The following set of arguments from history proof that
Krishna is God.
Krishna was on this earth planet 5000 years ago.
Krishna appears as an incarnation in every of the four
millenniums (yuga). Now – 5000 years ago – He has appeared in His full form as
the source of all avataras. Because in this form the Supreme Personality of
Godhead exhibits Himself fully, His name is Sri Krishna, the all-attractive. If
we analyze the nirukti, or semantic derivation, of the word
"Krishna," we find that na signifies that He stops the repetition of
birth and death, and krish means sattartha, or "existence." (Krishna
is the whole of existence.) Also, krish means "attraction," and na
means ananda, or "bliss." Because Krishna wants to give
transcendental bliss to the living entities, He appears in various forms.
Therefore He is called Krishna.
He assumes the colors white, red, blackish and yellow or
black. This time He personally appeared in His original, blackish form. He is
Syama, dark not black. Krishna's transcendental body radiates a splendid
beautiful effulgence which is aKrishnam, not black. It is brighter than a mound
of blue sapphires
The argument of the name Krishna
1. The name Krishna is superior to the name Narayana and
all Krishna's other expansions. By uttering the name of Krishna just once one
attains the same benefit as that gained by reciting Lord Narayana’s or Visnu's,
thousand names three times. Krishna's names destroy all inauspiciousness,
illusion and ignorance, when heard or chanted. It crushes the excellence of all
other spiritual practices described in the revealed scriptures. It captures
even the liberated souls.
2. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of
the prayers by the demigods to Krishna in the womb.
1. They welcomed and glorified Krishna. “Please, You also
appear in our minds. Your body is not material. You are not an ordinary living
entity appearing in this material world as a result of fruitive activities.
Therefore Your appearance in this world is only for Your pleasure although You
do not need to come. O supreme controller, Your Lordship previously accepted
incarnations as a fish, a horse, a tortoise, Narasiàhadeva, a boar, a swan,
Lord Rämacandra, Paraçuräma and, among the demigods, Vämanadeva, to protect the
entire world by Your mercy. Now please protect us again by Your mercy by
diminishing the disturbances in this world. O mother Devaké, by your good
fortune and ours, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, with all His
plenary portions, such as Baladeva, is now within your womb.”
2. The words paraù pumän aàçena signify that Kåñëa is the
original Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord appears in different ages in
His original çuddha-sattva transcendental body. The incarnations of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead appear continuously, like the waves of a river or an
ocean.
3. “You are the active principle, the real truth, in all
the ingredients of creation, and therefore you are known as antaryämé, the
inner force. The efficient cause of this material world, manifested with its
many varieties as the original tree, is You, O Lord. You are also the
maintainer of this material world, and after annihilation You are the one in
whom everything is conserved. Those who are covered by Your external energy
cannot see You behind this manifestation".
2. Various demigods, beginning from Lord Brahmä, Lord
Çiva and even Viñëu, are supposed to be the creator, maintainer and annihilator
of this material world, but actually they are not. The fact is that everything
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, manifested in varieties of energy. A
devotee can actually see that there is only the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and no second entity. Ekam evädvitéyam. There is only the Lord, who presents
Himself in different energies. Persons who are not in real knowledge think that
Brahmä is the creator, Viñëu the maintainer and Çiva the annihilator and that
the different demigods are intended to fulfill diverse purposes. Thus they
create diverse purposes and worship various demigods to have these purposes
fulfilled (kämais tais tair håta jïänäù prapadyante 'nya-devatäù [Bg. 7.20]). A
devotee, however, knows that these various demigods are but different parts of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that these parts need not be worshiped.
2. Demigods know all the material energies in the
universe. They even bestow some of them as magical mystical powers for the
demons. And they knew Krishna and His activities are beyond matter;
transcendental. They said: "You are beyond us"
3. God, Krishna exists.
The argument of Krishna's birth
1. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the
Supersoul of all living entities and who vanquishes all the fear of His
devotees, entered the mind or heart of Vasudeva in full opulence. Although
unborn, the Lord, the master of everything, appears like a born child by
entering the mind of a devotee. The Lord is already there within the mind, and
consequently it is not astonishing for Him to appear as if born from a
devotee's body. While carrying the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
within the core of his heart, Vasudeva bore the Lord's transcendentally
illuminating effulgence, and thus he became as bright as the sun. He was
therefore very difficult to see or approach through sensory perception. When
Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within
his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always
unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in
the pure, unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form
of Krishna.
2. Thereafter, accompanied by plenary expansions, the
fully opulent Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is all-auspicious for the
entire universe, was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of
Devaki. Devaki, exactly as the setting sun's rays are transferred to the full
moon rising in the east. Having thus been initiated by Vasudeva, she became
beautiful by carrying Lord Krishna, the original consciousness for everyone,
the cause of all causes, within the core of her heart, just as the east becomes
beautiful by carrying the rising moon.. There was no need for a discharge of
semen The Lord did not need to live within the womb of Devaki, for His presence
within the core of her heart was sufficient to carry Him. One is here forbidden
to think that Krishna was begotten by Vasudeva within the womb of Devaki and
that she carried the child within her womb. Because the Supreme Personality of
Godhead was within her womb, Devaki illuminated the entire atmosphere in the
place where she was confined. Seeing her jubilant, pure and smiling, Kamsa
thought, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, who is now within
her, will kill me. Devaki has never before looked so brilliant and
jubilant."
3. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, accompanied by great sages
like Narada, Devala, Sanaka, Sanatana and Vyasa and by other demigods like
Indra, Candra and Varuna, invisibly approached the room of Devaki, where they
all joined to congratulate or welcome the Supreme Personality of Godhead by
offering their respectful obeisances and prayers to please the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, who can bestow blessings upon everyone. After offering
prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, the Transcendence,
all the demigods, with Lord Brahma and Lord Siva before them, returned to their
homes in the heavenly planets.
4. Before the demigods came to pray, Krishna had already
gone to the area of the womb, in His original eternal youthful form. There was
no need of umbilical cords etc.
5. Thereafter, at the auspicious time for the appearance
of the Lord, the entire universe was surcharged with all the qualities of goodness,
beauty and peace. The constellation Rohini appeared, as did stars like Asvini.
The sun, the moon and the other stars and planets were very peaceful. All
directions appeared extremely pleasing, and the beautiful stars twinkled in the
cloudless sky. Decorated with towns, villages, mines and pasturing grounds, the
earth seemed all-auspicious. The rivers flowed with clear water, and the lakes
and vast reservoirs, full of lilies and lotuses, were extraordinarily
beautiful. Seasonal changes took place throughout the entire universe. Krishna
was born during the month of September, yet it appeared like springtime. The
atmosphere, however, was very cool, although not chilly, and the rivers and
reservoirs appeared just as they would in sarat, the fall. Lotuses and lilies
blossom during the day, but although Krishna appeared at twelve o'clock
midnight, the lilies and lotuses were in bloom In the trees and green plants,
full of flowers and leaves, pleasing to the eyes, birds like cuckoos and swarms
of bees began chanting with sweet voices for the sake of Krishna. A pure breeze
began to blow, pleasing the sense of touch and bearing the aroma of flowers,
and when the brahmanas engaging in ritualistic ceremonies ignited their fires
according to Vedic principles, the fires burned steadily, undisturbed by the
breeze. Thus when the birthless Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, was about to appear, the saints and brahmanas, who had always been
disturbed by demons like Kamsa and his men, felt peace within the core of their
hearts because kettledrums etc. simultaneously vibrated from the upper
planetary system; the Kinnaras and Gandharvas began to sing auspicious songs,
the Siddhas and Caranas offered auspicious prayers, and the Vidyadharis, along
with the Apsaras, began to dance in jubilation.
The demigods and great saintly persons showered flowers
in a joyous mood, and clouds gathered in the sky and very mildly thundered,
making sounds like those of the ocean's waves. Lord Krishna appeared on the
eighth day of the waning moon, but there was the rising of the full moon. Lord
Krishna appeared in the dynasty which is in the hierarchy of the moon;
therefore, although the moon was incomplete on that night, because of the
Lord's appearance in the dynasty wherein the moon is himself the original
person, the moon was in an overjoyous condition, so by the grace of Krishna he
could appear as a full moon. To welcome the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
waning moon became a full moon in jubilation.
6. Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, who
is situated in the core of everyone's heart, appeared from the heart, through
the womb of Devaki, in the dense darkness of night, like the full moon rising
on the eastern horizon, because Devaki was of the same category as Sri Krishna.
He was present in full potency in Devaki's heart, and He was also able to
appear as such outside her body, in His original humanlike spiritual form. He
did not live like an ordinary mortal in the heart or the womb of Devaki. Nor
did He appear like an ordinary human, although He took that form later in order
to bewilder asuras like Kamsa.Just as the sun may be on everyone's head. Yet
although the sun may be on the heads of millions and millions of people, this
does not mean that the sun is variously situated. Similarly, because the
Supreme Personality of Godhead has inconceivable potencies, He can be within
everyone's heart and yet not be situated variously.
7. The Lord had appeared as the son of Vasudeva and
Devaki, but the Lord had not entered Devaki's womb and then come out. Rather,
the Lord was always there. The Supreme Lord is all-pervading, present within
and without. The Lord is unlimitedly existing and all-pervading, inside and
outside. Thus there is no question of His appearance or disappearance.
8. Krishna first appeared with four hands, as Lord
Vishnu. Vasudeva then saw the newborn, who had very wonderful lotuslike eyes
and who bore in His four hands the four weapons sankha, cakra, gada and padma.
On His chest was the mark of Srivatsa and on His neck the brilliant Kaustubha
gem. Dressed in yellow, His body blackish like a dense cloud, His scattered
hair fully grown, and His helmet and earrings sparkling uncommonly with the
valuable gem Vaidurya, decorated with a brilliant belt, armlets, bangles and
other ornaments, He appeared very wonderful. The Vaidurya gem, which sometimes
appears bluish, sometimes yellow and sometimes red, is available in
Vaikunthaloka. Krishna illuminated His birthplace by His natural influence.
9. Vasudeva could understand that this was the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Narayana. Having concluded this without a doubt, he
became fearless. Bowing down with folded hands and concentrating his attention,
he began to offer prayers.
10. My Lord, You are the Supreme Person, beyond material
existence, and You are the Supersoul. Your form can be perceived by
transcendental knowledge, by which You can be understood as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. You are the same person who in the beginning created
this material world by His personal external energy. You appeared within the
womb of Devaki. The creation was also made in that way. You were lying in the
Causal Ocean as Maha-vishnu, and by Your breathing, innumerable universes came
into existence. Then You entered into each of the universes as Garbhodakasayi
Vishnu. Then again You expanded Yourself as Kshirodakasayi Vishnu and entered
into the heart of all living entities and entered even within the atoms.
Therefore Your entrance into the womb of Devaki is understandable in the same
way. You appear to have entered, but You are simultaneously all-pervading.
11. You are the original source of the material energy,
just as the sun is the source of the sunshine. The sunshine cannot cover the sun
globe, nor can the material energy—being an emanation from You—cover You. So
although You appear to be within the material energy, You are never covered by
it.”
12. Devaki prayed : “My dear Lord, at the end of the
annihilation of the cosmic manifestation, You put the whole universe within
Your abdomen; still, by Your unalloyed mercy, You have appeared in my womb. “
Then Devaki requested the Lord, who had appeared as Vishnu, to conceal that
form, for she wanted to see the Lord as an ordinary child, like a child
appreciated by persons who have material eyes. Devaki wanted to see whether the
Supreme Personality of Godhead had factually appeared or she was dreaming the
Vishnu form. If Kamsa were to come, she thought, upon seeing the Vishnu form he
would immediately kill the child, but if he saw a human child, he might
reconsider. “ O my Lord, You are the all-pervading Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and Your transcendental four-armed form, holding conch-shell, disc,
club and lotus, is unnatural for this world. Please withdraw this form [and
become just like a natural human child so that I may try to hide You
somewhere].” Although Vasudeva had promised to hand over every child to Kamsa,
this time he wanted to break his promise and hide the child somewhere. But because
of the Lord's appearance in this surprising four-armed form, He would be
impossible to hide.
13. There are five stages of loving service to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead—santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya.
Devaki is on the platform of vatsalya. She wanted to deal with her eternal son,
Krishna, in that stage of love, and therefore she wanted the Supreme
Personality of Godhead to withdraw His opulent form of Vishnu. Not wanting to
be ridiculed for having given birth to Vishnu, Devaki wanted Krishna, with two
hands, and therefore she requested the Lord to change His form.
14. By His internal energy, He then transformed Himself
into a small human child. [In other words, He transformed Himself into His
original form: krishnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. The Lord is not a
prakrita-sisu, a child of this world, but by His personal energy He appeared
like one. Ordinary people may have difficulty accepting the supreme controller,
God, as a human being because they forget that He can do everything by
spiritual energy.
15. God exists.
The argument of the incarnation of Prisnigarbha, Vamana
and Krishna
1. The Lord took birth the first time, in another age,
from Sutapa and Prisni as Prisnigarbha, then from Kasyapa and Aditi as Vamana,
and again from the same father and mother, Vasudeva and Devaki as Krishna.
2. "In other appearances also," the Lord said,
"I took the form of an ordinary child just to become your son so that we
could reciprocate eternal love."
3. The Lord told Devaki, "This time I have appeared
in My original form as Sri Krishna." Srila Jiva Gosvami says that the
other forms were partial expansions of the Lord's original form, but because of
the intense love developed by Prisni and Sutapa, the Lord appeared from Devaki
and Vasudeva in His full opulence as Sri Krishna.
4. Visnu, Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Yogamaya
1. When Vishnu took birth from Devaki, Krishna must have
simultaneously taken birth from Yasoda also. Otherwise how could Yogamaya have
been anuja, the Lord's younger sister?
2. Exactly at the time when Vasudeva, being inspired by
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was about to take the newborn child from
the delivery room, Yogamaya, the Lord's spiritual energy, took birth as the
daughter of the wife of Maharaja Nanda.
3. By the influence of Yogamaya, all the doorkeepers fell
fast asleep, their senses unable to work, and the other inhabitants of the
house also fell deeply asleep. When the sun rises, the darkness automatically
disappears; similarly, when Vasudeva appeared, the closed doors, which were
strongly pinned with iron and locked with iron chains, opened automatically.
Since the clouds in the sky were mildly thundering and showering, Ananta-naga,
an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, followed Vasudeva,
beginning from the door, with hoods expanded to protect Vasudeva and the
transcendental child.
4. Because of constant rain sent by the demigod Indra,
the River Yamuna was filled with deep water, foaming about with fiercely
whirling waves. But as the great Indian Ocean had formerly given way to Lord
Ramacandra by allowing Him to construct a bridge, the River Yamuna gave way to
Vasudeva and allowed him to cross; there was a path without water.
5. When Vasudeva reached the house of Nanda Maharaja, he
saw that all the cowherd men were fast asleep. Thus he placed his own son on
the bed of Yasoda, picked up her daughter, an expansion of Yogamaya, and then
returned to his residence, the prison house of Kamsa. Exhausted by the labor of
childbirth, Yasoda was overwhelmed with sleep and unable to understand what
kind of child had been born to her.
6. The doors inside and outside of the prison house
closed as before. Thereafter, the inhabitants of the house, especially the
watchmen, heard the crying of the newborn child and thus awakened from their
beds. Thereafter, all the watchmen very quickly approached King Kamsa, the
ruler of the Bhoja dynasty, and submitted the news of the birth of Devaki's
child. Kamsa, who had awaited this news very anxiously, immediately took
action.
7. Kamsa immediately got up from bed, thinking,
"Here is Kala, the supreme time factor, which has taken birth to kill
me!" Thus overwhelmed, Kamsa, his hair scattered on his head, at once
approached the place where the child had been born. Piteously embracing her
daughter and crying, Devaki begged Kamsa for the child, but he was so cruel
that he chastised her and forcibly snatched the child from her hands. Having
uprooted all relationships with his sister because of intense selfishness,
Kamsa, who was sitting on his knees, grasped the newborn child by the legs and
tried to dash her against the surface of a stone.
8. The child, Yogamaya-devi, the younger sister of Lord
Vishnu, slipped upward from Kamsa's hands and appeared in the sky as Devi, the
goddess Durga, with eight arms, completely equipped with weapons. The goddess
Durga was decorated with flower garlands, smeared with sandalwood pulp and
dressed with excellent garments and ornaments made of valuable jewels. Holding
in her hands a bow, a trident, arrows, a shield, a sword, a conchshell, a disc
and a club, and being praised by celestial beings like Apsaras, Kinnaras,
Uragas, Siddhas, Caranas and Gandharvas, who worshiped her with all kinds of
presentations, she spoke as follows.
9. “O Kamsa, you fool, what will be the use of killing
me? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has been your enemy from the very
beginning and who will certainly kill you, has already taken His birth
somewhere else. Therefore, do not unnecessarily kill other children.”
10. Krishna’s spiritual energy, Yogamaya acted here and
spoke. Energy means energetic. Her words are: “Krishna is God”.
The argument of Gargamuni’s astrology proving Krishna as
God
1. Gargamuni said: “This child, the son of Rohini, will
give all happiness to His relatives and friends by His transcendental
qualities. Therefore He will be known as Rama. And because He will manifest
extraordinary bodily strength, He will also be known as Bala. Moreover, because
He unites two families—Vasudeva's family and the family of Nanda Maharaja—He
will be known as Sankarshana. Baladeva was actually the son of Devaki, but He
was transferred from Devaki's womb to that of Rohini. Balarama would be known
as Sankarshana because of uniting two families—the yadu-vamsa and the vamsa of
Nanda Maharaja—one of which was known as kshatriya and the other as vaisya.
Both families had the same original forefather, the only difference being that
Nanda Maharaja was born of a vaisya wife whereas Vasudeva was born of a
kshatriya wife. Later, Nanda Maharaja married a vaisya wife, and Vasudeva
married a kshatriya wife. So although the families of Nanda Maharaja and
Vasudeva both came from the same father, they were divided as kshatriya and
vaisya. Now Baladeva united them, and therefore He was known as Sankarshana.
2. Krishna appears
as an incarnation in every of the four millenniums (yuga). Now He has appeared
in His full form as the source of all avataras. Because in this form the
Supreme Personality of Godhead exhibits Himself fully, His name is Sri Krishna,
the all-attractive.
3. He assumes the colors white, red, blackish and yellow
or black. This time He personally appeared in His original, blackish form. He
is Syama, dark not black. Krishna's transcendental body radiates a splendid
beautiful effulgence which is aKrishnam, not black. It is brighter than a mound
of blue sapphires. [In another Dvapara-yuga, He appeared (as Lord Ramacandra)
in the color of suka, a parrot.]
4. Just like the sunshine, which contains seven colors.
Sometimes the colors of sunshine are represented separately; otherwise the
sunshine is observed mainly as bright light. The different avataras, such as
the manvantara-avataras, lila-avataras and dasa-avataras, are all included in
the krishna-avatara. When Krishna appears, all the avataras appear with Him.
5. All such incarnations have now assembled in Krishna.
Factually, Krishna is the source of all avataras, and therefore all the
different features of the different avataras are present in Krishna. When
Krishna incarnates, all the features of other incarnations are already present
within Him. Other incarnations are partial representations of Krishna, who is
the full-fledged incarnation of the Supreme Being.
6. The Kali-yuga avatara is black or yellow? Although in
some yugas some of the colors are prominent, in every yuga, whenever Krishna
appears, all the colors are present. Krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam: although
Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears without krishna, or a blackish color, He is
understood to be Krishna Himself. Idanim krishnatam gatah. The same original Krishna
who appears in different varnas has now appeared. The word asan indicates that
He is always present. Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in
His full feature, He is understood to be krishna-varnam, although He appears in
different colors.
7. Gargamuni continued : “To increase the transcendental
bliss of the cowherd men of Gokula, this child will always act auspiciously for
you. And by His grace only, you will surpass all difficulties.” If we analyze
the nirukti, or semantic derivation, of the word "Krishna," we find
that na signifies that He stops the repetition of birth and death, and krish
means sattartha, or "existence." (Krishna is the whole of existence.)
Also, krish means "attraction," and na means ananda, or
"bliss." Because Krishna wants to give transcendental bliss to the
living entities, He appears in various forms. Therefore He is called Krishna.
8. When there was an irregular, incapable government,
Indra having been dethroned, and people were being harassed and disturbed by thieves,
this child appeared in order to protect the people and enable them to flourish,
and He curbed the rogues and thieves.
9. Krishna is God. God exists
The argument of killing Putana
1. Putana was a gigantic demoness 12 miles in height. Her
teeth were as large as ploughshares; her nostrils were deep as mountain caves.
Her scattered hair was the color of copper.
2. She took the form of a lovely human nurse, but she had
put deadly poison on her breasts. Lord Krishna-child was not angry at Putana
for His own sake. Rather, He was angry because the Rakshasi had killed and
drunk the blood of so many small children in Vrajabhumi. Therefore He decided
that she should be punished by having to forfeit her life. Krishna was few
months old; still He sucked the poison, the milk and her life air, and gave her
liberation as one of His mothers or nurses, maidservants in the spiritual
world, in Goloka Vrindavana to assist Mother Yasoda; because although Putana
had come to kill Him, He thought that since this woman was present with
motherly affection, although artificial, He had to offer her a benediction.
3. Unbearably pressed in every vital point, the demon
Putana began to cry, "Please leave me, leave me! Suck my breast no
longer!" Perspiring, her eyes wide open and her arms and legs flailing,
she cried very loudly again and again. The Rakshasi was severely punished by
Krishna. She threw her arms and legs about, and Krishna also began to kick her
with His legs to punish her properly for her mischievous activities.
4. As Putana screamed loudly and forcefully, the earth
with its mountains, and outer space with its planets, trembled. The lower
planets and all directions vibrated, and people fell down, fearing that
thunderbolts were falling upon them.
5. In this way the demon Putana, very much aggrieved
because her breast was being attacked by Krishna, lost her life. O King
Parikshit, opening her mouth wide and spreading her arms, legs and hair, she
fell down in the pasturing ground in her original form as a Rakshasi, as Vritrasura
had fallen when killed by the thunderbolt of Indra.
6. Putana was a great Rakshasi who knew the art of
covering her original form by mystic power, but when she was killed her mystic
power could not hide her, and she appeared in her original form. When the
gigantic body of Putana fell to the ground, it smashed all the trees within a
limit of twelve miles. Appearing in a gigantic body, she was certainly
extraordinary.
Because of the grievous hurt imposed upon her by
Krishna's sucking her breast, Putana, while dying, not only left the room but
abandoned the village and fell down in the pasturing ground in her gigantic
body.
7. The Rakshasi's mouth was full of teeth, each
resembling the front of a plow, her nostrils were deep like mountain caves, and
her breasts resembled big slabs of stone fallen from a hill. Her scattered hair
was the color of copper. The sockets of her eyes appeared like deep blind
wells, her fearful thighs resembled the banks of a river, her arms, legs and
feet seemed like big bridges, and her abdomen appeared like a dried-up lake.
The hearts, ears and heads of the cowherd men and women were already shocked by
the Rakshasi's screaming, and when they saw the fierce wonder of her body, they
were even more frightened.
8. Without fear, the child Krishna was playing on the
upper portion of Putana Rakshasi's breast, and when the gopis saw the child's
wonderful activities, they immediately came forward with great jubilation and
picked Him up.
Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead—Krishna. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is equally powerful in any transcendental form.
Krishna is the real Personality of Godhead because whether as a child or as a
grown-up young man, He is the same person. He does not need to become powerful
by meditation or any other external endeavor. Therefore when the greatly
powerful Putana expanded her body, Krishna remained the same small child and
fearlessly played on the upper portion of her breast. Shadaisvarya-purna.
Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always full in all potencies,
regardless of whether He is present in this form or that. His potencies are
always full. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. He
can display all potencies under any circumstances.
9. The inhabitants of Vraja cut the gigantic body of
Putana into pieces with the help of axes. Then they took the pieces far away,
covered them with wood and burned them to ashes.
It is the practice that after a snake has been killed,
its body is cut into various pieces for fear that it may come to life again.
Merely killing a serpent is not sufficient; after it is killed, it must be cut
to pieces and burned, and then the danger will be over. Putana resembled a
great serpent, and therefore the cowherd men took the same precautions by
burning her body to ashes.
10. Because of Krishna's having sucked the breast of the
Rakshasi Putana, when Krishna killed her she was immediately freed of all
material contamination. Her sinful reactions automatically vanished, and
therefore when her gigantic nasty body was being burnt, the smoke emanating
from her body was fragrant like aguru incense, the most agreeably scented herb.
11. As a mere infant who had hardly yet opened His eyes,
He drank the breast milk of the powerful demoness Putana and then sucked out
her very life air as well, just as the force of time sucks out the youth of
one's body. How could a mere infant who could barely open His eyes so easily
kill a very powerful demoness? A newborn infant cannot ordinarily kill a
powerful witch.
12. Krishna had wanted to kill Putana and His pastimes
were performed by yogamaya.
13. Krishna is God. God exists
The argument of the breaking the cart and freeing the
cart demon
1. When Mother Yasoda's baby was slanting His body to
attempt to rise and turn around, this attempt was observed by a Vedic ceremony.
In such a ceremony, called utthana, which is performed when a child is due to
leave the house for the first time, the child is properly bathed. Just after
Krishna turned three months old, Mother Yasoda celebrated this ceremony with
other women of the neighborhood. On that day, there was a conjunction of the
moon with the constellation Rohini. As the brahmanas joined by chanting Vedic
hymns and professional musicians also took part, this great ceremony was
observed by Mother Yasoda. Krishna had been put to sleep under a cart during an
outdoor festival. The liberal Mother Yasoda, absorbed in celebrating the
utthana ceremony, was busy receiving guests, worshiping them with all respect
and offering them clothing, cows, garlands and grains. Thus she could not hear
the child crying for His mother.
2. At that time, the child Krishna, demanding to drink
the milk of His mother's breast, angrily threw His legs upward. Krishna had
been placed underneath a household handcart, but this handcart was actually
another form of the Sakatasura, a demon who had come there to kill the child.
Now, on the plea of demanding to suck His mother's breast, Krishna took this
opportunity to kill the demon. Thus He kicked Sakatasura just to expose him.
Lord Krishna wanted to draw her attention by killing the Sakatasura, and
therefore he kicked that cart-shaped demon. The heavy demon had entered the
cart so the wheels sank in the earth; Krishna's short baby legs could now reach
and kick the very large cart.
3. It would have taken 10 men at least to lift this cart.
The cart flew high up in the air and crashed to pieces. Lord Sri Krishna was
lying down underneath the handcart in one corner of the courtyard, and although
His little legs were as soft as leaves, when He struck the cart with His legs,
it turned over in the air, violently and collapsed. The wheels separated from
the axle, the hubs and spokes fell apart, and the pole of the handcart broke.
On the cart there were many little utensils made of various metals, and all of
them scattered hither and thither.
4. When Lord Krishna was of a very tender age, His hands
and legs resembled soft new leaves, yet simply by touching the handcart with
His legs, He made the cart fall to pieces. It was quite possible for Him to act
in this way and yet not exert Himself very much. The Lord in His Vamana avatara
had to extend His foot to the greatest height to penetrate the covering of the
universe, and when the Lord killed the gigantic demon Hiranyakasipu, He had to
assume the special bodily feature of Nrisimha-deva. But in His Krishna avatara,
the Lord did not need to exert such energy. Therefore, krishnas tu bhagavan
svayam: [SB 1.3.28] Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In
other incarnations, the Lord had to exert some energy according to the time and
circumstances, but in this form He exhibited unlimited potency.
5. When the handcart broke, an ordinary child could have
been injured in many ways, but because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, He enjoyed the dismantling of the cart, and nothing injured Him.
Everything done by Him is ananda-cinmaya-rasa, full transcendental bliss.
6. The assembled cowherd men and ladies began to
contemplate how this thing had happened. "Is it the work of some demon or
evil planet?" they asked. At that time, the small children present
asserted that the cart had been kicked apart by the baby Krishna.
7. The Sakatasura was a ghost who had taken shelter of
the handcart and was looking for the opportunity to do mischief to Krishna.
When Krishna kicked the cart with His small and very delicate legs, the ghost
was immediately pushed down to the earth and his shelter dismantled.
8. The demon's soul freed from karma by Krishna's
purifying association went back to the spiritual world.
9. Krishna is God, God exists.
The argument of the killing of Trnavartasura
1. One day, a year after Krishna's appearance, Mother
Yasoda was patting her son on her lap. But suddenly she felt the child to be
heavier than a mountain peak, and she could no longer bear His weight.
2. Krishna was aware of the coming of Trinavartasura, who
would take Him far away from His mother. Krishna knew that when Trinavarta came
and took Him away from His mother's lap, Mother Yasoda would be greatly
bereaved. He did not want His mother to suffer any difficulty from the demon.
3. Feeling the child to be as heavy as the entire
universe and therefore being anxious, thinking that perhaps the child was being
attacked by some other ghost or demon, the astonished Mother Yasoda put the
child down on the ground and began to think of Narayana. Foreseeing
disturbances, she called for the brahmanas to counteract this heaviness, and
then she engaged in her other household affairs. She had no alternative than to
remember the lotus feet of Narayana.
4. While the child was sitting on the ground, a demon
named Trinavarta, who was a servant of Kamsa's, came there as a whirlwind, at
Kamsa's instigation, and very easily carried the child away into the air.
Trinavartasura had assumed the form of a whirlwind. Krishna's heaviness was
unbearable for the child's mother, but when Trinavartasura came, he immediately
carried the child away. This was another demonstration of Krishna's
inconceivable energy. When the Trinavarta demon came, Krishna became lighter
than the grass so that the demon could carry Him away. This was
ananda-cinmaya-rasa, Krishna's blissful, transcendental pleasure.
5. Covering the whole land of Gokula with particles of
dust, that demon, acting as a strong whirlwind, covered everyone's vision and
began vibrating everywhere with a greatly fearful sound. For a moment, the
whole pasturing ground was overcast with dense darkness from the dust storm,
and Mother Yasoda was unable to find her son where she had placed Him.
6. Krishna enjoyed the pastime of riding on Trinavarta's
body and traveling for a while in the sky. Krishna thought: "The
Vrajavasis can lift me a little, now I can go higher. I want to play in the sky
and fulfill the desires of the celestial ladies to see My beauty".
7. TrinavartAsura took Krishna very high in the sky, but
when Krishna became heavier and heavier, the demon had to stop his force and
could go no further. Because of Krishna's weight, Trinavarta considered Him to
be like a great mountain or a hunk of iron. Because Krishna had caught the
demon's neck, the demon was unable to throw Him off. He therefore thought of
the child as wonderful, since he could neither bear the child nor cast aside
the burden.
8. But with Krishna grasping him by the throat, Trinavarta
choked, unable to make even a sound or even to move his hands and legs. His
eyes popping out, the demon lost his life and fell, along with the little boy,
down to the ground of Vraja. The demon fell down with his back on a slab of
stone, his limbs dislocated.
9. Krishna was playing on his chest very happily,
uninjured and free from misfortune.
10. One would hardly think that a one-year-old baby could
kill a demon who had kidnapped him and carried him up into the sky.
11. God, Krishna exists
The argument of the Universal Form
1. One day Mother Yasoda, having taken Krishna up and
placed Him on her lap, was feeding Him milk from her breast with maternal
affection.
2. When the child Krishna was almost finished drinking
His mother's milk and Mother Yasoda was touching Him and looking at His
beautiful, brilliantly smiling face, the baby yawned, and Mother Yasoda saw in
His mouth the whole sky, the higher planetary system and the earth, the
luminaries in all directions, the sun, the moon, fire, air, the seas, islands,
mountains, rivers, forests, and all kinds of living entities, moving and
nonmoving.
3. Krishna showed His mother that the whole universe is
situated within Him. He showed His mother the virat-rupa, the universal form.
4. When Mother Yasoda saw the whole universe within the
mouth of her child, her heart began to throb, and in astonishment she wanted to
close her restless eyes. The relationship between Mother Yasoda and Krishna is
one of pure maternal love. In that love, Mother Yasoda did not very much
appreciate the display of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's opulences.
5. Krishna is God.
The argument of the deliverance of the twin Arjuna trees
1. Krishna was a crawling baby when once His mother bound
Him with a strong rope to a wooden mortar.
2. Krishna kept on crawling and by the mortar two mighty
deep-rooted twin arjuna trees were uprooted and fell down. When the two arjuna
trees fell, they made a high, tremendous sound, the high sound, as terrible as
falling thunderbolts. If by chance the trees had fallen upon Him, He would have
been smashed. These two trees were as strong as Arjuna; not even 1000 hands
could uproot them. Krishna had also given supernatural strength to the rope and
mortar. The two arjuna trees were very tall and thick, and they towered above
little Kåñëa's courtyard. The two trees were so large and sturdy that even many
elephants could not move them. Nevertheless, they were pulled down quite easily
by the naughty child.
3. Two brilliantly shining demigods, the souls of the
trees, came out. They appeared like fire personified. The effulgence of their
beauty illuminated all directions. They were freed from a curse, by Krishna's mercy
and touch. They were cursed by Narada muni to become trees for 100 years, but
then after that would see Krishna.
4. Arjuna trees are still found in many forests, and
their skin is used by cardiologists to prepare medicine for heart trouble. This
means that even though they are trees, they are disturbed when skinned for
medical science. Still, it was a boon in the disguise of a curse.
5. Then they glorified Krishna as the one ultimate God
above all the demigods. “ O Lord Kåñëa, Lord Kåñëa, Your opulent mysticism is
inconceivable. That we should be delivered by the blessings of Närada Muni was
all Your plan. Therefore You are the supreme mystic. Everything—past, present
and future—is known to You. Your plan was made so nicely that although we
stayed here as twin arjuna trees, You have appeared as a small boy to deliver
us. This was all Your inconceivable arrangement. Because You are the Supreme
Person, You can do everything. You are the supreme, original person, the cause
of all causes, immediate and remote, and You are beyond this material creation.
Learned brähmaëas know that You are everything and that this cosmic
manifestation, in its gross and subtle aspects, is Your form. You are the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, the controller of everything. The body, life,
ego and senses of every living entity are Your own self. You are the Supreme
Person, Viñëu, the imperishable controller. You are the time factor, the
immediate cause, and You are material nature, consisting of the three modes
passion, goodness and ignorance. You are the original cause of this material
manifestation. You are the Supersoul, and therefore You know everything within
the core of the heart of every living entity. O Lord, You exist before the
creation. Therefore, who, trapped by a body of material qualities in this
material world, can understand You? O Lord, whose glories are covered by Your
own energy, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You are Saìkarñaëa, the
origin of creation, and You are Väsudeva, the origin of the caturvyüha. Because
You are everything and are therefore the Supreme Brahman, we simply offer our
respectful obeisances unto You.”
6. Instead of trying to understand Kåñëa in detail, it is
better to offer our respectful obeisances unto Him, for He is the origin of
everything and He is everything. Because we are covered by the material modes
of nature, He is very difficult for us to understand unless He reveals Himself
to us. Therefore it is better for us to acknowledge that He is everything and
offer obeisances unto His lotus feet.
7. The two demigods continued : “Appearing in bodies like
those of an ordinary fish, tortoise and hog, You exhibit activities impossible
for such creatures to perform—extraordinary, incomparable, transcendental
activities of unlimited power and strength. These bodies of Yours, therefore,
are not made of material elements, but are incarnations of Your Supreme
Personality. You are the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have now
appeared, with full potency, for the benefit of all living entities within this
material world. O supremely auspicious, we offer our respectful obeisances unto
You, who are the supreme good. O most famous descendant and controller of the
Yadu dynasty, O son of Vasudeva, O most peaceful, let us offer our obeisances
unto Your lotus feet.”
8. “O supreme form, we are always servants of Your
servants, especially of Närada Muni. Now give us permission to leave for our
home. It is by the grace and mercy of Närada Muni that we have been able to see
You face to face. Henceforward, may all our words describe Your pastimes, may
our ears engage in aural reception of Your glories, may our hands, legs and
other senses engage in actions pleasing to You, and may our minds always think
of Your lotus feet. May our heads offer our obeisances to everything within
this world, because all things are also Your different forms, and may our eyes
see the forms of Vaiñëavas, who are nondifferent from You.”
9. Kåñëa was smiling because He was thinking to Himself,
"These two young demigods fell from the higher planetary system to this
planet, and I have delivered them from the bondage of standing for a long time
as trees, but as for Me, I am bound by the ropes of the gopés and am subject to
their chastisements."
10. Demigods exist and these superior beings know and
realize the spiritual world and its King, God.
11. Kåñëa again proved that He is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead
12. God, Krishna exists.
The argument of the fruit vendor getting her fruit basket
refilled with jewels and gold.
1. Once a woman selling fruit was calling, "O
inhabitants of Vrajabhümi, if you want to purchase some fruits, come
here!" Upon hearing this, Kåñëa immediately took some grains and went to
barter as if He needed some fruits. Aborigines generally go to the villagers to
sell fruits. Kåñëa, to show His favor to the poor aborigines, would immediately
go purchase fruits, bartering with paddy in His hand as He had seen others do.
2. The infallible is full in every respect and He Himself
provides fruits for everyone. Yet He desired some fruits. While Krishna was
going to the fruit vendor most of the grains He held fell. The fruit vendor
dealt with Kåñëa with great affection, saying, "Kåñëa, You have come to me
to take some fruit in exchange for grains. All the grains have fallen, but
still You may take whatever You like." Thus she filled Krishna’s hands
with all the fruits she had. Krishna somehow managed to hold them all in His
small hand by the influence of His potency of majestic opulence and went back
to His home.
3. In return, the aborigine woman received all types of
wealth including the treasure of love of God. She returned to her place and
when she brought down the basket from her head she found it full of gems and
gold. After this life she became a maidservant to Mother Yashoda for eternity.
4. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the deliverance of the calf demon.
1. One day while Balarama and Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, along with their playmates were tending the calves on
the bank of river Yamuna another demon arrived desiring to kill Them.
2. While He tended the calves on the bank of the River
Yamunä, two or three incidents took place every day, and although these were
serious, killing the demons one after another appeared to be His daily routine
work.
3. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead saw that the
demon had assumed the form of a calf and entered among the groups of other
calves, He pointed out to Baladeva, "Here is another demon." Then He
very slowly approached the demon, as if He did not understand the demon's
intentions. The Lord, the infallible, who never falls or fails, grasped the
hind legs and tail of Vatsasura and whirled the demon around very severely
until he was dead and using his body, enjoyed the sport of knocking kapittha
fruits down from the trees. During the twirling, the demon had assumed his
original great form. Then Krishna threw him in a tree which then fell down. The
tree’s fruits were within easy reach of Krishna's friends. The pulp of this
fruit is very palatable. It is sweet and sour, and everyone likes it.
4. In the upper planetary system, all the demigods were
pleased, and therefore they showered flowers on the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
5. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the deliverance of Bakasura
1. One day all the boys, including Kåñëa and Balaräma,
each boy taking his own group of calves, brought the calves to a reservoir of
water, desiring to allow them to drink. After the animals drank water, the boys
drank water there also. Right by the reservoir, the boys saw a gigantic body
resembling a mountain peak broken and struck down by a thunderbolt. They were
afraid even to see such a huge living being.
2. Bakasura, the friend of Kaàsa, had assumed such a huge
duck-like body that it was taller than the peak of Mt. Kailasa. The upper part
of his sharp beak pierced the heavenly planets.
3. At once, as he swallowed Krishna, he seemed to intend
to devour all other living entities on earth and heaven. Although, passing
through the saliva filled throat of that demon, Krishna's clothing and
ornaments had not become the least sullied. Krishna who was the father of Lord
Brahma (the demigod creator of the universe) but who was acting as the son of a
cowherd man became like fire, burning the root of the demon's throat.
4. Although Kåñëa's whole body is sweeter than sugar
candy, Bakäsura tasted bitterness and therefore immediately vomited Kåñëa up
and then attacked Krishna again with his sharp beak. Krishna with His arms
captured the demon by the two halves of its beak and very easily bifurcated him
as a child splits a blade of grass.
5. At that time the celestial denizens of the higher
planetary systems showered flowers upon Krishna. They also congratulated Him by
sounding celestial kettle drums and conch-shells and by offering prayers.
6. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the Supreme Musician
1. a. Krishna invents many new styles of flute-playing.
b. Billions of cows, He calls with billions of tunes or
ragas.
That tune is heard by a cow as carrying only her name.
Each tune has the potency of transforming into a particular name of a cow at
the ears of that particular cow.
2. When Krishna, Balarama and the cowherd boys call the
cows through flute-playing by name "Oh Kalindi, Ganges, Sarasvati!” Then
rivers such as the Kalindi (Yamuna), Ganges, Sarasvati attain the consciousness
thinking "oh, what good fortune we have! Krishna is calling us in order to
bathe and dive in our waters. Let us break our banks with strong currents and
flow towards Him". Stunned in ecstasy, their arms tremble out of love and
they eagerly wait for the wind to bring them the dust of Krishna's lotus feet,
which was carried to them by a favorable breeze.
3. At another instant, when the rivers hear the
flute-song of Krishna, their minds begin to desire Him, and thus the flow of
their currents is broken and their waters are agitated, moving around in
whirlpools. Then with the arms of their waves the rivers embrace Murari's lotus
feet and, holding on to them, present offerings of lotus flowers. Even such
sacred bodies of water as the Yamuna and the Manasa-ganga are enchanted by the
flute-song, and thus they are disturbed by conjugal attraction for Krishna.
4. Using their upraised ears as vessels, the cows are
drinking the nectar of the flute-song flowing out of Krishna's mouth. The
calves, their mouths full of milk from their mothers' moist nipples, stand
still as they take Govinda within themselves through their tear-filled eyes and
embrace Him within their hearts.
5. All the birds have risen onto the beautiful branches
of the trees to see Krishna. With closed eyes they are simply listening in
silence to the sweet vibrations of His flute, and they are not attracted by any
other sound. Surely these birds are on the same level as great sages. The birds
are so moved by the blissful sound that in their ecstasy they close their eyes
and cling to the branches to avoid falling off the trees.
6. The charming flute song then steals away the minds of
the cranes, swans and other lake-dwelling birds. Indeed they approach Krishna,
close their eyes and, maintaining strict silence, worship Him by fixing their
consciousness upon Him in deep meditation.
7. Great sages become maddened by the sound of Krishna's
flute, which is a completely spiritual vibration.
8. The branches of the trees are transformed in ecstasy
when struck by the vibration of Krishna's flute-song.
9. Brahma, Siva and Vishnu, being primordial gods, travel
throughout the universe and have extensive knowledge of the science of music,
and yet even these great personalities have never heard or composed music like
that which emanates from Krishna's flute
10. In the company of Balarama and the cowherd boys, Lord
Krishna is continually vibrating His flute as He herds all the animals of
Vraja, even under the full heat of the summer sun. Seeing this, the cloud in
the sky has expanded himself out of love. He is rising high and constructing
out of his own body, with its multitude of flower-like droplets of water, an
umbrella for the sake of his friend. Thus, the cloud made an umbrella from its
own shadow to relieve Krishna from the scorching heat of the sun. Sometimes,
the clouds sprinkled fine particles of ice, which were just like tiny flowers.
At another instant, a cloud, afraid of offending a great personality, thunders
very gently in accompaniment of the flute musical. The cloud showers flowers
onto his dear friend Krishna
11. The creepers of the forest weep abundant tears in the
form of streams of honey and bow low with their branches and vines. Their
filaments stand erect out of ecstatic love.
12. Hearing Krishna's flute-song the demigods bow down
their necks and minds. They are incapable of comprehending the real identity of
the musical scales, they become completely bewildered by the sweet sound flute
song.
13. Among the demigods led by Sakra (Lord Indra) were
Upendra, Agni and Yamaraja, among those led by Sarva (Lord Siva) were
Katyayani, Skanda and Ganesa, and among those led by Parameshthi (Lord Brahma)
were the four Kumaras and Narada. Thus the best collective intelligence in the
universe could not definitively analyze the enchanting musical arrangements of
the Supreme Lord.
14. Attracted by the sound of Krishna's flute, the
demigods come from their abodes and remain all day in the sky watching Krishna
in great bliss. Krishna's beauty and character create a festival for all women.
Indeed, when the demigods' wives flying in airplanes with their husbands catch
sight of Him and hear His resonant flute-song, their hearts are shaken by
Cupid, and they become so bewildered that the flowers fall out of their hair
and their belts loosen. Even while sitting on the laps of their demigod
husbands, the demigoddesses became agitated by hearing the sounds of Krishna's
flute. The demigods, although noting their wives' attraction to Krishna, did
not become envious. The demigods are actually very refined in culture and
intelligence, and therefore when flying in their airplanes they regularly take
their wives along to see Krishna. When Krishna returns to Vraja in the evening,
the demigods also return to their celestial abodes, but not before descending
to earth to worship the lotus feet of Krishna in order to obtain His mercy.
15. As Krishna plays His flute and sings, the music
attracts the black deer's wives, who approach that ocean of transcendental
qualities and sit down beside Him. Just like us cowherd girls, they have given
up all hope for happiness in family life.
16. The cows, bulls, forest animals become stunned and
cannot swallow the grass they chew. The sound of the flute steals their minds
and stops the functioning of their senses so that they appear as if asleep. The
chewed grass remains in their mouths without falling to the ground. As their
emotions become even stronger they become completely immobilized and their
breathing almost stops. They look like painted pictures or statues.
17. The Moon along with the luminaries felt amazed and
became standstill.
18. Krishna's flutes have 8 tunes or melodies. The
following are the effects
1st tune: the demigods feel enchanted with ecstatic
rapture
2nd melody: the Yamuna flows upwards
3rd melody: the Moon becomes standstill
4th melody: Vraja's divine cows ran to Krishna and then
stand motionless hearing it with joyful tears in their eyes.
5th melody: makes the gopis shudder with delight and
makes them run to Him for rasa-lila
6th melody: autumn fully sets in: trees are enriched with
foliage, blossoms and fruits, Mountains get melted.
7th note: all the 6 seasons fully blossom with their
splendor at one time and wind softly blows with the perfumes of blossoms of
flowers
8th note: takes the name of Radharani and makes Her see
Krishna everywhere.
19. At the end of the day, having rounded up all His own
cows, He plays a song on His flute, while exalted demigods standing along the
path worship His lotus feet and the cowherd boys accompanying Him chant His
glories. His garland is powdered by the dust raised by the cows' hooves, and
His beauty, enhanced by His fatigue, creates an ecstatic festival for
everyone's eyes. Eager to fulfill His friends' desires, Krishna is the moon
arisen from the womb of Mother Yasoda. At this point the gopis climbed into the
watchtowers of Vrindavana's houses so they could see Krishna as soon as
possible when He returned home. Mother Yasoda was very anxious for her son to
come back, and therefore she had the tallest of the beautiful young gopis climb
up to see when He would arrive. It is implied here that Krishna was somewhat
delayed on the way home because His lotus feet were being worshiped by great
demigods along the path.
20. As Krishna respectfully greets His well-wishing
friends, His eyes roll slightly as if from intoxication. He wears a flower
garland, and the beauty of His soft cheeks is accentuated by the brilliance of
His golden earrings and the whiteness of His face, which has the color of a
badara berry. With His cheerful face resembling the moon, lord of the night,
the Lord of the Yadus moves with the grace of a regal elephant. Thus He returns
in the evening, delivering the cows of Vraja from the heat of the day.
21. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the song of Krishna's flute
1. By Krishna's flute playing the birds, cows and bees
are so enchanted that they abandon chewing their food and to listen to it, with
joyful tears in their eyes. At other times, Vraja's bulls, deer and cows,
standing in groups at a great distance, are all captivated by the sound, and
they stop chewing the food in their mouths and cannot swallow it. They cock
their ears. Stunned, they appear as if asleep, or like figures in a painting.
The calves stopped sucking the udders of their mothers.
The milk falls from their open mouths and they stand as if stunned. Birds with
unblinking eyes behold Sri Krishna. Clouds appear over His head to allay the
suffering of the hot sun. The mountains get melted at the alluring sound. Krishna
skillfully blended His flute song with the lovely sounds of Vrindavana's
chirping birds, buzzing bees, waterfalls.
The forest became happy, blooming with lotuses. The trees
pouring out their honey seem to be weeping in bliss. The devotees shed tears of
joy and experience horripilation. The peacocks surround Krishna in a circle and
dance madly in tune with the rhythm of His melody and gentle animals such as
deer and doves greatly relish Krishna's transcendental performance and to get a
good view they flock to the peaks of the hills. As they watch the breath taking
program, they became stunned in ecstasy. The does worship Krishna with their
affectionate glances.
Because of their affection for Krishna, the bucks are
encouraged by seeing their wives attracted to Him and thus consider their
household lives fortunate. The demigods and the demigoddesses become mad after
Krishna. At that time the demigoddesses traveling in the sky with their
husbands, the Siddhas, become amazed. As those ladies listen, they are embarrassed
to find their minds yielding to the pursuit of lusty desires, and in their
distress they are unaware that the belts of their garments are loosening. The
cows and calves have raised their ears like cups to hear the sound of Krishna's
flute. Some birds keep their eyes closed, observe silence and remain
motionless. They had become stunned and ecstatic and cling to the branches to
avoid falling off the trees. Trees are transformed in ecstasy and begin to
sprout new leaves out of ecstasy. The sweet vibrations of Krishna's flute which
agitate the whole universe arise from Krishna alone, not from Visnu, Brahma,
Siva or Indra. It is impossible for anyone else to produce such enchanting
music. Some rivers exhibit whirlpools. Some rivers stop flowing towards the
ocean. The excess water swells into standing, motionless waves embracing the
lotus feet of Krishna and holding on to Them offerings of lotus flowers.
Sometimes the rivers stop flowing; the sound of Krishna's flute causes even
inanimate objects like rivers to become conscious and their water stunned by
the ecstasy they feel as they as they eagerly wait for the wind to bring them
the dust of His lotus feet, but sometimes they merely wait with their arms
trembling out of love.
When the moving living entities hear the flute sound they
became motionless. The non-moving trees adapted the qualities of moving living
entities and trembled in ecstasy.
The flowers lost their colors and cried tears of honey.
The voices of the birds were choked and altered. The vines ‘sprouts formed
goose pimples. All the moving and non-moving creatures fainted.
By Krishna’s flute playing the mountains covered with
perspiration (melted and flowed in all directions). Thirsty birds and deer
eagerly approach this fluid but became stunned after hearing the flute song and
are unable to drink it. The water in the lakes is stoned (i.e. became like
stone) and Krishna's flute sound causes the swan to become stunned also, as if
their feet were firmly bound in this water.
Krishna’s flute-playing rebukes the cooing of Brahma’s
swan-carrier. By Krishna’s flute sound honey oozes from all the trees of
Vrndavana. The waters of the streams become stunned and solid. The rocks become
soft and melt and the mountains no longer standing still, tremble and walk
about. The cows are stunned with bliss and sprinkle the flowers with great
flowing waves of milk. Maharaja Ananta Sesa, the carrier of the planets,
whirled around. It blocked the movements of the rain clouds. The demons are
either tunned, agitated or frightened. Overcome with ecstasy as he listens with
8 ears to Krishna’s flute music, Brahma rolls about on the back of his swan.
2. God exists
The proof of the pearls growing on the trees
1. Once upon a time, on Dipavali day in Karttika, all the
cowherd men of Vrindavana were busy worshiping their cows with special
decorations. Srimati Radhika went with all Her girlfriends headed by Lalita to
a pavilion on the bank of Malyahari kunda on the west side of Radha-kunda
village. Surrounded by many boxes of first class pearls, all the sakhis sat
together stringing pearl necklaces. Radhika and the sakhis enjoyed crafting new
ornaments in great excitement.
2. Sri Krishna’s talking parrot named Vichakshana was
observing everything. He then flew off to Nandagrama to inform Sri Krishna of
Radha’s activities.
3. When Krishna arrived there and saw all the sakhis
making ornaments, He said, “O Lalita, I have a small request. I have two very
dear and favorite cows named Hamsini and Harini. Please give Me some pearls to
decorate them.”
4. Lalita just glanced at Krishna from the corner of her
left eye, and then proudly acted as if she hadn’t heard Krishna’s request.
5. Seeing this, Shyama said, “O you mountains of pride,
coming forth from attaining the valuable touchstone of youthful beauty! Will
you not even lend an ear to the request of your dear friend?”
6. With feigned anger, Lalita said, “O upstart! Why are
You wasting Your time asking for pearls that are fit only for great queens?”
7. Krishna humbly replied, “To complete the decoration, I
just wanted some pearls to adorn the four horns of My two favorite cows.”
8. Lalita said haughtily, “Listen Krishna, what can I do?
I don’t see even one pearl among these which is suitable for decorating Your
cows.”
9. Krishna glared at Lalita with angry eyes and said, “O
most talkative Lalita! Just wait, you cruel miser! I will get pearls from My
mother Vrajeshvari and plant them in a field! Then I will harvest thousands of
more pearls than you can ever imagine!”
10. In Nandagrama Krishna planted a huge field of pearls
from the pearls given by His mother.
11. Those pearls miraculously sprouted, and quickly
became huge trees laden with thousands of pearls. And one most astonishing
feature of these pearls was that they were both multi-colored and more fragrant
than flowers!
12. Hearing about Krishna’s phenomenal pearl garden, the
gopis then planted every pearl they had in their possession in hopes of
obtaining twice as many pearls as Krishna had. But to their disappointment, all
that came up from the ground was thorny bramble bushes (these look a bit
similar to pearls).
13. Krishna’s garden produced so many pearls that He used
them to decorate all the calves, bulls, cows, goats and sheep of Vraja. Even
each and every monkey living in Vrindavana received pearl necklaces!
14. The sakhis were most anxious due to losing so much of
their families’ riches, so they met to discuss a solution to this humiliating,
insurmountable dilemma.
15. the sakhis were forced to approach Krishna to buy
some of His pearls to replace their lost jewelry collection. Krishna responded
proudly however, and set such a high price for His uncommon pearls that they
couldn’t buy even one pearl.
16. Seeing that Krishna was not budging an inch, the
gopis left disheartened and went to Radha-kunda along with Srimati Radhika.
17. After some time, Krishna’s heart softened, and He
decided to reciprocate with His most dearly beloved sweethearts. In great
bliss, Krishna collected all His best pearls and strung them into necklaces
with His own hand. He put the first necklace in a golden jewel-box and engraved
the name RADHIKA on the lid; then Krishna wrapped the box with fine white
silken cloth. In the same way, Krishna prepared separate boxes for Lalita,
Vishakha and all the other sakhis, marking them with their respective names.
Krishna then sent the necklaces to Radha and Her girlfriends, who were greatly
delighted to receive them.
18. That Person who can sow pearls to grow pearl trees is
no one else than God, Krishna.
19. God exists.
The argument of liberation for Aghasura, the serpent
demon.
1. One day Kåñëa wanted to enjoy a picnic lunch within
the forest. Having risen early in the morning, He blew His bugle made of horn
and woke all the cowherd boys and calves with its beautiful sound, and
thereafter He went out into the forest with the other cowherd boys, accompanied
by their respective groups of calves.
2. The number of
Krishna’s calves exceeded 100.000.000.000.000.000, one hundred quadrillion
calves. That was just the young calves, the older cows far exceeded that
amount. If the number of calves that they herded in the forest was so many, how
many more calves must have been left back in Vraja — the small calves taking
milk from their mothers, these cows, the elder male and female calves, the
bulls and the buffaloes etc. All these numbers kept increasing daily by the
power of Govinda. Thus the animals, cowherd and cowherd women were a big
number.
This great number is being spoken of by Srila Sukadeva
Goswami from the remembrance of the continuous ongoing nitya-līlā of the Lord
in Goloka Vrindavan, and not from the pastimes that happened on earth.
3. Another acarya commented: “The word asaìkhyäta means
"unlimited." Kåñëa's calves were unlimited. We may speak of hundreds,
thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions,
trillions, tens of trillions, and so on, but when we go further to speak of
numbers impossible for us to count, we are speaking of unlimited numbers. Such
unlimited numbers are indicated here by the word asaìkhyätaiù. Kåñëa is
unlimited, His potency is unlimited, His cows and calves are unlimited, and His
space is unlimited. Therefore He is described in Bhagavad-gétä as Para-brahman.
The word brahman means "unlimited," and Kåñëa is the Supreme
Unlimited, Para-brahman.
4. Although all these boys were already decorated by
their mothers with ornaments of käca, guïjä, pearls and gold, when they went
into the forest they further decorated themselves with fruits, green leaves,
bunches of flowers, peacock feathers and soft minerals.
5. While they were enjoying their picnic, Aghäsura, the
younger brother of Pütanä and Bakäsura, appeared there, desiring to kill Kåñëa
and His companions. When he came and saw Kåñëa at the head of all the cowherd
boys, he thought, "This Kåñëa has killed my sister and brother, Pütanä and
Bakäsura. Therefore, in order to please them both, I shall kill this Kåñëa,
along with His assistants, the other cowherd boys." Aghäsura thought: “If
somehow or other I can make Kåñëa and His associates serve as the last offering
of sesame and water for the departed souls of my brother and sister, then the
inhabitants of Vrajabhümi, for whom these boys are the life and soul, will
automatically die. If there is no life, there is no need for the body;
consequently, when their sons are dead, naturally all the inhabitants of Vraja
will die.” This demon could not tolerate the transcendental pleasure being
enjoyed in the forest by the cowherd boys
6. The demon, who had been sent by Kaàsa, assumed the
form of a python, expanding himself to a length of eight miles and the height
of a mountain, his mouth seeming to extend from the surface of the earth to the
heavenly planets; he spread his mouth like a big cave in the mountains. Having assumed
this feature, Aghäsura lay on the road.
7. Aghasura’s death was being awaited even by the
demigods. The demigods drank nectar every day, but still they feared this great
demon and awaited his death. The demigods were afraid of being killed by this demon.
His lower lip rested on the earth and his upper lip touched the clouds. His
tongue resembled a wide traffic-way. His breath was like a blazing fire and his
eyes blazed like fire. The serpent's teeth were like high mountain peaks.
8. One may ask how Kåñëa's pastimes could be interrupted
by a demon. Unless they somehow stopped the transcendental pleasure of one type
of their various activities they could not eat their lunch. Therefore at
lunchtime Aghäsura appeared by the arrangement of yogamäyä, so that for the
time being they could stop their activities and take lunch. Changing varieties
are the mother of enjoyment.
9. Some of Kåñëa's friends, the cowherd boys, thought
that the demon's form was one of the beautiful scenic spots of Våndävana. They
imagined it to be similar to the mouth of a great python. Some of the boys,
upon seeing this wonderful phenomenon, thought that it was in fact a python,
and they were fleeing from the spot. But others said, "Why are you
fleeing? It is not possible that a python like this is staying here. This is a
spot of beauty for sporting." These boys, unafraid, thought that it was a
statue made in the shape of a great python for the enjoyment of their pastimes.
Thus they wanted to enter within the mouth of this gigantic python. The
gigantic figure of the python became a subject for their sporting pleasure, and
they began to laugh, confident that even if this figure were dangerous, Kåñëa
was there to protect them. In this way, they proceeded toward the mouth of the
gigantic figure.
10. Other boys said: “Dear friends, is this creature
dead, or is it actually a living python with its mouth spread wide just to
swallow us all? Thereafter they decided: Dear friends, this is certainly an
animal sitting here to swallow us all. Its upper lip resembles a cloud reddened
by the sunshine, and its lower lip resembles the reddish shadows of a cloud. On
the left and right, the two depressions resembling mountain caves are the
corners of its mouth, and the high mountain peaks are its teeth. In length and
breadth the animal's tongue resembles a broad traffic-way, and the inside of
its mouth is very, very dark, like a cave in a mountain. The hot fiery wind is
the breath coming out of his mouth, which is giving off the bad smell of
burning flesh because of all the dead bodies he has eaten.” Then the boys said,
"Has this living creature come to swallow us? If he does so, he will
immediately be killed like Bakäsura, without delay." Thus they looked at
the beautiful face of Kåñëa, the enemy of Bakäsura, and, laughing loudly and
clapping their hands, they entered the mouth of the python. They wanted to
enjoy the sport of entering the demon's mouth and being saved by Kåñëa, the
enemy of Bakäsura.
11. Kåñëa knew everything about Aghäsura, and therefore He
wanted to forbid His friends to enter the demon's mouth, but in the meantime
all the cowherd boys, along with their groups of calves, entered the mouth of
that gigantic figure. They had entered like straws into the fire of the abdomen
of Aghäsura, who was death personified. Kåñëa was waiting outside, and Aghäsura
was waiting for Kåñëa, thinking that as soon as Kåñëa entered he would close
his mouth so that everyone would die. While waiting for Kåñëa, he refrained
from swallowing the boys. In the meantime, Kåñëa was thinking of how to save
the boys and kill Aghäsura. Thus He entered the mouth of the gigantic asura.
12. The demigods hidden behind the clouds exclaimed
"alas, alas" out of fear. They knew His powers but the nature of
affection is to sometimes lose one's power of discrimination.
13. Aghasura’s breath was giving off the bad smell of
burning flesh because of all the animals he had eaten. When Krishna was within
the demon's mouth along with His friends, Krishna killed Aghasura by expanding
His body within the demon's throat. Because Kåñëa had increased the size of His
body, the demon extended his own body to a very large size, his eyes rolled
here and there and popped out. The demon suffocated, his life air and soul
being trapped in his body with no outlet, finally burst out through the hole in
the top of his head. From the body of the gigantic python, a glaring effulgence
came out, illuminating all directions, and stayed individually in the sky until
Kåñëa came out from the corpse's mouth. Then, as all the demigods looked on,
this effulgence entered into Kåñëa's body. Then the soul passed to and attained
the Lord's abode, the Vaikuëöha planets to serve Him eternally. For a crooked,
sinful person there is no scope for mukti, but because the Supreme Personality
of Godhead entered the body of Aghäsura, by His touch this demon got liberated.
And Kåñëa and His associates had wanted to sport within Aghäsura's mouth. One
may doubt that such a demon, full of mischievous activities, could attain
liberation, and one may be astonished about this. But Kåñëa is so kind that in
order to drive away such doubts, He had the effulgence, the individual life of
the python, wait for some time in its individuality, in the presence of all the
demigods. Kåñëa proved that anyone killed by Him attains liberation.
14. In the case of Aghäsura, one may argue that he was
not a devotee. The answer to this is that he thought of Kåñëa for a moment with
devotion. Bhaktyäham ekayä grähyaù. Without devotion, one cannot think of
Kåñëa; and, conversely, whenever one thinks of Kåñëa, one undoubtedly has
devotion. Although Aghäsura's purpose was to kill Kåñëa, for a moment Aghäsura
thought of Kåñëa with devotion.
15. After this, Kåñëa, by casting His nectarean glance
upon His friends, brought them back to life, and with pleasure they all came
out unhurt.
16. Then the demigods showered flowers, the celestial
dancing girls began to dance, celestial singers sang, drums played; an infinity
of festivals of glorification of Krishna was going on all throughout the
universe.
17. This incident of Kåñëa's saving Himself and His
associates from death and of giving deliverance to Aghäsura, who had assumed
the form of a python, took place when Kåñëa was five years old.
18. God or Krishna exists
The argument of Krishna in many places
1. In a picnic in the forest Krishna sat in the center
encircled by lines of 1000's of friends. Due to love all the cowherd boys
wanted to face Krishna. Krishna fulfilled their desire by employing His energy
that fulfills everyone's desire and made His face and limbs appear in all
directions at once. Thus each boy thought "I am sitting in front directly
facing Krishna. But the other boys sit at a distance with their backs or sides
to Krishna"
When they began to enjoy their feast and find particular
milk-products most delicious, each one of them put it into the mouth of Sri
Krishna, without getting up from their respective seat. That is how close by they
all simultaneously remained to Him.
2. Krishna is God, God exists
The argument of the stealing of the cowherd-boys and
calves by Lord Brahma
1. When Lord Brahma heard the wonderful ceremony going on
near his planet, accompanied by music and songs and sounds of "Jaya!
Jaya!" he immediately came down to see the function. Upon seeing so much
glorification of Lord Krishna, because He had just killed Aghasura, he was
completely astonished. Even in the higher planetary systems near Brahmaloka,
like Maharloka, Janaloka and Tapoloka, the festival of glorification of Lord
Krishna was going on.
2. Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe and foremost
of the demigods was so deluded by the Yogamaya energy that he wanted to test
whether Krishna was the Supreme Personality of Godhead and above him (Brahma).
3. Krishna's all fulfilling desire potency and pastime
potency fulfilled Krishna's wish. They said "Oh Lord, if you want some
obstacle during this picnic for some amusement then we will go and bring Brahma
the head of all the demigods".
4. After killing Aghasura, Krishna, along with His
associates the cowherd boys, went for a picnic within the forest. The celestial
residents, including Brahma, watched in astonishment at how Krishna and His
friends were picnicking, herding calves and playing in the forest. The denizens
of heaven were struck with wonder at how the Personality of Godhead, who eats
only in yajna, was now eating like an ordinary child with His friends in the
forest.
5. The calves, being allured by green grasses, gradually
went far away, and therefore Krishna's associates became a frightened and
wanted to bring back the calves. Krishna, however, encouraged the boys by
saying, "You take your tiffin- lunch-box without being agitated. I shall
go find the calves." And thus the Lord departed. He began searching in all
the mountains, mountain caves, bushes and narrow passages.
6a. Brahma stole Krishna's friends and calves and put
them to sleep in a cave, just to examine the potency of Krishna. Brahma wanted
to show some of his own power and see the power of Krishna. Brahma could have
never caused such illusion over Krishna's associates on his own. Brahma stole
some other forms of boys created by the external energy. Brahma wanted to see
more of Krishna's power. Brahma thought: "Will Krishna show another
pastime or search and find the cows or pray to me to get them back or will He
be bewildered".
Krishna's spiritual energy hid the real boys and calves
and Krishna's material energy produced exact illusory replicas for Brahma to
steal. This was all done by Krishna's spiritual energy.
Brahma wanted to take away Krishna's associates, but
instead he took away some other boys and calves. Ravana wanted to take away
Sita, but that was impossible, and instead he took away a maya Sita. Similarly,
Brahma took away mayarbhakah: boys manifested by Krishna's maya. Brahma could
show some extraordinary opulence to the mayarbhakah; but he could not show any
extraordinary potency to Krishna's associates.
6b. When Krishna was unable to find the calves and boys,
He could understand that this was a trick performed by Brahma. Then the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, in order to please Lord
Brahma, as well as His own associates and their mothers, expanded Himself to become
the calves and boys, exactly as they were before; Krishna recreated all His
friends and calves. Krishna simultaneously expanded Himself into the exact
number of missing cowherd boys and calves, with their exact bodily features,
their particular types of hands, legs and other limbs, their sticks, bugles and
flutes, their lunch bags, their particular types of dress and ornaments placed
in various ways, their names, ages and forms, and their special activities and
characteristics, habits, features, attributes, their tastes or amusements,
voices exactly like theirs. As the source of all, Krishna is the original form
of all forms. But now the boys and calves were Himself, the Krishna category,
not His energies. Visnu-tattva, this is Krishna's expansion as the majestic
Lord of all beings.
