Vraja Vilasa 89 :: Brihad Van Gokul

I praise Bṛhadvana (Gokula), where the Lord of Vraja, Nanda Maharaj, jubilantly donated two lakhs of young cows decorated with gold and strings of pearls, as well as heaps of divine ornaments and a mountain of sesame to the brahmins while celebrating Sri Krishna’s birth.

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āvirbhāva-mahotsave muraripoḥ svarṇoru-muktāphala-
śreṇī-vibhrama-maṇḍite nava-gavī-lakṣe dadau dve mudā
divyālaṅkṛta-parvata-tila-prasthādi-kañcādarād
viprebhyaḥ kila yatra sa vrajapatir vande bṛhat-kānanam

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Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā : In this verse Raghunath Das Goswami praises Sri Bṛhad-vana, the place of Sri Krishna’s advent. It is here that Sri Nanda, the king of Vraja, desiring the welfare of his son, gave ample charity to the brahmins on the occasion of Krishna’s birthday festival.

In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (Bhāg. 10.5.3) it is written:

dhenūnāṁ niyute prādād viprebhyaḥ samalaṅkṛte
tilādrīn sapta rātraugha śāta-kaumbhāmbarāvṛtān“When Sri Krishna took birth Sri Nanda Maharaj gave 2,00,00 cows beautified with golden horns and silver hooves and covered by clothes that were inset with different gems and strings of gold, as well as seven piles of sesame, to the brahmins.”

In Sri Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa it is seen that:

tato nandaś ca sānandaṁ brāhmaṇebhyo dhanaṁ dadau
sad-ratnāni pravālāni hīrakāṇi ca sādaram
tilānāṁ parvatān sapta suvarṇa kāñcanaṁ mune
raupyaṁ dhānyācalaṁ vastraṁ go-sahasraṁ manoramam

Goparāja Sri Nanda was so happy when Krishna was born that he gave various gems, corals, diamonds and other riches, as well as seven piles of sesame, a mountain of paddy, gold, silver, garments and thousands upon thousands of cows to the brahmins.”

In the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa we can see how much a pile of sesame is supposed to be:

uttamo daśabhir droṇair madhyamaḥ pañcabhir mataḥ
tribhiḥ kaniṣṭho rājendra tila-śailaḥ prakīrtitaḥ
pūrvavac cāparaṁ sarvaṁ viṣkambha-parvatādikam

“The greatest pile of sesame consists of ten droṇas , a pile of five droṇas is mediocre and a pile of three droṇas is the minimum. Just as there must be Viṣkambha-mountains placed in all four corners around a mountain of paddy, so it is also prescribed for the mountain of sesame.”

All these piles of sesame and paddy must be beautified with jewels, gold and flower garlands. The arrangements for this are also outlined by the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa:

itthaṁ niveśyāmara śailam agram atas tu viṣkambha-girīn krameṇa.
turīya-bhāgena catur-diśaṁ ca saṁsthāpayet puṣpa-vilepanāḍhyam.
merur mahān vrīhi-mayas tu madhye suvarṇa vṛkṣa-traya-saṁyutaḥ syāt. pūrveṇa muktāphala-vajra-yukto yāmyena gomedaka-puṣpa-rāgaiḥ.
paścāc ca gārutmata-nīla-ratnaiḥ saumye ca vaidūrya-saroja-rāgaiḥ.“When one thus has made a Sumeru mountain with sesame or paddy in the amounts of ten droṇas or so, one must establish the Viṣkambha mountains around them on four sides with sandal or flowers, divided in four parts. In the mountains of sesame and paddy one must then place three trees made of gold. The Viṣkambha mountain situated in the east must contain pearls and diamonds, the Viṣkambha-mountain in the south must contain topaz-gems and Puṣpa-rāga gems, the Viṣkambha-mountain in the west must contain Gārutmata-gems and sapphires and the Viṣkambha-mountain in the north must be established containing Lapis Lazuli and rubies.”
Śrīla Jiva Goswami has written in his Gopāla Campūḥ:

daśabhir droṇaiḥ kṛta tila saptācalīmad adāt.
yad vṛti maṇi kanakānāṁ tad adhikatara bhāratā dvijer mene

“Nanda Maharaj donated seven piles of sesame, each containing ten droṇas, to the brahmins. The brahmins thought that the jewels and gold that covered these mountains of sesame were even heavier than the sesame itself.”

From this information we can slightly conceive of the unlimited amount of jewels and gems Goparāja Nanda gave in charity. Vrajadhāma is the transcendental playground of the Original Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, therefore it is not at all impossible for Maharaj Sri Nanda to donate such amounts of jewels and gems. Raghunath Das Goswami thus praises Bṛhadvana, the place where Sri Nanda Maharaj donated such a huge amount of wealth.

śrī kṛṣṇera āvirbhāve, tāra janma mahotsave,
vraje śrīla nanda mahārāja.
dui lakṣa gābhī-gaṇe, maṇi muktā vibhūṣaṇe,
kori divya ratnamaya sāja
ratna rāśi tila giri, parama ādara kori,
brāhmaṇere korechilo dāna
se bṛhat kānane, vandi mui sāvadhāne,
divya cintāmaṇimaya sthāna“I attentively praise Mahāvana Gokula, the transcendental place made of chintamani gems, where Sri Krishna advented himself and where Śrīla Nanda Maharaj most respectfully gave 2,00,000 cows, decorated with jewels and pearls and dressed in divine jewel-studded blankets, as well as jewel-covered piles of sesame, in charity to the local brahmins.”

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800080;”>Commentary of Sri Radha Kund Mahant, Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaj is named Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā (a drop of the nectar of Stavāvalī), and was published in Gaurābda 503 (1989 A.D.) from Sri Krishna Chaitanya Shastra Mandir, Vrajananda Ghera, PO Radhakunda (district Mathura), U.P., India.

Devotional songs in Bengali that follow each commentary were composed by Dr. Haripada Sheel.

© Translated by Advaita dāsa in 1994

More of Ananta Das Pandit’s writings in English translation can be found at Tarun Govinda’s blog, Amrita Tarangini.

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