Gopa-kumara Coddled by Laxmi

Overwhelmed after hearing Lord Mahapurua instruct Lord Brahma, Gopa-kumara faints in ecstasy.

TEXT 134

atho tad ākarṅya catur-mukhaṁ ca pramoda-sampad-vivaśī-bhavantam anūdya nīcair anumodamānaṁ muhus tad-aṅghrīn abhivandamānam

atha u—then; tat—that; ākarṅya—hearing; catuḥ-mukham—four-headed Brahmā; ca—and; pramoda—of joy; sampat—by the vast treasure; vivaśī—overwhelmed; bhavantam—becoming; anūdya—repeating; nīcaiḥ—quietly; anumodamānam—agreeing; muhuḥ—repeatedly; tat—His; aṅghrīn—to the feet; abhivandamānam—offering respects.

Hearing these matters, four-headed Brahma, overwhelmed by a vast treasure of transcendental joy, quietly repeated and agreed with each point he was taught, and then offered his respects again and again at the feet of the Lord.

Commentary: After relishing the wonder of the Supreme Lord speaking intimate instructions to His devotee, Gopa-kumara turned his attention to Brahma, whom he saw was receiving the lesson with great ecstasy. To show understanding of the Lord’s words, Brahma dutifully repeated each point, and confirmed that he agreed completely, before the Lord continued with the next. When the lesson was over, Brahma profusely thanked the Lord. For Brahma to bow down while sitting on his lotus seat would have been difficult, but at least he showed his respects with his words and joined palms.

TEXT 135

pramoda-vegāt patitaṁ visaṁjñaṁ vilokya sā mām abhigamya lakṣmīḥ nināya saṁjñāṁ bahu lālayitvā sva-bāla-vat pārśvam uta sva-bhartuḥ

pramoda—of joy; vegāt—by the force; patitam—fallen down; visaṁjñam—unconscious; vilokya—observing; sā—she; mām—me; abhigamya—coming toward; lakṣmīḥ—the goddess Lakṣmī; nināya—bringing back; saṁjñām—to consciousness; bahu—much; lālayitvā—coddling; sva-bāla-vat—like her own child; pārśvam—to the side; uta—indeed; sva-bhartuḥ—of her husband.

Lakmi saw that by the force of ecstasy I had fallen into a swoon. So she coddled me like her own son to restore me to consciousness and then brought me to the side of her husband.

Commentary: Now Gopa-kumara speaks of himself. When the Supreme Lord’s devoted wife noticed him, she knew he had fainted in ecstatic devotion for her husband, so she treated him like a son. She touched him with her cooling hand and sprinkled him with water to bring him back to consciousness.

TEXT 136

bhagavantaṁ muhuḥ paśyan praṅamann avadaṁ manaḥ nijepsitāntam adyāgā niścalaṁ tvaṁ mudaṁ bhaja

bhagavantam—at the Supreme Lord; muhuḥ—repeatedly; paśyan—looking; praṅaman—bowing down; avadam—I told; manaḥ—my mind; nija—your; īpsita—of the desires; antam—the ultimate fulfillment; adya—today; agāḥ—you have attained; niścalam—being steady; tvam—you; mudam—joy; bhaja—please experience.

Gazing at the Supreme Lord and repeatedly bowing down before Him, I told my mind: “Today you have attained the ultimate fulfillment of all your desires! Be steady and joyful.

Commentary: In texts 136 through 140, while offering repeated obeisances, Gopa-kumara preaches to his own mind.

TEXT 137

aśeṣa-śoka-santrāsa- duḥkha-hīnam idaṁ padam paramarddhi-parānanda- nicitaṁ jagad-arcitam

aśeṣa—all; śoka—of sorrow; santrāsa—fear; duḥkha—and pain; hīnam—devoid; idam—this; padam—abode; parama—supreme; ṛddhi—with riches; para—and supreme; ānanda—with bliss; nicitam—filled; jagat—by the entire world; arcitam—worshiped.

“This abode, free from all sorrow, fear, and pain, is worshiped by the entire world. It is filled with the greatest opulence and bliss.

Commentary: Satyaloka is the highest material abode, filled with inconceivable wealth and a happiness unequaled by any other sensory experience in this universe. Greater than any other place in the universe, Satyaloka is honored everywhere.

TEXT 138

yādṛśaḥ sambhaved bhrātar jagad-īśaś ca tādṛśaḥ bhāty aśeṣa-mahattāyāḥ parāṁ kāṣṭhāṁ gataḥ sphuṭam

yādṛśaḥ—as; sambhavet—is; bhrātaḥ—dear brother; jagat-īśaḥ—the Lord of the universe; ca—and; tādṛśaḥ—so; bhāti—it is manifest; aśeṣa—all; mahattāyāḥ—of excellence; parām—extreme; kāṣṭhām—to the limit; gataḥ—gone; sphuṭam—visibly.

