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KB 1970-1-5 / Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva
5 / Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva
Although Krsna was the real son of Vasudeva and Devaki, because
of Kamsa's atrocious activities Vasudeva could not enjoy the
birth ceremony of his son. But Nanda Maharaja, the foster
father, celebrated the birth ceremony of Krsna very joyfully.
The next day, it was declared that a male child was born
of Yasoda. According to Vedic custom, Nanda Maharaja called for
learned astrologers and brahmanas to perform the birth ceremony.
After the birth of a child, the astrologers calculate the
moment of the birth and make a horoscope of the child's future
life. Another ceremony takes place after the birth of the child:
the family members take baths, cleanse themselves and decorate
themselves with ornaments and garlands; then they come
before the child and the astrologer to hear of the future life
of the child. Nanda Maharaja and other members of the family
dressed and sat down in front of the birthplace. All the
brahmanas who were assembled there on this occasion chanted
auspicious mantras, according to the rituals, while the
astrologers performed the birth ceremony. All the demigods are
also worshiped on this occasion, as well as the forefathers of
the family. Nanda Maharaja distributed 200,000
well decorated, dressed and ornamented
cows to the brahmanas. He not only gave cows in charity, but
hills of grains, decorated with golden-bordered
garments and many ornaments.
In the material world we possess riches and wealth in many ways,
but sometimes not in very honest and pious ways, because that
is the nature of accumulating wealth. According to Vedic
injunction, therefore, such wealth should be purified
by giving cows and gold in charity to the brahmanas. A
newborn child is also purified by giving grains in charity
to the brahmanas. In this material world it is to be understood
that we are always living in a contaminated state. We therefore
have to purify the duration of our lives, our possession of
wealth and ourselves. The duration of life
is purified by taking daily bath and cleansing the body inside
and outside and accepting the ten kinds of purificatory
processes. By austerities, by worship of the Lord, and by
distribution of charity, we can purify the possession of wealth.
We can purify ourselves by studying the Vedas, by
striving for self-realization and by understanding the
Supreme Absolute Truth. It is
therefore stated in the Vedic literature that by birth everyone
is born a sudra, and by accepting the purificatory process one
becomes twice-born. By studies of the Vedas one can
become vipra, which is the preliminary qualification for
becoming a brahmana. When one understands
the Absolute Truth in perfection, he is called a brahmana. And
when the brahmana reaches further perfection, he becomes a
Vaisnava or a devotee.
In that ceremony, all the brahmanas assembled
began to chant different kinds of Vedic mantras to
invoke all good fortune for the child. There are different
kinds of chanting known as suta, magadha, vandi and
virudavali. Along with this chanting of mantras and songs,
bugles and kettledrums sounded outside the house. On this
occasion, the joyous vibrations could be heard in all the
pasturing grounds and all the houses. Within and outside of the
houses there were varieties of artistic paintings, done with
rice pulp, and scented water was sprinkled everywhere, even on
the roads and streets. Ceilings and roofs were decorated with
different kinds of flags, festoons and green leaves. The gates
were made of green leaves and flowers. All the cows, bulls and
calves were smeared with a mixture of oil and turmeric and
painted with minerals like red oxide, yellow clay and manganese.
They wore garlands of peacock feathers, and were covered with
nice colored dresses and gold necklaces.
When all the ecstatic cowherd men heard that Nanda Maharaja,
father of Krsna, was celebrating the birth ceremony of his
son, they became spontaneously joyful. They dressed themselves
with very costly garments and ornamented their bodies with
different kinds of earrings and necklaces and wore great
turbans on their heads. After dressing themselves in this
gorgeous way, they took various kinds of presentations and thus
approached the house of Nanda Maharaja.
As soon as they heard that mother Yasoda had given birth to a
child, all the cowherd women became overwhelmed with joy, and
they also dressed themselves with various kinds of costly
garments and ornaments and smeared scented cosmetics on their
bodies.
