Canto 10, Chapter 69, Verse 1-6
śrī-śuka uvāca
narakaṁ nihataṁ śrutvā
tathodvāhaṁ ca yoṣitām
kṛṣṇenaikena bahvīnāṁ
tad-didṛkṣuḥ sma nāradaḥ
citraṁ bataitad ekena
vapuṣā yugapat pṛthak
gṛheṣu dvy-aṣṭa-sāhasraṁ
striya eka udāvahat
ity utsuko dvāravatīṁ
devarṣir draṣṭum āgamat
puṣpitopavanārāma-
dvijāli-kula-nāditām
utphullendīvarāmbhoja-
kahlāra-kumudotpalaiḥ
churiteṣu saraḥsūccaiḥ
kūjitāṁ haṁsa-sārasaiḥ
prāsāda-lakṣair navabhir
juṣṭāṁ sphāṭika-rājataiḥ
mahā-marakata-prakhyaiḥ
svarṇa-ratna-paricchadaiḥ
vibhakta-rathyā-patha-catvarāpaṇaiḥ
śālā-sabhābhī rucirāṁ surālayaiḥ
saṁsikta-mārgāṅgana-vīthi-dehalīṁ
patat-patāka-dhvaja-vāritātapām
Sage Sukadev says, Hearing that Lord Krishna had married so many brides, Narada Muni wanted to see the Lord in this state. He thought, ‘It is quite amazing that in a single body Lord Krishna simultaneously married sixteen thousand women, each in a separate palace.’ Thus the sage of the demigods eagerly traveled to Dwarka. The city was alive with the sounds of birds and bees flying about the parks and pleasure gardens, while its lakes were filled with blooming indivara, ambhoja, kahlara, kumuda and utpala lotuses, resonating with the calls of swans and cranes. Dwarka possessed nine hundred thousand royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and splendidly adorned with huge gems. Inside these palaces, the furnishings were decorated with gold and jewels. Traffic moved along a well-laid-out network of boulevards, roads, intersections and marketplaces, and many meeting houses and temples of demigods graced the charming city. The roads, courtyards, commercial streets and residential patios were all sprinkled with water and protected from the sun by banners waving from flagpoles.
When Narada heard that Krishna had many wives, he was intrigued to see how the Lord handled that. So he said, “It is quite amazing for a single man to marry all these 16,000 women, and keep each one living in a separate palace.” So he went to Dwarka. The city was filled with the sounds of birds, swans, cranes and bees flying around the pleasant parks, green gardens and lakes. Everything was perfect. There were many different kinds of trees, and beautiful flowers.
In Dwarka there were also 900,000 palaces richly decorated, avenues, marketplaces, residential places, temples, and so on. Upon seeing such a magnificent city, Narada was totally amazed.
He said, “Let me visit one of the palaces.” As he entered one of the palaces, he saw that Krishna was there. So he offered his obeisances to Krishna and left. He wondered, “If Krishna is here now with His 10 sons, let me go to another palace and visit the queen there.” He was sightseeing around the palaces of Krishna’s queens. Then, he entered another palace and saw Krishna playing with His children. Krishna welcomed him. He offered his obeisances to Krishna and left. Then, he entered another palace and also saw Krishna there. Now, he said, “Huh?? How is it possible? I just left Krishna there. How quickly did He have to run in order to be here now?” He was totally confused. Then he rushed quickly to Rukmini. He thought, “Rukmini is the only one who can tell me what is really going on.”
Narada knows that Rukmini is a manifestation of Maha Lakshmi. When he arrrived, he saw Rukmini fanning Krishna. Krishna was being served personally by Her. He greeted the Lord. Bhagavan very happily said, “Please, take a seat. Would you like to have some tea?”
Next, was Satyabhama’s palace. As he entered, he saw the Lord sitting with Satyabhama playing dice. Uddhava was also there by the side of Krishna. Again, Bhagavan Krishna welcomed Narada as if it was the first time they were meeting each other. Narada said to himself, “He has just met me in Rukmini’s palace, what has happened to Him? Has He already forgotten?”
Then, Narada left and entered another palace. There, he found Krishna playing with His babies. After that, he went to another palace. He visited all the palaces, one after the other. In each palace, Krishna was engaged in different activities. In one, He was preparing Himself to go take a bath. In another He was about to start worshipping some deity. Next, He was teaching His children. After that, He was looking after His garden. Then, He was building something. In the next one, He was discussing the marriage of His daughters. In one palace, He was performing the marriage of a daughter. In another palace, a daughter was being born. Next, a son was being born, and so on and on.
Finally, Narada went into the big court. He saw Krishna sitting there, engaged in a great discussion with His ministers. Somewhere else, he found Krishna quarrelling with some people. Wherever he went, he saw Krishna. Thus, he was overcome with wonder.
In this way, he realised that Bhagavan always has numerous forms. He roams the Earth in essence, and He has actually taken billions of forms. In Dwarka, each of Krishna’s wives had one Krishna. Therefore, Narada praised the Lord saying, “You truly look after everybody equally, and You give each one whatever one desires.” Then, he bowed down to the Lord and sang many praises about the Leela he had just experienced.