Bhagavatapurana 10.39: athaikonacatvāriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

10.39.1

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
sukhopaviṣṭaḥ paryaṅke rama-kṛṣṇoru-mānitaḥ /
lebhe manorathān sarvān pathi yān sa cakāra ha //

Śrī Śuka said: / Seated comfortably on a couch, deeply honored by Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, / he obtained all the desires that he had conceived on the road.

1. Sri Suka said:— Received with high regards, comfortably seated on a sofa, and greatly honoured by Rama and Krishna. Akrura realised all the hopes he entertained on the way.

10.39.2

kim alabhyaṃ bhagavati prasanne śrī-niketane /
tathāpi tat-parā rājan na hi vāñchanti kiñcana //

What is unattainable when the Lord, the dwelling of Śrī, is pleased? / Even so, O King, those devoted to him desire nothing at all.

2. Is there anything unattainable for the man with whom the Lord of Sri is pleased? Still those devoted to Him, O king, do not at all desire anything.

10.39.3

sāyantanāśanaṃ kṛtvā bhagavān devakī-sutaḥ /
suhṛtsu vṛttaṃ kaṃsasya papracchānyac cikīrṣitam //

Having taken his evening meal, the Lord, the son of Devakī, / asked about the conduct of Kaṃsa toward their kin, and what else he intended to do.

3. After supper the glorious son of Devaki asked (Akrura) how Kamsa treated his friends and what else he intended to do.

10.39.4

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
tāta saumyāgataḥ kaccit sv-āgataṃ bhadram astu vaḥ /
api sva-jñāti-bandhūnām anamīvam anāmayam //

The Lord said: / “Dear uncle, gentle one, have you arrived safely? Welcome to you! May auspiciousness be yours! / Are our kinsmen and relatives free from affliction and disease?

4. The Lord said:— O father, O gentle one, (I believe) thou hast had a happy journey and you are all quite well. Are all our cousins and relations far from sinful ways and untouched by diseases?

10.39.5

kiṃ nu naḥ kuśalaṃ pṛcche edhamāne kulāmaye /
kaṃse mātula-nāmnāṅga svānāṃ nas tat-prajāsu ca //

How, dear uncle, can I even ask about well-being for us and our kinsmen / while that disease of the family, our maternal uncle named Kaṃsa, prospers, and among his subjects?

5. How is it, O dear one, that I am enquiring after the welfare of our people and his own subjects while really the disease of Kamsa is thriving in the family under the name of uncle?

10.39.6

aho asmad abhūd bhūri pitror vṛjinam āryayoḥ /
yad-dhetoḥ putra-maraṇaṃ yad-dhetor bandhanaṃ tayoḥ //

Alas, because of us, great misery befell our noble parents, / on whose account their sons died and on whose account the two were imprisoned.

6. Pity! For our sake great has been the suffering of our venerable parents: for our sake they lost their sons and for our sake they remain fettered.

10.39.7

diṣṭyādya darśanaṃ svānāṃ mahyaṃ vaḥ saumya kāṅkṣitam /
sañjātaṃ varṇyatāṃ tāta tavāgamana-kāraṇam //

By good fortune today, the sight of you, my own kin, has been granted to me as I wished, O gentle one. / Dear uncle, let the reason for your coming be told.”

7. Fortunately I enjoy the visit of my own kinsman to-day; gentle one, it was a long cherished desire of mine, and it has now come to pass. Father, now tell me fully the cause of thy visit.

10.39.8

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
pṛṣṭo bhagavatā sarvaṃ varṇayām āsa mādhavaḥ /
vairānubandhaṃ yaduṣu vasudeva-vadhodyamam //

Śrī Śuka said: / Questioned by the Lord, the descendant of Madhu related everything: / the enmity harbored against the Yadus and the attempt to kill Vasudeva;

8. Sri Suka said:— Asked by the Lord, Akrura, born of Madhus, related everything, of Kamsa's hatred of Yadus and his endeavours to kill Vasudeva.

