Stories from Srimad Bhagavatam
Chapter 37: Bhakti personified
Living away
from Brindavana for a long time, Krishna
became concerned about the welfare of his foster parents whose genuine
affection had never made him feel the absence of his real parents. He was also
keen on knowing about the gopis, with whom he had a bond of relationship as
inseparable as vital air and life. With good tidings and fond enquiries, he
sent his dear friend Uddhava, disciple of Brihaspati, to Brindavana.
Exhilarated Nanda embraced him with love as if he were Krishna
himself. He made kind enquiries of Vasudeva and was anxious to know if the two
brothers had happily adjusted to the new environment. In consequence, he hoped
that their dear son Krishna had not forgotten him or his mother Yashoda, or the
gopis and his cowherd friends, whose thoughts are always pervaded by Krishna. Nanda was overcome with nostalgia, recollecting
the memories of their happy association with him who had also been a saviour on
many occasions. He told Uddhava that once in a way, he had a doubt flashing
across his mind about Krishna never returning
to Vraja but he was instantly sure that the endearing boy would not desert
them. Uddhava assured Nanda thus, “The universal Being would surely return to
Vraja. The Lord who dwells within all human beings is aware of the yearnings of
his devotees. His gracious nature satisfies their desires though he is
unsullied by any kind of emotional disturbances.”
The next morning, Uddhava was pleasantly surprised with the gopis singing in
praise of Krishna keeping the tune and beat in
accordance with the sound of churning of curds. The conversation among the
gopis and their dedication to Krishna was a
revelation to Uddhava. To him they appeared as bhakti personified. Spotting the
golden chariot outside Nanda’s mansion, they were intrigued at the sudden
appearance of a person whose whereabouts or identity, they could not decipher.
They made wild guesses. Their first thought went to Akrura whom they had met
earlier. But when Uddhava appeared before them, they were stunned with
admiration by his handsome youthful looks. They wondered who he could be,
whence he had come or the purpose of his visit. His demeanour and dress, they
thought, resembled that of Achyuta. With uncontainable curiosity, they
approached Uddhava to get their doubts cleared. As soon as they were told that
he had come from Mathura at Krishna’s
bidding, their first reaction was a bashful smile with reverence and humility.
In excitement, they enquired at the very outset about the well being of their
dear Lord.
Immediately,
feigning anger at Krishna for his prolonged absence, they said, “Krishna has sent you here only to find out about the
welfare of his parents. Besides that we do not see any purpose of your visit.
Though our thoughts are always running towards Krishna
like uncontrolled horses, we have become non-entities as far as he is
concerned. Memories of his pranks as a child, his frisking the cowboys to
various houses for butter, the music from the divine flute, his dance with us
on the moonlit night are fresh in our mind but now we think that the portrayal
of so much affection and intimacy with all of us was mere pretence on his part.
He has stolen our hearts just the way he stole the butter. If his feelings were
genuine, how could he possibly break away from us, not visiting Vraja even
once? His new found attraction is the devotion of the women of Mathura that has weaned him from his old
dedicated acquaintances. Our life is dragging on mechanically, barren and
destitute without him.” After the emotional outburst they could not carry on in
the same strain any longer. Their love for Krishna
was stronger than the initial spurt of depression which made them say what they
did not really mean. They mellowed down and showed their anxiety for his
welfare. They were eager to know if Krishna
was ever reminded about his wonderful time with them or longed to come back to
live in their midst. They told Uddhava that they were waiting for the day when
the Lord would give them a chance to serve him again. They asked him to extend
their loving invitation to Krishna and that he
should make an early visit to revive their happy days. The dust of Vraja had to
be sanctified by the feet of the Lord once more. That would give the gopis the
satisfaction of living in his company even when he was not with them.
Uddhava had been very proud of his knowledge by his mastery over the scriptural
studies. When he heard the gopis speak, he realised that his knowledge was half
baked in comparison. These simple women humbled him by the maturity of mind in
the understanding of the subtle truth of life’s philosophy and also the greatness
of Lord. They needed no scripture to teach them because their intellectual
awareness had come to them naturally. They had taught him the meaning and the
value of devotion. Uddhava overtly expressed his admiration for their
single-minded devotion and complete dedication to Krishna.
He felt the steadfast devotion of the gopis had secured the union with the
Lord, a privilege not obtainable even after vigorous penances. Uddhava told
them their meeting with Krishna was not far
away. Even though he was in Mathura,
his thoughts were with the gopis. Separation is not cutting asunder the
relationship but strengthening the bond of love and devotion. Krishna’s
distance from the gopis would only enhance their spiritual proximity. As if
reiterating the oft quoted expression, ‘Nearer the temple farther from God’
Uddhava went on to make clear the underlying truth to the gopis. He said that
the ecstasy would fade away with continuous association. Just as in real life
too, we experience the value of a thing only in its absence. Separation carries
the emphatic message that a mixture of good and bad, happiness and sorrow, a
combination of opposite experiences enables us to judge one in contrast to the
other and help realize the true value. Separation creates yearning of the heart
which purifies the mind to keep away from unwanted distractions and directs it
to God alone. In the Rasa-Leela, the gopis found Krishna
only through the chastening of the mind. When Uddhava wanted to take leave of
the gopis, their message for Krishna was, “O
Lord! Your social elevation is worth the hand of a princess. We are aware of
Pingala’s declaration that the height of happiness is sweetest in
disappointment. Yet our craving for you, Krishna,
persists with a distant hope of meeting you some day. We are like withered
flowers in your absence. Do come and string us together and wear us as your
garland vanamala.We wish, whatever be our next birth, our actions should always
please you, Lord. We pray you should be a life buoy to our sinking boats.” Uddhava's
lecture on the philosophy of life had no impact on the gopis suffering in
viyoga (pining in separation). Their life revolved round only love for the Lord
and nothing else was of any importance to them. They wanted to be united with
the lord whose memories were locked up in their hearts
Uddhava, before leaving Brindavana, revelled on his parting impressions. He was
all admiration for the unflinching devotion and the unsophisticated purity of
heart of the simple cowherd women. Renouncing all worldly desires, they had
boldly overcome the social barriers on the night of the Rasa-Leela for
communion with God. While the gopis wanted ever-lasting company of the Lord,
Uddhava wanted to be born as plants and trees of Brindavana where one had the
picturesque vision of the purity of God’s creation in the persons of the loving
gopis. He thought he would be blessed to have association with the dust on
which the devout gopis had trodden, they who worshipped the dust of the Lord’s
feet.
