Śukadeva Gosvāmī next described how the two children crawled, walked on Their small legs, played with the cows and calves, stole butter and other milk products and broke the butter pots. In this way, he described many naughty activities of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. The most wonderful of these occurred when Kṛṣṇa's playmates complained to mother Yaśodā that Kṛṣṇa was eating earth. Mother Yaśodā wanted to open Kṛṣṇa's mouth to see the evidence so that she could chastise Him. Sometimes she assumed the position of a chastising mother, and at the next moment she was overwhelmed with maternal love. After describing all this to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, at Mahārāja Parīkṣit's request, praised the fortune of mother Yaśodā and Nanda. Nanda and Yaśodā were formerly Droṇa and Dharā, and by the order of Brahmā they came to this earth and had the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their son.
Playmates
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
Devotees who are correctly situated in a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa are attracted by loving features, not by a godless display of opulences. The playmates of Kṛṣṇa, the friends of Kṛṣṇa and the parents of Kṛṣṇa never want Kṛṣṇa to show His opulences. They are so immersed in pure love that they do not even know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In their loving exchange they forget that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the boys who play with Kṛṣṇa are all highly pious souls and after many, many births they are able to play with Kṛṣṇa. Such boys do not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They take Him as a personal friend.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
When Lord Kṛṣṇa was present in this material world to manifest His eternal pastimes of the transcendental realm of Goloka Vṛndāvana as an attraction for the people in general, He displayed a unique picture of subordination before His foster mother, Yaśodā. The Lord, in His naturally childish playful activities, used to spoil the stocked butter of mother Yaśodā by breaking the pots and distributing the contents to His friends and playmates, including the celebrated monkeys of Vṛndāvana, who took advantage of the Lord's munificence. Mother Yaśodā saw this, and out of her pure love she wanted to make a show of punishment for her transcendental child. She took a rope and threatened the Lord that she would tie Him up, as is generally done in the ordinary household. Seeing the rope in the hands of mother Yaśodā, the Lord bowed down His head and began to weep just like a child, and tears rolled down His cheeks, washing off the black ointment smeared about His beautiful eyes. This picture of the Lord is adored by Kuntīdevī because she is conscious of the Lord's supreme position.
The son of the ṛṣi, his eyes red-hot with anger, touched the water of the River Kauśika while speaking to his playmates and discharged the following thunderbolt of words.
The circumstances under which Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed were simply childish, as it appears from this verse. Śṛṅgi was showing his impudency amongst his playmates, who were innocent. Any sane man would have prevented him from doing such great harm to all human society. By killing a king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, just to make a show of acquired brahminical power, the inexperienced son of a brāhmaṇa committed a great mistake.
SB Canto 2
The life history of many such devotees is almost the same because there is always symmetry between the early lives of all great devotees of the Lord. According to Jīva Gosvāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit must have heard about the childhood pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa at Vṛndāvana, for he used to imitate the pastimes with his young playmates. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit used to imitate the worship of the family Deity by elderly members. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also confirms the viewpoint of Jīva Gosvāmī. So accepting either of them, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was naturally inclined to Lord Kṛṣṇa from his very childhood.
SB Canto 6
My dear son, you have slept a long time. Now please get up. Your playmates are calling you to play. Since you must be very hungry, please get up and suck my breast and dissipate our lamentation.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
One day while Kṛṣṇa was playing with His small playmates, including Balarāma and other sons of the gopas, all His friends came together and lodged a complaint to mother Yaśodā. "Mother," they submitted, "Kṛṣṇa has eaten earth."
Upon hearing this from Kṛṣṇa's playmates, mother Yaśodā, who was always full of anxiety over Kṛṣṇa's welfare, picked Kṛṣṇa up with her hands to look into His mouth and chastise Him. Her eyes fearful, she spoke to her son as follows.
Dear Kṛṣṇa, why are You so restless that You have eaten dirt in a solitary place? This complaint has been lodged against You by all Your playmates, including Your elder brother, Balarāma. How is this?
Kṛṣṇa presented Himself as an innocent child to increase the transcendental ecstasy of maternal affection. As described in the śāstra, tāḍana-bhayān mithyoktir vātsalya-rasa-poṣikā. This means that sometimes a small child speaks lies. For example, he may have stolen something or eaten something and yet deny that he has done so. We ordinarily see this in the material world, but in relation to Kṛṣṇa it is different; such activities are meant to endow the devotee with transcendental ecstasy. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was playing as a liar and accusing all the other devotees of being liars. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.12.11), kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ: a devotee may attain such an ecstatic position after many, many births of devotional service. Persons who have amassed the results of a vast amount of pious activities can attain the stage of associating with Kṛṣṇa and playing with Him like ordinary playmates. One should not consider these transactions of transcendental service to be untruthful accusations. One should never accuse such devotees of being ordinary boys speaking lies, for they attained this stage of associating with Kṛṣṇa by great austerities (tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śamena ca damena ca (SB 6.1.13)).
