BRS 3.4.76

Ambara-knopam means “wetness of the cloth.” Sthitiḥ here means being eternally situated with the Lord, after His returning to Vraja. At the end of the section on preyo-rasa, this was inferred as a suitable conclusion. (BRS 3.3.128) This will be explained here a little more. The Lord, who is glorified in the Vedas as being true to His promises, clearly made the promise to return to Vraja in the Tenth Canto of Bhāgavatam. yāta yūyaṁ vrajaṁn tāta vayaṁ ca sneha-duḥkhitān jṣātīn vo draṣṭum eṣyāmo vidhāya suhṛdāṁ sukham Now you should all return to Vraja, dear Father. We shall come to see you, Our dear relatives who suffer in separation from Us, as soon as We have given some happiness to your well-wishing friends. SB 10.45.22 Vo draṣṭum eṣyāmaḥ (we will come to see you) indicates that the goal of their efforts is to see Nanda and Yaśodā again, but should be understood to be an eternal situation of seeing (not that Kṛṣṇa would again leave Vraja). Draṣṭum (to see) can also mean “to be (and remain) the object of your sight.” This is similar to the usage of viboddhum in the following verse, which means “to be the object of understanding.” This means that the impersonal brahman it is the object of continuous realization for the non-devotees. tathāpi bhūman mahimāguṇasya te viboddhum arhaty amalāntar-ātmabhiḥ avikriyāt svānubhavād arūpato hy ananya-bodhyātmatayā na cānyathā Nondevotees, however, cannot realize You in Your full personal feature. Nevertheless, it may be possible for them to realize Your expansion as the impersonal Supreme by cultivating direct perception of the Self within the heart. But they can do this only by purifying their mind and senses of all conceptions of material distinctions and all attachment to material sense objects. Only in this way will Your impersonal feature manifest itself to them. SB 10.14.6 Kṛṣṇa’s returning to Vraja was also explained by Uddhava: hatvā kaṁsaṁ raṅga-madhye pratīpaṁ sarva-sātvatām yad āha vaḥ samāgatya kṛṣṇaḥ satyaṁ karoti tat Having killed Kaṁsa, the enemy of all the Yadus, in the wrestling arena, Kṛṣṇa will now surely fulfill His promise to you by coming back. SB 10.46.35 āgamiṣyaty adīrgheṇa kālena vrajam acyutaḥ priyaṁ vidhāsyate pitror bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ Infallible Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the devotees, will soon return to Vraja to satisfy His parents. SB 10.46.34 “Kṛṣṇa will return to satisfy His parents” must mean there would be permanent living with them. Now, Kṛṣṇa’s actual return took place after the killing of Dantavakra. That is hinted at by the Lord Himself during the Kurukṣetra pilgrimage: api smaratha naḥ sakhyaḥ svānām artha-cikīrṣayā gatāṁś cirāyitāṣ chatru-pakṣa-kṣapaṇa-cetasaḥ My dear girlfriends, do you still remember Me? It was for My relatives’ sake that I stayed away so long, intent on destroying My enemies. SB 10.82.41 From this statement, it is understood that after killing His enemies, and finally killing Dantavakra, [Note: After killing Dantavakra, He did not kill any more demons.] He would return to Vraja in the future. This Kurukṣetra pilgrimage took place before the killing of Dantavakra. The Vana-parva of the Mahābhārata explains that the killing of Dantavakra, along with the killing of Śālva, took place simultaneously with the exile of the Pāṇḍavas to the forest. After they returned from the forest, the battle of Kurukṣetra took place, where Bhīṣma was killed. During the pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra for the solar eclipse, Bhīṣma was also present. Balarāma’s pilgrimage (chapter 79) which is described in the Bhāgavatam before the description of the pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra (chapter 82) in the