Shri Krishna Janma Kirtana (Before Advent, Birth and Janmastami Vows)

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What happened in Goloka just before Krsna advented?

Brahma-vaivarta Purana Chp 6

 

63 I will go to the earth. O demigods, first return to your homes, and

then, by your amsa expansions, quickly go to the earth.

64 After speaking to the demigods, Lord Krsna, the master of the

universes, called the gopas and gopis and spoke to them words that were

sweet, truthful and appropriate.

65 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please listen. All of you please

go to Nanda's land of Vraja. O Radha, please go at once to the home of King

Vrsabhanu.

66 King Vrsabhanu's dear wife is the saintly gopi named Kalavati. She

is Subala-gopa's daughter. She is a partial incarnation of the goddess of

fortune.

67 She is fortunate and glorious among women. She was the mind-born

daughter of the pitas, but by Durvasa's curse she was born in a house in

Vraja.

68 At once go to Nanda's Vraja and take birth in her womb. O girl with

the lotus face, I will assume the form of a small boy and I will marry You.

69 O Radha, to Me You are more dear than life. To You I am more dear

than life also. We are not different. We are one body eternally.

70 Listening, Sri Radha wept, overcome with love. O sage, with Her

cakora-bird eyes She drank the moonlight of Lord Krsna's face.

71 Sri Krsna said: O gopas and gopis, please take birth on the earth in

the beautiful palaces of the noble gopas.

72 Then everyone saw the arrival of a great chariot covered with

diamonds, the king of jewels,...

73 ...a chariot decorated with a hundred thousand white camaras, ten

thousand mirrors, red cloth pure as fire,...

74 ...a thousand jewel domes, and networks of parijata garlands,...

75 ...filled with glorious people, made of gold, beautiful, without

compare, glorious and splendid as a hundred suns.

76 They also saw handsome and charming Lord Narayana, who wore yellow

garments, held a conch, disc, club and lotus,...

77 ...wore a glorious crown and glorious earrings, was decorated with a

forest garland and anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma,...

78 ...had four arms, smiled, was overcome with compassion for His

devotees, and was decorated with the best of ornaments made of the kings of

jewels.

79 At His left side they saw beautiful, charming, and fair Goddess

Sarasvati, who held a flute, vina and book in her hand, who was the queen of

the higher planets, and who was knowledge personified.

80 At His right side they saw another beautiful and charming goddess,

who smiled sweetly and was fair as molten gold and splendid as the autumn

moon,...

81 ...whose cheeks were splendid with jewel earrings, who wore

priceless garments and priceless jewels,...

82 ...who was decorated with bracelets and armlets of priceless jewels,

who wore tinkling jewel anklets,...

83 ...whose breast was splendid with a parijata garland, whose braids

were beautiful with a jasmine garland,...

84 ...whose beautiful face robbed the autumn moon of its splendour,...

85 ...who was anointed with musk dots and red sindura tilaka, whose

beautiful autumn-lotus eyes were decorated with mascara,...

86 ...who held a pastime lotus of a thousand petals, and who with

crooked eyes gazed at Lord Narayana as He gazed at Her.

87 Accompanied by His two wives and His many associates, Lord Narayana

quickly descended from the chariot and entered the beautiful assembly of

gopas and gopis.

88 O demigods, the gopas and gopis at once rose and with folded hands

joyfully recited the divine sages' prayers from the Sama Veda.

89 Then Lord Narayana approached, entered Lord Krsna's form and

disappeared. When they saw this, everyone became filled with wonder.

90 Then Lord Visnu, the protector of the universes came, and descended

from His golden chariot.

91-92 O sage, when handsome, smiling four-armed Lord Visnu, decorated with

forest garlands, dressed in yellow garments, glorious with all ornaments and

splendid as ten million suns, entered the assembly, everyone rose, gazed at

Him, bowed down, and offered prayers.

93 Then Lord Visnu also merged into the form of Lord Krsna. Seeing

this, everyone became filled with wonder.

94-95 Then the Lord's incarnation that resides in Svetadvipa also came and

merged into Lord Krsna's body. Then hastily came Lord Sankarsana, the

thousand-headed purusa-avatara, who was splendid like pure crystal and

effulgent like a hundred suns.

96 Seeing this incarnation of Lord Visnu everyone offered many prayers.

Then, with bowed head He Himself offered prayers to Lord Krsna, the husband

of Radha.

97 O Narada, with His thousand heads He bowed down with devotion to

Lord Krsna. Then Nara and Narayana Rsi, the two sons of Dharma Rsi, also

came.

98 Then I merged into Lord Krsna's lotus feet and Nara Rsi became

Arjuna. Then Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yamaraja came to that place.

99 There the demigods saw a great chariot of gold and jewels,...

100 ...a chariot decorated with the kings of jewels, cloth pure as fire,

many white camaras and ten thousand mirrors,...

101 ...splendid with many jewel domes, beautiful with networks of

parijata garlands,...

102 ...beautiful, with a thousand wheels, fast as the mind, robbing the

splendour of the summer's midday sun,...

103 ...splendid with many pearls, rubies, and diamonds, wonderful with

paintings, designs, statues, flowers, lakes and forests,...

104 ...a chariot that was, O sage, the best of all chariots owned by

demigods or demons, a chariot Visvakarma carefully made for Lord Siva's

pleasure,...

105 A chariot four hundred miles high and eight hundred miles across,

and splendid with a hundred palaces gracefully appointed with many beautiful

couches and beds.

106 Then they saw a goddess decorated with jewel ornaments, her

splendour robbing molten gold of its glory,...

107 ...a goddess who was very splendid, peerless, the root of material

nature, the controller of material nature, with a thousand arms holding many

weapons,...

108 ...gently smiling, overcome with compassion for her devotees, her

cheeks splendid with jewel earrings, splendid with tinkling anklets made of

the kings of jewels,...

109 ...decorated with jewel bracelets and armlets, her graceful waist

decorated with a jewel belt,...

110 ...her chest glorious with many mandara garlands, her thighs firm

and her raised breasts full,...

111 ...her beautiful face eclipsing the autumn moon's splendour, her

autumn lotus eyes splendid with graceful mascara,...

112 ...decorated with pictures and designs drawn in sandal, aguru, and

musk, her beautiful lips splendid like new bandhujiva flowers,...

113 ...her teeth robbing pearls of their splendour, her braids decorated

with blossomed jasmine flowers,...

114 ...an elephant pearl decorating the tip of her nose graceful like

the bird king's beak,...

115 ...a goddess splendid with garments pure as fire, and accompanied by

her two sons as she cheerfully rode on a lion's back.

116 Descending from the chariot, the goddess and her sons at once bowed

down before Lord Krsna, the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then

she sat on a great throne.

117 Ganesa and Karttikeya bowed down first to Lord Krsna, who is greater

than the greatest, and then to Siva, Yamaraja, Sesa, and Brahma.

118 The demigoddess rose. Seeing the two boys, the demigods blessed

them, had them sit in their midst, and happily began to talk with them.

119 As the goddess and the demigods stood before Lord Krsna in the

assembly, the many gopas and gopis became filled with wonder.

