Text 7]
Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī
993
appears to be more accurate because of the geographical situation. Mahārāja Parīkṣit resided in his capital Hastināpura, situated near present Delhi, and the River Yamunā flows down past the city. Naturally the King would take shelter of the River Yamunā because she was flowing past his palace door. And as far as sanctity is concerned, the River Yamunā is more directly connected with Lord Kṛṣṇa than the Ganges. The Lord sanctified the River Yamunā from the beginning of His transcendental pastimes in the world. While His father Vasudeva was crossing the Yamunā with the baby Lord Kṛṣṇa for a safe place at Gokula on the other bank of the river from Mathurā, the Lord fell down in the river, and by the dust of His lotus feet the river at once became sanctified. It is especially mentioned herein that Mahārāja Parīkṣit took shelter of that particular river which is beautifully flowing, carrying the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, mixed with  tulasī  leaves. Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet are always besmeared with the  tulasī  leaves, and thus as soon as His lotus feet are contacted with the water of the Ganges and the Yamunā, the rivers become at once sanctified. The Lord, however, contacted the River Yamunā more than the Ganges. According to the  Varāha Purāṇa , as quoted by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, there is no difference between the water of the Ganges and the Yamunā,  but when the water of the Ganges is sanctified one hundred times, it is called the Yamunā . Similarly, it is said in the scriptures that one thousand names of Viṣṇu are equal to one name of Rāma, and three names of Lord Rāma are equal to one name of Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 7
इति व्यवञ्छिद्य स पाण्डवेयः  
 प्रायोपवेशं प्रति विष्णुपद्याम् ।  
 दधौ मुकुन्दाङ्घ्रिमनन्यभावो  
 मुनित्रतो मुक्तसमस्तसङ्गः ॥ ७ ॥
iti vyavacchidya sa pāṇḍaveyaḥ 
    prāyopaveśam prati viṣṇu-padyām 
    dadhau mukundānghrim ananya-bhāvo 
    muni-vrato mukta-samasta-saṅgaḥ
iti—thus; vyavacchidya—having decided; saḥ—the King; pāṇḍaveyaḥ—worthy descendant of the Pāṇḍavas; prāya-upaveśam—for fasting until death; prati—towards; viṣṇu-padyām—on the bank of the Ganges (emanat-