Devanagari
इति स्वाघमनुस्मृत्य कृष्णे ते कृतहेलना: ।
दिदृक्षवो व्रजमथ कंसाद् भीता न चाचलन् ॥ ५२ ॥
Verse text
iti svāgham anusmṛtya
kṛṣṇe te kṛta-helanāḥ
didṛkṣavo vrajam atha
kaṁsād bhītā na cācalan
Synonyms
iti
—
thus
;
sva
—
agham — their own offense
;
anusmṛtya
—
thinking back upon
;
kṛṣṇe
—
against Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
te
—
they
;
kṛta
—
helanāḥ — having shown contempt
;
didṛkṣavaḥ
—
wishing to see
;
vrajam
—
to the village of Nanda Mahārāja
;
atha
—
then
;
kaṁsāt
—
of Kaṁsa
;
bhītāḥ
—
afraid
;
na
—
not
;
ca
—
and
;
acalan
—
they went .
Translation
Thus reflecting on the sin they had committed by neglecting Lord Kṛṣṇa, they became very eager to see Him. But being afraid of King Kaṁsa, they did not dare go to Vraja.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Thus reflecting on the sin they had committed by neglecting Lord Kṛṣṇa, they became very eager to see Him. But being afraid of King Kaṁsa, they did not dare go to Vraja.
KB 10.23.52
The brāhmaṇas repented their sinful activities. They wanted to go personally to offer their obeisances unto Him, but being afraid of Kaṁsa, they could not go to Kṛṣṇa and surrender unto Him. In other words, it is very difficult for one to surrender fully unto the Personality of Godhead without being purified by devotional service. The example of the learned brāhmaṇas and their wives is vivid. The wives of the brāhmaṇas, because they were inspired by pure devotional service, did not care for any kind of opposition. They immediately went to Kṛṣṇa. But the brāhmaṇas, although they had come to know the supremacy of the Lord and were repenting, were still afraid of King Kaṁsa because they were too much addicted to fruitive activities.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-third Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Delivering the Wives of the Brāhmaṇas Who Performed Sacrifices.”
Purport
Realizing their offense against Lord Kṛṣṇa, and finally appreciating His almighty position, the
brāhmaṇas
naturally wanted to rush to Vraja and surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. But they were afraid that Kaṁsa would certainly kill them when his spies reported that they had gone to Kṛṣṇa. The
brāhmaṇas’
wives were absorbed in ecstatic Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus went to Kṛṣṇa anyway, just as the
gopīs,
simply to dance with the Lord, traveled in the dead of night through a forest inhabited by wild animals. But the
brāhmaṇas
were not on such an advanced platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus, overcome by fear of Kaṁsa, could not see the Lord face to face.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “The Brāhmaṇas’ Wives Blessed.”
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
They remembered their extraordinary offense: they had disrespected Kṛṣṇa, thinking him to be an ordinary human. They desired to meet him directly to ask forgiveness for their offense, but did not go to Vraja. They did not take even one step because they were completely afraid of Kaṁsa (atha). Since they did not have strong faith in the Lord, they feared for their own safety.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
They remembered their extraordinary offense. They had disrespected Kṛṣṇa or thought him to be an ordinary human. Or Kṛṣṇa did not ignore them (akṛta-helanaḥ) since he sent their wives back on the pretext of completing the sacrifice. Though (atha) they wanted to see him they did not go to Vraja because they were afraid of Kaṁsa. They feared for their own safety since firm faith had not arisen in them.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A . C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto,Twenty-third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Brāhmaṇas' Wives Blessed."
10.24: Worshiping Govardhana Hill
verses: Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
Chapter Summary
In this chapter Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa crushes the pride of Indra by prohibiting a sacrifice intended for him and initiating a substitute sacrifice in worship of Govardhana Hill.
When Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw the cowherd men busily preparing for a sacrifice to Indra, He inquired about it from their king, Nanda. Nanda explained that the rain given by Indra enables all living entities to maintain their lives, and therefore this sacrifice would be executed to satisfy him. Kṛṣṇa responded, "It is because of karma alone that living entities take their birth in a certain body, experience varieties of happiness and suffering in that body, and then give it up as the karma pertaining to it runs out. Thus it is karma alone that is our enemy, our friend, our guru and our lord, and Indra can do nothing to alter the happiness and distress of anyone, for everyone is tightly bound by his karmic reactions. The material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance bring about the creation, maintenance and destruction of this world. The clouds give forth rain when they are impelled by the mode of passion, and cowherds prosper by protecting the cows. Furthermore, the cowherds' proper residence is in the forest and on the hills. Therefore you should offer worship to the cows, the brāhmaṇas and Govardhana Hill."
After Kṛṣṇa spoke thus, He arranged for the cowherd men to worship Govardhana with the paraphernalia collected for the sacrifice to Indra. He then assumed a huge, unprecedented transcendental form and devoured all the food and other offerings presented to Govardhana. As He did so He proclaimed to the cowherd community that although they had worshiped Indra for so long, he had never appeared in person, whereas Govardhana himself had now manifested before their eyes and eaten their offerings of foodstuffs. Therefore they should all now offer obeisances to Govardhana Hill. Then Lord Kṛṣṇa joined the cowherds in offering obeisances to His own newly assumed form.