True reverential devotion is exhibited by persons who think themselves subordinate to KášášŁáša and by persons who think themselves sons of KášášŁáša. The best examples of this subordination are SÄraáša, Gada and SubhadrÄ. They were all members of the Yadu dynasty, and they always used to think themselves protected by KášášŁáša. Similarly, KášášŁáša's sons, such as Pradyumna, CÄrudeᚣáša and SÄmba, felt the same way. KášášŁáša had many sons in DvÄrakÄ. He begot ten sons by each of His 16,108 queens, and all of these sons, headed by Pradyumna, CÄrudeᚣáša and SÄmba, used to think themselves always protected by KášášŁáša. When KášášŁáša's sons dined with Him, they would sometimes open their mouths for KášášŁáša to feed them. Sometimes when KášášŁáša would pat one of His sons, the son would sit on KášášŁáša's lap, and while KášášŁáša was blessing the son's head by smelling it, the others would shed tears, thinking how many pious activities he must have performed in his previous life. Out of KášášŁáša's many sons, Pradyumna, a son of KášášŁáša's chief queen, RukmiášÄŤ, is considered the leader. Pradyumna's bodily features resemble KášášŁáša's exactly. Pure devotees of KášášŁáša glorify Pradyumna because he is so fortunate: like father like son.
There is a description in the Hari-vaášĹa of Pradyumna's activities when he kidnapped PrabhÄvatÄŤ. Pradyumna addressed PrabhÄvatÄŤ at that time and said, "My dear PrabhÄvatÄŤ, just look at the head of our family, ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša. He is Viᚣášu Himself, the supreme driver of Garuá¸a, and He is our supreme master. Because we have become so proud and confident of His protecting us, we sometimes do not even care about fighting with TripurÄri [Lord Ĺiva]."
There are two kinds of devotees engaged in devotional service with awe and venerationâthe Lord's subordinates and His sons. The servitors in the abode of DvÄrakÄ always worship KášášŁáša as the most respectable and revered Personality of Godhead. They are captivated by KášášŁáša because of His superexcellent opulences. The members who always thought themselves protected by KášášŁáša could readily convert their conviction into practical demonstration, because it was sometimes found that the sons of KášášŁáša acted very unlawfully in various places but were nonetheless given full protection by KášášŁáša and BalarÄma.
Even BalarÄma, the elder brother of KášášŁáša, sometimes unknowingly offered respect to Him. Once when KášášŁáša came before Lord BalarÄma, KášášŁáša was anxious to offer His respects to His elder brother, but at that time BalarÄma's club was lowered down upon KášášŁáša's lotus feet. In other words, the club in BalarÄma's hand offered its own respects to KášášŁáša. These feelings of subordination, as explained above, are sometimes manifested as anubhÄva.
When demigods from the heavenly planets came to ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša, all of KášášŁáša's sons followed them, and Lord BrahmÄ sprinkled water from his kamaášá¸alu upon them. When the demigods came before KášášŁáša, the sons, instead of sitting on golden chairs, sat down on the floor, which was covered with deerskin.
Sometimes the behavior of KášášŁáša's sons appears similar to the behavior of His personal servants. For example, the sons used to offer their obeisances, they were silent, submissive and gentle, and they were always ready to carry out KášášŁáša's orders, even at the risk of life. When present before KášášŁáša, they bowed down on the ground. They were very silent and steady, and they used to restrain coughing and laughing before the Lord. Also, they never discussed KášášŁáša's pastimes in conjugal love. In other words, devotees who are engaged in reverential devotional service should not discuss the conjugal love affairs of KášášŁáša. No one should claim his eternal relationship with KášášŁáša unless he is liberated. In the conditioned state of life, the devotees have to execute the prescribed duties as recommended in the codes of devotional service. When one is mature in devotional service and is a realized soul, he can know his own eternal relationship with KášášŁáša. One should not artificially try to establish some relationship. In the premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned person will artificially try to establish some relationship with KášášŁáša in conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes prÄkášta-sahajiyÄ, or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons may be very anxious to establish a relationship with KášášŁáša in conjugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most abominable. A person who has actually established his relationship with KášášŁáša can no longer act on the material plane, and his personal character cannot be criticized.