120 Then, His lotus face smiling, Lord Krsna said to Goddess Laksmi:

Please go to King Bhismaka's jewel palace.

121 Eternal goddess, please take birth in Queen Vidabhi's womb. O

saintly one, I will go to Kundina and take your hand in marriage.

122 Seeing Goddess Parvati, the demigoddess quickly rose and had her sit

on a beautiful jewel throne.

123 O king of brahmanas, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati sat together and

talked among themselves.

124 the gopis happily talked with the three goddesses. Some gopis

happily sat by their side.

125 Then Sri Krsna, the master of the universes, said to Parvati: O

beautiful goddess, in an amsa incarnation please go to Nanda's Vraja.

126 O beautiful one, O goddess of material nature, O creator and

destroyer of the worlds, please take birth in Yasoda's womb from Nanda's

seed.

127 I will arrange that in every village and city on the earth the

people will worship you with devotion.

128 Offering you many splendid gifts, the people will worship you as

their goddess.

129 O auspicious wife of Lord Siva, the moment you touch the earth My

father will take you from the maternity room and place Me in your stead.

130 For a moment you will see Kamsa and then you will return to Lord

Siva. Then I will remove the earth's burden and return to My own abode.

131 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna said to Karttikeya: Child, in

an amsa incarnation you will go to the earth.

132 O great demigod, then you should take birth in Jambavati's womb.

All the demigods should go in amsa incarnations to the earth. Then I will

remove the earth's burden.

133 O Narada, after speaking these words, Lord Krsna, the husband of

Radha, sat on His beautiful throne, and the demigods, demigoddesses, gopas

and gopis also sat in His company.

134 Then Brahma stood up and with folded hands humbly addressed Lord

Krsna, the master of the universes.

135 Sri Brahma said: O Lord, please hear Your servant's request. O

great one, how and where we should descend to the earth? Please give us

Your command.

136 A proper master always maintains, protects and rescues his servants.

A proper servant always devotedly follows his master's commands.

137 What demigods and demigoddesses in what forms, in what incarnations,

with what names, and performing what actions, should descend to the earth?

138 Hearing Brahma's words, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes,

replied: Now I will tell you all of this.

139 Sri Krsna said: Kamadeva will become Rukmini's son Pradyumna. Rati

will be reflected in Sambarasura's house as saintly Mayavati.

140 You will become Pradyumna's son Aniruddha. Sarasvati will go to

Sonitapura and become Banasura's daughter Usa.

141 Lord Sesa, the master of the universes, will go to Devaki's womb.

Then Yogamaya will pull (sankars) Him into Rohini's womb. For this reason

He will be called Sankarsana.

142 Ganga will come to the earth in a partial incarnation as Yamuna.

Tulasi will appear in a half-incarnation as princess Laksmana.

143 Saintly Savitri, the mother of the Vedas, will be named Nagnajiti.

Vasundhara will become Satyabhama. Goddess Sarasvati will become Saibya.

144 Rohini will become Princess Mitravinda, and the sun-god's wife will

partially appear as Ratnamala.

145 Svaha will partially appear as Susila. In this way, beginning with

Rukmini, I will have nine wives. Goddess Durga will partially appear as

Jambavati. Including her, I will have ten queens.

146 One day on Mount Kailasa, Lord Siva ordered Parvati: By a partial

incarnation Parvati must go to Jambavan's house.

147 Beloved, you must embrace Lord Visnu, who stays in Svetadvipa, and

who once came to Mount Kailasa. Because I command you to do this, there

will be no sin on your part.

148 Sri Brahma said: O Krsna, O husband of Radha, why did Lord Siva give

this command to Parvati, that she should approach Lord Visnu, who resides in

Svetadvipa?

149 Sri Krsna said: When all the demigods came to see the newborn infant

Ganesa, on Lord Siva's request Lord Visnu also came from Svetadvipa.

150 Lord Visnu happily saw Ganesa and then sat on a comfortable seat.

Then all the demigods blissfully gazed on Lord Visnu, whose form enchanted

the three worlds,...

151 ...who wore yellow garments, a crown and earrings, whose youthful

dark forms was very handsome,...

152 ...who was anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma, who was

decorated with jewel ornaments, whose lotus face smiled,...

153 ...who sat on a jewel throne, who was surrounded by His associates,

to whom all the demigods offered obeisances, to whom Lord Siva offered

worship and prayers.

154 When Parvati saw Lord Visnu she became filled with a happiness that

showed in her face and eyes. Embarrassed, chaste Parvati covered her face

with her sari.

155-6 Her face covered, with unblinking crooked eyes chaste Parvati gazed

again and again at Lord Visnu's very handsome, wonderfully dressed form.

The hairs of her body erect,, she became plunged in an ocean of bliss.

157 For a moment she gazed at splendid Lord Siva, more handsome than ten

million Kamadevas, grasping a trident and axe, and three eyes on each of his

five faces.

158 In the next moment she gazed at dark Lord Visnu, wearing yellow

garments,, decorated with a forest garland, with one face and four arms.

159 Gazing at the one Supreme Lord who appears in many forms, Goddess

Parvati, the controller of material bewilderment, fell under the control of

Lord Visnu's spiritual power of bewilderment. She became filled with

passionate desire.

160 She thought: The three demigods Brahma, Visnu, and Siva, are my

partial incarnations. Still Visnu is best, for He is in the mode of

goodness.

161 Parvati gazed at Lord Visnu and in her thoughts devotedly worshipped

Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul in everyone's

heart.

162 Lord Siva, who was also the Personality of Godhead, the master of

the universes, and the Supersoul in everyone's heart, knew what Parvati was

thinking.

163 Taking her to a secluded place, Lord Siva spoke to Parvati. He

taught her all that was auspicious and true.

164 Sri Siva said: O Parvati, please understand my words. You must

become the passionate lover of Lord Visnu, the all-pervading Supersoul and

Supreme Personality of Godhead.

165 Visnu, Brahma, and I are the one eternal Supreme Lord. We are not

different. We are the one Lord manifest in different forms.

166 You are the potency of the Supreme Lord. You are the mother of all.

You appear in many forms. You are Brahma's wife Sarasvati. You are Goddess

Laksmi who rests on Lord Narayana's chest.

167 O saintly one, you are also Parvati, who rests on my chest.

After hearing Lord Siva's words, Parvati, the queen of the demigods,

spoke to him.

168 Sri Parvati said: O friend of the poor, O ocean of mercy, why have

you no mercy for me? For a long time I performed austerities to attain you,

the master of the universes.

169 Lord, you cannot reject a servant like me. O Siva, please do not

speak these improper words to me.

170 Lord, I will obey your command. I will take birth in another body.

Then I will become Lord Visnu's lover.

171 Hearing these words, Lord Siva burst into laughter. In this way he

reassured Parvati and removed her fears.

172 To keep her word chaste Parvati will take birth in Jambavan's house.

O Brahma, she will be named Jambavati.

173 Sri Brahma said: On the earth there are many different kinds of

kings. Why will Parvati take birth in the home of a bear?

