Canto Ten - Chapter 82

Śrī Śuka said: Once, while Rāma and Kṛṣṇa were residing in Dvāravatī, an immense solar eclipse occurred, like the one seen at the end of a cosmic age.

Learning of it beforehand from every quarter, O King, people went to the sacred field of Samanta-pañcaka, desiring to secure their highest good.

There Rāma, Paraśurāma, foremost of warriors, had made the earth devoid of kṣatriyas and created great lakes from the torrents of the kings' blood.

There Lord Paraśurāma, though untouched by karma, performed sacrifices. As the sovereign Lord, He acted like an ordinary person to instruct the world in the removal of sin.

People from throughout Bhārata came there for the great pilgrimage, as did the Vṛṣṇis headed by Akrūra, Vasudeva, and Āhuka.

They went to that sacred field, descendant of Bharata, wishing to destroy their sins. Gada, Pradyumna, Sāmba, Sucandra, Śuka, Sāraṇa, and others remained behind, while Aniruddha and the division commander Kṛtavarmā guarded the city.

They traveled in chariots resembling the abodes of gods, on swift, leaping horses, upon roaring elephants like clouds, and amid men radiant like Vidyādharas.

Those greatly powerful travelers shone along the road, wearing golden necklaces, celestial garlands, garments, and armor, and accompanied by their wives like sky-roaming gods.

After bathing there, the greatly fortunate pilgrims fasted with concentrated minds and gave the brāhmaṇas cows adorned with garments, garlands, and golden necklaces.

The Vṛṣṇis then bathed according to rule in Paraśurāma's lakes and gave excellent food to the foremost brāhmaṇas, praying, 'May we have devotion to Kṛṣṇa.'

With the brāhmaṇas' permission, the Vṛṣṇis, for whom Kṛṣṇa was the supreme deity, ate and then rested at leisure beneath the feet of trees whose shade was cool and soothing.

There they saw friendly and related kings who had arrived from Matsya, Uśīnara, Kauśalya, Vidarbha, Kuru, and Sṛñjaya,

from Kāmboja, Kaikaya, Madra, Kuntī, Ānarta, and Kerala, together with hundreds of other allied and rival kings, O King. They also saw their friends Nanda and the other cowherds, as well as the gopīs, who had long yearned for them.

The force of their joy at seeing one another made the lotus beauty of their hearts and faces bloom. They embraced tightly, tears streaming from their eyes, their skin bristling and their voices choked, and entered a state of delight.

The women also beheld one another with immaculate sidelong glances and smiles born of deep affection. They embraced with loving tears in their eyes, pressing together breasts smeared with kuṅkuma paste.

They then bowed to their elders and received the greetings of those younger than themselves. After asking about one another's welcome and welfare, they spoke together about Kṛṣṇa.

Seeing her brothers, sisters, their children, her parents, her brothers' wives, and Mukunda, Pṛthā dispelled her grief through conversation with them.

Kuntī said: Honored brother, I consider myself bereft of good fortune, for during my calamities you noble ones did not remember what had become of me.

Friends, relatives, children, brothers, and even parents fail to remember their own kin when destiny is unfavorable to that person.

Śrī Vasudeva said: Dear sister, do not blame us. Human beings are playthings of providence, for the whole world rests under the Lord's control, whether acting or being made to act.

Tormented by Kaṃsa, we were all scattered in every direction. Only now, sister, has providence allowed us to return to our places.

Śrī Śuka said: Honored by Vasudeva, Ugrasena, and the other Yadus, the kings became completely fulfilled by the supreme bliss of seeing Acyuta.

There were Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Ambikā's son Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Gāndhārī with her sons, the Pāṇḍavas with their wives, Kuntī, Sañjaya, Vidura, and Kṛpa,

Kuntībhoja, Virāṭa, Bhīṣmaka, the great Nagnajit, Purujit, Drupada, Śalya, Dhṛṣṭaketu, and the king of Kāśī,

Damaghoṣa, Viśālākṣa, the king of Mithilā, the rulers of Madra and Kekaya, Yudhāmanyu, Suśarmā, Bāhlika with his sons, and many others.

