Srimad Bhagavatam Skanda 1 - Praises of Lord Krishna on his return to Dwarka

Srimad Bhagavatam cleanses kalimala or the pollutant of Kali, destroys sins, shows the indweller, the Lord, in oneself by bringing Vairagya towards the materialistic world, and gives pure devotion, crystal clear, and clean knowledge. 

|| Hari Om ||

Hare Srinivasa

कल्यण अद्भुत गात्राय कामितार्थ प्रदयिने ।

श्रीमद् वेन्कटनाथाय श्रीनिवासय ते नम: ॥

Your benevolence for granting wishes is incredibly vast and unsurpassed.

Divine Lord Venkateshwara! Destroyer of Sins! An abode of Mahalakshmi! Srinivasa!

My salutations to you.

भवाय नस्त्वं भव विश्वभावन त्वमेव माताथ सुहृत्पतिः पिता ।

त्वं सद्गुरुर्नः परमं च दैवतं यस्यानुवृत्त्या कृतिनो बभूविम ॥ ७॥

Vishwabhavana! From you, the whole universe has arisen. Suhrtpati! You are the mother, the father, you are the friend, as well as our teacher. Sadguru! It is you, who makes us walk on the right path. You are our lord, as well as being worshipped. We are safe and successful by taking refuge in your lotus feet which are auspicious. 

Lord! You are the only cause of our success.

व्यासाय भव नाशाय श्रीशाय गुण राशऐ ।

हृद्याय शुद्ध विद्याय मध्वायछ नमो नमः ॥

Charming & the beloved Vyasa, the destroyer of emotional & behavioral disorders, the Lord of Goddess of abundance having heaps of attributes, bestower of clean knowledge, my repeated salutations to you and Acharya Madhwa.

यः स्वानुभावमखिलश्रुतिसारमेकमध्यात्मदीपमतितितीर्षतां तमोऽन्धम् ।

संसारिणां करुणयाह पुराणगुह्यं तं व्याससूनुमुपयामि गुरुं मुनीनाम् ॥

This Srimad Bhagavatam gives the experience of the Lord and has the essence of all Vedas and Vedanta. It sheds spiritual light on the transcendental philosophy required to surpass the intense cycle of death and birth which is wrapped in ignorance. However, it is very secretive in nature. Hence, I pray to you Sri Shukacharya for your continued blessings.

दयादाक्षिण्यवैराग्यवाक्पाटवमुखाङिकतः ।

शापानुृग्रहशक्तोऽन्यो राघवेन्द्रन्नविध्यते ॥

The face symbolizing Compassion; Modesty; Dispassion towards sensual pleasure; Eloquence; Power to remove curses is none else than you, Guru Raghavendra. My salutations to you.

The war at Kurukshetra was over. Dharma had trumped, Dharmaraja was coronated as King of Hastinapur and the death of Duryodhana had marked the birth of Kali. Hence, the war of injustice, the fight of adharma against dharma continues unabated. Meantime, Ashwathama had fired a Brahmashirsastra directing to kill all the progeny of Pandavas and hence was attacking the womb of Uttara Devi. Answering Uttara Devi’s prayers, we noted below:

अन्तःस्थः सर्वभूतानामात्मा योगेश्वरो हरिः ।

स्वमाययावृणोद्गर्भं वैराट्याः कुरुतन्तवे ॥ १४॥

Lord Sri Krishna, the indweller in all the lives of this universe, the Lord of Yoga, Sri Hari had entered the womb of Uttara Devi with one of his forms wearing a secretive armor to protect the offspring of the Pandu dynasty.

For which, Sri Sutacharya had said,

यद्यप्यस्त्रं ब्रह्मशिरस्त्वमोघं चाप्रतिक्रियम् ।

वैष्णवं तेज आसाद्य समशाम्यद्भृगूद्वह ॥ १५॥

“Shaunaka! It is true that Brahmashirsastras is only one of a kind. It will never go in vain. And there is no anti-missile to neutralize this. Even then, it became calm seeing वैष्णवं तेज or the brilliance of the Lord.”

Subsequently, at the request of Uttara Devi, Kunti Devi, all Pandavas and to bring happiness to his sister Subhadra, Lord Sri Krishna stayed back for a long time in Hastinapura.  One day, Lord Sri Krishna left for Dwarka.