7. Although all the elderly gopis knew that Krishna was
the son of Mother Yasoda, they still desired, "If Krishna had become my
son, I would also have taken care of Him like Mother Yasoda. "This was
their inner ambition. Now, in order to please them, Krishna personally took the
role of their sons and fulfilled their desire. The distinction between one's
own son and another's son is not unnatural. Many elderly women have motherly
affection for the sons of others. They observe distinctions, however, between
those other sons and their own. But now the elderly gopis could not distinguish
between their own sons and Krishna. Previously, the mothers of Sridama, Sudama,
Subala and Krishna's other friends did not have the same affection for one
another's sons, but now the gopis treated all the boys as their own. The
mothers of the cowherd boys thus became more attached to their respective sons,
and the cows became more attached to their calves. After nearly a year,
Baladeva observed that all the cowherd boys and calves were expansions of
Krishna. Thus He inquired from Krishna and was informed of what had happened.
8. When one full year had passed, Brahma returned and saw
that Krishna was still engaged as usual with His friends and the calves and
cows. Lord Brahma saw that the calves and boys he had taken were still in the
same mystic maya into which he had put them. "How can there be two sets of
calves and boys at the same time? Have the boys and calves here been created by
Krishna, or has Krishna created the ones lying asleep? Or are both merely
creations of Krishna?" Brahma thought about the subject in many different
ways. "After I go to the cave and see that the boys and calves are still
there, does Krishna go take them away and put them here so that I come here and
see them, and does Krishna then take them from here and put them there?"
9. Brahma wanted to bewilder Krishna, who bewilders the
entire universe. The whole universe is under Krishna's mystic power (mama maya
duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]), but Brahma wanted to mystify Him. The result was that
Brahma himself was mystified. In a similar position are the scientists and
philosophers who want to overcome the mystic power of Krishna. They challenge
Krishna, saying, "What is God? We can do this, and we can do that."
But the more they challenge Krishna in this way, the more they are implicated
in suffering. The lesson here is that we should not try to overcome Krishna.
Rather, instead of endeavoring to surpass Him, we should surrender to Him Instead
of defeating Krishna, Brahma himself was defeated, for he could not understand
what Krishna was doing. Since Brahma, the chief person within this universe,
was so bewildered, what is to be said of so-called scientists and philosophers?
Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. We should give up all our tiny
efforts to defy the arrangement of Krishna. Instead, whatever arrangements He
proposes, we should accept. This is always better, for this will make us happy.
The more we try to defeat the arrangement of Krishna, the more we become
implicated in Krishna's maya (daivi hy esha guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya). But
one who has reached the point of surrendering to the instructions of Krishna
(mam eva ye prapadyante) is liberated, free from krishna-maya (mayam etam
taranti te [Bg. 7.14]). The power of Krishna is just like a government that
cannot be overcome. First of all there are laws, and then there is police
power, and beyond that is military power. Therefore, what is the use of trying
to overcome the power of the government? Similarly, what is the use of trying
to challenge Krishna? If one gets even a little power of scientific knowledge,
one tries to defy God, but actually no one is able to bewilder Krishna
10. Brahma is but a tiny force. This was exhibited in
Dvaraka when Krishna called for Brahma. One day when Brahma came to see Krishna
at Dvaraka, the doorman, at Lord Krishna's request, asked, "Which Brahma
are you?" Later, when Brahma inquired from Krishna whether this meant that
there was more than one Brahma, Krishna smiled and at once called for many
Brahmas from many universes. The four-headed Brahma of this universe then saw
innumerable other Brahmas coming to see Krishna and offer their respects. Some
of them had ten heads, some had twenty, some had a hundred and some had a
million heads. Upon seeing this wonderful exhibition, the four-headed Brahma
became nervous and began to think of himself as no more than a mosquito in the
midst of many elephants.
11. Thus he concluded that the calves and cowherd boys
now playing with Krishna were different from the ones in the cave. He could
understand that although the original calves and boys were still in the cave
where he had put them, Krishna had expanded Himself and so the present
demonstration of calves and boys consisted of expansions of Krishna. They had
the same features, the same mentality and the same intentions, but they were
all Krishna. Although appearing like calves, cows and cowherd boys, these were
all Krishna. Actually they were vishnu-tattva, not jiva-tattva.
12. Then, while Lord Brahma looked on, all the calves and
the boys tending them immediately appeared to have complexions the color of
bluish rain-clouds and to be dressed in yellow silken garments. All those
personalities had four arms, holding conchshell, disc, mace and lotus flower in
Their hands. They wore helmets on Their heads, earrings on Their ears and
garlands of forest flowers around Their necks. On the upper portion of the
right side of Their chests was the emblem of the goddess of fortune; the
Srivatsa mark, a curl of fine yellow hair on the upper portion of the right
side of Lord Vishnu's chest. This mark is not for ordinary devotees. It is a
special mark of Vishnu or Krishna. Furthermore, They wore armlets on Their arms,
the Kaustubha gem around Their necks, which were marked with three lines like a
conchshell, and bracelets on Their wrists. With bangles on Their ankles,
ornaments on Their feet, and sacred belts around Their waists, They all
appeared very beautiful. Every part of Their bodies, from Their feet to the top
of Their heads, was fully decorated with fresh, tender garlands of tulasi
leaves offered by devotees engaged in worshiping the Lord by the greatest pious
activities, namely hearing and chanting. Those Vishnu forms, by Their pure
smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong
glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own
devotees. All beings, both moving and nonmoving, from the four-headed Lord Brahma
down to the most insignificant living entity, had taken forms and were
differently worshiping those vishnu-murtis, according to their respective
capacities, with various means of worship, such as dancing and singing. All the
vishnu-murtis were surrounded by the opulences, headed by anima-siddhi; by the
mystic potencies, headed by Aja; and by the twenty-four elements for the
creation of the material world, headed by the mahat-tattva; the five working
senses (panca-karmendriya), the five senses for obtaining knowledge
(panca-jnanendriya), the five gross material elements (panca-mahabhuta), the
five sense objects (panca-tanmatra), the mind (manas), the false ego
(ahankara), the mahat-tattva, and material nature (prakriti). Then Lord Brahma
saw that kala (the time factor), svabhava (one's own nature by association),
samskara (reformation), kama (desire), karma (fruitive activity) and the gunas
(the three modes of material nature), their own independence being completely
subordinate to the potency of the Lord, had all taken forms and were also
worshiping those vishnu-murtis. The vishnu-murtis all had eternal, unlimited
forms, full of knowledge and bliss and existing beyond the influence of time.
13. Krishna had transformed these friends, calves and
cows to Visnu forms and Their entourage. Krishna exhibited all the calves and
cowherd boys as four-armed forms of Narayana or Visnu.
14. Lord Brahma was completely bewildered. Now he was
convinced that Krishna was God.
15. Then, by the power of the effulgence of those
vishnu-murtis, Lord Brahma, his eleven senses jolted by astonishment and
stunned by transcendental bliss, became silent, just like a child's clay doll
in the presence of the village deity. Brahma was stunned because of
transcendental bliss (muhyanti yat surayah). In his astonishment, all his
senses were stunned, and he was unable to say or do anything. Brahma had
considered himself absolute, thinking himself the only powerful deity, but now
his pride was subdued, and he again became merely one of the demigods
16. The Supreme Brahman is beyond mental speculation, He
is self-manifested, existing in His own bliss, and He is beyond the material
energy. He is known by the crest jewels of the Vedas by refutation of
irrelevant knowledge. Thus in relation to that Supreme Brahman, the Personality
of Godhead, whose glory had been shown by the manifestation of all the
four-armed forms of Vishnu, Lord Brahma, the lord of Sarasvati, was mystified.
"What is this?" he thought, and then he was not even able to see. Lord
Krishna, understanding Brahma's position, then at once removed the curtain of
His yogamaya. Brahma is referred to as iresa. Ira means Sarasvati, the goddess
of learning, and Iresa is her husband, Lord Brahma. Brahma, therefore, is most
intelligent. But even Brahma, the lord of Sarasvati, was bewildered about
Krishna.
17. Lord Brahma's external consciousness then revived,
and he stood up, just like a dead man coming back to life. Opening his eyes
with great difficulty, he saw the universe, along with himself. Then, looking
in all directions, Lord Brahma immediately saw Vrindavana before him, filled
with trees, which were the means of livelihood for the inhabitants and which
were equally pleasing in all seasons. Vrindavana is the transcendental abode of
the Lord, where there is no hunger, anger or thirst. Though naturally inimical,
both human beings and fierce animals live there together in transcendental
friendship.
18. Then Lord Brahma saw the Absolute Truth—who is one
without a second, who possesses full knowledge and who is unlimited (in His
Eternal Form of a child/boy/young man in a family of cowherd men; another of
Krishna's names is Gopala, "He who maintains the cows" and Govinda,
“He gives pleasure to the cows, the senses, the land, everyone, serving Him and
is their Lord”. As stated in the Gopala-tapani Upanishad: yah sakshat
para-brahmeti govindam sac-cid-ananda-vigraham
vrindavana-sura-bhuruha-talasinam. "The Absolute Truth Himself is Govinda,
who has an eternal form of bliss and knowledge and who is sitting beneath the
shady desire trees of Vrindavana.") and standing all alone, just as
before, loitering with His cowherd boyfriends, calves and cows.” The Supreme
Person resembles a human being, in whose image Brahma was made. He is
Para-Brahman, the highest spirituality, the root cause of everything.
19. After seeing this, Lord Brahma hastily got down from
his swan carrier, fell down like a golden rod and touched the lotus feet of
Lord Krishna with the tips of the four crowns on his heads. Offering his
obeisance’s, he bathed the feet of Krishna with the water of his tears of joy.
Usually, the demigods never touch the ground, but Lord Brahma, voluntarily
giving up his prestige as a demigod, bowed down on the ground before Krishna.
Although Brahma has one head in each direction, he voluntarily brought all his
heads to the ground and touched Krishna's feet with the tips of his four
helmets. I.o.w. to make his obeisance’s completely, by touching the Lord's
feet, he had to fall on the ground and raise himself four times
20. Then, rising very gradually and wiping his two eyes,
Lord Brahma looked up at Mukunda. Lord Brahma, his head bent low, his mind
concentrated and his body trembling, very humbly began, with faltering words,
to offer praises to Lord Krishna. With his two hands he wiped the two eyes on
each of his four faces.
21. Brahma prayed: "Oh son of the king of the cowherds, Your
transcendental body is dark blue like a new cloud, Your garment is brilliant
like lightning, and the beauty of Your face is enhanced by Your gunja berries
earrings and the peacock feather on Your head. Also flowers adorn Your head.
Wearing garlands of various forest flowers and leaves, and equipped with a
herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute ". The Lord held a cow-herding
stick and a buffalo horn pressed under His left arm, and His flute was placed
under His belt. Beautiful young Krishna, decorated with multicolored forest
minerals, exhibited opulence’s far greater than those of Vaikuntha. Brahma's
description reveals the superiority of the gunja berries of Vraja to the
precious jewels of Vaikuntha's Narayana, the Lord, king of the material
universes. It is like a king who is superior or rather in his home and palace
pastimes then in the government buildings.
22. The Lord can perform any bodily function with any of
His limbs but also He can see through the eyes of His Vishnu expansions or,
indeed, through the eyes of any living entity, and similarly that He can hear
etc through the ears and all the senses of any Vishnu or jiva expansion.
Although the Lord can perform any function with any one of His senses, in His
transcendental pastimes as Sri Krishna He generally sees with His eyes, touches
with His hands, hears with His ears and so on.
23. Brahma continued: "Your avataras, incarnations
such as sankarsana actually have counted the number of atoms on the earth, the
snowflakes and even the particles of sunlight yet even such a personality as
sankarsana, who has been continuously chanting Krishna's glories since time
immemorial, can not come to an end of enumerating those glories.
24. "Nara" means living entities and
"ayana" means shelter. You are the ultimate shelter of all living
entities.
25. Though You are here and seem to be localized and
therefore limited You hold all the universes and the spiritual world within You
and are therefore unlimited.
26. You exist at all times in all places but by the
covering of Your spiritual potency You are sometimes visible and sometimes
invisible.
27. And by You spiritual potency you are sometimes in this
form and sometimes in another form. How is it possible to satisfy
simultaneously all Your devotees? Your inconceivable energy perfectly carries
out the work of presenting
different pastimes to Your various devotees at the
suitable time. You assume forms and relationships similar to those found in the
material world, but Your relationships are not false or temporary like those of
material fathers and sons, material husband and wife, material lovers, material
friends and material masters and servants. Your forms and relationships are
completely transcendental and eternally existing.
28. Though Your pastimes are eternal and transcendental,
they appear similar to material activities. Thinking that is was not proper for
my master Krishna, who is the most exalted Lord of the Lords, to hold a stick
and to be decorated with gunja berries, mineral colors, peacock feathers and
other simple ornaments and enjoy pastimes with cowherd boys and girls and
cowherd family members, I foolishly committed an offense. O Supreme Personality
of Godhead, as long as the universe exists and as long as the sun shines, I
will offer my obeisance’s to You.”
29. To benefit the living entities in the material world,
Krishna appears by His causeless and inconceivable mercy. He appears sometimes
to be somewhat like an ordinary conditioned soul and covers His supreme
majesty. He is thus directly perceived by the material senses. In ordinary
circumstances He is never perceived by the material senses.
30. The word purna, meaning "full and complete,"
refutes the concept that Lord Krishna could grow, since He is ever-existing in
fullness. When one's material body becomes mature, one can no longer enjoy as
in youth; but the words ajasra-sukha, "enjoying unobstructed
happiness," indicate that Lord Krishna's body never reaches so-called
middle age, since it is always full of spiritual youthful bliss. The word
akshara, "undiminishing," refutes the possibility that Lord Krishna's
body grows old or declines, and the word amrita, "immortal" negates
the possibility of death.
31. Brahma ended his prayers, saying: “I hope that You
will excuse me for disturbing You in Your pastimes with Your friends and
calves. Now if You will kindly allow me, I will immediately leave so You can
enjoy Your friends and calves without my presence."
32. As the creator of the universe, Lord Brahma was
somewhat out of place in the simple, blissful, transcendental atmosphere of
Vrindavana, where Lord Krishna was exhibiting His supreme opulence’s in herding
cows, enjoying picnics, playing games, sporting with His cowherd boyfriends,
romances, decorated with a stick, a conch-shell, ornaments, red clay, a peacock
feather. Upon seeing the intense love the residents of Vrindavana had for Lord
Krishna, Brahma felt unqualified to remain there. He was not eager to give up
the Lord's association, but he felt it better to return to his personal
devotional service in Brahmaloka. Somewhat embarrassed and unhappy over his
foolish attempt at bewildering the Lord, Brahma preferred to resume his transcendental
loving service rather than try to enjoy the Lord's presence. Lord Brahma, in
his shame, felt himself to be like a brahma-rakshasa from Satyaloka who had
come to the earth to disturb Lord Krishna and His intimate friends and calves.
33. The calves and boys had remained in the forest and on
the riverbank, respectively, for one full year. Lord Brahma did not actually
take them away to another place. By the Lord's omnipotent illusory energy, the
gopis and other residents of Vrindavana did not notice the calves and boys, nor
did the calves and boys notice the passing of a year's time or feel any hunger,
cold or thirst. All this was part of the pastime arranged by the Lord's
mystical potency. After Brahma surrendered and offered prayers, Lord Krishna
returned to the original boys and calves, who appeared exactly as before,
although their size had somewhat increased because of one year's growth.
34. Since Lord Krishna was playing exactly like an
innocent young cowherd boy in Vrindavana, after four-headed Brahma offered his
prayers the Lord maintained His role as a young cowherd boy and thus remained
silent before Brahma. Krishna's silence indicates the following thoughts:
"Where did this four-headed Brahma come from? What is he doing? What are
these words he keeps on speaking? I am busy looking for My calves. I am just a
cowherd boy and do not understand all this." Lord Brahma had considered
Lord Krishna an ordinary cowherd boy and had treated Him as such. After
accepting Brahma's prayers, Krishna continued to play as a cowherd boy and thus
did not answer the four-headed Brahma. Rather, Krishna was more interested in
rejoining His cowherd boyfriends for the picnic lunch on the bank of the Yamuna
River.
35. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of blowing out the forest fire
1. One day Krishna and His friends were herding cows,
calves, goats and buffaloes in a forest with a huge Bhandira– banyan tree
2. While the cowherd boys were completely absorbed in
playing, their cows wandered far away. They hungered for more grass, and with
no one to watch them they entered a dense forest. Passing from one part of the
great forest to another, the goats, cows, calves and buffaloes eventually
entered an area overgrown with sharp canes. The heat of a nearby forest fire
made them thirsty, and they cried out in distress. Not seeing the cows before
them, Krishna, Rama and Their cowherd friends suddenly felt repentant for
having neglected them. The boys searched all around, but could not discover
where they had gone. Then the boys began tracing out the cows' path by noting
their hoofprints and the blades of grass the cows had broken with their hooves
and teeth. All the cowherd boys were in great anxiety because they had lost
their source of livelihood. Within the Munja forest the cowherd boys finally
found their valuable cows, who had lost their way and were crying. Then the
boys, thirsty and tired, herded the cows onto the path back home.
3. Suddenly a great forest fire appeared on all sides,
threatening to destroy all the forest creatures. Like a chariot driver, the
wind swept the fire onward, and terrible sparks shot in all directions. Indeed,
the great fire extended its tongues of flame toward all moving and nonmoving
creatures. The forest fire previously mentioned raged out of control and
surrounded all of them.
4. Sometimes a forest fire is manifest by a demon who is
a follower of Kamsa's. There were many seasonal forest fires.
5. Krishna, the Supreme mystic blew out all the flames of
the blazing fire as a burning lamp is put off by blowing out air through the
mouth.
6. In another forest fire, the Supreme Lord Krishna told
His friends, "Just close your eyes and do not be afraid." "All
right," the boys replied, and immediately closed their eyes. Then the
Supreme Lord, the master of all mystic power, opened His mouth and swallowed
the terrible fire, saving His friends from danger. The cowherd boys opened
their eyes and were amazed to find not only that they and the cows had been
saved from the terrible fire but that they had all been brought back to the
Bhandira tree.
7. The cowherd boys of Vrindavana simply loved Krishna as
their only friend and exclusive object of devotion. To increase their ecstasy,
Krishna displayed to them His mystic potency and saved them from a terrible
forest fire.
The cowherd boys could never give up their ecstatic
loving friendship with Krishna. Therefore, rather than considering Krishna to
be God, after they saw His extraordinary power they thought that perhaps He was
a demigod. But since Lord Krishna was their beloved friend, they were on the
same level with Him, and thus they thought that they too must be demigods. In
this way Krishna's cowherd friends became overwhelmed with ecstasy.
8. Krishna is God, God exists.
The argument of the great demigods taking the dust of
Krishna's Lotus Feet on their heads
1. Every evening at about five o'clock, Krishna returns
from the cow pastures with His cowherd boyfriends. At that time, great demigods
like Brahma and Siva come down from heaven to take the dust of Krishna's feet
on their heads, in order to remove the sorrow they feel in separation from the
Lord. The various demigods stand on all sides of Krishna like panegyrists,
offering their music, singing and gifts of tribute.
2. Krishna is the God of all the gods.
3. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the liberation of the demon Dhenuka, the
ass-demon
1. Sometimes the honeybees in Vrindavana became so mad
with ecstasy that they closed their eyes and began to sing. Lord Krishna,
moving along the forest path with His cowherd boyfriends and Baladeva, would
then respond to the bees by imitating their singing while His friends sang
about His pastimes.
2. Sometimes Lord Krishna would imitate the chattering of
a parrot, sometimes, with a sweet voice, the call of a cuckoo, and sometimes
the cooing of swans. Sometimes He vigorously imitated the dancing of a peacock,
making His cowherd boyfriends laugh. Sometimes, with a voice as deep as the
rumbling of clouds, He would call out with great affection the names of the
animals who had wandered far from the herd, thus enchanting the cows and the
cowherd boys.
3. Lord Krishna would joke with His friends, saying,
"Just look, this peacock does not know how to dance properly,"
whereupon the Lord would vigorously imitate the peacock's dancing, causing
great laughter among His friends.
4. Sometimes He would cry out in imitation of birds such
as the cakoras, krauncas, cakrahvas, bharadvajas and peacocks, and sometimes He
would run away with the smaller animals in mock fear of lions and tigers.
The word bhita-vat, "as if afraid," indicates
that Lord Krishna played just like an ordinary boy and ran with the smaller
forest creatures in mock fear of the lions and tigers. Actually, in Vrindavana,
the abode of the Lord, the lions and tigers are not violent, and thus there is
no reason to fear them.
5. Sometimes Lord Krishna grew tired from fighting and
lay down at the base of a tree, resting upon a bed made of soft twigs and buds
and using the lap of a cowherd friend as His pillow.
The word pallava-talpeshu implies that Lord Krishna
expanded Himself into many forms and lay down upon the many beds of twigs,
leaves and flowers hastily constructed by His enthusiastic cowherd friends.
6. Some of the cowherd boys, who were all great souls,
would then massage His lotus feet, and others, qualified by being free of all
sin, would expertly fan the Supreme Lord. My dear King, other boys would sing
enchanting songs appropriate to the occasion, and their hearts would melt out
of love for the Lord.
7. In this way the Supreme Lord, whose soft lotus feet
are personally attended by the goddess of fortune, concealed His transcendental
opulence’s by His internal potency and acted like the son of a cowherd. Yet
even while enjoying like a village boy in the company of other village
residents, He often exhibited feats only God could perform.
8. Once, some of the cowherd boys—Sridama, the very close
friend of Rama and Krishna, along with Subala, Stokakrishna and others—lovingly
spoke the following words.
9. The word premna, "with love," indicates that
the request the cowherd boys are about to place before Lord Krishna and Lord
Balarama is motivated by love, not personal desire. The cowherd boys were eager
for Krishna and Balarama to exhibit Their pastimes of killing demons and to
enjoy the delicious fruits of the Tala forest.
10. “The wicked
and irrepressible Dhenuka, who has assumed the form of an ass, has falsely
taken proprietorship over an orchard with delicious ripe palm fruits. These
sweet-smelling fruits no one has ever tasted. Indeed, even now we can smell the
fragrance of the tala fruits spreading all about. The land there is even,
smooth and very expansive. The earth is black, densely covered with darbha
grass and devoid of stones and pebbles. But fearing this demon, no one dares
try to relish the taste of those fruits, and thus someone has to kill the demon
and all his associates.”
11. “The demon Dhenuka has eaten men alive, and therefore
all people and animals are terrified of going to the Tala forest. O killer of
the enemy, even the birds are afraid to fly there.”
12. The cowherd boys were engaged in ecstatic meditation
upon the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and reasoned thus:
"Krishna has already killed terrible demons like Baka and Agha, so what is
so special about this obnoxious jackass named Dhenuka, who has become public
enemy number one in Vrindavana?" Krishna's young boyfriends protested this
unjust usurpation of the right to enjoy the fruits of a public forest.
13. Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, hearing of the situation,
set off for this forest to fulfill the desire of Their companions. The Lords
would kill such demons as a popular daily event. Lord Krishna was thinking,
"How can a mere ass be so formidable?" And thus He smiled at the
petition of His boyfriends.
14. Since Lord Krishna had already killed many demons, on
this particular day He decided to give first honors to Lord Balarama.
15. Lord Balarama entered the Tala forest first. Then
with His two arms He began forcefully shaking the trees with the power of a
maddened elephant, causing the tala fruits to fall to the ground, and as soon
as He did so the jackass demon, Dhenuka, ran swiftly to attack Him, making the
earth and trees tremble.
16. The powerful demon rushed up to Lord Baladeva and
sharply struck the Lord's chest with the hooves of his hind legs. Then Dhenuka
began to run about, braying loudly. Moving again toward Lord Balarama, O King,
the furious ass situated himself with his back toward the Lord. Then, screaming
in rage, making horrible, angry sounds, the demon hurled his two hind legs at
Him.
17. Balarama grabbed him by the hind-legs and twirled him
around till he died. Then Lord Balarama threw the dead body of Dhenukasura into
the top of the tallest palm tree in the forest, and when the dead demon landed
in the treetop, the tree began shaking. The great palm tree, causing a tree by
its side also to shake, broke under the weight of the demon. The neighboring
tree caused yet another tree to shake, and this one struck yet another tree,
which also began shaking. In this way many trees in the forest shook and broke
and all the trees began shaking and striking against one another as if blown
about by powerful winds.
18. The Supreme Lord possesses unlimited potency and
strength, as expressed here by the word anante. The Lord exhibits a tiny
fraction of His power according to the need of a particular situation. Lord
Balarama desired to vanquish the gang of demoniac asses who had unlawfully
seized the Talavana forest, and therefore He exhibited just enough divine
opulence to easily kill Dhenukasura and the other demons.
19. All of Dhenukasura's friends, overcome by fury, then
rushed to attack, but Rama and Krishna easily took hold of them one by one,
swung them around by their hind legs, thus killed them and threw them all into
the tops of the palm trees.
20. Thus the disturbance in this part of the forest was
finished. The earth then appeared beautifully covered with heaps of fruits and
with the dead bodies of the demons, which were entangled in the broken tops of
the palm trees. Indeed, the earth shone like the sky decorated with clouds. The
bodies of the demons were dark, like dark blue clouds, and the large quantity of
blood that had flowed from their bodies appeared like bright red clouds. Thus
the whole scene was very beautiful.
21. Seeing this magnificent feat of the two brothers, the
demigods and other elevated living beings rained down flowers and offered music
and prayers in glorification.
The demigods, great sages and other exalted beings were
all astonished and ecstatic upon seeing the unusually swift and nonchalant way
in which Krishna and Balarama killed the very powerful ass demons in the Tala
forest.
22. People now felt free to return to the forest where
Dhenuka had been killed, and without fear they ate the fruits of the palm
trees. Also, the cows could now graze freely upon the grass there.
Low-class people such as the pulindas ate the fruits of
the palm trees, but Krishna's cowherd boyfriends considered them undesirable,
since they had been tainted with the blood of the asses.
21. Dhenuka and co were stronger then any mortal human on
Earth, still Balarama and Krishna were stronger then them.
22. Above humans there are higher beings, divine beings,
(demi)gods– they showered flowers.
23. The hierarchy of divine beings ends with the Supreme
powerful, the king of all divine beings, God. As the hierarchy in every state
on earth has a head man. There must be a first Supreme God, an ultimate
substance as one can't progress walking on a hill of fine sand; there is no
infinite regress. That Supreme Personality of Godhead with His whole
transcendental world had descended here on earth, as confirmed here again by
the demigods.
24. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Krishna chastising the serpent Kaliya
1. The serpent Kaliya poisoned a very wide lake – at some
points eight miles across– close to, but connected to a branch of the Ganges,
the Yamuna. The birds flying over the lake and the trees at the banks of the
lake died by the fumes. The wind blowing over that deadly lake carried droplets
of water to the shore. Simply by coming in contact with that poisonous breeze,
all vegetation and creatures on the shore died.
2. The water in the lake was very deep and, like the
immovable depths of the ocean, could not be agitated. Approaching the lake was
difficult, for its shores were covered with holes in which serpents lived. All
around the lake was a fog generated by the fire of the serpents' poison, and
this powerful fire would at once burn up every blade of grass that happened to
fall into the water. For a distance of eight miles from the lake, the
atmosphere was most unpleasant.
3a. By the mystical science of jala-stambha, making solid
items out of water, Kaliya had built his own city within the lake. The water
especially close to Kaliya was boiling hot and reddish yellow color; the
serpent Kaliya’s fiery poison constantly heated and boiled its waters. Kaliya
used his weapon of poison at a distance by spitting venom upon his enemy and at
short range by biting him with his terrible fangs.
3b. Krishna's friends and cows had died drinking the
water. Krishna revived them, by showering His nectarean glance upon them.
3c. Kaliya had 1000 hoods and was several meters high.
3d. Krishna jumped in the lake creating huge waves 400
hands high. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead landed in the serpent's
lake, the snakes there became extremely agitated and began breathing heavily,
further polluting it with volumes of poison. The force of the Lord's entrance
into the lake caused it to overflow on all sides, and poisonous, fearsome waves
flooded the surrounding lands up to a distance of one hundred bow-lengths.
3e. Krishna began sporting in Kaliya's lake like a lordly
elephant—swirling His mighty arms and making the water resound in various ways.
Krishna played in the water producing wonderful musical sounds simply by
splashing the water with His hands and arms.
3f. When Kaliya heard these sounds, he understood that
someone was trespassing in his lake. The serpent could not tolerate this and
immediately came forward. Kaliya saw that Sri Krishna, who wore yellow silken
garments, was very delicate, His attractive body shining like a glowing white
cloud, His chest bearing the mark of Srivatsa, His face smiling beautifully and
His feet resembling the whorl of a lotus flower. The Lord was playing
fearlessly in the water.
3g. Despite His wonderful appearance, the envious Kaliya
furiously bit Him on the chest and then completely enwrapped Him in his coils.
3h. In the Vrindavana area there then arose all three
types of fearful omens—those on the earth, those in the sky and those in the
bodies of living creatures—which announced imminent danger. On the earth there
were disturbing tremors, in the sky there were meteors falling, and in the
bodies of creatures there was shivering, as well as quivering of the left eye
and other parts of the body. These omens announce imminent danger.
3i. Lord Balarama was laughing because He thought,
"Krishna never cares to play with Me in My form of Sesha Naga, but now He
is playing with this ordinary, mundane snake named Kaliya." Because the
inhabitants of Vrindavana were completely liberated souls, they did not experience
material emotions. When they saw their beloved Krishna in apparent danger,
their love for Him intensified to the highest degree, and thus they merged
completely into the ecstasy of love for Him
4. When Krishna understood that the women, children and
other residents of His village of Gokula were in acute distress because of
their love for Him, their only shelter and goal in life, He immediately rose up
from the bonds of the Kaliya serpent.
5. Krishna said to Kaliya -after having remaining gripped
in his coils for one hour- : "Listen Kaliya, you have shown me enough of
your strength. Now I will show you a little of My prowess". His coils
tormented by the expanding body of the Lord, Kaliya released Him. Kaliya had to
let go of Krishna because he felt pained by the expanding body of the Lord.
6a. In great anger the serpent then raised his hoods high
and stood still, breathing heavily. His nostrils appeared like vessels for
cooking poison, and the staring eyes in his face like firebrands. Again and
again Kaliya licked his lips with his bifurcated tongues as He stared at
Krishna with a glance full of terrible, poisonous fire. But Krishna playfully
circled around him, just as Garuda would play with a snake. In response, Kaliya
also moved about, looking for an opportunity to bite the Lord. Lord Krishna
moved around the serpent so skillfully that Kaliya could find no opportunity to
bite Him. Thus the snake was defeated by Sri Krishna's transcendental agility.
Kaliya failed to bite the Lord because Krishna continually moved in the
opposite direction as the serpent.
6b. Having severely depleted the serpent's strength with
His relentless circling, Krishna grabbed Kaliya's head with His hand and forced
it to bow down. Sri Krishna, the origin of everything, pushed down Kaliya's
raised shoulders and mounted his broad serpentine heads. Thus Lord Sri Krishna,
the original master of all fine arts, began to dance, His lotus feet deeply
reddened by the touch of the numerous jewels upon the serpent's heads. The gems
on Kaliya's hoods became brilliantly shining at the very touch of Krishna.
Krishna's lotus feet became red like copper from touching the numerous jewels
upon the heads of Kaliya.
6c. Seeing the Lord dancing, His servants in the heavenly
planets—the Gandharvas, Siddhas, sages, Caranas and wives of the
demigods—immediately arrived there. With great pleasure they began accompanying
the Lord's dancing by playing drums such as mridangas, panavas and anakas. They
also made offerings of songs, showers of flowers and prayers. Krishna had a
dance party with His girlfriends on Kaliya's hoods.
6d. Kaliya had 101 prominent heads, and when one of them
would not bow down, Lord Sri Krishna, who inflicts punishment on cruel
wrong-doers, would smash that stubborn head by striking it with His feet. Then,
as Kaliya entered his death throes, he began wheeling his heads around and
vomiting ghastly blood from his mouths and nostrils. The serpent thus
experienced extreme pain and misery, blood streamed from Kaliya's mouths and
nostrils. Exuding poisonous waste from his eyes, Kaliya, would occasionally
dare to raise up one of his heads, which would breathe heavily with anger. Then
the Lord would dance on it and subdue it, forcing it to bow down with His foot.
The demigods took each of these exhibitions as an opportunity to worship Him,
the primeval Personality of Godhead, with showers of flowers.
7. Lord Krishna's wonderful, powerful dancing trampled
and broke all of Kaliya's one thousand hoods. Then the serpent, profusely
vomiting blood from his mouths, finally recognized Sri Krishna to be the
eternal Personality of Godhead, the supreme master of all moving and nonmoving
beings, Sri Narayana. Thus within his mind Kaliya took shelter of the Lord. He
was danced and trampled into submission by the purifying touch of Krishna's
lotus feet and thus Kaliya's offenses were neutralized. Previously Kaliya was
vomiting poison, now his poison was exhausted and he began to vomit blood. Thus
he had been cleansed of the vile contamination within his heart that had
manifested as serpent's venom.
8. The wives of Kaliya were actually serious devotees of
Lord Krishna, and they had often tried to convince their husband to surrender
to Him. Finally, finding himself in unbearable agony, Kaliya remembered his
wives' advice and took shelter of the Lord. Kaliya remembered or realized he was
fighting an opponent who was 1000's of times stronger then his arch-rival
Garuda. He thought “This person therefore must be the Supreme Lord. This is the
person my wives previously described as being approachable by bhakti. Taking
the position of spiritual master, He placed His feet on my head. Now I will
take shelter of Him”.
9. Kaliya's wives had been disgusted with their husband
because of his demoniac activities. They had been thinking, "If this
atheist is killed by the punishment of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then
let him be killed. We will become widows and engage in the worship of the
Supreme Lord." But then the ladies noticed Kaliya's facial expression and
other bodily features, and they understood that Kaliya had indeed taken shelter
of the Lord within his mind. Seeing that he was manifesting symptoms of
humility, remorse, regret and doubt, they thought, "Just see how fortunate
we are! Our husband has now become a Vaisnava. Therefore we must now endeavor
to protect him." They felt affection for their repentant husband and
severe distress because of his miserable position, and thus all together they
went into the presence of the Supreme Lord. When Kaliya's wives saw how the
serpent had become so fatigued from the excessive weight of Lord Krishna, who
carries the entire universe in His abdomen, and how Kaliya's umbrella-like
hoods had been shattered by the striking of Krishna's heels, they felt great
distress. With their clothing, ornaments and hair scattered in disarray, they
then approached the eternal Personality of Godhead. Their minds very much
disturbed, those saintly ladies placed their children before them and then
bowed down to the Lord of all creatures, laying their bodies flat upon the
ground. They desired the liberation of their sinful husband and the shelter of
the Supreme Lord, the giver of ultimate shelter, and thus they folded their
hands in supplication and approached Him.
10. Krishna took away the upper cloths of the chaste
wives of Kaliya, who were praying to Krishna. He joined these clothes and
making a rope put it into the nostrils of Kaliya and sat on its hood and like a
chained riding horse made him move. He held the rope by His left hand and His
flute with His right hand, putting it to his mouth and blowing it. Invisible to
all, the young gopi’s were brought up for a rasa-dance. 11. Then Lord Krishna
jumped down from Kaliya's hoods and stood before the serpent and his wives.
Kaliya slowly regained his vital force and sensory functions, breathing loudly
and painfully.
12. Krishna spoke to Kaliya's wives, who were praying to
release Kaliya: "I have diagnosed Kaliya's disease. To wipe out the last
traces of the disease I must stomp on his head 7 or 8 times more. You should
permit this”. Kaliya's wives pleaded: "We fear that if you give our
husband this strong medicine of punishment, which is some more mercy to purify
him, he may die. He is just about to leave his body”. Krishna: "What does
it matter if he gives up his snake body? What can he do with this body? It is
better that he gives up this snake body and gets a spiritual body as my
devotee”. Kaliya's wives replied: "If we beautiful women become widow we
will be forced to marry with another sinful snake. Since Kaliya is now a
vaisnava, he has become the object of our affection and our life and soul”.
Krishna: "Then take your husband".
13. Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead spoke: “O
serpent, you may not remain here any longer. Go back to the ocean immediately,
accompanied by your retinue of children, wives, other relatives and friends.
Let this river be enjoyed by the cows and humans.”
14. Kaliya also desired to become Lord Krishna's carrier.
Garuda and the serpents are originally related as brothers, and therefore
Kaliya wanted to indicate to Lord Krishna, "If You ever have to go to a
distant place, You should also think of me as Your personal carrier. I am the
servant of Your servant, and in the wink of an eye I can travel hundreds of
millions of yojanas." Thus the Puranas narrate that in the course of Lord
Krishna's eternal cycle of pastimes, when Kamsa orders the Lord to come to
Mathura, He sometimes goes there mounted upon Kaliya.
15. The very moment Kaliya left, the Yamuna was
immediately restored to her original condition, free from poison and full of
nectarean water, even the dried-up trees came back to life. This happened by
the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
16. The killing of all these mighty asuras – such as this
Kaliya- was not possible by the great gods like Brahma and Siva etc. even by
using their prowess and mighty weapons. It was done at ease by Sri Krishna.
17. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of extinguishing a forest fire
1. After this incident with Kaliya, because the residents
of Vrindavana were feeling very weak from hunger, thirst and fatigue, they and
the cows spent the night where they were, lying down near the bank of the
Kalindi. They did not drink the milk from the cows present there because they
feared it had been contaminated by the serpent's poison. The residents of
Vrindavana were so overjoyed to get back their beloved Krishna that they did
not want to go back to their houses. They wanted to stay with Krishna on the
bank of the Yamuna so that they could continuously see Him. During the night,
while all the people of Vrindavana were asleep, a great fire blazed up within
the dry summer forest. The fire surrounded the inhabitants of Vraja on all
sides and began to scorch them.
2. Sometimes a loyal friend of Kaliya assumes the form of
a forest fire to avenge his friend.
3. Then the residents of Vrindavana woke up, extremely
disturbed by the great fire threatening to burn them. Thus they took shelter of
Krishna, the Supreme Lord. [Vrindavana's residents said:] “Krishna, Krishna, O
Lord of all opulence! O Rama, possessor of unlimited power! This most terrible
fire is about to devour us, Your devotees! If this deadly fire overcomes us, we
will be separated from Your lotus feet, and this is unbearable for us.
Therefore, just so that we can go on serving Your lotus feet, please protect us.”
4. Seeing His devotees so disturbed, Sri Krishna, the
infinite Lord of the universe and possessor of infinite power, then swallowed
the terrible forest fire.
5. Krishna, God, exists.
The argument of Lord Balarama slaying the demon
Pralambha.
1. Pralambhasura assumed the form of a cowherd boy. The
form of a cowherd boy who on that day had remained home with particular duties
to perform. No ordinary mortal could equal this asura in power.
2. While everyone was playing, Pralambha carried away
Balarama, Krishna's eternal expansion, by flying into the heavens. Balarama's
body first became so heavy that Pralambha had to slow down and display his
actual form.
3. He had a huge body resembling a cloud flashing with
lightning and an amazing effulgence generated by his armlets, crown and
earrings. His terrifying face was with blazing eyes, fiery hair and terrible
teeth, reaching toward his scowling brows.
4. Then Balarama's powerful fist struck the demon's head
with His hard fist, just as Indra, the king of the demigods, strikes a mountain
with his thunderbolt weapon; a huge lightning bolt comes crashing into a
mountain, cracking its stone surface into pieces. This blow smashed the demon's
head, which cracked open. The demon vomited blood and lost all consciousness. Then
with a great noise he fell lifeless on the ground, like a mountain devastated
by Indra.
5. The demigods showered flower garlands upon Balarama
and praised this excellence of His deeds. The soul of Pralambha entered
Balarama and then returned back to the spiritual world.
6. God, Krishna and His brother, Balarama exist.
The argument of the swallowing of the forest fire
1. One time there was a forest fire with fierce flames
put by the followers of Pralambha, to revenge the death of Pralambha. But they
themselves were burnt to death by the fire. As soon as Krishna desired to drink
the forest fire His power or energy of destruction (samhara-sakti) extinguished
and destroyed the forest fire and divine nectar (prema-rasa) flowed there,
which Sri Krishna delightfully drank .
2. God exists.
The argument of swallowing the forest fire
1. At another forest fire Krishna was very thirsty.
Therefore the forest fire, being afraid and incapable of going against the will
of Krishna turned into a very cool and tasty drink. Krishna drank that.
2. Krishna, God exists
The argument of Krishna filling bellies even there was
not enough to eat.
1. One day in the forest Krishna's friends were very
hungry. That day they had taken no food from home, because they wanted to live
on the foods of the forests. Krishna’s friends wanted Krishna and Balarama to eat.
But Krishna wanted to serve them and said: "go the wives of the brahmana’s
over there". The food that was brought by the brahmana’s was inadequate to
feed all the cowherd boys. But the Almighty Krishna caused all of their bellies
to be completely filled.
2. If one argues that miracles happen or this was some
magic; miracle-makers exist above ordinary humans.
3. The hierarchy of divine beings or magicians, one
deriving his power from another, ends with the Supreme Mystic, God. There must
be a first ground or intelligence, giving and directing all the magic.
4. God exists.
The argument of Krishna lifting Govardhana hill
1. Krishna stopped the worship of Indra, the king of the
demigods and director of the clouds. He told the worshipers : “Do not worry about
a distant demigod like Indra. He is also under the laws of karma”. He wanted to knock down the great mountain of
false pride that had arisen within the Lord's tiny servant, who was supposed to
represent the Lord as Indra, and He would further enjoy the pleasant pastime of
dwelling for several days beneath the Govardhana hill, the king of mountains,
with all His loving devotees.
2. Indra :”I will follow you – the clouds of universal
destruction, known as Samvartaka- to Vraja, riding on my elephant Airavata and
taking with me the swift and powerful wind-gods to decimate the cowherd village
of Nanda Maharaja.“ On Indra's order the clouds of universal destruction,
released untimely from their bonds, went to the cowherd pastures of Nanda
Maharaja. There they began to torment the inhabitants by powerfully pouring
down torrents of rain upon them. Thus, Indra sent devastating rainfall as thick
as massive pillars and sharp as arrows, pouring water incessantly, Propelled by
the fearsome wind-gods, the clouds blazed with lightning bolts and roared with
thunder as they hurled down hailstones, along with great storms, thunder and
lightning. The wind-gods control seven great winds, such as Avaha, who presides
over the region of Bhuvarloka, and Pravaha, who holds the planets in their
places. The land of Vraja was filled with water. The clouds could cover the
entire earth with a single vast ocean.
3. The cows and other animals, shivering from the
excessive rain and wind, and the cowherd men and ladies, pained by the cold,
rendered practically unconscious by the onslaught of hail and blasting wind,
all approached Lord Govinda for shelter.
4. Krishna: “By My mystic power I will completely
counteract this disturbance caused by Indra. Demigods like Indra are proud of
their opulence, and out of foolishness they falsely consider themselves the
Lord of the universe.” Krishna picked up the king of the mountains, Govardhana,
which was touching the clouds, using it as a great umbrella and put it on the
little finger of His left hand. Govardhana hill was so high that its peaks
touched the moon and the sungod’s horses could eat the durvagrass at its
summit.
Krishna was then 7 years old. He held the hill for 7
days. Krishna picked up the mountain and held it without any difficulty, just as
a small child picks up a mushroom to play with it and hold it.
When Krishna was preparing to lift Govardhana hill a
partial expansion of Yoga maya, samhariki, temporarily removed all the rain
from the sky so that as Krishna ran very swiftly from the porch of His house to
the mountain, neither His turban nor other garments became wet.
5. The Lord then addressed the cowherd community: O
Mother, O Father, O residents of Vraja, if you wish you may now come under this
hill with your cows. You should have no fear that this mountain will fall from
My hand. And don't be afraid of the wind and rain, for your deliverance from
these afflictions has already been arranged.” The cowherd community included
many 1000's of cows, calves and bulls. Govardhana was only 3 miles across, thus
to fit this all under, Govardhana Hill, who was in ecstasy being touched by
Krishna's hands, expanded his form to 32 miles. Sri Govardhana can give shelter
to all the three worlds, what to speak of the simple land of Vraja.
6. Also being touched by Krishna's hand, it acquired
inconceivable power and felt the 100's of deadly thunderbolts thrown upon it by
angry Indra, to be offerings of soft fragrance flowers and at times was not
even aware that the thunderbolts were striking.
7. When Krishna lifted Govardhana, the mountain also
extended vertically beyond all the devastation clouds. The deer, wild hogs and
other animals and birds standing on the hill's flanks climbed up to
Govardhana's peak, and thus even they didn't experience the slightest distress.
8. Lord Krishna, forgetting hunger and thirst and putting
aside all considerations of personal pleasure, stood there holding up the hill
for seven days as the people of Vraja gazed upon Him. Lord Krishna held up the
mountain while His praises were chanted by the residents of Vraja, all of whom
now had the opportunity to dwell together with Him, and who glanced at Him with
joyful and amazed eyes. Thus the cowherd men and women were all elated, and out
of loving affection they opened their eyes wide.
9. Another wonder: Krishna stood directly facing everyone
even though the vrajavasis stood all around Krishna
10. By continuously drinking the nectar of the beauty and
sweetness of Sri Krishna, the residents of Vrindavana felt no hunger, thirst or
fatigue, and Lord Krishna, by seeing their beautiful forms, also forgot about
eating, drinking and sleeping.
11. By the Supreme Lord’s Sudarsana cakra, which can be
effulgent and hot as 1000’s of suns, the 7 days continuous rain water
immediately dried up as it fell to the ground.
12. How could this seven-year-old boy playfully hold up
the great hill Govardhana with one hand, just as a mighty elephant holds up a
lotus flower?
13. God, Krishna exists.
The argument of the Govardhana Hill Form
1. Krishna arranged for a festival: “My dear father, our
home is not in the cities or towns or villages. Being forest dwellers, we
always live in the forest and on the hills. Therefore may a sacrifice for the
pleasure of the cows, the brahmanas and Govardhana Hill begin! With all the
paraphernalia collected for worshiping Indra, let this sacrifice be performed
instead. Let many different kinds of food be cooked, from sweet rice to
vegetable soups! Many kinds of fancy cakes, both baked and fried, should be prepared.
And all the available milk products should be taken for this sacrifice. The
brahmanas who are learned in the Vedic mantras must properly invoke the
sacrificial fires. Then you should feed the priests with nicely prepared food
and reward them with cows and other gifts. After giving the appropriate food to
everyone else, including such fallen souls as dogs and dog-eaters, you should
give grass to the cows and then present your respectful offerings to Govardhana
Hill.
After everyone has eaten to his satisfaction, you should
all dress and decorate yourselves handsomely, smear your bodies with sandalwood
paste and then circumambulate the cows, the brahmanas, the sacrificial fires
and Govardhana Hill.”
2. The cowherd community then did all that Madhusudana
had suggested. They arranged for the brahmanas to recite the auspicious Vedic
mantras, and using the paraphernalia that had been intended for Indra's
sacrifice, they presented offerings to Govardhana Hill and the brahmanas with
reverential respect. They also gave grass to the cows. Then, placing the cows,
bulls and calves in front of them, they circumambulated Govardhana.
3. Krishna then assumed an unprecedented, huge form to
instill faith in the cowherd men. Declaring "I am Govardhana
Mountain!" He ate the abundant offerings. Krishna appeared in another huge
personal form, which was like a second mountain standing atop of Govardhana.
"I am Govardhana Mountain!" means ‘ I am the presiding master of this
region’. With thousands and millions of hands, which were both short and long,
He ate al those offerings from all directions. Some preparations were as far
away as Nandagram; were offered in meditation.
4. Lord Krishna had induced the residents of Vrindavana
to assume a significant risk on His behalf. He convinced them to neglect a
sacrifice to what is, after all, the powerful government of the universe and to
worship a hill called Govardhana instead. The cowherd community did all this
simply out of love for Krishna, and now to convince them that their decision
was correct, Lord Krishna appeared in an unprecedented, huge transcendental
form and demonstrated that He Himself was Govardhana Hill.
5. Together with the people of Vraja, the Lord bowed down
to this form of Govardhana Hill, thus in effect offering obeisance’s to
Himself. Then He said, "Just see how this hill has appeared in person and
bestowed mercy upon us!
6. Lord Krishna had expanded Himself and was appearing in
His normal form among the festival-goers of Vrindavana while simultaneously
manifesting Himself as the great form of Govardhana Hill. Thus, in His form as
a child, Krishna led the residents of Vrindavana in bowing down to His new
incarnation as Govardhana Hill, which was an expanded form of Himself, and to
all He pointed out the great mercy bestowed by this divine form of Govardhana.
7. Then Krishna spoke : "This Govardhana Hill,
assuming any form he wishes, will kill any residents of the forest who neglect
him. Therefore let us pay our obeisances to him for the safety of ourselves and
our cows." Kama-rupi indicates that the form of Govardhana can manifest as
poisonous snakes, wild animals, falling rocks and so on, all of which are
competent to kill a human being.
8. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the abhiseka of Krishna
1. After Krishna had lifted Govardhana Hill and thus
protected the inhabitants of Vraja from the terrible rainfall, Surabhi, the
mother of the cows, came from her planet to see Krishna. She was accompanied by
Indra. Indra was very ashamed of having offended the Lord. Approaching Him in a
solitary place, Indra fell down and lay his helmet, whose effulgence was as
brilliant as the sun, upon the Lord's lotus feet. Indra had now heard of and
seen the transcendental power of omnipotent Krishna, and his false pride in
being the lord of the three worlds was thus defeated. Holding his hands
together in supplication, he addressed the Lord as follows.
2. “Your transcendental form, a manifestation of pure
goodness, is undisturbed by change, shining with knowledge and devoid of
passion and ignorance. In You does not exist the mighty flow of the modes of
material nature, which is based on illusion and ignorance. How, then, could
there exist in You the symptoms of an ignorant person—such as greed, lust,
anger and envy—which are produced by one's previous involvement in material
existence and which cause one to become further entangled in material
existence? And yet as the Supreme Lord You impose punishment to protect
religious principles and curb down the wicked. You are the father and spiritual
master of this entire universe, and also its supreme controller. You are
insurmountable time, imposing punishment upon the sinful for their own benefit.
Indeed, in Your various incarnations, selected by Your own free will, You act
decisively to remove the false pride of those who presume themselves masters of
this world. Even fools like me, who proudly think themselves universal lords,
quickly give up their conceit and directly take to the path of the spiritually
progressive when they see You are fearless even in the face of time. Thus You
punish the mischievous only to instruct them. Engrossed in pride over my ruling
power, ignorant of Your majesty, I offended You. O Lord, may You forgive me. My
intelligence was bewildered, but let my consciousness never again be so impure.
You descend into this world, O transcendent Lord, to destroy the warlords who
burden the earth and create many terrible disturbances. O Lord, you
simultaneously act for the welfare of those who faithfully serve Your lotus
feet. Obeisance’s unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the great Soul,
who are all-pervading and who reside in the hearts of all. My obeisance’s unto
You, Krishna, the chief of the Yadu dynasty. Unto Him who assumes
transcendental bodies according to the desires of His devotees, unto Him whose
form is itself pure consciousness, unto Him who is everything, who is the seed
of everything and who is the Soul of all creatures, I offer my obeisance’s. My
dear Lord, when my sacrifice was disrupted I became fiercely angry because of
false pride. Thus I tried to destroy Your cowherd community with severe rain
and wind. O Lord, You have shown mercy to me by shattering my false pride and
defeating my attempt [to punish Vrindavana]. To You, the Supreme Lord,
spiritual master and Supreme Soul, I have now come for shelter.
3. Thus glorified by Indra, Lord Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, smiled and then spoke to him as follows in a voice
resonant like the clouds. “My dear Indra, it was out of mercy that I stopped
the sacrifice meant for you. You were greatly intoxicated by your opulence as
King of heaven, and I wanted you to always remember Me. A man blinded by
intoxication with his power and opulence cannot see Me nearby with the rod of
punishment in My hand. If I desire his real welfare, I drag him down from his
materially fortunate position. Indra, you may now go. Execute My order and
remain in your appointed position as King of heaven. But be sober, without
false pride.
Then as ordered by Lord Brahma, they asked to perform His
bathing ceremony to coronate Him as Indra (= lord, master) Having thus appealed
to Lord Krishna, mother Surabhi performed His bathing ceremony with her own
milk, and Indra, ordered by Aditi and other mothers of the demigods, anointed the
Lord with heavenly Ganga water from the trunk of Indra's elephant carrier,
Airavata. Thus, in the company of the demigods and great sages, Indra coronated
Lord Krishna, the descendant of Dasarha, and gave Him the name Govinda.
Tumburu, Narada and other Gandharvas, along with the Vidyadharas, Siddhas and
Caranas, came there to sing the glories of Lord Hari, which purify the entire
world. And the wives of the demigods, filled with joy, danced together in the
Lord's honor. The most eminent demigods chanted the praises of the Lord and
scattered wonderful showers of flowers all around Him. All three worlds felt
supreme satisfaction, and the cows drenched the surface of the earth with their
milk. Rivers flowed with various kinds of tasty liquids, trees exuded honey,
edible plants came to maturity without cultivation, and hills gave forth jewels
formerly hidden in their interiors. upon the ceremonial bathing of Lord
Krishna, all living creatures, even those cruel by nature, became entirely free
of enmity.
4. Earth became a paradisiacal world. This is an
authentic historical incident.
5. After he had ceremonially bathed Lord Govinda, who is
the master of the cows and the cowherd community, King Indra took the Lord's
permission and, surrounded by the demigods and other higher beings, returned to
his heavenly abode.
6. Krishna, also known as Govinda, God, exists.
The argument of Krishna, the Supreme Absolute Truth,
releasing Nanda Maharaja from the
clutches of Varuna.
1. Nanda Maharaja was intent on breaking his fast during
the Dvadasi day, of which there remained only a few minutes. Since at sunrise
the proper time for breaking the fast would have passed. Thus he entered the
water to bathe at an inauspicious time, before the first dawn light. One
demoniac servant of Varuna, the demigod presiding over all the waters, captured
Nanda Maharaja, Krishna's pastime father. He brought him to Varuna's capital.
Nanda Maharaja's intention was to carry out the injunctions of scripture;
therefore Varuna's servant should not have arrested Nanda on the technical
grounds that he bathed in the Yamuna at an inauspicious time. Later Varuna
himself said: "This was done by my ignorant servant, who is a fool.”
2. Not seeing Nanda Maharaja, the cowherd men loudly
cried out, "O Krishna! O Rama!" Lord Krishna heard their cries and
understood that His father had been captured by Varuna. Therefore the almighty
Lord, who makes His devotees fearless, Sri Krishna, entered the water and went
to the court of the demigod Varuna, determined to free His father and the other
cowherd men from fear of a mere demigod.
3. The demigod Varuna worshiped Him with elaborate
offerings. Varuna was in a state of great jubilation upon seeing the Lord, and
he spoke as follows. Varuna glorified Krishna as the Supreme Deity.
Varuna: "Now my body has fulfilled its function.
Indeed, now the goal of my life is achieved, O Lord. Those who accept Your
lotus feet, O Personality of Godhead, can transcend the path of material
existence. My obeisance’s unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
Absolute Truth, the Supreme Soul, within whom there is no trace of the illusory
energy, which orchestrates the creation of this world. Though I possess all
varieties of jewels until now I have not obtained such a jewel as You".
4. “One of my foolish servants didn't know that one can
enter the water before sunrise after an especially short ekadasi. The offense
of my servants is also mine. O Krishna, O seer of everything, please give Your
mercy even to me. O Govinda, You are most affectionate to Your father. Please
take him home.” Nanda was seated on the jeweled throne, offered by Varuna to
worship Nanda Maharaj. Varuna had personally worshiped him out of respect.
5. Nanda maharaj was astonished to see the fabulous
opulence of Varuna. Thus satisfied by Lord Varuna, Sri Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord of lords, took His father and returned home, where
their relatives were overjoyed to see them.
6. Varuna is one of the 33 leaders of 330 million
demigods (each leader has 10 million subjects). As a minister in a state knows
who is the king or the president, Varuna knows who is God.
7. God, Krishna, exists.
The argument of showing heaven
1. When Nanda maharaj was brought back by Krishna he once
later spoke with his friends. Nanda Maharaja had been astonished to see for the
first time the great opulence of Varuna, the ruler of the ocean planet, and
also to see how Varuna and his servants had offered such humble respect to
Krishna. Nanda described all this to his fellow cowherd men. The cowherd men
considered that Krishna must be the Supreme Lord, and their minds, O King, were
filled with eagerness. They thought, "Will the Supreme Lord bestow upon us
His transcendental abode?" The cowherd man spoke to him: "You have
concluded that Krishna is God by directly hearing Varuna praising Him.”
Suddenly realizing that they were in fact dealing with the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, they joyfully conjectured among themselves about their auspicious
destination after finishing their present life.
2. Because He sees everything, Lord Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, automatically understood what the cowherd men were
conjecturing. Wanting to show His compassion to them by fulfilling their
desires, the Lord thought as follows. The cowherd men had asked Krishna "
Let us become liberated and residents of Vaikuntha". Krishna showed His
own most attractive charming spiritual planet, the best planet of the spiritual
world or Vaikuntha (means the place without anxiety), Krishnaloka. Then Krishna
revealed the spiritual effulgence of the spiritual planets, which is unlimited,
all-pervading, conscious (jnanam) , non-material, far beyond the material world.
3. Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men felt the
greatest happiness when they saw that transcendental abode. They were
especially amazed to see Krishna Himself there, surrounded by the personified
Vedas, who were offering Him prayers. The cowherd men were amazed to see that
the kingdom of God had exactly the same spiritual atmosphere as their own
earthly Vrindavana and that, just as in their Vrindavana Lord Krishna was
personally present. Lord Krishna did not merely show the cowherd men a sample
Vaikuntha planet but that He specifically revealed His Krishnaloka, the
greatest of eternal abodes and the natural home of the residents of Vrindavana
4. God exists
The argument of the supreme dancer
1. The Rasa-lila is prize jewel within the treasury of
all His pastimes. Krishna wanted to enjoy and witness the gopi's voices,
beauty, fragrance, tenderness, cleverness, dancing, music and wanted the gopi's
to experience His. The Rasa-lila was for Krishna’s and the gopi’s satisfaction,
but both parties wanted to please the other. Such was the degree of Krishna's
prema. He is atma-rama but He was thinking of enjoying with them this exchange
of services. When Krishna desired to have this festival, the moon, to serve,
rose and was the stimulator and illuminator of the pleasure pastimes.
Krishna danced with 3 billion gopis. How was this
possible in the limited forest area on the bank of the Yamuna. It is definitely
possible because the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His energies are both
unlimitedly powerful. Even a piece of land as small as a sesame seed can expand
into a vast area full of unlimited private pleasure groves, replete with
fragrant flower beds, betel nuts, sandalwood paste, perfumes, cool
drinking-water, flower garlands etc. to enact such a dance festival. When the
pastimes were finished, the Lord's spiritual energy again withdrew everything.
2. God, Krishna exists
The argument of the rasa-lila or God's romantic dancing
with many girls, who are Lord Krishna's internal pleasure potency.
1. There is the beautiful reality of an Absolute Person,
Sri Krishna, the original Cupid, able to perform absolute romantic activities,
of which our so-called romance is merely a shadow or perverted reflection. When
Krishna decided to enjoy the romantic atmosphere of the middle of a full-moon
autumn night, He resorted to His spiritual potency (yoga-mayam upasritah).
2. Krishna instigated a terrible act of thievery in
Vrindavana when He played on His flute. The song of His flute entered through
the ears of the gopis, into the inner treasure chamber of their hearts. That
wonderful music stole all their most valuable possessions—their sobriety,
shyness, fear and discrimination, along with their very minds—and in a split
second this music delivered all these goods to Krishna. Now each gopi went to
beg the Lord to return her personal property. Each young girl was thinking, 'I have to capture
that great thief,' and thus they went
3. Sri Krishna manifested and expanded 3 billion forms
(of Himself which were all like Himself) to dance with 3 billion cowherd-girl
dancers.
4. In the midst He danced Himself, the Origin of all
these expansions, with Srimati Radharani, the original goddess of fortune.
5. The festive rasa dance commenced, with the gopis
arrayed in a circle. Lord Krishna expanded Himself and entered between each
pair of gopis, and as that master of mystic power placed His arms around their
necks, each girl thought He was standing next to her alone. The demigods and
their wives were overwhelmed with eagerness to witness the rasa dance, and they
soon crowded the sky with their hundreds of celestial airplanes.
6. The gopis, maddened by love, were unable to understand
that Sri Krishna had expanded Himself so He could personally dance with each of
them. Each gopi saw one manifestation of Krishna. The demigods and their wives,
however, could see all His different manifestations as they watched the rasa
dance from their airplanes, and thus they were completely astonished.
7. Kettledrums then resounded in the sky while flowers
rained down and the chief Gandharvas and their wives sang Lord Krishna's
spotless glories. Lord Krishna's glory in dancing the rasa dance is pure
spiritual bliss. The demigods in heaven, in charge of maintaining propriety in
the universe, ecstatically accepted the rasa dance as the ultimate religious
affair, completely different from the perverted reflection of romance we find
in this mundane world.
8. A tumultuous sound arose from the armlets, ankle bells
and waist bells of the gopis as they sported with their beloved Krishna in the
circle of the rasa dance.
How many instruments are sweetly playing.
How many tunes, rhythms, songs and dances are made.
How many gestures Their limbs make, causing Their bangles
and ankle-bells to jingle.
How wonderful is the dancing of Radha and Krishna.
The parrots (suka-sari) dance, sitting on the branches of
the trees.
The pigeons and their wives are dancing and singing.
Brahma dances with Savitri while
goose-pimples stand on their limbs. Siva is dancing on
His bull together with His spouse Parvati.
The earth dances with Kurma (Her pivot) under Her saying
“bravo, bravo”.
Govardhana Hill dances in ecstasy. Yamuna makes her waves
dance along and the huge Makara-fishes also dance.
The animals, trees, vines, the whole world dances along.
Krishna's both hands were placed on the shoulders of the
gopis yet at the same time He was playing His flute. One said: “Lord of love,
in beauty Your glance excels the whorl of the finest, most perfectly formed
lotus within the autumn pond.” In the autumn season, the whorl of the lotus has
a special beauty, but that unique loveliness is surpassed by the beauty of
Krishna's glance.
9. Such singing and music, and dancing was unprecedented.
10. Krishna is God.
The argument of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna's divine body
1. Srimati Radharani and Sri Krishna’s bodies defeat the
luster of jeweled mirrors and reflect the multicolored fresh buds, flowers and
leaves of the forest of Vrndavana. A joyful whirlwind puts up an umbrella with
a net of flower pollen, from which nectarean honey drops ooze. The soft breeze
becomes like a weaver, making a multicolored canopy of flower-pollen here and
there as your shelter from the sun, and the bees help him (the wind) holding
the cloth. Krishna and Radharani’s pastimes dwarf the beautiful pastimes of the
God of gods, Narayana and the goddess of fortune. Radha and Krishna’s beautiful
forms make even cupid cry of despair and make the Moon-beams hide in shame.
2. How wonderful is Krishna’s form. What a wonderful
cloud this is!
In the cloud in the sky the restless lightning strike
shines beautifully but on the body of this cloud there is a beautiful steady
lightning (Krishna’s yellow garments).
Krishna's splendid lips eclipse the glory of the
blossoming bandhujiva flower. How can Krishna's teeth be described? The
splendid red pomegranate seeds are certainly not their equal. Krishna is the
abode of smiles, smiles revealing the glistening pearl of His teeth, whose
splendor illuminates the circle of the directions. Krishna's fingertips are
splendid with nails delightful like Kamadeva's arrows. Krishna is an ocean
filled with the jewels of sweet songs.
The splendor of Krishna’s face shames the splendor of
lotus and the spotless full moon. It could not even glance at Indra and Saci.
It found Brahma and Gayatri devoid of excellence and annihilated the splendor
of Siva and Parvati.
The house of Madana, Cupid, the god of love bows its head
in inferiority to Krishna’s home.
Krishna’s teeth sparkle like pearls.
With the splendor of His beauty Krishna makes Kamadeva,
Rati, Siva, Gauri and lila burn with envy.
Krishna’s appearance mocks the splendor of a dark cloud
and glistening lightning.
Krishna’s splendid dark limbs condemn the glory of black
anjana.
Krishna’s virtues and talents embarrass Siva and His
beauty makes Lord Narayana revile the beauty of His own transcendental form.
Krishna’s handsome and gentle smiles and laughter are
like splendid and pure moonlight.
By glimpsing even a fraction of a drop of the ocean of
Krishna’s transcendental handsomeness what person will not become enchanted and
filled with desire.
Krishna is an ocean of the nectar of intense
transcendental love.
People who see His face, spit at the moon.
Krishna’s fingernails are like moving circles of light.
With Lord Krishna’s blessing all the plants became
transformed into beautiful girls and joined the gopis in enjoying pastime with
Lord Krishna, the master of Vrindavana.
Bathing in the penumbra (effulgence) cast by only a
minute fraction of the luster of Krishna's body, all beings in Vrindavana have
attained their own elegance.
The land, caves, forest bowers, golden houses mountain in
Vrindavana have been modeled after His form.
All the lakes have attained the form of His deep navel.
The black snakes of Vrindavan are manifestations of the
fine black bodily hairs that grow above His navel.
The bejeweled desire trees are extensions of His
munificence.
The fine hairs of His body, standing on end, are the
benevolent preceptors for all kadamba flowers.
All animate and inanimate creatures in Vrindavan are
simply reflections of the beauty of Sri Krishna’s form and different bodily
limbs.
His garments eclipse the land of gold.
He can be compared only to Himself.
The splendor of His toenails defeats the beauty of the
moon and the lotus.
His nose is decorated with great pearls.
His cheeks are splendid with jewel earrings.
He is glorious with jewel necklaces.
His handsome arms decorated with jewel bracelets, armlets
and rings are flooded with waves of splendor.
He is decorated with hosts of flowers.
He is more glorious than dark monsoon clouds.
He is flooded with the splendor of cintamani jewel
anklets, fulfilling all desires.
His eyes are always filled with festivals of happiness.
He pleases His associated with many wonderful joking
words.
His lotus hands are attractive, like the morning sun.
Krishna’s fingernails are like a line of full moons.
Krishna’s teeth reduce the diamonds’ gems’ pearls’ pride
in their own glory.
Krishna’s eyes are like moving moonstone globes studded
with 2 moving eyebrows.
Krishna’s two cheeks are like two mirrors.
Krishna’s handsomeness rebukes sapphires.
Krishna’s charming delicateness suppresses the fame of
blossoming flowers.
Krishna is worshiped by all glorious youthfulness.
By the spotless nature of Krishna’s glories the oceans
took on the nature of the milk ocean, night took the qualities of the moonlight
and the dark parts of the earth became svetadvipa.
His brilliance conquered all. Having defeated the sun and
moon it went searching in all directions.
Krishna’s youthful beauty eclipses the luster of
lightning.
His beautiful face eclipses the splendor of the moon.
His bodily luster chastises the beauty of the dark
monsoon clouds.
His beautiful yellow garments make the beauty of
lightning appear insignificant.
His eyes chastise the glory of the rainbow.
His splendid feet rebuke the lotus flower for their great
pride.
His teeth chastise the jasmine flower for being too proud
of their beauty.
His pleasing and charmingly sweet neck blunts the power
of the conchshell’s auspicious beauty.
His sidelong glance is the superlative of playfulness.
His heart is the dancing arena of the most intense
transcendental bliss.
He is like a nectarean ocean of mercy.
His beautiful hair inspires awe in the most splendid
swarm of restless bussing bees.
He brings intense eternal bliss to the devotees’ heart.
