Bhagavatam tenth canto study 20 -10.3.47-53 Just as the ocean gave way to Rama, Yamuna gave way to Krishna

Shrimad Bhagavatam, canto 10, chapter 3, entitled The Birth of Lord Krishna, text 37 onwards. So here Krishna, Vasudev and Devaki, their conversation has ended.
Krishna has assured Vasudev and Devaki that that he is himself God and they have had a multi-life connection with each other and that higher plan is going to be enacted in their lives now also. So they need not fear. But obliging to their request, Krishna has now unmanifested his four-handed Vishnu form and has re-manifested in his Shishu, his child’s form.
Text 47. tatascha saurir bhagwat prachoditah sūtaṁ samādhāya ca sati kāgruhāt yadā bahir gantum īyeśa taryājā yā yogamāyā janinanda jāyayā tatascha saurir saurir is the descendants of the dynasty, bhagwat prachoditah he was inspired by bhagwan, prachoditah the supreme Lord sūtaṁ samādhāya ca sati kāgruhāt sūtaṁ samādhāya, he picked up his child carefully, it’s a baby, the babies have to be handled with extreme care he picked up the baby very carefully sati kāgruhāt, from the maternity room where Devaki had given birth to a child yadā bahir gantum īyeśa taryājā yadā bahir gantum, he started out immediately īyeśa taryājā now how may he start out like that, aren’t all the guards over there, won’t they stop him yes but there is some higher plan going on and whenever anything big we try to do in life and that big thing works out right how does it work out right like that we will notice that there are many factors beyond our control that fall in place, say even if we consider something which is very visible in today’s culture and as in the cultural imagination, say sports some team or some players say in sports like cricket may bat superlatively well but for that player to lead the team to victory many other things have to fall in place, even if one batsman bats superlatively well the other batsman need to support, rain shouldn’t come, the other ballers the other team should not have a superlative baller who will just clean up the other batsman there has to be, this batsman may bat superlatively but he shouldn’t have an injury whenever we do anything right there are so many factors which are beyond our control which also need to come right, that doesn’t mean everything is easy we may have to put in efforts to get them to come right also, our effort is not to be denied but our effort alone is not to be considered the sole factor, so here when Krishna inspired Vasudev Bhagwat Prachoditaha, so at that time it was not just that one factor that led to the success of Vasudev’s mission, Krishna had inspired Vasudev from within the heart and that same Krishna arranged for other things to be aligned in place, so at the same time that Krishna had appeared here, by the arrangement of Yogamaya Vishwodamayi in Vrindavan, in Gokula, she gave birth to a baby girl, now what the connection between these two events is, that will be described in the future narrative it’s interesting that here the word Bhagwat Prachoditaha is there Krishna does not give an exact plan to Vasudev about what all he should do and how he should protect Krishna, Krishna Krishna simply says okay you want me to become a child, I’ll become a child, then Vasudev plans his way about how to protect, sometimes for us how to serve Krishna, we may get a clear plan a prototype, blueprint, do this, do A, do B, do C, do D and things will grow, but sometimes things may not happen like that, and in that case we need to have some inspiration ourselves and we need to be able to share that inspiration with others otherwise people will stop coming, stop practising start staying away from the temple, so the point is every one of us we cannot live without expectations, but we can live without bondage to our expectations that this has to work out this way and if it can’t work out this way maybe now I’m a very sinful person from the past, I don’t know it just it may be, it may not be, but the point is how do we how does that knowledge really help us to deal with our present situation so we focus on understanding that if we want success we need to primarily focus on doing our part and let others take care of the let and pray and hope that by the higher arrangement other things will fall in place of course to our capacity we may have to take care of other things also but that is largely secondary so here how a larger plan was working out is being mentioned that Nand Jaya, so Nand Maharaj’s wife she also had a child so now it takes 48 onwards so how the adventurous journey of Vasudev with Krishna across the ocean, across from Mathura to Vrindavan unfolds that is being described over here and in this particular text it is said that Taya, it