As the dust on the lotus flower exhibits the exquisite beauty
of the flower, all the gopis (cowherd girls) applied the dust
of kunkuma on their lotus-like faces. These beautiful gopis
took their different presentations and very soon reached the
house of Maharaja Nanda. Overburdened with their heavy hips and
swollen breasts, the gopis could not proceed very quickly
towards the house of Nanda Maharaja, but out of ecstatic love
for Krsna they began to proceeded as quickly as possible. Their
ears were decorated with pearl rings, their necks were
decorated with jewel padlocks, their lips and eyes were
decorated with different kinds of lipstick and ointment, and
their hands were decorated with nice golden bangles. As they
were very hastily passing over the stone road, the flower
garlands which were decorating their bodies fell to the ground,
and it appeared that a shower of flowers was falling from the
sky. From the movement of the different kinds of ornaments on
their bodies, they were looking still more beautiful. In this
way, they all reached the house of Nanda-Yasoda and blessed the
child: "Dear child, You live long just to protect us." While
they were blessing child Krsna in this way, they offered a
mixture of turmeric powder with oil, yogurt, milk and water.
They not only sprinkled this mixture on the body of
child Krsna but on all other persons who were present there.
Also on that auspicious occasion, there were different bands of
expert musicians playing.
When the cowherd men saw the pastimes of the cowherd women,
they became very joyful, and in response they also began to
throw yogurt, milk, clarified butter and water upon the bodies
of the gopis. Then both parties began to throw butter on each
other's bodies. Nanda Maharaja was also very happy to see the
pastimes of the cowherd men and women, and he became very
liberal in giving charity to the different singers who were
assembled there. Some singers were reciting great verses from
the Upanisads and Puranas, some were glorifying the family
ancestors, and some were singing very sweet songs. There were
also many learned brahmanas present, and Nanda Maharaja, being
very satisfied on this occasion, began to give them different
kinds of garments, ornaments, and cows in charity.
It is very important to note in this connection how wealthy the
inhabitants of Vrndavana were simply by raising cows. All the
cowherd men belonged to the vaisya community, and their
business was to protect the cows and cultivate crops. By their
dress and ornaments and by their behavior, it appears that
although they were in a small village, they still were rich in
material possessions. They possessed such an abundance of
various kinds of milk products that they were throwing butter
lavishly on each other's bodies without restriction. Their
wealth was in milk, yogurt, clarified butter and many other
milk products, and by trading their agricultural products, they
were rich in various kinds of jewelry, ornaments and costly
dresses. Not only did they possess all these things, but they
could give them away in charity, as did Nanda Maharaja.
Thus Nanda Maharaja, the foster father of Lord Krsna, began to
satisfy the desires of all the men assembled there. He
respectfully received them and gave them in charity whatever
they desired. The learned brahmanas, who had no other source of
income, were completely dependent on the vaisya and
ksatriya communities for their maintenance, and they received
gifts on such festive occasions as birthdays, marriages,
etc. While Nanda Maharaja was worshiping Lord Visnu on
this occasion and was trying to satisfy all the people there,
his only desire was that the newborn child Krsna would be happy.
Nanda Maharaja had no knowledge that this child was the origin
of Visnu, but he was praying to Lord Visnu to protect Him.
Rohinidevi, mother of Balarama, was the most fortunate wife
of Vasudeva. She was away from her husband, yet just to
congratulate Maharaja Nanda on the occasion of the birth
ceremony of his son, Krsna, she dressed herself very nicely.
Wearing a garland, a necklace and other bodily ornaments, she
appeared on the scene and moved hither and thither. According
to the Vedic system, a woman whose husband is not at home does
not dress herself very nicely. But although Rohini's husband
was away, she still dressed herself on this
occasion.
From the opulence of the birth ceremony of Krsna, it is very
clear that at that time Vrndavana was rich in every respect.
