73 - Nanda and others relieved of Grief

Narayana said- Lord Krishna imparted spiritual knowledge to Panda who was suffering from the grief of separation of the son and feeling helpless was crying aloud, getting fainted. Thereafter, the lord of the universe offered him the best of gems and said. 

Krishna said- О Nanda, shed away the grief and feel delighted and blissful, hearing my words. I am imparting divine knowledge to you which you kindly receive. The divine knowledge was imparted by me in earlier times at Pushkara-kshetra to Brahma, Sesha, Ganesha, Shiva, Surya, the ascetics and the great yogis. 

The people continue to come and go in this universe according to the result of their actions. Therefore, who is the father of whom and who is the son of whom?

Everyone takes birth at a particular place according to his karmas. Someone takes birth with the great yogis, someone with the queen, some with Brahmana woman, someone with Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudra women. Thus, someone is born as a bird, someone as an animal. Influenced by my illusion, all the people feel delight in the various types of worldly pleasures and feel painful at heart with the departure of their relatives.

For them the loss of their sons and daughter, the land and the riches are more painful than even death. Because of this, these foolish people suffer from grief but the intelligent never do so.

My devotees who is filled with my devotion is self-disciplined and adores by the reciting of the mantras and because of his being always devoted to me, he always remains spotless and without blemish. 

Feeling panicky from me the wind blows, the sun rises and illumines the universe, the moon rises with all the rays and Indra pours timely rains, the fire bums, the death takes sway the lives of the people, the trees blossom timely with flowers and fruits. 

The wind has no base but it carries the tortoise, the tortoise carries Sesha and Sesha carries the mountains, the seven nether worlds stand in a line. The waters of the nether worlds are quite static and the earth is floating on the water. 

The heaven and other seven lokas are based on earth, the Jyotishchakra and the constellation stand on the bases of the planets but the Vaikuntha stands without any base and is beyond the globe. Goloka is situated at a distance of fifty crores of yojanas beyond that, which is floating. The Goloka having no base is built with the best of gems having seven gates, having seven substances, seven moats and lakhs of boundary walls. A river named Viraja flows there. Goloka is surrounded by the mountains of hundred peaks covered with gems, a single peak of which spreads over an area of ten thousand yojanas and is filled with lustre. 

That mountain is spread over an area of a hundred yojanas and is more than hundred times in length and a lakh of yojanas in width. A Rasamandala is spread over ten thousand yojanas in Goloka which is built with invaluable gems and is circular like the lunar disc.

It is surrounded by the blossoming Parijata flowers a thousand kalpavruksha and a hundred flower orchards in which several types of flowers are blossoming. There are three crores of gem studded houses, a lakh of cowherdesses who reside there well-guarded, the lamps are made of gems, the beds are made of gems and several types of eatables are stored there. It has a hundred step-wells of honey. Similarly, there are several step-wells filled with nectar and are also filled with several types of cosmetics and other articles required during love-sport. О lord of Vraja, thus I am narrating to you the number of the buildings of Goloka which are unknown even to the best of intellectuals. It has three crores of palaces which are studded with gems beside the charming and beautiful Bhavana of Radha. This palace of Radha is decorated with invaluable pitchers of gems and the mirrors of gems which illumine. There are lines of gem-studded pillars, has a large number of white fly whisks which are quite astonishing. The handles of the fly-whisks were decorated with the best of gems and rubies. The lamps of gems illumined the area. The steps are decorated with gems and the vases are also made of gems. The beds are also decorated with lines of gems and painted with three types of paintings with three moats. There are difficult entrance gates, there are sixteen apartments. At the gates of these apartments, sixteen lakhs of cowherdesses are deputed to guard them who are clad in the best of garments sanctified by fire and adorned with the best of gem-studded ornaments. They have the complexion of molten gold and illumine like hundreds of moons. The attendants of Radhika are lodged there. 

