SB 10.29.1 · Srimad Bhagavatam

SB 10.29.1

Devanagari

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच भगवानपि ता रात्री: शारदोत्फुल्लमल्लिका: । वीक्ष्य रन्तुं मनश्चक्रे योगमायामुपाश्रित: ॥ १ ॥

Verse text

śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ vīkṣya rantuṁ manaś cakre yoga-māyām upāśritaḥ

Synonyms

śrī — bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva, the son of Śrīla Badarāyaṇa Vedavyāsa, said ; bhagavān — Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; api — although ; tāḥ — those ; rātrīḥ — nights ; śārada — of autumn ; utphulla — blossoming ; mallikāḥ — the jasmine flowers ; vīkṣya — seeing ; rantum — to enjoy love ; manaḥ cakre — He made up His mind ; yoga — māyām — His spiritual potency that makes the impossible possible ; upāśritaḥ — resorting to .

Translation

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in all opulences, yet upon seeing those autumn nights scented with blossoming jasmine flowers, He turned His mind toward loving affairs. To fulfill His purposes He employed His internal potency. KB 10.29.1 In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the rāsa dance took place on the full-moon night of the śarat season. From the statements of previous chapters, it appears that the festival of Govardhana-pūjā was performed just after the dark-moon night of the month of Kārttika, and thereafter the ceremony of Bhrātṛ-dvitīyā was performed; then the wrath of Indra was exhibited in the shape of torrents of rain and hailstones, and Lord Kṛṣṇa held up Govardhana Hill for seven days, until the ninth day of the moon. Thereafter, on the tenth day, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were talking amongst themselves about the wonderful activities of Kṛṣṇa, and the next day, Ekādaśī, was observed by Nanda Mahārāja. On the next day, Dvādaśī, Nanda Mahārāja went to take a bath in the Ganges and was arrested by one of the men of Varuṇa; then he was released by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then Nanda Mahārāja, along with the cowherd men, was shown the spiritual sky. In this way, the full-moon night of the śarat season came to an end. The full-moon night of Āśvina is called śarat-pūrṇimā. It appears from the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Kṛṣṇa had to wait another year for such a moon before enjoying the rāsa dance with the gopīs. At the age of seven years He lifted Govardhana Hill. Therefore the rāsa dance took place during His eighth year. From the Vedic literature it appears that when a theatrical actor dances among many dancing girls, the group dance is called a rāsa dance. When Kṛṣṇa saw the full-moon night of the śarat season, decorated with various seasonal flowers—especially the mallikā flowers, which are very fragrant—He remembered the gopīs’ prayers to Goddess Kātyāyanī, wherein they prayed for Kṛṣṇa to be their husband. He thought that the full-moon night of the śarat season was just suitable for a nice dance. So their desire to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband would then be fulfilled. The words used in this connection in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are bhagavān api. This means that although Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus has no desire that needs to be fulfilled (because He is always full with six opulences), He still wanted to enjoy the company of the gopīs in the rāsa dance. Bhagavān api signifies that this dance is not like the ordinary dancing of young boys and young girls. The specific words used in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are yogamāyām upāśritaḥ, which mean that this dancing with the gopīs is on the platform of yogamāyā, not mahāmāyā. The dancing of young boys and girls within the material world is in the kingdom of mahāmāyā, or the external energy. The rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs is on the platform of yogamāyā. The difference between the platforms of yogamāyā and mahāmāyā is compared in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta to the difference between gold and iron. From the viewpoint of metallurgy, gold and iron are both metals, but the quality is completely different. Similarly, although the rāsa dance and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s association with the gopīs appear like the ordinary mixing of young boys and girls, the quality is completely different. The difference is appreciated by great Vaiṣṇavas because they can understand the difference between love of Kṛṣṇa and lust. On the mahāmāyā platform, dances take place on the basis of sense gratification. But when Kṛṣṇa called the gopīs by sounding His flute, they very hurriedly rushed toward the spot of the rāsa dance with the transcendental desire to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. The author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, has explained that lust means sense gratification, and love also means sense gratification—but for Kṛṣṇa. In other words, when activities are enacted on the platform of personal sense gratification, they are called material activities, but when they are enacted for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, they are spiritual activities. On any platform of activities, the principle of sense gratification is there. But on the spiritual platform, sense gratification is for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, whereas on the material platform it is for the performer. For example, on the material platform, when a servant serves a master, he is trying to satisfy not the senses of his master but rather his own senses. The servant would not serve the master if the payment stopped. That means that the servant engages himself in the service of the master just to satisfy his own senses. On the spiritual platform, however, the servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead serves Kṛṣṇa without payment, and he continues his service in all conditions. That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and material consciousness. As mentioned above, it appears that Kṛṣṇa enjoyed the rāsa dance with the gopīs when He was eight years old. At that time, many of the gopīs were married, because in India, especially in those days, girls were married at a very early age. There are even many instances of a girl’s giving birth to a child at the age of twelve. Under the circumstances, all the gopīs who wanted to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband were already married. At the same time, they continued to hope that Kṛṣṇa would be their husband. Their attitude toward Kṛṣṇa was that of paramour love. Therefore, the loving affairs of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs are called parakīya-rasa. The attitude of a married man who desires another wife or a wife who desires another husband is called parakīya-rasa. Actually, Kṛṣṇa is the husband of everyone because He is the supreme enjoyer. The gopīs wanted Kṛṣṇa to be their husband, but factually there was no possibility of His marrying all the gopīs. But because they had that natural tendency to accept Kṛṣṇa as their supreme husband, the relationship between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa is called parakīya-rasa. This parakīya-rasa is ever-existent in Goloka Vṛndāvana, in the spiritual sky, where there is no possibility of the inebriety which characterizes parakīya-rasa in the material world. In the material world, parakīya-rasa is abominable, whereas in the spiritual world it is present in the superexcellent relationship of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. There are many relationships with Kṛṣṇa—master and servant, friend and friend, parent and son, and lover and beloved. Out of all these rasas, the parakīya-rasa is considered to be the topmost. This material world is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world; it is just like the reflection of a tree on the bank of a reservoir of water: the topmost part of the tree is seen as the lowest part. Similarly, parakīya-rasa, when pervertedly reflected in this material world, is most abominable. Therefore when people imitate the rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, they simply enjoy the perverted, abominable reflection of the transcendental parakīya-rasa. There is no possibility of enjoying this transcendental parakīya-rasa within the material world. It is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that one should not imitate this parakīya-rasa even in dream or imagination. Those who do so drink the most deadly poison.