Chapter 38: Fort under ocean
The daitya
king Kamsa had two wives named Asthi and Prapthi. They went to their father
Jarasandha, the king of Magadha,
with their pathetic story of the demise of their husband. Jarasandha was heart
broken to find his daughters in such sorrow. He impulsively thought of
destroying the entire community of the Yadavas. With a large army, he marched
towards the capital city of the Yadus. Krishna decided that the time had come
for him to lessen the burden of mother earth by vanquishing the evil minded
people, the primary mission of his incarnation. The purpose could be achieved
by destroying the enemy army except Jarasandha. Only then would he be able to
create situations to provoke Jarasandha, leading to the death of many more
wicked men.
While Krishna was contemplating thus, a couple
of golden chariots descended from the sky, laden with various powerful weapons.
Krishna told Sankarshana, “You can see for yourself the magnitude of the
calamity posed before the Yadus of whom you are the Lord. You take the chariot
containing weapons of your choice to appropriately repulse Jarasandha’s
challenge. In order to keep our promise to earth, we must ascertain that the
army of the enemy is extinct." Determined on a prompt action, they came
out of the city. Krishna blew his conch,
the resonance of which rattled the enemies to the core. Jarasandha, arrogant
about his power as a warrior, thought it was humiliating for him to accept the
challenge of a boy who was no match to him. So he called upon Balarama to come
forward. He mockingly told Balarama that he need not have hopes of being the
victor as the risk of his becoming a victim was greater. Krishna
returned the undignified words with an equally strong rebuke. He said, “A true
hero never sings his own glories but displays his manliness in action. Blowing
ones trumpet is considered uncivil. You cannot threaten us by your empty
weightless words.” Krishna by his volley of
arrows and Balarama by his dexterity with the mace made the enemy lick dust. Jarasandha’s
army fell to the ground lifeless. Balarama pulled down Jarasandha from his
chariot and caught him in the varuni noose. A human ring captured him in an
inescapable cage. Balarama could have smashed his head with a single blow but
was stopped by Krishna as Jarasandha’s
contribution was important for carrying forward his mission. Jarasandha fell in
his own esteem by Krishna’s little act of
mercy. His ridicule of Krishna as being chick
of a boy who was no match to his valour, boomeranged on Jarasandha with the
same force. His subordinate kings dissuaded Jarasandha from becoming a
recluse. He, therefore, retreated with his head hung in shame. With
the battle over, the people came out of their hidings to applaud the victory of
the brothers with the sounding of tabors, music and showers of flowers.
Jarasandha attacked the Yadavas persistently seventeen times but every time he
cut a sorry figure. Narada, anticipating another attack, sent Kala Yavana with
a large retinue to earth. Seeing Kala Yavana on a spree to seize the city, Krishna could rightly conjecture the reaction of
Jarasandha. Krishna knew that Jarasandha
would be out with his army as well. It would be difficult for the Yadavas
to handle the double pronged attack from two armies. Krishna
suggested to his brother they build an impregnable fort under the ocean where
the Yadavas could live free from harm. Agreeing on the plan as the ideal
solution, they took the assistance of the celestial architect Vishvakarma. It
was a well planned fort with the necessary amenities. The celestial deities
provided the comforts they could offer Krishna.
The golden summits and the gem studded canopies of the fort made it appear like
paradise on earth.
[In the Dvapara yuga, if the technique
of under water construction was known, it is not surprising to find road
tunnels below water connecting various parts of cities in the modern world. In
Hongkong, a road tunnel under the ocean connects it to the mainland, Kowloon. Similar
connection of the places on the either banks of river Thames
is found. Dover to Calais, across the English channel, is the famous under
water tunnel for transport]..
Krishna made sure that all the Vrishnis had
taken residence in the fort. He walked out of the fort to face the challenge of
Kala Yavana. Based on the description of Narada about the conspicuous marks of
identification of Krishna, he saw the form of
Vishnu in him. Since Krishna was unarmed, Kala
Yavana decided not to carry any weapon with him. Krishna
intelligently started running with his back towards Yavana. He easily fell into
Krishna’s trick and thought he was making an
escape. He laughed at Krishna saying he, a
cowherd, was shying away from battle like a coward. Chasing with all his might,
Yavana found it impossible to lay his hands on Krishna.
Following his enemy, he found himself led into a dark cave. Yavana saw a man
sleeping whom he mistook for Krishna
pretending to be lying with his eyes closed. Since he saw Krishna enter the cave
before him and not finding any other exit through which he could have escaped,
Yavana concluded that the sleeping man was none other than Krishna.
In anger, he kicked the person who lay there. The man disturbed in his sleep
opened his eyes. The fiery radiance from his eyes reduced Yavana to ashes.
The daitya
king Kamsa had two wives named Asthi and Prapthi. They went to their father
Jarasandha, the king of Magadha,
with their pathetic story of the demise of their husband. Jarasandha was heart
broken to find his daughters in such sorrow. He impulsively thought of
destroying the entire community of the Yadavas. With a large army, he marched
towards the capital city of the Yadus. Krishna decided that the time had come
for him to lessen the burden of mother earth by vanquishing the evil minded
people, the primary mission of his incarnation. The purpose could be achieved
by destroying the enemy army except Jarasandha. Only then would he be able to
create situations to provoke Jarasandha, leading to the death of many more
wicked men.
While Krishna was contemplating thus, a couple
of golden chariots descended from the sky, laden with various powerful weapons.
Krishna told Sankarshana, “You can see for yourself the magnitude of the
calamity posed before the Yadus of whom you are the Lord. You take the chariot
containing weapons of your choice to appropriately repulse Jarasandha’s
challenge. In order to keep our promise to earth, we must ascertain that the
army of the enemy is extinct." Determined on a prompt action, they came
out of the city. Krishna blew his conch,
the resonance of which rattled the enemies to the core. Jarasandha, arrogant
about his power as a warrior, thought it was humiliating for him to accept the
challenge of a boy who was no match to him. So he called upon Balarama to come
forward. He mockingly told Balarama that he need not have hopes of being the
victor as the risk of his becoming a victim was greater. Krishna
returned the undignified words with an equally strong rebuke. He said, “A true
hero never sings his own glories but displays his manliness in action. Blowing
ones trumpet is considered uncivil. You cannot threaten us by your empty
weightless words.” Krishna by his volley of
arrows and Balarama by his dexterity with the mace made the enemy lick dust.
