S'rî
S'uka said:
'The gopas witnessing the activities like this
[lifting of the hill] of Krishna, could not comprehend
His heroism and approached, astonished as they were,
Nanda:
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: The cowherd men were astonished
when they saw Krishna's activities, such as lifting
Govardhana Hill. Unable to understand His transcendental
potency, they approached Nanda Mahârâja and
spoke as follows. (Vedabase)
Text
2
'Considering
the no doubt extraordinary activities of the boy, how could He
deserve a, for Himself contemptible, birth among worldly
men?
[The
cowherd men said:] Since this boy performs such
extraordinary activities, how could He warrant a birth among
worldly men like us - a birth that for Him would seem
contemptible? (Vedabase)
Text
3
How
can a boy of seven years mighty as an elephant playfully with
one hand hold up the best of all hills like it was a
lotusflower?
How
could this seven-year-old boy playfully hold up the great
hill Govardhana with one hand, just as a mighty elephant
holds up a lotus flower? (Vedabase)
Text
4
As
a young child with hardly its eyes open sucked He from the
breast of the greatly powerful Pûtanâ [the
poisoned milk]
also sucking her life-air, like the force of time sucks the
youth out of a body [see 10.6].
As
a mere infant who had hardly yet opened His eyes, He drank
the breast milk of the powerful demoness Pûtanâ
and then sucked out her very life air as well, just as the
force of time sucks out the youth of one's body.
(Vedabase)
Text
5
He,
a few months old lying crying beneath a cart, with His feet
upward turned over the cart that struck by the tip of His foot
fell in pieces
[see 10.7].
Once,
when only three months old, little Krishna was crying and
kicking up His feet as He lay beneath a huge cart. Then the
cart fell and turned upside-down simply because it was
struck by the tip of His toe. (Vedabase)
Text
6
One
year old sitting down was He taken away up into the sky by the
demon Trinavârta whom He, seizing his neck, tormented and
killed [see
10.7].
At
the age of one, while sitting peacefully He was taken up
into the sky by the demon Trinâvarta. But baby Krishna
grabbed the demon's neck, causing him great pain, and thus
killed him. (Vedabase)
Text
7
Once busy
stealing butter bound His mother Him to a large mortar with
which He, on His hands moving between the two arjuna trees,
caused their crash [see
10.10].
Once,
His mother tied Him with ropes to a mortar because she had
caught Him stealing butter. Then, crawling on His hands, He
dragged the mortar between a pair of arjuna trees and pulled
them down. (Vedabase)
Text
8
Surrounded by
the boys together with Balarâma grazing the calves in the
forest tore He with His arms apart the beak of the murderous
enemy Baka [see
10.11].
Another
time, when Krishna was tending the calves in the forest
together with Balarâma and the cowherd boys, the demon
Bakâsura came with the intention of killing Krishna.
But Krishna seized this inimical demon by the mouth and tore
him apart. (Vedabase)
Text
9
Vatsa,
as another calf hiding among the calves in order to kill Him,
was killed by Him for a sport making him fall [throwing him
in a tree] for kapittha
fruits
[see
10.11].
Desiring
to kill Krishna, the demon Vatsa disguised himself as a calf
and entered among Krishna's calves. But Krishna killed the
demon and, using his body, enjoyed the sport of knocking
kapittha fruits down from the trees. (Vedabase)
Text
10
Together with
Balarâma killing the ass-demon [Dhenuka] and his
companions secured He the safety of the Tâlavana forest
that was full of ripe fruits [see 10.15].
Together
with Lord Balarâma, Krishna killed the jackass demon
and all his friends, thereby securing the safety of the
Tâlavana forest, which abounded with fully ripened
palm fruits. (Vedabase)
Text
11
After
arranging that the terrible Pralamba would be killed by the
most powerful Balarâma, released He the animals of Vraja
and the gopas from the forest fire [see
10.18
& 19].
After
arranging for the mighty Lord Balarâma to kill the
terrible demon Pralamba, Krishna saved Vraja's cowherd boys
and their animals from a forest fire. (Vedabase)
Text
12
Subduing
the chief of the snakes [Kâliya] with his so very
poisonous fangs, defeated He his pride sending him with force
away from the lake of the Yamunâ, and freed He thus the
water from its poison [10.
16 & 17].
Krishna
chastised the most poisonous serpent, Kâliya, and
after humbling him He drove him forcibly from the lake of
the Yamunâ. In this way the Lord made the water of
that river free of the snake's powerful poison.
(Vedabase)
Text
13
Dear Nanda, how
can it be that all of us inhabitants of Vraja can't give up our
feelings of love for your son who from His side is just as
natural towards us?
Dear
Nanda, how is it that we and all the other residents of
Vraja cannot give up our constant affection for your son?
And how is it that He is so spontaneously attracted to us?
(Vedabase)
Text
14
Considering His
as a seven-years-old boy lifting the big hill has with us, o
master of Vraja, raised questions about your son [what kind
of tricks would He be pulling?].'