refers to that same yoga maya which had which had caused the appearance of a girl, a daughter to Yashoda Taya rtprataya sarva vrttishu rtprataya so pratyahara we say the senses we do not give any food to them rtprataya means the senses became devoid of life sarva vrttishu all the natural activities, so the Indians became unconscious, the gods paureshwapishayiteshvata so the paureshwapishayiteshvata those who lived in the pura, in the abode, in the house shayiteshvata, they all went to sleep dvarasth sarva pita durataya and although all the doors to the house were very hard and very difficult to break down bruhat kapatas so they were huge doors sometimes small door is there, we can just push in use our force to break it but aayesakil shrinkhalai but they were these doors were so strong, they were constructed with iron bolts and iron chains and but they all opened up the doorman fell asleep, the doors opened so that which was like a prison that was unbreakable through that, he broke through tahakrishna vahe vasudevagate tahakrishna vahe he took krishna vasudevagate vasudev appeared swayamyavaryantayatha tamorave swayamyavartanta so he was completely alert, his eyes were wide open alertly taking in all the situations around him tamorave so tamo, in the darkness it was, he was trying to move carefully and when he moved, actually speaking it appeared as if the sun was moving because the supreme sun was in his hands he was carrying the supreme sun Vishnu and what happened? vavarshe parjanya upam shugarjitaha vavarshe parjanya actually speaking vavarshe parjanya rain started happening upam shugarjitaha garjita mild thunderbolt, thunderbolt was there but not loud and then shesho anvagadvari nivaryanfanai shesho anvagad so anantashe appeared over there he followed behind vasudev and nivaryanfanai and he stopped the rains from making krishna wet so the idea is that when vasudev started out he had no idea that there would be any kind of divine protection for him it was just going into the night and it was a great danger but he knew that the danger of staying in the abode of kamsa was greater because in that abode they would be courting death immediately so when we do what we can krishna empowers us to do what we cant or krishna takes care of the things that we cant take care of so the rains started and thus shesho now whose actions happened by his own plan by the lord’s plan which vasudev couldnt even have predicted that also fell in place and thus he started moving towards the destination what was the destination that was vrindavan maghoni varshitya sakrut yamana yamanyuja gambhirat toya ghajavur mifenila bhayanakav varta shatakuli nadi margam dadau sinduriva shri apate so maghoni varshitya so maghoni refers to indra indra was showering heavy rains asakrut yamanuja so yamanuja yama anuja yama is the yamraj anuja is his sister yamuna bhayanakavarta shatakuli nadi so what happened was that it became a huge deep river and with giant waves from bhayanakavarta the whirling waves were dangerous shatakuli nadi and the whole river was agitated but margam dadau sinduriva shri apate but margam dadau that it actually gave a part to krishna sinduriva shri apate shri apate is the lord of the goddess of fortune so here the example is given that when ram had to go across the ocean at that time the ocean gave him a way similarly when krishna has to go across the ocean here also krishna gave him the way and when the sorry yamuna gave him the way and when yamuna gave him the way like this the whole idea is that he moved forward so scripture often contains comparisons which refer to other scripture incidents and the whole idea is that the bhagavatam assumes or the occurrence of ramayan of course the bhagavatam 9th canto has already described ramlila briefly and shukadeva goswami has said that you are already familiar with it he is focussing on krishna lila so mahabharata also signifies an awareness of the awareness of the ramayan so the idea is that whenever devotees remember krishna or when the devotees are glorifying krishna they see remembrance or absorption is largely a matter of connection so when we hear one thing and that triggers our thoughts about other things then one thought, second thought, third thought, fourth thought and we become absorbed so absorption is largely a function of connection while we are hearing one pastime if we can connect that pastime with another pastime then that leads to much greater absorption in krishna and that’s what happened over here margau dadau sindhu river shiriya pate shiriya pate just as shiriya pate can refer to any manifestation of the lord because all manifestations of the lord are the lord of the goddess of fortune but here shriya specifically refers to lord