Uddhava Visits Vrindavana

In the forty sixth chapter Uddhava goes to Vraja and observes the lamentation of Nanda and Yasoda. Remembering the sorrow of the people of Vraja who were afflicted with separation from himself, Krsna himself felt great sorrow and began to reflect. “Who is the most suitable person in Mathura to deliver my message to relieve their suffering, and to preach the supreme position of their prema, and who has done thousands of austerities in order to delight in the sweet ocean of prema in Vraja?.” Just at that time suddenly Uddhava came up to Krsna to do some service. In order to introduce Uddhava this verse gives some of his qualities. He was respected by all the Yadavas (yadava pravara). All the Yadavas would believe his words. If, returning from Vraja and experiencing Vraja prema, he said that the prema of the gopas and gopis of Vraja and Nanda and Yasoda was thousands of times greater that that of the residents of Mathura, they would believe it, even though they had been thinking that they had the greatest fortune with Krsna as their own relative, and that the prema of Vasudeva and Devaki was the highest, as they thought of the Lord as their son. . Uddhava was also a counsellor (mantri), and therefore would be skilful at consoling the feeling of the people of Vraja. Uddhava was dear to Krsna (dayitah), and thus suitable to experience the happiness of prema in Vraja. Uddhava was a friend (sakha), like Subala, and would be eloquent at discussing conjugal love. What was in his heart would manifest in his words even more than with Krsna. Thus it is said in the third canto, “Uddhava is not less than myself.” As he was equal to Krsna, by being a reflection of Krsna, he could execute the role of Krsna’s messenger very well. He was a direct disciple of Brhaspati. Because his intellect was sharp, Brhaspati himself taught him all the scriptures. However, the suggestion here is that there was one scripture inaccessible to Brhaspati, which had not been taught to him. Because he was dear to Krsna, the gopis would teach to Uddhava the highest of all knowledge, which controls Krsna--the knowledge of prema. Because Uddhava was most intelligent ( buddhi sattama) among all, he could understand that knowledge of prema, which he would later teach secretly to the queens of Dvaraka. The queens later say, “We desire that prema which is desired by the gopis, (sb 10.83.43).

Uddhava was the son of Vasudeva’s brother called Devabhaga. This is mentioned in the Hari Vamsa. “The fortunate (mahabhaga) Uddhava was the son of Devabhaga.” In reference to this statement, Nanda addresses Uddhava as Mahabhaga in verse sixteen of this chapter. Uddhava also means a festival. The words saksat uddhava can be taken as one phrase, meaning that Uddhava was actually festivity personified. Thus the people of Vraja, on seeing him, would become blissful.

Uddhava was not only a devotee but a pure devotee (ekantinam). The quality of the ekanta bhakti is mentioned in this verse: He is an ekanta bhakta who gives up father, mother and other attachments, fixes his mind only on Krsna and is filled with deep prema for the Lord. Among such devotees, Uddhava is dearmost (prestham). Taking his hand in a solitary place, indicating that he was filled with pain, Krsna, who takes away all pains of people who surrender to him (what to speak then of taking away the distress of the people of Vraja who were the most surrendered devotees), spoke to Uddhava.

“Make my father and mother completely happy (pritim a vaha). Free the gopis completely from sorrow (vi moca), for they are very deeply afflicted by separation from me. You do this, not by your own cleverness, but by my messages. It is not one message but many (plural form). It is not one message on jnana yoga (analysis and detachment), nor after that, by two messages, containing instructions on how to attain me and then words of consolation, for they will turn those messages to ashes in the blazing fire of their prema. But they will finally be freed from sorrow by many confidential instructions hinted at only, which should be revealed to them and to no one else.”

