Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.27
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
ātmā
—
the Self (Kṛṣṇa)
Nominative of ātman. The verse stacks three forms in one line — ātmā, ātmanā, ātmānam — Self acts on Self with Self. Gauḍīyas read this triple as the līlā's grammatical demonstration of acintya-bhedābheda: He is single (one ātman) while being plural (multiple cases).
-
vatsa-pāla-miṣeṇa
—
in the guise of calves and cowherd boys
Compound: vatsa (calf) + pāla (tender) + miṣa (pretext, guise) + instrumental. Miṣeṇa is Bhāgavata's careful word — 'on the pretext of': the boys and calves are the guise; the substance is Kṛṣṇa.
-
pālayan
—
maintaining
Present participle of √pal. The same root family as pāla (tender, protector). Vraja's economy is one of mutual maintenance, and Kṛṣṇa here maintains both ends of every relationship.
-
varṣam
—
for a year
Accusative of duration. One full solar year by human time. Gauḍīyas note the exactness — the līlā has measurable boundaries, even at its most cosmic.
-
vana-goṣṭhayoḥ
—
in both the forest and the cow-pens
Compound: vana (forest) + goṣṭha (cow-shed). The two locales of Vraja-līlā — the forest where boys roam by day, the goṣṭha where they return at night. The līlā moves between them with full continuity.
Everything was Kṛṣṇa. The calves, the cowherd boys and their maintainer Himself were all Kṛṣṇa. In other words, Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself in varieties of calves and cowherd boys and continued His pastimes uninterrupted for one year. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa’s expansion is situated in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. Similarly, instead of expanding Himself as the Supersoul, He expanded Himself as a portion of calves and cowherd boys for one continuous year.
In this way, Krsna (atma), becoming king of the cowherd boys (vatsapa), playing the roles of calves and cowherd boys (vatsa pala misena), herding himself by himself (atmanam atmana), played for one year in the forests and fields.
He, as the cowherd boys and calves, played in the forests and town peacefully and was not disturbed by anyone. Or Kṛṣṇa himself played along with his forms as the cowherd boys.
- Where am I taking credit for an exchange of love or service that Kṛṣṇa is actually running both ends of?
- How would humility look if I accepted that He is sustaining both giver and receiver in my life?
Like a father who is also every one of his children at the dinner table, serving food to himself in a hundred small hands — Kṛṣṇa maintains Himself by Himself for a year. The līlā is structurally closed: He is herder, herd, mothers' joy, and the One enjoying all of it.
My note
Source: vedabase.io