Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṁhitā – Chapter 4 – The Pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa
Text 1-2
yadā hi jīva-vijñānaṁ pūrṇam āsān mahītale
kramorddha-gatirītyā ca dvāpare bhārate kila
tadā sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ yad vasudeva itīritaḥ
brahma-jñāna-vibhāge hi mathurāyām ajāyata
Two types of persons, the kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs and the uttama-adhikārīs, are eligible for understanding the science of Kṛṣṇa. The madhyama-adhikārīs cannot understand this science due to their doubting nature. Madhyama-adhikārīs are known as either impersonalists or worshipers of the supreme controller. If they are fortunate, then by the strength of devotees’ association they become uttama-adhikārīs and also realise the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s activities through the process of samādhi. Although by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, living entities can easily attain the stage of uttama-adhikārī, people generally have greater faith in arguments arising from the samvit aspect of the external energy and disregard the simple process of samādhi as superstitious. If they become faithful, however, then they first become kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs, and later, by the association of devotees, by following the devotees’ instructions, and by gradual advancement, they can certainly become uttama-adhikārīs. But if they are doubtful from the beginning, then either they become fortunate and cross the ocean of arguments to become uttama-adhikārīs or they become more averse to the Lord and fall away from the path of liberation. Therefore, when the experienced knowledge of the living entities attained maturity by faithful discussion, then at the end of Dvāpara-yuga in the pious land of Bhārata-varṣa in Mathurā, the personification of Absolute knowledge, King Vasudeva, the personification of pure goodness, took birth.
TEXT 3
sātvatāṁ vaṁśa-sambhūto vasudevo manomayīm
devakīm agrahīt kaṁsa nāstikya bhaginīṁ satīm
Vasudeva appeared in a family of devotees and married Devakī, the so-called sister of Kaṁsa, who was the personification of atheism.
TEXT 4
bhagavad bhāva-sambhūteḥ śaṅkayā bhoja-pāṁśulaḥ
arundhad dampatī tatra kārāgāre sudurmadaḥ
Fearing the Lord’s advent from this couple, the wretched Kaṁsa of the Bhoja dynasty arrested them and put them in the jail of remembrance. It is understood that the descendants of the Yadu dynasty were all devotees, while the descendants of the Bhoja dynasty were all extremely argumentative and averse to the Lord.
TEXT 5
yaśaḥ kīrtyādayaḥ putrāḥ ṣaḍ āsan kramaśas tayoḥ
te sarve nihatā bālye kaṁseneśa-virodhinā
That couple gradually begot six sons such as Yaśa and Kīrti, but Kaṁsa, who is averse to the Lord, killed them in their childhood.
TEXT 6
jīva-tattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ yad bhagavad dāsya bhūṣaṇam
tad eva bhagavān rāmaḥ saptame samajāyata
Śrī Baladeva is decorated with service to the Lord and is the transcendental reservoir of all living entities. He is their seventh son.
TEXT 7
jñānāśramaye citte śuddha-jīvaḥ pravartate
kaṁsasya kāryamāśaṅkya sa yāti vraja-mandiram
Śrī Baladeva is the transcendental reservoir of all living entities, and He appeared in the womb of Devakī, who represents the heart filled with knowledge. But out of fear of His maternal uncle Kaṁsa, He went to His home in Vraja.
TEXT 8
tathā śuddhāmaye citte rahiṇyāṁ ca viśaty asau
devakī-garbha-nāśas tu jñāpitaś cābhavat tadā
He was transferred to the faithful abode of Vraja and entered the firmly devoted heart of Rohiṇī. News of Devakī’s miscarriage was spread at this time.
TEXT 9
aṣṭame bhagavān sākṣād aiśvaryākhyāṁ dadhat tanum
prādur āsīn mahāvīryaḥ kaṁsa-dhvaṁsa cikīrṣayā
Right after the appearance of the transcendental reservoir of all living entities, awareness of the Lord appeared in the heart of the living entities. Thereafter the eighth son, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared as Nārāyaṇa with full opulences. The greatly heroic Lord appeared with a desire to vanquish Kaṁsa, who was the personification of atheism.