Bhāgavatam, was actually completed on the day that Duryodhana was killed (and thus actually occurred after the pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra, since he was present at the Kurukṣetra eclipse as well). Kṛṣṇa’s return to Vraja after killing Dantavakra is clearly described in the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, in prose: kṛṣṇo ’pi taṁ hatvā yamunām uttīrya nanda-vrajaṁ gatvā sotkaṇthau pitarāv abhivādyāśvāsya tābhyāṁ sāśrukaṇṭham āliṅgitaḥ sakala-gopa-vṛddhān praṇamyāśvāsya ca bahu-vastrābharaṇādibhis tatra sthān sarvān santarpayām āsa Killing Dantavakra, Kṛṣṇa then crossed the Yamunā River and went to Vraja. He greeted and comforted His grieving parents. He was embraced by them, who were covered in tears. He bowed to all the elder cowherd men and comforted them. He satisfied all of them there with plenty of cloth and ornaments. Also, in the Bhāgavatam, after the battle of Kurukṣetra, when Kṛṣṇa was entering Dvārakā, the citizens of Dvārakā indicate Kṛṣṇa’s return to Vraja: arhy ambujākṣāpasasāra bho bhavān kurūn madhūn vātha suhṛd-didṛkṣayā tatrābda-koṭi-pratimaḥ kṣaṇo bhaved raviṁ vinākṣṇor iva nas tavācyuta O lotus-eyed Lord, whenever You go away to Mathurā, Vṛndāvana or Hastināpura to meet Your friends and relatives, every moment of Your absence seems like a million years. O infallible one, at that time our eyes become useless, as if bereft of sun. SB 1.11.9 According to Śrīdhara Svāmī madhūn means Mathurā, and therefore suhṛd (friends) would mean the friends in Vraja (part of Mathurā district), because all the people of Mathurā were transferred to Dvārakā, as explained in the following verse. tatra yoga-prabhāvena nītvā sarva-janaṁ hariḥ prajā-pālena rāmeṇa kṛṣṇaḥ samanumantritaḥ nirjagāma pura-dvārāt padma-mālī nirāyudhaḥ After transporting all His subjects to the new city by the power of His mystic Yogamāyā, Lord Kṛṣṇa consulted with Lord Balarāma, who had remained in Mathurā to protect it. Then, wearing a garland of lotuses but bearing no weapons, Lord Kṛṣṇa went out of Mathurā by its main gate. SB 10.50.57 In the following verse, also, the word suhṛd indicates the people of Vraja (not just friends, but parents etc.) balabhadraḥ kuru-śreṣṭha bhagavān ratham āsthitaḥ suhṛd-didṛkṣur utkaṇṭhaḥ prayayau nanda-gokulam O best of the Kurus, once Lord Balarāma, eager to visit His well-wishing friends, mounted His chariot and traveled to Nanda Gokula. SB 10.65.1 Since it has been shown that there is agreement between the Bhāgavatam and Padma Purāṇa that Kṛṣṇa returned to Vraja, just as He desired, one should put aside arguments about where Dantavakra was killed, either by accepting the version of the Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇi, or else attributing the different versions in scripture to different kalpas of time. Kṛṣṇa’s return to Dvārakā after that was enacted through another of His forms suitable for Dvārakā. This is stated in the Padma Purāṇa later: atha tatrasthā nandādayaḥ putra-dāra-sahitāḥ paśu-pakṣi-mṛgādayaś ca vāsudeva-prasādhena divya-rūpa-dharā vimānam āruḍhāḥ paramaṁ vaikuṇṭha-lokam avāpuḥ….. kṛṣṇās tu nandagopa-vrajaukasāṁ sarveṣāṁ nirāmayaṁ svapadaṁ dattvā divi deva-gaṇaih saṁstūyamāno dvāravatīṁ viveśa Thus, all the persons there, Nanda and the cowherd men, the children and their wives, the cows, animals and birds, taking shining forms by the mercy of Vāsudeva, mounted an airplane and went to the supreme Vaikuṇṭha planet. Kṛṣṇa, having bestowed His infallible abode to all the inhabitants of Vraja, then entered Dvārakā, while being praised by the devatās in the sky. The child of the chief person was Kṛṣṇa and the chief wife was Yaśodā. Thus, by the mention of the word putra (son), it is understood that Kṛṣṇa also entered that