Summary of Lord Krishna's Glories

In the ninetieth chapter the symptoms of the queens’ love while they played water sports, the power of the yadavas and eternal nature of Krsna’s pastimes are described.

According to the maxim “all things should end sweetly” Sukadeva describes the water sports of Krsna. But first as an stimulus (uddipana) for that, he describes the attractiveness of the city starting in the first verse. Krsna enjoyed in all those houses, which are described in detail in the first five verses. Having described the enjoyment in the houses, he then describes the enjoyment in the water. Krsna, enjoyed in the water which was fragrant and pure.

7.Having described the pleasure in the ponds, he describes pastimes in the rivers. Embraced by the women (parirabdhah), he enjoyed in the water.

Krsna was soaked in water from the water guns (recakaih) operated by the queens. They are compared to the yaksis because of their similar ferocity.

The flowers fell (uddhrta) from their large braids of hair.

His garland was smeared with the kumkuma from their breasts.

Krsna and his queens gave the ornaments and clothing used during the water sports to the musical performers (natanam). Genitive case is used for the dative case.

Thinking of lotus eyed Krsna in his absence, they spoke as if mad (unmattavat), having lost their intelligence, as if their minds were affected by drugs like dhattura, without power of judgement (jadam). Hear those words from me.

This prema vaicitrya which appears at the sixth stage of prema, as a type of anuraga, is described in the Ujjvala Nilamani:. “When there is pain arising from separation even in the presence of the beloved out of increase in ones natural love, it is called prema vaicitrya.”

Out of this madness, they see their own emotional state everywhere, such as in the female osprey. This is expressed in ten verses.

O osprey, you are lamenting, without being able to sleep, feeling separation from Krsna. But he, our husband and lord, without love for you, is sleeping. He does not hear your lament. Because he is sleeping it is not possible for him to be merciful to you from hearing your lament, from which you could gain his company. He sleeps, but does he sleep with you? No. By nature, he is unknown to us (gupta bodhah). Somewhere in this universe, he is sleeping in the night, during which it is impossible to search for him. Therefore what will you do? What will we do? You, though only a bird, like us, have become deeply attached in the heart, an attachment due to his playful glance, his broad smile and lotus eyes. Why can you not give up that expectation of “Certainly I will meet him.” ?

16.They speak to the cakravaki. “Can you not see your husband (adrsta bandhuh)? Such a painful cry is possible because of separation from your child.” They then speak of an alternative reason for the lament. “Perhaps you are like us, who have become servants of Acyuta, and desire to bind in your hair the garland which touched his feet.”

O ocean, giving up your gravity, you are making sounds like an unsteady person. Being without sleep, you are loudly crying. Please tell the reason. Well, even if you do not tell us the reason, we know the reason. Just as he stole our pearl necklaces smeared with kumkuma on the pretext of giving us conjugal enjoyment, he has stolen Laksmi, the kaustubha jewel and other things, which arose from you.”

“O moon, are you becoming thin and losing power to remove darkness because of tuberculosis? We know that is not the reason. You had forgot those words, clever, profuse promises he made at the beginning of separation. Out of confusion you did not pay attention to them at that time. We see that now your words are choked up out of regret for not remembering those words—since you do not answer our question, and simply cry like the osprey and cakravaki---just as we being separated from him, lament at forgetting his words and remain here silent and shattered.”

“O wind of the Malaya hills, have we committed some offense to you? Because at this time of distress you seem to be taking revenge by inciting lust in us.”

“O cloud, you are the friend (dayita) of Krsna. Being tied to him out of love, you meditate on him. We understand you have attraction for him because though you are of similar color, he has the additional mark of the srivatsa (srivatsa ankam). With disturbed heart (sabala hrdayah), afflicted by lamentation, on the pretext of rain, you are showering tears and crying. Oh, why did you become attracted to him? His association brings only suffering.”

“O cuckoo with most pleasing sound! With your voice, you are speaking about freedom from the suffering of separation (padani).” Pada can mean resolution, deliverance, foot, mark, article, place according Amara Kosa. Because in this separation, the sound of the cuckoo gives sorrow. The use of words like priya rava (pleasant sound) therefore have sarcastic intention.

“O sweet throated one (valgita kantha)! What may I do for you, who are burning my with your sounds? I will light your beak on fire!”

“O holder of the earth, Raivataka Mountain! You are thinking of your desired goals (mahantam artham) and thus you remain silent and unmoving. This is your desire (api bata): as we desire to hold his feet on our breasts, you desire to hold Krsna’s feet on your peaks. If that is so, then you will end up in the same predicament as us.”

