Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Entrance in Dvaraka

In one of our previous posts entitled “Lord Kṛṣṇa's Transcendental Conchshell” we were describing Lord Krsna’s entrance in Dvarka. This post is a continuation from that chapter, describing the citizens presentation and prayers to the Lord. Very nice!
The citizens arrived before the Lord with their respective presentations, offering them to the fully satisfied and self-sufficient one, who, by His own potency, incessantly supplies others. These presentations were like the offering of a lamp to the sun. Yet the citizens began to speak in ecstatic language to receive the Lord, just as wards welcome their guardian and father.
…Lord Kṛṣṇa’s attraction is so powerful that once being attracted by Him one cannot tolerate separation from Him. Why is this so? Because we are all eternally related with Him as the sun rays are eternally related with the sun disc. The sun rays are molecular parts of the solar radiation. Thus the sun rays and the sun cannot be separated. The separation by the cloud is temporary and artificial, and as soon as the cloud is cleared, the sun rays again display their natural effulgence in the presence of the sun. Similarly, the living entities, who are molecular parts of the whole spirit, are separated from the Lord by the artificial covering of māyā, illusory energy. This illusory energy, or the curtain of māyā, has to be removed, and when it is so done, the living entity can see the Lord face to face, and all his miseries are at once removed. Every one of us wants to remove the miseries of life, but we do not know how to do it. The solution is given here, and it rests on us to assimilate it or not. (Excerpted from purport SB 1.11.10)
…Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being the primeval Lord, the Supreme Truth, is compared to the sun. Without Him all our knowledge is either false or partial. The opposite of the sun is the darkness, and similarly the opposite of Kṛṣṇa is māyā, or illusion. The devotees of the Lord can see everything in true perspective due to the light disseminated by Lord Kṛṣṇa. By the grace of the Lord the pure devotee cannot be in the darkness of ignorance. Therefore, it is necessary that we must always be in the sight of Lord Kṛṣṇa so that we can see both ourselves and the Lord with His different energies. As we cannot see anything in the absence of the sun, so also we cannot see anything including our own self, without the factual presence of the Lord. Without Him all our knowledge is covered by illusion. (Excerpted from purport SB 1.11.9)
Full Text and Purport
Srimad Bhagavatam
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto 1, Chapter 11, Text 4-10
tatropanīta-balayo
raver dīpam ivādṛtāḥ
ātmārāmaṁ pūrṇa-kāmaṁ
nija-lābhena nityadā
prīty-utphulla-mukhāḥ procur
harṣa-gadgadayā girā
pitaraṁ sarva-suhṛdam
avitāram ivārbhakāḥ

tatra—thereupon; upanīta—having offered; balayaḥ—presentations; raveḥ—up to the sun; dīpam—lamp; iva—like; ādṛtāḥ—being evaluated; ātma-ārāmam—unto the self-sufficient; pūrṇa-kāmam—fully satisfied; nija-lābhena—by His own potencies; nitya-dā—one who supplies incessantly; prīti—affection; utphulla-mukhāḥ—cheerful faces; procuḥ—said; harṣa—gladdened; gadgadayā—ecstatic; girā—speeches; pitaram—unto the father; sarva—all; suhṛdam—friends; avitāram—the guardian; iva—like; arbhakāḥ—wards.
The citizens arrived before the Lord with their respective presentations, offering them to the fully satisfied and self-sufficient one, who, by His own potency, incessantly supplies others. These presentations were like the offering of a lamp to the sun. Yet the citizens began to speak in ecstatic language to receive the Lord, just as wards welcome their guardian and father.
Purport
The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is described herein as ātmārāma. He is self-sufficient, and there is no need for Him to seek happiness from anything beyond Himself. He is self-sufficient because His very transcendental existence is total bliss. He is eternally existent; He is all-cognizant and all-blissful. Therefore, any presentation, however valuable it may be, is not needed by Him. But still, because He is the well-wisher for one and all, He accepts from everyone everything that is offered to Him in pure devotional service. It is not that He is in want for such things, because the things are themselves generated from His energy. The comparison is made herein that making offerings to the Lord is something like offering a lamp in the worship of the sun-god. Anything fiery and illuminating is but an emanation of the energy of the sun, and yet to worship the sun-god it is necessary to offer him a lamp. In the worship of the sun, there is some sort of demand made by the worshiper, but in the case of devotional service to the Lord, there is no question of demand from either side. It is all a sign of pure love and affection between the Lord and the devotee.