His smile is filled with the nectar of ever-fresh loving
sentiments.
His bodily luster robs the monsoon clouds of their
splendor.
His charming beauty removes Cupid’s pride whose swaying
ornaments appear to dance.
He is the supreme master of jubilant dancing.
He burns to ashes the sufferings of the devotees.
His words are like a blazing forest-fire of puns and
jokes.
His form is eternally youthful.
His beautiful transcendental form is glorified by the
community of blue lotus flowers.
His eyebrows eclipse the beauty of two creepers moving in
the breeze.
His bodily luster is more splendid is more splendid than
a blazing fire.
His lotus nails remove the pride of the splendid full
moon.
His two arms more than trample the pride of exquisite,
perfectly shaped sapphire bolts.
His chest totally destroys the vanity of an emerald door.
His two thighs goad the pride of emerald banana trees.
Hundred thousand billion full moons of the sarad season remain embarrassed in
the face of the exquisite sweetness of His beautiful face.
The softness of His two feet cause all praise of
succulent new leaves to fall to pieces.
The construction of His delicious bodily limbs bestow
modesty and well-being to all symmetrical beauty, most pleasing to the eyes.
His body steals away the luster of a new blue lotus
flower, just ready to blossom. His effulgence is lending its radiance to
sapphires.
His feet are continually emanating the sweetest
fragrance.
They are infinitely boundlessly beautiful and
incomparably soft. They put to shame by their dawn like pinkish color, the
combined elegance of the total aggregate of all red lotus flowers.
His tender and delicate body is so attractive as though
fashioned from a bouquet of blue lotuses, perfumed with fresh musk, the luster
of which is like cream.
The flowers of the forest, all in full bloom, are the
very form of His laughter.
The sweetly scented buds of the jasmine, the black
bumblebees infatuated by the fragrance flower are blinded by the radiance of
His teeth.
The fortunate bud flowers have attained some of the
exquisite beauty and grace of His brilliant forehead.
The tail feathers of the playful peacock are the faint
image of His hair.
The splendor of Cupid’s bowstring and bow has lost heart
after seeing the ornaments decorating His ears.
The resplendence of His chest has lent its eminence to
gold.
His excellent thighs, able to excite Cupid himself, are
mirrored in the trunks of banana trees, shining with flowing beauty.
The land-lilies have attained their appearance through
association with His lotus feet.
Flocks of swans, gracefully moving through the water with
dexterous ease, see His gait as their guru.
The sweet songs of the young cuckoos in the spring are
the echo of His enchanting words.
The wag-tails, flitting and dancing from one lotus flower
to the next, have learned their movement from the corners of His eyes dancing
within the lake of His gracious lotus face.
The waters of Yamuna are tears of joy produced from
loving ecstasies, flowing from His eyes and mixing with the collyrium (kajjol)
that decorates them.
Mother Ganga is the outward manifestation of His pure and
peaceful heart.
The lakes adorning this lovely land of Vrindavan are the
accumulated form of His perspiration.
The multitudes of gleaming gunja berries have received
their splendor form the luster of His body.
Saffron and lotus flowers have attained their fragrance
through association with His body.
The radiance of His body humbles the pride of Mount Meru,
crowned with lightning bolts, who worship His bodily brilliance as the source
of their own splendor.
Even a small fraction of the splendor of Krishna’s face
makes Lord Brahma’s creation of the radiant moon in the sky completely futile.
When Krishna’s foot hits a flowerbud, the flower blooms untimely.
Upon seeing Krishna’s beauty, even cows, birds, animals
and trees in the forest are stunned in jubilation. Wherever Krishna placed His
lotus feet, the enthusiastic soil of Vrndavana manifested one of Her own
heart’s lotuses.
3. The white conch, kunda flower, camphor and the
silver-white mountain bow down to Balarama’s beautiful bright complexion.
4. Only God and His associates have such beauty. God
exists
The argument of the greatest Goddess
1. When She sees Radha’s beauty Laksmi, the wife of Visnu
or Narayana, criticizes her own beautiful form. When she consider Radha’s
cleverness and virtues, Parvati, the wife of Siva becomes ashamed. The curling
locks of hair of Srimati Radharani make the tilaka decorations drawn in musk
useless and redundant.
Her eyes are so beautiful that they make the two lotus
flowers on Her ears wilted by comparison.
The waves of the beauty of Her splendid smile crushed
Krishna’s necklace into dust.
How deep is the ocean of sweetness of Radharani’s lotus
face.
Sri Radha is so beautiful that She eclipses the beauty of
the young restless girls of the Heavenly planets, making them seem like
corpses.
Vrndavana’s lotus flowers are the mere reflections or
shadows of Radha’s face.
When the cuckoo birds hear Srimati Radharani’s voice they
flee into the forest out of shame. The vines become stunned seeing Her eyebrows
and seeing the beauty of her throat, the conch-shells flee into the ocean.
Radha’s jewel-like teeth emanate bright white rays
pervading the whole multicolored universe by an undifferentiated white
effulgence.
2. Such a Goddess can only be the Goddess of God. The God
of the Goddess Radha is Krishna.
3. Krishna is God, God exists.
The argument of the liberation of the demon Sankha
1. This Sankha-asura (demon) had a valuable jewel
resembling a conchshell. He was a demon but also an associate of Kuvera, the
treasurer of the heavenly planets and was puffed up over his material opulence
and power. He appeared on a transcendental forest festival of Krishna, Balarama
and Their groups of damsels of Vraja.
2. This Sankha-asura thought that Krishna and Balarama
were 2 ordinary cowherd boys enjoying the company of some beautiful mundane
girls. He forcibly took away the girls. The demon Sankhacuda shook a large
stick at the beautiful young girls, thus frightening them and driving them
toward the north. He did not actually touch them
3. Hearing Their devotees crying out "Krishna!
Rama!" and seeing that they were just like cows being stolen by a thief,
the Lords called out in reply, "Do not fear! ". Then They picked up
logs of the sala tree and quickly pursued that lowest of Guhyakas, who swiftly
ran away.
4. When Sankhacuda saw the two of Them coming toward him
like the personified forces of Time and Death, he was filled with anxiety.
Confused, he abandoned the women and fled for his life. Krishna entrusted Their
friends to Balarama and Krishna alone followed Sankha-asura wherever he fled,
eager to take his crest jewel.
5. Sankhacuda’s arms were big and strong like palm trees.
Krishna struck Sankhacuda with millions of blows of His
fist and killed him; with His fist the Lord removed the wicked demon's head,
together with his crest jewel. He took the valuable jewel from the head of
Sankha-asura’s body, returned and presented the jewel to His elder brother
Balarama. Various gopis perhaps thought that Govinda would give one of them the
valuable jewel. To prevent rivalry among them, Sri Krishna happily gave the
jewel to His older brother, Balarama.
6. God, Krishna exists
The argument of liberating the Vidyadhara named Sudarsana
1. One day the cowherd men, eager to take a trip to
worship Lord Siva, traveled by bullock carts to the Ambika forest. Nanda, Sunanda
and the other greatly fortunate cowherds spent that night on the bank of the
Sarasvati, strictly observing their vows. They fasted, taking only water.
2. During the night a huge and extremely hungry snake
appeared in that thicket. Slithering on his belly up to the sleeping Nanda
Maharaja, the snake began swallowing him. In the clutches of the snake, Nanda
Maharaja cried out, "Krishna, Krishna, my dear boy! This huge serpent is
swallowing me! Please save me, who is surrendered to You!"
When the cowherd men heard the cries of Nanda, they
immediately rose up and saw that he was being swallowed. Distraught, they beat
the serpent with blazing torches. But even though the firebrands were burning
him, the serpent would not release Nanda Maharaja.
3. Then the Supreme Lord Krishna, master of His devotees,
came to the spot and touched the snake with His foot. The snake had all his
sinful reactions destroyed by the touch of the Supreme Lord's divine foot, and
thus he gave up his serpent body and appeared in the form of a worshipable
Vidyadhara.
4. The Supreme Lord Hrishikesa then questioned this
personality, who was standing before Him with his head bowed, his brilliantly
effulgent body bedecked with golden necklaces. My dear sir, you appear so
wonderful, glowing with such great beauty. Who are you? And who forced you to
assume this terrible body of a snake?
5. “I am the well-known Vidyadhara named Sudarsana. I was
very opulent and beautiful, and I used to wander freely in all directions in my
airplane. Once I saw some homely sages of the lineage of Angira Muni. Proud of
my beauty, I ridiculed them, and because of my sin they made me assume this
lowly form. It was actually for my benefit that those merciful sages cursed me,
since now I have been touched by the foot of the supreme spiritual master of
all the worlds and have thus been relieved of all inauspiciousness. My Lord,
You destroy all fear for those who, fearing this material world, take shelter
of You. By the touch of Your feet I am now freed from the curse of the sages. O
destroyer of distress please let me return to my planet.” Sudarsana humbly
requested the Lord for permission to return to his abode, where he might take
up his duties again, certainly in a chastened state of mind.” O master of
mystic power, O great personality, O Lord of the devotees, I surrender to You.
Please command me as You will, O supreme God, Lord of all lords of the
universe. O infallible one, I was immediately freed from the brahmanas'
punishment simply by seeing You. Anyone who chants Your name purifies all who
hear his chanting, as well as himself. How much more beneficial, then, is the
touch of Your lotus feet?
6. Then the demigod went back to his heavenly planet to
execute his tasks in the universal administration till the end of the day of
Brahma, the creator god. After that he went back to the spiritual world, being
a pure servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
7. Krishna is God. Exists.
The argument of the liberation of Aristrasura and
creating Rädhä's and Kåñëa's bathing ponds
1. Once, midway through the period of dusk, at twilight,
when Lord Krishna was eager to perform the räsa dance, Ariñöäsura madly entered
the cowherd village, terrifying everyone. The demon entered Vrindavana in the
form of a big bull, with a large hump. His body touched the clouds and the
earth was shaking as in an earth quake. When Aristasura playfully shook his
head, Lord Siva became frightened and hid his bull, Nandi, in a cave of mount
Mandara.
2. The demon Ariñöa wanted to kill Kåñëa and Balaräma,
and thus he had assumed the form of a huge bull with sharp horns. He made the
earth tremble as he tore it apart with his hooves. Ariñöäsura bellowed very
harshly and pawed the ground. With his tail raised and his eyes glaring, he
began to tear up the embankments with the tips of his horns, every now and then
passing a little stool and urine. Clouds hovered about sharp-horned
Ariñöäsura's hump, mistaking it for a mountain, and when the cowherd men and
ladies caught sight of the demon, they were struck with terror.
3. Indeed, the strident reverberation of his roar so
frightened the pregnant cows and women that they lost their fetuses in
miscarriages. The domestic animals fled the pasture in fear, O King, and all
the inhabitants rushed to Lord Govinda for shelter, crying, "Kåñëa,
Kåñëa!" Everyone in Kåñëa's cowherd village became terrified when
Ariñöäsura approached it. When the Supreme Lord saw the cowherd community
distraught and fleeing in fear, He calmed them, saying, "Don't be afraid."
Then He called out to the bull demon as follows.
4. You fool! What is your purpose, you wicked rascal,
frightening the cowherd community and their animals when I am here just to
punish corrupt miscreants like you! Having spoken these words, the infallible
Lord Hari slapped His arms with His palms, further angering Ariñöa with the
loud sound. The Lord then casually threw His mighty, serpentine arm over the
shoulder of a friend and stood facing the demon. Thus Lord Kåñëa showed His
contempt for the ignorant demon.
5. Thus provoked, Ariñöa pawed the ground with one of his
hooves and then, with the clouds hovering around his upraised tail, furiously
charged Kåñëa.
6. Pointing the tips of his horns straight ahead and
glaring menacingly at Lord Kåñëa from the corners of his bloodshot eyes, Ariñöa
rushed toward Him at full speed, like a thunderbolt hurled by Indra. The bull
attacked Krishna with his sharp horns fast and powerful. Krishna seized it by
its horns and threw it back 10 meter.
7. Though weakened, Ariñöa still wanted to attack Kåñëa.
Thus, dripping with sweat and breathing hard, he charged the Lord once again,
in a mindless rage.
8. As Ariñöa attacked, Lord Kåñëa seized him by the horns
and knocked him to the ground with His foot. The Lord then kicked, stamped and
thrashed him as as one squeezes a wet cloth, and finally He yanked out one of
the demon's horns and struck him with it until he lay prostrate.
Vomiting blood and profusely excreting stool and urine,
kicking his legs and rolling his eyes about, Ariñöäsura thus went painfully to
the abode of Death.
9. The demigods from heaven showered flowers upon
Krishna.
10. Having thus killed the bull demon Ariñöa, He who is a
festival for the gopés' eyes entered the cowherd village with Balaräma.
11. Krishna is God, God exists.
The proof of the appearance of Radha kunda and Syama
kunda
1. In the middle of the night, the gopis heard the
magical melodies of Shyama’s murali, and they all rushed out to meet their
beloved. On the way to Krishna, the gopis talked among themselves:
“Nandanandana committed a sin by killing that bull. And the scriptures say the
citizens share the reactions of the king’s sins. Thus we will also suffer from
Krishna’s sin because Krishna is the son of our King Nanda. We must consult the
wise yogini Bhagavati Paurnamasi to discern the means of atonement.”
2. When the beautiful damsels met with Shyamasundara, the
following joking conversation took place: Radha said, “O Krishna! Don’t touch
us, O killer of a bull!”
3. Krishna replied, “O foolish gopis! It was not really a
bull, but a demon in disguise coming to harm the Vrajavasis.”
3. Radha: “O Krishna! Even if Arishta was a terrible
demon, still he was in the form of a bull. So You must perform some atonement
for the sin of killing a bull, just as Lord Indra did after killing a Brahmana
in the form of demon named Vritrasura.”
4. Incapable of replying to Radha, Shyama just hung His
lotus face down in shame. Then He humbly inquired from Radha.
5. Krishna: “If I have committed a sin, then what is the
atonement for it?”
6. Radha: “We have heard from Paurnamasi and Gargi that
the only way to purify Yourself of this terrible sin is by bathing in every single
holy place in the three worlds.”
7. After hearing Radha’s rather rigorous process of
atonement, Krishna gave up all humility and boldly said: “Ha! Why should I have
to wander throughout the world bathing in every holy place? Just see! I will
bring them all here right before Your very eyes, and take My bath in them!”
8. Saying this, Lord Mukunda struck His left heel just
once on the ground. Suddenly the water of Bhogavati River appeared there.
9. Then Krishna proudly said, “O gopis! Just see this is
the sacred water of the Bhogavati River coming from the Patala region.” Then
Krishna announced, “And now, O holy places, all of you please come here!” As
soon as Krishna spoke, all the holy places appeared before Him.
10. Krishna then addressed the gopis, “O Radha, just see!
All the holy places have come to Vraja!”
11. Radha replied: “What are You talking about. We don’t
see any holy places.”
12. Then the various individual holy places, folding
their hands in humility before Lord Krishna, spoke up:
“I am the salt ocean.”
“I am the ocean of milk.”
“I am the Amara-dirghika.”
“I am the river Shona.”
“I am the Sindhu River.”
“I am the Tamraparni River.”
“I am the river Sarasvati.”
“I am the holy place Pushkara.”
“And we are the Godavari, Yamuna, and Reva rivers and the
Triveni at Prayaga. Just see our holy waters!”
Krishna then bathed in all those holy waters. By this
pastime, Sri Krishna personally manifested the most sacred place in the
universe known today as Shyama-kunda.
13. After Sri Krishna atoned for his “sin”, He became
quite arrogant and boastfully proclaimed, “O gopis! Just see! I have produced a
lake containing all the holy places. But you gopis have not performed any pious
deeds on this earth for the pleasure of the Lord.”
14. Accepting the challenge, Radhika looked at Her sakhis
and said, “I must create an even more beautiful lake than Shyama’s. Sakhis, go
to work!”
15. The sakhis noticed that Arishtasura’s hooves had dug
a shallow ditch just west of Sri Krishna’s lake. Using their golden bangles,
the Vraja-gopis began digging up the soft mud in order to create a lake.
16. Surprisingly enough, it only took one hour for the
Vraja damsels to create a divine lake. Krishna was astonished to see the
beautiful lake that Radhika and Her gopi friends had made.
17. Krishna said: “O lotus-eyed Radha! You and Your
sakhis can fill Your lake with water from Mine.”
18. “No, no, no, no!” replied Radha. This is impossible,
since the water of Your lake is now contaminated by Your sin of killing a bull.
My sakhis will bring pure water from Manasi Ganga at Govardhana in billions of
pots to fill My kunda. By doing this, My kunda will become famous throughout
the three words.”
19. Sri Krishna then summoned a representative of all the
holy places that had come there. Suddenly a majestic person rose up out of
Shyama-kunda, and humbly bowed down to Vrshabhanunandini Radha. With folded
hands and tears gushing from his eyes, he praised Radharani with devotion.
19. That chief of all the holy places said, “O Devi! What
to speak of us, even Brahma, Shiva or Lakshmi cannot understand Your glories.
Sri Krishna is the only one in creation who can understand them. And because
Krishna knows Your exalted position, He humbly serves You by wiping away Your
perspiration when You are fatigued.
20. “Not only that, but Sri Krishna is always anointing
Your lotus feet with red lac dye and decorating them with ankle bells.
Rejoicing in this, Krishna considers Himself very fortunate to get the chance to
serve the tips of Your toes. On Krishna’s order, we have immediately come to
reside in this most excellent lake. If You feel satisfied with us, then please
cast Your merciful glance upon us and fulfill our desire.”
21. Sri Radha replied, “Kindly tell Me your desire.”
22. The representative of the holy places said, “Our
lives will become successful if we can fill Your lake with our waters. That is
the only benediction we desire.”
23. Vrshabhanunandini cast a sidelong glance at Shyama,
and then replied with a smile, “Yes, please come and fill My lake.” Radha’s
sakhis all agreed with Radha’s decision and became immersed in the ocean of
bliss. Thus gaining the grace of Vrshabhanunandini, the holy rivers and lakes
in Shyama-kunda forcibly broke through the boundary wall at the sangam to
swiftly fill Radha-kunda with their waters. With great pleasure, Sri Krishna
then bathed and played in the water of Radha-kunda with Priyaji and the gopis.
24. Happy with the turn of events, Lord Hari said, “O My
dearest one, Radha, may Your lake become even more famous in this world than
Mine. Every day I will bathe here and sport with You and the gopis. Indeed,
Your lake is as dear to Me as You are.”
25. Radha replied, “O Shyama, I will also come every day
to bathe in Your lake, even though You may kill hundreds of Ariñöa demons here.
If one bathes or resides here, or has intense devotion for Your lake, surely he
will become very dear to Me.” That night Lord Kåñëa initiated a räsa dance at
Rädhä-kuëòa, generating a torrent ofthe greatest mood of splendorous pleasure.
Çré Kåñëa resembled a cloud, and Çrématé Rädhäräëé a brilliant flash of
lightning filling the sky with abundant beauty. In this way Their divine
glories permeated the expanses of the three worlds."
26. Why did Krishna proclaim that Radha’s kunda would be
more famous than His?
27. Sri Krishna is submissive to the pure ecstatic love
of Srimati Radhika, His topmost beloved. Considering Sri Radha superior to
Himself, Shyama always broadcasts Her glories. Thus, Krishna also attributes
more importance to Radha-kunda than to Shyama-kunda.
28. Another source of the Syama– and Radha-kunda waters,
and another reason why just by bathing once in Radha-kunda, one will attain
divine love for Radha and Krishna is given by Visvanatha Cakravarti:
29. “Due to intense feelings of divine love, when Srimati
Radhika saw Her beloved Shyama, Her transcendental body melted and assumed a
liquid form that became the sacred waters of Radha-kunda. Similarly, when Sri
Krishna saw Radharani, He succumbed to divine rapture, and also melted into a
liquid nectar form known as Shyama-kunda. Radha-Krishna forever long to meet,
but are forced to remain apart. But by assuming Their liquid forms of
Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda, Radha-Krishna are forever relishing the ambrosial
nectar of eternal union. Where the waters of both kundas meet at the sangam,
the Divine Couple are eternally wrapped in loving embrace.”
30. Therefore both the waters of Syama kunda and Radha
kunda are also liquid forms of pure love of God.
31. Krishna who could invite all the holy waters from the
entire universe into one lake is no one else than God.
32. God exists.
The proof of the power of Radha's name
1. Once Sri Krishna came to a forest grove in Radha-kunda
to enjoy with Srimati Radharani. The damsels of Vraja met Shyamasundara, and
told Shyama that Radha’s in-laws had kept Radhika locked up at home. They said
it would be impossible today for Him to see Radha, even though Radhika was
actually hiding in a nearby kunja.
2. Shyama became very upset and asked the gopis how He
could meet His dearly beloved Radha. The gopis advised Krishna to just sit down
and absorb Himself in chanting the supremely sweet and powerful name of Radha:
“Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe!” The sakhis assured Shyama that by this nama-japa
sadhana Radhika would surely appear before Him to fulfill His cherished desire.
3. After chanting for some time, Krishna stopped and
said, “O sakhis! Why hasn’t Radha appeared yet?”
4. One sakhi jokingly replied, “Look, Shyamasundara! I
think You’re not getting any result because You are committing offenses against
the Holy Name of Radha!”
5. Another sakhi spoke, “Look Shyama, just clap Your
hands and loudly chant the divine name of Radha. This will remove Your offenses
and make the Holy Name pleased with You.”
6. Humbly accepting her suggestion, Shyama began to clap
His hands and chant, “Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe!” with tear-filled eyes and a
heart full of ecstatic love. Forcefully attracted by Krishna’s pure love,
Srimati Radhika left Her hiding place and blessed Shyama coming before Him with
a shy loving smile.
7. If a person is very fortunate, he will follow the
example of Bhagavan Sri Krishna and chant the Holy Name of Radha with “tear-filled
eyes and a heart full of ectstatic love”.
8. Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvatipada said, “O Radha! Only
by great fortune can one be absorbed in meditating on Your sweet Holy Name
“Radha”. The name “Radha” emanates a transcendental effulgence of ecstatic
conjugal love that is worshiped in Vraja by hundreds of lovely damsels.”
(Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi)
9. By chanting the name of Goddess Radha, She reveals
Herself, but only to one who chants Her name with love and devotion.
10. By chanting the name of God Krishna, He reveals
Himself, but only to one who chants His name with love and devotion.
11. Goddess Radha and Her beloved Sri Krishna God exist.
The argument of the liberation of Kesi
1. King Kamsa summoned Kesi and ordered him, "Go
kill Rama and Krishna."
2. The demon Kesi assumed the form of a terrible horse.
His tail was wheeling in the sky like a big cloud. His legs were strong,
forceful and hard as stone. Kesi’s whining caused the three worlds to tremble
and his wide open rolling eyes burned the whole universe. Running with the
speed of the mind, he tore up the earth with his hooves. The hairs of his mane
scattered the clouds and the demigods' airplanes throughout the sky.
3. As he approached Vrndavana, his loud neighing
terrified all the inhabitants, and they began looking for Sri Krishna.
4. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead saw how the
demon was frightening His village of Gokula by neighing terribly and shaking
the clouds with his tail, the Lord came forward to meet him. Kesi was searching
for Krishna to fight, so when the Lord stood before him and challenged him to
approach, the horse responded by roaring like a lion, and ran toward Him in
extreme rage, his mouth gaping as if to swallow up the sky. Rushing with
furious speed, the unconquerable and unapproachable horse demon tried to strike
and trample the lotus-eyed Lord with his two front legs. But the transcendental
Lord dodged Kesi's blow. Krishna moved around him dexterously. Then He angrily
with His arms seized his front legs, whirled the demon around several times and
contemptuously threw him away a hundred yards just as Garuda might throw a big
snake.
5. Kesi remained unconscious for some time. When the
demon regained consciousness, he furiously rushed toward Krishna again, with
the mouth open. But the Lord just smiled and pushed His hand within his mouth
as easily as one would make a snake enter a hole in the ground. As Kesi tried
to bite the arm of Krishna it felt to him like a red-hot iron rod. His teeth
fell out, when they touched the Supreme Lord's arm. Although Lord Krishna's arm
is more tender and cooling than a blue lotus, to Kesi it felt extremely hot as
if made of lightning bolts.
6. As Lord Krishna's expanding arm completely blocked
Kesi's breathing, his legs kicked convulsively, his body became covered with
sweat, and his eyes rolled around. The demon then passed stool and fell on the
ground, dead.
7. The mighty-armed Krishna withdrew His arm from Kesi's
body, which now appeared like a long karkatika fruit. Without the least display
of pride at having so effortlessly killed His enemy, the Lord accepted the
demigods' worship in the form of flowers rained down from above.
8. The demigods were amazed and out their great
appreciation they offered Krishna thanks by showering flowers. Narada muni
glorified Him:”The horse demon was so terrifying that his neighing frightened
the demigods into leaving their heavenly kingdom. But by our good fortune You
have enjoyed the sport of killing him.”
9. God, Krishna exists.
The argument of the Liberation of Vyomasura
1. One day, while tending the cows, Krishna, Balarama and
the cowherd boys became engrossed in playing hide-and-go-seek, the game of
stealing and hiding, acting out the roles of rival thieves and herders. Some of
the boys took the role of sheep, some the role of thieves and others shepherds.
The shepherds would search for the sheep when the thieves stole them.
2. Taking advantage of this game, a demon named Vyoma,
sent by Kamsa, dressed himself like a cowherd boy and joined the band of
"thieves." He was a powerful magician and son of the demon Maya.
3. This "demon who flies in the sky" abducted a
few cowherd boys, who were acting as sheep, at a time and threw them into a
mountain cave, keeping them there by blocking the entrance with a boulder.
Gradually only four or five of the cowherd boys, acting as sheep, remained in
the game.
4. When Krishna saw what the demon was doing, He ran
after him, as he was taking away more cowherd boys. Just as a lion grabs a
wolf, Krishna forcefully seized the demon.
5. The demon changed into his original form, as big and
powerful as a great mountain. But try as he might to free himself, he could not
do so, having lost his strength from being held in the Lord's tight grip.
6. Lord Acyuta clutched Vyomasura between His arms and
threw him to the ground. Then, while the demigods in heaven looked on, Krishna
killed him in the same way that one kills a sacrificial animal; sacrificial
animals were killed by means of strangulation.
7. Krishna then smashed the boulder blocking the cave's
entrance and led the trapped cowherd boys to safety. Thereafter, as the
demigods and cowherd boys sang His glories, He returned to His cowherd village,
Gokula.
8. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Akrura’s visions
1. Akrura came to Vrndavana by chariot, to bring Krishna
to Mathura for a festive wrestling-match.
2. In the cowherd pasture Akrura saw the footprints of
those feet whose pure dust the rulers of all the planets in the universe hold
on their crowns. Those footprints of the Lord, distinguished by such marks as
the lotus, barleycorn and elephant goad, made the ground wonderfully beautiful.
Increasingly agitated by ecstasy at seeing the Lord's footprints, his bodily
hairs standing on end because of his pure love, and his eyes filled with tears,
Akrura jumped down from his chariot and began rolling about among those
footprints, exclaiming, "Ah, this is the dust from my master's feet!"
3. Akrura then saw Krishna and Balarama in the village of
Vraja, going to milk the cows. Krishna wore yellow garments, Balarama blue, and
Their eyes resembled autumnal lotuses. One of those two mighty-armed youths,
the shelters of the goddess of fortune, had a dark-blue complexion, and the
other's was white. With Their fine-featured faces They were the most beautiful
of all persons. As They walked with the gait of young elephants, glancing about
with compassionate smiles, Those two exalted personalities beautified the cow
pasture with the impressions of Their feet, which bore the marks of the flag,
lightning bolt, elephant goad and lotus. The two Lords, whose pastimes are most
magnanimous and attractive, were ornamented with jeweled necklaces and flower
garlands, anointed with auspicious, fragrant substances, freshly bathed, and
dressed in spotless raiment. They were the primeval Supreme Personalities, the
masters and original causes of the universes, who had for the welfare of the
earth now descended in Their distinct forms of Kesava and Balarama. They
resembled two gold-bedecked mountains, one of emerald and the other of silver,
as with Their effulgence They dispelled the sky's darkness in all directions.
4. Akrura, overwhelmed with affection, quickly jumped
down from his chariot and fell at the feet of Krishna and Balarama like a rod.
The joy of seeing the Supreme Lord flooded Akrura's eyes with tears and
decorated his limbs with eruptions of ecstasy. He felt such eagerness that he
could not speak to present himself.
5. Recognizing Akrura, Lord Krishna drew him close with
His hand, which bears the sign of the chariot wheel, and then embraced him.
Krishna felt pleased, for He is always benignly disposed toward His surrendered
devotees.
6. By extending His hand marked with the chariot wheel,
or cakra, Lord Krishna indicated His ability to kill Kamsa.
7. The travel back to Mathura. The Supreme Lord Krishna,
traveling as swiftly as the wind in that chariot with Lord Balarama and Akrura,
arrived at the river Kalindi, which destroys all sins.
8. Akrura halted the chariot at the bank of the Yamuna so
Krishna and Balarama could perform a ritual of purification and drink some
water. Then He had the chariot moved near a grove of trees and climbed back on,
along with Balarama.
9. After the two Lords had gotten back into the chariot,
Akrura took Their permission to bathe in the Yamuna. The river's sweet water
was more effulgent than brilliant jewels; transparent and clear as crystal.
After Lord Krishna had touched it for purification, He drank some from His
hand. Akrura asked the two Lords to take Their seats on the chariot. Then,
taking Their permission, he went to a pool in the Yamuna and took his bath as
enjoined in the scriptures.
10. While immersing himself in the water and reciting
eternal mantras from the Vedas, Akrura suddenly saw Balarama and Krishna before
him.
11. Akrura thought, "How can the two sons of
Anakadundubhi, who are sitting in the chariot, be standing here in the water?
They must have left the chariot." But when he came out of the river, there
They were on the chariot, just as before. Asking himself "Was the vision I
had of Them in the water an illusion?" Akrura reentered the pool.
12. There Akrura now saw Ananta Sesha, the Lord of the
serpents, receiving praise from Siddhas, Caranas, Gandharvas and demons, who
all had their heads bowed. The Personality of Godhead whom Akrura saw had
thousands of heads, thousands of hoods and thousands of helmets. His blue
garment and His fair complexion, as white as the filaments of a lotus stem,
made Him appear like white Kailasa Mountain with its many peaks.
13. Akrura then saw the four-armed Lord Vasudeva,
Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead lying peacefully on the lap of
Lord Ananta Sesha. The complexion of that Supreme Person was like a dark-blue
cloud. He wore yellow garments and had four arms and reddish lotus-petal eyes.
His face looked attractive and cheerful with its smiling, endearing glance and
lovely eyebrows, its raised nose and finely formed ears, and its beautiful
cheeks and reddish lips. The Lord's broad shoulders and expansive chest were
beautiful, and His arms long and stout. His neck resembled a conchshell, His
navel was deep, and His abdomen bore lines like those on a banyan leaf.
14. He had large loins and hips, thighs like an
elephant's trunk, and shapely knees and shanks. His raised ankles reflected the
brilliant effulgence emanating from the nails on His petallike toes, which
beautified His lotus feet. Adorned with a helmet, bracelets and armlets, which
were all bedecked with many priceless jewels, and also with a belt, a sacred
thread, necklaces, ankle bells and earrings, the Lord shone with dazzling
effulgence. In one hand He held a lotus flower, in the others a conchshell,
discus and club. Gracing His chest were the Srivatsa mark, the brilliant
Kaustubha gem and a flower garland. Encircling the Lord and worshiping Him were
Nanda, Sunanda and His other personal attendants; Sanaka and the other Kumaras;
Brahma, Rudra and other chief demigods; the nine chief brahmanas; and the best of the saintly devotees, headed
by Prahlada, Narada and Uparicara Vasu. Each of these great personalities was
worshiping the Lord by chanting sanctified words of praise in his own unique
mood. Also in attendance were the Lord's principal internal potencies—Sri,
Pushti, Gir, Kanti, Kirti, Tushti, Ila and Irja—as were His material potencies
Vidya, Avidya and Maya, and His internal pleasure potency, Sakti.
15. Sri is the potency of wealth; Pushti that of
strength; Gir, knowledge; Kanti, beauty; Kirti, fame; and Tushti, renunciation.
These are the Lord's six opulences. Ila is His bhu-sakti, also known as
sandhini, the internal potency of whom the element earth is an expansion. Irja
is His internal potency for performing pastimes; she expands as the tulasi
plant in this world. Vidya and Avidya [knowledge and ignorance] are external
potencies who cause the living entities' liberation and bondage, respectively.
Sakti is His internal pleasure potency, hladini, and Maya is an internal
potency who is the basis of Vidya and Avidya. The word ca implies the presence
of the Lord's marginal energy, the jiva-sakti, who is subordinate to Maya. Lord
Vishnu was being served by all these personified potencies
16. As the great devotee Akrura beheld all this, he
became extremely pleased and felt enthused with transcendental devotion. His
intense ecstasy caused His bodily hairs to stand on end and tears to flow from
his eyes, drenching his entire body. Somehow managing to steady himself, Akrura
bowed his head to the ground. Then he joined his palms in supplication and, in
a voice choked with emotion, very slowly and attentively began to pray.
17. “Obeisances to the Supreme Absolute Truth, the
possessor of unlimited energies. He is the predominator of the forces of nature
that rule over the living being. I bow down to You, the cause of all causes,
the original and inexhaustible Supreme Person, Narayana. From the whorl of the
lotus born from Your navel, Brahma appeared, and by his agency this universe
has come into being. Earth; water; fire; air; ether and its source, false ego;
the mahat-tattva, the total material nature and her source, the Supreme Lord's
purusha expansion; the mind; the senses; the sense objects; and the senses'
presiding deities—all these causes of the cosmic manifestation are born from
Your transcendental body. The total material nature and these other elements of
creation certainly cannot know You as You are, for they are manifested in the
realm of dull matter. Since You are beyond the modes of nature, even Lord
Brahma, who is bound up in these modes, does not know Your true identity.”
18. God is transcendental to material nature. Unless we
also transcend the limited consciousness of material existence, we cannot know
Him. Even the greatest living entity in the universe, Brahma, cannot understand
the Supreme unless he comes to the platform of pure Krishna consciousness.
19. Akrura continued: “Fire is said to be Your face, the
earth Your feet, the sun Your eye, and the sky Your navel. The directions are
Your sense of hearing, the chief demigods Your arms, and the oceans Your
abdomen. Heaven is thought to be Your head, and the wind Your vital air and
physical strength. The trees and plants are the hairs on Your body, the clouds
the hair on Your head, and the mountains the bones and nails of You, the
Supreme. The passage of day and night is the blinking of Your eyes, the
progenitor of mankind Your genitals, and the rain Your semen.”
20. “To enjoy Your pastimes You manifest Yourself in
various forms in this material world, and these incarnations cleanse away all the
unhappiness of those who joyfully chant Your glories. I offer my obeisances to
You, the cause of the creation, Lord Matsya, who swam about in the ocean of
dissolution, to Lord Hayagriva, the killer of Madhu and Kaitabha, to the
immense tortoise [Lord Kurma], who supported Mandara Mountain, and to the boar
incarnation [Lord Varaha], who enjoyed lifting the earth. Obeisances to You,
the amazing lion [Lord Nrisimha], who remove Your saintly devotees' fear, and
to the dwarf Vamana, who stepped over the three worlds. Obeisances to You, Lord
of the Bhrigus, who cut down the forest of the conceited royal order, and to
Lord Rama, the best of the Raghu dynasty, who put an end to the demon Ravana.
Obeisances to You, Lord of the Satvatas, and to Your forms of Vasudeva,
Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Obeisances to Your form as the faultless
Lord Buddha, who will bewilder the Daityas and Danavas, and to Lord Kalki, the
annihilator of the meat-eaters posing as kings.”
21. While Akrura was still offering prayers, the Supreme
Lord Krishna withdrew His form that He had revealed in the water, just as an
actor winds up his performance.
Lord Krishna withdrew from Akrura's sight the Vishnu form
along with the vision of the spiritual sky and its eternal inhabitants.
22. When Akrura saw the vision disappear, he came out of
the water and quickly finished his various ritual duties. He then returned to
the chariot, astonished.
23. Lord Krishna asked Akrura: Have you seen something
wonderful on the earth, in the sky or in the water? From your appearance, We
think you have.
24. Sri Akrura said: Whatever wonderful things the earth,
sky or water contain, all exist in You. Since You encompass everything, when I
am seeing You, what have I not seen? And now that I am seeing You, O Supreme
Absolute Truth, in whom reside all amazing things on the earth, in the sky and
in the water, what amazing things could I see in this world?
25. Krishna is God, God exists.
The argument of a weaver attaining liberation
1. Krishna and Balarama were strolling in Mathura. A
weaver came forward and out of affection for Krishna and Balarama nicely
adorned Their attire with clothes and ornaments of various colors: including
soft silk cloth of gold color embedded with jewels and ornaments. Pleased with
the weaver the Supreme Lord Krishna blessed him that after death he would
achieve the liberation of attaining the spiritual body of a cowherd.
2. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of beautifying Kubja or Trivikra
1. On the way to the wrestling match, in Mathura, Krishna
saw a young hunchbacked woman, with an attractive, lovely face, who carried a
tray of fragrant ointments; sandalwood pulp etc. to Kamsa. The hunchback's
name, Trivakra, indicates that her body was bent at the neck, chest and waist.
2. [Lord Krishna said:] “Who are you, O beautiful-thighed
one? Ah, ointment! Who is it for, My dear lady? Please tell Us truthfully. Give
Us both some of your finest ointment and you will soon gain a great boon.
Better give it to Me".
3. The Lord jokingly addressed the lady as varoru,
"O beautiful-thighed one." His joke was not malicious, since He was
actually about to make her beautiful.
4. The maidservant replied: O handsome one, I am a
servant of King Kamsa, who highly regards me for the ointments I make. My name
is Trivakra. Who else but You two deserve my ointments, which the lord of the
Bhojas likes so much?
5. Her mind overwhelmed by Krishna's beauty, charm,
sweetness, smiles, words and glances, Trivakra gave both Krishna and Balarama
generous amounts of ointment.
6. Krishna was pleased and pressing down on her toes with
both His feet, Lord Acyuta placed one upward-pointing finger of each hand under
her chin and straightened up her body. Simply by Lord Mukunda's touch, Trivakra
was suddenly transformed into an exquisitely beautiful woman with straight,
evenly proportioned limbs.
7. The young hunchbacked girl was actually a partial
expansion of the Lord's wife Satyabhama. Satyabhama is the Lord's internal
energy known as Bhu-sakti, and this expansion of hers, known as Prithivi,
represents the earth, which was bent down by the great burden of countless
wicked rulers. Lord Krishna descended to remove these wicked rulers, and thus
His pastime of straightening out the hunchback Trivakra represents His
rectifying the burdened condition of the earth. At the same time, the Lord
awarded Trivakra a conjugal relationship with Himself.
8. Krishna is God, God exists.
The argument of the deliverance of Kamsa
1. Kamsa occupied many kingdoms and made alliances with
all the other kings such as the demon Pralambha, demon Baka, demon Canura,
demon Trnavarta, demon Aghasura, demon Mustika, demon Arista, demon Dvivida,
demon Putana, demon Kesi, demon Dhenukasura, Jarasandha, Sambara, Naraka and
Bana. In this way Kamsa became the most powerful king on the earth.
2. Even the demigods, headed by Indra, couldn’t defeat
Kamsa in battle. Kamsa was as strong as ten thousand elephants. He defeated
Varuna. Once Indra withheld the rain. By the strength of His sword, Kamsa
conquered the clouds and forced them to rain profusely. The demigods always
fear the sound of his bowstring. They are constantly in anxiety, afraid of
fighting. Therefore, what can they do by their endeavors to harm him? While
being pierced by his arrows, which he discharged on all sides, some of them,
who were injured by the multitude of arrows but who desired to live, fled the
battlefield, intent on escaping. Defeated and bereft of all weapons, some of
the demigods gave up fighting and praised him with folded hands, and some of
them, appearing before him with loosened garments and hair, said, "O lord,
we are very much afraid of you." When the demigods are bereft of their
chariots, when they forget how to use weapons, when they are fearful or
attached to something other than fighting, or when their bows are broken and
they have thus lost the ability to fight, Kamsa does not kill them. There are
principles that govern even fighting. The demigods boast uselessly while away
from the battlefield. Only where there is no fighting can they show their
prowess. Therefore, from such demigods Kamsa and co. had nothing to fear.
3. One day Kamsa organized a wrestling match and invited
Krishna and Balarama. They were then merely boys.
4. On the way, seeing a washerman approaching who had
been dyeing some clothes, Krishna asked him for the finest laundered garments
he had. [Lord Krishna said:] Please give suitable garments to the two of Us,
who certainly deserve them. If you grant this charity, you will undoubtedly receive
the greatest benefit. Thus requested by the Supreme Lord, who is perfectly
complete in all respects, that arrogant servant of the King became angry and
replied insultingly. [The washerman said:] You impudent boys! You're accustomed
to roaming the mountains and forests, and yet You would dare put on such
clothes as these! These are the King's possessions You're asking for! Fools,
get out of here quickly! Don't beg like this if You want to stay alive. When
someone is too bold, the King's men arrest him and kill him and take all his
property. As the washerman thus spoke brazenly, the son of Devaki became angry,
and de-headed the demoniac washerman by striking him merely with His
fingertips.
5. The washerman's assistants all dropped their bundles
of clothes and fled down the road, scattering in all directions. Lord Krishna
then took the clothes. Krishna and Balarama put on pairs of garments that
especially pleased Them, and then Krishna distributed the remaining clothes
among the cowherd boys, leaving some scattered on the ground.
6. Thereupon a weaver came forward and, feeling affection
for the Lords, nicely adorned Their attire with cloth ornaments of various
colors. Pleased with the weaver, the Supreme Lord Krishna blessed him that
after death he would achieve the liberation of attaining a form like the
Lord's– sarupya-, and that while in this world he would enjoy supreme opulence,
physical strength, influence, memory and sensory vigor.
7. Lord Krishna then asked the local people where the
arena was in which the bow sacrifice would take place. When He went there He
saw the amazing bow, which resembled Lord Indra's and the raibow in the sky,
placed in the sanctified arena for the demigod sacrifice That most opulent bow
was guarded by a large company of men, who were respectfully worshiping it.
Krishna pushed His way forward and, despite the guards' attempts to stop Him,
picked it up. Easily lifting the bow with His left hand, Lord Urukrama strung
it in a fraction of a second as the King's guards looked on. He then powerfully
pulled the string and snapped the bow in half, just as an excited elephant
might break a stalk of sugar cane. A bow which no one could even lift. The
sound of the bow's breaking filled the earth and sky in all directions. Upon
hearing it, Kamsa was struck with terror. The enraged guards then took up their
weapons and, wanting to seize Krishna and His companions, surrounded them and
shouted, "Grab Him! Kill Him!" Seeing the guards coming upon Them
with evil intent, Balarama and Kesava took up the two halves of the bow and
began striking them down.
After also killing a contingent of soldiers sent by
Kamsa, Krishna and Balarama left the sacrificial arena by its main gate and
continued Their walk about the city, happily looking at the opulent sights.
Having witnessed the amazing deed Krishna and Balarama had performed, and
seeing Their strength, boldness and beauty, the people of the city thought They
must be two prominent demigods.
8. At the hour of the grand wrestling festival Krishna
and Balarama didn’t come. Out of disrespect for King Kamsa's order, They had
taken the morning off and gone elsewhere.
Thus Kamsa delegated some cowherd men to go look for Them
and advise Them to behave properly and come back to the wrestling arena.
9. The reason Nanda and the other cowherd men sat in the
galleries was that they could not find any sitting places on the royal dais.
10. Then the Lords came reasoning: “Even after We have
made Our power known by breaking the bow and by performing other feats, Our
parents have still not secured freedom. Kamsa is again trying to kill them.
Therefore, although he is Our maternal uncle, it will not be wrong for Us to
kill him.' They assured Their offenselessness by this reasoning."
11. When Lord Krishna reached the entrance to the arena,
He saw the huge mad elephant Kuvalayapida blocking His way at the urging of his
keeper.
The elephant-keeper revealed his malicious intent by
blocking Lord Krishna's entrance into the arena.
12. Securely binding up His clothes, putting aside His
jacket, tightening His belt and tying back His curly locks, Lord Krishna
addressed the elephant-keeper with words as grave as the rumbling of a cloud.
13. “O driver, driver, move aside at once and let Us
pass! If you don't, this very day I will send both you and your elephant to the
abode of Yamaraja!” Thus threatened, the elephant-keeper became angry. He
goaded his furious elephant, which appeared equal to time, death and Yamaraja,
into attacking Lord Krishna.
14. The lord of the elephants charged Krishna and
violently seized Him with his trunk. But Krishna slipped away, struck him a
blow and disappeared from his view among his legs. Infuriated at being unable
to see Lord Kesava, the elephant sought Him out with his sense of smell. Once
again Kuvalayapida seized the Lord with the end of his trunk, only to have the
Lord forcefully free Himself.
15. Lord Krishna allowed the elephant to seize Him so
that the beast would be encouraged to keep fighting. Once Kuvalayapida had thus
become proud, Lord Krishna again thwarted him with His superior potency. 16.
Lord Krishna then grabbed the powerful Kuvalayapida by the tail and playfully
dragged him twenty-five bow-lengths as easily as Garuda might drag a snake. As Lord
Acyuta held on to the elephant's tail, the animal tried to twist away to the
left and to the right, making the Lord swerve in the opposite direction, as a
young boy would swerve when pulling a calf by the tail.
16. Krishna then came face to face with the elephant and
slapped him and ran away. Kuvalayapida pursued the Lord, managing to touch Him
again and again with each step, but Krishna outmaneuvered the elephant and made
him trip and fall. As Krishna dodged about, He playfully fell on the ground and
quickly got up again. The raging elephant, thinking Krishna was down, tried to
gore Him with his tusks but struck the earth instead. His prowess foiled, the
lordly elephant Kuvalayapida went into a frenzied rage out of frustration. But
the elephant-keepers goaded him on, and he furiously charged Krishna once
again.
17. The Supreme Lord, killer of the demon Madhu,
confronted the elephant as he attacked. Seizing his trunk with one hand,
Krishna pulled it down and threw him to the ground. Lord Hari then climbed onto
the elephant with the ease of a mighty lion, broke its back, pulled out a tusk,
and with it killed the beast and his keepers.
18. Leaving the dead elephant aside, Lord Krishna held on
to the ivory tusk and entered the wrestling arena. With the tusk resting on His
shoulder, drops of the elephant's blood and sweat sprinkled all over Him, and
His lotus face covered with fine drops of His own perspiration, the Lord shone
with great beauty. Arrayed with variegated ornaments, garlands and garments,
just like a pair of excellently costumed actors, the two mighty-armed Lords
shone splendidly in the arena. Indeed, They overpowered the minds of all
onlookers with Their effulgences.
19. [Canura said:] “O son of Nanda, O Rama, You two are
well respected by courageous men and are both skillful at wrestling. Having
heard of Your prowess, the King has called You here, wanting to see for
himself. Subjects of the King who try to please him with their thoughts, acts
and words are sure to achieve good fortune, but those who fail to do so will
suffer the opposite fate. It is well known that cowherd boys are always joyful
as they tend their calves, and that the boys playfully wrestle with each other
while grazing their animals in the various forests.”
20. Here Canura explains how the two brothers came to be
expert at wrestling.
“Therefore let's do what the King wants. Everyone will be
pleased with us, for the king embodies all living beings.”
21. Hearing this, Lord Krishna, who liked to wrestle and
welcomed the challenge, replied with words appropriate to the time and place.
[Lord Krishna said:] Although forest-dwellers, We are
also subjects of the Bhoja king. We must gratify his desires, for such behavior
will confer upon Us the greatest benefit. We are just young boys and should
play with those of equal strength. The wrestling match must go on properly so
that irreligion does not taint the respectable members of the audience.”
22. Canura said: You aren't really a child or even a
young man, and neither is Balarama, the strongest of the strong. After all, You
playfully killed an elephant who had the strength of a thousand other
elephants. Therefore You two should fight powerful wrestlers. There's certainly
nothing unfair about that. You, O descendant of Vrishni, can show Your prowess
against me, and Balarama can fight with Mushtika.
23. Thus
addressed, Lord Krishna made up His mind to accept the challenge. He paired off
with Canura, and Lord Balarama with Mushtika Krishna and Balarama combated
wrestlers, who were huge men as solid as stone, the strongest wrestlers on
earth, with limbs as strong and tough as lightning bolts and bodies resembling
mighty mountains.
24. Seizing each other's hands and locking legs with each
other, the opponents struggled powerfully, eager for victory. They each struck
fists against fists, knees against knees, head against head and chest against
chest. Each fighter contended with his opponent by dragging him about in
circles, shoving and crushing one's opponent with one's arms, throwing him down
and running before and behind him. Forcefully lifting and carrying each other,
pushing each other away and holding each other down, the fighters hurt even
their own bodies in their great eagerness for victory.
25. Krishna and Balarama did not, of course, harm Themselves,
it appeared that way to Canura, Mushtika and others of mundane vision.
26. The harsh blows from the Supreme Lord's limbs fell
like crushing lightning bolts upon Canura, breaking every part of his body and
causing him more and more pain and fatigue. Furious, Canura attacked Lord
Vasudeva with the speed of a hawk and struck His chest with both fists. It
appears that Canura, realizing he was being defeated, became furious and made a
final attempt to defeat Lord Krishna.
27. No more shaken by the demon's mighty blows than an
elephant struck with a flower garland, Lord Krishna grabbed Canura by his arms,
swung him around several times so violently that this extinguished his life and
then hurled him onto the ground with great force. His clothes, hair and garland
scattering, the wrestler fell down dead, like a huge festival column
collapsing.
28. Similarly, Mushtika was struck by Lord Balabhadra
with his fist. Then, receiving a violent
blow from the mighty Lord's palm, the demon trembled all over in great pain,
vomited blood and then fell lifeless onto the ground, like a tree blown down by
the wind.
29. Confronted next by the wrestler Kuta, Lord Balarama,
the best of fighters, playfully and nonchalantly killed him with His left fist.
Wrestler Sala was kicked by Krishna and his head cracked.
30. Then Krishna kicked in Sala's head and tore Tosala in
half, and both wrestlers fell down dead.
31. Canura, Mushtika, Kuta, Sala and Tosala having been
killed, the remaining wrestlers all fled for their lives.
32. Krishna and Balarama then called Their young cowherd
boyfriends to join Them, and in their company the Lords danced about and
sported, Their ankle bells resounding as musical instruments played.
As in championship boxing matches, as soon as there is a
victory, all the friends and relatives of the victorious boxer rush into the
ring to congratulate him, and often the champion will dance about in great
happiness. Exactly in this mood, Krishna and Balarama danced about, celebrating
Their victory with Their friends and relatives.
33. The Bhoja king, seeing that his best wrestlers had
all been killed or had fled, stopped the musical performance originally meant
for his pleasure and spoke the following words. [Kamsa said:] Drive the two
wicked sons of Vasudeva out of the city! Confiscate the cowherds' property and
arrest that fool Nanda! Kill that most evil fool Vasudeva! And also kill my
father, Ugrasena, along with his followers, who have all sided with our
enemies!
34. As Kamsa thus raved so audaciously, the infallible
Lord Krishna, intensely angry, quickly and easily jumped up onto the high royal
dais, Kamsa's throne. Seeing Lord Krishna approaching like death personified,
the quick-witted Kamsa instantly rose from his seat and took up his sword and
shield. Kamsa was wheeling his sword and moved quickly from side to side like a
hawk in the sky.
35. But Lord Krishna, whose fearsome strength is
irresistible, powerfully seized the demon just as the son of Tarkshya might
capture a snake. Knocking off his crown and grabbing Kamsa by the hair, Krishna
threw him contemptuously off the elevated dais onto the wrestling mat.
36. Then the independent omnipotent Lord, the support of
the entire universe on the lotus from his navel, threw Himself upon the fallen
body of the King, so that his own body would not be injured by hitting the
ground. And also, Krishna, wanting to kill Kamsa, at that moment thought of
Himself– atma-tantrah– as the shelter of the universe-visvasraya– which was
burdened by Kamsa, and thus crushed Kamsa, who then gave up his life. Tit for
tat.
37. As a lion drags a dead elephant, the Lord then
dragged Kamsa's dead body along the ground in full view of everyone present.
Many people in the audience thought Kamsa had simply been knocked unconscious
after being disdainfully thrown from the lofty dais, and being jumped upon by
Krishna. Therefore Lord Krishna dragged his corpse so everyone would realize
that the evil King was indeed dead.
38. Kamsa had always been disturbed by the thought that
the Supreme Lord was to kill him. Therefore when drinking, eating, moving
about, sleeping or simply breathing, the King had always seen the Lord before
him as his enemy, with the disc weapon in His hand. Thus Kamsa achieved the
rare boon of attaining a form like the Lord's and went back to the spiritual
world, Vaikuntha-loka.
39. Although born out of fear, Kamsa's constant
meditation on the Supreme Lord eradicated all his offenses, and therefore the
demon was liberated upon his death at the Lord's hands.
40. Kamsa's eight younger brothers, led by Kanka and
Nyagrodhaka, then attacked the Lords in a rage, seeking to avenge their
brother's death. As they ran swiftly toward the two Lords, ready to strike, the
son of Rohini slew them with His club just as a lion easily kills other
animals.
41. Kettledrums resounded in the sky as Brahma, Siva and
other demigods, the Lord's expansions, rained down flowers upon Him with
pleasure. They chanted His praises, and their wives danced.
42. Krishna is God, God exists.
The proof of 2 Vrindavanas; in separation and union
1. One evening in Mathura, a scented message arrived from
the gopis. When Krsna read it, His resolve to stay in Mathura and keep His
promise to Maharaja Ugrasena crumbled like a sand castle in the tide.
2. "Oh beloved!" the letter read. “Separation
from You has confused our Iives. Now the forest has become our home and our
homes a forest. Sandalwood burns our bodies, so we think fire will cool our
limbs. We would welcome death to end our pain, but Your bold promise to return
has become an obstacle to such relief. What’s more, every moment we are away
from You feels like a millennium."
3. Krsna turned to Balarama and said,
- “O brother! I must return to Vraja. Won’t You help Me
by remaining in Mathura?"
- “If You leave Me here," Balarama warned. “I will
die and be of no use to anyone.”
- "Then what should we do?" Krsna asked.
- To which Balarama replied, “Now that everyone is
obedient to Ugrasena, We should just inform the Yadu assembly that We will
return to Vraja with Our father."
4. The next day, while Vasudeva was absent from the
assembly, Krsna made His desire known. After a long silence, Vikadru, an elder
Yadu, rose to his feet and said,
- “Previously we had one enemy: Kamsa. Now all his
friends and relatives, like Jarasandha, have become our enemies. The Yadus are
still dependent on Your protection, but the Vrajavasis are no longer in danger.
Please don't abandon Your duty.”
5. Krsna was silent. He could not argue with Vikadru’s
assessment. But He left the assembly with Balarama and went to Vasudeva and
Devaki anyway to reveal Their intention to return to Vraja. But Vasudevn and
Devaki also did not agree. They took the proposal as a rejection of their status
as Krsna’s parents.
- “We have waited so long to reclaim You, will You now
reject us and go away?"
6. Hearing this. Krsna and Balarama retreated to a quiet
garden to reflect on what to do. Krsna said.
- “It is not auspicious to ignore the wishes of superiors.
Rama gave up the throne at His father’s request. He and Sita went into exile
and suffered many hardships out of respect tor their superiors.”
7. Balarama took Krsna’s hand and continued,
- "It is better that We now take shelter of Our
father.” They then returned to Baladeva-kunda, offered Nandaraja Their
respects, and recounted the events of the day, including the words of the Yadus
and Vasudeva.
8. Nanda thought for some time and then said:
- “O son! I am afraid for Mathura because of the many demons
who are indeed inimical to the Yadus. But I am also afraid for the Vraja-vasis
because of what might happen to them in separation from You. We must certainly
help Vasudeva and our kin. It was for this reason that I allowed You to come
here for the wrestling competition. It is a fact: King Dasaratha sent his young
sons to protect the sages."
- “But,” he hesitated, “later he sent Rama to the forest
for fourteen years and died of a broken heart." Saying this, Nanda
Maharaja began to cry. He pulled Krsna to his chest and repeatedly stroked His
face.
- “Father!” Krsna sobbed. “Let Me kill the rascals who
threaten Mathura. Then I will quickly return to Vraja."
- But Nandaraja could not entertain thoughts of
separation. “We will stay here,” he said.
- “How will that be possible?" Krsna protested.
“Mother could no more live without you than without Me.”
- To which Nanda added, “Then I will bring her here and
she will cook for You every day.”
- Wiping away His tears, Krsna answered, “Vraja cannot
exist without you. The Vraja-vasis will perish without their king and
queen."
- “Then I will bring all our cows and people here,”
Nandaraja replied.
- Nanda Maharaja’s love was overwhelming Krsna, who looked
to Balarama for help. But Dauji had buried His face in His palms— He said
nothing. Krsna had to pull Himself together.
- "Oh King! The gardens and groves of Mathura cannot
possibly accommodate every cow under your protection. And because the cows are
My very life, you cannot leave them behind, or I will die. Jarasandha and other
demons are a real threat. Surely they are also a threat to you; through their
spies they surely know of the cowherd turn's connection with the Yadus, the
sworn enemies of the demons. In time I will construct a fort in the ocean to
protect the Yadus, but I cannot construct a fort big enough to protect the
Vraja-vasis and their many cows. I must protect you with a fort of
indifference. Until I kill all the demons, I will conceal our connection. Once
the demons are dead I will come back, for there is no happiness for Me outside
your loving glance and the pastures and forests of Vraja."
- Taking His father's hands in His and gathering together
all courage, Krsna said:
"Now you should all return to Vraja, dear father. We
shall come to see you, Our dear relatives who suffer in separation from Us, as
soon as We have given some happiness to your well-wishing friends."
- Nanda Maharaja’s attachment to Krsna could not he
broken; still, as a king, he was reasonable. Recognising the logic of Krsna's
words, he shook his head and said, “How will I make Your mother understand?”
- Krsna replied. “I will send her a letter." He
immediately composed a message that He read aloud and then gave to Sridama:
"Dear mother! On the day I departed you offered Me rice with milk. The
next day it was roti with ghee, and on the next, sweets soaked in sweet milk.
In the days that followed you gave Me other cooked foods, thinking that your
vision of serving all this to Me was just a dream. But I can testify that your
vision was not a dream. It was reality. You served, and I ate. Please,
therefore, abandon your vow of not eating until you see Me, for I am present
with you always. If you insist on not eating, however, then I too will fast. So
please be patient. As soon as I have killed the demons burdening the earth and
harassing our family, I will return to Vraja and never leave again."
9. This letter not only reassured Krsna's mother that she
would continue to see Him even while He was in Mathura, but it also reassured
the superiors, friends, and servants who heard Him read it. According to the
strength of their love for Him, each of the Vraja-vasis would feel Krsna’s
presence in Vraja in his or her own way. For that reason the cowherd men could
return home without anxiety.
10. Krsna then spoke lovingly to each and every
Vraj-vasi, embracing them, giving them personal gifts, and sending gifts with
them for those not present, especially His mother and the gopis.
11. During these loving exchanges with Krsna, Balarama
sent some Mathura brahmanas to inform the Yadus of Their decision. Soon
Vasudeva, Ugrasena, and other Yadus arrived to bid Nanda farewell.
12. The longer one puts off performing a painful task,
the more painful it becomes. With this thought in mind, Nanda Maharaja gathered
his people together and made the carts ready for the return to Vraja.
13. Thinking in much the same way, Krsna, who felt sick
at the very thought of watching the Vraja-vasis depart, took leave of His
father and elders and hurried to Vasudeva’s house, His new home. His mind
reeling with confusion, His ears ringing with thunderous noise, His eyes
streaming with tears, Krsna kept walking faster and faster, as if trying to
escape the piercing pain in His heart.
14. Balarama did not go with Krsna. He accompanied the
Vraja-vasis as far as Sarasvati-kunda, where speaking with great difficulty,
Nanda Maharaja turned to his elder son and said, "My dear son! Now that
the life of our life has gone, we will continue on our way alone. Follow Your
brother. Never let Him out of Your sight. Your mother has often told You this.
I now remind You on her behalf."
15. Gathering His wits, Lord Balarama took leave of the
Vraja-vasis, including the stately bulls. With stark determination He too
hurried io the house of Vasudeva and Devaki, not turning to look back.
16. When Balarama and Krsna met there, They sought out a
secluded part of the palace garden. With no one else in sight, They embraced
and cried uncontrollably well into the night. Now they only had each other with
whom to share the bliss of Vraja and the love of the Vraja-vasis.
17. Everyone else around Them came from the world outside
of Vraja. It was lonely, but duty called. As the independent Lord, Krsna could
leave Vraja for the sake of His mission. But could Nanda Maharaja really leave
Krsna? Was moving the Vraja-vasis to the outskirts of Mathura really out of the
question?
18. Earlier, as Krsna was leaving Vrndavana, He sent a
message to the gopis in which He lovingly promised that He would return. Could
Krsna break His promise to them? Doesn’t the parting of Nandaraja and Krsna
call into question the essence of the loving exchanges between Krsna and the
Vraja-vasis? Does love actually control them? How do they reciprocate that
love?
19. Commenting on the topic of Nanda Maharaja's return to
Vraja, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura raises these questions and answers them in
a way that allays these doubts about transcendental love. In brief, the acarya
explains that when Krsna was torn between returning to Vraja and unfolding His
mission and other pastimes on earth, He called upon His yogamaya potency. The
dilemma was resolved by Yogamayas manifesting two forms of Krsna, Balarama,
Nanda Maharaja, and the other Vraja-vasis who had accompanied the divine
brothers to Mathura. One form of Nanda and the cowherds went back to Vrndavana
alone and suffered separation along with the other Vraja-vasls. The second form
of Nanda simultaneously enjoyed Krsna’s company in Vraja.
20. Furthermore, a second set of all the Vraja-vasis—
every gopi, gopa, cow, and living entity of Vraja, down to the most
insignificant creeper— also enjoyed the bliss of Krsna’s company in Vraja.
Unknown to the other, then, two separate realities were taking place
simultaneously in Vrndavana— the Vraja-vasi's separation from Krsna and their
eternal loving exchanges with Him.
21. In the first set of forms the brothers enacted the
pastime of staying in Mathura and later moving to Dvaraka, while the Vraja-vasis
tasted the ecstasy of separation later witnessed by Uddhava and Balarama.
22. In the second set of forms, the two stayed in Mathura
a few days to pacify Vasudeva, Devaki, and the Yadus, and then quickly returned
to Vrndavana to enjoy loving reciprocation with the Vraja-vasis. A similar
wonder was visible in Dvaraka when Narada saw that in one palace Krsna was with
one queen and one family, while in another He was away hunting, that family
suffering in separation.
23. Sukadeva Gosvami confirms these two simultaneous
visions of Vraja in describing Uddhava’s visit to Vrndavana. When Uddhava first
entered Vraja, he saw devotees blissfully associating with Krsna. But some time
later Uddhava’s vision of Vrndavana changed: at that time the Vraja-vasis were
enduring the most intense ecstasies of separation from their beloved while He
was living in Mathura.
24. As Nanda Maharaja was leaving for Vrndsivana, Krsna
gave Subala letters for the gopis. In these letters the Lord indicated that
while He was in Mathura in one form, He was also in Vraja in another.
25. In humility, Krsna wrote, "Oh gopis whose life
airs left your bodies to follow Me. Please hear! I am put to shame by your
incomparable love, which I cannot equal. But I am never far away. Although I am
in Mathura, My form here is but a shadow of My real form in Vraja. When one is
truly absorbed in something, he manifests his real form in that state of
absorption. So it is with Me in Vraja.
- Listen! I shall prove that I am indeed with you. One
night Candravali fainted from the fever of separation, and I revived her with
My embrace, astonishing her with her own recovery.
- Once when Lilita was waiting for Me, I came to her. And
when Visakha was eager to bring Me to Radha— I appeared to her as well. But
they both thought they were only dreaming.
- And when Padma, Bhadra, and Saibya were rolling on the
ground beneath the tree, I came to embrace them, but some angry woman suddenly
appeared and drove Me away. Do you remember?
- O gopis! If you want proof that I am with You, just ask
Syamala where the scratch marks on her chest came from. Do you really think
that one can acquire such things from a dream? - O Radha! Do not think that
Your sleeping in My bed in Mathura is a fantasy. Your fragrance there is
evidence that We were together, evidence I treasure as My prize ornament.
26. Thus Krsna also proved to the gopis that He was in
both places at once.
27. Krishna is God.
The argument of liberating residents of hell, Krishna
went to hell to get the son of Sandipani muni, his teacher
1. Then Vasudeva, the son of Surasena, arranged for a
priest and other brahmanas to perform his two sons' second-birth initiation.
After attaining twice-born status through initiation, the Lords, sincere in
Their vows, took the further vow of celibacy from Garga Muni, the spiritual
master of the Yadus. Concealing Their innately perfect knowledge by Their
humanlike activities, those two omniscient Lords of the universe, Themselves
the origin of all branches of knowledge, next desired to reside at the school
of a spiritual master. Thus They approached Sandipani Muni, a native of Kasi
living in the city of Avanti, to teach humanity to take a spiritual master for
life. Sandipani thought very highly of these two self-controlled disciples,
whom he had obtained so fortuitously. By serving him as devotedly as one would
serve the Supreme Lord Himself, They showed others an irreproachable example of
how to worship the spiritual master. That best of brahmanas, the spiritual
master Sandipani, was satisfied with Their submissive behavior, and thus he
taught Them the entire Vedas.
2. Thereafter, O King, They satisfied Their spiritual
master by offering him guru-dakshina, the traditional gift for the spiritual
master before one leaves him. He chose as his remuneration the return of his
young son, who had died in the ocean at Prabhasa.
3. "So be it," replied those two great chariot
warriors of limitless might, and They at once mounted Their chariot and set off
for Prabhasa. When They reached that place, They walked up to the shore and sat
down. In a moment the deity of the ocean, recognizing Them to be the Supreme
Lords, approached Them with offerings of tribute. The Supreme Lord Krishna
addressed the lord of the ocean: Let the son of My guru be presented at
once—the one you seized here with your mighty waves.
4. The ocean replied: O Lord Krishna, it was not I who
abducted him, but a demonic descendant of Diti named Pancajana, who travels in
the water in the form of a conch.
5. Clearly the demon Pancajana was too powerful for the
ocean to control; otherwise the ocean would have prevented such an unlawful
act.
6. Hearing this, Lord Krishna entered the ocean, found
Pancajana and killed him. But the Lord did not find the boy within the demon's
belly.
7. Lord Janardana took the conchshell that had grown
around the demon's body and went back to the chariot. The conchshell the Lord
took from Pancajana, which is called Pancajanya, is the same one He sounded at
the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita. Pancajana had become a demon in a way
similar to that of Jaya and Vijaya. In other words, though appearing in the
form of a demon, he was actually a devotee of the Lord, who had descended with
the Lord to enact some pastimes.
