Stories from Srimad Bhagavatam
Chapter 28: Whither Brahma's illusory power
Brahma had been witnessing the miraculous feats of the five year
old Krishna. He did not give credence to it as
the victory was only over asuras. Very proud and extremely confident of his
illusory power, Brahma plunged to challenge Krishna.
On a pleasant day, Krishna and
the cowherds led their cattle to the pastures along the river side. The
picturesque surrounding and the nice weather together aroused a picnicking mood
in them. Letting the cattle to graze, they settled down to relish jointly the
food they had brought from home. They had hardly picked up a morsel, when they
observed their cattle had strayed away beyond their range of vision. Krishna
comforted the perturbed cowherds and offered to go in search, while the others
continued with their eating. He looked everywhere but the cattle were not to be
found. On return to the river bank he was shocked not to find the boys either.
Suspecting some foul play, he took the forms of as many cattle and cowboys. In
the evening each went to the respective homes as usual, no one suspecting
anything about Krishna’s secret game. Life
continued like this for nearly a year.
A few days before the lapse of the year, Balarama took the
cattle to the meadows at the foot of the mountain Govardhana. On the peak there
were some cattle grazing. They were instinctively drawn to the cattle below.
They speedily ran downhill across the dense forest with the cowherds following
behind, calling after them. Balarama was surprised at their behaviour but could
see Krishna’s involvement in this illusory
play and he was not wrong in his guess. Brahma could not believe his illusory
power having been nullified. Amongst the large herd of cattle he could not
distinguish the stolen cattle under his spell from the other ones grazing
below. Convinced that Vishnu had released the cattle in his control, Brahma
wanted to assert his superiority over Krishna
by trying his illusory power on him. But Krishna
outwitted Brahma by stupefying him. In that state, Brahma saw the form of
Vishnu in each of the cattle and the cowboys with all the auspicious marks of
the Lord on them. Vishnu then lifted the veil of maya and revived Brahma back
to consciousness. Brindavana was before his eyes and he witnessed the fearless
harmony prevailing among the people. He also found himself with the Supreme
Lord manifested as the cowboy Krishna.
Repenting for his action, he fell at Krishna’s
feet and sang his praise with devotion.
Interesting Anecdotes
Uparichara: The story of king Uparichara is very similar to that
of Brahma. Uparichara had the special power of driving through the sky in his
chariot. His additional strength was, the shadow of his chariot could kill
anyone on whom it fell. One day, he started off on his aerial tour over the
meadows where Krishna was grazing his cattle,
in an attempt to exhibit his power. The sight of him alerted Krishna
to take adequate precautions to save his cattle. He waited for the challenge
and when Uparichara drove over the meadow, Krishna
pressed his foot on the shadow of the chariot halting it on the spot. He did
not want the cowherds to lose their cattle wealth which would leave them a
begging. Finding his chariot arrested, Uparichara came down to ascertain the
reason. He asked Krishna to remove his foot
and let go his chariot. Not knowing the power of Krishna,
he thought he would get his chariot released just for the asking. But Krishna was a hard nut to crack. He demanded one thousand
jars of fresh butter churned out that very day. Being a king he thought he
could get it without any problem. When he got to collecting it in the jars,
that too fresh butter, Uparichara saw it was not as easy as he had thought. He
managed it successfully till he came to the last jar. He could not find the
required fresh butter anywhere. He thought he could deceive Krishna
by filling the last jar with water. He brought the thousand jars with a feeling
of achievement. When he started opening the jars, to his dismay, he found water
in all the jars. He now became aware of Krishna’s
divine power and fell at his feet for pardon.
Chapter 29: Kaliya and his fear of Garuda
Kaliya, the many hooded serpent, was residing on the river bed of
Kalindi. The venom of the serpent polluted the water and his breath, the air,
both hazardous to the inhabitants of Gokula. Krishna
decided to provide relief to the people with pollution free air and water. So
he climbed a kadamba tree and jumped into the river. Splashing the water as he
swam, he created turbulence that angered Kaliya, the serpent king. Excessive
spitting of poison darkened the water. The serpent surfaced to attack and
coiled round the body of Krishna. He pretended
to be helplessly caught in the constricting grip of the serpent. The cowherds
were rattled to see Krishna unable to release
himself. They swooned as they gave up Krishna
as lost. The news spread like wild fire, casting gloom over the Vraja folks.
Yashoda and Nanda could not bear to think of living even for a moment without Krishna. Nanda decided to give up his life by jumping
into the poisoned water. Though Balarama knew the strength of his brother, he
did not try to console anybody. He only stopped Nanda from taking the extreme
step. Being the protector of his subjects, he would be demoralizing them by
such an act.
