hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo
yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ |
mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat
pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kanda-mūlaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.21.18)
“Hanta!
O ladies!
This mountain is the best of Hari’s servants
Since he is possessed of great delight
At the touch of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa’s feet,
And since he offers honor to them,
Along with their cows and company,
With beverages, fine grass, hollows, bulbs, and roots.”
kṣaumaṁ vāsaḥ pṛthu-kaṭi-taṭe bibhratī sūtra-naddhaṁ
putra-sneha-snuta-kuca-yugaṁ jāta-kampaṁ ca subhrūḥ |
rajjv-ākarṣa-śrama-bhuja-calat-kaṅkaṇau kuṇḍale ca
svinnaṁ vaktraṁ kabara-vigalan-mālatī nirmamantha ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.3; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.12)
“Bearing a linen garment bound with a cord
Around her wide hips,
Shaking breasts
Flowing [with milk]
Out of affection for her son,
Bangles moving along her arms
In the midst of the labor of pulling the [churning] ropes,
[Swaying] Earrings,
And a perspiring face,
She of fine brows [viz., Yaśodā],
With mālatī flowers falling from her braid,
Churned [the yoghurt].”
mayy arpitātmanaḥ sabhya nirapekṣasya sarvataḥ |
mayātmanā sukhaṁ yat tat kutaḥ syād viṣayātmanām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.12)
“O noble one, how can those of mind upon objects of the senses have the happiness on account of me, the Self, which those of mind offered to me, who are indifferent to everything [else], have?”
kim upāyanam ānītaṁ brahman me bhavatā gṛhāt |
aṇv apy upāhṛtaṁ bhaktaiḥ premṇā bhūry eva me bhavet |
bhūry apy abhaktopahṛtaṁ na me toṣāya kalpate ||
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati |
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.81.3–4)
“O brāhmaṇa, what gift has been brought by you from your home for me? Even something small offered by bhaktas with prema shall certainly be great to me. Even a great [i.e., lavish] offering by a non-bhakta [however] does not lead to satisfaction for me. One who with bhakti offers a leaf, flower, fruit, or water to me—I partake of that offered out of bhakti from one of pure heart.”
gāvas tato goṣṭham upetya satvaraṁ
huṅkāra-ghoṣaiḥ parihūta-saṅgatān |
svakān svakān vatsatarān apāyayan
muhur lihantyaḥ sravad audhasaṁ payaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.24)
“Then, swiftly arriving to the cowpens, the cows repeatedly licked and fed the milk flowing from their udders to their own respective elder calves who had assembled after being called with mooing sounds.”
tato vidūrāc carato gāvo vatsān upavrajam |
govardhanādri-śirasi carantyo dadṛśus tṛṇam ||
dṛṣṭvātha tat-sneha-vaśo’smṛtātmā
sa go-vrajo’tyātmapa-durga-mārgaḥ |
dvipāt kakud-grīva udāsya-puccho
’gād dhuṅkṛtair āsru-payā javena ||
sametya gāvo’dho vatsān vatsavatyo’py apāyayan |
gilantya iva cāṅgāni lihantyaḥ svaudhasaṁ payaḥ ||
gopās tad-rodhanāyāsa-maughya-lajjoru-manyunā |
durgādhva-kṛcchrato’bhyetya … ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.29–32)
“Then, the cows grazing on grass at the top of Govardhana Hill from afar saw the [elder] calves grazing near the cowpens. Becoming captivated by affection for them and forgetful of themselves after seeing [them], that herd of cows, their tails raised, their necks [raised up] on their humps, and appearing like two-legged creatures, went quickly [down the hill towards their calves] with moos and streams of milk [flowing from their udders], overrunning their own keepers and taking up a difficult path. After arriving at the bottom [of the hill], the cows, although they had [other, younger] calves [elsewhere], fed these [elder] calves [they were running towards] the milk from their udders and licked the bodies [of these calves] as if they were swallowing [them]. After arriving [there] with hardship because of the difficult path, the cowherd men became very upset because of the embarrassment caused by their failure in their endeavor to stop them [i.e., the cows became so eager to meet Śrī Kṛṣṇa out of affection for him that they could not be contained even by the expert cowherd men of Vraja and when the cows overran them, the cowherd men felt embarrassed that they could not control the cows].”
aho’tidhanyā vraja-go-ramaṇyaḥ
stanyāmṛtaṁ pītam atīva te mudā |
yāsāṁ vibho vatsatarātmajātmanā
yat-tṛptaye’dyāpy atha nālam adhvarāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.31)
“Aho! O Vibhu! Exceedingly fortunate are the cows and ladies of Vraja, the nectar of whose breast-milk was drunk profusely with delight in the form of their elder calves and sons by you, for the satisfaction of whom still today sacrifices are not sufficient.”
gāvaś ca kṛṣṇa-mukha-nirgata-veṇu-gīta-
pīyūṣam uttabhita-karṇa-puṭaiḥ pibantyaḥ |
śāvāḥ snuta-stana-payaḥ-kavalāḥ sma tasthur
govindam ātmani dṛśāśru-kalāḥ spṛśantyaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.21.13)
“The cows—
Drinking in the nectar
Of the flute song
Emanating from Kṛṣṇa’s mouth
With the cups of their uplifted ears—
And the calves—
Into whom mouthfuls of milk
From the udders [of their mothers] flowed [but were not being swallowed],
Stood still [i.e., became spellbound],
Embracing Govinda in their minds through their eyes
And shedding tears.”
dhenavo manda-gāminya ūdho-bhāreṇa bhūyasā |
yayur bhagavatāhūtā drutaṁ prītyā snuta-stanāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.20.26)
“The cows, [although generally] slow-moving because of the heavy weight of their udders, upon being called by Bhagavān went quickly out of affection, their udders trickling [milk as they went].”
nāsāṁ dvijāti-saṁskāro na nivāso gurāv api |
na tapo nātma-mīmāṁsā na śaucaṁ na kriyāḥ śubhāḥ ||
tathāpi hy uttamaḥ-śloke kṛṣṇe yogeśvareśvare |
bhaktir dṛḍhā na cāsmākaṁ saṁskārādimatām api ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.23.42–43)
“Although they have neither the saṁskāra of a twice-born, nor residence with the guru, nor austerity, nor self-inquiry, nor cleanliness, nor meritorious rites, still certainly [they have] firm bhakti to he of highest praise, Kṛṣṇa, the Īśvara of all masters of yogas, whereas even we who are endowed with the saṁskāra [of a twice-born] and so forth do not [have bhakti to Kṛṣṇa].”