“These gopis have their minds fixed on me (mat manaska). I am their very life (mat prana). They have given up all bodily connections such as husbands, sons, mothers, fathers, sleeping, eating, drinking etc. (tyakta daihikah). They think of me, not as their husband, but as their beloved (dayitam). Not only as their beloved, but as the dearmost. Not only I am the dearmost, but they think of me as their very selves, and as the Paramatma. As I, their soul, am living here in Mathura, they believe that their souls have left their bodies and only by the power of my yogamaya energy are they still living. I protect those devotees practicing sadhana bhakti who give up all considerations of etiquette for my sake. What to speak then of these gopis?”

“If you are their mind, prana, the dearmost and their soul, why do they not come here to Mathura? What can they do remaining in Vraja?” This verse answers the question.

“These women of Gokula fix their minds on me, dressed as a cowherd boy and ornamented with peacock feather, flute, gunja berries and clay. I also do not desire to bring them here. Why should they come to Mathura?”

“Objects of attachment are dear. The object of self identity, the soul, is dear. If the one soul becomes many, among millions of souls, there is the dearmost. If there are some objects dear among millions of souls, among those dear objects, I am the most dear. Thus if I, dearmost among all dear objects, am in a far off place, the gopis become bewildered and faint. Though, by my inconceivable yoga maya energy, they maintain their lives, it appears not possible for them to continue living.”

“The gopis are somehow maintaining their lives with difficulty because of my promise to return. It is very difficult for them to maintain their lives on my promise, and rather, it would be easier from them to give up their lives.”

“How are they maintaining their lives?”

“By the message I gave that I would quickly return. They have a strong hope that I will return and this stops the life airs which are about to leave their bodies.”

“Who are they in relation to you? “

“Thought they are the wives of cowherd men (vallabya), they belong to me (me). Their husbands do not receive even a trace of their sweet forms, fragrances, sounds, tastes and touch. The husbands simply have a thought that those women are their wives. In order that the rasa sakti nourish itself, from time without beginning they have parakiya bhava. They are to be enjoyed by me. Why? Because they attract me (mad atmika). They attract me because they, arising from my form, are the very incarnation of supreme bliss, the form of prema, the essence of my svarupa sakti called hladini sakti. Though I am atma rama, I derive more pleasure with them. Therefore they deserve more mercy than even myself.” (the suffix ka in atmika, indicating endearment, indicates this)

Another meaning of mad atmikah: “These gopis are desired by me for my enjoyment, or these gopis desire to enjoy with me .They are mine because they are to be enjoyed by me.”

As the sun was setting (nimlocati), Uddhava entered Vraja, his chariot covered (channa yanah) with dust raised by the hooves of the cows.

Vraja is described in five verses. Inspired by the Lord’s iccha sakti, yogamaya said, “Let Uddahva see the splendor of my Vraja.” Covering separation from Krsna--grief expressed through the sancari bhavas of nirveda, visada and dainya, she showed Uddhava a typical evening in Vraja in which Krsna was present, with positive sentiments of joy, eagerness, enthusiasm etc.

Because the cows were in heat (vasitah), the maddened bulls were mooing loudly and fighting with each other to mate with the cows. Vraja echoed with the sounds of the cows who were running towards their new calves.

Along with the sound of milking cows there were shouts in all directions such as “Let the cow loose” “Don’t let the cow loose” “Bring the cows here” Let the cows go.” “Do this quickly” “Do this slowly.” “Bring this.” “Take this.” “Give this. Receive this.” There was also the sound of the flute, and the singing of the gopis. By all this Vraja appeared splendid.

Vraja was made attractive by the houses of the cowherd men in which sacrifices and worship were performed.

Then Uddhava entered the house of Nanda, which revealed the misery due to separation from Krsna. Nanda emerged from within the house, and saw that Uddhava appeared very much like his own son. Because of the energy given by the bliss of seeing him, he was able to execute the external behavior and conversations. Thinking of Uddhava as guest, who was worthy of worship like Narayana (vasudeva dhih), Nanda worshiped Uddhava with footwash and other items.