Purport

As we begin the famous narration of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa dance, a dance of love with beautiful young girls, questions will inevitably arise in the minds of ordinary people regarding the propriety of God’s romantic dancing with many young girls in the middle of a full-moon autumn night. In his description of the Lord’s rāsa dance in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda painstakingly explains the spiritual purity of these transcendental activities. Those advanced in the science of Kṛṣṇa — the great teachers, or ācāryas — leave no doubt that Lord Kṛṣṇa is full and satisfied in Himself, free of all material desire, which is, after all, a sense of incompleteness or lack. Materialistic persons and impersonal philosophers stubbornly reject the bona fide explanation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental nature. There is no reason to deny the beautiful reality of an absolute person able to perform absolute romantic activities, of which our so-called romance is merely a shadow or perverted reflection. The irrational insistence that material activities cannot be a reflection of the perfect, spiritual activities performed by God reflects the unimaginative emotional disposition of those who oppose the reality of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This psychological disposition of the nondevotees, which leads them to fervently deny the very existence of the absolute person, unfortunately boils down to what may be succinctly described as envy, since the overwhelming majority of the impersonal critics eagerly pursue their own romantic affairs, which they consider quite real and even “spiritual.” The actual supreme lover is Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Vedānta-sūtra begins by declaring that the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, and even Western philosophy was born in a somewhat awkward attempt at finding the original One behind the apparent many of material existence. Conjugal love, one of the most intense and demanding aspects of human existence, can hardly have nothing at all to do with supreme reality. In fact, the conjugal love experienced by human beings is a mere reflection of spiritual reality, in which the same love exists in an absolute, pristine state. Thus it is clearly stated here that when Kṛṣṇa decided to enjoy the romantic atmosphere of autumn, “He resorted to His spiritual potency” ( yoga-māyām upāśritaḥ ). The spiritual nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s conjugal affairs is a major theme in this section of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. A woman is attractive because of the sweet sound of her voice, her beauty and gentleness, her enchanting fragrance and tenderness, and also because of her cleverness and skill in music and dance. The most attractive ladies of all are the young gopīs of Vṛndāvana, who are Lord Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency, and this chapter tells how He enjoyed their brilliant feminine qualities — even though, as Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has mentioned, Lord Kṛṣṇa was an eight-year-old boy when these events took place. Ordinary people prefer God simply to be a witness of their romantic affairs. When a boy desires a girl or a girl desires a boy, sometimes they pray to God for their enjoyment. Such people are shocked and dismayed to find out that the Lord can enjoy His own loving affairs with His own transcendental senses. In truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Cupid, and His exciting conjugal pastimes will be described in this section of the Bhāgavatam. When Lord Kṛṣṇa descends to the earth, His spiritual body seems to take birth and grow as He displays His variegated pastimes. The Lord could hardly allow His boyhood to pass without exhibiting the supreme loving affairs between a young boy and young girls. Thus Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as follows: kaiśoraṁ saphalī-karoti kalayan kuṣje vihāraṁ hariḥ. “Lord Hari perfects His youth by arranging loving pastimes in the groves of the Vṛndāvana forest.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

