Canto Ten - Chapter 11

Śrī Śuka said: O best of the Kurus, when Nanda and the other cowherd men heard the crash of the falling trees, they hurried there, fearing that a thunderbolt had struck.

They saw the twin arjuna trees fallen upon the ground. Unable to discern any evident cause for their fall, they became bewildered.

They also saw the child bound by rope and dragging the mortar. Anxiously they wondered, "Whose doing is this? Where has this astonishing calamity come from?"

The children said, "He did it! He dragged the mortar crosswise through the middle, and we also saw two men emerge."

The cowherd men did not accept what the children told them, for it seemed impossible that the little boy could have uprooted the trees. Yet some remained uncertain at heart.

Seeing his own son bound with rope and dragging the mortar, Nanda smiled and released Him.

Sometimes the cowherd women encouraged Bhagavān with rhythmic calls, and He danced like a child. Sometimes the innocent boy sang, yielding to their wishes like a wooden puppet.

When ordered, He sometimes carried a stool, a measuring vessel or a pair of sandals. At other times He waved His arms, delighting His relatives.

Thus showing those who understand how He becomes subject to His servants, Bhagavān filled Vraja with joy through His childhood activities.

Hearing a woman call, "Come buy fruits!" Acyuta, the giver of every fruit, quickly took some grain and went to her, desiring fruit.

The fruit seller filled both His hands with fruit, though the grain had fallen from them. In return, her basket of fruit became filled with jewels.

Rohiṇī called for Rāma and for Kṛṣṇa, the breaker of the arjuna trees, who were playing intensely with the boys near the riverbank.

Absorbed in Their play, the two little sons did not come when called. Affectionate Rohiṇī therefore sent Yaśodā to fetch them.

Yaśodā called to Kṛṣṇa, who had been playing far too long with the boys and His elder brother. Her breasts flowed with milk from love for her son.

Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, lotus-eyed child, dear one, come and drink my milk. Enough play! You are weakened by hunger and tired from Your games, my son.

Rāma, dear child, come quickly with Your younger brother, delight of the family. You ate only early this morning, so now You should take Your meal.

O descendant of Daśārha, the lord of Vraja is waiting for You before he eats. Come, please both of us. Children, each of you return to your own home.

My son, Your body is covered with dust. Come and bathe. Today Your birth star is ascendant; after becoming clean, You must give cows to the brāhmaṇas.

Look, look at Your companions! Their mothers have bathed and beautifully adorned them. You too should bathe, eat and then go play, finely dressed.

O King, Yaśodā thus regarded the crown of all existence as her own son, her mind bound by affection. Taking Acyuta by the hand together with Rāma, she led Them into her courtyard and carried out the auspicious observance.

Śrī Śuka said: After experiencing the great calamities in Bṛhadvana, the elders of the cowherd community, headed by Nanda, assembled to deliberate upon the welfare of Vraja.

Among them a cowherd named Upananda, senior in wisdom and age, understood the principles of place, time and circumstance and always sought the good of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. He spoke.

Those of us who desire Gokula's welfare must leave this place. Great calamities that threaten the destruction of the children keep appearing here.

The boy was somehow freed from that child-killing rākṣasī, and only by Hari's grace did the cart not fall upon Him.

Then a demon in the form of a whirlwind carried Him through the sky into danger. He fell upon a rock, yet the divine rulers protected Him there.

That this child, or any other child, did not die after passing between the two trees was also due to Acyuta's protection.

Before some calamitous danger overtakes Vraja here, let us take the children and all our followers and go elsewhere.

There is a forest named Vṛndāvana, a fresh woodland excellent for the cattle. It is fit for the cowherd men and women and their herds, with sacred hills, grass and vegetation.

If this pleases you, let us go there today. Yoke the carts without delay, and let the cattle go before us.

Hearing this, the cowherd men agreed with one mind and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent!" They yoked their individual carts, loaded all their belongings and departed.

O King, the vigilant cowherd men placed the elders, children, women and all their equipment upon the carts, while they themselves took up their bows.

