becomes a vulture for ten billion births, a pig for a
hundred births, a dog for a hundred births, and a jackal for a hundred
births.
81 Then he becomes a snake for seven births and then a row for seven
births. Then he takes birth as a human being, where he is unable to speak
and where he becomes a leper, always suffering.
82 Then he becomes a butcher and then a hunter of wild beasts. At the
end he becomes a thief and a murderer, a man with no scruples.
83 Then he becomes a washerman, then an oil-merchant, and then a
professional brahmana, always impure at heart.
84 If one is unable to fast he should feed a brahmana and give him
charity equal to twice the value of the food.
85 Or, he should chant mantras to Goddess Laksmi a thousand times, or
he should practice pranayama twelve times.
86 Thus I have described, as I heard it from Yamaraja's mouth, the
fasting, vows and worship performed on Janmastami.
Chapter 9:
Sri Nanda-putrotsava
The Festival of Sri Nanda's son
1 Sri Narada said: After Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Yasoda's home in
Gokula, what did King Nanda do to celebrate the birth of a son?
2 What did Lord Krsna do there? How many years did the Lord stay there?
O master, please describe the Lord's childhood pastimes there.
3 How in the forest there did Lord Krsna keep the promise He made to
Radha in Goloka?
4 What was Vrndavana like? What was the rasa-dance circle like? Please
tell. O master, please describe the Lord's rasa dance and the water pastimes.
5 What austerities did Nanda, Yasoda, and Rohini perform? Before the
appearance of Lord Krsna, where did Lord Balarama rake birth?
6 This recounting of Lord Krsna's pastimes is nectar sweeter than any
other. Especially in the mouth of a poet, it brings new and sweet poetry at
every step.
7 Please describe the Lord's pastimes in the rasa-dance circle. A poet's
words are more glorious when he himself has seen the events he describes.
8 You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna Himself. Because You are
His incarnation, You are full of transcendental bliss. You are the guru of the
guru of the kings of the yogis.
9 You have described how You entered the feet of Lord Krsna, the master
of Goloka. Therefore You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna. You are Lord
Krsna.
10 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Brahma, Siva, Sesa, Ganesa, Kurma, Yamaraja,
Nara, Karttikeya, and I are nine incarnations of Lord Krsna.
11 Who can describe the glories of Lord Krsna, the master of Goloka? We
incarnations of Krsna cannot understand Him. How can the great philosophers
understand Him. How can the great philosophers understand Him?
12 O sage, Varaha, Vamana, Kalki, Buddha, Kapila, and Matsya are among His
primary incarnations. How many are His secondary incarnations?
13 The primary forms of the Lord are Nrsimha, Rama, and the splendid
master of Svetadvipa. The most perfect, full, most complete, original form of
the Supreme Lord is Sri Krsna, who resides in Goloka, the highest realm in the
spiritual sky.
14 In Vaikuntha He appears in many forms as four-armed Lord Narayana, the
beloved of Laksmi. In Goloka and Gokula He appears in His original form as
two-armed Lord Krsna, the beloved of Radha.
15 The yogi's meditate on His Brahman light, but the devotees meditate on
His lotus feet. How can there be a light without a source?
16 O brahmana, listen and I will describe the austerities of Nanda, Yasoda
and Rohini, austerities that enabled them to see Lord Krsna face to face.
17 In his previous birth Nanda was the ascetic Drona the best of the
Vasus, and saintly Yasoda was his ascetic wife Dhara.
18 In her previous birth Rohini was Kadru, the first mother of the snakes.
Listen and I will describe to you what they did in their previous birth.
19-20 O sage, in Bharata-varsa, on Mount Gandhamadana, near Gautama Muni's
asrama, in a secluded place by the Suprabha river, Drona and Dhara performed
austerities for ten thousand years so they might see Lord Krsna face to face.
21 When after this time they still could not see Lord Krsna, Drona and
Dhara decided to enter a lake of fire.
22-23 Then a disembodied voice, its speaker seeing that they wished to die,
said, "O best of the Vasus, in your next birth, on the earth, you will see Lord
Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom the yogis cannot see, whom the
philosophers cannot attain by their thinking, to whom Brahma and the demigods
bow down. He will become your son.
24 Hearing this, Drona and Dhara happily returned to their home. Taking
birth on the earth, they saw Lord Krsna face to face.
25 Thus I have described the activities of Nanda and Yasoda. Now please
hear the activities of Rohini when she was a demigoddesses.
26 O sage, one time, on the day most suitable to conceive a child, saintly
Aditi, the mother of the demigods sent a message of this to her husband,
Kasyapa Muni.
27 The beautiful goddess, carefully bathed and wearing jewel ornaments,
decorated and dressed herself very elaborately. In the mirror she carefully
examined her face,...
28 ...which was decorated with dots of musk and sindhura, beautiful with
patra ornaments and jewel earrings,...
29 ...beautiful as an autumn moon, its autumn lotus eyes splendid with
mascara, its beautiful nose decorated with an elephant pearl, its mouth
gracefully curved in a smile,...
30 ...its teeth splendid like ripe pomegranate seeds, its beautiful always
smiling lips splendid like ripe bimba fruits,...
31 ...and its features so beautiful they charmed the hearts of the regal
sages.
32 After carefully examining her face in this way, the beautiful goddess,
wounded by Kamadeva's arrows, stayed at home, waiting for her husband to come
and looking for him on the path.
33 Then Aditi heard the news that Kasyapa was with Kadru, that he was
sweetly playing with her and resting on her breast.
34 Tortured with amorous desires, and her hopes to satisfy them now
destroyed, saintly Aditi became filled with anger when she heard this news.
Out of love for him she would not curse her husband, but she did curse Kadru.
35 She said: That sinful woman has no right to live in the world of the
demigods. She should leave Svargaloka and go far away to the womb of a human
being.
36 Hearing of this curse from a messenger, Kadru cursed Aditi. Kadru
said: Aditi should go to the womb of a human being, a womb in the world where
there is old age and death.
37 Then Kasyapa said to Kadru: O girl with the beautiful smile, when you
go to the human world, I will go with you.
38 Give up your fears. Be happy. You will see Lord Krsna face to face.
After speaking these words, Kasyapa went to Aditi's home.
39 Powerful Kasyapa fulfilled Aditi's desire, and as a result Indra, the
leader of the demigods was born.
40 In this way Aditi became Devaki, Kadru became Rohini, and Kasyapa
became Vasudeva, Lord Krsna's noble father.
41-43 O sage, what I have told you is very confidential. Now please hear the
birth story of Lord Balarama, who is limitless, immeasurable, thousand-headed
Lord Sesa. By Vasudeva's order, Rohini fled to Gokula to protect Balarama from
the danger of Kamsa.
44 By Lord Krsna's order goddess Maya (Parvati) took Devaki's eighth
pregnancy, placed it in Rohini's womb, placed the unborn child in Gokula, and
then returned to Mount Kailasa.
45-46 After some days in Nanda's house, Rohini gave birth to a gently smiling
son splendid as molten silver, a son who was the Personality of Godhead
Himself.
47 When Lord Balarama was born the demigods in Svargaloka sounded
conchshells, played dundubhis, anakas, murajas, and other musical instruments,
and called out "Victory!"
48 Jubilant Nanda gave many kinds of charity to the brahmanas. The
midwife cut the umbilical cord and bathed the infant boy.
49 The lavishly decorated gopis called out "All glories!" Then Nanda
celebrated a great for the birth of his foster son.
50 Then Yasoda happily gave charity to the gopis and brahmanis. She gave
them oil, sindura, and many other things.
51 O child, thus I have told the stories of Lord Balarama's birth, Nanda
and Yasoda's austerities and Rohini's activities.
52 Now please hear the beautiful story of the celebration for Nanda's son,
a story that brings happiness and liberation, a story that stops birth, death,
and old age.
53 Lord Krsna's auspicious pastimes are the life of the devotees. They
destroy all that is inauspicious and they bring devotional service to the Lord.
54 Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Nanda's home, and then happily took
Nanda's daughter to his own home.
55 O sage, I have already described her activities. Now please hear of
Lord Krsna's blissful and auspicious pastimes in Gokula.
56 After Vasudeva left for his own home, Nanda and Yasoda woke up in the
auspicious and glorious maternity room.
57 They gazed at their very handsome son glorious like a new monsoon
cloud, naked, resting on the ground and looking up at the ceiling,...
58 ...His face an autumn moon, His eyes dark lotus flowers, crying and
laughing, His transcendental form resting in the dust,...
59 ...and His two hands leaving impressions of a club and lotus in the
dust. Nanda and his wife gazed at Krsna, and Krsna gazed at them.
60 The midwife bathed the infant boy with cool water and cut the umbilical
cord. The gopis happily called out, "All glories!"
61 All the gopis and brahmanis, young and old, with large hips and the
breasts that moved as they ran, hurried to the maternity room.
62 All gave their blessings, happily gazed at the infant boy, placed Him
on their laps, and praised Him. Some stayed there.
63 Nanda bathed, put on clean garments, and with a happy heart performed
the rituals learned through the disciplic succession.
64 He fed the brahmanas, had them give their auspicious blessings, had the
musicians play on their instruments, and gave charity to the poets.
65 Then Nanda happily gave charity to the brahmanas. He respectfully gave
them diamonds, coral, and many precious jewels,...
66 ...seven mountains of grains, much gold and silver, a mountain of
wealth, many garments, a thousand beautiful cows,...
67 ...yogurt, milk, rock candy, butter, ghee, honey, many candies, a
flood of laddus, many delicious modakas,...
68 ...land rich with many crops, horses fast as the wind, many betel nuts,
and much oil. After giving this charity Nanda became happy in his heart.
69 To protect the maternity room he engaged many gopis peaceful at heart
and many brahmanas expert at chanting Tantric mantras.
70 He had the brahmanas recite the Vedas, chant Lord Krsna's holy names,
and worship the demigods.
71 Many beautiful smiling brahmanis, young and old, and bringing their
children with them, came to Nanda's home. Nanda gave them jewels and many
other valuable things in charity.
72 Many smiling elderly gopis decorated with jewel ornaments hurried to
Nanda's home. He respectfully gave them fine garments, silver, and thousands of
cows.
73 Books in hand, many eloquent astrologers learned in the jyotir Veda
came to Nanda's home.
74 Nanda bowed to them and happily honored them. All gazed at the
transcendental infant boy and gave their blessings.
75 After all was done, Nanda, the king of Vraja, had the astrologers
predict what good and evil lay in the future.
76 In Nanda's home the infant boys Krsna and Balarama sucked their
mother's breasts and grew as the waxing moon grows.
77 O sage, pleased at the ceremony for the infant boy, Yasoda and Rohini
happily gave in charity oil, sindura, and betel nuts to the women there.
78 After placing many blessings on the infant boy's head, the women
returned to their homes. Yasoda, Rohini, and Nanda, filled with happiness,
stayed in their home.
from Ananda Vrindavana Champu by Srila Kavi Karnapura
Translated by Bhanu Swami and Subhaga Swami
Published by Mahanidhi Swami
Now we will discuss the truth about the transcendental birthplace of
Bhagavan and the appearance of Lord Sri Krsna. Once upon a time,
Bhumi, the predominating deity of the earth, felt overburdened by
different demons posing as members of the royal order. Feeling
aggrieved upon seeing her miserable condition, the lotus-born Brahma
appealed to Ksirodakasayi Visnu, the maintainer of the universe,
saying, "Please deliver Goddess Bhumi who is feeling greatly
distressed by these demoniac kings. Only You can remove this terrible
influence from the earth."
The time for an appearance of the Lord coincided with two internal
desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. First the Lord desired
to descend on earth to increase the fortune of Yasoda and Nanda. Also
at that time Krsna wanted to relish the sweet mellow of srngara rasa
(paramour love) while enacting His worldly pastimes. For these two
reasons the Lord appeared within the material creation on Bhuloka,
(earth planet), along with His parents, friends, and other eternal
associates.
Another distinction of Lord Krsna's earthly pastimes is that when the
eternally liberated gopis such as Srimati Radharani, Candravali, and
others appeared, the Srutis personified also appeared in the homes of
other gopis, because they had previously cultivated the desire to
serve Sri Krsna as Vraja gopis. The Dandakaranya sages, upon seeing
the svakiya bhava (the sweet conjugal relationship) of Lord Ramacandra
and Sitadevi, desired to have the same relationship with their Lord
Madana Gopala. Upon attaining perfection in their sadhana they
achieved the fortunate position of appearing as gopis in Vrndavana.
Yogamaya, Lord Krsna's pastime potency who possesses unlimited
abilities, appeared invisibly in Gokula to arrange this, and perform
other difficult tasks on behalf of the Lord.
Sri Nanda, Yasoda, and others appeared in Brhadvana (Mahavana) before
the Lord. The gopas, gopis, and other eternally liberated associates
appeared after the Lord. Then those who had attained perfection by
sadhana, namely the sruti-caris and muni-caris, took birth in
Vrndavana.
Learning of Krsna's imminent appearance, the earth personified,
feeling like a wife happily greeting her husband after a long
separation, immersed in unlimited joy. At the time of Krsna's birth
the general mass of people tasted the inner bliss that devotees
forever relish. Auspicious signs abounded everywhere. As Visnu's
conchshell Pancajanya opens in a clockwise fashion, similarly,
auspicious sacrificial fires glowed in all directions. Pure gentle
breezes brought a refreshing coolness like devotees who satisfy and
sanctify everyone with their calm, sweet, and affectionate behavior.
