Canto 10 - Chapter 90: The Story of (the amorous sports of) Sri Krsna narrated

Discourse XC

The Story of (the amorous sports of) Śrī Kṛṣṇa narrated

Śrī Śuka began again: (Parikṣit! the splendour of Dwārakā was matchless.) Its roads and streets were day and night thronged with young elephants in rut, richly adorned soldiers, horses and brilliant chariots plated with gold. On every side of the city there were gardens and parks containing rows of trees in blossom which were filled with the music of birds and humming bees. It was a city abounding in wealth of every description. The world's greatest heroes, the Yadus, considered it a privilege to live in it and enjoy its amenities. The women of that city possessed budding youth. When, while playing with balls etc., in their mansions, their gorgeous dress got unsettled exposing a part of their body, it flashed as a streak of lightning. The Lord of Lakṣmī (the goddess of prosperity) Himself lived in that city with great ease and comfort. It was His own (favourite) city. (1—4)
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa was the one beloved consort of (more than) sixteen thousand wives. Each of them possessed a mansion of surpassing wealth and splendour for her residence. Assuming as many charming forms as He had wives, He sported with them (severally) in their mansions. (5)
All these mansions possessed beautiful tanks of their own. Their limpid water was ever fragrant with the pollen of lotuses of every description, (Swans, cranes and other beautiful) birds (continually) warbled in them. (6)
The Lord of prosperity (Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa) sported (with His consorts) entering the water of the rivers, and the saffron on the breasts of these ladies transferred itself to His bosom as they embraced Him (in the course of these sports.) (7)
The Gandharvas (at that time) sang His praises, while the Sūtas, Māgadhas and bards joyously sounded their clay tomtoms, kettledrums, tabors and lutes. (8)

The consorts of the Lord would (now and then) smilingly throw jets of water on Him through syringes, and He (too) sprinkled water on them and drenched them in return. Sporting thus with His wives, He would appear like Kubera (the king of Yakṣas) sporting with Yakṣa women. (9)
The breasts and thighs of these ladies would appear through their wet clothes, and flowers stuck to their swollen braids would drop. Throwing water on Him (through their syringes), they would approach Him with intent to wrest the syringe from His hands, and make it an excuse for embracing their beloved Lord. Through His thrilling touch their love would grow all the more, which would make their face bloom in great joy. The beauty of the queens naturally increased on such occasions. (10)
The garland of sylvan flowers hanging on Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa's bosom would get tinged with the saffron on their breasts. Through intense absorption in enjoyment the braid of His curly locks would get loosened and begin to wave free in the air. He would throw, again and again, jets of water on His consorts, who in their turn would drench Him in the same fashion. In this way the Lord sported with His consorts (even) as the leader of a herd of wild elephants would with their females. (11)
(On the conclusion of this sport) Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His consorts would give away their clothes and ornaments used at the time of sport to male and female dancers and to those who subsisted by vocal and instrumental music. (12)
(Parikṣit!) that is how the Lord used to carry on His sports. His (charming) gait, (sweet) words, (endearing) glances, (enchanting) smiles, (enlivening) jests and jokes and (loving) embraces captivated the heart of His consorts. (13)
Bhagavan Śrī Kṛṣṇa was the be-all and end-all of their lives, the sole possessor of their heart. Absorbed in the thought of their lotus-eyed Lord, they would remain speechless for a while, and would suddenly break out with incoherent talks in the manner of a lunatic. (In the intensity of their love) they would (now and then begin to experience excruciating pain of separation from the Lord even in His presence and) give way delirious talks. I shall reproduce these talks; (please) listen to them. (14)

The queens said : O she-osprey, we are in the depth of the night now, and the whole world appears to be one big void. The Lord Himself has buried His ever wakeful consciousness (for the time being), and has gone to sleep. But your eyes know no sleep. Why do you wail and lament thus, keeping awake for the whole night ? O friend, it seems your heart has been pierced, equally with that of ours, by the (sweet) smiles and gracious and sportive glances of the lotus-eyed Lord. Surely that is the reason why you do not get sleep. (15)

O red goose, why have you closed your eyes during the night ? Is it because your partner has gone out of sight that you wail so piteously ? If so, we are really sorry for you. Or is it that you are possessed like us with the desire of waiting upon the Lord, and long to adorn your braid with the garland offered at the feet of the Lord ? (16)

O ocean, you constantly roar and thunder. Do you get no sleep at all ? It seems you have developed the disease of insomnia. Or is it that our dear Lord has robbed you of the natural qualities of tranquillity and gravity etc. ? That is why, like us, you have developed a disease which is so difficult to get rid of. (17)