spiritual abode along with His parents and others in their own brilliant forms (divya-rūpa-dharā). In describing that the inhabitants of Vraja were endowed with divya forms by the mercy of Vāsudeva, the meaning is that the inhabitants took on brilliant forms out of jubilation for Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in returning to Vraja. [Note: It does not mean that they gave up material bodies and attained spiritual forms.] The description of attaining the supreme Vaikuṇṭha on an airplane is for deceiving materialistic persons. Actually, unseen by the materialists, they all entered into a special manifestation of Vṛndāvana (unmanifested), and having entered there, Kṛṣṇa made all their unmanifested forms which already existed there (in nitya-līlā) merge into the forms that they brought from the manifested pastimes. In a similar manner, after marrying sixteen thousand queens, by the potency of yoga-māyā as seen by Nārada, Kṛṣṇa, on leaving all of the palaces with sixteen thousand forms, would merge those forms into one form on entering the Sudharma hall. Śukadeva has also explained that Kṛṣṇa made them enter that same Vṛndāvana previously. Following is the description of that event. nandas tv atīndriyaṁ dṛṣṭvā loka-pāla-mahodayam kṛṣṇe ca sannatiṁ teṣāṁ jṣātibhyo vismito ’bravīt Nanda Mahārāja had been astonished to see for the first time the great opulence of Varuṇa, the ruler of the ocean planet, and also to see how Varuṇa and his servants had offered such humble respect to Kṛṣṇa. Nanda described all this to his fellow cowherd men. te cautsukya-dhiyo rājan matvā gopās tam īśvaram api naḥ sva-gatiṁ sūkṣmām upādhāsyad adhīśvaraḥ The cowherd men considered that Kṛṣṇa must be the Supreme Lord, and their minds, O King, were filled with eagerness. They thought, “Will the Supreme Lord bestow upon us His transcendental abode?” iti svānāṁ sa bhagavān vijṣāyākhila-dṛk svayam saṅkalpa-siddhaye teṣāṁ kṛpayaitad acintayat Because He sees everything, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, automatically understood what the cowherd men were conjecturing. Wanting to show His compassion to them by fulfilling their desires, the Lord thought as follows. jano vai loka etasminn avidyā-kāma-karmabhiḥ uccāvacāsu gatiṣu na veda svāṁ gatiṁ bhraman My own dearest people (janaḥ), the inhabitants of Vraja, thinking that they are wandering in this world (etasmin loke) in various destinations such as devatās, animals etc. (gatīṣu) by their own ignorance, do not know their real abode. iti saṣcintya bhagavān mahā-kāruṇiko hariḥ darśayām āsa lokaṁ svaṁ gopānāṁ tamasaḥ param Thus, deeply considering the situation, the all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari revealed to the cowherd men His abode, which is beyond material darkness. satyaṁ jṣānam anantaṁ yad brahma-jyotiḥ sanātanam yad dhi paśyanti munayo guṇāpāye samāhitāḥ Lord Kṛṣṇa revealed the indestructible spiritual effulgence, which is unlimited, conscious and eternal. Sages see that spiritual existence in trance, when their consciousness is free of the modes of material nature. te tu brahma-hradam nītā magnāḥ kṛṣṇena coddhṛtāḥ dadṛśur brahmaṇo lokaṁ yatrākrūro ’dhyagāt purā The cowherd men were brought by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Brahma-hrada, where Akrūra had gone previous to the Bhāgavatam narration, and were submerged in the water, and then lifted up. The cowherd men saw the abode of the Lord. nandādayas tu taṁ dṛṣṭvā paramānanda-nivṛtāḥ kṛṣṇaṁ ca tatra cchandobhiḥ stūyamānaṁ su-vismitāḥ Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men felt the greatest happiness when they saw that transcendental abode. They were especially amazed to see Kṛṣṇa Himself there, surrounded by the personified Vedas, who