The whole atmosphere became as completely purified as the heart of a
devotee. The devotees once again found peace and prosperity in
worshiping the lotus feet of Lord Hari. Fruits filled the jubilant
trees. But the envious demons exhibited various inauspicious signs of
degradation such as rapidly aging bodies and symptoms of imminent
death. The desire vines of the celestial denizens seemed to be hanging
in the air as if eager to produce fruits. At that time all the
directions became felt as pure and joyful as the mind of a devotee who
has received the mercy of Lord Hari. Just as gems, mantras, or
medicines can remove a poisonous disease from the body of a man, the
advent of the Lord relieved the world from the contamination of
material existence and the sinful effect of the demons. Happiness
gradually replaced the distress in everyone's hearts.
The bodies of all creatures manifested extraordinary beauty and
youthful vitality. Men felt extremely joyful and displayed virtuous
qualities. Throughout the world people behaved cordially and
interacted amicably. Happiness twinkled in everyone's eye. At the end
of Dvapara-yuga, which completely destroys faults and doubts, an
auspicious, favorable, obstacle-free time appeared on the eighth day
of the waning moon in Bhadra month. Just at that sweet moment the
Rohini Naksatra, along with the good qualities of the moon and an
auspicious conjunction of stars called Ayusman, appeared in the sky to
give shelter to gentle persons.
As the living entity comes out from the womb of his mother and the
moon appears on the lap of the eastern direction, Yogesvara Sri Krsna,
the personification of complete bliss, appeared amidst great
festivities. As the moon appears in the lap of the eastern direction,
which is like a beautiful bride, Krsna manifested the wonderful
pastime of His appearance out of His love and compassion for the
conditioned souls.
Due to austerities performed in previous lives, Vasudeva and Devaki
received the opportunity to momentarily relish parental affection for
Lord Sri Krsna when He appeared before them in His form as Vasudeva.
Thereafter in fear of Kamsa, Vasudeva brought Vasudeva Krsna to
Gokula. There the Supreme Lord appeared as Govinda before Nanda and
Yasoda, His eternal parents who have been smothering Him with the
sweetest form of parental love since time immemorial. The four symbols
of Visnu (sankha, cakra, gada, padma) adorned His hands and feet. The
flute, flower garland, and Kaustubha mani, although present within
Him, had not yet manifested.
In fear of cruel Kamsa, Vasudeva decided to transfer all his wives
except Devaki to Gokula. He sent Rohini to the house of Vrajaraja
Nanda. By the sweet will of the Lord, Yogamaya arranged for the
seventh child of Devaki (Balarama) to enter the womb of Rohini. As a
result, Balarama appeared in the home of Vrajaraja Nanda before the
birth of Krsna.
Lord Hari, who is bliss personified, appeared in the home of Nanda
Maharaja, the king of Vrndavana for three reasons: to engage the
self-satisfied sages in devotional service, to please the devotees by
performing sweet transcendental pastimes, and to relieve the earth's
burden caused by the demons. At the time of His majestic birth Krsna
employed His inconceivable powers to appear in a body of eternity,
bliss and knowledge. Everyone in the maternity room swelled with joy
upon seeing the Lord's exquisite transcendental form that looked like
a creeper of beauty.
Mother Yasoda resembled a lake of spiritual ecstasy in which a
brilliant blue lotus of personified bliss had appeared. Neither the
wind nor the bees relished the fragrance of that blue lotus. That
unborn lotus was never touched by the waves of the modes of nature.
Even Lord Brahma could not see it, what to speak of ordinary men.
After Yasoda and her family members fell asleep in the maternity room,
Hari cried beautifully like a newborn baby. His crying sounded like
the maha-vakya omkara announcing the auspicious arrival of His
pastimes. Omkara is a transcendental vibration that had previously
emanated from the mouth of Lord Brahma. When the ladies of Vrndavana
heard the sweet sound of Krsna's crying, they woke up and ran to see
the Lord. With the mellow of their matchless overflowing affection
they anointed His body.
The natural fragrance of Krsna's body smelled just like musk. After
the ladies bathed Krsna hi sweet ambrosia, He looked cleansed and
beautiful. Then they smeared His body with fragrant sandalwood pulp.
The presiding deity of the house sent a campaka flower resembling the
flame of a lamp into the maternity room to worship that ornament of
the three worlds. With the strength of His little arms, delicate as
the tender leaves of a tree, Krsna made all the lamps in the maternity
room look like a garland of lotus flower buds.
The ladies of Vrndavana saw baby Krsna like a blossoming flower made
of the best of blue sapphires, or like a newly unfurled leaf of a
tamala tree. Krsna looked like a fresh rain cloud decorated with the
musk tilaka of the goddess of fortune of the three worlds. The
ointment of the greatest auspiciousness lined His eyes. His presence
filled the maternity room with good fortune. Although a mere baby,
Krsna had a head full of curly hair. To hide the unique signs on His
hands (goad, fish, conch etc.) the Lord folded His delicate petal-like
fingers into His lotus palm. At that time Krsna laid on His back with
His eyes closed.
Mother Yasoda awoke amidst the joyous chattering of the elderly gopis.
Leaning over the bed she admired her gorgeous son. But upon noticing
her own reflection on Krsna's body, she imagined it another woman.
Thinking that a witch had assumed her form to kidnap Krsna, Yasoda
became bewildered and yelled, "Get out of here! You go away!"
Spontaneously she cried out to Nrsimhadeva to protect her precious
son. Beholding Krsna's tender face, Yasoda showered tears of affection
that looked like an offering of a pearl necklace.
Yasoda saw Krsna's body as a mound of dark blue musk, softer than the
butter churned from the milk ocean. Overflowing with nectar, His
charming body appeared like the foam of milk, but being dark blue in
color it seemed the foam was full of musk juice. Admiring the
supremely delicate form of her son, Yasoda worried about His safety
and feared the touch of her body might hurt his tender body.
As she leaned over the bed Yasoda bathed Krsna with the milk dripping
from her breasts. The elderly gopis instructed Yasoda how to caress
the baby in her lap, and affectionately push the nipple of her breast
into Krsna's mouth to feed Him. Due to Yasoda's intense love,
personified bliss flowed from her breasts as steady streams of milk.
When milk sometimes spilled out of Krsna's bimba fruit red lips onto
His cheeks, Mother Yasoda would wipe His face with the edge of her
cloth. After feeding her son, Yasoda gazed affectionately at Him in
wonder.
She saw her child's body as made of dazzling blue sapphires. His mouth
resembled a red bimba fruit and His hands and feet looked like
exquisite rubies. Krsna's nails shone like precious gems. In this way,
Yasoda thought her child was completely made of jewels. Then she
perceived that His naturally reddish lips looked like bandhuka
flowers, His hands and feet resembled java flowers, His nails looked
like mallika flowers. Yasoda then thought, "Krsna's whole body seems
to be made of blue lotus flowers. He does not appear to be mine."
After thus deliberating within herself Yasoda became stunned in
amazement.
The beautiful, soft curly hairs on the right side of Krsna's chest
resembled the tender stems of a lotus. Seeing the mark of Srivatsa on
His chest, Yasoda thought it was breast milk that had previously
spilled out of His mouth. She tried unsuccessfully to remove these
'milk stains' with the edge of her cloth. Struck with wonder, Yasoda
thought this must be the sign of a great personality. Observing the
sign of Laksmi (a small golden line) on the left side of Krsna's
chest, Yasoda thought a small yellow bird had made a nest amidst the
leaves of a tamala tree. Could this be a streak of lightning resting
on a rain cloud, or could it be the golden streaks marking a black
gold-testing stone? Krsna's delicate, leaf-like hands and feet,
glowing pink like the rising sun, looked like clusters of lotus
flowers floating in the Yamuna.
Sometimes Yasoda saw the curly, dark blue locks of baby Krsna as a
swarm of bumblebees surrounding His face. Intoxicated from drinking
too much honey nectar, the bees just hovered in the sky. His thick,
beautiful blue hair appeared like the dark night. The two lotus eyes
of Krsna looked like a pair of blue lotus buds. His cheeks resembled
two huge bubbles floating in a lake of liquefied blue sapphires.
Krsna's attractive ears looked like a pair of fresh unfurled leaves
growing on a blue creeper.
The tip of Krsna's dark nose appeared like the sprout of a tree, and
His nostrils looked like bubbles in the Yamuna River, the daughter of
the sun god. His lips resembled a pair of red java flower buds.
Krsna's chin rivaled a pair of ripe, red jambu fruits. Seeing the
extraordinary beauty of her son fulfilled the purpose of her eyes and
submerged Yasoda in an ocean of bliss. The elderly Vrajavasi ladies
addressed Vrajaraja Nanda, "O most fortunate one, you fathered a son!"
Previously Nanda Maharaja had felt deeply aggrieved over his
long-standing inability to obtain a son. His heart was like a small
lake that had completely dried up during a long hot summer. But when
Nanda Maharaja heard of his son's birth he felt as if the dry lake of
his heart had been blessed with a sudden downpour of nectar. The
gentle sound of Krsna's voice removed all his grief and lamentation.
Now he bathed in the rains of bliss, swam in the ocean of nectar, and
felt embraced by the joyful stream of the celestial Ganges.
Eager to see his son, Nanda's body thrilled with astonishment and
waves of ecstasy as he stood outside the maternity room. Because he
had accumulated heaps of pious activities, it appeared that the King
of Vrndavana was now shaking hands with the personification of pious
deeds. Anxiously standing in the background, Yogamaya induced Nanda
Maharaja to enter the maternity room. He rushed in to see his son, the
personified seed of condensed bliss. It seemed that all the
auspiciousness of the three worlds now resided within Krsna, the
original cause of everything. Nanda saw his son as a perfectly
charming person. The kajala around Krsna's eyes looked like lines on a
black creeper of beauty. As the very embodiment of Nanda's good
fortune, Sri Krsna bloomed like a beautiful flower in a garden of
desire trees.
The aparajita flower is compared to the body of the Queen of
Vrndavana. Her son is like the representative of the Upanisads that
are compared to the fruit of the desire creepers. By seeing his
glorious son Nanda felt that he had attained happiness, perfection,
and the fulfillment of all his desires. Meeting that embodiment of
bliss overwhelmed Nanda with immeasurable satisfaction. He stood
motionless, stunned; his hair stood erect and tears flowed from his
eyes. He appeared like a person carved in stone or a figure drawn in a
painting. For some time Nanda Maharaja remained in this semi-conscious
state like a sleeping man about to awaken.
Upananda, Sunanda, and other relatives felt extremely joyful while
observing the best of brahmanas perform the rites of purification for
Krsna's birth. To insure his son's welfare Nanda Maharaja donated
newborn calves to each and every brahmana, thus turning their homes
into abodes of surabhi cows. These cows had gold and silver plated
horns and hooves, and jeweled necklaces adorning their necks. In
addition, Vrajapati Nanda filled the courtyards of their homes with
hills of gold, jewels, and sesame seeds. While Nanda distributed
charity, the kamadhenus, touch-stones, and desire-trees lost their
power to produce valuable items. Even the jewel-producing oceans lost
their stock of jewels, and the goddess of fortune, the abode of
lotuses, had but one lotus in her hand. The auspicious news of Krsna's
wonderful appearance spread in all directions by word of mouth.
Delight danced in the hearts of Nanda, his brothers Upananda and
Sunanda, and all the other gopas. The gopas brought many varieties of
delicious dairy products such as milk, yogurt, butter, wet cheese, and
hard cheese in jewel-studded pots. The pots were tied to the ends of
bamboo poles with jute straps and carried on their shoulders. Bedecked
with many precious jeweled ornaments, the gopas appeared very
handsome. They dressed in beautiful yellow cloth defeating the
brilliance of lightning, and held staffs topped with gold and jewels
in their lotus hands. As a great ocean spreads its waves in all
directions, the birth of Krsna filled the Vrajavasis with unbounded
bliss. The gopas and gopis enjoyed a grand festival by happily eating
and by splashing each other's bodies with a mixture of yogurt, butter,
milk, and condensed milk. The society girls visiting Nanda Maharaja's
house experienced more happiness than they had ever felt since their
birth. Their minds saturated with joy and satisfaction. Hearing the
delightful description of Krsna's birth carried away the chariots of
their minds and made them abandon all other duties. They became
possessed with the desire to see Krsna.
Sparkling rubies hung from the necklaces adorning the society girls.
Their diamond-studded armlets shown more beautifully than drops of
crystal clear water. Their jewel inlaid golden bangles boasted
unparalleled elegance. For this unique festival they took out some
highly ornamental waist-belts from their jewel boxes and tied them
around their hips. The sweet jingling of the waist-bells resting on
their broad hips enhanced the beauty of these society girls. They
attracted the minds of everyone with their bulky golden anklets,
loosened hair braids, and graceful gait, which resembled the smooth
gliding of swans. Their minds entered a state of enchantment as they
gazed upon the captivating beauty of Krsna's transcendental body. To
worship Krsna they brought golden trays full of auspicious articles
such as fruits, flowers, yogurt, durva grass, uncooked rice, and jewel
bedecked lamps. They covered the offering plates with splendid yellow
silk cloth and held them in their soft lotus hands. Their jeweled
ankle-bells vibrated pleasantly as they walked.
