SB 10.16.11 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

गावो वृषा वत्सतर्य: क्रन्दमाना: सुदु:खिता: । कृष्णे न्यस्तेक्षणा भीता रुदन्त्य इव तस्थिरे ॥ ११ ॥

Verse text

gāvo vṛṣā vatsataryaḥ krandamānāḥ su-duḥkhitāḥ kṛṣṇe nyastekṣaṇā bhītā rudantya iva tasthire

Synonyms

gāvaḥ — the cows ; vṛṣāḥ — the bulls ; vatsataryaḥ — the female calves ; krandamānāḥ — crying loudly ; su — duḥkhitāḥ — very much distressed ; kṛṣṇe — upon Lord Kṛṣṇa ; nyasta — fixed ; īkṣaṇāḥ — their sight ; bhītāḥ — fearful ; rudantyaḥ — crying ; iva — as if ; tasthire — they stood still .

Translation

The cows, bulls and female calves, in great distress, called out piteously to Kṛṣṇa. Fixing their eyes on Him, they stood still in fear, as if ready to cry but too shocked to shed tears.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The cows, bulls and female calves, in great distress, called out piteously to Kṛṣṇa. Fixing their eyes on Him, they stood still in fear, as if ready to cry but too shocked to shed tears. KB 10.16.11 All the cows, bulls and small calves became overwhelmed with grief, and they began to look at Him with great anxiety. Out of fear they could only cry in agony and stand erect on the bank, unable to help their beloved Kṛṣṇa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Because the water in their eyes had dried up from fear, they could not really weep. Thus they are described "as if weeping."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The animals, crying loudly in pain, as if weeping and uttering human words, while shedding tears, stood there. The cattle with the highest affection were stunned because of intense grief. Sometimes it is seen that because of intense poison, a living being, even though dead, remains upright. The atmanepada verb is poetic license. Not only the cattle, but the buffalos, deer and other animals also acted like this. Since they were more distant they came later, and thus are not mentioned.