Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 10 Chapter 47:57-62

Book 10: Forty-seven Chapter (First Half)

Prev.png
Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 10: Chapter 47: Verses 57-62

Supremely delighted to perceive the anguish of mind-as depicted before[1]and of an allied nature-of the Gopis, occasioned by their absorbing thought of Sri Krsna, and bowing to them (in reverence), Uddhava sang as follows :- "These cowherd women alone on earth have justified their possessing a human body in that they have developed supreme love exclusively for Sri Krsna (the Protector of cows), the Soul of the universe-(a love) which not only strivers afraid of metempsychosis but sages (emancipated souls), nay, (even) we (devotees of the Lord) aspire for ? What (else) is there to be gained through (three kinds of)[2] births as a Brahmana by him who has developed a taste for the stories of Sri Krsna (the deathless Lord)? (Or what is to be gained through repeated births as Brahma by him who has not been able to develop a zest for such stories ?[3]. The two are quite out of keeping with one another-these women (impure by their very sex), roaming about in woods and polluted (in the eyes of adverse critics) through infidelity to their (worldly) husbands, (on the one hand) and surpassing (unflinching) love for Sri Krsna, the Supreme Spirit, as depicted above (on the other)! Surely the almighty Lord, directly and liberally confers (final) beatitude on him who constantly remembers Him, though not knowing His reality, (just) as nectar (the sovereign of all medicines) does good (to an ailing person) when used (even unknowingly).
Oh, the grace which descended on the cowherdesses of Vraja-who attained the object of their desire in the form of having their necks encircled by His stout arms during the Rasa festival-did not fall to the lot of celestial damsels (nymphs) possessing the fragrance and splendour of a lotus, or (even) of Sri, who is exclusively attached to His person (bosom); how (then) could others expect such favour (from Him) ? (60) Oh, let me be (incarnated as) anyone of the shrubs, creepers or herbs in (the woodlands of) Vrndavana, catching the dust of feet of these (blessed ladies), who (successfully) trod the path (of Devotion) leading to Sri Krsha-(the path) which is (still) to be strenuously sought for (even) by the Upanishads[4] neglecting their own people as well as the path trodden by the virtuous, (both of) which are (so) difficult to abandon (for a chaste woman). (Nay,) these Gopis completely shook off their agony (of separation from the Lord), embracing (as they did) those lotus-feet of the divine sri Krsna which are actually fondled by Goddess Sri and mentally adored by (great gods like) Brahma and others, sages that have (all) their desires fulfilled (and are therefore free from all cravings), (nay,) even by masters of Yoga (like Siva, Sanaka and Narada), and which were (lovingly) placed (by the Lord) on their bosom in the gathering (of women) on the occasion of the Rasa dance ! I

Next.png

References

  1. ↑ Vide verses 4 to 21 and 39 to 52 Supra.
  2. ↑ The three kinds of. birth as a Brahmana are :-(1) physical birth from Brahmana parents, (2) investiture with the sacred thread and initiation in the holy Gayatri-Mantra, which is regarded as a second birth and (3) consecration befitting one for the performance of a sacrifice, which is looked upon as a third incarnation.
  3. ↑ The compound word ' अनन्तकथारसस्य ' , can be split up in two ways-firstly as अनन्त +कथा+रसस्य and secondly as अनन्त +कथा+रसस्य. The word 'Brahma' too admits of a double meaning. The alternative interpretation of the last quarater of the verse according to the latter way of splitting the compound has been shown within brackets.
  4. ↑ This evidently refers to the Upanishadic text 'यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते अप्राप्य मनसा सह', which tells us that 'words (scriptural texts) fail to reach Brahma and return (unsuccessful) alongwith the mind.'