FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.17.20

తాం రాత్రిం తత్ర రాజేన్ద్ర క్షుత్తృడ్భ్యాం శ్రమకర్షితా: । ఊషుర్వ్రయౌకసో గావ: కాలిన్ద్యా ఉపకూలత: ॥ ౨౦ ॥
tāṁ rātriṁ tatra rājendra
[taam raatrim tatra raajendra]
kṣut-tṛḍbhyāṁ śrama-karṣitāḥ
[kshut-tridbhyaam shrama-karshitaah]
ūṣur vrayaukaso gāvaḥ
[ooshur vrayaukaso gaavah]
kālindyā upakūlataḥ
[kaalindyaa upakoolatah]
tām — that rātrim — night tatra — there rāja - indra — O most exalted of kings kṣut - tṛḍbhyām — by hunger and thirst śrama — and by fatigue karṣitāḥ — weakened ūṣuḥ — they remained vraja - okasaḥ — the people of Vṛndāvana gāvaḥ — and the cows kālindyāḥ — of the Yamunā upakūlataḥ — near the shore .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tāṁ rātriṁ tatra rājendra
tām
that
rātrim
night
tatra
there
rāja - indra
O most exalted of kings
kṣut-tṛḍbhyāṁ śrama-karṣitāḥ
kṣut - tṛḍbhyām
by hunger and thirst
śrama
and by fatigue
karṣitāḥ
weakened
ūṣur vrayaukaso gāvaḥ
ūṣuḥ
they remained
vraja - okasaḥ
the people of Vṛndāvana
gāvaḥ
and the cows
kālindyā upakūlataḥ
kālindyāḥ
of the Yamunā
upakūlataḥ
near the shore .
  • vraja-okasaḥ — the residents of Vraja
    Compound: vraja (the pastoral settlement) + okas (dweller). The technical name the Bhāgavatam uses for Kṛṣṇa's intimates in this canto. Gauḍīyas hold vraja-okasāḥ as the topmost category of devotees — those who live where Kṛṣṇa lives, in the bhāva of His native land.
  • kṣut-tṛḍbhyām — by hunger and thirst
    Dual instrumental of kṣudh (hunger) + tṛṣ (thirst). Real bodily lack. The Bhāgavatam never sentimentalizes Vraja into a pain-free realm; the bodies that love Kṛṣṇa hunger and thirst. The love does not abolish need; it sanctifies it.
  • śrama-karṣitāḥ — wasted by fatigue
    Compound: śrama (labor, exhaustion) + karṣita (drawn down, wasted). The same śrama Yaśodā exhibits at the churn in SB 10.9 — Vraja loves through bodily labor, even when the labor is just waiting for Kṛṣṇa to come home.
  • kālindyāḥ-upakūlataḥ — near the bank of the Yamunā
    Genitive of Kālindī + adverb upakūlataḥ (close to the shore). They sleep where Kṛṣṇa just emerged. Place is sacrament in Vraja — to sleep on the bank where the Lord has stepped is itself a form of darśana.
O best of kings [Parīkṣit], because the residents of Vṛndāvana were feeling very weak from hunger, thirst and fatigue, they and the cows spent the night where they were, lying down near the bank of the Kālindī.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out that although the people were weak from hunger and thirst, they did not drink the milk from the cows present there because they feared it had been contaminated by the serpent’s poison. The residents of Vṛndāvana were so overjoyed to get back their beloved Kṛṣṇa that they did not want to go back to their houses. They wanted to stay with Kṛṣṇa on the bank of the Yamunā so that they could continuously see Him. Thus they decided to take rest near the riverbank.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O best of kings [Parīkṣit], because the residents of Vṛndāvana were feeling very weak from hunger, thirst and fatigue, they and the cows spent the night where they were, lying down near the bank of the Kālindī.
Commentary

Looking at Krsna without even blinking their eyes, they said "Let us rest here tonight. Though by good fortune Kaliya has gone, if he comes back to take revenge we can all fight him together with clubs." With the desire to keep Krsna in their sight, the inhabitants of Vraja situated themselves at another place on the bank of the Yamuna, (upakulatah) for fear of the poison and water in Kaliya’s lake, and where there would not be the possibility of being surrounded by fire.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

After this another amazing pastime occurred. The day passed with Kṛṣṇa subduing Kāliya and then meeting with the people of Vraja. They spent that night (tām rātrim), which followed that day, or which was filled with great bliss, at that place where they met Kṛṣṇa. The reason is given. They were hungry and thirsty, and exhausted from crying. Or, they became weak from fatigue due to hunger and thirst. Though the cows were also present, they were weak with hunger. The inhabitants did not give the cow milk to Kṛṣṇa because of fear that it was contaminated with poison. Therefore they also could not take the milk. Fearing the poison they avoided staying near the water of the lake. Thus they went to a place nearby (upakūlataḥ). If they had been on the bank of the river, the forest fire could not surround them on all sides as it later did.

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses

The Vraja-vāsīs are too spent to walk home; they sleep on the Yamunā's bank with their cows. This is the picture of perfect dependence: those whose strength is Kṛṣṇa do not need their own. Where He has just been, the ground itself becomes a bed; the river-bank becomes a household. The body's exhaustion is no obstacle when Bhagavān is the rest.

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