Brahma's Prayers to Lord Krishna

Verse 1 (bhagavata.10.14.1)

श्रीब्रह्मोवाच नौमीड्य तेऽभ्रवपुषे तडिदम्बराय गुञ्जावतंसपरिपिच्छलसन्मुखाय । वन्यस्रजे कवलवेत्रविषाणवेणु- लक्ष्मश्रिये मृदुपदे पशुपाङ्गजाय ॥ 14.1 ॥

śrī-brahmovāca naumīḍya te ’bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya guñjāvataṁsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu- lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāṅgajāya

Shri Brahma said: I offer my praise to you, O worthy of all praise, whose body is dark as a rain-cloud, whose garment gleams like lightning, whose face shines beneath gunja earrings and a swaying peacock feather, who wears a garland of forest flowers, and in whose hands rest a morsel of food, a herding stick, a horn and a flute — O soft-footed child born into the cowherd clan.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.10.14.2)

अस्यापि देव वपुषो मदनुग्रहस्य स्वेच्छामयस्य न तु भूतमयस्य कोऽपि । नेशे महि त्ववसितुं मनसान्तरेण साक्षात्तवैव किमुतात्मसुखानुभूतेः ॥ 14.2 ॥

asyāpi deva vapuṣo mad-anugrahasya svecchā-mayasya na tu bhūta-mayasya ko ’pi neśe mahi tv avasituṁ manasāntareṇa sākṣāt tavaiva kim utātma-sukhānubhūteḥ

O Lord, even this body of yours, freely willed and not born of any deed — assumed only out of grace to me — I cannot fathom even with the mind; how then could I hope to grasp, directly, the bliss you know within your own self?

Verse 3 (bhagavata.10.14.3)

ज्ञाने प्रयासमुदपास्य नमन्त एव जीवन्ति सन्मुखरितां भवदीयवार्ताम् । स्थाने स्थिताः श्रुतिगतां तनुवाङ्मनोभि- र्ये प्रायशोऽजित जितोऽप्यसि तैस्त्रिलोक्याम् ॥ 14.3 ॥

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām

O Unconquered One, those who set aside the labor of speculative knowledge and, remaining just where they are, bow with body, mind and word to live their whole lives on your story — as it is told by your own saints — those, more than any others, come to conquer even you, though you are unconquerable in all three worlds.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.10.14.4)

श्रेयःसृतिं भक्तिमुदस्य ते विभो क्लिश्यन्ति ये केवलबोधलब्धये । तेषामसौ क्लेशल एव शिष्यते नान्यद् यथा स्थूलतुषावघातिनाम् ॥ 14.4 ॥

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām

O Lord, those who set aside devotion to you — the direct path to the highest good — and toil instead merely for bare knowledge, gain nothing from that labor but weariness, exactly as one who threshes empty husks gets nothing for it but exhaustion, no grain at all.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.10.14.5)

पुरेह भूमन् बहवोऽपि योगिन- स्त्वदर्पितेहा निजकर्मलब्धया । विबुध्य भक्त्यैव कथोपनीतया प्रपेदिरेऽञ्जोऽच्युत ते गतिं पराम् ॥ 14.5 ॥

pureha bhūman bahavo ’pi yoginas tvad-arpitehā nija-karma-labdhayā vibudhya bhaktyaiva kathopanītayā prapedire ’ñjo ’cyuta te gatiṁ parām

O all-pervading one, in ages past too, many yogis in this world dedicated every effort of theirs to you, and coming to know you through the very devotion born of hearing your story, O Unfailing One, they reached with ease that supreme goal of yours.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.10.14.6)

तथापि भूमन्महिमागुणस्य ते विबोद्धुमर्हत्यमलान्तरात्मभिः । अविक्रियात् स्वानुभवादरूपतो ह्यनन्यबोध्यात्मतया न चान्यथा ॥ 14.6 ॥

tathāpi bhūman mahimāguṇasya te viboddhum arhaty amalāntar-ātmabhiḥ avikriyāt svānubhavād arūpato hy ananya-bodhyātmatayā na cānyathā

And yet, O all-pervading one, that glory of yours beyond the qualities can be known by the pure of heart only through their own unchanging, formless experience of the self — for nothing but your own being can truly know your being, and by no other means at all.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.10.14.7)

गुणात्मनस्तेऽपि गुणान् विमातुं हितावतीर्णस्य क ईशिरेऽस्य । कालेन यैर्वा विमिताः सुकल्पै- र्भूपांशवः खे मिहिका द्युभासः ॥ 14.7 ॥

guṇātmanas te ’pi guṇān vimātuṁ hitāvatīṛnasya ka īśire ’sya kālena yair vā vimitāḥ su-kalpair bhū-pāṁśavaḥ khe mihikā dyu-bhāsaḥ

O you who have descended for the good of all worlds, who could ever number the qualities of one who is himself the very source of all qualities? Even those who, with great cleverness and over long ages, might count every speck of earth's dust, every flake of snow in the sky, or every gleam of starlight, could not count these.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.10.14.8)