Because Lord Krsna took birth in the house of King Nanda and
mother Yasoda, the goddess of fortune was obliged to manifest
her opulences in Vrndavana. It appeared that Vrndavana had
already become a site for the pastimes of the goddess of
fortune.
After the birth ceremony, Nanda Maharaja decided to go to
Mathura to pay the annual tax to the government of Kamsa.
Before leaving, he called for the able cowherd men of the
village and asked them to take care of Vrndavana in his absence.
When Nanda Maharaja arrived in Mathura, Vasudeva got the news
and was very eager to congratulate his friend. He immediately
went to the place where Nanda Maharaja was staying. When
Vasudeva saw Nanda, he felt that he had regained his life.
Nanda, overwhelmed with joy, immediately stood up and embraced
Vasudeva. Vasudeva was received very warmly and offered a nice
place to sit. At that time Vasudeva was anxious about his
two sons who had been put under the protection of Nanda
without Nanda's knowledge. With great anxiety, Vasudeva
inquired about them. Both Balarama and Krsna
were the sons of Vasudeva. Balarama was transferred to the womb
of Rohini, Vasudeva's own wife, but Rohini was kept under the
protection of Nanda Maharaja. Krsna was personally delivered to
Yasoda and exchanged with her daughter. Nanda Maharaja knew
that Balarama was the son of Vasudeva, although he did not know
that Krsna was also Vasudeva's son. But Vasudeva
was aware of this fact and inquired very eagerly about
Krsna and Balarama.
Vasudeva then addressed him, "My dear brother, you were old
enough and very anxious to beget a son, and yet you had none.
Now by the grace of the Lord you are fortunate to have a very
nice son. I think that this incident is very auspicious for you.
Dear friend, I was imprisoned by Kamsa, and now I am released;
therefore this is another birth for me. I had no hope of seeing
you again, but by God's grace I can see you."
Vasudeva then expressed his anxiety about Krsna. Krsna
was sent incognito to the bed of mother Yasoda, and after
very pompously celebrating His birth ceremony, Nanda went
to Mathura. So Vasudeva was very pleased and said, "This
is a new birth for me." He never expected that Krsna would
live because all his other sons were killed by Kamsa.
Vasudeva continued, "My dear friend, it is very difficult for
us to live together. Although we have our family and relatives,
sons and daughters, by nature's way we are generally separated
from one another. The reason for this is that every living
entity appears on this earth under different pressures of
fruitive activities; although they assemble together, there is
no certainty of their remaining together for a long time.
According to one's fruitive activities, one has to act
differently and thereby be separated. For example, many plants
and creepers are floating on the waves of the ocean. Sometimes
they come together and sometimes they separate forever: one
plant goes one way and another plant goes another. Similarly,
our family assembly may be very nice while we are living
together, but after some time, in the course of the waves of
time, we are separated."
The purport of this expression by Vasudeva is this: although he
had eight sons born in the womb of Devaki, unfortunately they
were all gone. He could not even keep his one son Krsna with
him. Vasudeva was feeling His separation, but he could not
express the real fact. "Please tell me about the welfare of
Vrndavana," he said. "You have many animals -- are they happy?
Are they getting sufficient grass and water? Please also let me
know whether the place where you are now living is undisturbed
and peaceful." This inquiry was made by Vasudeva because he was
very anxious about Krsna's safety. He knew that Kamsa and his
followers were trying to kill Krsna by sending various kinds of
demons. They had already resolved that all children born within
ten days of the birthday of Krsna should be killed. Because
Vasudeva was so anxious about Krsna, he inquired about the
safety of His residence. He also inquired about Balarama and
His mother Rohini, who were entrusted to the care of Nanda
Maharaja. Vasudeva also reminded Nanda Maharaja that Balarama
did not know His real father. "He knows you as His father. And
now you have another child, Krsna, and I think you are taking
very nice care for both of Them." It is also significant that
Vasudeva inquired about the welfare of Nanda Maharaja's animals.