Krishna decided not to continue the fake alarm
any further and came out of the serpent’s hold. Krishna
stood on Kaliya’s hood and danced vigorously till it was sore and bleeding
heavily. The more poison Kaliya emitted, the more did Krishna
sap the serpent’s energy. The battle went on for some time till Kaliya began
collapsing, his strength to resist completely depleted. Fearing the end of
their husband’s life, his wives pleaded for mercy. They said, “Lord! We are
conscious of the wickedness of our husband and also that he has no merit to
rely on. Ignorance of the greatness of the Lord has been the cause for all his
evil doings. We know how impossible it is to secure the dust of your feet by
great saints. Despite the wickedness of our husband, he has been fortunate to
have had contact with your feet. You pardon sinful people. Be merciful to our
husband also, out of consideration for us. Lord! Please spare our husband’s
life.” Krishna instantly obliged them by
stepping down from the hood. Kaliya gradually recovered and repented for the
cruel life he had been leading. He prayed to Hari and said, “We are by birth
evil minded and cannot get rid of our inherent nature. Wickedness has a tight
hold over us as evil spirits possess the human beings. You are the best judge
to decide whether to shower your grace on us or chastise us for our misgivings
to the supremacy of the Lord. Whatever you ordain, we will humbly accept.” On
hearing these words, Krishna ordered, “Go to
the island Ramanaka in the ocean with your whole family and friends, leaving
the river for the cattle and the human beings of Gokula. Moreover, the
impression of my feet on your hood would be a deterrent to any attack from
Garuda, fearing whom you have been hiding under the water of Kalindi.” The
entire serpent family obeyed Krishna and went
to the island in the ocean. From that day the water of Yamuna became tasty and
sweet.
Interesting Anecdotes
Kaliya and Garuda: Garuda was Vinata’s son, while Kaliya was born
to Kadru, both by the same father Kashyapa. On the first day of both the dark
and the bright fortnights, the serpents were supposed to offer a share of their
food to Garuda. It was a settled agreement diligently observed to keep away
Garuda and his relatives from attacking the serpents. Once proud of his
virulent poison, a strong weapon against his enemies, Kaliya decided to break
the agreement. He ate up all the food meant for Garuda. He not only denied the
bird, a part of his own food, but also the offerings of the other serpents.
Garuda was infuriated by Kaliya’s default. He started chasing the serpent with
the determination to kill him. Kaliya used his venom to stun the bird but it
was ineffective. On the other hand, he got a forceful bashing from the left
wing of Garuda. To protect himself from the ferocious bird, he took shelter in
the water of Kalindi. With what confidence could Kaliya have sought the water
of Kalindi as a safe place? The curse on Garuda was a secret known only to
Kaliya. Sometime in the past, Garuda was very hungry and wanted to eat the fish
in the river. Rishi Shaubari asked Garuda to desist from devouring any of them.
The pangs of hunger were so strong that he could not resist. The rishi’s
request was ignored and the female fish lamented for the death of their
husbands. The rishi was moved by the sorrow of the fish and he pronounced a
curse. He banned Garuda’s entry into the river. If Garuda ever ventured into
it, he would die. So the river Kalindi was the ideal sanctuary for
Kaliya.
Chapter 30: Exposition - self-surrender
Bhagavatam describes self surrender in a beautiful way that has
made the difficult concept easy for common comprehension.
Once, the damsels of Vraja undertook a severe vow invoking Goddess Katyayani
for a whole month starting on the first day of the Hemanta season. Each
morning, they bathed in the river Kalindi followed by a devotional worship of a
sand image of the goddess on the river bank. With flowers, fruits, rice and
other pleasing articles, the gopis would pray to be united with the cowherd son
of Nanda. They would call on every house, collect the friends and sing in
chorus, hymns in praise of the Lord as they proceeded to the river bank for
observing the vow. Each would imagine herself to be with the Lord, though it
was joint singing.
One day, they
left their clothes on the bank and stepped into the water for their ablution. Krishna stole their clothes and perched himself on the
kadamba tree to test their determined dedication and single minded devotion to
God. He asked them to come out of water to collect the clothes from him. They
took it as a joke and were appreciative of Krishna’s
sense of humour. They felt ashamed to appear naked before Krishna.
Going neck deep into water, they pleaded him to return their clothes. Krishna insisted on their coming out of water if they
wanted the clothes. Compelled by Krishna, the
maidens came out bashfully covering themselves with their hands. But Krishna would not agree until they raised their hands
above their heads in obeisance. When the gopis humbly did as commanded, Krishna returned the clothes.
Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says:
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तॊ
माम् यॆ जना: पर्युपासतॆ |
तॆषाम्
नित्याभियुक्तानाम् यॊगक्षॆमम् वहाम्यहम् ||
Ananyashchintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate
Thesham nityabhiyukthanam yogakshemam vahamyaham
Those who propitiate me consistently desiring to attain me, with
single minded devotion [with an undistracted mind] I take the responsibility of
their worldly as well as spiritual welfare.
In the Bhagavatam, Krishna
explained to the gopis, in simple words the philosophy contained in the above
verse of the Bhagavad Gita. In this verse, the Lord explains that if people
propitiate the minor gods with the aim to acquire small benefits, those will
not help them to emancipation.On the other hand, people would be caught in
repeated birth and death in this world, subjected to incessant problems.
Discarding all the small gains and seeking the divine feet of the Lord as the
one and only remedy, man will reach the bliss of the ultimate happiness.
Realising that the Lord is the Supreme Being, if people seek his grace, God will,
on his own, admit them to his realm from where there is no return to this
world. God will grant emancipation to the supplicant at the appropriate time.
Till then, he will have to abide his time and live in this world. During that
period, God will protect his welfare, lest he becomes desperate and loses faith
in God.
