Shloka 26

Brahmā’s Bewilderment and Kṛṣṇa Becoming the Calves and Cowherd Boys

Brahma-vimohana-līlā

Devanagari script

व्रजौकसां स्वतोकेषु स्‍नेहवल्‍ल्याब्दमन्वहम् । शनैर्नि:सीम ववृधे यथा कृष्णे त्वपूर्ववत् ॥ २६ ॥

Transliteration

vrajaukasāṁ sva-tokeṣu sneha-vally ābdam anvaham śanair niḥsīma vavṛdhe yathā kṛṣṇe tv apūrvavat

Translation

弗拉阇的居民对自己儿子的爱，在这一年里日复一日缓缓增长，却无有边际，正如从前他们爱奎师那一般。因为如今奎师那已成为他们的儿子，所以他们对孩子的爱不断涌现，永无止境。

Synonyms

• vraja-okasām: of the Vraja-dwellers
• vraja-okasām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vraja (प्रातिपदिक) + okas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन (Pl.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘व्रजे ओकः येषाम्’ = ‘of the residents of Vraja’

• sva-tokeṣu: in their own children
• sva-tokeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + toka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी (Loc. 7), बहुवचन (Pl.); तत्पुरुष: ‘स्वस्य तोकेषु’

• sneha-vallī: the creeper of affection
• sneha-vallī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sneha (प्रातिपदिक) + vallī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (Sg.); कर्मधारय: ‘स्नेहरूपा वल्ली’ = ‘creeper of affection’

• ābdam: for a year
• ābdam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ābda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; कालवाचक (time-accusative) ‘for a year/throughout the year’ (द्वितीया-काल)

• anvaham: day after day
• anvaham: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anvaham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण ‘day by day’

• śanaiḥ: gradually
• śanaiḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śanaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण ‘gradually/slowly’

• niḥsīmam: without limit
• niḥsīmam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niḥsīma (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: अव्ययवत्; क्रियाविशेषण ‘limitlessly/boundlessly’

• vavṛdhe: increased
• vavṛdhe: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛdh (वृध् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (Sg.), आत्मनेपद; ‘grew/increased’

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/सम्बन्धबोधक (comparative particle) ‘as/just as’

• kṛṣṇe: in/for Krishna
• kṛṣṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सप्तमी (Loc. 7), एकवचन (Sg.)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) ‘but/indeed’

• apūrvavat: unprecedentedly
• apūrvavat: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: apūrvavat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण ‘as never before/in an unprecedented way’

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Vraja-vāsīs (residents of Vraja)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the Vraja-vāsīs’ love becoming limitless?

This verse says their affection for their own children expanded day by day into a boundless ocean—mirroring the extraordinary, ever-increasing love they naturally felt for Kṛṣṇa.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī compare love for their children to love for Kṛṣṇa in this chapter?

In the Brahmā-vimohana līlā context, the residents unknowingly related to Kṛṣṇa’s expansions as their own sons, so their parental affection intensified in the same unparalleled way it always did for Kṛṣṇa.

How can this teaching be applied in modern devotional life?

It highlights that genuine bhakti grows steadily and becomes expansive; by consistent remembrance and service, affection for the Lord deepens naturally, beyond ordinary limits.