The court-yard of that palace is inlaid with beautiful gems, which is decorated with the best of the pillars studded with gems, the tree, the leaves and the fruits besides the welfare pitchers made of gems and the pedestals made with rubies. They have innumerable beautiful mirrors made of gems. Thus, the palace is decorated with invaluable gems and happen to be the best of all the palaces on which Radhika is seated attended by a lakh of cowherdesses. She illumines like crores of full moons, having a complexion of white champaka flowers, adorned with all the beautiful ornaments and is clad in gem-studded costumes, holding in her hands a mirror and a beautiful lotus of gems; she applies a spot of vermilion of the size of the flowers of pomegranate and also spots of kasthuri and sandal-wood. She wears round her neck the garland of jasmine flowers and her hair is tied in a knot. The knot is tilted towards the left which attracts even the sages. Thus, Radha is served by the cowherdesses all round. All the cowherdesses carry in their hands white fly-whisks and are adorned with the best of gem-studded ornaments. Radha happens to be the best of the goddesses of my life. She is currently reborn as the daughter of Vrushabhanu, because of the curse of Sudama. 

О father, I have to be separated from her for a hundred years during which period, I shall relieve the earth of her burden and thereafter I shall proceed to Goloka. This is certain. You yourself, Yashoda, all the cowherds and cowherdesses, Vrushabhanu his wife Kalavati and all other relatives will proceed with me. О Nanda, you convey all this to Yashoda also. Therefore, О virtuous one, now you shed away the grief and move to Vraja. I happen to be the soul of all, the witness of all, pervade in all, but still I remain uninvolved. 

Soul is my reflection, this is admitted by all, Prakruti is my deformed form and I alone happen to be the form of Prakruti. О king, as the whiteness cannot be separated from milk and the coolness of the water cannot be separated from it, the instinct of burning cannot be separated from fire, the sound cannot be separated from the sky, the fragrance cannot be separated from the earth, the lustre cannot be separated from the sun or the moon, the soul cannot be separated from the great soul since there is no difference between them. Similarly, Radha and myself are inseparable. Therefore, you shed away the feeling of being a cowherdess in Radha and myself being a son to you. 

О Nanda, both of us, myself and Radha who represent Prakruti or the cause of everything. Therefore, I am going to reveal to you my pleasant grandeur. You kindly listen to me. О father, in the earlier times, I have displayed the same grandeur to Brahma. In the earlier times I happened to be Krishna among the gods who appears in Goloka with two arms. 

Similarly, in Vaikuntha I reside as Vishnu having four arms, in Shivaloka I reside as Shiva, in Brahmaloka reside as Brahma. Among those having the lustre, I represent the sun, Agni in all the auspicious things, water in all the things which flow, the mind among the organs of senses, Vayu among these moving with speed, Yama among those who provide punishment, Kala among those which cannot be counted, in the letters Samaveda in the Vedas, Indra among the fourteen Indras, Kubera among the rich people, Ishana among the Dikpalas, sky among those who are all-pervading, the soul among the creatures and Brahmana among the varnas. In the riches I happen to be the best of gems, gold in the glittering articles, the kaustubha gem among the gems, Sanatkumara among the Vaishnavas, Ganapati among the Yogindras, Parijata among the flowers, Pushkara among the holy places, Salagrama among those who are unthinkable, Tulasi leaf among the leaves, Skanda among the army commanders, Laksmana among the archers, Rama among the great kings and the moon among the constellation .

I happen to be the Margashirsha among the months, the spring season among the seasons, Sunday among the days, Ekadashi among the tithis, the earth among those who passionately bear everything, mother among all the relatives. Amruta (nectar) among the consumable, ghee among the articles produced from the milk of the cow, kalpavruksha among the trees, Kamadhenu among the cows, Ganga among the rivers which removes the sins of all, the speech among the intellectuals, the pranava among the mantras, the form of seed among the vidyas, the paddy among the crops, pipala among the trees, the one who bestows the mantra among the teachers, Kashyapa among the Prajapati, Garuda among the birds, Ananta among the snakes, the king among the people, Bhrugu among the Brahmarsis, Narada among the sages of the gods, Janaka among the royal sages, Shukra among the great sages, Chitraratha among the Gandharvas, Kapila among the siddhas, Bruhaspati among the wise people, Shukra among the poets, Saturn among the planets, Vishvakarma among the architects, lion among the wild animals, Nandishvara among the bulls, Airavata among the elephants, Gayatri among the metres, Vedas among the scriptures, Varuna among the aquatics, Urvashi among the apsaras, Jalasagara among the waters.