Beholding the astounding beauty of the delicate baby, the society
girls considered the purpose of their eyes fulfilled. They perceived
Krsna's perfect birth to be like the appearance of the leaves of an
important herbal medicine. Krsna resembled a blue lotus floating on
the lake of His parent's affection. After bestowing their blessings
for Krsna's prosperity, they worshiped Krsna with fresh flowers and a
constant shower of loving glances. With great enthusiasm the society
girls glorified Vrajesvari Yasoda since she had attained the essence
of all good fortune by having Krsna as her son. Leaving the maternity
room, the society girls entered the assembly hall of Nanda Maharaja's
palace. Their faces looked exceedingly beautiful as they sung
melodious songs, which resembled the soft sweet humming of bees moving
amidst a cluster of lotus flowers. All the guests bathed in a nectar
shower produced by these soothing sounds. Overwhelmed with love, they
filled their lotus palms with fragrant oil, turmeric paste, and fresh
butter and started smearing each other's faces and bodies. They looked
very attractive with their smiling faces and glittering white teeth.
Their red lips seemed more beautiful than red bandhuka flowers. This
incredible display of elegance smashed the pride of the goddess of
fortune of the three worlds. Carried away with joy over Krsna's birth,
they fearlessly threw cheese balls, butter, and yogurt at each other.
One could mistake the white balls of cheese for hailstones, solidified
moonlight, or white mud from the floor of the milk ocean. Then they
showered each other with buttermilk, aromatic oils, and water mixed
with turmeric.
Cymbals, damaru drums, bherries, and big drums vibrated auspicious
sounds and specific melodies. A celestial concert of precise poetical
meters, proper rhythms, and metrical compositions suddenly manifested
there. The musical ensemble inspired the society girls to sing and
dance in mirth and merriment. Though not good singers, by the will of
the Lord they sang with great virtuoso. Their wonderful songs filled
Nanda Maharaja's heart with joy. The combined vibrations of brahmanas'
chanting Vedic hymns, the recitation of Puranic lore, and the
panegyrists' prayers transformed the ether into sabda brahman.
The joy of Krsna's birth celebration taxed the drains of Nanda's
capital city as they swelled to the brim with milk, yogurt, and other
auspicious liquids. Soon rivers of this nectar flooded the streets of
the town and permeated the entire atmosphere with a sweet fragrance.
Disguising themselves as birds, the demigods descended to Vrajapura to
happily drink the flood of nectar. The Vrajavasis decorated their cows
with gold and jeweled ornaments. Then in great excitement they smeared
them with oil, fresh butter, and turmeric paste. Beholding Krsna in
their hearts, these fortunate cows looked like the essence of the
earth's auspiciousness. The whole world resounded with their jubilant
bellowing. Absorbed in the ecstasy of Krsna's birth, they forgot about
eating and drinking.
The festival drowned the gopis in an ocean of joy. After offering oil,
vermilion, garlands, and utensils in charity to all the assembled
gopis, Rohini, the wife of Vasudeva, asked them to bless Krsna. Upon
completion of the sacrifice, Upananda and the other relatives felt
constant happiness while taking their baths. Keeping the King of
Vrndavana in the front, Nanda's relatives offered opulent cloth,
jeweled ornaments, tambula, garlands, and sandalwood pulp to the
guests. Then they humbly requested all in attendance to bless that
wonderfully auspicious boy who had just appeared in Vrndavana.
Sri Krsna Pranama
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
he krsna karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika kanta radha-kanta namo 'stu te
O my dear Krsna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopis, especially Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Sambandhadhideva Pranama
jayatam suratau pangor mama manda-mater gati
mat-sarvasva-padambhojau radha-madana-mohanau
Glory to the all-merciful Radha and Madana-mohana! I am lame and ill advised, yet They are my directors, and Their lotus feet are everything to me.
Abhidheyadhideva Pranama
divyad-vrndaranya-kalpa-drumadhah
srimad-ratnagara-simhasana-sthau
srimad-radha-srila-govinda-devau
presthalibhih sevyamanau smarami
In a temple of jewels in Vrndavana, underneath a desire tree, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, served by Their most confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I offer my humble obeisances unto Them.
Prayojanadhideva Pranama
sriman rasa-rasarambhi vamsi-vata-tata-sthitah
Karsan venu-svanair gopir gopinathah sriye 'stu nah
Sri Srila Gopinatha, who originated the transcendental mellow of the rasa dance, stands on the shore in Vamsivata and attracts the attention of the cowherd damsels with the sound of His celebrated flute. May they all confer upon us their benediction.
Sri Radha Pranama
tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye
I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krsna.
Panca-tattva Maha-mantra
(jaya) sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda
Hare Krsna Maha-mantra:
HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE_,___
Celebrating Sri Janmastami
Nayana-ranjana Dasa
Srila Prabhupada's Quotes
Please accept my blessings. In your last letter you asked how to
celebrate Krsna's and Radha's birthday. As last year, on Krsna's with
fasting up to midnight, and Radha's fasting up to noon. Then feasting.
Certainly those who take Krsna's advent as that of an ordinary man are
great fools, but if one can simply understand the transcendental
nature of this event as well as His disappearance, he becomes
immediately liberated. (Letter to: Brahmananda, Vrindaban, 15 August,
1967)
In the spring you may lead a very big procession on Lord Caitanya's
birthday. This is a good plan to celebrate this great spring festival
out of doors. So make this a very opulent procession with large
Sankirtana Party and you may also celebrate in this way again with a
procession on Janmastami day. These two important subjects may be
observed in this way by all the three areas and similarly in other
centers also.(Letter to: Madhudvisa Los Angeles, 14 February, 1970)
Who is Sri Krsna?
Krsna is God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This fact is stated
and corroborated in the Vedic scriptures and by various authorities.
Lord Brahma in Brahma Samhita says, "Krsna who is known as Govinda is
the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is
the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of
all causes" (BS 5.1). In the Bhagavata Purana Krsna becomes the chief
object of devotion. After describing various incarnations of the Lord
such as Rama, Balarama, Vamana, Nrsimha, and Vishnu, Srila Sukadeva
Goswami states, "All of the above mentioned incarnations are either
plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but
Lord Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead" (SB 1.3.28).
Lord Shiva in Gita Mahatmya, states that "let there be only one God -
Krsna, the son of Devaki" (Verse 7). In the Padma Purana it is stated,
"By scrutinizingly reviewing all the revealed scriptures and judging
them again and again, it is now concluded that Lord Narayana is the
Supreme Absolute Truth, and thus He alone should be worshiped".
Similarly it is said in the Skanda Purana, "In the material world,
which is full of darkness and dangers, combined with birth and death
and full of different anxieties, the only way to get out of the great
entanglement is to accept loving transcendental devotional service to
Lord Vasudeva. This is accepted by all classes of philosophers".
The position of Krsna as God is confirmed by great personalities like
Narada, Asita, Devala, Vyasa, Parasara, Brahma and Shiva. Finally
Krsna Himself confirms this fact in the Bhagavad Gita to His friend
and devotee, Arjuna. He clearly says that He is "the Supreme Lord of
all planets and demigods" (BG 5.29), that "there is no truth superior
to Me" (BG 7.7) and - "I am the source of all spiritual and material
worlds. Everything emanates from Me" (BG 10.8).
What is the position of Krsna?
As God, there is no one equal to or greater than Krsna. He is the
original, unborn, eternal person, the most ancient, completely
independent, and the cause of all causes. Parasara Muni, the father of
Srila Vyasadeva and a great scholar who had himself held the position
of Vyasa in a previous kalpa, very nicely defines the position of
Bhagavana (God) as one Who is complete in six kinds of opulence namely
- wisdom, beauty, fame, power, wealth and renunciation. While there
are many great personalities who are very famous or very wealthy, only
Krsna as God is replete in all six opulence.
The scriptures not only give us the unique position of Krsna but also
give us a detailed description of all His aspects. They tell us that
above this temporary material universe is an eternal spiritual world
called Vaikuntha, and Krsna lives in the topmost planet of this
universe called Goloka Vrindavana which is full of palaces made of
touch-stone (cintamani), with trees that are capable of fulfilling all
desires (kalpa-vrksa) and cows that are called Surabhi.
Here Krsna eternally resides, served by hundreds and thousands of
goddesses of fortune. He sports with His most confidential and
intimate devotees, headed by Srimati Radharani. He has a form just
like us but His body is spiritual and thus eternal. His complexion is
dark-blue, like that of a rain-filled cloud and His eyes are like
lotus petals. He is ever youthful, full of bliss and His beauty excels
that of thousands of Cupids. He likes to play the flute, He sports a
crown with a peacock feather and He is adorned by the exquisite
Kaustubha jewel.
What is Krsna avatar?
In Caitanya-caritamrta (2.20.263-264) it is stated that the "avatara,
or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom of God for
creating and maintaining the material manifestation. And the
particular form of the Personality of Godhead who so descends is
called an incarnation, or avatara. Such incarnations are situated in
the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. When They descend to the
material creation, They assume the name avatar."
The Srimad Bhagavatam states that there are countless incarnations
just like the waves of the oceans. They fall in various categories
like lila (pastime), yuga (period of yuga), manvantara (period of
Manu), purusa (Vishnu expansions) and saktyavesa (empowered). These
avatars perform various pastimes based on the time, place and
circumstances, but their purpose is always the same - "to attract the
conditioned souls back to their eternal spiritual abode".
The incarnations emanate from Vishnu. Maha-Vishnu is the original
cause of all material creation and from Him Garbhodakasayi-Vishnu
expands and then Ksirodakasayi-Vishnu. Generally all incarnations
appearing within the material world are plenary portions of
Ksirodakasayi-Vishnu (also known as Hari).
However only once in a day of Lord Brahma (which lasts for 4.32
billion of our years), does Krsna descend in His original form, as the
avatari, the cause of all avatars. When Krsna appears all the
incarnations join with Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
complete whole and all the plenary portions and incarnations always
live with Him. So when Krsna appeared, Lord Vishnu was always with
Him, and while Krsna enjoyed His pastimes in Vrindavana, the killing
of the demons was actually carried out by the His Vishnu portion.
Since Krsna eternally resides in Vrindavana, when He left Vrindavana
at the age of ten, it was His Vasudeva expansion that actually left.
Appearance of Krsna
In the era of the Svayambhuva Manu, prajapati Sutapa and his wife
Prsni were instructed by Lord Brahma to have progeny. They performed
severe austerities for twelve thousand years of the demigods to have
the Lord as their child. Pleased by their austerities the Lord
appeared and granted them this benediction. Since He gave them this
benediction three times, in Satya-yuga He first appeared as the son of
Prsni and Sutapa and was called Prsnigarbha. In Treta-yuga they were
Aditi and Kasyapa Muni and the Lord appeared as Vamanadeva. Finally in
the Dvapara yuga, Krsna in His original form, appeared as the child of
Devaki and Vasudeva.
Krsna appeared specifically on the request of Bhudevi, the presiding
deity of the Earth planet. Distressed by the burden of many demons who
had appeared as powerful ksatriyas and were ruling the planet
impiously, she assumed the form of a cow and pleaded to Lord Brahma
for help. Lord Brahma with all the demigods prayed to Vishnu in
Svetadvipa by chanting the Purusa-sukta prayers. At this time the Lord
informed Brahma that in order to establish religiosity and destroy
evil, He would soon appear as His original Self. In the meantime the
various demigods were instructed to take birth in various families in
the Yadu dynasty and prepare for the appearance of the Lord.
Lifeline of Krsna
Historically, Lord Krsna appeared in the Dvapara yuga, on the midnight
of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Sravana. This
corresponds to July 19th 3228 BC. He exhibited His pastimes for a
little over 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the
new moon night of Phalguna. His departure marks the beginning of the
current age of corruption known as Kali.
The great scholar Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti neatly outlines Lord
Krsna's activities in this way. He was born in Mathura in the prison
cell of Kamsa and carried to Gokula. The first three years and four
months were spent in Gokula, then equal lengths of time in Vrindavana
and Nandagram. At the age of eleven He left Vrindavan for Mathura
where He lived for eighteen years and four months, and finally
ninety-six years and eight months in Dvaraka totaling about 126 years
of manifest pastimes. At the time of Mahabharata, when Krsna spoke the
Bhagavad Gita, He was about ninety years of age.
Pastimes of Krsna
The tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam describes the activities and
transcendental pastimes of Sri Krsna. They are also described in the
epic Mahabharata, specially in the Bhisma Parva which also contains
the Bhagavad-gita. The pastimes of Krsna appeal to the liberated
souls, those that are trying to get liberated and also to the gross
materialists.
The pastimes of Sri Krsna, known as Krsna-katha fall into two
categories. Words spoken by Krsna, as the Bhagavad Gita, and words
spoken about Krsna, as in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Souls in the
liberated stage derive great pleasure in relishing anything and
everything related to Krsna. For those that are trying to be
liberated, Krsna-katha makes their path of liberation very clear. By
studying the Gita one becomes fully conscious of the position of Sri
Krsna; and when one is situated at the lotus feet of the Lord, he
understands the narration's of Krsna as described in the Srimad
Bhagavatam.
Even the gross materialists are attracted by the pleasure pastimes of
Krsna with the Gopis and His wives. Even though the loving affairs of
Krsna have nothing to do with the gross, mundane sex affairs, they
attract the people engrossed in sense-gratification and gradually
elevate them to higher levels of spirituality.
Causeless mercy of Krsna
Even though Krsna is completely self sufficient and self satisfied, He
descends for the benefit of all the conditioned souls. His most
endearing quality is that of "bhakta vatsala". His pure devotees are
always trying to please Him, and He is always trying to please His
devotees. Just as He lives in the heart of His devotees, His devotees
constantly reside in Him.
