by Bibek Debroy
Suta said, 14 ‘O brahmanas! Devadatta 15 heard this wonderful account about his own protector, the Yadava. Controlling his mind, he again asked Vyasa’s son about the sacred account.’
The king said, ‘O brahmana! What explains the gap in time that occurred then? Hari performed his act when he was five years old, but the boys spoke about it in his sixth year. O great yogi! O preceptor! Tell me about this. I have a great curiosity. This must indeed be Hari’s maya and nothing else. O preceptor! We are the most fortunate in the world. Though we are kshatra-bandhus, 16 from your mouth, we have repeatedly been drinking the true and sacred account about Krishna’s immortal stories.’
Suta said, ‘O supreme among devotees of the illustrious one! Badarayana’s son was thus asked. As he remembered Ananta in his heart, he lost control of all his senses. With great deal of effort, he slowly regained his external senses and replied.’
Chapter 10(13)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘O immensely fortunate one! O supreme among those who are devoted to the illustrious one! You have asked a good question. Hearing repeatedly about the lord’s account, you bring new and newer attachment to them. There are those who are virtuous, naturally assimilating the essence and meaning of Achyuta’s sacred accounts with their speech, ears and minds at every moment and bringing newer attachment, like dissolute men addicted to women. O king! Hear attentively the secret I will tell you. Preceptors can speak about secret things to disciples they love. The illustrious one saved the calves and their protectors 17 from death in the form of Agha’s mouth. He brought them to the sandy banks of the river and spoke to them. “O friends! This sandy bank of the river is extremely beautiful. It is covered with soft and clean sand and has everything required for us to play. There are blooming lotuses and the banks have enchanting trees, the fragrance drawing bees and birds, whose calls are echoing. Let us eat here. Most of the day has passed and we are afflicted by hunger. Let the calves drink water and graze slowly near us, on the grass.” The boys agreed. After the calves had drunk, they tethered them, so that they could graze on the green pasture. With the illustrious one, they cheerfully undid their pouches and started to eat. They sat around Krishna in concentric circles and faced him. The boys from Vraja possessed beautiful faces and their eyes were opened wide. They sat with him in that beautiful forest region, just as the stamen of a lotus is surrounded by whorls. For vessels to eat out of, some used bunches of flowers. Others used sprouts, leaves and fruits. Some used their pouches, barks of trees or stones. Showing each other, they separately ate what each of them had brought. They laughed and made the others laugh. With the lord, they ate what others had brought. Those in the world of heaven looked on at the enjoyer of sacrifices enjoying himself in childish pastimes. He 18 tucked in his flute between his stomach and the garment at his waist. The horn and the cane were under his left arm. He placed the lovely food and fruits in his hands and picked up mouthfuls with his fingers. He was in their midst, surrounded by his well-wishers. He laughed and played with his own friends. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With their souls in Achyuta, they and the calves ate. Desiring grass, the calves strayed far away, inside the forest. On seeing this, they were scared. Krishna is the one who causes fright to all kinds of terror. He pacified his friends and said, “Do not stop. 19 I will bring the calves back here.” Having said this, with the morsel of food still in his hands, the illustrious Krishna left. He searched for his own calves and those of the others in mountains, caves, bushes and thickets.
