He Is Afterwards Brought Up As A Herdsman, And Spends
His Childhood Among The Milkmaids Of Braj, Upon Whom He Plays All
Sorts Of Tricks.
"One day the divine Krishna played upon the flute
in the forest, when, hearing the sound of the instrument, all the
young women of Braj arose in confusion, and hastened and assembled
in one place.
The dark-blue Krishna, with body of the hue of clouds,
stood in the midst; and such was the beauty of the fair ones, as they
sported, that they resembled golden creepers growing from beneath a
blue mountain!"
The description of the state of the world, on Krishna's appearance,
is given by the saintly Shukadeo to King Parikshah - "O King, at the
time of the divine Krishna appearing, in the minds of all such joy
arose, that not even the name of grief remained. With joy the woods
and groves began to bear fruits and flowers, their verdure still
increasing. The rivers, streams, and lakes were filled with water,
and upon them birds of every kind were sporting; and, from city to
city, from house to house, from village to village, rejoicings were
celebrated. The Brahmins were performing sacrifice; the Regents of
the ten divisions of the horizon rejoiced. Clouds were moving over
the circuit of Braj. The deities, seated in their cars, rained down
flowers; the holders of the magic pill, the celestial musicians, and
heavenly bards, continually sounding drums, kettledrums, and pipes,
were singing the praises of the divine virtues; and, in one direction,
Urvasee, and all the celestial dancers, were dancing. In such a time,
then, on Wednesday, the eighth day of the dark half of the month
Bhadon, at midnight, while the moon was in the mansion of Rohanee,
the divine Krishna was born, of the colour of clouds, moon-faced and
lotus-eyed, with a girdle of yellow cloth passing round his loins,
wearing a crown, and arrayed in a necklace of five jewels, produced
from the elements of nature, and with ornaments set with gems, in a
four-armed form, sustaining the shell, the quoit, the mace, and the
lotus he presented himself."
Krishna afterwards espouses a fair lady, of the name of Rukminee,
and the marriage is thus poetically described. Rukminee has written
a letter, filled with love, and sent it by the hand of a Brahmin, to
the Root of Joy, Krishna: - "The Brahmin having arrived at Duarika,
perceives that the town is in the midst of the ocean, and on the four
sides of it there are great mountains and woods and groves, which
add beauty to the scene. In these were various kinds of beasts and
birds, and the limpid lakes were filled with pure water, and lotus
flowers were blooming, upon which swarms upon swarms of black bees
were humming. To the distance of many miles orchards, containing an
endless variety of fruit and flowers, extended; along these enclosures
betel gardens were flourishing. The gardeners, standing at the wells,
were singing with sweet strains; and, working waterwheels and buckets,
were irrigating the high and low grounds."
Beholding this beautiful scene, and being gladdened thereby, the
Brahmin, still advancing, beholds that "on four sides of the city
are very lofty ramparts, with four gateways, in which folding-doors,
inlaid with gold, are fixed, and, inside the city, houses of five
and six stories high, of silver and gold, adorned with jewels, so
lofty as to converse with the sky, are glittering.
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