Shloka 4
The Deliverance of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva
Yamala-Arjuna Līlā Prelude and Culmination
अन्त: प्रविश्य गङ्गायामम्भोजवनराजिनि । चिक्रीडतुर्युवतिभिर्गजाविव करेणुभि: ॥ ४ ॥
antaḥ praviśya gaṅgāyām ambhoja-vana-rājini cikrīḍatur yuvatibhir gajāv iva kareṇubhiḥ
Entering the waters of the Mandākinī Gangā, lined with gardens of lotus, Kuvera’s two sons sported with young maidens, like two bull elephants enjoying in the water with their cow elephants.
People generally go to the Ganges to be purified of the effects of sinful life, but here is an example of how foolish persons enter the Ganges to become involved in sinful life. It is not that everyone becomes purified by entering the Ganges. Everything, spiritual and material, depends on one’s mental condition.
FAQs
This verse describes Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma entering the Yamunā—beautiful with lotus groves—and playfully sporting there with the young gopīs, illustrating the sweetness of Vraja-līlā.
In Sanskrit poetry, “Gaṅgā” can be used as a general term for a sacred river; here it refers to the Yamunā, the principal river of Vraja where Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes unfold.
The verse encourages devotees to remember Kṛṣṇa’s joyful, intimate līlās—cultivating loving remembrance (smaraṇa) rather than approaching spirituality only as dry duty.