8. Then He proceeded to Samyamani, the beloved capital of
Yamaraja, the lord of death. Upon arriving there with Lord Balarama, He loudly
blew His conchshell at the entrance gate
9. By the appearance of Krishna the missiles and machines
of torture became blunted and crushed. The Asipatra-vana (=forest) was shorn of
its sharp sword-like leaves on its trees. The hell named Raurava became free of
its ruru beasts. The Bhairava hell lost its fearfulness, and all cooking stopped
in the Kumbhipaka hell. All the naraka's ceased to be boiling hot, ice cold and
painful in so many ways. All the men consigned to hell became liberated as
their sins perished at the sight of the destroyer of darkness, and they
attained the immutable position, liberation, the spiritual world. They got into
1000's vimana's (airplane). They got liberated due to having heard the
conch-shell sound and recollecting Acyuta, the infallible God.
10. Yamaraja, who keeps the conditioned souls in check,
came as soon as he heard the resounding vibration. Yamaraja elaborately
worshiped the two Lords with great devotion, and then he addressed Lord
Krishna, who lives in everyone's heart: "O Supreme Lord Vishnu, what shall
I do for You and Lord Balarama, who are playing the part of ordinary humans?”
11. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Suffering
the bondage of his past activity, My spiritual master's son was brought here to
you. O great King, obey My command and bring this boy to Me without delay.
12. Yamaraja said, "So be it," and brought
forth the guru's son. Then those two most exalted Yadus presented the boy to
Their spiritual master and said to him, "Please select another boon."
13. The spiritual master said: My dear boys, You two have
completely fulfilled the disciple's obligation to reward his spiritual master.
Indeed, with disciples like You, what further desires could a guru have?
14. O heroes, now please return home. May Your fame
sanctify the world, and may the Vedic hymns be ever fresh in Your minds, in
both this life and the next.
15. Thus receiving Their guru's permission to leave, the
two Lords returned to Their city on Their chariot, which moved as swiftly as
the wind and resounded like a cloud.
16. All the citizens rejoiced upon seeing Krishna and
Balarama, whom they had not seen for many days. The people felt just like those
who have lost their wealth and then regained it.
17. At another time when Krishna came – in another day
of Brahma- the Lord of the death, Yama
became very angry, being stopped in his service of the universe and ordered:
"go and withold Him, seize Him and bring Him here".
18. But Yamaraja's servants were defeated. Yama himself
came. Citragupta, Yamaraja's scribe got 8 arrows in his face. Balarama caught
Yama's danda (rod of punishment and staff of kingly power) and was about to
hurl it back when lord Brahma hurriedly came in between.
19. Brahma pacified Them with prayers: "No one is equal to You, the creators,
protectors, supporters of the universe. You carry Visnu who carries me. Then
Brahma asked: "Take pity on Yamaraja, he didn't know it was You who came.”
20. Krishna is the Supreme of all the gods. Godhead
exists.
The argument of Pradyumna defeating the asura Sambhara
1. Kamadeva [Cupid], an expansion of Vasudeva, had previously
been burned to ashes by Rudra's anger. Now, to obtain a new body, he merged
back into the body of Lord Vasudeva.
2. Pradyumna who is the son of Krishna and Rukmini is the
same Pradyumna who is a member of Lord Krishna's eternal fourfold plenary expansion,
the catur-vyuha. In Dvaraka, the almighty Lord Krishna resides in the company
of His three plenary expansions Balarama, Aniruddha and Pradyumna and His
potency Rukmini.
3. The Cupid whom Rudra burned up with his anger is a
demigod subordinate to Indra. This demigod Cupid is a partial manifestation of
the prototype Cupid, Pradyumna, who is a plenary expansion of Vasudeva. The
demigod Cupid, being unable to attain a new body on his own, entered within the
body of Pradyumna. Otherwise Cupid would have had to remain in a perpetual
state of disembodiment; a result of Rudra's having incinerated him with his
anger.
4. Kamadeva, or Cupid, now appearing within Pradyumna, is
a portion of Vasudeva because he is manifest from the element citta,
consciousness, which is presided over by Vasudeva, and also because he (Cupid)
is the cause of material generation. As the Lord states in the Bhagavad-gita
(10.28), prajanas casmi kandarpah: "Of progenitors I am Kandarpa
[Cupid]."
5. Pradyumna and Aniruddha are also expansions of the
Personality of Godhead, and thus They are also vishnu-tattva. At Dvaraka Lord
Vasudeva is engaged in His transcendental pastimes along with His plenary
expansions, namely Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, and therefore each and
every one of Them can be addressed as the Personality of Godhead.
6. Pradyumna took birth from the womb of Rukmini before
Sri Krishna's marriage to Jambavati and the Lord's other marriages took place.
7. He took birth from the womb of Vaidarbhi by the seed
of Lord Krishna and received the name Pradyumna. In no respect was He inferior
to His father.
8. The demon Sambara, who could assume any form he
desired, kidnapped the infant before He was even ten days old. Understanding
Pradyumna to be his enemy, Sambara threw Him into the sea and then returned
home. Pradyumna was kidnapped on the sixth day after His birth.
9. A powerful fish swallowed Pradyumna, and this fish,
along with others, was caught in a huge net and seized by fishermen. The
fishermen presented that extraordinary fish to Sambara, who had his cooks bring
it to the kitchen, where they began cutting it up with a butcher knife. Seeing
a male child in the belly of the fish, the cooks gave the infant to Mayavati,
who was astonished. Narada Muni then appeared and explained to her everything
about the child's birth and His entering the fish's abdomen.
10. Mayavati was in fact Cupid's renowned wife, Rati.
While waiting for her husband to obtain a new body—his previous one having been
burnt up—she had been assigned by Sambara to prepare vegetables and rice.
Mayavati understood that this infant was actually Kamadeva, and thus she began
to feel love for Him.
11. When Cupid's body was burned to ashes, Rati worshiped
Lord Siva to obtain another body for Cupid. Sambara, having also come to Siva
for a benediction, was recognized by the lord first, who told him, "You
should now ask for your benediction." Sambara, struck with lust at seeing
Rati, replied that he wanted her as his benediction, and Siva complied. Lord
Siva then consoled the sobbing Rati, telling her, "Go with him, and in his
very home you will attain what you desire." Thereupon, Rati bewildered
Sambara with her deluding power and, taking the name Mayavati, remained in his
house untouched.
12. After a short time, this son of
Krishna—Pradyumna—attained His full youth. He enchanted all women who gazed
upon Him.
13. My dear King, with a bashful smile and raised
eyebrows, Mayavati exhibited various gestures of conjugal attraction as she
lovingly approached her husband, whose eyes were broad like the petals of a
lotus, whose arms were very long and who was the most beautiful of men.
14. Mayavati exhibited her conjugal attraction for
Pradyumna even before revealing their true identities. Naturally this caused
some confusion at first.
15. Lord Pradyumna told her, "O mother, your
attitude has changed. You are overstepping the proper feelings of a mother and
behaving like a lover.”
16. Rati said: You are the son of Lord Narayana and were
kidnapped from Your parents' home by Sambara. I, Rati, am Your legitimate wife,
O master, because You are Cupid. That demon, Sambara, threw You into the sea
when You were not even ten days old, and a fish swallowed You. Then in this
very place we recovered You from the fish's abdomen, O master. Now kill this
dreadful Sambara, Your formidable enemy. Although he knows hundreds of magic
spells, You can defeat him with bewildering magic and other techniques. Your
poor mother, having lost her son, cries for You like a kurari bird. She is
overwhelmed with love for her child, just like a cow that has lost its calf.”
17. Speaking thus, Mayavati gave to the great soul
Pradyumna the mystic knowledge called Mahamaya, which vanquishes all other
deluding spells.
18. Pradyumna approached Sambara and called him to
battle, hurling intolerable insults at him to foment(=incite) a conflict.
19. Offended by these harsh words, Sambara became as
agitated as a kicked snake. He came out, club in hand, his eyes red with rage.
Sambara whirled his club swiftly about and then hurled it at the wise
Pradyumna, producing a sound as sharp as a thunder crack.
20. As Sambara's club came flying toward Him,
Bhagavan—the Supreme Lord Pradyumna knocked it away with His own. Then, O King,
Pradyumna angrily threw His club at the enemy.
21. Resorting to the black magic of the Daityas taught to
him by Maya Danava, Sambara suddenly appeared in the sky and released a
downpour of weapons upon Krishna's son.
22. Harassed by this rain of weapons, Lord Raukmineya,
the greatly powerful warrior, made use of the mystic science called Maha-maya,
which was created from the mode of goodness and which could defeat all other
mystic power.
23. The demon then unleashed hundreds of mystic weapons
belonging to the Guhyakas, Gandharvas, Pisacas, Uragas and Rakshasas, but Lord
Karshni, Pradyumna, struck them all down.
24. Drawing His sharp-edged sword, Pradyumna forcefully
cut off Sambara's head, complete with red mustache, helmet and earrings.
25. As the residents of the higher planets showered
Pradyumna with flowers and chanted His praises, His wife– Ratidevi- appeared in
the sky and transported Him through the heavens, back to the city of Dvaraka.
26. O King, Lord Pradyumna and His wife resembled a cloud
accompanied by lightning as they descended from the sky into the inner quarters
of Krishna's most excellent palace, which were crowded with lovely women.
27. The women of the palace thought He was Lord Krishna
when they saw His dark-blue complexion the color of a rain cloud, His yellow
silk garments, His long arms and red-tinged eyes, His charming lotus face
adorned with a pleasing smile, His fine ornaments and His thick, curly blue
hair. Thus the women became bashful and hid themselves here and there.
28. Gradually, from the slight differences between His
appearance and Krishna's, the ladies realized He was not the Lord. Delighted
and astonished, they approached Pradyumna and His consort, who was a jewel
among women.
29. Seeing Pradyumna, sweet-voiced, dark-eyed Rukmini
remembered her lost son, and her breasts became moist out of affection.
30. [Srimati Rukmini-devi said:] Who is this lotus-eyed
jewel among men? What man's son is He, and what woman carried Him in her womb?
And who is this woman He has taken as His wife? If my lost son, who was
kidnapped from the maternity room, were still alive somewhere, He would be of
the same age and appearance as this young man. But how is it that this young
man so much resembles my own Lord, Krishna, the wielder of Sarnga, in His
bodily form and His limbs, in His gait and the tone of His voice, and in His
smiling glance? Yes, He must be the same child I bore in my womb, since I feel
great affection for Him and my left arm is quivering.
31. As Queen Rukmini conjectured in this way, Lord
Krishna, the son of Devaki, arrived on the scene with Vasudeva and Devaki.
32. Although Lord Janardana knew perfectly well what had
transpired, He remained silent. Then the sage Narada Muni arrived and explained
everything, beginning with Sambara's kidnapping of the child.
33. When the men and women of Lord Krishna's palace heard
this most amazing account, they joyfully greeted Pradyumna, who had been lost
for many years but who had now returned as if from the dead.
34. Devaki, Vasudeva, Krishna, Balarama and all the women
of the palace, especially Queen Rukmini, embraced the young couple and
rejoiced. Hearing that lost Pradyumna had come home, the residents of Dvaraka
declared, "Ah, providence has allowed this child to return as if from
death!"
35. It is not astonishing that the palace women, who
should have felt maternal affection for Pradyumna, privately felt ecstatic
attraction for Him as if He were their own Lord. After all, the son exactly
resembled His father. Indeed, Pradyumna was a perfect reflection of the beauty
of Lord Krishna, the shelter of the goddess of fortune, and appeared before
their eyes as Cupid Himself. Since even those on the level of His mother felt
conjugal attraction for Him, then what to speak of how other women felt when
they saw Him?
36. God exists.
The argument of the fight with Jambavan for the
syamantaka jewel
1. Surya, the sun-god, felt great affection for his
devotee Satrajit. Acting as his greatest friend, the demigod gave him the jewel
called Syamantaka as a token of his satisfaction.
2. Wearing the jewel on his neck, Satrajit entered
Dvaraka. He shone as brightly as the sun itself and thus he went unrecognized
because of the jewel's effulgence.
3. As the people looked at Satrajit from a distance, his
brilliance blinded them. They presumed he was the sun-god, Surya, and went to
tell Lord Krishna, who was at that time playing at dice.
4. [The residents of Dvaraka said:] “Obeisances unto You,
O Narayana, O holder of the conch, disc and club, O lotus-eyed Damodara, O
Govinda, O cherished descendant of Yadu! Lord Savita has come to see You, O
Lord of the universe. He is blinding everyone's eyes with his intensely
effulgent rays. The most exalted demigods in the three worlds are certainly
anxious to seek You out, O Lord, now that You have hidden Yourself among the
Yadu dynasty. Thus the unborn sun-god has come to see You here.”
5. Hearing these innocent words, the lotus-eyed Lord
smiled broadly and said, "This is not the sun-god, Ravi, but rather
Satrajit, who is glowing because of his jewel.”
6. King Satrajit entered his opulent home, festively
executing auspicious rituals. He had qualified brahmanas install the Syamantaka
jewel in the house's temple room.
7. Each day the gem would produce eight bharas (170
pounds) of gold and the place in which it was kept and properly worshiped would
be free of calamities such as famine or untimely death, and also of evils like
snake bites, mental and physical disorders and the presence of deceitful
persons.
8. On one occasion Lord Krishna requested Satrajit to
give the jewel to the Yadu king, Ugrasena, but Satrajit was so greedy that he
refused. He gave no thought to the seriousness of the offense he committed by
denying the Lord's request.
9. Once Satrajit's brother, Prasena, having hung the
brilliant jewel about his neck, mounted a horse and went hunting in the forest.
10. The inauspicious result of Satrajit's refusal of Lord
Krishna's request is about to manifest.
11. A lion killed Prasena and his horse and took the
jewel. But when the lion entered a mountain cave he was killed by Jambavan, who
wanted the jewel.
12. Within the cave Jambavan let his young son have the
Syamantaka jewel as a toy to play with. Meanwhile Satrajit, not seeing his
brother return, became deeply troubled.
13. He said, "Krishna probably killed my brother,
who went to the forest wearing the jewel on his neck." The general
populace heard this accusation and began whispering it in one another's ears.
14. When Lord Krishna heard this rumor, He wanted to
remove the stain on His reputation. So He took some of Dvaraka's citizens with
Him and set out to retrace Prasena's path.
15. In the forest they found Prasena and his horse, both
killed by the lion. Further on they found the lion dead on a mountainside,
slain by Riksha [Jambavan].
16. The Lord stationed His subjects outside the
terrifying, pitch-dark cave of the king of the bears, and then He entered
alone.
17. There Lord Krishna saw that the most precious of
jewels had been made into a child's plaything. Determined to take it away, He
approached the child. The child's nurse cried out in fear upon seeing that
extraordinary person standing before them. Jambavan, strongest of the strong,
heard her cries and angrily ran toward the Lord. At that time Jambavan was the
strongest living entity on earth.
18. Unaware of His true position and thinking Him an
ordinary man, Jambavan angrily began fighting with the Supreme Lord, his
master.
19. The two fought furiously in single combat, each
determined to win. Contending against each other with various weapons and then
with stones, tree trunks and finally their bare arms, they struggled like two
hawks battling over a piece of flesh. The fight went on without rest for
twenty-eight days day and night without intermission, the two opponents
striking each other with their fists, which fell like the cracking blows of
lightning. His bulging muscles pummeled by the blows of Lord Krishna's fists,
his strength faltering and his limbs perspiring, Jambavan, greatly astonished,
He wondered "Who is this?"
20. Then he could understand that this was the Supreme
Personality of Godhead because Krishna was pleased by his service of fighting.
And he could not be defeated by anyone else then the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
21. [Thus Jambavan said:] “I know now that You are the
life air and the sensory, mental and bodily strength of all living beings. You
are Lord Vishnu, the original person, the supreme, all-powerful controller. You
are the ultimate creator of all creators of the universe, and of everything
created You are the underlying substance. You are the subduer of all subduers,
the Supreme Lord and Supreme Soul of all souls. You are He who impelled the
ocean to give way when His sidelong glances, slightly manifesting His anger,
disturbed the crocodiles and timingila fish within the watery depths– Lord
Rama-. You are He who built a great bridge to establish His fame, who burned
down the city of Lanka, and whose arrows severed the heads of Ravana, which
then fell to the ground.”
22. Lord Krishna then addressed the king of the bears,
who had understood the truth. The lotus-eyed Personality of Godhead, the son of
Devaki, touched Jambavan with His hand, which bestows all blessings, and spoke
to His devotee with sublime compassion, His grave voice deeply resounding like
a cloud.
23. “It is for this jewel, O lord of the bears, that we
have come to your cave. I intend to use the jewel to disprove the false
accusations against Me.” To mitigate the pains of the body of Jambavan Krishna
began to lovingly strike His hand all over the body of Jambavan. Jambavan at
once felt relieved from the fatigue and wounds of the great fight.
24. Thus addressed, Jambavan happily honored Lord Krishna
by offering Him his maiden daughter, Jambavati, together with the jewel.
25. After Lord Sauri had entered the cave, the people of
Dvaraka who had accompanied Him had waited twelve days without seeing Him come
out again. Finally they had given up and returned to their city in great
sorrow. When Devaki, Rukmini-devi, Vasudeva and the Lord's other relatives and
friends heard that He had not come out of the cave, they all lamented. Cursing
Satrajit, the sorrowful residents of Dvaraka approached the Durga deity named
Candrabhaga and prayed to her for Krishna's return.
26. When the citizens had finished worshiping the
demigoddess, she spoke to them in response, promising to grant their request.
27. Just then Lord Krishna, who had achieved His purpose,
appeared before them in the company of His new wife, filling them with joy.
Seeing Lord Hrishikesa return as if from death, accompanied by His new wife and
wearing the Syamantaka jewel on His neck, all the people were roused to
jubilation. Jambavan had placed the jewel on the Lord's neck when he had
presented his daughter in marriage.
28. Lord Krishna summoned Satrajit to the royal assembly.
There, in the presence of King Ugrasena, Krishna announced the recovery of the
jewel and then formally presented it to Satrajit. Hanging his head in great
shame, Satrajit took the gem and returned home, all the while feeling remorse
for his sinful behavior. Pondering over his grievous offense and worried about
the possibility of conflict with the Lord's mighty devotees, King Satrajit
thought, "How can I cleanse myself of my contamination, and how may Lord
Acyuta become satisfied with me? What can I do to regain my good fortune and
avoid being cursed by the populace for being so short-sighted, miserly, foolish
and avaricious? I shall give my daughter, the jewel of all women, to the Lord,
together with the Syamantaka jewel. That, indeed, is the only proper way to
pacify Him.”
29. Having thus intelligently made up his mind, King
Satrajit personally arranged to present Lord Krishna with his fair daughter and
the Syamantaka jewel.
30. The Lord married Satyabhama in proper religious
fashion. Possessed of excellent behavior, along with beauty, broad-mindedness
and all other good qualities, she had been sought by many men, such as
Kritavarma.
31. The Supreme Personality of Godhead told Satrajit: “We
do not care to take this jewel back, O King. You are the sun-god's devotee, so
let it stay in your possession. Thus We will also enjoy its benefits.”
32. Satrajit should have worshiped Lord Krishna, the
Supreme God. Thus there is certainly a touch of irony in Lord Krishna's saying
"After all, you are a devotee of the sun-god." Furthermore, Krishna
had already acquired Satrajit's greatest treasure, the eternally Lord Krishna’s
own, pure and beautiful Goddess Satyabhama.
33. By enacting the pastime involving the Syamantaka jewel,
the Lord demonstrated the futility of material wealth. This shows how a
valuable jewel caused so much intrigue, violence and suffering
34. Once upon a time, Krishna went with Lord Balarama to
the kingdom of the Kurus.
35. Taking advantage of this opportunity, O King, Akrura
and Kritavarma went to Satadhanva and said, "Why not take the Syamantaka
jewel?”
36. Akrura and Kritavarma reasoned that since Krishna and
Balarama were absent from Dvaraka, Satrajit could be killed and the jewel
stolen. These two flattered Satadhanva telling him, "You are much braver
than we are; so you kill him. Satrajit promised his jewellike daughter to us
but then gave her to Krishna instead, contemptuously neglecting us. So why
should Satrajit not follow his brother's path (and kill him).”
37. Akrura, although a first-class, pure devotee of the
Lord, was a victim of the anger directed against him by the residents of Gokula
because he took Lord Krishna away from Vrindavana. Kritavarma had associated
with Kamsa—both of them being members of the Bhoja dynasty—and thus Kritavarma
was now suffering from this undesirable association. Also, both Akrura and
Kritavarma were furious with Satrajit because he had insulted Lord Krishna and
spread false rumors about Him in Dvaraka. Under normal circumstances Akrura and
Kritavarma would have been most pleased that Lord Krishna married the beautiful
Satyabhama. Being pure devotees, they could not actually be unhappy about this
match, nor could they become jealous rivals of the Lord. Therefore they had an
ulterior motive in behaving like His rivals.
38. His mind thus influenced by their advice, wicked
Satadhanva murdered Satrajit in his sleep simply out of greed. In this way the
sinful Satadhanva shortened his own life span. Satadhanva was basically
evil-minded and a firm hater of Satrajit.
39. As the women of Satrajit's palace screamed and
helplessly wept, Satadhanva took the jewel and left, like a butcher after he
has killed some animals.
40. When Satyabhama saw her dead father, she was plunged into
grief. Lamenting "My father, my father! Oh, I am killed!" she fell
unconscious.
41. Satyabhama's anguished feelings and words at the
death of her father were prompted by Lord Krishna's pastime potency
(lila-sakti), to prepare for the Lord's violent reaction against Satadhanva.
42. Queen Satyabhama put her father's corpse in a large
vat of oil and went to Hastinapura, where she sorrowfully told Lord Krishna,
who was already aware of the situation, about her father's murder.
43. When Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama heard this news,
O King, They exclaimed, "Alas! This is the greatest tragedy for Us!
"Thus imitating the ways of human society, They lamented, Their eyes
brimming with tears.
44. The Supreme Lord returned to His capital with His
wife and elder brother. After arriving in Dvaraka, He readied Himself to kill
Satadhanva and retrieve the jewel from him.
45. Upon learning that Lord Krishna was preparing to kill
him, Satadhanva was struck with fear. To save his life he approached Kritavarma
and begged him for help, but Kritavarma replied as follows.
46. [Kritavarma said:] I dare not offend the Supreme
Lords, Krishna and Balarama. Indeed, how can one who troubles Them expect any
good fortune? Kamsa and all his followers lost both their wealth and their lives
because of enmity toward Them, and after battling Them seventeen times
Jarasandha was left without even a chariot.
47. His appeal refused, Satadhanva went to Akrura and
begged him for protection. But Akrura similarly told him, "Who would
oppose the two Personalities of Godhead if he knew Their strength? It is the
Supreme Lord who creates, maintains and destroys this universe simply as His
pastime. The cosmic creators cannot even understand His purpose, bewildered as
they are by His illusory Maya. As a child of seven, Krishna uprooted an entire
mountain and held it aloft as easily as a young boy picks up a mushroom. I
offer my obeisances to that Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, whose
every deed is amazing. He is the Supreme Soul, the unlimited source and fixed
center of all existence."
48. The use of the singular yah, "He who,"
indicates that the frequent references to "the two Lords, Krishna and
Rama," do not compromise the firm principle of monotheism. The one Supreme
Lord expands Himself into innumerable forms, yet He remains the one and
almighty God. Out of regard for the spirit of the Lord's pastimes, in which He
expands Himself and appears as His own older brother, Balarama, the description
can be "the two Lords.”
49. His appeal thus rejected by Akrura also, Satadhanva
placed the precious jewel in Akrura's care and fled on a horse that could
travel one hundred yojanas [eight hundred miles] at a stretch.
50. Krishna and Balarama mounted Krishna's chariot, which
flew the flag of Garuda and was yoked with tremendously swift horses, and
pursued Their elder's murderer.
51. In a garden on the outskirts of Mithila, the horse
Satadhanva was riding collapsed. Terrified, he abandoned the horse and began to
flee on foot, with Krishna in angry pursuit.
52. As Satadhanva fled on foot, the Supreme Lord, also
going on foot, cut off his head with His sharp-edged disc. The Lord then
searched Satadhanva's upper and lower garments for the Syamantaka jewel. Not
finding the jewel, Lord Krishna went to His elder brother and said, "We
have killed Satadhanva uselessly. The jewel isn't here." To this Lord
Balarama replied, "Indeed, Satadhanva must have placed the jewel in the
care of someone. You should return to Our city and find that person.”
53. Queen Satyabhama was pleased to hear that her
father's murderer had been brought to justice. But her father's Syamantaka
jewel still had to be recovered, and thus she was also pleased to hear of Lord
Krishna's determination to recover it.
54. When Akrura and Kritavarma, who had originally
incited Satadhanva to commit his crime, heard that he had been killed, they
fled Dvaraka in terror and took up residence elsewhere. Akrura took the
Syamantaka jewel and went to reside in the city of Benares, where he became
known as Danapati, "the master of charity." There he executed fire
sacrifices on gold altars with elaborate assemblies of qualified priests.
55. In Akrura's absence ill omens arose in Dvaraka, and
the citizens began to suffer continually from physical and mental distresses,
as well as from disturbances caused by higher powers and by creatures of the
earth. The word daivika refers to disturbances caused by supernatural beings.
These disturbances often manifest as natural calamities like earthquakes, tidal
waves or extreme weather. The word bhautikah refers to trouble caused by fellow
creatures of the earth, such as human beings, animals and insects.
56. Some men proposed [that the troubles were due to
Akrura's absence], but they had forgotten the glories of the Supreme Lord,
which they themselves had so often described. Indeed, how can calamities occur
in a place where the Personality of Godhead, the residence of all the sages,
resides?
57. In Benares Akrura became famous for performing
sacrifices on golden altars and for his abundant charity to the brahmanas. When
the citizens of Dvaraka heard about this, some of them gossiped that Krishna,
considering Akrura a rival, had sent him into exile. To dispel this new and
incredible stain on His reputation, Lord Krishna created various calamities in
Dvaraka, thus inducing the citizens to call for Akrura's return, which the Lord
then ordered.
58. [The elders said:]”Previously, when Lord Indra had
withheld rain from Kasi [Benares], the king of that city gave his daughter
Gandini to Svaphalka, who was then visiting him. It soon rained in the kingdom
of Kasi.”
59. Svaphalka was Akrura's father, and the citizens felt
that the son must have the same power as the father. Because of Akrura's
relationship with his maternal grandfather, the King of Kasi, in a time of
difficulty Akrura went to that city.
60. “Wherever his equally powerful son Akrura stays, Lord
Indra will provide sufficient rain. Indeed, that place will be free of miseries
and untimely deaths.”
61. Hearing these words from the elders, Lord Janardana,
though aware that the absence of Akrura was not the only cause of the evil
omens, had him summoned back to Dvaraka and spoke to him.
62. Since Lord Krishna is the supreme controller, it was
obviously by His will that certain troubles appeared in the city of Dvaraka.
Superficially these evils may have been caused by Akrura's absence, and also by
the absence of the auspicious Syamantaka jewel. But we should recall that
Dvaraka is the eternal abode of Lord Krishna; it is a city of divine bliss
because the Lord resides there. Still, to execute His pastimes as a prince of
this world, Lord Krishna did the needful and summoned Akrura.
63. Lord Krishna honored Akrura, greeted him
confidentially and spoke pleasant words with him. Then the Lord, who was fully
aware of Akrura's heart by virtue of His being the knower of everything, smiled
and addressed him: "O master of charity, surely the opulent Syamantaka
jewel was left in your care by Satadhanva and is still with you. Indeed, We
have known this all along. Since Satrajit had no sons, his daughter's sons
should receive his inheritance. They should pay for memorial offerings of water
and pinda, clear their grandfather's outstanding debts and keep the remainder
of the inheritance for themselves. Nevertheless, the troublesome jewel should
remain in your care, O trustworthy Akrura, because no one else can keep it
safely. But please show the jewel just once, since My elder brother does not
fully believe what I have told Him about it. In this way, O most fortunate one,
you will pacify My relatives. Everyone knows you have the jewel, for you are
now continually performing sacrifices on altars of gold.”
64. Although technically Satyabhama's sons had a right to
the jewel, Lord Krishna decided to leave the jewel in the care of Akrura, who
was using the jewel's wealth to continually perform religious sacrifices.
65. Thus shamed by Lord Krishna's conciliatory words, the
son of Svaphalka brought out the jewel from where he had concealed it in his
clothing and gave it to the Lord. The brilliant gem shone like the sun.
66. After the almighty Lord had shown the Syamantaka
jewel to His relatives, thus dispelling the false accusations against Him, He
returned it to Akrura.
67. For the second time, doubts about the Lord's
reputation occasioned by the Syamantaka jewel are dispelled by the jewel
itself. For the second time the Lord brought the jewel to Dvaraka to establish
His integrity there. This series of incidents demonstrates that even when Lord Krishna
descends to this world there is a tendency for His associates to criticize Him.
The whole material world is infected by the faultfinding propensity.
68. God exists.
The argument of the marriage of Satya by Krishna
1. Nagnajit, the very pious King of Kosala, had a lovely
daughter named Satya, or Nagnajiti.
2. The kings who came as suitors were not allowed to
marry her unless they could subdue seven long sharp-horned bulls. These bulls
were extremely vicious and uncontrollable, and they could not tolerate even the
smell of warriors.
3. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of
the Vaishnavas, heard of the princess who was to be won by the conqueror of the
bulls, He went to the capital of Kosala with a large army.
4. The King of Kosala, pleased to see Lord Krishna,
worshiped Him by rising from his throne and offering Him a seat of honor and
substantial gifts. Lord Krishna also greeted the King respectfully.
5. When the King's daughter saw that most agreeable
suitor arrive, she immediately desired to have Him, the Lord of Goddess Rama.
She prayed, "May He become my husband. If I have kept my vows, may the
sacred fire bring about the fulfillment of my hopes. Goddess Lakshmi, Lord
Brahma, Lord Siva and the rulers of the various planets place the dust of His
lotus feet on their heads, and to protect the codes of religion, which He has
created, He assumes pastime incarnations at various times. How may that Supreme
Personality of Godhead become pleased with me?”
6. King Nagnajit first worshiped the Lord properly and
then addressed Him: "O Narayana, Lord of the universe, You are full in
Your own spiritual pleasure. Therefore what can this insignificant person do
for You?”
7. The Supreme Lord was pleased, and after accepting a
comfortable seat He smiled and addressed the King in a voice as deep as the
rumbling of a cloud.
8. The Supreme Lord said: “O ruler of men, learned
authorities condemn begging for a person in the royal order who is executing
his religious duties. Even so, desiring your friendship, I ask you for your
daughter, though We offer no gifts in exchange.”
9. The King said: “My Lord, who could be a better husband
for my daughter than You, the exclusive abode of all transcendental qualities?
On Your body the goddess of fortune herself resides, never leaving You for any
reason. But to ascertain the proper husband for my daughter, O chief of the
Satvatas, we previously set a condition to test the prowess of her suitors.
These seven wild bulls are impossible to tame, O hero. They have defeated many
princes, breaking their limbs. If You can subdue them, O descendant of Yadu,
You will certainly be the appropriate bridegroom for my daughter, O Lord of
Sri.”
10. The King's actual purpose in setting up the test was
to obtain Sri Krishna as his son-in-law, since only He could subdue the bulls.
Without such a test it would have been difficult for Nagnajit to refuse the
many apparently qualified princes and kings who came to ask for his daughter's
hand in marriage. No human on earth at that time could bind these wild bulls,
but for Krishna these bulls were like playthings or like small kiddies of
goats.
11. Upon hearing these terms, the Lord tightened His
clothing, expanded Himself into seven forms and easily subdued the bulls.
12. Lord Krishna expanded Himself into seven forms not
only to playfully defeat the seven bulls but also to show Princess Satya that
she would not have to compete with His other queens, since He could enjoy with
all of them simultaneously.
13. Lord Sauri tied up the bulls, whose pride and
strength were now broken, and pulled them with ropes just as a child playfully
pulls wooden toy bulls.
14. Then King Nagnajit, pleased and astonished, presented
his daughter to Lord Krishna. The Supreme Personality of Godhead accepted this
suitable bride in the proper Vedic fashion. The word sadrisim indicates that
the lovely princess was a fitting bride for the Lord because she possessed
wonderful transcendental qualities that complemented His. King Nagnajit was
certainly astonished at the many extraordinary events suddenly taking place in
his life.
15. The King and his associates felt the greatest ecstasy
upon attaining Lord Krishna as the dear husband of the royal princess, and a
mood of great festivity arose. Conchshells, horns and drums resounded, along
with vocal and instrumental music and the sounds of brahmanas, invoking
blessings. The joyful men and women adorned themselves with fine clothing and
garlands.
16. As the dowry, powerful King Nagnajit gave ten
thousand cows, three thousand young maidservants wearing golden ornaments on
their necks and bedecked in fine clothing, nine thousand elephants, a hundred
times as many chariots as elephants, a hundred times as many horses as
chariots, and a hundred times as many manservants as horses.
17. The King of Kosala, his heart melting with affection,
had the bride and groom seated on their chariot, and then he sent them on their
way surrounded by a great army.
18. When the intolerant kings who had been rival suitors
heard what had happened, they tried to stop Lord Krishna on the road as He took
His bride home. But just as the bulls had broken the kings' strength before,
the Yadu warriors broke it now. Arjuna, wielder of the Gandiva bow, was always
eager to please his friend Krishna, and thus he drove back those opponents, who
were shooting torrents of arrows at the Lord. He did this just as a lion drives
away insignificant animals.
19. Lord Devaki-suta, the chief of the Yadus, then took
the dowry and Satya to Dvaraka and continued to live there happily.
20. Krishna is God.
The argument of Queen Kalindi
1. Once Arjuna, the slayer of powerful enemies, donned
his armor, mounted his chariot flying the flag of Hanuman, took up his bow and
his two inexhaustible quivers, and went to transcendentally sport with Lord
Krishna in a large forest filled with fierce animals.
2. After the Arjuna and Krishnas bathed there, they drank
the river's clear water. The great warriors then saw an attractive young girl
walking nearby.
3. Sent by his friend, Arjuna approached the exceptional
young woman, who possessed beautiful hips, fine teeth and a lovely face.
Krishna wanted Arjuna to see the deep devotion of this girl, and thus He urged
him to make the initial inquiries.
4. [Arjuna said:] Who are you, O fine-waisted lady? Whose
daughter are you, and where do you come from? What are you doing here? I think
you must be looking for a husband. Please explain everything, O beautiful one.
5. Sri Kalindi said: “I am the daughter– Yamuna- of the
sun-god. I desire to get as my husband the most excellent and munificent Lord
Vishnu, and to that end I am performing severe penances.”
6. Srimati Kalindi knew that Lord Vishnu, being the
source of all benedictions, is the supreme husband and can thus fulfill all the
desires of His wife.
7. “I will accept no husband other than Him, the abode of
the goddess of fortune. May that Mukunda, the Supreme Personality, the shelter
of the helpless, be pleased with me. I am known as Kalindi, and I live in a
mansion my father built for me within the water of the Yamuna. There I will
stay until I meet Lord Acyuta.”
8. Arjuna repeated all this to Lord Vasudeva, who was
already aware of it. The Lord then took Kalindi onto His chariot and went back.
9. The supremely auspicious Lord then married Kalindi on
a day when the season, the lunar asterism and the configurations of the sun and
other heavenly bodies were all propitious. In this way He brought the greatest
pleasure to His devotees.
10. Krishna is God.
The argument of the liberation of the demoniac son of the
earth (Bhaumasura or Narakasura)
1. Bhauma had stolen Indra's umbrella, the earrings
belonging to Indra's mother, Aditi and the demigods’ playground at the peak of
the jewel Mandara mountain. Indra went to Lord Krishna and informed Him of
these misdeeds.
2. The Lord, taking His wife Satyabhämä with Him, then
rode on Garuòa to Prägyotiña-pura, which was surrounded on all sides by
fortifications consisting of hills, unmanned weapons, water, fire and wind, and
by obstructions of mura-päça wire.
3. Lord Kåñëa took His wife Satyabhämä with Him, because
the Lord wanted to give His adventurous wife a novel experience and thus took
her to the scene of this extraordinary battle.
4. Also, Lord Kåñëa had once granted the blessing to
Bhümi, the earth-goddess, that He would not kill her demoniac son without her
permission. Since Bhümi is an expansion of Satyabhämä, the latter could
authorize Kåñëa to do the needful with the unusually nasty Bhaumäsura.
5. In the heat of battle Queen Satyabhämä would naturally
become anxious for Lord Kåñëa's safety and pray for the battle to end. Thus she
would readily give permission to Kåñëa to kill the son of her expansion, Bhümi.
6. Also, Satyabhämä had been miffed when Närada Muni
brought a celestial pärijäta flower to Queen Rukmiëé. To pacify Satyabhämä,
Lord Kåñëa had promised her, "I'll give you a whole tree of these
flowers," and thus the Lord scheduled this procurement of a heavenly tree
within His itinerary.
7. With His heavy
club the Lord broke through the surrounding rock walls and earthen ramparts.
With His arrows the weapons of the town were destroyed, with His disc the fire,
water and wind walls. With His sword the hard wire obstructions were cut away
and with the sound of His conch-shell, a sound as terrifying as the thunder at
the end of the cosmic age, Krishna shattered the magic seals of the fortress,
along with the hearts of its defenders.
8. This sound also woke up the 5 headed demon Mura who
slept at the bottom of the city's moat. Raising his trident, shining with the
blinding, terrible effulgence of the sun's fire at the end of a millennium,
Mura seemed to be swallowing up the three worlds with his five mouths.
9. Like an attacking snake, Mura whirled his trident and
then hurled it fiercely at Garuòa, the son of Tärkñya, roaring from all five
mouths. The sound filled the earth and sky, all directions and the limits of
outer space, until it reverberated against the very shell of the universe.
10. With 2 arrows Lord Krishna struck the flying trident
and broke it into 3 pieces and stuffed the demon’s mouth with five arrows of
various shapes as if his mouths were quivers.
11. Mura then angrily threw a club at Krishna. As Mura's
club sped towards Him, Krishna intercepted it with His own and broke it into
1000's of pieces.
12. Mura then rushed at the unconquerable Lord, who
easily sliced off his heads with His disc weapon. Krishna also scattered his
limbs by the power of His Cakra– disc.
13. Lifeless, Mura's decapitated body fell into the water
like a mountain whose peak has been severed by the power of Lord Indra's
thunderbolt. The demon's seven sons, enraged by their father's death, prepared
to retaliate.
14. Also ordered by Bhaumäsura, Mura's seven sons—Tämra,
Antarikña, Çravaëa, Vibhävasu, Vasu, Nabhasvän and Aruëa—followed their
general, Péöha, onto the battlefield bearing their weapons.
15. The invincible Lord cut their mountain of arrows,
swords, clubs, spears, lances and tridents into tiny pieces with His arrows.
The Lord severed the heads, thighs, arms, legs and armor of these fierce
warriors and gave them liberation.
16. Narakäsura, or Bhauma, the son of the earth, equipped
with ten-thousand hands, could not contain his fury when he saw the fate of his
military leaders. Thus he went out of the citadel with his army and elephants,
born from the Milk Ocean, who were exuding mada from their temples out of
excitement.
17. Lord Kåñëa and His wife, mounted upon Garuòa, looked
like a cloud with lightning sitting above the sun. Seeing the Lord, Bhauma
released his Çataghné weapon at Him, whereupon all of Bhauma's soldiers
simultaneously attacked with their weapons.
18. At that moment Lord Gadägraja shot His sharp arrows at
Bhaumäsura's army. These arrows, displaying variegated feathers, soon reduced
that army to a mass of bodies with severed arms, thighs and necks. The Lord
similarly killed the opposing horses and elephants.
19. No person in this world was capable of knowing such
swiftness in using weapons.
20. Lord Hari then struck down all the missiles and
weapons the enemy soldiers threw at Him, destroying each and every one with
three sharp arrows. Meanwhile Garuòa, as he carried the Lord, struck the
enemy's elephants with his wings. Beaten by Garuòa's wings, beak and talons,
the elephants fled back into the city, leaving Narakäsura alone on the
battlefield to oppose Kåñëa.
21. Bhaumasura
threw his spear at Garuda. The spear had previously defeated Indra's
thunderbolt but to Garuda it felt like a bunch of flowers. By flapping his
wings, Garuda dissipated Bhauma’s powers. The two powers merged so that Bhauma
could do nothing.
22. Bhauma, frustrated in all his attempts, took up his
trident, Siva’s invincible sakti weapon, to kill Lord Krishna but even before
he could release it, the Lord destroyed it and cut off his head with His
razor-sharp cakra as the demon sat atop his elephant.
23. As Bhauma had raised his invincible trident,
Satyabhämä, sitting on Garuòa with the Lord, said to Kåñëa, "Kill him
right away," and Kåñëa did just that.
24. Fallen on the ground, Bhaumäsura's head shone
brilliantly, decorated as it was with earrings and an attractive helmet. As
cries of "Alas, alas!" and "Well done!" arose, the sages
and principal demigods worshiped Lord Mukunda by showering Him with flower
garlands.
25. The goddess of the earth then approached Lord Kåñëa
and presented Him with Aditi's earrings, which were made of glowing gold inlaid
with shining jewels. She also gave Him a Vaijayanté flower garland, Varuëa's
umbrella and the peak of Mandara Mountain. 26. After bowing down to Him and
then standing with joined palms, the goddess, her mind filled with devotion,
began to praise the Lord of the universe, whom the best of demigods worship.
27. Goddess Bhümi said: Obeisances unto You, O Lord of
the chief demigods, O holder of the conchshell, disc and club. O Supreme Soul
within the heart, You assume Your various forms to fulfill Your devotees'
desires. Obeisances unto You. My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord,
whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always
decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus
and whose feet are engraved with lotuses. Obeisances unto You, the Supreme Lord
Väsudeva, Viñëu, the primeval person, the original seed. Obeisances unto You,
the omniscient one. Obeisances unto You of unlimited energies, the unborn
progenitor of this universe, the Absolute. O Soul of the high and the low, O
Soul of the created elements, O all-pervading Supreme Soul, obeisances unto
You. Desiring to create, O unborn master, You increase and then assume the mode
of passion. You do likewise with the mode of ignorance when You wish to
annihilate the universe and with goodness when You wish to maintain it.
Nonetheless, You remain uncovered by these modes. You are time, the pradhäna,
and the puruña, O Lord of the universe, yet still You are separate and
distinct. This is illusion: that earth, water, fire, air, ether, sense objects,
demigods, mind, the senses, false ego and the total material energy exist
independent of You. In fact, they are all within You, my Lord, who are one
without a second.”
28. “Here is the son of Bhaumäsura, my grandson.
Frightened by all the terribly violent events that just took place, he is
approaching Your lotus feet, since You remove the distress of all who seek
refuge in You. Please protect him. Place Your lotus hand, which dispels all
sins, upon his head.
29. Thus entreated by Goddess Bhümi in words of humble
devotion, the Supreme Lord bestowed fearlessness upon her grandson.
30. Then Krishna entered Bhauma's palace. He saw heavenly
wealth that surpassed the treasures of Indra.
31. There Lord Kåñëa saw sixteen thousand and hundred
royal maidens, whom Bhauma had taken by force from various kings. While
conquering all over the world Bhaumasura had also captured 16.100 princesses,
queens, unmarried daughters of demigods, sages, siddhas and demons as well.
32. With the thought "May providence grant that this
man become my husband," each and every princess absorbed her heart in
contemplation of Kåñëa. The streams of flowing nectar from Krishna’s beauty
washed away the contaminating clouds of dust on their bodies. These women
became enchanted when they saw that most excellent of all persons, Sri Krishna
enter. In their minds they accepted Him (who had been brought there by destiny)
as their husband.
33. The Lord had the princesses arrayed in clean,
spotless garments and then sent them in palanquins to Dvärakä, together with
great treasures of chariots, horses and other valuables. Lord Kåñëa also
dispatched sixty-four swift white elephants, descendants of Airävata, who each
sported four tusks.
34. Then the imperishable Supreme Personality, assuming a
separate form for each bride, duly married all the princesses simultaneously,
each in her own palace and temple. The entire company of the Lords relatives,
including His mother Devaké, appeared in each and every palace and attended
each and every wedding. Since all these weddings took place simultaneously,
this event was surely a manifestation of the Lords inconceivable potency. When
Lord Kåñëa does things, He does them in style. So it is not astonishing that
the Lord simultaneously appeared in 16,100 wedding ceremonies taking place in
16,100 royal palaces, accompanied in each palace by all His relatives. Indeed,
this is the way one would expect the Supreme Personality of Godhead to do
things. After all, He is not an ordinary human being. On this particular occasion
the Lord manifested His original form in each of His palaces. To take part in
the wedding vows, He manifested identical forms (prakäça) in all the palaces.
35. The Lord, performer of the inconceivable, constantly
remained in each of His queens' palaces, which were unequaled and unexcelled by
any other residence. There, although fully satisfied within Himself, He enjoyed
with His pleasing wives, and like an ordinary husband He carried out His
household duties.
36. The word is atarka-kåt. Tarka means
"logic," and atarka means "that which is beyond logic." The
Lord can perform (kåt) that which is beyond mundane logic and hence
inconceivable. Still, the Lord's activities can be appreciated and understood
to a significant extent.
37. The Lord was always at home except for when He had to
go out to do ordinary household duties.
38. Just as the Lord of Dvärakä is a plenary expansion of
the supremely complete Lord of Çré Våndävana, so His principal queens are full
expansions of His supremely complete pleasure potencies, the gopés.
39. Thus those women obtained as their husband the
husband of the goddess of fortune, although even great demigods like Brahmä do
not know how to approach Him. With ever-increasing pleasure they experienced
loving attraction for Him, exchanged smiling glances with Him and reciprocated
with Him in ever-fresh intimacy, replete with joking and feminine shyness.
40. Although the Supreme Lord's queens each had hundreds
of maidservants, they chose to personally serve the Lord by approaching Him
humbly, offering Him a seat, worshiping Him with excellent paraphernalia,
bathing and massaging His feet, giving Him pän to chew, fanning Him, anointing
Him with fragrant sandalwood paste, adorning Him with flower garlands, dressing
His hair, arranging His bed, bathing Him, and presenting Him with various
gifts.
41. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Krishna conquering the Parijata flower
tree from the demigods in heaven.
1. Once Narada muni brought one Parijata (wish
fulfilling) flower for Krishna's queen Rukmini. Krishna's queen Satyabhämä
showed such a torrent of fury that He could not pacify her even by bowing down
at her feet.Krishna promised Satyabhama, "I will give you a whole tree of
these flowers".
2. The Lord then went to the abode of Indra, the
demigod's king. There, Indra and his wife worshiped Krishna and His beloved
consort Satyabhama. The Lord uprooted the heavenly Parijata tree and put it on
the back of Garuda. The demigods objected but Krishna easily defeated Indra and
all the other demigods.
3. Krishna brought the Parijata to His capital and
planted the tree in Satyabhama's private garden. Bees followed the tree all the
way from heaven, greedy for its fragrance and sweet sap.
4. Even after Indra had bowed down to Lord Acyuta,
touched His feet with the tips of his crown and begged the Lord to fulfill his
desire, that exalted demigod, having achieved his purpose, chose to fight with
the Supreme Lord.
5. What ignorance there is among the gods! To hell with
their opulence! Material wealth and power tend to produce arrogance, and thus
an opulent life can often be the royal road to hell.
6. Krishna defeated all the demigods because He is the
Supreme of all the gods.
7. God exists.
The argument of Rukmini, The Supreme Goddess Of Fortune
1. Once, in the
company of her maidservants, Queen Rukmiëé was personally serving her husband,
the spiritual master of the universe, by fanning Him as He relaxed on her bed.
2. The unborn Personality of Godhead, the supreme
controller, who creates, maintains and then devours this universe simply as His
play, took birth among the Yadus to preserve His own laws.
3. Queen Rukmiëé's quarters were extremely beautiful,
boasting a canopy hung with brilliant strings of pearls, as well as effulgent
jewels serving as lamps. Garlands of jasmine and other flowers hung here and
there, attracting swarms of humming bees, and the spotless rays of the moon
shone through the holes of the lattice windows. As aguru incense drifted out of
the window holes, my dear King, the breeze wafting the scent of the pärijäta
grove carried the mood of a garden into the room. There the Queen served her
husband, the Supreme Lord of all the worlds, as He reclined upon an opulent
pillow on her bed, which was as soft and white as the foam of milk.
4. When this pastime took place the moon had just risen,
bathing the entire palace in beautiful ruddy moonshine.
5. From her maidservant's hand Goddess Rukmiëé took a
yak-hair fan with a jeweled handle, and then she began to worship her master by
fanning Him. Her hand adorned with rings, bangles and the cämara fan, Queen
Rukmiëé looked resplendent standing near Lord Kåñëa. Her jeweled ankle-bells
tinkled, and her necklace glittered, reddened by the kuìkuma from her breasts,
which were covered by the end of her sari. On her hips she wore a priceless
belt. As Lord Kåñëa is even more beautiful than the Lord of Vaikuëöha, Lord
Kåñëa's consort Rukmiëé-devé is even more attractive than the goddess of
fortune in the Vaikuëöha world.
6. As He contemplated her, the goddess of fortune
herself, who desires only Him, Lord Kåñëa smiled. The Lord assumes various
forms to enact His pastimes, and He was pleased that the form the goddess of
fortune had assumed was just suitable for her to serve as His consort. Her
charming face was adorned with curling hair, earrings, a locket on her neck,
and the nectar of her bright, happy smile. The Lord then spoke to her as
follows.
7. The Supreme Lord said: “My dear princess, you were
sought after by many kings as powerful as the rulers of planets. They were all
abundantly endowed with political influence, wealth, beauty, generosity and
physical strength. Since your brother and father offered you to them, why did
you reject the King of Cedi and all those other suitors, who stood before you,
maddened by Cupid? Why, instead, did you choose Us, who are not at all your
equal? Terrified of these kings, O lovely-browed one, We took shelter in the
ocean. We have become enemies of powerful men, and We practically abandoned Our
royal throne.”
8. After Lord Kåñëa killed Kaàsa He humbly gave the royal
throne to His grandfather Ugrasena, although the Lord Himself was entitled to
it.
9. Lord Kåñëa opposed almost all the contemporary kings
during His incarnation, befriending only a few, such as the Päëòavas and loyal
members of His dynasty. Lord Kåñëa appeared specifically because the earth was
overburdened by innumerable demoniac kings and He wanted to remove this burden.
10. The Lord's mentality here can be understood as
follows: 'When I gave Rukmiëé a single flower from the heavenly pärijäta tree,
Satyabhämä showed such a torrent of fury that I could not pacify her even by
bowing down at her feet. Only when I gave her a whole pärijäta tree was she
satisfied. Rukmiëé, however, did not display any anger even when she saw Me
give Satyabhämä the whole tree. So how can I enjoy the nectar of angry words
from this wife, who never feels jealousy, who is supremely sober and who always
speaks pleasingly?' Thus considering, the Supreme Lord decided, 'If I speak
like this to her, I will be able to provoke her anger.’
11. Continued : “O fine-browed lady, women are usually
destined to suffer when they stay with men whose behavior is uncertain and who
pursue a path not approved by society. We have no material possessions, and We
are dear to those who similarly have nothing. Therefore, O slender one, the
wealthy hardly ever worship Me. Marriage and friendship are proper between two
people who are equal in terms of their wealth, birth, influence, physical
appearance and capacity for good progeny, but never between a superior and an
inferior. O Vaidarbhé, not being farsighted, you didn't realize this, and
therefore you chose Us as your husband, even though We have no good qualities and
are glorified only by deluded beggars.”
12. Lord Kåñëa here presents Himself as materially
unqualified. In fact, the Lord does not have any material qualities: He lives
in pure spiritual existence. Thus all the Lord's opulences are eternal and not
of the flimsy mundane sort.
13. “Now you should definitely accept a more suitable
husband, a first-class man of the royal order who can help you achieve
everything you want, both in this life and the next. Kings like Çiçupäla,
Çälva, Jaräsandha and Dantavakra all hate Me, O beautiful-thighed one, and so
does your elder brother Rukmé. It was to dispel the arrogance of these kings
that I carried you away, My good woman, for they were blinded by the
intoxication of power. My purpose was to curb the strength of the wicked. We
care nothing for wives, children and wealth. Always satisfied within Ourselves,
We do not work for body and home, but like a light, We merely witness.”
14. Rukmiëé had thought herself especially beloved by the
Lord because He never left her company. By saying these things to her He
vanquished her pride, and then He stopped speaking. Goddess Rukmiëé had never
before heard such unpleasantries from her beloved, the Lord of universal
rulers, and she became frightened. A tremor arose in her heart, and in terrible
anxiety she began to cry. With her tender foot, effulgent with the reddish glow
of her nails, she scratched the ground, and tears darkened by her eye makeup
sprinkled her kuìkuma-reddened breasts. There she stood, face downward, her
voice choked up by extreme sorrow. Rukmiëé's mind was overwhelmed with
unhappiness, fear and grief. Her bangles slipped from her hand, and her fan
fell to the ground. In her bewilderment she suddenly fainted, her hair
scattering all about as her body fell to the ground like a plantain tree blown
over by the wind. Shocked by Lord Kåñëa's words, Rukmiëé could not understand
that the Lord was only teasing, and thus she displayed these ecstatic symptoms
of grief, characterized as sättvika ecstasies ranging from "becoming
stunned" to "dissolution."
15. Seeing that His beloved was so bound to Him in love
that she could not understand the full meaning of His teasing, merciful Lord
Kåñëa felt compassion for her.
16. The Lord quickly got down from the bed. Manifesting
four arms, He picked her up, gathered her hair and caressed her face with His
lotus hand. The Lord manifested four hands so He could do all of these things
simultaneously. Wiping her tear-filled eyes and her breasts, which were stained
by tears of grief, the Supreme Lord, the goal of His devotees, embraced His
chaste wife, who desired nothing but Him. Expert in the art of pacification,
Çré Kåñëa tenderly consoled pitiable Rukmiëé, whose mind was bewildered by His
clever joking and who did not deserve to suffer so.
17. The Supreme Lord said: “O Vaidarbhé, do not be
displeased with Me. I know that you are fully devoted to Me. I only spoke in
jest, dear lady, because I wanted to hear what you would say. I also wanted to
see your face with lips trembling in loving anger, the reddish corners of your
eyes throwing sidelong glances and the line of your beautiful eyebrows knit in
a frown.”
18. She increased His transcendental ecstasy by
exhibiting her all-encompassing love for Him.
19. “The greatest pleasure worldly householders can enjoy
at home is to spend time joking with their beloved wives, My dear timid and
temperamental one.”
20. Queen Vaidarbhé was fully pacified by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and understood that His words had been spoken in jest.
Thus she gave up her fear that her beloved would reject her. Smiling bashfully
as she cast charming, affectionate glances upon the face of the Lord, the best
of males, Rukmiëé spoke the following
21. Çré Rukmiëé said: “Actually, what You have said is
true, O lotus-eyed one. I am indeed unsuitable for the almighty Personality of
Godhead. What comparison is there between that Supreme Lord, who is master of
the three primal deities and who delights in His own glory, and myself, a woman
of mundane qualities whose feet are grasped by fools?”
22. In her extreme humility Rukmiëé is identifying
herself with the Lord's external energy, which in fact is her expansion,
Rukmiëé being the goddess of fortune.
23. “Yes, my Lord Urukrama, You lay down within the
ocean-as Paramatma, God in the universe- as if afraid of the material modes,
and thus in pure consciousness You appear within the heart as the Supersoul.
You are always battling against the foolish material senses, and indeed even
Your servants reject the privilege of royal dominion, which leads to the
blindness of ignorance. The actual rulers of this world are the guëas, the
material modes of nature, which impel all living beings to act. The material
senses are actually powerful in this world. The position of political supremacy
in this world usually implicates so-called powerful leaders in darkness and
blindness. "Power corrupts." The Lord Himself, being completely
satisfied in His own spiritual bliss, would hardly be interested in occupying
mundane political positions.
24. Your movements, inscrutable even for sages who relish
the honey of Your lotus feet, are certainly incomprehensible for human beings
who behave like animals. And just as Your activities are transcendental, O
all-powerful Lord, so too are those of Your followers.
25. You possess nothing because there is nothing beyond
You. Even the great enjoyers of tribute—Brahmä and other demigods—pay tribute
to You. Those who are blinded by their wealth and absorbed in gratifying their
senses do not recognize You in the form of death. But to the gods, the enjoyers
of tribute, You are the most dear, as they are to You.
26. You are the embodiment of all human goals and are
Yourself the final aim of life. Desiring to attain You, O all-powerful Lord,
intelligent persons abandon everything else. It is they who are worthy of Your
association, not men and women absorbed in the pleasure and grief resulting
from their mutual lust.
27. Knowing that great sages who have renounced the
sannyäsé's daëòa proclaim Your glories, that You are the Supreme Soul of all the
worlds, and that You are so gracious that You give away even Your own self, I
chose You as my husband, rejecting Lord Brahmä, Lord Çiva and the rulers of
heaven, whose aspirations are all frustrated by the force of time, which is
born from Your eyebrows. What interest, then, could I have in any other
suitors?
28. My Lord, as a lion drives away lesser animals to
claim his proper tribute, You drove off the assembled kings with the resounding
twang of Your Çärìga bow and then claimed me, Your fair share. Thus it is sheer
foolishness, my dear Gadägraja, for You to say You took shelter in the ocean
out of fear of those kings.”
29. As Queen Rukmiëé spoke these words she frowned and
cast angry sidelong glances at the Lord.
30. “Wanting Your association, the best of kings—Aìga,
Vainya, Jäyanta, Nähuña, Gaya and others—abandoned their absolute sovereignty
and entered the forest to seek You out. How could those kings suffer
frustration in this world, O lotus-eyed one? You have said that I, a king's
daughter, am unintelligent and frustrated because I married You. But how can
You accuse all these great enlightened kings of being unintelligent? They were
the wisest of men, yet they gave up everything to follow You and were certainly
not frustrated by the result. Indeed, they achieved the perfection of Your
association.
31. The aroma of Your lotus feet, which is glorified by
great saints, awards people liberation and is the abode of Goddess Lakñmé. What
woman would take shelter of any other man after savoring that aroma? Since You
are the abode of transcendental qualities, what mortal woman with the insight
to distinguish her own true interest would disregard that fragrance and depend
instead on someone who is always subject to terrible fear?
32. Because You are suitable for me, I have chosen You,
the master and Supreme Soul of all the worlds, who fulfill our desires in this
life and the next. May Your feet, which give freedom from illusion by
approaching their worshiper, give shelter to me, who have been wandering from one
material situation to another, who have been bewildered by hearing from various
religious scriptures about numerous rituals and ceremonies with their promises
of fruitive results, who, My dear Lord Kåñëa, was bewildered by hearing about
Your various incarnations. I heard that when You descended as Räma You
abandoned Your wife, Sétä, and that in this life You abandoned the gopés. Thus
I was bewildered.”
33. Çrématé Rukmiëé-devé is the eternally liberated
consort of Lord Kåñëa, but she humbly plays the part of a mortal woman taking
shelter of the Supreme Lord.
34. “O infallible Kåñëa, let each of the kings You named
become the husband of a woman whose ears have never heard Your glories, which
are sung in the assemblies of Çiva and Brahmä. After all, in the households of
such women these kings live like asses, oxen, dogs, cats and slaves.”
35. Queen Rukmiëé here speaks with anger, pointing her
index finger at the Lord. She compares the so-called great princes to asses
because they carry many material burdens and because their wives sometimes kick
them, to oxen because they are always distressed while performing their
occupational duties, to dogs because their wives disrespect them and because
they behave inimically toward outsiders in order to protect their homes, to
cats because they are selfish, cruel and eat the remnants left by their wives.,
and to slaves because they are servile in family affairs. Such kings may appear
desirable to a foolish woman who has not heard or understood the glories of Çré
Kåñëa.
36. “A woman who fails to relish the fragrance of the
honey of Your lotus feet becomes totally befooled, and thus she accepts as her
husband or lover a living corpse covered with skin, whiskers, nails, head-hair
and body-hair and filled with flesh, bones, blood, parasites, feces, mucus,
bile and air.”
37. Çré Kåñëa is the real husband for all women at all
times. Thus a woman who worships someone else as her husband simply worships a
dead body. Rukmiëé thus considered that although the sweetness of Lord Kåñëa's
lotus feet is well known, and although He possesses an eternal body full of
knowledge and bliss, foolish women reject Him. An ordinary husband's body is
covered on the outside by skin and hair; otherwise, being filled with blood,
feces, flesh, bile and so on, it would be overwhelmed with flies and other
vermin attracted by its bad smell and other offensive qualities.
38. “O lotus-eyed one, though You are satisfied within
Yourself and thus rarely turn Your attention toward me, please bless me with
steady love for Your feet. It is when You assume a predominance of passion in
order to manifest the universe that You glance upon me, showing me what is
indeed Your greatest mercy.”
39. Lord Kåñëa is satisfied within Himself. Çrématé
Rukmiëé-devé is His internal potency, so His loving affairs with her are
expressions of His pure spiritual happiness.
40. Queen Rukmiëé humbly identifies herself with the
Lord's external energy, which is her expansion.
41. “Actually, I don't consider Your words false,
Madhüsudana. Quite often an unmarried girl is attracted to a man, as in the
case of Ambä.
42. The mind of a promiscuous woman always hankers for
new lovers, even if she is married. An intelligent man should not keep such an
unchaste wife, for if he does he will lose his good fortune both in this life
and the next.”
43. The Supreme Lord said: “O saintly lady, O princess,
We deceived you only because We wanted to hear you speak like this. Indeed,
everything you said in reply to My words is most certainly true. Whatever
benedictions you hope for in order to become free of material desires are ever yours,
O fair and noble lady, for you are My unalloyed devotee. O sinless one, I have
now seen firsthand the pure love and chaste attachment you have for your
husband. Even though shaken by My words, your mind could not be pulled away
from Me.”
44. When the affectionate bond between a young man and a
young woman can never be destroyed, even when there is every cause for the
destruction of that relationship, the attachment between them is said to be
pure love. This is the nature of the eternal loving affairs between Lord Kåñëa
and His pure conjugal associates and only possible on that spiritual platform.
45. “Although I have the power to award spiritual
liberation, lusty persons worship Me with penance and vows in order to get My
blessings for their mundane family life. Such persons are bewildered by My
illusory energy. O supreme reservoir of love, unfortunate are they who, even
after obtaining Me, the Lord of both liberation and material riches, hanker
only for material treasures. These worldly gains can be found even in hell.
Since such persons are obsessed with sense gratification, hell is a fitting
place for them. Fortunately, O mistress of the house, you have always rendered
Me faithful devotional service, which liberates one from material existence.
This service is very difficult for the envious to perform, especially for a
woman whose intentions are wicked, who lives only to gratify her bodily
demands, and who indulges in duplicity. In all My palaces I can find no other
wife as loving as you, O most respectful one. When you were to be married, you
disregarded all the kings who had assembled to seek your hand, and simply
because you had heard authentic accounts concerning Me, you sent a brähmaëa to
Me with your confidential message. When your brother, who had been defeated in
battle and then disfigured, was later killed during a gambling match on
Aniruddha's wedding day, you felt unbearable grief, yet out of fear of losing
Me you spoke not a word. By this silence you have conquered Me. When you sent
the messenger with your most confidential plan and yet I delayed going to you,
you began to see the whole world as void and wanted to quit your body, which
could never have been given to anyone but Me. May this greatness of yours
remain with you always; I can do nothing to reciprocate except joyfully thank
you for your devotion.”
46. And so the self-satisfied Supreme Lord of the
universe enjoyed with the goddess of fortune, engaging her in lovers' talks and
thus imitating the ways of human society. The word viòambayan means
"imitating" and also "ridiculing." The Lord acted like a
husband of this world, but His pastimes are transcendental and expose the
perverted nature of mundane activities aimed at bodily sense gratification.
47. The almighty Lord Hari, preceptor of all the worlds,
similarly behaved like a conventional householder in the palaces of His other
queens, performing the religious duties of a family man.
48. Krishna is God.
The argument of Krishna fighting Banasura and Siva
1. Bana was the oldest of the hundred sons fathered by
the great saint Bali Maharaja, who gave the whole earth in charity to Lord Hari
when He appeared as Vamanadeva. Banasura, born from Bali's semen, became a
great devotee of Lord Siva. His behavior was always respectable, and he was generous,
intelligent, truthful and firm in his vows. The beautiful city of Sonitapura
was under his dominion. Because Lord Siva had favored him, the very demigods,
like Indra waited on Banasura like menial servants. Once, when Siva was dancing
his tandava-nritya, Bana especially satisfied the lord by playing a musical
accompaniment with his one thousand arms.
2. The lord and master of all created beings, the
compassionate refuge of his devotees, gladdened Banasura by offering him the
benediction of his choice. Bana chose to have him, Lord Siva, as the guardian
of his city.
3. Banasura was intoxicated with his strength. One day,
when Lord Siva was standing beside him, Banasura touched the lord's lotus feet
with his helmet, which shone like the sun, and spoke to him as follows. “O Lord
Mahadeva, I bow down to you, the spiritual master and controller of the worlds.
You are like the heavenly tree that fulfills the desires of those whose desires
are unfulfilled. These one thousand arms you bestowed upon me have become
merely a heavy burden. Besides you, I find no one in the three worlds worthy to
fight.”
4. Banasura's subtle implication here is this: "And
so when I have defeated you, Lord Siva, my world conquest will be complete and
my desire for battle satisfied.”
5. “Eager to fight with the elephants who rule the
directions, O primeval lord, I went forth, pulverizing mountains with my arms,
which were itching for battle. But even those great elephants fled in fear.”
6. Hearing this, Lord Siva became angry and replied,
"Your flag will be broken, fool, when you have done battle with one who is
my equal. That fight will vanquish your conceit.”
7. Lord Siva could have immediately chastised Banasura
and personally destroyed his pride, but since Banasura had been such a faithful
servant of his, Siva did not do so.
8. Thus advised, unintelligent Banasura was delighted.
The fool then went home, O King, to wait for that which Lord Girisa had
predicted: the destruction of his prowess.