All the kings devoted to Yudhiṣṭhira, O lord of kings, were amazed to behold Śauri's body, the abode of Śrī, together with His wives.

After receiving complete and fitting honor from Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, they joyfully praised the Vṛṣṇis, whom Kṛṣṇa had accepted as His own.

'Ah, lord of the Bhojas, among human beings you are truly blessed with birth, for you repeatedly see Kṛṣṇa, who is difficult even for yogīs to behold.

'His widely heard fame, praised by the Vedas, thoroughly purifies the world, as do the water that washes His feet and the words of scripture that describe Him. Though the earth's fortune had been scorched by time, renewed power arose from the touch of His lotus feet, and she now showers all our desired ends upon us.

'You behold Him, touch Him, walk behind Him, converse with Him, lie down, sit, and eat with Him, and are joined to Him by marriage and family bonds. Though you live in household life, a path that can lead toward hell, Viṣṇu Himself, who bestows heaven, liberation, and final release, resides in your homes.'

Śrī Śuka said: When Nanda learned that the Yadus headed by Kṛṣṇa had arrived there, he came desiring to see them, surrounded by the cowherds with their belongings loaded upon carts.

Seeing him, the delighted Vṛṣṇis rose as though lifeless bodies had regained their vital breath. Tormented by the long separation, they embraced him tightly.

Vasudeva embraced him with great affection, overwhelmed by love as he remembered the suffering caused by Kaṃsa and how he had entrusted his sons to Gokula.

Kṛṣṇa and Rāma embraced Their parents and offered obeisance to them. Their throats filled with tears of love, they could not speak a word, O foremost Kuru.

The greatly fortunate Nanda and Yaśodā placed the two sons upon their laps and embraced Them with both arms, thereby casting off their sorrow.

Rohiṇī and Devakī then embraced the queen of Vraja. Remembering the friendship she had shown them, they spoke with throats choked by tears.

'Queen of Vraja, who could ever forget your friendship, which has never ceased? Even if one obtained the opulence of Indra, there would be no way in this world to repay it.

'These two sons did not see Their own parents, but under the care of you two They received every happiness, advancement, nourishment, and protection. Entrusted to you without fear, They lived as securely as the eyeballs protected by the eyelids. For the saintly there is no distinction between one's own and another's.'

Śrī Śuka said: After so long, the gopīs attained their cherished Kṛṣṇa, for the sight of whom they would curse the creator of eyelids. Embracing Him fully within their hearts through their eyes, they all attained a state difficult even for those perpetually absorbed in yoga to reach.

Seeing them in that condition, the Supreme Lord met the gopīs in a secluded place. He embraced them, asked after their welfare, and smilingly addressed them.

'My dear friends, do you still remember Us? Desiring to serve Our relatives, We went away for a long time, intent upon destroying the enemy faction.

'Perhaps you suspected Us of ingratitude and held Us in contempt. Yet surely it is the Supreme Lord who joins living beings together and separates them again.

'Just as the wind gathers masses of clouds, grass, cotton, and dust and later scatters them, the creator of beings unites living creatures and separates them again.

'Devotion to Me qualifies living beings for immortality. By great fortune your love for Me arose, and that love has brought you to Me.

'I am the beginning and end of all beings, within them and outside them, just as space, water, earth, air, and fire are the beginning and end of material forms and exist within and outside them.

'In this way material beings exist within the elements, while the Self pervades those beings as their own inner self. See both of these as appearances within Me, the supreme and imperishable reality.'

Śrī Śuka said: Instructed by Kṛṣṇa through this teaching of the Self, the gopīs continually remembered Him, dissolved the covering that bound the individual self, and realized Him.

They said: Lotus-naveled Lord, may Your lotus feet, contemplated within the heart by masters of yoga whose wisdom is unfathomable, and the sole support for escaping the well of worldly existence, always arise within our minds even though we remain engaged in household life.