They sent the cattle ahead, sounded their horns on every side and traveled with their priests amid a mighty clamor of musical instruments.

The cowherd women rode upon the carts, the fresh saffron upon their breasts shining brightly. Wearing fine garments and gold necklaces, they lovingly sang of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes.

Yaśodā and Rohiṇī sat together upon one cart and shone beside Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, eagerly listening to narrations about Them.

They entered Vṛndāvana, which brings happiness in every season, and established their settlement there with the carts arranged in a half-moon.

O King, seeing Vṛndāvana, Govardhana and the sandy banks of the Yamunā filled Rāma and Mādhava with supreme delight.

Thus the two boys brought joy to the residents of Vraja through Their childhood movements and sweet speech. In due course They became keepers of the calves.

Not far from the cowherd settlement, They grazed the calves together with the young cowherd boys, equipped for many kinds of games.

Sometimes They played the flute; sometimes They threw objects with slings; sometimes They made music with the bells upon Their feet; and sometimes They played with artificial cows and bulls.

Pretending to be bulls, They bellowed and fought one another. They wandered about like ordinary children, imitating the cries of different animals.

One day, while Kṛṣṇa and Bala were grazing the calves with Their companions beside the Yamunā, a demon approached, intending to kill Them.

Hari saw that he had assumed the form of a calf and entered the herd. Indicating him to Baladeva, Kṛṣṇa slowly approached as though He noticed nothing.

Acyuta caught the demon by his two hind legs and tail, whirled him about and hurled his lifeless body into the top of a kapittha tree. The huge body fell together with a shower of kapittha fruits.

Astonished at the sight, the boys praised Him, crying, "Excellent! Excellent!" The gods were thoroughly pleased and showered flowers.

The sole protectors of all worlds thus became keepers of calves. After eating Their morning meal, They wandered about grazing the young cattle.

One day all the boys led their respective groups of calves to the edge of a reservoir. After letting the calves drink, they too drank the water.

There the boys saw an enormous creature standing before them. Terrified, they thought it resembled a mountain peak broken off by a thunderbolt.

He was the powerful great demon named Baka, who had assumed a crane's form. Rushing forward suddenly, he swallowed Kṛṣṇa with his sharp beak.

When Rāma and the other children saw Kṛṣṇa swallowed by the enormous crane, they lost consciousness, like senses deprived of the life-breath.

The cowherd's son, father of the universe's teacher, burned the root of the demon's palate like fire. Baka immediately spat Him out unharmed, then furiously attacked again, intending to kill Him with his beak.

As Baka, Kaṃsa's companion, rushed at Him, the Lord of the virtuous seized the two halves of his beak in His hands. Before the children's eyes He playfully split the demon apart like a blade of vīraṇa grass, filling the gods with joy.

The residents of the divine world showered the enemy of Baka with mandāra, jasmine and other flowers from Nandana garden. They praised Him with kettledrums, conches and hymns, while the cowherd boys marveled at the sight.

Freed from Baka's mouth, Kṛṣṇa returned to the boys like the life-breath returning to the senses. Rāma and the others embraced Him in relief, gathered the calves and returned to Vraja, where they told all that had happened.

Hearing their account, the cowherd men and women were amazed. With the deepest love and reverence, they gazed hungrily upon Kṛṣṇa as though He had returned from death.

They said, "How astonishing that so many agents of death have come for this child! Perhaps some offense was committed against them before, giving rise to this danger.

Yet these beings of dreadful appearance cannot overcome Him. Approaching with the wish to kill Him, they themselves perish like moths entering a flame.

How wonderful! The words of those who know Brahman are never false. Everything the venerable Garga foretold has occurred exactly as he said."

Thus Nanda and the other cowherd men joyfully spoke about Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. Delighting in those narrations, they did not feel the pains of worldly existence.

Through such childhood pastimes in Vraja, including hide-and-seek, building bridges and leaping like monkeys, the two boys passed beyond Their early childhood.