9. Once, when
Isha, the daughter of Bana, happened to see Parvati playing with her husband,
Lord Sambhu, Isha intensely desired to experience the same feelings. At that
time Goddess Gauri [Parvati], who knows everyone's heart, told the sensitive
young girl, 'Don't be so disturbed! You will have a chance to enjoy with your
own husband. Hearing this, Isha thought to herself, 'But when? And who will my
husband be?' In response, Parvati addressed her once more. “The man who
approaches you in your dream on the twelfth lunar day of the bright fortnight
of the month Vaisakha will become your husband, O princess.” Then, in a dream
Bana's daughter, the maiden Isha, had an amorous encounter with the son of
Pradyumna, though she had never before seen or heard of her lover. Several
nights in a row this occurred, until one night she failed to see Him in her
dreams. Losing sight of Him in her dream, Isha suddenly sat up in the midst of
her girlfriends, crying out "Where are You, my lover?" She was
greatly disturbed and embarrassed. Banasura had a minister named Kumbhanda,
whose daughter was Citralekha. A companion of Isha's, she was filled with
curiosity, and thus she inquired from her friend. Who are you searching for, O
fine-browed one? What is this hankering you're feeling? Until now, O princess,
I haven't seen any man take your hand in marriage. [Isha said:] In my dream I
saw a certain man who had a darkblue complexion, lotus eyes, yellow garments
and mighty arms. He was the kind who touches women's hearts. It is that lover I
search for. After making me drink the honey of His lips, He has gone elsewhere,
and thus He has thrown me, hankering fervently for Him, into the ocean of
distress. Citralekha said: I will remove your distress. If your dreamlover is
to be found anywhere in the three worlds, I will bring this future husband of
yours who has stolen your heart. Please show me who He is. (Citra means
"excellent" or "variegated," and lekha means "the art
of drawing or painting.") Saying this, Citralekha proceeded to draw
accurate pictures of various demigods, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Caranas, Pannagas,
Daityas, Vidyadharas, Yakshas and humans. O King, among the humans, Citralekha
drew pictures of the Vrishnis, including Surasena, Anakadundubhi, Balarama and
Krishna. When Isha saw the picture of Pradyumna she became bashful, and when
she saw Aniruddha's picture she bent her head down in embarrassment. Smiling,
she exclaimed, "He's the one! It's Him!" (When Isha saw the picture
of Pradyumna, she became bashful because she thought, "This is my
father-in-law." Then she saw the picture of her lover, Aniruddha, and
cried out in joy.) Citralekha, endowed with mystic powers, recognized Him as
Krishna's grandson [Aniruddha]. My dear King, she then traveled by the mystic
skyway to Dvaraka, the city under Lord Krishna's protection. There she found
Pradyumna's son Aniruddha sleeping upon a fine bed. With her yogic power she
took Him away to Sonitapura, where she presented her girlfriend Isha with her
beloved. (When she arrived at Dvaraka she found herself unable to enter Lord
Krishna's city. At that time Sri Narada Muni instructed her in the mystic art
of entering. Citralekha is herself an expansion of Yogamaya.) When Isha beheld
Him, the most beautiful of men, her face lit up with joy. She took the son of
Pradyumna to her private quarters, which men were forbidden even to see, and
there enjoyed with Him. Isha worshiped Aniruddha with faithful service,
offering Him priceless garments, along with garlands, fragrances, incense,
lamps, sitting places and so on. She also offered Him beverages, all types of
food, and sweet words. As He thus remained hidden in the young ladies'
quarters, Aniruddha did not notice the passing of the days, for His senses were
captivated by Isha, whose affection for Him ever increased. The eunuchs and
female guards eventually noticed unmistakable symptoms of romantic involvement
in Isha, who, having broken her maiden vow, was being enjoyed by the Yadu hero
and showing signs of conjugal happiness. The guards went to Banasura and told
him, "O King, we have detected in your daughter the kind of improper
behavior that spoils the reputation of a young girl's family. We have been
carefully watching over her, never leaving our posts, O master, so we cannot
understand how this maiden, whom no man can even see, has been corrupted within
the palace." Very agitated to hear of his daughter's corruption, Banasura
rushed at once to the maidens' quarters. There he saw the pride of the Yadus,
Aniruddha. Banasura saw before him Cupid's own son, possessed of unrivaled
beauty, with dark-blue complexion, yellow garments, lotus eyes and formidable
arms. His face was adorned with effulgent earrings and hair, and also with
smiling glances. As He sat opposite His most auspicious lover, playing with her
at dice, there hung between His arms a garland of spring jasmines that had been
smeared with kunkuma powder from her breasts when He had embraced her. Banasura
was astonished to see all this. Seeing Banasura enter with many armed guards,
Aniruddha raised His muru-iron club and stood resolute, ready to strike anyone
who attacked Him. He resembled death personified holding his rod of punishment.
As the guards converged on Him from all sides, trying to capture Him, Aniruddha
struck them just as the leader of a pack of boars strikes back at dogs. Hit by
His blows, the guards fled the palace, running for their lives with shattered
heads, thighs and arms. But even as Aniruddha was striking down the army of
Bana, that powerful son of Bali angrily caught Him with the mystic naga-pasa
ropes. When Isha heard of Aniruddha's capture, she was overwhelmed with grief
and depression; her eyes filled with tears, and she wept. Banasura could not
actually capture the powerful grandson of Lord Krishna. However, the Lord's
lila-sakti, or pastime potency, allowed this to happen, for the unfolding of
the pastime.
10. The relatives of Aniruddha, not seeing Him return,
continued to lament as the four rainy months passed.
11. After hearing from Narada the news of Aniruddha's
deeds and His capture, the Vrishnis, who worshiped Lord Krishna as their
personal Deity, went to Sonitapura.
12. With Lord Balarama and Lord Krishna in the lead, the
chiefs of the Satvata clan—Pradyumna, Satyaki, Gada, Samba, Sarana, Nanda,
Upananda, Bhadra and others—converged with an army of twelve divisions and laid
siege to Banasura's capital, completely surrounding the city on all sides.
13. Banasura became filled with anger upon seeing them
destroy his city's suburban gardens, ramparts, watchtowers and gateways, and
thus he went out to confront them with an army of equal size. Lord Rudra, the
leader of the army of his devotee, Bhanasura, accompanied by his son Kartikeya
and the Pramathas, came riding on Nandi, his bull carrier, to fight Balarama
and Krishna on Bana's behalf.
14. The word bhagavan is used here to indicate that Lord
Siva is by nature all-knowing and thus well aware of Lord Krishna's greatness.
Still, although Siva knew Lord Krishna would defeat him, he joined the battle
against Him to demonstrate the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
to increase Lord Krishna's pleasure and enthusiasm; and to demonstrate that the
Lord's incarnation as Krishna, although enacting humanlike pastimes, is
superior to other avataras, such as Lord Ramacandra. Yogamaya, Lord Krishna's
internal potency, bewildered Lord Siva just as she had bewildered Brahma;
brahma-rudradi-mohanam. Yogamaya's task is to make fine arrangements for the
Lord's pastimes, and thus Siva became enthusiastic to battle the Supreme Lord,
Krishna.
15. A most astonishing, tumultuous and hair-raising
battle then commenced, with Lord Krishna matched against Lord Sankara, and
Pradyumna against Kartikeya.
16. Lord Balarama fought with Kumbhanda and Kupakarna,
Samba with Bana's son, and Satyaki with Bana.
17. Brahma and the other ruling demigods, along with
Siddhas, Caranas and great sages, as well as Gandharvas, Apsaras and Yakshas,
all came in their celestial airplanes to watch.
18. With sharp-pointed arrows discharged from His bow
Sarnga, Lord Krishna drove away the various followers of Lord Siva—Bhutas,
Pramathas, Guhyakas, Dakinis, Yatudhanas, Vetalas, Vinayakas, Pretas, Matas,
Pisacas, Kushmandas and Brahma-rakshasas.
19. Lord Siva, wielder of the trident, shot various
weapons at Lord Krishna, wielder of Sarnga. But Lord Krishna was not in the
least perplexed: He neutralized all these weapons with appropriate
counterweapons.
20. A brahmastra with another brahmastra. Siva's
hurricane weapon with a mountain weapon: the hurricane came to a standstill.
Siva's fire weapon was nullified by water: by torrents of rain. Lord Siva's
personal pasupatastra weapon with His own personal weapon, the narayanastra.
21. Then when Siva was exasperated Krishna released His
yawning weapon. Siva felt bewildered, fatigued, yawned and being too tired
stopped to fight.
22. Lord Krishna proceeded to strike down Banasura's army
with His sword, club and arrows.
23. Lord Kartikeya was distressed by the flood of
Pradyumna's arrows raining down from all sides, and thus he fled the
battlefield on his peacock as blood poured from his limbs.
24. Kumbhanda and Kupakarna, tormented by Lord Balarama's
club, fell down dead. When the soldiers of these two demons saw that their
leaders had been killed, they scattered in all directions.
25. Banasura was furious to see his entire military force
being torn apart. Leaving his fight with Satyaki, he charged across the
battlefield on his chariot and attacked Lord Krishna.
26. Excited to a frenzy by the fighting, Bana
simultaneously pulled taut all the strings of his five hundred bows and fixed
two arrows on each string. With his 1000 hands he simultaneously worked 500
bows.
27. Immediately, without any difficulty, Krishna
simultaneously cut each of Banasura's bows into 2 pieces with His arrows. And
to check Banasura from going further Krishna killed his chariot driver and
horses and shot his chariot to pieces. The Lord then sounded His conchshell.
28. Just then Banasura's mother, Kotara, desiring to save
her son's life, appeared before Lord Krishna naked and with her hair undone.
29. Lord Gadagraja turned His face away to avoid seeing
the naked woman, and Banasura—deprived of his chariot, his bow shattered—took
the opportunity to flee into his city to recover.
30. Lord Siva took to his last resort: Sivajvara, which
destroys by excessive temperature, 12 times hotter then the sun's heat. After
Lord Siva's followers had been driven away, the terrible personified weapon,
Siva-jvara, who had three heads, six arms, nine eyes and three legs, pressed
forward to attack Lord Krishna. As the Siva-jvara approached, he seemed to burn
everything in the ten directions. This weapon made blazing fire appear in all
directions burning everything into ashes. Showering ashes, he appeared equal to
time, death and Yamaraja.
31. Lord Narayana then released His own personified fever
weapon, the Vishnu-jvara, represented by excessive cold. The Siva-jvara and
Vishnu-jvara thus battled each other. Gradually Sivajvaras temperature
diminished. The Siva-jvara, overwhelmed by the strength of the Vishnu-jvara,
cried out in pain. But finding no refuge, the frightened Siva-jvara approached
Lord Krishna, the master of the senses, hoping to attain His shelter. The
Siva-jvara had to leave the side of his master, Lord Siva, and directly take
shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Thus with joined
palms he began to praise the Lord.
32. The Siva-jvara said: “I bow down to You of unlimited
potencies, the Supreme Lord, the Supersoul of all beings. You possess pure and
complete consciousness and are the cause of cosmic creation, maintenance and
dissolution. Perfectly peaceful, You are the Absolute Truth to whom the Vedas
indirectly refer.”
33. The Siva-jvara has realized in many ways Lord
Krishna's supremacy over his own master, Lord Siva. Thus the Siva-jvara
addresses Krishna as ananta-sakti, "possessor of unlimited potency";
paresa, "the supreme controller"; and sarvatma, "the Supersoul
of all beings ''—even of Lord Siva.
34. “Time; fate; karma; the jiva and his propensities;
the subtle material elements; the material body; the life air; false ego; the
various senses; and the totality of these as reflected in the living being's
subtle body—all these constitute Your material illusory energy, maya, an
endless cycle like that of seed and plant. I take shelter of You, the negation
of this maya.”
35. The Supreme Lord's own body and senses, as implied
here by the word tan-nishedham, are nondifferent from the Lord's pure spiritual
existence. The Lord's body and senses are not external to Him, nor do they
cover Him, but rather the Lord is identical with His spiritual form and senses.
The full Absolute Truth, unlimited in fascinating diversity, is Lord Sri
Krishna.
36. With various intentions, You perform pastimes to
maintain the demigods, the saintly persons and the codes of religion for this
world. By these pastimes You also kill those who stray from the right path and
live by violence. Indeed, your present incarnation is meant to relieve the
earth's burden.
37. I am tortured by the fierce power of Your terrible
fever weapon, which is cold yet burning. All embodied souls must suffer as long
as they remain bound to material ambitions and thus averse to serving Your
feet.”
38. The Supreme Lord said: “O three-headed one, I am
pleased with you. May your fear of My fever weapon be dispelled, and may
whoever remembers our conversation here have no reason to fear you.”
39. Thus addressed, the Mahesvara-jvara bowed down to the
infallible Lord and went away.
40. But Banasura then appeared, riding forth on his
chariot to fight Lord Krishna.He had recovered from the setback. Carrying
numerous weapons in his thousand hands, the terribly infuriated demon shot many
arrows at Lord Krishna, the carrier of the disc weapon.
41. As Bana continued hurling weapons at Him, the Supreme
Lord began using His razor-sharp-edged cakra, Sudarshana disc, which started to
cut off the demon's 1000 arms (except four) one after another just as a
gardener trims the twigs and branches of a tree with sharp cutters.
42. Lord Siva felt
compassion for his devotee Banasura, whose arms were being cut off, seeing that
His devotee Banasura could not be saved, came to his senses and personally came
before Lord Krishna to pacify Him by praying and glorifying Him as the Supreme.
43. Sri Rudra said: “You alone are the Absolute Truth,
the supreme light, the mystery hidden within the verbal manifestation of the
Absolute. Those whose hearts are spotless can see You, for You are
uncontaminated, like the sky.”
44. The Absolute Truth is the source of all light and is
therefore the supreme light, self-luminous. This Absolute Truth is explained
confidentially in the Vedas and is therefore difficult for an ordinary reader
to understand. The Vedic sounds occasionally reveal the Absolute: Te hocur
upasanam etasya paratmano govindasyakhiladharino bruhi (Purva-khanda 17):
"They [the four Kumaras] said [to Brahma], 'Please tell us how to worship
Govinda, the Supreme Soul and the foundation of all that exists. "Cetanas
cetananam (Purva-khanda 21): "He is the chief of all living beings."
And tam ha devam atma-vritti-prakasam (Purva-khanda 23): "One realizes
that Supreme Godhead by first realizing one's own self." Srimad-Bhagavatam
(7.10.48)—gudham param brahma manushya-lingam—the Supreme Truth concealed in a
humanlike form. Sri Hari-vamsa: Superior to that [total material nature] is the
Supreme Brahman, from which this entire creation expands. O descendant of
Bharata, you should know that the Supreme Brahman consists of My concentrated
effulgence.
45. The Lord's bewildering potency induced Siva to fight
with Lord Krishna, but now the fight is over, and to save his devotee Lord Siva
offers these beautiful prayers.
46. “The sky is Your navel, fire Your face, water Your
semen, and heaven Your head. The cardinal directions are Your sense of hearing,
herbal plants the hairs on Your body, and water-bearing clouds the hair on Your
head. The earth is Your foot, the moon Your mind, and the sun Your vision,
while I am Your ego. The ocean is Your abdomen, Indra Your arm, Lord Brahma
Your intelligence, the progenitor of mankind Your genitals, and religion Your
heart. You are indeed the original purusha, creator of the worlds.
47. Your current descent into the material realm, O Lord
of unrestricted power, is meant for upholding the principles of justice and
benefiting the entire universe. We demigods, each depending on Your grace and
authority, develop the seven planetary systems.
48. You are the original person, one without a second,
transcendental and self-manifesting. Uncaused, you are the cause of all, and
You are the ultimate controller. You are nonetheless perceived in terms of the
transformations of matter effected by Your illusory energy—transformations You
sanction so that the various material qualities can become fully manifest.
49. O almighty one, just as the sun, though hidden by a
cloud, illuminates the cloud and all other visible forms as well, so You,
although hidden by the material qualities, remain self-luminous and thus reveal
all those qualities, along with the living entities who possess them.
50. Their intelligence bewildered by Your maya, fully
attached to children, wife, home and so on, persons immersed in the ocean of
material misery sometimes rise to the surface and sometimes sink down.
51. One who has attained this human form of life as a gift
from God, yet who fails to control his senses and honor Your feet, is surely to
be pitied, for he is only cheating himself.
52. That mortal who rejects You—his true Self, dearmost
friend, and Lord—for the sake of sense objects, whose nature is just the
opposite, refuses nectar and instead consumes poison.
53. I, Lord Brahma, the other demigods and the
pure-minded sages have all surrendered wholeheartedly unto You, our dearmost
Self and Lord.
54. Let us worship You, the Supreme Lord, to be freed
from material life. You are the maintainer of the universe and the cause of its
creation and demise. Equipoised and perfectly at peace, You are the true
friend, Self and worshipable Lord. You are one without a second, the shelter of
all the worlds and all souls.”
55. “This Banasura is my dear and faithful follower, and
I have awarded him freedom from fear. Therefore, my Lord, please grant him Your
mercy, just as You showed mercy to Prahlada, the lord of the demons.”
56. Lord Siva feels inclined to help Banasura because the
demon showed great devotion to Lord Siva when he provided musical accompaniment
for Siva's tandava dance. Another reason Bana is an object of Lord Siva's favor
is that he is a descendant of the great devotees Prahlada and Bali.
57. The Supreme Lord, Krishna, said: My dear lord, for
your pleasure We must certainly do what you have requested of Us. I fully agree
with your conclusion. I will not kill this demonic son of Vairocani, for I gave
Prahlada Maharaja the benediction that I would not kill any of his descendants.
It was to subdue Banasura's false pride that I severed his arms. And I slew his
mighty army because it had become a burden upon the earth. This demon, who
still has four arms, will be immune to old age and death, and he will serve as
one of your principal attendants. Thus he will have nothing to fear on any
account. Thus attaining freedom from fear, Banasura offered obeisances to Lord
Krishna by touching his head to the ground.
58. Bana then seated Aniruddha and His bride on their
chariot and brought them before the Lord.
59. At the front of the party Lord Krishna then placed
Aniruddha and His bride, both beautifully adorned with fine clothes and
ornaments, and surrounded them with a full military division. Thus Lord Krishna
took His leave of Lord Siva and departed.
60. The Lord then entered His capital. The city was
lavishly decorated with flags and victory arches, and its avenues and crossways
were all sprinkled with water. As conchshells, anakas and dundubhi drums
resounded, the Lord's relatives, the brahmanas and the general populace all
came forward to greet Him respectfully.
61. Krishna is the ultimate God, the highest of all Gods.
62. Krishna is God, God exists..
The argument of the liberation of king Nrga
1. One day Samba, Pradyumna, Caru, Bhanu, Gada and other
young boys of the Yadu dynasty went to a small forest to play. After playing
for a long time, they became thirsty. As they searched for water, they looked
inside a dry well and saw a peculiar creature. The boys were astonished to
behold this creature, a huge lizard who looked like a hill. They felt sorry for
it and tried to lift it out of the well. They caught on to the trapped lizard
with leather thongs and then with woven ropes, but still they could not lift it
out. So they went to Lord Krishna and excitedly told Him about the creature.
2. The lotus-eyed Supreme Lord, maintainer of the
universe, went to the well and saw the lizard. Then with His left hand He
easily lifted it out.
3. Touched by the hand of the glorious Supreme Lord, the
being at once gave up its lizard form and assumed that of a resident of heaven.
His complexion was beautifully glittering like molten gold, and he was adorned
with wonderful costly ornaments, fine clothes and garlands. His helmet was
dazzling as the sunshine.
4. Lord Krishna understood the situation, but to inform
people in general He inquired as follows: "Who are you, O greatly
fortunate one? Seeing your excellent form, I think you must surely be an
exalted demigod. By what past activity were you brought to this condition? It
seems you did not deserve such a fate, O good soul. We are eager to know about
you, so please inform us about yourself—if, that is, you think this the proper
time and place to tell us.”
5. Thus questioned by Krishna, whose forms are unlimited,
the King, bowed down to Lord Madhava and replied as follows.
6. King Nriga said: “I am a king known as Nriga, the son
of Ikshvaku (the son of Vaivasvata Manu). Perhaps, Lord, You have heard of me
when lists of charitable men were recited.”
7. Although a tentative expression is used—"perhaps
You have heard of me"—the implication is that there is no doubt.
8. “What could possibly be unknown to You, O master? With
vision undisturbed by time, You witness the minds of all living beings. Nevertheless,
on Your order I will speak.”
9. Since the Lord knows everything, there is no need to
inform Him about anything. Still, to fulfill the Lord's purpose King Nriga will
speak.
10. “I gave in charity as many cows as there are grains
of sand on the earth, stars in the heavens, or drops in a rain shower. Young,
brown, milk-laden cows, who were well behaved, beautiful and endowed with good
qualities, who were all acquired honestly, and who had gilded horns,
silver-plated hooves and decorations of fine ornamental cloths and
garlands—such were the cows, along with their calves, that I gave in charity.
11. I first honored the brahmanas who were recipients of
my charity by decorating them with fine ornaments. Those most exalted
brahmanas, whose families were in need, were young and possessed of excellent
character and qualities. They were dedicated to truth, famous for their
austerity, vastly learned in the Vedic scriptures and saintly in their
behavior. I gave them cows, land, gold and houses, along with horses, elephants
and marriageable girls with maidservants, as well as sesame, silver, fine beds,
clothing, jewels, furniture and chariots. In addition, I performed Vedic
sacrifices and executed various pious welfare activities.
12. Once a cow belonging to a certain first-class
brahmana wandered away and entered my herd. Unaware of this, I gave that cow in
charity to a different brahmana.”
13. Dvija-mukhya,
"first-class brahmana,'' here indicates a brahmana who has stopped
accepting charity and would thus refuse to accept even one hundred thousand
cows in exchange for the cow that had been improperly given away.
14. “When the cow's first owner saw her being led away,
he said, "She is mine!" The second brahmana, who had accepted her as
a gift, replied, "No, she's mine! Nriga gave her to me.”
15. As the two brahmanas argued, each trying to fulfill
his own purpose, they came to me. One of them said, "You gave me this
cow," and the other said, "But you stole her from me." Hearing
this, I was bewildered.
16. Finding myself in a terrible dilemma concerning my
duty in the situation, I humbly entreated both the brahmanas: "I will give
one hundred thousand of the best cows in exchange for this one. Please give her
back to me. Your good selves should be merciful to me, your servant. I did not
know what I was doing. Please save me from this difficult situation, or I'll
surely fall into a filthy hell.”
17. The present owner of the cow said, "I don't want
anything in exchange for this cow, O King," and went away. The other
brahmana declared, "I don't want even ten thousand more cows [than you are
offering]," and he too went away.
18. O Lord of lords, O master of the universe, the agents
of Yamaraja, taking advantage of the opportunity thus created, later carried me
to his abode. There Yamaraja himself questioned me.”
19. The King's performance of fruitive activities had
previously been flawless. But now an inadvertent discrepancy had arisen, and so
when the King died the Yamadutas took him to the abode of Yamaraja, called
Samyamani.
20. [Yamaraja, the lord or judge of the deceased, said:]
“My dear King, do you wish to experience the results of your sins first, or
those of your piety? Indeed, I see no end to the dutiful charity you have
performed, or to your consequent enjoyment in the radiant heavenly planets.”
21. I replied, "First, my lord, let me suffer my
sinful reactions," and Yamaraja said, "Then fall!" At once I
fell, and while falling I saw myself becoming a lizard, O master.
22. O Kesava, as Your servant I was devoted to the
brahmanas and generous to them, and I always hankered for Your audience.
Therefore even till now I have never forgotten [my past life].”
23. Since King Nriga openly declared that he had two
outstanding qualities—namely devotion to the brahmanas, and generosity—it is
clear that he possessed these qualities only partially, since someone who is
truly pure would not boast about them. It is also clear that King Nriga
considered such piety to be a separate goal, desirable for its own sake. Thus he
did not fully appreciate pure devotional service to Lord Krishna. The Krishna
conscious person develops love of God, Krishna, not love for pious or impious
activities; therefore he is not subjected to the results of such action.
24. When Nriga mentioned 'one who hankered to have Your
audience,' he was referring to an incident concerning a certain great devotee
King Nriga had once met. This devotee was very eager to acquire a temple for a
most beautiful Deity of the Supreme Lord, and he also wanted copies of such
scriptures as the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Being very generous,
Nriga arranged for these things, and the devotee was so satisfied that he
blessed the King: 'My dear King, may you have the audience of the Supreme
Lord.' From that time on, Nriga desired to see the Lord.
25. “O almighty one, how is it that my eyes see You here
before me? You are the Supreme Soul, whom the greatest masters of mystic yoga
can meditate upon within their pure hearts only by employing the spiritual eye
of the Vedas. Then how, O transcendental Lord, are You directly visible to me,
since my intelligence has been blinded by the severe tribulations of material
life? Only one who has finished his material entanglement in this world should
be able to see You.
26. O Devadeva, Jagannatha, Govinda, Purushottama,
Narayana, Hrishikesa, Punyasloka, Acyuta, Avyaya! O Krishna, please permit me
to depart for the world of the demigods. Wherever I live, O master, may my mind
always take shelter of Your feet.”
27. Means, You are Devadeva, God even of the gods, and
Jagannatha, the master of the universe, so please be my master. O Govinda,
please make me Your property with the same merciful glance You use to enchant
the cows. You can do this because You are Purushottama, the supreme form of
Godhead. O Narayana, since You are the foundation of the living entities,
please be my support, even though I am a bad living entity. O Hrishikesa,
please make my senses Your own. O Punyasloka, now You have become famous as the
deliverer of Nriga. O Acyuta, please never be lost to my mind. O Avyaya, You
will never diminish in my mind.
28. “I offer my repeated obeisances unto You, Krishna,
the son of Vasudeva. You are the source of all beings, the Supreme Absolute
Truth, the possessor of unlimited potencies, the master of all spiritual
disciplines.”
29. Philosophers have puzzled over the question of how
God can be unchanging and yet perform activities. This is answered here by the
term ananta-saktaye, which describes the Lord as "the possessor of unlimited
potency." Thus through the Lord's infinite potencies He can perform
innumerable activities without changing His essential nature.
Having spoken thus, Maharaja Nriga circumambulated Lord
Krishna and touched his crown to the Lord's feet. Granted permission to depart,
King Nriga then boarded a wonderful celestial airplane as all the people
present looked on, and went back to Godhead in the spiritual world.
30.
31. The Supreme Personality of Godhead—Lord Krishna, the
son of Devaki—who is especially devoted to the brahmanas and who embodies the
essence of religion, then spoke to His personal associates and thus instructed
the royal class in general.
32. [Lord Krishna said:] “How indigestible is the
property of a brahmana, even when enjoyed just slightly and by one more potent
than fire! What then to speak of kings who try to enjoy it, presuming
themselves lords.
33. I do not consider halahala to be real poison, because
it has an antidote. But a brahmana's property, when stolen, can truly be called
poison, for it has no antidote in this world.”
34. One who takes a brahmana's property, thinking to
enjoy it, has actually taken the most deadly poison.
35. “Poison kills only the person who ingests it, and an
ordinary fire may be extinguished with water. But the fire generated from the
kindling wood of a brahmana's property burns the thief's entire family down to
the root.”
36. The fire ignited by stealing a brahmana's property
compares to the fire that blazes within the cavity of an old tree. Such a fire
cannot be put out even with the water of numerous rainfalls. Rather, it burns
the whole tree from within, all the way down to the roots in the ground.
Similarly, the fire ignited by stealing a brahmana's property is the most
deadly and should be avoided at all costs.
37. “If a person enjoys a brahmana's property without
receiving due permission, that property destroys three generations of his
family– oneself, one's sons and one's grandsons. But if he takes it by force or
gets the government or other outsiders to help him usurp it, then ten
generations of his ancestors and ten generations of his descendants are all
destroyed.
38. Members of the royal order, blinded by royal
opulence, fail to foresee their own downfall. Childishly hankering to enjoy a
brahmana's property, they are actually hankering to go to hell.
39. For as many years as there are particles of dust
touched by the tears of generous brahmanas who have dependent families and
whose property is stolen, uncontrolled kings who usurp a brahmana's property
are cooked, along with their royal families, in the hell known as Kumbhipaka.
40. Whether it be his own gift or someone else's, a
person who steals a brahmana's property will take birth as a worm in feces for
sixty thousand years.
41. I do not desire brahmanas' wealth. Those who lust
after it become short-lived and are defeated. They lose their kingdoms and
become snakes, who trouble others.
42. My dear followers, never treat a learned brahmana
harshly, even if he has sinned. Even if he attacks you physically or repeatedly
curses you, always continue to offer him obeisances.
43. Just us I always carefully bow down to brahmanas, so
all of you should likewise bow down to them. I will punish anyone who acts
otherwise.
44. When a brahmana's property is stolen, even
unknowingly, it certainly causes the person who takes it to fall down, just as
the brahmana's cow did to Nriga.
45. Having thus instructed the residents of Dvaraka, Lord
Mukunda, purifier of all the worlds, entered His palace.
46. The history of King Nriga gives sober instructions to
all proud kings. Through this incident Lord Krishna also gave serious lessons
to the members of His own family who had become proud of their opulences.
47. God, Krishna exists.
The argument of Balarama subduing Yamuna river
1. Lord Balarama, the Personality of Godhead, resided in
Vrndavana for the two months of Madhu and Madhava, and during the nights He
gave His cowherd girlfriends conjugal pleasure.
2. The gopis who enjoyed conjugal affairs with Sri
Balarama during His visit to Gokula had not taken part in Sri Krishna's rasa
dance, being too young at the time. There are particular gopis who act as Lord
Balarama's girlfriends. During the Holi festivities celebrated when Krishna killed
Sankhacuda, the gopis Lord Balarama enjoyed with were different from the ones
Lord Krishna enjoyed with.
3. In the company of numerous women, Lord Balarama
enjoyed in a garden by the Yamuna River. This garden was bathed in the rays of
the full moon and caressed by breezes bearing the fragrance of night-blooming
lotuses.
4. Lord Balarama's conjugal pastimes took place in a
small forest alongside the Yamuna, a place known as Srirama-ghatta, which is
far from the site of Sri Krishna's rasa dance.
5. Sent by the demigod Varuna, the divine Varuni liquor
flowed from a tree hollow and made the entire forest even more fragrant with
its sweet aroma. Varuni is a liquor distilled from honey. The goddess Varuni,
the daughter of Varuna, is the presiding deity of that particular divine
liquor.
6. The wind carried to Balarama the fragrance of that
flood of sweet liquor, and when He smelled it He went [to the tree]. There He
and His female companions drank.
7. As the Gandharvas sang His glories, Lord Balarama
enjoyed within the brilliant circle of young women. He appeared just like
Indra's elephant, the lordly Airavata, enjoying in the company of
she-elephants.
8. At that time kettledrums resounded in the sky, the
Gandharvas joyfully rained down flowers, and the great sages praised Lord
Balarama's heroic deeds.
9. As His deeds were sung, Lord Halayudha wandered as if
inebriated among the various forests with His girlfriends. His eyes rolled from
the effects of the liquor.
10. Intoxicated
with joy, Lord Balarama sported flower garlands, including the famous
Vaijayanti. He wore a single earring, and beads of perspiration decorated His
smiling lotus face like snowflakes.
11. The Lord then
summoned the Yamuna river, so that He could play in her waters, but she
disregarded His command, thinking He was drunk. She was thinking: "If
Balarama calls me, wanting to enjoy in my water, then let Him come to me".
12. This angered Balarama and He began dragging the river
with the tip of His plow. Lord Balarama said, "O sinful one, disrespecting
Me, you do not come when I call you but rather move only by your own whim.
Therefore with the tip of My plow I will divide you into a hundred streams
while bringing you here".
13. Thus scolded by the Lord, the frightened
river-goddess Yamuna came and fell at the feet of Sri Balarama.
14. The goddess who appeared before Lord Balarama is an
expansion of Srimati Kalindi, one of Lord Krishna's queens in Dvaraka. She is a
"shadow" of Kalindi, not Kalindi herself. This Goddess Yamuna is the
wife of the ocean.
15. Trembling, she spoke to Him the following words:
16. “Rama, Rama, O mighty-armed one! I know nothing of
Your prowess. With a single portion of Yourself – the Lord's expansion as Sesa
– You hold up the earth, O Lord of the universe.
17. My Lord, please release me. O soul of the universe, I
didn't understand Your position as the Supreme Godhead, but now I have
surrendered unto You, and You are always kind to Your devotees.”
18. Thereupon Lord Balarama released the Yamuna, entered
the water and, like the king of the elephants with his entourage of
she-elephants, entered the river's water with His female companions.
19. The Lord played in the water to His full
satisfaction. When He came out goddess Laksmi or Kanti, the consort of the
Lord's plenary expansion Sankarshana who belongs to the second vyuha, sent by
Varuna presented Him with a garland of unfading lotuses, a pair of garments,
colored blue like the ocean, precious ornaments, a single gold earring studded
with diamonds, the primeval lotus called Padma and a brilliant necklace.
20. Lord Balarama dressed Himself in the blue garments
and put on the gold necklace. Anointed with sandalwood paste and other pure,
fragrant substances and beautifully adorned, He appeared as resplendent as
Airavata, Indra's royal elephant.
21. Even today one can see how the Yamuna flows through
the many channels created when it was dragged by the unlimitedly powerful Lord
Balarama. Thus she demonstrates His prowess, the signs of His having subdued
her.
22. Balarama, Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Paundraka, the false God
1. While Lord Balarama was away visiting Nanda's village
of Vraja, the ruler of Karusa– Paundraka-, foolishly thinking "I am the
Supreme Lord", sent a crazy message through a messenger, to the Lord,
which stated "I am God". Since Lord Rama had gone to Nanda-vraja,
Paundraka foolishly thought that Lord Krishna would be alone and therefore easy
to challenge
2. Childish men had flattered and convinced him "You
are the Supreme Lord and Master of the universe, who have now descended to the
earth". Paundraka was acting just like an unintelligent child whom other
children are pretending is a king.
3. Arriving in Dvaraka, the messenger found lotus-eyed
Krishna in His royal assembly and relayed the King's message to that almighty
Lord.
4. [On Paundraka's behalf, the messenger said:] I am the
one and only Lord Vasudeva, and there is no other. It is I who have descended
to this world to show mercy to the living beings. Therefore give up Your false
name and my personal symbols, club and discus, which out of foolishness You now
carry and come to me for shelter. If you do not, then you must give me
battle".
5. Inspired by Goddess Sarasvati the real import of these
two verses is: "I am not Vasudeva incarnate, but rather You alone, and no
one else, are Vasudeva. Since You have descended to show mercy to the living
beings, please make me give up my false designation, which is like that of an
oyster claiming to be silver. Out of foolishness I have assumed an imitation
conchshell, disc, lotus and club, and You are maintaining these by allowing me
to use them. You have not yet subdued me and gotten rid of these imitation
symbols. Therefore please mercifully come and liberate me by forcing me to give
them up. Give me battle, and grant me liberation by killing me.”
6. King Ugrasena and the other members of the assembly
laughed loudly when they heard this vain boasting of unintelligent Paundraka.
7. The Personality
of Godhead, after enjoying the jokes of the assembly, told the messenger to
relay a message to his master: "You fool, I will indeed let loose (hurl,
throw, abandon) the weapons, personal symbols (club and discus) you boast of in
this way, when we meet on the battlefield. You are a foolish rascal. I directly
call you a rascal, and I refuse to follow your instructions. I shall never give
up the symbols of Vasudeva, especially My disc. I shall use this disc to kill
not only you but all your followers also. I shall destroy you and your foolish
associates, who merely constitute a society of cheaters and the cheated.
8. When you lie dead, o fool, your body covered by
vultures, herons, hawks, eagles, vata birds and other birds of prey, you will
become the shelter of dogs, who will eat your body with great pleasure".
9. Paundraka foolishly told the Supreme Lord to come to
him for shelter, but here Lord Krishna tells him, "You are not My shelter,
but rather you will become the shelter of dogs when they happily feast on your
dead body."
10. When the Lord had thus spoken, the messenger conveyed
His insulting reply to his master in its entirety. Without waiting any longer,
Lord Krishna then mounted His chariot and went to the vicinity of Kasi, because
at that time he was living with his friend the King of Kasi, Krishna surrounded
the whole city of Kasi.
11. Upon observing Lord Krishna's preparations for
battle, the mighty warrior Paundraka quickly went out of the city with two full
military divisions– aksauhini's.
12. Paundraka's friend, the King of Kasi, followed
behind, O King, leading the rear guard with three akshauhini divisions.
13. Lord Krishna saw that Paundraka was carrying the
Lord's own insignia, such as the conchshell, disc, sword and club, and also an
imitation Sarnga bow and Srivatsa mark. He wore a mock Kaustubha gem, was
decorated with a garland of forest flowers and was dressed in upper and lower
garments of fine yellow silk. His banner bore the image of Garuda, and he wore
a valuable crown and gleaming, shark-shaped earrings.
14. It was a
benediction from Lord Siva that enabled Paundraka to imitate the Lord's dress
and appearance exactly.
15. Lord Hari laughed heartily when He saw how the King
had dressed up in exact imitation of His own appearance, just like an actor on
a stage.
16. The enemies of Lord Hari attacked Him with tridents,
clubs, bludgeons, poles, pikes, rishtis, barbed darts, lances, swords, axes,
daggers and arrows.
17. But Lord Krishna fiercely struck back at the army of
Paundraka and Kasiraja, which consisted of elephants, chariots, cavalry and
infantry. The Lord tormented His enemies with His club, sword, Sudarsana disc
and arrows, just as the fire of annihilation torments the various kinds of
creatures at the end of a cosmic age.
18. The battlefield, soon strewn with the dismembered
chariots, animals and humans that had been cut to pieces by the Lord's disc weapon,
club, sword and arrows, shone like the gruesome playground of Lord Bhutapati
(the dancing place of Lord Siva at the time of the dissolution of the world),
giving pleasure to the wise.
19. Lord Krishna then addressed Paundraka: "O fool,
the very weapons you spoke of through your messenger, I now release unto you. I
shall make you renounce my name which you have falsely assumed. You falsely
declare yourself to be Vasudeva, imitating Myself. Therefore no one is a
greater fool than you.”
20. Having thus
derided Paundraka, Lord Krishna destroyed his chariot with His sharp arrows.
The Lord then cut off his head with the sudarshana disc, just as Lord Indra
lops off a mountain peak with his thunderbolt weapon.
21. With His
arrows Lord Krishna similarly severed the companion King of Kasi's head from
his body sending it flying into the king's city like a lotus flower thrown by
the wind.
22. As he went off to battle, the King of Kasi had
promised the citizens: 'My dear residents of Kasi, today I will bring the enemy's
head into the midst of the city. Have no doubt of this.' The King's sinful
queens had also boasted to their maids-in-waiting: 'Today our master will
certainly bring the head of the Lord of Dvaraka.' Therefore the Supreme Lord
threw the King's head into the city to astonish the inhabitants.
23. Having thus killed envious Paundraka and his ally,
Lord Krishna returned to Dvaraka. As He entered the city, the Siddhas of heaven
chanted His immortal, nectarean glories.
24. By constantly
meditating upon the Supreme Lord, the envious Paundraka shattered all his
material bonds. Indeed, by imitating Lord Krishna's form he ultimately became
Krishna conscious and was promoted to the spiritual world's planets where he
achieved a form similar to Krishna but as Krishna's servant. Somehow or other,
he was always thinking of Vasudeva by falsely dressing himself in imitation of
the Lord. Therefore Paundraka achieved sarupya, one of the five kinds of
liberation, and was thus promoted to the Vaikuntha planets, where the devotees
have the same bodily features as Vishnu, with four hands holding the four
symbols. Factually, his meditation was concentrated on the Vishnu form, but
because he thought himself to be Lord Vishnu, he was offensive. By his being
killed by Krishna, however, that offense was mitigated. Thus he was given
sarupya liberation, and he attained the same form as the Lord.
25. Seeing a head decorated with earrings lying at the
gate of the royal palace, the people present were puzzled. Some of them asked,
"What is this?" and others said, "It is a head, but whose is
it?" When they recognized it as the head of their King—the lord of
Kasi—his queens, sons and other relatives, along with all the citizens of the
city, began to cry pitifully: "Alas, we are killed! O my lord, my lord!”
26. After the King's son Sudakshina had performed the
obligatory funeral rituals for his father, he resolved within his mind:
"Only by killing my father's murderer can I avenge his death." Thus
the charitable Sudakshina, together with his priests, began worshiping Lord
Mahesvara with great attention, with a ritual which would invoke fire against
one inimical to brahmana's.
27. The lord of the kingdom of Kasi is Visvanatha (Lord
Siva). Satisfied by the worship, the powerful Lord Siva appeared in the sacred
precinct of Avimukta and offered Sudakshina his choice of benedictions. The
prince chose as his benediction a means to slay his father's killer.
28. Lord Siva told him, "Accompanied by brahmanas,
serve the Dakshinagni fire—the original priest—following the injunctions of the
abhicara ritual. Then the Dakshinagni fire, together with many Pramathas, will
fulfill your desire if you direct it against someone inimical to the
brahmanas." So instructed, Sudakshina strictly observed the ritualistic
vows and invoked the abhicara against Lord Krishna.
29. the powerful Dakshinagni fire could be directed only
against someone unfavorable to brahminical culture. Lord Krishna, however, is
most favorable to the brahmanas and in fact maintains the brahminical culture.
Lord Siva thus knew that if Sudakshina attempted to direct the power of this
ritual against Lord Krishna, Sudakshina himself would perish. Hearing that
brahmana's offer obeisances to Krishna, the king's son foolishly thought that
since Krishna was greedy for respect from the brahmana's that he had no respect
for the brahmana's.
30. Thereupon the fire rose up out of the altar pit,
assuming the form of an extremely fearsome, naked person. The fiery creature's
beard and tuft of hair were like molten copper, and his eyes emitted blazing
hot cinders. His face looked most frightful with its fangs and terrible arched
and furrowed brows. As he licked the corners of his mouth with his tongue, the
demon shook his flaming trident.
31. On legs as
palm trees, the monster raced towards Dvaraka in the company of ghostly
spirits, shaking the ground and burning in all directions.
32. Seeing the approach of the fiery demon, with a body
of flames, created by the abhicara ritual, the residents of Dvaraka were all
struck with fear, like animals terrified by a forest fire.
33. Distraught with fear, the people cried out to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was then playing at dice in the royal
court: "Save us! Save us, O Lord of the three worlds, from this fire
burning up the city!"
34. When Lord Krishna heard the people's agitation and
saw that even His own men were disturbed, that most worthy giver of shelter
simply laughed and told them, "Do not fear; I shall protect you."
35. The almighty Lord, the internal and external witness
of all, understood that the monster had been magically produced by Lord Siva
from the sacrificial fire.
36. To defeat the demon, Krishna dispatched His disc
weapon, who was waiting at His side.
37. Sri Krishna playing the part of a king was enjoying
as kings enjoy and didn't want to be disturbed by such an insignificant matter
as the attack of a fiery demon. So Krishna simply ordered His disc weapon, who
was waiting at His side, to take the necessary steps.
38. That Sudarsana, the disc weapon of Lord Mukunda,
blazed forth like millions of suns. His effulgence blazed like the fire of
universal annihilation, and with his heat he pained the sky, all the
directions, heaven and earth, and also the fiery demon.
39. Frustrated by the power of Lord Krishna's weapon, O
King, the fiery creature produced by black magic turned his face away and
retreated. Created for violence, the demon then returned to Varanasi, where he
surrounded the city and then burned Sudakshina and his priests to death by the
glaring effulgence of the fiery demon, even though Sudakshina was his creator.
40. According to the methods of black-art mantras
instructed in the tantra, if the mantra fails to kill the enemy, then, because
it must kill someone, it kills the original creator.
41. Lord Vishnu's disc also entered Varanasi, in pursuit
of the fiery demon, and proceeded to burn the city to the ground, including all
its assembly halls and residential palaces with raised porches, its numerous
marketplaces, gateways, watchtowers, warehouses and treasuries, and all the
buildings housing elephants, horses, chariots and grains.
42. After burning
down the city Lord Krishna's sudarsana cakra returned to the side of Sri
Krishna, the Lord, whose actions are effortless.
43. Krishna, God exists
The argument of the activities of Dvivida Gorilla and
Lord Balarama
1. There was an ape named Dvivida who was a friend of
Narakasura's. This powerful Dvivida, the brother of Mainda, had been instructed
by King Sugriva.
2. Mainda and
Dvivida are empowered expansions of the attendant deities of Rama, who are
residents of Lord Ramacandra's Vaikuntha domain. The Lord arranged the
degradation of Dvivida and Mainda to show the evil of bad association that
results from offending great personalities. This compares their fall to that of
Jaya and Vijaya.
3. Although Dvivida was an associate of Lord
Ramacandra's, he later became corrupted by bad association with the demon Naraka.
This bad association was the reaction for an offense Dvivida had committed
when, being proud of his strength, he disrespected Lord Ramacandra's brother
Lakshmana and others.
4. To avenge the death of Narakasura, the apemen Dvivida
ravaged the land, setting fires that burned cities, villages, mines and cowherd
dwellings. This was to destroy Sri Krishna's flourishing kingdom and the whole
world.
5. Once he tore up a number of mountains and used them to
devastate all the neighboring kingdoms, especially the province of Anarta,
wherein dwelt his friend's killer, Lord Hari.
6. Another time he entered the ocean and with the
strength of 10.000 elephants, churned up its water with his arms and thus
submerged the coastal regions.
7. The wicked ape tore down the trees in the hermitages
of exalted sages and contaminated their sacrificial fires with his feces and
urine.
8. Just as a wasp imprisons smaller insects, he
arrogantly threw both men and women into caves in a mountain valley and sealed
the caves shut with boulders.
9. Once, while Dvivida was thus engaged in harassing the
neighboring kingdoms and polluting women of respectable families, he heard very
sweet singing coming from Raivataka Mountain. So he went there.
10. There he saw Sri Balarama, the Lord of the Yadus,
adorned with a garland of lotuses and appearing most attractive in every limb.
He was singing amidst a crowd of young women, and since He had drunk varuni
liquor, His eyes rolled as if He were intoxicated. His body shone brilliantly
as He behaved like an elephant in rut.
11. The mischievous ape climbed a tree branch and then
revealed his presence by shaking the trees and making the sound kilakila, so
that Lord Balarama was greatly distracted from the pleasing atmosphere.
12. When Lord Baladeva's consorts saw the ape's
impudence, they began to laugh. They were, after all, young girls who were fond
of joking and prone to silliness.
13. Even as Lord Balarama looked on, Dvivida insulted the
girls by making odd gestures with his eyebrows, coming right in front of them,
showing them his anus, show his teeth, move about, urinate and so on.
14. Angered, Lord Balarama, the best of fighters, hurled
a rock at him, but the cunning ape dodged the rock and grabbed the Lord's pot
of liquor. Further infuriating Lord Balarama by laughing and by ridiculing Him,
wicked Dvivida then broke the pot and offended the Lord even more by pulling at
the girls' clothing. Thus the powerful ape, puffed up with false pride,
continued to insult Sri Balarama.
15. Lord Balarama saw the ape's rude behavior and thought
of the disruptions he had created in the surrounding kingdoms. Thus the Lord
angrily took up His club and His plow weapon, having decided to put His enemy
to death.
16. Dvivida, completely lacking in modesty and humility,
shamelessly performed the most wicked activities. Lord Balarama knew of the
great disturbances Dvivida had caused to people in general, apart from the
vulgar behavior the ape was exhibiting in the Lord's own presence. The offensive
ape would now have to die.
17. Mighty Dvivida also came forward to do battle.
Uprooting a big sala (oak) tree with one hand, he rushed toward Balarama and
struck Him on the head with the tree trunk.
18. But Lord
Sankarshana remained as motionless as a mountain and simply grabbed the log as
it fell upon His head and smashed the tree trunk to pieces.
19. Lord Balarama then struck Dvivida with His club,
named Sunanda, on his skull. Dvivida became brilliantly decorated by the
outpour of blood, like a mountain beautified by red oxide.
20. Ignoring the wound, Dvivida uprooted another tree,
stripped it of leaves by brute force and struck the Lord again.
21. Now enraged even more, Lord Balarama shattered the
tree into hundreds of pieces, upon which Dvivida grabbed yet another tree and
furiously hit the Lord again. This tree, too, the Lord smashed into hundreds of
pieces.
22. Thus fighting the Lord, who again and again
demolished the trees He was attacked with, Dvivida kept on uprooting trees from
all sides until the forest was left treeless.
23. The angry ape then released a rain of stones upon
Lord Balarama, but the wielder of the club easily pulverized them all.
24. When no more trees were available, Dvivida took help
from the hills and threw large pieces of stone, like rainfall, upon the body of
Balarama. Lord Balarama, in a great sporting mood, began to smash those big
pieces of stone into mere pebbles. Even today there are many sports wherein
people enjoy striking a ball or similar object with a stick or bat. This
sporting propensity exists originally in the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
who playfully (lilaya) pulverized the deadly boulders hurled at Him by the
powerful Dvivida.
25. Dvivida, the most powerful of apes, now clenched his
fists at the end of his palm-tree-sized arms, came before Lord Balarama and
beat his fists against the Lord's body.
26. The furious Lord of the Yadavas then threw aside His
club and plow, since the gorilla was striking Him with his hands, Lord Balarama
would not strike him back with His own weapons, the club or the plow and with
His bare hands hammered a blow upon Dvivida's collarbone, throat and shoulder.
The ape collapsed, vomiting blood.
27. When he fell, Raivataka Mountain shook, along with
its cliffs and trees, like a wind-tossed boat at sea. The word tanka here
indicates not only the mountain cliffs but also the fissures and other spots
where water had accumulated. All these mountainous areas shook and trembled
when Dvivida fell.
28. In the heavens the demigods, perfect mystics and
great sages cried out, "Victory to You! Obeisances to You! Excellent! Well
done!" and offering Him prayers, showered flowers upon the Lord.
29. Having thus killed Dvivida, who had disturbed the
whole world, the Supreme Lord returned to His capital as the people along the
way chanted His glories.
30. Balarama, Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the defeat of the Kuru’s and dragging the
capital city Hastinapura into the Ganges.
1. Jambavati's son Samba, ever victorious in battle,
kidnapped Duryodhana's daughter Lakshmana from her svayam-vara ceremony.
2. Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, had a
marriageable daughter by the name of Lakshmana. She was a very highly qualified
girl of the Kuru dynasty, and many princes wanted to marry her. In such cases
the svayamvara ceremony is held so that the girl may select her husband
according to her own choice. In Lakshmana's svayamvara assembly, when the girl
was to select her husband, Samba appeared. He was a son of Krishna's by
Jambavati, one of Lord Krishna's chief wives. This son Samba is so named
because he was the darling son of Jambavati and always lived close to his
mother. The name Samba indicates a son who is very much his mother's pet. Amba
means "mother," and sa means "with." So this special name
was given to him because he always remained with his mother. He was also known
as Jambavati-suta for the same reason. As previously explained, all the sons of
Krishna were as qualified as their great father. Samba wanted the daughter of
Duryodhana, Lakshmana, although she was not inclined to have him. Therefore
Samba kidnapped Lakshmana by force from the svayamvara ceremony.
3. The angry Kurus said: “This ill-behaved boy has
offended us, forcibly kidnapping our unmarried daughter against her will.
Arrest this ill-behaved Samba! What will the Vrishnis do? By our grace they are
ruling land that we have granted them. If the Vrishnis come here when they
learn that their son has been captured, we will break their pride. Thus they'll
become subdued, like bodily senses brought under strict control.”
4. After saying this and having their plan sanctioned by
the senior member of the Kuru dynasty, Karna, Sala, Bhuri, Yajnaketu and
Duryodhana set out to attack Samba.
5. The elder of the Kurus mentioned here is Bhishma, who gave
permission to the younger men as follows: "Since this maiden has now been
touched by Samba, she cannot take any other husband. He must become her
husband. Nonetheless, you should arrest him and tie him up to make a statement
about his impropriety and our own prowess. But in no case should he be
killed." Then Bhishma accompanied the five warriors.
6. Seeing Duryodhana and his companions rushing toward
him, Samba, the great chariot-fighter, took up his splendid bow and stood alone
like a lion.
7. Determined to capture him, the angry bowmen led by
Karna shouted at Samba, 'Stand and fight! Stand and fight!' They came straight
for him and showered him with arrows.
8. As Krishna's son Samba was being unjustly harassed by
the Kurus, that darling of the Yadu dynasty did not tolerate their attack, any
more than a lion would tolerate an attack by puny animals.
9. Twanging his wonderful bow, heroic Samba struck with
arrows the six warriors headed by Karna. He pierced the six chariots with as
many arrows, each team of four horses with four arrows, and each chariot driver
with a single arrow, and he similarly struck the great bowmen who commanded the
chariots. The enemy warriors congratulated Samba for this display of prowess.
10. But they forced him down from his chariot, and
thereupon four of them struck his four horses, one of them struck down his
chariot driver, and another broke his bow.
11. Having deprived Samba of his chariot during the
fight, the Kuru warriors tied him up with great difficulty and then returned
victorious to their city, taking the young boy and their princess.
12. When the Yadavas heard news of this from Sri Narada,
they became angry at Samba's being arrested, and improperly so by six warriors.
Urged on by King Ugrasena, they prepared for war against the Kurus.
13. Lord Balarama,
however, cooled the tempers of the Vrishni heroes, who had already put on their
armor. He who purifies the age of quarrel did not want a quarrel between the
Kurus and Vrishnis. Thus, accompanied by brahmanas and family elders, He went
to Hastinapura on His chariot, which was as effulgent as the sun. As He went,
He appeared like the moon surrounded by the ruling planets.
14. Upon arriving at Hastinapura, Lord Balarama remained
in a garden outside the city and sent Uddhava ahead to probe King
Dhritarashtra's intentions, whether they wanted to fight with the Yadu dynasty or
to make a settlement.
15. After he had offered proper respects to the son of
Ambika [Dhritarashtra] and to Bhishma, Drona, Bahlika and Duryodhana, Uddhava
informed them that Lord Balarama had arrived.
16. Overjoyed to hear that Balarama, their dearmost friend,
had come, they first honored Uddhava and then went forth to meet the Lord,
carrying auspicious offerings in their hands. The leaders of the Kuru dynasty,
especially Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana, were very joyful because they knew
very well that Lord Balarama was a great well-wisher of their family.
17. They approached Lord Balarama and worshiped Him with
gifts of cows and arghya, as was fitting. Those among the Kurus who understood
His true power bowed down to Him, touching their heads to the ground.
18. After both parties had heard that their relatives
were doing well and both had inquired into each other's welfare and health,
when such formality was finished, Lord Balarama forthrightly, in a great voice,
spoke to the Kurus as follows.
19. “King Ugrasena is our master and the ruler of kings.
With undivided attention you should hear what he has ordered you to do, and
then you should do it at once.
20. [King Ugrasena has said:] Even though by irreligious
means several of you defeated a single opponent who follows the religious
codes, still I am tolerating this for the sake of unity among family members.
21. Here Ugrasena implies that the Kurus should
immediately bring Samba and present him to Lord Balarama.
22. Upon hearing these words of Lord Baladeva's, which
were full of potency, courage and strength and were appropriate to His
transcendental power, the Kauravas became furious and spoke as follows.
23. [The Kuru nobles said:] “Oh, how amazing this is! The
force of time is indeed insurmountable: a lowly shoe now wants to climb on the
head that bears the royal crown.”
24. By the words kala-gatya duratyaya, "the
insurmountable movement of time," the intolerant Kurus allude to the
degraded age of Kali, which was about to begin. Here the Kurus indicate that
the fallen age of Kali had indeed already begun, since they claim that now
"You lowly people want to rise above this royal family". In other
words, they thought that the lowly Yadus now wanted to rise above the royal
Kurus.
25. “It is because these Vrishnis are bound to us by
marital ties that we have granted them equality, allowing them to share our
beds, seats and meals. Indeed, it is we who have given them their royal
thrones.
26. Only because we looked the other way could they enjoy
the pair of yak-tail fans and the conchshell, white umbrella, throne, and royal
bed.
27. The Yadus
should not have used such royal paraphernalia in our presence, but we did not
check them due to our family relationships.
28. They were able to use these royal insignia because we
did not take the matter seriously.
29. Showing concern about their use of these items would
have been a sign of respect, but in fact we do not have such respect for
them.... Since they are of inferior families, they are not to be respected, and
so we pay no regard to them.
30. No longer should the Yadus be allowed to use these
royal symbols, which now cause trouble for those who gave them, like milk fed
to poisonous snakes. Having prospered by our grace, these Yadavas have now lost
all shame and are daring to command us!
31. How would even Indra dare usurp anything that
Bhishma, Drona, Arjuna or the other Kurus have not given him? It would be like
a lamb claiming the lion's kill."
32. After the arrogant Kurus, thoroughly puffed up by the
opulence of their high birth and relations, had spoken these harsh words to
Lord Balarama, they turned and went back to their city.
33. Seeing the bad character of the Kurus and hearing
their nasty words, the infallible Lord Balarama became filled with rage. His
countenance frightful to behold, He laughed repeatedly and spoke as follows
34. "Clearly the many passions of these scoundrels
have made them so proud that they do not want peace. Then let them be pacified
by physical punishment, as animals are with a stick. Because they are puffed up
due to their wealth and other assets only physical punishment will pacify their
pride.
35. Ah, only gradually was I able to calm the furious
Yadus and Lord Krishna, who was also enraged. Desiring peace for these
Kauravas, I came here. But they are so dull-headed, fond of quarrel and
mischievous by nature that they have repeatedly disrespected Me. Out of conceit
they dared to address Me with harsh words! They have repeatedly disrespected
Me, although I am their well-wisher.
36. King Ugrasena, the lord of the Bhojas, Vrishnis and
Andhakas, is not fit to command, when Indra and other planetary rulers obey his
orders?
37. That same Krishna who occupies the Sudharma assembly
hall– gotten from Indra- and for His enjoyment took the parijata tree from the
immortal demigods—that very Krishna is indeed not fit to sit on a royal throne?
Never mind the Yadus—these rascal Kauravas even dare to insult Lord Krishna!
38. The goddess of fortune herself, ruler of the entire
universe, who possesses more opulence then all the worlds put together,
worships His feet. And the master of the goddess of fortune does not deserve
the paraphernalia of a mortal king?
39. The dust of Krishna's lotus feet, which is the source
of holiness for all places of pilgrimage, is worshiped by all the great
demigods. The principal deities of all planets are engaged in His service, and
they consider themselves most fortunate to take the dust of the lotus feet of
Krishna on their crowns. Great demigods like Lord Brahma– your creator- and
Lord Siva, and even the goddess of fortune and I, are simply parts of His
spiritual identity, and we also carefully carry that dust on our heads. And
still Krishna is not fit to use the royal insignia or even sit on the royal
throne?
40. Just see how these puffed-up Kurus are intoxicated
with their so-called power, like ordinary drunken men! What actual ruler, with
the power to command, would tolerate their foolish, nasty words?
41. Today I shall rid the earth of the Kauravas!"
declared the furious Balarama.
42. Thus He took His plow weapon, which He increased in
size and rose up as if to set the three worlds ablaze. He angrily dug up their
entire capital city, Hastinapura, with the tip of His plow and began to drag
it, intending to cast the entire city into the Ganges.
43. Lord Balarama seemed so furious that He looked as if
He could burn the whole cosmic creation to ashes. He stood up steadily and,
taking His plow in His hand, began striking the earth with it. In this way the
whole city of Hastinapura was separated from the earth. Lord Balarama then
began to drag the city toward the flowing water of the river Ganges. Because of
this, there was a great tremor throughout Hastinapura, as if there had been an
earthquake, and it seemed that the whole city would be dismantled
44. As Balarama began dragging Hastinapura toward the
water, He ordered the Ganges, "Except for Samba, you should attack and
kill everyone in the city with your water."
45. Seeing that their city was tumbling about like a raft
at sea as it was being dragged away, and that it was about to fall into the
Ganges, the Kauravas became terrified. To save their lives they approached the
Lord for shelter, taking their families with them. To appease the Lord, they
placed Samba and Lakshmana in front, and joined their palms in supplication.
They prayed, glorified and acknowledged Him as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
46. [The Kauravas said:] O Rama, Rama, foundation of
everything! We know nothing of Your power. Please excuse our offense, for we
are ignorant and misguided.
47. You alone cause the creation, maintenance and
annihilation of the cosmos, and of You there is no prior cause. Indeed, O Lord,
authorities say that the worlds are mere playthings for You as You perform Your
pastimes.
48. O unlimited one of a thousand heads, as Your pastime
You carry this earthly globe upon one of Your heads. At the time of
annihilation You withdraw the entire universe within Your body and, remaining
all alone, lie down to rest.
49. Your anger is meant for instructing everyone; it is
not a manifestation of hatred or envy. O Supreme Lord, You sustain the pure
mode of goodness, and You become angry only to maintain and protect this world.
50. Because You exhibited this anger, we have now become
civilized, whereas previously we were wicked and could not see You, blinded as
we were by pride.
51. We bow down to You, O Soul of all beings, O wielder
of all potencies, O tireless maker of the universe! Offering You obeisances, we
take shelter of You.”
52. Thus propitiated by the Kurus, whose city was
trembling and who were surrendering to Him in great distress, Lord Balarama
became very calm and kindly disposed toward them. "Do not be afraid,"
He said, and took away their fear.
53. For the most part it was the practice of the
kshatriya kings to inaugurate some kind of fighting between the parties of the
bride and bridegroom before the marriage. When Samba forcibly took away
Lakshmana, the elderly members of the Kuru dynasty were pleased to see that he
was actually the suitable match for her. In order to see his personal strength,
however, they fought with him, and without any respect for the regulations of
fighting, they all arrested him. When the Yadu dynasty decided to release Samba
from the confinement of the Kurus, Lord Balarama came personally to settle the
matter, and as a powerful kshatriya He ordered them to free Samba immediately.
The Kauravas became superficially insulted by this order, so they challenged
Lord Balarama's power. They simply wanted to see Him exhibit His inconceivable
strength. Thus with great pleasure they handed over their daughter to Samba,
and the whole matter was settled.
54. Duryodhana, being very affectionate to his daughter,
gave as her dowry 1,200 sixty-year-old elephants, 120,000 horses, 6,000 golden
chariots shining like the sun, and 1,000 maidservants with jeweled lockets on
their necks.
55. The Supreme Lord, chief of the Yadavas, accepted all
these gifts and then departed with His son and daughter-in-law as His
well-wishers bid Him farewell; Duryodhana, extending his greetings to the
Yadavas, requested Lord Baladeva to return to Dvaraka with Samba and Lakshmana.
56. Then Lord Halayudha entered His city [Dvaraka] and
met His relatives, whose hearts were all bound to Him in loving attachment. In
the assembly hall He reported to the Yadu leaders everything about His dealings
with the Kurus.
57. Even today the city of Hastinapura is visibly
elevated on its southern side along the Ganges, thus showing the signs of Lord
Balarama's prowess.
58. Balarama, Krishna, God exists.
The argument of greatness of Dvaraka– Krishna’s kingdom
1. Hearing that
Lord Krishna had killed Narakasura and had alone married many brides, Narada
Muni desired to see the Lord in this situation. He thought, "It is quite
amazing that in a single body Lord Krishna simultaneously married sixteen
thousand women, each in a separate palace." Thus the sage of the demigods
eagerly went to Dvaraka.
2. The city was filled with the sounds of birds and bees
flying about the parks and pleasure gardens, while its lakes, crowded with
blooming indivara, ambhoja, kahlara, kumuda and utpala lotuses, resounded with
the calls of swans and cranes. There were orchards overloaded with a variety of
fruits. Beautiful birds were chirping, and peacocks crowed delightfully.
3. Dvaraka boasted nine hundred thousand royal palaces,
all constructed with crystal, silver and first-class marble and splendorously
decorated with huge emeralds, touchstones and sapphires. Inside these palaces,
the furnishings were bedecked with gold and jewels.
4. Traffic moved along a well-laid-out system of
boulevards, roads, intersections and marketplaces, and many assembly houses and
temples of demigods graced the charming city. The roads, courtyards, commercial
streets and residential patios were all sprinkled with water, very clean and
shaded from the sun's heat by banners waving from flagpoles and by large trees.
On both sides of every path there were bushes.
5. In the city of Dvaraka was a beautiful private quarter
worshiped by the planetary rulers. The great kings and princes of the world
used to visit these palaces just to worship Lord Krishna. This district, where
the demigod Visvakarma, the engineer of the demigods, manifesting the expertise
of the Supreme Lord, had shown all his divine skill and ingenuity, was the
residential area of Lord Hari, and thus it was gorgeously decorated by the
sixteen thousand palaces of Lord Krishna's queens.
6. Narada Muni entered one of these immense palaces.
7. Supporting the palace were coral pillars decoratively
inlaid with vaidurya gems. Sapphires bedecked the walls, and the floors glowed
with perpetual brilliance. In that palace Tvashta had arranged canopies with
hanging strands of pearls; there were also seats and beds fashioned of ivory
and precious jewels. In attendance were many well-dressed maidservants bearing
gold lockets on their necks, bangles and beautiful saris, and also armor-clad(
= protective, usually metal, covering for the body, worn when fighting) guards
with turbans, fine uniforms and jeweled earrings. The glow of numerous
jewel-studded lamps dispelled all darkness in the palace. My dear King, on the
ornate ridges of the roof danced loudly crying peacocks, who saw the burning
fragrant aguru incense and gum escaping through the holes of the latticed
windows and mistook it for a cloud, and began dancing jubilantly– expecting
rain.
8. In that palace the learned brahmana saw the Lord of
the Satvatas, Sri Krishna, together with His wife, who fanned Him with a
gold-handled yak-tail fan. She personally served Him in this way, even though
she was constantly attended by a thousand maidservants equal to her in personal
character, beauty, youth and fine dress.
9. The Supreme Lord is the greatest upholder of religious
principles. Thus when He noticed Narada, He rose at once from Goddess Sri's
bed, bowed His crowned head at Narada's feet and, joining His palms, had the
sage sit in His own seat.
10. The Lord bathed Narada's feet and then put the water
on His own head. Although Lord Krishna is the supreme spiritual authority of
the universe and the master of His devotees, it was proper for Him to behave in
this way, for His name is Brahmanya-deva, "the Lord who favors the
briahmanas." Thus Sri Krishna honored the sage Narada by bathing his feet,
even though the water that bathes the Lord's own feet becomes the Ganges, the
ultimate holy shrine.
11. Since Lord Krishna's own lotus feet are the source of
the most holy Ganges, the Lord did not have to purify Himself by bathing Narada
Muni's feet. Lord Krishna in Dvaraka enjoyed the pastimes of a perfect human
being. When, therefore, He washed the feet of the sage Narada and took the
water on His head, Narada did not object, knowing well that the Lord did so to
teach everyone how to respect saintly persons.
12. After fully worshiping the great sage of the demigods
according to Vedic injunctions, Lord Krishna, who is Himself the original
sage—Narayana, the friend of Nara—conversed with Narada, and the Lord's
measured speech was as sweet as nectar. Finally the Lord asked Narada,
"What may We do for you, Our lord and master?”
13. The words narayano nara-sakhah indicate that Krishna
is Himself the Supreme Lord, Narayana, who appeared as the friend of the sage
Nara. In other words, Lord Krishna is rishih puranah, the original and supreme
spiritual master. Nevertheless, following the Vedic injunctions (vidhinoditena)
that a kshatriya should worship the brahmanas, Lord Krishna happily worshiped
His pure devotee Narada Muni.
14. Sri Narada said: “O almighty Lord, it is no surprise
that You, the ruler of all worlds, show friendship for all people and yet
subdue the envious. As we well know, You descend by Your sweet will in order to
bestow the highest good on this universe by maintaining and protecting it. Thus
Your glories are widely sung.
15. Now I have seen Your feet, which grant liberation to
Your devotees, which even Lord Brahma and other great personalities of
unfathomable intelligence can only meditate upon within their hearts, and which
those who have fallen into the well of material existence resort to for
deliverance. Please favor me so that I may constantly think of You as I travel
about. Please grant Me the power to remember You.”
16. Narada then entered the -second- palace of another of
Lord Krishna's wives, my dear King. He was eager to witness the spiritual
potency possessed by the master of all masters of mystic power.
17. There he saw the Lord playing at dice with His
beloved consort and His friend Uddhava. Lord Krishna worshiped Narada by
standing up, offering him a seat, and so on, and then, as if He did not know,
asked him, "When did you arrive? What can needy persons like Us do for
those who are full in themselves? In any case, My dear brahmana, please make My
life auspicious." Thus addressed, Narada was astonished. He simply stood
up silently and went to another palace.
18. Lord Krishna acted as if He did not know what had
happened in the palace of Rukmini. Narada understood that Lord Krishna was
simultaneously present in both palaces, performing different activities, so he
simply left the palace silently, in great astonishment over the Lord's
activities.
19. This time– in the third palace- Naradaji saw that
Lord Krishna was engaged as an affectionate father petting His small children.
