Vajranābha and the Settling of Vraja

Vajranābha was the great-grandson of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. He was crowned king of Mathurā, and Parīkshit ruled as emperor from Hastināpura. Vajranābha found the land of Vraja around him empty. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa Māhātmya in the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells how the ṛshi Śāṇḍilya explained why, and how the two kings settled the land again.

The question at Naimishāraṇya

The ṛshis gathered at Naimishāraṇya had heard from Sūta. They asked a question. Yudhishṭhira, the eldest of the Pāṇḍavas, had gone on his mahāprasthāna (great final journey) along the northern way. Before leaving, he had crowned two kings: Vajranābha at Mathurā and Parīkshit at Hastināpura. What did these two kings do afterwards?

Sūta answered. Parīkshit wished to see his kinsman Vajranābha and travelled to Mathurā. Vajranābha was overjoyed that his “uncle” had come. He met him with great love, bowed to him and led him to his palace. Parīkshit bowed to the wives of Bhagavān Hari, Rohiṇī and the others, who still lived at Mathurā, and they honoured him warmly. After he had rested and sat down at ease, he spoke kindly to Vajranābha:

“Our father and our grandfathers were saved from great troubles by your forefathers. I too was protected. I can never repay you enough. Be happy in your kingdom. You need not worry about the treasury, the army or enemies. Leave all such worries to me. Only the mothers must be served well.”

Vajranābha thanked him. Arjuna had taught him archery, so he had no worry about war. But he had one great worry. He had been crowned at Mathurā, yet he was living in a lonely forest. Where had the people of this land gone? He wanted a kingdom with people in it. (Chapter 1)

Śāṇḍilya is called

To answer Vajranābha’s worry, Parīkshit invited Śāṇḍilya, the priest of Nanda, the chief of Gokula, together with other ṛshis. Śāṇḍilya left his hut at once and came. Vajranābha honoured him, and he took a fine seat. Parīkshit spoke a few words of introduction. Śāṇḍilya was very glad. He spoke to comfort both kings and told them the secret of the land called Vraja. (Chapter 1)

Śāṇḍilya’s teaching on the secret of Vraja

Śāṇḍilya first gave the plain meaning of the name. The root vraj means “to spread”. The land spread far and wide, so it was called Vraja. But the real secret was deeper.

Vraja is Parabrahman. The Supreme Brahman is beyond the guṇas, fills all things and is the greatest splendour. In its highest sense this is what is called Vraja. It is the unchanging realm of the liberated, whose nature is bliss without end. In this Vraja, those who are full of love see Bhagavān Kṛshṇa with a form made of being, knowledge and bliss. He plays within his own Ātman, and his Ātman is Rādhikā.

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s two kinds of līlā. His līlā (divine play) is of two kinds. The pāramārthika is the real one, known only to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself and his close devotees. The vyāvahārika is the ordinary one, seen by souls in the manifest worlds, including the Mathurā region on earth. The second cannot happen without the first, but it does not reach as far as the first.

How Vraja became empty. At the end of Dvāpara, those who knew the secret līlā of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa gathered for his avatāra. When he had fulfilled the wishes of all, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa vanished. Three kinds of people were left:

The Nityas, his eternal companions. They were not fit to be seen by ordinary people, so they became invisible.
The Tallipsus, who longed to reach Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Their form was always love and bliss. They were changed into Nityas and merged among them, and so they too became invisible.
The Devādyas, the devas and others who had come down for the līlā. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa had earlier taken them to Dvārakā. Through the Mushala, the pestle and its work among kinsmen, they were taken into Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself.

Ordinary people came to see the divine company and found no one, so they went away. That is why Vraja looked empty. But the true Vraja, eternal and of the nature of Brahman, was untouched.

The advice. Śāṇḍilya told Vajranābha: “You need not worry at all. Settle many villages here. Name them after the sports of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Serve this great earth. With my blessing, may the lands of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa prosper here.” He named six main places to settle: Govardhana, Dīrghapura, Mathurā, Mahāvana, Nandigrāma and Bṛhatsānu. The rivers, hills, water-troughs, sacred pools and groves of the region were to be honoured as the natural frame of the holy land.

Śāṇḍilya also told what would come. By serving this land, Vajranābha would meet Uddhava. Through Uddhava, he and the mothers, the surviving queens of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, would learn the deepest secret of Vraja.

When he had finished, Śāṇḍilya left Vajranābha, his mind lost in remembrance of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. (Chapter 1)

The settling of Vraja

Parīkshit and Vajranābha heard Śāṇḍilya’s words with great joy and began at once to act on his advice. (Chapter 2)

What Parīkshit gave. The emperor brought thousands of śreṇi-mukhyas, the heads of guilds of traders, makers and craftsmen, from Indraprastha to Mathurā. They gave the new settlements a firm human base. He also gave special honour to the Mathurā brāhmaṇas, because he knew from the scriptures that they had been the monkeys of Bhagavān Rāma in an earlier birth.

What Vajranābha did:

With Śāṇḍilya’s blessing and Parīkshit’s help, he came to know the many places of the play of Bhagavān Govinda, the places of the gopīs (cowherd women) and of the gopas (cowherd men).
He gave each place its name according to the līlā of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa held there.
He founded many villages and settlements across the region.
He had ponds, wells, lakes and other works for the public built.
He set up mūrtis of Bhagavān Śiva and other devas, and images of Bhagavān Govinda, Bhagavān Hari and other devas.
He spread single-minded devotion to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in his kingdom, and he rejoiced.

The people of the settled Vraja became happy and were eager to sing the glory of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. They were filled with the greatest bliss. (Chapter 2)

Sources

Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Bhāgavata Purāṇa Māhātmya, chapters 1–2