To show the world that even though he appeared indifferent to them, the gopis did not decrease one drop in their affection for him

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

All respects to the tasters of the rāsa dance. Śrīdhara Svāmī mentions in his commentary that Kṛṣṇa disappeared at the beginning of the rāsa dance since he saw the gopīs ’pride in performing the dance. He also mentions that Kṛṣṇa seems to have been conquered by Cupid, since he enjoyed with others’ wives. Bādarāyaṇi began speaking. He spoke from the strength of his greatness. Vyāsa, his father, is called Bādrāyaṇa because he performed great austerities at Badirikāśrama, characterized by worship of Kṛṣṇa. Since he was omniscient, such acts of worship were expected of him. The result of his worship was his son. Śukadeva revealed exceptional qualities of omniscience and prema for the Lord. The analysis of his name Bādarāyaṇi thus indicates his glories. The rāsa dance should be heard by such devotees as this. Another version has Śrī Śuka (parrot) uvāca. This indicates that Śukadeva possessed the softest speech since he had the highest rasa as his very nature. One should hear the rāsa dance topics with such a heart. Śukadeva shows that the main reason for all of Kṛṣṇa’s actions was to give happiness to the gopīs, to fulfill their desires. This produced Kṛṣṇa’s own happiness. Sākṣān manmatha-manmathaḥ: he was the bewilderer of Cupid. (SB 10.32.2) Trailokya-lakṣmy-eka-padaṁ vapur dadhat: his body, the exclusive abode of beauty and opulence within the three worlds, shone brilliantly as the gopīs worshiped him. (SB 10.32.14) gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ lāvaṇya-sāram asamordhvam ananya-siddham dṛgbhiḥ pibanty anusavābhinavaṁ durāpam ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śrīya aiśvarasya What austerities must the gopīs have performed! With their eyes they always drink the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s form, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equaled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and extremely rare. SB 10.44.14 This happiness arises from the special experience of Kṛṣṇa’s form, taste, smell, touch and sound, rarely attained even by ātmārāmas and because the nectar of his lips is not available anywhere else. In five chapters, equivalent to the five dear senses, Śukadeva will describe the rāsa dance with the gopīs who were qualified with the most perfect prema. The special nature of Kṛṣṇa’s and the gopīs’ new rāga is described in these chapters. Pītvā mukunda-mukha-sāragham akṣi-bhṛṅgais: with their cup-like eyes, the women of Vṛndāvana drank the honey of the beautiful face of Mukunda. (SB 10.15.43) Gopīnāṁ paramānanda āsīd govinda-darśane: the young gopīs took the greatest pleasure in seeing Govinda. (SB 10.19.16) itthaṁ śarat-svaccha-jalaṁ padmākara-sugandhinā nyaviśad vāyunā vātaṁ sa -go-gopālako ‘cyutaḥ The infallible Lord, accompanied by his cows and cowherd boyfriends, entered that Vṛndāvana forest filled with transparent autumnal waters and cooled by breezes perfumed with the fragrance of lotus flowers. SB 10.21.1 hemante prathame māsi nanda-vraja-kamārikāḥ cerur haviṣyaṁ bhuñjānāḥ kātyāyany-arcana-vratam During the first month of the winter season, the young unmarried girls of Gokula observed the vow of worshiping goddess Kātyāyanī. For the entire month they ate only unspiced khichrī. SB 10.22.1 The gopīs will describe Kṛṣṇa as follows: śarad-udāśaye sādhu-jāta-sat- sarasijodara-śrī-muṣā dṛśā surata-nātha te ’śulka-dāsikā vara-da nighnato neha kiṁ vadhaḥ O Lord of love, in beauty your glance excels the whorl of the finest, most perfectly formed lotus within the autumn pond. O bestower of benedictions, you are killing the maidservants who have given themselves to you freely, without any price. Isn’t this murder? SB 10.31.1 prahasitaṁ priya-prema-vīkṣaṇaṁ viharaṇaṁ ca te dhyāna-maṅgalam rahasi saṁvido yā hṛdi spṛśaḥ kuhaka no manaḥ kṣobhayanti hi Your smiles, your sweet, loving glances, the intimate pastimes and confidential talks that we enjoyed with you—all these are auspicious to meditate upon, and they touch our hearts. But at the same time, O deceiver, they very much agitate our minds. SB 10.31.10 dina-parikṣaye nīla-kuntalair vanaruhānanaṁ bibhrad āvṛtam ghana-rajasvalaṁ darśayan muhur manasi naḥ smaraṁ vīra yacchasi At the end of the day you repeatedly show us your lotus face, covered