From there he entered another palace and saw Lord Krishna preparing to take His
bath.
20. In virtually all the palaces Narada visited, Lord
Krishna worshiped and honored him.
21. In one place the Lord was offering oblations into the
sacrificial fires.
22. In another, worshiping through the five maha-yajnas:
reciting the Vedas, offering oblations into the sacrificial fire, waiting on
guests, making offerings to the forefathers, and offering [a share of one's
food] to living entities in general. This is the panca-yajna sacrifice, which
is compulsory for a householder. This yajna is also known as panca-suna.
Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone, specifically the householder, is committing
five kinds of sinful activities. When we receive water from a water pitcher, we
kill many germs that are in it. Similarly, when we use a grinding machine or
take foodstuffs, we kill many germs. When sweeping the floor or igniting a
fire, we kill many germs. When we walk on the street we kill many ants and other
insects. Consciously or unconsciously, in all our different activities we are
killing. Therefore it is incumbent upon every householder to perform the
panca-suna sacrifice to rid himself of the reactions to such sinful activities.
23. In another, feeding brahmanas.
24. And in yet another, eating the remnants of food left
by brahmanas.
25. Somewhere Lord Krishna was observing the rituals for
worship at sunset by refraining from speech and quietly chanting the Gayatri
mantra.
26. And elsewhere He was moving about with sword and
shield in the areas set aside for sword practice.
27. In one place Lord Gadagraja was riding on horses,
elephants and chariots.
28. And in another place He was resting on His bed while
bards recited His glories.
29. Somewhere He was consulting with royal ministers like
Uddhava.
30. And somewhere else He was enjoying in the water,
surrounded by many society girls and other young women.
31. Somewhere He was giving well-decorated cows to
exalted brahmanas.
32. And elsewhere he was listening to the auspicious
narration of epic histories and Puranas.
33. Somewhere Lord Krishna was found enjoying the company
of a particular wife by exchanging joking words with her.
34. Somewhere else He was found engaged, along with His
wife, in religious ritualistic functions.
35. Somewhere Krishna was found engaged in matters of
economic development.
36. And somewhere else He was found enjoying family life
according to the regulative principles of the sastras.
37. Somewhere He was sitting alone, meditating on the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is transcendental to material nature.
Meditation, as recommended in authorized scripture, is meant for concentrating
one's mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. Lord Krishna is
Himself the original Vishnu, but because He played the part of a human being,
He taught us definitely by His personal behavior what is meant by meditation.
38. And somewhere He was rendering menial service to His
elders, offering them desirable things and reverential worship.
39. In one place He was planning battles in consultation
with some of His advisers.
40. And in another place He was making peace.
41. Somewhere Lord Kesava and Lord Balarama were together
pondering the welfare of the pious.
42. Narada saw Lord Krishna engaged in getting His sons
and daughters married to suitable brides and bridegrooms at the appropriate
time, and the marriage ceremonies were being performed with great pomp.
43. Narada observed how Sri Krishna, the master of all
yoga masters, arranged to send away His daughters and sons-in-law, and also to
receive them home again, at the time of great holiday celebrations. All the
citizens were astonished to see these celebrations.
44. Somewhere He was worshiping all the demigods with
elaborate sacrifices.
45. And elsewhere He was fulfilling His religious
obligations by doing public welfare work, such as the construction of wells,
public parks and monasteries– mathas
46. In another place He was on a hunting expedition.
Mounted on His Sindhi horse and accompanied by the most heroic of the Yadus, He
was killing animals meant for offering in sacrifice. According to Vedic
regulations, the kshatriyas were allowed to kill prescribed animals on certain
occasions, either to maintain peace in the forests or to offer the animals in
the sacrificial fire. Kshatriyas are allowed to practice this killing art
because they have to kill their enemies mercilessly to maintain peace in
society.
47. All the different times of the day were occurring
simultaneously in Lord Krishna's palaces. Thus Narada saw a fire sacrifice—a
morning ritual—and at about the same time he saw Lord Krishna feeding the
brahmanas and accepting their remnants—a noontime activity. Sandhyam upasinam
indicate sunset rituals, whereas the words asi-carmabhyam carantam refer to
sword practice, which takes place at dawn. Riding on horses and elephants is a
noon activity, whereas one lies down during the latter part of night. Lord
Krishna met with His counselors around dusk and enjoyed water sports in the
afternoon. Giving cows in charity occurs in the morning, while hearing the
histories takes place in the afternoon. Joking conversations take place during
the nighttime, whereas religious rituals, economic development and family
enjoyment occur during both the day and the night. The activity of meditation
indicates the brahma-muhurta, the early morning hours before sunrise.
48. Somewhere Krishna, the Lord of mystic power, was
moving about in disguise among the homes of ministers and other citizens in
order to understand what each of them was thinking. Although Lord Krishna is
all-knowing, while executing His pastimes as a typical monarch He sometimes
traveled about incognito to acquire necessary information about His kingdom.
49. Having seen this display of the Lord's Yogamaya,
Narada mildly laughed and then addressed Lord Hrishikesa, who was adopting the
behavior of a human being. Narada fully understood the Lord's omniscience, and
thus when he saw the Lord trying to find out the mood of His ministers, moving
about in disguise, Narada could not help laughing. But remembering the Lord's
supreme position, he somewhat constrained his laughter.
50. [Narada said:] “Now we understand Your mystic
potencies, which are difficult to comprehend, even for great mystics, O Supreme
Soul, master of all mystic power. Only by serving Your feet have I been able to
perceive Your powers.
51. O Lord, please give me Your leave. I will wander
about the worlds, which are flooded with Your fame, loudly singing about Your
pastimes, which purify the universe.”
52. Even Narada Muni was bewildered to see Lord Krishna's
amazing pastimes as a human being. Therefore, with the words anujanihi mam deva
he requests permission to return to his normal service of traveling and
preaching. Inspired by what he has seen, he wants to preach widely the glories
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna.
53. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: “O brahmana,
I am the speaker of religion, its performer and sanctioner. I observe religious
principles to teach them to the world, My child, so do not be disturbed.”
54. Lord Krishna wanted to dispel Narada's distress,
which the sage felt because he saw Lord Krishna worshiping the demigods and
even Narada himself. Lord Krishna's feelings were as follows: “Whatever a great
person does, ordinary people follow. Thus I bathed your feet today in order to
help propagate the principles of religion. In the past, before I began My
pastimes of directly teaching religious principles, you came and offered
prayers to Me after I had killed the Kesi demon, but I simply listened to your
elaborate prayers and glorification and did nothing to honor you. Just remember
this and consider. Do not think that you have committed an offense by allowing
Me to bathe your feet today and accept the water as holy remnants. Just as a
son does not offend his father by touching him with his foot while sitting on
the father's lap, so you should understand that in the same way, My son, you
have not offended Me."
55. Thus in every palace Narada saw the Lord in His same
personal form, executing the transcendental principles of religion that purify
those engaged in household affairs. All the Lord's activities in the many
palaces were performed by the Lord's single spiritual form (ekena vapusha),
which manifested in many places at once. Thus, Narada saw numerous
manifestations with various moods and activities of the one Krishna.
56. He also saw numerous manifestations of the associates
of Krishna such as Uddhava. Narada went at the speed of the mind in a single
moment to each of the sixteen thousand hundred eight palaces and saw Krishna
performing different activities at different times.
57. The residents of Dvaraka could see Krishna only in
the particular part of the city they themselves occupied, and not anywhere
else, even if they would some times go to another precinct on some business.
58. Having repeatedly seen the vast mystic display –
yogamaya- of Lord Krishna, whose power is unlimited, the sage was amazed and
filled with wonder.
59. Lord Krishna greatly honored Narada, faithfully
presenting him with gifts related to economic prosperity, sense gratification
and religious duties. Thus fully satisfied, the sage departed, constantly
remembering the Lord.
60. Because each
of these princesses saw that Lord Acyuta never left her palace, each thought
herself the Lord's favorite. Lord Krishna would leave the palaces only with the
permission of His wives, and thus each one considered herself His favorite.
61. The Supreme Lord's wives were fully enchanted by His
lovely, lotus-like face, His long arms and large eyes, His loving glances
imbued with laughter, and His charming talks with them. But with all their
charms these ladies could not conquer the mind of the all-powerful Lord.
62. Lord Krishna's queens could not understand the truth
of the Lord; The Lord is all-powerful, full in Himself, with infinite opulence.
The arched eyebrows of these sixteen thousand queens enchantingly expressed
those ladies' secret intentions through coyly smiling sidelong glances. Thus
their eyebrows boldly sent forth conjugal messages. Yet even with these arrows
of Cupid, and with other means as well, they could not agitate Lord Krishna's
senses.
63. Thus these women obtained as their husband the master
of the goddess of fortune, although even great demigods like Brahma do not know
how to approach Him. With ever-increasing pleasure, they felt loving attraction
for Him, exchanged smiling glances with Him, eagerly anticipated associating
with Him in ever-fresh intimacy and enjoyed in many other ways.
64. Although the Supreme Lord's queens each had hundreds
of maidservants, they chose to personally serve the Lord by approaching Him
humbly, offering Him a seat, worshiping Him with excellent paraphernalia (
means that the queens offered the Lord palmfuls of flowers (pushpanjali) and
palmfuls of jewels (ratnanjali), bathing and massaging His feet, giving Him pan
to chew, fanning Him, anointing Him with fragrant sandalwood paste, adorning
Him with flower garlands, dressing His hair, arranging His bed, bathing Him and
presenting Him with various gifts.
65. As dawn approached, the wives of Lord Madhava, each
embraced around the neck by her husband, cursed the crowing roosters. The
ladies were disturbed that now they would be separated from Him.
66. This description of Lord Krishna's daily activities
starts with the crowing of the rooster. Lord Krishna's wives knew that the Lord
would dutifully get up and perform His prescribed morning rituals, and thus
they were agitated at their coming separation from Him and cursed the roosters.
67. The bees' buzzing, caused by the fragrant breeze from
the parijata garden, roused the birds from sleep. And when the birds began to
sing loudly, they woke Lord Krishna like court poets reciting His glories.
68. Lying in her beloved's arms, Queen Vaidarbhi did not
like this most auspicious hour, for it meant she would lose His embrace. The
reaction of Queen Vaidarbhi, Rukmini-devi, shows the attitude of all the
queens.
69. Lord Madhava would rise during the brahma-muhurta
period and touch water. With a clear mind He would then meditate upon Himself,
the single, self-luminous, unequaled and infallible Supreme Truth, known as
Brahman, who by His very nature ever dispels all contamination, and who through
His personal energies, which cause the creation and destruction of this universe,
manifests His own pure and blissful existence.
70. That most saintly of personalities would then bathe
in sanctified water, dress Himself in lower and upper garments and perform the
entire sequence of prescribed rituals, beginning with worship at dawn. After
offering oblations into the sacred fire, Lord Krishna would silently chant the
Gayatri mantra.
71. Since Lord Krishna was in the disciplic succession
from Kanva Muni, He offered oblations to the fire before sunrise. Then He
chanted the Gayatri mantra.
72. Each day the Lord worshiped the rising sun and
propitiated the demigods, sages and forefathers, who are all His expansions.
The self-possessed Lord would then carefully worship His elders and the
brahmanas. To those well-attired brahmanas He would offer herds of tame and
peaceful cows with gold-plated horns and pearl necklaces. These cows were also
dressed in fine cloth, and the fronts of their hooves were plated with silver.
Providers of abundant milk, they had each given birth only once and were accompanied
by their calves. Daily the Lord gave 107 groups of 13,084 (totaling 1.400.000)
cows to the learned brahmanas, together with linen, deerskins and sesame seeds.
73. Lord Krishna would offer obeisances to the cows,
brahmanas and demigods, His elders and spiritual masters, and all living
beings—all of whom are expansions of His supreme personality. Then He would
touch auspicious things.
74. He would decorate His body, the very ornament of
human society, with His own special clothes and jewelry-include the Lord's
well-known yellow garments, the Kaustubha gem and so on- and with divine flower
garlands and ointments.
75. He would then look at ghee, a mirror, the cows and
bulls, the brahmanas and the demigods and see to it that the members of all the
social classes living in the palace and throughout the city were satisfied with
gifts. After this He would greet His ministers, gratifying them by fulfilling
all their desires.
76. After first distributing flower garlands, pan and
sandalwood paste to the brahmanas, He would give these gifts to His friends,
ministers and wives, and finally He would partake of them Himself.
77. By then the Lord's driver would have brought His
supremely wonderful chariot, yoked with Sugriva and His other horses. His
charioteer would bow down to the Lord and then stand before Him.
78. Holding on to His charioteer's hands, Lord Krishna
would mount the chariot, together with Satyaki and Uddhava, just like the sun
rising over the easternmost mountain. The Lord's chariot driver would stand
with joined palms and that the Lord, holding on to his joined hands with His
right hand, would mount the chariot.
79. The palace women would look upon Lord Krishna with
shy, loving glances, and thus He would get free from them only with difficulty.
He would then set off, His smiling face captivating their minds.
80. The shy, loving glances of the palace women, hinting
at their agitation, implied, 'How can we tolerate this torment of being
separated from You?' Because the Lord was captured by their affection, He
smiled, indicating 'My dear restless ladies, you are so overwhelmed by this
little bit of separation. I am coming back later today to enjoy with you.' And
then, with His smile captivating their minds, He got away only with difficulty,
freeing Himself from the bondage of their loving glances.
81. The Lord, attended by all the Vrishnis, would enter
the Sudharma assembly hall, which protects those who enter it from the six
waves of material life– hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and
death. The Sudharma assembly house was taken away from the heavenly planet and
was reestablished in the city of Dvaraka.
82. When Krishna would exit separately from each of His
many palaces, each individual form would be visible to the persons present on
those particular palace grounds and to the neighboring residents, but not to
others. Coming along the main road up to the entrance of His governor building
assembly hall, all the forms of Krishna would merge into a single form and He
would enter His office, the Sudharma hall, in the assembly of His ministers and
great kings.
83. As the almighty Supreme Lord would seat Himself upon
His exalted throne there in the assembly hall, He shone with His unique
effulgence, illuminating all the quarters of space. Surrounded by the Yadus,
lions among men, that best of the Yadus appeared like the moon amidst many
stars.
84. And there, O King, jesters would entertain the Lord
by displaying various comic moods, expert entertainers– such as expert
magicians- would perform for Him, and female dancers would dance energetically.
85. These performers would dance and sing to the sounds
of mridangas, vinas, murajas, flutes, cymbals and conchshells, while
professional poets, chroniclers and panegyrists would recite the Lord's
glories.
86. Some brahmanas sitting in that assembly hall would
fluently chant Vedic mantras, while others recounted stories of past kings of
pious renown.
87. Once, while Balarama and Krishna were living in
Dvaraka, there occurred a great eclipse of the sun, just as if the end of Lord
Brahma's day had come.
88. Knowing of this eclipse in advance, O King, many
people went to the holy place known as Samanta-pancaka in order to earn pious
credit.
89. After ridding the earth of kings, Lord Parasurama,
the foremost of warriors, created huge lakes from the kings' blood at
Samantaka-pancaka. Although he is never tainted by karmic reactions, Lord
Parasurama performed sacrifices there to instruct people in general; thus he
acted like an ordinary person trying to free himself of sins. From all parts of
Bharata-varsha a great number of people now came to that Samanta-pancaka on
pilgrimage. O descendant of Bharata, among those arriving at the holy place
were many Vrishnis, such as Gada, Pradyumna and Samba, hoping to be relieved of
their sins; Akrura, Vasudeva, Ahuka and other kings also went there. Aniruddha
remained in Dvaraka with Sucandra, Suka and Sarana to guard the city, together
with Kritavarma, the commander of their armed forces.
90. Sri Krishna's grandson Aniruddha remained in Dvaraka
to protect the city because He is originally Lord Vishnu's manifestation as the
guardian of the spiritual planet Svetadvipa.
91. The mighty Yadavas passed with great majesty along
the road. They were attended by their soldiers, who rode on chariots rivaling
the airplanes of heaven, on horses moving with a rhythmic gait, and on
bellowing elephants as huge as clouds. Also with them were many infantrymen as
effulgent as celestial Vidyadharas. The Yadavas were so divinely dressed—being
adorned with gold necklaces and flower garlands and wearing fine armor—that as
they proceeded along the road with their wives they seemed to be demigods
flying through the sky.
92. All the royalty present, including Bhishma, Drona,
Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and her sons, the Pandavas and their wives, Kunti,
Sanjaya, Vidura, Kripacarya, Kuntibhoja, Virata, Bhishmaka, the great Nagnajit,
Purujit, Drupada, Salya, Dhrishtaketu, Kasiraja, Damaghosha, Visalaksha,
Maithila, Madra, Kekaya, Yudhamanyu, Susarma, Bahlika with his associates and
their sons, and the kings subservient to Maharaja Yudhishthira—all of them, O
best of kings, were simply amazed to see the transcendental form of Lord
Krishna, the abode of all opulence and beauty, standing before them with His
consorts.
93. After Lord Balarama and Lord Krishna had liberally
honored them, with great joy and enthusiasm these kings began to praise the
members of the Vrishni clan, Sri Krishna's personal associates.
94. [The kings said:] “O King of the Bhojas, you alone
among men have achieved a truly exalted birth, for you continually behold Lord
Krishna, who is rarely visible even to great yogis. His fame, as broadcast by
the Vedas, the water that has washed His feet, and the words He speaks in the
form of the revealed scriptures—these thoroughly purify this universe. Although
the earth's good fortune was ravaged by time, the touch of His lotus feet has
revitalized her, and thus she is raining down on us the fulfillment of all our
desires. The same Lord Vishnu who makes one forget the goals of heaven and
liberation has now entered into marital and blood relationships with you, who
otherwise travel on the hellish path of family life. Indeed, in these
relationships you see and touch Him directly, walk beside Him, converse with
Him, and together with Him lie down to rest, sit at ease and take your meals.”
95. While gazing at their beloved Krishna, the young
gopis used to condemn the creator of their eyelids, [which would momentarily
block their vision of Him]. Now, seeing Krishna again after such a long
separation, with their eyes they took Him into their hearts, and there they
embraced Him to their full satisfaction. In this way they became totally
absorbed in ecstatic meditation on Him, although those who constantly practice
mystic yoga find such absorption difficult to achieve. Just then Lord Balarama
saw the gopis standing a short distance away. Seeing them trembling with
eagerness to meet Krishna, and apparently ready to give up their lives if they
could not, He tactfully decided to get up and involve Himself elsewhere. Then
the gopis attained the state described. The Supreme Lord approached the gopis
in a secluded place as they stood in their ecstatic trance. After embracing
each of them and inquiring about their well-being, He laughed. Krishna expanded
Himself by His vibhuti-sakti to embrace each of the gopis individually, thus
waking each of them from her trance. He inquired, "Are you now relieved of
your pain of separation?" and laughed to help lighten their spirits.
96. Lord Krishna then met with Yudhishthira and all His
other relatives and inquired from them about their welfare. [Lord Krishna's
relatives said:] O master, how can misfortune arise for those who have even
once freely drunk the nectar coming from Your lotus feet? This intoxicating
liquor pours into the drinking cups of their ears, having flowed from the minds
of great devotees through their mouths. It destroys the embodied souls'
forgetfulness of the creator of their bodily existence.
97. The radiance of Your personal form dispels the
threefold effects of material consciousness, and by Your grace we become
immersed in total happiness. You are unlimited by virtue of Your unrestricted
awareness. By Your Yogamaya potency You have assumed this human form for
protecting the Vedas, which had been threatened by time. We bow down to You,
the final destination of perfect saints.”
98. Then Sri Krishna returned to Dvaraka. The master of
the goddess of fortune resided happily in His capital city, Dvaraka, which was
endowed with all opulences and populated by the most eminent Vrishnis and their
gorgeously dressed wives. When these beautiful women in the bloom of youth
would play on the city's rooftops with balls and other toys, they shone like
flashing lightning. The main streets of the city were always crowded with
intoxicated elephants exuding mada, and also with cavalry, richly adorned
infantrymen, and soldiers riding chariots brilliantly decorated with gold.
Gracing the city were many gardens and parks with rows of flowering trees,
where bees and birds would gather, filling all directions with their songs.
99. Lord Krishna was the sole beloved of His sixteen
thousand hundred eight wives. Expanding Himself into that many forms, He
enjoyed with each of His queens in her own richly furnished residence. On the
grounds of these palaces were clear ponds fragrant with the pollen of blooming
utpala, kahlara, kumuda and ambhoja lotuses and filled with flocks of cooing
birds. The almighty Lord would enter those ponds, and also various rivers, and
enjoy sporting in the water while His wives embraced Him, leaving the red
kunkuma from their breasts smeared on His body.
100. As Gandharvas joyfully sang His praises to the
accompaniment of mridanga, panava and anaka drums, and as professional reciters
known as Sutas, Magadhas and Vandis played vinas and recited poems praising
Him, Lord Krishna would play with His wives in the water. Laughing, the queens
would squirt water on Him with syringes, and He would squirt them back. Thus
Krishna would sport with His queens in the same way that the lord of the
Yakshas sports with the Yakshi nymphs.
101. Under the drenched clothing of the queens-godesse,
their thighs and breasts would become visible. The flowers tied in their large
braids would scatter as they sprayed water on their consort, and on the plea of
trying to take away His syringe, they would embrace Him. By His touch their
loving feelings would increase, causing their faces to beam with smiles. Thus
Lord Krishna's Divine queens shone with resplendent beauty.
102. Lord Krishna's flower garland would become smeared
with kunkuma from their breasts, and His abundant locks of hair would become
disheveled as a result of His absorption in the game. As the Lord repeatedly
sprayed His young Godly consorts and they sprayed Him in turn, He enjoyed
Himself like the king of elephants enjoying in the company of his bevy of
she-elephants.
103. Afterward, Lord Krishna and His own expansions-wives
would give the ornaments and clothing they had worn during their water sports
to the male and female performers, who earned their livelihood from singing and
from playing instrumental music.
104. In this way Lord Krishna would sport with His
Goddesses-of-love-queens, totally captivating their hearts with His gestures,
talks, glances and smiles, and also with His jokes, playful exchanges and
embraces.
105. The queens would become stunned in ecstatic trance,
their minds absorbed in Krishna alone. Then, thinking of their lotus-eyed Lord,
they would speak as if insane.
106. This superficial appearance of insanity in Lord
Krishna's queens, as if they had become intoxicated by dhattura or some other
hallucinogenic drug, was in fact the manifestation of the sixth progressive
stage of pure love of Godhead, technically known as prema-vaicitrya.
107. When, as a natural by-product of one's extreme love,
one feels the distress of separation even in the direct presence of the
beloved, this state is called prema-vaicitrya.
108. The queens said: “O kurari bird, you are lamenting.
Now it is night, and somewhere in this world the Supreme Lord is asleep in a
hidden place. But you are wide awake, O friend, unable to fall asleep. Is it
that, like us, you have had your heart pierced to the core by the lotus-eyed
Lord's munificent, playful smiling glances?”
109. The transcendental madness (unmada) of the queens
filled them with such ecstasy that they saw their own mood reflected in
everyone and everything else. Here they point out to the kurari bird, whom they
take to be sorrowing over separation from Lord Krishna, that if the Lord
actually had any concern for her or themselves, He would not be sleeping
comfortably at that moment. They warn the kurari not to expect Krishna to hear
her lamentation and show some mercy. In case the kurari might think that
Krishna is sleeping with His queens, they deny this by saying that He is
gupta-bodha: His whereabouts are unknown to them. He is out in the world
somewhere this night, but they have no idea where to go looking for Him.
"Ah, dear bird," they cry, "even though you are a simple
creature, your heart has been deeply pierced, just like ours. You must have had
some contact, then, with our Krishna. What keeps you from giving up your hopeless
attachment to Him?”
110. “Poor cakravaki, even after closing your eyes, you
continue to cry pitifully through the night for your unseen mate. Or is it
that, like us, you have become the servant of Acyuta and hanker to wear in your
braided hair the garland He has blessed with the touch of His feet?”
111. “Dear ocean, you are always roaring, not sleeping at
night. Are you suffering insomnia? Or is it that, as with us, Mukunda has taken
your insignias and you are hopeless of retrieving them?”
112. Lord Krishna's queens here confuse the sea
surrounding Dvaraka with the celestial Ocean of Milk, from which Lakshmi and
the Kaustubha gem arose long ago. These were taken (apahrita) by Lord Vishnu,
and they now reside on His chest. The queens presume that the ocean is anxious to
see once again the mark of Lakshmi's residence and the Kaustubha jewel on the
Lord's chest, and they express their sympathy by saying that they also want to
see these marks. But the queens desire even more to see the kunkuma marks on
the Lord's chest, which He "took" from their breasts when they last
embraced Him.
113. “My dear moon, having contracted a severe case of
tuberculosis, you have become so emaciated that you fail to dispel the darkness
with your rays. Or is it that you appear dumbstruck because, like us, you
cannot remember the encouraging promises Mukunda once made to you?”
114. “O Malayan breeze, what have we done to displease
you, so that you stir up love for Krishna in our hearts, which have already
been shattered by Govinda's sidelong glances?”
115. “O revered cloud, you are indeed very dear to the
chief of the Yadavas, who bears the mark of Srivatsa. Like us, you are bound to
Him by love and are meditating upon Him. Your heart is distraught with great
eagerness, as our hearts are, and as you remember Him again and again you shed
a torrent of tears. Association with Krishna brings such misery!”
116. The cloud acts as the friend of Lord Krishna by
shielding Him from the scorching rays of the sun, and certainly such an earnest
well-wisher of the Lord must constantly meditate on Him with concern for His
welfare. Although the cloud shares the Lord's blue complexion, it is Lord
Krishna's distinctive features, such as His Srivatsa mark, that especially
attract him to this meditation. But what is the result? Simply unhappiness: the
cloud is depressed and thus constantly sheds tears on the pretext of raining.
"So," the queens advise him, "it would be better for you not to
take much interest in Krishna.”
117. “O sweet-throated cuckoo, in a voice that could
revive the dead you are vibrating the same sounds we once heard from our
beloved, the most pleasing of speakers. Please tell me what I can do today to
please you.”
118. Though the song of a cuckoo is very pleasant, Lord
Krishna's wives perceive it as painful because it reminds them of their beloved
Krishna and exacerbates their pain of separation.
119. “O magnanimous mountain, you neither move nor speak.
You must be pondering some matter of great importance. Or do you, like us,
desire to hold on your breasts the feet of Vasudeva's darling son?”
120. The word stanaih, "on your breasts,"
refers to the mountain's peaks.
121. “O rivers, wives of the ocean, your pools have now
dried up. Alas, you have shriveled to nothing, and your wealth of lotuses has
vanished. Are you, then, like us, who are withering away because of not
receiving the affectionate glance of our dear husband, the Lord of Madhu, who
has cheated our hearts?”
122. During the summer the rivers do not receive
downpours of water provided by their husband, the ocean, via the clouds. But
the real reason for the rivers' emaciation, as the queens see it, is that they
have failed to obtain the loving glance of Lord Krishna, the reservoir of all
happiness.
123. “Welcome, swan. Please sit here and drink some milk.
Give us some news of the descendant of Sura, dear one. We know you are His
messenger. Is that invincible Lord doing well, and does that unreliable friend
of ours still remember the words He spoke to us long ago? Why should we go and
worship Him? O servant of a petty master, go tell Him who fulfills our desires
to come here without the goddess of fortune. Is she the only woman exclusively
devoted to Him?”
124. Then the queens ask, "Is the unconquerable Lord
doing well?"
125. The swan replies, "How can Lord Krishna be
doing well without you, His beloved consorts?"
126. "But does He even remember what He once told
one of us, Srimati Rukmini? Does He recall that He said, 'In all My palaces I
see no other wife as dear as you'?" [SB 10.60.55: na tvadrisim pranayinim
grihinim griheshu pasyami]
127. "He does indeed remember this, and that is just
why He sent me here. You should all go to Him and engage in His devotional
service."
128. "Why should we go worship Him if He refuses to
come here to be with us?"
129. "But my dear oceans of compassion, He is
suffering so much from your absence! How can He be saved from this
distress?"
130. "Just listen, O servant of a petty master: tell
Him to come here, as He should. If He is suffering from lusty desires, He has
only Himself to blame, since He Himself is the creator of Cupid's power. We
self-respecting ladies are not going to yield to His demand that we go seek Him
out."
131. "So be it; then I will take my leave."
132. "No, one minute, dear swan. Ask Him to come to
us here, but without the goddess of fortune, who always cheats us by keeping
Him all to herself."
133. "Don't you know that Goddess Lakshmi is devoted
exclusively to the Lord? How could He give her up like that?"
134. "And is she the only woman in the world who is
completely sold out to Him? What about us?”
135. By thus speaking and acting with such ecstatic love
for Lord Krishna, the master of all masters of mystic yoga, His loving wives
attained the ultimate goal of life.
136. The present tense of the word kriyamanena is used to
indicate that the Lord's queens attained His eternal abode immediately, without
delay. This refutes the false notion that after Lord Krishna's departure from
this world, some primitive cowherds kidnapped His queens while they were under
the protection of Arjuna. In fact, Lord Krishna Himself appeared in the guise
of the thieves who abducted the queens.
137. The supreme goal attained by these exalted women was
not the liberation of the impersonal yogis but the perfect state of
prema-bhakti, pure loving devotion. Indeed, since they were already imbued with
divine love of God from the very beginning, they possessed transcendental
bodies of eternity, knowledge and bliss, in which they were fully able to
relish the pleasure of reciprocating with the Supreme Lord in his most
intimate, sweet pastimes. Specifically, their love of God matured into the
ecstasy of madness in pure love (bhavonmada), just as the gopis' love did when
Krishna disappeared from their midst during the rasa dance. At that time the
gopis experienced the full development of ecstatic madness, which they
expressed in their inquiries from the various creatures of the forest and in
such words as krishno 'ham pasyata gatim: "I am Krishna! Just see how
gracefully I move!" (SB 10.30.19) Similarly, the vilasa, or flourishing
transformation, of the ecstatic love of Lord Dvarakadhisa's principal queens
has produced the prema-vaicitrya symptoms they have exhibited here.
138. The Lord, whom countless songs glorify in countless
ways, forcibly attracts the minds of all men and women who simply hear about
Him. What to speak, then, of those who see Him directly?
139. And how could one possibly describe the great
austerities that had been performed by the women who perfectly served Him, the
spiritual master of the universe, in pure ecstatic love? Thinking of Him as
their husband, they rendered such intimate services as massaging His feet.
140. Thus observing the principles of duty enunciated in
the Vedas, Lord Krishna, the goal of the saintly devotees, repeatedly
demonstrated how one can achieve at home the objectives of religiosity,
economic development and regulated sense gratification.
141. While fulfilling the highest standards of religious householder
life, Lord Krishna maintained more than 16,100 wives. Among these jewellike
women were eight principal queens, headed by Rukmini.
142. The Supreme Lord Krishna, whose endeavor never
fails, begot ten sons in each of His many wives.
143. The total number of Lord Krishna's sons was thus
161,080, and He also had a daughter by each wife. 161.080 + 16.108= 177.188.
The sons and grandsons of Krishna's children numbered in the tens of millions.
Sixteen thousand mothers gave rise to this dynasty.
144. Among these sons, all possessing unlimited valor,
eighteen were maha-rathas of great renown. Now hear their names from me.
145. They were Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Diptiman, Bhanu,
Samba, Madhu, Brihadbhanu, Citrabhanu, Vrika, Aruna, Pushkara, Vedabahu,
Srutadeva, Sunandana, Citrabahu, Virupa, Kavi and Nyagrodha.
146. The Aniruddha mentioned here is Lord Krishna's son,
not His well-known grandson through Pradyumna.
147. Of these sons begotten by Lord Krishna, the enemy of
Madhu, the most prominent was Rukmini's son Pradyumna. He was just like His
father.
148. The great warrior Pradyumna married Rukmi's daughter
[Rukmavati], who gave birth to Aniruddha. He was as strong as ten thousand
elephants.
149. Rukmi's daughter's son [Aniruddha] married Rukmi's
son's daughter [Rocana]. From her was born Vajra, who would remain among the
few survivors of the Yadus' battle with clubs.
150. From Vajra came Pratibahu, whose son was Subahu.
Subahu's son was Santasena, from whom Satasena was born.
151. No one born in this family was poor in wealth or
progeny, short-lived, weak or neglectful of brahminical culture. The Yadu
dynasty produced innumerable great men of famous deeds. Even in tens of
thousands of years, one could never count them all.
152. I have heard from authoritative sources that the
Yadu family employed 38,800,000 teachers just to educate their children.
153. Who can count all the great Yadavas, when among them
King Ugrasena alone was accompanied by an entourage of thirty trillion attendants?
154. This great number is being spoken of by Sukadeva
Goswami, the speaker of Bhagavatam, from the remembrance of the continuous
ongoing nitya-lila of the Lord in Goloka Vrindavan, and not from the pastimes
that happened on earth.
155. The savage descendants of Diti, called Daityas or
demons, who had been killed in past ages in battles between the demigods and
demons took birth among human beings and arrogantly harassed the general
populace. To subdue these demons, Lord Hari told the demigods to descend into
the dynasty of Yadu. They comprised 101 clans, numbering in the tens of
millions souls.
156. Because Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, the Yadavas accepted Him as their ultimate authority. And among them,
all those who were His intimate associates especially flourished.
The Vrishnis were so absorbed in Krishna consciousness
that they forgot their own bodies while sleeping, sitting, walking, conversing,
playing, bathing and so on.
157. Lord Sri Krishna, accompanied by Balarama and
surrounded by the Yadu dynasty, executed the killing of many demons. Then,
further to remove the burden of the earth, the Lord arranged for the great
Battle of Kurukshetra, which suddenly erupted in violence between the Kurus and
the Pandavas.
158. Lord Sri Krishna was assisted by His brother,
Balarama, who is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although God is one,
He can expand Himself to enjoy in many forms at once. That is His omnipotence.
And the first such expansion is Balarama, or Baladeva.
159. Then Sri Krishna arranged for the ascending of the
dynasty of Yadu.
160. Lord Brahma set off for Dvaraka, accompanied by his
own sons as well as by the demigods and the great Prajapatis. Lord Siva, the
bestower of auspiciousness to all living beings, also went, surrounded by many
ghostly creatures. The powerful Lord Indra, along with the Maruts, adityas,
Vasus, asvinis, Ribhus, angiras, Rudras, Visvedevas, Sadhyas, Gandharvas,
apsaras, Nagas, Siddhas, Caranas, Guhyakas, the great sages and forefathers and
the Vidyadharas and Kinnaras, arrived at the city of Dvaraka, hoping to see
Lord Krsna. By His transcendental form, Krsna, the Supreme Lord, enchanted all
human beings and spread His own fame throughout the worlds. The Lord’s glories
destroy all contamination within the universe.
161. The Personality of Godhead descends within the
material world to assist the demigods in the cosmic management; thus the
demigods can normally see such forms of the Lord as Upendra. However, here it
is indicated that although accustomed to seeing various Visnu expansions of the
Lord, the demigods were specifically eager to see the most beautiful form of
the Lord as Krsna.
162. In that resplendent city of Dvaraka, rich with all
superior opulences, the demigods beheld with unsatiated eyes the wonderful form
of Sri Krsna.
163. The demigods covered the Supreme Lord of the
universe with flower garlands brought from the gardens of heaven. Then they
praised Him, the best of the Yadu dynasty, with statements containing charming
words and ideas.
164. The demigods began to speak: “Our dear Lord,
advanced mystic yogis, striving for liberation from the severe bondage of
material work, meditate with great devotion upon Your lotus feet within their
hearts. Dedicating our intelligence, senses, vital air, mind and power of
speech to Your Lordship, we demigods bow down at Your lotus feet.
165. O unconquerable Lord, You engage Your illusory
energy, composed of three modes, to unleash, maintain and devastate the
inconceivable manifest cosmos, all within Your own self. as the supreme
superintendent of maya, You appear to be situated in the interaction of the
modes of nature; however, You are never affected by material activities. in
fact, You are directly engaged in Your own eternal, spiritual bliss, and thus
You cannot be accused of any material infection.
166. O greatest of all, those whose consciousness is
polluted by illusion cannot purify themselves merely by ordinary worship, study
of the Vedas, charity, austerity and ritual activities. Our Lord, those pure
souls who have developed a powerful transcendental faith in Your glories
achieve a purified state of existence that can never be attained by those
lacking such faith.”
167. The demigods were astonished at their good fortune.
Even by hearing about Krsna, one achieves all perfection, but they had entered
the Lord’s own city and were seeing Him standing before them.
168. “Those about to offer oblations into the fire of
sacrifice in accordance with the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas meditate on Your lotus
feet. Similarly, the practitioners of transcendental yoga meditate upon Your
lotus feet, hoping for knowledge about Your divine mystic potency, and the most
elevated pure devotees perfectly worship Your lotus feet, desiring to cross
beyond Your illusory potency.
169. O almighty Lord, You are so kind to Your servants
that You have accepted the withered flower garland that we have placed on Your
chest. Since the goddess of fortune makes her abode on Your transcendental
chest, she will undoubtedly become agitated, like a jealous co-wife, upon
seeing our offering also dwelling there. Yet You are so merciful that You
neglect Your eternal consort Laksmi and accept our offering as most excellent
worship. O merciful Lord, may Your lotus feet always act as a blazing fire to
consume the inauspicious desires within our hearts.”
170. The Lord is so kind that He neglects His own eternal
consort, Laksmi, and gives preference to His humble devotee, just as a man will
neglect the loving embrace of his wife when his affectionate child approaches
him with a gift. Any garland worn by the Lord cannot be faded because all of
the Lord’s personal paraphernalia is completely transcendental and spiritually
opulent. Similarly, there is no possibility that mundane jealousy could appear
in the character of the goddess of fortune, who is as transcendental as Lord
Krsna Himself. Therefore the statements of the demigods are to be understood as
humorous words inspired by intense love of Godhead. The demigods enjoy the
protection of Laksmi and, ultimately, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Krsna, and due to their confidence in their loving relationship with the Lord
and His consort they feel free to speak in a joking way.
171. “O omnipotent Lord, in Your incarnation as
Trivikrama, You raised Your leg like a flagpole to break the shell of the
universe, allowing the holy Ganges to flow down, like a banner of victory, in
three branches throughout the three planetary systems. By three mighty steps of
Your lotus feet, Your Lordship captured Bali Maharaja, along with his universal
kingdom. Your lotus feet inspire fear in the demons by driving them down to
hell and fearlessness among Your devotees by elevating them to the perfection
of heavenly life. We are sincerely trying to worship You, our Lord; therefore
may Your lotus feet kindly free us from all of our sinful reactions.”
172. In order to reclaim for the demigods the universal
kingdom seized by Bali Maharaja, Lord Krsna, appeared as the beautiful
dwarf-brahmana Vamana, who extended His foot upward to the outer limits of the
universe. When the Lord’s leg breached a hole in the universal shell, the holy
Ganges water came flowing into the universe. This scene appeared like an
upraised flagpole with a wonderfully flowing victory banner.
174. “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
transcendental entity who is superior to both material nature and the enjoyer
of nature. May Your lotus feet bestow transcendental pleasure upon us. all of
the great demigods, beginning with Brahma, are embodied living entities.
Struggling painfully with one another under the strict control of Your time
factor, they are just like bulls dragged by ropes tied through their pierced
noses.
175. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
transcendental entity who is superior to both material nature and the enjoyer
of nature. May Your lotus feet bestow transcendental pleasure upon us. All of
the great demigods, beginning with Brahma, are embodied living entities.
Struggling painfully with one another under the strict control of Your time
factor, they are just like bulls dragged by ropes tied through their pierced
noses.”
176. In the perpetual battles between the demigods, or
devotees of the Lord, and the demons, or nondevotees, each side sometimes
conquers and is sometimes apparently defeated. One may argue that all this has
nothing to do with the Personality of Godhead since it is based on nothing more
than the interaction of opposing living entities. But every living entity is,
however, strictly under the control of the Personality of Godhead, and victory
and defeat are always in the hands of the Lord.” This does not contradict the
fact of the living entity’s free will, since the Lord awards victory and defeat
according to the merit of the living entities. in a legal battle neither the
prosecution nor the defense can act independently of the legal system presided
over by the authorized judge. Victory and defeat in the court are awarded by
the judge, but the judge is acting according to the laws, which do not favor or
discriminate against either side.
Similarly, the Personality of Godhead is awarding us the
results of our previous activities. in order to discredit God, materialists
frequently give the argument that oftentimes innocent people suffer whereas
impious rogues enjoy life unimpeded. The fact is, however, that the Personality
of Godhead is not a fool, as are the materialistic persons who place such
arguments. The Lord can see our many previous lives; therefore He may allow one
to enjoy or suffer in this life not only as a result of one’s present
activities, but also as a result of one’s previous activities. For example, by
working very hard a man may accumulate a fortune. If such a newly rich man then
gives up his work and takes to a degenerate life, his fortune does not
immediately disappear. On the other hand, one who is destined to become rich
may now be working very hard, with discipline and austerity, and yet be without
spending money. So a superficial observer might well be confused upon seeing
the moral, hard-working man without funds and the degenerate, lazy man in
possession of riches. Similarly, a materialistic fool without knowledge of
past, present and future is unable to understand the perfect justice of the
Personality of Godhead.
The example given in this verse to explain Krsna’s
controlling power is appropriate. Although a bull is extremely powerful, he is
easily controlled by a slight tug on a rope strung through his pierced nose.
Similarly, even the most powerful politicians, scholars, demigods, etc., may
immediately be put into an unbearable situation by the omnipotent Personality
of Godhead. Therefore the demigods have not come to Dvaraka to proudly display
their universal political and intellectual powers but to humbly surrender at
the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead.
177. “You are the cause of the creation, maintenance and
destruction of this universe. as time, You regulate the subtle and manifest
states of material nature and control every living being. as the threefold
wheel of time You diminish all things by Your imperceptible actions, and thus
You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
178. The statement ‘imperceptible speed and power,’ is
significant. We observe that by the laws of nature all material things,
including our own bodies, gradually disintegrate. although we can perceive the
long-term results of this aging process, we cannot experience the process
itself. For example, no one can feel how his hair or fingernails are growing.
We perceive the cumulative result of their growth, but from moment to moment we
cannot experience it. Similarly, a house gradually decays until it is
demolished. From moment to moment we cannot perceive exactly how this is
happening, but in the course of longer intervals of time we can actually see
the deterioration of the house. in other words, we can experience the results
or manifestations of aging and deterioration, but as it is taking place the
process itself is imperceptible. This is the wonderful potency of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead in His form of time.
According to astrological calculation of the sun’s
movements, the year can be divided into three sections: those represented by
aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer; Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio; and
Sagittarius, Capricorn, aquarius and Pisces.
179. “My dear Lord, the original purusa-avatara,
Maha-Visnu, acquires His creative potency from You. Thus with infallible energy
He impregnates material nature, producing the mahat-tattva. Then the
mahat-tattva, the amalgamated material energy, endowed with the potency of the
Lord, produces from itself the primeval golden egg of the universe, which is
covered by various layers of material elements.”
180. Lord Krsna is the source of the greatest Visnu
incarnation, Maha-Visnu, and that Maha-Visnu acquires His creative potency from
Lord Krsna. it would therefore be foolish to surmise that Lord Krsna is an
expansion of Visnu. in this regard the opinion of the demigods, headed by
Brahma, can be taken as final.
181. “O Lord, You are the supreme creator of this
universe and the ultimate controller of all moving and nonmoving living
entities. You are Hrsikesa, the supreme controller of all sensory activity, and
thus You never become contaminated or entangled in the course of Your
supervision of the infinite sensory activities within the material creation. On
the other hand, other living entities, even yogis and philosophers, are
disturbed and frightened simply by remembering the material objects that they
have supposedly renounced in their pursuit of enlightenment.”
182. The Supreme Lord Krsna is within the heart of every
conditioned soul and guides the living entity in the pursuit and experience of
sense gratification. The disappointing results of such activities gradually
convince the conditioned soul to reject material life and surrender again to
the Lord within his heart. Lord Krsna is never affected by the futile attempts
of the living entities to enjoy His illusory energy. For the Personality of
Godhead there is no possibility of fear or disturbance, because nothing is
ultimately separate from Him.
183. “My Lord, You are living with sixteen thousand
exquisitely beautiful, aristocratic wives. By their irresistible coy and
smiling glances and by their lovely arching eyebrows, they send You messages of
eager conjugal love. But they are completely unable to disturb the mind and
senses of Your Lordship.”
184. No material object can attract the senses of the
Lord. The Lord has no desire to enjoy even spiritual sense gratification. Krsna
is complete in Himself. He is the reservoir of all pleasure, and He does not
lust after anything material or spiritual. The argument may be given that
Krsna, in order to please His wife Satyabhama, stole a parijata flower from
heaven and thus appeared to be a henpecked husband under the control of His loving
wife. But although Krsna is sometimes conquered by the love of His devotees, He
is never influenced by the desire to enjoy like an ordinary, lusty
materialistic person. The nondevotees cannot understand the overwhelming loving
feelings exchanged between the Lord and His pure devotees. Krsna may be
conquered by our intense love for Him, and thus pure devotees can control the
Lord. For example, the elderly gopis in Vrndavana would clap their hands in
different rhythms to make Krsna dance, and in Dvaraka Satyabhama ordered Krsna
to bring her a flower as proof of His love for her. The love between the Lord
and His pure devotee is an ocean of spiritual bliss. But at the same time,
Krsna remains completely self-satisfied. Krsna indifferently gave up the company
of the incomparable young damsels of Vraja-bhumi, the gopis, and went to
Mathura at the request of His uncle, akrura. Thus neither the gopis of
Vrndavana nor the queens of Dvaraka could arouse an enjoying spirit in Krsna.
When all is said and done, pleasure in this world means sex. But this mundane
sexual attraction is simply a perverted reflection of the transcendental loving
affairs between Krsna and His eternal associates in the spiritual world. The
gopis of Vrndavana are unsophisticated village girls, whereas the queens in
Dvaraka are aristocratic young ladies. But both the gopis and the queens are
overwhelmed with love for Krsna. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna
displays the highest perfection of beauty, strength, wealth, fame, knowledge and
renunciation and is thus completely satisfied by His own supreme position. He
reciprocates spiritual loving affairs with the gopis and queens simply for
their sake. Only fools think that Lord Krsna could be attracted by the
perverted illusory pleasures to which we poor conditioned souls are so blindly
attached. Therefore everyone should recognize the supreme transcendental
position of the Personality of Godhead and surrender to Him. That is the clear
implication of this statement by the demigods.
185. after Brahma, along with Lord siva and the other
demigods, thus offered prayers to the Supreme Lord, Govinda, Lord Brahma
situated himself in the sky and addressed the Lord as follows.
186. Lord Brahma said: “My dear Lord, previously we
requested You to remove the burden of the earth. O unlimited Personality of
Godhead, that request has certainly been fulfilled.”
187. Lord Krsna might have said to the demigods,
“actually, you requested Ksirodakasayi Visnu to come down, so why are you
saying that you requested Me? After all, I am Govinda.” Therefore Brahma has
addressed the Lord here as the unlimited Personality of Godhead from whom all
plenary expansions of Visnu emanate.
188. “My Lord, You have reestablished the principles of
religion among pious men who are always firmly bound to the truth. You have
also distributed Your glories all over the world, and thus the whole world can
be purified by hearing about You.
189. Descending into the dynasty of King Yadu, You have
manifested Your unique transcendental form, and for the benefit of the entire
universe You have executed magnanimous transcendental activities.
190. My dear Lord, those pious and saintly persons who in
the age of Kali hear about Your transcendental activities and also glorify them
will easily cross over the darkness of the age.
191. O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O my Lord, You
have descended into the Yadu dynasty, and thus You have spent one hundred
twenty-five autumns with Your devotees.
192. My dear Lord, there is nothing remaining at this time
for Your Lordship to do on behalf of the demigods. You have already withdrawn
Your dynasty by the curse of the brahmanas. O Lord, You are the basis of
everything, and if You so desire, kindly return now to Your own abode in the
spiritual world. At the same time, we humbly beg that You always protect us. We
are Your humble servants, and on Your behalf we are managing the universal
situation. We, along with our planets and followers, require Your constant
protection.”
193. The Supreme Lord said: “O lord of the demigods,
Brahma, i understand your prayers and request. Having removed the burden of the
earth, i have executed everything that was required on your behalf.
194. That very Yadava dynasty in which i appeared became
greatly magnified in opulence, especially in their physical strength and
courage, to the extent that they threatened to devour the whole world.
Therefore i have stopped them, just as the shore holds back the great ocean.”
195. The heroes of the Yadu dynasty were so powerful that
even the demigods could not check them. The enthusiasm of the Yadus was
unlimitedly increased by their victories in dangerous battles, and they could
not be killed. Due to their martial spirit they naturally desired to establish
their power over the whole world; therefore the Lord checked them and withdrew
them from the earth.
196. “If i were to leave this world without withdrawing
the overly proud members of the Yadu dynasty, the whole world would be
destroyed by the deluge of their unlimited expansion.”
197. Just as a tidal wave overwhelms the boundary of the
shore and wreaks havoc on innocent people, similarly, there was imminent danger
that the powerful Yadu dynasty might expand beyond all boundaries of social and
political control. The members of the Yadu dynasty had become proud because of
their apparent familial relationship with the Personality of Godhead. Although
they were very religious and devoted to brahminical culture, they had become
affected by pride due to their relationship with Krsna. Furthermore, due to
their intense love for Krsna, they would certainly feel such intense separation
after the Lord’s departure to the spiritual world that they would become
maddened and thus become an unbearable burden on the earth. The earth herself,
due to attachment for Krsna, would never consider Krsna’s own family members to
be anything but a welcome burden. Still, Krsna wanted to remove this burden.
The example is given that for the pleasure of her husband a beautiful young
wife may decorate herself with many golden ornaments. These ornaments
constitute a painful burden for the delicate wife, but although she is willing
to bear this burden, the loving husband removes the ornaments for the pleasure
of his wife. So the Lord, desiring to apply the wisdom of “an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure,” took precautions to remove from the earth the burden
of the Yadu dynasty.
198. “Now due to the brahmanas’ curse, the annihilation
of My family has already begun. O sinless Brahma, when this annihilation is
finished and i am enroute to Vaikuntha, i will pay a small visit to your
abode.”
199. The members of the Yadu dynasty are eternal servants
of the Lord; therefore the members of the Yadu dynasty entered into the hidden
or confidential Dvaraka of the material world, and the Dvaraka in the spiritual
world, both are not manifested here on the earth. In other words, Dvaraka, the
Lord’s abode, is manifest on the earth, and when the earthly Dvaraka is
apparently removed, the eternal Dvaraka of the material and the spiritual world
remain as it is. Since the members of the Yadu dynasty are eternal associates
of the Lord, there is no question of their destruction. Only our conditioned
vision of their manifestation was destroyed.
200. Thus addressed by the Lord of the universe, the self-born
Brahma fell down in obeisances at the lotus feet of the Lord. Surrounded by all
the demigods, the great Brahma then returned to his personal abode.
201. Thereafter, the Personality of Godhead observed that
tremendous disturbances were taking place in the holy city of Dvaraka.
202. There is no possibility of actual disturbances or
inauspicious events in holy places inhabited by saintly persons. Thus the
so-called disturbances in Dvaraka were directly enacted by the Personality of
Godhead for His own auspicious purpose.
203. Thus the Lord spoke to the assembled senior members
of the Yadu dynasty as follows: “Our dynasty has been cursed by the brahmanas.
Such a curse is impossible to counteract, and thus great disturbances are
appearing everywhere around us.
204. My dear respected elders, we must not remain any
longer in this place if we wish to keep our lives intact. Let us go this very
day to the most pious place Prabhasa. We have no time to delay.”
205. A. Many demigods, coming to the earth to assist Lord
Krsna in His pastimes, took birth within the Yadu dynasty and appeared as Lord
Krsna’s associates. When the Lord had completed His earthly pastimes He wanted
to send these demigods back to their previous service in universal
administration. Each demigod was to return to his respective planet. The
transcendental city of Dvaraka is so auspicious that whoever dies there
immediately goes back home, back to Godhead, but because the demigod members of
the Yadu dynasty, in many cases, were not yet prepared to go back to Godhead,
they had to die outside the city of Dvaraka. Thus Lord Krsna, pretending to be
an ordinary living being, said, “We are all in danger. Let us all immediately
go to Prabhasa.” In this way, by His yoga-maya Krsna bewildered such demigod
members of the Yadu dynasty and led them away to the holy place Prabhasa.
Since Dvaraka is parama-mangala, the most auspicious
place, not even an imitation of inauspiciousness can take place there.
Actually, Lord Krsna’s pastime of removing the Yadu dynasty is ultimately
auspicious, but since it outwardly appeared inauspicious, it could not take
place in Dvaraka; therefore Lord Krsna led the Yadus away from Dvaraka. After
having sent the demigods back to their planets, Lord Krsna planned to return to
the spiritual world, Vaikuntha, in His original form and remain in the eternal
city of Dvaraka. The Lord’s eternal abode Dvaraka can never be drowned by the
ocean. Nevertheless, all external approaches to this transcendental city were
covered by the ocean, and therefore the Lord’s abode remains inaccessible to
foolish persons in Kali-yuga.
205. B. Thus, the eternal Dvaraka is twofold– One, on the
Bhu-mandala or the Earth realm, and One, beyond the shells of the universe.
206. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in order to
bewilder the demons and ensure that the word of His own devotees and of the
brahmanas be maintained, created a body of material energy into which the arrow
was shot. But the Lord’s actual four-armed form was never touched by the arrow
of Jara, who is actually the Lord’s devotee Bhrgu muni. In a previous age Bhrgu
Muni had placed his foot on the chest of Lord Visnu. In order to counteract the
offense of improperly placing his foot on the Lord’s chest, Bhrgu had to take
birth as a degraded hunter. But even though a great devotee willingly accepts
such a low birth, the Personality of Godhead cannot tolerate seeing His devotee
in such a fallen condition. Thus the Personality of Godhead arranged that at
the end of Dvapara-yuga, when the Lord was winding up His manifest pastimes,
His devotee Bhrgu, in the form of the hunter Jara, would cast the arrow into a
material body created by the Lord’s illusory energy. Thus the hunter would
become remorseful, gain release from his degraded birth and go back to
Vaikuntha-loka.
Therefore, to please His devotee Bhrgu and to confuse the
demons, the Supreme Lord manifested His mausala-lila at Prabhasa, but it should
be understood that this is an illusory pastime. The Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krsna, from His very appearance on the earth, did not manifest any of the
material qualities of ordinary human beings. The Lord did not appear from the
womb of His mother. Rather, by His inconceivable power He descended into the
maternity room. At the time of His giving up this mortal world, He similarly
manifested an illusory situation for the sake of bewildering the demons. To
bewilder the nondevotees, the Lord created an illusory body out of His material
energy while simultaneously remaining personally in His own sac-cid-ananda
body, and thus He manifested the downfall of an illusory material form. This
pretense effectively bewilders foolish demons, but Lord sri Krsna’s actual
transcendental, eternal body of bliss never experiences death.
207. Krishna continued: “Once, the moon was afflicted
with consumption because of the curse of Daksa, but just by taking bath at
Prabhasa-ksetra, the moon was immediately freed from his sinful reaction and
again resumed the waxing of his phases.
208. By bathing at Prabhasa-ksetra, by offering sacrifice
there to placate the forefathers and demigods, by feeding the worshipable
brahmanas with various delicious foodstuffs and by bestowing opulent gifts upon
them as the most suitable candidates for charity, we will certainly cross over
these terrible dangers through such acts of charity, just as one can cross over
a great ocean in a suitable boat.”
209. Thus advised by the Personality of Godhead, the
Yadavas made up their minds to go to that holy place, Prabhasa-ksetra, and thus
yoked their horses to their chariots.
210. The great disasters apparently occurring in Dvaraka
were an external show created by the Lord to facilitate His pastimes.
211. Uddhava could understand the Lord’s desire and said
to Krsna, “You have instructed the Yadavas to counteract the brahmanas’ curse
by taking bath at Prabhasa-ksetra, but how could mere bathing in a holy place
be of greater value than seeing You, the Personality of Godhead, face to face?
Since the Yadavas are always seeing Your transcendental form, and since You are
the Supreme Lord, what is the use of their taking bath in a so-called holy
place? Therefore You obviously have some other purpose. If You actually wanted
to counteract the curse, You could simply say, ‘Let this curse not act,’ and
the curse would immediately be neutralized. Therefore You must be preparing to
leave this universe, and that is why You have not counteracted the curse.”
212. Uddhava understood that Krsna was going to withdraw
the Yadu dynasty, and thus he begged the Lord to take him along to the Lord’s
abode. He had no desire to merge into Krsna’s impersonal effulgence; instead he
wanted to go to the Lord’s spiritual abode and continue associating with Krsna
as His dearmost friend. Krsna is the Personality of Godhead and can do whatever
He likes, but the devotee begs the Lord for the chance to serve Him. although
the Lord manifests within the material world His various abodes, such as
Vrndavana, Dvaraka and Mathura, and although these are certainly non-different
from their counterparts in the spiritual world, the most advanced devotees,
overwhelmed with desire to personally serve the Lord, are very eager to go to
the Lord’s original spiritual planet. As stated by Lord Kapila in the Third
Canto of srimad-Bhagavatam, the pure devotees have no desire for liberation.
Because of their eagerness to render service, they urge the Lord to appear
before them. The six Gosvamis, due to their intense eagerness to serve Radha
and Krsna, urgently searched after Them, calling out Their names in the forests
of Vrndavana. Similarly, Uddhava is urging the Lord to take him to His own
abode so that Uddhava’s personal service to the Lord’s lotus feet will not be
interrupted even for a moment.
213. It is Lord Krsna Himself who awarded pious living
entities birth in brahminical families, and then Lord Krsna further awarded
them the potency to curse His dynasty. And finally, Lord Krsna personally kept
the curse intact, although He was capable of neutralizing it. Therefore in the
beginning, middle and end, directly and indirectly, in the past, present and
future, Lord Krsna is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
and He is completely transcendental to even the slightest touch of material
illusion or impotence.
214. Uddhava continued : “My dear Lord, You are the
Supreme Soul, and thus You are most dear to us. We are Your devotees, and how
can we possibly reject You or live without You even for a moment? Whether we
are lying down, sitting, walking, standing, bathing, enjoying recreation,
eating or doing anything else, we are constantly engaged in Your service.
215. Simply by decorating ourselves with the garlands,
fragrant oils, clothes and ornaments that You have already enjoyed, and by
eating the remnants of Your meals, we, Your servants, will indeed conquer Your
illusory energy.
Naked sages who seriously endeavor in spiritual practice,
who have raised their semen upward, who are peaceful and sinless members of the
renounced order, attain the spiritual abode called Brahman.”
216. But Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, had
His plan (to leave). At the end of His manifest pastimes on the earth, He
thought as follows within His mind: “During My pastimes on the earth, I have
satisfied the desires of all those devotees who anxiously desired to see Me. I
have duly married many thousands of queens, headed by Rukmini, whom I
personally kidnapped, and I have killed innumerable demons in various places
and by various means. I have attended meetings, reunions and ceremonies with
many friends, relatives and well-wishers in cities such as Vrndavana, Mathura,
Dvaraka, Hastinapura and Mithila, and thus I have kept constantly busy coming
and going in the performance of pastimes.
I further arranged to give My personal association to
great devotees who are situated below the earthly planet. in order to please My
mother Devaki and return her six deceased sons who were killed by Kamsa, I
descended to the planet Sutala and blessed My great devotee Bali Maharaja. in
order to return the dead son of My spiritual master, Sandipani Muni, I
personally went to the court of Ravinandana, or Yamaraja, and thus he was able
to see Me face to face. I even blessed the residents of heaven, such as mother
Aditi and Kasyapa Muni, with My personal association when I traveled there to
steal the parijata flower for My wife Satyabhama. and in order to please the
inhabitants of Maha-Visnu’s abode, such as Nanda, Sunanda and Sudarsana, I
traveled to Maha-Vaikunthaloka to recover the deceased children of a frustrated
brahmana. Thus, innumerable devotees who ardently desired to see Me have
received the object of their prayers.
Unfortunately Nara-Narayana Risi and the great
paramahamsa sages who live with Him in Badarikasrama, although most
enthusiastic to see Me, never had their desire fulfilled. I have been on the
earth for 125 years, and the scheduled time is now up. Being busily engaged in
My pastimes, I did not have time to give My blessings to these great sages.
Nevertheless, Uddhava is practically the same as Me. He is a great devotee and
shares My own transcendental opulences. Thus, he is the right person for Me to
send to Badarikasrama. I shall give Uddhava complete transcendental knowledge
by which one becomes detached from the material world, and he in turn can
deliver this knowledge, the science of transcending the kingdom of illusion, to
the worthy sages at Badarikasrama. In this way he can teach them the method of
rendering loving devotional service to My lotus feet. Such loving devotional
service rendered to Me is the most valuable treasure, and by hearing such
knowledge the desires of the great sages such as Nara-Narayana will be
completely fulfilled.”
217. Although many demigods had taken birth in the Yadu
dynasty to assist the Lord, some members of the Yadu dynasty were actually
inimical toward Krishna. Because of their mundane vision of the Lord, they
considered themselves to be on the same level as Krishna. Having taken birth in
the family of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, they had inconceivable
strength, and thus they misunderstood Krishna's supreme position. Having
forgotten that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they would
constitute a great burden, and consequently it was necessary for Krishna to
remove them from the earth. There is a popular saying that familiarity breeds
contempt. To destroy the contemptuous members of His own dynasty, the Lord
caused a quarrel among them. For this purpose, He arranged for Narada and other
sages to display anger against the Karshnas, the members of His family.
Although many Yadus who were devoted to Krishna were apparently killed in this
fratricidal war, Lord Krishna actually returned them to their original
positions as universal directors, or demigods.
218. Because the sons of Pandu were enraged by the
numerous offenses of their enemies, such as duplicitous gambling, verbal
insults, the seizing of Draupadi's hair, and many other cruel transgressions,
the Supreme Lord engaged those Pandavas as the immediate cause to execute His
will. On the pretext of the Battle of Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna arranged for
all the kings who were burdening the earth to assemble with their armies on
opposite sides of the battlefield, and when the Lord killed them through the
agency of war, the earth was relieved of its burden.
219. The Pandavas were repeatedly harassed by their
enemies, such as Duryodhana and Duhsasana. As innocent young princes, the
Pandavas had no enemy, but Duryodhana was constantly plotting against his
helpless cousins. The Pandavas were sent to a house of lac, which was later
burned to the ground. They were administered poison, and their chaste wife
Draupadi was publicly insulted when her hair was pulled and an attempt was made
to strip her naked. Throughout these dangers, Lord Sri Krishna constantly
protected the Pandavas, who were fully surrendered to Him and who knew no
shelter other than Him.
220. Previous to the Battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna had
personally killed many demons, including Putana, Kesi, Aghasura and Kamsa. Now,
Krishna wanted to complete His mission of removing the earth's burden by
killing the remaining impious persons. But as stated here, kritva nimittam: the
Lord did not personally kill, but empowered His devotees Arjuna and the other
Pandavas to remove the impious kings. Thus acting personally and through His
immediate expansion Balarama, as well as by empowering His pure devotees such
as the Pandavas, Krishna fully displayed the pastimes of the yugavatara by
reestablishing religious principles and ridding the world of demons. Although
the general purpose of the Kurukshetra battle was to kill the demons, Krishna
also bestowed His causeless mercy upon them; the words hata gatah svarupam,
means, all the warriors who died in the presence of Krishna, on both sides,
returned immediately to His abode in the spiritual sky in their original
spiritual bodies.
221. The Supreme Personality of Godhead used the Yadu
dynasty, which was protected by His own arms, to eliminate the kings who with
their armies had been the burden of this earth. Then the unfathomable Lord
thought to Himself, "Although some may say that the earth's burden is now
gone, in My opinion it is not yet gone, because there still remains the Yadava
dynasty itself, whose strength is unbearable for the earth.”
222. Although ordinary people might think that the Lord
had now removed the burden of the earth by killing the demons, reestablishing
dharma, and so on, Lord Sri Krishna Himself could detect that there was further
danger from the irreligious activities of His own family members who were
acting improperly. It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam that a just king will
refuse to punish his own enemy if his enemy is innocent but will punish his own
son if his son actually deserves punishment. Thus although in the eyes of the world
the members of the Lord's own dynasty are always worshipable, Lord Krishna
detected that by their intimate association with Him some members of the Yadu
dynasty had become indifferent to His will. Since such whimsical members of the
Yadu dynasty could act freely, being relatives of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, they would surely cause great misfortune for the world, and foolish
persons would take such whimsical behavior to be the will of Krishna. Thus the
Lord, whose desires are inconceivable, began to consider the need to annihilate
the indifferent, contemptuous members of the Yadu family.
223. To free the earth from the remaining burden of His
own puffed-up family members, Lord Sri Krishna transferred them away from the
earth by causing a fratricidal quarrel among them. In this way He prepared for
His own disappearance from the earth.
224. The word bahubhih, "by His arms," is used
in the plural (rather than the dual) to indicate that the Lord caused the
destruction of the Yadu dynasty in His four-armed form. The original form of
Krishna as Govinda is two-armed, but it was by the plenary portion of the
four-armed Narayana that the Lord killed all the demons on the earth and
ultimately removed the burdensome members of His own family.
225. If certain members of the Yadu family had become
indifferent to the will of the Lord, why didn't they oppose the Lord in His
plan to remove them from the earth? Therefore the word aprameyah is used, which
indicates that it is impossible for anyone, even the Lord's own family members,
to understand His will completely.
226. Another reason for the destruction of the Yadu
dynasty. First, the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead should
never be taken to be ordinary material activities. Nor are the Lord's associates
ordinary persons. Although Lord Krishna apparently incarnates within this world
for some time and then goes away, it should be understood that the Supreme Lord
is eternally situated with His entourage in His various abodes in the spiritual
sky, such as Sri Gokula, Mathura and Dvaraka. The members of the Yadu dynasty
are eternal associates of the Lord, and therefore they cannot bear to be
separated from the Lord. Since Krishna was preparing to give up His earthly
pastimes, if He were to leave the Yadu dynasty on the earth they would surely
become so disturbed by His absence that in their highly agitated state of mind
they would trample and destroy the earth. Therefore, Krishna arranged the
disappearance of the Yadu dynasty prior to His own disappearance.
227. Ultimately the members of the Yadu dynasty are never
to be considered irreligious. The members of the Yadu dynasty achieved their
exalted birth in the Lord's own family by innumerable pious activities and by
complete absorption in thought of Lord Krishna. The history of the
disappearance of the Yadu dynasty is especially meant to help the conditioned
souls achieve liberation from the bondage of materialistic life. Within the
three worlds there were none as powerful and opulent as the Yadu dynasty. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is the possessor of unlimited opulences—beauty,
strength, knowledge, fame and so on—and the members of the Yadu dynasty, being
the personal associates of the Lord, were also endowed with inconceivable
opulences. Therefore, when we see how a fratricidal war suddenly deprived the
members of the Yadu dynasty of all of their earthly possessions and even their
lives, we can understand that there is no permanent position within this
material world. In other words, although the members of the Yadu dynasty are
eternal associates of the Lord and were immediately transferred to another
planet where the Lord was appearing, their sudden disappearance through
fratricidal war is meant to impress upon the conditioned souls the temporary nature
of this world. Therefore, the apparent indifference or enmity of certain
members of the Yadu dynasty toward Krishna should not be taken to be actual
irreligion on their part. The entire situation was arranged by Lord Krishna to
teach a lesson to the conditioned souls.