10.39.9

yat-sandeśo yad-arthaṃ vā dūtaḥ sampreṣitaḥ svayam /
yad uktaṃ nāradenāsya sva-janmānakadundubheḥ //

what his message was, for what purpose he himself was sent as a messenger, / and what had been spoken to him by Nārada concerning his own birth and that of Ānakadundubhi's sons.

9. He gave the account of the message and the purpose with which he himself was sent as a messenger and what Narada had told Kamsa of the birth of Krishna through Vasudeva.

10.39.10

śrutvākrūra-vacaḥ kṛṣṇo balaś ca para-vīra-hā /
prahasya nandaṃ pitaraṃ rājñā diṣṭaṃ vijajñatuḥ //

Hearing Akrūra's words, Kṛṣṇa and Bala, slayer of enemy warriors, / laughed and informed their father Nanda of what had been ordered by the king.

10. On hearing what Akrura reported, Krishna and Balarama, vanquishers of enemies, laughed and told their father Nanda of the king's message.

10.39.11

gopān samādiśat so 'pi gṛhyatāṃ sarva-go-rasaḥ /
upāyanāni gṛhṇīdhvaṃ yujyantāṃ śakaṭāni ca //

He too ordered the cowherds: “Let all the milk-products be gathered! / Collect tribute gifts and yoke the wagons!

11. Nanda too asked the Gopas to collect all that their cows yield, to take all the presents and to get the chariots ready.

10.39.12

yāsyāmaḥ śvo madhu-purīṃ dāsyāmo nṛpate rasān /
drakṣyāmaḥ su-mahat parva yānti jānapadāḥ kila /
evam āghoṣayat kṣatrā nanda-gopaḥ sva-gokule //

Tomorrow we shall go to the city of Madhu, present the dairy delicacies to the king, / and see the great festival; the country folk are going, indeed!” / Thus Nanda the cowherd had the decree proclaimed by heralds in his Gokula.

12. And said, "We shall go to-morrow to Mathura and present to the king the choice things yielded by our cows and shall witness the great festivity to which all the people of the country will surely resort. Nandagopa thus proclaimed his command through his charioteer all over Gokula.

10.39.13

gopyas tās tad upaśrutya babhūvur vyathitā bhṛśam /
rāma-kṛṣṇau purīṃ netum akrūraṃ vrajam āgatam //

Hearing that Akrūra had come to Vraja to take Rāma and Kṛṣṇa / to the city, the gopīs became intensely distressed.

13. The gopa women were very deeply troubled at heart to hear that Akrura had come to Vraja to take away Rama and Krishna to the city. 14. Some lost the splendour of their face dried up by the hot breaths from their anxious hearts; some grew suddenly so thin that their dress became loosened, their bangles and braid-knots dropped down.

10.39.14

kāścit tat-kṛta-hṛt-tāpa śvāsa-mlāna-mukha-śriyaḥ /
sraṃsad-dukūla-valaya keśa-granthyaś ca kāścana //

The beauty of the faces of some withered from sighing, caused by the grief of their hearts; / and the fine silks, bracelets, and hair knots of others slipped down.

10.39.15

anyāś ca tad-anudhyāna nivṛttāśeṣa-vṛttayaḥ /
nābhyajānann imaṃ lokam ātma-lokaṃ gatā iva //

Others, all their mental activities ceased through deep meditation upon him, / did not perceive this world, as if they had attained the realm of the Self.

15. Some others gave up all other activities and sitting in contemplation of Krishna, became insensible to this world as if they were in the region of the Lord (Atman).

10.39.16

smarantyaś cāparāḥ śaurer anurāga-smiteritāḥ /
hṛdi-spṛśaś citra-padā giraḥ sammumuhuḥ striyaḥ //

And other women, remembering Śauri's words, spoken with loving smiles, / touching the heart and framed in wondrous phrases, fainted away.