तत्तेऽनुकम्पां सुसमीक्षमाणो भुञ्जान एवात्मकृतं विपाकम् । हृद्वाग्वपुर्भिर्विदधन्नमस्ते जीवेत यो मुक्तिपदे स दायभाक् ॥ 14.8 ॥

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

For this reason, whoever, even while enduring the fruits of his own past deeds, keeps a steady eye on your compassion and lives out his life offering you reverence in thought, word and body — he alone rightfully claims the seat of liberation.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.10.14.9)

पश्येश मेऽनार्यमनन्त आद्ये परात्मनि त्वय्यपि मायिमायिनि । मायां वितत्येक्षितुमात्मवैभवं ह्यहं कियानैच्छमिवार्चिरग्नौ ॥ 14.9 ॥

paśyeśa me ’nāryam ananta ādye parātmani tvayy api māyi-māyini māyāṁ vitatyekṣitum ātma-vaibhavaṁ hy ahaṁ kiyān aiccham ivārcir agnau

O Lord, infinite, primeval, Supreme Self, bewilderer even of the masters of illusion — see now this presumption of mine, unworthy as it is: I dared spread my own illusion to test your own greatness, when I am nothing before you but a spark before a raging fire.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.10.14.10)

अतः क्षमस्वाच्युत मे रजोभुवो ह्यजानतस्त्वत्पृथगीशमानिनः । अजावलेपान्धतमोऽन्धचक्षुष एषोऽनुकम्प्यो मयि नाथवानिति ॥ 14.10 ॥

ataḥ kṣamasvācyuta me rajo-bhuvo hy ajānatas tvat-pṛthag-īśa-māninaḥ ajāvalepāndha-tamo-’ndha-cakṣuṣa eṣo ’nukampyo mayi nāthavān iti

Therefore, O Unfailing One, forgive me — born of the mode of passion, ignorant, imagining myself a lord apart from you, my eyes blinded by the darkness of pride — and consider only this, that I too am your own servant, and thus deserving of your mercy.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.10.14.11)

क्वाहं तमोमहदहंखचराग्निवार्भू- संवेष्टिताण्डघटसप्तवितस्तिकायः । क्वेदृग्विधाविगणिताण्डपराणुचर्या- वाताध्वरोमविवरस्य च ते महित्वम् ॥ 14.11 ॥

kvāhaṁ tamo-mahad-ahaṁ-kha-carāgni-vār-bhū- saṁveṣṭitāṇḍa-ghaṭa-sapta-vitasti-kāyaḥ kvedṛg-vidhāvigaṇitāṇḍa-parāṇu-caryā- vātādhva-roma-vivarasya ca te mahitvam

What am I — this mere seven-span body of mine, enclosed within a pot-shaped universe of darkness, the great principle, false ego, sky, air, fire, water and earth — set beside your own glory, through whose every single pore countless universes drift unhindered, like so many specks of dust!

Verse 12 (bhagavata.10.14.12)

उत्क्षेपणं गर्भगतस्य पादयोः किं कल्पते मातुरधोक्षजागसे । किमस्तिनास्तिव्यपदेशभूषितं तवास्ति कुक्षेः कियदप्यनन्तः ॥ 14.12 ॥

utkṣepaṇaṁ garbha-gatasya pādayoḥ kiṁ kalpate mātur adhokṣajāgase kim asti-nāsti-vyapadeśa-bhūṣitaṁ tavāsti kukṣeḥ kiyad apy anantaḥ

O Lord beyond the senses, does a mother take it as an offense when the child within her womb kicks its little legs? Is there anything at all, O Infinite One, called by the names existent or non-existent, that lies even the smallest distance outside your own belly?

Verse 13 (bhagavata.10.14.13)

जगत् त्रयान्तोदधिसम्प्लवोदे नारायणस्योदरनाभिनालात् । विनिर्गतोऽजस्त्विति वाङ्न वै मृषा किन्त्वीश्वर त्वन्न विनिर्गतोऽस्मि ॥ 14.13 ॥

jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavode nārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālāt vinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣā kintv īśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi

When the three worlds lie submerged in the waters of dissolution, I — the unborn one — arise from the navel-stalk of Narayana's belly: this is no falsehood. And yet, O Lord, in truth I have never really come forth from you at all.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.10.14.14)

नारायणस्त्वं न हि सर्वदेहिना- मात्मास्यधीशाखिललोकसाक्षी । नारायणोऽङ्गं नरभूजलायना- त्तच्चापि सत्यं न तवैव माया ॥ 14.14 ॥

nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī nārāyaṇo ’ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā

Are you not yourself that Narayana, the soul of every embodied being, witness of every world, the supreme master? Narayana too is only your own limb, named so because his abode is the water born of the primeval man — and this, too, is no illusion, but the plain truth, for this too is nothing but your own being.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.10.14.15)

तच्चेज्जलस्थं तव सज्जगद्वपुः किं मे न दृष्टं भगवंस्तदैव । किं वा सुदृष्टं हृदि मे तदैव किं नो सपद्येव पुनर्व्यदर्शि ॥ 14.15 ॥

tac cej jala-sthaṁ tava saj jagad-vapuḥ kiṁ me na dṛṣṭaṁ bhagavaṁs tadaiva kiṁ vā su-dṛṣṭaṁ hṛdi me tadaiva kiṁ no sapady eva punar vyadarśi

If that universe-bearing form of yours truly lies there upon the waters, Bhagavan, why did I not see it at that very moment? And if I did see it well, right then, within my own heart, why has it shown itself to me all over again just now?