‘O extender of the Kuru lineage! Earlier, the one born from the lotus 20 had remained in the sky and had witnessed his powers in liberating Agha. He had been filled with great wonder. With his heart immersed in him, he now wished to see the lord’s maya and other glory as a child. Therefore, he stole the calves and the cowherd boys. He took them to some other spot, remaining invisible. Krishna couldn’t see the calves on the sandy bank or the forest. Nor did he see the cowherd boys. He searched in every direction. The one who knows about everything in the universe couldn’t see the calves or the cowherd boys in the forest. He instantly understood that everything had been done by the creator. Krishna, the lord who is the creator of the universe, desired to bring pleasure to him and to the mothers. 21 Therefore, he expanded himself. 22 He became exactly like the cowherd boys and exactly like the small forms of the calves. He became exactly like their sticks, horns, flutes, wreaths and pouches. He became exactly like their ornaments and garments. He assumed their exact forms, conduct, qualities and features, the exact ways they played. Aja 23 assumed all their forms, their words and their limbs. Everything is permeated by Vishnu. He is his own atman and manifested himself as the calves and the cowherd boys. The one who is in all atmans thus played and sported with his own atman and entered Vraja in this way. He took those separate calves and placed them in their respective pens. O king! Assuming their forms, 24 he entered their respective homes. On hearing the respective flutes, the respective mothers quickly arose. They embraced them in their arms. Without feeling their weights, they raised them up. Because of the love, milk oozed out of their breasts, like nectar and asava. 25 Taking the supreme brahman to be their own sons, they fed him. O king! Thereafter, they massaged them and bathed them, smearing them with unguents. They decorated them with ornaments and protected them. 26 They applied tilaka 27 and fed them. Thus tended to, Madhava delighted them with his own conduct. One yama 28 passed into another yama and evening arrived. Soon, the cows reached the pens. With the sounds of bellowing, they summoned their respective calves and fed them the milk that flowed from their udders, repeatedly licking them. As mothers, the love of the cows and the gopis 29 increased, even more than was the case before. Because of Hari’s maya, they didn’t realize their sons were missing. 30 For the residents of Vraja, the affection they had towards their own sons gradually increased from one day to another day and became limitless. For Krishna, it was the same as before. 31 This continued for a year. In this way, the one who is his own atman manifested himself in the form of the calves and the cowherd boys. He passed a year in this way, protecting and playing as the cowherd boys in the forest and in the pens.
‘Once, along with Rama, Aja entered the forest, tending to the calves. Five or six nights were left for an entire year to be over. Once, the cows were grazing on grass on the summit of Mount Govardhana. From a distance, they saw their calves grazing near Vraja. On seeing them, they were filled with affection and forgot themselves. That herd of cows rushed down difficult paths that were difficult for their protectors to follow. They moved down like bipeds. Their necks were drawn back towards their humps and their tails were raised. They bellowed and with milk flowing from their udders, they swiftly headed down. At the foot of the hill, the cows greeted the calves, as if they had just been born and fed them milk. With milk flowing from their udders, they licked them, as if they would swallow them up. The gopas were unable to prevent their cows from meeting their calves. Frustrated, they were both ashamed and angry. With difficulty, they descended along those impassable paths and saw the cows, the calves and their sons. As soon as they saw their sons, a great affection resulted. They were overwhelmed with love and the rage was gone. They embraced them in their arms and inhaled the fragrances of their heads. They were filled with great delight. The aged gopas were delighted to meet their sons. With great effort, they gradually withdrew from those embraces. They withdrew. However, remembering their sons, they continued to shed tears. 32 Rama witnessed this constant increase in love in Vraja, even among those who had been weaned. 33 He reflected on the possible reason. “What is this extraordinary incident of love towards children increasing in Vraja, just as it does towards Vasudeva, who is in all atmans? I am no exception. This has never happened before. What is this and where has it come from? Has it come from a goddess, a woman or an asura lady? It must be my master’s 34 maya. Who else can confound me?” Dasharha 35 thought about this. Then, using the wisdom of his vision, he saw that all the calves and his friends were nothing but Vaik
untha. “O lord! These 36 are not the lords of the gods or rishis. They are you manifesting yourself in these different forms. How have you come to appear in these distinct forms?” Thus asked, the lord explained briefly and Bala understood.
