26-31 Krishna welcomed by Vrindavan
Krishna's fleeting mind cannot be repressed from the scorching pain of Radha's viraha!
Verse 26
Seeing every forest object resembling an aspect of Radha's madhura-rupa, Krishna's
mind becomes like a spinning kasa flower caught in a windstorm! Thus, he loses all
mental equilibrium!
Verse 27
When the moving and nonmoving forest creatures see Krishna, their love for him
overflows and by such love, Krishna becomes overwhelmed with bliss! Krishna is unable to remain silent witnessing the prema and excessive pleasure
that his bhaktas experience while engaging in his seva. Thus his compassion
awakens, and he addresses the various forest reidents as follows:
Vers 28
"Oh dear latas! Are you well? Oh trees! You are all my friends, is everything
auspicious? Oh deer! Os stags! Is everything promising? Oh birds! How are you
doing? Oh bees! You appear robust! Oh moving and non-moving! Are you all
happy?"
In Krishnahnika-kaumudi 3.51-56, Srila Kavi Karnapur describes how Vrindavan's
"appearing like Lakshmi" decorates herself with six seasonal opulences:
The Spring adorns the forest with a pearl necklace of white vasanti kalika
flowers,
the summer provies mallika flower ornaments,
her breasts are revealed
by the rainy season's kadamba flowers,
her smiling face is seen with blooming
lotus of autumn,
the hemanta season provides lodhra flower ear decorations,
and
the winter offers a damanak flower garland surrounding by swarming bees that
form her veni.
The Vrindavan trees display the ingredients for Krishna's puja:
they offer
padya with their dew,
arghya with newly blossomed leaves,
acamaniya with their
oozing honey,
sugandha by their fragrance, and pushpa by their flowers.
The
rising bee clusters represent incense,
their newly-budding fruits are like a
lamp, and their ripe fruits provide Krishna's bhoga naivedya.
The forest latas begin dancing before Krishna, and the southern breezes are
their dancing instructors. The bees are singing minstrels, and the latas'
leaf-like hands display beautiful poses. When the latas show different moods
like the batting of the eyelids, their entire bodies joyfully toss in the
breezes, but they become shy when their blossom-like breasts become exposed.
Thus they lower their heads while smiling with new blooming flowers.
The
shyness of some latas, however, cause them to cover their flowers faces with
their leaf-like hands. Other latas ecstatically cry with their pollen mist.
Some latas cover their blossoming breasts with pollen dresses, while others
suddenly flick the bees landing upon them as they sway in the wind. Some latas
ruffle their leaves in the breeze like a cooing kokila. Then they spread out
their hands to invite the Lord, as if to say, "Come! Come!" And finally they
gracefully smile with their flowers to reveal their inner desires for Krishna's
sanga.
Another lata sees Krishna and exhibits the kuttamita alankar -by rubbing the
trees she exhibits dry pounting, with a darting swarm of bees, she cocks her
eyebrows, her blooming flowers show a crooked smile, her restless leaves say,
na, na, na! And the chirping birds offer her loving rebuke!
Verse 29-30
As Krishna talks with the forest residents, He arrives at a valley beside
Govardhan hill. Here the cows graze on the fresh grass. Then Krishna plays with
the sakhas to suppress his mind from racing towards Radha! But despite engaging
in many known sports and newly-invented games, and despite the forest
wonderment, still Krishna fails - his fleeting mind cannot be repressed from
the scorching pain of Radha's viraha!"
Krsnahnika-kaumudi adds: "From atop Govardhan, a waterfall cascades into a clear reservoir. This take is surrounded by shady trees that shelter the sun's rays. The cooling breezes carry the fragrant aroma form the nearby rose gardens."
Verse 31
After playing for awhile, Krishna notices the sakha's hunger and fatigue. Thus
he desires to take lunch with them.