“Dear brother, this planet shines forth with as much perfection as the Lord of the universe Himself. It displays the final limit of complete excellence.

Commentary: In the material world, persons and things have varieties of relative excellence. One person has a well-proportioned body, another is charming, another virtuous or powerful. But the world of Satyaloka manifests all kinds of excellence to the greatest degree possible in the material universe. No other place is in any way as great.

TEXT 139

sneham anvabhavo lakṣmyā dṛgbhyāṁ paśyādhunā prabhum māthura-vraja-bhū-śokaṁ yiyāsāṁ cānyato jahi

sneham—affection; anvabhavaḥ—you have experienced; lakṣmyāḥ—of the goddess Lakṣmī; dṛgbhyām—with your two eyes; paśya—see; adhunā—now; prabhum—the Lord; māthura—in the district of Mathurā; vraja-bhū—because of the land of Vraja; śokam—your lamentation; yiyāsām—your desire to go; ca—and; anyataḥ—somewhere else; jahi—please give up.

“You have felt the affection of Lakmi. Now see her Lord with your own two eyes. Give up your thoughts of going away from here and give up your grieving over the cow pastures of Vraja in Mathura.

TEXT 140

jagad-īśād vidhāteva lālanaṁ ced abhīpsasi tan mahā-puruṣādiṣṭa- mantra-śaktyā phaliṣyati

jagat-īśāt—from the Lord of the universe; vidhātā—Brahmā; iva—like; lālanam—pampering; cet—if; abhīpsasi—you desire; tat—that; mahā-puruṣa—by the great soul; ādiṣṭa—taught; mantra—of the mantra; śaktyā—by the power; phaliṣyati—will be achieved.

“If you want to be pampered like Brahma by the Lord of the universe, that also you can achieve by the power of the mantra taught to you by the great soul.”

Commentary: The Personality of Godhead is present in Brahmaloka as Lord Mahapurua, but in Govardhana Gopa-kumara had met another maha-purua, the great devotee who had initiated him into the chanting of the gopala-mantra.

For Gopa-kumara to be as familiar as Brahma with Lord Mahapurua will be difficult, but we shall see how an arrangement is made for him.

TEXT 141

nidrā-līlāṁ prabhur bheje loka-padme ’sya nābhi-je sṛṣṭi-rītiṁ vidhir vīkṣya sva-kṛtyāyābhavad bahiḥ

nidrā—of sleep; līlām—His pastime; prabhuḥ—the Supreme Lord; bheje—took to; loka-padme—in the universal lotus; asya—His; nābhi-je—born from the navel; sṛṣṭi—of creation; rītim—the business; vidhiḥ—Brahmā; vīkṣya—noting; sva-kṛtyāya—for doing his duties; abhavat bahiḥ—came outside.

The Supreme Lord turned to His pastime of sleep. And Brahma, sitting on the universal lotus born from the Lord’s navel, realized what he had to do to re-create the universe, and so came outside to do his work.

Commentary: The transcendental Lord never sleeps, but He enjoys His pastime of pretending to sleep. Brahma’s seat is the lotus that grows from the navel of Garbhodaka-sayi Vishnu and bears the original subtle forms of the fourteen created worlds. While sitting on that lotus, Brahma could see within it the entire plan for creating the universe. Without wasting time, he studied it thoroughly and then came out to discharge his responsibility. He got down from the lotus, left Lord Mahapurua’s residence, and went to his own.

TEXT 142

paśyan prabho rūpam ado mahādbhutaṁ tan-nābhi-padme yugapat tathā jagat gūḍhopadeśa-śravaṅāc catur-mukha- prema-pravāhaṁ ca sukhaṁ tato ’vasam

paśyan—seeing; prabhoḥ—of the Lord; rūpam—form; adaḥ—that; mahā-adbhutam—very wonderful; tat—His; nābhi—from the navel; padme—within the lotus; yugapat—at the same time; tathā—also; jagat—the universe; gūḍha—confidential; upadeśa—instructions; śravaṅāt—due to hearing; catuḥ-mukha—of Brahmā; prema—of love; pravāham—the flood; ca—and; sukham—happily; tataḥ—then; avasam—I lived.

I lived there happily for some time, seeing the very wonderful form of the Lord, observing the universe within the lotus grown from His navel, and witnessing the waves of love flowing over Brahma as he heard confidential instructions from the Lord.

