Cowherd men (Lect, Conv and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"cowherd man" |"cowherd men" |"cowherds man" |"cowherds men" |"cowherdsmen"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.8.21 -- Mayapura, October 1, 1974:

The rascal demons, they want to describe Kṛṣṇa in their own way so that Kṛṣṇa devotees may be unhappy, and that is their pleasure.

Therefore, to teach these rascals, Kuntī is pointing out, kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya: (SB 1.8.21) "You rascal, you don't take Kṛṣṇa otherwise. I am speaking of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, Vāsudeva." Just like to identification in the court, if you give your name, then you must give the father's name, your village, your district, like that. That is identification. So therefore Kuntīdevī is pointing out: "It is no other Kṛṣṇa. The Kṛṣṇa whose father's name is Vasudeva, whose mother's name is Devakī, whose father's name is Nanda Mahārāja, whose mother's name is Yaśodāmāyi. That's all." When that Vallabha Ācārya... He wrote some essays and books, The Meaning of Kṛṣṇa. The Meaning of Kṛṣṇa. And he went to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he wanted some eulogization that he has so many meanings of Kṛṣṇa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "No, no, I know Kṛṣṇa's name, only two or three. That's all." He said, "I know Kṛṣṇa is the son of Yaśodāmāyi, Yaśodānandana. Kṛṣṇa means the boy who sucked the breast of mother Yaśodā. I know that."

So here also, nanda, nanda-nandanāya... He (she) says, nanda-gopa-kumārāya (SB 1.8.21). Kumāra. Kumāra means "who is not married." So Kṛṣṇa remained in Vṛndāvana up to sixteen years. Therefore He remained always kumāra, Nanda-kumāra, Nanda-nandana. Here it is explicitly said, Nanda-gopa. And who was Nanda? That is also explained. Nanda means that leader of the cowherds men or he was king, Nanda Mahārāja.

Lecture on SB 1.15.20 -- Los Angeles, November 30, 1973:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)

so 'haṁ nṛpendra rahitaḥ puruṣottamena

sakhyā priyeṇa suhṛdā hṛdayena śūnyaḥ

adhvany urukrama-parigraham aṅga rakṣan

gopair asadbhir abaleva vinirjito 'smi

(SB 1.15.20)

Translation: "O Emperor, now I am separated from my friend and dearmost well-wisher, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore my heart appears to be void of everything. In His absence I have been defeated by a number of infidel cowherd men while I was guarding the bodies of all the wives of Kṛṣṇa."

Prabhupāda: So after departure of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's all the wives, 16,108, they were being taken care of by Arjuna. But some cowherdsmen, they plundered all the queens, and Arjuna could not protect them.

So this is the instance, that we may be very powerful so long Kṛṣṇa keeps us powerful. We are not independently powerful, even in the case of Arjuna. We are very much proud of our janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrīḥ (SB 1.8.26).

Lecture on SB 1.15.20 -- Los Angeles, November 30, 1973:

So here, Arjuna, by his personal behavior, he is showing that "Without Kṛṣṇa... I was so great fighter that I took charge of the sixteen thousand wives of Kṛṣṇa to take them safely. Because Kṛṣṇa passed away, so they must be given protection." He was Kṛṣṇa's friend, but he could not do so. All the queens were plundered by cowherdsmen. Therefore he says that gopair asadbhiḥ. Cowherdsmen, they are not very powerful. They are ordinary men, cowherdsmen. But Arjuna was kṣatriya, so powerful. So he was defeated by them. Therefore he is regretting that asadbhiḥ: "If I would have been defeated by another powerful person, that would have been glory, but I have been defeated by the cowherdsmen." Just see. Asadbhiḥ. They are not counted amongst gentlemen. Asadbhir abaleva.

Lecture on SB 1.15.20 -- Los Angeles, November 30, 1973:

So it does not mean that Arjuna was not fully surrendered. Arjuna was fully surrendered, and Arjuna was fully protected by Kṛṣṇa. Neither these queens, sixteen thousand queens could be plundered away by some cowherdsmen. But the... It is an instance, that even a person like Arjuna, he will be helpless without Kṛṣṇa. He will be helpless, what to speak of ourselves?