TEXT 10
vraja-bhumiṁ tadānītaḥ svarūpeṇābhavad dhariḥ
sandhinī nirmitā sā tu viśvāso bhitir eva ca
The Lord in His own form as Kṛṣṇa was brought to Vraja, which is created by the sandhinī aspect of the spiritual potency. The root foundation of this land is faith. The purport is that this land does not exist in argument or speculative knowledge; it exists in faith.
TEXT 11
na jñānaṁ na ca vairāgyaṁ tatra dṛṣyaṁ bhavet kadā
tatraiva nanda-gopaḥ syād ānanda iva mūrtimān
Speculative knowledge or renunciation is not found there. The most blissful son of Nanda is the only authority there. There is no consideration of superiority or inferiority of the different castes in that abode. That is why He appeared in the family of cowherd men. He always engaged in tending and protecting the cows, as such activities are devoid of opulence and full of sweetness.
TEXT 12
ullāsa-rūpiṇī tasya yaśodā saha-dharmiṇī
ajījanan mahāmāyāṁ yāṁ śaurir nītavān vrajāt
The inferior energy, Māyā, who was begotten by the blissful mother Yaśodā, the wife of Nanda, was taken out of Vraja by Vasudeva. The mundane conception that is inherent in the conditioned souls’ impression of the spiritual abode is destroyed by the arrival of Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 13
kramaśo varddhate kṛṣṇaḥ rāmeṇa saha gokule
viśuddha-prema-sūryasya praśāntakara saṅkule
The inconceivable Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the transcendental reservoir of all living entities, Balarāma, grew up together in Gokula, which is filled with the rays of the transcendental sun of pure love.
TEXT 14
preritā putanā tatra kaṁsena bāla-ghātinī
mātṛvyāja svarūpā sā mamāra kṛṣṇa-tejasā
With a desire to kill Kṛṣṇa, the atheist Kaṁsa sent Pūtanā, the child-killer, to Vraja. Deceiving Kṛṣṇa with motherly affection, Pūtanā offered Him her breast-milk and was killed by Kṛṣṇa’s prowess.
TEXT 15
tarka-rūpas tṛṇāvartaḥ kṛṣṇa-bhāvān mamāra ha
bhāravāhi svarūpaṁ tu babhañja śakaṭaṁ hariḥ
Tṛṇāvarta, the personification of argument, was also killed by the Lord’s prowess. Thereafter the Lord broke the ass-like Śakaṭa, who only carried loads.
TEXT 16
ānanābhyantare kṛṣṇo mātre pradarśayan jagat
adarśayad avidyāṁ hi cic-chakti-rati-poṣikām
Śrī Kṛṣṇa showed His mother the whole universe when He opened His mouth, but mother Yaśodā could not accept Kṛṣṇa’s opulence due to being overwhelmed by the spiritual potency’s nescience that nourishes attachment. The transcendental devotees are so much overwhelmed by the Lord’s sweetness that they cannot accept the Lord’s opulence in spite of its presence. This nescience, however, is not a material product.
TEXT 17
dṛṣṭvāca-bāla-cāpalaṁ gopī sūllā-sarūpiṇī
bandhanāya manaś cakre rajjvā kṛṣṇasya sā vṛthā
After seeing Kṛṣṇa’s childish mischief, in the form of stealing the heart (in the form of butter), Yaśodā, the form of joyfulness, laboured in vain to bind Kṛṣṇa with ropes.
TEXT 18
na yasya parimāṇaṁ vai tasyaiva bandhanaṁ kila
kevalaṁ prema-sūtreṇa cakāra nanda-gehinī
He who has no material form was bound by Yaśodā with only a thread of love. One cannot attain the perfection of binding Kṛṣṇa with material ropes.
TEXT 19
bāla-krīḍā-prasaṅgena kṛṣṇasya bandha-chedanam
abhavad vārkṣa bhāvāt tu nimeṣād deva-putrayoḥ
In the course of Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes, the two sons of Kuvera were easily delivered from their forms as trees.
