Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.90.45
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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pramāṇam
—
the authority, the standard
From pra + √mā — to measure. Hari is pramāṇa — the measure of right and wrong. Vedānta-vocabulary: śāstra is pramāṇa, guru is pramāṇa; here Bhagavān Himself is pramāṇa, source of all measures.
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anuvartinaḥ
—
those who followed Him
From anu + √vṛt — to follow, obey. Anuvartana is bhakti's behavior — to follow the Lord's path. Gauḍīyas: anugatya — being subordinate, following — is the structure of all sevā. Verse 90.45 names anuvartinaḥ as the flourishing ones.
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vavṛdhuḥ
—
they flourished
Perfect of √vṛdh — to grow. Vaiṣṇava growth is theological — bhakti grows the bhakta in every dimension. Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.7.84: kṛṣṇa-bhakti śīghra-pradāyī — the followers of Hari grow rapidly toward His goal.
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bhagavān
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
From bhaga — fullness, opulence, glory. Six bhagas (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.74) define bhagavān: full power, fame, wealth, beauty, knowledge, renunciation. Gauḍīyas: bhagavān is the highest of three realizations (brahman, paramātmā, bhagavān).
Those who were his eternal associates (anuvartinah), all in the form of Yadavas, increased the numbers of Yadus. The Lord alone could count their number because of their numbers, because such counting was beyond the abilities of Brahma and others.
Only the Lord knows how many eternal associates were present. Their number was even greater than those who were not eternal associates. All the Yādavas who were eternal associates of the Lord increased unlimitedly in powers and wealth. Only the Lord could bear witness to the amount of powers they had. Others could not. It was beyond the intelligence of Brahmā what to speak of the devatās. Hari-vaṁśa says devānāṁ ca hitārthāya vayaṁ yātā manuṣyatām: to help the devatās we came as humans. The Lord (hariḥ) has the power to bring everyone—eternal associates and others—together since he is endowed with his six qualities (bhagavān). That is the significance of hariḥ and bhagavān in this verse.
The unlimited number has been stated. Now their special glory is described in two verses. The Lord was the proof—that which produces faith--or the eternal goal for the unlimited Yadus, by his powers (prabhutvena). He was their power, since he manifested unlimited powers (bhagavān) and destroyed all faults and sorrow (hariḥ). But all the Yadus, dedicated to service in prema (anuvarinaḥ), increased in qualities and form etc. more than all others. Or their unlimited numbers though impossible because of the extraordinary power, should be believed. The Lord alone and no one else was the witness with his power, correct behavior etc. People cannot believe in the most extraordinary events. But they should believe. All the Yadus increased more than all others, since they were the Lord’s devotees (anuvartinaḥ).
- Where do I let intimacy with God blur the line of His authority?
- How could renewed reverence deepen rather than distance my closeness?
All the Yādavas accepted Hari as their ultimate authority — and His intimate associates among them especially flourished. Proximity to Bhagavān, lived as discipleship, is the engine of vṛddhi. Bhakti is not invisibly fertile; it makes its line grow.
In SB 10.57, Akrūra — one of Kṛṣṇa's most senior Yādava associates — went into exile during the Syamantaka-jewel controversy, and the kingdom was struck by drought. When Kṛṣṇa called him back, rains returned. The land followed the devotee's presence.
Verse 90.45's claim — 'those who were His intimate associates especially flourished' — finds concrete narrative weight here. Gauḍīyas: a devotee is a center of prosperity for the surrounding region; Vaiṣṇava-saṅga is materially fertile and spiritually decisive.
My note
Source: vedabase.io