CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ was very much encouraged when MahÄrÄja ParÄŤkᚣit asked him why the cowherd boys did not discuss the death of AghÄsura until after one year had passed. He explained thus: âMy dear King, you are making the subject matter of the transcendental pastimes of KášášŁáša fresher by your inquisitiveness.â
It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about KášášŁáša. This is called KášášŁáša consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting about KášášŁáša, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nitya-nava-navÄyamÄna. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.
It is the duty of the spiritual master to disclose all confidential subject matter to the inquisitive and sincere disciple. Thus Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ began to explain why the killing of AghÄsura was not discussed until one year had passed. Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ told the King, âNow hear of this secret with attention. After saving His friends from the mouth of AghÄsura and killing the demon, Lord KášášŁáša brought His friends to the bank of the YamunÄ and addressed them as follows: âMy dear friends, just see how this spot is very nice for taking lunch and playing on the soft, sandy YamunÄ bank. You can see how the lotus flowers in the water are beautifully blown and how they distribute their fragrance all around. The chirping of the birds along with the cooing of the peacocks, surrounded by the whispering of the leaves in the trees, combine and present sound vibrations that echo one another. And this just enriches the beautiful scenery created by the trees here. Let us have our lunch in this spot because it is already late and we are feeling hungry. Let the calves remain near us, and let them drink water from the YamunÄ. While we engage in our lunch-taking, the calves may engage in eating the soft grasses that are in this spot.â
On hearing this proposal from KášášŁáša, all the boys became very glad and said, âCertainly, let us all sit down here to take our lunch.â They then let loose the calves to eat the soft grass. Sitting down on the ground and keeping KášášŁáša in the center, they began to open their lunch boxes brought from home. Lord ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša was seated in the center of the circle, and all the boys kept their faces toward Him. They ate and constantly enjoyed seeing the Lord face to face. KášášŁáša appeared to be the whorl of a lotus flower, and the boys surrounding Him appeared to be its different petals. The boys collected flowers, leaves of flowers and the bark of trees and placed their lunch on them, as well as in their boxes, and thus they began to eat their lunch, keeping company with KášášŁáša. While taking lunch, each boy began to manifest different kinds of relations with KášášŁáša, and they enjoyed each otherâs company with joking words. While Lord KášášŁáša was thus enjoying lunch with His friends, His flute was pushed within the belt of His cloth on His right side, and His bugle and cane were pushed in on the left-hand side of His cloth. In his left palm He was holding a lump of food prepared with yogurt, butter, rice and pieces of fruit salad, which could be seen through His petallike finger-joints. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who accepts the results of all great sacrifices, was laughing and joking, enjoying lunch with His friends in VášndÄvana. And thus the scene was being observed by the demigods from heaven. As for the boys, they were simply enjoying transcendental bliss in the company of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
At that time, the calves that were pasturing nearby entered into the deep forest, allured by new grasses, and gradually went out of sight. When the boys saw that the calves were not nearby, they became afraid for their safety, and they immediately cried out, âKášášŁáša!â KášášŁáša is the killer of fear personified. Everyone is afraid of fear personified, but fear personified is afraid of KášášŁáša. By crying out the word âKášášŁáša,â the boys at once transcended the fearful situation. Out of His great affection, KášášŁáša did not want His friends to give up their pleasing lunch engagement and go searching for the calves. He therefore said, âMy dear friends, you need not interrupt your lunch. Go on enjoying. I am going personally to find the calves.â Thus Lord KášášŁáša, still carrying the lump of yogurt-and-rice preparation in His left hand, immediately started to search out the calves in the caves and bushes. He searched in the mountain holes and in the forests, but nowhere could He find them.
