Verse 1.7.99

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.7.99:

अत एव मया स्वस्य स्थितिम् अप्य् अस्थितेः समाम् ।
दृष्ट्वा न गम्यते तत्र शृण्व् अर्थं युष्मद् उद्वहे ॥ ९९ ॥

ata eva mayā svasya sthitim apy asthiteḥ samām |
dṛṣṭvā na gamyate tatra śṛṇv arthaṃ yuṣmad udvahe || 99 ||

Therefore, I do not go to Vraja, considering it the same whether I reside or do not reside there. Nevertheless, I have married all of you. I am explaining the reason for doing so—please listen.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

“Therefore, I do not go to Vraja, considering it the same whether I do or do not reside there.” In other words, although I do not go there in my directly perceived form (pratyakṣa-rūpa), it is a well-known fact that I eternally reside in Vraja (aprakaṭa-bhāva). I have said before that even if I go and stay in Vraja there out of love for them, still they would not become content because simply by having My darśana they always become overwhelmed with confounding moods of prema. Seeing this, even I vanish from that place, yet still they become restless. All the same, I cannot make them content or satisfy them in any way; I am always bound to remain busy to make them happy. Consequently, such phrases as evaṃ mahā-ṛṇī, “I am a great debtor to them” (verse 93), mad-īkṣaṇād eva, “simply by My darśana” (verse 95), and harṣāya teṣāṃ kṛyate vidhīr yaḥ, “perform sweet pastimes for the satisfaction of the vraja-vāsīs” (verse 96) indicate that Bhagavān goes to Vraja, always resides and enjoys pastimes to bestow constant bliss upon the vraja-vāsīs.

Regarding Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s going to Hastināpura and Mathurā maṇḍala, the prayer of the Dvārakā residents is proof, kurūn madhūn vātha suhṛd-didṛkṣayā: “…whenever You go away to Mathurā, Vṛndāvana or Hastināpura to meet Your dear friends.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.11.9)

Similarly, the Kaurava women also mentioned Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal residence in Vraja using the present tense, aho alaṃ ślāghyatamaṃ, yadoḥ kulam aho alaṃ, puṇyatamaṃ madhorvanam: “Alas, how fortunate is the Yadu dynasty in which that Supreme Person, Śripati, appeared, and moreover, Śrī Vṛndāvana even greater fortunate. By the touch of the sanctified footdust of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, that place has become the most glorious. Furthermore, there is no limit to the glories of Dvārakā—the earth becoming glorious by holding it upon her own chest.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.10.26)

In the Tenth Canto also the women of Mathurā mention, puṇyā bata vraja-bhuvaḥ iti: “How pious is the land of Vraja! The Original Personality whose lotus feet are worshipped by Śiva and Lakṣmī assumed the human form in a hidden way, adorning an attractive garland of forest flowers, while playing on a flute, and always performing His pastimes here.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.44.13) From this evidence, due to the eternal pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vraja and so on, the highest glories of Vraja are verifiable, and in the Uttara-khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa, in a conversation between Śrī Śiva and Pārvatī, a clear description of the account of Bhagavān’s arrival in Vraja appears. In the second part of this book, at the end of the description of the glories of Goloka, Bhagavān’s eternal sporting pastimes in Gokula will be verified and conclusive.

Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa did not distinctly establish or express the account of going back to Vraja here, being so near to the queens such as Śrī Satyabhāmā. For this reason, there is apprehension that their minds may become extremely distressed, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa would become unhappy to see them distressed, because He cannot tolerate anyone’s distress. If the question arises, then why did He marry us? Anticipating this sort of question, He says, “Why I married all of you? I am explaining the reason for it, so please listen.”