The animals, and especially the cows, were protected exactly
in the manner of one's children. Vasudeva was a ksatriya, and
Nanda Maharaja was a vaisya. It is the duty of the ksatriya to
give protection to the citizens of mankind, and it is the duty
of the vaisyas to give protection to the cows. The cows are as
important as the citizens. Just as the human citizens should be
given all kinds of protection, so the cows also should be given
full protection.
Vasudeva continued to say that the maintenance of religious
principles, economic development and the satisfactory execution
of meeting the demands of the senses depend on cooperation
among relatives, nations and all humanity. Therefore, it is
everyone's duty to see that his fellow citizens and the cows
are not put into difficulty. One should see to the peace and
comfort of his fellow man and the animals. The development of
religious principles, economic development and sense
gratification can then be achieved without difficulty. Vasudeva
expressed his sorrow due to not being able to give protection
to his own sons born of Devaki. He was thinking that religious
principles, economic development and the satisfaction of his
senses were therefore all lost.
On hearing this, Nanda Maharaja replied, "My dear Vasudeva, I
know that you are very much aggrieved because the cruel king
Kamsa has killed all your sons born of Devaki. Although the
last child was a daughter, Kamsa could not kill her, and she
has entered into the celestial planets. My dear friend, do not
be aggrieved; we are all being controlled by our past unseen
activities. Everyone is subjected to his past deeds, and one
who is conversant with the philosophy of karma and its
reaction is a man in knowledge. Such a person will not be
aggrieved at any incident, happy or miserable."
Vasudeva then replied, "My dear Nanda, if you have already paid
the government taxes, then return soon to your place, because I
think that there may be some disturbances in Gokula."
After the friendly conversation between Nanda Maharaja and
Vasudeva, Vasudeva returned to his home. The cowherd men
headed by Nanda Maharaja, who had come to Mathura to pay
their taxes, also returned.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifth Chapter of
Krsna, "Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva."
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KB 5: The Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva
CHAPTER FIVE
The Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva
Although Krsna was the real son of Vasudeva and Devaki, because
of Kamsa's atrocious activities Vasudeva could not enjoy the
birth ceremony of his son. But Nanda Maharaja, the foster
father, celebrated the birth ceremony of Krsna very joyfully.
The next day, it was declared that a male child had been born
to Yasoda. According to Vedic custom, Nanda Maharaja called for
learned astrologers and brahmanas to perform the birth ceremony.
After the birth of a child, the astrologers calculate the
moment of the birth and make a horoscope of the child's future
life. Another ceremony takes place after the birth of the child:
the family members take baths, cleanse themselves and decorate
themselves with ornaments and nice garments; then they come
before the child and the astrologer to hear of the future life
of the child. Nanda Maharaja and other members of the family
dressed and sat down in front of the birthplace. All the
brahmanas who were assembled there on this occasion chanted
auspicious mantras, according to the rituals, while the
astrologers performed the birth ceremony. All the demigods are
also worshiped on this occasion, as well as the forefathers of
the family. Nanda Maharaja distributed to the brahmanas 200,000
cows, which were well decorated with cloth and ornaments.
He gave the brahmanas not only cows in charity but
also hills of grain decorated with ornaments
and golden-bordered cloth.
In the material world we possess riches and wealth in many ways,
but sometimes not in very honest and pious ways, because that
is the nature of accumulating wealth. According to Vedic
injunction, therefore, one should purify such
wealth by giving cows and gold in charity to the brahmanas. A
newborn child is also purified by gifts of grain in charity
to the brahmanas. In this material world it is to be understood
that we are always living in a contaminated state. We therefore
have to purify the duration of our lives, our possession of
wealth and our self. We can purify our duration of life
by taking daily bath and cleansing the body inside
and outside and accepting the ten kinds of purificatory
processes. By austerities, by worship of the Lord, and by
distribution of charity we can purify the possession of wealth.
