TEXT 27
parito vatsapair vatsams
carayan vyaharad vibhuh
yamunopavane kujad-
dvija-sankulitanghripe
SYNONYMS
paritahsurrounded by; vatsapaihcowherd boys; vatsancalves; carayanherding, tending; vyaharatenjoyed by traveling; vibhuhthe Almighty; yamunathe Yamuna River; upavanegardens on the shore; kujatvibrated by the voice; dvijathe twice-born birds; sankulitadensely situated; anghripein the trees.
TRANSLATION
In His childhood, the Almighty Lord was surrounded by cowherd boys and calves, and thus He traveled on the shore of the Yamuna River, through gardens densely covered with trees and filled with vibrations of chirping birds.
PURPORT
Nanda Maharaja was a landholder for King Kamsa, but because by caste he was a vaisya, a member of the mercantile and agricultural community, he maintained thousands of cows. It is the duty of the vaisyas to give protection to the cows, just as the ksatriyas are to give protection to the human beings. Because the Lord was a child, He was put in charge of the calves with His cowherd boy friends. These cowherd boys were great rsis and yogis in their previous births, and after many such pious births, they gained the association of the Lord and could play with Him on equal terms. Such cowherd boys never cared to know who Krsna was, but they played with Him as a most intimate and lovable friend. They were so fond of the Lord that at night they would only think of the next morning when they would be able to meet the Lord and go together to the forests for cowherding.
The forests on the shore of the Yamuna are all beautiful gardens full of trees of mango, jackfruit, apples, guava, oranges, grapes, berries, palmfruit and so many other plants and fragrant flowers. And because the forest was on the bank of the Yamuna, naturally there were ducks, cranes and peacocks on the branches of the trees. All these trees and birds and beasts were pious living entities born in the transcendental abode of Vrndavana just to give pleasure to the Lord and His eternal associates, the cowherd boys.
While playing like a small child with His associates, the Lord killed many demons, including Aghasura, Bakasura, Pralambasura and Gardabhasura. Although He appeared at Vrndavana just as a boy, He was actually like the covered flames of a fire. As a small particle of fire can kindle a great fire with fuel, so the Lord killed all these great demons, beginning from His babyhood in the house of Nanda Maharaja. The land of Vrndavana, the Lords childhood playground, still remains today, and anyone who visits these places enjoys the same transcendental bliss, although the Lord is not physically visible to our imperfect eyes. Lord Caitanya recommended this land of the Lord as identical with the Lord and therefore worshipable by the devotees. This instruction is taken up especially by the followers of Lord Caitanya known as the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. And because the land is identical with the Lord, devotees like Uddhava and Vidura visited these places five thousand years ago in order to have direct contact with the Lord, visible or not visible, Thousands of devotees of the Lord are still wandering in these sacred places of Vrndavana, and all of them are preparing themselves to go back home, back to Godhead.

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