“O wives of the ocean! O rivers! Your pools have all dried up. We will tell the cause. Similar to us who have not obtained the loving glance of the lord of the yadus, who is the giver of desired happiness even to you (istabhartuh), and who have thus become thin, with our hearts cheated, you also have been thin, with dried up pools and no beauty of lotuses.”

Thinking that some swan is a messenger they speak.

The swan send to say, “Indeed how can he be happy without you?”

“Does he remember his loving words that he said previously such as ‘In all my palaces I see no other wife who is as loving as you (Rukmini)’ Being unwavering in his love, does he remember?”

“He does remember, and sent me here. Go to him and worship him.”

“If he does remember, he is not responding to us. He does not even come here. Therefore, why should we worship him? Why should we go?”

“But then how can he deliver you from the pain of longing?”

“O fallen messenger(ksaudra)! You should call him here, the one who bestows pain through his love (kamadam). Let him come here! Because we are proud, we will not go to him.” Thinking that the swan would agree and go and call him, they again spoke.

“Cheating us, he enjoys with Laksmi alone. Call him here without Laksmi.”

“She is very attached to him alone. How is it possible to avoid her?”

“Bring him without her. Among us women (striyam singular to represent a whole class), is she alone devoted to him and not us?”

There is an alternate version : ksaudra alapam akamadam. The meaning is then “How can we worship him who has words like honey (ksaudram) and does not fulfill our desire for love? Why not here? Though she does not get his respect, let her continue to worship him, because we are proud women. Among women, we have our interested in our reputation and respect. ”

25.“What goal did these women, possessing such love, for Krsna attain?” This verse answers.

(It seems that in visvanatha’s version the last words are vaisnavim gatim, rather than paramam gatim, and thus his comments are upon the words vaisnavim gatim. )

They attained what is to be obtained by the vaisnavas, prema bhakti (vaisnavim gatim). But for those queens, who were beyond the material influence, purely spiritual entities, the most beloved eternal consorts of the Lord, endowed with sat cid ananda bodies, who relished the sweetness of the Lord rather than the taste of living in impersonal Brahman, the attainment could only be more intense prema, since it was impossible for them to attain liberation or any other such goal.

Or “vaisnavi” can also mean “of visnu or of Krsna”. Therefore vaisnavim gatim means that they attained the position (gatim) of Krsna, a state of oneness with Krsna, caused by the climax of madness in prema. The gopis of Vraja, after asking various questions when Krsna disappeared during the rasa dance, attained a state of identification with Krsna with the increase o their madness, thinking “I am Krsna. See my movements. Sb 10.30.19” In the same way, the queens, after asking questions to the osprey and others, attained that state of oneness.

Attaining this state of oneness with Krsna and the prema vaicitrya exhibited by the queens is manifested at the stage of anuraga. This stage of anuraga attained by the queens is explained in the Ujjvala Nilamani.

Krsna, being glorified excellently by many songs, attracts the minds of women. But (va) what then to speak of those who see him?

“What type of austerity is to be described for them for attaining that position?”

”None, because they were nitya siddhas.”

Or one may ask, “For those among them who were sadhana siddhas, what type of austerities should have been done to get that position?”

“They served him by massaging his feet, thinking of him as their husband.”

He showed the house to be the place (padam) for achieving dharma artha and kama.

Those eight of whom the principal queen was Rukmini have been described previously, as well as their sons.

There is an alternate version amogha rati instead of amogha gatih. In that case the meaning is “one whose desires do not go in vain, whose desires are always fulfilled.”

The Aniruddha listed here is a son of Krsna not the son of Pradyumna, as the subject is the sons of Krsna.

The teachers (acaryah) for the thousands of children (sahasranam) numbered 30,008,800.

Ayutanam ayuta laksena means 3x 10,000 (ayuta) x 10,000 (ayuta) x 100,000 (laksa), or 30,000,000,000,000, or three sankhas. The description is in the present tense to express Sukadeva’s realization of the eternal nature of the pastimes.

The demigods formed a hundred and one clans, not individuals, since the number of individuals was countless.

Those who were his eternal associates (anuvartinah), all in the form of Yadavas, increased the numbers of Yadus. The Lord alone could count their number because of their numbers, because such counting was beyond the abilities of Brahma and others.

Summarizing the tenth canto, the ocean of Krsna’s eternal pastimes, Sukadeva speaks of five unique qualities of Krsna distinguishing him from other avataras.

The holy place in the form of the glories of Krsna who was now born in the Yadu family made his foot water in the form of the Ganga insignificant. Previously the Ganga was superior to all purifying tirthas, but with the appearance of krsna, his glories became the supreme purifying tirtha. This is one remarkable fact.