With reference to what he expected of the gopis when he compelled
them to give up the reservations oppressing their minds, he said it was to help
them understand the sublimity of self surrender to God. He said, “My dear
gopis! It was a practical demonstration conducted by me to dispel the petty
feelings that obstruct the path of sharanagati, self surrender. You have fallen
at my feet without any inhibition. That is an indication of being free from
ego, ahamkara as it is called. Such a person is not affected by happiness or
sorrow, prosperity or diversity, shame or any of the feelings or emotions
attributed to human beings. The possessive instinct vanishes and the feeling of
oneness manifests.” The Lord has reiterated the truth,' वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्(VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM),’ the world is
a single family. He further continued, “Observing the vow, you have
successfully disciplined yourselves. Your prostration before me now, has
further chastened you, insulating your mind against emotional reaction to
worldly matters, just as frying prevents the corn from sprouting. Your mind is
fixed firm in your quest for God. My test on you has convinced me of the purity
of your hearts. As an expression of my appreciation of your absolute dedication
I shall reward you with my company tomorrow night.” The gopis were thrilled
beyond measure as their sincere vow had borne a favourable result. They
returned home with contentment. A short reference to Shuka’s character will
strengthen our belief in the truth which Krishna
has explained. Once when the ladies, bathing in the river, were shy to be naked
before Vyasa, they experienced no such feelings in front of his son Shuka. When
asked for the reason, they said, “Shuka, though a young boy of sixteen, has
risen above the mundane world of emotions. So his presence does not evoke any
undesirable feelings in us just the way the sight of a woman does not mentally
disquietened him.” Shuka has no emotion.
Tamil saint poetess Andal lived long after Krishna.
In her famous string of verses, the Tiruppavai, she visualizes herself in
Brindavana during the time of Krishna. She
imagines performing the Katyayani vow with the gopis from mid December to mid
January, the Tamil month of Margazhi, which happens to be the Hemanta season.
She describes in thirty verses the entire procedure of the vow, associating
herself in the service of the Lord, pleading him to bestow his grace and
fulfill her desire of everlasting union with him.
சிற்றஞ்சிறுகாலெ
வந்துன்னை ஸேவித்து* உன்
பொற்றாமரையடியெபோற்றும் பொருள்கேளாய்*
பெற்றம் மேய்த் துண்ணும் குலத்தில் பிறந்து நீ
குற்றேவலெங்களைக் கொள்ளாமற் போகாது*
இற்றைப் பறைகொள்வானன்றுகாண் கோவிந்தா!
எற்றைக்குமேழேழ் பிற்விக்கும்* உன்ற்ன்னோ
டுற்றோமே யாவோம்; உனக்கே நாமாட்செய்வோம்
மற்றைனங் காமஙகள் மாற்றேலோரெம்பாவாய்
Chitranchirukale
vandunnai sevitthu un
Potramaraiyadiye pottrum porullkellai
Pettrammeitthunnum kulatthirpirandu ni
Kuttrevalengalai Kollamarpohadu
Ittraiparaikollvanandrukann govinda
Ettraikkumezhezhezhpiravikkum undannodu
Uttromeyavom unakke namatcchaivom
Mattrainamkamangal matrelorempavai
Hear the purpose of our coming early in the morning to prostrate
at your lotus like feet having a golden hue. Having been born in the community
of cowherds that earns its living by grazing cattle, you cannot forsake us who
are ever ready to obey your commands. Today, we seek you for the parai, the
drum but we have other aspirations besides that. O Govinda! We pray that our
relationship should exist not just today but be everlasting for many
generations to come [twice seven births]. We want to serve you, no one else but
you. Please destroy other undesirable cravings present in us.
Chapter 31: Rasa Leela
Rasa Leela is a dramatic presentation of the gopis’ complete
dedication to God. These verses in the Bhagavatam, extol the Sharanagathi
[complete self surrender to God] of the Bhagavad Gita in the form of a simple
dance drama.
In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says:
सर्व धर्मान् परित्यज्य मामॆकम् शरणम् व्रज |
अहम् त्वा सर्व पापॆभ्यॊ मॊक्षयिष्यामि मा शुच: ||
Sarva dharman parityajya mamekam sharanam vraja
Aham tva sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shucha:
Surrender unto me giving up all discriminations of caste or creed.
I shall emancipate you from your sins, have no doubt about that.
Yet another interpretation of this verse:
Give up all other methods of seeking the Paramapada, like Jnanamarga,
karmamarga or bhaktimarga as they will lead to only the lower worlds like
heaven and such others. Not that these will not lead to emancipation. But they
are difficult methods which great munis alone can follow successfully. These
are definitely beyond the capability of common man. It requires high degree of
discipline, not every person can pursue in a sustained manner. Moreover they
are gradual, taking step by step to various higher worlds. While enjoying the
second grade happiness in these worlds, man will roll back, with the exhaustion
of the merits that took him to the impermanent small elevation. Instead,
sharanagati is the simplest way to reach God. When a devotee falls at the feet
of the Lord with utmost faith, nothing more is expected of him. God will take
over the responsibility to deliver him from all his sins. When there is
relief from sins, the royal gate of Paramapada open for him. That's the
assurance the Lord gives.