174 Sri Krsna said: In Treta-yuga, during the incarnation of Lord Rama,

the demigods incarnated on the earth. At that time the king of the

Himalaya's incarnated as the bear Jambavan, a great servant of Lord Rama.

175 Because of a boon from Lord Rama, Jambavan is long-lived, handsome,

and strong like ten million lions.

176 In this way Parvati will go to the earth and take birth in the house

of Jambavan, who is an incarnation of her father, the king of the Himalayas.

Now please hear more explanations from My mouth.

177 All the demigods should partially incarnate on the earth. O Brahma,

as warrior-princes they will assist Me in battle.

178 Goddess Laksmi will partially incarnate as 16 000 princesses who

will become My queens.

179 Yamaraja will partially incarnate as Pandu's son Yudhisthira. Vayu

will partially incarnate as Bhimasena. Indra will partially incarnate as

Arjuna.

180 The Asvini-kumaras will partially incarnate as Nakula and Sahadeva.

Surya will partially incarnate as the heroic warrior Karna. Yamaraja will

personally appear as Vidura.

181 Kali will partially incarnate as Duryodhana. Varuna will partially

incarnate as Santanu. Siva will partially incarnate as Asvatthama. Agni

will partially incarnate as Dronacarya.

182 Candra will partially incarnate as Abhimanyu. Vasu will partially

incarnate as Bhisma. Kasyapa will partially incarnate as Vasudeva. Aditi

will partially incarnate as Devaki.

183 Vasu will partially incarnate as Nanda-gopa. Vasu's wife will

partially incarnate as Yasoda. Laksmi will partially incarnate as Draupadi,

who was born from a yajna pond.

184 Agni will partially incarnate as noble and powerful Dhrstadyumna.

Satarupa will partially incarnate as Subhadra, born from Devaki's womb.

185 In this way the demigods must go, by their partial expansions, to

the earth and help to remove its burden. The demigods' wives must also go,

by their partial expansions, to the earth.

186 At that point Lord Krsna stopped speaking. O Narada, Brahma stood

there, listening.

187 Sarasvati was at Lord Krsna's left and Laksmi at His right. Parvati

and all the demigods were before Him.

188 The gopis and gopas were before Him. Sri Radha rested on His chest.

At that moment Sri Radha, the queen of Vraja spoke to Lord Krsna.

189 Sri Radha said: O Lord, please hear the words of Your maidservant.

My life has become a blazing fire that burns without stop. My mind

trembles, swinging to and fro.

190 When I look at You I cannot even blink. O Lord, how can I go to the

earth without You?

191 O friend, how much time must pass before I will meet You again in

Gokula? O master of My life, please tell the truth.

192 An eyeblink without You will be a hundred yugas for Me. What will I

look on? Where will I go? Who will protect Me?

193 O master of My life, how can I for a moment think of mother, father,

relatives, friends, brother, sister, or children when You are gone?

194 O master of illusions, please promise me that when I am on the earth

You will not cover Me with illusion and make Me forget Your glories.

195 O Krsna, please turn My mind into a bumblebee always wandering among

the nectar lotus-flowers of Your feet.

196 Wherever I may be born, please give Me service to You and

remembrance of You.

197 You are Krsna and I am Radha. When I am on the earth may I never

forget the glory of Our love. O Lord, please give Me this benediction.

198 As breath always stays with the body and as the body always stays

with its shadow, may We two always stay together when We take birth. O Lord

please give Me this benediction.

199 When We are on the earth let Us not be separated for even an

eyeblink. O Lord, please give Me this benediction.

200 Who was it that used My life-breath to create Your body, feet, and

flute?

201 How many glorious kinds of women are there? How many kinds of

glorious men praised again and again? No woman is attached to her lover as

I am to You.

202 How is it that I was created from half of Your body? There is no

difference between Us. That is why My mind always thinks of You.

203 How is it that My mind, heart, and life were placed in Your body.

And Your mind, heart and life were placed in Mine?

204 That is why an eyeblink's separation from You brings a great

catastrophe to My mind. That is why, when it hears that We may be

separated, My life-force burns in an unending fire.

205 After speaking these words in the assembly of demigods, again and

again Sri Radha grasped Lord Krsna's lotus feet and loudly wept.

206 Then, placing Her on His lap and with His own garment wiping the

tears from Her face, Lord Krsna spoke many true and beneficial words.

207 Sri Krsna said: Goddess, please listen and I will describe to You

the yoga of the Supreme, a yoga even the kings of the yogis cannot

understand, a yoga that cuts grief into many pieces.

208 O beautiful one, consider this: The entire universe is constructed

of two things: resting places and things that rest in them. It is not

possible for a resting thing to be separated from its resting place.

209 For the fruit the resting place is the flower. For the flower the

resting place is the twig. For the twig the resting place is the branch.

For the branch the resting place is the tree itself.

210 For the tree the resting place is the sapling. For the sapling,

which is manifest from the seed, the resting place is the seed. For the

seed the resting place is the earth.

211 For the earth the resting place is Lord Sesa. For Lord Sesa the

resting place is the great tortoise beneath Him. For the tortoise the

resting place is the wind. For the wind the resting place is I Myself.

212 For Me the resting place is You. I always rest in You. You have

all powers. You are the root from which the material nature has sprung.

You are the Supreme Goddess.

213 You are the resting place of all bodies. You are the resting place

of the three mode of nature. You are the resting place of Me, for I am Your

heart. Without You I cannot act. Only by Your grace have I the power to

act.

214 From the man the seed is manifest. From the seed children are

manifest. The resting place of both seed and children is the woman, who is

manifest from material nature.

215 How can the spirit soul exist without the body? How can the body

exist without the spirit soul? They are both the first cause. O goddess,

how can the creation be manifest without them both?

216 O Radha, We are not different. We are the seed and the world grown

from the seed. I am the soul and You are the body. Where the soul is

present, there also is the body. We are not different. Why must You be so

humble?

217 As whiteness is present in milk, as heat is present in fire, as

fragrance is present in earth, and as coolness is present in fire, so I am

always present in You.

218 As milk and its whiteness, fire and its heat, earth and its

fragrance, and water and its coolness are one and cannot be separated, We

are one also. We cannot be separated.

219 Without Me, You are lifeless. Without You, I am invisible. O

beautiful one, without You I cannot exist.

220 Without clay a potter cannot make a pot. Without gold a goldsmith

cannot make a gold ornament.

221 As the spirit soul is eternal, Your are also eternal. You are the

material nature. You are all powerful. You are the eternal resting place

of everything.

222 Laksmi, all-auspicious Sarasvati, Brahma, Siva, Sesa, and Yamaraja

are dear as life to Me. But You are more dear than life to Me.

223 If this were not so, then why do the demigods and demigoddesses stay

nearby, but You rest on My chest, O Radha?

224 O Radha, give up Your tears. I saintly one, give up this fruitless

and mistaken worry and go to King Vrsabhanu's house.

225 O beautiful one, use Your powers to create an artificial pregnancy

in Kalavati. For nine months fill her womb with air.