16. Some other gopis fainted as they remembered Sri Krishna's words uttered with affection and smiles full of wonderful expressions and deeply rooted in their heart.

10.39.17

gatiṃ su-lalitāṃ ceṣṭāṃ snigdha-hāsāvalokanam /
śokāpahāni narmāṇi proddāma-caritāni ca //

Thinking of Mukunda's graceful gait, his actions, / his affectionate smiling glance, his jokes that dispel sorrow, and his unrestrained exploits,

17 & 18. As they thought over Mukunda's most graceful gait and winning deportment, affable smiles and looks, jokes and funs that drive away all sorrow and also of His extraordinary exploits, the women of Vraja, terror-stricken and stunned at the thought of separation, met together in crowds, and, with their mind and heart given to Achyuta and with tears on their face, said.

10.39.18

cintayantyo mukundasya bhītā viraha-kātarāḥ /
sametāḥ saṅghaśaḥ procur aśru-mukhyo 'cyutāśayāḥ //

fearful, distressed by impending separation, / they gathered together in groups and, with tearful faces and minds absorbed in Acyuta, said:

10.39.19

/0 śrī-gopya ūcuḥ
aho vidhātas tava na kvacid dayā saṃyojya maitryā praṇayena dehinaḥ /
tāṃś cākṛtārthān viyunaṅkṣy apārthakaṃ vikrīḍitaṃ te 'rbhaka-ceṣṭitaṃ yathā //

The gopīs said: / “Ah, Creator, you have no compassion anywhere! Having joined embodied beings in friendship and love, / you separate them before their desires are fulfilled, purposelessly; your play is like a child's game.

19. Gopis said: There is no touch of compassion anywhere in Thee, for Thou dost make creatures meet in friendship and love, and separatest them for nothing, even when they have not yet accomplished their purpose; Thy work is like the sport of a child.

10.39.19.p1

yas tvaṃ pradarśyāsita-kuntalāvṛtaṃ $ mukunda-vaktraṃ su-kapolam un-nasam &

You, who having shown Mukunda's face, covered with black locks, / with lovely cheeks and prominent nose,

20. Having presented to us Mukunda's face, graceful under curly locks, with well formed cheeks and prominent nose, most winning with the gentle smiles that remove all grief, that Thou takest away from our view, it is no good work on thy part.

10.39.20

śokāpanoda-smita-leśa-sundaraṃ % karoṣi pārokṣyam asādhu te kṛtam //

beautiful with a slight smile that removes sorrow, / now hide him from sight; this act of yours is cruel!

10.39.20.p2

krūras tvam akrūra-samākhyayā sma naś $ cakṣur hi dattaṃ harase batājña-vat &

Cruel are you, bearing the name Akrūra, who indeed take away the eyes / you gave us, alas, like a senseless fool,

21. Cruel art thou, though Akrura (not cruel) by name, for like an unthinking person thou takest away from us the eye (light) which thyself gavest and by which we realised for once in the personality of Krishna, the excellence of all Thy creative powers.

10.39.20.p3

krūras tvam akrūra-samākhyayā sma naś $ cakṣur hi dattaṃ harase batājña-vat &

cruel are you, bearing the name Akrūra, who indeed take away the eyes / you gave us, alas, like a senseless fool,

10.39.21

yenaika-deśe 'khila-sarga-sauṣṭhavaṃ % tvadīyam adrākṣma vayaṃ madhu-dviṣaḥ //

through which, in a single part of the enemy of Madhu, / we have beheld the total perfection of your entire creation!

10.39.21.p2

na nanda-sūnuḥ kṣaṇa-bhaṅga-sauhṛdaḥ $ samīkṣate naḥ sva-kṛtāturā bata &

Nanda's son, whose friendship lasts but a moment, does not even look at us / who have been made distraught by him, alas!