Jarasandha’s army fell to the ground lifeless. Balarama pulled down Jarasandha
from his chariot and caught him in the varuni noose. A human ring captured him
in an inescapable cage. Balarama could have smashed his head with a single blow
but was stopped by Krishna as Jarasandha’s contribution was important for
carrying forward his mission. Jarasandha fell in his own esteem by Krishna’s
little act of mercy. His ridicule of Krishna as being chick of a boy who was no
match to his valour, boomeranged on Jarasandha with the same force. His
subordinate kings dissuaded Jarasandha from becoming a recluse. He,
therefore, retreated with his head hung in shame. With the battle over,
the people came out of their hidings to applaud the victory of the brothers
with the sounding of tabors, music and showers of flowers.
Jarasandha attacked the Yadavas persistently seventeen times but every time he
cut a sorry figure. Narada, anticipating another attack, sent Kala Yavana with
a large retinue to earth. Seeing Kala Yavana on a spree to seize the city,
Krishna could rightly conjecture the reaction of Jarasandha. Krishna knew that
Jarasandha would be out with his army as well. It would be difficult for
the Yadavas to handle the double pronged attack from two armies. Krishna
suggested to his brother they build an impregnable fort under the ocean where
the Yadavas could live free from harm. Agreeing on the plan as the ideal
solution, they took the assistance of the celestial architect Vishvakarma. It
was a well planned fort with the necessary amenities. The celestial deities
provided the comforts they could offer Krishna. The golden summits and the gem
studded canopies of the fort made it appear like paradise on earth.
[In the Dvapara yuga, if the
technique of under water construction was known, it is not surprising to find
road tunnels below water connecting various parts of cities in the modern
world. In Hongkong, a road tunnel under the ocean connects it to the mainland, Kowloon.
Similar connection of the places on the either banks of river Thames is found.
Dover to Calais, across the English channel, is the famous under water tunnel
for transport]..
Krishna made sure that all the Vrishnis had taken residence in the fort. He
walked out of the fort to face the challenge of Kala Yavana. Based on the
description of Narada about the conspicuous marks of identification of Krishna,
he saw the form of Vishnu in him. Since Krishna was unarmed, Kala Yavana decided
not to carry any weapon with him. Krishna intelligently started running with
his back towards Yavana. He easily fell into Krishna’s trick and thought he was
making an escape. He laughed at Krishna saying he, a cowherd, was shying away
from battle like a coward. Chasing with all his might, Yavana found it
impossible to lay his hands on Krishna. Following his enemy, he found himself
led into a dark cave. Yavana saw a man sleeping whom he mistook for Krishna
pretending to be lying with his eyes closed. Since he saw Krishna enter the
cave before him and not finding any other exit through which he could have
escaped, Yavana concluded that the sleeping man was none other than Krishna. In
anger, he kicked the person who lay there. The man disturbed in his sleep
opened his eyes. The fiery radiance from his eyes reduced Yavana to ashes.
Now, who
was this man residing in an uninhabited mountain cave whose immaculate power
could kill Yavana? Could he be some kind of illusive creation of Krishna? To
clarify all doubts, Bhagavatam gives a flash back of his life
.
The person sleeping in the cave was Muchukunda by name of the Ikshvaku dynasty
and the son of Mandhata. When the celestials were oppressed by the asuras,
Indra requested Muchukunda for help. He resigned from all worldly connections
and placed himself as the bodyguard of the deities for a long time. When
Kartikeya, Shiva’s son, became the commander-in-chief of the celestial army,
the deities graciously decided to relieve the faithful Muchukunda from the
responsibility. Having lived with the gods for a long time, Muchukunda could
not meet his relatives on earth. This was because of the difference in the
duration of day and night between the gods and human beings. One day of the
gods makes a year on earth. The first six months of the humans are the day’s
waking hours of the celestials while the latter six months constitute their
night. The two divisions of the gods’ day are called Uttarayana and
Dakshinayana respectively.
[In the Mahabharatha war, Bhishma waited for the dawn of Uttarayana to give up
his life as it is the auspicious time, when the gods would be awake to bless
the person.]
Blessed by the gods to relax his over worked body through deep sleep, Muchukunda
came to the mountain cave. Krishna appeared before him, revealing the divine
qualities of Vishnu on his body. Muchukunda was mightily pleased to have a
vision of the Lord. Krishna offered him a boon but Muchukunda opted to serve
the Lord, instead of returning to the grinding worldly life. Krishna
appreciated his attitude of not succumbing to the temptation of boons. Yet, the
Lord said he had to take another birth in the world to wash away his sins
accrued in the present birth. Despite his pious life, the sins were the result
of his killing out of compulsion as a kshatriya and his craze for hunting. The
merits of his present good actions, would help him be a brahmana by birth in
his next lfe, engaging in pious deeds and show kindness to animals as well.
Free from his sins, he would find a place in his abode, emancipated from the
cycle of life. Muchukunda went to the mountain Badri in the north and in the
temple of Nara-Narayana got engrossed in the meditation of the Lord.
With the destruction of the Mlecchas who were the army of Kala Yavana, Krishna
returned to Mathura with their wealth for distribution among the people.
Suddenly they saw a big battalion of soldiers led by Jarasandha approach them.
Acting fear, the brothers speedily walked away, dropping all the riches, to
appear as escaping from the attack. Jarasandha could not see through the game
and was happy at terrorizing Balarama and Krishna. He chased them a long
distance until they swiftly vanished into the thick forest of a mountain.
Jarasandha scanned through the entire forest but could not locate them
anywhere. Struck by the idea to set fire to the whole forest on the mountain,
he ordered his army accordingly. The two brothers jumped from a cliff and
escaped into the city unperceived. Jarasandha was under the impression that the
fire had consumed his enemies. Content at heart, he returned to his kingdom
Chapter 39: Rukmini marries Krishna
As
time went by, Balarama and Krishna reached the marriageable age. Brahma sent
Raivata, the king of Avartta to Mathura. He gave his beautiful daughter Revati
in marriage to Balarama. Krishna’s wedding was action packed with excitement
which made the proceedings very absorbing.