226 When the tenth month comes leave Your natural form behind, accept

the form of an infant girl and go to the earth.

227 At the time of giving birth, place Your form of a naked infant on

the ground by Kalavati and cry like a newborn child.

228 O saintly one, in this way, without entering a mother's womb, You

will appear in Gokula. I also will appear without entering a mother's womb.

You and I do not enter a mother's womb.

229 The moment I come to earth Vasudeva will carry Me to Gokula.

Pretending to fear Kamsa, I will go there for Your sake.

230 I will be Nanda's son in Yasoda's house. O beautiful one, again and

again You will happily see me and tightly embrace Me.

231 O Radha, because of the benediction I give You, You will remember

everything. Following My own wish, I will enjoy pastimes with You in

Vrndavana forest again and again.

232 Therefore, accompanied by thirty three virtuous friends and twenty

one billion gopi-associates, please go to Vraja.

233-4 O Radha, after comforting with eloquent nectar words the numberless

gopas and gopis left behind in Goloka, I will go to Vasudeva's home in

Mathura City.

235 The ten million gopas most dear to Me should take birth in the homes

of the gopas. To enjoy pastimes with Me they should go to Vraja.

236 O Narada, then Lord Krsna stopped speaking. The demigods,

demigoddesses, gopas and gopis were silent.

237 Then Brahma, Siva, Yama, Sesa, Parvati, Laksmi and Sarasvati

joyfully offered prayers to Lord Krsna.

238 Overcome with love and burning in the flames of imminent separation,

the devoted gopas and gopis offered prayers to Lord Krsna and bowed down

before Him.

239 Burning in the flames of imminent separation even though Her desires

were all fulfilled, Sri Radha devotedly offered prayers to Her lover Krsna,

who is more dear to Her than life.

240 Seeing that Sri Radha was weeping many tears of distress, Lord Krsna

spoke to Her truthful words of enlightenment.

241 Sri Krsna said: O goddess more dear than life, please be peaceful.

Give up You fears. What You feel I also feel. Why should You be unhappy

while I am with You.

242 However, I will tell You something that is not good. You will be

separated from Me for a hundred years.

243 O beautiful one, I will go to Mathura and because of Sridama's

curse, We will be separated.

244 In Mathura I will remove the earth's burden, release My parents from

bondage and give liberation to a florist, a tailor and a hunchback girl.

245 Then I will kill Kalayavana, deliver Mucukunda, build the city of

Dvaraka, and see a Rajasuya-yajna.

246 Then I will marry 16 100 princesses and defeat many enemies.

247 Then I will help My friends, burn Varanasi, make Siva yawn and cut

Banasura's arms.

248 I will forcibly take the Parijata tree, see many saintly sages when

I go on pilgrimage, and perform many other activities.

249 While on pilgrimage I will speak with My friends and relatives, help

My father perform a yajna, and, at an auspicious moment, see You again.

250 There I will also see the gopis and again I will teach You the truth

of spiritual philosophy.

251 From that time We will never really be separated for even a moment

of the day or night. Then, after some time, I will return to Vraja.

252 Beloved, during the hundred years We are separated We will meet in

Our dreams again and again.

253 In My Narayana form I will go to Dvaraka for those hundred years.

In that way I will enjoy My pastimes there.

254 Then I will return to live with You in the forest. Then I will wipe

away all the sufferings of My parents and the gopas and gopis.

255 When I have removed the earth's burden I will return to Goloka with

the gopas, gopis and You.

256 O Radha, in My form as eternal Lord Narayana I will return to

Vaikuntha with Laksmi and Sarasvati.

257 My various incarnations will return to Svetadvipa, the home of

religion, and the partial incarnations of the demigods and demigoddesses

will all return to their respective abodes.

258 Then You and I will again live in Goloka. Beloved, now I have told

You everything both good and bad. Who can stop from happening what I have

foretold?

259 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna had Radha rest against His

chest. All the demigods and their wives were astonished.

260 Then Lord Krsna said to the demigods and demigoddesses: O demigods,

please return to your homes and prepare for your mission.

261 O Parvati, please go to Mount Kailasa with your husband and sons.

At the proper time you will execute the mission I have given you.

262 As I have said, you will take birth as a partial incarnation. You

will not be accompanied by Ganesa, who is the lord of the great and the

small.

263-4 Bowing down before Lord Krsna, the demigods happily returned to

their homes. Then, bowing again before Lord Krsna and before Laksmi and

Sarasvati, they went, eager to execute their mission, to the earth. Then

Lord Krsna described Sri Radha's mission, a mission beyond what the demigods

can attain.

265 Lord Krsna said to Sri Radha: Accompanied by the many gopas and

gopis I have already named, please go to King Vrsabhanu's home.

266 Beloved, first I will go to Vasudeva's home in Mathura, and then, on

the pretext of fearing Kamsa, I will go to Gokula, where You will be.

267 Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna. Tormented with the thought of

being separated from Her love, She wept, Her eyes now red lotus flowers,

again and again.

268 She began to go and then She returned. Again and again and again

and again She left, returned, and gazed and gazed at Lord Krsna's face.

269 With the cakora birds of Her unblinking eyes saintly Radha drank the

nectar moonlight of Lord Krsna's face.

270 Seven times the supreme goddess Radha circumambulated Lord Krsna.

Seven times She bowed down and respectfully stood before Him.

271 Then twenty-one billion gopis and ten million gopas came there.

272 O Narada, accompanied by the multitudes of gopas and gopis, Sri

Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna and respectfully stood before Him.

273 Accompanied by Her thirty-three close friends and by the many gopas

and gopis, beautiful Radha bowed down before Lord Krsna and then went to the

earth.

274 Then Radha-gopi went to Vrsabhanu-gopa's home, the place Lord Krsna

arranged for Her in Nanda's Gokula.

275 When Radha went with the gopas and gopis to the earth, Lord Krsna

became eager to go there also.

276 After speaking to the gopas and gopis and giving them their various

duties, Lord Krsna, the master of the universes, travelling as fast as the

mind, went to Mathura.

277 Before all this Vasudeva and Devaki had six sons and Kamsa killed

each one as soon as they were born.

278 By Lord Krsna's order, Yogamaya pulled from Devaki's womb the

seventh embryo, who was an incarnation of Lord Sesa, and place it in

Rohini's womb in Gokula.

 

Chp 7: Sri Krsna-janma-kirtana: The Story of Lord Krsna's Birth

 

1 Sri Narada said: O glorious one, please describe Lord Krsna's

glorious and sacred birth. This description frees the hearer from birth,

death and old-age.

2 Whose son was Vasudeva? Whose daughter was Devaki? Who were

Vasudeva and Devaki? Please describe their marriage.

3 Why did cruel Kamsa kill their six sons? On what day was Lord Krsna

born? I wish to hear this. Please describe it.

4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Vasudeva was Kasyapa Muni in his previous

birth, and Devaki was Aditi, the mother of the demigods. As a result of

their previous deeds they attained Lord Krsna as their son.

5 Vasudeva was born from King Devamidha in the womb of Marisa. At the

moment of his birth jubilant demigods sounded anaka and dundubhi drums. For

this reason the elder saintly devotees gave Lord Krsna's father the name

Anakadundubhi.