Lecture on SB 1.15.21 -- Los Angeles, December 1, 1973:

So this instruction by Arjuna... He said that so 'haṁ dhanus ta iṣavaḥ. He was defeated by the cowherdsmen. He could not protect the queens of Kṛṣṇa, and they were taken away by these cowherdsmen. So he is lamenting that "I have got this bow and arrow with which I fought in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and I became victorious because Kṛṣṇa was sitting on my chariot. That is the only reason. Now I have got these bows and arrows, the same bows and arrows with which I fought in the Battle of Kurukṣetra, but at the present moment there is no Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is useless." Īśa-rikta, asad abhūt. Asat means which does not act; it does not exist. "So my bows and arrows are the same, but it is now useless."

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-5 -- Melbourne, June 26, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa always tends the cows. His name is cowherd boy. To become animal of Kṛṣṇa is a great, great fortune. It is not ordinary thing. Any associate of Kṛṣṇa, either His cowherd boyfriends or calf or cows, or the Vṛndāvana trees, plants, flowers or water, they are all devotees of Kṛṣṇa. They like to serve Kṛṣṇa in different capacities. Somebody is serving Kṛṣṇa as animal. Somebody is serving Kṛṣṇa as fruits and flowers, as tree, as Yamunā water, or the beautiful cowherds men and damsels or Kṛṣṇa's father and mother, so many with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not imperson. So He has got so many lovers. Kṛṣṇa also loves them.

Lecture on SB 5.5.30 -- Vrndavana, November 17, 1976:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)

Tatra tatra pura-grāmākara-kheṭa-vāṭa-kharvaṭa-śibira-vraja-ghoṣa-sārtha-giri-vanāśramādiṣu anupatham avanicarāpasadaiḥparibhūyamāno makṣikābhir iva vana-gajas tarjana-tāḍanāvamehana-ṣṭhīvana-grāva-śakṛd-rajaḥ-prakṣepa-pūti-vāta-duruktais tad avigaṇayann evāsat-saṁsthāna etasmin dehopalakṣaṇe sad-apadeśa ubhayānubhava-svarūpena sva-mahimāvasthānenāsamāropitāhaṁ-mamābhimānatvād avikhaṇḍita-manāḥ pṛthivīm eka-caraḥ paribabhrāma.

(SB 5.5.30)

"Translation: Ṛṣabhadeva began to tour through cities, villages, mines, countrysides, valleys, gardens, military camps, cow pens, the homes of cowherd men, transient hotels, hills, forests and hermitages. Wherever He traveled, all bad elements surrounded Him, just as flies surround the body of an elephant coming from a forest. He was always being threatened, beaten, urinated upon and spat upon. Sometimes people threw stones, stool and dust at Him, and sometimes people passed foul air before Him. Thus people called Him many bad names and gave Him a great deal of trouble, but He did not care about this, for He understood that the body is simply meant for such an end. He was situated on the spiritual platform, and, being in His spiritual glory, He did not care for all these material insults. In other words, He completely understood that matter and spirit are separate, and He had no bodily conception. Thus, without being angry at anyone, He walked through the whole world alone."

Prabhupāda: So tatra tatra pura-grāmākara-kheṭa-vāṭa-kharvaṭa and so on, so on. This is Sanskrit language. By combining words with the process of sandhi and samasa, one word can be as long as three miles. So for ordinary person it is very difficult to combine together. So it is for the learned scholars. But we must understand the purport.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 Excerpt -- San Francisco, March 16, 1968:

And the method of worship, the best method of worship of Kṛṣṇa was exhibited by the gopīs. Now what were the worshipable method of the gopīs? They were not very learned scholars or Vedantists. Or theosophists or mental speculators. None. They were ordinary village girls. And that also, not coming of a very high royal family or brāhmaṇa family. They were cowherdsmen. So their fathers were not very rich, but they had several cows, that's all. So the gopīs' method of Kṛṣṇa worship was that they could not forget Kṛṣṇa even for a moment. That was their qualification.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.149-50 -- Gorakhpur, February 13, 1971:

So here the Absolute Truth, when He is realized as the Supreme Person, as Brahmā is realizing, yan-mitram... He is realizing that Kṛṣṇa, who is playing as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana, and He has become the most intimate friend of the residents of Vṛndāvana, headed by Nanda Mahārāja... Nanda Mahārāja was the zamindar rāja. He was vaiśya. He had 900,000's of cows, and he was the head of Vṛndāvana. All other cowherds men were his tenants or friends or family members. So Kṛṣṇa automatically became their very, very dear friend. That is the significance of the residents of Vṛndāvana.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.172 -- New York, December 14, 1966:

In His original personality, sometimes He represents Himself as the son of Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherds man, and sometimes He represents Himself as the son of Vasudeva, the kṣatriya king.

Festival Lectures

Govardhana Puja Lecture -- New York, November 4, 1966:

So Balarāma was eldest brother. They were playing together, and this is an incidence when Balarāma was about eight years old and Kṛṣṇa was about seven years old. So, bhagavān tatraiva baladevena saṁyutaḥ. Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, along with Baladeva, His elder brother, apaśyan, "saw." What is that "saw"? Nivasan gopa indra-yāga-kṛtodyamān: "All the cowherds men, including His father, they were preparing for sacrifice of Indra-yajña." Indra-yajña.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Mayapur, February 21, 1976:

The sparks of the fire dancing very nicely with fire, it is also illuminating. But as soon as it fall down on the ground, it becomes cinder, black cinder, no more fiery quality. Similarly, we are meant for dancing and playing and walking and living with Kṛṣṇa. That is our real position. That is the Vṛndāvana. Everyone... Everyone is connected with Kṛṣṇa. There the trees, there the flowers, water, the cows, the calves, the cowherd boys, or elderly cowherd men, Nanda Mahārāja, other persons of his age, then Yaśodāmayī, mother, then gopīs—in this way Vṛndāvana life, Vṛndāvana picture. Kṛṣṇa comes with full Vṛndāvana picture, and He demonstrates His Vṛndāvana life, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu, just to attract us, that "You are trying to enjoy in this material world, but here you cannot enjoy because you are eternal. You cannot get eternal life here. So you come to Me. You come to Me."

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Lecture -- Los Angeles, June 29, 1971:

Just like the gopīs. All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, they were thinking, "We are all Kṛṣṇa's." Central point is Kṛṣṇa. That is the beauty of Vṛndāvana. All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, the elderly cowherd men, the boys, the girls, the trees, the river, the birds, the beasts—everyone—they are simply thinking, "I am Kṛṣṇa's." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Arrival Address -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1975:

Similarly, our attraction for Kṛṣṇa is already there. Therefore... That is the Vṛndāvana picture. Vṛndāvana, everything is attracted with Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana. The animals, the trees, the flowers, the land, and the cowherd boys, the elderly cowherds men, Nanda Mahārāja and others—all are attracted to Kṛṣṇa. This is Vṛndāvana.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 2, 1968:

When He is pleased, then He reveals unto the devotee. Therefore our business should be, for God realization, to please Him. And that pleasing process is this devotional service. Let us engage in His service, and when He becomes pleased, "Yes. He's very sincerely..." Just like the gopīs. They were village girls, not even born of very high family. Cowherds, ordinary agriculturists, cowherds men. So their daughters. So how much education you can...? There was no education practically. In the village even men... In India still, they are ninety-percent illiterate. And what to speak of the girls, the men are not even literate. Because according to Vedic civilization it was not necessary that everyone should go to school.

Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, February 10, 1969:

So real thing is to develop love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the Vṛndāvana standard. In Vṛndāvana, Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā-mayī, Rādhārāṇī, gopīs, the cowherdsmen, boys, cows, calves, trees, they do know that Kṛṣṇa is God. You have read in Kṛṣṇa book, sometimes when Kṛṣṇa does something wonderful, they take Him as a wonderful child, boy, that's all, or child. They do not know that Kṛṣṇa is God.

