by Bibek Debroy
8 A yojana is a measure of distance, between 8 and 9 miles.
9 This is a second boy speaking.
10 Krishna.
11 Krishna wished to prevent them from entering, but destiny had worked against this.
12 Agha merged into Krishna.
13 Agha.
14 Ugrashrava, the son of Romaharshana or Lomaharshana. A suta was a charioteer, but also a bard and raconteur. Here, it is a proper noun, another name for Ugrashrava.
15 Granted by god, Parikshit.
16 Worst among kshatriyas, one who is a kshatriya only in name.
17 The boys.
18 Krishna.
19 Do not stop eating.
20 Brahma.
21 To the mothers of the boys and the calves by restoring them, and to Brahma by allowing the boys and the calves to remain hidden.
22 He assumed the forms of both the boys and the calves.
23 Krishna.
24 Of the cowherds.
25 Asava is liquor made through distillation, not mere fermentation.
26 By chanting mantras.
27 A mark made on the forehead.
28 Day and night are divided into eight yamas, each yama is a period of three hours.
29 Wives of cowherds (gopas).
30 This is interpreted in complicated ways. But this is simpler.
31 There was no reason for Krishna to change his behaviour, even if he was in the forms of the boys and the calves. However, because Krishna was in the forms of the boys and the calves, the others became more affectionate.
32 Of joy.
33 Both calves and boys.
34 Krishna’s.
35 Balarama.
36 The cowherd boys.
37 Brahma.
38 A small measure of time, equated with half a kshana or half a lava.
39 Brahma.
40 There is the white of sattva in the moonbeams and the red of rajas in the eyes.
41 Yoga leads to eight major siddhis or powers. These are anima (becoming as small as one desires), mahima (as large as one desires), laghima (as light as one wants), garima (as heavy as one wants), prapti (obtaining what one wants), prakamya (travelling where one wants), vashitvam (powers to control creatures) and ishitvam (obtaining divine powers).
42 Of samkhya.
43 Sacraments.
44 The three qualities (guna) of sattva, rajas and tamas.
45 This is reminiscent of shlokas in the Upanishads.
46 Five senses of action, five senses of perception and the mind.
47 Vishnu. This is an extremely difficult shloka to translate and we have taken some liberties.
48 In the sense of establishing the brahman by the rejection of ‘neti, neti’, ‘not this, not this’.
49 Brahma.
50 The curtain of maya.
51 Brahma’s.
52 The cowherds.
53 The swan.
54 Brahma has four heads.
55 Such devotees.
56 This, and many succeeding shlokas, are interpreted in different ways.
57 The supreme soul.
58 Ego.
59 A paramanu is an ultimate particle characterized by the trait that it cannot be divided further. It alone is combined with others.
60 That is, universe.
61 Narayana means someone whose resting place (ayana) was the water (nara).
62 After performing austerities.
63 When Krishna showed Yashoda everything inside his mouth.
64 When Brahma stole the cowherd boys and the calves.
65 Shiva.
66 This is a reference to different avataras, as gods (Vamana), rishis (Vyasa), men (Rama, Krishna), inferior species (Varaha), aquatic creatures (Kurma, Matsya).
67 The wheel of life, the circle of birth and death.
68 And understand that it is actually a rope.
69 The supreme soul.
70 These are the eleven divinities who preside over the eleven senses—the mind (Chandra), intelligence (Brahma), ahamkara (Shiva/Sharva), hearing (the divinities in charge of the directions), touch (Vayu), sight (Surya), taste (Varuna), smell (the two Ashvins), speech (Agni), hands (Indra) and legs (Upendra). There seems to be a sense that the residents of Vraja are more fortunate than these divinities. These divinities have experienced Achutya only through respective senses. However, the residents of Vraja have experienced him with all their senses.