6 Devaka, a king in the Yadu dynasty, was the son of King Ahuka.

Devaka has a son, Jnanasindhu, and a daughter, Devaki.

8 Carefully following the rules of scripture, Garga Muni, the guru of

the Yadu dynasty, performed the wedding ceremony of Vasudeva and Devaki.

9 There was a great reception for Vasudeva. At an auspicious moment

King Devaka gave Devaki in marriage to Vasudeva.

10 O Narada, King Devaka then gave a dowry of a thousand horses and

golden cups, a hundred beautiful and opulently decorated maidservants,...

11 ...many different kinds of gifts, many different kinds of jewels,

many diamonds, which are the king of jewels, and many jewel cups.

12-14 Then Vasudeva took his bride, who was splendid as a hundred moons,

decorated with splendid jewels, noble, glorious, able to enchant the three

worlds, the best of women, a treasury of beauty, a treasury of virtue,

smiling with crooked eyes, in full bloom of youth, and a perfect bride,

placed her in his chariot and began to depart. Kamsa, who was filled with

joy on the occasion of his sister's marriage, accompanied them.

15 As Kamsa approached the chariot, a disembodied voice spoke from the

sky. 16 The voice said: Why are you so happy, the king of kings? Hear these

truthful words meant for your welfare. Devaki's eight son will kill you.

17 Hearing this, powerful and sinful Kamsa, frightened by the oracle

and filled with anger, grasped a sword in his hand and was about to kill

Devaki.

18 Seeing Kamsa about to kill Devaki, intelligent Vasudeva, who was

learned in the scriptures of ethics, spoke.

19 Sri Vasudeva said: You don't know how a king should act. Please

hear my auspicious words, which are perfectly appropriate, which are spoken

by scripture, and which bring fame and destroy sin.

20 O king, if her eighth son will be your death, and you kill her

instead of him, your reputation will be destroyed and you will go to hell.

21 If somehow he kills a ferocious beast that is attacking him, a wise

man gives in charity coins equal to one karsapana. In this way, at the

moment of his death, he is released from the sin of killing the beast.

22 In he kills an animal that is not attacking him, then, in order at

the time of his death to be released from the sin, a wise man should perform

an atonement a hundred times greater than the previous one. This is said by

the demigod Brahma.

23 If without provocation he kills a higher animal, such as a goat,

then the sin is a hundred times greater. Manu has said this.

24-26 If he kills a human being that is a mleccha, the sin is a hundred

times grater than killing a higher animal. If he kills a pious sudra, the

sin is a hundred times greater than killing a mleccha. If he kills a cow

the sin is a hundred times greater than killing a pious sudra. If he kills

a brahmana the sin is ten time greater than killing a cow.

27 By killing a woman one commits a sin equal to killing a brahmana. 28

O king, if one kills his own sister, who has taken shelter of him and

deserves to be protected by him, he commits a sin a hundred times greater

than killing a woman.

29 A person performs austerities, chants mantras, performs worship,

sees holy places, feeds brahmanas, and performs yajnas in order that he may

go to Svargaloka.

30 The saintly devotees see that this fearful material life is

temporary like a dream or like bubbles in water. Therefore they always

follow the principles of religion.

31 O saintly one, let your sister go. How many wise men are there?

Ask them what you should do.

32 Friend, I will give you my eighth son. Why must I have an eighth

son? 33 Or I will give you all my children. O best of the wise, none of

them would be very dear to me.

34 O king of kings, let your sister go. She is like your own daughter.

You, yourself reared her, every day giving her delicious foods to eat.

35 Hearing Vasudeva's words, King Kamsa released his sister. Then

Vasudeva took his bride to their palace.

36 O Narada, in the course of time six sons were born. Vasudeva gave

each one to Kamsa, and Kamsa killed them all, one by one.

37 When Devaki was pregnant the seventh time, frightened Kamsa posted

guards at her door. Then goddess Yogamaya protected the unborn child,

pulling it out of Devaki's womb and placing it in Rohini's womb.

38 The guards said there was a miscarriage. Because the seventh child,

who was the Personality of Godhead Himself, was pulled (sankarsana) from the

womb, He was called Sankarsana.

39 Then Devaki became pregnant for an eight time. This time there was

no child in her womb. It was filled with air.

40 When the ninth month passed and the tenth came, Lord Krsna, the

Supreme Personality of Godhead who sees everything, glanced at Devaki's

womb.

41 As a result of the Lord's glance, Devaki, who was naturally the most

beautiful of all women, suddenly became four times more beautiful.

42 Kamsa noticed that Devaki, her eyes and face blossoming with

happiness, filled the ten directions with her splendour like the goddess

Yogamaya.

43 She was splendid like all the stars together. Kamsa, the king of

demons, gazed at her and became filled with wonder.

44 Kamsa said, "From this pregnancy will come the child that is the

seed of my death." Then he posted guards at the seven gates to guard Devaki

and Vasudeva with great care.

45 O Narada, when the tenth month came Devaki's pregnancy was complete.

Numb and stunned, she began to tremble.

46 When Devaki's womb was thus filled with air, Lord Krsna, the

original Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the lotus of her heart.

47 When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who maintains all the

universes entered her womb, Devaki became stunned and filled with pain as

she stayed in the confines of her palace.

48 Devaki became restless. One moment she would sit down, the next

moment she would stand up, the next moment she would pace back and forth,

and the next moment she would sleep.

49 Observing Devaki, and aware that the time of giving birth had come,

noble-hearted Vasudeva meditated on Lord Krsna.

50 In the beautiful palace lit with jewel lamps Vasudeva reverently

placed a sword, iron, water, fire,...

51 ...a person learned in chanting mantras, a learned brahmana, his

relatives and their frightened wives.

52 When two hours of night had passed the sky became filled with clouds

and lightning.

53 Great winds blew. The eight guards fell asleep. In their sleep

they became motionless and unconscious as if dead.

54 Then the demigods Brahma, Siva, and Yamaraja came and offered

prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Devaki's womb.

55 The demigods said: You are the origin of the universes, but You have

no origin. You are limitless, immutable, effulgent, sinless, and supremely

exalted. You have no material qualities, for Your qualities are all

spiritual. You are beyond the three modes of material nature.

56 Out of love for them You show Your transcendental form to the

devotees. Your form is not material. You are independent. Your every

desire is automatically fulfilled. You are the master of all. You are

everything. You are the shelter of all transcendental qualities.

57 You are the origin of happiness and distress. You are the origin of

all. You put an end to the demons. You are perfect. You are the shelter

of everything. You are always fearless and free from any distress.

58 You are not material. You are not touched by matter. Your actions

are not material. Your desires are all fulfilled. You are self-satisfied.

You are eternal and free from any imperfection.

59 You are gentle, ferocious, difficult to please, unattainable, the

author of the Vedas, the Vedas, the Vedangas, the knower of the Vedas, and

the all-powerful Lord.

60 After speaking these words the demigods bowed down again and again.

Tears of joy in their eyes, they showered flowers on the Lord.