Bhishmaka, the king of Vidarbha had five sons and a daughter Rukmini. She was
believed to be the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. Rukmini was impressed by
Krishna’s prowess and accomplishments. Krishna too was attracted by Rukmini’s
beauty, large-heartedness and exemplary character. Mutual fascination aroused
the desire in both to come together in wedlock. Of the sons, the eldest son
Rukmi was assertive. He acted as a spoke in their relationship. Arbitrarily, he
decided on Shishupala, the king of Chedi, as the prospective groom for his
sister Rukmini, much against her wish. She was desperate to inform Krishna
about her marriage proceedings and reveal to him her strong choice in his
favour. She wanted to send a proposal to him but hesitated to initiate her own
marriage. Finding no other alternative, she decided to send a brahmana to
Dvaraka with a letter to Krishna. She wrote, “O Lord! My heart has been invaded
by your handsome personality and glorious deeds. I cannot even dream of another
man being my husband. It is natural for any woman, who knows your blemishless
character as well as your high lineage, to desire your hand. I yearn for you
and I hope you will gratify my desire. My marriage with Shishupala has been
fixed for tomorrow. I would suggest we get married by the rakshasa mode of
marriage, one of the eight methods approved by the Hindu scriptures. According
to this, the bride is carried away by force after killing the bride’s
relations. I also have another idea to avoid killing my family people. Tomorrow
morning, as is customary, I will be led in a procession to the temple of Uma.
That would be the opportune moment for you to abduct me. So you will have to
reach here well in time for the procession. Failing to win your favour, I will
go on hunger strike till death.”
Krishna went into quick action. He harnessed his best steeds with Daruka as the
charioteer. In the company of Balarama and the brahmana, he covered the long
distance overnight. Balarama anticipated a stiff opposition when he heard about
Krishna’s abduction plan. Therefore he went with ample army protection,
equipped to retaliate, if the situation called for it.
Bhishmaka was making lavish arrangements for his daughter’s marriage with
Shishupala. Bhishmaka and Shishupala’s father, Damaghosha, individually
performed the propitiatory rituals and offered gifts to the brahmanas with
reverence. In the meanwhile, Rukmini was getting restless as the brahmana she
had sent to Krishna had not returned even after dusk. She was apprehensive that
her action was impulsive and had earned Krishna’s displeasure. She also doubted
that it did not have the approval of the divine couple Maheshvara and Parvati,
their tutelary deities. While Rukmini’s thoughts were oscillating between
uncertainty and hope, the brahmana’s arrival in the inner apartments infused
life and delight in her. When Bhishmaka heard of the arrival of Balarama and
Krishna, he thought they had come with eagerness to participate in the wedding
festivities of Rukmini. He extended a wonderful welcome to the honourable
guests.
The people of Vidarbha were all admiration for Krishna. They thought he would
be an ideal match for their princess and prayed that God should make the union
possible. Rukmini was led to the temple of Ambika, next morning, in a well
guarded procession. Rukmini meditating on Mukunda [Krishna], entered the temple
along with the wives of the brahmanas. Those women asked her to pray to the
family gods to bless her with the good fortune of having Krishna as her
husband. These words were pleasing to the heart as they were a resonance of her
thoughts. The brahmana wives made the necessary propitiations to the Goddess
along with Rukmini and she broke her fast by partaking the remnants of the
offering. As she came out of the temple, she looked round to spot Krishna. Not
knowing the secret of Rukmini's plans nor Rukmi's decision, the hearts of the
numerous kings assembled to try their luck were throbbing expectantly.
When she approached Krishna, he effortlessly lifted her and drove her away in his
chariot. While Shishupala’s friends thought that the marriage between him and
Rukmini was a forgone conclusion, they stood aghast at the turn of events.
Jarasandha and many other kings cursed themselves for helplessly looking on
while a mere cowherd carried away the coveted prize. They said, “Fie upon us to
call ourselves warriors. We are unworthy of wielding the bow and arrow.” The
enemy army chasing Krishna’s chariot, faced a severe blow and they soon marched
a retreat. Crest fallen Shishupala was comforted by Jarasandha who quoted his
own case as a morale booster. He said, “I have been defeated by Krishna
seventeen times but I am not demoralized. I am still hopeful of a win against
that cowherd boy. Krishna’s luck is at present in the ascendancy. But in the
near future, it will surely come down like the rim of a wheel, when we can
ensure our victory over him.” The lion with his pride shattered, was somewhat
consoled and he returned, licking his wounds.
Rukmi took it as a personal insult because this match had been opposed by him
from the very beginning. He refused to accept defeat. His mind was overpowered
by two thoughts, revenge on Krishna and the recovery of his dear sister. He
vowed not to rest in peace till he had successfully executed his resolve. He
attacked Krishna with great vigour but all his arrows were arrested and his
sword broken to pieces. When Krishna was about to kill Rukmi, Rukmini fell at
his feet and pleaded to spare her brother’s life. Out of respect for her words,
he tied him with a cloth. Shaving half of his head and beard, Krishna inflicted
the most severe humiliation on Rukmi.
Rukmi decided to keep away from his kingdom, ashamed of facing people with his
disfigurement and also he had not yet carried out his vow. He built a huge city
named Bhojakuta, on the outskirts of his kingdom and established himself there,
not to move out till he had avenged his insult. Krishna and Rukmini were
received with thunderous welcome. Amidst all round celebration, they were
married. Though the Krishna-Rukmini episode evoked astonishment, it was
conducive to universal acclaim. Krishna being the Supreme Lord and Rukmini his
divine consort, their union was inevitable on earth
Chapter 40: Pradyumna
Kamadeva, cupid, the god of love, was reduced to ashes by
the fiery third eye of Shiva. Kamadeva was another form of Vasudeva. Therefore
he requested Krishna to restore his form and life. Krishna agreed and as a
result he was born as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukmini. An asura by
the name Samvara kidnapped the ten day old infant and threw him into the ocean.
He was anticipating his death at the hands of the boy.
A fish swallowed the infant, which made its way to Samvara’s
kitchen. When the fish was cut, the child was found alive in its belly.
Mayavati, popularly known as Rati, the wife of Kamadeva, adopted the child and
reared him like her own son. As days went by, she began to visualise her
husband in that child. This fact was substantiated by Narada who informed her of
the infant’s life. She started treating the child reverentially as her husband
Kama and the mother-son relationship ceased. Rati’s unusual behaviour annoyed
Pradyumna and he expressed his displeasure. Then Rati narrated his adventurous
life. She told him how sorrowful it would have been for his mother Rukmini to
lose her son. She advised him to act promptly to kill the asura who was a
mayavi, possessing the power to take various forms at will. Rati taught
Pradyumna the mahamayavidya, to counteract the asura’s illusory power.
Now well equipped to take up the asura, Pradyumna proceeded
for a battle against him. There was a terrible fight between the two, each
trying to score over the other. When Pradyumna threw his mace, the asura rose
to the sky and began pelting stones from that height at his opponent. Floating
in mid air, he tried to evade the counter attack. Pradyumna, after a prolonged
fight, used the mahamayavidya against all the tactics of the asura and
succeeded in killing him.