In the life of human beings, the relationship between the husband and wife is
the closest, pure and most abiding. That is why, the Bhagavatam depicts the
Katyayani vow observed by the gopis, as a prayer to have Krishna
as their husband, not out of lust but for the long cherished everlasting
intimacy with God. Is it not surprising to find that the gopas did not suspect
the fidelity of their wives when they spent a whole night dancing with Krishna? Moreover, their response to the melodies of Krishna’s flute, in preference to their household
responsibilities, was also not taken amiss. The reason being, they were
mentally mature to know the nature of God. God dwells within everybody and
service to God is service to all. God treats his devotees with parity without
any emtoional involvement. The purity of devotion of the gopis and Krishna’s reciprocal gratification were evident to the
gopas.
Rasa Leela was Krishna’s gift to the gopis for
their ardent devotion to him. Therefore, though it was an autumn night when the
surroundings were barren and dry, he created an illusion of the beauty of
spring season, a season that inspires love and congenial to have a merry dance.
The sweet sound from his flute was the divine call which drew the gopis towards
him. Instantly dropping the activities they were engaged in, they began walking
in a daze, as if, hypnotized by the melodious music. With Krishna as the
central figure and the gopis dancing round him, Krishna’s
Rasa Leela took off to a wonderful start. Krishna
obliged by taking as many forms as the gopis and danced in partnership with
each one of them. In the frenzy over the extraordinary experience, every gopi
imagined herself lucky with a little pride, to be the chosen favourite of the
Lord. Krishna thought, he should curb the egoism slowly taking root in the
gopis. It is an unhealthy trait to encourage, as it is aroused by the
misconception of the Lord’s attitude towards his devotees. At the same time,
the Lord wanted to instill humility to show that it was the most important quality
to reach the feet of God. Krishna decided to
disappear from their midst. The gopis were disappointed to find the Lord
suddenly out of sight. They wondered why he had left them abruptly without any
reason. They were depressed to find that their luck to enjoy the divine company
was so short lived. Yet as if possessed, they continued dancing in a world of
their own, impersonating one another for Krishna.
Each ones pride over receiving exclusive favour of the Lord vanished with the
shock treatment, as it were, given by Krishna.
Seeing the steadfast devotion of the simple women, Krishna
took pity for subjecting them to the litmus test. He again presented himself
before them offering divine bliss in bountiful. They danced with Krishna till the wee hours of the morning and then
reluctantly turned their footsteps homewards. Krishna brings home to all of us
by his Rasa Leela that one can obtain the benevolence of God only by humble
attitude of complete surrender which must be cultivated within ones mind and heart.
Chapter 32: Brahmanas repent
Krishna and Balarama went in the company of
their cowherd friends as usual to the meadows with their cattle. They drifted
far deep into the forest. On their way back, the cowboys were overcome by
hunger and thirst. Krishna sent them to the
brahmanas performing the angirasa sacrifice nearby. He had advised them to tell
the brahmanas that Krishna and Balarama had
sent them. The boys went and begged for food telling the brahmanas from where
they had come. The brahmanas turned a deaf ear to the boys. They returned
hungry
Brahmana
wives serve food to cowherd boys
Knowing the good nature of the brahmana wives, Krishna
sent the boys to them. Krishna was sure of the
affectionate treatment his friends would receive. The wives of the brahmanas
fed the boys to their satisfaction. The women also came to the two brothers,
with platters laden with a grand feast. They considered themselves fortunate to
get an opportunity to offer food personally to Lord Hari. Absolutely content
with their service to the Lord, they now returned to reality. They were afraid
of going back as they expected the husbands to disclaim them for disobedience.
The women, in their excitement to serve the Lord, had ignored to bother about
the consequences. They conveyed their fear to Krishna.
“Go back without any fear of ill treatment. The sacrifice, in which your
husbands are engaged, would be completed without a hitch,” said Krishna encouragingly.
Chapter 33: Govardhanagiri
Once, Krishna observed the people
of Vraja busily organising a sacrifice. He was eager to know the purpose of the
sacrifice. There was a doubt in his mind as to whether the sacrifice had the
sanction of the scriptures or was it the customary practice that had in due
course made it mandatory. When he asked his father about this, Nanda told him
that it was to please Indra, the god of rains. He was believed to take the form
of the clouds, come down as rain to bestow prosperity through good harvest. The
ritual had been religiously observed for generations prompted by social
injunctions. If discontinued, they believed evil consequences would spell
doom.
This explanation might seem superstitious to us but not to the Vrajas. Krishna’s logical thinking was also not convinced. He
said the form of birth in this life depends on a person’s deeds in the previous
one. Every living being is assigned certain duties according to his social
calling. If pleasing Indra were to give prosperity, it is obvious that he was
promoting benefit oriented actions among people amounting to selfishness. On
the other hand, if actions were treated as detached social service, each person
earnestly carrying out his duty, things would fall into position with clock
work precision. Forming of clouds and pouring as rain were natural phenomena
occurring by the intrinsic atmospheric energy and the same principle was
applicable on the entire earth. Therefore, Indra had no control over the
operation of the natural occurrences anywhere, and Vraja was no exception.
Krishna advised the people on the proper mode
of action. Serving intellectual brahmanas, caring for the health of the people
as well as the cattle and preserving nature should be the primary duty of every
person. Performing any sacrifice to that effect would be ideal rather than
trying in vain to propitiate Indra. People saw there was sense in what Krishna said and were prepared to follow his advice.