Nanda fed Uddhava rice cooked in milk. From the day that Krsna had departed from Mathura, the kitchens of the people of Vraja were left unswept and dirty, filled with leaves, grass, dust and spider webs. The people of Vraja maintained their lives by buttermilk, yogurt and milk given by neighbors. They simply lamented, “We have died.” But on this particular day, understanding Nanda’s anxiety that when Uddhava comes he should not suffer from hunger, one brahmana accompanying Nanda cooked a quantity of broken rice with milk for one person. Massaging Uddhava’s feet was performed by a servant, since Uddhava was his nephew and therefore an inferior.

Fearing that if he asked about Krsna, his throat would choke up and tears would come to his eyes, Nanda first asked about the welfare of Vasudeva. Vasudeva was now freed from the prison house of Kamsa, and from all sorts of dangers.

Then with tears in his eyes and choked voice he began to ask about Krsna. Pointing with his finger, he said, “Just see the condition of Krsna’s mother. See Vraja now, bereft of glory, whose master was Krsna (atma natham), but which is now without Krsna.”

!9. “Will Krsna come here? O Uddhava, do you know the intention in Krsna’s mind?”

“Yes I know, he will come. He will relieve you of suffering and will stay here.”

“Let him not console us, and let him not stay here permanently. I beg only to see him. We, his own people (sva janana), afflicted by separation, will die today or tomorrow. Will he not come to see them just once? Oh Govinda, please take (vindatam) unlimited cows, meaning also millions of gold coins, pearls, and diamonds, jewel encrusted plates, various types of cloth, ornaments, sandalwood, aguru, kumkum and many household items. These are all yours. We are almost dead. Who else has a right to these things? Take all these things and live wherever you desire to live.”

“Why are you talking like this? You should know that he is about to come.”

Not being able to bear the delay, Nanda said, “ When (karhi) will I be able to see his face? His face, which surpasses a million moons, his incomparable nose, his sweet smile, and his long, lotus petal eyes. As the end approaches, seeing this, we will die.” By this he expresses his extreme anxiety.

“But you will not die. You will live a long time, raising your son with affection.”

“Now, we will not be saved from the hands of death.” In saying this he recounts the previous threats of death. “He saves us from the forest fire, from the rains produced by Indra, because of his natural affection for us (su mahatmaha). But today, why does he not save us from the huge fire of terrible separation? I cannot understand this.”

“By the nectar of remembrance of his moonlike face, all pain will vanish.”

“That is true, but though remembering him removes all suffering, now that remembrance gives us more suffering, by great misfortune. When we remember him, we lose all interest in everything. Though we continue to bathe, eat and perform other daily activities by rote, we have lost interest in these things also. In this state we cannot remain alive.”

“If this is the case, then I can understand that you are staying in the house and remembering Krsna too much. Therefore to give up dwelling on him so much, you should herd the cows and walk on the bank of the Yamuna.”

Fearing such a remark, Nanda said, “On seeing the river, the forest and other places (uddesah) where Krsna performed pastimes, our conscious becomes more absorbed in Krsna. We think more of Krsna (tad atmatam), and the pain of separation increases.”

By the sudden recollection of Krsna as the Lord, in contrast to his natural production of affection in separation, Nanda speaks with a sense of discrimination. “These two sons have appeared in my house (iha) by the good fortune of myself and Vasudeva, for the welfare of the devatas (suranam arthaya), such as killing Kamsa and other demons. This is according to the profound words of Garga.”

“He broke a bow measuring three tala trees or 60 x 3 hastas. With one hand, his left hand, he held up the mountain for seven days.”

His mind became attached to Krsna. By remembering the powerful aspect of Krsna, Nanda thought, “Oh, by misfortune, I have been separated from my son, who is the ocean of powerful qualities.” His attachment to Krsna was such that, unlike Vasudeva, his relationship with Krsna did not weaken even in appreciating Krnsa’s great powers as the Lord, for his attraction to Krsna could not be restricted by that. With his mind attracted to Krsna in this way, he became helplessly under the sway of paternal affection (prema prasara vihvala). In the presence of the supreme prema of Nanda, who like Agastya, swallowed the whole ocean, what is the significance of the ocean of aisvarya?