We can purify our self by studying the Vedas
in order to understand the
Absolute Truth and achieve self-realization. It is
therefore stated in the Vedic literature that by birth everyone
is born a sudra, that by accepting the purificatory process one
becomes twice-born, that by studying the Vedas one becomes
a vipra, which is the preliminary qualification for
becoming a brahmana, and that when one perfectly understands
the Absolute Truth he is called a brahmana. And
when the brahmana reaches further perfection, he becomes a
Vaisnava, or a devotee.
In Krsna's birth ceremony, all the assembled
brahmanas began to chant different kinds of Vedic mantras to
invoke all good fortune for the child. There are different
kinds of chanting, known as suta, magadha, vandija and
virudavali. Along with this chanting of mantras and songs,
bugles and kettledrums are sounded outside the house. On this
occasion, the joyous vibrations could be heard in all the
pasturing grounds and all the houses. Within and outside of the
houses there were varieties of artistic paintings, done with
rice pulp, and scented water was sprinkled everywhere, even on
the roads and streets. Ceilings and roofs were decorated with
different kinds of flags, festoons and green leaves. The gates
were made of green leaves and flowers. All the cows, bulls and
calves were smeared with a mixture of oil and turmeric and
painted with minerals like red oxide, yellow clay and manganese.
They wore garlands of peacock feathers and were covered with
nice colored cloths and gold necklaces.
When all the ecstatic cowherd men heard that Nanda Maharaja,
the father of Krsna, was celebrating the birth ceremony of his
son, they became spontaneously joyful. They dressed themselves
with very costly garments and ornamented their bodies with
different kinds of earrings and necklaces and wore great
turbans on their heads. After dressing themselves in this
gorgeous way, they took various kinds of presentations and thus
approached the house of Nanda Maharaja.
As soon as they heard that Mother Yasoda had given birth to a
child, all the cowherd women became overwhelmed with joy, and
they also dressed themselves with various kinds of costly
garments and ornaments and smeared scented cosmetics on their
bodies.
As the dust on the lotus flower exhibits the exquisite beauty
of the flower, all the gopis (cowherd women) applied the dust
of kunkuma on their lotuslike faces. These beautiful gopis
took their different presentations and very soon reached the
house of Maharaja Nanda. Overburdened with their heavy hips and
swollen breasts, the gopis could not proceed very quickly
toward the house of Nanda Maharaja, but out of ecstatic love
for Krsna they proceeded as quickly as possible. Their
ears were decorated with pearl rings, their necks
with jeweled lockets, their lips and eyes
with different kinds of lipstick and ointment, and
their hands with nice golden bangles. As they
were very hastily passing over the stone road, the flower
garlands which were decorating their bodies fell to the ground,
and it appeared that a shower of flowers was falling from the
sky. From the movement of the different kinds of ornaments on
their bodies, they were looking still more beautiful. In this
way, they all reached the house of Nanda-Yasoda and blessed the
child: "Dear child, You live long just to protect us." While
they were blessing child Krsna in this way, they offered a
mixture of turmeric powder, oil, yogurt, milk and water.
They sprinkled this mixture not only on the body of
child Krsna but on all other persons who were present there.
Also on that auspicious occasion, there were different bands of
expert musicians playing.
When the cowherd men saw the pastimes of the cowherd women,
they became very joyful, and in response they also began to
throw yogurt, milk, clarified butter and water upon the bodies
of the gopis. Then both parties began to throw butter on each
other's bodies. Nanda Maharaja was also very happy to see the
pastimes of the cowherd men and women, and he became very
liberal in giving charity to the different singers who were
assembled there. Some singers were reciting great verses from
the Upanisads and Puranas, some were glorifying the family
ancestors, and some were singing very sweet songs. There were
also many learned brahmanas present, and Nanda Maharaja, being
very satisfied on this occasion, gave them different
kinds of garments, ornaments and cows in charity.