Krsna is so merciful that He not only helps His devotees, but also
those who are envious of Him. Krsna destroys evil by providing them
with an opportunity to take up devotion.
On the greatly auspicious day of Krsna-Janmastami, let us all pray to
Sri Krsna for a drop of His causeless mercy, for only that alone is
sufficient to take us out from this material word, back home, back to
Godhead.
All glories to the appearance day of Lord Krsna!
All glories to Sri Krsna and His devotees!!
Janmastami and Back to Godhead Magazine
Sarasvati Thakura liked Abhayada and would be very pleased to see him
because he knew that Abhayada liked to preach. On the occasion of the
annual varsik-utsav (festival of Janmastami), in Sarasvati Thakura's
room, upstairs at the Baghbazaar Math, Jatisekhara saw Abhayada
sitting near his guru maharaja, who told him to start a magazine in
Bengali, giving him the idea, "ghore phirae chala - return back to
home, `Back To Godhead,' as a title. He also quoted a sloka in
Sanskrit: "yad gatva nanuvartante, tad dhama paramam mama (Gita
15.6)," on the same topic and then said, "This idea of going back to
Godhead is the basis of the Gaudiya Math." (from HH Bhakti Vikasa
Swami's book on SBSST)
Janmastami and Vamsidas Babaji
On Janmastami he was in Baleshvar, a town in North Orissa. At midnight
he said to Gopal, "Last year I gave You some palmfruit. This year I
shall give You some mango. Gopal, don't be impatient, mango is coming
to You." Within ten minutes a brahmana teacher called Jogendra
Mukherjee arrived, explaining how he had just dreamt that a sadhu
wanted a mango, so he went to the market and bought one. That brahmana
was then told, "Yes, yes, you come. He said he wanted a mango." (from
HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami's book on SBSST)
Chapter 6: Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana
What happened in Goloka just before Krsna advented?
63 I will go to the earth. O demigods, first return to your homes, and
then, by your amsa expansions, quickly go to the earth.
64 After speaking to the demigods, Lord Krsna, the master of the
universes, called the gopas and gopis and spoke to them words that were sweet,
truthful and appropriate.
65 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please listen. All of you please go
to Nanda's land of Vraja. O Radha, please go at once to the home of King
Vrsabhanu.
66 King Vrsabhanu's dear wife is the saintly gopi named Kalavati. She is
Subala-gopa's daughter. She is a partial incarnation of the goddess of
fortune.
67 She is fortunate and glorious among women. She was the mind-born
daughter of the pitas, but by Durvasa's curse she was born in a house in Vraja.
68 At once go to Nanda's Vraja and take birth in her womb. O girl with
the lotus face, I will assume the form of a small boy and I will marry You.
69 O Radha, to Me You are more dear than life. To You I am more dear than
life also. We are not different. We are one body eternally.
70 Listening, Sri Radha wept, overcome with love. O sage, with Her
cakora-bird eyes She drank the moonlight of Lord Krsna's face.
71 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please take birth on the earth in
the beautiful palaces of the noble gopas.
72 Then everyone saw the arrival of a great chariot covered with diamonds,
the king of jewels,...
73 ...a chariot decorated with a hundred thousand white camaras, ten
thousand mirrors, red cloth pure as fire,...
74 ...a thousand jewel domes, and networks of parijata garlands,...
75 ...filled with glorious people, made of gold, beautiful, without
compare, glorious and splendid as a hundred suns.
76 They also saw handsome and charming Lord Narayana, who wore yellow
garments, held a conch, disc, club and lotus,...
77 ...wore a glorious crown and glorious earrings, was decorated with a
forest garland and anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...
78 ...had four arms, smiled, was overcome with compassion for His
devotees, and was decorated with the best of ornaments made of the kings of
jewels.
79 At His left side they saw beautiful, charming, and fair Goddess
Sarasvati, who held a flute, vina and book in her hand, who was the queen of
the higher planets, and who was knowledge personified.
80 At His right side they saw another beautiful and charming goddess, who
smiled sweetly and was fair as molten gold and splendid as the autumn moon,...
81 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings, who wore priceless
garments and priceless jewels,...
82 ...who was decorated with bracelets and armlets of priceless jewels,
who wore tinkling jewel anklets,...
83 ...whose breast was splendid with a parijata garland, whose braids were
beautiful with a jasmine garland,...
84 ...whose beautiful face robbed the autumn moon of its splendor,...
85 ...who was anointed with musk dots and red sindhura tilaka, whose
beautiful autumn-lotus eyes were decorated with mascara,...
86 ...who held a pastime lotus of a thousand petals, and who with crooked
eyes gazed at Lord Narayana as He gazed at Her.
87 Accompanied by His two wives and His many associates, Lord Narayana
quickly descended from the chariot and entered the beautiful assembly of gopas
and gopis.
88 O demigods, the gopas and gopis at once rose and with folded hands
joyfully recited the divine sages' prayers from the Sama Veda.
89 Then Lord Narayana approached, entered Lord Krsna's form and
disappeared. When they saw this, everyone became filled with wonder.
90 Then Lord Visnu, the protector of the universes came, and descended
from His golden chariot.
91-92 O sage, when handsome, smiling four-armed Lord Visnu, decorated with
forest garlands, dressed in yellow garments, glorious with all ornaments and
splendid as ten million suns, entered the assembly, everyone rose, gazed at
Him, bowed down, and offered prayers.
93 Then Lord Visnu also merged into the form of Lord Krsna. Seeing this,
everyone became filled with wonder.
94-95 Then the Lord's incarnation that resides in Svetadvipa also came and
merged into Lord Krsna's body. Then hastily came Lord Sankarsana, the
thousand-headed purusa-avatara, who was splendid like pure crystal and
effulgent like a hundred suns.
96 Seeing this incarnation of Lord Visnu everyone offered many prayers.
Then, with bowed head He Himself offered prayers to Lord Krsna, the husband of
Radha.
97 O Narada, with His thousand heads He bowed down with devotion to Lord
Krsna. Then Nara and Narayana Rsi, the two sons of Dharma Rsi, also came.
98 Then I merged into Lord Krsna's lotus feet and Nara Rsi became Arjuna.
Then Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yamaraja came to that place.
99 There the demigods saw a great chariot of gold and jewels,...
100 ...a chariot decorated with the kings of jewels, cloth pure as fire,
many white camaras and ten thousand mirrors,...
101 ...splendid with many jewel domes, beautiful with networks of parijata
garlands,...
102 ...beautiful, with a thousand wheels, fast as the mind, robbing the
splendor of the summer's midday sun,...
103 ...splendid with many pearls, rubies, and diamonds, wonderful with
paintings, designs, statues, flowers, lakes and forests,...
104 ...a chariot that was, O sage, the best of all chariots owned by
demigods or demons, a chariot Visvakarma carefully made for Lord Siva's
pleasure,...
105 A chariot four hundred miles high and eight hundred miles across, and
splendid with a hundred palaces gracefully appointed with many beautiful
couches and beds.
106 Then they saw a goddess decorated with jewel ornaments, her splendor
robbing molten gold of its glory,...
107 ...a goddess who was very splendid, peerless, the root of material
nature, the controller of material nature, with a thousand arms holding many
weapons,...
108 ...gently smiling, overcome with compassion for her devotees, her
cheeks splendid with jewel earrings, splendid with tinkling anklets made of the
kings of jewels,...
109 ...decorated with jewel bracelets and armlets, her graceful waist
decorated with a jewel belt,...
110 ...her chest glorious with many mandara garlands, her thighs firm and
her raised breasts full,...
111 ...her beautiful face eclipsing the autumn moon's splendor, her autumn
lotus eyes splendid with graceful mascara,...
112 ...decorated with pictures and designs drawn in sandal, aguru, and
musk, her beautiful lips splendid like new bandhujiva flowers,...
113 ...her teeth robbing pearls of their splendor, her braids decorated
with blossomed jasmine flowers,...
114 ...an elephant pearl decorating the tip of her nose graceful like the
bird king's beak,...
115 ...a goddess splendid with garments pure as fire, and accompanied by
her two sons as she cheerfully rode on a lion's back.
116 Descending from the chariot, the goddess and her sons at once bowed
down before Lord Krsna, the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then she
sat on a great throne.
117 Ganesa and Karttikeya bowed down first to Lord Krsna, who is greater
than the greatest, and then to Siva, Yamaraja, Sesa, and Brahma.
118 The demigoddess rose. Seeing the two boys, the demigods blessed them,
had them sit in their midst, and happily began to talk with them.
119 As the goddess and the demigods stood before Lord Krsna in the
assembly, the many gopas and gopis became filled with wonder.
120 Then, His lotus face smiling, Lord Krsna said to Goddess Laksmi: Please
go to King Bhismaka's jewel palace.
121 Eternal goddess, please take birth in Queen Vidarbhi's womb. O saintly
one, I will go to Kundina and take your hand in marriage.
122 Seeing Goddess Parvati, the demigoddess quickly rose and had her sit on
a beautiful jewel throne.
123 O king of brahmanas, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati sat together and
talked among themselves.
124 the gopis happily talked with the three goddesses. Some gopis happily
sat by their side.
125 Then Sri Krsna, the master of the universes, said to Parvati: O
beautiful goddess, in an amsa incarnation please go to Nanda's Vraja.
126 O beautiful one, O goddess of material nature, O creator and destroyer
of the worlds, please take birth in Yasoda's womb from Nanda's seed.
127 I will arrange that in every village and city on the earth the people
will worship you with devotion.
128 Offering you many splendid gifts, the people will worship you as their
goddess.
129 O auspicious wife of Lord Siva, the moment you touch the earth My
father will take you from the maternity room and place Me in your stead.
130 For a moment you will see Kamsa and then you will return to Lord Siva.
Then I will remove the earth's burden and return to My own abode.
131 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna said to Karttikeya: Child, in an
amsa incarnation you will go to the earth.
132 O great demigod, then you should take birth in Jambavati's womb. All
the demigods should go in amsa incarnations to the earth. Then I will remove
the earth's burden.
133 O Narada, after speaking these words, Lord Krsna, the husband of Radha,
sat on His beautiful throne, and the demigods, demigoddesses, gopas and gopis
also sat in His company.
134 Then Brahma stood up and with folded hands humbly addressed Lord Krsna,
the master of the universes.
135 Sri Brahma said: O Lord, please hear Your servant's request. O great
one, how and where we should descend to the earth? Please give us Your
command.
136 A proper master always maintains, protects and rescues his servants. A
proper servant always devotedly follows his master's commands.
137 What demigods and demigoddesses in what forms, in what incarnations,
with what names, and performing what actions, should descend to the earth?
138 Hearing Brahma's words, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes,
replied: Now I will tell you all of this.
139 Sri Krsna said: Kamadeva will become Rukmini's son Pradyumna. Rati
will be reflected in Sambarasura's house as saintly Mayavati.
140 You will become Pradyumna's son Aniruddha. Sarasvati will go to
Sonitapura and become Banasura's daughter Usa.
141 Lord Sesa, the master of the universes, will go to Devaki's womb. Then
Yogamaya will pull (sankars) Him into Rohini's womb. For this reason He will
be called Sankarsana.
142 Ganga will come to the earth in a partial incarnation as Yamuna.
Tulasi will appear in a half-incarnation as princess Laksmana.
143 Saintly Savitri, the mother of the Vedas, will be named Nagnajiti.
Vasundhara will become Satyabhama. Goddess Sarasvati will become Saibya.
144 Rohini will become Princess Mitravinda, and the sun-god's wife will
partially appear as Ratnamala.
145 Svaha will partially appear as Susila. In this way, beginning with
Rukmini, I will have nine wives. Goddess Durga will partially appear as
Jambavati. Including her, I will have ten queens.
146 One day on Mount Kailasa, Lord Siva ordered Parvati: By a partial
incarnation Parvati must go to Jambavan's house.
147 Beloved, you must embrace Lord Visnu, who stays in Svetadvipa, and who
once came to Mount Kailasa. Because I command you to do this, there will be no
sin on your part.
148 Sri Brahma said: O Krsna, O husband of Radha, why did Lord Siva give
this command to Parvati, that she should approach Lord Visnu, who resides in
Svetadvipa?
149 Sri Krsna said: When all the demigods came to see the newborn infant
Ganesa, on Lord Siva's request Lord Visnu also came from Svetadvipa.
150 Lord Visnu happily saw Ganesa and then sat on a comfortable seat. Then
all the demigods blissfully gazed on Lord Visnu, whose form enchanted the three
worlds,...
151 ...who wore yellow garments, a crown and earrings, whose youthful dark
forms was very handsome,...
152 ...who was anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, who was
decorated with jewel ornaments, whose lotus face smiled,...
153 ...who sat on a jewel throne, who was surrounded by His associates, to
whom all the demigods offered obeisances, to whom Lord Siva offered worship and
prayers.
154 When Parvati saw Lord Visnu she became filled with a happiness that
showed in her face and eyes. Embarrassed, chaste Parvati covered her face with
her sari.
155-6 Her face covered, with unblinking crooked eyes chaste Parvati gazed
again and again at Lord Visnu's very handsome, wonderfully dressed form. The
hairs of her body erect,, she became plunged in an ocean of bliss.
157 For a moment she gazed at splendid Lord Siva, more handsome than ten
million Kamadevas, grasping a trident and axe, and three eyes on each of his
five faces.