The Lord is the Supreme Father of all living beings, and therefore those who are conscious of this vital relation with God can make filial demands from the Father, and the Father is pleased to supply the demands of such obedient sons without bargaining. The Lord is just like the desire tree, and from Him everyone can have everything by the causeless mercy of the Lord. As the Supreme Father, the Lord, however, does not supply to a pure devotee what is considered to be a barrier to the discharge of devotional service. Those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord can rise to the position of unalloyed devotional service by His transcendental attraction.
natāḥ sma te nātha sadāṅghri-paṅkajaṁ
viriñca-vairiñcya-surendra-vanditam
parāyaṇaṁ kṣemam ihecchatāṁ paraṁ
na yatra kālaḥ prabhavet paraḥ prabhuḥ
natāḥ—bowed down; sma—we had done so; te—unto You; nātha—O Lord; sadā—always; aṅghri-paṅkajam—the lotus feet; viriñca—Brahmā, the first living being; vairiñcya—sons of Brahmā like Sanaka and Sanātana; sura-indra—the King of heaven; vanditam—worshiped by; parāyaṇam—the supreme; kṣemam—welfare; iha—in this life; icchatām—one who so desires; param—the highest; na—never; yatra—wherein; kālaḥ—inevitable time; prabhavet—can exert its influence; paraḥ—transcendental; prabhuḥ—the Supreme Lord.
The citizens said: O Lord, You are worshiped by all demigods like Brahmā, the four Sanas and even the King of heaven. You are the ultimate rest for those who are really aspiring to achieve the highest benefit of life. You are the supreme transcendental Lord, and inevitable time cannot exert its influence upon You.
Purport
The Supreme Lord is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, Brahma-saṁhitā and other authorized Vedic literatures. No one is equal to or greater than Him, and that is the verdict of all scriptures. The influence of time and space is exerted upon the dependent living entities, who are all parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The living entities are predominated Brahman, whereas the Supreme Lord is the predominating Absolute. As soon as we forget this clear fact, we are at once in illusion, and thus we are put into threefold miseries, as one is put into dense darkness. The clear consciousness of the cognizant living being is God consciousness, in which one bows down unto Him in all circumstances.
bhavāya nas tvaṁ bhava viśva-bhāvana
tvam eva mātātha suhṛt-patiḥ pitā
tvaṁ sad-gurur naḥ paramaṁ ca daivataṁ
yasyānuvṛttyā kṛtino babhūvima
bhavāya—for welfare; naḥ—for us; tvam—Your Lordship; bhava—just become; viśva-bhāvana—the creator of the universe; tvam—Your Lordship; eva—certainly; mātā—mother; atha—as also; suhṛt—well-wisher; patiḥ—husband; pitā—father; tvam—Your Lordship; sat-guruḥ—spiritual master; naḥ—our; paramam—the supreme; ca—and; daivatam—worshipable Deity; yasya—whose; anuvṛttyā—following in the footsteps; kṛtinaḥ—successful; babhūvima—we have become.
O creator of the universe, You are our mother, well-wisher, Lord, father, spiritual master and worshipable Deity. By following in Your footsteps we have become successful in every respect. We pray, therefore, that You continue to bless us with Your mercy.
Purport
The all-good Personality of Godhead, being the creator of the universe, also plans for the good of all good living beings. The good living beings are advised by the Lord to follow His good advice, and by doing so they become successful in all spheres of life. There is no need to worship any deity but the Lord. The Lord is all-powerful, and if He is satisfied by our obedience unto His lotus feet, He is competent to bestow upon us all kinds of blessings for the successful execution of both our material and spiritual lives. For attaining spiritual existence, the human form is a chance for all to understand our eternal relation with God. Our relation with Him is eternal; it can neither be broken nor vanquished. It may be forgotten for the time being, but it can be revived also by the grace of the Lord, if we follow His injunctions, which are revealed in the scriptures of all times and all places.
aho sanāthā bhavatā sma yad vayaṁ
traiviṣṭapānām api dūra-darśanam
prema-smita-snigdha-nirīkṣaṇānanaṁ
paśyema rūpaṁ tava sarva-saubhagam
aho—oh, it is our good luck; sa-nāthāḥ—to be under the protection of the master; bhavatā—by Your good self; sma—as we have become; yat vayam—as we are; traiviṣṭa-pānām—of the demigods; api—also; dūra-darśanam—very rarely seen; prema-smita—smiling with love; snigdha—affectionate; nirīkṣaṇa-ānanam—face looking in that mode; paśyema—let us look; rūpam—beauty; tava—Your; sarva—all; saubhagam—auspiciousness.
Oh, it is our good luck that we have come again today under Your protection by Your presence, for Your Lordship rarely visits even the denizens of heaven. Now it is possible for us to look into Your smiling face, which is full of affectionate glances. We can now see Your transcendental form, full of all auspiciousness.