Naturally, Indra did not appreciate the change in the cowherds. He was angry
with Krishna for foiling the sacrifice where he occupied a place of importance
and prominence.To spite Krishna, Indra wished
to wipe out the whole of Gokula. Underestimating the power of the six year old
boy, Indra contrived to send down torrential rain by his illusory power. The
flood claimed the lives of a few cattle and human lives were also in peril. The
people ran to Krishna seeking help to rescue
them from the floods. They thought that untimely down pour expressed the
revenge of Indra on Krishna. So, Krishna took it on himself to save the suffering people.
He uprooted the mountain Govardhana, held it on his little finger as an
umbrella to provide shelter to the entire Vraja people. Krishna
inspired confidence and they brought their family and the herd of cattle under
the improvised umbrella. They would remain protected until the rain abated,
assured Krishna. Indra saw Krishna
standing like a pillar holding the mountain for seven days and finally he had
to accept defeat. Soon the floods receded and the people returned home with
their hearts overwhelming with gratitude to Krishna
for his prompt life saving response.
Chapter 34: Serpent; Daitya - attack
The folks of Vraja including king Nanda propitiated Shiva and
Parvati on the banks of river Sarasvati. At the end of the religious rites,
they generously offered gifts to the brahmanas. In adherence to the shastric
injunctions, they spent the night on the banks of the river, subsisting only on
its water.
In the middle of the night when everyone was fast asleep, a hungry large
serpent tightly gripped Nanda with an intention to swallow him. Nanda cried for
help and the cowherds tried to beat the serpent with burning logs of wood.
There was utter mayhem when Krishna came to
the spot to find out the cause for the uproar. To the surprise of the onlooking
people, the serpent took the form of a resplendent gandharva, the moment Krishna killed it.
Admiring his handsome look, Krishna wanted to
know why he had taken the body of a snake. To this the gandharva replied, “I
was a gandharva, Sudarshana by name. I was proud of my good looks and
prosperity. During my aerial rounds through the heavenly path, I mocked at the
great sages Virupa and Angiras. Their ascetic powers punished me with the
serpent body. Though it was a very severe blow on me then, I am now grateful to
them. But for their curse, I would not have come in contact with the Lord’s
feet that have restored my original form, with my sins washed away.” Permitted
to go back to his abode of gandharvas, Sudarshana prostrated at the Lord’s feet
and formally took leave of Krishna.
Shankhyachuda
abducts women.
Balarama and Krishna were roaming
in the forest in a delightful mood. A daitya named Shankhyachuda, suddenly
appeared and abducted the women, carrying them to the eastern region. While the
brothers were looking on, the daitya tried to behave badly with the women. When
they went after him, the demon dropped them like hot potatoes. With Balarama
standing guard for the women, Krishna gave the
chase with a sala tree [teak tree] in hand. He soon overtook him and a blow
with his fist dislodged his head from his shoulders. Removing the jewel he was
wearing, Krishna gifted it to his elder
brother Balarama as a mark of respect.
Chapter 35: Conspiracy of Kamsa
Kamsa sent an asura named Arishta as a large humped bull. He was
killed by Krishna using the horns of the bull
as weapon. Asura Kesi also failed in his attempt against the divine boy. Vyoma
was next in line to fall.
Children are known to play the game of robbers and police. The cowherds also
played a similar game. They had a few of their friends as lambs for the robbers
to target. Vyoma, disguised as a robber, stole the cowboys acting as lambs,
carried them to a dark mountain cave, pushed them inside and blocked the
entrance with a huge rock. Krishna noticed the
boys as lambs were missing and he at once saw the culprit behind the theft to
be Vyoma. He seized the asura, the son of daitya Maya. Struggling to free
himself from the strong hold, the demon assumed his real form resembling a mighty
mountain. All his efforts failed against Krishna
whose tight grip was like that of an iguana. The asura was squeezed and choked
to death. Krishna ran to the cave, removed the rock and saved his friends from
suffocation.
So far Kamsa was attacking Krishna
only on a premise. His suspicion was confirmed by a surprise visit by Narada.
He spilt the beans by revealing the true identity of Balarama and Krishna as the seventh and eighth sons of Devaki. He
said, “Balarama is not the son of Rohini as is made to believe. He is the
seventh son of Devaki. The daughter of Devaki was actually Yashoda’s child, a
form of the Lord’s Yoga-maya. The infant was interchanged with Krishna, the eighth son of Devaki, to save him from your
clutches.” With the entire secret known, Kamsa picked up his sword to kill the
imprisoned Vasudeva and Devaki. Taking their life appeared to be the only
immediate consolation to his frustration. Narada stopped him and advised him
against further perpetration of evil and criminal acts.
With the numerous attempted failures to kill Krishna,
Kamsa’s nervousness kept mounting by the day. Yet he was not prepared to accept
defeat. He was confident of success through the master plan he had hatched to
kill both Balarama and Krishna together. He
called his councilors to tell them his elaborate strategy to kill two birds
with one stone. He began, “I will not allow Krishna
to execute me, as prophesied. I will see that I call my shots first. The two
cowherds have to be killed in a wrestling bout, right here in Mathura. You have to station an elephant at
the entrance arch and many decorative arches have to be erected in various
places around the wrestling arena. Do not miss the proclamation, inviting
people to witness the spectacular contest.”