158 In the next moment she gazed at dark Lord Visnu, wearing yellow
garments,, decorated with a forest garland, with one face and four arms.
159 Gazing at the one Supreme Lord who appears in many forms, Goddess
Parvati, the controller of material bewilderment, fell under the control of
Lord Visnu's spiritual power of bewilderment. She became filled with
passionate desire.
160 She thought: The three demigods Brahma, Visnu, and Siva, are my partial
incarnations. Still Visnu is best, for He is in the mode of goodness.
161 Parvati gazed at Lord Visnu and in her thoughts devotedly worshiped
Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul in everyone's heart.
162 Lord Siva, who was also the Personality of Godhead, the master of the
universes, and the Supersoul in everyone's heart, knew what Parvati was
thinking.
163 Taking her to a secluded place, Lord Siva spoke to Parvati. He taught
her all that was auspicious and true.
164 Sri Siva said: O Parvati, please understand my words. You must become
the passionate lover of Lord Visnu, the all-pervading Supersoul and Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
165 Visnu, Brahma, and I are the one eternal Supreme Lord. We are not
different. We are the one Lord manifest in different forms.
166 You are the potency of the Supreme Lord. You are the mother of all.
You appear in many forms. You are Brahma's wife Sarasvati. You are Goddess
Laksmi who rests on Lord Narayana's chest.
167 O saintly one, you are also Parvati, who rests on my chest.
After hearing Lord Siva's words, Parvati, the queen of the demigods,
spoke to him.
168 Sri Parvati said: O friend of the poor, O ocean of mercy, why have you
no mercy for me? For a long time I performed austerities to attain you, the
master of the universes.
169 Lord, you cannot reject a servant like me. O Siva, please do not speak
these improper words to me.
170 Lord, I will obey your command. I will take birth in another body.
Then I will become Lord Visnu's lover.
171 Hearing these words, Lord Siva burst into laughter. In this way he
reassured Parvati and removed her fears.
172 To keep her word chaste Parvati will take birth in Jambavan's house. O
Brahma, she will be named Jambavati.
173 Sri Brahma said: On the earth there are many different kinds of kings.
Why will Parvati take birth in the home of a bear?
174 Sri Krsna said: In Treta-yuga, during the incarnation of Lord Rama, the
demigods incarnated on the earth. At that time the king of the Himalaya's
incarnated as the bear Jambavan, a great servant of Lord Rama.
175 Because of a boon from Lord Rama, Jambavan is long-lived, handsome, and
strong like ten million lions.
176 In this way Parvati will go to the earth and take birth in the house of
Jambavan, who is an incarnation of her father, the king of the Himalayas. Now
please hear more explanations from My mouth.
177 All the demigods should partially incarnate on the earth. O Brahma, as
warrior-princes they will assist Me in battle.
178 Goddess Laksmi will partially incarnate as 16 000 princesses who will
become My queens.
179 Yamaraja will partially incarnate as Pandu's son Yudhisthira. Vayu
will partially incarnate as Bhimasena. Indra will partially incarnate as
Arjuna.
180 The Asvini-kumaras will partially incarnate as Nakula and Sahadeva.
Surya will partially incarnate as the heroic warrior Karna. Yamaraja will
personally appear as Vidura.
181 Kali will partially incarnate as Duryodhana. Varuna will partially
incarnate as Santanu. Siva will partially incarnate as Asvatthama. Agni will
partially incarnate as Dronacarya.
182 Candra will partially incarnate as Abhimanyu. Vasu will partially
incarnate as Bhisma. Kasyapa will partially incarnate as Vasudeva. Aditi will
partially incarnate as Devaki.
183 Vasu will partially incarnate as Nanda-gopa. Vasu's wife will
partially incarnate as Yasoda. Laksmi will partially incarnate as Draupadi,
who was born from a yajna pond.
184 Agni will partially incarnate as noble and powerful Dhrstadyumna.
Satarupa will partially incarnate as Subhadra, born from Devaki's womb.
185 In this way the demigods must go, by their partial expansions, to the
earth and help to remove its burden. The demigods' wives must also go, by
their partial expansions, to the earth.
186 At that point Lord Krsna stopped speaking. O Narada, Brahma stood
there, listening.
187 Sarasvati was at Lord Krsna's left and Laksmi at His right. Parvati
and all the demigods were before Him.
188 The gopis and gopas were before Him. Sri Radha rested on His chest.
At that moment Sri Radha, the queen of Vraja spoke to Lord Krsna.
189 Sri Radha said: O Lord, please hear the words of Your maidservant. My
life has become a blazing fire that burns without stop. My mind trembles,
swinging to and fro.
190 When I look at You I cannot even blink. O Lord, how can I go to the
earth without You?
191 O friend, how much time must pass before I will meet You again in
Gokula? O master of My life, please tell the truth.
192 An eyeblink without You will be a hundred yugas for Me. What will I
look on? Where will I go? Who will protect Me?
193 O master of My life, how can I for a moment think of mother, father,
relatives, friends, brother, sister, or children when You are gone?
194 O master of illusions, please promise me that when I am on the earth
You will not cover Me with illusion and make Me forget Your glories.
195 O Krsna, please turn My mind into a bumblebee always wandering among
the nectar lotus-flowers of Your feet.
196 Wherever I may be born, please give Me service to You and remembrance
of You.
197 You are Krsna and I am Radha. When I am on the earth may I never
forget the glory of Our love. O Lord, please give Me this benediction.
198 As breath always stays with the body and as the body always stays with
its shadow, may We two always stay together when We take birth. O Lord please
give Me this benediction.
199 When We are on the earth let Us not be separated for even an eyeblink.
O Lord, please give Me this benediction.
200 Who was it that used My life-breath to create Your body, feet, and
flute?
201 How many glorious kinds of women are there? How many kinds of glorious
men praised again and again? No woman is attached to her lover as I am to You.
202 How is it that I was created from half of Your body? There is no
difference between Us. That is why My mind always thinks of You.
203 How is it that My mind, heart, and life were placed in Your body. And
Your mind, heart and life were placed in Mine?
204 That is why an eyeblink's separation from You brings a great
catastrophe to My mind. That is why, when it hears that We may be separated,
My life-force burns in an unending fire.
205 After speaking these words in the assembly of demigods, again and again
Sri Radha grasped Lord Krsna's lotus feet and loudly wept.
206 Then, placing Her on His lap and with His own garment wiping the tears
from Her face, Lord Krsna spoke many true and beneficial words.
207 Sri Krsna said: Goddess, please listen and I will describe to You the
yoga of the Supreme, a yoga even the kings of the yogis cannot understand, a
yoga that cuts grief into many pieces.
208 O beautiful one, consider this: The entire universe is constructed of
two things: resting places and things that rest in them. It is not possible
for a resting thing to be separated from its resting place.
209 For the fruit the resting place is the flower. For the flower the
resting place is the twig. For the twig the resting place is the branch. For
the branch the resting place is the tree itself.
210 For the tree the resting place is the sapling. For the sapling, which
is manifest from the seed, the resting place is the seed. For the seed the
resting place is the earth.
211 For the earth the resting place is Lord Sesa. For Lord Sesa the
resting place is the great tortoise beneath Him. For the tortoise the resting
place is the wind. For the wind the resting place is I Myself.
212 For Me the resting place is You. I always rest in You. You have all
powers. You are the root from which the material nature has sprung. You are
the Supreme Goddess.
213 You are the resting place of all bodies. You are the resting place of
the three mode of nature. You are the resting place of Me, for I am Your
heart. Without You I cannot act. Only by Your grace have I the power to act.
214 From the man the seed is manifest. From the seed children are
manifest. The resting place of both seed and children is the woman, who is
manifest from material nature.
215 How can the spirit soul exist without the body? How can the body exist
without the spirit soul? They are both the first cause. O goddess, how can
the creation be manifest without them both?
216 O Radha, We are not different. We are the seed and the world grown
from the seed. I am the soul and You are the body. Where the soul is present,
there also is the body. We are not different. Why must You be so humble?
217 As whiteness is present in milk, as heat is present in fire, as
fragrance is present in earth, and as coolness is present in fire, so I am
always present in You.
218 As milk and its whiteness, fire and its heat, earth and its fragrance,
and water and its coolness are one and cannot be separated, We are one also.
We cannot be separated.
219 Without Me, You are lifeless. Without You, I am invisible. O
beautiful one, without You I cannot exist.
220 Without clay a potter cannot make a pot. Without gold a goldsmith
cannot make a gold ornament.
221 As the spirit soul is eternal, Your are also eternal. You are the
material nature. You are all powerful. You are the eternal resting place of
everything.
222 Laksmi, all-auspicious Sarasvati, Brahma, Siva, Sesa, and Yamaraja are
dear as life to Me. But You are more dear than life to Me.
223 If this were not so, then why do the demigods and demigoddesses stay
nearby, but You rest on My chest, O Radha?
224 O Radha, give up Your tears. I saintly one, give up this fruitless and
mistaken worry and go to King Vrsabhanu's house.
225 O beautiful one, use Your powers to create an artificial pregnancy in
Kalavati. For nine months fill her womb with air.
226 When the tenth month comes leave Your natural form behind, accept the
form of an infant girl and go to the earth.
227 At the time of giving birth, place Your form of a naked infant on the
ground by Kalavati and cry like a newborn child.
228 O saintly one, in this way, without entering a mother's womb, You will
appear in Gokula. I also will appear without entering a mother's womb. You
and I do not enter a mother's womb.
229 The moment I come to earth Vasudeva will carry Me to Gokula.
Pretending to fear Kamsa, I will go there for Your sake.
230 I will be Nanda's son in Yasoda's house. O beautiful one, again and
again You will happily see me and tightly embrace Me.
231 O Radha, because of the benediction I give You, You will remember
everything. Following My own wish, I will enjoy pastimes with You in Vrndavana
forest again and again.
232 Therefore, accompanied by thirty three virtuous friends and twenty one
billion gopi-associates, please go to Vraja.
233-4 O Radha, after comforting with eloquent nectar words the numberless
gopas and gopis left behind in Goloka, I will go to Vasudeva's home in Mathura
City.
235 The ten million gopas most dear to Me should take birth in the homes of
the gopas. To enjoy pastimes with Me they should go to Vraja.
236 O Narada, then Lord Krsna stopped speaking. The demigods,
demigoddesses, gopas and gopis were silent.
237 Then Brahma, Siva, Yama, Sesa, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati joyfully
offered prayers to Lord Krsna.
238 Overcome with love and burning in the flames of imminent separation,
the devoted gopas and gopis offered prayers to Lord Krsna and bowed down before
Him.
239 Burning in the flames of imminent separation even though Her desires
were all fulfilled, Sri Radha devotedly offered prayers to Her lover Krsna, who
is more dear to Her than life.
240 Seeing that Sri Radha was weeping many tears of distress, Lord Krsna
spoke to Her truthful words of enlightenment.
241 Sri Krsna said: O goddess more dear than life, please be peaceful.
Give up You fears. What You feel I also feel. Why should You be unhappy while
I am with You.
242 However, I will tell You something that is not good. You will be
separated from Me for a hundred years.
243 O beautiful one, I will go to Mathura and because of Sridama's curse,
We will be separated.
244 In Mathura I will remove the earth's burden, release My parents from
bondage and give liberation to a florist, a tailor and a hunchback girl.
245 Then I will kill Kalayavana, deliver Mucukunda, build the city of
Dvaraka, and see a Rajasuya-yajna.
246 Then I will marry 16 100 princesses and defeat many enemies.
247 Then I will help My friends, burn Varanasi, make Siva yawn and cut
Banasura's arms.
248 I will forcibly take the Parijata tree, see many saintly sages when I
go on pilgrimage, and perform many other activities.
249 While on pilgrimage I will speak with My friends and relatives, help My
father perform a yajna, and, at an auspicious moment, see You again.
250 There I will also see the gopis and again I will teach You the truth of
spiritual philosophy.
251 From that time We will never really be separated for even a moment of
the day or night. Then, after some time, I will return to Vraja.
252 Beloved, during the hundred years We are separated We will meet in Our
dreams again and again.
253 In My Narayana form I will go to Dvaraka for those hundred years. In
that way I will enjoy My pastimes there.
254 Then I will return to live with You in the forest. Then I will wipe
away all the sufferings of My parents and the gopas and gopis.
255 When I have removed the earth's burden I will return to Goloka with the
gopas, gopis and You.
256 O Radha, in My form as eternal Lord Narayana I will return to Vaikuntha
with Laksmi and Sarasvati.
257 My various incarnations will return to Svetadvipa, the home of
religion, and the partial incarnations of the demigods and demigoddesses will
all return to their respective abodes.
258 Then You and I will again live in Goloka. Beloved, now I have told You
everything both good and bad. Who can stop from happening what I have
foretold?
259 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna had Radha rest against His
chest. All the demigods and their wives were astonished.
260 Then Lord Krsna said to the demigods and demigoddesses: O demigods,
please return to your homes and prepare for your mission.
261 O Parvati, please go to Mount Kailasa with your husband and sons. At
the proper time you will execute the mission I have given you.
262 As I have said, you will take birth as a partial incarnation. You will
not be accompanied by Ganesa, who is the lord of the great and the small.
263-4 Bowing down before Lord Krsna, the demigods happily returned to their
homes. Then, bowing again before Lord Krsna and before Laksmi and Sarasvati,
they went, eager to execute their mission, to the earth. Then Lord Krsna
described Sri Radha's mission, a mission beyond what the demigods can attain.
