Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.3
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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asaṅkhyātaiḥ
—
with innumerable
a- (not) + saṅkhyāta (counted). The calves are 'beyond counting' — the same word-field reappears in chapter 13 when Brahmā steals them and Kṛṣṇa instantly produces innumerable replacements. Vraja's abundance is not a finite resource.
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arbha-līlābhiḥ
—
with childlike sportive activities
Compound: arbha (child) + līlā (sportive play). Kṛṣṇa's pastimes at this age are explicitly arbha — boyish, not adult. Gauḍīyas distinguish kaumāra-līlā (up to ~5), paugaṇḍa-līlā, and kaiśora-līlā; rasas differ by age.
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yūthī-kṛtya
—
forming into groups
From yūtha (herd). The cowherd boys organize the calves into clusters — administration as play. Sakhya-rasa is competent, not dreamy; the boys actually herd.
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sva-vatsakān
—
their own calves
Each boy has his own group. Kṛṣṇa's friendship does not erase the boys' individual responsibilities — acintya-bhedābheda even here: united in Kṛṣṇa, distinct in role.
In this verse the words kṛṣṇa-vatsair asaṅkhyātaiḥ are significant. The word asaṅkhyāta means “unlimited.” Kṛṣṇa’s calves were unlimited. We may speak of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions, trillions, tens of trillions, and so on, but when we go further to speak of numbers impossible for us to count, we are speaking of unlimited numbers. Such unlimited numbers are indicated here by the word asaṅkhyātaiḥ. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, His potency is unlimited, His cows and calves are unlimited, and His space is unlimited. Therefore He is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Parabrahman. The word brahman means “unlimited,” and Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Unlimited, Parabrahman. Therefore, we should not consider the statements of this verse to be mythological. They are factual, but inconceivable. Kṛṣṇa can accommodate an unlimited number of calves and an unlimited measurement of space. This is neither mythological nor false, but if we study Kṛṣṇa’s potency with our limited knowledge, that potency will never be possible to understand. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ ( Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.109). Our senses cannot perceive how He could keep an unlimited number of calves and cows and have unlimited space in which to do so. But this is answered in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta: evaṁ prabhoḥ priyānāṁ ca dhāmnaś ca samayasya ca avicintya-prabhāvatvād atra kiñcin na durghaṭam Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, states that since everything about Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, nothing is impossible for Him. It is in this sense that we have to understand this verse.
The number of Kṛṣṇa’s calves was the number asaṇkhya. Kṣīra-svāmī says: ekaṁ daśa śata śata sahasrāṇy ayutaṁ prayutākhya lakṣam atha niyutam arbuda koṭir nyarbuda padme kharvaṁ nikhavam iti daśabhiḥ gaṇanām mahābja- śaṅkha- samudra -madhyāntaṁ parārdhaṁ ca svahataṁ parārdham amitam tam svahataṁ bhūryato ‘saṇkhyam A prayuta is a hundred thousand and an arbuda is ten million. Ten multiplied by 18 times becomes one parārdha. Svahatam means multiplied by itself. Śata=100 Sahasra=1000 Ayuta=10,000 Lakṣa or prayuta=100,000 Niyuta=1,000,000 Koṭi or arbuda=10,000,000 Nyarbuda=100,000,000 Padma=1,000,000,000 Khava=10,000,000,000 Nikharva=100,000,000,000 Mahābja-1,000,000,000,000 Śaṅkhu=10,000,000,000,000 Ssamudra=100,000,000,000,000 Antya= 1,000,000,000,000,000 Madhya=10,000,000,000,000,000 Parārdha=100,000,000,000,000,000 One parārdha x one x one parādha x one parārdha= one asaṅkhya. They each had their individual calves (svān). Another version has sva-vatsakān. They went to the grazing fields (tatra tara). The word ha expresses joy.
- Where am I praying to Kṛṣṇa as if His resources were scarce or rationed?
- What in my life would change if I really believed His mercy is asaṅkhyāta — uncountable?
Think of a sandy shore at the moment a thousand small crabs scatter — except here the scattering is not flight but play, and at the center stands the boy whose presence makes the play sweet. Without Kṛṣṇa it would be a herd of calves; with Kṛṣṇa it is līlā.
My note
Source: vedabase.io