Harivamsha 54

English (machine translation) 54

Language: English

54.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said:
Both sons of Vasudeva, having arrived at Vṛndāvana, / wandered happily, herding the flocks of calves.

54.2

The summer season passed pleasantly for the two in that forest, / playing together with the cowherds and plunging into the Yamunā.

54.2x664

When that great summer had passed, its clouds of dust vanished,

54.3

then the rainy season arrived, kindling desire in the heart. / Terrifying [clouds], their bellies marked by Indra's bow, poured down rain; / the sun disappeared, and the earth revealed its grass.

54.4

With the cloud-wind sweeping down, carrying new water, / the surface of the earth was swept clean, looking as if in her youth.

54.5

Sprinkled with fresh rain, swarms of red velvet mites [shone], / and, free from the smoke of forest fires, the woods gleamed bright.

54.6

It was the season for the dancing of peacocks displaying their plumage; / impassioned with rut, they uttered their sharp-sounding shrieks.

54.7

In the new rainy season, the youthful form of the lovely kadamba trees, / providing food for bees, shone beneath the new clouds.

54.8

The forest was made to laugh by blooming kuṭajas and perfumed by kadambas; / the heat was frightened away by rain clouds, and the earth gladdened by waters.

54.9

Tormented by the sun's scorching rays, burnt by the forest fires, / the mountains seemed to breathe freely through the waters released by the clouds.

54.10

Tossed by a great wind, filled with masses of great clouds, / the sky became equal to the great clouds of dust from the earth.

54.11

Here rich with the smiles of kadambas, there adorned with mushrooms, / the forest with blooming nīpa trees shone as if ablaze.

54.12

Sprinkled with Indra's rain, refreshed by the wind, / inhaling the fragrance of the earth, the world had its mind stirred.

54.13

With the cries of rutting deer, the croaking of frogs, / and the fresh calls of peacocks, the earth had a single voice.

54.14

Swirling rapidly with great speed, their strong currents swollen by the rains, / tearing down the trees growing on their banks, the rivers spread out.

54.15

Rendered motionless by the constant downpour, their upper covering of wings soaked, / birds did not leave the treetops, as if weary.

54.16

Into the bellies of the fresh clouds, deep and hanging low with water, / streaming and roaring, the sun seemed to sink.

54.17

Crowded with torrents of water surging over the shoots of grass, / the earth, its paths hard to find, shone garlanded with green turf.

54.18

As if struck down by the thunderbolt, of mountains crowned with trees / the peaks, severed by torrents of water, came crashing down.

54.19

By the falling rain from the clouds, following the lowest grounds, / the rows of forests were flooded with reddish water disgorged from ponds.

54.20

With trunks and faces raised high, following the thunder of clouds, / the wild elephants, drenched by the heavy rain, shone like clouds descending to earth.

54.21

Observing the onset of the rainy season and seeing the thick rain clouds, / the son of Rohiṇī spoke these words to Kṛṣṇa in private at that time:

54.22

“Look, Kṛṣṇa, at the dark clouds arisen in the sky, / adorned with flights of white cranes, stealing the color of your limbs,

54.22x665

swiftly piercing the hearts of lovers on all sides.

54.23

This season brings you sleep; the sky resembles your body; / the moon, like you, remains hidden during its monsoon retreat.

Dark as a blue lotus, bearing the lustre of a blue lotus petal, / this Vṛndāvana forest shines at the time of the blue lotus petal; / when the stormy season has arrived, the stormy sky indeed shines bright.

54.25

See, Kṛṣṇa, how Mount Govardhana, enhancer of cattle, / shines charmingly beneath the towering, dark clouds laden with water!

54.26

Delighted with the water that has fallen, intoxicated with joy on all sides, / these black spotted deer shine happily in the forests.

54.27

These grasses, delighted by water, tender and green, / cover the earth with their blades, O lotus-eyed one!

54.28

At the arrival of the rains, the beauty of the flowing mountains, / the forests, and the fields rich with grain knows no bounds.

54.29

Shaken by swift winds, arousing longing in those far from home, / roaring uncontrollably, O Dāmodara, the rain clouds wax bold.

54.30

O Hari, by the three-colored bow of Indra with bay horses, / an unstrung bow without arrows, this mid-region is yours, O Trivikrama!

54.31

In the month of Nabhasya, this sky-wanderer, the eye of the sky, does not shine; / having its heat cooled by the clouds, the sun seems devoid of rays.

54.32

The union of heaven and earth is continually wrought / by dense clouds, resembling the surge of the ocean, with uninterrupted torrents.

54.33

And on earth rainfalls descend upon nīpas, arjunas, and kadambas; / winds blow in a tumult of fragrances, kindling passion.

54.34

With great rains begun and massive clouds hanging low, / the sky appears bottomless and boundless, as if holding an ocean.

54.35

With torrential streams for polished iron arrows, lightning for bright armor, / and bearing Indra's bow as a weapon, the sky seems prepared for battle.

54.36

The peaks of mountains, forests, and trees, O fair-faced one, / appear veiled by dense clouds.

54.37

Overspread, as it were, with arrays of elephants in the form of clouds pouring out water, / the sky assumes the very color and appearance of the ocean.

54.38

Harsh, cold winds blow, raised by the surging ocean, / shaking the waving greensward and scattering spray.

54.39

In nights when the moon is asleep and water is cast down by the clouds, / the ten directions of the sky, whose sun is submerged, do not shine.

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Conscious is the lotus with its calyxes swollen all around with hunger.

54.39x667-2

Cultivated lands attain discernment neither of rays nor of lovely things.

54.39x668

Lines of clustered black bees settle down.

54.40

Freed from the blemish of the heat, adorned with cloud-water, / behold Vṛndāvana, O Kṛṣṇa, like the Caitraratha forest!

54.41

Thus recounting all the virtues of the rainy season, / Kṛṣṇa's glorious, mighty elder brother went indeed to the cowherd settlement.

54.42

The two of them, Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa, delighting each other, / roamed that great forest at that time together with their kinsmen.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit