Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.18.1
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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kṛṣṇaḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa
From √kṛṣ — He who attracts. In Gauḍīya theology the name itself is svayaṁ-bhagavān (kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam, SB 1.3.28). The chapter opens with the very name that the sakhās are about to play with as if He were one of them.
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anugīyamānaḥ
—
His glories being chanted
Passive present participle of anu+√gai — being continuously sung after. Kīrtana is not waiting at the temple gate; it is the very atmosphere through which Kṛṣṇa moves. Vraja's air itself is anugīyamāna.
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vrajam
—
Vraja
Not a geographical Vraja but Bhagavān's eternal dhāma — the topmost rasa-bhūmi where He is most relaxed, most His own. Gauḍīyas treat each re-entry into Vraja as a fresh disclosure of svarūpa.
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go-kula
—
by the herds of cows
Go (cow) + kula (community). The cows are not livestock; they are Vraja's living wealth and Kṛṣṇa's named companions. Their presence is the village's true ornament — maṇḍitam.
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mudita-ātmabhiḥ
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by those whose hearts were joyful
Mudita (gladdened) + ātman (self). The companions' joy is not occasional cheer; it is their very ātman-condition in His presence. This is the sakhya-rasa baseline.
This chapter describes the summer season, how Krsna carried Dama on his shoulders, and how Pralamba carried Balarama.
The compassionate sweetness of the previous evening was not given up. The next morning (atha) Kṛṣṇa completely (pari) surrounded by relatives filled with affection, and being glorified, entered Vraja, decorated with the cows. Before entering the cows had returned. Or gokula-manditam can be an adverb, modifying “entered.” He entered with cows around him. The cows came back in the morning since they left the place because of poison and the fire and desired to graze in the immediate area around Vraja measuring one krośa. Or they desired to return from the untimely journey (cows like regularity). The really reason however, is that like the humans, the cows could not give up Vraja.
After the night, in the morning, herding the cows, or in the forenoon (atha), Kṛṣṇa entered Vraja. It was impossible that they all went back with the cows that night. Yaśodā and others also went more quickly in order to go to the houses and send meals. He entered with cows around him. The cows came back in the morning since they left the place because of poison and the fire and desired to graze in the immediate area around Vraja, measuring one krośa. Or they desired to return from the untimely journey (cows like regularity). The real reason however, is that like the humans, the cows could not give up Vraja.
- NRM SB 10-18-01-16
- UM SB 10-18-01-02 - Service according to Season - 2020-07-06 Hillsborough
- Dina Bandhu Pr SB 10-18-01-12 - 2022-04-22 ISKCON Vrindavan
- Revati Raman Pr SB 10-18-01-02 - 2010-09-30 ISKCON Tirupati
- 22 - RGS SB 10-18-01-15 Hindi - Vrindavan Bihar Leela-22 - 2000 Haridwar
- 09 - RGS SB 10-18-01-27 Hindi - Pauganda Leela-09 - 1996 New Jersey
- 06 - RGS SB 10-18-01-32 Hindi - Gocharan Leela-06 - ISKCON Juhu
- Which 'homecoming' of mine could be improved by a small chant before walking in?
- Whose joyful chanting around Him have I been missing because I focused on solo arrivals?
A village ringed by its herds is a village ringed by Lakṣmī — and when Kṛṣṇa walks back into Vraja surrounded by singing friends, He is the centre of His own maṇḍala, the way the sun is the centre of its corona. The cows, the boys, the chant are not background; they are the inner ornaments of Bhagavān's entry.
My note
Source: vedabase.io