Verse 16 (bhagavata.10.14.16)

अत्रैव मायाधमनावतारे ह्यस्य प्रपञ्चस्य बहिः स्फुटस्य । कृत्स्नस्य चान्तर्जठरे जनन्या मायात्वमेव प्रकटीकृतं ते ॥ 14.16 ॥

atraiva māyā-dhamanāvatāre hy asya prapañcasya bahiḥ sphuṭasya kṛtsnasya cāntar jaṭhare jananyā māyātvam eva prakaṭī-kṛtaṁ te

In this very incarnation of yours, by showing this whole visible, outspread universe entire within the womb of your own mother, you have made manifest, plain to see, the sheer power of your own illusive potency.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.10.14.17)

यस्य कुक्षाविदं सर्वं सात्मं भाति यथा तथा । तत्त्वय्यपीह तत् सर्वं किमिदं मायया विना ॥ 14.17 ॥

yasya kukṣāv idaṁ sarvaṁ sātmaṁ bhāti yathā tathā tat tvayy apīha tat sarvaṁ kim idaṁ māyayā vinā

In whose belly this whole universe, exactly as it is, appears as though it were his own very self — that same reality is present here in you too, in just the same way; and how could any of this be, without your own illusive power at work?

Verse 18 (bhagavata.10.14.18)

अद्यैव त्वदृतेऽस्य किं मम न ते मायात्वमादर्शित- मेकोऽसि प्रथमं ततो व्रजसुहृद्वत्साः समस्ता अपि । तावन्तोऽसि चतुर्भुजास्तदखिलैः साकं मयोपासिता- स्तावन्त्येव जगन्त्यभूस्तदमितं ब्रह्माद्वयं शिष्यते ॥ 14.18 ॥

adyaiva tvad ṛte ’sya kiṁ mama na te māyātvam ādarśitam eko ’si prathamaṁ tato vraja-suhṛd-vatsāḥ samastā api tāvanto ’si catur-bhujās tad akhilaiḥ sākaṁ mayopāsitās tāvanty eva jaganty abhūs tad amitaṁ brahmādvayaṁ śiṣyate

Have you not shown me your own illusive power this very day? First you were one alone; then you became all those friends and calves of Vraja; then you became just as many four-armed forms of Vishnu, whom I, with everyone else, worshiped; then just as many whole universes — and in the end, what remains is that same immeasurable, undivided Brahman.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.10.14.19)

अजानतां त्वत्पदवीमनात्म- न्यात्मात्मना भासि वितत्य मायाम् । सृष्टाविवाहं जगतो विधान इव त्वमेषोऽन्त इव त्रिनेत्रः ॥ 14.19 ॥

ajānatāṁ tvat-padavīm anātmany ātmātmanā bhāsi vitatya māyām sṛṣṭāv ivāhaṁ jagato vidhāna iva tvam eṣo ’nta iva trinetraḥ

To those who do not know your true nature, you, spreading forth your own illusion, appear to yourself, by yourself, within yourself — as though I were you for creation, as though you yourself were you for its maintenance, and as though three-eyed Shiva were you for its dissolution.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.10.14.20)

सुरेष्वृषिष्वीश तथैव नृष्वपि तिर्यक्षु यादःस्वपि तेऽजनस्य । जन्मासतां दुर्मदनिग्रहाय प्रभो विधातः सदनुग्रहाय च ॥ 14.20 ॥

sureṣv ṛṣiṣv īśa tathaiva nṛṣv api tiryakṣu yādaḥsv api te ’janasya janmāsatāṁ durmada-nigrahāya prabho vidhātaḥ sad-anugrahāya ca

O Lord, O master, O ordainer — though you are unborn, yet to crush the wicked pride of the ill-natured and to show grace to the good, you take birth among the gods, the sages, human beings, animals, and even the creatures of the water.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.10.14.21)

को वेत्ति भूमन् भगवन् परात्मन् योगेश्वरोतीर्भवतस्त्रिलोक्याम् । क्व वा कथं वा कति वा कदेति विस्तारयन्क्रीडसि योगमायाम् ॥ 14.21 ॥

ko vetti bhūman bhagavan parātman yogeśvarotīr bhavatas tri-lokyām kva vā kathaṁ vā kati vā kadeti vistārayan krīḍasi yoga-māyām

O all-pervading Bhagavan, Supreme Self, Lord of all mystic power — who could ever know where, how, how many times, or when you spread out your own yoga-maya and play at your games throughout the three worlds?

