Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 3
The Disappearance of the Yadu Dynasty and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Departure
प्रत्याक्रष्टुं नयनमबला यत्र लग्नं न शेकु: कर्णाविष्टं न सरति ततो यत् सतामात्मलग्नम् । यच्छ्रीर्वाचां जनयति रतिं किं नु मानं कवीनां दृष्ट्वा जिष्णोर्युधि रथगतं यच्च तत्साम्यमीयु: ॥ ३ ॥
pratyākraṣṭuṁ nayanam abalā yatra lagnaṁ na śekuḥ karṇāviṣṭaṁ na sarati tato yat satām ātma-lagnam yac-chrīr vācāṁ janayati ratiṁ kiṁ nu mānaṁ kavīnāṁ dṛṣṭvā jiṣṇor yudhi ratha-gataṁ yac ca tat-sāmyam īyuḥ
Sobald die Augen der Frauen auf Seine transzendente Gestalt gerichtet waren, konnten sie sie nicht mehr abwenden; und wenn diese Gestalt in die Ohren der Weisen eingedrungen und im Herzen verankert war, wich sie nie wieder. Seine Schönheit verlieh selbst den Worten der Dichter eine überweltliche Anziehung — was erst von ihrem Ruhm zu sagen! Und auf Kurukṣetra erlangten viele Krieger, als sie diese Gestalt auf Arjunas Wagen sahen, Befreiung und einen geistigen Leib, dem des Herrn ähnlich.
Transcendental, liberated personalities such as the gopīs of Vṛndāvana and Rukmiṇī, the original goddess of fortune, were constantly meditating on the Lord’s spiritual body. Great liberated sages ( satām ), having heard about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body, could not take it out of their hearts. The Lord’s bodily beauty expanded the love and poetic output of great liberated poets, and simply by seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body, the warriors at Kurukṣetra achieved spiritual liberation with an eternal body similar to the Lord’s. Therefore it is impossible to imagine Lord Kṛṣṇa’s eternal form of bliss to be in any way material. Those who imagine that Lord Kṛṣṇa gave up His eternal form are certainly bewildered by the Lord’s illusory energy.
FAQs
This verse says that once the eyes become fixed on the Lord’s form and the ears become absorbed in hearing about Him, they do not turn elsewhere—because He is the very Self to whom the saintly attach their hearts.
In the narrative of Canto 11, Śukadeva is glorifying the Lord’s incomparable beauty and spiritual potency, showing that Krishna naturally captivates the senses and draws the mind of devotees toward the Supreme.
Practice steady śravaṇa (hearing) and darśana (contemplative viewing) of Krishna—through daily recitation, kīrtana, and reading—so the mind gradually loses taste for distractions and becomes attached to the Lord.