When Cupid came on one occasion to visit Lord KášášŁáša, some devotee addressed him thus: "My dear Cupid, because you have been so fortunate as to have placed your eyesight on the lotus feet of KášášŁáša, the drops of perspiration on your body have become frozen, and they resemble kaášášakÄŤ fruits [a kind of small fruit found in thorny bushes]." These are signs of ecstasy and veneration for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the princes of the Yadu dynasty heard the vibration of KášášŁáša's PÄĂącajanya conchshell, the hairs on their bodies immediately stood up in ecstatic jubilation. It seemed at that time that all the hairs on the bodies of the princes were dancing in ecstasy.
In addition to jubilation, there are sometimes symptoms of disappointment. Pradyumna once addressed SÄmba with these words: "My dear SÄmba, you are such a glorified personality! I have seen that once when you were playing on the ground, your body became covered with dust; yet our father, Lord KášášŁáša, still took you up on His lap. But I am so unfortunate that I could never get such love from our father!" This statement is an example of disappointment in love.
To regard KášášŁáša as one's superior is called reverential feeling, and when, in addition to this, a devotee feels that KášášŁáša is his protector, his transcendental love for KášášŁáša is increased, and his combined feelings are called reverential devotion. When this steady reverential devotion increases further, it is called love of Godhead in reverential devotion. Attraction and affection are two prominent symptoms of this stage. In this reverential devotional attitude, Pradyumna never talked to his father in a loud voice. In fact, he never so much as unlocked the lips of his mouth, nor did he ever show his face filled with tears. He would always glance only at the lotus feet of his father.
There is another example of steady and fixed love for KášášŁáša in the instance of Arjuna's informing Him of the death of Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu, who was also the nephew of KášášŁáša. Abhimanyu was the son of SubhadrÄ, KášášŁáša's younger sister. He was killed at the Battle of Kurukᚣetra by the combined efforts of all the commanders in King Duryodhana's armyânamely Karáša, AĹvatthÄmÄ, Jayadratha, Bhčᚣma, KášpÄcÄrya and DroášÄcÄrya. In order to assure KášášŁáša that there was no change of love on SubhadrÄ's part, Arjuna informed Him, "Although Abhimanyu was killed almost in Your presence, SubhadrÄ's love for You is not agitated at all, nor has it even slightly changed its original color."
The affection that KášášŁáša has for His devotees was expressed by Him when He asked Pradyumna not to feel so bashful before Him. He addressed Pradyumna thus: "My dear boy, just give up your feeling of inferiority, and do not hang your neck. Just talk with Me in a clear voice, and do not shed tears. You may look straight at Me, and you may place your hands on My body without any hesitation. There is no need of exhibiting so much reverence before your father."
Pradyumna's attachment for KášášŁáša was always exhibited by his action. Whenever he was ordered by his father to execute something, he would immediately execute the order, taking the task as nectarean even though it may have been poison. Similarly, whenever he would find something to be disapproved of by his father, he would immediately reject it as poison, even though it may have been nectarean.
Pradyumna's attachment in anxiety for KášášŁáša was expressed when he said to his wife Rati, "The enemy, Ĺambara, is already killed. Now I am very anxious to see my father, who is my spiritual master and who always carries the conchshell known as PÄĂącajanya." Pradyumna felt great separation from KášášŁáša when He was absent from DvÄrakÄ at the Battlefield of Kurukᚣetra. He said, "Since my father has left DvÄrakÄ, I do not take much pleasure in practicing fighting, nor am I interested in any kind of sporting pastimes. And what need is there to speak of these things? I do not even wish to stay at DvÄrakÄ in the absence of my father."
When Pradyumna came back home after killing ĹambarÄsura and saw his father, KášášŁáša, before him, he at once became so overjoyed that he himself could not understand his joy on that occasion. This is an instance of success in separation. A similar satisfaction was observed when KášášŁáša returned from the Battlefield of Kurukᚣetra to His home at DvÄrakÄ. All of His sons were so overjoyed that out of ecstasy they repeatedly made many mistakes. These mistakes were a sign of complete satisfaction.
Every day Pradyumna looked over KášášŁáša's lotus feet with tears in his eyes. These signs of reverential devotion on the part of Pradyumna may be described in the same way they have been described in the cases of other devotees.