O moon, you have fallen a victim to the fell disease of consumption. Oh good gracious, you have got so attenuated that you cannot disperse the darkness by your rays. (No, no;) it seems the (sweet confidential) talks of our beloved Lord (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) have escaped out of your memory, as out of ours. That is why you have become mute. (18)

O southern wind, what offence have we given you that you send impulses of love into our heart, which is already torn to pieces by the sidelong glances of the Lord ? (19)

O cloud, your colour is as lovely and beautiful as that of our beloved Lord. Surely you are very dear to our Lord, the crown-jewel of the race of Yadu. That is why, bound to Him with ties of love, you are absorbed in His thought like us. With a heart full of anxiety you always pine for Him like us and recollecting Him again and again shed profuse tears. Oh, the very contact with Him is painful. (20)

O cuckoo, your voice is so sweet and melodious. It seems our beloved Lord has made it so sweet (by drilling it). You warble in notes as sweet as those of the honey-tongued Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Your songs bring life even to the dead. Please tell us what service we may render to you today. (21)

Oh, dear mountain, you possess a noble mind. It is you who support the earth by maintaining her balance. How is it that you neither move nor speak anything? You seem to be merged in some serious thought. Or is it that you long to place the lotus-feet of our beloved Lord on your breast-like peaks (even) as we. (22)

O rivers, consorts of the ocean, (it is summer now). Your beds are dry. The beauty of the lotus (full bloom) is no longer to be in found in you. You have become very lean and thin. (The reason is not far to seek.) (Just) as we have been robbed of our heart and have become much too emaciated, being deprived of the love-laden glances of (our beloved Consort,) the Lord of the Yadus, so have you been reduced to this wretched condition because the clouds no longer supply you with water from your beloved ocean. (23)

O dear swan, you are welcome. Take your seat (here) and have a little milk. Please tell us something of our beloved Lord. We know you are His messenger. Is our dear Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is under no body's control, hale and hearty? O brother, He is very fickle in His friendship. Once He told us that we were the most beloved of Him. Does He remember that profession of His love? However, let it go. (If He can afford to be indifferent to us, why should we languish for Him?) (Vile) messenger of a treacherous lover! we do not care to go to Him. (Or if He calls us just in order to make friends with us,) you might (as well) bring Him here, (so that we may have a direct talk with Him); but take care not to bring Lakṣmi with Him. (If He cannot come here leaving Lakṣmi alone, we ask you one thing.) Of all women, does Lakṣmi alone boast of Her exclusive love for the Lord? (Is there none among us, who can claim to possess such love ?) (24)

(Parikṣit!) such was the (depth of) love and devotion which the consorts of Śrī Kṛṣṇa cherished for their husband, the Supreme Lord of great masters of Yoga; and through that they attained the supreme state. (25)
The sports of the Lord have been sung in various ways through exquisite songs and poetry. (They are so sweet, so captivating that) they irresistibly draw the mind (and heart) of women when they hear them. How much greater, then, should be the attraction of those who (are privileged to) see Him (with their own eyes!) (26)
And how could one form an estimate of the austerities performed by those (privileged) women who, regarding the (Supreme) Teacher of the world (Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa) as their husband, kneaded His feet, washed His body, fed Him and served Him with other kinds of loving attentions. (27)

