Bhagavatapurana 10.20: atha viṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

10.20.1

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
tayos tad adbhutaṃ karma dāvāgner mokṣam ātmanaḥ /
gopāḥ strībhyaḥ samācakhyuḥ pralamba-vadham eva ca //

Śrī Śuka said: / The cowherd boys related to the women that wonderful deed of the two, / their deliverance from the forest fire, and the slaying of Pralamba.

1. Sri Suka said:—The Gopas told their women of that wonderful work of them both (i.e., Krishna and Rama), i.e., how they were rescued from wild fire and also how Pralamba was put an end to.

10.20.2

gopa-vṛddhāś ca gopyaś ca tad upākarṇya vismitāḥ /
menire deva-pravarau kṛṣṇa-rāmau vrajaṃ gatau //

Hearing this, the elder cowherds and the gopīs were astonished; / they thought that Kṛṣṇa and Rāma were two foremost gods come to Vraja.

2. The aged Gopas and Gopis were astonished to hear of it, and thought that Rama and Krishna were great gods that had come down to Vraja.

10.20.3

tataḥ prāvartata prāvṛṭ sarva-sattva-samudbhavā /
vidyotamāna-paridhir visphūrjita-nabhas-talā //

Then began the rainy season, the origin of all living beings, / its horizon flashing with lightning, its sky rumbling with thunder.

3. Then set in the rainy season in which all beings have a regeneration, and the heavens look charming with bright circles (round the Sun and Moon) and rolling thunders.

10.20.4

sāndra-nīlāmbudair vyoma sa-vidyut-stanayitnubhiḥ /
aspaṣṭa-jyotir ācchannaṃ brahmeva sa-guṇaṃ babhau //

The sky covered with dense dark clouds, accompanied by lightning and thunder, / its light unmanifest, shone like Brahman endowed with material qualities.

4. Like unto Saguna Brahman, the sky was overcast with dense and dark clouds attended with lightning and thunder, the heavenly light (the Sun or the Moon) not distinctly shining.

10.20.5

aṣṭau māsān nipītaṃ yad bhūmyāś coda-mayaṃ vasu /
sva-gobhir moktum ārebhe parjanyaḥ kāla āgate //

The watery wealth of the earth that had been drunk for eight months, / the rain-cloud, when the time arrived, began to release through its rays [of water].

5. When the season came, Parjanya (the god Sun) began to return to the earth her wealth of water of which he had drained her by means of his rays.

10.20.6

taḍidvanto mahā-meghāś caṇḍa -śvasana -vepitāḥ /
prīṇanaṃ jīvanaṃ hy asya mumucuḥ karuṇā iva //

The great clouds, charged with lightning and shaken by fierce winds, / released the refreshing water of life upon it, as if releasing their compassion.

6. Tremendous clouds marked with lightning and tossed by tempestuous winds showered down the delightful life (water) over this (world.)

10.20.7

tapaḥ-kṛśā deva-mīḍhā āsīd varṣīyasī mahī /
yathaiva kāmya-tapasas tanuḥ samprāpya tat-phalam //

The earth, emaciated by the heat of summer and showered by the rain-god, grew plump, / just like the body of one who has performed penance for desires [grows plump] upon attaining its fruit.

7. The earth that had shrunk under the heat of summer and is now drenched by the gods regained her full development just as the emaciated body of a person performing tapas for the fulfilment of desires (recovers its healthy condition) on the attainment of the desired end.

10.20.8

niśā-mukheṣu khadyotās tamasā bhānti na grahāḥ /
yathā pāpena pāṣaṇḍā na hi vedāḥ kalau yuge //

At the beginning of night, fireflies shone in the darkness, not the planets, / just as through sin the heretics shine in the Kali age, and not the Vedas.

8. In the evening (at nightfall) shine only fire flies, but not planets, when the sky is overcast; similarly at the advent of Kaliyuga Pakhandas (Heretics) shine in their sin, but not the Vedas.

10.20.9

śrutvā parjanya-ninadaṃ maṇḍukāḥ sasṛjur giraḥ /
tūṣṇīṃ śayānāḥ prāg yadvad brāhmaṇā niyamātyaye //

Hearing the rumbling of the rain-clouds, the frogs uttered sounds, / having lain silent before, just as brāhmaṇas [recite] at the end of their vow of silence.