were offering Him prayers. SB 10.28.10-17 It should be understood that the inhabitants of Vraja later factually attained Kṛṣṇa’s own abode, which He had showed to them as their final abode previously (as described in the above verses). The place called brahma-hrada is identified as the place where Akrūra went, Akrūra Tīrtha. It indicates praise for Akrūra. Akrūra had gone there previous (purā) to the conversation of Śukadeva and Parīkṣit. Kṛṣṇa brought them there, submerged them in the brahma-hrada and then lifted them out. Lifting them out, He brought them to the area of Vṛndāvana, and there they saw the planet where the supreme brahman has a human form. The brahma-hrada is described as that place where Akrūra had gone (which was not the impersonal brahman). Incidentally, purā, usually meaning in the past, can also mean “in the future,” for Viśva-prakāśa says purā purāṇe nikaṭe prabandhātīta bhāviṣu: purā means in the past, close by, and in the remote future. And the word brahma-loka means only the abode of the Lord (not the impersonal feature). The usage of brahma-loka is found in the Second Canto of Bhāgavatam: grīvāyāṁ janaloko ’sya tapolokaḥ stana-dvayāt mūrdhabhiḥ satyalokas tu brahmalokaḥ sanātanaḥ From the forefront of the chest up to the neck of the universal form of the Lord are situated the planetary systems named Janaloka and Tapoloka, whereas Satyaloka, the topmost planetary system, is situated on the head of the form. The spiritual planets, however, are eternal. SB 2.5.39 Though the words sukṣma, tamasaḥ param, and satyaṁ jṣānam employed to describe brahma-loka in the above verses are only general terms (which could apply to the impersonal form); with the words naḥ svargatiṁ sūkṣmam, na veda svāṁ gatim, gopānāṁ svaṁ lokam, and kṛṣṇaṁ ca tatra, the planet of Gopāla is understood, because of the specific descriptive terms involving the Lord. There, Kṛṣṇa was being praised by the Vedas. Kṛṣṇa arranged for testimony of the highest scriptures describing His birth and activities to make the cowherd men recognize His position. Only because they were the associates of the Lord, and He willed it, they could experience this, for there are no descriptions of others seeing this. Relishing only Kṛṣṇa, they experienced the highest bliss (paramānanda), losing memory of their previous existence (since nirvṛtāḥ means extinction.) When the Lord incarnated, they became ignorant of being associates of the Lord on His planet (and thus during this pastime, they requested Him to see the spiritual realm). This ignorance is explained in the verse starting jano vai. Jana can indicate svajana, Kṛṣṇa’s own associates. That the word jana indicates the Lord’s devotee is illustrated in the following verse: sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya-sārūpyaikatvam apy uta dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation—sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya or ekatva—even though they are offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB 3.29.13 In fact, it should be understood that the inhabitants of Vraja were His most dear people. Kṛṣṇa thought in His mind (concerning Indra’s rainstorm): tasmān mac-charaṇaṁ goṣṭhaṁ man-nāthaṁ mat-parigraham gopāye svātma-yogena so ’yaṁ me vrata āhitaḥ I must therefore protect the cowherd community by My transcendental potency, for I am their shelter, I am their master, and indeed they are My own family. After all, I have taken a vow to protect My devotees. SB 10.25.18 The meaning of the verse is therefore: My own dearest people (janaḥ), the inhabitants of Vraja, thinking that they are wandering in this world (etasmin loke) to various destinations such as devatās, animals etc. (gatīṣu) by their ignorance, oblivious of ātmā, do not know their real abode, which I will thus show to them. In other words, their “ignorance” is caused by absorption in Kṛṣṇa’s human-like pastimes. The inhabitants of Vraja identify themselves as ordinary persons. This is illustrated in the following statements: iti nandādayo gopāḥ kṛṣṇa-rāma-kathāṁ mudā kurvanto ramamāṇāś ca nāvindan bhava-vedanām In this way, all the cowherd men, headed by Nanda Mahārāja, enjoyed topics about the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma with great transcendental pleasure, and they could not even perceive material tribulations. SB 10.11.58 eṣāṁ ghoṣa-nivāsinām uta bhavān kiṁ deva rāteti naś ceto viśva-phalāt phalaṁ tvad-aparaṁ kutrāpy ayan muhyati sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte My mind becomes bewildered just trying to think of what reward other than You could be found anywhere. You are the embodiment of all benedictions, which You bestow upon these residents of the cowherd community of Vṛndāvana. You have already arranged to give Yourself to Pūtanā and her family members in exchange for her disguising herself as a devotee. So, what is left for You to give these devotees of Vṛndāvana, whose homes, wealth, friends, dear relations, bodies, children and very lives and hearts are all dedicated only to You? SB 10.14.36 pṛṣṭāś cānāmayaṁ sveṣu prema-gadgadayā girā kṛṣṇe kamala-patrākṣe sannyastākhila-rādhasaḥ With voices faltering out of love for Him, those cowherds, who had dedicated all their wealth to lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, asked about the health of their dear ones [in Dvārakā], and Balarāma in turn asked about the cowherds’ welfare. SB 10.65.6 Thus, from such seeming ignorance of their real natures, Nanda had asked Kṛṣṇa to show him His abode. This very special manifestation of Vṛndāvana is described in the Varāha Purāṇa: tatrāpi mahad āścaryaṁ paśyanti paṇḍitāḥ narāḥ kāliya-hrada pūrveṇa kadambo mahito durmaḥ śata-śākhaṁ viśālākṣi puṇyaṁ surabhi gandhi ca sa ca dvādaśa-māsātimanojṣa śubha-śītalaḥ puṣpāyati viśālākṣi prabhāsante diśo disaḥ O large-eyed woman! The wise see something very astonishing there. In front of the lake of Kāliya, there is a huge, pure kadamba tree with hundreds of branches and sweet fragrance. All year, attractive and cool, it continues to flower. All the directions are illuminated by this tree. tatrāścaryam pravakṣyāmi tac chṛṇu tvaṁ vasundhare labhante manujāḥ siddhiṁ mama karma parāyaṇāḥ tasya tatrottare pārśve ’śoka-vṛkṣaḥ śita-prabhaḥ vaiśākhasya tu māsasya śukla-pakṣasya dvādaśī sapuṣpati ca madhyāhne mama bhakta-sukhāvahaḥ na kaścid api jānāti vinā bhāgavataṁ śucim O earth! Listen as I explain something astonishing there. Men who are absorbed in service to Me attain that place. Near, to the north of that place, there is an aśoka tree emanating coolness. On the twelfth day of the waxing phase of Vaiśakha month, the tree blooms at noon, giving bliss to My devotees. Except for my pure devotee, no one knows this. In talking to the earth, the Lord is explaining that even she does not know the wonder of Vṛndāvana. The above is a description of the glory of Brahma-kuṇda. In the Skanda Purāṇa it is said: vṛndāvanaṁ dvādaśamam vṛndayā pari rakṣitaṁ hariṇādhiṣṭhitaṁ tac ca brahma-rudādi sevitam Vṛndāvana, the twelfth forest, is protected by Vṛndā. The Lord is situated there, and it is worshipped by Brahmā, Śiva and others. The Adi-Varāha Purāṇa says: kṛṣṇa-krīḍā-setu-bandhaṁ mahāpātaka-nāśanam balabhīṁ tatra krīḍārthaṁ kṛtvā devo gadādharaḥ gopakaiḥ sahitas tatra kṣaṇam ekaṁ dine dine tatraiva ramaṇārthaṁ hi nityaṁ kālaṁ sa gacchati The bridge built for Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes destroys the greatest of sins. Having constructed a lookout pavilion there for