Krishna Leela
Chapter I
Kshirsagar
Before the story begins, in the ocean of milk
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata · abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
Whenever righteousness fades and its opposite rises, O descendant of Bharata, I bring Myself into being.
Bhagavad Gītā 4.7
Chapter II
Janma
Midnight in a Mathura cell, the eighth child
विदितोऽसि भवान् साक्षात् पुरुषः प्रकृतेः परः । केवलानुभवानन्दस्वरूपः सर्वबुद्धिदृक् ॥
vidito 'si bhavān sākṣāt puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ · kevalānubhavānanda-svarūpaḥ sarva-buddhi-dṛk
I know You now for what You are: the Supreme Person beyond material nature, whose very form is pure conscious bliss, the witness within every mind.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.3.13
Chapter III
Yamuna Paar
A father wades the flood, a child asleep against the rain
मघोनि वर्षत्यसकृद्यमानुजा गम्भीरतोयौघजवोर्मिफेनिला । भयानकावर्तशताकुला नदी मार्गं ददौ सिन्धुरिव श्रियः पतेः ॥
maghoni varṣaty asakṛd yamānujā gambhīra-toyaugha-javormi-phenilā · bhayānakāvarta-śatākulā nadī mārgaṁ dadau sindhur iva śriyaḥ pateḥ
Though Indra's rain fell without pause and the river ran deep and foaming, wild with a hundred whirlpools, it opened a path — as the ocean once did for the Lord of Śrī.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.3.50
Chapter IV
Gokul
A cowherd's courtyard, a child taken in as their own
य एतत् पूतनामोक्षं कृष्णस्यार्भकमद्भुतम् । शृणुयाच्छ्रद्धया मर्त्यो गोविन्दे लभते रतिम् ॥
ya etat pūtanā-mokṣaṁ kṛṣṇasyārbhakam adbhutam · śṛṇuyāc chraddhayā martyo govinde labhate ratim
Whoever hears with faith of this wonder — the infant Krishna freeing Pūtanā — comes, in time, to love Govinda.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.6.44
Chapter V
Trinavarta
A whirlwind carries the sitting child into the sky
दैत्यो नाम्ना तृणावर्तः कंसभृत्यः प्रणोदितः । चक्रवातस्वरूपेण जहारासीनमर्भकम् ॥
daityo nāmnā tṛṇāvartaḥ kaṁsa-bhṛtyaḥ praṇoditaḥ · cakravāta-svarūpeṇa jahārāsīnam arbhakam
A demon named Trinavarta, sent by Kamsa, came as a whirlwind and carried the sitting child away into the sky.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.7.20
Chapter VI
Makhan Chor
Caught at the jar, and for one instant, the whole of everything
तत्रैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं प्रविभक्तमनेकधा । अपश्यद्देवदेवस्य शरीरे पाण्डवस्तदा ॥
tatraika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ pravibhaktam anekadhā · apaśyad deva-devasya śarīre pāṇḍavas tadā
There, in the body of the God of gods, he saw the whole universe standing together as one, in all its endless divisions.
Bhagavad Gītā 11.13
Chapter VII
Kaliya Daman
A poisoned river, and a dance until the serpent yields
तच्चित्रताण्डवविरुग्नफणासहस्रो रक्तं मुखैरुरु वमन् नृप भग्नगात्रः । स्मृत्वा चराचरगुरुं पुरुषं पुराणं नारायणं तमरणं मनसा जगाम ॥
tac-citra-tāṇḍava-virugna-phaṇā-sahasro raktaṁ mukhair uru vaman nṛpa bhagna-gātraḥ · smṛtvā carācara-guruṁ puruṣaṁ purāṇaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ tam araṇaṁ manasā jagāma
His thousand hoods broken by that astonishing dance, his body shattered, vomiting blood from every mouth, he remembered the ancient Person, teacher of all that moves and does not move, and turned to Nārāyaṇa for shelter.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.16.30
Chapter IX
Maharaas
Sharad Purnima, on the bank of the Yamuna
भगवानपि ता रात्रीः शरदोत्फुल्लमल्लिकाः । वीक्ष्य रन्तुं मनश्चक्रे योगमायामुपाश्रितः ॥
bhagavān api tā rātrīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ · vīkṣya rantuṁ manaś cakre yoga-māyām upāśritaḥ
Seeing those autumn nights, filled with jasmine come into bloom, He too turned His mind to the dance — and took shelter of His own Yogamaya.
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.29.1
Chapter X
Akrura's Departure
The road out of Vrindavan, at first light
तास्तथा तप्यतीर्वीक्ष्य स्वप्रस्थाने यदूत्तमः । सान्त्वयामास सप्रेम्णैरायास्य इति दौत्यकैः ॥
tās tathā tapyatīr vīkṣya sva-prasthāne yadūttamaḥ · sāntvayām āsa sa-premṇair āyāsya iti dautyakaiḥ
Seeing them burn so at His leaving, the best of the Yadus sent them loving word after loving word — I will come back.
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.39.35
Chapter XI
Kansa Vadha
The wrestling ground in Mathura, the throw itself
प्रगृह्य केशेषु चलत्किरीटं निपात्य रङ्गोपरि तुङ्गमञ्चात् । तस्योपरिष्टात् स्वयमब्जनाभः पपात विश्वाश्रयात्मतन्त्रः ॥
pragṛhya keśeṣu calat-kirīṭaṁ nipātya raṅgopari tuṅga-mañcāt · tasyopariṣṭāt svayam abja-nābhaḥ papāta viśvāśraya ātma-tantraḥ
Seizing him by the hair, his crown toppling, He threw him down from the high dais onto the arena floor — and fell upon him there Himself, the lotus-naveled Lord, shelter of the universe, answerable to none.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.44.37
Chapter XII
Dwarka
A golden city on the sea, and the story comes to rest
जयति जननिवासो देवकीजन्मवादो यदुवरपरिषत् । स्वैर्दोर्भिरस्यन्नधर्मं स्थिरचरवृजिनघ्नः सुस्मितश्रीमुखेन । व्रजपुरवनितानां वर्धयन् कामदेवम् ॥
jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo yadu-vara-pariṣat · svair dorbhir asyann adharmaṁ sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ su-smita-śrī-mukhena · vraja-pura-vanitānāṁ vardhayan kāma-devam
Glory to Him who dwells in every heart, called the son of Devakī, pride of the Yadus — who strikes down the wrongs of all that moves and does not move with His own arms, and whose radiant, smiling face still deepens the love of the women of Vraja.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.90.48