9. On hearing the roar of clouds frogs that had been sleeping in silence began to croak, like Brahmins on the completion of silent contemplation (and on hearing the voice of their preceptor.)

10.20.10

āsann utpatha-gāminyaḥ kṣudra-nadyo 'nuśuṣyatīḥ /
puṃso yathāsvatantrasya deha-draviṇa -sampadaḥ //

The petty streams that had dried up overflowed their banks, / like the bodily and material fortunes of a man who lacks self-control.

10. Small rivers usually dried up (in summer) overflowed their banks (went astray) like the body and extensive riches of a person who is a slave to his senses.

10.20.11

haritā haribhiḥ śaṣpair indragopaiś ca lohitā /
ucchilīndhra-kṛta-cchāyā nṛṇāṃ śrīr iva bhūr abhūt //

Green with fresh tender grass and red with cochineal insects, / shaded by raised mushrooms, the earth appeared like the royal splendor of kings.

11. With green grass the earth looked green; with Indra-gopa

insects she looked crimson; and with the shelter afforded by the fresh grown fungi, she looked like the fortune of men (human kings.)

10.20.12

kṣetrāṇi śaṣya-sampadbhiḥ karṣakāṇāṃ mudaṃ daduḥ /
māninām anutāpaṃ vai daivādhīnam ajānatām //

The fields gave joy to the farmers through the abundance of crops, / but remorse to the proud who do not understand that everything is subject to fate.

12. Fields bore joy or grief by means of rich crops or their failure to the tillers who cared for property (were proud) and did not see how the world is in the hands of providence.

12. V. Fields with rich crops brought joy to the tillers and anxiety to the (envious) rich people who did not etc.

D. Fields bore joy to the careful cultivators by means of thriving crops and they brought anxiety and loss to the arrogant, ignorant of agriculture.

10.20.13

jala-sthalaukasaḥ sarve nava-vāri-niṣevayā /
abibhran ruciraṃ rūpaṃ yathā hari-niṣevayā //

All creatures of water and land, through the consumption of the fresh water, / assumed a lovely form, just as through the service of Hari.

13. V. Only worship and contemplation of Hari confer true grace on any body.

D. (Inner meaning) all creatures of nether regions of the earth and of still higher regions attain to gracious form and state by means of pure knowledge attained through the worship of Hari (*vari*—the pure knowledge which prevents man from falling into Samsara.)

10.20.14

saridbhiḥ saṅgataḥ sindhuś cukṣobha śvasanormimān /
apakva-yoginaś cittaṃ kāmāktaṃ guṇa-yug yathā //

Joined by the rivers, the ocean was agitated with wind-blown waves, / like the mind of an immature yogin, tainted by desire and attached to material qualities.

14. *Gunas*. V. The implanted tendencies that lead the mind towards objects of senses

V. One should therefore endeavour to concentrate his mind on the Lord in order to get over the agitation caused by desires and other things.

10.20.15

girayo varṣa-dhārābhir hanyamānā na vivyathuḥ /
abhibhūyamānā vyasanair yathādhokṣaja-cetasaḥ //

Struck by torrents of rain, the mountains were not disturbed, / just as those whose minds are fixed on Adhokṣaja are not perturbed when overcome by calamities.

15. D. By the simile it is indicated that only the votaries of Hari are able to put up with every suffering.

10.20.16

mārgā babhūvuḥ sandigdhās tṛṇaiś channā hy asaṃskṛtāḥ /
nābhyasyamānāḥ śrutayo dvijaiḥ kālena cāhatāḥ //

The paths became obscure, covered over with grass and unmaintained, / like the Vedic scriptures when not recited by the twice-born and damaged by time.

16. D. The illustration indicates that the sacred literature should be constantly and intensely studied. 17. To clouds that are friends of the world lightning bore but a fickle attachment, just as women seeking after pleasure bear no constant love to men of merit.