265 Lord Krsna said to Sri Radha: Accompanied by the many gopas and gopis I
have already named, please go to King Vrsabhanu's home.
266 Beloved, first I will go to Vasudeva's home in Mathura, and then, on
the pretext of fearing Kamsa, I will go to Gokula, where You will be.
267 Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna. Tormented with the thought of
being separated from Her love, She wept, Her eyes now red lotus flowers, again
and again.
268 She began to go and then She returned. Again and again and again and
again She left, returned, and gazed and gazed at Lord Krsna's face.
269 With the cakora birds of Her unblinking eyes saintly Radha drank the
nectar moonlight of Lord Krsna's face.
270 Seven times the supreme goddess Radha circumambulated Lord Krsna.
Seven times She bowed down and respectfully stood before Him.
271 Then twenty-one billion gopis and ten million gopas came there.
272 O Narada, accompanied by the multitudes of gopas and gopis, Sri Radha
bowed down before Lord Krsna and respectfully stood before Him.
273 Accompanied by Her thirty-three close friends and by the many gopas and
gopis, beautiful Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna and then went to the earth.
274 Then Radha-gopi went to Vrsabhanu-gopa's home, the place Lord Krsna
arranged for Her in Nanda's Gokula.
275 When Radha went with the gopas and gopis to the earth, Lord Krsna
became eager to go there also.
276 After speaking to the gopas and gopis and giving them their various
duties, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, traveling as fast as the
mind, went to Mathura.
277 Before all this Vasudeva and Devaki had six sons and Kamsa killed each
one as soon as they were born.
278 By Lord Krsna's order, Yogamaya pulled from Devaki's womb the seventh
embryo, who was an incarnation of Lord Sesa, and place it in Rohini's womb in
Gokula.
Chapter 7:
Sri Krsna-janma-kirtana
The Story of Lord Krsna's Birth
1 Sri Narada said: O glorious one, please describe Lord Krsna's glorious
and sacred birth. This description frees the hearer from birth, death and
old-age.
2 Whose son was Vasudeva? Whose daughter was Devaki? Who were Vasudeva
and Devaki? Please describe their marriage.
3 Why did cruel Kamsa kill their six sons? On what day was Lord Krsna
born? I wish to hear this. Please describe it.
4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Vasudeva was Kasyapa Muni in his previous birth,
and Devaki was Aditi, the mother of the demigods. As a result of their
previous deeds they attained Lord Krsna as their son.
5 Vasudeva was born from King Devamidha in the womb of Marisa. At the
moment of his birth jubilant demigods sounded anaka and dundubhi drums. For
this reason the elder saintly devotees gave Lord Krsna's father the name
Anakadundubhi.
6 Devaka, a king in the Yadu dynasty, was the son of King Ahuka. Devaka
has a son, Jnanasindhu, and a daughter, Devaki.
8 Carefully following the rules of scripture, Garga Muni, the guru of the
Yadu dynasty, performed the wedding ceremony of Vasudeva and Devaki.
9 There was a great reception for Vasudeva. At an auspicious moment King
Devaka gave Devaki in marriage to Vasudeva.
10 O Narada, King Devaka then gave a dowry of a thousand horses and golden
cups, a hundred beautiful and opulently decorated maidservants,...
11 ...many different kinds of gifts, many different kinds of jewels, many
diamonds, which are the king of jewels, and many jewel cups.
12-14 Then Vasudeva took his bride, who was splendid as a hundred moons,
decorated with splendid jewels, noble, glorious, able to enchant the three
worlds, the best of women, a treasury of beauty, a treasury of virtue, smiling
with crooked eyes, in full bloom of youth, and a perfect bride, placed her in
his chariot and began to depart. Kamsa, who was filled with joy on the
occasion of his sister's marriage, accompanied them.
15 As Kamsa approached the chariot, a disembodied voice spoke from the
sky. 16 The voice said: Why are you so happy, the king of kings? Hear these
truthful words meant for your welfare. Devaki's eight son will kill you.
17 Hearing this, powerful and sinful Kamsa, frightened by the oracle and
filled with anger, grasped a sword in his hand and was about to kill Devaki.
18 Seeing Kamsa about to kill Devaki, intelligent Vasudeva, who was
learned in the scriptures of ethics, spoke.
19 Sri Vasudeva said: You don't know how a king should act. Please hear
my auspicious words, which are perfectly appropriate, which are spoken by
scripture, and which bring fame and destroy sin.
20 O king, if her eighth son will be your death, and you kill her instead
of him, your reputation will be destroyed and you will go to hell.
21 If somehow he kills a ferocious beast that is attacking him, a wise man
gives in charity coins equal to one karsapana. In this way, at the moment of
his death, he is released from the sin of killing the beast.
22 In he kills an animal that is not attacking him, then, in order at the
time of his death to be released from the sin, a wise man should perform an
atonement a hundred times greater than the previous one. This is said by the
demigod Brahma.
23 If without provocation he kills a higher animal, such as a goat, then
the sin is a hundred times greater. Manu has said this.
24-26 If he kills a human being that is a mleccha, the sin is a hundred times
grater than killing a higher animal. If he kills a pious sudra, the sin is a
hundred times greater than killing a mleccha. If he kills a cow the sin is a
hundred times greater than killing a pious sudra. If he kills a brahmana the
sin is ten time greater than killing a cow.
27 By killing a woman one commits a sin equal to killing a brahmana. 28
O king, if one kills his own sister, who has taken shelter of him and deserves
to be protected by him, he commits a sin a hundred times greater than killing a
woman.
29 A person performs austerities, chants mantras, performs worship, sees
holy places, feeds brahmanas, and performs yajnas in order that he may go to
Svargaloka.
30 The saintly devotees see that this fearful material life is temporary
like a dream or like bubbles in water. Therefore they always follow the
principles of religion.
31 O saintly one, let your sister go. How many wise men are there? Ask
them what you should do.
32 Friend, I will give you my eighth son. Why must I have an eighth son?
33 Or I will give you all my children. O best of the wise, none of them
would be very dear to me.
34 O king of kings, let your sister go. She is like your own daughter.
You, yourself reared her, every day giving her delicious foods to eat.
35 Hearing Vasudeva's words, King Kamsa released his sister. Then
Vasudeva took his bride to their palace.
36 O Narada, in the course of time six sons were born. Vasudeva gave each
one to Kamsa, and Kamsa killed them all, one by one.
37 When Devaki was pregnant the seventh time, frightened Kamsa posted
guards at her door. Then goddess Yogamaya protected the unborn child, pulling
it out of Devaki's womb and placing it in Rohini's womb.
38 The guards said there was a miscarriage. Because the seventh child,
who was the Personality of Godhead Himself, was pulled (sankarsana) from the
womb, He was called Sankarsana.
39 Then Devaki became pregnant for an eight time. This time there was no
child in her womb. It was filled with air.
40 When the ninth month passed and the tenth came, Lord Krsna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead who sees everything, glanced at Devaki's womb.
41 As a result of the Lord's glance, Devaki, who was naturally the most
beautiful of all women, suddenly became four times more beautiful.
42 Kamsa noticed that Devaki, her eyes and face blossoming with happiness,
filled the ten directions with her splendor like the goddess Yogamaya.
43 She was splendid like all the stars together. Kamsa, the king of
demons, gazed at her and became filled with wonder.
44 Kamsa said, "From this pregnancy will come the child that is the seed
of my death." Then he posted guards at the seven gates to guard Devaki and
Vasudeva with great care.
45 O Narada, when the tenth month came Devaki's pregnancy was complete.
Numb and stunned, she began to tremble.
46 When Devaki's womb was thus filled with air, Lord Krsna, the original
Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the lotus of her heart.
47 When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who maintains all the
universes entered her womb, Devaki became stunned and filled with pain as she
stayed in the confines of her palace.
48 Devaki became restless. One moment she would sit down, the next moment
she would stand up, the next moment she would pace back and forth, and the next
moment she would sleep.
49 Observing Devaki, and aware that the time of giving birth had come,
noble-hearted Vasudeva meditated on Lord Krsna.
50 In the beautiful palace lit with jewel lamps Vasudeva reverently placed
a sword, iron, water, fire,...
51 ...a person learned in chanting mantras, a learned brahmana, his
relatives and their frightened wives.
52 When two hours of night had passed the sky became filled with clouds
and lightning.
53 Great winds blew. The eight guards fell asleep. In their sleep they
became motionless and unconscious as if dead.
54 Then the demigods Brahma, Siva, and Yamaraja came and offered prayers
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Devaki's womb.
55 The demigods said: You are the origin of the universes, but You have no
origin. You are limitless, immutable, effulgent, sinless, and supremely
exalted. You have no material qualities, for Your qualities are all spiritual.
You are beyond the three modes of material nature.
56 Out of love for them You show Your transcendental form to the devotees.
Your form is not material. You are independent. Your every desire is
automatically fulfilled. You are the master of all. You are everything. You
are the shelter of all transcendental qualities.
57 You are the origin of happiness and distress. You are the origin of
all. You put an end to the demons. You are perfect. You are the shelter of
everything. You are always fearless and free from any distress.
58 You are not material. You are not touched by matter. Your actions are
not material. Your desires are all fulfilled. You are self-satisfied. You
are eternal and free from any imperfection.
59 You are gentle, ferocious, difficult to please, unattainable, the
author of the Vedas, the Vedas, the Vedangas, the knower of the Vedas, and the
all-powerful Lord.
60 After speaking these words the demigods bowed down again and again.
Tears of joy in their eyes, they showered flowers on the Lord.
61 A person who rises early and chants these forty-two names attains firm
devotion for Lord Krsna. His desire to serve the Lord is fulfilled.
62 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After speaking these prayers, the demigods
returned to their own abode. Then a great rain suddenly fell and no one moved
about in Mathura City.
63 O sage, a terrible darkness covered the night. Seven muhurtas passed
and the eighth muhurta came.
Note: One muhurta equals forty-eight minutes.
64 Then, at the most auspicious moments, a moment even the Vedas cannot
properly glorify, a moment beyond all understanding, a moment when all
auspicious planets were visible on the horizon and no inauspicious planets
could be seen,...
65 ...a moment on the eighth tithi, O sage, when a half-moon had risen
with the star Rohini and the auspicious Jayanti-yoga was present,...
66 ...at that moment the sun and the other planets both auspicious and
inauspicious, gazed again and again at the horizon, became filled with awe,
left their regular places and met in the sign Pisces.
67 Staying there, all the planets became auspicious. In this way, by the
demigod Brahma's order, all the planets happily stayed in the eleventh house
for one muhurta.
68 Then the clouds rained, pleasantly cool winds blew, the earth became
happy, and the ten directions became filled with joy.
69 Filled with joy, the sages, manus, yaksas, gandharvas, kinnaras,
apsaras, demigods, and demigoddesses danced.
70 O Narada, the gandharva kings and the vidyadharis sang, the rivers
happily flowed and the fires happily blazed.
71 In Svargaloka there was beautiful music of dundubhi and anaka drums.
There was a great shower of parijata flowers.
72 The earth-goddess assumed the form of a human woman and visited
Devaki's maternity-room, there were loud sounds of conchshells and the sounds
of 'Victory!' and 'Hari!'
73 Then saintly Devaki fell to the ground and the air suddenly passed from
her belly.
74 Then Lord Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, left the
lotus-whorl of Devaki's heart and manifested His transcendental form before
her.
75-80 O sage, then Vasudeva and Devaki saw before them the supremely handsome
and charming Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had two arms, a flute in His
hand, glittering shark-earrings, a gentle smile, great mercy for His devotees,
ornaments of the kings of jewels, a form dark like a monsoon cloud, yellow
garments, limbs anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, an autumn moon
face, handsome bimba fruit lips, a peacock feather crown, a splendid
jewel-crown, a threefold bending form, and a forest garland, who had the mark
of Srivatsa on His chest, who was youthful, peaceful and handsome, and who was
the Lord of both Brahma and Siva.
81 His hands respectfully folded, his neck bent with devotion, tears in
his eyes and the hairs of his body erect, the Supreme Personality of Godhead's
father, Vasudeva, filled with wonder, and his wife Devaki by his side, offered
prayers to the Lord.
82-86 Sri Vasudeva said: O almighty one, how can I properly glorify You, who
are beyond the material senses, not manifest in the material world,
imperishable, beyond the modes of nature, all-powerful, not attainable by
meditation, the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, the supreme controller
whose every desire is at once fulfilled, the Lord who assumes any form at will,
the Supreme Spirit, untouched by matter, the seed of all existence, eternal,
bigger than the biggest, smaller than the smallest, the most subtle,
all-pervading, invisible, the witness present in all bodies, the Lord who has a
transcendental form with a host of transcendental qualities, the Lord who has
no material form, the material world, the master of the material world, beyond
the material world, the master of all, present in all forms, the death that
puts an end to all that is material, deathless, immutable, the resting place on
which all depends, depends on no one, and the supreme perfect one?
87 Lord Sesa is not able to glorify You properly. Goddess Sarasvati is
not able. Lord Siva is not able. Karttikeya is not able.
88 Lord Brahma, the author of the Vedas is not able to glorify You
properly. Ganesa is not able. The guru of the guru of the kings of the yogis
is not able.
89 The great sages, demigods, manus, and human beings cannot see You, even
in their dreams. How can they glorify You properly?
90 Even the personified Vedas cannot glorify You properly. How can the
scholars of this world glorify You? O Lord, please leave this present form and
now become a small boy.
