46 / Astonishment and Chivalry
Astonishment
The ecstasy of astonishment in devotional service is perceived in two ways: directly, by the experience of one's own eyes, and indirectly, by hearing from others.
When Nārada came to see the activities of the Lord at Dvārakā, and he saw that Kṛṣṇa was present within every palace in the same body and was engaged in different activities, he was struck with wonder. This is one of the examples of astonishment in devotional service by direct perception. One of the friends of Mother Yaśodā says, “Yaśodā, just see the fun! On the one hand, there is your child who is always captivated by sucking the milk from your breast, and on the other hand there is the great Govardhan Hill which can obstruct the passing of the clouds. But still, just see how wonderful it is that this great Govardhan Hill is resting on the finger of your child’s left hand, just as though it were a toy. Is this not very mysterious?” This statement is another example of astonishment in devotional service by direct perception.
An instance of astonishment in devotional service by indirect perception occurred when Mahārāj Parīkṣit heard from Śukadeva Gosvāmī about Kṛṣṇa's killing Narakāsura, who had been fighting Kṛṣṇa with eleven divisions of  akṣauhiṇī  soldiers. Each division of  akṣauhiṇī  soldiers contained several thousand elephants, several thousand horses and chariots, and several hundreds of thousands of infantry soldiers. Narakāsura possessed eleven such divisions, and all of them were
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