10.20.17

loka-bandhuṣu megheṣu vidyutaś cala-sauhṛdāḥ /
sthairyaṃ na cakruḥ kāminyaḥ puruṣeṣu guṇiṣv iva //

Fickle in friendship toward the clouds, the friends of the world, / the lightnings did not remain steady, like passionate women toward virtuous men.

10.20.18

dhanur viyati māhendraṃ nirguṇaṃ ca guṇiny abhāt /
vyakte guṇa-vyatikare 'guṇavān puruṣo yathā //

In the sky, the bow of Indra without a bowstring shone amid the cloudy sky, / just as the unconditioned Spirit shines when the combination of the material qualities is manifest.

18. In the heavens possessed of an attribute (sound) Indra's rain bow destitute of attributes (string) made its appearance just as, in the gross combination full of attributes, the Perfect Being devoid of attributes does.

10.20.19

na rarājoḍupaś channaḥ sva-jyotsnā-rājitair ghanaiḥ /
ahaṃ-matyā bhāsitayā sva-bhāsā puruṣo yathā //

The moon, covered by clouds that were illuminated by its own moonlight, did not shine, / just as the self [does not shine], obscured by the ego-sense illuminated by its own light.

19. The moon did not shine forth, being hidden behind the clouds illumined by her own light, just as the Perfect Being does not, through Ahankara illumined by His own light.

10.20.20

meghāgamotsavā hṛṣṭāḥ pratyanandañ chikhaṇḍinaḥ /
gṛheṣu tapta-nirviṇṇā yathācyuta-janāgame //

Delighted at the festival of the arrival of the clouds, the peacocks rejoiced in welcome, / just as people tormented and despondent in household life [rejoice] at the arrival of devotees of Acyuta.

20. Peacocks had their feast on the appearance of clouds and were full of rejoicings with their hair standing on end (i.e., danced spreading out their feathers), just as those who, put to miseries in the domestic life, have become disgusted with it, are rejoiced at meeting Hari's devotees.

10.20.21

pītvāpaḥ pādapāḥ padbhir āsan nānātma-mūrtayaḥ /
prāk kṣāmās tapasā śrāntā yathā kāmānusevayā //

Having drunk water through their roots, the trees assumed various forms of foliage, / just as those who were previously emaciated and exhausted by austerities [gain weight] through the enjoyment of desires.

21. Trees that had at first shrunk under summer heat, drank water through their feet (roots) and grew luxuriantly in their several aspects (branches, leaves, shoots etc), like those who at first grow thin through penance and self-deinal (and then become healthy and

robust) on the attainment of their desired object (by means of nourishing food and drink.)

10.20.22

saraḥsv aśānta-rodhaḥsu nyūṣur aṅgāpi sārasāḥ /
gṛheṣv aśānta-kṛtyeṣu grāmyā iva durāśayāḥ //

The cranes continued to dwell beside the lakes though the shores were turbulent, / just as vulgar people of ill intent remain in households where duties are never tranquil.

22. In lakes whose banks were miry and forbidding, chakravaka birds continued to dwell, O king, even as vulgar men of low passions stick to their houses where their detestable duties never see an end.

10.20.23

jalaughair nirabhidyanta setavo varṣatīśvare /
pāṣaṇḍinām asad-vādair veda-mārgāḥ kalau yathā //

As the Lord rained down [water], the dikes were broken by the floods, / just as in the Kali age the pathways of the Veda are broken by the false doctrines of heretics.

23. When the ruler of the world (Indra) poured down rains, dams were breached by floods even as in the age of Kali Vedic principles and regulations are broken asunder by the wrong expositions (discussions) of Pashandas (unbelievers).

10.20.24

vyamuñcan vāyubhir nunnā bhūtebhyaś cāmṛtaṃ ghanāḥ /
yathāśiṣo viś-patayaḥ kāle kāle dvijeritāḥ //

Impelled by the winds, the clouds poured down nectar for the living beings, / just as kings, urged on by the twice-born, dispense blessings at proper times.

24. Impelled by winds clouds showered nectar down to creatures below just as Lords of men (merchant kings) shower from time to time many blessings on their subjects when directed by Brahmins.

