In the text: 10.5-11; 10.16-17; 10.24-28; 10.46; 10.82

Nanda

नन्द

The cowherd chief of Gokul who raised Krishna as his own son, stood beneath Govardhana, and wept when Akrura's chariot left.

Appears in

Krishna is born in Kamsa's prison — Skandha 10, adhyayas 1-4 — A voice warns Kamsa that Devaki's eighth child will kill him; six die, and the eighth is carried across the Yamuna at midnight.
Nanda's festival, Putana's breast, and the overturned cart — Skandha 10, adhyayas 5-7 — Gokula celebrates Nanda's newborn son while Kamsa's witch Putana arrives with poisoned milk — and receives a mother's place in heaven.
Gargamuni's secret naming and the universe in Krishna's mouth — Skandha 10, adhyaya 8 — Named in a cowshed by Gargamuni, toddler Krishna is accused of eating dirt — and Yashoda looks inside his mouth to see all creation.
The move to Vrindavana, Vatsasura, Bakasura, and Aghasura — Skandha 10, adhyayas 11-12 — Upananda leads the cowherds across the river to Vrindavana, where the boys walk straight into the open jaws of the giant python Aghasura.
Krishna dances on the hoods of Kaliya — Skandha 10, adhyayas 16-17 — When the Yamuna turns to venom, Krishna leaps from a kadamba tree and dances on the hundred hoods of Kaliya until his wives intercede.
Questioning Indra's sacrifice and lifting Govardhana Hill — Skandha 10, adhyayas 24-25 — Seven-year-old Krishna persuades Nanda to worship the hill and cows instead of Indra, then holds Govardhana on one finger for seven days.
Indra's pride broken and the coronation of Govinda — Skandha 10, adhyayas 26-27 — As the cowherds wonder who Nanda's child really is, Indra falls in secret at Krishna's feet and Surabhi bathes him as Govinda.
Uddhava in Vraja — the song to the black bee — Skandha 10, adhyayas 46-47 — Sent to comfort Nanda, Yashoda, and the gopis with knowledge of the Self, Uddhava hears a gopi scold a bee and wishes to be a bush in Vraja.
The solar eclipse at Kurukshetra — Vraja and Dvaraka meet — Skandha 10, adhyayas 82-84 — At a solar eclipse at Samantapanchaka, the cowherds and gopis of Vraja meet Krishna again, and the queens tell Draupadi how they wed.

Embodies

Devotion as the highest dharma — The Bhagavatam's own thesis (1.2.6): the highest dharma is devotion with no motive, which nothing can interrupt.
Divine play — A god who steals butter, hides from his mother and dances in the moonlight — the text insists the play is the revelation.

Questions to explore

Why did Nanda agree to stop the ancestral sacrifice to Indra at a seven-year-old boy's words?
How did Nanda respond when Garga Muni warned him secretly that his child was like Narayana?
What did Nanda and Yashoda say to Uddhava when he came to Vraja from Mathura?

Appears in

Embodies

Questions to explore

Sanatani