Being able to control himself with gravity, Nanda was able to respect Uddhava as guest in the proper way, to look at him directly, to introduce himself, to ask pertinent questions and to speak about Krsna’s godly qualities. But Yasoda, drowning in the whirlpools of the ocean of unsteadiness, was not able to offer any hospitality. This is expressed in this verse.

Continuously tears fell from her eyes and milk dripped from her breasts. In spite of hundreds of men and women giving advice to her from the day that Krsna left for Mathura, she would just say, “I do not want to see anything except the face of my son.” Tears poured from her closed eyes, soaking her clothing. She could not ask questions to Uddhava to understand who he was or to make him an object of affection, and could not give him messages for her son. Her breasts (payodhara) flowed with milk out of affection for her son. Payodhara also means cloud. Yasoda was like a cloud showering rain (of tears or milk).

Observing very closely (viksya) the attraction of Nanda and Yasoda for Krsna, though he was already familiar with high levels of prema, seeing that both in quantity and quality it was superior to that of Vasudeva and Devaki, Uddhava became filled with bliss. He thought, “Now my life has become successful, having seen such love.” That is why, though seeing Nanda and Yasoda suffering, he appeared blissful.

“In this world (iha), among the devotees, Devaki and Vasudeva are more praiseworthy, but you two are most praiseworthy because the superiority of your prema.” Nanda already said that he knew that Krsna and Balarama were god (verse.23). Knowing that Nanda appreciated Krsna’s lordly aspect, Uddhava describes Krsna in this verse as Narayana, the guru of everyone, thereby emphasizing Krsna’s power, in order to sympathize with their sentiments.

In this verse Uddhava explains how Krsna is the Narayana, the guru of everyone. “As the lord and his expansions are non different, Krsna and Balarama (etau) though appearing as two entities, are actually one, as confirmed by Akrura when he said that Krsna, though one form, appears as many. These two persons are the seed and womb of the universe (visvasya bija yoni), the nimitta (indirect cause) and upadana (material cause), they are purusa and pradhana. That is they are saktiman and sakti, which are non different. As bhagavatam says (sb 11.24.19), “The upadana, the purusa and manifesting power of time are my svarupa. They are not different from me.” The two enter all jivas as supersoul (anviya), and by their mercy, can give (isate) knowledge of bhagavan to the devotee and impersonal Brahman jnana to the jnani (vilaksanasya jnanasya). As Gita says, “tesam satata yuktanambhagatam prati purvakam dadami buddhi yogam tam yena man upayanti te. “ and Bhagavatam also says, “You will realize my impersonal aspect, my mahima, called para brahma, by my mercy. Madiya mahiman ca para brahmeti sabditam” Sb 8.24.38

The word ca indicates that he also gives knowledge of how to attain material svarga and other destinations to those involved in karma.

After burning up (nirhrtya) all traces of karma, the person goes to Vaikuntha loka (param gatim) with a spiritual body (brahmamayah), bright like the sun.

“You two have rendered devotion to Narayana, who is the soul of all and the cause of all, who is the cause of all causes but has the form of a human. But what activities remain to be done by you?” But (tu) is used to indicate that for them nothing remains to be done, but for Krsna there remains work of consoling and pacifying them, and being obedient to them.

“O dear Uddhava! I have heard you are very intelligent, but now I see you are foolish because you have simply praised us. Oh, who is there in the three worlds more unfortunate than us, from whose house such a wonderful son has gone away? We are the object of scorn for all!”

Anticipating this statement, Uddhava says, “Acyuta (not falling from, not breaking his promise), will come very soon to Vraja. Functioning just as protector of the Yadus (satvanam patih), he will remain here, and fulfill all of your desires (priyam vidhasyate).”

“After killing Kamsa and coming to meet you at the edge of Mathura Krsna said, ‘You return to Vraja and we will also quickly come there,’ (10.45.23) Krsna is certainly doing that.”