10.20.25

evaṃ vanaṃ tad varṣiṣṭhaṃ pakva-kharjura-jambumat /
go-gopālair vṛto rantuṃ sa-balaḥ prāviśad dhariḥ //

Thus into that luxuriant forest, rich in ripe dates and rose-apples, / Hari entered with Bala, surrounded by cows and cowherds, to sport.

25. When the forest was thus in the most thriving condition with Kharjuras and Jambu trees laden with ripe fruits Hari surrounded by cows and cowherds and accompanied by Balarama entered it for the purpose of sporting therein.

10.20.26

dhenavo manda-gāminya ūdho-bhāreṇa bhūyasā /
yayur bhagavatāhūtā drutaṃ prītyā snuta-stanāḥ //

Moving slowly under the heavy burden of their udders, / the cows ran swiftly with affection, their udders dripping, when called by the Lord.

26. The cows that slowly footed their way owing to the exceeding weight of their udders hastened their steps when called by the glorious Lord gladly showering milk on their way.

10.20.27

vanaukasaḥ pramuditā vana-rājīr madhu-cyutaḥ /
jala-dhārā girer nādād āsannā dadṛśe guhāḥ //

He beheld the joyful forest dwellers, rows of trees dripping with nectar, / the mountain caves close by, and the water torrents echoing with sound.

27. As he passed through the woods he saw the sylvan people highly rejoiced, rows of trees dripping with honey, the uninterrupted streams of water, the booming sounds in the hills and the caves that were near.

10.20.28

kvacid vanaspati-kroḍe guhāyāṃ cābhivarṣati /
nirviśya bhagavān reme kanda-mūla-phalāśanaḥ //

Sometimes in the hollow of a tree and sometimes in a cave when it rained, / the Lord entered and took delight, eating roots, tubers, and fruits.

28. Sometime when it rained heavily the glorious Krishna found shelter in the hollows of trees or caves and joyfully subsisted on roots or fruits.

10.20.29

dadhy-odanaṃ samānītaṃ śilāyāṃ salilāntike /
sambhojanīyair bubhuje gopaiḥ saṅkarṣaṇānvitaḥ //

Accompanied by Saṅkarṣaṇa, He ate the boiled rice with curds brought along, / sitting upon a rock near the water together with His fellow cowherd companions.

29. With BalaRama he sat on a rock close by water and shared the curd and rice they ha brought with all the gopas who deserved to sit with him for meals.

10.20.30

śādvalopari saṃviśya carvato mīlitekṣaṇān /
tṛptān vṛṣān vatsatarān gāś ca svodho-bhara-śramāḥ //

Sitting on the green turf, He watched the bulls, calves, / and cows chewing the cud with closed eyes, satisfied and tired from the burden of their own udders.

30. & 31. The glorious Hari was gratified to see bulls lying on the green and chewing the cud with their eyes shut in great satisfaction, cows weary with their heavy udders — in fine, the splendour of the rainy season which imbued with his own powers brought joy to all creatures.

10.20.31

prāvṛṭ-śriyaṃ ca tāṃ vīkṣya sarva-kāla-sukhāvahām /
bhagavān pūjayāṃ cakre ātma-śakty-upabṛṃhitām //

And beholding that splendor of the rainy season, which brought comfort at all times / and was enhanced by His own potency, the Lord honored it.

10.20.32

evaṃ nivasatos tasmin rāma-keśavayor vraje /
śarat samabhavad vyabhrā svacchāmbv-aparuṣānilā //

While Rāma and Keśava were dwelling thus in Vraja, / autumn arrived, cloudless, with clear water and gentle breezes.

32. While Rama and Krishna thus dwelt at Vraja, there set in the season of *Sarad* characterised by the absence of clouds, by crystal waters and gentle breezes.

10.20.33

śaradā nīrajotpattyā nīrāṇi prakṛtiṃ yayuḥ /
bhraṣṭānām iva cetāṃsi punar yoga-niṣevayā //

With autumn, through the emergence of lotuses, the waters regained their natural state, / just as the minds of those who have fallen [from yoga] do through repeated practice of yoga.

33. During Sarad that made lotuses thrive, waters regained their natural state just as the minds of those who had fallen from yogic course recover their serenity when they again practise yoga.