22. Nanda's son who breaks His friendship in a moment does not, pity it is, even look at us who are ever yearning after Him; charmed by Himself we sought His service indeed, abandoning our homes, our kith and kin, our children and husbands; but He is fond of only the new.

10.39.21.p3

na nanda-sūnuḥ kṣaṇa-bhaṅga-sauhṛdaḥ $ samīkṣate naḥ sva-kṛtāturā bata &

Nanda's son, whose friendship lasts but a moment, does not even look at us / who have been made distraught by him, alas!

10.39.22

vihāya gehān sva-janān sutān patīṃs % tad-dāsyam addhopagatā nava-priyaḥ //

We who, having abandoned homes, kinsmen, sons, and husbands, / truly entered into his servitude—he who is ever fond of novel lovers!

10.39.23

sukhaṃ prabhātā rajanīyam āśiṣaḥ satyā babhūvuḥ pura-yoṣitāṃ dhruvam /
yāḥ saṃpraviṣṭasya mukhaṃ vrajas-pateḥ pāsyanty apāṅgotkalita-smitāsavam //

“This night has dawned pleasantly for the women of the city; their hopes have surely come true! / When the master of Vraja has entered, they will drink the nectar of his smile darting from the corners of his eyes.

23. Very happily indeed for the ladies of Mathura has this night dawned and all the benedictions on them have now proved

true. They will, as He enters the city, drink of the Lord of Vraja's face full of the ambrosia of smiles, enhanced (in sweetness) by His side-long looks and glances.

10.39.23.p1

tāsāṃ mukundo madhu-mañju-bhāṣitair $ gṛhīta-cittaḥ para-vān manasvy api &

Mukunda, his heart captured by their honey-sweet words, under their power though he is self-controlled,

24. O women, how could Mukunda, however well-disposed, return to us, rustic women, when His heart, taken captive by their accents soft and sweet like honey, remains under their influence, deluded by their bashful smiles and winning deportment?

10.39.24

kathaṃ punar naḥ pratiyāsyate 'balā % grāmyāḥ salajja-smita-vibhramair bhraman //

how will he ever return to us rustic, simple women, infatuated as he will be by their coy, smiling gestures?”

10.39.25

adya dhruvaṃ tatra dṛśo bhaviṣyate dāśārha-bhojāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatām /
mahotsavaḥ śrī-ramaṇaṃ guṇāspadaṃ drakṣyanti ye cādhvani devakī-sutam //

“Today there will surely be a great festival for the eyes of the Dāśārhas, Bhojas, Andhakas, Vṛṣṇis, and Sātvatas, / and for all who behold the son of Devakī along the road—he, the lover of Śrī and the abode of all virtues!”

25. To-day certainly great will be the feast there to the eyes of Bhojas, Andhakas, Vrishnis and Satvatas and of those who on the way will see the son of Devaki, the consort of Lakshmi and the one abode of every excellence.

10.39.26

maitad-vidhasyākaruṇasya nāma bhūd akrūra ity etad atīva dāruṇaḥ /
yo 'sāv anāśvāsya su-duḥkhitam janaṃ priyāt priyaṃ neṣyati pāram adhvanaḥ //

“Such an unmerciful one should never have borne the name Akrūra—he is exceedingly cruel! / Without comforting these people overwhelmed with grief, he carries off beyond the road what is dearest of all our dear ones!”

26. Of such a cruel man the name ought not to be Akrura; very cruel indeed is he who does not (come to) comfort the people badly grieved and proposes to take over a long way off the one far more beloved than one's own life.

10.39.27

anārdra-dhīr eṣa samāsthito rathaṃ tam anv amī ca tvarayanti durmadāḥ /
gopā anobhiḥ sthavirair upekṣitaṃ daivaṃ ca no 'dya pratikūlam īhate //

“This hard-hearted man has mounted the chariot, and these madly impatient cowherds / are hastening after him in their wagons; our elders ignore it, and today even fate acts against us!”

