Krishna Swallows the Forest Fire

Verse 1 (bhagavata.10.19.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच क्रीडासक्तेषु गोपेषु तद्गावो दूरचारिणीः । स्वैरं चरन्त्यो विविशुस्तृणलोभेन गह्वरम् ॥ 19.1 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca krīḍāsakteṣu gopeṣu tad-gāvo dūra-cāriṇīḥ svairaṁ carantyo viviśus tṛṇa-lobhena gahvaram

Shukadeva said: With the cowherd boys engrossed in play, their cows, wandering off unattended and roaming freely, drifted far away and, tempted by fresh grass, strayed into a dense thicket.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.10.19.2)

अजा गावो महिष्यश्च निर्विशन्त्यो वनाद् वनम् । ईषीकाटवीं निर्विविशुः क्रन्दन्त्यो दावतर्षिताः ॥ 19.2 ॥

ajā gāvo mahiṣyaś ca nirviśantyo vanād vanam īṣīkāṭavīṁ nirviviśuḥ krandantyo dāva-tarṣitāḥ

Goats, cows and buffalo, wandering from one grove to another, pushed on into a thicket dense with reed-cane; parched by the heat of a nearby forest fire, they cried out in distress.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.10.19.3)

तेऽपश्यन्तः पशून् गोपाः कृष्णरामादयस्तदा । जातानुतापा न विदुर्विचिन्वन्तो गवां गतिम् ॥ 19.3 ॥

te ’paśyantaḥ paśūn gopāḥ kṛṣṇa-rāmādayas tadā jātānutāpā na vidur vicinvanto gavāṁ gatim

Not finding the animals before them, Krishna, Rama and the other cowherd boys were struck with remorse; searching all around, they could not discover which way the cows had gone.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.10.19.4)

तृणैस्तत्खुरदच्छिन्नैर्गोष्पदैरङ्कितैर्गवाम् । मार्गमन्वगमन् सर्वे नष्टाजीव्या विचेतसः ॥ 19.4 ॥

tṛṇais tat-khura-dac-chinnair goṣ-padair aṅkitair gavām mārgam anvagaman sarve naṣṭājīvyā vicetasaḥ

Their minds distraught at losing what sustained their livelihood, they all followed the trail marked by grass broken by the cows' hooves and teeth, and by the hoofprints themselves.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.10.19.5)

मुञ्जाटव्यां भ्रष्टमार्गं क्रन्दमानं स्वगोधनम् । सम्प्राप्य तृषिताः श्रान्तास्ततस्ते सन्न्यवर्तयन् ॥ 19.5 ॥

muñjāṭavyāṁ bhraṣṭa-mārgaṁ krandamānaṁ sva-godhanam samprāpya tṛṣitāḥ śrāntās tatas te sannyavartayan

Reaching, in the Munja forest, their own cattle — lost, crying out in distress — the boys, exhausted and thirsty, at last turned them back toward home.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.10.19.6)

ता आहूता भगवता मेघगम्भीरया गिरा । स्वनाम्नां निनदं श्रुत्वा प्रतिनेदुः प्रहर्षिताः ॥ 19.6 ॥

tā āhūtā bhagavatā megha-gambhīrayā girā sva-nāmnāṁ ninadaṁ śrutvā pratineduḥ praharṣitāḥ

Called out to by the Lord in a voice deep as thunder, the cows, hearing their own names spoken, answered back in delight.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.10.19.7)

ततः समन्ताद्देवधूमकेतु- र्यदृच्छयाभूत् क्षयकृद् वनौकसाम् । समीरितः सारथिनोल्बणोल्मुकै- र्विलेलिहानः स्थिरजङ्गमान् महान् ॥ 19.7 ॥

tataḥ samantād dava-dhūmaketur yadṛcchayābhūt kṣaya-kṛd vanaukasām samīritaḥ sārathinolbaṇolmukair vilelihānaḥ sthira-jaṅgamān mahān

Just then, of its own accord, a mighty forest fire sprang up on every side, threatening the destruction of all the forest's creatures; driven onward like a charioteer by the wind, hurling fierce sparks, it licked with its tongues of flame at everything, moving and unmoving alike.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.10.19.8)

तमापतन्तं परितो दवाग्निं गोपाश्च गावः प्रसमीक्ष्य भीताः । ऊचुश्च कृष्णं सबलं प्रपन्ना यथा हरिं मृत्युभयार्दिता जनाः ॥ 19.8 ॥

tam āpatantaṁ parito davāgniṁ gopāś ca gāvaḥ prasamīkṣya bhītāḥ ūcuś ca kṛṣṇaṁ sa-balaṁ prapannā yathā hariṁ mṛtyu-bhayārditā janāḥ