71 She pretended motherly affection. Her family means Bakasura and Aghasura.
72 A kalpa is the longer cycle of creation and destruction.
73 Brahma.
74 Mura’s enemy, Krishna.
75 Vatsapada.
76 Krishna and Balarama.
77 One moves from koumara to pouganda when one becomes six years old. Pouganda lasts until one attains the age of ten.
78 Before this, Krishna and Balarama only tended to calves. They were now allowed to herd adult cattle.
79 Place of pilgrimage.
80 Govardhana.
81 A chakora is a partridge, a krouncha is a curlew/heron, a chakravaka is the ruddy goose or Brahmany duck and a bharadvaja is a skylark.
82 The text uses the word Krishnaa, meaning dark, for the Yamuna. Since the serpent is also dark (krishna), there is a play on words.
83 Kalindi, the river with dark waters, is another name for the Yamuna.
84 Something that hears with its eyes, a name for Kaliya.
85 Weaned female calves.
86 Yashoda wanted to follow Krishna into the pool.
87 Though it is sometimes used in the sense of an instant, a muhurta is a measure of time equal to forty-eight minutes.
88 Garuda.
89 Gandharvas are celestial musicians and are semi-divine.
90 Celestial singers.
91 The text uses the term dandashuka.
92 We have translated vijnana as self-knowledge, the transcendental consciousness. We will use jnana for knowledge.
93 Detachment from fruits and renunciation of action; and action with a desire for the fruits, respectively.
94 The texts of the Vedas, or related to them.
95 The twilight zones.
96 Garuda.
97 Island or region.
98 Ramanaka dvipa, in the middle of the ocean.
99 Serpents. Nagas (also known as uragas) are different from snakes. They are semi-divine, can assume any form at will and reside in specific locations.
100 Garuda ate serpents. So that he did not eat serpents, Brahma made this arrangement. The serpents received offerings from those who worshipped snakes. Taking turns, the serpents offered their respective shares to Garuda, so that he would not eat them. Sometimes, it is also suggested that every month, one serpent, and not just the offering, was given to Garuda.
101 Respectively Garuda and Vishnu.
102 Kaliya.
103 Garuda.
104 A sage who was meditating in the water.
105 The forest.
106 Kakapaksha (like a crow’s wing) is a description of sidelocks of hair on the temples of boys and young men.
107 Kumbha is a medicinal plant.
108 Demons, progeny of Danu.
109 But Pralamba didn’t think Balarama was invincible.
110 Balarama.
111 Meru.
112 The animals.
113 Krishna and Balarama’s.
114 Chant their lessons when called by their preceptor, a reference to brahmana disciples. The frogs have also been quiet hitherto.
115 A reddish insect, sometimes identified with a firefly.
116 The meaning remains unclear and is subject to interpretation. For example, those who were too proud to farm had to repent.
117 It moved from cloud to cloud.
118 Indra’s bow is the rainbow.
119 The word padapa means tree, signifying something that drinks up water with its feet (the roots).
120 Indra.
121 Kings are urged by brahman
as to undertake works of charity.
122 A lotus that blooms in the night.
123 Sacrifices at which oblations are offered out of the first harvest after the rainy season.
124 They couldn’t travel during the rainy season. A snataka is a student who has finished studying and is ready to embark on the next phase of life. The word snataka is derived from snana (the act of taking a bath), ritually performed before anything auspicious is undertaken.
125 Stated simply, they wait for their physical deaths.
126 Entered Vrindavana forest.
127 Alternatively, embraced him in their minds.
128 The text doesn’t make it clear whether a single gopi is singing this, whether they are singing this collectively, or whether they take turns. Probably the last is intended. They sometimes address the others in the singular, sometimes in the plural.
129 Meaning both Krishna and Balarama.
130 Damodara is one of Krishna’s names. He was named Damodara because Yashoda tied a rope (dama) around his stomach (udara).
131 The shores of the lakes are where the bamboo grew and the flute was made out of bamboo. The word arya means noble, but it also means forefather. The lakes are shedding tears of joy because the flute indirectly originated with them. They are like forefathers. The trees shed drops of dew.
