Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 15
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
तानालक्ष्य भयोद्विग्ना गोपा नन्दपुरोगमा: । विना रामेण गा: कृष्णं ज्ञात्वा चारयितुं गतम् ॥ १३ ॥ तैर्दुर्निमित्तैर्निधनं मत्वा प्राप्तमतद्विद: । तत्प्राणास्तन्मनस्कास्ते दु:खशोकभयातुरा: ॥ १४ ॥ आबालवृद्धवनिता: सर्वेऽङ्ग पशुवृत्तय: । निर्जग्मुर्गोकुलाद् दीना: कृष्णदर्शनलालसा: ॥ १५ ॥
tān ālakṣya bhayodvignā gopā nanda-purogamāḥ vinā rāmeṇa gāḥ kṛṣṇaṁ jñātvā cārayituṁ gatam
Seeing the inauspicious omens, Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men were fearful, for they knew that Kṛṣṇa had gone to herd the cows that day without His elder brother, Balarāma. Because they had dedicated their minds to Kṛṣṇa, accepting Him as their very life, they were unaware of His great power and opulence. Thus they concluded that the inauspicious omens indicated He had met with death, and they were overwhelmed with grief, lamentation and fear. All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the children, women and elderly persons, thought of Kṛṣṇa just as a cow thinks of her helpless young calf, and thus these poor, suffering people rushed out of the village, intent upon finding Him.
FAQs
It shows that the residents of Gokula considered Krishna their very life and mind; seeing ominous signs, they rushed out in anguish, desperate only for His darshan.
Because Krishna had gone to graze the cows without Balarama, and they observed inauspicious omens; not knowing Krishna’s supreme divinity, they feared the worst.
It teaches single-pointed devotion: when one’s heart is truly attached to the Divine, priorities shift from comfort to remembrance and “darshan”—seeking God’s presence above all else.