(Parikṣit!) Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the (sole) refuge of (all) virtuous souls. Practising virtue as enjoined by the Vedas, He clearly demonstrated (to the world) more than once how (the three objects of life, viz.,) religious merit, prosperity and enjoyment of worldly pleasures could be attained by leading the life of a householder. (28)
That is why He had adopted the supreme way of life of a householder. (O king, I have already told you that) the number of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's consorts was sixteen thousand, one hundred and eight; the principal eight of those jewels among women, Rukmini and others, as well as their offspring have already been named in order of sequence. (29-30)
The wives of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa (other than these eight too) bore Him ten sons each. This should cause on wonder; the Lord is Almighty and of unfailing resolution. (31)
Of those sons of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, all of whom possessed unbounded valour, eighteen were warriors of foremost rank and possessed excellent renown. Hear their names from Me. (32)
They were Pradyumna and Aniruddha, Diṭimān and Bhānu, Sāmba, Madhu Bṛhadbhānu, Citrabhānu, Vṛka, Aruṇa, Puṣkara and Vedabāhu, Śrutadeva, Sunandana Citrabāhu and Virūpa, Kavi and Nyagrodha. (33-34)
Parikṣit, of these (eighteen) sons of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (again) Pradyumna, born of Rukmiṇi, was the first and foremost. He was equal to his father (in every respect). (35)
Pradyumna, a great car-warrior, married Rukmi's daughter, and out of that wedlock was born Aniruddha possessed of the strength of ten thousand elephants. (36)
Aniruddha married the daughter of his own maternal uncle, Rukmi's son. Vajra was born out of this wedlock. He was the only survivor after the destruction (of Yadu's race) through the instrumentality of a piston (brought into existence by the curse of Brāhmaṇa sages). (37)
Vajra's son was named Pratibāhu, whose son was Subāhu. Subāhu's son was Śāntasena and his son was Śātasena. (38)
No one born in this race was destitute or weak, and none of them died early. All of them were devoted to the Brāhmaṇas and possessed more sons than one. (39)
O king, this race produced so many (famous and) distinguished men that it is not possible to enumerate them in tens of thousands of years. (40)
I have heard that the number of teachers who taught the children of this race was three crore and eighty-eight lakh. (41)
Who could tell the number of the high-souled Yadus in such circumstances? King Ugrasena alone was (always) accompanied by warriors numbering ten billions (10,000,000,000,000). (42)

(Parikṣit, in days of yore) many a terrible Asura was slain in the encounter between the gods and the Asuras; they were reborn among men. These proud and arrogant Asuras (reborn as human beings) began to molest the people. (43)
In order to chastise and subdue them the gods under the direction of the Supreme Lord were born in the race of Yadu, O King! This race was divided into one hundred and one families. (44)
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa was the sole guide and Lord of all the Yadus. All those Yādavas, who faithfully followed Him (and worked for Him) prospered (in every way). (45)
The mind of the Yādavas remained (constantly) fixed on Śrī Kṛṣṇa, so much so that they lost consciousness of their body while sleeping, resting, walking, chatting, sporting, bathing and performing other duties (of their daily routine). (They carried on these functions like so many automatons.) (46)

Parikṣit ! the Gaṅgā which washes the feet of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is (certainly) very sacred. But, when the same Lord (the holiest of the holy) descended in the race of Yadu, the glory of the Gaṅgā naturally diminished as compared to the glory of His incomparable fame. (How great, indeed, is the glory of the Lord's Form that) those who loved Him and those who hated Him, both attained His state. Goddess Lakṣmī, who is sought after by other gods, keeps Herself (constantly) engaged in His service. His (auspicious) Name (once) heard or uttered destroys (all) evil. Of all forms of Dharma preached and practised by the descendants of (various) Ṛṣis, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the founder (and fountain-head). He holds in His hand the discus (which is a symbol of the ever rotating wheel of Time, the all-destroyer). Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that He should relieve the burden of the earth (from time to time). (47)
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the (sole) asylum of (all) beings. (He is constantly present everywhere, and yet) they say He manifested Himself from the womb of Devaki. The Yadava heroes (always) waited on Him (with joined palms). By (the strength of) His arms He put down (all) unrighteousness. (By His very nature, O king,) the Lord wipes out the sufferings of all mobile and immobile creatures. By His charming countenance full of winning smiles He kindled love into the hearts of (the women) of Vraja as well as of the towns, He is the one conqueror of the whole world. (Victory to Him and Him alone !) (48)

(Parikṣit !) the Supreme Person (who is beyond the realm of Prakṛti) sportively assumed a (transcendental) Form with intent to vindicate the path of virtue chalked out by Himself, and enacted (many wonderful) sports appropriate to that Form. Everyone of His acts is capable of cutting asunder the bonds of Karma (of those who contemplate on it). He who seeks to gain the privilege of serving the (lotus) feet of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the crown-jewel of Yadus, should (make it a point to) listen to the stories of His sports. (49)
By listening to, chanting and contemplating on the charming stories of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa every moment, man develops the devotion which leads him to the (supreme) sphere of the Lord. (True,) it is (most) difficult to reach beyond the jurisdiction of Time; but in the Lord's realm Time has no sway. Even rulers of the earth have left their kingdom and retired to the forest for (the performance of austerities with the object of) gaining that eternal realm. (Therefore, one should constantly engage oneself in hearing the stories of the Lord.) (50)

Thus ends the ninetieth discourse entitled "The Story of (the amorous sports of) Śrī Kṛṣṇa narrated," in the latter half of Book ten of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhitā, composed by the sage Vedavyāsa and consisting of eighteen thousand Ślokas.
END OF THE SECOND HALF OF BOOK TEN