Commentary: Gopa-kumara was even more satisfied on Satyaloka than on Svargaloka and the planets of the sages.

TEXT 143

kṛtsne loka-traye naṣṭe rātrāv ekārṅave sati śeṣopari sukhaṁ śete bhagavān brahmaṅā samam

kṛtsne—entire; loka-traye—the three worlds; naṣṭe—when they are destroyed; rātrau—during the night; eka-arṅave—a single ocean; sati—being; śeṣa-upari—on Śeṣa Nāga; sukham—comfortably; śete—lies; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; brahmaṅā—with Brahmā; samam—together.

During the dark of night, when the three worlds are totally destroyed and the universe becomes a single ocean, the Personality of Godhead lies comfortably on Sesa Naga, together with Brahma.

Commentary: After each cycle of a thousand yugas, Brahma’s day ends, and Brahma joins the thousand-headed Mahapurua in going to sleep.

TEXT 144

stūyate citra-vākyaiḥ sa jana-lokādi-vāsibhiḥ tan mahā-kautukaṁ vīkṣye brahma-loka-prabhāvataḥ

stūyate—is praised; citra—choice; vākyaiḥ—with words; saḥ—He; jana-loka-ādi—of Janaloka and other planets; vāsibhiḥ—by the residents; tat—those; mahā-kautukam—most curious events; vīkṣye—I saw; brahma-loka—of Brahmaloka; prabhāvataḥ—by the influence.

The residents of Janaloka and other higher planets praise the Personality of Godhead with choice words. I saw these fascinating events by the powerful influence of Brahmaloka.

Commentary: While Lord Mahapurua sleeps, sages from Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka come to recite His glories. Gopa-kumara’s previous encounters with the nighttimes of Brahma on the planets Mahar, Jana, and Tapas had been less pleasant than this; he had been unaware of how Lord Mahapurua and Brahma enjoy their sleep.

TEXT 145

antardhāya kadācic cet kutrāpi bhagavān vrajet śokaḥ syād āgate cāsmin sa-mūlaḥ kṣīyate sa naḥ

antardhāya—disappearing; kadācit—sometimes; cet—if; kutra api—somewhere; bhagavān—the Lord; vrajet—would go; śokaḥ—unhappiness; syāt—there would be; āgate—upon returning; ca—and; asmin—He; sa-mūlaḥ—to the root; kṣīyate—would be cut; saḥ—that; naḥ—our.

When the Lord sometimes went elsewhere, He would disappear, and I would be unhappy. But that painful feeling would be cut to the root as soon as He returned.

Commentary: Unaware of where the Lord was going, Gopa-kumara was distressed by the Lord’s absence. But when the Lord would return after a short while, Gopa-kumara would at once forget his distress, and even forget that the Lord had left him. Thus his feelings of unhappiness on Satyaloka were of little account. The one small reason for unhappiness that sometimes arose was short-lived and so did not affect his overall mood.

TEXT 146

ittham ahnāṁ katipaye prayāte prātar ekadā kautukād brahmaṅā spṛṣṭaḥ pheṅa-puñjo ’suro ’bhavat

ittham—in this way; ahnām—days; katipaye—several; prayāte—being spent; prātaḥ—in the morning; ekadā—one day; kautukāt—out of curiosity; brahmaṅā—by Brahmā; spṛṣṭaḥ—touched; pheṅa—of foam; puñjaḥ—a mass; asuraḥ—a demon; abhavat—became.

After I had spent some days in this way, early one morning, out of curiosity, Brahma touched a mass of foam, and it turned into a demon.

Commentary: Gopa-kumara was harboring the desire to become Brahma so that he could enjoy Brahma’s special relationship with the Lord of the universe. He thought of this desire while chanting his japa, and thus, after only a few of Brahma’s days, Gopa-kumara was given what he wanted. A large residue of foam was left from the previous ocean of devastation, and Brahma touched it, unmindful of any serious consequence. The foam turned into a terrible demon, huge and extremely strong due to being born from the vast water of devastation.

TEXT 147

tad-bhītyālīyata brahmā daityo bhagavatā hataḥ bhayākrānto vidhir naiti tat-pade ’yuṅkta māṁ prabhuḥ

tat—of him; bhītyā—out of fear; alīyata—fled; brahmā—Brahmā; daityaḥ—the demon; bhagavatā—by the Personality of Godhead; hataḥ—was killed; bhaya—by fear; ākrāntaḥ—overcome; vidhiḥ—Brahmā; na eti—did not come back; tat—his; pade—in the post; ayuṅkta—appointed; mām—me; prabhuḥ—the Supreme Lord.