Mother Yaśodā, of course, did not want to chastise her beloved child very much, and therefore she immediately threw her stick away and simply rebuked Kṛṣṇa, saying, "Now I shall bind You so that You cannot commit any further offensive activities. Nor for the time being can You play with Your playmates." This shows the position of a pure devotee, in contrast with others, like jñānīs, yogīs and the followers of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, in regarding the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth.
When the yamala-arjuna trees fell, they made a tremendous sound, like that of falling thunderbolts. Being surprised, Kṛṣṇa's father, Nanda, and the other elderly inhabitants of Gokula went to the spot, where they saw the fallen trees and Kṛṣṇa standing between them, bound to the ulūkhala, the wooden mortar. They could find no cause for the trees' having fallen and Kṛṣṇa's being there. They thought this might be the work of some other asura who had met Kṛṣṇa on this spot, and they inquired from the playmates of Kṛṣṇa about how the whole incident had taken place. The children properly described how everything had happened, but the elderly persons could not believe the story. Some of them, however, thought that it might be true, since they had already seen many wonderful incidents in connection with Kṛṣṇa. Anyway, Nanda Mahārāja immediately released Kṛṣṇa from the ropes.
Thereafter, all the elderly gopas decided to leave Gokula because they saw that in Gokula there was always some disturbance. They decided to go to Vṛndāvana, Vraja-dhāma, and the next day they all departed. In Vṛndāvana, both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, after finishing Their childhood pastimes, began to take charge of the calves and send them to the pasturing grounds (go-caraṇa). During this time, a demon named Vatsāsura entered among the calves and was killed, and another asura, in the shape of a big duck, was also killed. The playmates of Kṛṣṇa narrated all these stories to their mothers. The mothers could not believe their children, Kṛṣṇa's playmates, but because of full affection they enjoyed these narrations of Kṛṣṇa's activities.
Considering all the circumstances, had this been done by Kṛṣṇa? He was standing on the spot, and His playmates described that this had been done by Him. Had Kṛṣṇa actually done this, or were these merely stories? This was a cause of bewilderment.
Kṛṣṇa's playmates wanted to inform Kṛṣṇa's father of the exact situation by explaining that not only did the trees break, but out of the broken trees came two beautiful men. "All these things happened," they said. "We have seen them with our own eyes."
Just see how all Your playmates of Your own age have been cleansed and decorated with beautiful ornaments by their mothers. You should come here, and after You have taken Your bath, eaten Your lunch and been decorated with ornaments, You may play with Your friends again.
Generally young boys are competitive. If one friend has done something, another friend also wants to do something. Therefore mother Yaśodā pointed out how Kṛṣṇa's playmates were decorated, so that Kṛṣṇa might be induced to decorate Himself like them.
Even the other day, neither Kṛṣṇa nor any of His playmates died from the falling of the two trees, although the children were near the trees or even between them. This also is to be considered the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- SB 10.11.27
One day while Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, along with Their playmates, were tending the calves on the bank of the River Yamunā, another demon arrived there, desiring to kill Them.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
After Brahmā had offended Kṛṣṇa by stealing His playmates and calves, he begged the Lord's pardon for his offensive act and prayed for the Lord's mercy.
Near Garbhavāsa is a place called Bakulatalā, where Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and His boyfriends used to take part in sporting activities known as jhāla-jhapeṭā. There is a bakula tree there that is wonderful because all its branches and subbranches look like the hoods of serpents. It has been suggested that by the desire of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Anantadeva manifested Himself in that way. The tree is very old. It is said that formerly it had two trunks, but later on, when the playmates of Nityānanda Prabhu felt inconvenience in jumping from the branches of one trunk to those of the other, Nityānanda Prabhu, by His mercy, merged the two trunks into one.