It is very important to note in this connection how wealthy the
inhabitants of Vrndavana were simply by raising cows. All the
cowherd men belonged to the vaisya community, and their
business was to protect the cows and cultivate crops. By their
dress and ornaments, and by their behavior, it appears that
although they were in a small village, they still were rich in
material possessions. They possessed such an abundance of
various kinds of milk products that they were throwing butter
lavishly on each other's bodies without restriction. Their
wealth was in milk, yogurt, clarified butter and many other
milk products, and by trading their agricultural products, they
were rich in various kinds of jewelry, ornaments and costly
garments. Not only did they possess all these things, but they
could give them away in charity lavishly, as did Nanda Maharaja.
Thus Nanda Maharaja, the foster father of Lord Krsna, began to
satisfy the desires of all the men assembled there. He
respectfully received them and gave them in charity whatever
they desired. The learned brahmanas, who had no other source of
income, were completely dependent on the vaisya community
for their maintenance, and they received
gifts on such festive occasions as birthdays and
marriages. While Nanda Maharaja was worshiping Lord Visnu on
this occasion and was trying to satisfy all the people there,
his only desire was that the newborn child Krsna would be happy.
Nanda Maharaja had no knowledge that this child was the origin
of Visnu; he was praying to Lord Visnu to protect Him.
Rohinidevi, the mother of Balarama, was the most fortunate wife
of Vasudeva. She was away from her husband, yet just to
congratulate Maharaja Nanda on the occasion of the birth
ceremony of his son, Krsna, she dressed herself very nicely.
Wearing a garland, a necklace and other bodily ornaments, she
appeared on the scene and moved hither and thither. According
to the Vedic system, a woman whose husband is not at home does
not dress herself very nicely. But although Rohini's husband
was away, she still dressed herself very nicely on this
occasion.
From the opulence of the birth ceremony of Krsna, it is very
clear that at that time Vrndavana was rich in every respect.
Because Lord Krsna took birth in the house of King Nanda and
Mother Yasoda, the goddess of fortune was obliged to manifest
her opulences in Vrndavana. It appeared that Vrndavana had
already become a site for the pastimes of the goddess of
fortune.
After the birth ceremony, Nanda Maharaja decided to go to
Mathura to pay the annual tax to the government of Kamsa.
Before leaving, he called for the able cowherd men of the
village and asked them to take care of Vrndavana in his absence.
When Nanda Maharaja arrived in Mathura, Vasudeva got the news
and was very eager to congratulate his friend. He immediately
went to the place where Nanda Maharaja was staying. When
Nanda saw Vasudeva, he felt that he had regained his life.
Nanda, overwhelmed with joy, immediately stood up and embraced
Vasudeva. Vasudeva was received very warmly and offered a nice
place to sit. Anxious about his
two sons, who had been put under the protection of Nanda
without Nanda's knowledge, Vasudeva
inquired about Them with great anxiety. Both Balarama and Krsna
were the sons of Vasudeva. Balarama was transferred to the womb
of Rohini, Vasudeva's own wife, but Rohini was kept under the
protection of Nanda Maharaja. Krsna was personally delivered to
Yasoda and exchanged with her daughter. Nanda Maharaja knew
that Balarama was the son of Vasudeva, but he did not know
that Krsna was also Vasudeva's son. Vasudeva, of course,
was aware of this fact and inquired very eagerly about both
Krsna and Balarama.
Vasudeva then addressed Nanda, "My dear brother, you were old
and very anxious to beget a son, and yet you had none.
Now by the grace of the Lord you are fortunate to have a very
nice son. I think that this incident is very auspicious for you.
Dear friend, I was imprisoned by Kamsa, and now I am released;
therefore this is another birth for me. I had no hope of seeing
you again, but by God's grace I can see you." In this way,
Vasudeva indirectly expressed his anxiety about Krsna. Krsna
was sent incognito to the bed of Mother Yasoda, and after Nanda
very pompously celebrated Krsna's birth ceremony, he went
to Mathura. So Vasudeva was very much pleased and said, "This
is a new birth for me." He never expected that Krsna would live,
because all his other sons had been killed by Kamsa.
