Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.18.3
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhagavān
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Bhagavān = possessor of the six opulences in full. The verse uses this title precisely where He looks least bhagavān — barefoot, in a forest, with a flute — to insist that the disguise does not reduce the Person.
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sākṣāt
—
personally
Indeclinable: directly, in person. The Bhāgavatam keeps inserting sākṣāt during Vraja-līlā to refuse any reading that Kṛṣṇa here is only a partial expansion or symbol. Gauḍīyas read sākṣāt as the doctrinal anchor for svayaṁ-bhagavān.
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vṛndāvana-guṇaiḥ
—
by the qualities of Vṛndāvana
Vṛndāvana is not inert real estate — it has guṇas, transcendental qualities. Gauḍīyas regard the dhāma itself as cit-śakti, a person, the wife of Govinda whose mood pervades every leaf.
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vasantaḥ-iva
—
as if spring
Vasanta (spring) is Kṛṣṇa's preferred ṛtu (in Gītā 10.35 He says ṛtūnāṁ kusumākaraḥ — among seasons I am the flowering one). Where He stays, His own season manifests through whatever season is technically in force.
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keśavaḥ
—
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
He of beautiful hair; or, by Gauḍīya parsing, ka (Brahmā) + īśa (Śiva) + va (master) — the Lord of both. The name is chosen here to underline that summer-becoming-spring is not an aesthetic effect but the sovereignty of Keśava.
Summer however (ca) was like spring because of the qualities of Vṛndāvana. By contact with Vṛndāvana with eternal spring, it took on the qualities of spring. That is the power of Vṛndāvana. Because of its nature, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma stayed there. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says: tasmāt tvayāiṣa duṣṭātmā hataḥ keśī janārdana Tasmāt keśava-nāmā tvaṁ loke geyo bhaviṣyasi O Janārdana! Because Keśī was killed by you, you will be glorified as Keśava in the world. Bhagavān, full of all qualities, eternally plays there (aste). The present tense is used to indicate that Kṛṣṇa makes his appearance to the individual there even now.
Ca means however. Keśava means he who makes Brahmā (ka), Viṣṇu (a), and Śiva (īśa) manifest, or he who has Brahmā and Śiva as servants. Thus it refers to Kṛṣṇa who reveals his powers as Bhagavān. Another meaning is found in Viṣṇu Purāṇa: tasmāt tvayāiṣa duṣṭātmā hataḥ keśī janārdana tasmāt keśava-nāmā tvaṁ loke geyo bhaviṣyasi O Janārdana! Because Keśī was killed by you, you will be glorified as Keśava in the world. Thus Keśava means the killer of Keśī, Kṛṣṇa, who revealed powers and sweetness in Vṛndāvana. In that place Kṛṣṇa remains (āste) manifested (sākṣāt) with Balarāma, who gives him great pleasure (rāmena saha). Balarāma was most helpful, assisting him in the pastimes (saha).
- How might Kṛṣṇa's residence in my heart be rewriting a season I have been calling difficult?
- Where could I let His presence override the calendar?
Where Kṛṣṇa stays, the calendar negotiates with Him. Summer in Vraja behaves like spring the way iron behaves like fire when the fire enters it — not by abolishing its own nature but by borrowing the qualities of what dwells inside it.
My note
Source: vedabase.io