kṣaṇa-mātraṁ ca tatratyair adṛṣṭe’smin na jīvyate ||
vṛkṣādibhis tv antarite kadācid
asmin sati syāt sahacāriṇāṁ bhṛśam |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-kṛṣṇeti mahāpluta-svarair
āhvāna-bhaṅgyākulatā sa-rodanā ||
vraja-sthitānāṁ tv ahar eva kāla-
rātrir bhaved eka-lavo yugaṁ ca |
raviṁ rajo-vartma ca paśyatāṁ muhur
daśā ca kācin muralīṁ ca śṛṇvatām ||
ayaṁ hi tat-tad-vipineṣu kautukād
vihartu-kāmaḥ paśu-saṅgha-saṅgataḥ |
vayasyavagaiḥ saha sarvato’ṭituṁ
prayāti nityaṁ svayam agrajānvitaḥ ||
yatrātimattāmbu-vihaṅga-mālā-
kulīkṛtāly-āvalī-vibhrameṇa |
vicālitānāṁ kamalotpalānāṁ
sarāṁsi gandhair vilasaj-jalāni ||
tathā mahāścarya-vicitratāmayī
kalindajā sā vraja-bhūmi-saṅginī |
tathā-vidhā vindhya-nagādi-sambhavāḥ
parāś ca nadyo vilasanti yatra ca ||
tat-tat-taṭaṁ komala-bālukācitaṁ
ramyaṁ sadā nūtana-śādvalāvṛtam |
svābhāvika-dveṣa-visarjanollasan-
manojña-nānā-mṛga-pakṣi-saṅkulam ||
divya-puṣpa-phala-pallavāvalī-
bhāra-namrita-latā-taru-gulmaiḥ |
bhūṣitaṁ mada-kalāpi-kokila-
śreṇi-nāditam aja-stuti-pātram ||
vṛndāraṇye vraja-bhuvi gavāṁ tatra govardhane vā
nāste hiṁsā-haraṇa-rahite rakṣakasyāpy apekṣā |
gāvo gatvoṣasi vipinatas tā mahiṣy-ādi-yuktāḥ
svairaṁ bhuktvā sa-jala-yavasaṁ sāyam āyānti vāsam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.6.103–111)
“[Rohiṇī to Padmāvatī:] When he [viz., Kṛṣṇa] is unseen by those situated there [i.e., the people in Vraja] for even just a moment, they cannot live. O virtuous lady, whenever he is concealed [from their vision] by trees or anything else, tearful heartache will immediately arise in his companions along with a gesture of calling out [to him] in highly drawn-out tones, ‘O Śrī Kṛṣṇa! O Kṛṣṇa!’ Indeed for those situated in Vraja [i.e., those such as Śrī Rādhikā who remain back in the village while Śrī Kṛṣṇa is out for the day with his companions in the forest herding the cows], just the day can become [like] a night of destruction [i.e., it can feel as long as the night of universal dissolution] and one instant [can feel like] an epoch (yuga). Some [indescribable] state [of near madness arising from profound prema] comes about for those [residents of Vraja who can be observed daily to be] constantly watching the sun [in the afternoon since it indicates how close it is to the early evening when Kṛṣṇa will return to the village], the dust [which rises when Kṛṣṇa and the cows are approaching the village], and the path [by which Kṛṣna will re-enter the village] and listening for the flute [which Kṛṣṇa plays as he re-enters to the village]. Out of eagerness, he [viz., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] of his own accord goes out daily surrounded by his herds of animals and accompanied by his elder brother to roam all about with his companions, being desirous of sporting in those [completely ineffable] forests [of Vṛndāvana and so on] (1) in which there are lakes of sparking water [filled] with the fragrances of lotuses and lilies swaying [back and forth] because of the frolicking of swarms of bees frenzied by flocks of highly excited water birds, (2) in which the land of Vraja’s companion, she [of immense ineffable beauty] the daughter of [Mount] Kalinda [viz., the River Yamunā], replete with greatly astonishing variegatedness, and other similar rivers like those coming from the Vindhya Mountains [i.e., the Carmaṇvatī (Chambal)] and elsewhere, shine [alt., play], and (3) [in which] there are those [completely ineffable] delightful banks [of those river and lakes] that are (a) loaded with soft sand, (b) always topped with fresh grass, (c) filled with various charming birds and animals sporting [together] having given up their natural enmity [towards one another], (d) decorated by creepers, trees, and shrubs bowed by the weight of the rows of their splendid flowers, fruits, and sprouts, (e) made resonant by flocks of maddened peacocks and cuckoos, and (f) recipient of the unborn one’s [viz., Brahmā’s] praise [as expressed in SB 10.14.34 and elsewhere]. There is no need even for protection of the cows there in the forest of Vṛndā, in the land of Vraja [i.e., in the village of Nandīśvara and so on], or in Govardhana [since all of these places are] free from violence and theft. Those [ineffably exalted] cows, accompanied by the buffaloes and so on [i.e., goats and other animals], go out in the morning, partake of grass along with water, and at will return from the forest to the village in the evening [and thus it is not that Kṛṣṇa has to herd them, that the people of Vraja require and force Kṛṣṇa to do so, or that he suffers while doing so, but rather that Kṛṣṇa goes out each to day to herd them of his own free will out of his own desire to sport with them and his beloved companions in the midst of the forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes of the land of Vraja and by doing so he rejoices immensely].”
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