गीतसंस्तुतिवादित्रैः प्रत्युदीयुः प्रहर्षिताः ॥२८॥
tam ÄyÄntam abhipretya
brahmÄvartÄt prajÄḥ patim
gÄ«ta-saá¹stuti-vÄditraiḥ
pratyudÄ«yuḥ prahará¹£itÄḥ
tam - him; ÄyÄntam - who was arriving; abhipretya - knowing of; brahmÄvartÄt - from BrahmÄvarta; prajÄḥ - his subjects; patim - their lord; gÄ«ta-saá¹stuti-vÄditraiḥ - with songs, praise and instrumental music; pratyudÄ«yuḥ - came forward to greet; prahará¹£itÄḥ - overjoyed.
Overjoyed to know of his arrival, his subjects came forth from BrahmÄvarta to greet their returning lord with songs, prayers and musical instruments.
It is the custom of the citizens of a kingdom’s capital to receive the king when he returns from a tour. There is a similar description when Kṛṣṇa returned to DvÄrakÄ after the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra. At that time He was received by all classes of citizens at the gate of the city. Formerly, capital cities were surrounded by walls, and there were different gates for regular entrance. Even in Delhi today there are old gates, and some other old cities have such gates where citizens would gather to receive the king. Here also the citizens of Barhiá¹£matÄ«, the capital of BrahmÄvarta, the kingdom of SvÄyambhuva, came nicely dressed to receive the Emperor with decorations and musical instruments.