Vasudeva continued: "My dear friend, it is very difficult for
us to live together. Although we have our family and relatives,
sons and daughters, by nature's way we are generally separated
from one another. The reason for this is that every living
entity appears on this earth under different pressures of
fruitive activities; although they assemble together, there is
no certainty of their remaining together for a long time.
According to one's fruitive activities, one has to act
differently and thereby be separated. For example, many plants
and creepers are floating on the waves of the ocean. Sometimes
they come together, and sometimes they separate forever: one
plant goes one way, and another plant goes another. Similarly,
our family assembly may be very nice while we are living
together, but after some time, in the course of the waves of
time, we are separated."
The purport of this expression by Vasudeva is this: although he
had eight sons born in the womb of Devaki, unfortunately they
were all gone. He could not even keep his one son Krsna with
him. Vasudeva was feeling His separation, but he could not
express the real fact. "Please tell me about the welfare of
Vrndavana," he said. "You have many animals -- are they happy?
Are they getting sufficient grass and water? Please also let me
know whether the place where you are now living is undisturbed
and peaceful." This inquiry was made by Vasudeva because he was
very anxious about Krsna's safety. He knew that Kamsa and his
followers were trying to kill Krsna by sending various kinds of
demons. They had already resolved that all children born within
ten days of the birthday of Krsna should be killed. Because
Vasudeva was so anxious about Krsna, he inquired about the
safety of His residence. He also inquired about Balarama and
His mother, Rohini, who were entrusted to the care of Nanda
Maharaja. Vasudeva also reminded Nanda Maharaja that Balarama
did not know His real father. "He knows you as His father. And
now you have another child, Krsna, and I think you are taking
very nice care of both of Them." It is also significant that
Vasudeva inquired about the welfare of Nanda Maharaja's animals.
The animals, and especially the cows, were protected exactly
in the manner of one's children. Vasudeva was a ksatriya, and
Nanda Maharaja was a vaisya. It is the duty of the ksatriyas to
give protection to the citizens, and it is the duty
of the vaisyas to give protection to the cows. The cows are as
important as the citizens. Just as the human citizens should be
given all kinds of protection, so the cows also should be given
full protection.
Vasudeva continued to say that the maintenance of religious
principles, economic development and the satisfactory execution
of meeting the demands of the senses depend on cooperation
among relatives, nations and all humanity. Therefore, it is
everyone's duty to see that his fellow citizens and the cows
are not put into difficulty. One should see to the peace and
comfort of his fellow man and the animals. The development of
religious principles, economic development and sense
gratification can then be achieved without difficulty. Vasudeva
expressed his sorrow due to not being able to give protection
to his own sons born of Devaki. He was thinking that religious
principles, economic development and the satisfaction of his
senses were therefore all lost.
Upon hearing this, Nanda Maharaja replied, "My dear Vasudeva, I
know that you are very much aggrieved because the cruel king
Kamsa has killed all your sons born of Devaki. Although the
last child was a daughter, Kamsa could not kill her, and she
has entered into the celestial planets. My dear friend, do not
be aggrieved; we are all being controlled by our past unseen
activities. Everyone is subjected to his past deeds, and one
who is conversant with the philosophy of karma and its
reactions is a man in knowledge. Such a person will not be
aggrieved at any incident, happy or miserable."
Vasudeva then replied, "My dear Nanda, if you have already paid
the government taxes, then return soon to your place, because I
think that there may be some disturbances in Gokula."
After the friendly conversation between Nanda Maharaja and
Vasudeva, Vasudeva returned to his home. Nanda Maharaja and
the other cowherd men, who had come to Mathura to pay
their taxes, also returned home.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifth Chapter of
Krsna, "The Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva."
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