27. Hard-hearted he is and now seated in the car. After him these gopas of wicked pride make haste in their carts, the aged are indifferent, and Providence too works against us to day!

10.39.28

nivārayāmaḥ samupetya mādhavaṃ kiṃ no 'kariṣyan kula-vṛddha-bāndhavāḥ /
mukunda-saṅgān nimiṣārdha-dustyajād daivena vidhvaṃsita-dīna-cetasām //

“Let us go and hold back Mādhava! What could the elders of our family and our kinsmen do to us, / whose helpless minds have been shattered by fate through separation from Mukunda, which cannot be endured for even half a moment?”

28. Let us all together stop him. What could our old people and relations do unto us who by fate (Providence) are doomed to this affliction of heart in being deprived of the society of Mukunda which is hard to lose even for half a minute?

10.39.28.p1

yasyānurāga-lalita-smita-valgu-mantra $ līlāvaloka-parirambhaṇa-rāsa-goṣṭhām &

“In whose company during the rāsa assembly, with his affectionate charming smiles, delightful words, / playful glances, and embraces,

29. How could we, O gopies, who spent nights like a moment in the Rasa assembly, enjoying His affection, charming smiles and His whispers, playful glances and happy embraces, get through without Him this impassable darkness (of separation)?

10.39.29

nītāḥ sma naḥ kṣaṇam iva kṣaṇadā vinā taṃ % gopyaḥ kathaṃ nv atitarema tamo durantam //

nights passed for us like a single moment—how, O gopīs, can we cross the endless darkness without him?”

10.39.29.p2

yo 'hnaḥ kṣaye vrajam ananta-sakhaḥ parīto $ gopair viśan khura-rajaś-churitālaka-srak &

“He who, at day's end entering Vraja as the friend of Ananta, surrounded / by the cowherd boys, his curly locks and garland dusted with the powder of hooves,

30. How could we at all live without Him who, at the close of day, with Balarama and with Gopas, entered Vraja with His curls and wreaths coverd with the dust of the cows' hoofs, and who, playing upon His flute and looking at us with His smiling glances, made a captive of our heart?

10.39.29.p3

yo 'hnaḥ kṣaye vrajam ananta-sakhaḥ parīto $ gopair viśan khura-rajaś-churitālaka-srak &

“He who, at day's end entering Vraja as the friend of Ananta, surrounded / by the cowherd boys, his curly locks and garland dusted with the powder of hooves,

10.39.30

veṇuṃ kvaṇan smita-katākṣa-nirīkṣaṇena % cittaṃ kṣiṇoty amum ṛte nu kathaṃ bhavema //

playing on his flute, ravished our hearts with his smiling sidelong glances—how indeed can we exist without him?”

10.39.31

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
evaṃ bruvāṇā virahāturā bhṛśaṃ vraja-striyaḥ kṛṣṇa-viṣakta-mānasāḥ /
visṛjya lajjāṃ ruruduḥ sma su-svaraṃ govinda dāmodara mādhaveti //

Śrī Śuka said: / Speaking thus, intensely distressed by separation, their minds absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, / the women of Vraja cast aside all shame and wept aloud: “O Govinda! O Dāmodara! O Mādhava!”

31. Sri Suka said:— Thus talking to one another the women of Vraja, deeply grieved at separation, and with their heart fastened to Krishna, overcame that bashfulness and cried aloud sweetly

uttering Govinda, Damodara, and Madhava.

10.39.32

strīṇām evaṃ rudantīnām udite savitary atha /
akrūraś codayām āsa kṛta-maitrādiko ratham //

As the women were thus weeping and the sun arose, / Akrūra, having performed his morning prayers and rituals, set the chariot in motion.

32. While the women were so lamenting, the sun rose; thereupon Akrura finishing the worship of the sun and other morning duties, drove in his chariot.

