Harivamsha 49

English (machine translation) 49

Language: English

49.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: / Earlier already, Vasudeva heard that in the cowherd settlement Rohiṇī / had given birth before to a son whose face was lovelier than the moon.

49.2

Quickly he spoke with auspicious words to the cowherd Nanda: / “Go with this Yaśodā back to the cowherd settlement!

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And when the lotus-eyed Rohiṇī gave birth to a son,

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at that very time Yaśodā too gave birth to a son, O lord!

Going there to the cowherd settlement, dear friend, initiate these two boys / with ceremonies such as the birth-rites and raise them in happiness! / And protect the infant son of Rohiṇī, my boy, in the settlement!

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Protect him then, dear friend, in the settlement full of hazards!

49.4

In childhood everything is wanton play; in childhood unearthly beings overpower; / in childhood everyone is utterly reckless; therefore apply your efforts there!

49.5

I shall be blamed among the paternal kin of fathers, / since I cannot see the face of one single infant son.

49.6

For wisdom is forcibly stolen away even from me who am wise, / out of fear of this Kaṃsa who is pitiless in the murder of a child.

49.7

Therefore, cowherd Nanda, as you protect the son of Rohiṇī, my son, / so do, dear friend, being mindful of the reality; / for many are the obstacles in this world that terrify children!

49.8

He is my elder son, and this younger one is yours; / look upon both equally with love, as you please!

49.9

So act, cowherd Nanda, that both of them, / growing up at equal age, may flourish in that cattle settlement!

49.10

The cattle station should never be established in Vṛndāvana: / there lives that cruel, flesh-eating, evil-minded one; / dwelling there, one must fear Keśin, whose glance is evil.

49.11

From crawling creatures, worms, and birds as well, / and in the cattle-pens from cows and calves, these two children must be protected by you.

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The Yamunā must not be approached: Kāliya lives in it.

49.12

Cowherd Nanda, the night has passed; travel swiftly, swift-moving one! / Here the birds on the left and right urge you to hasten.”

49.13

Permitted in private by the great-souled Vasudeva, / he, filled with joy, mounted the vehicle together with Yaśodā.

49.14

Having carefully laid the prince in the shoulder-borne palanquin / upon a bed, and laying that child upon a soft pallet, / the wise man placed the infant on the bedding.

49.15

He went by a solitary road where cool breezes spread, / abundant in water and beautified by the banks of the Yamunā.

49.16

In an auspicious region approaching Mount Govardhana, / bordering the bank of the Yamunā, served by cool breezes,

49.17

free from beasts of prey, delightful, with large trees, creepers, and vines, / adorned with cows immersed in grass and trickling [milk],

49.18

with even paths for cows, with water bodies of smooth descents, / its trees rubbed by the blows of the horns and shoulders of bulls,

49.19

frequented by osprey tracks and by hawks greedy for meat, / surrounded by jackals, deer, and lions that feed on fat and marrow,

49.20

echoing with the sounds of tigers, crowded with various birds, / delightful with sweet flowers and fruits, with ample carpets of grass,

49.21

he [saw] the cattle settlement, auspicious with the lowing of cattle, surrounded by cowherd women, / filled on all sides with the lowing cries of calves,

49.22

wide with turns for carts, crowded with fences of thorn, / enclosed on its borders by large fallen forest trees,

49.23

adorned with pegged stakes and tethering ropes for the calves, / the earth scattered with dry cow-dung, its huts and shelters covered with straw mats,

49.24

full of easy movements, filled with glad and thriving people, / abundant with tethering cords, echoing with the gurgling sound of churning pots.

49.25

Abundant with streams of buttermilk, its ground moist with curds and cream, / scattered with fresh butter, graced with the fragrance of ghee, / made noisy with the whirring of the churning-bracelets of the cowherd women,

49.26

a playground for boys and cowherds wearing side-locks, / crowded with young boys and girls, / its cattle-pen fitted with a barred gate, crowded in the middle with cow-sheds, / its breezes made fragrant with simmering ghee,

49.27

and surrounded on all sides by young cowherd girls / clad in blue and yellow garments, adorned with wild-flower ear-ornaments,

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sweet-spoken along the partings of their hair, with smiling brows and charming glances,

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captivating mind and intellect with playful sighs and arching eyebrows,

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all those cowherd women moon-faced and exceedingly lovely.

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At the jingling sound of their anklets and the ring of their girdles,

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and at the sound of them singing, the peacocks danced then;

49.28

crowded with women carrying water along the path to the banks of the Yamunā, / carrying jars on their heads, their garments firmly tied and tucked up,

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engaged in selling buttermilk and in purchasing curd and ghee.

49.29

Entering there delighted into the cattle-station resounding with cowherds, / welcomed by the elder cowherds and by the elderly women, / he chose an abode in a sheltered corner that offered comfort.

49.30

Where Lady Rohiṇī was, who brought joy to Vasudeva, / there he secretly placed Kṛṣṇa, radiant as the rising sun.

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And Garga, of great ascetic heat, employed by Vasudeva,

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performed all their rites in due order, beginning with the birth-rite,

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giving wealth and food to the brahmins in due order;

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and the cowherds celebrated a festival for the cows and the brahmins.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit