SB 10.12.3 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कृष्णवत्सैरसङ्ख्यातैर्यूथीकृत्य स्ववत्सकान् । चारयन्तोऽर्भलीलाभिर्विजह्रुस्तत्र तत्र ह ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

kṛṣṇa-vatsair asaṅkhyātair yūthī-kṛtya sva-vatsakān cārayanto ’rbha-līlābhir vijahrus tatra tatra ha

Synonyms

kṛṣṇa — of Lord Kṛṣṇa ; vatsaiḥ — along with the calves ; asaṅkhyātaiḥ — unlimited ; yūthī — kṛtya — assembled them ; sva — vatsakān — personal calves ; cārayantaḥ — executing ; arbha — līlābhiḥ — by boyhood pastimes ; vijahruḥ — enjoyed ; tatra tatra — here and there ; ha — indeed .

Translation

Along with the cowherd boys and their own groups of calves, Kṛṣṇa came out with an unlimited number of calves assembled. Then all the boys began to sport in the forest in a greatly playful spirit.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Along with the cowherd boys and their own groups of calves, Kṛṣṇa came out with an unlimited number of calves assembled. Then all the boys began to sport in the forest in a greatly playful spirit. KB 10.12.3 All the boys appeared very jolly and happy in that excursion. Each and every one of them, including Kṛṣṇa, was attentive to his personal calves as he herded them in the different places in the forest.

Purport

In this verse the words kṛṣṇa-vatsair asaṅkhyātaiḥ are significant. The word asaṅkhyāta means “unlimited.” Kṛṣṇa’s calves were unlimited. We may speak of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions, trillions, tens of trillions, and so on, but when we go further to speak of numbers impossible for us to count, we are speaking of unlimited numbers. Such unlimited numbers are indicated here by the word asaṅkhyātaiḥ. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, His potency is unlimited, His cows and calves are unlimited, and His space is unlimited. Therefore He is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Parabrahman. The word brahman means “unlimited,” and Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Unlimited, Parabrahman. Therefore, we should not consider the statements of this verse to be mythological. They are factual, but inconceivable. Kṛṣṇa can accommodate an unlimited number of calves and an unlimited measurement of space. This is neither mythological nor false, but if we study Kṛṣṇa’s potency with our limited knowledge, that potency will never be possible to understand. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ ( Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.109). Our senses cannot perceive how He could keep an unlimited number of calves and cows and have unlimited space in which to do so. But this is answered in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta: evaṁ prabhoḥ priyānāṁ ca dhāmnaś ca samayasya ca avicintya-prabhāvatvād atra kiṣcin na durghaṭam Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, states that since everything about Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, nothing is impossible for Him. It is in this sense that we have to understand this verse.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The number of Kṛṣṇa’s calves was the number asaṇkhya. Kṣīra-svāmī says: ekaṁ daśa śata śata sahasrāṇy ayutaṁ prayutākhya lakṣam atha niyutam arbuda koṭir nyarbuda padme kharvaṁ nikhavam iti daśabhiḥ gaṇanām mahābja- śaṅkha- samudra -madhyāntaṁ parārdhaṁ ca svahataṁ parārdham amitam tam svahataṁ bhūryato ‘saṇkhyam A prayuta is a hundred thousand and an arbuda is ten million. Ten multiplied by 18 times becomes one parārdha. Svahatam means multiplied by itself. Śata=100 Sahasra=1000 Ayuta=10,000 Lakṣa or prayuta=100,000 Niyuta=1,000,000 Koṭi or arbuda=10,000,000 Nyarbuda=100,000,000 Padma=1,000,000,000 Khava=10,000,000,000 Nikharva=100,000,000,000 Mahābja-1,000,000,000,000 Śaṅkhu=10,000,000,000,000 Ssamudra=100,000,000,000,000 Antya= 1,000,000,000,000,000 Madhya=10,000,000,000,000,000 Parārdha=100,000,000,000,000,000 One parārdha x one x one parādha x one parārdha= one asaṅkhya. They each had their individual calves (svān). Another version has sva-vatsakān. They went to the grazing fields (tatra tara). The word ha expresses joy.