10.39.33

gopās tam anvasajjanta nandādyāḥ śakaṭais tataḥ /
ādāyopāyanaṃ bhūri kumbhān go-rasa-sambhṛtān //

The cowherds, led by Nanda, followed behind him with carts, / taking abundant gifts and jars filled with milk-products.

33. Then Nanda and other gopas followed Him in their own carts, taking with them abundant presents and pots full of milk, butter and curd.

10.39.34

gopyaś ca dayitaṃ kṛṣṇam anuvrajyānurañjitāḥ /
pratyādeśaṃ bhagavataḥ kāṅkṣantyaś cāvatasthire //

And the gopīs, following behind their beloved Kṛṣṇa, captivated by love, / stood waiting, hoping for a message from the Lord.

34. The gopis too followed their beloved Krishna, enjoying a little of His sweet glances at them and stood expecting the Lord's word not to follow.

10.39.35

tās tathā tapyatīr vīkṣya sva-prasthāṇe yadūttamaḥ /
sāntvayām asa sa-premair āyāsya iti dautyakaiḥ //

Seeing them burning with grief as he departed, the best of the Yadus / consoled them with loving messengers, saying: “I will return.”

35. Seeing that they were so deeply distressed at His journey, the Lord of Yadus pacified them saying, "I shall come back to you, sending you messengers with messages of love and affection."

10.39.36

yāvad ālakṣyate ketur yāvad reṇū rathasya ca /
anuprasthāpitātmāno lekhyānīvopalakṣitāḥ //

As long as the banner could be seen and the dust of the chariot, / their minds followed after him, and they stood still like figures in a painting.

36. As long as the flag was visible, as long as the dust raised by the car could be seen, they sent their heart after Him and stood like painted pictures.

10.39.37

tā nirāśā nivavṛtur govinda-vinivartane /
viśokā ahanī ninyur gāyantyaḥ priya-ceṣṭitam //

Despairing of Govinda’s return, they turned back, / and, singing of the deeds of their beloved, they spent their days free from grief.

37. Hopeless of Govinda's return they went back and, to be rid of distress, they spent day and night in singing their beloved Krishna's sports.

10.39.38

bhagavān api samprāpto rāmākrūra-yuto nṛpa /
rathena vāyu-vegena kālindīm agha-nāśinīm //

The Lord too, accompanied by Rāma and Akrūra, O king, / reached the Kālindī, the destroyer of sins, on his chariot swift as the wind.

38. And, O king, with Rama and Akrura in the chariot, the glorious Lord came up, swift like wind, to the Yamuna that removes all sin.

10.39.39

tatropaspṛśya pānīyaṃ pītvā mṛṣṭaṃ maṇi-prabham /
vṛkṣa-ṣaṇḍam upavrajya sa-rāmo ratham āviśat //

There, having touched and drunk its pure, gem-clear water, / he walked into a grove of trees and mounted the chariot again with Rāma.

39. There He made Achamana and drank of the crystal sweet water; going near a grove of the trees He mounted the chariot along with Rama.

10.39.40

akrūras tāv upāmantrya niveśya ca rathopari /
kālindyā hradam āgatya snānaṃ vidhi-vad ācarat //

Akrūra, having invited them to sit and seated them upon the chariot, / approached a pool of the Kālindī and performed his bath according to rule.

40. Akrura asked them to sit in the chariot and with their leave went to the pool in the Yamuna and performed ablutions according to Sastra.

10.39.41

nimajjya tasmin salile japan brahma sanātanam /
tāv eva dadṛśe 'krūro rāma-kṛṣṇau samanvitau //

Submerging himself in that water and chanting the eternal Brahman, / Akrūra saw right there both Rāma and Kṛṣṇa together.

41. When he plunged into the water and repeated the eternal Veda, he, Akrura, saw there the same Rama and Krishna together.