132 Celestial vehicles.
133 With the milk still in their mouths.
134 Meant for senior gopis.
135 An allusion to different branches of the sacred texts followed by sages. Sages meditate with their eyes closed.
136 A comparison is being made with the swirling currents in the rivers.
137 Krishna is similar in complexion to a cloud and therefore, the cloud is his friend. The cloud is not showering down flowers, but drops of rain that are being compared to flowers.
138 This shloka has complicated interpretations. We have given a translation that seems to be accurate, but is also simple and not convoluted. There is no reason to take pulinda women to mean women from backward and aboriginal classes, as most interpretations render it. Pulindaka is indeed used for barbaric tribes, usually residing in mountains. But this is along the bank (pulinda) of a river. Therefore, pulinda can simply refer to people who live along the banks of a river.
139 For tethering the animals, through the nose, or for tying the hindlegs of cows at the time of milking.
140 Hemanta is the cold season, the months of Margashirsha (also known as Agrahayana) and Pousha. The first month, Margashirsha, is roughly mid-November to mid-December. Kumarikas are young unmarried maiden girls, less than the ages of ten and twelve. Havishya is food that can be offered as oblations. It is simple and has no seasoning. It is only eaten on special occasions, such as when a vow is being observed. Katyayani is one of Parvati’s names and Katyayani vrata (vow), also known as Gouri vrata, is performed by maidens to get married, or obtain a groom. Bhadrakali is also one of Parvati’s names. These kumarikas may have been even younger, since Krishna was just over six years old then.
141 Supreme lord, in the feminine.
142 This prayer is being recited in the singular.
143 This can be taken as a proper noun or as an adjective. Shyamasundara is one of Krishna’s names, meaning one who has a beautiful dark-blue complexion.
144 Nanda.
145 The word used in the text is anahata, the opposite of ahata. Ahata means struck, injured, impaired. The opposite means virgin, perhaps implying the hymen is intact.
146 Bathing naked wasn’t the only crime. In addition, while observing a vow, the girls had not maintained silence and had sported in the water.
147 The gopis.
148 It cannot be used as seed.
149 Katyayani.
150 Stoka means small, so this can also be translated as Little Krishna.
151 When a person has consecrated himself for a sacrifice, he does not eat until the sacrifice is over, nor does he give food to someone else. What is being said is that this isn’t a general rule, but only applies to sacrifices where animals are slaughtered, or soutramani sacrifices. Otherwise, there is no such bar. A soutramani sacrifice is an animal sacrifice in which liquor is also offered.
152 Of the brahmanas.
153 The four types of food are those that are chewed (charvya), sucked (choshya or chushya), licked (lehya) and drunk (peya).
154 About emancipation and liberation from samsara.
155 From going to meet Krishna.
156 The physical birth, the investiture of the sacred thread and consecration for sacrifices.
157 Emancipation.
158 Shri is known for being fickle, but not vis-à-vis him.
159 Krishna and Balarama.
160 Interpreted as—has it been sanctioned by the sacred texts?
161 A yajna and a kratu are both sacrifices. However, the former is performed with a sacrificial post and the latter without one. More specifically, the former is performed with sacrificial animals and the latter without sacrificing animals.
162 That is, rain.
163 Dharma, artha and kama.
164 This has complicated interpretations. The supreme lord cannot be dependent on karma. If he confers fruits according to karma, he becomes dependent on others.
165 Interpreted as studying and teaching.
166 The text uses the word rajanya. In the present context, this is synonymous with kshatriya.
167 The three higher varnas.
168 That is, intercourse.
169 Govardhana.
170 A dish made out sweetened milk and rice.
171 Apupas are small and round cakes made out of flour and fried. Shashkulyas are baked cakes.
172 Gifts given to brahmanas after the sacrifice.
173 Shvapakas are sometimes equated with chandalas. Shva means dog and paka means to cook. Thus, shvapaka means someone who cooks dogs (eats dogs) or cooks for dogs (lives with dogs). Chandala has different nuances and a chandala is not necessarily a shudra. A chandala is also of mixed parentage, with a shudra father and a brahmana mother. More generally, chandalas are outcastes, while shudras are within the caste fold.
