Text 8] The Meeting of Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva
325
vicitra-dhātu-barhasrag- vastra-kāñcana-mālinaḥ
gāvaḥ —the cows;  vṛṣāḥ —the bulls;  vatsatarāḥ —the calves;  hari- drā —with a mixture of turmeric;  taila —and oil;  rūṣitāḥ —their entire bodies smeared;  vicitra —decorated varieties of;  dhātu —colored min- erals;  barha-srak —peacock-feather garlands;  vastra —cloths;  kāñ- cana —golden ornaments;  mālinaḥ —being decorated with garlands.
TRANSLATION
The cows, the bulls and the calves were thoroughly smeared with a mixture of turmeric and oil, mixed with varieties of minerals. Their heads were bedecked with peacock feathers, and they were garlanded and covered with cloth and golden ornaments.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has instructed in  Bhagavad- gītā  (18.44),  kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam vaiśya-karma-svabhāvajam : “Farming, cow protection and trade are the qualities of work for the  vaiśyas .” Nanda Mahārāja belonged to the  vaiśya  community, the agriculturalist community. How to protect the cows and how rich this community was are explained in these verses. We can hardly imagine that cows, bulls and calves could be cared for so nicely and decorated so well with cloths and valuable golden ornaments. How happy they were. As described elsewhere in the  Bhāgavatam , during Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s time the cows were so happy that they used to muddy the pasturing ground with milk. This is Indian civilization. Yet in the same place, India, Bhāratavarṣa, how much people are suffering by giving up the Vedic way of life and not understanding the teachings of  Bhagavad- gītā .
TEXT 8
महार्हवस्त्राभरणकञ्चुकोष्णीषभूषिताः । गोपाः समाययु राजन् नानोपायनपाणयः ॥ ८ ॥