Once on Ekādaśī in the house of Jagadīśa and Hiraṇya Paṇḍita there were arrangements for preparing special prasādam for Lord Viṣṇu, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked His father to go there to ask for the viṣṇu-prasādam because He was feeling sick. The house of Jagadīśa and Hiraṇya Paṇḍita was situated about two miles from the house of Jagannātha Miśra. Therefore when Jagannātha Miśra, on the request of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, came to ask Jagadīśa and Hiraṇya for the prasādam, they were a little astonished. How could the boy understand that special prasādam was being prepared for Lord Viṣṇu? They immediately concluded that Nimāi must have supernatural mystic power. Otherwise how could He understand that they were preparing special prasādam? Therefore they immediately sent the food to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu through His father, Jagannātha Miśra. Nimāi was feeling sick, but immediately after eating the viṣṇu-prasādam He was cured, and He also distributed the prasādam among His playmates.
As usual for small children, He learned to play, and with His playmates He went to the houses of neighboring friends, stealing their eatables and eating them. Sometimes the children fought among themselves.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
One is advised to associate with the holy devotees of the Lord and carefully avoid the association of unholy nondevotees. Those who are pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa are very careful to keep aloof from the two types of nondevotees. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.31.33-35) it is said that one should give up all association with a person who is a playmate for women, for by associating with such an unholy person one becomes bereft of all good qualities, such as truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, intelligence, shyness, beauty, fame, forgiveness, control of the mind and senses and all the opulences that are automatically obtained by a devotee. A man is never so degraded as when he associates with persons who are too much attached to women.
Nectar of Devotion
In the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fourth Chapter, verse 37, the great sage Nārada informs Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was a devotee from the very beginning of his life. The proof of Prahlāda's natural devotion is that even when he was a small child he did not play with his playmates, but was always eager to preach the glories of the Lord. Instead of joining in their sportive acrobatic feats, he remained an inactive child because he was always in trance, meditating on Kṛṣṇa. As such, there was no possibility of his being touched by the external world.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
As soon as Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma heard that Nanda Mahārāja was waiting for Them and could not take his food in Their absence, They started to return. Their playmates complained, "Kṛṣṇa is leaving us just at the point when our playing is at the summit. Next time we shall not allow Him to leave."
His playmates then threatened not to allow Him to play with them again. Kṛṣṇa became afraid, and instead of going back home, He went back again to play with the boys. At that time, mother Yaśodā scolded the children and told Kṛṣṇa, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, do You think that You are a street boy? You have no home? Please come back to Your home! I see that Your body has become very dirty from playing since morning. Now come home and take Your bath. Besides, today is Your birthday ceremony; therefore You should come back home and give cows in charity to the brāhmaṇas. Don’t You see how Your playmates are decorated with ornaments by their mothers? You should also be cleansed and decorated with nice dress and ornaments. Please, therefore, come back, take Your bath, dress Yourself nicely, and then again You may go on playing.”
Soon Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had grown sufficiently to be given charge of the calves. Cowherd boys, from the very beginning of their childhood, are trained to take care of the cows, and their first responsibility is to take care of the little calves. So along with the other little cowherd boys, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma went into the pasturing ground and took charge of the calves, and there They played with Their playmates. While taking charge of the calves, sometimes the two brothers played on Their flutes. And sometimes They played with āmalaka fruits and bael fruits, just as small children play with balls. Sometimes They danced and made tinkling sounds with Their ankle bells. Sometimes They made Themselves into bulls and cows by covering Themselves with blankets. Thus Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma played. The two brothers also used to imitate the sounds of bulls and cows and play at bullfighting. Sometimes They used to imitate the sounds of various animals and birds. In this way, They enjoyed Their childhood pastimes apparently like ordinary, mundane children.
Sri Isopanisad
Of the childhood play between the Lord and His playmates, the cowherd boys, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.12.11):
- itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā
- dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena
- māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa
- sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ
"The Personality of Godhead, who is perceived as the impersonal, blissful Brahman by the jñānīs, who is worshiped as the Supreme Lord by devotees in the mood of servitorship, and who is considered an ordinary human being by mundane people, played with the cowherd boys, who had attained their position after accumulating many pious activities."
Thus the Lord is always engaged in transcendental loving activities with His spiritual associates in the various relationships of śānta (neutrality), dāsya (servitorship), sakhya (friendship), vātsalya (parental affection) and mādhurya (conjugal love).
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
When Kṛṣṇa was playing as a child, He ate earth and the playmates complained to mother Yaśodā: "Mother, your son Kṛṣṇa is eating earth." Mother Yaśodā called for explanation: "Kṛṣṇa, why You are eating earth? I have given You sandeśa." Kṛṣṇa said, "No, mother, I have not eaten." "No, Your friends are complaining." "No, they have become My enemies this morning. We had some quarrel. Therefore they have combined together to make Me chastised by you." So in this way... Then mother Yaśodā wanted to solve this problem: "All right, show Your mouth, open Your mouth. I want to see." And when Kṛṣṇa opened the mouth, the mother saw innumerable universes are within the mouth. This is Kṛṣṇa.