10.39.42

tau ratha-sthau katham iha sutāv ānakadundubheḥ /
tarhi svit syandane na sta ity unmajjya vyacaṣṭa saḥ //

“How are the two sons of Ānakadundubhi here, when they were on the chariot? / Could they perhaps not be in the chariot?” Thinking thus, he emerged from the water and looked.

42. "How now! the two sons of Vasudeva who were left in the chariot are down here! Perhaps they are not in the chariot now," so thinking he emerged from the water and looked up for them.

10.39.43

tatrāpi ca yathā-pūrvam āsīnau punar eva saḥ /
nyamajjad darśanaṃ yan me mṛṣā kiṃ salile tayoḥ //

And there they were, seated just as before; he / plunged into the water again: “Was my seeing the two of them in the water an illusion?”

43. And there too he saw them seated as before and again plunged into the water, thinking that his vision (of them) in the water might not be real.

10.39.44

bhūyas tatrāpi so 'drākṣīt stūyamānam ahīśvaram /
siddha-cāraṇa-gandharvair asurair nata-kandharaiḥ //

There again he beheld the Lord of serpents being praised / by Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Gandharvas, and Asuras with bowed necks,

44. Again he saw in the water Sesha praised by SiddhasCharanas, Gandharvas and Asuras bowing their heads.

10.39.45

sahasra-śirasaṃ devaṃ sahasra-phaṇa-maulinam /
nīlāmbaraṃ visa-śvetaṃ śṛṅgaiḥ śvetam iva sthitam //

the thousand-headed god crowned with a thousand hoods, / clad in blue garments, white like a lotus stalk, resting like Mount Śveta with its peaks.

45. The god of a thousand heads and of thousand hoods wearing the blue garment, white like lotus-stalk and like unto Swetadwipa with its crowns (towers).

10.39.46

tasyotsaṅge ghana-syāmaṃ pīta-kauśeya-vāsasam /
puruṣaṃ catur-bhujaṃ śāntam padma-patrāruṇekṣaṇam //

Upon his lap sat the Supreme Person, dark as a rain-cloud, clad in yellow silk, / four-armed, peaceful, with eyes like the reddish petals of a lotus,

46. On Sesha’s lap he saw another great Purusha blue like the cloud, who wore yellow silks, had four arms and looked very gentle, with his eyes reddish like lotus petals.

10.39.47

cāru-prasanna-vadanaṃ cāru-hāsa-nirīkṣaṇam /
su-bhrūnnasaṃ caru-karṇaṃ su-kapolāruṇādharam //

with a charming, serene face and a lovely, smiling gaze, / beautiful brows, a prominent nose, handsome ears, beautiful cheeks, and reddish lips,

47. The Purusha who bore a charming and gracious countenance, heightened by winning smiles and looks, well-formed brows and nose, beautiful ears, well-shaped cheeks and ruby-coloured lips;

10.39.48

pralamba-pīvara-bhujaṃ tuṅgāṃsoraḥ-sthala-śriyam /
kambu-kaṇṭhaṃ nimna-nābhiṃ valimat-pallavodaram //

with long, stout arms, broad shoulders, and a majestic chest, / a conch-like neck, a deep navel, and a belly lined with three folds like a budding leaf,

48. —Whose arms were long and stout, shoulders high, chest spacious, neck like unto Sankha, navel deep and abdomen marked with three folds tender like shoots;

10.39.49

bṛhat-kati-tata-śroṇi karabhoru-dvayānvitam /
cāru-jānu-yugaṃ cāru jaṅghā-yugala-saṃyutam //

endowed with broad hips and thighs like an elephant's trunk, / charming knees, and a pair of lovely shanks,

49. —Whose hips were full and well-formed, thighs well developed, knees and shanks beautiful;

10.39.50

tuṅga-gulphāruṇa-nakha vrāta-dīdhitibhir vṛtam /
navāṅguly-aṅguṣṭha-dalair vilasat-pāda-paṅkajam //

with prominent ankles encircled by the radiance of a cluster of reddish toenails, / his lotus feet resplendent with the petals of new toes and thumbs,