playing, the Lord, holder of the club, goes there in a moment’s time every day, enjoying with His cowherd friends, eternally. Also, the Skanda Puraṇa says: vatsair vatsatarībhiś ca sākaṁ krīḍati mādhavaḥ vṛndāvanāntaragataḥ sarāmo bālakair vṛtaḥ Kṛṣṇa, along with Balarāma, surrounded by young boys, plays with the calves and newest calves within Vṛndāvana. It is said, “If there is honey available, enjoy it. Why go to the mountain looking for it?” Thus, the inhabitants of Vraja did not have to go anywhere to attain perfection (not by the process of going to Vaikuṇṭha, as was stated in the Padma Purāṇa), since they already had it. By manifesting this special Vṛndāvana, the Lord completely concealed from them the process of going to a distant place to attain perfection (which is the case for sādhana-siddhas going from the material world). In conclusion, the inhabitants of Vraja entered into this special manifestation of Vṛndāvana beyond the sight of mortals. Moreover, this is mentioned in the Bṛhad-gautamīya-tantra by the Lord Himself: idaṁ vṛndāvanaṁ ramyaṁ mama dhāmaiva kevalaṁ tatra ye pāśavaḥ pakṣi mṛgāḥ kīṭā narāmaraḥ ye vasanti mamādhiṣṇye mṛtā yanti mamālayam tatra yā gopakanyāś ca nivasanti mamālaye yoginyastā mayā nityaṁ mama sevā parāyaṇāḥ paṣca yojanam evāsti vanaṁ me deha-rūpakam kālindīyaṁ suṣumnākhyā paramāmṛta vāhinī atra devāś ca bhūtāni vartante sūkṣma-rūpataḥ sarva-devamayaś cāhaṁ na tyajāmi vanam kvacit āvirbhāvas tirobhāvo bhaven me ’tra yuge yuge tejomayam idam ramyam adṛśyaṁ carma-cakṣuṣā This pleasant Vṛndāvana is My only abode. There, all cows, animals, birds, insects and humans are without death. Those who live under My mercy come to My abode on dying. The daughters of the cowherd men live in My abode. Completely giving up all connections, they serve Me continually. This place, measuring five yojanas, is non-different from My body. The Yamunā, flowing with the sweetest nectar, is the suṣumnā (central nerve) of that body. All the devas and elements exist there in a transcendental form. The embodiment of all devas, I do not leave that forest for a moment, though I appear and disappear in this world age after age. But this radiant forest full of pleasure is invisible to the material eye. In the Gopāla-tāpani Upaniṣad (2.23), Durvāsā speaks to Rādhā: janma-jarābhyām bhinnaḥ sthāṇur ayam acchedyo ’yam yo ’sau saurye tiṣṭhati yo ’sau goṣṭhe tiṣṭhati yo ’sau gopāṇ pālayati yo ’sau gopeṣu tiṣṭhati yo ’sau sarvesu deveṣu tiṣthati yo ’sau sarvair vedair gīyate yo ’sau sarveṣu bhūtesv aviśya bhūtāni vidadhāti sa vo hi svāmī bhavatīti He is beyond birth and death. He is fixed and indivisible. He exists as the soul of Vṛndāvana, and the soul of the pastures. He protects the cowherds. He resides in all the cowherds and in all devatās. He is glorified by all the Vedas. Entering all beings, He supports all beings. Kṛṣṇa indeed is the master. Saurye in the above verse refers to saurī (daughter of the sun), indicating the Yamunā River, and thus Vṛndāvana, which is close to the Yamunā. In conclusion, it should be understood that after killing all the demons starting with Kaṁsa and ending with Dantavakra, Kṛṣṇa returned to Vraja, and then arranged to live eternally, in nitya-sthiti, with all the inhabitants of Vraja in a secret manifestation of Vṛndāvana. Because of this, He is also described as the killer of Kaṁsa in the descriptions of Vṛndāvana pastimes in the Pātala-khaṇḍa (though in the ordinary view of the sequence of events the killing of Kaṁsa occurs after the Vṛndāvana pastimes end): aho abhagyaṁ lokasya na pītaṁ yamunā-jalam go-gopa-gopikā-saṅge yatra krīḍati kaṁsahā People are unfortunate who have not drunk the water of the Yamunā, where the killer of Kaṁsa plays in association with the