Shloka 9
Uddhava Sent to Vraja: Consolation to Nanda-Yaśodā and the Gopīs’ Separation
वासितार्थेऽभियुध्यद्भिर्नादितं शुश्मिभिर्वृषै: । धावन्तीभिश्च वास्राभिरुधोभारै: स्ववत्सकान् ॥ ९ ॥ इतस्ततो विलङ्घद्भिर्गोवत्सैर्मण्डितं सितै: । गोदोहशब्दाभिरवं वेणूनां नि:स्वनेन च ॥ १० ॥ गायन्तीभिश्च कर्माणि शुभानि बलकृष्णयो: । स्वलङ्कृताभिर्गोपीभिर्गोपैश्च सुविराजितम् ॥ ११ ॥ अग्न्यर्कातिथिगोविप्रपितृदेवार्चनान्वितै: । धूपदीपैश्च माल्यैश्च गोपावासैर्मनोरमम् ॥ १२ ॥ सर्वत: पुष्पितवनं द्विजालिकुलनादितम् । हंसकारण्डवाकीर्णै: पद्मषण्डैश्च मण्डितम् ॥ १३ ॥
vāsitārthe ’bhiyudhyadbhir nāditaṁ śuśmibhir vṛṣaiḥ dhāvantībhiś ca vāsrābhir udho-bhāraiḥ sva-vatsakān
Gokula resounded on every side: with the bellowing of rutting bulls battling one another for fertile cows; with the lowing of cows, heavy with udders, running after their calves; with the sounds of milking and of white calves leaping here and there; with the far-reaching reverberation of flutes; and with the songs of the beautifully adorned gopas and gopīs, who sang the auspicious deeds of Balarāma and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and made the village shine. The cowherds’ homes were most charming, filled with incense, lamps, garlands, and all the articles for worship of the sacred fire, the sun, unexpected guests, the cows, the brāhmaṇas, the forefathers, and the devas. All around lay a flowering forest, echoing with birds and swarming bees, and adorned with lakes crowded with swans, kāraṇḍava ducks, and thickets of lotus.
Although Gokula was merged in grief because of separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord expanded His internal potency to cover that particular manifestation of Vraja and allow Uddhava to see the normal bustle and joy of Vraja at sunset.