Wonderful Krishna

Verse 1 (bhagavata.10.26.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवंविधानि कर्माणि गोपाः कृष्णस्य वीक्ष्य ते । अतद्वीर्यविदः प्रोचुः समभ्येत्य सुविस्मिताः ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ-vidhāni karmāṇi gopāḥ kṛṣṇasya vīkṣya te atad-vīrya-vidaḥ procuḥ samabhyetya su-vismitāḥ

Śrī Śukadeva said: Seeing such deeds of Krishna, yet unable to fathom the true nature of his power, the cowherd men were struck with wonder; they came to Nanda and spoke as follows.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.10.26.2)

बालकस्य यदेतानि कर्माण्यत्यद्भुतानि वै । कथमर्हत्यसौ जन्म ग्राम्येष्वात्मजुगुप्सितम् ॥ २ ॥

bālakasya yad etāni karmāṇy aty-adbhutāni vai katham arhaty asau janma grāmyeṣv ātma-jugupsitam

[The cowherds said:] Since this boy performs such utterly astonishing deeds, how can he deserve a birth among ordinary village folk like us — a birth that seems unworthy of him?

Verse 3 (bhagavata.10.26.3)

यः सप्तहायनो बालः करेणैकेन लीलया । कथं बिभ्रद् गिरिवरं पुष्करं गजराडिव ॥ ३ ॥

yaḥ sapta-hāyano bālaḥ kareṇaikena līlayā kathaṁ bibhrad giri-varaṁ puṣkaraṁ gaja-rāḍ iva

How could this mere seven-year-old child hold up the great mountain with a single hand, so effortlessly, just as a mighty elephant lifts a lotus?

Verse 4 (bhagavata.10.26.4)

तोकेनामीलिताक्षेण पूतनाया महौजसः । पीतः स्तनः सह प्राणैः कालेनेव वयस्तनोः ॥ ४ ॥

tokenāmīlitākṣeṇa pūtanāyā mahaujasaḥ pītaḥ stanaḥ saha prāṇaiḥ kāleneva vayas tanoḥ

As a mere infant whose eyes had barely opened, he drank at the breast of the mighty demoness Putana, and with it drew out her very life-breath too, just as time itself draws away the youth of the body.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.10.26.5)

हिन्वतोऽधः शयानस्य मास्यस्य चरणावुदक् । अनोऽपतद् विपर्यस्तं रुदतः प्रपदाहतम् ॥ ५ ॥

hinvato ’dhaḥ śayānasya māsyasya caraṇāv udak ano ’patad viparyastaṁ rudataḥ prapadāhatam

Once, when he was three months old, lying beneath a cart and kicking his little feet upward while crying, the cart toppled over and fell, struck merely by the tip of his toe.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.10.26.6)

एकहायन आसीनो ह्रियमाणो विहायसा । दैत्येन यस्तृणावर्तमहन् कण्ठग्रहातुरम् ॥ ६ ॥

eka-hāyana āsīno hriyamāṇo vihāyasā daityena yas tṛṇāvartam ahan kaṇṭha-grahāturam

At one year of age, while sitting quietly, he was carried off into the sky by the demon Trinavarta; yet, seizing the demon by the throat and tormenting him, the child killed him.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.10.26.7)

क्वचिद्धैयङ्गवस्तैन्ये मात्रा बद्ध उदूखले । गच्छन्नर्जुनयोर्मध्ये बाहुभ्यां तावपातयत् ॥ ७ ॥

kvacid dhaiyaṅgava-stainye mātrā baddha udūkhale gacchann arjunayor madhye bāhubhyāṁ tāv apātayat

Once, bound to a wooden mortar by his mother for stealing fresh butter, he crawled between a pair of arjuna trees, and with his two arms pulled them both down.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.10.26.8)

वने सञ्चारयन् वत्सान् सरामो बालकैर्वृतः । हन्तुकामं बकं दोर्भ्यां मुखतोऽरिमपाटयत् ॥ ८ ॥

vane sañcārayan vatsān sa-rāmo bālakair vṛtaḥ hantu-kāmaṁ bakaṁ dorbhyāṁ mukhato ’rim apāṭayat

While grazing the calves in the forest together with Balarama and surrounded by the cowherd boys, he tore apart, by its very beak, the demon Baka, his enemy, who had come intending to kill him.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.10.26.9)

वत्सेषु वत्सरूपेण प्रविशन्तं जिघांसया । हत्वा न्यपातयत्तेन कपित्थानि च लीलया ॥ ९ ॥

vatseṣu vatsa-rūpeṇa praviśantaṁ jighāṁsayā hatvā nyapātayat tena kapitthāni ca līlayā