with dark blue locks of hair and thickly powdered with dust. Thus, O hero, you arouse lusty desires in our minds. SB 10.31.12 rahasi saṁvidaṁ hṛc-chayodayaṁ prahasitānanaṁ prema-vīkṣaṇam bṛhad-uraḥ śriyo vīkṣya dhāma te muhur ati-spṛhā muhyate manaḥ Our minds are repeatedly bewildered as we think of the intimate conversations we had with you in secret, feel the rise of lust in our hearts and remember your smiling face, your loving glances and your broad chest, the resting place of the goddess of fortune. Thus we experience the most severe hankering for you. SB 10.31.17 Remembering all this, Śukadeva then remembers their new relationship, since it should be described in great detail. He thus begins speaking. The word api indicates the previous rāga of the gopīs. One can understand the freshness of their association by previous statements. Till this time they simply desired to enjoy because of the fickleness of their anurāga. Though Kṛṣṇa also had anurāga, waiting for the proper time, he did not show this because of his self-control. These gopīs had attained the middle of kaiśora period, and were the best because of giving happiness to all, being most auspicious and possessing special teachings of the flute. Observing the night that he had promised to the unmarried gopīs (You will enjoy the nights with me. SB 10.22.27) at the beginning of the full moon, he decided to enjoy, giving up his self-control because of heightened anurāga. Though Bhagavān is completely satisfied in himself like the ātmārāma, on seeing the night, he experienced it as an uddīpana. What then to speak of the great prema of the gopīs the ālambana of his love. He had also reached the kaiśora age, which now manifested fully. so ‘pi kaiśora-kavayo mānayan madhusūdanaḥ reme tabhir ameyātmā kṣapāsu kṣapitā hi te Respecting the age of kaiśora, Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with the gopīs for a night of Brahmā. Viṣṇu Purāṇa yuvatīr gopa-kanyāś ca rātrau saṁkālya kālavit kaiśorakaṁ mānayānaḥ saha tābhir mumoda ha Gathering the young gopīs, Kṛṣṇa, knowing the time, respecting the kaiśora age, enjoyed with them. Hari-vaṁśa Kālavit (knower of the time) means that he saw the suitable night. Then he enjoyed with them. Rantuṁ manaś cakre is in the atmanepada to show benefit for himself, according to svaritañṭoḥ kartr abhiprāye kriyā-phalam. (Pāṇini 1.3.72) This time was astonishing to him. Using that pretext, the splendor of Vṛndāvana is shown. The nights had fully blossoming jasmine flowers because of the autumn. Since jasmines usually do not bloom in the autumn, the description shows the unprecedented nature of these jasmines. This statement also indicates that all flowers began to blossom at this time. Thus it is indicated that the gopīs (ālambana), time and place were all giving the highest happiness of prema to Kṛṣṇa. Since this enjoyment was special prema caused by the hlādinī-śakti, not material, lusty enjoyment, it is suitable to remove material lust of the listener. The five chapters on rāsa pastimes remove all material attraction. Śrīdhara Svāmī says: dvā-triṁśe virahālāpa-viklinna-hrdayo harih tatrāvirbhūya gopīs tāh sāntvayām āsa mānayan sva-premāmṛtakallola-vihvalī-kṛta-cetasaḥ sadayaṁ nandayan gopīr udgato nanda-nandanaḥ In the thirty-second chapter, Kṛṣṇa afflicted by the conversations of the gopīs in separation, makes his appearance, pacifies them and respects them. Kṛṣṇa appears before the gopīs, whose hearts were thrilled with waves of sweet prema for him, and gives them joy. Śukadeva says: vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ śraddhānvito ’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ Anyone who faithfully hears or describes the Lord’s playful affairs with the young gopīs of Vṛndāvana will attain the Lord’s pure devotional service. Thus he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart. SB 10.33.39 Material lust was excluded, for Kṛṣṇa took close shelter of his yogamāyā, his inconceivable spiritual energy. Wherever Kṛṣṇa plays, this energy is present like the rays of the sun. He possesses this śakti innately. This śakti enables him to accomplish impossible pastimes. Yogamāyā also means “mercy of union” since māyā also means mercy: he took complete shelter of mercy that unites individuals. The verse also indicates that from the first time he saw the gopīs till the full moon his desire kept increasing. On the evening of the full moon, after eating his dinner, coming to the door of the roof top bedroom after leaving his mother, he suddenly decided to enact his pastimes.