SRI BRAHMA-SAMHITA

Verse 5

chatur asram tat-paritah svetadvipakhyam adbhutam
chatur asram chatur-murtes chatur-dhama chatus-krtam
chaturbhih purusarthais cha chaturbhir hetubhir vrtam
sulair dasabhir anaddham urddhadho digvidiksv api
astabhir nidhibhir justam astabhih siddhibhis tatha
manurupais cha dasabhir dikpalaih parito vrtam
syamair gaurais cha raktais cha suklais cha parsadarsabhaih
sobhitam saktibhis tabhir adbhutabhih samantatah [5]

Translation: (The area surrounding Gokula is being described.) In the outer section of Gokula there is a miraculous quadrangular area extending in four directions, known as Svetadvipa. It is divided into four sections on four sides. Each of these divisions are the residences of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

Surrounding this quadruple abode are the four aims of human life, or religiosity, gain, desire and emancipation (dharma-artha-kama-moksa), with their respective inceptive causes, the four Vedas—Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva, which are mantra in constitution. Ten spears are fixed in eight directions (East, South, West, North, North-East, South-East, South-West and North-West), above, and below. The eight directions are illumined by the eight jewels known as Mahapadma, Padma, Sahkha, Makara, Kachhapa, Mukunda, Kunda and Nila, representing the eight perfections [anima, mahima, laghima, prapti, prakamya, isita, vasita, and kamavasa-yita—subtleness, relationship with the elements, lightness, attainment, eternal joy, command, detachment and supreme fulfillment (Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.15)]. All ten directions are presided over by ten guards in the form of mantras. The black, golden, red and white associates of the Lord, and the miraculous potencies headed by Bimala are refulgent all around.

Purport: Gokula is principally the seat of loving devotion, or prema-bhakti, and thus Yamuna, Govardhan and Sri Radha Kunda of Vraja-mandala, as manifest in the earthly plane, are all present there. Further, the entire majesty of Vaikuntha pervades in all directions. All the quadruple plenary expansions (chatur-vyuha-vilasa) of the Lord are present in Their appropriate locations, and from Them the unlimited transcendental kingdom known as Paravyoma-Vaikuntha extends infinitely.

The emancipation of attaining Vaikuntha, and general religiosity, gain and desire, have their appropriate situation in Gokula in their original seed form. The Vedas are also present, ever singing the glories of the Lord of Gokula. The ten spears of dissuasion fan out in the ten directions to arrest those persons who, without the grace of Krishna, attempt to approach or associate with Goloka through contemplation. The vainglorious on the paths of meditation and knowledge-cum-renunciation (yoga, jnana) who attempt to approach Goloka are thwarted, being pierced by those ten spears. Nirvana, or ‘self-annihilation’ reaches its acme in the plane of Brahman; that plane is only the outer covering of Goloka, in the form of those sharp spears.

From the meaning of sula, or ‘spear’ is derived trisula, or ‘trident’; the trident symbolizes the divisions of the triple worldly qualities (rajas, tamas, sattva) and the threefold aspects of time, or past, present and future. The yogis on the path of eightfold mysticism or the jnanis or liberationists in the monism of non-differentiative Brahman who rashly approach Goloka are summarily cut asunder by those tridents which are situated in the ten directions, and they plunge down to the abyss of hopelessness.

Those who approach Goloka through the path of devotion inspired by opulence and majesty become enamoured by the eight perfections of anima, etc., and the majestic treasures of Mahapadma, etc.; they remain there, charmed by the Vaikuntha aspect which constitutes the outskirts surrounding Goloka. Those who are even less intelligent are subordinated by the ten mantra-guards that keep watch over the ten directions, and they regress to the sevenfold mundane plane (headed by Bhurloka).

Thus, Goloka is practically unknowable and unattainable. There, all the intrinsic forms of the Supreme Lord who propound the dispensations of pure religion for the different ages are ever eager to bestow Their grace upon the devotees who alone reach there through pure loving devotion, suddha-prema-bhakti. In accordance with Their particular hues, those forms of the Lord are surrounded by Their appropriate associates, and in Gokula, Their abode is Svetadvipa.

Therefore, Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, the Vyasa of Chaitanya-lila, has described Nabadwip town as bearing the Name of Svetadvipa. The culmination of Gokula pastimes—Nabadwip pastimes—are eternally present in Svetadvipa. Thus Nabadwip-mandala, Vraja-mandala and Goloka are one identical indivisible truth; they have manifested diversity only by dint of their endless aspects in the unlimited variegatedness of divine love. In this respect, there is another hidden truth that is known, by the direct grace of Krishna, to the great saintly devotees who are imbued with loving devotion.

This material world is graded in fourteen basic planes [the seven upper planes are Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, Svarloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka; the seven lower planes are Tala, Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Talatala, Mahatala and Sutala; Earth is within the plane of Bhurloka]; the fruitive worker (karmi) grhasthas desirous of enjoyment wander throughout the three planes of Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah. Pacified personalities who are indefatigable in the great vow of brahmacharya, austere and absorbed in truthfulness, by engaging in utterly selfless works move throughout the planes of Maharloka, Janaloka and Tapoloka, up to Satyaloka. In the upper section of Satyaloka is the abode of Lord Brahma, and above that is the transcendental infinite plane of Vaikuntha, which is the abode of Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, who reclines on the ocean of milk.

The sannyasi paramahamsas (perfected renunciates) and demons slain by Lord Hari cross the River of Passivity, Viraja; that is, they surpass the entire fourteen planes of the world and attain to the nirvana of extinction of the soul’s individuality by merging in the effulgent plane of Brahman. The devotees who adore the supreme majesty of the Lord—devotees desirous of emancipation, pure devotees, devotees of loving sentiment, devotees absorbed in love and devotees overwhelmed in love—they all attain a place in Vaikuntha, the transcendental infinite abode of Lord Narayana. Only the devotees who are given to the highest sweetness and charm of the love of Vraja, and who faithfully follow the residents of Vraja, can reach Goloka-dham, the divine abode of Goloka.