For daily prayers, or hearing Lord’s stories that describe his glories, or sing his names that describe his attributes, we often lose attention or devotion. Sometimes, it even becomes a burden. Here, Sri Sutacharya narrating the zeal and enthusiasm of the people of Dwarka establishes the way to go about when it comes to Lord. He says,  

कुरुजाङ्गलपाञ्चालान् शूरसेनान् सयामुनान् ।

ब्रह्मावर्तं कुरुक्षेत्रं मत्स्यान् सारस्वतानथ ॥ ३४॥

मरुधन्वमतिक्रम्य सौवीराभीरयोः परान् ।

आनर्तान् भार्गवोपागाच्छ्रान्तवाहो मनाग् विभुः ॥ ३५॥

Dear Shaunaka! After crossing the kingdoms of Kuru, Lord Sri Krishna had traveled through the various kingdoms of Panchala, Shoorasena, on the banks of the river The Yamuna. Also, he had traveled through Brahmavarta, Kurukshetra, Matsya, Saraswata, Marudanva, and had reached Anarta adjacent to Sauveera and Abhira kingdoms. By then, the horses had pulled the chariot and had covered a long distance. They were tired. 

तत्र तत्र ह तत्रत्यैर्हरिः प्रत्युद्यतार्हणः ।

सायं भेजे दिशं पश्चाद्गविष्ठो गां गतस्तदा ॥ ३६॥

As the people in various towns and cities heard the news of Lord Sri Krishna’s travel plans, they assembled to welcome him, pay respects and offer him presents.  They were excited and happy. Hence, they had to stop at various places. The Lord seeing all of them, was pleased and had showered his blessings. However, it was dusk when he had reached Anarta, the border territory of his kingdom. The Sun that had raised from the sea for the day was setting into the sea. Hence, he got down from the chariot to carry out Sandyavandana. This was his daily routine.         

इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां संहितायां प्रथमस्कन्धे

श्रीकृष्णद्वारकागमनं नाम दशमोऽध्यायः ॥ १०॥

With this, we complete a part named "Arrival of Sri Krishna to Dwarka" of tenth Adhyaya, of Srimad Bhagavatam Skanda 1.

We could do so only with the grace of Gurus including Sri Raghavendra and his philosophical associates including Sri Saunaka & his fellow Rishis, Sri Sutacahrya, Sri Sukachary, God Vayu, and Sri Hari as their Jnana Prasada. Let's pray for their continued blessings.

सूत उवाच, Sri Sutacharya says,

आनर्तान् स उपव्रज्य स्वृद्धाञ्जनपदान् स्वकान् ।

दध्मौ दरवरं तेषां विषादं शमयन्निव ॥ १॥

Shaunaka! Sri Krishna had reached the border territory of Anarta. All along his travels, he had noticed that the villages, towns, and cities were prosperous. Always satisfied Lord had also noticed that a sense of loss was growing from time to time due to his separation among the people of Dwarka. He blew his auspicious conch named Panchajanya. Hearing which, the citizens had lost their pain of missing Lord Sri Krishna, also, they gave up the solitude and became very happy.

स उच्चकाशे धवलोदरो दरोऽप्युरुक्रमस्याधरशोणशोणिमा ।

दाध्मायमानः करकञ्जसम्पुटे यथाब्जखण्डे कलहंस उत्स्वनः ॥ २॥

The Panchajanya conch was pure white, glossy that reflected the pink color of the cheeks of Lord Sri Krishna. Hence, the conch appeared like the newly bloomed early morning lotus flower in the water body graciously dancing to the gentle flow of the air and like the melodious sound of King Swan.

तमुपश्रुत्य निनदं जगद्भयभयावहम् ।

प्रत्युद्ययुः प्रजाः सर्वा भर्तृदर्शनलालसाः ॥ ३॥

The sound of Panchajanya is very scary to all the evils who cause fear. Also, the pregnant women of evil abort hearing this sound. However, the virtuous people of Anarta heard the same sound of Panchajanya as melodious. This brought enthusiasm in them looking forward to seeing their Lord, they rushed out of their city to receive Lord Sri Krishna.

