21.20
eka eka gopa kare ye vatsa carana
koti, arbuda, sankha, padma, tahara ganana
SYNONYMS
eka eka—one after another; gopa—cowherd boys; kare—do; ye—whatever; vatsa—calves; carana—grazing; koti—ten millions; arbuda—a hundred million; sankha—one trillion; padma—ten trillion; tahara ganana—the enumeration of that "Each of the cowherd boys was tending calves to the extent of a koti, arbuda, sankha and padma.
That is the way of counting.
PURPORT
According to Vedic mathematical calculations, the following enumeration system is used: units, tens (dasa), hundreds (sata), thousands (sahasra), ten thousands (ayuta) and hundred thousands (laksa).
Ten times laksa is niyuta.
Ten times niyuta is koti.
Ten times koti is arbuda.
Ten times arbuda is vrnda.
Ten times vrnda is kharva.
Ten times kharva is nikharva.
Ten times nikharva is sankha.
Ten times sankha is padma, and ten times padma is sagara.
Ten times sagara is antya, and ten times antya is madhya, and ten times madhya is parardha.
Each item is ten times greater than the previous one.
Thus all the cowherd boys who were companions of Krsna had many calves to take care of.