10.20.34

vyomno 'bbhraṃ bhūta-śābalyaṃ bhuvaḥ paṅkam apāṃ malam /
śaraj jahārāśramiṇāṃ kṛṣṇe bhaktir yathāśubham //

Autumn removed the clouds from the sky, the mingling of creatures, / the mud from the earth, and the dirt from the water, just as devotion to Kṛṣṇa removes the misfortune of the stages of life.

34. Sarad (the season) got rid of clouds in the sky, confusion among creatures, mire on the earth, turbidity in water, just as devotion to Sri Krishna puts and end to all evil besetting those that do the duties of their several Asramas.

10.20.35

sarva-svaṃ jaladā hitvā virejuḥ śubhra-varcasaḥ /
yathā tyaktaiṣaṇāḥ śāntā munayo mukta-kilbiṣāḥ //

Giving away their all, the clouds shone with bright splendor, / just as peaceful sages, having abandoned desires and shed their sins, shine.

35. Clouds having given up all their wealth (having completely emptied themselves of water) shone in their spotless whiteness just as contemplatists rid of the three-fold desire and possessed of serenity shine in their sinless state.

10.20.36

girayo mumucus toyaṃ kvacin na mumucuḥ śivam /
yathā jñānāmṛtaṃ kāle jñānino dadate na vā //

The mountains released their pure water in some places and not in others, / just as men of knowledge give the nectar of knowledge at times and at other times do not.

36. Somewhere hills allowed their currents to flow and somewhere they did not, just as men of wisdom do or do not at times impart to others the nectar of knowledge.

10.20.37

naivāvidan kṣīyamāṇaṃ jalaṃ gādha-jale-carāḥ /
yathāyur anv-ahaṃ kṣayyaṃ narā mūḍhāḥ kuṭumbinaḥ //

Creatures living in shallow water did not realize that the water was diminishing, / just as foolish men bound to family do not realize that their lifespan is being depleted day by day.

37. The creatures that lived in shallow waters did not per-

ceive how the water was everyday going down just as foolish men given to domestic life do not perceive how the span of life is day after day cut short.

10.20.38

gādha-vāri-carās tāpam avindañ charad-arka-jam /
yathā daridraḥ kṛpaṇaḥ kuṭumby avijitendriyaḥ //

Living in shallow water, they suffered the torment born of the autumn sun, / just as a wretched, impoverished family man with uncontrolled senses suffers.

38. Those that dwelt in shallow waters were afflicted by the severity of the Sun of Sarad, like a helpless man, stricken with poverty, loaded with a family, yet having no control over his sons.

10.20.39

śanaiḥ śanair jahuḥ paṅkaṃ sthalāny āmaṃ ca vīrudhaḥ /
yathāhaṃ-mamatāṃ dhīrāḥ śarīrādiṣv anātmasu //

Little by little, the lands gave up their mud and the creeping plants their unripeness, / just as the wise abandon the sense of 'I' and 'mine' in the body and other non-self things.

39. Virgin tracts of land slowly had their mire dried up and creatures began to thrive getting over their disease like men of deep wisdom who slowly set aside the notions of I and mine in respect of the body and its belongings which are distinct from Atman.

10.20.40

niścalāmbur abhūt tūṣṇīṃ samudraḥ śarad-āgame /
ātmany uparate samyaṅ munir vyuparatāgamaḥ //

With the coming of autumn, the ocean with motionless waters grew silent, / just as a sage whose mind has fully ceased activity falls silent when his study of scriptures has ceased.

40. At the advent of Sarad the sea grew calm and still just as contemplatists get quite free from the voice of Vedas when Atman (mind) is rid of all activity (towards objects of sense.)

10.20.41

kedārebhyas tv apo 'gṛhṇan karṣakā dṛḍha-setubhiḥ /
yathā prāṇaiḥ sravaj jñānaṃ tan-nirodhena yoginaḥ //

The farmers retained the water in the fields with sturdy dikes, / just as yogins retain the knowledge that leaks away through the vital breaths by checking them.

41. Cultivators led water to their several fields by putting up strong dams, just as those that practise yoga secure the proper flow of knowledge by controlling the senses through which it becomes dissipated.

