Text 18
te tatra tatrābja-yavāṅkuśāśani-
dhvajopapannāni padāni viś-pateḥ
mārge gavām anya-padāntarāntare
nirīkṣamāṇā yayur aṅga satvarāḥ
te — they; tatra tatra — here and there; abja — with the lotus flower; yava — barleycorn; aṅkuśa — elephant goad; aśani — thunderbolt; dhvaja — and flag; upapannāni — adorned; padāni — the footprints; viṭ-pateḥ — of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the cowherd community; mārge — upon the path; gavām — of the cows; anya-pada — the other footprints; antara-antare — dispersed among; nirīkṣamāṇāḥ — seeing; yuyuḥ — they went; aṅga — my dear King; sa-tvarāḥ — rapidly.
The footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the entire cowherd community, were marked with the lotus flower, barleycorn, elephant goad, thunderbolt and flag. My dear King Parīkṣit, seeing His footprints on the path among the cows’ hoofprints, the residents of Vṛndāvana rushed along in great haste.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī comments as follows: “Since Lord Kṛṣṇa had passed along the path some time previously, why weren’t His footprints, which were surrounded by those of cows, cowherd boys and so on, smudged over and brushed away? Why hadn’t His footprints been obliterated by those of the beasts and birds of Vṛndāvana forest? The answer is indicated by the word viś-pati, master of the cowherd community. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is actually the wealth of all living beings, all the inhabitants of the forest of Vraja would carefully preserve His footprints as great treasures, the very ornaments of the earth. Thus no creature within Vṛndāvana would ever walk upon Lord Kṛṣṇa’s footprints.”