228. Lord Krishna thought, "No outside force could
ever bring about the defeat of this family, the Yadu dynasty, whose members
have always been fully surrendered to Me and are unrestricted in their
opulence. But if I inspire a quarrel within the dynasty, that quarrel will act
just like a fire created from the friction of bamboo in a grove, and then I
shall achieve My real purpose and return to My eternal abode.”
229. Even though Lord Krishna wanted to arrange for the
disappearance of the members of the Yadu dynasty, He could not personally kill
them, as He had killed many demons, because the Yadu dynasty was His own
family. One might ask why Lord Krishna did not arrange for them to be killed by
others. Naivanyatah paribhavo 'sya bhavet kathancit: because the Yadu dynasty
was the Lord's own family, no one within the universe was capable of killing
them, not even the demigods. In fact, no one within the universe was capable of
even insulting the members of the Yadu dynasty, what to speak of defeating or
killing them. The reason is mat-samsrayasya. The members of the Yadu dynasty
had fully taken shelter of Krishna, and therefore they were always under the
personal protection of the Lord. It is stated, mare krishna rakhe ke, rakhe
krishna mare ke: If Krishna protects someone, no one can kill him, and if
Krishna wants to kill someone, no one can save him. Krishna had originally
requested all of His associates, along with the demigods, to appear on the
earth to assist Him in His pastimes. Now that His pastimes were coming to an
end on this particular planet and would be transferred to another planet in
another universe, Krishna wanted to remove all of His associates from the earth
so that in His absence they would not constitute a burden. Since the powerful
Yadu dynasty, being the Lord's personal family and army, could not possibly be
defeated by anyone, Krishna arranged an internal quarrel, just as the wind in a
bamboo forest sometimes rubs the bamboos together and creates a fire that
consumes the entire forest.
230. Ordinary people, hearing of the adventures of the
Yadu family, might think that the heroes of the Yadu dynasty are as worshipable
as Krishna or that they are independent controllers. In other words, people
polluted by Mayavada philosophy might see the Yadu dynasty as being on the same
level as Krishna. Therefore, to establish that even the most powerful living
entity can never equal or surpass the Supreme Lord, Krishna arranged for the
destruction of the Yadu dynasty.
231. When the supreme almighty Lord, whose desire always
comes to pass, had thus made up His mind, He withdrew His own family on the
pretext of a curse spoken by an assembly of brahmanas.
232. Since the intentions of the Supreme Lord,
Krishnacandra, are always perfect, it was certainly in consideration of the
greatest benefit for the entire world that He destroyed His own family on the
pretext of a curse by brahmanas.
233. There is a parallel in the pastimes of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna Himself appearing as His own devotee.
234. Lord Caitanya appeared along with His first plenary
expansion, known as Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and with Lord Advaita Prabhu. All
three personalities—Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita
Prabhu—are accepted by Vaishnava acaryas to be in the category of
vishnu-tattva, the full status of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These
three Personalities of Godhead perceived that in the future Their so-called
seminal descendants would get undue recognition and thus, being puffed up,
would commit grave offenses against those who were actually Vaishnava gurus or
representatives of the Lord. Every living being is part and parcel of the
Supreme Lord, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (mamaivamsah). Every living entity
is originally a son of God, yet to execute His pastimes the Lord selects
certain highly qualified living entities whom He allows to take birth as His
personal relatives. But those living entities who appear as descendants of the
Lord's personal family may undoubtedly become proud of such a position and thus
abuse the great adulation they receive from ordinary people. In this way such
persons may artificially get undue attention and divert people from the actual
principle of spiritual advancement, which is to surrender to the pure devotee
who represents the Lord. simply to take birth in the personal family of Krishna
is not the qualification for being a spiritual master, since according to
Bhagavad-gita, pitaham asya jagatah: every living entity is eternally a member
of the Lord's family. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita, samo 'ham sarva-bhuteshu
na me dveshyo 'sti na priyah: [Bg. 9.29] "I am equal to everyone. No one
is My enemy, and no one is My special friend." If the Supreme Personality
of Godhead appears to have a special family, such as the Yadu dynasty, such a
so-called family is a special arrangement of the Lord's pastimes in order to
attract the conditioned souls. When Krishna descends, He acts as if He were an
ordinary person in order to attract the living entities to His pastimes.
Therefore Krishna acted as though the Yadu dynasty was His personal family,
although in fact every living entity is a member of His family. Ordinary
people, however, not understanding the higher principles of spiritual
knowledge, easily forget the actual qualifications of a bona fide spiritual
master and instead give undue importance to people born in the Lord's so-called
family. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, therefore, avoided this impediment on the path
of spiritual enlightenment by leaving behind no children. Although Caitanya
Mahaprabhu married twice, He was childless. Nityananda Prabhu, who is also the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, did not accept any of the natural sons born of
His own son, Sri Virabhadra. Similarly, Lord Advaita Acarya divested of His
association all of His sons except Acyutananda and two others. Acyutananda, the
chief faithful son of Advaita Acarya, had no seminal progeny, and the remaining
three of the six sons of Lord Advaita fell from the path of devotion to the
Lord and are known as rejected sons. the appearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu
allowed little facility for continuing a so-called seminal family to create
confusion. The respect shown to the conception of seminal lineage in deference
to the ideas of the smartas is unfit to be accepted by one who actually
understands the supreme truth from Vedic authority. In India there is a class
of men known as nityananda-vamsa, who claim to be direct descendants of Lord
Nityananda and therefore worthy of the highest respect for their position in
devotional service. In the Middle Ages, after the disappearance of Lord
Caitanya's great associate Lord Nityananda, a class of priestly persons claimed
to be the descendants of Nityananda, calling themselves the gosvami caste. They
further claimed that the practice and spreading of devotional service belonged
only to their particular class, which was known as nityananda-vamsa. In this
way they exercised their artificial power for some time, until Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the powerful acarya of the Gaudiya Vaishnava
sampradaya, completely smashed their idea. There was a great hard struggle for
some time, but it has turned out successful, and it is now correctly and
practically established that devotional service is not restricted to a
particular class of men. Besides that, anyone who is engaged in devotional
service is already a high-class brahmana. So Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura's struggle for this movement has come out successful. It is on the
basis of his position that anyone, from any part of the universe, can become a
Gaudiya Vaishnava. The Supreme Lord, who is the well-wisher of the entire
universe and especially of His devotees, bewilders the discriminatory power of
His own descendants in such a contradictory way that these seminal descendants
become recognized as deviant and the actual qualification to be a
representative of the Lord, namely unalloyed surrender to the will of Krishna,
remains prominent.
235. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the
reservoir of all beauty. All beautiful things emanate from Him, and His
personal form is so attractive that it steals the eyes away from all other
objects, which then seem devoid of beauty in comparison to Him. When Lord
Krishna was on the earth, He attracted the eyes of all people. When Krishna
spoke, His words attracted the minds of all who remembered them. By seeing the
footsteps of Lord Krishna, people became attracted to Him, and thus they wanted
to offer their bodily activities to the Lord as His followers. In this way
Krishna very easily spread His glories, which are sung throughout the world by
the most sublime and essential Vedic verses. Lord Krishna considered that
simply by hearing and chanting those glories, conditioned souls born in the
future would cross beyond the darkness of ignorance. Being satisfied with this
arrangement, He left for His desired destination.
236. King Parikshit inquired: “How could the brahmanas
curse the Vrishnis, who were always respectful to the brahmanas, charitable,
and inclined to serve senior and exalted personalities and whose minds were
always fully absorbed in thought of Lord Krishna?”
237. Brahmanas generally become angry at persons who
disrespect the brahminical class, who are uncharitable and who decline to serve
senior, respectable personalities. The Vrishnis, however, were not like that,
and thus they are described here by King Parikshit as brahmanyanam, or sincere
followers of brahminical culture. Further, even if the brahmanas became angry,
why would they curse members of Krishna's own family? Since the brahmanas were
well learned, they must have known that it is offensive to oppose personal
associates of the Supreme Lord. The Yadu dynasty is specifically described here
as vrishninam and krishna-cetasam. In other words, they were Lord Krishna's own
men, and they were always absorbed in thinking of Krishna. Therefore, even if
somehow or other the brahmanas had cursed them, how could that curse have had
any effect? Although the Vrishnis are described in this verse as
krishna-cetasam, always absorbed in thinking of Krishna, it is clearly
indicated that Krishna desired that the brahmanas become angry and curse the
Yadu dynasty. The Supreme Lord desired to remove His personal dynasty from the
earth, and therefore uncustomary offensive behavior was exhibited by the young
boys of Krishna's own family. When a man displays envy and ridicule of devotees
of Vishnu, his brahmanyata, or high spiritual qualifications, along with his
reverence for Sri Krishna, are all destroyed. Contempt and ridicule directed
toward respectable persons and true brahmanas vanquish all good qualities. If
there is a break in etiquette toward His devotees, the Supreme Lord will become
ill-disposed even to His own relatives and friends and thus arrange to destroy
those who oppose His devotees. If foolish persons in the guise of members of
Krishna's personal family express enmity toward Vaishnavas, such offenders
cannot properly be called offspring of Lord Krishna's dynasty.
238. King Parikshit continued inquiring: “What was the motive
for this curse? What did it consist of, O purest of the twice-born? And how
could such a disagreement have arisen among the Yadus, who all shared the same
goal of life?”
239. Lord Krishna Himself desired to withdraw His dynasty
and therefore engaged the brahmanas as His agent. When Lord Krishna noticed
that His mission was now complete, everything having been done perfectly, He
desired to return to His transcendental abode, along with the Vrishnis. Thus
the Lord personally arranged for the Yadu dynasty to be cursed by the
brahmanas.
240. Apta-kamah means that Krishna is always
self-satisfied, and yet in order to execute His transcendental pastimes He
arranged to destroy His own dynasty for three specific purposes, namely, to
reestablish in the heavenly planets those demigods who had taken birth among
the Yadus to assist Him, to reestablish His plenary Vishnu expansions in Their
abodes, such as Vaikuntha, Svetadvipa and Badarikasrama, and to remove Himself
from the vision of the material world, along with His eternal associates.
241. Many so-called religious persons have fallen down by
committing the second offense against chanting the holy name, namely vishnau
sarvesvarese tad-itara-sama-dhih, considering another living entity to be equal
to Lord Vishnu, who is the Lord of lords. One who is captured by the impersonal
tendency of Mayavada philosophy falsely thinks that the external, material
energy of the Lord is equal to His internal, spiritual potency. In this way,
one equates ordinary living entities with the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
taking Krishna to be another aspect of maya. This is a most unfortunate
misconception, for it spoils one's opportunity to understand God as He actually
is. Persons inclined toward this illusory conception of life would undoubtedly
consider the members of the Yadu dynasty equal in all respects to Krishna and
worship the future descendants of Krishna's family as being equal to Krishna
Himself. Thus the continued presence of the Yadu dynasty on the earth would
certainly constitute a great impediment on the path of spiritual understanding
and a great burden on the earth. To counteract the danger to the world from the
offense of equating Vishnu with the family of Vishnu, the Lord decided to crush
the Yadu family. The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, is always affectionate to His
devotees, but whenever the familial descendants of Lord Krishna become inimical
or indifferent to Him, not loving His pure devotees or making friendship with
His servants, such so-called family members of the Lord become impediments to
His will. There is a tangible danger that ignorant living beings will worship
such inimical persons, revering them as close associates of Krishna. For
example, to consider Kamsa the maternal uncle of Krishna and therefore a faithful
servant of Krishna would be a completely erroneous conclusion. By such a
misconception, evil men who oppose the Lord may be accepted as His intimate
associates, and persons inimical to Krishna may be thought of as His
surrendered dependents appearing in His own family. The purpose of the
destruction of the Yadu dynasty was to eradicate the false logic of the
Mayavadis who desire to see everything as one in all respects and who therefore
improperly reason that the enemies of Krishna's devotees can be His intimate
family members.
242. Now the narration of the history of the brahminical
curse that arose against the Yadu dynasty by the Lord's desire.
243. The sages
Visvamitra, Asita, Kanva, Durvasa, Bhrigu, Angira, Kasyapa, Vamadeva, Atri and
Vasishtha, along with Narada and others, once performed fruitive rituals that
award abundant pious results, bring great happiness and take away the sins of
Kali-yuga for the whole world by merely being recounted. The sages duly
executed these rituals in the home of the chief of the Yadus, Vasudeva, the
father of Lord Krishna. After Lord Krishna, who was staying in Vasudeva's house
as time personified, respectfully sent the sages off at the conclusion of the
ceremonies, they went to the holy place called Pindaraka, a nearby holy place
situated about two miles from the Arabian Sea on the coast of Gujarat. Its
current name is still Pindaraka.
244. Kalatmana nivasata yadu-deva-gehe: Krishna was
staying in the home of His father Vasudeva as time personified, thus indicating
that the time was approaching for the destruction of His own dynasty according
to His desire.
245. To that holy place, the young boys of the Yadu
dynasty had brought Samba, son of Jambavati, dressed in woman's garb. Playfully
approaching the great sages gathered there, the boys grabbed hold of the sages'
feet and impudently asked them with feigned humility, "O learned
brahmanas, this black-eyed pregnant woman has something to ask you. She is too
embarrassed to inquire for herself. She is just about to give birth and is very
desirous of having a son. Since all of you are great sages with infallible
vision, please tell us whether her child will be a boy or a girl.”
246. The impudent behavior of the young Yadus toward the
sages headed by Narada, who were all brahmanas and devotees of the Lord, was a
display of deviation from the path of Lord Krishna. Similarly, although the
prakrita-sahajiyas think of themselves as intimate associates of Krishna, the
supremely merciful Lord's determination is perfectly correct in working to
finish such false devotees. Such impostors actually never accept real service
to Krishna. The yadu-kumaras' deception is termed 'seemingly humble,' meaning
that in fact they were anything but humble. Therefore, the ridiculing of
Vaishnavas by the Lord's family resulted in a great offense against the
devotees of the Lord.
247. Believing the brahmanas, Vaishnavas and rishis to be
foolishly lacking knowledge in material affairs of sense gratification, the
yadu-kumaras dressed Samba, the son of Jambavati, as a woman and tried to mock
the saintly assembly. Lord Krishna wanted to teach that such an offense
committed against great devotees by His associate Samba would be the cause of
the Yadu dynasty's destruction, all as part of His lila.
248. In modern times such misbehavior has also manifested
itself within the Gaudiya Vaishnava community. Unauthorized persons have
initiated the process of deceitfully bestowing a woman's dress on their
followers. This process is to be counted as a variety of aparadha, or offense
against Krishna. Such an attempt to cheapen and ridicule devotional service to
Krishna is certainly caused by envy toward the real Vaishnavas, who are
faithfully engaged in devotional service according to the rules and regulations
of the Vedic literature. The taking of a woman's clothing by a man in
krishna-lila was intended to point out this fact. Such an act amounts to
cheating and ridicule of the devotees of Krishna. Samba is a personal associate
of the Lord, but acting as a harbinger of the future misfortune to be created
in Kali-yuga by bogus followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Samba displayed
this didactic pastime to help the living entities be blessed on the correct
path of devotional service. The boys said to the sages, "O rishis, O brahmanas,
O Narada and other great personalities, can you tell us whether it will be a
son or a daughter that will be born from this pregnant woman's womb?" By
addressing pure Vaishnavas in this way, they anticipated the fraudulent
sampradayas of the modern age in their practice of sakhi-bheka, or dressing men
as female associates of the gopis. This unauthorized activity constitutes
contempt and mockery of the pure devotees of the Lord.
249. Many false yogis, imagining they are distributing
first-class devotion on the liberated platform, attempt to award the status of
"pure devotee" to candidates totally ignorant of the transcendental
tastes of madhura-rati, or the Lord's conjugal love in the spiritual world.
Even though they know that the general populace is unfit to imitate the
liberated associates of the Lord, they artificially decorate ordinary persons
with the ornaments of spiritual perfection, such as tears, a melted heart, and
the standing on end of the bodily hairs. Thus these bogus yogis introduce a
process that misleads the world. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu understood
that the great misfortune caused by such false yogis, or kuyogis, was
impossible to forestall in the Kali-yuga, He infected them with insane desires
for material objects of lust so that ordinary persons can easily identify such
false yogis as deviated from the path of pure devotional service. The mockery
of the brahmanas and Vaishnavas by the young boys of the Yadu dynasty who
dressed Samba in woman's garb, and the resultant destruction of the Yadu
dynasty, conclusively demonstrate the uselessness of the sahajiya-sampradayas.
The lack of humility shown by the sons of the Yadu dynasty was an arrangement
by the Lord Himself. In other words, the members of the Yadu dynasty are ultimately
associates of Lord Krishna, and to facilitate the instructive pastimes of the
Lord they acted in apparently unethical ways.
250. Thus ridiculed by deceit, the sages became angry, O
King, and told the boys, "Fools! She will bear you an iron club that will
destroy your entire dynasty.”
251. The four defects of the conditioned soul, namely the
tendency to commit mistakes (bhrama), illusion (pramada), imperfect senses
(karanapatava) and the tendency to cheat (vipralipsa), are not found in pure
devotees of the Lord. Lord Krishna, however, arranged for the young members of
His own family, the Yadu dynasty, to exhibit the dangerous lower propensities
of mankind. Thus the Yadava boys imitated the activities of the followers of a
pseudodevotional cult. Just before His disappearance, Krishna desired that the
sages become angry at the young members of the Yadu dynasty, in order to teach
that Vaishnavas cannot be thought of as foolish, ignorant or mundane and to
reduce the false pride of His own family members.
252. Upon hearing the curse of the sages, the terrified
boys quickly uncovered the belly of Samba, and indeed they observed that
therein was an iron club.
253. Upon hearing the words of the Vaishnavas, headed by
Narada, the Yadu boys lifted the garment covering Samba's abdomen and saw the
fruit of the offense they had committed against Vaishnavas by their deceit: an
actual club was there to destroy their dynasty. This example shows that in a
polluted society the club of duplicity can never bring the peace found in the
society of devotees. Rather, such duplicity smashes all the nondevotional
activities and whimsical doctrines of the pseudodevotees. The Yadu boys were
wary about jeopardizing their advanced position and indeed had been thinking
that as long as they kept their trickery concealed, others would never be able
to detect such sophisticated cheating. Nonetheless, they were unable to protect
their family from the reaction of their grievous offense against the devotees
of the Lord.
254. The young men of the Yadu dynasty said, "Oh,
what have we done? We are so unfortunate! What will our family members say to
us?" Speaking thus and being very disturbed, they returned to their homes,
taking the club with them.
255. The Yadu boys, the luster of their faces completely
faded, brought the club into the royal assembly, and in the presence of all the
Yadavas they told King Ugrasena what had happened.
256. The word rajne refers to King Ugrasena and not to
Sri Krishna. Because of their shame and fear, the boys did not approach the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.
257. When the inhabitants of Dvaraka heard of the
infallible curse of the brahmanas and saw the club, they were astonished and
distraught with fear.
258. After having the club ground to bits, King Ahuka [Ugrasena]
of the Yadus personally threw the pieces, along with the remaining lump of
iron, into the water of the ocean.
259. King Ugrasena thought, "Samba and the others
should not feel any shame or fear," and thus without even consulting Sri
Krishna he ordered the club ground to bits and thrown into the water, along
with a small iron lump that remained, which he considered insignificant.
260. A certain fish swallowed the iron lump, and the bits
of iron, carried back to the shore by the waves, implanted themselves there and
grew into tall, sharp canes.
261. The fish was caught in the ocean along with other
fish in a fisherman's net. The iron lump in the fish's stomach was taken by the
hunter Jara, who fixed it as an arrowhead at the end of his shaft.
262. Knowing fully the significance of all these events,
the Supreme Lord, though capable of reversing the brahmanas' curse, did not
wish to do so. Rather, in His form of time, He gladly sanctioned the events.
263. The Supreme Lord, Krishnacandra, decided to maintain
the curse intact in order to protect the actual principles of religion and
destroy the unbecoming offense of the deceitful members of the Karshna dynasty.
264. He wished to leave behind a vivid lesson for the
living entities of this age that any so-called religious person, even if he is
so exalted as to take birth in the Lord's personal family, cannot violate the
respect and reverence which is due to the pure devotees of the Lord, such as
Narada Muni. The principle of serving the pure devotee of Krishna is so
essential for spiritual advancement that the Lord exhibited the inconceivable
pastime of causing the destruction of His entire dynasty just to impress this
point upon the conditioned souls of Kali-yuga.
265. Lord Caitanya, exhibiting His magnanimous pastimes,
drove away from South India all the false doctrines of the apasampradayas, or
so-called disciplic traditions of pseudodevotees, who had gained great
influence by resorting to the atheistic theories of the Buddhists and Jains.
Thus He turned all of India toward the devotional service of Lord Krishna, so
that due to the extensive preaching of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His
followers there remained no topic of discussion in the world other than
devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Just as Krishna brought about a furious
quarrel to destroy His own family, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arranged for the
world to be flooded by varieties of Mayavada and karma-vada philosophies just
after His disappearance. He did this to destroy persons who belonged to the
eleven apasampradayas, or unauthorized disciplic traditions, as well as the
many other apasampradayas that would appear in the future and presume to call
themselves devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or pretend to be descendants in
His family line. At the same time, Caitanya Mahaprabhu arranged for His own men
to be kept away from the pseudodevotion of these cheaters.
266. Because Lord Krishna was playing the part of an
ordinary member of the Yadu dynasty, He appeared to react to the curse of the
brahmanas by giving up His earthly pastimes. Lord Krishna cannot actually be
cursed by anyone. Narada Muni and the other sages who cursed the Yadu dynasty
are eternal devotees of Lord Krishna and could hardly curse Him. Therefore, in
giving up His pastimes and leaving the earth with the Yadu dynasty, Lord
Krishna demonstrated His internal potency and personal will, since no one can
challenge the supreme potency of the Personality of Godhead.
267. After His own dynasty met destruction from the curse
of the brahmanas, how could the best of the Yadus give up His body, the
dearmost object of all eyes?
268. He didn’t. The Personality of Godhead never gives up
His spiritual body, which is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge. He gave up
the Universal Form– virata rupa, or the Universe.
269. Having observed many disturbing signs in the sky, on
the earth and in outer space, Lord Krishna addressed the Yadus assembled in the
Sudharma council hall as follows.
270. The inauspicious sign in the sky was the appearance
of a halo around the sun, on the earth there were small earthquakes, and in
outer space there was an unnatural redness on the horizon. These and other,
similar omens were impossible to counteract or neglect, because they were
personally arranged by Lord Krishna.
271. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: “O leaders
of the Yadu dynasty, please note all these terrible omens that have appeared in
Dvaraka just like the flags of death. We should not remain here a moment
longer.”
272. Because the living entities must suffer the
reactions to their sinful activities, the Lord arranges for them to be punished
during the Kali-yuga. In other words, it is not Lord Krishna's desire that
conditioned souls be sinful and suffer, but since they are already sinful, the
Lord creates an appropriate age during which they can experience the bitter
fruits of irreligiosity. Since Lord Krishna personally establishes religious
principles in His various appearances in this material world, at the end of
Dvapara-yuga religion on the earth was overwhelmingly powerful. All the
significant demons had been killed; the great sages, saints and devotees had
been greatly encouraged, enlightened and fortified; and there was little scope
for irreligion. Had Lord Krishna ascended to the spiritual sky in His spiritual
body before the eyes of the world, it would have been very difficult for
Kali-yuga to flourish. Lord Krishna left the world in exactly that way during
His appearance as Ramacandra, and hundreds of thousands of years later,
hundreds of millions of pious persons still discuss this wonderful pastime of
the Lord. To pave the way for Kali-yuga, however, Lord Krishna left this world
in a way that puzzles those who are not His staunch devotees.
273. “The women, children and old men should leave this
city and go to Sankhoddhara. We shall go to Prabhasa-kshetra, where the river
Sarasvati flows toward the west. There we should bathe for purification, fast,
and fix our minds in meditation. We should then worship the demigods by bathing
their images, anointing them with sandalwood pulp, and presenting them various
offerings. After performing the expiatory rituals with the help of greatly
fortunate brahmanas, we will worship those brahmanas by offering them cows,
land, gold, clothing, elephants, horses, chariots and dwelling places. This is
indeed the appropriate process for counteracting our imminent adversity, and it
is sure to bring about the highest good fortune. Such worship of the demigods,
brahmanas and cows can earn the highest birth for all living entities.”
274. Having heard these words from Lord Krishna, the
enemy of Madhu, the elders of the Yadu dynasty gave their assent, saying,
"So be it." After crossing over the ocean in boats, they proceeded on
chariots to Prabhasa.
275. There, with great devotion, the Yadavas performed
the religious ceremonies according to the instructions of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, their personal Lord. They also performed various other
auspicious rituals.
276. Then, their intelligence covered by Providence, they
liberally indulged in drinking the sweet maireya beverage, which can completely
intoxicate the mind.
277. The word dishta here indicates the desire of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
278. The heroes of the Yadu dynasty became intoxicated
from their extravagant drinking and began to feel arrogant. When they were thus
bewildered by the personal potency of Lord Krishna, a terrible quarrel arose
among them.
279. Infuriated, they seized their bows and arrows,
swords, bhallas, clubs, lances and spears and attacked one another on the shore
of the ocean.
280. Riding on elephants and chariots with flags flying,
and also on donkeys, camels, bulls, buffalos, mules and even human beings, the
extremely enraged warriors came together and violently attacked one another
with arrows, just as elephants in the forest attack one another with their
tusks.
281. Their mutual enmity aroused, Pradyumna fought
fiercely against Samba, Akrura against Kuntibhoja, Aniruddha against Satyaki,
Subhadra against Sangramajit, Sumitra against Suratha, and the two Gadas
against each other. Others also, such as Nisatha, Ulmuka, Sahasrajit, Satajit
and Bhanu, confronted and killed one another, being blinded by intoxication and
thus completely bewildered by Lord Mukunda Himself. Completely abandoning their
natural friendship, the members of the various Yadu clans—the Dasarhas,
Vrishnis and Andhakas, the Bhojas, Satvatas, Madhus and Arbudas, the Mathuras,
Surasenas, Visarjanas, Kukuras and Kuntis—all slaughtered one another. Thus
bewildered, sons fought with fathers, brothers with brothers, nephews with
paternal and maternal uncles, and grandsons with grandfathers. Friends fought
with friends, and well-wishers with well-wishers. In this way intimate friends
and relatives all killed one another.
282. When all their bows had been broken and their arrows
and other missiles spent, they seized the tall stalks of cane with their bare
hands.
283. As soon as they took these cane stalks in their
fists, the stalks changed into iron rods as hard as thunderbolts. With these
weapons the warriors began attacking one another again and again, and when Lord
Krishna tried to stop them they attacked Him as well.
284. In their confused state, they also mistook Lord
Balarama for an enemy. Weapons in hand, they ran toward Him with the intention
of killing Him.
285. Krishna and Balarama then became very angry. Picking
up cane stalks, They moved about within the battle and began to kill with these
rods.
286. The violent anger of these warriors, who were
overcome by the brahmanas' curse and bewildered by Lord Krishna's yoga-maya
potency, now led them to their annihilation, just as a fire that starts in a
bamboo grove destroys the entire forest.
287. When all the members of His own dynasty were thus
destroyed, Lord Krishna thought to Himself that at last the burden of the earth
had been removed.
288. Lord Balarama then sat down on the shore of the
ocean and fixed Himself in meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Merging Himself within Himself, He gave up this mortal world.
289. Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki, having seen the
departure of Lord Rama, sat down silently on the ground under a nearby pippala
tree.
290. The Lord was exhibiting His brilliantly effulgent
four-armed form, the radiance of which, just like a smokeless fire, dissipated
the darkness in all directions. His complexion was the color of a dark blue
cloud and His effulgence the color of molten gold, and His all-auspicious form
bore the mark of Srivatsa. A beautiful smile graced His lotus face, locks of
dark blue hair adorned His head, His lotus eyes were very attractive, and His
shark-shaped earrings glittered. He wore a pair of silken garments, an
ornamental belt, the sacred thread, bracelets and arm ornaments, along with a
helmet, the Kaustubha jewel, necklaces, anklets and other royal emblems.
Encircling His body were flower garlands and His personal weapons in their
embodied forms. As He sat He held His left foot, with its lotus-red sole, upon
His right thigh.
291. Just then a hunter named JarA, who had approached
the place, mistook the Lord's foot for a deer's face. Thinking he had found his
prey, JarA pierced the foot with his arrow, which he had fashioned from the
remaining iron fragment of Samba's club. Then, seeing that four-armed
personality, the hunter became terrified of the offense he had committed, and
he fell down, placing his head upon the feet of the enemy of the demons.
292. The statement that the arrow "pierced the
Lord's foot" expresses the point of view of the hunter, who thought he had
struck a deer. In fact the arrow merely touched the Lord's lotus foot and did
not pierce it, since the Lord's limbs are composed of eternity, knowledge and
bliss. Otherwise, it would have stated that the hunter extracted his arrow from
the Lord's foot.
293. JarA said: “O Lord Madhusudana, I am a most sinful
person. I have committed this act out of ignorance. O purest Lord, O
Uttamasloka, please forgive this sinner. O Lord Vishnu, the learned say that
for any man, constant remembrance of You will destroy the darkness of
ignorance. O master, I have wronged You! Therefore, O Lord of Vaikuntha, please
kill this sinful hunter of animals immediately so he may not again commit such
offenses against saintly persons.”
294. A. The fratricidal battle of the Yadu dynasty and
the hunter's attack upon Lord Krishna are clearly activities of the Lord's
internal potency for the purpose of fulfilling the Lord's pastime desires.
According to the evidence, the quarrel among the members of the Yadu dynasty
occurred at sunset; then the Lord sat down on the bank of the Sarasvati River.
It is stated that a hunter then arrived with the intention of killing a deer,
but this is impossible—when more than 560 million warriors had just been killed
in a great uproarious battle and the place had been flooded with blood and
strewn with corpses—that a simple hunter would somehow come along trying to
kill a deer. Since deer are by nature fearful and timid, how could any deer
possibly be on the scene of such a huge battle, and how could a hunter calmly
go about his business in the midst of such carnage? Therefore, the withdrawal
of the Yadu dynasty and Lord Krishna's own disappearance from this earth were
not material historical events; this killing of the yadus was actually false.
However, the Lord made Arjuna and others believe it, in order to increase the
prema in karuna-rasa of his devotees like Yudhishthira and to make them give up
this world. And for others, he did this to increase the wrong philosophy so
that dharma would be stifled. Actually, after the devatas had drunk wine and
disappeared, the hunter came to that place which was without sound and people.
(The battle was an illusion.)
B. Sri Krishna was thinking in this way: “Among all the
persons who came to meet me from various places during the trip to Kurukshetra,
Kali came unnoticed by others and spoke to me. “O master! When will I take
charge of the earth?” I said, “You can take charge only when my pastimes are
over.”
C. After I disappear, with the right given by me, Kali
will pervade the earth. However, during my present appearance, dharma has
increased to four legs, even greater than in Satya-yuga. If dharma is so
strong, how can Kali rule? The rule is that Kali will rule when there is only
one leg of dharma remaining. One should not say that when I disappear then the
four legs of dharma will also disappear, on the logic of nimittapaye
naimittikasyapy apayah: when the cause disappears, the effects disappear, since
the devatas of great fame, purifiers of the whole world, remain alert. Moreover
I have destroyed the unfavorable among the population of favorable, unfavorable
and neutral parties. Now, if I ascend to Vaikuntha with all the inhabitants of
my abode, in sight of all persons, as Rama did, the favorable devotees will
double in number. Those who are already intensely favorable will increase their
prema a hundredfold out of great longing in prema and those who are neutral
will become devotees on seeing this extraordinary event. Dharma will thus
increase. How will even a little influence of Kali be possible? By what method
will I increase adharma in order to restrict dharma?
D. Here is the method. I will remain as I do now in
Dvaraka with the Yadus who are my associates in pastimes, but will become
invisible to the eyes of all material people. The devatas who are vibhutis,
such as Cupid and Kartikeya, have entered into my eternal associates like
Pradyumna and others. By my power of yoga I will withdraw them from those
bodies, without others noticing. Making some fake forms for the eyes of
ordinary people, which appear to be Pradyumna and others, I will have them go
to Prabhasa, with the other inhabitants of Dvaraka, and have them drink wine
after meditating and giving charity, and send them to Svarga according to their
individual qualification as devotees. I (in another form) will depart for
Vaikuntha with the other inhabitants of Dvaraka, as Rama did. (The root forms
of Krishna and his associates remained in Dvaraka invisibly.)
E. But I will let the common people see the influence of
maya. They will think that the Yadus left Dvaraka, went to Prabhasa with all
the Yadu dynasty, and under the control of the brahmanas’ curse, drank wine and
gave up their bodies after killing each other. They will think the Lord along
with Balarama, giving up a human body, ascended to the spiritual abode. Thus
they will say that my body was temporary, made of matter. Thinking I have a
material body is a great offense. I have said avajananti mam mudha manushim
tanum asritam: the fools deride me, thinking I have a material human form. (BG
9.11) I have describd the result:
moghasa mogha-karmano mogha-jnana vicetasah |
rakshasim asurim caiva prakritim mohinim sritah ||
Among those who cannot distinguish this truth, those who
are devotees do not gain salokya, those who are karmis do not attain their
material fruits, and those who are jnanis do not attain liberation. They assume
the nature of Rakshasas and asuras. BG 9.12
If the devotees think in this way, their desire to attain
me will be futile. If the karmis think in this way, they cannot attain Svarga.
If the jnanis think in this way, they cannot attain liberation. They become
Rakshasas. Some will think that Supreme Lord has a temporary body because of
seeing that all others have temporary bodies. Some bodies live a long time and
others a short time. Others will claim that just as Kurus all died, Krishna
died with his family at Prabhasa. By people’s hearing, speaking and praising
such preaching of wrong ideas by idiots who think they are learned, immediately
one leg of dharma only will remain.
F. Just as eyes afflicted with jaundice see a shining
white conch to be yellow, people whose minds and eyes are afflicted by maya
will see my departure pastimes, which are actually eternity, knowledge and
bliss, to be afflicted by material misfortune. They will see and conclude that
I gave up my body along with all asociates like Pradyumna and that the queens
like Rukmini were burned in the funeral fire. Not only the materialists will
see this. Even persons like Arjuna will see this by my divine will. Sages like
Vaisampayana and Parasara will describe this in their works. And Siva, my
devotee, taking birth in Kali-yuga, will preach this in a commentary of the
Vedanta-sutras in order to spread Kali’s influence. Persons with no
intelligence, repeatedly studying the sutras, will explain the meaning
according that commentary. Sukshmo yah karanopadhir mayakhye ’neka-saktiman sa
eva bhagavad-dehah: the body of the Lord, possessing unlimited powers, is a
subtle covering of maya on Brahman.
G. Thus, the devata portions of the Yadus had gone to
Prabhasa, and are send to Svarga.
The root forms of Krishna and His eternal associates had
become avyakta, unmanifest, but were still at the region of Dvaraka on earth.
He had created some fake forms for the eyes of ordinary
people, which appeared to be Pradyumna etc. These had gone to Prabhasa. The
Narayana expansion had gone to Prabhasa and departed for Vaikuntha. Krishna and
Balarama actually remained in Dvaraka.
295. To summarize, there was a display of the Lord's
internal potency for the purpose of winding up His manifest pastimes on earth.
296. (JarA continued:) “Neither Brahma nor his sons,
headed by Rudra, nor any of the great sages who are masters of the Vedic
mantras can understand the function of Your mystic power. Because Your illusory
potency has covered their sight, they remain ignorant of how Your mystic power
works. Therefore, what can I, such a low-born person, possibly say?”
297. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: “My dear
JarA, do not fear. Please get up. What has been done is actually My own desire.
With My permission, go now to the abode of the pious, the spiritual world.”
298. So instructed by the Supreme Lord Krishna, who
assumes His transcendental body by His own will, the hunter circumambulated the
Lord three times and bowed down to Him. Then the hunter departed in an airplane
that had appeared just to carry him to the spiritual sky.
299. At that time Daruka was searching for his master,
Krishna. As he neared the place where the Lord was sitting, he perceived the
aroma of tulasi flowers in the breeze and went in its direction. Upon seeing
Lord Krishna resting at the foot of a banyan tree, surrounded by His shining
weapons, Daruka could not control the affection he felt in his heart. His eyes
filled with tears as he rushed down from the chariot and fell at the Lord's
feet.
300. Daruka said: “Just as on a moonless night people are
merged into darkness and cannot find their way, now that I have lost sight of
Your lotus feet, my Lord, I have lost my vision and am wandering blindly in
darkness. I cannot tell my direction, nor can I find any peace.”
301. While the chariot driver was still speaking, before
his very eyes the Lord's chariot rose up into the sky along with its horses and
its flag, which was marked with the emblem of Garuda. All the divine weapons of
Vishnu rose up and followed the chariot. The Lord, Janardana, then spoke to His
chariot driver, who was most astonished to see all this.
302. “O driver, go to Dvaraka and tell Our family members
how their loved ones destroyed one another. Also tell them of the disappearance
of Lord Sankarshana and of My present condition.”
303. Lord Krishna sent His chariot driverless back to
Vaikuntha, along with the horses and weapons, because the chariot driver,
Daruka, had some final service to do on earth.
304. “You and your relatives should not remain in
Dvaraka, the capital of the Yadus, because once I have abandoned that city it
will be inundated by the ocean. You should all take your own families, together
with My parents, and under Arjuna's protection go to Indraprastha. You, Daruka,
should be firmly situated in devotion to Me, remaining fixed in spiritual
knowledge and unattached to material considerations. Understanding these
pastimes to be a display of My yoga-maya-illusory potency, you should remain
peaceful.”
305. Daruka is an eternally liberated associate of Lord
Krishna, having descended from Vaikuntha (his amsa had come from Vaikuntha).
Therefore, even though others might be bewildered by the Lord's pastimes,
Daruka should remain peaceful and fixed in spiritual knowledge. ”This deceptive
pastime was created by my Yoga-maya.”
306. Thus ordered, Daruka circumambulated the Lord and
offered obeisances to Him again and again. He placed Lord Krishna's lotus feet
upon his head and then with a sad heart went back to the city.
307. Then Lord Brahma arrived at Prabhasa along with Lord
Siva and his consort, the sages, the Prajapatis and all the demigods, headed by
Indra. The forefathers, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas and great serpents
also came, along with the Caranas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Kinnaras, Apsaras and
relatives of Garuda, greatly eager to witness the departure of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. As they were coming, all these personalities variously
chanted and glorified the birth and activities of Lord Sauri [Krishna].
Crowding the sky with their many airplanes, they showered down flowers with
great devotion.
308. Seeing before Him Brahma, the grandfather of the
universe, along with the other demigods, who are all His personal and powerful
expansions, the Almighty Lord closed His lotus eyes, fixing His mind within
Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
309. Lord Krishna had previously answered the prayers of
Lord Brahma and the other demigods, who had requested the Lord to descend
within this universe for the protection of His servants, the demigods. Now the
demigods arrived before the Lord, each one desiring to take the Lord to his own
planet. To avoid these innumerable social obligations, the Lord closed His eyes
as if absorbed in samadhi.
310. Also, Lord Krishna closed His eyes to instruct the
yogis how to leave this mortal world without attachment to one's mystic
opulences. All the demigods, including Brahma, are mystic expansions of Lord
Krishna, and yet the Lord closed His eyes to emphasize that one should fix
one's mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead when departing from this
world.
311. Without employing the mystic agneyi meditation to
burn up His transcendental body, which is the all-attractive resting place of
all the worlds and the object of all contemplation and meditation, Lord Krishna
entered into His own abode.
312. A yogi empowered to select the moment of leaving his
body can cause it to burst into flames by engaging in the yogic meditation
called agneyi, and thus he passes into his next life. The demigods similarly
employ this mystic fire when being transferred to the spiritual world. But the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely different from conditioned souls
like yogis and demigods, since the Lord's eternal, spiritual body is the source
of all existence, as indicated here by the words lokabhiramam sva-tanum. Lord
Krishna's body is the source of pleasure for the entire universe. The word
dharana-dhyana-mangalam indicates that those trying for spiritual elevation
through meditation and yoga achieve all auspiciousness through meditation on
the Lord's body. Since yogis are liberated simply by thinking of Lord Krishna's
body, that body is certainly not material and therefore not subject to burning
by mundane mystic fire or any other type of fire. Lord Krishna had stated:
"Within the fire one should meditate upon My form, which is the auspicious
object of all meditation." Since Lord Krishna's transcendental form is
present within fire as the maintaining principle, how can fire affect that
form? Thus although the Lord appeared to enter the mystic yoga trance, the word
adagdhva indicates that the Lord, since His body is purely spiritual, bypassed
the formality of burning and directly entered His own abode in the spiritual
sky.
313. As soon as Lord Sri Krishna left the earth, Truth,
Religion, Faithfulness, Glory and Beauty immediately followed Him. Kettledrums
resounded in the heavens and flowers showered from the sky.
314. All the demigods were jubilant because each one
thought Lord Krishna was coming to his own planet.
315. Most of the demigods and other higher beings led by
Brahma could not see Lord Krishna as He was entering His own abode, since He
did not reveal His movements. But some of them did catch sight of Him, and they
were extremely amazed.
316. Just as ordinary men cannot ascertain the path of a
lightning bolt as it leaves a cloud, the demigods could not trace out the
movements of Lord Krishna as He returned to His abode.
317. The sudden movements of a lightning bolt are seen by
the demigods but not by human beings. Similarly, the sudden departure of Lord
Krishna could be understood by the Lord's intimate associates in the spiritual
sky but not by the demigods.
318. A few of the demigods, however—notably Lord Brahma
and Lord Siva—could ascertain how the Lord's mystic power was working, and thus
they became astonished. All the demigods praised the Lord's mystic power and
then returned to their own planets.
319. Although the demigods are virtually omniscient
within this universe, they could not understand the movements of Lord Krishna's
mystic potency. Thus they were astonished.
320. The Supreme Lord's appearance and disappearance,
which resemble those of embodied conditioned souls, are actually a show enacted
by His yoga-maya illusory energy, just like the performance of an actor or
magician– natasya. After creating this universe He enters into it, plays within
it for some time, and at last winds it up. Then the Lord remains situated in
His own transcendental glory, having ceased from the functions of cosmic
manifestation.
321. The so-called fight among the members of the Yadu
dynasty was actually a display of the pastime potency of the Lord, since Lord
Krishna's personal associates are never subject to ordinary birth and death like
conditioned souls. The word natasya, "of an actor or magician," is
significant here. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura tells the following story
of a certain magician who exhibits the trick of dying:
322. "In front of a great king, a magician approaches
a stack of valuable garments, jewels, coins and so forth, all placed there by
the king. Taking a jeweled necklace, the magician tells the king, 'Now I am
taking this necklace, and you can't have it,' and he makes the necklace
disappear. 'Now I'm taking this gold coin, and you can't have it,' he says, and
makes the gold coin disappear. Next, challenging the king in the same way, the
magician makes seven thousand horses disappear. Then the magician creates the
illusion that the king's children, grandchildren, brothers and other family
members have attacked each other and that nearly all are dead from the violent
quarrel. The king hears the magician speaking and at the same time observes
these things taking place before him as he sits in the great assembly hall.
323. "Then the magician says, 'O King, I no longer
wish to live. Just as I have studied magic, so also, by the mercy of the lotus
feet of my guru, I have learned the mystic meditation of yoga. One is supposed
to give up one's body while meditating in a holy place, and since you have
performed so many pious activities, you are a holy place yourself. Therefore I
shall now give up my body.'
324. "Thus speaking, the magician sits down in the
proper yoga posture, fixes himself in pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana
and samadhi and becomes silent. A moment later, a fire generated from his
trance blazes forth out of his body and burns it to ashes. Then all the wives
of the magician, distraught with lamentation, enter into that fire.
325. "Three or four days later, after the magician
has returned to his own province, he sends one of his daughters to the king.
The daughter tells him, 'O King, I have just come to your palace, bringing
along with me, invisibly, all your sons, grandsons and brothers in good health—along
with all the jewels and other items given by you. Please, therefore, give me
whatever you consider fitting remuneration for the wisdom of the magic that has
been exhibited before you.' In this way, even by ordinary magic one can
simulate birth and death."
326. It is not difficult to understand, therefore, that
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although transcendental to the laws of
nature, exhibits His yoga-maya illusory potency so that ordinary fools will
think the Lord has left His body like a human being. Actually, Lord Krishna
returned to His abode in His own eternal body, as confirmed throughout the
Vedic literature. His amsas, the Lord Narayana’s, returned to Vaikuntha,
Svetadvipa, Badarikasrama etc. He eternally performs lila in Vrndavana, Mathura
and Dvaraka on earth, invisible to the eyes of the materialists
327. Lord Krishna brought the son of His guru back from
the planet of the lord of death in the boy's selfsame body, and as the ultimate
giver of protection He saved Maharaja Pariksit also when he was burned by the
brahmastra of Asvatthama. He conquered in battle even Lord Siva, who deals
death to the agents of death, and He sent the hunter Jara directly to Vaikuntha
in his human body. How could such a personality be unable to protect His own
Self?
328. To mitigate the distress at the narration of Lord
Krishna's departure from this world, here are given several clear examples
proving that Lord Krishna is far beyond the influence of death. Although the
son of Lord Krishna's spiritual master (Sandipani Muni) had been taken by
death, the Lord brought him back in his same body. Similarly, the power of
Brahman cannot touch Lord Krishna, since Parikshit Maharaja, though burned by
the brahmastra weapon, was easily saved by the Lord. Lord Siva was clearly
defeated by Lord Krishna in the battle with Banasura, and the hunter Jara was
sent to a Vaikuntha planet in his same human body. Death is an insignificant
expansion of Lord Krishna's external potency and cannot possibly act upon the
Lord Himself.
329. Although Lord Krishna, being the possessor of
infinite powers, is the only cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction
of innumerable living beings, He simply did not desire to keep His body in this
world any longer. Thus He revealed the destination of those fixed in the self
and demonstrated that this mortal world is of no intrinsic value.
330. Although Lord Krishna descended to this world to
save the fallen souls, He did not want to encourage people in the future to
loiter here unnecessarily. In other words, as soon as possible one should
perfect one's Krishna consciousness and go back home, back to Godhead. If Lord
Krishna had remained longer on the earth, He would have unnecessarily increased
the prestige of the material world.
331. Lord Sri Krishna, who manifested His eternal form
before the vision of all on the earth, performed His disappearance by removing
His form from the sight of those who are unable to see Him [as He is] due to
not executing the required penance.
332. As soon as Daruka reached Dvaraka, he threw himself
at the feet of Vasudeva and Ugrasena and drenched their feet with his tears,
lamenting the loss of Lord Krishna.
333. Daruka delivered the account of the total
destruction of the Vrishnis, and upon hearing this, the people became deeply
distraught in their hearts and stunned with sorrow. Feeling the overwhelming
pain of separation from Krishna, they struck their own faces while hurrying to
the place where their relatives lay dead.
334. When Devaki, Rohini and Vasudeva could not find
their sons, Krishna and Rama, they lost consciousness out of anguish.
335. The original Devaki, Rohini and other ladies of
Dvaraka actually remained in Dvaraka, invisible to the eyes of the material
world, whereas the demigods who represented partial aspects of Devaki, Rohini
and so on went to Prabhasa to see their dead relatives.
336. Tormented by separation from the Lord, His parents
gave up their lives at that very spot. The wives of the Yadavas then climbed
onto the funeral pyres, embracing their dead husbands.
337. The wives of Lord Balarama also entered the fire and
embraced His body, and Vasudeva's wives entered his fire and embraced his body.
The daughters-in-law of Lord Hari entered the funeral fires of their respective
husbands, headed by Pradyumna. And Rukmini and the other wives of Lord
Krishna—whose hearts were completely absorbed in Him—entered His fire.
338. The anguished scene described here is a display of
the Lord's yoga-maya illusory potency, adding a final dramatic note to Lord
Krishna's pastimes on the earth. In reality, Lord Krishna returned to His
eternal abode in His original body, and His eternal associates returned with
Him. This final heartbreaking scene of the Lord's pastimes is a creation of the
Lord's internal potency that brings the Lord's manifest pastimes to a perfect
dramatic end.
339. Arjuna felt great distress over separation from Lord
Krishna, his dearmost friend. But he consoled himself by remembering the
transcendental words the Lord had sung to him.
340. Arjuna then saw to it that the funeral rites were
properly carried out for the dead, who had no remaining male family members. He
executed the required ceremonies for each of the Yadus, one after another.
341. As soon as Dvaraka was abandoned by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the ocean flooded it on all sides, sparing only His
palace.
342. This is the view of the Lord-who is present in the
palace in the unmanifest pastimes.
343. The external manifestation of the Lord's abode was
covered by the ocean, the Lord's eternal Dvaraka exists beyond the material
universe and also beyond the material ocean– in another dimension, at that same
location. Even in the modern age, people who live near the site of the original
Dvaraka sometimes catch a glimpse of it in the ocean.
344. Lord Madhusudana, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is eternally present in the unmanifest Dvaraka, which is at that same
place. It is the most auspicious of all auspicious places, and merely
remembering it destroys all contamination.
345. Arjuna took the survivors of the Yadu dynasty—the
women, children and old men—to Indraprastha, where he installed Vajra as ruler
of the Yadus.
346. Hearing from Arjuna of the death of their friend,
Maharaja Pariksit’s grandfathers established him as the maintainer of the
dynasty and left to prepare for their departure from this world.
347. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of being superior to the creator of the
material world
1. Once, in Dvaraka, a brahmana's wife gave birth to a
son, but the newborn infant died as soon as he touched the ground, O Bharata.
2. The brahmana took the corpse and placed it at the door
of King Ugrasena's court. Then, agitated and lamenting miserably, he spoke the
following.
3. “This duplicitous, greedy enemy of brahmanas, this
unqualified ruler addicted to sense pleasure, has caused my son's death by some
discrepancies in the execution of his duties.”
4. Presuming that he himself had done nothing to cause
his son's death, the brahmana thought it reasonable to blame King Ugrasena. In
the Vedic social system, the monarch is considered responsible for everything
occurring in his kingdom, good or bad. Even in a democracy, a manager who takes
charge of some group or project should accept personal responsibility for any
failure rather than, as is so common today, trying to place the blame on his
subordinates or superiors.
5. “Citizens serving such a wicked king, who takes
pleasure in violence and cannot control his senses, are doomed to suffer poverty
and constant misery.”
6. The wise brahmana suffered the same tragedy with his
second and third child. Each time, he left the body of his dead son at the
King's door and sang the same song of lamentation.
7. When the ninth child died, Arjuna, who was near Lord
Kesava, happened to overhear the brahmana lamenting. Thus Arjuna addressed the
brahmana: "What is the matter, my dear brahmana? Isn't there some lowly
member of the royal order here who can at least stand before your house with a
bow in his hand? These kshatriyas are behaving as if they were brahmanas idly
engaged in fire sacrifices. The rulers of a kingdom in which brahmanas lament
over lost wealth, wives and children are merely imposters playing the role of
kings just to earn their livelihood.
8. The rulers of a kingdom in which brahmanas lament over
lost wealth, wives and children are merely imposters playing the role of kings
just to earn their livelihood. My lord, I will protect the progeny of you and
your wife, who are in such distress. And if I fail to keep this promise, I will
enter fire to atone for my sin.”
9. Chivalrous Arjuna could not tolerate the shame of
being unable to fulfill his promise. As Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita (2.34),
sambhavitasya cakirtir maranad atiricyate: "For a respected person,
dishonor is worse than death.”
10. The brahmana said: “Neither Sankarshana; Vasudeva;
Pradyumna, the best of bowmen; nor the unequaled warrior Aniruddha could save
my sons. Then why do you naively attempt a feat that the almighty Lords of the
universe could not perform? We cannot take you seriously.”
11. Sri Arjuna said: “I am neither Lord Sankarshana, O
brahmana, nor Lord Krishna, nor even Krishna's son. Rather, I am Arjuna,
wielder of the Gandiva bow. Do not minimize my ability, which was good enough
to satisfy Lord Siva, O brahmana. I will bring back your sons, dear master,
even if I have to defeat Death himself in battle.”
12. Thus convinced by Arjuna, O tormentor of enemies, the
brahmana went home, satisfied by having heard Arjuna's declaration of his
prowess.
13. When the wife of the elevated brahmana was again
about to give birth, he went to Arjuna in great anxiety and begged him,
"Please, please protect my child from death!”
14. After touching pure water, offering obeisances to
Lord Mahesvara and recollecting the mantras for his celestial weapons, Arjuna
strung his bow Gandiva.
15. Since the brahmana had disrespected Lord Krishna,
Arjuna tactfully offered his obeisances instead to Lord Siva, who had taught
Arjuna how to use the mantras of the Pasupata weapon.
16. Arjuna fenced in the house where the birth was taking
place by shooting arrows attached to various missiles. Thus the son of Pritha
constructed a protective cage of arrows, covering the house upwards, downwards
and sideways.
17. The brahmana's wife then gave birth, but after the
newborn infant had been crying for a short time, he suddenly vanished into the
sky in his selfsame body.
18. The brahmana then derided Arjuna in front of Lord
Krishna: "Just see how foolish I was to put my faith in the bragging of a
eunuch! When neither Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Rama nor Kesava can save a person,
who else can possibly protect him. To hell with that liar Arjuna! To hell with
that braggart's bow! He is so foolish that he has deluded himself into thinking
he can bring back a person whom destiny has taken away.”
19. While the wise brahmana continued to heap insults
upon him, Arjuna employed a mystic incantation to go at once to Samyamani, the
city of heaven where Lord Yamaraja resides.
20. Not seeing the brahmana's child there, Arjuna went to
the cities of Indra, Agni, Nirriti, Soma, Vayu and Varuna. With weapons at the
ready he searched through all the domains of the universe, from the bottom of
the subterranean region to the roof of heaven. Finally, not having found the
brahmana's son anywhere, Arjuna decided to enter the sacred fire, having failed
to keep his promise. But just as he was about to do so, Lord Krishna stopped
him and spoke the following words.
21. Arjuna trusted Lord Siva implicitly as his guru, and
so he did not bother to search out Lord Siva's celestial abode.
22. [Lord Krishna said:] “I will show you the brahmana's
sons, so please don't despise yourself like this. These same men who now
criticize us will soon establish our spotless fame.”
23. Having thus advised Arjuna, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead had Arjuna join Him on His divine chariot, and together they set off
toward the west.
24. The Lord's chariot passed over the seven islands of
the middle universe, each with its ocean and its seven principal mountains.
Then it crossed the Lokaloka boundary (seperating habited and inhabited area
within the universe) and entered the vast region of total darkness– Aloka-varsa.
25. In that darkness the chariot's horses—Saibya,
Sugriva, Meghapushpa and Balahaka—lost their way. Seeing them in this
condition, O best of the Bharatas, Lord Krishna, the supreme master of all
masters of yoga, sent His Sudarsana disc before the chariot. That disc shone
like thousands of suns.
26. Lord Krishna's horses had descended from Vaikuntha to
participate in His earthly pastimes. Since the Lord Himself was pretending to
be a finite human being, His steeds now acted confused to enhance the drama of
the situation
27. The Lord's Sudarsana disc penetrated the darkness
with its blazing effulgence. That disc shone like thousands of suns. After
breaking through seven concentric shells of the universe, the Sudarsana disc
leading and racing forward with the speed of the mind, it cut through the
fearsome, dense oblivion of primeval matter, the eighth shell, as an arrow shot
from Lord Rama's bow cuts through His enemy's army.
28. Following the Sudarsana disc, the chariot went beyond
the darkness and reached the endless spiritual light of the all pervasive
brahma-jyoti. As Arjuna beheld this glaring effulgence, his eyes hurt, and so
he shut them. This was the limitless, self-effulgent atmosphere of the
spiritual sky.
29. Krishna spoke: “The divine expanse of Brahman
effulgence you have seen is none other than Myself, O best of the Bharatas. It
is My own eternal effulgence. It comprises My eternal, spiritual energy, both
manifest and unmanifest. The foremost yoga experts of this world enter within
it and become liberated. It is the supreme goal of the followers of Sankhya, O
Partha, as well as that of the yogis and ascetics. It is the Supreme Absolute
Truth, manifesting the varieties of the entire created cosmos. You should
understand this brahma-jyoti, O Bharata, to be My concentrated personal
effulgence.”
30. From that region they entered a body of water
resplendent with huge waves being churned by a mighty wind. Within that ocean
float the 35 million material universes Within that ocean Arjuna saw also an
amazing city and palace more radiant than anything he had ever seen before. Its
beauty was enhanced by thousands of ornamental pillars bedecked with brilliant
gems.
31. In that palace was the huge, awe-inspiring serpent
Ananta Sesha, the transcendental bed of Maha-Visnu. He shone brilliantly with
the radiance emanating from the gems on His thousands of hoods and reflecting
from twice as many fearsome eyes. He resembled white Mount Kailasa, and His
necks and tongues were dark blue.
32. Arjuna then saw the omnipresent and omnipotent
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Maha-vishnu, sitting at ease on that serpent
bed. His bluish complexion was the color of a dense raincloud, He wore a
beautiful yellow garment, His face looked charming, His broad eyes were most
attractive, and He had eight long, handsome arms. His profuse locks of hair
were bathed on all sides in the brilliance reflected from the clusters of
precious jewels decorating His crown and earrings. He wore the Kaustubha gem,
the mark of Srivatsa and a garland of forest flowers. Serving that topmost of
all Lords were His personal attendants, headed by Sunanda and Nanda; His cakra
and other weapons in their personified forms; His consort potencies Pushti,
Sri, Kirti and Aja; and all His various mystic powers.
33. The Lord has innumerable energies, and they were also
standing there personified. The most important among them were as follows:
Pushti, the energy for nourishment; Sri, the energy of beauty; Kirti, the
energy of reputation; and Aja, the energy of material creation. All these
energies are invested in the administrators of the material world, namely Lord
Brahma, Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu, and in the kings of the heavenly planets,
Indra, Candra, Varuna and the sungod. In other words, all these demigods, being
empowered by the Lord with certain energies, engage in the transcendental
loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
34. Lord Krishna offered homage to Himself in this
boundless form, and Arjuna, astonished at the sight of Lord Maha-vishnu, bowed
down as well. Then, as the two of them stood before Him with joined palms, the
almighty Maha-vishnu, supreme master of all rulers of the universe, smiled and
spoke to them in a voice full of solemn authority.
35. Just as Lord Krishna offered obeisances to His own
Deity during the worship of Govardhana Hill, so now also He paid homage to His
Vishnu expansion for the purpose of playing out His pastimes. The Lord is
ananta, possessed of countless manifestations, and this eight-armed form is
among them. He is acyuta, "never falling from His position," in the
sense that He never stops engaging in His humanlike pastimes as a cowherd boy
of Vrindavana. Thus to safeguard the special sanctity of His humanlike pastimes
as Krishna, He offered obeisances to His own plenary expansion.
36. Lord Maha-vishnu appeared before Krishna and Arjuna
as bhuma, the supremely opulent one, and as parameshthinam prabhuh, the Lord of
multitudes of Brahmas ruling over millions of universes. With solemn authority
He spoke in such a way as to bewilder Arjuna, in obedience to Sri Krishna's
intention. His smile hinted at His private thoughts : "My dear Krishna, by
Your desire I will describe My superiority, even though I am Your expansion. At
the same time, however, I will subtly imply in My statements the supreme
position of Your beauty, character and power and the fact that You are the
source from which I emanate. Just see how clever I am—that in front of Arjuna I
am confidentially divulging My true identity as nondifferent from You.”
37. [Lord Maha-vishnu said:] I brought the brahmana's
sons here because I wanted to see the two of you, My expansions, who have
descended to the earth to save the principles of religion. As soon as you
finish killing the demons who burden the earth, quickly come back here to Me.
38. The secret import of these words spoken for Arjuna's
edification is as follows: "You two, who have descended along with your
kalas, your personal energies, should kindly return to Me after killing the
demons who burden the earth. Please quickly send these demons here to Me for
the sake of their liberation." The path of gradual liberation passes
through the intermediate station of Lord Maha-vishnu's abode, outside the
eighth shell of the universe.
39. “Although all your desires are completely fulfilled,
O best of exalted personalities, for the benefit of the people in general you
should continue to exemplify religious behavior as the sages Nara and
Narayana.”
40. Thus instructed by the Supreme Lord of the topmost
planet, Krishna and Arjuna assented by chanting om, and then they bowed down to
almighty Lord Maha-vishnu. Taking the brahmana's sons with them, they returned
with great delight to Dvaraka by the same path along which they had come. There
they presented the brahmana with his sons, who were in the same infant bodies
in which they had been lost.
41. Having seen the domain of Lord Vishnu, Arjuna was
totally amazed. He concluded that whatever extraordinary power a person
exhibits can only be a manifestation of Sri Krishna's mercy.
42. Arjuna's amazement and thoughts were as follows:
"Just see! Even though I am a mere mortal, by Krishna's mercy I have seen
the Supreme Godhead, the root cause of everything." Then, after a moment,
he thought again, "But why did Lord Vishnu say that he took away the
brahmana's children out of a desire to see Krishna? Why would the Supreme
Personality of Godhead hanker to see His own expansion? This might be the
effect of some peculiar temporary circumstance, but since He said didrikshuna
instead of didrikshata—where the specific suffix -shuna carries the sense of a
permanent characteristic, not a temporary one—it has to be concluded that He
has always been wanting to see Krishna and myself. Even granted that this is
so, why couldn't He simply see Krishna at Dvaraka? After all, Lord Maha-vishnu
is the all-pervading creator of the universe, which He holds like an amalaka
fruit in His hand. Is it that He could not see Krishna in Dvaraka because
Krishna does not allow anyone to see Him without His special sanction?
"And why, also, would Lord Maha-vishnu, the
compassionate master of all brahmanas, have repeatedly tormented an elevated
brahmana, year after year? He must have acted in this unusual way only because
He could not give up His extreme eagerness to see Krishna. All right, He may
have acted improperly for that reason, but why couldn't He have sent a servant
to kidnap the brahmana's sons? Why did He Himself have to come to Dvaraka? Was
stealing them out of Lord Krishna's capital so difficult that no one but Vishnu
Himself could hope to accomplish it? I can understand that He intended to cause
so much distress to a brahmana of Lord Krishna's city that Krishna would be
unable to tolerate it; then He would grant Lord Vishnu His audience. Lord
Vishnu inspired the distressed brahmana to pour out his complaints to Krishna
in person. Thus it is clear that Sri Krishna's status of Godhood is superior to
Lord Maha-vishnu's.”
43. Having thought in this way, Arjuna was totally
amazed. He asked Lord Krishna whether these were actually the facts of the
matter, and the Lord replied : "It was to see Me that He, the Supreme
Soul, stole the children. He believed, 'Only on a brahmana's behalf will
Krishna come to see Me, not otherwise. I did not go there, however, for the
brahmana's sake; I went there, My friend, just to save your life. If it had
been for the brahmana's sake that I traveled to Vaikuntha, I would have done so
after his first child was abducted."
44. Besides the material universes is the spiritual sky,
this is Sri Krishna's Home, the ultimate source of the spiritual effulgence and
material worlds. Sri Krishna's status of Godhead is superior to Lord
Maha-Visnu's, who is Krishna’s expansion, for the thankless task of creating,
maintaining and destroying the Durga, the citadel of DurgA, the prison house of
the material world.
45. Krishna is God. God exists.
The argument of Krishna defeating Jarasandha
1. When Kamsa was killed his two queens, Asti and Prapti,
went to their father's house in great distress. The sorrowful queens told their
father, King Jarasandha of Magadha, all about how they had become widows.
Hearing this odious news Jarasandha was filled with sorrow and anger, and he
began the greatest possible endeavor to rid the earth of the Yadavas.
2. With a force of twenty-three akshauhini divisions, he
laid siege to the Yadu capital, Mathura, on all sides. Each akshauhini division
consists of 21,870 soldiers on elephants, 21,870 charioteers, 65,610 cavalrymen
and 109,350 infantry soldiers)
3. [The Supreme Lord thought:] Since it is such a burden
on the earth, I will destroy Jarasandha's army, consisting of akshauhinis of
foot soldiers, horses, chariots and elephants, which the King of Magadha has
assembled from all subservient kings and brought together here. But Jarasandha
himself should not be killed, since in the future he will certainly assemble
another army. He had descended to the earth to destroy the demons, and since
Jarasandha was so enthusiastic to bring all the demons to the Lord's front
door, it was definitely more efficient to keep Jarasandha alive and busy.
4. As Lord Govinda was thinking in this way, two chariots
as effulgent as the sun suddenly descended from the sky. They were complete
with drivers and equipment. The chariots came down from the Lord's own abode,
Vaikuntha-loka, the kingdom of God. Just see the Lord's incomparable
technology.
5. The Lord's eternal divine weapons also appeared before
Him spontaneously. Krishna and Balarama, wearing armor and displaying Their
resplendent weapons, drove out of the city in Their chariots. Only a very small
contingent of soldiers accompanied Them.
6. As Lord Krishna came out of the city with Daruka at
the reins of His chariot, He blew His conchshell, and the enemy soldiers'
hearts began to tremble with fear.
7. Just as the wind covers the sun with clouds or a fire
with dust, the son of Jara marched toward the two descendants of Madhu and with
his huge assemblage of armies surrounded Them and Their soldiers, chariots,
flags, horses and charioteers.
8. Clouds only seem to cover the sun: the sun remains
shining in the vast sky. Nor is the potency of fire affected by a thin covering
of dust. Similarly, the "covering" of Jarasandha's military strength
was only apparent.
9. Seeing His army tormented by the relentless and savage
rain of arrows from the massive opposing forces gathered like clouds about Him,
Lord Hari twanged His excellent bow, Sarnga, which both gods and demons
worship.
10. Lord Krishna took arrows from His quiver, fixed them
on the bowstring, pulled back, and released endless torrents of sharp shafts,
which struck the enemy's chariots, elephants, horses and infantrymen. The Lord
shooting His arrows resembled a blazing circle of fire. Elephants fell to the
ground, their foreheads split open, cavalry horses fell with severed necks,
chariots fell with their horses, flags, drivers and masters all shattered, and
foot soldiers collapsed with severed arms, thighs and shoulders. On the
battlefield, hundreds of rivers of blood flowed from the limbs of the humans, elephants
and horses who had been cut to pieces. In these rivers arms resembled snakes;
human heads, turtles; dead elephants, islands; and dead horses, crocodiles.
Hands and thighs appeared like fish, human hair like waterweeds, bows like
waves, and various weapons like clumps of bushes. The rivers of blood teemed
with all of these.
11. Chariot wheels looked like terrifying whirlpools, and
precious gems and ornaments resembled stones and gravel in the rushing red
rivers, which aroused fear in the timid, joy in the wise. With the blows of His
plow weapon the immeasurably powerful Lord Balarama destroyed Magadhendra's
military force. And though this force was as unfathomable and fearsome as an
impassable ocean, for the two sons of Vasudeva, the Lords of the universe, the
battle was hardly more than play.
12. For Him who orchestrates the creation, maintenance
and destruction of the three worlds and who possesses unlimited spiritual
qualities, it is hardly amazing that He subdues an opposing party.
13. To the argument that the Supreme God would hardly
take part in human activities, since all ordinary activities are unworthy of
such a divine being, that since Sri Krishna creates, maintains and annihilates
the entire universe, isn't it an uninteresting mismatch when He fights against
Jarasandha?
