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Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
And now, Chapter 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 ***, 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 sep
arated. 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."