Texts 1-5
śrī-śuka uvāca
atha sarva-guṇopetaḥ
kālaḥ parama-śobhanaḥ
yarhy evājana-janmarkṣaṁ
śāntarkṣa-graha-tārakam
diśaḥ prasedur gaganaṁ
nirmaloḍu-gaṇodayam
mahī maṅgala-bhūyiṣṭha-
pura-grāma-vrajākarā
nadyaḥ prasanna-salilā
hradā jalaruha-śriyaḥ
dvijāli-kula-sannāda-
stavakā vana-rājayaḥ
vavau vāyuḥ sukha-sparśaḥ
puṇya-gandhavahaḥ śuciḥ
agnayaś ca dvijātīnāṁ
śāntās tatra samindhata
manāṁsy āsan prasannāni
sādhūnām asura-druhām
jāyamāne ’jane tasmin
nedur dundubhayaḥ samam
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; atha — on the occasion of the Lord’s appearance; sarva — all around; guṇa-upetaḥ — endowed with material attributes or facilities; kālaḥ — a favorable time; parama-śobhanaḥ — all-auspicious and very favorable from all points of view; yarhi — when; eva — certainly; ajana janma-ṛkṣam — the constellation of stars known as Rohiṇī; śānta-ṛkṣa — none of the constellations were fierce (all of them were peaceful); graha-tārakam — and the planets and stars like Aśvinī; diśaḥ — all directions; praseduḥ — appeared very auspicious and peaceful; gaganam — all of outer space or the sky; nirmala-uḍu-gaṇa-udayam — in which all the auspicious stars were visible (in the upper strata of the universe); mahī — the earth; maṅgala-bhūyiṣṭha-pura-grāma-vraja-ākarāḥ — whose many cities, towns, pasturing grounds and mines became auspicious and very neat and clean; nadyaḥ — the rivers; prasanna-salilāḥ — the waters became clear; hradāḥ — the lakes or large reservoirs of water; jalaruha-śriyaḥ — appeared very beautiful because of blooming lotuses all around; dvija-ali-kula-sannāda-stavakāḥ — the birds, especially the cuckoos, and swarms of bees began to chant in sweet voices, as if praying to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vana-rājayaḥ — the green trees and plants were also very pleasing to see; vavau — blew; vāyuḥ — the breeze; sukha-sparśaḥ — very pleasing to the touch; puṇya-gandha-vahaḥ — which was full of fragrance; śuciḥ — without pollution by dust; agnayaḥ ca — and the fires (at the places of sacrifice); dvijātīnām — of the brāhmaṇas; śāntāḥ — undisturbed, steady, calm and quiet; tatra — there; samindhata — blazed; manāṁsi — the minds of the brāhmaṇas (who because of Kaṁsa had always been afraid); āsan — became; prasannāni — fully satisfied and free from disturbances; sādhūnām — of the brāhmaṇas, who were all Vaiṣṇava devotees; asura-druhām — who had been oppressed by Kaṁsa and other demons disturbing the discharge of religious rituals; jāyamāne — because of the appearance or birth; ajane — of Lord Viṣṇu, who is always unborn; tasmin — in that situation; neduḥ — resounded; dundubhayaḥ — kettledrums; samam — simultaneously (from the upper planets).
Thereafter, at the auspicious time for the appearance of the Lord, the entire universe was surcharged with all the qualities of goodness, beauty and peace. The constellation Rohiṇī appeared, as did stars like Aśvinī. The sun, the moon and the other stars and planets were very peaceful. All directions appeared extremely pleasing, and the beautiful stars twinkled in the cloudless sky. Decorated with towns, villages, mines and pasturing grounds, the earth seemed all-auspicious. The rivers flowed with clear water, and the lakes and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses, were extraordinarily beautiful. In the trees and green plants, full of flowers and leaves, pleasing to the eyes, birds like cuckoos and swarms of bees began chanting with sweet voices for the sake of the demigods. A pure breeze began to blow, pleasing the sense of touch and bearing the aroma of flowers, and when the brāhmaṇas engaging in ritualistic ceremonies ignited their fires according to Vedic principles, the fires burned steadily, undisturbed by the breeze. Thus when the birthless Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was about to appear, the saints and brāhmaṇas, who had always been disturbed by demons like Kaṁsa and his men, felt peace within the core of their hearts, and kettledrums simultaneously vibrated from the upper planetary system.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that His appearance, birth, and activities are all transcendental and that one who factually understands them is immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man, who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the previous chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure.
When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the constellation known as Rohiṇī was also predominant because this constellation is considered very auspicious. Rohiṇī is under the direct supervision of Brahmā, who is born of Viṣṇu, and it appears at the birth of Lord Viṣṇu, who in fact is birthless. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious.
At that time, in all directions, east, west, south, north, everywhere, there was an atmosphere of peace and prosperity. Auspicious stars were visible in the sky, and on the surface in all towns and villages or pasturing grounds and within the mind of everyone there were signs of good fortune. The rivers were flowing full of water, and the lakes were beautifully decorated with lotus flowers. The forests were full with beautiful birds and peacocks. All the birds within the forests began to sing with sweet voices, and the peacocks began to dance with their consorts. The wind blew very pleasantly, carrying the aroma of different flowers, and the sensation of bodily touch was very pleasing. At home, the brāhmaṇas, who were accustomed to offer sacrifices in the fire, found their homes very pleasant for offerings. Because of disturbances created by the demoniac kings, the sacrificial fire had been almost stopped in the houses of brāhmaṇas, but now they could find the opportunity to start the fire peacefully. Being forbidden to offer sacrifices, the brāhmaṇas were very distressed in mind, intelligence and activities. But just on the point of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, automatically their minds became full of joy because they could hear loud vibrations in the sky of transcendental sounds proclaiming the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
On the occasion of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s birth, seasonal changes took place throughout the entire universe. Kṛṣṇa was born during the month of September, yet it appeared like springtime. The atmosphere, however, was very cool, although not chilly, and the rivers and reservoirs appeared just as they would in śarat, the fall. Lotuses and lilies blossom during the day, but although Kṛṣṇa appeared at twelve o’clock midnight, the lilies and lotuses were in bloom, and thus the wind blowing at that time was full of fragrance. Because of Kaṁsa’s disturbances, the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies had almost stopped. The brāhmaṇas and saintly persons could not execute the Vedic rituals with peaceful minds. But now the brāhmaṇas were very pleased to perform their daily ritualistic ceremonies undisturbed. The business of the asuras is to disturb the suras, the devotees and brāhmaṇas, but at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance these devotees and brāhmaṇas were undisturbed.