Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.24.35
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anyatamam
—
an unprecedented, separate
From anya + tama — 'one of another sort altogether.' Kṛṣṇa assumes a form distinct from His ordinary boyish form. Gauḍīya teaching: Bhagavān has innumerable forms; the Govardhana-rūpa is one of His direct manifestations, not a metaphor.
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gopa - viśrambhaṇam
—
for inspiring the trust of the cowherds
Compound: gopa (cowherd) + viśrambhaṇa (inspiring trust). Viśrambha is the technical Gauḍīya word for the intimate trust at the heart of vātsalya and sakhya rasa. The Lord assumes this form specifically to deepen vraja-viśvāsa.
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śailaḥ-asmi
—
I am the mountain
Śailaḥ (mountain) + asmi (I am). Bhagavān's direct first-person declaration: I am Govardhana. Gauḍīya doctrine: Govardhana is a hari-dāsa-varya (Caitanya's word) and at the same time non-different from Hari Himself — acintya-bhedābheda manifest in a single phrase.
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bhūri - balim
—
the abundant offering
Compound: bhūri (abundant) + bali (offering). The whole annakūṭa of verse 26 lands in this word. Bhagavān as Govardhana consumes everything — the mountain of food is matched by the mountain that eats.
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bṛhat - vapuḥ
—
huge body
Compound: bṛhat (huge) + vapus (body). The form is colossal — but it is still a vapus, a personal body. Gauḍīya weight: Bhagavān is never formless; even the mountain-form is a sa-vigraha manifestation. Personalism even at cosmic scale.
In Chapter Twenty-four of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “When everything was complete, Kṛṣṇa assumed a great transcendental form and declared to the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana that He was Himself Govardhana Hill in order to convince the devotees that Govardhana Hill and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical. Then Kṛṣṇa began to eat all the food offered there. The identity of Kṛṣṇa and Govardhana Hill is still honored, and great devotees take rocks from Govardhana Hill and worship them exactly as they worship the Deity of Kṛṣṇa in the temples. The followers of the Krsna consciousness movement may therefore collect small rocks or pebbles from Govardhana Hill and worship them at home, because this worship is as good as Deity worship.” Lord Kṛṣṇa had induced the residents of Vṛndāvana to assume a significant risk on His behalf. He convinced them to neglect a sacrifice to what is, after all, the powerful government of the universe and to worship a hill called Govardhana instead. The cowherd community did all this simply out of love for Kṛṣṇa, and now to convince them that their decision was correct, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared in an unprecedented, huge transcendental form and demonstrated that He Himself was Govardhana Hill.
In order to show the superiority of the sacrifice instituted by himself, and increase the faith of all those present, Krsna assumed the form of the deity of the hill. He assumed a form with all senses (rupam) which was like a second mountain resting on top of govardhana (anyatama). By this act, the cowherd men had faith that Krsna was identical to govardhama (gopa visrambhanam). "I am the lord of this place. Being pleased with your devotion, I have appeared. Please ask for anything you desire." Saying this he then accepted the offerings (bali), whether from far or near, offered by the inhabitants living in Nanda gram indirectly through meditation, or by those present at Govardhana directly, from as far off as hundred of thousands of meters away, using long hands. Giving bliss to all present, he ate the food.
Instilling their complete faith by showing the great superiority of this sacrifice over the Indra sacrifice, giving joy to the cowherds and Govardhana, the best of his servants who accepted the offerings, using Govardhana as a pretext, by appearing on the top of Govardhana, he directly enjoyed the offerings after they were offered. The word tu indicates a new topic. The form is called most exceptional (anyatamam) since it took on many forms. This form took on many forms unseen by the cowherds in order to accomplish all actions and satisfy all the cowherds. It was also outstanding because of its size (bṛhad-vapuḥ). Thus this form was able to eat all of the many (bhūri) offerings. Kṛṣṇa ate with greed because of desire for the prema of the people of Gokula. Hari-vaṁśa says: taṁ gopāḥ parvatākāraṁ divya-srag-anulepanam giri-murdhini sthitaṁ dṛṣtvā hṛsṭā jagmuḥ pradhānataḥ Seeing the form of the mountain decorated with brilliant garlands and sandalwood on top of the mountain, the cowherds in joy approached it.
- Which sacred place in my devotional life have I been honoring as merely symbolic when it is actually Him?
- What would change if I treated that place as His direct form?
A king who has invited the village to his palace one day appears in his royal robes at the very gate his subjects expected to find empty — and reaches out and eats the village's offering with his own hands. Kṛṣṇa, having engineered the entire yajña, now manifests as Govardhana Himself and eats. The hill is the Lord; the offering reaches its addressee directly, in plain sight.
When Arjuna asked to see, Kṛṣṇa showed him a form vast enough to contain all the worlds (BG 11). The viśvarūpa was for Arjuna's faith; Govardhana's huge form is for the cowherds' viśrambha (trust).
The pattern is identical: Bhagavān expands into an enormous form precisely where His intimate devotees need their love anchored to His sovereignty. Vraja never doubts His sweetness; here it learns to trust His might.
My note
Source: vedabase.io