VMA 1.12 : The Upanishads take birth as cows in Braj

Care for Cows Vrindavan
brahmānandam avāpya tīvra-tapasā samyak prasādyeśvaraṁ
gorūpāḥ sakalā ihopaniṣadaḥ kṛṣṇe ramante vraje |
vṛndāraṇya-tṛṇaṁ tu divya-rasadaṁ nityaṁ carantyo’niśaṁ
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādāmbujottama-rasā svādena pūrṇāḥ sthitāḥ ||

Even after attaining the bliss of oneness with Brahman,
the Upanishads continued to perform great austerities
to perfectly please the Supreme Lord
so that they could take birth as cows in Vrindavan.
Now they take pleasure here in the pastures,
grazing on the juicy grasses of the Vrindavan forest,
feeling total satisfaction at relishing
the taste of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna’s divine lotus feet. (1.12)

Commentary

Lord Brahma and Uddhava both prayed to take birth even as shrubs or blades of grass so that they could receive the dust of Krishna and his associates’ feet. In the Veṇugīta, the gopis say that the birds are great sages, either chanting Vedic hymns in glorification of the Lord or keeping silence as they relish the sounds of the fountainhead of all mantras, the sound of Krishna’s flute. Here Prabodhananda combines this idea with one that is familiar from the Gītā-mahatmya:

sarvopaniṣado gāvo dogdhā gopāla-nandanaḥ
pārtho vatsaḥ sudhīr bhoktā dugdhaṁ gītāmṛtaṁ mahat

The perspective on this is expanded here. Prabodhananda Saraswati, as we know, was form erly a scholar of Advaita Vedanta, and thus an afficionado of the knowledge of the Upanishads. But here he says that the milk of Upanishadic knowledge comes from their eating the sweet grasses of Vrindavan.

Previous posts

VMA 1.11 : The defects we see in the Dham are not real.
VMA 1.10 : More glories of Radharani's kunj
VMA 1.9 : Radhika's cottage in the kunj
VMA 1.8 : Vrindavan contains all the Dhams
VMA 1.7 : Vrindavan includes all of Braj
VMA 1.6 : What is it to me if you cannot see Vrindavan's glories?
VMA 1.5 : Take shelter of Vrindavan with all your being
VMA 1.4 : Where all the relishable relationships are found
VMA 1.3 : O Vrindavan! Reveal your true essence to my heart

Comments

Prem Prakash said…
What a magnificent vision. Are there other corollaries about the nature of the incarnations in Vraja? Do certain classes of devas take birth in specific forms?
Saturday, 20 October, 2018
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