Shloka 2

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma’s Forest Games and the Slaying of Pralamba

Devanagari script

व्रजे विक्रीडतोरेवं गोपालच्छद्ममायया । ग्रीष्मो नामर्तुरभवन्नातिप्रेयाञ्छरीरिणाम् ॥ २ ॥

Transliteration

vraje vikrīḍator evaṁ gopāla-cchadma-māyayā grīṣmo nāmartur abhavan nāti-preyāñ charīriṇām

Translation

Mientras Kṛṣṇa y Balarāma se divertían así en Vraja, bajo la ilusión de ser simples pastorcillos, fue llegando poco a poco el verano, estación no muy grata para los seres encarnados.

Synonyms

• व्रजे: in Vraja
• व्रजे: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• विक्रीडतोः: of the two playing
• विक्रीडतोः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-क्रीड् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले (present active participle) ‘विक्रीडत्’ का षष्ठी/सप्तमी द्विवचन रूपम्; अत्र षष्ठी द्विवचन (genitive dual) — ‘of the two who were sporting’

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: प्रकार (Adverbial/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• गोपाल-छद्म-मायया: by the illusion of a cowherd disguise
• गोपाल-छद्म-मायया: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपाल (प्रातिपदिक) + छद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (गोपालस्य छद्मरूपा माया)

• ग्रीष्मः: summer
• ग्रीष्मः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नाम: named/indeed
• नाम: सम्बन्ध (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle; ‘indeed/namely’)

• ऋतुः: season
• ऋतुः: समानााधिकरण (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ग्रीष्मस्य अप्पोजिशन

• अभवत्: became/was
• अभवत्: क्रिया (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातुः—भू (to be)

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (negation particle)

• अति-प्रेयान्: very pleasing
• अति-प्रेयान्: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय) + प्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—अव्ययीभावः (अत्यन्तं प्रेयस्) विशेषणम् (ग्रीष्मः/ऋतुः)

• शरीरिणाम्: for embodied beings
• शरीरिणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीरिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

Purport

In Chapter Eighteen, of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows: “The summer season in India is not very much welcomed because of the excessive heat, but in Vṛndāvana everyone was pleased because summer there appeared just like spring.”

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Balarāma

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about Krishna appearing as a cowherd boy (gopāla-chadma-māyā)?

This verse states that Kṛṣṇa (with Balarāma) plays in Vraja while, by His own divine potency, He is “covered” in the guise of an ordinary gopāla—revealing intimate sweetness while concealing majesty.

Who is speaking this verse in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.18.2, and to whom?

Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this narration to King Parīkṣit as part of the Vraja-līlā account in Canto 10.

Practical application: how can devotees face ‘summer-like’ hardships in life?

Remembering the Lord’s līlā and presence helps one endure bodily discomforts with steadiness—seeing hardships as temporary conditions of the body rather than the self.