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Vyāsa performed great austerities at Badarikāśrama. As a result Śukadeva was born as his son. Thus Śukadeva was endowed with omniscience and prema full of rasa. Because this work is uttered by him, it should be full of rasa in execution and result. Thus the word bādarāyaniḥ (son of Vyāsa) is used. And therefore it should be heard with devotion. He showing the principal goal of his avatāra, spreading special prema, through fulfilling the desires of the gopīs, revealing Kṛṣṇa’s happiness and playing with them, in five chapters which are like the five prāṇas. First he shows the ingredients, his attracting the gopīs and his special bhāva that caused this. This pastime took place at the proper time, his kaiśora period. Viṣṇu purāṇa says: so ‘pi kaiśora-kavayo mānayan madhusūdanaḥ reme tabhir ameyātmā kṣapāsu kṣapitā hi te Respecting the age of kaiśora, Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with the gopīs for a night of Brahmā. Viṣṇu Purāṇa yuvatīr gopa-kanyāś ca rātrau saṁkālya kālavit kaiśorakaṁ mānayānaḥ saha tābhir mumoda ha Gathering the young gopīs, Kṛṣṇa, knowing the time, respecting the kaiśora age, enjoyed with them. Hari-vaṁśa Remembering his great beauty at the beginning of the rāsa dance. Śukadeva spoke of his great attractiveness, but was unable to express it clearly: tataś ca paugaṇḍa-vayaḥ-śrītau vraje babhūvatus tau paśu-pāla-sammatau gāś cārayantau sakhibhiḥ samaṁ padair vṛndāvanaṁ puṇyam atīva cakratuḥ Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa attained the age of paugaṇḍa in Vṛndāvana, the cowherd men allowed them to take up the task of tending the cows. Engaging thus in the company of their friends, the two boys rendered the land of Vṛndāvana most auspicious by imprinting upon it the marks of their lotus feet. SB 10.15.1 The rāsa dance was filled with his kaiśora aspects. This will be described later in the appropriate place. To represent all the rāsa dances, one night, the first at the beginning of his kaiśora period, is described. The word bhagavān indicates that in the rāsa dance he manifested the essence of his unlimited qualities as the Lord. Nanda and others had the highest bliss. Bhagavān however (api) desired to perform a special pastime to become most blissful (rantuṁ manaś cakre), on seeing thos nights—which were indescribable, the best of all times, filled with the highest bliss. Thus they were suitable for his pastime. The plural is used to indicate that the dance took place on many nights. That is revealed at the end. At that time, in the autumn, the jasmines were fully blooming. Though Vṛndāvana is the shelter of everything, and all flowers bloom at al times, in the autumn the jasmines and lotuses especially blossom. And they especially blossomed on those nights. That is the intention also in later saying kumudvantam. Seeing the uddīpanas and considering it was suitable for love, he took the assistance of or made manifest his spiritual energy full of eternity, knowledge and bliss. This indicates the highest bliss experienced throught the rāsa dance, superior to all other pastimes, though all the pastimes are full of eternity, knowledge and bliss. This was indicated previously in the eighth chapter concerning the infant pastimes. Or he manifested power and mercy (yogamāyām upāśritaḥ) through his rāsa dance. Or though he always took shelter of his deception (māyā) endowed with self-satisfaction (yoga), now he did not situate himself in this yogamāyā. Rather he now revealed his nature of distributing a wealth of prema of his lotus feet. Or though he usually took shelter of cheating in relationships (yoga), as in the case of the wives of the brāhmaṇas, now he did not cheat in this meeting. He directly met with the gopīs. He met with those gopīs who had come there. Or though he is always served by Lakṣmī (māyā) who is united with him on his chest, she was not present during the rāsa dance. The rāsa dance is hard to attain. Or he took shelter of his flute which makes sounds (māya) for bringing about a meeting (yoga). Or he took shelter in his mind of Rādhā, who is the conclusion (māya) of union (yoga), or who is the attainment (yā) of a wealth (mā) of union (yoga). Padma Purāṇa explains that Rādhā was the cause of the rāsa dance.