Canto 1: Creation Chapter 11: Lord Kṛṣṇa's Entrance into Dvāraka Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.11.1

sūta uvāca

ānartān sa upavrajya

svṛddhāñ jana-padān svakān

dadhmau daravaraḿ teṣāḿ

viṣādaḿ śamayann iva

SYNONYMS

sūtaḥ uvāca — Sūta Gosvāmī said; ānartān — the country known as Ānartān (Dvārakā); saḥ — He; upavrajya — reaching the border of; svṛddhān — most prosperous; jana-padān — city; svakān — His own; dadhmau — sounded; daravaram — the auspicious conchshell (Pāñcajanya); teṣām — of them; viṣādam — dejection; śamayan — pacifying; iva — seemingly.

TRANSLATION

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Upon reaching the border of His most prosperous metropolis, known as the country of the Ānartas [Dvārakā], the Lord sounded His auspicious conchshell, heralding His arrival and apparently pacifying the dejection of the inhabitants.

PURPORT

The beloved Lord was away from His own prosperous metropolis of Dvārakā for a considerably long period because of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, and thus all the inhabitants were overcome with melancholia due to the separation. When the Lord descends on the earth, His eternal associates also come with Him, just as the entourage of a king accompanies him. Such associates of the Lord are eternally liberated souls, and they cannot bear the separation of the Lord even for a moment because of intense affection for the Lord. Thus the inhabitants of the city of Dvārakā were in a mood of dejection and expected the arrival of the Lord at any moment. So the heralding sound of the auspicious conchshell was very encouraging, and apparently the sound pacified their dejection. They were still more aspirant to see the Lord amongst themselves, and all of them became alert to receive Him in the befitting manner. These are the signs of spontaneous love of Godhead.