10.20.42

śarad-arkāṃśu-jāṃs tāpān bhūtānām uḍupo 'harat /
dehābhimāna-jaṃ bodho mukundo vraja-yoṣitām //

The moon removed the torments born of the autumn sun's rays for all beings, / just as spiritual awakening removes the suffering born of identification with the body, and Mukunda removed it for the women of Vraja.

42. The moon alleviated the sufferings caused by the Sarad Sun; the light of wisdom the sufferings caused by attachment to the body and Sri Krishna the sufferings of women of Vraja.

10.20.43

kham aśobhata nirmeghaṃ śarad-vimala-tārakam /
sattva-yuktaṃ yathā cittaṃ śabda-brahmārtha-darśanam //

The cloudless sky shone with the spotless stars of autumn, / just as the mind endowed with purity shines when seeing the meaning of the spoken Brahman.

43. By virtue of Sarad the sky shone cloudless and with clear stars like the mind of predominating Satvaguna affording a true view of the Perfect Being declared by the Vedas.

10.20.44

akhaṇḍa-maṇḍalo vyomni rarājoḍu-gaṇaiḥ śaśī /
yathā yadu-patiḥ kṛṣṇo vṛṣṇi-cakrāvṛto bhuvi //

The full-orbed moon shone in the sky with hosts of stars, / just as Kṛṣṇa, the lord of the Yadus, shines on earth surrounded by the circle of Vṛṣṇis.

44. With hosts of stars the full moon shone in the sky and on the earth Sri Krishna, the Lord of Yadus, shone in the midst of numerous Vrishnis.

10.20.45

āśliṣya sama-śītoṣṇaṃ prasūna-vana-mārutam /
janās tāpaṃ jahur gopyo na kṛṣṇa-hṛta-cetasaḥ //

Embracing the breeze from the flowering forest, neither too cold nor too hot, / the people were freed from distress, but not the cowherd women whose minds were captivated by Kṛṣṇa.

45. In the embraces of the temperate breeze that blew from woods in full blossom people were rid of the distress under heat, but not the gopa women whose heart was stolen by Krishna.

10.20.46

gāvo mṛgāḥ khagā nāryaḥ puṣpiṇyaḥ śaradābhavan /
anvīyamānāḥ sva-vṛṣaiḥ phalair īśa-kriyā iva //

In autumn the cows, deer, birds, and women became fertile, / pursued by their own males, just as actions dedicated to the Lord are followed by their fruits.

46. Cows, deer, birds, women and all became pregnant under the influence of Sarad, as they were followed by their partners (mates) just as the Supreme Lord's activities are necessarily followed by their fruits (attended with their fruits.)

10.20.47

udahṛṣyan vārijāni sūryotthāne kumud vinā /
rājñā tu nirbhayā lokā yathā dasyūn vinā nṛpa //

The water-born lotuses rejoiced at the rising of the sun, except for the night-blooming lotus, / just as the subjects are free from fear under a king, O king, except for thieves.

47. At the rise of the Sun lotuses looked highly sweet, but not Kumuda, just as subjects do under a good king, being free from fear, but not the thieves.

10.20.48

pura-grāmeṣv āgrayaṇair indriyaiś ca mahotsavaiḥ /
babhau bhūḥ pakva-śaṣyāḍhyā kalābhyāṃ nitarāṃ hareḥ //

With the first-fruits offerings in towns and villages and great sensory festivals, / the earth shone, rich in ripe grain, exceedingly glorified by the two portions of Hari.

48. In cities and villages the earth shone in great splendour with sacrifices of the harvest season, with many objects gratifying to the senses, with many festivities and with ripe and rich corn fields, especially with the two Amsas of Hari as Rama and Krishna.

10.20.49

vaṇiṅ-muni-nṛpa-snātā nirgamyārthān prapedire /
varṣa-ruddhā yathā siddhāḥ sva-piṇḍān kāla āgate //

Merchants, sages, kings, and students who had completed their ablutions set out and attained their goals, / having been detained by the rains, just as perfected beings take up their bodies when the proper time arrives.

49. Merchants, ascetics and Snatakas (bachelors or pilgrims) pent up by the rains, now set out in quest of their objects like Siddhas who, impeded by the limit of life, realise their desired attainments when the due time arrives.