Seeing that forest fire closing in from every side, the cowherd boys and cows grew afraid, and, like people stricken with the fear of death, ran for refuge to Krishna and Balarama, addressing Them thus.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.10.19.9)

कृष्ण कृष्ण महावीर हे रामामोघविक्रम । दावाग्निना दह्यमानान् प्रपन्नांस्त्रातुमर्हथः ॥ 19.9 ॥

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahā-vīra he rāmāmogha vikrama dāvāgninā dahyamānān prapannāṁs trātum arhathaḥ

O Krishna, Krishna, great hero! O Rama, whose might never fails! We who burn in this forest fire have taken shelter of You — You alone are able to save us.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.10.19.10)

नूनं त्वद्बान्धवाः कृष्ण न चार्हन्त्यवसादितुम् । वयं हि सर्वधर्मज्ञ त्वन्नाथास्त्वत्परायणाः ॥ 19.10 ॥

nūnaṁ tvad-bāndhavāḥ kṛṣṇa na cārhanty avasāditum vayaṁ hi sarva-dharma-jña tvan-nāthās tvat-parāyaṇāḥ

Surely, Krishna, Your own kinsmen do not deserve to perish. O knower of all dharma, we hold You alone as our Lord, and to You alone we are devoted.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.10.19.11)

श्रीशुक उवाच वचो निशम्य कृपणं बन्धूनां भगवान् हरिः । निमीलयत मा भैष्ट लोचनानीत्यभाषत ॥ 19.11 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca vaco niśamya kṛpaṇaṁ bandhūnāṁ bhagavān hariḥ nimīlayata mā bhaiṣṭa locanānīty abhāṣata

Shukadeva said: Hearing His companions' pitiful plea, the Lord Hari said, "Close your eyes, and do not be afraid."

Verse 12 (bhagavata.10.19.12)

तथेति मीलिताक्षेषु भगवानग्निमुल्बणम् । पीत्वा मुखेन तान्कृच्छ्राद् योगाधीशो व्यमोचयत् ॥ 19.12 ॥

tatheti mīlitākṣeṣu bhagavān agnim ulbaṇam pītvā mukhena tān kṛcchrād yogādhīśo vyamocayat

"So be it," they said, and closed their eyes; then the Lord, master of all mystic power, opened His mouth and drank in that raging fire, delivering them from that dire peril.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.10.19.13)

ततश्च तेऽक्षीण्युन्मील्य पुनर्भाण्डीरमापिताः । निशम्य विस्मिता आसन्नात्मानं गाश्च मोचिताः ॥ 19.13 ॥

tataś ca te ’kṣīṇy unmīlya punar bhāṇḍīram āpitāḥ niśamya vismitā āsann ātmānaṁ gāś ca mocitāḥ

Then, opening their eyes, they found themselves brought once more to the Bhandira tree; hearing how they and the cows had thus been rescued, they were struck with wonder.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.10.19.14)

कृष्णस्य योगवीर्यं तद् योगमायानुभावितम् । दावाग्नेरात्मनः क्षेमं वीक्ष्य ते मेनिरेऽमरम् ॥ 19.14 ॥

kṛṣṇasya yoga-vīryaṁ tad yoga-māyānubhāvitam dāvāgner ātmanaḥ kṣemaṁ vīkṣya te menire ’maram

Seeing themselves thus saved from the forest fire by that mystic power of Krishna's, made manifest through His yogamaya, they began to think Him some god.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.10.19.15)

गाः सन्निवर्त्य सायाह्ने सहरामो जनार्दनः । वेणुं विरणयन् गोष्ठमगाद् गोपैरभिष्टुतः ॥ 19.15 ॥

gāḥ sannivartya sāyāhne saha-rāmo janārdanaḥ veṇuṁ viraṇayan goṣṭham agād gopair abhiṣṭutaḥ

In the evening, having turned the cows back home, Janardana, together with Balarama, sounding His flute in that special way, made His way back to the cowherd settlement, praised all along by the cowherd boys.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.10.19.16)

गोपीनां परमानन्द आसीद् गोविन्ददर्शने । क्षणं युगशतमिव यासां येन विनाभवत् ॥ 19.16 ॥

gopīnāṁ paramānanda āsīd govinda-darśane kṣaṇaṁ yuga-śatam iva yāsāṁ yena vinābhavat

The gopis felt the greatest joy at the sight of Govinda's return — for these were women to whom even a single moment without Him had felt like a hundred ages.