Rati and Pradyumna, one day, entered the inner apartment at Dvaraka. The women
hid themselves, feeling shy at the sudden entry of Krishna. Immediately they
were able to see that the look alike person in their apartment was someone else
and not their Lord. While they were puzzled about the identity of the man
accompanied by a pretty woman, Krishna, Rukmini, Balarama, Vasudeva and Devaki
entered. At the sight of the youth, Rukmini’s memories went back to her lost
son Pradyumna. She thought her son would have been this boy’s age now if he had
lived. As she continued to look at the boy, she saw a close resemblance to
Krishna creating a strong feeling of the return of her long lost son. Arrival
of Narada, at this juncture, cleared all doubts because Krishna, though he knew
everything, maintained silence as if taking pleasure in the happenings. Narada
gave a resumé of the early life of Pradyumna. Rukmini’s joy was beyond words,
at the safe return of her son
Interesting Anecdotes
Kamadeva
turned to ashes:
Kamadeva was the second son of Dharma, one of the Prajapatis born of Brahma. He
had two brothers, Shama and Harsha. Kama was the most handsome of the three. He
became the god of love, passion and beauty.
There are two stories about Kama being reduced to
ashes by Shiva's wrath. Though the first story is linked to the second, the
latter stands independent as an oft quoted popular legend in this regard.
Brahma, the creator, fell in love with goddess Sarasvati, his own creation.
Though he placed her on the tongue of each of his creation, he made her
his wife, being captivated by her beauty. Delayed realisation of his immoral
action aroused his anger against Kamadeva for kindling passion in him. He
cursed Kama to become a victim to the fiery anger of Shiva. But this curse was
executed only later. To explain this delay, another story is linked to it.
After the death of Sati, Shiva, determined not to marry again, retired to the
Himalayas for observing rigorous penance. At that time, demon Taraka had become
invincible by a boon that only the son of Shiva could slay him. He harassed the
gods and became Indra by winning over the Indraloka. As lord of the gods, he
was aware of Parvati's determination to marry none other than Shiva and that
she was engaged in a deep penance for successful achievement of her goal. In an
attempt to exploit his power and authority, Taraka arrogantly sent Kamadeva to
distract Shiva in meditation. He commanded him to aim his arrows of passion
towards Maheshvara, in favour of Parvati. Shiva was furious at the bold attempt
of the god of love. As his normal pair of eyes were engrossed in meditation, he
opened his third eye in the middle of his forehead. The flood of fire, emitting
from his third eye, was shot at Kama, reducing him to ashes. Despite Rati's
pleadings to restore the life of her husband, Shiva would not relent. So, he
was destined to live forever without a physical form-ananga.
Chapter 41: Rukmi meets his fate
The
simmering anger of Rukmi flared up beyond control even at the very thought of
Krishna while along side, his love for his sister was proportionately
increasing. He was aware that marriage among children of brother and sister did
not have scriptural sanction. Yet, his bond of affection took precedence.
Disregarding his hatred for Krishna, he brought about a number of marriages
within the family. Rukmini’s son Pradyumna married Rukmi’s daughter in a
svayamvara. Aniruddha, son of Pradyumna and grandson of Rukmini accepted the
hand of Rochana, grand-daughter of Rukmi. Rukmini’s daughter Charumati became
the wife of Bali, son of Keertivarman.
Krishna’s entire family went to Bhojakuta for the marriage of Aniruddha and
Rochana. After the celebrations, Rukmi was prodded by the other kings to have a
game of dice with Balarama. They assured Rukmi that he stood on firm grounds
for settling old scores as Balarama was not very good at the game. Excited at
his good prospects, he invited Balarama to the game. Balarama lost a number of
games and Rukmi ridiculed his opponent with a broad smile exposing his complete
set of teeth.
Extremely over confident, Rukmi put up the stake to one lakh of
rupees. Unfortunately, he lost this game but by deceit declared himself
victorious. Balarama was digusted with Rukmi’s dishonesty and challenged him
for a crore of rupees. Losing this game also, Rukmi thought his manipulation
would work again and declared the august assembly as witness to his victory.
Contradicting his announcement, a heavenly voice condemned him for resorting to
falsehood when he had actually lost the bet.
Ignoring the heavenly voice, Rukmi called Balarama as belonging to the forest
bred cowherd community in an insulting tone. Rukmi said with pride of lineage,
“Only kshatriyas like us know the game of dice and the techniques of warfare.
You ignorant forest rangers! Can you, with confidence, claim superiority over
us in any field that requires skill?” Balarama was very patient all through but
now he thought he had come to his tether’s end. Unable to contain his anger, he
killed Rukmi with his mace and pulled out his set of teeth arrogantly displayed
just a little earlier. The other supporters of Rukmi, battered by the mace,
fled from the assembly. Balarama’s achievement gave immense satisfaction to his
people. Aniruddha and his newly wedded wife Rochana went to Kaushasthali from
Bhojakuta on a wonderful chariot.
Chapter 42: Syamantaka retrieved
King of Nighna, Satrajit, was a great friend and a devotee of the
sun god. As an expression of his pleasure over their friendship, the sun god
made a gift of the celebrated syamantaka jewel to Satrajit. Once when Satrajit
went to Dvaraka wearing the jewel round his neck, the inhabitants of the city
were engulfed in fear by its blinding radiance. They thought that the sun god
was after Krishna, having spied his secret existence among the Yadavas. They
reported their fear to Krishna. He explained to them that it was Satrajit
resplendent with the lustre of the jewel on his body. The unique quality of the
jewel was that it could ward off famine, evils, premature death and any other
calamity of the person possessing it. When Krishna asked Satrajit to give the
jewel to the king of the Yadavas, he refused to part with it.
One day, Satrajit’s brother Prasenajit wore the jewel while going
hunting in the forest. When he did not return, Satrajit suspected Krishna for
killing him for the sake of the jewel. This rumour spread like wild fire
maligning the blemishless character of Krishna. To clear the wrong notion,
Krishna set out in search of Prasenajit. He soon found Prasenajit and his horse
mauled by a lion, which in turn had been killed by a bear. Finding the dark
cave of the bear, Krishna asked his men to stay outside, while he went in.
There he found the bear cubs playing with the jewel, as if it were a toy.