ram now there are some similarities and some differences in this situation ram, the distance we had to cover to go to lanka was much larger than what to go to vrindavan across the jamuna secondly ram had a huge army with him and although the ocean gave the way it was ram also the manadas built a bridge so the ocean gave the way means margau dadau, it was rather that the ocean ensured that the bridge that was built the bridge did not sink the stones that were used to build the bridge the stones did not go down into the water so in that sense the ocean gave the way to ram in this case it’s not an ocean or a sea it’s a river over here but the river gave the way the river parted rasudev did not have the resources nor did he do it he did not try to build a bridge he just walked across the ocean then also when ram was going across the ocean there were enemies across the ocean to the other side whom he had to fight and he had a treasure that is his consort sita whom he had to regain whereas in the case of rasudev his enemies were on this side of the river kamsa was there and he had a treasure already with him and the treasure that was krishna baby krishna and krishna was not to be recovered but krishna was to be delivered he had to carry krishna and place him across and further ram’s mission he walked across the bridge most of the time the bridge construction took time it was a visible activity which happened in the day time whereas rasudev crossed across the ocean at night time moreover it is described that the sea cooperated at that time there were no major stormy waves or anything like that at that time but here the weather was inclement and there was storm but amidst the storm the river gave away so if the river did not give the way ram would not rasudev would not have been able to go but the river gave the way there is the idea of river parting to give a way across this is there in other literature also when moses is taking the people to the promised land at that time they are being pursued by the egyptians whose slaves moses and his people are and they want to recover their slaves they want to capture them again but when they can’t at that time but when they are very close to capturing they come to the river and then the red sea parts and they enter and they cross the water body and after they cross the water body when the soldiers who are on horseback and have weapons they try to cross then the river joins again and the water body joins again and they all drown so in this way they are protected so the point here is that there are factors like natural force which are beyond human power but they are under divine power and by that divine power these miracles happen so this is of course entirely different topic but miracles are not against science they are above science why above science because science study is the working of natural phenomena whereas miracles are supernatural phenomena that we accept that there is a particular normal way in which nature functions there are laws of nature but in exceptional situations the lord of nature arranges to intervene and then the laws of nature get normally suspended so water flows water does not part the water whenever it is there usually it is a continuous and steady flow but here water parted this is a miracle that happened by Krishna’s arrangement so that Vasudev was trying to do a heroic service for him Vasudev would be protected Vasudev would be able to do his service 10.3.51 10.3.51 so in this way after crossing the Yamuna river Vasudev came to now he is referred to by the word Shauri he is also doing a very heroic activity he is acting in a very heroic way 10.3.51 when he got there at that time Gopān prasuddhān upalabhya nidrayā. All the Gopas had fallen asleep.
Nidrayā. And understanding that they were all asleep, Sūtam Yaśodāśayane nidhāyayāt. He placed his child on the bed in which Yaśodā was lying with her child.
And then what he did, he took her child from there. Sūtam upādāya punar gṛhānagāt. And he picked up her daughter and came back.
So the Lord works in mysterious ways. And often how mysterious His ways are, sometimes devotion and devotees, their explanations, they demystify the complicated situations. What exactly is happening? Why did they do like this? Why did that happen? On the other hand, sometimes we need to mystify things.
Sometimes if you think that something is very simple, then if we hear the ācārya’s commentaries, there are so many layers. Sometimes we hear one verse and think it’s a straightforward verse. But in the ācārya they explain the verse and they find out there are so many layers and levels of meaning in this.
I never knew that. This is astonishing. So we can actually relish scripture at multiple levels.