When a demon, wishing to kill him, entered the herd of calves disguised as a calf, he killed it, and then playfully used its body to knock down kapittha fruits from the trees.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.10.26.10)

हत्वा रासभदैतेयं तद्बन्धूंश्च बलान्वितः । चक्रे तालवनं क्षेमं परिपक्वफलान्वितम् ॥ १० ॥

hatvā rāsabha-daiteyaṁ tad-bandhūṁś ca balānvitaḥ cakre tāla-vanaṁ kṣemaṁ paripakva-phalānvitam

Together with mighty Balarama, he slew the ass-demon and all his kinsmen, and so made the Tala forest, laden with fully ripened fruit, safe once more.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.10.26.11)

प्रलम्बं घातयित्वोग्रं बलेन बलशालिना । अमोचयद् व्रजपशून्गोपांश्चारण्यवह्नितः ॥ ११ ॥

pralambaṁ ghātayitvograṁ balena bala-śālinā amocayad vraja-paśūn gopāṁś cāraṇya-vahnitaḥ

Having had the terrible Pralamba slain by the might of the mighty Balarama, he freed Vraja's cattle and the cowherd boys from the forest fire.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.10.26.12)

आशीविषतमाहीन्द्रं दमित्वा विमदं ह्रदात् । प्रसह्योद्वास्य यमुनां चक्रेऽसौ निर्विषोदकाम् ॥ १२ ॥

āśī-viṣatamāhīndraṁ damitvā vimadaṁ hradāt prasahyodvāsya yamunāṁ cakre ’sau nirviṣodakām

Subduing the most venomous of serpent-kings and stripping him of his pride, he forcibly drove him out of his lake, and thus made the waters of the Yamuna free of poison.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.10.26.13)

दुस्त्यजश्चानुरागोऽस्मिन् सर्वेषां नो व्रजौकसाम् । नन्दते तनयेऽस्मासु तस्याप्यौत्पत्तिकः कथम् ॥ १३ ॥

dustyajaś cānurāgo ’smin sarveṣāṁ no vrajaukasām nanda te tanaye ’smāsu tasyāpy autpattikaḥ katham

O Nanda, this affection that all of us dwellers of Vraja feel for your son cannot possibly be given up — and how is it, too, that his own affection for us arises so naturally?

Verse 14 (bhagavata.10.26.14)

क्व सप्तहायनो बालः क्व महाद्रिविधारणम् । ततो नो जायते शङ्का व्रजनाथ तवात्मजे ॥ १४ ॥

kva sapta-hāyano bālaḥ kva mahādri-vidhāraṇam tato no jāyate śaṅkā vraja-nātha tavātmaje

Where is a mere seven-year-old boy, and where the lifting of a great mountain? For this reason, O lord of Vraja, a doubt arises in us concerning your son.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.10.26.15)

श्रीनन्द उवाच श्रूयतां मे वचो गोपा व्येतु शङ्का च वोऽर्भके । एनं कुमारमुद्दिश्य गर्गो मे यदुवाच ह ॥ १५ ॥

śrī-nanda uvāca śrūyatāṁ me vaco gopā vyetu śaṅkā ca vo ’rbhake enam kumāram uddiśya gargo me yad uvāca ha

Śrī Nanda said: Listen to my words, O cowherds, and let your doubt about this child depart. Long ago, concerning this very boy, Garga spoke to me as follows.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.10.26.16)

वर्णास्त्रयः किलास्यासन् गृह्णतोऽनुयुगं तनूः । शुक्लो रक्तस्तथा पीत इदानीं कृष्णतां गतः ॥ १६ ॥

varṇās trayaḥ kilāsyāsan gṛhṇato ’nu-yugaṁ tanūḥ śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ

[Garga had said:] In past ages, taking on a body suited to each age, he bore three different colours — white, then red, then yellow — and now he has come to a dark hue.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.10.26.17)

प्रागयं वसुदेवस्य क्वचिज्जातस्तवात्मजः । वासुदेव इति श्रीमानभिज्ञाः सम्प्रचक्षते ॥ १७ ॥

prāgayaṁ vasudevasya kvacij jātas tavātmajaḥ vāsudeva iti śrīmān abhijñāḥ sampracakṣate

This son of yours, moreover, was once before born as the son of Vasudeva; and so the wise, knowing this, call this glorious child by the name Vasudeva.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.10.26.18)

बहूनि सन्ति नामानि रूपाणि च सुतस्य ते । गुणकर्मानुरूपाणि तान्यहं वेद नो जनाः ॥ १८ ॥

bahūni santi nāmāni rūpāṇi ca sutasya te guṇa-karmānurūpāṇi tāny ahaṁ veda no janāḥ