Organising the preparations, Kamsa began to scheme a fool proof plan to rope in
his two enemies without arousing suspicion. He hit upon Akrura as the ideal
messenger to carry his invitation to the people of Vraja. Akrura, a favourite
of the Yadus, would not create doubt. They would not expect him to join hands
with Kamsa against Krishna. Akrura was called
to report immediately. Kamsa said, “Akrura, my trusted friend! You are my only
well-wisher very close to my heart. I do not have to tell you that I expect you
to follow my instructions strictly. Go to Gokula with my invitation to Krishna, Balarama, Nanda and all the Vrajas to
participate in the sacrifice to Shiva. They can see for themselves the happy
and prosperous Yadus in my kingdom. Also request them to bring the milk
products like butter and curds in plenty for me. I have arranged a wrestling
contest for the two boys with my strong wrestlers. On their arrival, Krishna and Balarama will be trampled upon by an elephant
at the entrance gate of the wrestling arena. If by chance they escape there, my
muscular wrestlers will complete the task for me. Then extinction of the
Vrajas, Vasudeva, Devaki and even my father who is ambitious to ascend the
throne again, would remove all the thorns from my life. I would have won over
my death. Establishing my sovereignty would be a cake walk. I have opened my
heart and placed my guarded secret before you. I hope I can rely on you for
confidentiality and see that my scheme is not foiled.” Akrura agreed to act as
ordered but he made very clear the great truth that ‘Man proposes and God
disposes.’ He explained, “Despite all plans within the intellectual ability and
physical capacity of man, results are sometimes adverse. Human failure in
organising things has but little to do with the reversal. There is a powerful
force beyond called destiny that supersedes. One should be mentally prepared to
accept the vagaries of life which are directed by our luck.” With these wise
words, Akrura mounted his chariot on his deputation to Gokula.
Happily going on his assignment, Akrura’s thoughts went out to Krishna and his prospects of meeting his dear friend. He,
however, brushed aside the passing doubt about being misunderstood as the
trusted representative of Kamsa. He was confident of a warm welcome from Krishna who understands the hearts and minds of everyone.
Akrura prostrated before Krishna who expressed
his immense happiness on meeting his kinsman after a long lapse of time. No
need to mention the affectionate welcome with a tight bear hug. Krishna confided his pent up sorrow with his dear friend.
He cursed himself for being at the root of all his parents’ miseries and the
death of his siblings at the hands of his uncle Kamsa, an uncle only in name.
The thought of his uncle depressed him because the prosperity of Kamsa was
built on the foundation of evil bricks baked in his criminal mind. Akrura
sympathized with him over his grief.
Now it was for Akrura to deliver his message from Kamsa to Balarama and Krishna. He began with Narada’s disclosure of the
identities of the two brothers to Kamsa, during his visit to Mathura. He also informed them about Narada’s
advice to Kamsa to keep clear of evil actions when he was about to kill
Vasudeva and Devaki. Having presented Kamsa’s invitation, Akrura told the
extensive preparation being made in Mathura to
kill Balarama and Krishna in a wrestling
contest. The brothers reacted to the information with a mild smile and did not
divulge it to anyone.
The excited
residents of Vraja got ready with the gifts requested by Kamsa. Nanda and the
other people started on their journey in their chariots while Krishna
and Balarama drove with Akrura in his chariot. On the way, Akrura took a dip in
the river Kalindi. Inside the water, Akrura had the divine vision of Vishnu as
the two brothers Balarama and Krishna. He
could not believe his eyes. To make sure of what he saw, he tried to look out
of water. He saw the two of them seated in the chariot awaiting his return. Krishna turned his head away pretending to be unaware of
the under water vision of Akrura. Brooding over the unusual experience, Akrura
was convinced that the vision had revealed the truth. The brothers were Lord
Vishnu and Ananthshesha incarnate on earth. Akrura returned in high spirits and
Krishna knew Akrura’s rapturous state was the
consequence of what he had revealed to him under water.
At the outskirts of the city, the brothers expressed their desire to stroll
through the streets of Mathura.
They got down and sent Akrura home. Reluctantly Akrua left them to themselves
and retired home after reporting to Kamsa of their arrival. On the way, they
accosted a washerman to give them the finest of clothes he had in the bundle.
The washerman was infuriated. In derogatory words he said, though forest
dwellers, they were being chivalrous to aspire for the monarch’s clothes. He
tried to scare them with the threat of severe treatment from the security
guards. Krishna gave him the suitable
treatment by chopping off his head. Out of fear of the dangerous man, the rest
of the washermen fled dropping their bundles. Krishna
and Balarama put on the fine clothes and distributed the rest among the
cowherds.
The weaver was in direct contrast to the ruffian washerman. The courteous
weaver was very pleased to have Krishna and
Balarama at his loom. He gave them the best clothes and jewelry of precious
gems. Adorned in those clothes with the garlands of the choicest flowers
offered by the florist made them the cynosure of all eyes. The good deeds of
everyone are at once recognised and rewarded by God, no matter how trivial they
might be. So were the weaver and the florist.