The present tense is used (karoti) to indicate that Krsna is fulfilling his promise at his moment. In fact, in another manifestation, Krsa was actually in Vraja then, and was being attentively cared for by Nanda and Yasoda, though Uddhava could not see this. Thus the words from Uddhava were actually true.

“Oh, so great is our misfortune that there is delay in our truthful son coming to Vraja.” To answer the lamenting parents, Uddhava replies with this verse.

“You should not lament. Very soon you will be able to see Krsna.”

“You say we will see him, but when will that be, tomorrow, the next day, or ten days later? With some consolation, we will keep our life airs from leaving our bodies till that day. But if he is not coming, you should tell us truthfully. As it is difficult to prevent the life airs from leaving, then let them leave.”

Uddhava, hearing Nanda speak like this, then began to consider. “One should advise those who are suffering separation from their material sons in this way: ‘Why are you immersed in the illusion of family attachment like this? False attachment to wife and sons is a cause of trouble. Give that up and attach yourself to the Lord.’

“But how can I advise Nanda, who is attached to the Lord as his son? He is not like Vasudeva, who on seeing the godly powers of Krsna, weakens his attachment to him as his son. Rather, by showing them Krsna’s powers, Nanda and Yasoda’s attachment to their son will become stronger. ‘When parents lose sight of the son playing in their house, they die out of sorrow. By our good fortune, the Lord himself plays about as our son in our house. If we cannot care for him for even a moment, we lament. How will we live, not seeing that child in our house? We are so unfortunate, having been separated from such a child.’ This is how Nanda and Yasoda feel.

“Vasudeva and Devaki however, on realizing the godly powers of Krsna, say, ‘He is worshipable, he is not our son.’ They thus refrain from embracing and fondling him. Not only is Nanda and yasoda’s possessiveness of Krsna tied tightly, but Krsna, though the supreme Lord, has strong possessiveness of them as well. His pain for his devotee I have seen when he said, ‘Go to Vraja and make my father and mother happy. Remove the pain of separation from the women of Vraja by giving news about me.’ (Sb 10.46.3) ‘O Nanda, we people of Vraja have a natural attachment for your son. Also he has great attachment for us. What is the cause?’(Sb 10.26.13) I remember hearing these words of the cowherd men.

“If I go to Mathura and bring Krsna here tomorrow, Jarasandha will come to destroy Mathura, angry because Kamsa’s wives are left as widows. Who then will protect Vasudeva and the other Yadavas? If Krsna then again goes to Mathura to protect them, then those in Vraja will certainly die. If I say that Krsna will come in four or five years, they will not be patient for that long. If I lie and tell them that he will come after four or five days, when the time expires and they discover I lied, they will die.

“As there is no other means, I will now weaken their prema by telling them that as supersoul Krsna is neutral to everyone, as impersonal Brahman he is without relationships with father, mother, body, karma or birth, and will teach meditation on the soul to realize that. If on revealing all this, Nanda and Yasoda’s unlimited, unfathomable, uncontrollable prema increases even more, then I will go to Mathura and simply glorify their incomparable prema again and again to the assembly of Krsna, Vasudeva, Ugrasena and others and astonish them all. I should rather just criticize Krsna.” Having made this decision he then began to speak about Krsna as the supersoul.

“Like fire within wood, Krsna is present within the hearts of all living beings. Then why can no one see him? One does not see fire in wood without kindling it. Krsna can also be seen by proper method.”

Uddhava’s implication is “If you did not perform devotional activities as vaisnavas for Krsna, your son, would he appear in your house?”

Nanda and Yasoda then thought, “Some how or other Krsna must appear in our house. We must perform devotional service.”

Thus, when Uddhava returned to Mathura, Nanda and the cowherd men with tearful eyes told him, “O fortunate one, may our minds rest on his lotus eyes, may our voices sing his name and may our bodies offer him respects.”