This son of yours has many names and many forms, each suited to his qualities and deeds; I know them, though ordinary people do not.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.10.26.19)

एष वः श्रेय आधास्यद् गोपगोकुलनन्दनः । अनेन सर्वदुर्गाणि यूयमञ्जस्तरिष्यथ ॥ १९ ॥

eṣa vaḥ śreya ādhāsyad gopa-gokula-nandanaḥ anena sarva-durgāṇi yūyam añjas tariṣyatha

This delight of the cowherds and of Gokula will bring about your highest good; through him alone you shall easily cross over every difficulty.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.10.26.20)

पुरानेन व्रजपते साधवो दस्युपीडिताः । अराजके रक्ष्यमाणा जिग्युर्दस्यून्समेधिताः ॥ २० ॥

purānena vraja-pate sādhavo dasyu-pīḍitāḥ arājake rakṣyamāṇā jigyur dasyūn samedhitāḥ

O lord of Vraja, in ancient times too, when the good were harassed by thieves under a lawless rule, they were protected by this same one, prospered, and overcame the robbers.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.10.26.21)

य एतस्मिन् महाभागे प्रीतिं कुर्वन्ति मानवाः । नारयोऽभिभवन्त्येतान् विष्णुपक्षानिवासुराः ॥ २१ ॥

ya etasmin mahā-bhāge prītiṁ kurvanti mānavāḥ nārayo ’bhibhavanty etān viṣṇu-pakṣān ivāsurāḥ

Those who fix their love upon this most fortunate one are never overcome by their enemies — just as demons cannot overcome those who stand on Vishnu's side.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.10.26.22)

तस्मान्नन्द कुमारोऽयं नारायणसमो गुणैः । श्रिया कीर्त्यानुभावेन तत्कर्मसु न विस्मयः ॥ २२ ॥

tasmān nanda kumāro ’yaṁ nārāyaṇa-samo guṇaiḥ śriyā kīrtyānubhāvena tat-karmasu na vismayaḥ

Therefore, Nanda, this boy of yours is equal to Narayana in his qualities, in glory, in fame and in power; there is no cause for wonder at his deeds.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.10.26.23)

इत्यद्धा मां समादिश्य गर्गे च स्वगृहं गते । मन्ये नारायणस्यांशं कृष्णमक्लिष्टकारिणम् ॥ २३ ॥

ity addhā māṁ samādiśya garge ca sva-gṛhaṁ gate manye nārāyaṇasyāṁśaṁ kṛṣṇam akliṣṭa-kāriṇam

[Nanda continued:] Having spoken these words to me quite plainly, and after Garga had returned to his own home, I have come to consider that Krishna, who acts without ever tiring, is a portion of Narayana himself.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.10.26.24)

इति नन्दवचः श्रुत्वा गर्गगीतं व्रजौकसः । मुदिता नन्दमानर्चुः कृष्णं च गतविस्मयाः ॥ २४ ॥

iti nanda-vacaḥ śrutvā garga-gītaṁ taṁ vrajaukasaḥ muditā nandam ānarcuḥ kṛṣṇaṁ ca gata-vismayāḥ

[Śukadeva continued:] Hearing these words of Nanda recounting what Garga had sung, the dwellers of Vraja, their wonder now gone, rejoiced and paid homage to both Nanda and Krishna.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.10.26.25)

देवे वर्षति यज्ञविप्लवरुषा वज्राश्मवर्षानिलैः सीदत्पालपशुस्त्रियात्मशरणं दृष्ट्वानुकम्प्युत्स्मयन् । उत्पाट्यैककरेण शैलमबलो लीलोच्छिलीन्ध्रं यथाबिभ्रद् गोष्ठमपान्महेन्द्रमदभित् प्रीयान्न इन्द्रो गवाम् ॥ २५ ॥

deve varṣati yajña-viplava-ruṣā vajrāsma-varṣānilaiḥ sīdat-pāla-paśu-striy ātma-śaraṇaṁ dṛṣṭvānukampy utsmayan utpāṭyaika-kareṇa śailam abalo līlocchilīndhraṁ yathā bibhrad goṣṭham apān mahendra-mada-bhit prīyān na indro gavām

When the rain-god, angered at the ruin of his sacrifice, poured hail and storm-winds upon them, and ever-compassionate Krishna saw the frightened cowherds, cattle and women who had taken him alone as their refuge, he smiled gently, and with a single hand lifted the great mountain as easily as a child lifts a mushroom in play; holding it aloft, he sheltered the cow-station and broke the pride of Mahendra — may that Govinda, lord of the cows, be pleased with us.