Sri Krsna Sandarbha, Part 81
BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 28, 2020 — CANADA (SUN) — Sad Sandarbhas by Srila Jiva Goswami
Sri Krsna Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
VOLUME ONE
Anuccheda 115
1 Sri Krsna's eternal residence in Vrndavana is also described in the following verse (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.90.48):
"Lord Sri Krsna is He who is known as jana-nivasa, the ultimate resort of all living entities, and who is also known as Devaki-nandana or Yasoda-nandana, the son of Devaki and Yasoda.
He is the guide of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty arms He kills everything inauspicious as well as every man who is impious. By His presence He destroys all things inauspicious for all living entities, moving and inert. His blissful smiling face always increases the lusty desires of the gopis of Vrndavana. May He be all glorious and happy!"*
2 In this verse the word 'yadu-vara-parisat' means "He whose associates were the members of the Yadu dynasty", and the word 'devaki-janma-vadah' means "He who was famous as having taking birth from Devaki-devi', or 'the great sages who are eager to understand the truth explain that He has taken birth in the womb of Devaki.' The word 'jayati' means 'All glories to Lord Krsna, who is eternally manifest with great splendour and opulence.' The word 'yadu-vara' refers to Nanda Maharaja, the king of Vraja, Vasudeva Maharaja, and their brothers, who were all members of the Yadu family.
3 That Maharaja Vasudeva and Maharaja Nanda were brothers is confirmed by the following statement of the Mahabharata-tatparya, where Brahma says to Drona and Dhara:
"My dear Drona and Dhara, please accept this benediction from me. I bless you, Drona that you may become Nanda Maharaja, the vaisya grandson of Maharaja Devamidha and brother of Maharaja Vasudeva. O Dhara, I give you the benediction that you become Nanda's wife, and you will be known as Yasoda."
4 In this verse the phrase 'sura-tata-sutasya' means 'born from Vaisya-devi, the vaisya wife of Maharaja Vedamidha, whose son was Maharaja Surasena. Because Nanda and Vasudeva were thus brothers, being both descendants of Maharaja Devamidha, it is therefore not improper for them to address each other as 'brother'. Sukadeva Gosvami also identifies the brotherhood of Nanda and Vasudeva in the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.5.20):
"When Vasudeva heard that Nanda Maharaja, his very dear friend and brother, had come to Mathura and already paid the taxes to Kamsa, he went to Nanda Maharaja's residence."*
5 In the following quote from the Hari-vamsa, Lord Balarama identifies Nanda Maharaja as a descendant of the Yadu dynasty in the following words:
"My dear Nanda Maharaja, among all the members of the Yadu dynasty, you are my dearmost relative."
In this statement, the locative case is used for the word "yadavesu' to indicate 'in the family'. We may note that the Yadu dynasty is divided into two branches: the ksatriya branch and vaisya branch (which prospered in the district of Mathura).
6 We may note that the word 'jayati' used in text 1 is in the present tense (He is glorious) and not the imperative mood (lot) (May He become glorious). The imperative is used to indicate a blessing bestowed upon someone. Lord Krsna is eternally and unlimitedly glorious, and therefore no one can offer Him the benediction of becoming glorious. For this reason the word 'jayati' is spoken here in the present tense and not the imperative mood. At the same time, the imperative mood may also be used for understanding the superexcellent glories of the Lord, or also for all the saintly devotees included along with Sri Krsna in the words of this prayer. A similar prayer was offered by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami in the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam (2.4.20) in the following words:
"May Lord Sri Krsna, who is the worshipable Lord of all devotees, the protector and glory of all the kings like Andhaka and Vrsni of the Yadu dynasty, the husband of all goddesses of fortune, the director of all sacrifices and therefore the leader of all living entities, the controller of all intelligence, the proprietor of all planets, spiritual and material and the supreme incarnation on the earth (the supreme all in all), be merciful upon me."*
In these two verses from Srimad Bhagavatam, the members of the Yadu dynasty are also glorified along with Lord Krsna.
7 Someone may question: If Lord Krsna eternally enjoys transcendental pastimes in His own spiritual abode, then why should He descend to this material world (devaki-janma-vadah) at all?