91 A person who at sunrise, noon, and sunset recites these prayers of King
Vasudeva attains devotional service for the lotus feet of Lord Krsna.
92 He attains a noble and virtuous son devoted to serving Lord Krsna. He
quickly passes through all dangers. He is delivered from the fears of his
enemies.
93 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After hearing Vasudeva's words, handsome and
glorious Lord Krsna, overcome with feelings of kindness for His devotee, and
His face beaming with happiness, spoke to him.
94 Sri Krsna said: Because of your great austerities I have now become
your son. Please ask for a boon. Your future will be auspicious. Of this
there is no doubt.
95 Formerly you were the prajapati Sutapa, the best of ascetics. You and
your austere wife worshiped Me with great austerities.
96 When you saw Me you asked for the boon of having a son like Me. I gave
you the boon of having a son like Me.
97 After giving you that boon I thought, "In the whole world there is no
one like Me." For that reason I have now become your son.
98 By the power of your austerities you were the great sage Kasyapa and
your wife was chaste Aditi, the mother of the demigods.
99 You are Kasyapa, now appearing as My f father Vasudeva, Your wife is
Aditi, the mother of the demigods, who is now Devaki.
100 As a partial incarnation, I appeared as Vamana and became the son of
You and Aditi. Now, by the power of your austerities, I have appeared in My
original form.
101 Thinking of Me either as your son or as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, you will attain Me. O wise one, you will be liberated even in this
life.
102 O father, take me at once to Yasoda's home in Vraja. Leave Me there
and put Goddess Maya in My place.
103 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna assumed the form of a newborn
infant. Vasudeva gazed at his sleeping, dark, infant son, on the ground before
him.
104-5 Vasudeva said, "What happened when I looked at this child? Was I
bewildered by Lord Visnu's illusory potency? Did I, overcome with exhaustion,
see a dream in this maternity room?" Vasudeva and his wife gazed at the infant
in their lap. Then Vasudeva took the infant to Nanda's Gokula.
106 Vasudeva quickly went to Nanda's Vraja, entered the maternity room
there, and saw that Yasoda was asleep on her bed, Nanda was asleep, and
everyone in the house was also asleep.
107 He saw a gently smiling infant girl, naked and gazing at the housetop.
108 When he saw the infant girl, Vasudeva became filled with wonder. 109
Taking the girl with him, and leaving his son in her place, he quickly returned
to his wife's maternity room in Mathura.
110 There he placed the infant girl, who was the goddess Maha-maya. When
she saw the girl cry again and again, Devaki became afraid.
111 Crying, the infant girl awakened the guards, who quickly came and took
her away.
112 As they took the child to Kamsa, grieving Vasudeva and Devaki followed
them.
113 O great sage, when he saw the beautiful infant girl crying again and
again, Kamsa was not at all pleased. He did not feel any mercy for her.
114 Grabbing the infant, cruel Kamsa was about to throw her against the
stone and kill her, when Vasudeva and Devaki very respectfully addressed him.
115 They said: O Kamsa, O best of kings, O philosopher wise in the science
of morality, Please hear our beautiful, true, and righteous words.
116-7 O kinsman, you killed our six sons. You had no mercy on them. If you
kill our eighth child, who is a weak girl, how will your power and glory
triumph on the face of the earth? How can a weak girl attack and kill you in
battle?
118 After speaking these words Vasudeva and Devaki openly wept before
wicked Kamsa and his assembly.
119 After hearing their words, cruel Kamsa said to them, "Listen to my
words. Try to understand and I will explain.
120 Kamsa said: Destiny can kill a mountain with a blade of grass, a lion
or a tiger with a tiny worm, an elephant with a mosquito,...
121 ...a great warrior with a child, an enormous animal with tiny
creatures, a cat with a mouse, a snake with a frog,...
122 ...a father with his son, an eater with his food, water with fire, and
a fire with hay.
123 A single brahmana once drank the seven seas. In the seven worlds the
wonderful workings of destiny are beyond our understanding.
124 By destiny a girl will be able to kill me. Therefore, I will not kill
this girl. Here I will not think whether the time is right.
125 After speaking these words, Kamsa grabbed the infant girl and was about
to kill her, when Vasudeva spoke.
126 He said, "O King, you will kill this girl for no reason. O ocean of
kindness, please give her to me." O great sage, when he heard these words,
intelligent Kamsa became a little pacified.
127 Then a disembodied voice said, "Fool Kamsa, who is this girl you would
kill? You do not understand how destiny works.
128 "Your killer is somewhere else. In time He will reveal Himself."
Hearing the words of destiny, King Kamsa released the infant girl.
129 Taking the girl with them, Vasudeva and Devaki returned to their own
home. They pressed her to their heart and accepted her as their own daughter.
130 As if they had recovered their daughter from the grip of death, they
gave charity to the brahmanas. O brahmana, that girl, who was named Ekanamsa,
was a partial incarnation of Goddess Parvati. She was the exalted sister of
Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
131 At the time of Rukmini's marriage in Dvaraka, with great devotion
Vasudeva gave her in marriage to Durvasa Muni, who was a partial incarnation of
Lord Siva.
132 O sage, now I have told you everything of Lord Krsna's birth. This
narration brings happiness and piety. It rescues one from the world of birth,
old-age and death.
Chapter 8:
Sri Janmastami-vrata-pujopavasa-nirupana
Vows, Worship, and Fasting on Sri Janmastami
1 Sri Narada said: Now please tell me of the vow of Janmastami, which
is the great vow of vows. Please tell me the result attained by following
the ceremony of Jayanti-yoga.
2 O great sage, what sinful reaction does one meet by not following
this vow or by eating on that day? What pious result does one attain by
fasting on that day?
3 O Lord, please describe the result of following this vow, including
the rules governing the day before the fast, and breaking the fast on the
following day.
4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: On the saptami (seventh day) and on the day
after the fast (the navami or ninth day) one should eat havisya (rice and
ghee) only. On the day of Janmastami (the eight day) one should rise at
dawn.
5 O brahmana, one should rise early, bathe, perform his morning
duties, and be determined to follow the vow and the fast for the pleasure of
Lord Krsna.
6 O brahmana, by bathing and worshiping the Lord during the eight day
(Janmastami) of the month of Bhadra (August-September) one attains the
result of bathing and worshiping the Lord for a manvantara.
7 If on this day one offers only a little water to the pitas, he
attains the result of performing sraddha at Gaya for a hundred years.
8 On that day, after bathing and performing his regular duties, a wise
person should arrange for a maternity-room, place in it water, fire, and an
iron sword, post guards,...
9 ...place many things there, place there an instrument for cutting
the umbilical cord, have a midwife there,...
10 ...place there, O Narada, sixteen articles for worshiping the Lord,
eight fruits and candies,...
11 ...the eight fruits and candies being jatiphala, kakkola,
pomegranate, sriphala, coconut, jambira, kusmanda, and manohara,...
12-13 ...and the sixteen articles for worship being a sitting place,
garments, padya, madhuparka, arghya, water for acamana, water for bathing, a
bed, fragrances, flowers, food-offerings, betel nuts, ointments, incense,
lamps, and ornaments,...
14 ...wash his feet, put on clean clothes, perform acamana, say the
word 'svasti', sit on the seat,...
15 ...place a pot there, worship the five deities, invite Sri Krsna,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to appear there,...
16 ...invite Vasudeva, Devaki, Yasoda, Nanda, Rohini, Balarama, Goddess
Sasthi, Goddess Vasundhara,...
17 ...Rohini, Brahma, Asthami, the Sthana-devata, Asvatthama, Bali,
Hanuman, Vibhisana,...
18 ...Krpacarya, Parasurama, Vyasadeva, and Markandeya and then
meditate on Lord Krsna.
19 Then a wise person should place a flower to his head and meditate on
the description of the Lord spoken in the Sama Veda. O Narada, please
listen and I will tell you that description, which Lord Brahma told the
Kumaras in ancient times.
20 I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is an infant boy,
who is splendid as a dark monsoon cloud, who is very handsome, whose lotus
face is smiling, whom Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yama glorified for how many
days? Whom the kings of sages cannot approach in their meditations, whom
the munis, siddhas, and sons of Manu cannot attain, whom the kings of the
yogis cannot imagine in their thoughts, who is the greatest, who is without
peer, who is all-seeing witness.
21 The follower of this vow should thus meditate on the Lord. Then,
reciting mantras, he should offer the flower, and all the other articles to
the Lord. Please hear these mantras.
22 Here are the mantras: O Lord Krsna, please accept this all-beautiful
jewel throne, wonderfully decorated with graceful and colorful pictures and
designs.
23 O Lord Krsna, please accept these wonderful and colorful garments
pure as fire and made by Visvakarma from threads of pure gold.
24 O Lord Krsna, please accept this golden pot filled with water to
wash Your feet. Please accept this pure padya water and this beautiful
flower.
25 O Lord Krsna, please accept these gold pots of honey, ghee, yogurt,
milk and sugar.
26 O Lord Krsna, please accept this durva grass, whole rice, white
flower, clear water, sandal, aguru, and musk.
27 O Supreme Lord, please accept this clear, pure, sweet, scented
acamana water.
28 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented Visnu-oil, amalaki paste,
and bath water.
29 O Lord Krsna, please accept this beautiful bed made of the best of
jewels and covered with exquisite cloth.
30 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented paste made of musk the
powdered tree-roots.
31 O Supreme Lord, please accept this fragrant flower so dear to all
the demigods and grown from a blossoming tree.
32 O Lord Krsna, please accept this offering of ripe fruits,
sugar-candy, svastika candy and other candies.
33 O Lord Krsna, please accept this laddu, modaka, ghee, milk,
molasses, honey, fresh yogurt, and buttermilk.
34 O Lord Krsna, please accept these betel nuts mixed with camphor and
other things, which I offer to You with devotion.
35 O Supreme Lord, please accept this beautiful avira powder made with
sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma.
36 O Lord Krsna, please accept this incense made by cooking the nectars
of many trees, incense very dear to all the demigods.
37 O Lord Krsna, please accept this splendid and auspicious lamp that
destroys the terrible blinding darkness.
38 O Lord Krsna, please accept this pure drinking-water scented with
camphor and other fragrances, water that is the life of all living entities.
39 O Lord Krsna, as an ornament for Your transcendental body please
accept this garland of many flowers on a fine thread.
40 O Supreme Lord, please accept these fruits, which are the seeds of
trees, and which make one's dynasty prosper.
41 In this way, at that place, one should offer many appropriate things
to Lord Krsna.
42 The person following this vow should then devotedly worship the many
deities there and then offer them all three palmfuls of flowers.
43-45 In this way one should worship Sunanda, Nanda, Kumuda, the gopas,
the gopis, Sri Radha, Ganesa, Karttikeya, Brahma, Siva, Parvati, Laksmi,
Sarasvati, the dik-palas, the planets, Sesa, Sudarsana, the liberated
associates of the Lord, and all the demigods, and one should offer
obeisances to them, falling to the ground like a stick. Then one should
offer food and daksina to the brahmanas.
46 Then the person following this Janmastami vow should hear the
chapter of scripture describing Lord Krsna's birth, and then he should,
sitting on a seat of kusa grass, keep an all-night vigil.
47 At dawn he should perform his regular duties and then he should
worship Lord Krsna. Then he should feed the brahmanas and then he should
chant the glories of Lord Krsna.
48-49 Sri Narada said: When a person follows the Janmastami vow, fasts,
and keeps the all-night vigil, what result does he attain? What is the sin
one commits by eating on this holy day? O best of the knowers of the Vedas,
referring to the Vedas, Vedangas and ancient Samhitas, please, please
describe this.
50 Sri Narayana Rsi said: If (in the dark fortnight of the month of
Bhadra) even only a quarter of the astami is present at midnight, that day
is considered Janmastami, the time when Lord Krsna was born.
51 Because it brings victory (jaya) and piety, this day is called
Jayanti. A wise person should fast, follow the Janmastami vow, and keep an
all-night vigil on this day.
52 This is the most auspicious of all times. The demigods Brahma and
knowers of the Vedas say this.
53 One who fasts, follows the Janmastami vow, and keeps an all-night
vigil on this day becomes freed from the sins of ten million births. Of
this there is no doubt.
54 One should not celebrate Janmastami on an astami mixed with the
saptami. Even if the star Rohini (is conjoined with the moon) this astami
is not considered Janmastami.
55 Lord Krsna, the son of Devaki, was born on an astami unmixed with
the saptami, an astami when the star Rohini was conjoined with the moon.
When this most auspicious moment, an astami when the moon is conjoined with
Rohini, is passed, a person who has followed the Janmastami vow should break
his fast.
56 When the tithi of Janmastami is over, one should remember Lord
Krsna, worship the devas and asuras, and break his fast. Breaking the fast
in this way is very purifying and destroys all sins.
57 Breaking the fast in this way, an essential part of the fast, brings
purification and the attainment of other results. The breaking of the fast
should be performed during daytime.
58 Otherwise, if the fast is not broken during the daytime, the results
of fasting, following the Janmastami vow, and breaking the fast are all
destroyed.
59 One should not break the fast at night. The only exception is the
Rohini-vrata, when the fast may be broken at night, but not at midnight.
60 In the morning one should worship the brahmanas and demigods and
then break the fast. All the saintly persons agree this is the best time to
break the fast. Only in the Rohini-vrata is it not the best time.
61 If follows the Janmastami vow on a Janmastami when Mercury is
conjoined with the moon, he will never again enter a mother's womb.