Krishna waited for a chance to get the jewel. The caretaker bear was stunned at
the brilliance of the person in the cave and in fear shrieked which alerted
Jambavan, the king of the bears. To ward off the danger to his cubs, Jambavan
impulsively started a fight with Krishna, not noticing his divine form. The
combat continued for eighteen days, at the end of which the bear was drained of
his strength by a blow from Krishna’s fist. Feebly looking up at the man before
him, the bear recognised him as the Paramapurusha Vishnu. In the Ramavatara of
Vishnu, Rama had sought the help of monkeys and bears of whom Jambavan was one
of Rama’s prominent advisers. They constructed a bridge across the ocean to
reach Lanka to rescue Sita from the ten headed Ravana. Regretting his
callousness towards the Supreme Lord, Jambavan began to sing his praise.
Receiving the jewel, Krishna told him that the jewel was only an excuse. He had
left his men outside and entered the cave alone only to relieve Jambavan from a
brahmana’s curse. He expressed his gratitude and received Krishna’s blessings.
The people outside waited for twelve days impatiently for
Krishna’s return.Then they concluded that he had been killed by the bear.
Depressed at losing Krishna, they went back home. The news about Krishna’s
death was a terrible shock to his parents and all the citizens. Immersed in
inconsolable sorrow, they cursed Satrajit for being the cause of the disaster.
With a ray of hope, everyone prayed to Durga to save the life of their
Janardana [Krishna] and help his safe return. As if in answer to their prayers,
Krishna came back to Dvaraka but not alone. He had Jambavati, the daughter of
Jambavan, with him, who was given in marriage by her father as a reverential gift.
Krishna called Satrajit to take back his jewel. He narrated in
detail as to how he had secured it. Satrajit was ashamed for the aspersions he
had cast on Krishna’s character, without ascertaining the truth. The guilt
feeling denied him peace of mind. He was thinking of making amends for his
blunder. Giving his dear daughter, Satyabhama, in marriage to Krishna and
also gifting the jewel appeared to be the best reconciliation he could think
of. Krishna accepted the hand of Satyabhama but with regard to the jewel he
said, “This is a gift to you from your friend, the sun god, for your devotion.
Therefore, you are the legitimate owner. You must retain it as our king. Under
your able protection, we are blessed to be the fortunate subjects. We will
merely enjoy the benefits of the jewel.” With these words, Satrajit and Krishna
parted as friends.
General expectation would be that the confusion created by the
syamantaka was over with the hand shake of Satrajit and Krishna. But it was not
to be so because it had to be instrumental in rolling of a couple of heads.
More than that, Akrura, the trusted friend of Krishna, had to be reprimanded
for his dishonesty with regard to the jewel. For the sake of the jewel, he had
changed his loyalty like a chameleon that alters its colour to its surrounding.
The change of attitude occurred when Krishna was in Hastinapur with the
Kauravas, to grieve the death of his Pandava relations in the Jatugriha [house
of lac].
Akrura and Kirtivarman advised Shatadhanu to kill Satrajit and get
possession of the syamantaka jewel. Misguided Shatadhanu did likewise and
obtained the jewel. Satyabhama went to Hastinapur to inform Krishna about the
cruel killing of her father by Shatadhanu. Krishna came back and resolved to
kill him. Akrura and Kirtivarman refused to help Shatadhanu as they had
witnessed the prowess of the Lord on many occasions. Shatadhanu, finding
himself left on the lurch by the two traitors he had trusted, handed over the
jewel to Akrura and made an escape. Krishna and Balarama chased him till the
outskirts of Mythila. Krishna killed Shatadhanu but, to his disappointment,
could not find the jewel with him. Krishna felt very sorry for killing poor
Shatadhanu as it turned out to be futile. Balarama advised his brother to go back
to Dvaraka to find out the person in whose custody it might have been left.
Balarama, in the meanwhile, decided to stay in Mythila with his friend King
Janaka for a few years, where he enjoyed the honoured hospitality. It was
during this long period of stay, Duryodhana underwent the training of the use
of the mace from Balarama.
Krishna went back to Dvaraka with the news of the death of
Shatadhanu and the jewel still missing which evoked mixed feelings of sorrow
and disappointment. Akrura and Kirtivarman went away from Dvaraka out of fear
as nothing could be a secret from Krishna. Since there were unprecedented evils
and calamities occurring, the people linked it with the departure of Akrura.
The reason for the connection of the two was that Akrura’s father and his
mother Gandhivi were believed to have brought showers when Indra withdrew the
rains by his power. From that time, it was accepted that Akrura had inherited
the powers of his parents to avert natural calamities. But Krishna thought it
to be due to the disappearance of the syamantaka. Krishna brought back Akrura
and after the formality of extending hospitality was over, he came straight to
the point. Without mincing words, he told Akrura he was absolutely sure of the
jewel being in his possession. He said he could keep it by all means but he
would have to make a public confession particularly before his elder brother.
He further told Akrura that the excessive flow of gold, for the altars during
the countless sacrifices he has been performing, exposed him. Only that jewel
had the merit of producing uninterrupted supply of gold in such large
quantities. Finding himself check mated by Krishna, Akrura, like a dog with his
tail between his legs, brought out the effulgent syamantaka jewel from under
his upper garment and gave it to Krishna
Interesting Anecdotes
Lac palace:
The Pandavas were always considered as thorns in their life by the Kauravas.
They were conspiring against the Pandavas and finding means of getting them out
of the way. Dhritharashtra planned a joint excursion to Varanavrata for
attending some festivities. Duryodhana was inspired by his wicked ideas. Under
the pretext of organising a comfortable night’s stay for his cousins in
Varanavrata, he had a castle of lac built with all possible comforts. The
hypocritical concern of the Kauravas was, in fact, one of their conspiracies to
put an end to the perenial problem in the form of their cousins. They had not
provided any exit for the palace. So, when the highly inflammable lac was set
on fire with the entrance closed, the Pandavas would be burnt, with no way to
escape. Vidura, the wise uncle, got wind of the treacherous plan. Without the
knowledge of Duryodhana, he got a secret under ground passage to the palace
prepared. He advised the Pandavas, in private, to escape through the
subterranean exit well in advance of the fire in the castle. The Pandavas
followed the instructions and with Kunti, their mother, reached a safe
destination and remained in hiding in a forest nearby. But before they left,
Bhima set fire to the castle so that the Kauravas would not know of their
escape. Unfortunately, the builder of the castle, named Purochana and a Nishada
family consisting of a woman with her five drunken sons got trapped inside in
two different rooms. They were charred to death beyond recognition. Mistaking
the burnt remains of the Nishada family as the Pandavas with their mother, the
Kauravas were exhilarated at the demise of their cousins and gloated over their
new found freedom. Krishna was aware of the real happening but made sure it was
not leaked out by any chance. He too joined the Kauravas in the condolence
gathering and pretended to grieve the death of the Pandu family.