Noticing that Nanda and Yasoda’s prema did not decrease after his explanation, Uddhava then said, “Krsna, the king of Vraja is directly the para brahma.” This he explains in three verses.

“No one is dear to brahman.”

“What is the reason?”

“Brahman has no false identity, and is equal to all..”

The direct meaning of the verses which Uddhava revealed to Nanda is obvious. There is a hidden meaning as well.

“That Brahman does not take birth in wombs of goodness passion or ignorance. As it is without birth, and it has no karma, nor a material body. Consequently it does not have material activities, or material goals. Krsna, however, takes birth from those who are beyond the modes, such as Nanda and Yasoda, Vasudeva and Devaki, and consequently fulfills responsibilities, appears with a body, performs activities and has goals. He has a mother and father.”

However, not wanting to directly reveal this to Nanda, Uddhava kept it covered. “Though he is impersonal Brahman, he also appears out of affection for his devotee in order to deliver them from suffering.”

“If Krsna is equal to all, and no one is dear or undear, then why did he create some people happy and some people unhappy?”

“Happiness and unhappiness are created by the modes, not by Krsna.” That is the intention of this verse.

“Though he is without gunas, by his glance at material energy he accepts sattva, raja and tama gunas.”

“For what purpose?”

“For his play.”

“But he is above all play.”

Uddhava desired to make Nanda understand. “Actually Krsna is above the gunas, and rather appears for pastimes with his devotees as avatara in this universe among materialistic people. Though he does not enter the gunas, he creates the universe through the gunas, so that the designated jivas can receive senses and intelligence. to reap their fruits of good and bad karma and thus enjoy and suffer. What fault is there in Krsna for this? That is the meaning of the statement “no one is dear or undear to him.””

“Thus the creation is not the Lord’s but rather that of the gunas (verse 41). Due to defect in the bodily functions, a person may perceive that the earth is turning around like a potter’s wheel. Similarly, though the mind is the doer, the jiva perceives the soul as the doer due to identification with the mind. In the same way the jiva perceives the universe as the creation of the Lord, though it is actually the creation of the gunas. It should be understood however, that though the material universe is not a direct creation of the Lord, it is a creation of the lord’s maya sakti, coming from the Lord. As the Lord and his energy are non different, one can say that the Lord, in the form of his maya sakti, creates the world.”

“You should not think of the creator of the whole universe as your son, or the source of your happiness and suffering. And though he is the supreme lord, if you think of him as your son, then listen as I speak the truth.” Then Uddhava speaks this verse.

“He is not just your son. Whoever cultivates a sentiment of him as their son, he is their son. Anyone who cultivates him as the dear most, like the soul he becomes the dearmost. For those who think of him as father, he is father. Because he is the Lord, this is not unsuitable for him.”

“Actually, O King of Vraja, you two and others also should know that Krsna is the whole universe since it is made of his energy. You should also speak about him accordingly. All things, big and small, seen and heard, cannot exist independently of him (vastu na taram). Nothing can be spoken of independent of him (na vacyam).”

Nanda and Uddhava spent the night in discussing among themselves. Uddhava was not able pacify them however, and they could not accept his advice. Then Nanda began to consider things in this way.

“Uddhava wants to enlighten us by saying the Krsna is the Supreme Lord. Do we do not know that? At the time of his name giving ceremony, we heard from Garga ‘This son is similar to Narayana.’ Except for Narayana who can be similar or equal to him? Therefore from Garga we knew that our son is Narayana. We also realized our son to be Narayana, when he killed Putana, Agha, Baka, when he lifted Govardhana, when he quelled the forest fire and when the ruler of Varuna Loka offered respects. We also know that Narayana is paramatma and param brahman. Though we know that, we also know irrefutably that he is our son. The proof is Garga’s words. ‘O Nanda, this son of yours ….’