62-63 If one a certain Janmastami the navami begins at sunrise and the
moon is conjoined with Mercury or the star Rohini, that Janmastami is very
auspicious. Such a Janmastami occurs perhaps in a hundred years. One who
follows the Janmastami vow on that day delivers ten million of his
relatives.
64 Lord Krsna is pleased with His devotees that observe the fast of
Janmastami, even though, because of not having sufficient wealth, they
cannot perform the Janmastami vow.
65 To one who follows the vow, worshiping the Lord with various
articles and keeping an all-night vigil, Lord Krsna, the enemy of the
demons, gives the result of following the Janmastami vow.
66 A person who observes Janmastami in a way appropriate to his
financial means attains the proper result, but a wealth person who does not
observe Janmastami in a way appropriate to his wealth does not attain the
same result.
67 A wise person should not break his fast during Janmastami or while
the star Rohini is still conjoined with the moon. To do that is to destroy
his past pious deeds and the transcendental result earned by fasting.
68 Breaking the fast during the tithi of Janmastami destroys one's
pious deeds eight times over, and breaking the fast while the star Rohini is
conjoined with the moon destroys one's pious deeds four times over.
Therefore one should be careful to break his fast when Janmastami and the
star Rohini have passed.
69 O best of sages, when the tithi of Janmastami and the star Rohini
both end at midnight, a person following the Janmastami vow should break his
fat on the third day from Janmastami.
70 O Narada, one who eats during the midnight of Janmastami attains the
sinful reaction of killing a brahmana.
71 On a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) one should not eat
even fruit or betel nuts, or even drink water. Eating these is like eating
stool or cow's flesh, or like drinking urine. What, then, can be said of
eating rice?
72 The wise say that night lasts for 9 hours and is bounded, at its
beginning and end, by sunrise and sunset, which last for 48 minutes each.
73 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami)
follows the Janmastami vow and keeps an all-night vigil becomes free from
the sins of a hundred births. Of this there is no doubt.
74 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) fasts
but does not follow the Janmastami vow or keep the all-night vigil, attains
the result of performing an asvamedha-yajna.
75 He is freed from the sins performed in the infancy, childhood,
youth, and age of seven lifetimes.
76 One who eats on Lord Krsna's birthday is lowest of mankind. His
sinful reaction like that of having raped his mother and murdered a hundred
brahmanas.
77 His pious credits of ten million births are at once destroyed. He
become impure. He becomes unfit to worship the demigods or the pitas.
78 At the end of his life he enters the hell called Kalasutra (the rope
of time). As long as the sun and moon shine in the sky he is devoured by
worms with teeth sharp like spears.
79 When his time in hell is over he rises to the earth, where he
becomes a worm in stool for sixty thousand years.
80 Then he becomes a vulture for ten billion births, a pig for a
hundred births, a dog for a hundred births, and a jackal for a hundred
births.
81 Then he becomes a snake for seven births and then a row for seven
births. Then he takes birth as a human being, where he is unable to speak
and where he becomes a leper, always suffering.
82 Then he becomes a butcher and then a hunter of wild beasts. At the
end he becomes a thief and a murderer, a man with no scruples.
83 Then he becomes a washerman, then an oil-merchant, and then a
professional brahmana, always impure at heart.
84 If one is unable to fast he should feed a brahmana and give him
charity equal to twice the value of the food.
85 Or, he should chant mantras to Goddess Laksmi a thousand times, or
he should practice pranayama twelve times.
86 Thus I have described, as I heard it from Yamaraja's mouth, the
fasting, vows and worship performed on Janmastami.
Chapter 9:
Sri Nanda-putrotsava
The Festival of Sri Nanda's son
1 Sri Narada said: After Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Yasoda's home in
Gokula, what did King Nanda do to celebrate the birth of a son?
2 What did Lord Krsna do there? How many years did the Lord stay there?
O master, please describe the Lord's childhood pastimes there.
3 How in the forest there did Lord Krsna keep the promise He made to
Radha in Goloka?
4 What was Vrndavana like? What was the rasa-dance circle like? Please
tell. O master, please describe the Lord's rasa dance and the water pastimes.
5 What austerities did Nanda, Yasoda, and Rohini perform? Before the
appearance of Lord Krsna, where did Lord Balarama rake birth?
6 This recounting of Lord Krsna's pastimes is nectar sweeter than any
other. Especially in the mouth of a poet, it brings new and sweet poetry at
every step.
7 Please describe the Lord's pastimes in the rasa-dance circle. A poet's
words are more glorious when he himself has seen the events he describes.
8 You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna Himself. Because You are
His incarnation, You are full of transcendental bliss. You are the guru of the
guru of the kings of the yogis.
9 You have described how You entered the feet of Lord Krsna, the master
of Goloka. Therefore You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna. You are Lord
Krsna.
10 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Brahma, Siva, Sesa, Ganesa, Kurma, Yamaraja,
Nara, Karttikeya, and I are nine incarnations of Lord Krsna.
11 Who can describe the glories of Lord Krsna, the master of Goloka? We
incarnations of Krsna cannot understand Him. How can the great philosophers
understand Him. How can the great philosophers understand Him?
12 O sage, Varaha, Vamana, Kalki, Buddha, Kapila, and Matsya are among His
primary incarnations. How many are His secondary incarnations?
13 The primary forms of the Lord are Nrsimha, Rama, and the splendid
master of Svetadvipa. The most perfect, full, most complete, original form of
the Supreme Lord is Sri Krsna, who resides in Goloka, the highest realm in the
spiritual sky.
14 In Vaikuntha He appears in many forms as four-armed Lord Narayana, the
beloved of Laksmi. In Goloka and Gokula He appears in His original form as
two-armed Lord Krsna, the beloved of Radha.
15 The yogi's meditate on His Brahman light, but the devotees meditate on
His lotus feet. How can there be a light without a source?
16 O brahmana, listen and I will describe the austerities of Nanda, Yasoda
and Rohini, austerities that enabled them to see Lord Krsna face to face.
17 In his previous birth Nanda was the ascetic Drona the best of the
Vasus, and saintly Yasoda was his ascetic wife Dhara.
18 In her previous birth Rohini was Kadru, the first mother of the snakes.
Listen and I will describe to you what they did in their previous birth.
19-20 O sage, in Bharata-varsa, on Mount Gandhamadana, near Gautama Muni's
asrama, in a secluded place by the Suprabha river, Drona and Dhara performed
austerities for ten thousand years so they might see Lord Krsna face to face.
21 When after this time they still could not see Lord Krsna, Drona and
Dhara decided to enter a lake of fire.
22-23 Then a disembodied voice, its speaker seeing that they wished to die,
said, "O best of the Vasus, in your next birth, on the earth, you will see Lord
Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom the yogis cannot see, whom the
philosophers cannot attain by their thinking, to whom Brahma and the demigods
bow down. He will become your son.
24 Hearing this, Drona and Dhara happily returned to their home. Taking
birth on the earth, they saw Lord Krsna face to face.
25 Thus I have described the activities of Nanda and Yasoda. Now please
hear the activities of Rohini when she was a demigoddesses.
26 O sage, one time, on the day most suitable to conceive a child, saintly
Aditi, the mother of the demigods sent a message of this to her husband,
Kasyapa Muni.
27 The beautiful goddess, carefully bathed and wearing jewel ornaments,
decorated and dressed herself very elaborately. In the mirror she carefully
examined her face,...
28 ...which was decorated with dots of musk and sindhura, beautiful with
patra ornaments and jewel earrings,...
29 ...beautiful as an autumn moon, its autumn lotus eyes splendid with
mascara, its beautiful nose decorated with an elephant pearl, its mouth
gracefully curved in a smile,...
30 ...its teeth splendid like ripe pomegranate seeds, its beautiful always
smiling lips splendid like ripe bimba fruits,...
31 ...and its features so beautiful they charmed the hearts of the regal
sages.
32 After carefully examining her face in this way, the beautiful goddess,
wounded by Kamadeva's arrows, stayed at home, waiting for her husband to come
and looking for him on the path.
33 Then Aditi heard the news that Kasyapa was with Kadru, that he was
sweetly playing with her and resting on her breast.
34 Tortured with amorous desires, and her hopes to satisfy them now
destroyed, saintly Aditi became filled with anger when she heard this news.
Out of love for him she would not curse her husband, but she did curse Kadru.
35 She said: That sinful woman has no right to live in the world of the
demigods. She should leave Svargaloka and go far away to the womb of a human
being.
36 Hearing of this curse from a messenger, Kadru cursed Aditi. Kadru
said: Aditi should go to the womb of a human being, a womb in the world where
there is old age and death.
37 Then Kasyapa said to Kadru: O girl with the beautiful smile, when you
go to the human world, I will go with you.
38 Give up your fears. Be happy. You will see Lord Krsna face to face.
After speaking these words, Kasyapa went to Aditi's home.
39 Powerful Kasyapa fulfilled Aditi's desire, and as a result Indra, the
leader of the demigods was born.
40 In this way Aditi became Devaki, Kadru became Rohini, and Kasyapa
became Vasudeva, Lord Krsna's noble father.
41-43 O sage, what I have told you is very confidential. Now please hear the
birth story of Lord Balarama, who is limitless, immeasurable, thousand-headed
Lord Sesa. By Vasudeva's order, Rohini fled to Gokula to protect Balarama from
the danger of Kamsa.
44 By Lord Krsna's order goddess Maya (Parvati) took Devaki's eighth
pregnancy, placed it in Rohini's womb, placed the unborn child in Gokula, and
then returned to Mount Kailasa.
45-46 After some days in Nanda's house, Rohini gave birth to a gently smiling
son splendid as molten silver, a son who was the Personality of Godhead
Himself.
47 When Lord Balarama was born the demigods in Svargaloka sounded
conchshells, played dundubhis, anakas, murajas, and other musical instruments,
and called out "Victory!"
48 Jubilant Nanda gave many kinds of charity to the brahmanas. The
midwife cut the umbilical cord and bathed the infant boy.
49 The lavishly decorated gopis called out "All glories!" Then Nanda
celebrated a great for the birth of his foster son.
50 Then Yasoda happily gave charity to the gopis and brahmanis. She gave
them oil, sindura, and many other things.
51 O child, thus I have told the stories of Lord Balarama's birth, Nanda
and Yasoda's austerities and Rohini's activities.
52 Now please hear the beautiful story of the celebration for Nanda's son,
a story that brings happiness and liberation, a story that stops birth, death,
and old age.
53 Lord Krsna's auspicious pastimes are the life of the devotees. They
destroy all that is inauspicious and they bring devotional service to the Lord.
54 Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Nanda's home, and then happily took
Nanda's daughter to his own home.
55 O sage, I have already described her activities. Now please hear of
Lord Krsna's blissful and auspicious pastimes in Gokula.
56 After Vasudeva left for his own home, Nanda and Yasoda woke up in the
auspicious and glorious maternity room.
57 They gazed at their very handsome son glorious like a new monsoon
cloud, naked, resting on the ground and looking up at the ceiling,...
58 ...His face an autumn moon, His eyes dark lotus flowers, crying and
laughing, His transcendental form resting in the dust,...
59 ...and His two hands leaving impressions of a club and lotus in the
dust. Nanda and his wife gazed at Krsna, and Krsna gazed at them.
60 The midwife bathed the infant boy with cool water and cut the umbilical
cord. The gopis happily called out, "All glories!"
61 All the gopis and brahmanis, young and old, with large hips and the
breasts that moved as they ran, hurried to the maternity room.
62 All gave their blessings, happily gazed at the infant boy, placed Him
on their laps, and praised Him. Some stayed there.
63 Nanda bathed, put on clean garments, and with a happy heart performed
the rituals learned through the disciplic succession.
64 He fed the brahmanas, had them give their auspicious blessings, had the
musicians play on their instruments, and gave charity to the poets.
65 Then Nanda happily gave charity to the brahmanas. He respectfully gave
them diamonds, coral, and many precious jewels,...
66 ...seven mountains of grains, much gold and silver, a mountain of
wealth, many garments, a thousand beautiful cows,...
67 ...yogurt, milk, rock candy, butter, ghee, honey, many candies, a
flood of laddus, many delicious modakas,...
68 ...land rich with many crops, horses fast as the wind, many betel nuts,
and much oil. After giving this charity Nanda became happy in his heart.
69 To protect the maternity room he engaged many gopis peaceful at heart
and many brahmanas expert at chanting Tantric mantras.
70 He had the brahmanas recite the Vedas, chant Lord Krsna's holy names,
and worship the demigods.
71 Many beautiful smiling brahmanis, young and old, and bringing their
children with them, came to Nanda's home. Nanda gave them jewels and many
other valuable things in charity.
72 Many smiling elderly gopis decorated with jewel ornaments hurried to
Nanda's home. He respectfully gave them fine garments, silver, and thousands of
cows.
73 Books in hand, many eloquent astrologers learned in the jyotir Veda
came to Nanda's home.
74 Nanda bowed to them and happily honored them. All gazed at the
transcendental infant boy and gave their blessings.
75 After all was done, Nanda, the king of Vraja, had the astrologers
predict what good and evil lay in the future.
76 In Nanda's home the infant boys Krsna and Balarama sucked their
mother's breasts and grew as the waxing moon grows.
77 O sage, pleased at the ceremony for the infant boy, Yasoda and Rohini
happily gave in charity oil, sindura, and betel nuts to the women there.
78 After placing many blessings on the infant boy's head, the women
returned to their homes. Yasoda, Rohini, and Nanda, filled with happiness,
stayed in their home.
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