On
the one hand this boy is only seven years old, and on the
other we see that He has lifted the great hill Govardhana.
Therefore, O King of Vraja, a doubt about your son arises
within us. (Vedabase)
Text
15
Nanda said:
'Please listen to my words dear gopas; let go of your
doubt concerning the boy, this is what Garga in the past told
me referring to this child [see also 10.8:
12-19 for the
same verses]:
Nanda
Mahârâja replied: O cowherd men, just hear my
words and let all your doubts concerning my son be gone.
Some time ago Garga Muni spoke to me as follows about this
boy. (Vedabase)
Text
16
'Three colors
were by your son assumed in accepting bodies according each
yuga [*];
white, red and also yellow. At present He is
black.
[Garga
Muni had said:] Your son Krishna appears as an
incarnation in every millennium. In the past He assumed
three different colors - white, red and yellow - and now He
has appeared in a blackish color. (Vedabase)
Text
17
Some time
before was this child born as a son of Vasudeva and therefore
will about this child of yours the ones who know this therefore
also speak of Him as the all-beautiful Vâsudeva.
For
many reasons, this beautiful son of yours sometimes appeared
previously as the son of Vasudeva. Therefore, those who are
learned sometimes call this child Vâsudeva.
(Vedabase)
Text
18
Of this son of
yours there are many names and forms according the nature of
His qualities and activities; I know of them, but not so the
common folk.
For
this son of yours there are many forms and names according
to His transcendental qualities and activities. These are
known to me, but people in general do not understand them.
(Vedabase)
Text
19
This child will
always act to what is most beneficial to you all in being a
Nanda-Gokula cowherd; by Him will you all easily overcome all
dangers [*3]
Having
said this, Lord Krishna, who is Vishnu Himself, picked up
Govardhana Hill with one hand and held it aloft just as
easily as a child holds up a mushroom. (Vedabase)
Text
20
In times before
were by Him, o King of Vraja, the pious who were disturbed by
the rogues of a faulty rule protected so that they, with the
bad ones defeated, could flourish [see also
1.3:
28]
O
Nanda Mahârâja, as recorded in history, when
there was an irregular, incapable government, Indra having
been dethroned, and when honest people were being harassed
and disturbed by thieves, this child appeared in order to
curb the rogues and to protect the people and enable them to
flourish. (Vedabase)
Text
21
Like the ones
close to Vishnu with Asuras, will those persons who unto this
child are as greatly fortunate as to act in affection not be
overcome by enemies.
Demons
cannot harm the demigods, who always have Lord Vishnu on
their side. Similarly, any person or group attached to
all-auspicious Krishna cannot be defeated by enemies.
(Vedabase)
Text
22
Therefore, o
Nanda, take the greatest care raising this child: in His
qualities, opulences, name and fame is this son of yours as
good as Nârâyana!'
Therefore,
O Nanda Mahârâja, this child of yours is as good
as Nârâyana. In His transcendental qualities,
opulence, name, fame and influence, He is exactly like
Nârâyana. Thus you should not be astonished hy
His activities. (Vedabase)
Text
23
Garga this way
speaking gave me his advise and went home; I [ever
since] consider Krishna, who frees us from all obstacles,
an expansion of Nârâyana.'
[Nanda
Mahârâja continued:] After Garga Rishi spoke
these words to me and returned home, I began to consider
that Krishna, who keeps us free from trouble, is actually an
expansion of Lord Nârâyana. (Vedabase)
Text
24
Thus hearing
the words of Nanda about what Garga had said worshiped the
residents of Vraja, enlivened by Nanda and with their
perplexity gone, Lord Krishna.
[S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî continued:] Having heard Nanda
Mahârâja relate the statements of Garga Muni,
the residents of Vrindâvana became enlivened. Their
perplexity was gone, and they worshiped Nanda and Lord
Krishna with great respect. (Vedabase)
Text
25
The demigod
causing rain, angry of seeing his sacrifice disrupted, made the
cowherds, animals and women suffer with lightning bolts, hail
and winds; seeing Himself as their only shelter smiled He out
of compassion and picked He, a small child, the hill up with
one hand like it was a mushroom in order to protect the cowherd
community - may He, the Indra of the Cows, the destroyer of the
conceit of the great king of the sky, be satisfied with
us!'
Indra
became angry when his sacrifice was disrupted, and thus he
caused rain and hail to fall on Gokula, accompanied by
lightning and powerful winds, all of which brought great
suffering to the cowherds, animals and women there. When
Lord Krishna, who is by nature always compassionate, saw the
condition of those who had only Him as their shelter, He
smiled broadly and lifted Govardhana Hill with one hand,
just as a small child picks up a mushroom to play with it.
Holding up the hill, He protected the cowherd community. May
He, Govinda, the Lord of the cows and the destroyer of
Indra's false pride, be pleased with us. (Vedabase)
*
These
colors will later in the eleventh canto in verses
11.5:
21,
24,
27
and 34
of
the Bhâgavatam be explained [see also
another
site
about it].