gopa-vá¹›ddhÄmÅ› ca vidhi-vad
yaviṣṭhair abhivanditaḥ
yathÄ-vayo yathÄ-sakhyaá¹
yathÄ-sambandham Ätmanaḥ
samupetyÄtha gopÄlÄn
hÄsya-hasta-grahÄdibhiḥ
viÅ›rÄntam sukham ÄsÄ«naá¹
papracchuḥ paryupÄgatÄḥ
pṛṣṭÄÅ› cÄnÄmayaá¹ sveá¹£u
prema-gadgadayÄ girÄ
kṛṣṇe kamala-patrÄká¹£e
sannyastÄkhila-rÄdhasaḥ

 gopa - of the cowherds; vá¹›ddhÄn - the elders; ca - and; vidhi-vat - in accordance with Vedic injunctions; yaviṣṭhaiḥ - by those who were younger; abhivanditaḥ - respectfully greeted; yathÄ-vayaḥ - according to age; yathÄ-sakhyam - according to friendship; yathÄ-sambandham - according to family relationship; Ätmanaḥ - with Himself; samupetya - going up to; atha - then; gopÄlÄn - the cowherd men; hÄsya - with smiles; hasta-graha - taking of their hands; Ädibhiḥ - and on; viÅ›rÄntam - rested; sukham - comfortably; ÄsÄ«nam - seated; papracchuḥ - they asked; paryupÄgatÄḥ - having gathered on all sides; pṛṣṭÄḥ - questioned; ca - and; anÄmayam - about health; sveá¹£u - in regard to their dear friends; prema - out of love; gadgadayÄ - faltering; girÄ - with voices; kṛṣṇe - for Kṛṣṇa; kamala - of a lotus; patra - (like) petals; aká¹£e - whose eyes; sannyasta - having dedicated; akhila - all; rÄdhasaḥ - material possessions.


Text

Lord BalarÄma then paid proper respects to the elder cowherd men, and the younger ones all greeted Him respectfully. He met them all with smiles, handshakes and so on, dealing personally with each one according to age, degree of friendship, and family relationship. Then, after resting, the Lord accepted a comfortable seat, and they all gathered around Him. With voices faltering out of love for Him, those cowherds, who had dedicated everything to lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, asked about the health of their dear ones [in DvÄrakÄ], and BalarÄma in turn asked about the cowherds’ welfare.

Purport