cows, cowherd boys and gopīs. In the Baudhāyana-karma-vipāka, describing the worship of Govinda surrounded by the cows and cowherds, one mantra says: govinda gopījana-vallabeśa kaṁsāsura-ghna tri-daśendra-vandya O Govinda, beloved lord of gopīs, killer of Kaṁsa, worshipped by the devatās! Similar way of speaking will also be found in the section on vīra-rasa concerning a mock battle: protsāhayasy atitarāṁ kim ivāgraheṇa māṁ keśisudana vidann api bhadrasenam O killer of Keśi! Why are You so eager to fight with weak Balarāma, knowing that I, Bhadrasena, am present? BRS 4.3.15 From the meaning of the sentence, it must indicate the pastime of killing Keśi previously to the time of this mock battle, for it is impossible to make a different sequence of time simply by one’s own choice. (Thus the mock battle must have taken place after Kṛṣṇa’s return to Vraja.) Another point should be made. In this book, there are three types of pastime descriptions: descriptions of pastimes in Vraja, descriptions of the pastimes of leaving Vraja, and descriptions of pastimes in the cities (Mathurā and Dvārakā). There are three types of listeners: followers of the inhabitants of Vraja, followers of the citizens of the cities, and those with feelings for both types of inhabitants. These types have here been distinguished in order to nourish the happiness of all three types of listeners. All three types of pastimes cause nourishment of happiness for devotees with mixed tendency, because all the pastimes are concerning only Kṛṣṇa. The Vraja pastimes (as well as the city pastimes) are also a cause of happiness for the followers of the city citizens. They think in the following manner about the Vraja pastimes: “The son of Vasudeva, our own person, after performing various pastimes in Vraja, then came to the city and increased the happiness of Vasudeva and others by having had a happy experience from His Vraja pastimes.” For the followers of the people of Vraja, the pastimes related to the cities do not at all produce happiness, but rather give grief, because of the uncertainty of His returning to Vraja. But even the descriptions of Vraja pastimes result in giving them sorrow (since the pastimes apparently come to an end), what to speak of the pastimes of leaving Vraja. The author, however, has described all the pastimes with the desire to produce happiness for all the three types of persons. [Note: The followers of the inhabitants of Vraja need the explanations given by the commentator, so that the pastimes of separation end and Kṛṣṇa finally returns to Vraja and stays there permanently.] It was said previously: alaukikī tv iyaṁ kṛṣṇa-ratiḥ sarvādbhutādbhutā | yoge rasa-viśeṣatvaṁ gacchanty eva hari-priye || Rati for Kṛṣṇa is most uncommon, more astonishing than the most astonishing, and attains special rasa in combination with His devotee. BRS 2.5.108 tatrāpi vallavādhīśa-nandanālambanā ratiḥ | sāndrānanda-camatkāra-paramāvadhir iṣyate || That rati which has the son of Nanda, the leader of the cowherd men, as the object reaches the height of most intense bliss. BRS 2.5.110 By these clear statements the happiness of the followers of the inhabitants of Vraja should be nourished. In a similar way, it has been written in the summarized Bhāgavatāmṛta: śrī-kṛṣṇasya punar vrajāgamana-pūrvakaṁ pura-tat-tad-vijaya-śravaṇād api puṣṭa-sukhānāṁ vraja-janānāṁ madhye nityāvasthānam eva grantha-kṛtāṁ hṛdgatam It is accepted by the author that Kṛṣṇa, after returning to Vraja, resides there eternally amongst the inhabitants of Vraja, whose happiness increases from hearing about His victories in the city. By hearing this, the followers of the inhabitants of Vraja will gain happiness. It is said in the Bhāgavatam: vedā brahmātma-viṣayās tri-kāṇḍa-viṣayā