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Plate 97

Kṛṣṇa and the Cowherd Boys Honor Balarāma

When Hiselderbroher Earigued from playihm reld ie down with Hlisheadupon thelapod a cowherd boy, Lord Kṛṣṇa would help Him relax by personally massaging His feet and

offering other services. Sometimes, as the cowherd boys danced, sang, moved about, and playfully fought one another, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, standing nearby hand in hand, would glorify Their friends' activities and laugh. Sometimes Lord Kṛṣṇa grew tired from fighting and lay down at the base of a tree, resting upon a bed made of soft twigs and buds and using the lap of a cowherd friend as His pillow. Some of the cowherd boys, who were all great souls, would then massage His lotus feet, and others would expertly fan the Supreme Lord. Other boys would sing enchanting songs appropriate to the occasion, and their hearts would melt out of love for the Lord.

In this way the Supreme Lord, whose soft lotus feet are personally attended by the goddess of fortune, concealed His transcendental opulences by His internal potency and acted like the son of a cowherd.

Painting by DHṚTI-DEVĪ DĀSĪ (1978)

Kṛṣṇa and the Cowherd Boys Honor Balarāma