“From Garga’s words, though it is proved that Krsna is the supreme Lord, when we treat him without reverence, and offer him our chewed betel nut, satisfaction appears in our minds. If he were not our son, our minds would not be satisfied. Before Krnsa’s birth, we could meditate on Narayana, our family deity. But now, as soon as we meditate on Narayana, Narayana appears directly in front of us. This is a sign of satisfaction of our minds. Therefore acting like this in relation to our son is not a fault. We are certainly Krsna’s mother and father.

“Krsna’s own realization in this matter is also proof. We have seen many times that if we do not give him the chewed betel nut, if we do not lift him on our lap, if we do not hold him to our chest and kiss him, then his face becomes sad. If Yasoda were not his mother, how could she tie him up when he broke the yogurt pots? Seeing his miserable face when he was tied up, I released him and saw him become pleased. Because we are his mother and father, he accepted scolding, commands, and bondage though he may be the Supreme Lord. How is it possible to bind up the para brahma, the Supreme Lord?

“But after he killed Canura and Kamsa in Mathura, everyone said, ‘Krsna, you are certainly the Supreme Lord.’ But then Devaki said, “I am your mother.” Vasudeva said, “I am your father.” Others said, “We are your uncles.” And others said, “We are your brothers, your relatives, your friends.” When people, saying this, invited him to their houses, to keep him in Mathura, our son, the crest jewel of proper conduct, looking at their faces, fell in a terrible trap. Being unable to come back to his Vraja, being very benevolent, I suppose he said everyone, “I am the Supreme Lord, the creator of the universe. Who can be my mother, who can be my father, who can be my relative? Just look, in the scriptures it says, “I reside with that person who has devotion and with no one else. In those houses where I reside, there also are my mothers and fathers.”’

“Though Uddhava has been very intelligent from childhood, he is unable to fathom the depths of my son’s heart. Taking the literal meaning of Krsna’s words as if they were the intentions of his heart, he has come from Mathura and given us this advice. But my son said something very intelligent in those words. ‘They are my father and mother who show devotion to me. I reside in their house.’ Therefore I am sending this message with Uddhava to Krsna. ‘O Krsna, I have devotion to your feet. Be merciful and be pleased with me, so that I can attain you by the devotional processes of hearing, chanting remembering and offering obeisances.’

“Receiving this message, my son will announce in the assembly of the Yadavas. ‘O men of the Yadu dynasty, you are not able to perform devotional activities in Mathura, but Nanda is doing so. Therefore he is my father, my friend and dear one. I will go to his house.’ Saying this he will come here.”

At last, Nanda forgot all these deliberations, due to the influence of the sancari bhava of misery (dainya).

Now, to continue the text: The gopis, rising in the brahma muhurta, lit lamps, performed worship of the entrances and other things (vastuni), and churned the yogurt.

The gopis shone by the jewels embedded in their bracelets and anklets, reflecting the lamp light. In fact, they had rows of bracelets on their arms pulling the ropes, and their waists, breasts, and necklaces were quivering while churning the yogurt. Their earrings lit up their cheeks, and their faces shone with kumkuma from the province of Bahlika.

The gopis sang the names of lotus eyed Krsna which brought about bliss. In a state of separation and lamentation, there would be no application of kumkuma, or wearing of colorful clothing and ornaments. Therefore it is understood that Uddhava, at the end of night, was seeing the manifestation of Vraja with Krsna present there.

The gopis, feeling separation, (vrajaukasah), saw the chariot of Uddhava. (Here the manifestation of Vraja in separation again appears.)

The gopis spoke with anger, “Perhaps Akrura, who has fulfilled the purposes of Kamsa, by taking Krsna to Mathura, has come.”

“After having Krsna kill Kamsa, why has he come again?” Worrying about why he had come, they spoke. “Will he perform the funeral rites of his master Kamsa who was pleased with his work of taking Krsna away using our flesh as an offering to him?”

As they were speaking, Uddhava approached. Sometimes the word pretasya (dead kamsa) is seen instead of pritasya (satisfied Kamsa).