Lecture -- Laguna Beach, September 30, 1972:

Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, They are always engaged in loving affairs in the kuñja, in the bushes of Vṛndāvana. Jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī, gopījana-vallabha. He is very dear to the gopīs and the gopas. Gopas means the cowherd men and the cowherd boys. So Vṛndāvana is village life.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1972, Los Angeles:

Devotee (reading): "...from the poisonous water of the Yamunā, from the serpent Kāliya, from Bakāsura, from the anger of Indra and his torrents of rain, from forest fire and so many other things. You are the greatest and most powerful of all. It is wonderful that You have protected us from so many dangers. We are surprised You are neglecting us at this moment. Dear Kṛṣṇa, dear friend, we know very well that You are not actually the son of mother Yaśodā or the cowherd man Nanda Mahārāja. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul of all living entities. You have, out of Your own causeless mercy, appeared in this world, requested by Lord Brahma for the protection of the world. It is by Your kindness only that You have appeared in the dynasty of Yadu. O best of the dynasty of Yadu, if anyone afraid of this materialistic way of life takes shelter of Your lotus feet, You never deny him protection. Your movements are sweet, and You are independent, touching the goddess of fortune with one hand and in the other bearing a lotus flower. That is Your extraordinary feature. Please, therefore, come before us and bless us with the lotus flower in Your hand. Dear Kṛṣṇa, You are the killer of all the fears of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. You are the supremely powerful hero, and we know that You can kill the unnecessary pride of Your devotees, as well as the pride of women like us, simply by Your beautiful smile."

Prabhupāda: Unnecessary pride is very bad. "Oh, I have become very advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That we should never think.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 12, 1974, Bombay:

Girirāja (reading): "...all the cowherd men who went to Mathurā to pay tax returned home and were struck with wonder at seeing the gigantic dead body of Pūtanā." (break)

Prabhupāda: Here is description of Pūtanā, twelve miles. Big gigantic body. And nobody has seen such gigantic body. But it is described in the Bhāgavatam.

Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 1, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...observing Śiva-rātri, Nanda Mahārāja and all the cowherds men, they increased their attachment for Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Discussion on Deprogrammers -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is conditioned. The Vṛndāvana life means the gopīs, the cowherd boys, the cowherdsmen, the elderly men, Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodārāṇī, his (her) status, every-cows, calves, trees, flowers, Yamunā—everyone is dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. That is the Vṛndāvana. They have no other business. That is Vṛndāvana. Everywhere, the whole description of the Kṛṣṇa book, center is Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The... Kṛṣṇa has become everything. After Brahmā has stolen the original cowherds boys and cows and calves, Kṛṣṇa has expanded Himself. So on account of Kṛṣṇa's expansion, the cowherdsmen got a special attraction. First of all they were angry. The cowherdsmen were on the top of the hill. They did not like to come down. But on account of Kṛṣṇa, the boys were very, very attracted, and they immediately come down with special affection.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna: Yes. Tataḥ-thereafter; pravayasaḥ (vṛddhāḥ gopa-janāḥ)—the elderly cowherdsmen?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna: "Thereafter, the elderly cowherdsmen," putrāliṅgane paramānanda lābha kariyā, "obtaining great bliss from embracing their sons..."

Prabhupāda: Feeling.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Hayagriva -- Montreal 14 June, 1968:

Vrindaban is also known as Gokula. Go means cows, and kula means congregation. Therefore the special feature of New Vrindaban will be cow protection, and by doing so, we shall not be loser. In India of course, a cow is protected and the cowherdsmen they derive sufficient profit by such protection. Cow dung is used as fuel. Cow dung dried in the sunshine kept in stock for utilizing them as fuel in the villages.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Jadurani -- Los Angeles 15 January, 1969:

Nanda Maharaja (an old man of not less than 50 years) is observing celebration. Many cowherd boys are coming with milk and curd on a balancing stick on their backs (see enclosed picture). Nanda Maharaja, who is the chief amongst the cowherd men, is giving them presentations of cloth, ornaments, fruits, etc., and there is feasting going on. Some of them are enjoying by throwing butter upon their friend's bodies.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Kirtanananda -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 27 July, 1973:

Agriculture and protecting the cow, this is the main business of the residents of Vrindaban, and above all simply loving Krishna. The cows, the trees, the cowherd men and Gopis, their chief engagement was loving Krishna, and in New Vrindaban we want to create this atmosphere and thereby show the whole world how practical and sublime our movement is.