61 A person who rises early and chants these forty-two names attains

firm devotion for Lord Krsna. His desire to serve the Lord is fulfilled.

62 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After speaking these prayers, the demigods

returned to their own abode. Then a great rain suddenly fell and no one

moved about in Mathura City.

63 O sage, a terrible darkness covered the night. Seven muhurtas

passed and the eighth muhurta came.

Note: One muhurta equals forty-eight minutes.

64 Then, at the most auspicious moments, a moment even the Vedas cannot

properly glorify, a moment beyond all understanding, a moment when all

auspicious planets were visible on the horizon and no inauspicious planets

could be seen,...

65 ...a moment on the eighth tithi, O sage, when a half-moon had risen

with the star Rohini and the auspicious Jayanti-yoga was present,...

66 ...at that moment the sun and the other planets both auspicious and

inauspicious, gazed again and again at the horizon, became filled with awe,

left their regular places and met in the sign Pisces.

67 Staying there, all the planets became auspicious. In this way, by

the demigod Brahma's order, all the planets happily stayed in the eleventh

house for one muhurta.

68 Then the clouds rained, pleasantly cool winds blew, the earth became

happy, and the ten directions became filled with joy.

69 Filled with joy, the sages, manus, yaksas, gandharvas, kinnaras,

apsaras, demigods, and demigoddesses danced.

70 O Narada, the gandharva kings and the vidyadharis sang, the rivers

happily flowed and the fires happily blazed.

71 In Svargaloka there was beautiful music of dundubhi and anaka drums.

There was a great shower of parijata flowers.

72 The earth-goddess assumed the form of a human woman and visited

Devaki's maternity-room, there were loud sounds of conchshells and the

sounds of 'Victory!' and 'Hari!'

73 Then saintly Devaki fell to the ground and the air suddenly passed

from her belly.

74 Then Lord Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, left

the lotus-whorl of Devaki's heart and manifested His transcendental form

before her.

75-80 O sage, then Vasudeva and Devaki saw before them the supremely

handsome and charming Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had two arms, a

flute in His hand, glittering shark-earrings, a gentle smile, great mercy

for His devotees, ornaments of the kings of jewels, a form dark like a

monsoon cloud, yellow garments, limbs anointed with sandal, aguru, musk and

kunkuma, an autumn moon face, handsome bimba fruit lips, a peacock feather

crown, a splendid jewel-crown, a threefold bending form, and a forest

garland, who had the mark of Srivatsa on His chest, who was youthful,

peaceful and handsome, and who was the Lord of both Brahma and Siva.

81 His hands respectfully folded, his neck bent with devotion, tears in

his eyes and the hairs of his body erect, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead's father, Vasudeva, filled with wonder, and his wife Devaki by his

side, offered prayers to the Lord.

82-86 Sri Vasudeva said: O almighty one, how can I properly glorify You,

who are beyond the material senses, not manifest in the material world,

imperishable, beyond the modes of nature, all-powerful, not attainable by

meditation, the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, the supreme

controller whose every desire is at once fulfilled, the Lord who assumes any

form at will, the Supreme Spirit, untouched by matter, the seed of all

existence, eternal, bigger than the biggest, smaller than the smallest, the

most subtle, all-pervading, invisible, the witness present in all bodies,

the Lord who has a transcendental form with a host of transcendental

qualities, the Lord who has no material form, the material world, the master

of the material world, beyond the material world, the master of all, present

in all forms, the death that puts an end to all that is material, deathless,

immutable, the resting place on which all depends, depends on no one, and

the supreme perfect one?

87 Lord Sesa is not able to glorify You properly. Goddess Sarasvati is

not able. Lord Siva is not able. Karttikeya is not able.

88 Lord Brahma, the author of the Vedas is not able to glorify You

properly. Ganesa is not able. The guru of the guru of the kings of the

yogis is not able.

89 The great sages, demigods, manus, and human beings cannot see You,

even in their dreams. How can they glorify You properly?

90 Even the personified Vedas cannot glorify You properly. How can the

scholars of this world glorify You? O Lord, please leave this present form

and now become a small boy.

91 A person who at sunrise, noon, and sunset recites these prayers of

King Vasudeva attains devotional service for the lotus feet of Lord Krsna.

92 He attains a noble and virtuous son devoted to serving Lord Krsna.

He quickly passes through all dangers. He is delivered from the fears of

his enemies.

93 Sri Narayana Rsi said: After hearing Vasudeva's words, handsome and

glorious Lord Krsna, overcome with feelings of kindness for His devotee, and

His face beaming with happiness, spoke to him.

94 Sri Krsna said: Because of your great austerities I have now become

your son. Please ask for a boon. Your future will be auspicious. Of this

there is no doubt.

95 Formerly you were the prajapati Sutapa, the best of ascetics. You

and your austere wife worshipped Me with great austerities.

96 When you saw Me you asked for the boon of having a son like Me. I

gave you the boon of having a son like Me.

97 After giving you that boon I thought, "In the whole world there is

no one like Me." For that reason I have now become your son.

98 By the power of your austerities you were the great sage Kasyapa and

your wife was chaste Aditi, the mother of the demigods.

99 You are Kasyapa, now appearing as My f father Vasudeva, Your wife is

Aditi, the mother of the demigods, who is now Devaki.

100 As a partial incarnation, I appeared as Vamana and became the son of

You and Aditi. Now, by the power of your austerities, I have appeared in My

original form.

101 Thinking of Me either as your son or as the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, you will attain Me. O wise one, you will be liberated even in this

life.

102 O father, take me at once to Yasoda's home in Vraja. Leave Me there

and put Goddess Maya in My place.

103 After speaking these words, Lord Krsna assumed the form of a newborn

infant. Vasudeva gazed at his sleeping, dark, infant son, on the ground

before him.

104-5 Vasudeva said, "What happened when I looked at this child? Was I

bewildered by Lord Visnu's illusory potency? Did I, overcome with

exhaustion, see a dream in this maternity room?" Vasudeva and his wife

gazed at the infant in their lap. Then Vasudeva took the infant to Nanda's

Gokula.

106 Vasudeva quickly went to Nanda's Vraja, entered the maternity room

there, and saw that Yasoda was asleep on her bed, Nanda was asleep, and

everyone in the house was also asleep.

107 He saw a gently smiling infant girl, naked and gazing at the

housetop. 108 When he saw the infant girl, Vasudeva became filled with

wonder. 109 Taking the girl with him, and leaving his son in her place,

he quickly returned to his wife's maternity room in Mathura.

110 There he placed the infant girl, who was the goddess Maha-maya.

When she saw the girl cry again and again, Devaki became afraid.

111 Crying, the infant girl awakened the guards, who quickly came and

took her away.

112 As they took the child to Kamsa, grieving Vasudeva and Devaki

followed them.

113 O great sage, when he saw the beautiful infant girl crying again and

again, Kamsa was not at all pleased. He did not feel any mercy for her.

114 Grabbing the infant, cruel Kamsa was about to throw her against the

stone and kill her, when Vasudeva and Devaki very respectfully addressed

him.

