Brahmacarya of Shree Krishna - Part 02 - Madhurya Khanda of "Garga-Samhita"

The second part of the article, dedicated to Brahmacarya of Bhagavan Shree Krishna. 

The first part was dedicated to the story from "Gopala-Tapani-Upanishad".

Now let's look how this story is rendered in "Garga-Samhita". 

"Garga-Samhita", Khanda 04 (Madhurya-Khanda), Chapter One

The Story of the Personified Vedas

1. Glorious as an atasi flower, garlanded with forest flowers, and enjoying pastimes with the youthful gopis in a kadamba forest by the Yamuna's shore, may Lord Krishna grant auspiciousness to us.

2. Dressed as a dancer, with a yellow sash, a peacock-feather crown, swinging earrings, a graceful neck, and a stick and flute in His hand, Lord Krishna is the object of my worship.

  

3. Sri Bahulashva said: O sage, how did Sri Krishnacandra fulfill the desires of the personified Vedas that were blessed to take birth as gopis?

  

4. O wise one, you are the best of they who know everything. Please tell this sacred and wonderful pastime of Lord Gopala Krishna.

  

5. Sri Narada said:
O king of Videha, because of a benediction given by Lord Seshashayi Vishnu, some personified Vedas took birth as gopis in the sainty gopa families of Vraja.

6. In Vrindavana forest seeing handsome Krishna, and yearning to attain Him, they approached Vrinda-devi, the ruler of Vrindavana.

  

7. Pleased with Vrinda's benediction, Lord Krishna, who is always kind to His devotees, every day entered the gopis homes to enjoy the rasa dance.

8. O king, once, when six hours of the night had already passsed, Lord Krishna came, very late, to their homes.

  

9. The anxious gopis worshiped Him and with sweet words asked a question.

10. The gopis said: O savior from troubles, why did You not come sooner? As cakora birds yearn to see the moon, we gopis always yearn to see You.

  

11. The Supreme Lord said: O My beloveds, a person who lives in someone's heart is never far away. Gazing at the sun in the sky, a lotus on the earth is inspired to blossom wide.

 12. O My beloveds, today My spiritual master, Lord Durvasa Muni, came to Bhandiravana forest, and I went to serve him.

  

13. The spiritual master is like Lord Brahma. The spiritual master is like Lord Vishnu. The spiritual master is like Lord Siva. The spiritual master is like the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I offer my respectful obeisances to my glorious spiritual master.

  

14. I was born in the darkest ignorance, and My spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer My respectful obeisances to him.

15. One should know the spiritual master as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.

16. O My beloveds, I worshiped him and offered respects to his lotus feet. That is why I was late in coming to your homes.

17. Sri Narada said: Filled with wonder to hear these words, with bowed heads and folded hands the gopis spoke to Lord Krishna.

18. The gopis said: You are the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Durvasa Muni is Your spiritual master! O Lord, our hearts yearn to see him.

  

19. O Supreme Lord, how can we see him now that six hours of the night have passed?

  

20. The great Yamuna river is a great obstacle. O Lord, how can we cross it without a boat?

21. The Supreme Lord said: O My beloveds, you must go to see him. When you come to the Yamuna, speak these words:

  

22. O Yamuna, O best of rivers, if Krishna is a perfect and faultess brahmacari, then please give us a path to cross you.

23. When you speak these words, the Yamuna will give you a path. O girls of Vraja, then you may easily cross.

  

24. Hearing these words, the girls of Vraja filled fifty-six great pots with many different kinds of foods.

25. O king of Mithila, they went to the Yamuna and with bowed heads repeated Krishna's words. The Yamuna at once gave a path to the gopis.

  

26-27. Filled with wonder, the gopis went to Bhandiravana forest. where they saw Durvasa Muni, bowed down before him, circumambulated him, and, each of them saying, "O sage, the food I have brought should be tasted first," placed many foods before him.

  

28. Understanding the pure devotion of the quarreling gopis, Durvasa, the tiger of sages, spoke sweetly to them.

29. The sage said: O gopis, I am a paramahamsa. I have attained the highest goal in life. I never do any material action. For this reason each of you should with her own hand place in my mouth the food she has brought.

30. Sri Narada said: The jubilant gopis then placed in his wide-open mouth all the fifty-six kinds of food they had brought.

  

31. As the gopis fed him and watched what he did, Durvasa, the king of sages, ate thousands of bharas of food as if he were tormented with hunger.

32. O best of kings, when all the pots were emptied the gopis looked at each other with astonishment.

  

33. The astonished gopis, their desires now fulfilled, bowed down before the peaceful sage, who was always kind to the devotees, and spoke.

  

34. The gopis said: O sage, when we came here to see you, we were able to cross the river by repeating some words Krishna told us.

  

35. How will we return? Now we are filled with doubt. We offer our respects to you. Please give us a way to cross the Yamuna.

  

36. The sage said: I will give you something to say that will give you easy passage across the Yamuna.

  

37-38. O Yamuna, O best of rivers, if Durvasa Muni carefully follows his vow of living only by drinking durva grass juice and never eats or drinks anything else, then please give us a path to cross you. When you speak these words, the Yamuna will give you a path to cross her.

39. Sri Narada said: O king, hearing these words, the gopis bowed down before the great sage, went to the Yamuna, repeated the sage's words, and easily crossed the river.

  

40. Astonished, the saintly gopis approached Lord Krishna.

  

41. Then a doubt rose in the gopis' hearts. During the rasa dance, in a secluded place, when their desires were all fulfilled, the gopis asked a question of Sri Krishna.

42. The gopis said: We saw Durvasa Muni, but now a doubt about what You and he told us has risen in our hearts.

43-44. As the spiritual master acts, so the disciple follows. If the spiritual master speaks lies, then the disciple will also speak lies. O Lord, You are a rake. You are the gopis' lover. Since childhood you have enjoyed nectar pastimes with the gopis. 

How are You a brahmacari? 

O savior from troubles, please tell us. How is Durvasa a sage that lives only by drinking durva-grass juice? 

We personally saw him eat an enormous feast. O master of Vraja, this is our doubt.

  

45. The Supreme Lord said: I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am all-pervading, faultless, and equal to all. 

I am free of the material defects of possessiveness and false-ego. 

I am free of the modes of material nature.

  

46. As My devotees serve Me, I also serve them in reciprocation. 

As I reciprocate in this way, so a wise and faultless devotee also reciprocates.

47. Let not the wise disrupt the minds of the ignorant who are attached to fruitive action. 

They should not be encouraged to refrain from work, but to engage in work in the spirit of devotion.

48. One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification. 

He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge.

  

49. Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions and acts only for the bare necessities of life. 

Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.

50. In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticsm. And one who has achieved this enjoys the self within himself in due course of time.

51. One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme God, is not affected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

52. Durvasa Muni ate that great feast for your sake. He did not desire to eat it. He lives by drinking a little durva-grass juice.

  

53. Sri Narada said: O king of Mithila, when they heard these words, the gopis that had been personified Vedas became filled with transcendental knowledge. Their doubt was broken.

The third part of the article - http://vishnudut1926.blogspot.ru/2013/06/brahmacarya-of-shree-krishna-part-03.html