Sumeru among the mountains, Himalaya among the stores of gems, Durga among the Prakruti’s, Lakshmi among the goddesses, Satarupa among the women, Radhika of all my beloved's, Savitri among the chaste woman, Prahlada among the Daityas, Bali among the valorous people, the sage Narayana among the intellectuals, Hanuman among the monkeys, Arjuna among the Pandavas, Manasa among the daughters of the serpents, Drona among the Vasus, Bharata among the varsas, Kamadeva among the passionate people, Rambha among the passionate women, Goloka among the lakes, which is the best of all. Similarly I happen to be Santi among the matrikas, Rati among the beautiful women, Dharma among the witnesses, Sandhya among the Vasaras, Mahendra among the gods, Vibhishana among the demons, Kalagni-Rudra among the Rudras, Samhara among the Bhairavas, Pancajanya among the conches, forehead among the limbs, Bhagavata among the Puranas, Mahabharata among the history books, Kapila among the Pancaratras, Svayambhuva among the Manus, Vyasadeva among the Munis, Svadha among the spouse and the manes, Svaha among the beloved's of Agni. 

Rajasuya among the yajnas, dakshina among the spouses of yajna and Parashurama among those well-versed in the use of weapons who had been the son of Jamadagni. I am Suta among the composers of the Puranas, sage Angira among the those well-versed in polity, Vishnuvrata among the vratas, Daivabala among the forces, Durva among the ausdhi, kusha among the straws, truthfulness among the religious people, the son among those who are bestowed with affection, ailment among the enemies, fever among the ailments, my slave hood of all the types of adoration which best of all and the Gruhastha (household) among all the ashramas, Samnyasis among the prudent, Sudarshana among the weapons, welfare among the blessing, great knowledge among the fortunes, Vairagya (unattachment) among all the pleasures, sweet words among those which increase love, self-realisation among the charities, the noble deed of all the things which are to be collected, tapas among all the hard labours, moksha among the fruits, prakamya among the siddhas, Kasi among the Puris (towns), Kanchi among the cities, inhabited by the Vaishnavas. I am Mahavirat among all the solid foundations. I happen to be the atom of all the tiny things in the world Ashvinikumara of all the physicians, Rasayana among the Osadhis, Dhanvantari among those well-versed in the mantras, grief among those which consume a person, Meghamallara among the Ragas and Kamoda among the beloved’s, Sridama among the courtiers, Uddhava among my relatives, cow among the animals, sandal among the forest trees, the holy places among all the tirthas and Vaishnava among the devotees who always recite my mantras. There is no one dearer to me than my own devotees; In the trees I happen to be the sprouting leaves and I happen to be the form of all the things. I pervade in all the creatures who also dwell in me. As the fruit remains in a tree and the tree in the fruit, similarly I am the cause of everything. There is no other greater cause than myself; I am the lord of everything, I have no lord. I am myself the cause of all the deeds. This is what has been ordained by the intellectuals, the sinners are influenced by my illusion and are unaware of me because they are influenced by the destiny indulging in sinful ways and evil advice. I am the soul of all the creatures and their lord. Wherever I stay, the hunger, thirst and all other shaktis remain there and when I leave that place all those also disappear as the attendants of the king disappear with the king. Therefore, О lord of Vraja, О Nanda, О father, you go to Vraja with this knowledge and impart the same to Radha and Yashoda. Thereafter Nanda the lord of Vraja together with his attendants left for Vraja and reaching there he narrated the words of Krishna to all the ladies. 

О Narada, with the imparting of the great knowledge they also were relieved of the grief and though lord is uninvolved and the lord of illusion but still he loves someone under the influence of the illusion. Yashoda inspired Nanda who go to Mathura again? Reaching there, they eulogised all blissful Madhava by reciting the stotra composed by Brahma and prescribed in Samaveda. Both of them started crying standing before their son.