Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.16.3
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhūmnaḥ
—
of the unlimited Lord
From bhūman — fullness, plenitude. Bhāgavata signature: Bhagavān's līlā is full, not lacking; tasting it does not exhaust it but increases the thirst.
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sva - chanda - vartinaḥ
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who acts according to His own will
Compound: sva (own) + chanda (will, desire) + vartinaḥ (acting). The Lord is svatantra — utterly free. His pastimes are not karmically compelled; they are pure līlā, the play of acintya-śakti.
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gopāla
—
the cowherd boy
Go (cow) + pāla (protector). The most intimate form of Bhagavān in Gauḍīya theology — the same Person who is svayaṁ-bhagavān (SB 1.3.28) appears as a village herder. This is the rasa Caitanya came to taste.
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amṛtam
—
nectar
The traditional Vaiṣṇava metaphor for hari-kathā: the only nectar that does not finish, the only drink that increases hunger as it slakes thirst.
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udāra
—
magnanimous, generous
The cowherd-līlā is udāra — open-handed. Even outsiders, even reading aloud at a distance of centuries, are admitted to the feast.
Gopala udara caritam means normally the pleasure-giving (udara) pastimes of Krsna, born in a cowherd family. However "go" can refer to the senses of the devotees. Gopala means the nourisher of the devotees senses. Udara means giving happiness. Thus gopala udara cairtam can also mean the pastimes which bring joy and nourish the senses of the devotee. "Who is satisfied with one taste of the pastimes which nourish the senses of the hearer and bring joy to the heart?"
Though Śukadeva has only summarized the story in the first verse, because he feared that Parīkṣit would be disturbed, Parīkṣit asks out of desire to hear the whole story, since he is ignorant of it. That is revealed in his words. Who could be satisfied tasting the sweetness of the stories which are magnanimous, giving the highest bliss (udāra) concerning Kṛṣṇa in the form of a cowherd, revealing his independent pastimes, endowed with all excellence to the extreme (bhūṁnaḥ), and endowed with the six great qualities (bhagavataḥ)? One is not satisfied because the topics are nectar (amṛtam).
“Because this story will give you great suffering, I have told it only in brief.” These are sweet stories of the lord full of all powers (bhagavataḥ), completely perfect (bhūmnaḥ) and independent (svacchanda-vartinaḥ) as a cowherd, most excellent or giving happiness (udāra). They can counteract great suffering equal to death. These are a medicine to counteract all suffering. Or the three phrases as causes modify gopālodara-caritam: the activities of the cowherd give happiness because he is a particular manifestation of bhagavān, and therefore endowed with unlimited glory (bhūmnaḥ), because he manifests by the desire of his devotees (svacchanda-vartinaḥ). Or one can tolerate the suffering because of the three qualities. Because he is bhagavān and full of powers, the Lord’s suffering does not actually exist. Because he acts by the desire of his devotees, these actions are done as play, by the master of play. There is no suffering for the Lord. Or because he follows the desire of the devotee he is always happy in all situations. Or his actions are amṛta. Though his activities may appear to have the greatest suffering, they are particular aspects of prema and actually full of the highest bliss. This explained in the second portion of Bhāgavatāmṛta. Or gopāla can be taken as an address “O master of words!” Or thinking of the guru as non-different from the Lord, it can mean “O Śukadeva! Kṛṣṇa!” The rest of the explanation is the same. I cannot stop hearing about those activities. What should I do? O Śukadeva, full of the Vedas (brahman)! Just as descriptions of suffering in the Vedas are not rejected, this story should not be avoided. You should tell me.
- Which pastime have I treated as 'done' that might repay another hearing?
- Where am I starved for nectar but reaching for stale entertainment?
Nectar does not satiate — one drink calls for the next. So Kṛṣṇa's cowherd pastimes: a hearer who has tasted them once cannot stop. Hearing is itself the reward; the question is not 'when will this end?' but 'when will another drop fall?'
My note
Source: vedabase.io