This question is answered in this verse by the words 'svair dorbhir asyann adharmam" (With His might arms He kills everything inauspicious as well as every man who is impious). Lord Krsna appears in this material world in order to kill the demons. We may note that the word 'svair dorbhih' is in the plural (and not the dual). The reason is that although Lord Krsna manifests His two-armed forms in Vrndavana, Mathura and Dvaraka, He sometimes shows His four-armed forms of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha in Mathura and Dvaraka. For this reason the number of arms is expressed as more than two. Another reason for the use of this word 'dorbhih' is that the devotees are considered like the arms of the Lord, and therefore this phrase may be interpreted to mean: "The Lord destroys the sins of this world through the endeavours of His pure devotees". This is confirmed by Lord Krsna Himself in the following words (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.14.24):
"My pure devotees purify the entire world".
8 Again someone may ask why Lord Krsna descended to this material world at all. To this question another answer may be given: 'sthira-cara-vrjina-ghnah' (simply by His presence, Lord Krsna destroys all things inauspicious of all living entities, moving and inert). Lord Krsna appeared in this world, then, to bless the conditioned souls and release them all from the cycle of repeated birth and death. This is also confirmed by the following statement of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.29.16):
"Simply by perceiving the presence of Krsna, one becomes free from the cycle of birth and death."
9 Someone may ask: Why should Lord Krsna be glorified? The answer is found in the word 'jana-nivasah' (He is the ultimate resort of all living entities). Lord Krsna remains among His devotees: the members of the Yadu dynasty, the residents of Vrajabhumi, or all those who are attached to Him, whether in the human species, or even in non-moving forms of life, such as tree or flowers. The Lord remains among His devotees and relieves the distress felt by them because of separation from the Lord's lotus feet. The Lord's continual stay among the devotees is also clear evidence that the Lord's pastimes are eternal. The word 'jana' may be used to means 'devotees'. It is used that way in Srimad Bhagavatam 3.29.23 and also in other places. Therefore, Lord Krsna always remains among His pure devotees, and He also manifests His eternal pastimes within the hearts of His pure devotees. This direct experience of the Lord and His pastimes within the heart is the most substantial of all forms of evidence. It is the crest jewel of all logical arguments to prove the glories of Lord Krsna.
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0 Someone may ask: Why is Sri Krsna so wonderful that He is gloried in this verse by the word 'jayati'. What does He do that is wonderful?
To this the reply may be given: 'vraja-pura-vanitanam vardhayan kama-devam' (His blissful smiling face always increases the lusty desires of the gopis of Vrndavana). The word 'kama' may be interpreted to mean either 'lusty desires' or 'cupid'. Interpreted in either way, Sri Krsna increased the 'kama' within the gopis' hearts. In order to reveal the supreme goal of life, Sri Krsna appeared before the gopis and the other devotees in His original transcendental form, full of transcendental bliss, and beyond any of the limiting factors of matter. This appearance of Sri Krsna as the original Cupid is elaborately described in the Agama-sastra. Although the word 'vraja-pura-vanitanam' refers to both the women of Vraja, and the women of the puras (Mathura-pura and Dvaraka-pura), the women of Vraja, the gopis, are the most exalted and the greatest lovers of Sri Krsna. The word 'vanita' is defined in the Nama-linganusasana:
"The word 'vanita' means 'a women who is ardently devoted to her husband or lover'.
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1 We may also note that the phrase 'devaki-janma-vadah' may also mean 'Lord Krsna who is famous as the son of Yasoda". Devaki is another name of Yasoda, just as Meru-devi is another name of Sudevi, the mother of Maharaja Rsabhadeva. This is confirmed in the following statement of the Puranas:
"Nanda Maharaja's wife had two names: Yasoda and Devaki. Nanda's wife was a close friend of Vasudeva Maharaja's wife, who was also named Devaki."
We will now conclude this section of the Krsna-sandarbha, where it has been conclusively proven that Sri Krsna eternally enjoys transcendental pastimes in the three abodes Vrndavana, Mathura and Dvaraka.