At the time when AghÄsura was killed and the demigods were looking on the incident with great surprise, BrahmÄ, who was born of the lotus flower growing out of the navel of Viᚣášu, also came to see. He was surprised how a little boy like KášášŁáša could act so wonderfully. Although he was informed that the little cowherd boy was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he wanted to see more of the Lordâs glorious pastimes, and thus he stole all the calves and cowherd boys and took them to a different place. Lord KášášŁáša, therefore, in spite of searching for the calves, could not find them, and He even lost His boyfriends on the bank of the YamunÄ, where they had been taking their lunch. In the form of a cowherd boy, Lord KášášŁáša was very little in comparison to BrahmÄ, but because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He could immediately understand that all the calves and boys had been stolen by BrahmÄ. KášášŁáša thought, âBrahmÄ has taken away all the boys and calves. How can I alone return to VášndÄvana? The mothers will be aggrieved!â
Therefore in order to satisfy the mothers of His friends, as well as to convince BrahmÄ of the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead, He immediately expanded Himself as the cowherd boys and calves. In the Vedas it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has already expanded Himself into so many living entities by His energy. Therefore it was not very difficult for Him to expand Himself again into so many boys and calves. He expanded Himself to become exactly like the boys, who were of all different features and facial and bodily construction, and who were different in their clothing and ornaments and in their behavior and personal activities. In other words, although each boy, being an individual soul, had entirely different tastes, activities and behavior, KášášŁáša exactly expanded Himself into all the different positions of the individual boys. He also became the calves, who were also of different sizes, colors, activities, etc. This was possible because everything is an expansion of KášášŁášaâs energy. In the Viᚣášu PurÄáša it is said, parasya brahmaášaḼ ĹaktiḼ. Whatever we actually see in the cosmic manifestationâbe it matter or the activities of the living entitiesâis simply an expansion of the energies of the Lord, as heat and light are the different expansions of fire.
Thus expanding Himself as the boys and calves in their individual capacities, and surrounded by such expansions of Himself, KášášŁáša entered the village of VášndÄvana. The residents had no knowledge of what had happened. After entering the village of VášndÄvana, all the calves entered their respective cowsheds, and the boys went to their respective mothers and homes.
The mothers of the boys heard the vibration of their flutes before their entrance, and to receive them, they came out of their homes and embraced them. And out of maternal affection, milk was flowing from their breasts, and they allowed the boys to drink it. However, their offering was not exactly to their boys but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had expanded Himself into such boys. This was a chance for all the mothers of VášndÄvana to feed the Supreme Personality of Godhead with their own milk. Therefore not only did Lord KášášŁáša give YaĹodÄ the chance to feed Him, but this time He gave the chance to all the other elder gopÄŤs.
All the boys dealt with their mothers as usual, and the mothers also, on the approach of evening, bathed their respective children, decorated them with tilaka and ornaments and gave them necessary food after the dayâs labor. The cows also, who had been away in the pasturing ground, returned in the evening and called their respective calves. The calves immediately came to their mothers, and the mothers began to lick the bodies of the calves. These relations of the cows and the gopÄŤs with their calves and boys remained unchanged, although actually the original calves and boys were not there. Actually the cowsâ affection for their calves and the elder gopÄŤsâ affection for their boys causelessly increased. Their affection increased naturally, even though the calves and boys were not their offspring. Although the cows and elder gopÄŤs of VášndÄvana had greater affection for KášášŁáša than for their own offspring, after this incident their affection for their offspring increased unlimitedly, exactly as it did for KášášŁáša. For one year continuously, KášášŁáša Himself expanded as the calves and cowherd boys and was present in the pasturing ground.
As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ, KášášŁášaâs expansion is situated in everyoneâs heart as the Supersoul. But in this case, instead of expanding Himself as the Supersoul, He expanded Himself as a portion of calves and cowherd boys for one continuous year.
One day, a few days before a year had passed, KášášŁáša and BalarÄma were maintaining the calves in the forest when They saw some cows grazing on the top of Govardhana Hill. The cows could see down into the valley where the calves were being taken care of by the boys. Suddenly, on sighting the calves, the cows began to run toward them. They leaped downhill with joined front and rear legs. The cows were so melted with affection for the calves that they did not care about the rough path from the top of Govardhana Hill down to the pasturing ground. They approached the calves with their milk bags full of milk, and they raised their tails upwards. When they were coming down the hill, their milk bags were pouring milk on the ground out of intense maternal affection for the calves, although they were not their own calves. These cows had their own calves, and the calves that were grazing beneath Govardhana Hill were larger; they were not expected to drink milk directly from the milk bag but were satisfied with the grass. Yet all the cows came immediately and began to lick their bodies, and the calves also began to suck milk from the milk bags. There appeared to be a great bond of affection between the cows and calves.