Sometimes that which seems ordinary, the ācārya’s expositions can mystify that. And sometimes that which seems very complicated, ācārya’s explanations can demystify that. So in this case, at one level, the Bhāgavatam narrative seems to be straightforward that there was a boy who was kept and there was a girl who was taken.
But Goswamis explain and they quote certain sections of the Bhāgavatam as well as certain other ācāryas, and they explain based on that, that actually Krishna appeared in two forms. So Krishna appeared as Vasudeva Krishna to Vasudeva and Krishna appeared as you could say Vrindavan Krishna to Yashodamayi. So Yashodamayi basically had two children.
But by the arrangement of Yoga Maya, after she had the child, she had those children. She was so exhausted that she fell fast asleep. And those who were there with her, helping her in the delivery, they also fell asleep.
And not only they fell asleep, their memory was like an amnesia, memory gets wiped out. So they forgot about it. And when Vasudeva brought Krishna with him, so Vasudeva Krishna and Vrindavan Krishna united together.
And then Vasudeva took the girl and departed. So Vasudeva also did not notice that there were two children over there. He thought there was just one child.
And that one child, so he replaced one child with another child. That’s what he thought. So the ācāryas explains the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition is very Vrindavan centred.
Because Vrindavan is the abode where the highest manifestation of love is taking place. And in that highest manifestation of love, actually speaking, there is just, there is no Aishwarya Siddhi Labrem. There is no awareness of Krishna’s, no prominent awareness of Krishna’s greatness.
There is simply the reciprocation of love based on Krishna’s sweetness. And this mood of Raja is not found anywhere else, even in the spiritual world. Therefore, the important point is that we all need to recognise that Krishna is so sweet and so, that Krishna’s sweetness in Goloka is unparalleled anywhere else.
So the Goswamis, Shraddhan Mahaprabhu especially has come to establish the Vraja mood. And how the Vraja mood is distinctive, superlative among the moods of all the other Vaikuntha planets also, that is stressed by the Gaudiya ācāryas. And when we say stressed, it means that which is hidden in scripture, that is revealed.
So the scriptural revelation often is a progressive revelation, that the deeper imports of scripture are revealed by the Lord’s plan at a particular time, at particular times and by His particular representatives. So the, as a famous Vaishnava poet has said that, यदि गोड़ा ना हैते तब का हैते, तो लोड़ चेतने महाप्रवाद ना अपियर, then how would we have known the summit of love for Krishna as is manifested by Radharani. So many of the glories of Vrindavan, culminating the glories of Radharani’s love for Krishna, they are mentioned in scripture but they are hidden, they are revealed by the Gaudiya Vaishnava ācāryas based on the Lord’s plan, which they implement using their beautiful writings and using their profound erudition.
So, Jiva Goswami gives many scriptural references which are pointers towards the reality that actually Krishna had, that there were, that Yashoda had two children and these two Krishnas. So the idea is that Vrindavan Krishna is simply Rasarāja Krishna. He doesn’t raise weapons, he doesn’t fight to kill, he doesn’t use weapons to kill demons.
Even everything that he has done is actually Bala, Kridha and Kamiva. It’s just like a play, even when dangerous demons come and those dangerous demons threaten to kill, Krishna just effortlessly kills them. There is no really tough challenge, tough fight that happens.
So this mood of Raja is manifested only in Raja. And also it is said that Vrindavan parittaja, that Krishna never leaves padam ekam na gacchati. Krishna never takes even one step out of Vrindavan.
So if Krishna is born out of Vrindavan, then he is already out of Vrindavan. So that scriptural statement is true because Vrindavan Krishna is not born outside Vrindavan. He is born in Vrindavan and he stays in Vrindavan.
It is Vasudeva Krishna who is born in Mathura and it is Vasudeva Krishna who leaves Vrindavan to go to Mathura. When Akrura comes, as we described in the 14th chapter of the 10th canto, when Akrura comes and he takes Krishna, at that time when Krishna takes a bath in the Yamuna, at that time, it is Vrindavan Krishna who goes in to take the bath and it is Vasudeva Krishna who comes out. And Vasudeva Krishna goes on to Mathura where Vrindavan Krishna stays as an unmanifest presence in Vrindavan.