‘The one who created himself 37 returned after one truti 38 had elapsed by his own measurement of time. However, by human measures, it was one year and he saw that all of them were playing with Hari. “I made all the boys and all the calves in Gokula go to sleep on my bed of maya and they have still not woken up. Who are these and where have they come from? They are not the same as those who have been confounded by my maya. These are similar to those in number and have been playing with Vishnu for an entire year.” The one who created himself thought for a long time, trying to differentiate between the two lots. He tried to distinguish between the real and the unreal ones, but was unable to. Vishnu can never be confounded and is the one who confounds the universe. Yet, having tried to confound him by using his maya, he ended up being confounded himself. The darkness of mist is absorbed in the darkness of the night. The light of a firefly disappears in the light of the day. Like that, a greater maya destroys any attempt by inferior maya. While Aja 39 looked on, all the cowherd boys were instantly seen to assume the dark complexion of clouds. They were attired in yellow silk garments. They were four-armed, holding a conch shell, a chakra, a club and a lotus in their hands. They wore diadems and earrings and wore necklaces made out of wild flowers. There were marks of shrivatsa, armlets, jewels around their necks and bracelets on their hands. Like conch shells, their necks were marked with three lines. There were beautiful anklets and bangles, girdles and rings on the fingers. From the heads to the feet, on all the limbs, the bodies were decorated with garlands of fresh and delicate tulasi leaves, sacred offerings rendered by large numbers of devotees. The smiles were as dazzling as the moonlight. There were sidelong glances from reddened eyes. They seemed to be the creators and preservers of their own devotees, using sattva and rajas. 40 All mobile and immobile embodied forms, beginning with the one who created himself and ending with a blade of grass, stood around separately and separately worshipped them with singing, dancing and many objects of worship. There were anima and the other powers. 41 There were Aja and other personified forms. They were surrounded by the twenty-four tattvas, 42 Mahat and the others. There were time, nature, samskaras, 43 kama, karma and the gunas. 44 With their own greatness subsumed in his greatness, they worshipped him in personified forms. All of them were manifestations of the same single truth and knowledge, the bliss of Ananta. His great glory could not be comprehended even by those who possessed the insight of the Upanishads. At the same instant, Aja saw everything in the paramatman brahman. It is his radiance that illuminates everything, mobile and immobile. 45 Aja’s eleven senses 46 were curious, but were astounded, stupefied and overwhelmed. He stood there silent, like the image of a minor divinity in the presence of a greater divinity. He 47 manifests himself and his own greatness is beyond debate. He is beyond all nature and beyond sacred texts that place negative rejection at the forefront. 48 The lord cannot be conceived in this way. On seeing him, the lord of speech 49 was confused and exclaimed, “What is this?” Immediately understanding the state Aja was in, the supreme one removed the curtain from Aja’s mind. 50 At this, Kah’s 51 external vision was restored. He stood up, like a man who has arisen from the dead. He opened his eyes with great difficulty and saw everything, including himself. He immediately looked around in all the directions and saw Vrindavana standing in front of him, filled with trees and other agreeable objects that people could subsist on. This is a place where men and animals live together, forgetting their natural enmity. Because the unvanquished one resides there, they are like friends. Anger, desire and other vices have immediately left the spot. The supreme Ananta, infinite in his understanding, was acting out a role in a play, as a child born in a family of those who earn a living from animals. 52 Without any sense of duality, Parameshthi Brahma saw him there. As was the case earlier, he was alone, with a morsel of food in his hand, searching everywhere for the calves and his friends. Seeing this, he instantly descended from his mount. 53 He lay down and prostrated his body on the ground, like a golden staff. He touched his two feet with the crests of his four diadems. 54 Bowing down, with tears of joy, he sprinkled his feet. He then arose. But he again fell down at Krishna’s feet for a long period of time. He repeatedly remembered the greatness that he had witnessed earlier. Thereafter, he slowly arose and wiped his eyes. With his shoulders bowed, he glanced towards Mukunda. He humbly joined his hands in salutation. He controlled himself. With his body trembling and in a faltering tone, he praised him in these words.’
