Verse 1.5.103-105

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.5.103-105:

येषां दर्शन-सम्भाषा-स्पर्शानुगमनासनैः ।
भोजनोद्वाह-शयनैस् तथान्यैर् दैहिकैर् दृढैः ॥ १०३ ॥
दुश्छेदैः प्रेम-सम्बन्धैर् आत्म-सम्बन्धतोऽधिकैः ।
बद्धः स्वर्गापवर्गेच्छां छित्त्वा भक्तिं विवर्धयन् ॥ १०४ ॥
कृष्णो विस्मृत-वैकुण्ठो विलासैः स्वैर् अनुक्षणम् ।
नवं नवम् अनिर्वाच्यं वितनोति सुखं महत् ॥ १०५ ॥

yeṣāṃ darśana-sambhāṣā-sparśānugamanāsanaiḥ |
bhojanodvāha-śayanais tathānyair daihikair dṛḍhaiḥ || 103 ||
duśchedaiḥ prema-sambandhair ātma-sambandhato'dhikaiḥ |
baddhaḥ svargāpavargecchāṃ chittvā bhaktiṃ vivardhayan || 104 ||
kṛṣṇo vismṛta-vaikuṇṭho vilāsaiḥ svair anukṣaṇam |
navaṃ navam anirvācyaṃ vitanoti sukhaṃ mahat || 105 ||

You, O Yādavas, are bound to Śrī Kṛṣṇa with a bond of love that is stronger than various bodily relationships such as seeing, touching, conversing, following, sitting down, eating, sleeping and marriage. Therefore Śrī Kṛṣṇa, having forgotten His residence in Vaikuṇṭha, is granting the indescribable happiness to all people by constantly expanding devotional service through these various types of enjoyments.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Not only is Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally blissful, but He is also bestowing great ecstasy upon the Yādavas. This is explained in the three verses beginning with yeṣām. Being bound by the bodily relationship and loving ties of the Yādavas, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is granting them uncommon happiness through various enjoyments. How is He sporting joyfully? He is sporting joyfully while increasing their premabhakti or loving devotion. How is He increasing their prema-bhakti? He cuts the desire for attaining the heavenly planets and liberation, in other words, He removes the desire that "I shall go to the heavenly planets to sport with Bhagavān." He removes this desire because the best wealth of the heavenly planets is the Sudharmā assembly and the Parijātā tree. Both of these are available in Dvārakā only, so the Yādavas have no desire to go the heavenly planets. So the Yādavas’ desire for liberation is also cut.

Actually, the Yādavas have no birth and death, but they repeatedly appear on the earth with Bhagavān and automatically their desire for liberation is destroyed. The relationship they have with Śrī Kṛṣṇa is also unbreakable. Although the bodily activities of sleeping, eating and enjoying may seem mundane, nonetheless they are not ephemeral; rather it is the best loving relationship which is superior to the relationship of the soul. Here the purport of saying “greater than the relationship of the soul” is that the relationship or the meeting of the soul with the Supersoul, which is accomplished through dhyāna, dhāranā and samādhi, is inferior to the relationship of the Yādavas because it is steady and bound by unbreakable love.

What is the happiness of that affectionate relationship? In reply, Śrī Nārada says that happiness is everfresh, therefore it is the topmost happiness. Being extremely great, that happiness is indescribable, thus I am unable to describe it. Here the doubt may arise that this happiness has arisen from an affectionate bondage of a bodily relationship, so why is it not called ephemeral? In reply, he is saying that all the Yādavas are the embodiments of sat, cit and ānanda, thus there is no possibility of transient bliss. Rather, although their happiness is related to the body, nevertheless it is even superior to the bliss of a deep trance (samādhi-sukha). The type of happiness that is experienced in a trance is extremely limited. However, the bodily happiness of the Yādavas with Śrī Kṛṣṇa is great. Just as one receives various types of happiness due to the limbs of the body and through the senses connected with them, similarly, through the transcendental body and senses of the Yādavas a greater happiness is obtained.

For example, in the Tenth Canto (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.82.29-30), at the time of the pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra, Mahārāja Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to Yādavas:

यद्-विश्रुतिः श्रुति-नुतेदम् अलं पुनाति पादावनेजन-पयश् च वचश् च शास्त्रम्
भूः काल-भर्जित-भगापि यद्-अङ्घ्रि-पद्म स्पर्शोत्थ शक्तिर् अभिवर्षति नो’खिलार्थान्
तद्-दर्शन-स्पर्शनानुपथ-प्रजल्प शय्यासनाशन-सयौन-सपिण्ड-बन्धः
येषां गृहे निरय-वर्त्मनि वर्ततां वः स्वर्गापवर्ग-विरमः स्वयम् आस विष्णुः

yad-viśrutiḥ śruti-nutedam alaṃ punāti pādāvanejana-payaś ca vacaś ca śāstram
bhūḥ kāla-bharjita-bhagāpi yad-aṅghri-padma sparśottha śaktir abhivarṣati no’khilārthān
tad-darśana-sparśanānupatha-prajalpa śayyāsanāśana-sayauna-sapiṇḍa-bandhaḥ
yeṣāṃ gṛhe niraya-vartmani vartatāṃ vaḥ svargāpavarga-viramaḥ svayam āsa viṣṇuḥ

“All the śrutis sing of the glories of Bhagavān. The footbath water of Bhagavān, Gangā-devī and the Vedic scriptures, the words of Bhagavān, greatly sanctify this world. Due to the effect of time, the fortune of the earth ended, still by the power of His lotus feet, the earth is granting us all benefits. While personally residing in the home that is the cause of household life, Śrī Bhagavān increased your devotion by establishing bodily relationships of seeing, touching, following, sitting together, eating and sleeping. and made you free from all sensual desires by cutting away the desire for heaven and liberation.”

The purport of these two ślokas is that even though Gangā-devī, the footbath water of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the Vedas, the speech emanating from His mouth, sanctify the universe, nonetheless, due to the influence of time, the glories of the earth became weak. Therefore, by the touch of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet upon the earth His appearance is providing all benefits. That same Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being bound by a marital and bodily relationship with you, the Yādavas, is dwelling in a home while executing household life. He removes your desires for heavenly planets and liberation through common talks and activities such as darśana and touching. Thus He grants you the topmost bliss, namely, he is increasing the happiness of your devotional service.