God takes
care to remove the problems of people devoted to serve him. Trivakra, [meaning
one with three deformities] a pretty young woman with a hunch back and other
deformities was shown kindness by Krishna. Krishna saw her hastily going somewhere with an ointment
in her hand. The afflictions of the beautiful woman sent a wave of compassion
through his heart. On enquiry, she informed them that she has been that way
from birth. The ointment she had in her hand was for the monarch, who enjoyed
her massage daily and that she was hurrying for duty. Krishna
and Balarama requested her to let them experience the pleasure of the soothing
massage. She wholeheartedly agreed as she felt flattered to find two handsome
young boys desiring her services. She quickly busied herself with the massage. Krishna was impressed by the readiness of the woman to
oblige immediately. He thought she deserved a reward best suited for her. He
decided that setting right her deformities would be the ideal redressal. He
pressed her toes with his foot and raised her chin with his two fingers. Like
magic, her deformities vanished within the wink of an eye. A pretty young woman
stood before Krishna who was pleased to find
herself as a normal human being. Never had she dreamt that such a miracle would
happen in her life. Full of gratitude, she invited them to her house, where she
wanted to honour them in her own small way. Krishna
assured to visit her as soon as his contemplated mission was productively
completed.
Balarama and Krishna proceeded to attend the
Shiva Dhanu sacrifice. Krishna went straight
to the heavy bow on the platform and lifted it with his left hand. The bow
snapped into two pieces when he tried to string it. The guards appointed for
the security of the bow charged against him. On hearing about the bow broken by
his enemy, the cowherd boy, Kamsa sent a number of armed army personnel to
fight against him. All of Kamsa’s men were killed by Krishna
and Balarama with just the two pieces of the bow. Their valour astonished the
spectators who were admiring their handsome personality with unblinking eyes.
The two majestically walked out of the sacrificial ground as if nothing had
happened. They returned to the carts of the Vrajas for a peaceful night’s
sleep. But for Kamsa it was a night of restlessness. He tossed in his bed,
tensed by the breaking of the bow as an ill-omen. He tried his best to convince
himself that it was nothing more than one of Krishna’s
playful pranks. Seized by the fear of death, Kamsa was in a state of delirium.
He visualized various portents of death between wakefulness and intermittent
sleep.
At day
break, Kamsa woke up, dizzy with death psychosis. He ordered the commencement
of the wrestling competition. He still held on to the last straw of hope to
nullify the prophecy of his death. The spectators were tense in their seats,
fearing the outcome of the contest, with the stalwarts of Kamsa challenging the
boys who were not even in their youth. Kamsa was on the royal dais, surrounded
by the subordinate kings. The tabors were sounded to announce the entrance of
the wrestlers Chanura, Mushtika, Kula, Shala and Toshala. Krishna
and Balarama walked towards the place of action. At the entrance they were
attacked by an elephant named Kuvalayapida. Excited by the mahout, the elephant
lifted Krishna with his trunk who slipped out
of the grip like an eel. After wounding one of the animal’s feet, Krishna disappeared. The animal could, all the same,
locate Krishna by his sense of smell. Again Krishna deluded him. To add to the elephant’s
frustration, Krishna held the tail and dragged
him a long distance in a serpentine way. By a mere kick, Krishna
sent the animal rolling on the ground. The elephant regained stability and dug
his tusks forcibly into the earth, thinking Krishna
had followed him in the fall. Finally, Krishna
grabbed his trunk, felled the elephant like a tree and the animal breathed his
last when he stamped on it. Pulling out one tusk each, Krishna
and Balarama walked into the arena. Victory over the powerful elephant by the
mere strength of their arms, made Kamsa’s hair stand on ends. He wriggled in his
seat and tried his best to conceal his discomfiture.
Now, Kamsa was going to play his trump card in the day’s scheme of plan.
Chanura placed himself in the centre of the arena and with arrogance invited Krishna and Balarama for a game of wrestling. He
mockingly addressed the boys, “You cattle tenders are dexterous in wrestling
because these are your pastime games while your cattle are grazing. Besides,
you have just exhibited your prowess against the elephant having the strength
of a thousand elephants. The king is eager to watch the exciting game for which
you two have been specially invited. You, Krishna,
can come to the centre to stand against me while Balarama can be Mushtika’s
opponent.” Krishna replied, “We are the
subjects of the Lord of Bhojas. We have been honoured by the monarch’s
invitation. It is our duty to gratify the wishes of our Lord.”
The contest started with each trying to outdo the other by varying the
techniques. The people were sympathetic towards the young boys who were facing
hard core professionals. To the surprise of the people, the two daityas
succumbed to the attack of the Vraja boys. Soon Kula, Shala and Toshala
also fell lifeless, cheering everyone except Kamsa. In a fury, Kamsa with blood
shot eyes shouted his throat hoarse ordering the death of king Nanda, Vasudeva
and his father Ugrasena to show his hostility towards them. Krishna
thought his patience had been put to ultimate test and he could not endure
anymore. When Krishna fiercely jumped on to
the dais, Kamsa thought death was approaching him. He lifted his sword and as
he tried to get up to challenge Krishna, his
crown fell off his head. As the saying goes, ‘coming events cast their shadows
before’, the fall of the crown was a pointer to the downfall of Kamsa. Krishna
held Kamsa by his hair, dragged him down to the centre of the wrestling ground.
