Shloka 24
Kṛṣṇa’s Arrival at Dvārakā
Dvārakā-praveśa and Bhakta-vātsalya
राजमार्गं गते कृष्णे द्वारकाया: कुलस्त्रिय: । हर्म्याण्यारुरुहुर्विप्र तदीक्षणमहोत्सवा: ॥ २४ ॥
rāja-mārgaṁ gate kṛṣṇe dvārakāyāḥ kula-striyaḥ harmyāṇy āruruhur vipra tad-īkṣaṇa-mahotsavāḥ
শ্ৰীকৃষ্ণ ৰাজপথে যেতেই দ্বাৰকাৰ সম্ভ্ৰান্ত কুলস্ত্ৰীসকলে প্ৰভুৰ দৰ্শনক মহোৎসৱ বুলি মানি অট্টালিকাৰ ছাদলৈ উঠিল।
To have a look at the Lord is a great festive occasion undoubtedly, as it was considered by the metropolitan ladies of Dvārakā. This is still followed by the devout ladies of India. Especially during the days of the Jhulana and Janmāṣṭamī ceremonies, the ladies of India still throng up in the greatest number at the temple of the Lord, where His transcendental eternal form is worshiped. The transcendental form of the Lord installed in a temple is not different from the Lord personally. Such a form of the Lord is called arca-vigraha, or arcā incarnation, and is expanded by the Lord by His internal potency just to facilitate the devotional service of His innumerable devotees who are in the material world. The material senses cannot perceive the spiritual nature of the Lord, and therefore the Lord accepts the arca-vigraha, which is apparently made of material elements like earth, wood and stone, but actually there is no material contamination. The Lord being kaivalya (one alone), there is no matter in Him. He is one without a second, and therefore the almighty Lord can appear in any form without being contaminated by the material conception. Therefore, festivities in the temple of the Lord, as held generally, are like festivals performed during the manifestive days of the Lord of Dvārakā, about five thousand years ago. The authorized ācāryas, who know the science perfectly, install such temples of the Lord under regulative principles just to offer facilities to the common man, but persons who are less intelligent, without being conversant with the science, mistake this great attempt to be idol worship and poke their nose into that to which they have no access. Therefore, the ladies or men who observe festivals in the temples of the Lord just to have a look at the transcendental form are a thousand times more glorious than those who are nonbelievers in the transcendental form of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse describes that simply seeing Kṛṣṇa was “mahotsava”—a great celebration—for the people of Dvārakā, especially the noble women who eagerly gathered on rooftops just for His sight.
As Kṛṣṇa moved along the main royal road, they ascended the high mansions to get an unobstructed view, showing their intense longing and joy to behold Him.
Cultivate eagerness to “see” Kṛṣṇa through daily śravaṇa and darśana—hearing His līlās in Bhāgavatam, viewing His deity or sacred images, and treating that remembrance as a personal festival of devotion.