Chapter 43: Narakasura encounter
The rivalry
of the asuras and the deities was so strong and bitter that there was a
constant battle between the two. Quite a few times, the deities were defeated
and Indra dethroned. The added humiliation was that once Narakasura stole
Indra’s umbrella and his mother Aditi’s ear-rings. What was more cruel was that
Narakasura had locked up many women in his kingdom. As always, Krishna
represented the deities to oppose the asuras. Krishna mounted his vehicle
Garuda with Satyabhama by his side and landed in the city of Prajyotsana.
This city of asura Mura was guarded by forests, mountain and other
impenetrable, misleading devices as in a maze. The combined power of the Lord’s
mace and discus razed the fortress to the ground. Asura Mura, who was sleeping
under water, was awakened by the loud sound from the conch Panchajanya of
Krishna. The five headed asura attacked with the three pronged shaft and his
mace flew with great velocity towards Garuda. Krishna successfully arrested all
of them and his sudarshana chakra finally killed the asura. The seven sons of
Mura were enraged at the death of their father. Advised by Naraka to continue
the fight, they entered the battlefield led by their commander-in-chief Pitha.
Krishna proved too strong for the seven sons and they fell like nine pins. Naraka
noticed that the army was incapable of any resistance against Krishna. He
decided to accept the challenge himself. The two divine powers, Krishna and
Garuda, wiped out the entire army without trace. Naraka now found himself
standing alone in the combat. His powerful weapons like shakti and shataghni
did not work against either Garuda or Krishna. Naraka fell to Sri Hari’s
[Krishna’s]
discus.
Bhoomi, mother of Naraka, appeared before the Lord. She sang his praises and
returned Aditi’s ear-rings and Indra’s umbrella. She bowed and apologized for
the sins of her son. She requested the gracious Lord to show mercy by placing
his hands on her son’s head. The lifeless body of Naraka that lay at Krishna’s
feet was symbolic of his surrender, she said. Granting her requests, Krishna
entered the prosperous city of Naraka. There he found Naraka had under his
custody ten thousand and hundred celestial women. Handsome Krishna captivated
their hearts and they wanted him to accept all of them as his wives.
Krishna took those women clad in fine clothes in palanquins to Dvaraka. Going
to Indrapuri, he handed over Aditi’s jewels and Indra’s umbrella. Satyabhama
wished to have the celestial Parijata tree. Indra refused to permit Krishna to
uproot it. Indra wanted Krishna’s help when he was in trouble but now having
achieved his objective, he was prepared to stand up against his saviour for a
Parijata tree. No need to say who the victor was. Krishna brought the tree and
planted it in Satyabhama’s garden which attracted bees even from the celestial
regions.
The women, who had been offered asylum in Krishna’s palace, were
ever ready to serve him though there were attendants to take care of his needs.
Krishna also reciprocated their love by assuming as many forms as the number of
women and pleased them simultaneously.
Chapter 44: Jarasandha
One
day, Krishna was presiding over the assembly in the Sudarman hall. At that
time, a royal emissary arrived to inform Krishna about the inhuman treatment
the subordinate kings had to suffer in Jarasandha’s kingdom. Twenty thousand
kings, who refused to yield to Jarasandha’s unreasonable demands, had been
imprisoned. On behalf of all the suffering kings, he had come to place their
submission at the feet of the Lord. They had complete faith in the Lord and
were confident of their deliverance.
Just then, Narada arrived with news from the Pandavas settled in Indraprastha.
This was a barren uninhabitable land given by the Kauravas to their cousins
under the impression that it would be of no use to them. The able management of
Yudhishthira transformed the region into a fertile prosperous place with the
assistance of the brothers. Indraprastha is the present day Delhi.
Narada came with a request from Yudhishthira, inviting Krishna to the Rajasuya
sacrifice, he intended to perform. Yudhishthira said by gracing the occasion,
he would have the blessings of the Lord in full measure. Krishna consulted his
intellectual confidante Uddhava for advice. Uddhava said, “You have to attend
to two important matters just now. It is your duty to honour your cousin’s
request. At the same time, the suffering kings at Jarasandha’s mercy have to be
rescued. For the Rajasuya sacrifice to be successfully completed, Yudhishthira
would have to establish his sovereignty. To accomplish that, the kings ruling
the ten quarters would have to become his vassals and so Jarasandha would have
to be subjugated. I feel it would be proper if you went to Indraprastha for the
Rajasuya sacrifice. You would then be achieving both ends. To match the
enormous strength of Jarasandha, Bhima would be the right choice to meet him
directly in a duel.” Accepting the wise advice, Krishna, with the permission of
the elders, prepared to leave for Indraprastha with his wives and sons.
Satisfied with Krishna’s plan, Narada went his way singing and meditating on
the Lord.
Krishna ascended his Garuda while the others reached by road. Krishna was
greeted with smiles by the people of Indraprastha. The large family of Krishna
was comfortably accommodated with due respect.
Yudhishthira formally sought the blessings of Mukunda [Krishna] to commence the
Rajasuya, the best of all sacrifices. Krishna wholeheartedly blessed
Yudhishthira for success as he had won over the Lord by his subdued passions,
the first enemy of man. Krishna pointed out the initial step before the
commencement of the sacrifice. It was to bring the kings of the ten quarters
under him. He also assured Yudhishthira that he could rely on his brothers by
entrusting them with the responsibility. They would surely make their elder
brother proud. The sons of Pandu returned victorious with their flags flying
high but unfortunately, by oversight, Jarasandha was left out and this lapse
caused anxiety to Yudhshthira. Krishna pacified him by putting forth Uddhava’s
plan to tackle Jarasandha.
It is necessary to know the secret of Jarasandha’s birth to understand the
strategy adopted to kill him. Jarasandha was the grandson of Uparichara Vasu of
Ajamihira dynasty and the son of Brihadratha. Brihadratha had two wives. The
first wife gave birth to four sons. But the unlucky second wife had a son in
halves divided vertically across. Convinced that the mutilated child would
cause endless sorrow and pain, she threw him away. A rakshasi named Jara picked
up the two pieces and accidentally brought them together. To her surprise she
had, in her hands, a live full fledged boy whom she brought up to be a strong
man. Thus the name Jarasandha, meaning joined by Jara.
