Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Was At the Tender Age of Eight During His Rāsa-līlā

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Was Eight Years Old During His Rāsa-līlā

 ŚB 10.26.3

य: सप्तहायनो बाल: करेणैकेन लीलया । 

कथंबिभ्रद् गिरिवरं पुष्करं गजराडिव ॥ ३ ॥

yaḥ sapta-hāyano bālaḥ

kareṇaikena līlayā

kathaṁ bibhrad giri-varaṁ

puṣkaraṁ gaja-rāḍ iva

Synonyms

yaḥ — who; sapta-hāyanaḥ — seven years of age; bālaḥ — a boy; kareṇa — with a hand; ekena — one; līlayā — playfully; katham — how; bibhrat — He held up; giri-varam — the best of mountains, Govardhana; puṣkaram — a lotus flower; gaja-rāṭ — a mighty elephant; iva — as.

Translation

How could this seven-year-old boy playfully hold up the great hill Govardhana with one hand, just as a mighty elephant holds up a lotus flower?

Purport by MGDasa

Here it is confirmed that Lord Krsna was seven years old: sapta-hāyanaḥ — seven years of age.

ŚB 10.29.1

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच
भगवानपि ता रात्री: शारदोत्फुल्लमल्लिका: । वीक्ष्य रन्तुं मनश्चक्रे योगमायामुपाश्रित: ॥ १ ॥

śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ
śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ
vīkṣya rantuṁ manaś cakre
yoga-māyām upāśritaḥ

Synonyms

śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva, the son of Śrīla Badarāyaṇa Vedavyāsa, said; bhagavān — Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; api — although; tāḥ — those; rātrīḥ — nights; śārada — of autumn; utphulla — blossoming; mallikāḥ — the jasmine flowers; vīkṣya — seeing; rantum — to enjoy love; manaḥ cakre — He made up His mind; yoga-māyām — His spiritual potency that makes the impossible possible; upāśritaḥ — resorting to.

Translation

Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in all opulences, yet upon seeing those autumn nights scented with blossoming jasmine flowers, He turned His mind toward loving affairs. To fulfill His purposes He employed His internal potency.

Purport by MGDasa

As pointed out in ŚB 10.26.3, Krsna had lived with the Vrajavāsīs for seven years when lifting Govardhana hill: "How could this seven-year-old boy playfully hold up the great hill Govardhana with one hand [...]". Now Śrī Śukadeva Gosvami is stating: śārada — of autumn. This means that one year has passed after lifting Govardhana hill, Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has now spent eight years on this terra firma. Then in ŚB 10.29.2 Śrī Śukadeva Gosvami says: uḍu-rājaḥ — the moon, king of the stars. This means that the exact month is given, known as the Autumn-moon also known as Śāradīya Pūrṇimā or Rāsa-pūrṇimā.

ŚB 10.29.2

तदोडुराज: ककुभ: करैर्मुखंप्राच्या विलिम्पन्नरुणेन शन्तमै: । स चर्षणीनामुदगाच्छुचो मृजन्प्रिय: प्रियाया इव दीर्घदर्शन: ॥ २ ॥

tadoḍurājaḥ kakubhaḥ karair mukhaṁ
prācyā vilimpann aruṇena śantamaiḥ
sa carṣaṇīnām udagāc chuco mṛjan
priyaḥ priyāyā iva dīrgha-darśanaḥ

Synonyms

tadā — at that time; uḍu-rājaḥ — the moon, king of the stars; kakubhaḥ — of the horizon; karaiḥ — with his “hands” (rays); mukham — the face; prācyāḥ — eastern; vilimpan — smearing; aruṇena — with reddish color; śam-tamaiḥ — (his rays) which give great comfort; saḥ — he; carṣaṇīnām — of all those who watched; udagāt — rose; śucaḥ — the unhappiness; mṛjan — wiping away; priyaḥ — a beloved husband; priyāyāḥ — of his beloved wife; iva — as; dīrgha — after a long time; darśanaḥ — being seen again.

Translation

The moon then rose, anointing the face of the eastern horizon with the reddish hue of his comforting rays, and thus dispelling the pain of all who watched him rise. The moon was like a beloved husband who returns after a long absence and adorns the face of his beloved wife with red kuṅkuma.

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