In the Bhāgavata, when Kṛṣṇa was playing with boys... Just like boys play, Kṛṣṇa, when He was playing just like a boy... So the Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes that attitude: itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena (SB 10.12.11). The purport is that, that "Here is a thing, these boys, these boys who are playing with Kṛṣṇa, that for many, many lives they undergone penances to have Kṛṣṇa as their playmate. Now they are enjoying life." So the playmates of Kṛṣṇa, they are not ordinary persons.
No, some of them are eternal associates, some of them are promoted to that eternal association. Suppose if you go and become an associate, playmate of Kṛṣṇa. So your position also becomes, now, eternal. If simply the eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa can play with Him, not others, then what is the meaning of your becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious? You can become also. How? By pious deeds of many, many lives. You can also become promoted to that position. Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ (SB 10.12.11). Actually in the bhauma Vṛndāvana in this material world, the Vṛndāvana, mostly the associates of Kṛṣṇa are these conditioned living entities who are promoted to that Kṛṣṇa conscious perfectional stage. They are first of all allowed to see Kṛṣṇa in the planet where Kṛṣṇa's pastimes is going on. And then they are promoted to the transcendental Vṛndāvana.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Now, that hermitage had one boy, a ten years, twelve years old, and that boy had some playmates. They were playing, and some of the boys informed the son of that hermitage that "Your father has been insulted by the king. He is garlanded with a dead snake." So that boy, the son of that hermitage became very angry, and he cursed him. That one point is here to see, that a child of a brāhmaṇa, a son of a brāhmaṇa, was so powerful that he could curse a great king like Mahārāja Parīkṣit that "You have insulted my father. So that snake will bite you within seven days, and you will die." This was the version.
So for Kṛṣṇa there is no such thing that you can accuse Kṛṣṇa as lusty, sensuous. No. He showed favor to all His devotees. There are so many devotees Of Kṛṣṇa. Some devotee's asking Kṛṣṇa to become her husband. Some devotee's asking Kṛṣṇa to become his friend. Some devotee's asking Kṛṣṇa to become His son. And some devotee's asking to become his playmate. In this way, millions and trillions of devotees are there all over the universe. And Kṛṣṇa has to satisfy them all. He does not require any help from the devotees. But, as the devotees want... So these 16,000 devotees wanted Kṛṣṇa as their husband. Kṛṣṇa agreed. And that is... Just like common man. But as God, He expanded Himself into 16,000 forms.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī arrived at the point of death of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy that he would die within seven days, bitten by a snake. Just imagine how the brahminical culture was so powerful that even a boy born in a brāhmaṇa family... He was only ten or twelve years old... When he heard that his father was insulted by Mahārāja Parīkṣit by garlanding him with a dead snake... His playmates informed him that "Your father has been insulted in this way." So he retaliated that "Within seven days this snake will bite the king and he will die."
Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy to die within a week. Formerly, even a small child... This boy, this brāhmaṇa boy, was playing with his playmates. That means he was a child, not more than ten to twelve years old.
When they saw that "A boy is in Vṛndāvana, and He is accepted as the Supreme Lord, and He is doing something like God. Let us test," so Brahmā took away all His cows and calves and playmates. And after a second, when he came, he saw the same cows, same calves, same boys were there. Kṛṣṇa has expanded. Although His cows were taken away, He immediately expanded Himself in so many cows and calves and boys. And when they returned home their mother could not recognize that they were the same or Kṛṣṇa has expanded. But their affection became very much acute for their children. These stories are mentioned in Kṛṣṇa.
Ānanda you cannot get without being a servant of the Supreme Lord. That is ānanda, reciprocation(?). That is Vṛndāvana. There is ānanda, cinmāya, ānanda, because everyone is engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa. The cowherd boys, the calves, the cows, the birds, the beasts, the trees, the water, the father, mother, playmates—everyone—Kṛṣṇa is the center. That is ānanda. And if you make Kṛṣṇa minus, then there is no ānanda.
You can simply please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by your transcendental loving service. That's all. If you try, if you learn the art of loving, then you can... He will be just like a playmate with you. Kṛṣṇa is so nice.
| Page Title: | Playmates |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Caitanyadev |
| Created: | 16 of Nov, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=17, CC=4, OB=6, Lec=10, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 38 |