115 They said: O Kamsa, O best of kings, O philosopher wise in the

science of morality, Please hear our beautiful, true, and righteous words.

116-7 O kinsman, you killed our six sons. You had no mercy on them. If

you kill our eighth child, who is a weak girl, how will your power and glory

triumph on the face of the earth? How can a weak girl attack and kill you

in battle?

118 After speaking these words Vasudeva and Devaki openly wept before

wicked Kamsa and his assembly.

119 After hearing their words, cruel Kamsa said to them, "Listen to my

words. Try to understand and I will explain.

120 Kamsa said: Destiny can kill a mountain with a blade of grass, a

lion or a tiger with a tiny worm, an elephant with a mosquito,...

121 ...a great warrior with a child, an enormous animal with tiny

creatures, a cat with a mouse, a snake with a frog,...

122 ...a father with his son, an eater with his food, water with fire,

and a fire with hay.

123 A single brahmana once drank the seven seas. In the seven worlds

the wonderful workings of destiny are beyond our understanding.

124 By destiny a girl will be able to kill me. Therefore, I will not

kill this girl. Here I will not think whether the time is right.

125 After speaking these words, Kamsa grabbed the infant girl and was

about to kill her, when Vasudeva spoke.

126 He said, "O King, you will kill this girl for no reason. O ocean of

kindness, please give her to me." O great sage, when he heard these words,

intelligent Kamsa became a little pacified.

127 Then a disembodied voice said, "Fool Kamsa, who is this girl you

would kill? You do not understand how destiny works.

128 "Your killer is somewhere else. In time He will reveal Himself."

Hearing the words of destiny, King Kamsa released the infant girl.

129 Taking the girl with them, Vasudeva and Devaki returned to their own

home. They pressed her to their heart and accepted her as their own

daughter.

130 As if they had recovered their daughter from the grip of death, they

gave charity to the brahmanas. O brahmana, that girl,who was named

Ekanamsa, was a partial incarnation of Parvati.

 

Chp 8: Sri Janmastami-vrata-pujopavasa-nirupana

Vows, Worship, and Fasting on Sri Janmastami

 

1 Sri Narada said: Now please tell me of the vow of Janmastami, which

is the great vow of vows. Please tell me the result attained by following

the ceremony of Jayanti-yoga.

2 O great sage, what sinful reaction does one meet by not following

this vow or by eating on that day? What pious result does one attain by

fasting on that day?

3 O Lord, please describe the result of following this vow, including

the rules governing the day before the fast, and breaking the fast on the

following day.

4 Sri Narayana Rsi said: On the saptami (seventh day) and on the day

after the fast (the navami or ninth day) one should eat havisya (rice and

ghee) only. On the day of Janmastami (the eight day) one should rise at

dawn.

5 O brahmana, one should rise early, bathe, perform his morning

duties, and be determined to follow the vow and the fast for the pleasure of

Lord Krsna.

6 O brahmana, by bathing and worshipping the Lord during the eight day

(Janmastami) of the month of Bhadra (August-September) one attains the

result of bathing and worshipping the Lord for a manvantara.

7 If on this day one offers only a little water to the pitas, he

attains the result of performing sraddha at Gaya for a hundred years.

8 On that day, after bathing and performing his regular duties, a wise

person should arrange for a maternity-room, place in it water, fire, and an

iron sword, post guards,...

9 ...place many things there, place there an instrument for cutting

the umbilical cord, have a midwife there,...

10 ...place there, O Narada, sixteen articles for worshipping the Lord,

eight fruits and candies,...

11 ...the eight fruits and candies being jatiphala, kakkola,

pomegranate, sriphala, coconut, jambira, kusmanda, and manohara,...

12-13 ...and the sixteen articles for worship being a sitting place,

garments, padya, madhuparka, arghya, water for acamana, water for bathing, a

bed, fragrances, flowers, food-offerings, betel nuts, ointments, incense,

lamps, and ornaments,...

14 ...wash his feet, put on clean clothes, perform acamana, say the

word 'svasti', sit on the seat,...

15 ...place a pot there, worship the five deities, invite Sri Krsna,

the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to appear there,...

16 ...invite Vasudeva, Devaki, Yasoda, Nanda, Rohini, Balarama, Goddess

Sasthi, Goddess Vasundhara,...

17 ...Rohini, Brahma, Asthami, the Sthana-devata, Asvatthama, Bali,

Hanuman, Vibhisana,...

18 ...Krpacarya, Parasurama, Vyasadeva, and Markandeya and then

meditate on Lord Krsna.

19 Then a wise person should place a flower to his head and meditate on

the description of the Lord spoken in the Sama Veda. O Narada, please

listen and I will tell you that description, which Lord Brahma told the

Kumaras in ancient times.

20 I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is an infant boy,

who is splendid as a dark monsoon cloud, who is very handsome, whose lotus

face is smiling, whom Brahma, Siva, Sesa and Yama glorified for how many

days? Whom the kings of sages cannot approach in their meditations, whom

the munis, siddhas, and sons of Manu cannot attain, whom the kings of the

yogis cannot imagine in their thoughts, who is the greatest, who is without

peer, who is all-seeing witness.

21 The follower of this vow should thus meditate on the Lord. Then,

reciting mantras, he should offer the flower, and all the other articles to

the Lord. Please hear these mantras.

22 Here are the mantras: O Lord Krsna, please accept this all-beautiful

jewel throne, wonderfully decorated with graceful and colourful pictures and

designs.

23 O Lord Krsna, please accept these wonderful and colourful garments

pure as fire and made by Visvakarma from threads of pure gold.

24 O Lord Krsna, please accept this golden pot filled with water to

wash Your feet. Please accept this pure padya water and this beautiful

flower.

25 O Lord Krsna, please accept these gold pots of honey, ghee, yoghurt,

milk and sugar.

26 O Lord Krsna, please accept this durva grass, whole rice, white

flower, clear water, sandal, aguru, and musk.

27 O Supreme Lord, please accept this clear,pure,sweet,scented acamana

water.

28 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented Visnu-oil, amalaki paste,

and bath water.

29 O Lord Krsna, please accept this beautiful bed made of the best of

jewels and covered with exquisite cloth.

30 O Lord Krsna, please accept this scented paste made of musk the

powdered tree-roots.

31 O Supreme Lord, please accept this fragrant flower so dear to all

the demigods and grown from a blossoming tree.

32 O Lord Krsna, please accept this offering of ripe fruits,

sugar-candy, svastika candy and other candies.

33 O Lord Krsna, please accept this laddu, modaka, ghee, milk,

molasses, honey, fresh yoghurt, and buttermilk.

34 O Lord Krsna, please accept these betel nuts mixed with camphor and

other things, which I offer to You with devotion.

35 O Supreme Lord, please accept this beautiful avira powder made with

sandal, aguru, musk and kunkuma.

36 O Lord Krsna, please accept this incense made by cooking the nectars

of many trees, incense very dear to all the demigods.

37 O Lord Krsna, please accept this splendid and auspicious lamp that

destroys the terrible blinding darkness.