Despite the notorious cruelty of Jarasandha, he was very
solicitous to brahmanas by his charitable disposition towards them. This
prompted Krishna to go in the guise of a brahmana, to hook him into a
commitment. Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima entered Girivraja, the kingdom of
Jarasandha. In disguise, they presented themselves before the king. Krishna
praised his generosity, pious nature and compared him to the great souls
Harishchandra and Shibi who sacrificed their mortal body for a noble benevolent
cause.
Shrewd Jarasandha could see through the disguise. From the marks
of a warrior on their body, he could recognise them as kshatriyas but the emblem
of a brahmana compelled him to grant their request even if it be his head.
Recollecting the life of the daitya king Bali, highly praised even to this day
for gifting himself to the Vamana, Jarasandha offered to grant any boon.
Having committed the king to a promise, Krishna revealed their
identity and said they had come to have a straight one to one fight with him.
The choice of the opponent was his, offered Krishna. Jarasandha was furious
over the deceit but did not lose heart. Confident about himself, he
sarcastically remarked, “I shall keep my word to you. I will not fight against
you, a mere cowherd. You have not been fair in your dealings with me. Afraid of
me, you hid under the ocean. Arjuna is not my equal, either in age or prowess.
So he is ruled out. Bhima seems to be the right match for me to challenge in
the duel.”
The
fierce mace fight between two equals went on which shook all the quarters and
it appeared they would bring the heavens down. Both having proved their
strength, Krishna began to think of a winning strategy. It occurred to him that
the death of Jarasandha could be achieved only by undoing the secret of his
existence which was made possible by rakshasi Jara. Krishna picked up a twig
and broke it vertically across demonstrating the method of killing him. Bhima
intelligently got the clue and holding by his legs threw Jarasandha on the
ground. Bhima pressed firm one leg of the enemy by his own and ripped the other
vertically through by pulling it with his hands. Jarasandha kept coming up
alive as the two pieces would join into a whole, the way Jara had joined them.
Puzzled Bhima paused for a moment to understand the hint given by Krishna.
Grasping the full meaning, Bhima became wise. Bhima placed one piece in an
inverted direction so that realignment was not possible and thus Jarasandha met
his end. Krishna installed Sahadeva, the son of Jarasandha, on the throne of
Magadha and released the imprisoned kings. The death of Jarasandha did not,
however, clear the way for Yudhishthira. He had to face an obstruction of
another vicious person before he could complete his Rajasuya sacrifice
Chapter 45: Shishupala
The
completion of the rajasuya sacrifice was not an easy task for Yudhishthira even
though Jarasandha was dead. The next hurdle was Shishupala whose anger was
still soaring high against Krishna after the Rukmini abduction episode. It all
started with a decision taken unanimously with the exception of Shishupala.
There was a deep deliberation as to who from the large congregation of pious
learned people should occupy the prestigious seat of honour. Bhishma suggested
Krishna’s name. Sahadeva, the well versed brother of Yudhishthira, proposed
Krishna as the most worthy person for the honoured position. He explained, “He
is the Universal Lord, guardian, protector, omniscient, omnipotent, saviour of
all during times of difficulty and above everything else he is impartial in
conferring his benevolence. His qualities are outstanding and therefore he is
the ideal person for the honour.” Sahadeva’s recommendation was acclaimed with
total consensus by the august assembly of guests. Yudhishthira and family,
enraptured by the overwhelming support for Krishna, washed his feet with
respect and adorned him suitably for the occasion. The public paid their
obeisance with their palms joined together and showering of flowers.
Witnessing the all round felicitations, Shishupala got up from his seat with
his hands raised to stop the proceedings. He accused the learned for allowing their
intellectual power to be incapacitated of right thinking by the immature speech
of a youngster. His speech was surcharged with anger and hatred. He said, “In
this galaxy of eminent scholars, how could you nod your heads to place a
cowherd on the pedestal of highest honour? He belongs to a community of Yadavas
that has been ousted for over indulgence in the consumption of alcohol. As for
his personal standing, Krishna has no family to call his own nor does he have a
well directed pursuit in life. In a nutshell he is nothing but a vagabond. Such
a person who does not have a respectable antecedence is ineligible for any kind
of adoration, what to speak of elevated honour.” The entire assembly of pious
people felt that this kind of uncivilized outburst of hatred should not be
tolerated and decided to boycott him enmasse. Pandavas also thought it
disrespectful to Krishna if they continued to stay there, hearing the venomous
words. The empty hall with just his supporters hanging on was an insult to
Shishupala. With his sword drawn, he charged towards Krishna, sitting undaunted
by the disruption created by his cousin. Krishna was keeping count of his
sinful words and finally when the limit of endurance had been surpassed, the
discus went flying and sliced the neck to dislodge Shishupala’s head. The
miracle that occurred after his death, left the onlookers flabbergasted. A
bright radiance emanated from the lifeless body and entered into Krishna.
Emancipation of a wicked person like Shishupala doubly convinces us the
merciful attitude of the Lord. The Lord blesses those who constantly think of
him even if it be out of enmity like Shishupala or Kamsa.
Interesting Anecdotes
Shishupala: Shishupala was the son of the king of Chedi. His
mother was the sister of Vasudeva and the aunt of Krishna. When Shishupala was
born, he had three eyes and four hands. He brayed like a donkey on birth. The
mother was extremely scared to have such an unusually odd son. Fear prompted
her to get rid of the child by killing it. A heavenly voice said, “Do not kill
the child. He is destined to become a king. The time of his death has not
approached though the person to kill him has already taken birth.” To this the
queen was eager to know the identity of the person. The voice replied, “When the
child’s extra arms and eye fall on coming in contact with a particular person,
understand him to be your son’s killer.”
The parents had no peace of mind till they knew the person who
would be responsible for their son’s death. People from far and near were
called to lift the child to find out the mysterious person. Balarama and
Krishna heard about the birth of their cousin and came on a visit. As soon as
Krishna lifted the infant, the extra arms and eye fell down. Krishna’s aunt was
shocked to know that her nephew was going to kill her son. She begged
Krishna to pardon her son if he committed any sin and spare his life. Krishna
gave his word to his aunt to pardon her son not for one sin but for a hundred
transgressions of moral and ethical conduct. Trusting that her nephew would not
belie his words, her anxiety was calmed for the present. She had secured a
generous concession which she did not expect her son to exceed in his life. To
keep his promise to his aunt, Krishna did not react till Shishupala crossed the
hundred mark limit while he was heaping abuses. He deployed his discus for
sending his head rolling to the ground.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(A Tribute to the great Bharatiya Samskruti)
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