174 The word used is pradakshina, which is much more specific than a mere act of circling. This circling or circumambulation has to be done in a specific way, so that the right side (dakshina) always faces what is being circled.
175 Krishna had two simultaneous forms, his own and that of Govardhana.
176 Samvartaka clouds should not have been released until it was the time for universal destruction.
177 This depended on status. For example, seniors inhaled the fragrance of his head, equals and intimate ones embraced him and juniors touched his feet.
178 Young gopis.
179 They went to Nanda.
180 Daityas are a specific category of demons, the progeny of Diti.
181 The name of this demon wasn’t given earlier.
182 Dhenuka, Rasabha means donkey.
183 Except the last sentence, Garga’s quote is a repetition of shlokas from Chapter 10(8).
184 Surabhi is the divine cow who yields all the objects of desire. She is the mother of all cattle. She is Daksha’s daughter and is married to the sage Kashyapa. Goloka is a world meant for cattle and is above all the other worlds. The Mahabharata describes that this was given to Surabhi by Brahma.
185 Of maya.
186 Such as Aditi.
187 Govinda = Go + Indra, a slightly convoluted derivation of Govinda. Usually, Govinda = Go + vinda, a person who protects/cherishes/obtains (vinda) cattle (go).
188 Vidya means knowledge. Thus vidyadhara, one who holds knowledge.
189 These had remained hidden inside the mountains earlier.
190 Varuna and his companions.
191 The tense used requires an explanation. The incident occurs later, in Chapter 10(39). However, at the time when Shuka is recounting all this to Parikshit, the incident belongs to the past tense.
192 Chapters 10(29) to 10(33) are
full of beautiful poetry. They are about rasa or rasa krida/rasa lila, a circular dance involving Krishna and the gopis. There are various interpretations of Krishna’s use of yoga maya. There are also extensive commentaries on these five chapters. We have deliberately kept the translation simple.
193 The beams of the moon are like a hand, making the wife blush, or smearing kunkuma on her face.
194 For boiling on stoves, same for the dishes.
195 That bliss destroys all karma, even if it is auspicious.
196 Shishupala.
197 Raka means the day/night of the full moon and Rakesha (the moon on such a night) is the lord (isha) of raka.
198 The personified form of tulasi.
199 Vishnu.
200 The word used for the moon is enanka, meaning the one with the marks of a black antelope.
201 Ratipati, Rati’s consort.
202 Ashvattha is the holy fig tree, plaksha and nyagrodha are kinds of fig trees, naga (nagakesara) is the Indian rose chestnut, punnaga is nutmeg, champaka is a tree with yellow and fragrant flowers, malati is a kind of white jasmine, mallika, jati and yuthika are also kinds of jasmine, chuta is mango, priyala is the chironji tree, panasa is jackfruit, kovidara is a kind of orchid, jambu is rose apple, arka is the sun plant, bilva is wood apple, bakula is a tree with fragrant blossoms, amra is mango and both kadamba and nipa mean the same kind of tree.
203 The trees, plants and grass growing on earth.
204 As the dwarf incarnation.
205 The branches.
206 Trinavarta.
207 Name for Lakshmi.
208 Aghasura.
209 Arishta, described in Chapter 10(36).
210 Vyoma, described in Chapter 10(37).
211 Being used as a name for Brahma.
212 Manmatha is a name for Kama, meaning someone who confounds the mind. There is thus a play on words.
213 Alternatively, when people meet a wise person.
214 The gopis are being compared to the sacred texts. Without being able to see Krishna, the rituals of the sacred texts serve no purpose.
215 Krishna does not belong to the four categories mentioned. But he does not love people back immediately.
216 One day for a god is one human year, that is, 360 days approximately. The human lifespan is 100 years, so a god’s lifespan is 36,000 human years. A few interpretations take the god mentioned in the text as Brahma, which increases the duration further. But that interpretation doesn’t seem to be necessary.
217 They formed a circle, interlocking each other’s arms, including that of Krishna’s.