Climbing on to the fallen king, Krishna
sounded Kamsa’s last post. What an irony of fate! When Kamsa had planned a
spectacular show of Krishna’s death for his
subjects in the arena, they were destined to witness the end of their king
instead. It would astonish people that Kamsa, with a wretched disposition,
reached the abode of Vishnu. The reason is that God is gracious even to the
wicked, who constantly think of him, whatever be the manner. Kamsa was bitterly
obsessed by the divine prophecy. He appeared to have been mesmerized by the
thought of Lord Vishnu as the controller of his death.
Vexed with
the death of Kamsa, his eight brothers assaulted Krishna
and were killed. The widows, though grieving over the loss, were wise enough to
realise that their husbands had received a fitting punishment for their evil
deeds. They were aware that hostility with the Lord always led to a disastrous
end.
Balarama and Krishna comforted the bereaved
families and went to release their parents from prison as it was their first
and foremost duty. The parents visualized their sons as the Lord. Therefore
instead of an embrace, they were saluted by their parents, when they touched
their feet.
Chapter 36: Education of the Brothers
The reverential attitude of Vasudeva and Devaki did not please
Balarama or Krishna. They wanted to be like
other ordinary sons to their parents. To establish their natural relationship, Krishna spoke to his parents thus, “We are exceedingly
happy to be united with you, our dear parents. Due to circumstances beyond our
control, we were not fortunate to be under your protection. Not only that. We
have made you go through great difficulties. Now that the major evil in the
form of Kamsa is no more, we would like to keep you happy and in peace. Permit
us to look after your welfare as well as protect the young children, aged
people and the downtrodden among us. That would give us an opportunity to
conduct ourselves as dutiful sons.” With his maya, Krishna
was able to make his parents behave with them as normal parents. They could now
see them as sons and not as the form of God Vishnu. Vasudeva and Devaki
embraced their sons affectionately and it was at last a happy union of the
family.
Next, Krishna placed his revered
grandfather on the throne as the sovereign monarch. Knowing the desire of his
grandfather to crown him as the king, Krishna
diplomatically refused giving the excuse of a past curse which denied the Yadus
to kingship. Krishna also thought that the
kingdom belonged to his grandfather. So it was legitimate that he be honoured.
He enjoyed the pleasure of standing in attendance on his grandfather which, in
turn, gave the utmost happiness to the old king. He was emotionally moved by Krishna’s affection for he had not received so much
respect or love from his own son.
The king advised his daughter and son-in-law to make arrangement
for the investiture of the sacred thread, as the two boys had reached the
eligible age. His words were respected and the boys formally took to
Brahmacharya. After the successful completion of the thread ceremony, they
expressed a desire to be initiated by a guru in the traditional way of gurukulavasa,
studying under a preceptor residing in his hermitage. They were entrusted to
sage Sandipani and his able tutelage. Both of them were quick to grasp the
instructions of the preceptor and comprehended the Vedas as well as the other
sciences of philosophy and logic. At the completion of their education, they
wished that their gurudakshina, offered as a mark of gratitude, should be most
appreciated by their guru. Sage Sandipini replied with pleasure, “I did not
have to exert to tutor you. I am honoured to have had such precocious pupils
who needed just a suggestive hint to comprehend the subject in its entirety. My
mental gratification at your intellectual excellence is as good as
gurudakshina. If you are insistent, I would like you to retrieve my infant son
who was accidentally swallowed by the ocean near the temple Pravasa.”
Balarama and Krishna waited on
the sands of the ocean for quite some time. The lord of the ocean came out with
gifts and offered his services to them. When Krishna
asked for the return of his guru’s infant son whom he took away accidentally,
the ocean lord pleaded innocence. He said that the child could have been
kidnapped by the asura Panchajana living in the water as a conch. Krishna jumped into the water and killed the asura but
the child was not to be found in his belly. Krishna
came out of the ocean with the conch Panchajanya that emerged from the asura’s
body.
[Panchajanya means having control over the five classes of
beings.The conch is considered as an emblem of power, sovereignty and
authority. The sound of the conch is believed to ward off evil spirits and
natural calamities. It is also a war trumpet and every powerful warrior owned
his conch with an individual name. Krishna's
conch was Panchajanya and Arjuna's was called Devadatta.
There is a natural fundamental difference in the structure
of formation of conches. One spirals to the right in the clockwise direction
while the other has the left spiral. The former is very rare and sacred. The
sound from this kind of conch is accepted as the echo of the celestial motion
of the sun, moon, planets and stars across the heavens. Krishna's
Panchajanya was right spiralled. The loud blowing sound of the conch is called
shankha ghosha or just ghosha, shankha-rava or shankha-svana.]
Krishna felt that Yama might be having the
child. He went to the kingdom of death and blew the conch Panchajanya calling
the king to the doorstep. Krishna asked
him to return his guru’s son and Yama obediently brought the child alive to the
Lord. The child was handed over to the guru by Krishna
and Balarama. The guru was very thankful to them for the most invaluable
gurudakshina he had ever received.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to Kasturis dot com and Hinduism dot org for the collection)
(A Tribute to the great Bharatiya Samskruti)
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