Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.15.21
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Boys Describe Nearby Tālavana
“[The cowherd boys said:] O Rāma, Rāma, mighty-armed one! O Kṛṣṇa, destroyer of the miscreants! Not far from here is a very great forest filled with rows of palm trees.”
What the purport teaches
- The boys addressed Rāma as mighty-armed and Kṛṣṇa as the destroyer of miscreants. They described a nearby, expansive forest filled with rows of palm trees.
- The purport places Tālavana about eight miles west of Mathurā, apparently midway between Mathurā and Govardhana Hill. Dhenukāsura guarded this forest.
- Tālavana’s land is described as even, smooth and expansive. Its black earth was densely covered with darbha grass and free of stones and pebbles.
Try this today
Read the boys’ address aloud once, attending to their words “mighty-armed one” and “destroyer of the miscreants.”
Ask yourself
How do these details help you picture the place the boys described to Rāma and Kṛṣṇa?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.