When the cows were running down from the top of Govardhana Hill, the men who were taking care of them tried to stop them. Older cows are taken care of by the men, and the calves are taken care of by the boys; and as far as possible, the calves are kept separate from the cows, so that the calves do not drink all the available milk. Therefore the men who were taking care of the cows on the top of Govardhana Hill tried to stop them, but they failed. Baffled by their failure, they were feeling ashamed and angry. They were very unhappy, but when they came down and saw their children taking care of the calves, they all of a sudden became very affectionate toward the children. It was very astonishing. Although the men came down disappointed, baffled and angry, as soon as they saw their own children, their hearts melted with great affection. At once their anger, dissatisfaction and unhappiness disappeared. They began to show paternal love for the children, and with great affection they lifted them in their arms and embraced them. They began to smell their childrenâs heads and enjoy their company with great happiness. After embracing their children, the men took the cows back to the top of Govardhana Hill. Along the way they began to think of their children, and affectionate tears fell from their eyes.
When BalarÄma saw this extraordinary exchange of affection between the cows and the calves and between the fathers and their childrenâwhen neither the calves nor the children needed so much careâHe began to wonder why this extraordinary thing had happened. He was astonished to see all the residents of VášndÄvana so affectionate to their own children, exactly as they had been to KášášŁáša. Similarly, the cows had grown affectionate to the calvesâas much as to KášášŁáša. BalarÄma therefore concluded that the extraordinary show of affection was something mystical, either performed by the demigods or by some powerful man. Otherwise, how could this wonderful change take place? He concluded that this mystical change must have been caused by KášášŁáša, whom BalarÄma considered His worshipable Personality of Godhead. He thought, âIt was arranged by KášášŁáša, and even I could not check its mystic power.â Thus BalarÄma understood that all those boys and calves were only expansions of KášášŁáša.
BalarÄma inquired from KášášŁáša about the actual situation. He said, âMy dear KášášŁáša, in the beginning I thought that all these calves and cowherd boys were either great sages and saintly persons or demigods, but at present it appears that they are actually Your expansions. They are all You; You Yourself are playing as the calves and boys. What is the mystery of this situation? Where have those other calves and boys gone? And why are You expanding Yourself as the calves and boys? Will You kindly tell Me what is the cause?â At the request of BalarÄma, KášášŁáša briefly explained the whole situation: how the calves and boys had been stolen by BrahmÄ and how KášášŁáša was concealing the incident by expanding Himself so people would not know that the original calves and boys were missing.
While KášášŁáša and BalarÄma were talking, BrahmÄ returned after a momentâs interval (according to the duration of his life). We have information of Lord BrahmÄâs duration of life from the Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ: 1,000 times the duration of the four ages, or 1,000 x 4,320,000 years, constitute BrahmÄâs twelve hours. Similarly, one moment of BrahmÄâs time is equal to one year of our solar calculation. After one moment of BrahmÄâs calculation, BrahmÄ came back to see the fun caused by his stealing the boys and calves. But he was also afraid that he was playing with fire. KášášŁáša was his master, and he had played mischief for fun by taking away His calves and boys. He was really anxious, so he did not stay away very long; he came back after a moment (by his calculation). He saw that all the boys and calves were playing with KášášŁáša in the same way as when he had come upon them, although he was confident that he had taken them and made them lie down asleep under the spell of his mystic power. BrahmÄ began to think, âAll the boys and calves were taken away by me, and I know they are still sleeping. How is it that a similar batch of boys and calves is playing with KášášŁáša? Is it that they are not influenced by my mystic power? Have they been playing continually for one year with KášášŁáša?â BrahmÄ tried to understand who they were and how they were uninfluenced by his mystic power, but he could not ascertain it. In other words, he himself came under the spell of his own mystic power. The influence of his mystic power appeared like snow in darkness or a glowworm in the daytime. During the nightâs darkness, the glowworm can show some glittering power, and the snow piled up on the top of a hill or on the ground can shine during the daytime. But at night the snow has no silver glitter, nor does the glowworm have any illuminating power during the daytime. Similarly, when the small mystic power exhibited by BrahmÄ was before the mystic power of KášášŁáša, it was just like snow at night or a glowworm during the day. When a man of small mystic power wants to show potency in the presence of greater mystic power, he diminishes his own influence; he does not increase it. Even such a great personality as BrahmÄ, when he wanted to show his mystic power before KášášŁáša, became ludicrous. BrahmÄ was thus confused about his own mystic power.
