yad-visrutih sruti-nutedam alam punati

 padavanejana-payas ca vacas ca sastram

bhuh kala-bharjita-bhagapi yad-anghri-padma-

 sparsottha-saktir abhivarsati no ’khilarthan

 

tad-darsana-sparsananupatha-prajalpa-

 sayyasanasana-sayauna-sapinda-bandhah

yesam grhe niraya-vartmani vartatam vah

 svargapavarga-viramah svayam asa visnuh

 

Translation: 

 

His fame, as broadcast by the Vedas, the water that has washed His feet, and the words He speaks in the form of the revealed scriptures — these thoroughly purify this universe. Although the earth’s good fortune was ravaged by time, the touch of His lotus feet has revitalized her, and thus she is raining down on us the fulfillment of all our desires. The same Lord Visnu who makes one forget the goals of heaven and liberation has now entered into marital and blood relationships with you, who otherwise travel on the hellish path of family life. Indeed, in these relationships you see and touch Him directly, walk beside Him, converse with Him, and together with Him lie down to rest, sit at ease and take your meals.

 

Purport: 

 

All Vedic mantras glorify Lord Visnu; this truth is supported with elaborate evidence by learned acaryas like Ramanuja, in his Vedartha-sangraha, and Madhva, in his Rg-veda-bhasya. The words Visnu Himself speaks, such as the Bhagavad-gita, are the confidential essence of all scripture. In His manifestation as Vyasadeva, the Supreme Lord composed both the Vedanta-sutras and Mahabharata, and this Mahabharata includes Sri Krsna’s personal statement: vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo/ vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham. “By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Bhagavad-gita 15.15)

 

When Lord Visnu appeared before Bali Maharaja to beg three steps of land, the Lord’s second step pierced the shells of the universe. The water of the transcendental river Viraja, lying just outside the universal egg, thus seeped inside, washing Lord Vamana’s foot and flowing down to become the Ganges River. Because of the sanctity of its origin, the Ganges is generally considered the most holy of rivers. But even more potent is the water of the Yamuna, where Lord Visnu in His original form of Govinda played with His intimate companions.

 

In these two verses the assembled kings praise the special merit of Lord Krsna’s Yadu clan. Not only do they see Krsna, but they are also directly connected with Him by dual bonds of marital and blood relationships. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti suggests that the word bandha, beside its more obvious meaning of “relation,” can also be understood in the sense of “capture,” expressing that the love the Yadus feel for the Lord obliges Him always to stay with them.