38 O Lord Krsna, please accept this pure drinking-water scented with

camphor and other fragrances, water that is the life of all living entities.

39 O Lord Krsna, as an ornament for Your transcendental body please

accept this garland of many flowers on a fine thread.

40 O Supreme Lord, please accept these fruits, which are the seeds of

trees, and which make one's dynasty prosper.

41 In this way, at that place, one should offer many appropriate things

to Lord Krsna.

42 The person following this vow should then devotedly worship the many

deities there and then offer them all three palmfuls of flowers.

43-45 In this way one should worship Sunanda, Nanda, Kumuda, the gopas,

the gopis, Sri Radha, Ganesa, Karttikeya, Brahma, Siva, Parvati, Laksmi,

Sarasvati, the dik-palas, the planets, Sesa, Sudarsana, the liberated

associates of the Lord, and all the demigods, and one should offer

obeisances to them, falling to the ground like a stick. Then one should

offer food and daksina to the brahmanas.

46 Then the person following this Janmastami vow should hear the

chapter of scripture describing Lord Krsna's birth, and then he should,

sitting on a seat of kusa grass, keep an all-night vigil.

47 At dawn he should perform his regular duties and then he should

worship Lord Krsna. Then he should feed the brahmanas and then he should

chant the glories of Lord Krsna.

48-49 Sri Narada said: When a person follows the Janmastami vow, fasts,

and keeps the all-night vigil, what result does he attain? What is the sin

one commits by eating on this holy day? O best of the knowers of the Vedas,

referring to the Vedas, Vedangas and ancient Samhitas, please, please

describe this.

50 Sri Narayana Rsi said: If (in the dark fortnight of the month of

Bhadra) even only a quarter of the astami is present at midnight, that day

is considered Janmastami, the time when Lord Krsna was born.

51 Because it brings victory (jaya) and piety, this day is called

Jayanti. A wise person should fast, follow the Janmastami vow, and keep an

all-night vigil on this day.

52 This is the most auspicious of all times. The demigods Brahma and

knowers of the Vedas say this.

53 One who fasts, follows the Janmastami vow, and keeps an all-night

vigil on this day becomes freed from the sins of ten million births. Of

this there is no doubt.

54 One should not celebrate Janmastami on an astami mixed with the

saptami. Even if the star Rohini (is conjoined with the moon) this astami

is not considered Janmastami.

55 Lord Krsna, the son of Devaki, was born on an astami unmixed with

the saptami, an astami when the star Rohini was conjoined with the moon.

When this most auspicious moment, an astami when the moon is conjoined with

Rohini, is passed, a person who has followed the Janmastami vow should break

his fast.

56 When the tithi of Janmastami is over, one should remember Lord

Krsna, worship the devas and asuras, and break his fast. Breaking the fast

in this way is very purifying and destroys all sins.

57 Breaking the fast in this way, an essential part of the fast, brings

purification and the attainment of other results. The breaking of the fast

should be performed during daytime.

58 Otherwise, if the fast is not broken during the daytime, the results

of fasting, following the Janmastami vow, and breaking the fast are all

destroyed.

59 One should not break the fast at night. The only exception is the

Rohini-vrata, when the fast may be broken at night, but not at midnight.

60 In the morning one should worship the brahmanas and demigods and

then break the fast. All the saintly persons agree this is the best time to

break the fast. Only in the Rohini-vrata is it not the best time.

61 If follows the Janmastami vow on a Janmastami when Mercury is

conjoined with the moon, he will never again enter a mother's womb.

62-63 If one a certain Janmastami the navami begins at sunrise and the

moon is conjoined with Mercury or the star Rohini, that Janmastami is very

auspicious. Such a Janmastami occurs perhaps in a hundred years. One who

follows the Janmastami vow on that day delivers ten million of his

relatives.

64 Lord Krsna is pleased with His devotees that observe the fast of

Janmastami, even though, because of not having sufficient wealth, they

cannot perform the Janmastami vow.

65 To one who follows the vow, worshipping the Lord with various

articles and keeping an all-night vigil, Lord Krsna, the enemy of the

demons, gives the result of following the Janmastami vow.

66 A person who observes Janmastami in a way appropriate to his

financial means attains the proper result, but a wealth person who does not

observe Janmastami in a way appropriate to his wealth does not attain the

same result.

67 A wise person should not break his fast during Janmastami or while

the star Rohini is still conjoined with the moon. To do that is to destroy

his past pious deeds and the transcendental result earned by fasting.

68 Breaking the fast during the tithi of Janmastami destroys one's

pious deeds eight times over, and breaking the fast while the star Rohini is

conjoined with the moon destroys one's pious deeds four times over.

Therefore one should be careful to break his fast when Janmastami and the

star Rohini have passed.

69 O best of sages, when the tithi of Janmastami and the star Rohini

both end at midnight, a person following the Janmastami vow should break his

fat on the third day from Janmastami.

70 O Narada, one who eats during the midnight of Janmastami attains the

sinful reaction of killing a brahmana.

71 On a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) one should not eat

even fruit or betel nuts, or even drink water. Eating these is like eating

stool or cow's flesh, or like drinking urine. What, then, can be said of

eating rice?

72 The wise say that night lasts for 9 hours and is bounded, at its

beginning and end, by sunrise and sunset, which last for 48 minutes each.

73 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami)

follows the Janmastami vow and keeps an all-night vigil becomes free from

the sins of a hundred births. Of this there is no doubt.

74 A person who on a pure Janmastami (not mixed with the saptami) fasts

but does not follow the Janmastami vow or keep the all-night vigil, attains

the result of performing an asvamedha-yajna.

75 He is freed from the sins performed in the infancy, childhood,

youth, and age of seven lifetimes.

76 One who eats on Lord Krsna's birthday is lowest of mankind. His

sinful reaction like that of having raped his mother and murdered a hundred

brahmanas.

77 His pious credits of ten million births are at once destroyed. He

become impure. He becomes unfit to worship the demigods or the pitas.

78 At the end of his life he enters the hell called Kalasutra (the rope

of time). As long as the sun and moon shine in the sky he is devoured by

worms with teeth sharp like spears.

79 When his time in hell is over he rises to the earth, where he

becomes a worm in stool for 60,000 years.

80 Then he becomes a vulture for ten billion births, a pig for a

hundred births, a dog for a hundred births, and a jackal for 100 births.

81 Then he becomes a snake for seven births and then a row for seven

births. Then he takes birth as a human being, where he is unable to speak

and where he becomes a leper, always suffering.

82 Then he becomes a butcher and then a hunter of wild beasts. At the

end he becomes a thief and a murderer, a man with no scruples.

83 Then he becomes a washerman, then an oil-merchant, and then a

professional brahmana, always impure at heart.

84 If one is unable to fast he should feed a brahmana and give him

charity equal to twice the value of the food.

85 Or,he should chant mantras to Goddess Laksmi 1000 times, or he

should practice pranayama twelve times.

86 Thus I have described, as I heard it from Yamaraja's mouth, the

fasting, vows and worship performed on Janmastami.

Sadhu.Swami (AT) pamho (DOT) net www.nitai.org