Shloka 31

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

Devanagari script

वत्सपालौ च संवृत्तौ रामदामोदरौ ततः एकस्थानस्थितौ गोष्ठे चेरतुर् बाललीलया

Transliteration

vatsapālau ca saṃvṛttau rāmadāmodarau tataḥ ekasthānasthitau goṣṭhe ceratur bālalīlayā

Translation

Thereafter, Rāma and Dāmodara became guardians of the calves; staying together in one place within the cowherd settlement, they wandered in sacred boyhood play.

Word by Word

• वत्सपालौ: the calf-herders (two)
• वत्सपालौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वत्सानां पालौ)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• संवृत्तौ: having become
• संवृत्तौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+वृत् (धातु) → संवृत्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; विशेषणम्

• रामदामोदरौ: Rama and Damodara
• रामदामोदरौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम + दामोदर (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; समासः—इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘then/from there’)

• एकस्थानस्थितौ: standing in one place
• एकस्थानस्थितौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकस्थान + स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘स्थित’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; समासः—सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (एकस्थाने स्थितौ)

• गोष्ठे: in the cowherd-settlement
• गोष्ठे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• चेरतुः: they roamed/moved about
• चेरतुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन

• बाललीलया: by childish play
• बाललीलया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाललीला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (‘बालानां लीला’/‘बाल-लीला’)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Kṛṣṇa descends to protect the devotees of Vraja and to lighten the earth’s burden by subduing emerging adharma through seemingly ordinary childhood play.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Loka-rakṣaṇa through hidden divine governance within pastoral normalcy.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme Lord’s aiśvarya can remain veiled within human-like līlā, inviting intimate devotion rather than awe alone.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat ordinary duties and relationships as spaces for remembrance and service, trusting that the divine can work through the simple and local.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān is transcendent yet personally present in the world, allowing real relational intimacy with Him in embodied life.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Balarama (Rama)
• Krishna (Damodara)
• Gokula (Goshtha)
• Cowherd community (Gopas)

FAQs

What is the significance of Krishna and Balarama becoming calf-herders in the Vishnu Purana?

It shows the avatāra’s deliberate concealment of supreme power within everyday pastoral duties, making the divine approachable and grounding bhakti in ordinary life.

How does Sage Parāśara frame Krishna’s bāla-līlā in this passage?

Parāśara narrates their movements as simple childhood play in the cowherd settlement, a storytelling mode that treats līlā as both narrative sweetness and purposeful divine action.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Krishna (Dāmodara) is Vishnu’s supreme reality appearing in an intimate form—his sovereignty is not diminished by simplicity, but revealed through compassionate nearness to devotees.