Terrified of him, Brahma fled. The Personality of Godhead killed the demon, but Brahma, overcome by fear, did not come back, and the Lord assigned me to his post.

Commentary: Brahma hid in a place where no one could find him. His fear prevented him from returning, even after Lord Narayana had killed the demon.

TEXT 148

ahaṁ tu vaiṣṅavān eva sṛjaṁs tad-bhakti-vṛddhaye nyayuñjam adhikāreṣu vaiṣṅavān eva sarvataḥ

aham—I; tu—and; vaiṣṅavān—Vaiṣṅavas; eva—indeed; sṛjan—sending forth; tat—His; bhakti—the devotional service; vṛddhaye—for increasing; nyayuñjam—I engaged; adhikāreṣu—in various positions of responsibility; vaiṣṅavān—Vaiṣṅavas; eva—only; sarvataḥ—everywhere.

I sent Vaisnavas into the creation to increase devotional service to the Lord. Indeed, I engaged only Vaisnavas everywhere, in all responsibilities.

Commentary: Material creation is called s?i because the world and the living entities, rather than being created from nothing, are “sent forth” (sjan) in each new creation. When Gopa-kumara took up the position of creator, he brought many advanced Vaisnavas into his universe and assigned them to the posts of Indra, Surya, Candra, the Prajapatis, and other demigods.

TEXT 149

itas tato mahā-yajñair aśvamedhādibhir vibhum sampūjayan mudāṁ pūrair brahmāṅḍaṁ samapūrayam

itaḥ tataḥ—here and there; mahā-yajñaiḥ—with great sacrifices; aśvamedha-ādibhiḥ—the Aśvamedha and others; vibhum—the almighty Lord; sampūjayan—worshiping; mudām—of joy; pūraiḥ—with floods; brahmāṅḍam—the universe; samapūrayam—I filled.

Arranging for the almighty Lord to be worshiped in all directions with great sacrifices like the Asvamedha, I flooded the universe with joy.

Commentary: Lord Brahma is responsible for creating the worlds and the bodies of all the species of life and for teaching the living beings in each class their proper work according to the injunctions of the Vedas. Gopa-kumara enthusiastically promoted Vedic sacrifices for the pleasure of the Personality of Godhead.

TEXTS 150–151

pārameṣṭhyena saṁruddho vedair mūrti-dharair makhaiḥ purāṅair itihāsaiś cā- gamais tīrthair maharṣibhiḥ

brahmarṣibhiś ca bahudhā stūyamāno mahā-madaiḥ grasyamāno ’pi muñcāmi na smākiñcanatāṁ nijām

pārameṣṭhyena—with the supreme position of authority; saṁruddhaḥ—encumbered; vedaiḥ—by the Vedas; mūrti-dharaiḥ—in their personal forms; makhaiḥ—by the sacrifices; purāṅaiḥ—the Purāṅas; itihāsaiḥ—the Itihāsa epics; ca—and; āgamaiḥ—the Āgamas (Pañcarātras); tīrthaiḥ—the pilgrimage places; mahā-ṛṣibhiḥ—the great sages; brahma-ṛṣibhiḥ—the sages among the brāhmaṅas; ca—and; bahudhā—in various ways; stūyamānaḥ—being glorified; mahā-madaiḥ—by great delights; grasyamānaḥ—being seized; api—although; muñcāmi na sma—I did not give up; akiñcanatām—my simplicity; nijām—natural.

Even though I was encumbered with the post of the supreme authority in the universe, even though I was glorified in various ways by the maharṣis, the brahmarṣis, and the personified Vedas, Āgamas, Purāṅas, Itihāsas, sacrifices, and pilgrimage sites, and even though I was surrounded by great sources of delight, I did not give up my natural simplicity.

Commentary: Without the strong spiritual qualifications of true humility and devotion to the Supreme, no one could avoid becoming intoxicated by the material power and facility for enjoyment given to Gopa-kumāra. He now had the highest position in the universe, with seemingly unlimited opulences. The greatest sages and the revealed scriptures and the sacrifices personified all attended him in his court, singing his praises and presenting themselves for service at his pleasure. Nonetheless, he did not think of himself as someone special, as anything other than a humble devotee of the Lord of the universe, Śrī Madana-gopāla.