In order to convince BrahmÄ that all those calves and boys were not the original ones, the calves and boys who were playing with KášášŁáša transformed into Viᚣášu forms. Actually, the original ones were sleeping under the spell of BrahmÄâs mystic power, but the present ones, seen by BrahmÄ, were all immediate expansions of KášášŁáša, or Viᚣášu. Viᚣášu is the expansion of KášášŁáša, so the Viᚣášu forms appeared before BrahmÄ. All the Viᚣášu forms were of bluish color and dressed in yellow garments; all of Them had four hands decorated with club, disc, lotus flower and conchshell. On Their heads were glittering golden helmets inlaid with jewels; They were bedecked with pearls and earrings and garlanded with beautiful flowers. On Their chests was the mark of ĹrÄŤvatsa, Their arms were decorated with armlets and other jewelry, and Their necks were just like conchshells. Their legs were decorated with bells, Their waists with golden belts, and Their fingers with jeweled rings. BrahmÄ also saw that upon the whole body of each Lord Viᚣášu, from the lotus feet up to the top of the head, fresh tulasÄŤ leaves and buds had been thrown. Another significant feature of the Viᚣášu forms was that all of Them were looking transcendentally beautiful. Their smiling resembled the moonshine, and Their glancing resembled the early rising of the sun. Just by Their glancing They showed Themselves to be the creators and maintainers of the modes of ignorance and passion. Viᚣášu represents the mode of goodness, BrahmÄ represents the mode of passion, and Lord Ĺiva represents the mode of ignorance. Therefore as the maintainer of everything in the cosmic manifestation, Viᚣášu is also the creator and maintainer of BrahmÄ and Lord Ĺiva.
After this manifestation of Lord Viᚣášu, BrahmÄ saw that many other BrahmÄs and Ĺivas and demigods and even insignificant living entities down to the ants and very small strawsâall moving and nonmoving living entitiesâwere dancing, surrounding Lord Viᚣášu. Their dancing was accompanied by various kinds of music, and all of them were worshiping Lord Viᚣášu. BrahmÄ realized that all those Viᚣášu forms were complete in mystic power, from the aášimÄ perfection of becoming small like an atom up to becoming infinite like the cosmic manifestation. All the mystic powers of BrahmÄ, Ĺiva, all the demigods and the twenty-four elements of cosmic manifestation were fully represented in the person of Viᚣášu. By the influence of Lord Viᚣášu, all subordinate mystic powers were engaged in His worship. He was being worshiped by time, space, the cosmic manifestation, reformation, desire, activity and the three qualities of material nature. Lord Viᚣášu, BrahmÄ also realized, is the reservoir of all truth, knowledge and bliss. He is the combination of three transcendental features, namely eternity, knowledge and bliss, and He is the object of worship by the followers of the Upaniᚣads. BrahmÄ realized that all the different forms of boys and calves transformed into Viᚣášu forms were not transformed by a mysticism of the type that a yogÄŤ or a demigod can display by specific powers invested in him. The calves and boys transformed into viᚣášu-mĹŤrtis, or Viᚣášu forms, were not displays of viᚣášu-mÄyÄ, or Viᚣášuâs energy, but were Viᚣášu Himself. The respective qualifications of Viᚣášu and viᚣášu-mÄyÄ are just like fire and heat. In the heat there is the qualification of fire, namely warmth; and yet heat is not fire. The manifestation of the Viᚣášu forms of the boys and calves was not like the heat but was rather the fireâthey were all actually Viᚣášu. Factually, the qualification of Viᚣášu is full truth, full knowledge and full bliss. Another example can be given with material objects, which are reflected in many, many forms. For example, the sun is reflected in many waterpots, but the reflections of the sun in the many pots are not actually the sun. There is no actual heat or light from the suns in the pots, although they appear like the sun. But the forms which KášášŁáša assumed were each and every one full Viᚣášu. The specific word used in this connection is satya-jĂąÄnÄnantÄnanda. Satya means truth; jĂąÄna, full knowledge; ananta, unlimited; and Änanda, full bliss.
The glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are so great that the impersonalistic followers of the Upaniᚣads cannot reach the platform of knowledge to understand them. Especially the transcendental forms of the Lord are beyond the reach of the impersonalists, who can only understand, through studying the Upaniᚣads, that the Absolute Truth is not matter, or is not materially restricted. From KášášŁášaâs expansion into Viᚣášu forms, Lord BrahmÄ could understand by his limited potency that everything movable and immovable within the cosmic manifestation is existing due to the expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord.
When BrahmÄ was thus standing baffled in his limited power and conscious of his limited activities within the eleven senses, he could realize that he was also a creation of the material energy, just like a puppet. As a puppet has no independent power to dance but dances according to the direction of the puppet master, so the demigods and living entities are all subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is stated in the Caitanya-caritÄmášta, the only master is KášášŁáša, and all others are His servants. The whole world is under the waves of the material spell, and beings are floating like straws in water. So their struggle for existence is continuing. But as soon as one becomes conscious that he is the eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this mÄyÄ, or illusory struggle for existence, is immediately stopped.
Lord BrahmÄ, who has full control over the goddess of learning and who is considered to be the best authority in Vedic knowledge, was thus perplexed, being unable to understand the extraordinary power manifested by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the mundane world, even a personality like BrahmÄ is unable to understand the mystic power of the Supreme Lord. Not only did BrahmÄ fail to understand, but he was perplexed even to see the display which was being manifested by KášášŁáša before him.
KášášŁáša took compassion upon BrahmÄ because of his inability to see how KášášŁáša was displaying the forms of Viᚣášu and transforming Himself into calves and cowherd boys, and thus, while fully manifesting the Viᚣášu expansions, He suddenly pulled His curtain of yogamÄyÄ over the scene. In the Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not visible due to the curtain spread by yogamÄyÄ. That which covers the reality is mahÄ-mÄyÄ, or the external energy, which does not allow a conditioned soul to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead beyond the cosmic manifestation. But the energy which partially manifests the Supreme Personality of Godhead and partially does not allow one to see is called yogamÄyÄ. BrahmÄ is not an ordinary conditioned soul. He is far, far superior to all the other demigods, and yet he could not comprehend the display of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore KášášŁáša willingly stopped manifesting any further potency. The conditioned soul not only becomes bewildered but is completely unable to understand. The curtain of yogamÄyÄ was drawn so that BrahmÄ would not become more and more perplexed.
When BrahmÄ was relieved from his perplexity, he appeared to awaken from an almost dead state, and he began to open his eyes with great difficulty. Thus he could see the external cosmic manifestation with common eyes. He saw all around him the superexcellent view of VášndÄvanaâfull with treesâwhich is the source of life for all living entities. He could appreciate the transcendental land of VášndÄvana, where all the living entities are transcendental to ordinary nature. In the forest of VášndÄvana, even ferocious animals like tigers live peacefully along with the deer and human beings. He could understand that because of the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, VášndÄvana is transcendental to all other places and is free of lust and greed.
BrahmÄ thus found ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, playing the part of a small cowherd boy; he saw that little child with a lump of food in His left hand, searching out His friends and calves, just as He had actually been doing one year before, after their disappearance.
Immediately BrahmÄ descended from his great swan carrier and fell down before the Lord just like a golden stick. The word used among the Vaiᚣášavas for offering respect is daášá¸avat. This word means âfalling down like a stickâ; one should offer respect to the superior Vaiᚣášava by falling down straight, with his body just like a stick. So BrahmÄ fell down before the Lord just like a stick to offer respect; and because the complexion of BrahmÄ is golden, he appeared to be like a golden stick lying down before Lord KášášŁáša. All the four helmets on the heads of BrahmÄ touched the lotus feet of KášášŁáša. BrahmÄ, being very joyful, began to shed tears, and he washed the lotus feet of KášášŁáša with his tears. Repeatedly he fell and rose as he recalled the wonderful activities of the Lord. After repeating obeisances for a long time, BrahmÄ stood up and smeared his hands over his eyes. Seeing the Lord before him, he, trembling, began to offer prayers with great respect, humility and attention.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Thirteenth Chapter of KášášŁáša, âThe Stealing of the Boys and Calves by BrahmÄ.â