Verse 22 (bhagavata.10.14.22)

तस्मादिदं जगदशेषमसत्स्वरूपं स्वप्नाभमस्तधिषणं पुरुदुःखदुःखम् । त्वय्येव नित्यसुखबोधतनावनन्ते मायात उद्यदपि यत् सदिवावभाति ॥ 14.22 ॥

tasmād idaṁ jagad aśeṣam asat-svarūpaṁ svapnābham asta-dhiṣaṇaṁ puru-duḥkha-duḥkham tvayy eva nitya-sukha-bodha-tanāv anante māyāta udyad api yat sad ivāvabhāti

And so this entire universe, though unreal in its very nature, like a dream, still robs the mind of its clarity and is full of endless suffering — and yet, O Infinite One, arising as it does within you, whose very form is eternal happiness and knowledge, it appears, through your own illusion, to be real.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.10.14.23)

एकस्त्वमात्मा पुरुषः पुराणः सत्यः स्वयंज्योतिरनन्त आद्यः । नित्योऽक्षरोऽजस्रसुखो निरञ्जनः पूर्णाद्वयो मुक्त उपाधितोऽमृतः ॥ 14.23 ॥

ekas tvam ātmā puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ satyaḥ svayaṁ-jyotir ananta ādyaḥ nityo ’kṣaro ’jasra-sukho nirañjanaḥ pūrṇādvayo mukta upādhito ’mṛtaḥ

You are the one Self, that primeval Person, being itself, self-luminous, infinite, the beginning, eternal, imperishable, unbroken in bliss, stainless, whole, without a second, free of every limiting attribute, and the very substance of immortality.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.10.14.24)

एवंविधं त्वां सकलात्मनामपि स्वात्मानमात्मात्मतया विचक्षते । गुर्वर्कलब्धोपनिषत्सुचक्षुषा ये ते तरन्तीव भवानृताम्बुधिम् ॥ 14.24 ॥

evaṁ-vidhaṁ tvāṁ sakalātmanām api svātmānam ātmātmatayā vicakṣate gurv-arka-labdhopaniṣat-sucakṣuṣā ye te tarantīva bhavānṛtāmbudhim

Those who, with the clear eyes of the Upanishadic wisdom received from a guru shining like the sun, come to see you in this way — as the very Self of every being, as their own self — cross over, as it were, this ocean of unreal existence.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.10.14.25)

आत्मानमेवात्मतयाविजानतां तेनैव जातं निखिलं प्रपञ्चितम् । ज्ञानेन भूयोऽपि च तत् प्रलीयते रज्ज्वामहेर्भोगभवाभवौ यथा ॥ 14.25 ॥

ātmānam evātmatayāvijānatāṁ tenaiva jātaṁ nikhilaṁ prapañcitam jñānena bhūyo ’pi ca tat pralīyate rajjvām aher bhoga-bhavābhavau yathā

It is only for those who fail to recognize their own self as you that this whole visible world arises and unfolds — but the instant true knowledge dawns, it dissolves again, exactly as the illusion of a snake, born from mistaking a rope, vanishes the moment the rope is seen for what it is.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.10.14.26)

अज्ञानसंज्ञौ भवबन्धमोक्षौ द्वौ नाम नान्यौ स्त ऋतज्ञभावात् । अजस्रचित्यात्मनि केवले परे विचार्यमाणे तरणाविवाहनी ॥ 14.26 ॥

ajñāna-saṁjñau bhava-bandha-mokṣau dvau nāma nānyau sta ṛta-jña-bhāvāt ajasra-city ātmani kevale pare vicāryamāṇe taraṇāv ivāhanī

Bondage to this world and liberation from it are, both of them, mere names born of ignorance — from the standpoint of true knowledge, neither has any separate existence at all; once one reflects on the ever-conscious, undivided Supreme Self, the two become as meaningless as day and night are, to the sun itself.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.10.14.27)

त्वामात्मानं परं मत्वा परमात्मानमेव च । आत्मा पुनर्बहिर्मृग्य अहोऽज्ञजनताज्ञता ॥ 14.27 ॥

tvām ātmānaṁ paraṁ matvā param ātmānam eva ca ātmā punar bahir mṛgya aho ’jña-janatājñatā

To take you as the supreme self and the supreme soul, and then to go off searching for the self somewhere outside — ah, what strange folly of the ignorant this is!

Verse 28 (bhagavata.10.14.28)

अन्तर्भवेऽनन्त भवन्तमेव ह्यतत्त्यजन्तो मृगयन्ति सन्तः । असन्तमप्यन्त्यहिमन्तरेण सन्तं गुणं तं किमु यन्ति सन्तः ॥ 14.28 ॥

antar-bhave ’nanta bhavantam eva hy atat tyajanto mṛgayanti santaḥ asantam apy anty ahim antareṇa santaṁ guṇaṁ taṁ kim u yanti santaḥ

O Infinite One, the saintly seek you out right within themselves, casting aside everything that is not you — for until the illusion of the snake is set aside, can the wise ever come to know the true substance of the rope itself?

Verse 29 (bhagavata.10.14.29)

अथापि ते देव पदाम्बुजद्वय- प्रसादलेशानुगृहीत एव हि । जानाति तत्त्वं भगवन् महिम्नो न चान्य एकोऽपि चिरं विचिन्वन् ॥ 14.29 ॥

athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya- prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan

And yet, O Lord, only one graced with even the smallest trace of your lotus feet' favor comes to know the truth of your greatness — no one else, however long, however alone, he goes on searching.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.10.14.30)

तदस्तु मे नाथ स भूरिभागो भवेऽत्र वान्यत्र तु वा तिरश्चाम् । येनाहमेकोऽपि भवज्जनानां भूत्वा निषेवे तव पादपल्लवम् ॥ 14.30 ॥

tad astu me nātha sa bhūri-bhāgo bhave ’tra vānyatra tu vā tiraścām yenāham eko ’pi bhavaj-janānāṁ bhūtvā niṣeve tava pāda-pallavam

So, O Lord, may this be my greatest good fortune — whether in this birth of mine, or in any other, even among the beasts — that I may become one among your own devotees and serve those lotus feet of yours.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.10.14.31)

अहोऽतिधन्या व्रजगोरमण्यः स्तन्यामृतं पीतमतीव ते मुदा । यासां विभो वत्सतरात्मजात्मना यत्तृप्तयेऽद्यापि न चालमध्वराः ॥ 14.31 ॥

aho ’ti-dhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ stanyāmṛtaṁ pītam atīva te mudā yāsāṁ vibho vatsatarātmajātmanā yat-tṛptaye ’dyāpi na cālam adhvarāḥ

Ah, how truly blessed are the cows and the cowherd women of Vraja, whose nectar-like milk you have drunk with such delight, taking the form of their calves and their own children — a satisfaction, O all-powerful one, that no sacrifice ever performed has come close to giving you.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.10.14.32)

अहो भाग्यमहो भाग्यं नन्दगोपव्रजौकसाम् । यन्मित्रं परमानन्दं पूर्णं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ॥ 14.32 ॥

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

Ah, what fortune, what supreme fortune belongs to Nanda, the cowherds, and all the people of Vraja — whose very friend is none other than that eternal, perfect, supremely blissful Brahman itself!

Verse 33 (bhagavata.10.14.33)

एषां तु भाग्यमहिमाच्युत तावदास्ता- मेकादशैव हि वयं बत भूरिभागाः । एतद्धृषीकचषकैरसकृत् पिबामः शर्वादयोऽङ्घ्य्रुदजमध्वमृतासवं ते ॥ 14.33 ॥

eṣāṁ tu bhāgya-mahimācyuta tāvad āstām ekādaśaiva hi vayaṁ bata bhūri-bhāgāḥ etad-dhṛṣīka-caṣakair asakṛt pibāmaḥ śarvādayo ’ṅghry-udaja-madhv-amṛtāsavaṁ te

O Unfailing One, let the greatness of their fortune stand aside for a moment — we too, the eleven presiding deities of the senses headed by Shiva, count ourselves greatly blessed, for again and again, using their very senses as our cups, we drink that intoxicating nectar-honey flowing from your feet.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.10.14.34)

तद् भूरिभाग्यमिह जन्म किमप्यटव्यां यद् गोकुलेऽपि कतमाङ्घ्रिरजोऽभिषेकम् । यज्जीवितं तु निखिलं भगवान् मुकुन्द- स्त्वद्यापि यत्पदरजः श्रुतिमृग्यमेव ॥ 14.34 ॥

tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ yad gokule ’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukundas tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva

So even to be born, whatever the form, in this very forest would be my highest fortune — if only I might be bathed by the dust from the feet of anyone here in Gokula. Bhagavan Mukunda is their entire life, whose very footdust the scriptures themselves still go on searching for, even now.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.10.14.35)

एषां घोषनिवासिनामुत भवान् किं देव रातेति न- श्चेतो विश्वफलात् फलं त्वदपरं कुत्राप्ययन् मुह्यति । सद्वेषादिव पूतनापि सकुला त्वामेव देवापिता यद्धामार्थसुहृत्प्रियात्मतनयप्राणाशयास्त्वत्कृते ॥ 14.35 ॥

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

O Lord, what more could you possibly give these people of Vraja? Our own mind grows dizzy merely wondering what reward, greater than the giver of all rewards himself, could be found anywhere else. Just as you gave your very self, together with your whole realm, to Putana and her kin — for she had come, after all, wearing the guise of a devotee — so too have these people given their homes, wealth, friends, loved ones, bodies, children and very lives, all of it, to you alone.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.10.14.36)

तावद् रागादयः स्तेनास्तावत् कारागृहं गृहम् । तावन्मोहोऽङ्घ्रिनिगडो यावत् कृष्ण न ते जनाः ॥ 14.36 ॥

tāvad rāgādayaḥ stenās tāvat kārā-gṛhaṁ gṛham tāvan moho ’ṅghri-nigaḍo yāvat kṛṣṇa na te janāḥ