So devotees in his absence also feel his presence. And that’s because Krishna is present as Vrindavan Krishna over there although he is not manifest. These are the esoteric mysteries of the 10th canto of Krishna Leela that are revealed by the Acharya’s commentaries.
Text 52 देवक्याशायनेन्यस्य वसुदेव अथदारिकाम् प्रतिमुच्य पदोर्लोहम् आस्ते पूर्ववद आवृतः देवक्याशायनेन्यस्य So Devaki lying on her bed, she was also asleep. वसुदेव अथदारिकाम् So the girl who was born, he actually brought her प्रतिमुच्य पदोर्लोहम् Now he had been shackled with iron shackles but those shackles had just fallen apart. They had released him for Krishna’s plan to go to Vrindavan.
But now that plan was over, he came back and he acted as if nothing has happened. प्रतिमुच्य पदोर्लोहम् He tied himself again with those shackles. आस्ते पूर्ववद आवृतः And he remained as if in the previous condition, as if he were bound.
So when nothing seemed to have happened to Kamsa, a lot had happened. In appearance, Vasudev came back and everything appeared to be just the way it had been earlier. But it was entirely different.
Krishna had come and Krishna had gone. Take 53 then. यशोधानन्दपत्नीच जातं परमद्भुत्यत् नतल्निंगं परिश्रान्ता निद्रयापगत्स्मुतिः निद्रयापगत्स्मुतिः So when she had gone to sleep and when she woke up during her sleep by the arrangement of the Lord, she was so exhausted after her pregnancy, after her delivery that शी परिश्रान्ता, she was exhausted and she went into deep sleep that नतल्निंगं परिश्रान्ता निद्रयापगत्स्मुतिः She did not remember what was the gender of the child.
So जातं परमद्भुत्यत् यशोधानन्दपत्नीच So what kind of child was born to her, she forgot. परमद्भुत्यत् यशोधानन्दपत्नीच She could not understand, she forgot actually. Sometimes remembrance is wondrous and sometimes forgetfulness is wondrous.
Sometimes you have some people who have such phenomenal memory that they can quote this verse from here, they can quote this fact from there, they can quote this from there. And it’s amazing how much memory they have. So you can say it’s wonderful to see such memory.
But sometimes forgetfulness can also be wonderful to see. Wonderful not in a pleasant sense, but in an amazing sense. Sometimes when people get amnesia, they wake up from an unconscious stage of sleep and then, who am I? Who am I? And they are not asking that in a philosophical sense, they are asking in a practical sense, what is my name? What is my identity? Now we may forget many things, but to forget our very identity, forget our very name, that is very alarming.
And in a sense, it’s astonishing. So, mattah smritir jnanam apohanam ca, we can understand how memory which is such a fundamental resource for us to function in our daily life, without which we can’t even do basic things, we can’t even know our own name, which is a resource that we take so much for granted, how actually that resource is not in our hands. How that resource is actually a gift from Krishna.
Sometimes Krishna can give us remembrance that can be astonishing and Krishna sometimes can give us forgetfulness that can be astonishing. So, rather than getting, rather than become proud when we get remembrance and rather than getting frustrated when we get forgetfulness, we can strive to be conscious of Krishna in both. And then we will see Krishna as wonderful.
Krishna, if you want, you can empower me with such memory, how wonderful you are. And Krishna, if you want, you know, you can disempower me with such forgetfulness so that I become humble, so that I remember that I can’t do anything without you. So here, normally for a mother to have born a child in her womb for a long time and then to have the child born, we may think how can a mother forget the gender of the child.
But such is the wonderful forgetfulness that happens by Krishna’s arrangement.