SB 10.19.4 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.19.4

तृणैस्तत्खुरदच्छिन्नैर्गोष्पदैरङ्कितैर्गवाम् । मार्गमन्वगमन् सर्वे नष्टाजीव्या विचेतस: ॥ ४ ॥

tṛṇais tat-khura-dac-chinnair

[trinais tat-khura-dach-chinnair]

goṣ-padair aṅkitair gavām

[gosh-padair ankitair gavaam]

mārgam anvagaman sarve

[maargam anvagaman sarve]

naṣṭājīvyā vicetasaḥ

[nashtaajeevyaa vichetasah]

Word-for-word

tṛṇaiḥ — by the blades of grass tat — of those cows khura — by the hooves dat — and the teeth chinnaiḥ — which were broken goḥ - padaiḥ — with the hoofprints aṅkitaiḥ — (by places in the ground) which were marked gavām — of the cows mārgam — the path anvagaman — they followed sarve — all of them naṣṭa - ājīvyāḥ — having lost their livelihood vicetasaḥ — in anxiety .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

tṛṇais tat-khura-dac-chinnair

tṛṇaiḥ

by the blades of grass

tat

of those cows

khura

by the hooves

dat

and the teeth

chinnaiḥ

which were broken

goṣ-padair aṅkitair gavām

goḥ - padaiḥ

with the hoofprints

aṅkitaiḥ

(by places in the ground) which were marked

gavām

of the cows

mārgam anvagaman sarve

mārgam

the path

anvagaman

they followed

sarve

all of them

naṣṭājīvyā vicetasaḥ

naṣṭa - ājīvyāḥ

having lost their livelihood

vicetasaḥ

in anxiety .

Important Words

khura — by the hooves
The cow's footprint — and in broader Vaiṣṇava theology a recurrent emblem (the dust of Vraja, the dust of cows, go-rajaḥ). Even the marks made by the cows of Vraja are precious; the boys read them as a sādhaka reads scripture.
anvagaman — they followed
Imperfect of anu-√gam. The whole Vaiṣṇava path is anugamana — following — never claiming origination. The boys' search is a sakhya-form of the same following devotees do behind the Lord and His associates.
naṣṭa-ājīvyāḥ — having lost their livelihood
Compound: naṣṭa (lost) + ājīvya (means of living). The cows are not pets; they are wealth, food, family, dharma. The boys' anxiety is not sentimental — it is the anxiety of a community whose entire economy is the gift of the cow.
vicetasaḥ — in anxiety, scattered in mind
From vi + cetas — mind pulled apart. A Vraja-shade of the same word the Gītā uses for the bewildered. Even the eternal sakhās of Kṛṣṇa enter such a state — by His arrangement — so that His rescue may be tasted.

Then the boys began tracing out the cows’ path by noting their hoofprints and the blades of grass the cows had broken with their hooves and teeth. All the cowherd boys were in great anxiety because they had lost their source of livelihood.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Then the boys began tracing out the cows' path by noting their hoofprints and the blades of grass the cows had broken with their hooves and teeth. All the cowherd boys were in great anxiety because they had lost their source of livelihood.

Commentary

They followed the path of the cows, the means of their livelihood, by their hoofprints and the grass torn by their hooves and teeth.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

They followed the path used by the cows (gos-padaiḥ) since it was marked by their hooves. According to Śabda-smṛti the word gospada means a cow path, whether in use or not.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Because of the nature of the pastime they attained a state of feeling they had lost their livelihood. They were like people who had lost their livelihood and became bewildered. Or they became clear headed, not losing their livelihood (anastājīvyāḥ) since the foot marks were imprinted on the sand.

Related values & verses

Concepts

Jiva

Personal Guidance

The boys trace the cows by hoofprints and broken grass — anxious because livelihood is lost. Recovery is detail work — following the actual signs of what wandered, not generic worrying.

Reflection Questions

What concrete 'hoofprints' could I follow today to find what I have lost track of?
Where is anxiety paralyzing the careful tracking that would actually solve the problem?

Analogy

The boys read the cows' path by hoofprints and bitten blades of grass — sakhya translated into forensic tenderness. Devotion has the same shape: when the Lord seems out of sight, the devotee traces His passage through the small marks He has left in scripture, in saintly biography, in the structure of one's own days.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io