O Krishna, so long as people are not your devotees, their passions and the like go on robbing them like thieves, their own homes remain prisons, and their delusions stay clamped upon their feet like shackles.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.10.14.37)

प्रपञ्चं निष्प्रपञ्चोऽपि विडम्बयसि भूतले । प्रपन्नजनतानन्दसन्दोहं प्रथितुं प्रभो ॥ 14.37 ॥

prapañcaṁ niṣprapañco ’pi viḍambayasi bhū-tale prapanna-janatānanda- sandohaṁ prathituṁ prabho

O master, though you yourself stand entirely apart from this material world, you still play out its very likeness here on earth, simply so as to multiply the store of joy for those souls who have taken refuge in you.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.10.14.38)

जानन्त एव जानन्तु किं बहूक्त्या न मे प्रभो । मनसो वपुषो वाचो वैभवं तव गोचरः ॥ 14.38 ॥

jānanta eva jānantu kiṁ bahūktyā na me prabho manaso vapuṣo vāco vaibhavaṁ tava go-caraḥ

O master, let those who think they already know go on thinking so — there is no need for me to say much more. Your true greatness lies simply beyond the reach of mind, body and word alike.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.10.14.39)

अनुजानीहि मां कृष्ण सर्वं त्वं वेत्सि सर्वदृक् । त्वमेव जगतां नाथो जगदेतत्तवार्पितम् ॥ 14.39 ॥

anujānīhi māṁ kṛṣṇa sarvaṁ tvaṁ vetsi sarva-dṛk tvam eva jagatāṁ nātho jagad etat tavārpitam

Krishna, grant me leave to go now. You see all things, you know all things. You alone are the lord of every world, and this entire universe is offered up to you.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.10.14.40)

श्रीकृष्ण वृष्णिकुलपुष्करजोषदायिन् क्ष्मानिर्जरद्विजपशूदधिवृद्धिकारिन् । उद्धर्मशार्वरहर क्षितिराक्षसध्रु- गाकल्पमार्कमर्हन् भगवन्नमस्ते ॥ 14.40 ॥

śrī-kṛṣṇa vṛṣṇi-kula-puṣkara-joṣa-dāyin kṣmā-nirjara-dvija-paśūdadhi-vṛddhi-kārin uddharma-śārvara-hara kṣiti-rākṣasa-dhrug ā-kalpam ārkam arhan bhagavan namas te

O Shri Krishna, giver of joy to the lotus of the Vrishni clan, increaser of the earth, the gods, the brahmanas, the cattle and the great oceans, destroyer of the darkness of unrighteous nights, foe of the demons — Bhagavan, for as long as this age endures, for as long as the sun shines, I offer you my homage.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.10.14.41)

श्रीशुक उवाच इत्यभिष्टूय भूमानं त्रिः परिक्रम्य पादयोः । नत्वाभीष्टं जगद्धाता स्वधाम प्रत्यपद्यत ॥ 14.41 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ity abhiṣṭūya bhūmānaṁ triḥ parikramya pādayoḥ natvābhīṣṭaṁ jagad-dhātā sva-dhāma pratyapadyata

Shri Shuka said: having thus praised the all-pervading Lord, the creator of the universe circled him three times, bowed low at his feet, and, granted the leave he had asked for, returned to his own abode.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.10.14.42)

ततोऽनुज्ञाप्य भगवान् स्वभुवं प्रागवस्थितान् । वत्सान् पुलिनमानिन्ये यथापूर्वसखं स्वकम् ॥ 14.42 ॥

tato ’nujñāpya bhagavān sva-bhuvaṁ prāg avasthitān vatsān pulinam āninye yathā-pūrva-sakhaṁ svakam

Then, having taken leave of his son, Bhagavan brought the calves — which had been standing there all along, right where they had been before — back to the riverbank, together with his friends, exactly as before.

Verse 43 (bhagavata.10.14.43)

एकस्मिन्नपि यातेऽब्दे प्राणेशं चान्तरात्मनः । कृष्णमायाहता राजन् क्षणार्धं मेनिरेऽर्भकाः ॥ 14.43 ॥

ekasminn api yāte ’bde prāṇeśaṁ cāntarātmanaḥ kṛṣṇa-māyāhatā rājan kṣaṇārdhaṁ menire ’rbhakāḥ

O King, though a whole year had actually gone by, the boys, bewildered by Krishna's own illusive power and holding the very lord of their life-breath in their midst, felt as though hardly half a moment had passed.

Verse 44 (bhagavata.10.14.44)

किं किं न विस्मरन्तीह मायामोहितचेतसः । यन्मोहितं जगत् सर्वमभीक्ष्णं विस्मृतात्मकम् ॥ 14.44 ॥

kiṁ kiṁ na vismarantīha māyā-mohita-cetasaḥ yan-mohitaṁ jagat sarvam abhīkṣṇaṁ vismṛtātmakam

Under that very illusion by which this whole universe constantly forgets its own true nature, what indeed is there that a mind so bewildered would not forget!