TEXT 152

tathāpi brāhmya-kṛtyābdhi- bhaṅga-magno na pūrva-vat lebhe bhagavato bhakti- sukhaṁ cintāturāntaraḥ

tathā api—nonetheless; brāhmya—of Brahmā; kṛtya—of the duties; abdhi—of an ocean; bhaṅga—in the waves; magnaḥ—immersed; na—not; pūrva-vat—as before; lebhe—I obtained; bhagavataḥ—of the Lord; bhakti—of the devotional service; sukham—the enjoyment; cintā—with anxieties; ātura—disturbed; antaraḥ—my mind.

Even so, I was immersed in the waves of the ocean of Brahma’s duties, and therefore unable to enjoy devotional service to the Lord as I had before. My mind was too disturbed by anxious concerns.

Commentary: Once again Gopa-kumara encountered circumstances that awakened within him a desire to go to an even better place. With so much responsibility on his shoulders, life on Satyaloka was troublesome. Brahma’s unavoidable duties were unlimited and deep like an ocean, and Gopa-kumara felt himself drowning in the churning waves.

TEXT 153

dvi-parārdhāyuṣi svasya śrūyamāṅe ’pi kālataḥ bhayaṁ syāt kriyamāṅe ca jape bhūr iyam ārti-dā

dvi-parārdha—consisting of two very long periods of time; āyuṣi—the life span; svasya—my; śrūyamāṅe—being heard of; api—and; kālataḥ—of time; bhayam—fear; syāt—there would be; kriyamāṅe—while being done; ca—and; jape—the chanting of my mantra; bhūḥ—Vraja-bhūmi; iyam—this; ārti-dā—giving distress.

Hearing that I would die at the end of a life span of two parardhas, I was afraid. And as I chanted my mantra, remembrance of this Vraja-bhumi gave me more distress.

Commentary: To avoid being frightened by thinking about his imminent death, Gopa-kumara Brahma relied on his mantra. But chanting only stirred memories of Vraja, giving him a different kind of distress.

TEXT 154

jagad-īśvarataḥ putra- lālanaṁ tu mahā-sukham mamānubhavataś citta- vaikalyaṁ tad vinaśyati

jagat-īśvarataḥ—by the Lord of the universe; putra—like a son; lālanan—being pampered; tu—however; mahā-sukham—a source of great happiness; mama—of me; anubhavataḥ—who was experiencing; citta—of the mind; vaikalyam—the agitation; tat—that; vinaśyati—would be destroyed.

But I would derive great happiness from being pampered like a son by the Lord of the universe, and thus the mental agitation I was going through would be dispelled.

Commentary: Satyaloka is such a pure place that unhappiness cannot persist for long. Lord Mahapurua Himself would see to this; by showering affection on His devotee, He would wash away distress in a flood of bliss.

TEXT 155

atyanta-sannikarṣeṅa pitṛ-buddhyā ca sevayā kadāpy āgāṁsi jātāni mṛṣyante prabhuṅā mama

atyanta—too much; sannikarṣeṅa—because of proximity; pitṛ—like a father; buddhyā—because of considering Him; ca—and; sevayā—by serving; kadā api—sometimes; āgāṁsi—offenses; jātāni—came about; mṛṣyante—they were tolerated; prabhuṅā—by the Lord; mama—my.

Because of being too close to the Lord and serving Him as if He were my father, I would sometimes commit offenses against Him, but He tolerated all those offenses.

Commentary: Staying close to a great person for an extended time can be dangerous. As the saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” For Gopa-kumara in the role of Brahma, this danger was compounded by his thinking himself the son of Lord Vishnu. Often a son has no fear of dissatisfying his father, because he knows that his father loves him too much to reject him. Indeed, Lord Mahapurua acted like a doting father, tolerating the childish offenses of Gopa-kumara.

TEXT 156

tathāpy antar-mahodvegaḥ syāt tato vyañjite śriyā snehe mātreva hṛṣṭaḥ syām evaṁ tatrāvasaṁ ciram

tathā api—still; antaḥ—within; mahā-udvegaḥ—great distress; syāt—there would be; tataḥ—then; vyañjite—being manifest; śriyā—by the goddess of fortune; snehe—affection; mātrā—by a mother; iva—as if; hṛṣṭaḥ—joyful; syām—I would become; evam—thus; tatra—there; avasam—I lived; ciram—for a long time.

Still, at times I felt great distress in my mind. But when the goddess Lakmi showed me motherly affection, I would again become joyful. Thus I lived there a long time.

Commentary: Although the Lord showed no sign of taking offense, Gopa-kumara, realizing that he was not serving with the proper attitude, sometimes became disturbed. Embarrassed by his own behavior toward his father, he would be consoled by his mother, Lakmi. Thus he lived happily in Satyaloka, even when facing causes of distress.