50. —Who was surrounded by the halo of light rays that issue from the prominent ankle-joints and crimson nails of the great toes and whose feet were peculiarly charming with toes tender like lotus-petals;

10.39.51

su-mahārha-maṇi-vrāta kirīṭa-kaṭakāṅgadaiḥ /
kaṭi-sūtra-brahma-sūtra hāra-nūpura-kuṇḍalaiḥ //

shining with crowns, bracelets, and armlets studded with very precious gems, / with waistbands, sacred threads, necklaces, anklets, and earrings,

51. —Who bore a crown, bracelets, and Angadas set with very precious jewels, and also zones, sacred threads, garlands, anklets and ear-rings;

10.39.52

bhrājamānaṃ padma-karaṃ śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-dharam /
śrīvatsa-vakṣasaṃ bhrājat kaustubhaṃ vana-mālinam //

holding a lotus in hand, bearing the conch, discus, and mace, / with the Śrīvatsa on his chest, the resplendent Kaustubha gem, and a garland of forest flowers,

52. —Who held a lotus in his hand as also Sankha, Chakra and Gada, with Srivatsa on His chest and the brilliant Kaustubha shining on His bosom, and wore the *vanamala*;

10.39.53

sunanda-nanda-pramukhaiḥ parṣadaiḥ sanakādibhiḥ /
sureśair brahma-rudrādyair navabhiś ca dvijottamaiḥ //

being praised by attendants headed by Sunanda and Nanda, by Sanaka and the other sages, / by the chiefs of gods led by Brahmā and Rudra, and by the nine foremost twice-born sages,

53. —To whom Sunanda, Nanda, and other attendants, Saunaka and other sages, Brahma, Rudra and other great gods, and the nine foremost Brahmins (Kasyapa and other Rishis) were singing hymns,

10.39.54

prahrāda-nārada-vasu pramukhair bhāgavatottamaiḥ /
stūyamānaṃ pṛthag-bhāvair vacobhir amalātmabhiḥ //

by Prahrāda, Nārada, Uparicara Vasu, and the foremost Bhāgavatas / with distinct devotional emotions and with words of pure hearts,

54.—And whom Prahlada, Narada, Vasu and other great gods, devotees of Hari, possessed of a pure heart, with words of distinct and different meanings, were praying to;

10.39.55

śriyā puṣṭyā girā kāntyā kīrtyā tuṣṭyelayorjayā /
vidyayāvidyayā śaktyā māyayā ca niṣevitam //

attended upon by Śrī, Puṣṭi, Sarasvatī, Kānti, Kīrti, Tuṣṭi, Ilā, Ūrjā, / Vidyā, Avidyā, Śakti, and Māyā.

55. —And who was waited upon by Sri, Pushti, Gir, Kanti, Kirti, Tushti, Ila, and Oja, Vidya and Avidya, by Sakti and by Maya.

10.39.56

vilokya su-bhṛśaṃ prīto bhaktyā paramayā yutaḥ /
hṛṣyat-tanūruho bhāva- pariklinnātma-locanaḥ //

Seeing him, [Akrūra] was filled with supreme joy and imbued with the highest devotion; / his body hairs bristling and his eyes moist with devotional emotion,

56. & 57 On seeing that supreme Lord he was highly pleased

full of supreme devotion, his hair stood on end, his eyes got wet with tears of love; the satvata took some courage and having bowed to Him with his head and in perfect attention, praised Him slowly in a faltering voice.

10.39.57

girā gadgadayāstauṣīt sattvam ālambya sātvataḥ /
praṇamya mūrdhnāvahitaḥ kṛtāñjali-puṭaḥ śanaiḥ //

the Sātvata, steadying himself through purity, praised him with a voice choked with emotion, / bowing his head, attentive, with folded hands, speaking softly.