Chapter 10(14)
‘Brahma said, “O one who should be worshipped! I bow down before you. Your form is like that of a dark cloud and your garments are like tinges of lightning. You are ornamented with gunja seeds and peacock feathers. Your face is dazzling. You wear a garland made out of wild flowers. You have a morsel of food in your hand and a cane and flute are tucked in. Your gentle feet bear the auspicious marks. I bow down before the son of the herder of animals. O lord! As a favour to me, you have yourself revealed this form of yours, which does not consist of the elements. Even though I am Kah, using all my mental faculties, I am unable to comprehend your measure. How can I comprehend the truth that you are, not to speak of the bliss that you yourself feel? There are virtuous ones who survive, extolling your conduct and your account with their mouths. With all knowledge and efforts, they bow down before you and surrender themselves. They remain in those positions, retaining what they have heard with their bodies, words and minds. You cannot be conquered by the three worlds. However, you are generally conquered by them. 55 O lord! Benefit is ensured along the path of devotion towards you. However, there are those who suffer and deviate from this, seeking to understand only by resorting to knowledge. They are those who pound empty husks from which the grain has been taken out. Nothing but hardship remains for them. O lord! In earlier times, there were many yogis in this world. They offered their efforts and their deeds to you and obtained knowledge through devotion and hearing about your accounts. O Achyuta! They easily obtained the supreme destination with you. O lord! It is possible to understand the greatness of your qualities and your glory if one is unblemished in one’s mind and one’s atman. 56 You are self-illuminating and beyond any kind of form or illumination. You are without transformations. You can only be comprehended through self-perception and not through any other means. All the gunas are in you, but who is able to enumerate your qualities? You descend for the sake of ensuring welfare. In the course of time, accomplished people can count the particles of dust on earth, the number of dewdrops in the sky and the number of stellar bodies in the firmament. But who can enumerate you? If a person eagerly waits for your compassion, he can enjoy the fruits of what he has done. He must bow down before you, surrendering his heart, his words and his body. If he lives in this way, he becomes entitled to a status of emancipation. O lord! O Ananta! O original being! O paramatman! 57 Behold me, the ignoble one. You are full of maya. Yet, desiring to see your powers, I sought to envelope you in my maya. Indeed, what am I? In comparison to an entire fire, I am nothing more than a spark. O Achyuta! Therefore, pardon me. I have been born out of rajas. I did not know. I was insolent and prided myself on being a distinct controller. O Aja! My vision was blinded and I was enveloped in the blinding darkness of ignorance. I think that you are my protector. Therefore, you must show me your compassion. Who am I? I am covered in sheaths of tamas, Mahat, ahamkara, 58 space, air, fire, water and earth, in an egg that is the universe and surrounded by seven sheaths. What about someone like you? Like paramanus, 59 innumerable such eggs 60 flow in and out from the pores of your body, like particles of dust. That is your greatness. O Adhokshaja! When a foetus in the womb uses its legs to kick, does the mother take offence? O Ananta! Is there anything, existent or non-existent, that is not inside your stomach? When the three worlds are dest
royed, there is a cosmic flood and an ocean of water. Aja emerged from a lotus that sprouted out of Narayana’s navel. There is no falsehood in this statement. O lord! Therefore, have I not been generated out of you? You are Narayana. You are in the atmans of all living beings. You are the lord of all the worlds and you are the witness. Narayana is one of your forms. Everything emerged from the water. It is not true that you lay down on the waters. 61 That too is your maya. O illustrious one! If your form, the refuge of the universe, was lying down in the water, why could I not see it then? Why couldn’t I properly see you within my heart then? Why was it the case that I suddenly saw it? 62 O one who dispels maya! In the present avatara, you used your maya to manifest to your mother everything that exists outside, inside your stomach. 63 Along with me, everything outside was shown inside your stomach. That is exactly what has occurred now. Without your maya, how is this possible? Today, has your maya not shown me that there is nothing other than you? Initially, you were alone. 