TEXT 20
anena darśitaṁ sādhu saṅgasya phalam uttamam
devopi jaḍatāṁ yāti kukarma-nirato yadi
We can understand two instructions from the deliverance of the Yamalārjuna trees. The first is that by a moment’s association with a devotee, the living entity is freed from bondage. Secondly, by the association of non-devotees, even the demigods become materialistic and engage in sinful activities.
TEXT 21
vatsānāṁ cāraṇe kṛṣṇaḥ sakhibhir yāti kānanam
tathā vatsāsuraṁ hanti bāla-doṣa-maghaṁ bhṛśam
The child Kṛṣṇa entered the forest with His friends in order to tend the cows. This means that the pure living entities, who are overwhelmed with the nescience of the spiritual potency, attain the form of calves due to being fixed in feelings of subordination to Kṛṣṇa. Vatsāsura, the form of boyhood offences, was killed in the pasture grounds.
TEXT 22
tadā tu dharma-kāpaṭya svarūpo baka-rūpa-dhṛk
kṛṣṇeṇa śuddha-buddhena nihataḥ kaṁsa-pālitaḥ
Bakāsura, who was maintained by Kaṁsa and who personified cheating religion, was killed by the purely intelligent Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 23
agho ‘pi marditaḥ sarpo nṛśaṁsatva-svarūpakaḥ
yamunā-puline kṛṣṇo bubhuje sakhibhis tadā
The snake named Agha, who was the form of cruelty, was subdued. After this, the Lord had a picnic of simplicity.
TEXT 24
gopāla-bālakān vatsān corayitvā catur-mukhaḥ
kṛṣṇasya māyayā mugdho babhuva jagatāṁ vidhiḥ
Meanwhile, the four-headed Brahmā, the creator of all planets and speaker of the four Vedas, became overwhelmed by Kṛṣṇa’s external energy and stole the calves and cowherd boys.
TEXT 25
anena darśitā kṛṣṇa- mādhurye prabhutā ‘malā
na kṛṣṇo vidhi-vādhyo hi preyān kṛṣṇaḥ svataś citām
By this incident, Kṛṣṇa displayed complete domination in His supreme sweetness. Although merely a cowherd boy, He showed His complete control over the creator of the universe. It is also understood from this pastime that the dearmost person of the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa, is not controlled by any regulation.
TEXT 26
cid-acid viśvanāśe ‘pi kṛṣṇaiśvaryaṁ na kuṇṭhitam
na ko ‘pi kṛṣṇa-sāmarthya- samudra laṅghane kṣamaḥ
After Brahmā stole the boys and calves, the Lord personally manifested Himself as the boys and calves and easily continued on with His pastimes. From this it is clearly understood that even with the destruction of the material and spiritual worlds, the opulence of Kṛṣṇa is never hampered. No one can surpass Kṛṣṇa’s abilities, no matter how capable he is.
TEXT 27
sthūla-buddhi-svarūpo ‘yaṁ gardabho dhenukāsuraḥ
naṣṭo ‘bhūd baladevena śuddha-jīvena durmatiḥ
Dhenukāsura, who personifies the ass of blunt judgement, was killed by Baladeva, the transcendental reservoir of all living entities.
TEXT 28
krūrātmā kālīyaḥ sarpaḥ salilaṁ cid-dravātmakam
saṁdūṣya yāmunaṁ pāpo hariṇā lāñchito gataḥ
The Kāliya snake, the personification of malice, polluted the Yamunā waters, which are spiritual liquid. The Lord tortured and banished him.
TEXT 29
paraspara vivādātmā dāva-vahnir bhayaṅkaraḥ
bhakṣito hariṇā sākṣad vraja-dhāma-śubhārthinā
The formidable forest fire, the form of quarrel amongst Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas, was swallowed by the Lord in order to protect the land of Vraja.
TEXT 30
pralambo jīva-cauras tu śuddhena śauriṇā hataḥ
kaṁsena prerito duṣṭaḥ pracchanno bauddha-rūpa-dhṛk
The rascal Pralambāsura, who stole away the reservoir of all living entities and who personified the covered form of Buddhist philosophy, māyāvāda, was sent by the atheist Kaṁsa and killed by Baladeva.
Thus ends the Fourth Chapter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṁhitā, entitled
“Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.”
May Lord Kṛṣṇa be pleased.