Shloka 12

Śakaṭa-bhañjana, Naming by Garga, Dāmodara and Yamala-arjuna, and the Move to Vṛndāvana

Devanagari script

गोवाटमध्ये क्रीडन्तौ वत्सवाटगतौ पुनः तदहर्जातगोवत्सपुच्छाकर्षणतत्परौ

Transliteration

govāṭamadhye krīḍantau vatsavāṭagatau punaḥ tadaharjātagovatsapucchākarṣaṇatatparau

Translation

Sporting in the cow-pen, they would again wander into the calves’ enclosure; and there, intent on mischief, they busied themselves in tugging at the tails of the newborn calves of that very day.

Word by Word

• गोवाटमध्ये: in the middle of the cow-pen
• गोवाटमध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोवाट (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्ये (मध्य, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• क्रीडन्तौ: playing (the two)
• क्रीडन्तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रीडन्त (कृदन्त, वर्तमानकृदन्त/शतृ, √क्रीड्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त

• वत्सवाटगतौ: having gone to the calves’ pen
• वत्सवाटगतौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वत्सवाट (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त, भूतकृदन्त/क्त, √गम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; विशेषण—‘तौ’

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तदहर्जातगोवत्सपुच्छाकर्षणतत्परौ: intent on pulling the tails of the newborn calves of that day
• तदहर्जातगोवत्सपुच्छाकर्षणतत्परौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तदहर् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाव-आधार) + जात (कृदन्त, क्त, √जन्) + गोवत्स (प्रातिपदिक) + पुच्छ (प्रातिपदिक) + आकर्षण (प्रातिपदिक, √कृष् with आ-; action noun) + तत्पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः; विशेषण—‘तौ’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kṛṣṇa’s bāla-ceṣṭā in the cowherd settlement.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: playful, intimate

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: To manifest sweet, humanlike bāla-līlā in Vraja that captivates hearts and establishes bhakti as the easiest access to the Supreme.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: The dharma of loving intimacy with God (mādhurya of sambandha) within ordinary pastoral life.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme Lord veils His sovereignty through ordinary childhood play, making Himself approachable through affectionate devotion rather than fear or mere awe.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Let devotion permeate daily life—see the sacred in simple settings and cultivate loving attention instead of performative religiosity.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān’s līlā shows personal accessibility (saulabhya) while remaining the supreme reality—supporting a relational, qualified non-dual approach to liberation.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Krishna
• Balarama
• Gokula/Vraja cowherds
• calves

FAQs

What is the significance of Krishna’s cow-pen pastimes in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights lila—Krishna, though Supreme, adopts ordinary childhood play in Vraja, making divine reality approachable through affection and intimacy.

How does Sage Parāśara present the Supreme Lord in this chapter’s narrative?

Parāśara narrates Krishna’s acts as simple, playful mischief, implicitly showing how the Lord’s sovereignty can be concealed beneath human-like behavior to nourish devotion.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu/Krishna here?

Krishna’s “ordinary” play illustrates that the Supreme Reality is not distant—He freely enters the world and wins hearts through sweetness, reinforcing a bhakti-centered vision of the Absolute.