ime parokṣa-vādā ṛṣayaḥ parokṣaṁ mama ca priyam The Vedas, divided into three divisions, ultimately reveal the living entity as pure spirit soul. The Vedic seers and mantras, however, deal in esoteric terms, and I also am pleased by such confidential descriptions. SB 11.3.44 Thus, because of the Lord’s fondness for such manner of expression, it should be understood that the facts are not stated directly in all cases. It is also expressed in the Bhāgavatam that since Kṛṣṇa resides eternally there, what is the question of His accepting to go elsewhere? eṣāṁ ghoṣa-nivāsinām uta bhavān kiṁ deva rāteti naś ceto viśva-phalāt phalaṁ tvad-aparaṁ kutrāpy ayan muhyati sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte My mind becomes bewildered just trying to think of what reward other than You could be found anywhere. You are the embodiment of all benedictions, which You bestow upon these residents of the cowherd community of Vṛndāvana. You have already arranged to give Yourself to Pūtanā and her family members in exchange for her disguising herself as a devotee. So, what is left for You to give these devotees of Vṛndāvana, whose homes, wealth, friends, dear relations, bodies, children and very lives and hearts are all dedicated only to You? SB 10.14.36 tāsām avirataṁ kṛṣṇe kurvatīnāṁ sutekṣaṇam na punaḥ kalpate rājan saṁsāro ’jṣāna-sambhavaḥ Therefore, because of their eternal relationship as mother and son, although the gopīs were engaged in various family activities, one should never think that they returned to this material world as normal conditioned souls. SB 10.6.40 In the first of the two verses just quoted, because of having previous indebtedness to them, and because of their being with each other for beginningless kalpas, it should be understood that He must stay with them at all times. Sad-veśād means “because Pūtana disguised herself as a devotee, as a nurse.” In the second verse quoted, the meaning is “taking birth again in the material world did not occur, because they regarded Kṛṣṇa as their son (sutekṣaṇam) at the beginning, middle and end (aviratam).” This regard was continual. The particular arrangement for eternally living together is also expressed in the Uttara-gopāla-campu: mātur lālanam etya saṁmatim itas tātasya ca bhrātṛbhiḥ sārddhaṁ dhenu-gaṇā ’hvanāya vipinam gatvā caran krīḍatam āgamyātha gṛhaṁ samasta-suhrḍām īdṛk-pratītaṁ bhajaty eṣa śrī-vraja-rāja- nandana-varaḥ śvāso na eṣām Receiving attention from His mother, and taking consent from His father, Kṛṣṇa, the ideal son of the king of Vraja, calling the cows, goes to the forest and plays, and then returns to His house. In this way, He enjoys with His friends. There is not even a breath of fatigue for the boys. That He eternally resides in Mathurā and Dvārakā is also mentioned: rājadhānī tataḥ sābhūt sarva-yādava-bhūbhujām mathurā bhagavān yatra nityaṁ sannihito hariḥ Since that time, the city of Mathurā had been the capital of all the kings of the Yadu dynasty. The city and district of Mathurā are very intimately connected with Kṛṣṇa, for Lord Kṛṣṇa lives there eternally. SB 10.1.28 nityaṁ sannihitas tatra bhagavān madhusūdanaḥ smṛtyāśeṣāśubha-haraṁ sarva-maṅgala-maṅgalam Lord Madhusūdana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternally present in Dvārakā. It is the most auspicious of all auspicious places, and merely remembering it destroys all contamination. SB 11.31.24 If one has more particular curiosity, one should see the Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇi, Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha, the two parts of Gopala-campu, and the commentary on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi called Locana-rocanī, in the section dealing with meeting and separation.