Verse 45 (bhagavata.10.14.45)

ऊचुश्च सुहृदः कृष्णं स्वागतं तेऽतिरंहसा । नैकोऽप्यभोजि कवल एहीतः साधु भुज्यताम् ॥ 14.45 ॥

ūcuś ca suhṛdaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ sv-āgataṁ te ’ti-raṁhasā naiko ’py abhoji kavala ehītaḥ sādhu bhujyatām

Then his friends said to Krishna: welcome back, you've returned so quickly! Not one of us has taken even a single bite in your absence — come now, sit down and eat properly.

Verse 46 (bhagavata.10.14.46)

ततो हसन् हृषीकेशोऽभ्यवहृत्य सहार्भकैः । दर्शयंश्चर्माजगरं न्यवर्तत वनाद् व्रजम् ॥ 14.46 ॥

tato hasan hṛṣīkeśo ’bhyavahṛtya sahārbhakaiḥ darśayaṁś carmājagaraṁ nyavartata vanād vrajam

Then Hrishikesha, smiling, finished his meal together with his friends, and showing them the skin of that dead python along the way, set off with them from the forest back toward Vraja.

Verse 47 (bhagavata.10.14.47)

बर्हप्रसूनवनधातुविचित्रिताङ्गः प्रोद्दामवेणुदलशृङ्गरवोत्सवाढ्यः । वत्सान् गृणन्ननुगगीतपवित्रकीर्ति- र्गोपीदृगुत्सवदृशिः प्रविवेश गोष्ठम् ॥ 14.47 ॥

barha-prasūna-vana-dhātu-vicitritāṅgaḥ proddāma-veṇu-dala-śṛṅga-ravotsavāḍhyaḥ vatsān gṛṇann anuga-gīta-pavitra-kīrtir gopī-dṛg-utsava-dṛśiḥ praviveśa goṣṭham

His limbs adorned in a striking way with peacock feathers, forest flowers and bright earths, the air filled with the festive, ringing music of his flute and horn, calling his calves each by name, his sacred fame sung by his own companions — thus Bhagavan, himself a festival for the eyes of the gopis, entered the cow-pen.

Verse 48 (bhagavata.10.14.48)

अद्यानेन महाव्यालो यशोदानन्दसूनुना । हतोऽविता वयं चास्मादिति बाला व्रजे जगुः ॥ 14.48 ॥

adyānena mahā-vyālo yaśodā-nanda-sūnunā hato ’vitā vayaṁ cāsmād iti bālā vraje jaguḥ

This very son of Yashoda has today slain that mighty serpent, and saved us all — so the boys sang, proclaiming it aloud all through Vraja.

Verse 49 (bhagavata.10.14.49)

श्रीराजोवाच ब्रह्मन् परोद्भवे कृष्णे इयान् प्रेमा कथं भवेत् । योऽभूतपूर्वस्तोकेषु स्वोद्भवेष्वपि कथ्यताम् ॥ 14.49 ॥

śrī-rājovāca brahman parodbhave kṛṣṇe iyān premā kathaṁ bhavet yo ’bhūta-pūrvas tokeṣu svodbhaveṣv api kathyatām

The King said: O brahmana, how could the cowherd women have felt for Krishna — someone else's son — a love so unprecedented, a love they never even felt for their own children? Please explain this to me.

Verse 50 (bhagavata.10.14.50)

श्रीशुक उवाच सर्वेषामपि भूतानां नृप स्वात्मैव वल्लभः । इतरेऽपत्यवित्ताद्यास्तद्वल्लभतयैव हि ॥ 14.50 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ nṛpa svātmaiva vallabhaḥ itare ’patya-vittādyās tad-vallabhatayaiva hi

Shri Shuka said: O King, for every living being, it is one's own self that is dearest of all — children, wealth and everything else become dear only because they, in turn, serve that self.

Verse 51 (bhagavata.10.14.51)

तद् राजेन्द्र यथा स्नेहः स्वस्वकात्मनि देहिनाम् । न तथा ममतालम्बिपुत्रवित्तगृहादिषु ॥ 14.51 ॥

tad rājendra yathā snehaḥ sva-svakātmani dehinām na tathā mamatālambi- putra-vitta-gṛhādiṣu

Therefore, O best of kings, embodied beings feel for their own self a love that they do not feel, in the same measure, for the sons, wealth, houses and other things upon which their sense of mine merely rests.

Verse 52 (bhagavata.10.14.52)

देहात्मवादिनां पुंसामपि राजन्यसत्तम । यथा देहः प्रियतमस्तथा न ह्यनु ये च तम् ॥ 14.52 ॥

dehātma-vādināṁ puṁsām api rājanya-sattama yathā dehaḥ priyatamas tathā na hy anu ye ca tam

O best of kshatriyas, even for those who take the body itself to be the self, the things merely attached to that body are never as dear as the body itself is.