By the inconceivable potency of Krishna, those devotees are delegated different positions according to their rasas, or divine serving dispositions. The devotees who faithfully follow the pure devotion of residents of Vraja are situated in Krishnaloka, and the devotees who faithfully follow the pure devotion of the residents of Nabadwip are situated in Gauraloka. Those devotees who have equal devotion for both Vraja and Nabadwip attain to the joy of service in both Krishnaloka and Gauraloka.

Thus, Sri Jiva Goswami has stated in his holy book Sri Gopala-champu, yasya khalu lokasya golokas tatha go-gopavasa-rupasya svetadvipataya chananyasprstah paramasuddhata-samudbuddha-svarupasya tadrsa-jnanamaya-katipayamatra-prameya-patrataya tat-tat-paramata mata, parama-golokah paramah svetadvipa iti: that supreme plane is called ‘Goloka’ because it is the abode of cows and cowherds—being the supreme abode of ecstatic pastimes, it is Krishna’s own self; further, that supremely holy plane is known as ‘Svetadvipa’ (White Island) due to a unique quality of its unsullied purity, manifest by its peculiar inconceivable nature as the seat of certain nectarine experiences of a similarly transcendental inconceivable form. Both the supreme Goloka and the supreme Svetadvipa forms are inseparably Goloka-dham.

The underlying purport is that although Krishna enjoys His pastimes in Vraja, He is nonetheless unable to taste the joy of the entirety of rasa, or divine ecstasy, and He therefore accepts the heart and halo of Sri Radhika, the female reservoir of His love—and for this purpose, Goloka is manifest eternally as Svetadvipa.

We find this illustrated herein: sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva-, svadyo yenadbhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah; saukhyan chasya mad anu-bhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat, tad bhavadhyah samajani sacigarbha-sindhau harinduh: “‘What is that great glory of Sri Radha’s love? What is My extraordinary loving sweetness and charm that Sri Radha enjoys? And what is the joy Sri Radha feels by experiencing My sweetness and charm?’ Yearning to taste these three sentiments, the moon—Krishnachandra—was born from the ocean of the womb of mother Sachi.” Herein is revealed the hidden, deep purport of Sri Jiva Goswami.

It is also stated in the Vedas,

Rahasyam te vadisyami—jahnavi-tire navadvipe go-lokakhye dhamni govindo dvibhujo gaurah sarvatma mahapuruso mahatma mahayogi trigunatitah sattva-rupo bhaktim loke kasyatiti; tad ete sloka bhavanti—eko devah sarva-rupi mahatma gaura-rakta-syamala-sveta-rupas chaitanyatma; sa vai chaitanya-saktir bhaktakaro bhaktido bhaktivedyah.

“Let me divulge this mystery to you: ‘On the bank of the Ganges, in the holy abode of Nabadwip, the selfsame Goloka-dham, Govinda Gaurachandra appears in a human feature. He is the soul of all souls, the Supreme Lord, the great saintly Personality, the great sannyasi who is the embodiment of pure existence transcendental to the three qualities of material nature. He reveals pure devotion to the world. He is the Lord, one without a second, the embodiment of all aspects of the Absolute, the Supreme Soul and avatara through the ages in golden, red, black and white hues. He is directly the Supreme Personality of divine cognition replete with all transcendental potency. He advents in the feature of His devotee, He is the bestower of devotion, and He is knowable by devotion.’”

In many scriptural references such as “asan varnas trayah”, “krsna-varnam tvisa ‘krsnam”, “yada pasyah pasyati rukma-varnam”, “mahan prabhur vai”, etc., Gaurachandra is established as identical with Krishna. Yet the golden form in which He graciously appears in the eternal abode of Nabadwip, identical with Goloka, where He is ever devoted to tasting the nectar of the divine pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna—that Golden (Gaura) form also appears in every one of these Vedic statements.

As by the potency of Yogamaya, or the current of Krishna’s internal personal potency, His birth and other pastimes occur in Gokula localized in the earthly plane, similarly, by the same potency of Yogamaya the Golden Lord Gaura’s advent from the womb of mother Sachidevi and all His divine pastimes occur in Sri Nabadwip Dham in the earthly locality.

This divine truth is an axiomatic principle of spiritual science, and not a figment of the imagination subordinate to Maya, the deluding potency.

• For Reader's Appreciation
• Feelings of Appreciation
• Prologue
• Translator's Note
• Illumination
• Verse 1
• Verse 2
• Verse 3
• Verse 4
• Verse 5
• Verse 6
• Verse 7
• Verse 8
• Verse 9

• Verse 11
• Verse 12
• Verse 13
• Verse 14
• Verse 15
• Verse 16
• Verse 17
• Verse 18
• Verse 19

• Verse 20
• Verse 21
• Verse 22
• Verse 23
• Verse 24
• Verse 25
• Verse 26
• Verse 27
• Verse 28
• Verse 29

• Verse 30
• Verse 31
• Verse 32
• Verse 33
• Verse 34
• Verse 35
• Verse 36
• Verse 37
• Verse 38
• Verse 39

• Verse 40
• Verse 41
• Verse 42
• Verse 43
• Verse 44
• Verse 45
• Verse 46
• Verse 47
• Verse 48
• Verse 49

• Verse 50
• Verse 51
• Verse 52
• Verse 53
• Verse 54
• Verse 55
• Verse 56
• Verse 57
• Verse 58
• Verse 59

• Verse 60
• Verse 61
• Verse 62

• Verse Contents

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