तत्रोपनीतबलयो रवेर्दीपमिवादृताः ।

आत्मारामं पूर्णकामं निजलाभेन नित्यदा ॥ ४॥

Sri Krishna's Arrival

The devotees of Lord Surya Narayana offer oil lamps out of respect & devotion to God Sun, though himself is blazing. So too, the offer argyria, the water from the lake to God Sun. Similarly, the people of Dwarka brought gifts and welcomed Lord Sri Krishna who was always engrossed in himself as Atmarama. They brought pooja items that included garlands, sandalwood paste, jewelry, clothes, and so on. Also, they brought different types of fresh fruits and dry fruits to please the Lord. All these, they had arranged in silver plates and some in gold plates and were carrying these plates on their heads with a lot of care and devotions. As they reached the Lord Sri Krishna, they kept in front of him and offered prostration filling their hearts with love towards the Lord. In fact, Sri Krishna had received this symbolically and had returned the same making it manifold as blessing to the people of Anarta.

प्रीत्युत्फुल्लमुखाः प्रोचुर्हर्षगद्गदया गिरा ।

पितरं सर्वसुहृदमवितारमिवार्भकाः ॥ ५॥

The people of Anarta had their faces lit-up. It bloomed like a lotus flower, bringing happiness and enthusiasm.  They had seen Stayaki, Uddhava, the chariot and the Lord Sri Krishna himself. Their voice was choking. As they sang and twittered like a little boy talking to his father. Submitting themselves including their words, deeds, mind, and soul, they sang the glory of the kind-hearted protector, Lord Sri Krishna.

 नताः स्म ते नाथ सदाङ्घ्रिपङ्कजं विरिञ्चवैरिञ्च्यसुरेन्द्रवन्दितम् ।

परायणं क्षेममिहेच्छतां परं न यत्र कालः प्रभवेत्परः प्रभुः ॥ ६॥

Lord! Our salutations are always to your divine lotus feet. The best of being, God Brahma, Vayu, the best of Vaishnavas Garuda, Sesha, Rudra, the King of Gods Indra all worship those divine lotus-like feet. Also, the children of Brahma including Sanat Kumaras, Narada, and the accomplished souls themselves seek refuge in your lotus feet. These very lotus-like feet have set-foot on the lordship of the universe. Those who seek auspicious benefits, to them, these divine lotus feet give refuge. Even the God of Time, Yamaraja cannot trouble them. As you are the Lord of Time and the indweller of Yamaraja.    

भवाय नस्त्वं भव विश्वभावन त्वमेव माताथ सुहृत्पतिः पिता ।

त्वं सद्गुरुर्नः परमं च दैवतं यस्यानुवृत्त्या कृतिनो बभूविम ॥ ७॥

Vishwabhavana! From you, the whole universe has arisen. Suhrtpati! You are the mother, the father, you are the friend, as well as our teacher. Sadguru! It is you, who makes us walk on the right path. You are our lord, as well being worshipped. We are safe and successful by taking refuge in your lotus feet which are auspicious. Lord! You be the only cause to our success.

अहो सनाथा भवता स्म यद्वयं त्रैविष्टपानामपि दूरदर्शनम् ।

प्रेमस्मितस्निग्धनिरीक्षणाननं पश्येम रूपं तव सर्वसौभगम् ॥ ८॥

Wow! Your beauty is the essence of all beautiful. The arrival of a handsome Lord like you is like an orphan unexpectedly receiving parents. The Gods have their King as Devendra. But for us, the people of Dwarka, you are our Lord. We are more fortunate than the Gods in Heaven. We are fortunate to see your lotus like a beautiful face filled with love, friendship, compassion, tight-lipped smile, always.

यर्ह्यम्बुजाक्षापससार भो भवान् कुरून् मधून् वाथ सुहृद्दिदृक्षया ।

तत्राब्दकोटिप्रतिमः क्षणो भवेद्रविं विनाक्ष्णोरिव नस्तवाच्युत ॥ ९॥

The lotus-eyed Pundarikaksha! Achutha! You have no decline. However, when you had left to see your dear relatives in Hastinapura, Mathura in Vajra Mandala, our lives had become as if devoid of Sunlight. For us, every second was appearing as if thousands of years. When you are here now, the Pandavas and the people of Kuru would experience the same. Oh, Lord! It is very hard to live without you. We had really missed you.

इति चोदीरिता वाचः प्रजानां भक्तवत्सलः ।

शृण्वानोऽनुग्रहं दृष्ट्या वितन्वन् प्राविशत्पुरीम् ॥ १०॥

Lord Sri Krishna being bhaktavatsala, as devotees are most dear, heard the pleasing words of his devotees. He heard everyone and acknowledged each of them. With that view itself, filled with compassion, blessed them and entered Dwarka.

|| Hari Om ||

|| Sri Krishnarpanamastu ||