Fraternal Devotion 329
they are on an equal level! By this anyone can understand that these
boys must have accumulated heaps of the results of pious activities to
enable them to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
in such intimate friendship.”

There is a description of Krgna’s feeling for his vayasyas in Vrnda-
vana. He once said to Balarama, “‘My dear brother, when My com-
panions were being devoured by the Aghasura, hot tears poured down
from My eyes. And as they were washing My cheeks, My dear elder
brother, for at least one moment I completely lost Myself.”

Within Gokula, Krsna’s vayasyas are generally divided into four
groups: 1) well-wishers, 2) friends, 3) confidential friends and 4) inti-
mate friends. Krsna’s well-wisher friends are a little bit older than
Krsna, and they have some parental affection for Him. Because of
their being older than Krsna they always try to protect Him from any
harm. As such, they sometimes bear weapons so that they can chas-
tise any mischievous persons who want to do harm to Krsna. Counted
amongst the well-wisher friends are Subhadra,* Mandalibhadra,
Bhadravardhana, Gobhata, Yakga, Indrabhata, Bhadranga, Virabhadra,
Mahaguna, Vijaya, and Balabhadra. They are older than Krsna and
are always thinking of His welfare.

One of the elderly friends said, ‘““My dear Mandalibhadra, why
are you wielding a shining sword as though you were running
towards Aristasura to kill him? My dear Baladeva, why are you un-
necessarily bearing that heavy plow? My dear Vijaya, don’t be un-
necessarily agitated. My dear Bhadravardhana, there is no need to
make these threatening motions. If you will all look more closely
you will see that it is only a thunder cloud upon Govardhana Hill; it
is not the Aristasura in the shape of a bull, as you have imagined.”
These older, well-wishing friends of Krsna imagined a large cloud to
be the Aristasura, appearing in the shape of a huge bull. In the midst
of their excitement one of them ascertained that it was actually only
a cloud on Govardhan Hill. He therefore informed the others not to
take the trouble of worrying about Krsna, because there was no pres-
ent danger from Aristasura.

* Not to be confused with Krsna’s sister of the same name.