64 Later, you were there with all the friends and calves from Vraja. After this, you appeared in all the numerous four-armed forms worshipped by me and all the others. You then appeared as the innumerable universes. You are the ultimate brahman and you do not have a second. To those who are ignorant of your status, you appear in forms other than the atman. However, your atman manifests itself in your extensive maya. In creating, you appear like me. In preserving the universe, you appear like your own self. In destruction, it is you who appear as the three-eyed one. 65 O lord! It is you who appear among the gods, the rishis and men. 66 Though you do not take birth, you appear among inferior species and aquatic creatures. O lord! O creator! You take birth to subdue the insolence of the wicked and to show your compassion towards those you favour. O lord! O illustrious one! O paramatman! O lord of yoga! In the three worlds, you spread your yoga maya and sport. Who can possibly know where, how, how many times, and when? This entire universe is unreal. It is like a dream, when the intelligence is shrouded. It is full of unhappiness and more unhappiness. All of it appears in you. You are always happiness, knowledge and infinite. Arising out of your maya, it appears as if it is real. You are the single atman, the ancient Purusha. You are truth. You are self-luminiscent. You are infinite. You are the original being. You are eternal and without decay. You are without birth and unlimited in your bliss. You are without any blemishes. You are complete, without a second. You are free from all obstructions. You are immortal. You are in all atmans. Those who are learned hold this view. They see you as the atman that is superior to their own atmans. They obtain this insight from the Upanishads, through preceptors who are like the sun. Using this, they can cross this ocean of life, which is unreal. There are those who do not understand the nature of the atman. All perception of material objects results from this ignorance. Once there is knowledge, it vanishes. This is like the appearance and disappearance of a rope and a snake. The bondage of samsara 67 and emancipation are two terms that result from ignorance. This difference is not true and it results from lack of knowledge. One should consider only the paramatman, unimpeded in consciousness. There will no longer be a difference, just as there is no night and day in the sun. The ignorance of the ignorant is pitiable. You are the paramatman and they regard you as something distinct from their own atmans. They thus search for you outside their own selves. O Ananta! You are inside. Virtuous people reject any sense of difference and search you out inside. Virtuous people, virtuous in qualities, must first reject the unreal snake, 68 before identifying the real. O god! If a person is favoured so that he obtains even a trifling touch of your two lotus feet, he knows the truth about the illustrious one’s greatness. However, another person, who searches for a very long time, cannot obtain it. O protector! In this birth and in the next, even if that is as an inferior species, may I have the great fortune of being one of your devotees. May I be able to serve at your tender feet. The cows and women of Vraja are extremely fortunate. O lord! You have happily drunk the nectar of milk at their breasts, in the form of calves and their own sons. All the sacrifices undertaken by them till now have not been able to satisfy them as much. How wonderful is the fortune of Nanda and the gopas who reside in Vraja. The eternal and complete brahman, 69 the reservoir of supreme bliss, is their friend. O Achyuta! Though their fortune and glory are great, the eleven of us have also been great in our fortune. 70 Using the senses as cups, Sharva and the others have repeatedly drunk the nectar from your lotus feet and it has been like honey and amrita. The greatest fortune is to be born, as whatever species, in the forest where Gokula is, or to be bathed by dust from the feet of someone from Gokula. For them, their entire lives are nothing but the illustrious Mukunda. Even now, the sacred shruti texts search out the dust from his feet. O god! Thinking about any fruit that is superior to you, I am confused. You are the one who confers all the fruits in the universe. O god! By just pretending to be good, 71 Putana and her family were brought to you. For those who reside in this pasture, their homes, wealth, friends, beloved relatives, bodies, children, their breath of life and their minds are devoted to you. What else can you possibly give them? O Krishna! Until people do not become devoted to you, their attachments and other desires are like thieves and make their homes like prisons, where the delusion is like shackles on the feet. O lord! You have nothing to do with the material. But you appear on the surface of the earth and identify with the material, so as to increase different kinds of pleasure among people who seek refuge with you. There are those who think they know you. O lord! Let them know. There is no need for me to say a lot on this. In mind, form and words, your greatness is beyond my comprehension. O Krishna! O omniscient one! O one who witnesses everything! Grant me permission to leave. You are the protector of the universe. Nevertheless, I offer this universe to you. O Shri-Krishna! The lineage of the Vrishnis is like a lotus and you are the one who brings pleasure to it. You are the one who enhances the prosperity of the gods, the earth, brahmanas, animals and the oceans. You are the one who dispels the darkness of adharma. You are the enemy of the rakshasas on earth. O one who should be worshipped! O illustrious one! Till the end of the kalpa 72 and as long as the sun shines, I bow down to you.”’