Purport
The Lord in His eternal personal form can be seen only by the pure devotees. The Lord is never impersonal, but He is the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead, possible to be visited by devotional service face to face, which is impossible to be done even by the denizens of higher planets. When Brahmājī and other demigods want to consult Lord Viṣṇu, the plenary portion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they have to wait on the shore of the ocean of milk where Lord Viṣṇu is lying on White Land (Śvetadvīpa). This ocean of milk and the Śvetadvīpa planet are the replica of Vaikuṇṭhaloka within the universe. Neither Brahmājī nor the demigods like Indra can enter into this island of Śvetadvīpa, but they can stand on the shore of the ocean of milk and transmit their message to Lord Viṣṇu, known as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore, the Lord is rarely seen by them, but the inhabitants of Dvārakā, because of their being pure devotees without any tinge of the material contamination of fruitive activities and empiric philosophical speculation, can see Him face to face by the grace of the Lord. This is the original state of the living entities and can be attained by reviving our natural and constitutional state of life, which is discovered by devotional service only.
yarhy ambujākṣāpasasāra bho bhavān
kurūn madhūn vātha suhṛd-didṛkṣayā
tatrābda-koṭi-pratimaḥ kṣaṇo bhaved
raviṁ vinākṣṇor iva nas tavācyuta
yarhi—whenever; ambuja-akṣa—O lotus-eyed one; apasasāra—You go away; bho—oh; bhavān—Yourself; kurūn—the descendants of King Kuru; madhūn—the inhabitants of Mathurā (Vrajabhūmi); vā—either; atha—therefore; suhṛt-didṛkṣayā—for meeting them; tatra—at that time; abda-koṭi—millions of years; pratimaḥ—like; kṣaṇaḥ—moments; bhavet—becomes; ravim—the sun; vinā—without; akṣṇoḥ—of the eyes; iva—like that; naḥ—ours; tava—Your; acyuta—O infallible one.
O lotus-eyed Lord, whenever You go away to Mathurā, Vṛndāvana or Hastināpura to meet Your friends and relatives, every moment of Your absence seems like a million years. O infallible one, at that time our eyes become useless, as if bereft of sun.
Purport
We are all proud of our material senses for making experiments to determine the existence of God. But we forget that our senses are not absolute by themselves. They can only act under certain conditions. For example, our eyes. As long as the sunshine is there, our eyes are useful to a certain extent. But in the absence of sunshine, the eyes are useless. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being the primeval Lord, the Supreme Truth, is compared to the sun. Without Him all our knowledge is either false or partial. The opposite of the sun is the darkness, and similarly the opposite of Kṛṣṇa is māyā, or illusion. The devotees of the Lord can see everything in true perspective due to the light disseminated by Lord Kṛṣṇa. By the grace of the Lord the pure devotee cannot be in the darkness of ignorance. Therefore, it is necessary that we must always be in the sight of Lord Kṛṣṇa so that we can see both ourselves and the Lord with His different energies. As we cannot see anything in the absence of the sun, so also we cannot see anything including our own self, without the factual presence of the Lord. Without Him all our knowledge is covered by illusion.
kathaṁ vayaṁ nātha ciroṣite tvayi
prasanna-dṛṣṭyākhila-tāpa-śoṣaṇam
jīvema te sundara-hāsa-śobhitam
apaśyamānā vadanaṁ manoharam
iti codīritā vācaḥ
prajānāṁ bhakta-vatsalaḥ
śṛṇvāno ‘nugrahaṁ dṛṣṭyā
vitanvan prāviśat puram
katham—how; vayam—we; nātha—O Lord; ciroṣite—being abroad almost always; tvayi—by You; prasanna—satisfaction; dṛṣṭyā—by the glance; akhila—universal; tāpa—miseries; śoṣaṇam—vanquishing; jīvema—shall be able to live; te—Your; sundara—beautiful; hāsa—smiling; śobhitam—decorated; apaśyamānāḥ—without seeing; vadanam—face; manoharam—attractive; iti—thus; ca—and; udīritāḥ—speaking; vācaḥ—words; prajānām—of the citizens; bhakta-vatsalaḥ—kind to the devotees; śṛṇvānaḥ—thus learning; anugraham—kindness; dṛṣṭyā—by glances; vitanvan—distributing; prāviśat—entered; puram—Dvārakāpurī.
O master, if You live abroad all the time, then we cannot look at Your attractive face, whose smiles vanquish all our sufferings. How can we exist without Your presence?Upon hearing their speeches, the Lord, who is very kind to the citizens and the devotees, entered the city of Dvārakā and acknowledged all their greetings by casting His transcendental glance over them.
Purport
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s attraction is so powerful that once being attracted by Him one cannot tolerate separation from Him. Why is this so? Because we are all eternally related with Him as the sun rays are eternally related with the sun disc. The sun rays are molecular parts of the solar radiation. Thus the sun rays and the sun cannot be separated. The separation by the cloud is temporary and artificial, and as soon as the cloud is cleared, the sun rays again display their natural effulgence in the presence of the sun. Similarly, the living entities, who are molecular parts of the whole spirit, are separated from the Lord by the artificial covering of māyā, illusory energy. This illusory energy, or the curtain of māyā, has to be removed, and when it is so done, the living entity can see the Lord face to face, and all his miseries are at once removed. Every one of us wants to remove the miseries of life, but we do not know how to do it. The solution is given here, and it rests on us to assimilate it or not.