His enemies such as Kamsa and his devotees such as the gopis, attained respectively, sayujya or merging, and the form of the Lord with which they enjoyed pastimes (svarupam). This the second remarkable fact.

Laksmi, whose mercy all others such as Brahma strive for, was unable to conquer him (ajita para). Even by severe austerities she could bring him under control and enjoy the rasa lila as the women of Vraja did. This is the third wonder.

His name of two syllables, superior to all other names such as Narayana, which are portions of his name, destroys all inauspiciousness, even up to ignorance, the root of the material world. Or, that name eradicates all ignorance of his supreme position, thus capturing even the liberated souls. Recitation of that name overturns by his own excellence all attractive results of other sadhanas (sruti matha gaditam). This indicates the superior of the name of Krsna over other names such as Narayana which are its expansions. “One gains the result of chanting Visnu’s thousand names three times by chanting Krsna’s name once.” This is a statement from the Brahmanda purana. This is the fourth wonder.

He freed the whole earth (go trayate), going everywhere and protecting the earth with the four legs of dharma. At the end of dvapara yuga, dharma was lacking three legs. Krsna restored all four legs (gotra dharma). The earth said, “Once you too were maintained by your four legs, and you increased happiness all over the universe by the mercy of the Lord.” Sb 1.16.25 This is the fifth wonder.

With these five outstanding wonders of Krsna, his removing the burden of the earth is not at all astonishing, though it may be for the common man.

“Oh what misfortune that such remarkable Krsna did not stay so long.”

“Do not lament.” Sukadeva recites this verse I consolation.

“Living among all men, especially among the cowherd men and yadavas (jana nivasah) he remains most glorious (jayati), for all time.” (present tense is used.) One should not expect Sukadeva to use the imperative case, because being the devotee of the Lord, it was unsuitable for him to demand blessings. All his desires were already fulfilled because the Lord’s blessings are existing for all time.

“He is factually (devaki janma vada) born from the wives of both Nanda and Vasudeva. They were both called Devaki.” The Adi Purana says, “ Nanda’s wife had two names, Yasoda and Devaki.” Sukadeva has said he was conclusively born from both Devakis.

The lord says, “I am the conclusion (vadah) of all arguments.” Vada refers to the conclusion of all vadas such as arambha vada or parinama vada.

“His assembly (parisat) was the Yadu dynasty (yaduvara), some of whom were cowherdmen in Vraja and others who were ksatriyas in Mathura and Dvaraka. He destroys the demons (adharmam asyan), with his arms, or with person who act like his arms, such as Arjuna. He destroys the sufferings of material existence (vrijna ghna) of all the nonmoving and moving entities, and the suffering due to separation of the inhabitants of Vraja and Dvaraka”

He increases kamadeva, a spiritual personality arising from his own spiritual form (deva for divya meaning bright or spiritual), of the women of Vraja and of the women of Mathura and Dvaraka who had attained great attraction for him, with the sweet smile on his face. That Krsna remains always glorious.”

Sukadeva has expressed the eternal nature of the pastimes which took place in Vraja, Mathura and Dvaraka and have been described the tenth canto. The eternal nature of the pastimes has also discussed fully along with proofs in the commentary on Ujjvala Nilamani. It will also be discussed in relation to the Lord’s disappearance in the eleventh canto.

Having established the eternal nature of the pastimes of Krsna, hearing about them is now prescribed. One should hear the activities of Krsna who appeared with his form suitable for various pastimes with a desire to protect his own bhakti. These activities make the activities of other avataras insignificant, and destroy all karma.

This verse describes the fruit of hearing. By following this path, one can attain the abode of the Lord. But by what type of activities? By thoughts generated from hearing and chanting the topics of the Lord, by increasingly thinking “By what method and when will I attain Krsna ?” one attains that abode, which destroys (apavargam) the insurmountable force of karma (krtanta). One method of attaining the lord’s abode is mentioned: kings such as Manu and Priayvrata, renounced the city and went to the forest.

May Ninetieth chapter of the tenth canto and the tenth canto itself associate with my commentaries explaining the essential meaning, brought about through association of the devotees in my heart.

If the cowherd Gopala mercifully accepts my cows, then the devotees drinking the milk of those cows will become blissful. By the mercy of the Lord on the twelfth day of the dark moon of Magha month, on the bank of Radha and Krsna’s river, I have completed the commentaries on the tenth canto.

(I completed the translation on Srila Prabhupada’s avirbhava day 2003 on the bank of the buckingham canal in chennai.)