Verse 53 (bhagavata.10.14.53)

देहोऽपि ममताभाक् चेत्तर्ह्यसौ नात्मवत् प्रियः । यज्जीर्यत्यपि देहेऽस्मिन् जीविताशा बलीयसी ॥ 14.53 ॥

deho ’pi mamatā-bhāk cet tarhy asau nātma-vat priyaḥ yaj jīryaty api dehe ’smin jīvitāśā balīyasī

And even the body, once one merely regards it as mine rather than as me, proves less dear than the self itself — for even as this body wastes away with age, the will to keep on living remains far stronger still.

Verse 54 (bhagavata.10.14.54)

तस्मात् प्रियतमः स्वात्मा सर्वेषामपि देहिनाम् । तदर्थमेव सकलं जगदेतच्चराचरम् ॥ 14.54 ॥

tasmāt priyatamaḥ svātmā sarveṣām api dehinām tad-artham eva sakalaṁ jagad etac carācaram

So it is that, for every embodied being, one's own self is the dearest thing of all — and this whole universe of moving and unmoving things exists for the sake of that self alone.

Verse 55 (bhagavata.10.14.55)

कृष्णमेनमवेहि त्वमात्मानमखिलात्मनाम् । जगद्धिताय सोऽप्यत्र देहीवाभाति मायया ॥ 14.55 ॥

kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam ātmānam akhilātmanām jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra dehīvābhāti māyayā

Know this Krishna to be nothing but the very Self of every being; and it is for the good of the whole world that he, through his own illusive power, appears here as though he were an ordinary embodied creature.

Verse 56 (bhagavata.10.14.56)

वस्तुतो जानतामत्र कृष्णं स्थास्नु चरिष्णु च । भगवद्रूपमखिलं नान्यद् वस्त्विह किञ्चन ॥ 14.56 ॥

vastuto jānatām atra kṛṣṇaṁ sthāsnu cariṣṇu ca bhagavad-rūpam akhilaṁ nānyad vastv iha kiñcana

Those who truly know reality as it is recognize Krishna, here, as the very form of the Lord in all things, whether still or moving — for them, there exists nothing here whatsoever apart from him.

Verse 57 (bhagavata.10.14.57)

सर्वेषामपि वस्तूनां भावार्थो भवति स्थितः । तस्यापि भगवान् कृष्णः किमतद् वस्तु रूप्यताम् ॥ 14.57 ॥

sarveṣām api vastūnāṁ bhāvārtho bhavati sthitaḥ tasyāpi bhagavān kṛṣṇaḥ kim atad vastu rūpyatām

The essential meaning of every single thing rests, in the end, in one and the same underlying reality — and the essence of that reality too is none other than Bhagavan Krishna himself; how, then, could anything be named that stands apart from him?

Verse 58 (bhagavata.10.14.58)

समाश्रिता ये पदपल्लवप्लवं महत्पदं पुण्ययशो मुरारेः । भवाम्बुधिर्वत्सपदं परं पदं पदं पदं यद् विपदां न तेषाम् ॥ 14.58 ॥

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

For those who have taken shelter in the small boat of Murari's own lotus feet, glorious with holy fame, this ocean of worldly existence — which for others holds nothing but danger at every single step — shrinks to no more than the water held in a calf's hoof-print, and it is the supreme abode alone that they attain.

Verse 59 (bhagavata.10.14.59)

एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं यत् पृष्टोऽहमिह त्वया । तत् कौमारे हरिकृतं पौगण्डे परिकीर्तितम् ॥ 14.59 ॥

etat te sarvam ākhyātaṁ yat pṛṣṭo ’ham iha tvayā tat kaumāre hari-kṛtaṁ paugaṇḍe parikīrtitam

O King, I have now told you fully what you asked of me — this deed that Hari performed in his kaumara years came to be celebrated only when he had reached his paugandaka age.

Verse 60 (bhagavata.10.14.60)

एतत् सुहृद्भिश्चरितं मुरारे- रघार्दनं शाद्वलजेमनं च । व्यक्तेतरद् रूपमजोर्वभिष्टवं शृण्वन् गृणन्नेति नरोऽखिलार्थान् ॥ 14.60 ॥

etat suhṛdbhiś caritaṁ murārer aghārdanaṁ śādvala-jemanaṁ ca vyaktetarad rūpam ajorv-abhiṣṭavaṁ śṛṇvan gṛṇann eti naro ’khilārthān

Any person who hears and recounts this story of Murari's play with his friends — the destruction of Agha, the meal taken on the grassy meadow, the showing of that other, unmanifest form, and the great hymn of the unborn Brahma — attains every good thing one could wish for.

Verse 61 (bhagavata.10.14.61)

एवं विहारैः कौमारैः कौमारं जहतुर्व्रजे । निलायनैः सेतुबन्धैर्मर्कटोत्प्लवनादिभिः ॥ 14.61 ॥

evaṁ vihāraiḥ kaumāraiḥ kaumāraṁ jahatur vraje nilāyanaiḥ setu-bandhair markaṭotplavanādibhiḥ

Thus, engaged in the playful games of childhood — hiding and seeking, building make-believe bridges, leaping about like monkeys, and the like — they passed their early years in Vraja.