14. The Lord plays the part of a human being and,
expanding His pleasure potency, creates thrilling transcendental pastimes, with
fully attractive and dynamic action. Beauty and drama, even on the material
stage, possess their own fascinating logic, and Krishna's pastimes are in fact
supremely wonderful in and of themselves. And Krishna executes His pastimes not
for a mundane egotistical purpose but for our infinite spiritual happiness.
15. Jarasandha, with his chariot lost and all his
soldiers dead, was left with only his breath. At that point Lord Balarama
forcibly seized the powerful warrior, just as one lion takes hold of another.
16. With the divine noose of Varuna and other, mortal
ropes, Balarama began tying up Jarasandha, who had killed so many foes or
through whom his enemies would be killed. But Lord Govinda still had a purpose
to fulfill through Jarasandha, and thus He asked Balarama to stop.
17. Jarasandha, whom fighters had highly honored, was
ashamed after being released by the two Lords of the universe, and thus he
decided to undergo penances. On the road, however, several kings convinced him
with both spiritual wisdom and mundane arguments that he should give up his
idea of self-abnegation, to perform austerities with the aim of avenging his
defeat. They told him, "Your defeat by the Yadus was simply the
unavoidable reaction of your past karma." Thus informed, King Jarasandha
withdrew to his kingdom with a heavy heart, to prepare for a new battle.
18. Lord Mukunda had crossed the ocean of His enemy's
armies with His own military force completely intact. He received
congratulations from the denizens of heaven, who showered Him with flowers. The
people of Mathura, relieved of their feverish anxiety and filled with joy, came
out to meet Him as professional bards, heralds and panegyrists sang in praise
of His victory. As the Lord entered His city, conchshells and kettledrums
sounded, and many drums, horns, vinas, flutes and mridangas played in concert.
The boulevards were sprinkled with water, there were banners everywhere, and
the gateways were decorated for the celebration. The citizens were elated, and
the city resounded with the chanting of Vedic hymns. As the women of the city
affectionately looked at the Lord, their eyes wide open with love, they
scattered flower garlands, yogurt, parched rice and newly grown sprouts upon
Him.
19. Lord Krishna then presented to the Yadu king all the
wealth that had fallen on the battlefield—namely, the countless ornaments of
the dead warriors, horses and other animals.
20. Krishna awarded everyone killed on the battlefield
spiritual liberation.
21. Seventeen times the King of Magadha met defeat in
this very way.
22. Just as the eighteenth battle was about to take
place, a barbarian warrior named Kalayavana appeared on the battlefield.
23. Arriving at Mathura, this Yavana laid siege to the
city.
24. Once, Gargya was ridiculed by his brother-in-law as a
eunuch, and when the Yadavas heard this they laughed heartily. Infuriated by
their laughter, Gargya set out for the south, thinking, 'May I have a son who
will bring terror to the Yadavas.' He worshiped Lord Mahadeva, eating powdered
iron, and after twelve years obtained his desired benediction. Elated, he
returned home.Later, when the childless King of the Yavanas requested a son
from him, Gargya begot in the Yavana's wife a son, Kalayavana. Kalayavana
possessed the fury of Lord Siva in his aspect as Mahakala. Once, Kalayavana
asked Narada, 'Who are now the strongest kings on earth?' Narada replied that
the Yadus were. Thus sent by Narada, Kalayavana appeared at Mathura, with
thirty million barbarian soldiers.
25. When Lord Krishna and Lord Sankarshana saw
Kalayavana, Krishna thought about the situation and said, "Ah, a great
danger now threatens the Yadus from two sides.
26. Although Sri Krishna had defeated Jarasandha
seventeen times against tremendous odds, He did not immediately annihilate the
army of Kalayavana, thus keeping intact the benediction granted to Gargya by
Lord Siva.
27. “This Yavana is besieging us already, and the mighty
King of Magadha will soon arrive here, if not today then tomorrow or the next
day. If powerful Jarasandha comes while We two are busy fighting Kalayavana,
Jarasandha may kill Our relatives or else take them away to his capital.
Therefore We will immediately construct a fortress that no human force can
penetrate. Let Us settle our family members there and then kill the barbarian
king.”
28. After thus discussing the matter with Balarama, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead had a fortress twelve yojanas in circumference
built within the sea. The Dvaraka fort floated within the sea.
29. Inside that fort He had a city built containing all
kinds of wonderful things. In the construction of that city could be seen the
full scientific knowledge and architectural skill of Visvakarma. There were
wide avenues, commercial roads and courtyards laid out on ample plots of land;
there were splendid parks, and also gardens stocked with trees and creepers
from the heavenly planets. The gateway towers were topped with golden turrets
touching the sky, and their upper levels were fashioned of crystal quartz. The
gold-covered houses were adorned in front with golden pots and on top with
jeweled roofs, and their floors were inlaid with precious emeralds. Beside the
houses stood treasury buildings, warehouses, and stables for fine horses, all
built of silver and brass. Each residence had a watchtower, and also a temple
for its household deity. The state highways (rathyah) were in front and the
secondary roads (vithyah) behind, and between them were courtyards (catvarani).
Within these courtyards were surrounding walls, and within the walls stood the
golden residences, atop which shone crystal watchtowers crowned with golden
pots. Thus the buildings were multistoried. The word vastu indicates that the
houses and buildings were constructed on ample plots of land, with plenty of
room for green areas. Within it no one felt the pangs of thirst and hunger.
Filled with citizens of all four social orders, the city was especially
beautified by the palaces of Sri Krishna, the Lord of the Yadus.
30. Lord Indra brought Sri Krishna the Sudharma assembly
hall, standing within which a mortal man is not subject to the laws of
mortality. Indra also gave the parijata tree. Lord Varuna offered horses as
swift as the mind, some of which were pure dark-blue, others white. The
treasurer of the demigods, Kuvera, gave his eight mystic treasures, and the
rulers of various planets each presented their own opulence’s, the same
opulence’s they had originally obtained from Him to establish their positions
of authority.
31. In the middle of the night, as the citizens of
Mathura slept, Lord Janardana suddenly removed them from that city and placed
them in Dvaraka. When the men awoke, they were all amazed to find themselves,
their children and their wives sitting inside palaces made of gold. After thus
transporting all His subjects to the new city by the power of His mystic
Yogamaya, Lord Krishna consulted with Lord Balarama, who had remained in
Mathura to protect it. Then, wearing a garland of lotuses but bearing no
weapons, Lord Krishna went out of Mathura by its main gate.
32. Kalayavana saw the Lord come out from Mathura like
the rising moon. The Lord was most beautiful to behold, with His dark-blue
complexion and yellow silk garment. Upon His chest He bore the mark of
Srivatsa, and the Kaustubha gem adorned His neck. His four arms were sturdy and
long. He displayed His ever-joyful lotuslike face, with eyes pink like lotuses,
beautifully effulgent cheeks, a pristine smile and glittering shark-shaped
earrings. The barbarian thought, "This person must indeed be Vasudeva,
since He possesses the characteristics Narada mentioned: He is marked with
Srivatsa, He has four arms, His eyes are like lotuses, He wears a garland of
forest flowers, and He is extremely handsome. He cannot be anyone else.”
33. Although Kalayavana was seeing Lord Krishna with his
own eyes, he could not adequately appreciate the beautiful Lord, because then
he reasoned:” Since He goes on foot and unarmed, I will fight Him without
weapons." Resolving thus, he ran after the Lord, who turned His back and
ran away. Kalayavana hoped to catch Lord Krishna, though great mystic yogis
cannot attain Him.
34. While chasing the Lord, the Yavana cast insults at
Him, saying "You took birth in the Yadu dynasty. It's not proper for You to
run away!" But still Kalayavana could not reach Lord Krishna, because his
sinful reactions had not been cleansed away. Appearing virtually within reach
of Kalayavana's hands at every moment, Lord Hari led the King of the Yavanas
far away to a mountain cave. Determined to execute His plan and give His
blessings to Mucukunda, the Lord ignored Kalayavana's insults and calmly
proceeded with His program. The Supreme Lord entered the mountain cave.
Kalayavana also entered, and there he saw another man lying asleep.
35. "So, after leading me such a long distance, now
He is lying here like some saint!" Thus thinking the sleeping man to be
Lord Krishna, the deluded fool kicked him with all his strength.
36. The man awoke after a long sleep and slowly opened
his eyes. Looking all about, he saw Kalayavana standing beside him.
37. The awakened man was angry and cast his harsh glance
at Kalayavana, whose body burst into flames. In a single moment, Kalayavana was
burnt to ashes.
38. The man who incinerated Kalayavana with his glance
was named Mucukunda. He was born in the Ikshvaku dynasty as the son of
Mandhata. He was devoted to brahminical culture and always true to his vow in
battle. He had fought for a long time on behalf of the demigods. When the
demigods obtained Karttikeya as their general, they told Mucukunda, "O
King, you may now give up your troublesome duty of guarding us. Abandoning an
unopposed kingdom in the world of men, O valiant one, you neglected all your
personal desires while engaged in protecting us. The children, queens,
relatives, ministers, advisers and subjects who were your contemporaries are no
longer alive. They have all been swept away by time. Inexhaustible time,
stronger than the strong, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Like a
herdsman moving his animals along, He moves mortal creatures as His pastime.”
39. The universe is created to gradually rectify the
contaminated souls trying to exploit material nature. The Lord moves the
conditioned souls along, according to their karma, through the various stages
of spiritual rectification, so that they can enjoy their eternal life of bliss
and knowledge as His enlightened associates and return back to Godhead.
40. The demigods then said: "All good fortune to
you! Now please choose a benediction from us—anything but liberation, since
only the infallible Supreme Lord, Vishnu, can bestow that."
41. The King Mucukunda, exhausted by his labor, again and
again said, 'O demigods, with eyes blazing with anger, may I incinerate anyone
who awakens me from sleep.' "
42. Mucukunda made this rather morbid request to scare
Lord Indra, who, Mucukunda thought, might otherwise wake him repeatedly to
request his help in fighting Indra's cosmic enemies.
43. Indra's consent to Mucukunda's request is described
as follows:
44. "The demigods declared, 'Whoever awakens you
from sleep will suddenly be burnt to ashes by a fire generated from his own
body.' “
45. Addressed thus, King Mucukunda took his respectful
leave of the demigods and went to a cave, where he lay down to enjoy the sleep
they had granted him.
46. After the Yavana was burnt to ashes, the Supreme
Lord, chief of the Satvatas, revealed Himself to the wise Mucukunda.
47. As he gazed at the Lord, King Mucukunda saw that He
was dark blue like a cloud, had four arms, and wore a yellow silk garment. On
His chest He bore the Srivatsa mark and on His neck the brilliantly glowing
Kaustubha gem. Adorned with a Vaijayanti garland, the Lord displayed His
handsome, peaceful face, which attracts the eyes of all mankind with its
shark-shaped earrings and affectionately smiling glance. The beauty of His
youthful form was unexcelled, and He moved with the nobility of an angry lion.
The highly intelligent King was overwhelmed by the Lord's effulgence, which
showed Him to be invincible.”
48. Lord Krishna manifests various transcendental forms
such as the four-armed form of Narayana or Vishnu, who is the creator,
maintainer and destroyer of our bumbling world, or the punisher of conditioned
souls. Thus Krishna and Vishnu are nondifferent, but Krishna is the original
form of the Lord; God in His original form, the infinitely beautiful Godhead,
enjoying in His own right, in His own abode. This is the form of Krishna, the
same Krishna who expands Himself into Vishnu forms for the maintenance of our
bumbling world.
49. Expressing his uncertainty, Mucukunda hesitantly
questioned Lord Krishna as follows. Mucukunda was thinking, "Is this
indeed the Supreme Lord?”
50. Sri Mucukunda said: “Who are You, possessing a
glorious appearance and the power to chastise Your enemies, who have come to
this mountain cave in the forest, having walked on the thorny ground with feet
as soft as lotus petals? Perhaps You are the potency of all potent beings. Or
maybe You are the powerful god of fire, or the sun-god, the moon-god, the King
of heaven or the ruling demigod of some other planet. I think You are the
Supreme Personality among the three chief gods, since You drive away the
darkness of this cave as a lamp dispels darkness with its light. Your unbearably
brilliant effulgence overwhelms our strength, and thus we cannot fix our gaze
upon You. O exalted one, You are to be honored by all embodied beings.”
51. With His effulgence Lord Krishna had dispelled not
only the darkness of the mountain cave but also the darkness in Mucukunda's
heart. In Sanskrit the heart is sometimes metaphorically referred to as guha,
"cavern," a deep and secret place. It also means ``the cave” in which
Mucukunda slept.
52. Mucukunda asked:”O best among men, if You like,
please truly describe Your birth, activities and lineage to us, who are eager
to hear.”
53. When the Supreme Lord descends to this world, He
certainly becomes nara-pungava, the most eminent member of human society. Of
course, the Lord is not actually a human being.
54. “As for ourselves, O tiger among men, we belong to a
family of fallen kshatriyas, descendants of King Ikshvaku. My name is
Mucukunda, my Lord, and I am the son of Yauvanasva.
55. It is common in Vedic culture that a kshatriya will
humbly introduce himself as kshatra-bandhu, a mere relative in a kshatriya
family, or in other words a fallen kshatriya. In ancient Vedic culture, to
claim a particular status on the basis of one's family relations was itself
indicative of a fallen position. Kshatriyas and brahmanas should be given
status according to their merit, by their qualities of work and character. When
the caste system in India became degraded, people proudly claimed to be
relatives of kshatriyas or brahmanas, though in the past such a claim,
unaccompanied by tangible qualifications, indicated a fallen position.
56. Thus addressed by the King, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, origin of all creation, smiled and then replied to him in a voice
as deep as the rumbling of clouds.
57. The Supreme Lord said: My dear friend, I have taken
thousands of births, lived thousands of lives and accepted thousands of names.
In fact My births, activities and names are limitless, and thus even I cannot
count them. After many lifetimes someone might count the dust particles on the
earth, but no one can ever finish counting My qualities, activities, names and
births.
58. Nonetheless, O friend, I will tell you about My
current birth, name and activities. Kindly hear.
59. Some time ago, Lord Brahma requested Me to protect
religious principles and destroy the demons who were burdening the earth. Thus
I descended in the Yadu dynasty, in the home of Anakadundubhi. Indeed, because
I am the son of Vasudeva, people call Me Vasudeva. I have killed Kalanemi,
reborn as Kamsa, as well as Pralamba and other enemies of the pious. And now, O
King, this barbarian has been burnt to ashes by your piercing glance.
60. Since in the past you repeatedly prayed to Me, I have
personally come to this cave to show you mercy, for I am affectionately
inclined to My devotees. Now choose some benedictions from Me, O saintly King.
I will fulfill all your desires. One who has satisfied Me need never again
lament.
61. Mucukunda bowed down to the Lord when he heard this.
Remembering the words of the sage Garga, he joyfully recognized Krishna to be
the Supreme Lord, Narayana.
62. Mucukunda was aware of the prediction of the ancient
sage Garga that in the twenty-eighth millennium the Supreme Lord would descend.
Garga Muni had further informed Mucukunda that he would personally see the
Lord.
63. The Lord here appears as four-handed Narayana, but
Mucukunda was addressing Him as Sri Krishna. Within the pastimes of Lord
Krishna there may also appear vishnu-lila, the activities of Vishnu.
64. The King then addressed Him as follows:
65. O Lord, the people of this world, both men and women,
are bewildered by Your illusory energy. Unaware of their real benefit, they do
not worship You but instead seek happiness by entangling themselves in family
affairs, which are actually sources of misery. That person has an impure mind
who, despite having somehow or other automatically obtained the rare and highly
evolved human form of life, does not worship Your lotus feet. Like an animal
that has fallen into a blind well, such a person has fallen into the darkness
of a material home. Our real home is in Your kingdom. Despite our tenacious
determination to remain in our material home, death will rudely eject us from
the theater of material affairs. I have wasted all this time, O unconquerable
one, becoming more and more intoxicated by my domain and opulence as an earthly
king. Misidentifying the mortal body as the self, becoming attached to
children, wives, treasury and land, I suffered endless anxiety. With deep
arrogance I took myself to be the body, which is a material object like a pot
or a wall. Thinking myself a god among men, I traveled the earth surrounded by
my charioteers, elephants, cavalry, foot soldiers and generals, disregarding
You in my deluding pride. A man obsessed with thoughts of what he thinks needs
to be done, intensely greedy, and delighting in sense enjoyment is suddenly
confronted by You, who are ever alert. Like a hungry snake licking its fangs
before a mouse, You appear before him as death. The body that at first rides
high on fierce elephants or chariots adorned with gold and is known by the name
"king" is later, by Your invincible power of time, called
"feces,"( consumed by dogs, jackals, worms and many minuscule
creatures) "worms," or "ashes"(if burned and thus
transformed into ashes).
66. Having conquered the entire circle of directions and
being thus free of conflict, a man sits on a splendid throne, receiving praise
from leaders who were once his equals. But when he enters the women's chambers,
where mundane love is found, he is led about like a pet animal, O Lord.
67. O Lord, having put aside all objects of material
desire, which are bound to the modes of passion, ignorance and goodness, I am
approaching You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for shelter. You are not
covered by mundane designations; rather, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth,
full in pure knowledge and transcendental to the material modes.
68. The Supreme Lord said: “Wander this earth at will,
with your mind fixed on Me. May you always possess such unfailing devotion for
Me. Because you followed the principles of a kshatriya, you killed living
beings while hunting and performing other duties. You must vanquish the sins
thus incurred by carefully executing penances while remaining surrendered to
Me. O King, in your very next life you will become an excellent brahmana, the
greatest well-wisher of all creatures, and certainly come to Me alone.”
69. The Lord returned to Mathura, which was still
surrounded by Yavanas. Then He destroyed the vast army of barbarians and began
taking their valuables to Dvaraka.
70. As the wealth was being carried by oxen and men under
Lord Krishna's direction, Jarasandha appeared at the head of twenty-three
armies.
71. O King, seeing the fierce waves of the enemy's army,
the two Madhavas, ran swiftly away. Abandoning the abundant riches, they went
many yojanas on Their lotuslike feet.
72. When he saw Them fleeing, powerful Jarasandha laughed
loudly and then pursued Them with charioteers and foot soldiers. He could not
understand the exalted position of the two Lords.
73. After fleeing a long distance, the two Lords climbed
a high mountain named Pravarshana, upon which Lord Indra showers incessant
rain.
74. Although he knew They were hiding on the mountain,
Jarasandha could find no trace of Them. Therefore, O King, he placed firewood
on all sides and set the mountain ablaze.
75. The Lords were enjoying Themselves, eagerly fleeing
from the somewhat ridiculous King Jarasandha, racing up a mountain, totally
befuddling the constantly failing demon, who somehow or other never lost
confidence in himself.
76. The two of Them then suddenly jumped from the burning
mountain, which was eleven yojanas ( 88 miles, 140 kilometer) high, and landed
to the ground.
77. Unseen by Their opponent or his followers, O King,
those two most exalted Yadus returned to Their city of Dvaraka, which had the
ocean as a protective moat.
78. Jarasandha mistakenly thought that Balarama and
Kesava had burned to death in the fire. Thus he withdrew his vast military
force and returned to the Magadha kingdom.
79. Once when the Almighty Supreme Lord was seated upon
His exalted throne in the assembly hall in Dvaraka, shining with His unique effulgence,
illuminating all the quarters of space, surrounded by the Yadus, lions among
men, that best of the Yadus appeared like the moon amidst many stars, a certain
person arrived in the assembly, who had never been seen there before. The
doorkeepers announced him to the Lord and then escorted him inside.
80. That person bowed down to Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and with joined palms he described to the Lord how a
number of kings were suffering because Jarasandha had imprisoned them.
81. Twenty thousand kings who had refused to submit
absolutely to Jarasandha during his world conquest had been forcibly imprisoned
by him in the fortress named Girivraja.
82. These kings refused the payment of tribute and other
forms of submission to Jarasandha. Also, Jarasandha desired to worship
Maha-bhairava by offering him the lives of one hundred thousand kings in
sacrifice.
83. The kings said [as related through their messenger]:
“O Krishna, Krishna, O immeasurable Soul, destroyer of fear for those
surrendered to You ! Despite our separatist attitude, we have come to You for
shelter out of fear of material existence.
84. People in this world are always engaged in sinful
activities and are thus bewildered about their real duty, which is to worship
You according to Your commandments. This activity would truly bring them good
fortune. Let us offer our obeisance’s unto the all-powerful Lord, who appears
as time and suddenly cuts down one's stubborn hope for a long life in this
world.
85. You are the predominating Lord of the universe and
have descended into this world with Your personal power to protect the saintly
and suppress the wicked. We cannot understand, O Lord, how anyone can
transgress Your law and still continue to enjoy the fruits of his work.
86. O Lord, with this corpselike body, always full of
fear, we bear the burden of the relative happiness of kings, which is just like
a dream. Thus we have rejected the real happiness of the soul, which comes by
rendering selfless service to You. Being so very wretched, we simply suffer in
this life under the spell of Your illusory energy.
87. Therefore, since Your feet relieve the sorrow of
those who surrender to them, please release us prisoners from the shackles of
karma, manifest as the King of Magadha. Wielding alone the prowess of ten
thousand maddened elephants, he has locked us up in his house just as a lion
captures sheep.
88. O wielder of the disc! Your strength is unlimited,
and thus seventeen times You crushed Jarasandha in battle. But then, absorbed
in human affairs, You allowed him to defeat You once. Now he is so filled with
pride that he dares to torment us, Your subjects. O unconquerable one, please
rectify this situation.”
89. The messenger continued: “This is the message of the
kings imprisoned by Jarasandha, who all hanker for Your audience, having
surrendered to Your feet. Please bestow good fortune on these poor souls.”
90. When the kings' messenger had thus spoken, the sage
of the demigods, Narada, suddenly appeared. Bearing a mass of golden matted
locks on his head, the supremely effulgent sage entered like the brilliant sun.
91. Lord Krishna is the worshipable master of even
planetary rulers like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, yet as soon as He saw that
Narada Muni had arrived, He joyfully stood up along with His ministers and
secretaries to receive the great sage and offer His respectful obeisances by
bowing His head.
92. After Narada had accepted the seat offered to him,
Lord Krishna honored the sage according to scriptural injunctions and,
gratifying him with His reverence, spoke the following truthful and pleasing
words.
93. [Lord Krishna said:] It is certain that today the
three worlds have attained freedom from all fear, for that is the influence of
such a great personality as you, who travel at will throughout all the worlds.
94. There is nothing unknown to you within God's
creation. Therefore please tell Us what the Pandavas intend to do.
95. Sri Narada said: “I have seen many times the
insurmountable power of Your Maya, O almighty one, by which You bewilder even
the creator of the universe, Brahma. O all-encompassing Lord, it does not
surprise me that You disguise Yourself by Your own energies while moving among
the created beings, as a fire covers its own light with smoke.”
96. Narada understood that Lord Krishna desired to kill
Jarasandha and was thus beginning to arrange for this pastime by inquiring from
Narada about the Pandavas' intentions. Understanding the Lord's own intention,
Narada was not astonished when Lord Krishna humbly requested information from
him.
97. “Who can properly understand Your purpose? With Your
material energy You expand and also withdraw this creation, which thus appears
to have substantial existence. Obeisances to You, whose transcendental position
is inconceivable.
98. The living being caught in the cycle of birth and
death does not know how he can be delivered from the material body, which
brings him so much trouble. But You, the Supreme Lord, descend to this world in
various personal forms, and by performing Your pastimes You illumine the soul's
path with the blazing torch of Your fame. Therefore I surrender unto You.
99. Nonetheless, O Supreme Truth playing the part of a
human being, I shall tell You what Your devotee Yudhishthira Maharaja, the son
of Your father's sister, intends to do.
100. Desiring unrivaled sovereignty, King Yudhishthira
intends to worship You with the greatest fire sacrifice, the Rajasuya. Please
bless his endeavor.
101. King Yudhishthira has all material opulences that
are possible to achieve in the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka. He has no
material opulence for which to aspire, and yet he wants to perform the Rajasuya
sacrifice only to get Your association and to please You.... He wants to
worship You in order to achieve Your causeless mercy, and I beg to request You
to fulfill his desires.
102. O Lord, exalted demigods and glorious kings, eager
to see You, will all come to that best of sacrifices.”
103. Narada here means to say that since all the great
personalities will come especially to see Lord Krishna, He should also come to
that sacrifice.
104. “O Lord, even outcastes are purified by hearing and
chanting Your glories and meditating upon You, the concentrated form of the
Absolute Truth. What then to speak of those who see and touch You?
105. My dear Lord, You are the symbol of everything
auspicious. Your transcendental name and fame is spread like a cooling canopy
all over the universal directions, including the higher, middle and lower
planetary systems. In other words, the whole world can find shelter under the
cooling shade of the Lord's lotus feet. The transcendental water that washes
Your lotus feet is known in the higher planetary systems as the Mandakini
River, in the lower planetary systems as the Bhogavati and in this earthly
planetary system as the Ganges. This sacred, transcendental water flows
throughout the entire universe, purifying wherever it goes.
106. When His supporters, the Yadavas, objected to this
proposal out of eagerness to defeat Jarasandha, Lord Kesava turned to His
servant Uddhava and, smiling, addressed him with fine words.
107. The Lord smiled because He was about to demonstrate
Uddhava's brilliant ability to give counsel in difficult situations.
108. The Personality of Godhead said: “You are indeed Our
best eye and closest friend, for you know perfectly the relative value of
various kinds of counsel. Therefore please tell Us what should be done in this
situation. We trust your judgment and shall do as you say.”
109. Lord Krishna asked His wise minister Uddhava to
determine which of the two matters at hand-the defeat of Jarasandha or the
Rajasuya sacrifice-should be attended to first.
110. Thus requested by his master, who, though
omniscient, acted as if perplexed, Uddhava took this order upon his head and
replied as follows, having thus heard the statements of Devarshi Narada, and
understanding the opinions of both the assembly and Lord Krishna.
111. Sri Uddhava said: “O Lord, as the sage advised, You
should help Your cousin fulfill his plan for performing the Rajasuya sacrifice,
and You should also protect the kings who are begging for Your shelter. Only
one who has conquered all opponents in every direction can perform the Rajasuya
sacrifice, O almighty one. Thus, in my opinion, conquering Jarasandha will
serve both purposes.”
112. Therefore Lord Krishna should immediately accept the
invitation to participate in the sacrifice, but then He should arrange to kill
Jarasandha as a necessary prerequisite. In this way the kings' request for
protection would be fulfilled automatically. If the Lord would thus adhere to a
single policy—namely, seeing that the Rajasuya sacrifice was performed
properly—all purposes would be fulfilled. One of Lord Krishna's qualities is
catura, "clever," which means that He can perform various types of
work at the same time. Thus the Lord could certainly have solved the dilemma of
how to simultaneously satisfy King Yudhishthira's desire to perform the
Rajasuya sacrifice and the imprisoned kings' desire for freedom. But Krishna
wanted to give His dear devotee Uddhava the credit for the solution, and thus
He pretended to be perplexed.
113. “The invincible King Jarasandha is as strong as ten
thousand elephants. Indeed, other powerful warriors cannot defeat him. Only
Bhima is equal to him in strength.”
114. The Yadavas were extremely eager to kill Jarasandha,
and thus to caution them Sri Uddhava spoke that Jarasandha's death could come
only at the hand of Bhima. Uddhava had previously deduced this from the
Jyotir-raga and other astrological scriptures he had learned from his teacher
Brihaspati.
115. “He will be defeated in a match of single chariots,
not when he is with his hundred military divisions. Now, Jarasandha is so
devoted to brahminical culture that he never refuses requests from brahmanas.”
116. It might be argued that since only Bhima could equal
Jarasandha in personal strength, Jarasandha would be more powerful when supported
by his huge army. Therefore, Uddhava recommends single combat. But how could
Jarasandha be persuaded to give up the support of his powerful army? Here
Uddhava gives the clue: Jarasandha will never refuse a request from brahmanas,
since he is devoted to brahminical culture.
117. “Bhima should go to him disguised as a brahmana and
beg charity. Thus he will obtain single combat with Jarasandha, and in Your
presence Bhima will no doubt kill him.”
118. The idea is that Bhima should beg as charity a
one-to-one fight with Jarasandha.
119. “Even Lord Brahma and Lord Siva act only as Your
instruments in cosmic creation and annihilation, which are ultimately done by
You, the Supreme Lord, in Your invisible aspect of time.”
120. Uddhava here explains that in fact Lord Krishna
Himself will cause the death of Jarasandha, and Bhima will merely be the
instrument. The Supreme Lord, through His invisible potency of time, creates
and annihilates the entire cosmic situation, whereas great demigods such as
Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are merely the instruments of the Lord's will.
Therefore Bhima will have no difficulty acting as the Lord's instrument to kill
the powerful Jarasandha. In this way, by the Lord's arrangement, His devotee
Bhima will be glorified.
121. “In their homes, the godly wives of the imprisoned
kings sing of Your noble deeds—about how You will kill their husbands' enemy
and deliver them. The gopis also sing Your glories—how You killed the enemy of
the elephant king, Gajendra; the enemy of Sita, daughter of Janaka; and the
enemies of Your own parents as well. So also do the sages who have obtained
Your shelter glorify You, as do we ourselves.”
122. Great sages and devotees had informed the
grief-stricken wives of the imprisoned kings that Lord Krishna would arrange
for the killing of Jarasandha and would thus save them from their crisis. These
godly women would thus sing the glories of the Lord at home, and when their
children would cry for their fathers, their mothers would tell them,
"Child, do not cry. Sri Krishna will save your father.”
123. “O Krishna, the killing of Jarasandha, which is
certainly a reaction of his past sins, will bring immense benefit. Indeed, it
will make possible the sacrificial ceremony You desire.”
124. Bhury-artha, "immense benefit," signifies
that with the death of Jarasandha it will become easy to kill the demon
Sisupala and to realize other objectives. Paka indicates that the kings will be
saved as a result of their piety, and that the term vipakena indicates that
Jarasandha will die as a result of his wickedness.
125. It was the senior members, not the junior ones, who
welcomed the proposal. Young princes such as Aniruddha did not like Uddhava's
proposal, since they were eager to fight Jarasandha's army immediately.
126. The almighty Personality of Godhead, the son of
Devaki, begged His superiors for permission to leave. Then He ordered His
servants, headed by Daruka and Jaitra, to prepare for departure.
127. After He had arranged for the departure of His
wives, children and baggage and taken leave of Lord Sankarshana and King
Ugrasena, Lord Krishna mounted His chariot, which had been brought by His
driver. It flew a flag marked with the emblem of Garuda.
128. Lord Krishna's wives had also been invited to the
Rajasuya sacrifice and were eager to go. Here is the description of the
colorful royal procession.
129. As the vibrations resounding from mridangas, bheris,
kettledrums, conchshells and gomukhas filled the sky in all directions, Lord
Krishna set out on His journey. He was accompanied by the chief officers of His
corps of chariots, elephants, infantry and cavalry and surrounded on all sides
by His fierce personal guard.
130. Lord Acyuta's faithful wives, along with their
children, followed the Lord on golden palanquins carried by powerful men. Some
of Lord Krishna's queens were transported by horse-drawn conveyances. The
queens were adorned with fine clothing, ornaments, fragrant oils and flower
garlands, and they were surrounded on all sides by soldiers carrying swords and
shields in their hands.
131. On all sides proceeded finely adorned
women-attendants of the royal household, as well as courtesans -parijana—of the
household, included washerwomen and other helpers.; vara—and of public use;
yoshitah—the women. They rode on palanquins and camels, bulls and buffalo,
donkeys, mules, bullock carts and elephants. Their conveyances were fully
loaded with grass tents, blankets, clothes and other items for the trip.
132. The Lord's army boasted royal umbrellas, camara fans
and huge flagpoles with waving banners. During the day the sun's rays reflected
brightly from the soldiers' fine weapons, jewelry, helmets and armor. Thus Lord
Krishna's army, noisy with shouts and clatter, appeared like an ocean stirring
with agitated waves and timingila fish.
133. Honored by Sri Krishna, the chief of the Yadus,
Narada Muni bowed down to the Lord. All of Narada's senses were satisfied by
his meeting with Lord Krishna. Thus, having heard the decision of the Lord and
having been worshiped by Him, Narada placed Him firmly within his heart and
departed through the sky.
134. With pleasing words the Lord addressed the messenger
sent by the kings: "My dear messenger, I wish all good fortune to you. I
shall arrange for the killing of King Magadha. Do not fear.”
135. Thus addressed, the messenger departed and
accurately relayed the Lord's message to the kings. Eager for freedom, they
then waited expectantly for their meeting with Lord Krishna.
136. As He traveled through the provinces of Anarta,
Sauvira, Marudesa and Vinasana, Lord Hari crossed rivers and passed mountains,
cities, villages, cow pastures and quarries.
137. After crossing the rivers Drishadvati and Sarasvati,
He passed through Pancala and Matsya and finally came to Indraprastha.
138. King Yudhishthira was delighted to hear that the
Lord, whom human beings rarely see, had now arrived. Accompanied by his priests
and dear associates, the King came out to meet Lord Krishna.
139. As songs and musical instruments resounded along
with the loud vibration of Vedic hymns, the King went forth with great
reverence to meet Lord Hrishikesa, just as the senses go forth to meet the
consciousness of life.
140. The heart of King Yudhishthira melted with affection
when he saw his dearmost friend, Lord Krishna, after such a long separation,
and he embraced the Lord again and again.
141. The eternal form of Lord Krishna is the everlasting
residence of the goddess of fortune. As soon as King Yudhishthira embraced Him,
the King became free of all the contamination of material existence. He
immediately felt transcendental bliss and merged in an ocean of happiness.
There were tears in his eyes, and his body shook due to ecstasy. He completely
forgot that he was living in this material world. Then Bhima, his eyes brimming
with tears, laughed with joy as he embraced his maternal cousin, Krishna.
Arjuna and the twins—Nakula and Sahadeva—also joyfully embraced their dearmost
friend, the infallible Lord, and they cried profusely.
142. After Arjuna had embraced Him once more and Nakula
and Sahadeva had offered Him their obeisance’s, Lord Krishna bowed down to the
brahmanas and elders present, thus properly honoring the respectable members of
the Kuru, Srinjaya and Kaikaya clans.
143. Since Arjuna was considered Lord Krishna's social
equal, when Arjuna tried to bow down to Him, Lord Krishna held Arjuna by his
arms so that he could only embrace Him. The twins, however, being junior
cousins, bowed down and grasped Lord Krishna's feet.
144. Sutas, Magadhas, Gandharvas, Vandis, jesters and
brahmanas all glorified the lotus-eyed Lord—some reciting prayers, some dancing
and singing—as mridangas, conchshells, kettledrums, vinas, panavas and gomukhas
resounded.
145. Thus surrounded by His well-wishing relatives and
praised on all sides, Lord Krishna, the crest jewel of the justly renowned,
entered the decorated city.
146. The roads of Indraprastha were sprinkled with water
perfumed by the liquid from elephants' temples, and colorful flags, golden
gateways and full water-pots enhanced the city's splendor. Men and young girls
were beautifully arrayed in fine, new garments, adorned with flower garlands
and ornaments, and anointed with aromatic sandalwood paste. Every home
displayed glowing lamps and respectful offerings, and from the holes of the
latticed windows drifted incense, further beautifying the city. Banners waved,
and the roofs were decorated with golden domes on broad silver bases. Thus Lord
Krishna saw the royal city of the King of the Kurus.
147. When the men and women of the city heard that Lord
Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure for human eyes, had arrived, they hurriedly
went onto the royal road to see Him. They abandoned their household and duties,
and in their eagerness the knots of their hair and garments came loose.
148. The royal road being quite crowded with elephants,
horses, chariots and foot soldiers, the people climbed to the top of their
houses, where they caught sight of Lord Krishna and His queens. The city
residents scattered flowers upon the Lord, embraced Him in their minds and
expressed their heartfelt welcome with broadly smiling glances.
149. Observing Lord Mukunda's wives passing on the road
like stars accompanying the moon, the women exclaimed, "What have these
ladies done so that the best of men bestows upon their eyes the joy of His
generous smiles and playful sidelong glances?"
150. In various places citizens of the city came forward
holding auspicious offerings for Lord Krishna, and sinless leaders of
occupational guilds came forward to worship the Lord.
151. With wide-open eyes, the members of the royal
household came forward in a flurry to lovingly greet Lord Mukunda, and thus the
Lord entered the royal palace.
152. When Queen Pritha saw her nephew Krishna, the master
of the three worlds, her heart became filled with love. Rising from her couch
with her daughter-in-law, Draupadi, she embraced the Lord.
153. King Yudhishthira respectfully brought Lord Govinda,
the Supreme God of gods, to his personal quarters. The King was so overcome
with joy that he could not remember all the rituals of worship.
154. Lord Krishna bowed down to His aunt and the wives of
His elders, O King, and then Draupadi and the Lord's sister bowed down to Him.
155. Encouraged by her mother-in-law, Draupadi worshiped
all of Lord Krishna's wives, including Rukmini; Satyabhama; Bhadra; Jambavati;
Kalindi; Mitravinda, the descendant of Sibi; the chaste Nagnajiti; and the
other queens of the Lord who were present. Draupadi honored them all with such
gifts as clothing, flower garlands and jewelry.
156. King Yudhishthira arranged for Krishna's rest and
saw to it that all who came along with Him—namely His queens, soldiers,
ministers and secretaries—were comfortably situated. He arranged that they
would experience a new feature of reception every day while staying as guests
of the Pandavas.
157. Desiring to please King Yudhishthira, the Lord
resided at Indraprastha for several months. During His stay, He and Arjuna
satisfied the fire-god by offering him the Khandava forest to devour, and they
saved Maya Danava, who was hiding in the forest, who then built King
Yudhishthira a celestial assembly hall. The Lord also took the opportunity to
go riding in His chariot in the company of Arjuna, surrounded by a retinue of
soldiers.
158. Maharaja Yudhisthira had to conquer all kings, bring
the earth under his control and collect all the required paraphernalia to
execute the great rajasuya sacrifice. When King Yudhishthira heard that
Jarasandha remained undefeated, he set to pondering, and then the primeval
Lord, Hari, told him the means Uddhava had described for defeating Jarasandha.
159. Thus Bhimasena, Arjuna and Krishna disguised
themselves as brahmanas and went to Girivraja where the son of Brihadratha was
to be found. Disguised as brahmanas, the royal warriors approached Jarasandha
at home during the appointed hour for receiving guests, at the time when King
Jarasandha was to give charity to the brahmanas. They submitted their entreaty
to that dutiful householder, who was especially respectful to the brahminical
class.
160. [Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima said:] “O King, know us
to be needy guests who have come to you from afar. We wish all good unto you.
Please grant us whatever we desire. What can the tolerant not bear? What will
the wicked not do? What will the generous not give in charity? And who will
those of equal vision see as an outsider?”
161. Jarasandha might be thinking, "What if you
request my son, from whom separation would be intolerable?"
To this possible objection Krishna and the Pandavas
reply, "For a tolerant person, nothing is intolerable."
Similarly, Jarasandha could object, "What if you ask
me to give my body or my precious jewels and other ornaments, which are meant
to be given to my sons, not to ordinary beggars?"
To this they reply, "For the generous, what is not
to be donated in charity?" In other words, everything is to be given.
Jarasandha might also object that he could be giving charity
to his enemies. To this his guests counter with the statement kah parah
sama-darsinam: "For those with equal vision, who is a stranger?”
162. “He indeed is to be censured and pitied who, though
able to do so, fails to achieve with his temporary body the lasting fame
glorified by great saints. Hariscandra, Rantideva, Unchavritti Mudgala, Sibi,
Bali, the legendary hunter and pigeon, and many others have attained the
permanent by means of the impermanent.”
163. Because Jarasandha was a materialist, they appealed
to his natural interest in the heavenly planets, where life lasts so long that
it appears permanent to people on earth.
164. To pay off
his debts to Visvamitra, Hariscandra sold everything he had, including his wife
and children. Yet even after attaining the status of a candala, he did not
become discouraged; thus he went to heaven, together with all the inhabitants
of Ayodhya.
165. Rantideva, after going without even water for
forty-eight days, somehow obtained some food and water, but then some beggars
came and he gave it all away to them. In this way he attained Brahmaloka.
166. Mudgala followed the practice of gathering grains
left behind in the fields after the harvest. Yet still he was hospitable toward
uninvited guests, even after his family had been suffering in poverty for six
months. Thus he also went to Brahmaloka.
167. To protect a
pigeon who had taken shelter of him, King Sibi gave his own flesh to a hawk and
attained heaven.
168. Bali Maharaja gave all his property to Lord Hari
when the Lord disguised Himself as a dwarf brahmana (Vamanadeva), and so Bali
gained the Lord's personal association.
169. The pigeon and his mate gave their own flesh to a
hunter as a show of hospitality, and thus they were taken to heaven in a
celestial airplane. When the hunter understood their situation in the mode of
goodness, he also became renounced, and thus he gave up hunting and went off to
perform severe austerities. Because he was freed of all sins, after his body
burned to death in a forest fire he was elevated to heaven.
170. Thus Sri Krishna and the Pandavas encouraged
Jarasandha to simply agree to grant their request without further discussion.
171. From the sound of their voices, their physical
stature and the marks of bowstrings on their forearms, Jarasandha could tell
that his guests were of the royal order. He began to think he had seen them
somewhere before.
172. Jarasandha had seen Lord Krishna, Bhimasena and
Arjuna at Draupadi's svayam-vara ceremony. Since they had come begging in the
guise of brahmanas, Jarasandha thought they must be low-class kshatriyas.
173. [Jarasandha thought:] These are surely members of
the royal order dressed as brahmanas, but still I must grant their request for
charity, even if they beg me for my own body. Indeed, the spotless glories of
Bali Maharaja are heard throughout the world. Lord Vishnu, wishing to recover
Indra's opulence from Bali, appeared before him in the guise of a brahmana and
made him fall from his powerful position. Though aware of the ruse and
forbidden by his guru, Bali, king of the demons, still gave Vishnu the whole
earth in charity. What is the use of an unqualified kshatriya who goes on
living but fails to gain everlasting glory by working with his perishable body
for the benefit of brahmanas?
174. Thus making up his mind, the generous Jarasandha,
even though fearful, addressed Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima: "O learned
brahmanas, choose whatever you wish. I will give it to you, even if it is my
own head.”
175. The Supreme Lord said: “O exalted King, give us
battle in the form of a duel, if you think it fitting. We are princes and have
come to beg a fight. We have no other request to make of you. Over there is
Bhima, son of Pritha, and this is his brother Arjuna. Know Me to be their
maternal cousin, Krishna, your enemy.”
176. Thus challenged, Magadharaja laughed out loud and
contemptuously said, "All right, you fools, I'll give you a fight!”
177. Jarasandha felt inner satisfaction because he
thought that his enemies had been humiliated by having to dress like brahmanas
to approach him. Jarasandha's mind was as follows: "O weak ones, forget
the botheration of fighting. Why not just accept my head? By dressing
yourselves as brahmanas begging charity, you have made your heroism set like
the sun, but if somehow you have not lost your courage, I will give you
battle.”
178. The goddess of learning intends the phrase amarshito
mandah to read amarshito 'mandah. In other words, Lord Krishna and the Pandavas
are amandah, "never foolish." And that is why they chose the best
tactic for doing away once and for all with the cruel Jarasandha.
179. “But I will not fight with You, Krishna, for You are
a coward, because You once fled the battlefield, Your strength abandoned You in
the midst of battle, and You fled Your own capital of Mathura to take shelter
in the sea. As for this one, Arjuna, he is not as old as I, nor is he very
strong. Since he is no match for me, he should not be the contender. Bhima,
however, is as strong as I am.”
180. Having said this, Jarasandha offered Bhimasena a
huge club, took up another himself and went outside the city.
181. The two heroes thus began battling each other on the
level fighting grounds outside the city. Maddened with the fury of combat, they
struck each other with their lightning-bolt-like clubs. As they skillfully
circled left and right, like actors dancing on a stage, the fight presented a
magnificent spectacle. Both fighters were fearless and steady even in the rage
of battle. When Jarasandha's and Bhimasena's clubs loudly collided, the sound
was like the impact of the big tusks of two fighting elephants, or the crash of
a thunderbolt in a flashing electrical storm. They swung their clubs at each
other with such speed and force that as the clubs struck their shoulders, hips,
feet, hands, thighs and collarbones, the weapons were crushed and broken like
branches of arka trees with which two enraged elephants furiously attack each
other. Their clubs thus ruined, those great heroes among men angrily pummeled
each other with their iron-hard fists. As they slapped each other, the sound
resembled the crash of elephants colliding or harsh thunderclaps. As they thus
fought, this contest between opponents of equal training, strength and stamina
reached no conclusion. And so they kept on fighting, without any letup.
182. At the end of each day's fighting, they lived at
night as friends in Jarasandha's palace, and the next day they fought again. In
this way they passed twenty-seven days in fighting. On the twenty-eighth day,
Bhimasena told Krishna: “My dear Krishna, I must frankly admit that I cannot
conquer Jarasandha.”
183. Lord Krishna knew the secret of His enemy Jarasandha's
birth and death, and also how he had been given life by the demoness Jara.
Considering all this, All-Knowing Lord Krishna imparted His special power to
Bhima.
184. Jarasandha was born in two different parts from two
different mothers. When his father saw that the baby was useless, he threw the
two parts in the forest, where they were later found by a black-hearted witch
named Jara. She managed to join the two parts of the baby from top to bottom.
Knowing this, Lord Krishna therefore also knew how to kill him.
185. Having determined how to kill the enemy, that Lord
of infallible vision made a sign to Bhima by tearing in half a small branch of
a tree.
186. Understanding this sign, mighty Bhima, the best of
fighters, seized his opponent by the feet and threw him to the ground. Bhima
pressed down on one leg with his foot while grabbing Jarasandha's other leg in
his hands, and just as a great elephant might break the branch of a tree, Bhima
tore Jarasandha apart from the anus upward.
187. The King's subjects then saw him lying in two
separate pieces, each with a single leg, thigh, testicle, hip, shoulder, arm,
eye, eyebrow and ear, and with half a back and chest. With the death of the
lord of Magadha, a great cry of lamentation arose, while Arjuna and Krishna congratulated
Bhima by embracing him.
188. The immeasurable Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
sustainer and benefactor of all living beings, coronated Jarasandha's son,
Sahadeva, as the new ruler of the Magadhas. The Lord then freed all the kings
Jarasandha had imprisoned.
189. Although Jarasandha was killed, neither Krishna nor
the two Pandava brothers made a claim to the throne. Their purpose in killing
Jarasandha was to stop him from creating a disturbance against the proper
discharge of world peace. A demon always creates disturbances, whereas a
demigod always tries to keep peace in the world. The mission of Lord Krishna is
to give protection to the righteous persons and to kill the demons who disturb
a peaceful situation. Therefore Lord Krishna immediately called for the son of
Jarasandha, whose name was Sahadeva, and with due ritualistic ceremonies He
asked him to occupy the seat of his father and reign over the kingdom
peacefully. Lord Krishna is the master of the whole cosmic creation, and He
wants everyone to live peacefully and execute Krishna consciousness. After
installing Sahadeva on the throne, He released all the kings and princes who
had been imprisoned unnecessarily by Jarasandha.
190. Jarasandha had defeated 20,800 kings in combat and
thrown them into prison. As these kings emerged from the Giridroni fortress,
they appeared dirty and shabbily dressed. They were emaciated by hunger, their
faces were dried up, and they were greatly weakened by their long imprisonment.
191. The kings then beheld the Lord before them.
192. His complexion was dark blue like the color of a
cloud, and He wore a yellow silk garment. He was distinguished by the Srivatsa
mark on His chest, His four mighty arms, the pinkish hue of His eyes, which
resembled the whorl of a lotus, His lovely, cheerful face, His gleaming makara
earrings and the lotus, club, conchshell and disc in His hands. A helmet, a
jeweled necklace, a golden belt, and golden bracelets and armlets decorated His
form, and on His neck He wore both the brilliant, precious Kaustubha gem and a
garland of forest flowers.
193. The kings seemed to drink His beauty with their
eyes, lick Him with their tongues, relish His fragrance with their nostrils and
embrace Him with their arms. Their past sins now eradicated, the kings all
bowed down to Lord Hari, placing their heads at His feet.
194. The ecstasy of beholding Lord Krishna having
dispelled the weariness of their imprisonment, the kings stood with joined
palms and offered words of praise to that supreme master of the senses.
195. The kings said: “Obeisances to You, O Lord of the
ruling demigods, O destroyer of Your surrendered devotees' distress. Since we
have surrendered to You, O inexhaustible Krishna, please save us from this
terrible material life, which has made us so despondent. O master, Madhusudana,
we do not blame this King of Magadha, since it is actually by Your mercy that
kings fall from their royal position, O almighty Lord.”
196. Upon seeing Lord Krishna and thus becoming purified
of their sins, the kings did not feel any mundane hatred or bitterness toward
Jarasandha, who had imprisoned them. Simply by seeing Lord Krishna, the kings
came to the position of Krishna consciousness.
197. Continued: “Infatuated with his opulence and ruling
power, a king loses all self-restraint and cannot obtain his true welfare. Thus
bewildered by Your illusory energy, he imagines his temporary assets to be
permanent. Just as men of childish intelligence consider a mirage in the desert
to be a pond of water, so those who are irrational look upon the illusory
transformations of Maya as substantial. Previously, blinded by the intoxication
of riches, we wanted to conquer this earth, and thus we fought one another to
achieve victory, mercilessly harassing our own subjects. We arrogantly
disregarded You, O Lord, who stood before us as death. But now, O Krishna, that
powerful form of Yours called time, moving mysteriously and irresistibly, has
deprived us of our opulences. Now that You have mercifully destroyed our pride,
we beg simply to remember Your lotus feet. Never again will we hanker for a miragelike
kingdom—a kingdom that must be slavishly served by this mortal body, which is
simply a source of disease and suffering and which is declining at every
moment. Nor, O almighty Lord, will we hanker to enjoy the heavenly fruits of
pious work in the next life, since the promise of such rewards is simply an
empty enticement for the ears, for another phantasmagoria. Please tell us how
we may constantly remember Your lotus feet, though we continue in the cycle of
birth and death in this world.”
198. The kings were approaching Lord Krishna not merely
for liberation but rather for the boon of always being able to remember His
lotus feet. Such constant remembrance is a symptom of love, and love of Godhead
is the actual goal of life.
199. “Again and again we offer our obeisances unto Lord
Krishna, Hari, the son of Vasudeva. That Supreme Soul, Govinda, vanquishes the
suffering of all who surrender to Him.”
200. Thus the kings, now freed from bondage, glorified
the Supreme Lord. Then, that merciful bestower of shelter spoke to them in a
gentle voice.
201. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: “From now
on, my dear kings, you will have firm devotion to Me, the Supreme Self and the
Lord of all that be. Human beings' lack of self-restraint, which arises from
their intoxication with opulence and power, simply leads to madness. Haihaya,
Nahusha, Vena, Ravana, Naraka and many other rulers of demigods, men and demons
fell from their elevated positions because of infatuation with material
opulence.”
202. Haihaya stole the desire cow of Lord Parasurama's
father, Jamadagni, and thus Parasurama killed him and his impudent sons.
203. Nahusha became puffed up when he temporarily assumed
the post of Indra. When out of pride Nahusha ordered some brahmanas to carry
him in a palanquin to an illicit meeting with Lord Indra's chaste wife, Saci,
the brahmanas made him fall down from his position and become a snake.
204. King Vena was similarly mad, and when he insulted
the brahmanas they killed him by loud incantations of the syllable hum.
205. Ravana was a famous ruler of the Rakshasas, but out
of lust he kidnapped Goddess Sita, and thus her husband, Lord Ramacandra,
killed him.
206. Naraka was a ruler of the Daityas who dared to steal
the mother of the demigods, Aditi's earrings, and for his offense he was also
killed.
207. “Understanding that this material body and
everything connected with it have a beginning and an end, worship Me by Vedic
sacrifices, and with clear intelligence protect your subjects in accordance
with the principles of religion. As you live your lives, begetting generations
of progeny and encountering happiness and distress, birth and death, always
keep your minds fixed on Me. Be detached from the body and everything connected
to it. Remaining self-satisfied, steadfastly keep your vows while concentrating
your minds fully on Me. In this way you will ultimately attain Me, the Supreme
Absolute Truth.”
208. Having thus instructed the kings, Lord Krishna, the
supreme master of all the worlds, engaged male and female servants in bathing
and grooming them. The Lord then had King Sahadeva honor them with offerings of
clothing, jewelry, garlands and sandalwood paste, all suitable for royalty.
After they had been properly bathed and adorned, Lord Krishna saw to it that
they dined on excellent food. He also presented them with various items
befitting the pleasure of kings, such as betel nut. Honored by Lord Mukunda and
freed from tribulation, the kings shone splendidly, their earrings gleaming,
just as the moon and other celestial bodies shine brilliantly in the sky at the
end of the rainy season. Then the Lord arranged for the kings to be seated on
chariots drawn by fine horses and adorned with jewels and gold, and pleasing
them with gracious words, He sent them off to their own kingdoms. Thus
liberated from all difficulty by Krishna, the greatest of personalities, the
kings departed, and as they went they thought only of Him, the Lord of the
universe, and of His wonderful deeds. The kings told their ministers and other
associates what the Personality of Godhead had done, and then they diligently
carried out the orders He had imparted to them.
209. Having arranged for Bhimasena to kill Jarasandha,
Lord Kesava accepted worship from King Sahadeva and then departed with the two
sons of Pritha.
210. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the rajasuya sacrifice
1. The Emperor of the earth, Yudhishthira desired to
worship Krishna’s auspicious, opulent expansions by the Rajasuya sacrifice, the
king of Vedic ceremonies. This sacrifice is to be performed by the emperor. All
the kings and princes of the world are invited in that yajna and they are to
select him as the emperor. Maharaja Yudhisthira porposed Krishna as the
president of that assembly.
2. He told Krishna: “We have nothing to ask from the
demigods. We are personally fully satisfied to be Your devotees. Persons
bewildered by material desires worship the demigods. But my purpose is
different. I want to perform this Rajasuya sacrifice and invite the demigods to
show that they have no power independent of You—that they are all Your servants
and You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Foolish persons with a poor
fund of knowledge consider Your Lordship an ordinary human being. Sometimes
they try to find fault in You, and sometimes they defame You. Therefore I wish
to perform this Rajasuya-yajna. I wish to invite all the demigods, beginning
from Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and other exalted chiefs of the heavenly planets,
and in that great assembly of demigods from all parts of the universe, I want
to substantiate that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that
everyone is Your servant. Purified persons who constantly serve, meditate upon
and glorify Your shoes, which destroy everything inauspicious, are sure to
obtain freedom from material existence, O lotus-naveled one. Even if they
desire something in this world, they obtain it, whereas others—those who do not
take shelter of You— are never satisfied, O Lord. Krishna conscious persons do
not even desire to become freed from this material existence or to enjoy
material opulences; their desires are fulfilled by Krishna conscious
activities. As far as we [King Yudhishthira] are concerned, we are fully
surrendered unto Your lotus feet, and by Your grace we are so fortunate to see
You personally. Therefore, naturally we have no desire for material opulences.
The verdict of the Vedic wisdom is that You are the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. I want to establish this fact, and I also want to show the world the
difference between accepting You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and
accepting You as an ordinary powerful historical person. I wish to show the
world that one can attain the highest perfection of life simply by taking
shelter at Your lotus feet, exactly as one can satisfy the branches, twigs,
leaves and flowers of an entire tree simply by watering the root. Thus, if one
takes to Krishna consciousness, his life becomes fulfilled both materially and
spiritually.”
3. In this traditional sacrificial ritual one must call
Brahma, Siva and other demigods, the wise renunciants and other empowered
beings residing in each of the fourteen planetary systems. When such an exalted
congregation has assembled it will be incumbent upon them to arrange the
agra-puja the first worship for the most worthy person present– Krishna.
4. Krishna said:”First conquer all kings, bring the earth
under your control and collect all the required paraphernalia; then execute
this great sacrifice.” By addressing King Yudhishthira as satru-karsana,
"tormentor of enemies," Lord Krishna is imparting. to him the potency
to conquer all the enemy kings.
5. Upon hearing these words sung by the Supreme Lord,
King Yudhishthira became joyful, and his face blossomed like a lotus. Thus he
sent forth his brothers, who were empowered with Lord Vishnu's potency, to
conquer all directions. He sent Sahadeva to the south with the Srinjayas,
Nakula to the west with the Matsyas, Arjuna to the north with the Kekayas, and
Bhima to the east with the Madrakas. After defeating– or winning the fealty
(=loyalty) of – the kings, with their prowess, these heroic brothers brought
back abundant wealth for Yudhishthira Maharaja, who was intent on performing
the sacrifice, O King. By dispatching his younger brothers to conquer in
different directions, King Yudhishthira did not actually intend that they
declare war with the kings. The brothers started for different directions to
inform the respective kings about King Yudhishthira's intention to perform the
Rajasuya sacrifice. The kings were thus informed that they were required to pay
taxes for the execution of the sacrifice. This payment of taxes to Emperor
Yudhishthira meant that the king accepted his subjugation before him. In case
of a king's refusal to act accordingly, there was certainly a fight. Thus by
their influence and strength, the brothers conquered all the kings in different
directions, and they were able to bring in sufficient taxes and presentations.
These were brought before King Yudhishthira by his brothers.
6. Having thus heard of the killing of Jarasandha, and
also of almighty Krishna's wonderful power, King Yudhishthira addressed the
Lord as follows with great pleasure:
7. “All the exalted spiritual masters of the three
worlds, together with the inhabitants and rulers of the various planets, carry
on their heads Your command, which is rarely obtained.
8. That You, the lotus-eyed Supreme Lord, accept the
orders of wretched fools who presume themselves rulers is a great pretense on
Your part, O all-pervading one.
9. But of course the power of the Absolute Truth, the
Supreme Soul, the primeval one without a second, is neither increased nor
diminished by His activities, any more than the sun's power is by its
movements.
10. O unconquerable Madhava, even Your devotees make no
distinctions of "I" and "mine," "you" and
"yours," for this is the perverted mentality of animals.”
11. An ordinary
person thinks, "I am so attractive, intelligent and wealthy that people
should simply serve me and do what I want. Why should I obey anyone else?"
This proud, separatist mentality is also found in animals who battle one
another for supremacy.
12. Having said this, King Yudhishthira waited until the
proper time-the spring- for the sacrifice was at hand. Then with Lord Krishna's
permission he selected suitable priests, all expert authorities on the Vedas,
to execute the sacrifice.
13. He selected Krishna-dvaipayana, Bharadvaja, Sumantu,
Gotama and Asita, along with Vasishtha, Cyavana, Kanva, Maitreya, Kavasha and
Trita. He also selected Visvamitra, Vamadeva, Sumati, Jaimini, Kratu, Paila and
Parasara, as well as Garga, Vaisampayana, Atharva, Kasyapa, Dhaumya, Rama of
the Bhargavas, Asuri, Vitihotra, Madhucchanda, Virasena and Akritavrana.
14. O King, others who were invited included Drona,
Bhishma, Kripa, Dhritarashtra with his sons, the wise Vidura, and many other
brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaisyas and sudras, all eager to witness the sacrifice.
Indeed, all the kings came there with their entourages.
15. The brahmana priests then plowed the sacrificial
ground with golden plowshares and initiated King Yudhishthira for the sacrifice
in accordance with the traditions set down by standard authorities.
16. The utensils used in the sacrifice were made of gold,
just as in the ancient Rajasuya performed by Lord Varuna. Indra, Brahma, Siva
and many other planetary rulers; the Siddhas and Gandharvas with their
entourage; the Vidyadharas; great serpents; sages; Yakshas; Rakshasas;
celestial birds; Kinnaras; Caranas; and earthly kings—all were invited, and
indeed they all came from every direction to the Rajasuya sacrifice of King
Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu. They were not in the least astonished to see
the opulence of the sacrifice, since it was quite appropriate for a devotee of
Lord Krishna.
17. The priests, as powerful as gods, performed the
Rajasuya sacrifice for King Yudhishthira in accordance with the Vedic
injunctions, just as the demigods had previously performed it for Varuna.
18. On the day of extracting the soma juice, King
Yudhishthira properly and very attentively worshiped the priests and the most
exalted personalities of the assembly.
19. According to the Vedic system, whenever there is an
arrangement for sacrifice, the members participating are offered the juice of
the soma plant, which is a kind of life-giving beverage. On the day for
extracting the soma juice, King Yudhishthira very respectfully received the
special priest who had been engaged to detect any mistake in the formalities of
the sacrificial procedure. The idea is that the Vedic mantras must be
enunciated perfectly and chanted with the proper accent; if the priests who are
engaged in this business commit any mistake, the checker, or referee priest,
immediately corrects the procedure, and thus the ritualistic performances are
perfectly executed. Unless perfectly executed, a sacrifice cannot yield the
desired result. In this Age of Kali there is no such learned brahmana or priest
available; therefore, all such sacrifices are forbidden. The only sacrifice
recommended in the sastras is the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.
20. King Yudhishthira did not force his relatives to
accept different tasks at the sacrifice. Rather, out of their love for him they
volunteered for such duties. Bhima supervised the kitchen, Duryodhana looked
after the treasury, while Sahadeva respectfully greeted the arriving guests.
Nakula procured needed items, Arjuna attended the respectable elders, and
Krishna washed everyone's feet, while Draupadi served food, and generous Karna
gave out the gifts. Many others, such as Yuyudhana; Vikarna, Hardikya; Vidura;
Bhurisrava and other sons of Bahlika; and Santardana, similarly volunteered for
various duties during the elaborate sacrifice. They did so because of their
eagerness to please Maharaja Yudhishthira.
21. The members of the assembly then pondered over who
among them should be worshiped first, but since there were many personalities
qualified for this honor, they were unable to decide. Another important
procedure is that the most exalted personality in the assembly of such a
sacrificial ceremony is first offered worship. This particular ceremony is
called agra-puja. Agra means 'first' and puja means 'worship.' This agra-puja
is similar to the election of a president. In the sacrificial assembly, all the
members were very exalted. Some proposed to elect one person as the perfect
candidate for accepting agra-puja, and others proposed someone else. Many of
the brahmanas present were not fully realized transcendentalists but rather
conventional brahmanas uncertain of the supreme conclusion of Vedic wisdom. The
undecided members of the assembly were the less intelligent ones, and not such
exalted personalities as Brahma, Siva and Dvaipayana Vyasadeva, who thought,
"Since today no one is asking our opinion, why should we say anything?
Furthermore, here is Sahadeva, who is renowned for his sharp skill in analyzing
all sorts of circumstances. He can help appoint the person who is to be
worshiped first. Only if he somehow fails to speak or cannot understand the
situation will we speak up, despite no one's having inquired from us. Finally
Sahadeva spoke up.
22. “Certainly it is Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead and chief of the Yadavas, who deserves the highest position. In truth,
He Himself comprises all the demigods worshiped in sacrifice, along with such
aspects of the worship as the sacred place, the time and the paraphernalia.
23. This entire universe is founded upon Him, as are the
great sacrificial performances, with their sacred fires, oblations and mantras.
Sankhya and yoga both aim toward Him, the one without a second. O assembly
members, that unborn Lord, relying solely on Himself, creates, maintains and
destroys this cosmos by His personal energies, and thus the existence of this
universe depends on Him alone.
24. He creates the many activities of this world, and
thus by His grace the whole world endeavors for the ideals of religiosity,
economic development, sense gratification and liberation.
25. Therefore we should give the highest honor to
Krishna, the Supreme Lord. If we do so, we will be honoring all living beings
and also our own selves.
26. Anyone who wishes the honor he gives to be
reciprocated infinitely should honor Krishna, the perfectly peaceful and
perfectly complete Soul of all beings, the Supreme Lord, who views nothing as
separate from Himself. It is superfluous to speak about Krishna, because every
one of you exalted personalities knows the Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna, for
whom there are no material differences between body and soul, between energy
and the energetic, or between one part of the body and another. Since everyone
is part and parcel of Krishna, there is no qualitative difference between
Krishna and all living entities. Everything is an emanation of Krishna's
energies, the material and spiritual energies. Krishna's energies are like the
heat and light of the fire; there is no difference between the quality of heat
and light and the fire itself.... He should therefore be offered the first
worship of this great sacrifice, and no one should disagree. Krishna is present
as the Supersoul in every living being, and if we can satisfy Him, then automatically
every living being becomes satisfied.”
27. Having said this, Sahadeva, who understood Lord
Krishna's powers, fell silent. And having heard his words, all the saintly
persons present congratulated him, exclaiming "Excellent! Excellent!”
28. The King was delighted to hear this pronouncement of
the brahmanas, from which he understood the mood of the entire assembly.
Overwhelmed with love, he fully worshiped Lord Krishna, the master of the
senses.
29. After bathing Lord Krishna's feet, Maharaja Yudhishthira
joyfully sprinkled the water upon his own head, and then upon the heads of his
wife, brothers, other family members and ministers. That water purifies the
whole world. As he honored the Lord with presentations of yellow silken
garments and precious jeweled ornaments, the King's tear-filled eyes prevented
him from looking directly at the Lord.
30. When they saw Lord Krishna thus honored, nearly all
who were present joined their palms reverentially, exclaiming "Obeisances
to You! All victory to You!" and then bowed down to Him. Flowers rained
down from above.
31. The intolerant son of Damaghosha became infuriated
upon hearing the glorification of Lord Krishna's transcendental qualities. He
stood up from his seat and, angrily waving his arms, fearlessly spoke to the
entire assembly the following harsh words against the Supreme Lord.
32. In that meeting, King Sisupala was also present. He
was an avowed enemy of Krishna for many reasons, especially because of
Krishna's having stolen Rukmini from the marriage ceremony; therefore, he could
not tolerate such honor to Krishna and glorification of His qualities. Instead
of being happy to hear the glories of the Lord, he became very angry.
33. The reason Sisupala did not object when Sahadeva
proposed Krishna for the agra-puja is that Sisupala wanted to ruin King
Yudhishthira's sacrifice. If Sisupala had argued earlier against Lord Krishna's
receiving the first worship and another person had been selected, the sacrifice
would have then proceeded normally. Therefore Sisupala allowed Krishna to be
selected, waited until the worship was over, and then spoke up, hoping in this
way to demonstrate that the sacrifice was now spoiled. Thus he would ruin the
endeavor of Maharaja Yudhishthira. In the place where those who are not to be
worshiped are worshiped, there is offense to those who are actually
worshipable. Improperly understanding who is to be worshiped and who is not to
be worshiped will impede one's progress in life.
34. [Sisupala said:] “The statement of the Vedas that
time is the unavoidable controller of all has indeed been proven true, since
the intelligence of wise elders has now become diverted by the words of a mere
boy. O leaders of the assembly, you know best who is a fit candidate for being
honored. Therefore you should not heed the words of a child when he claims that
Krishna deserves to be worshiped.
35. How can you pass over the most exalted members of
this assembly—topmost sages dedicated to the Absolute Truth endowed with powers
of austerity, divine insight and strict adherence to severe vows, sanctified by
knowledge and worshiped even by the rulers of the universe? How does this
cowherd boy, the disgrace of His family, deserve your worship, any more than a
crow deserves to eat the sacred purodasa rice cake?”
36. The term go-pala means not only "cowherd"
but also "protector of the Vedas and the earth. kula-pamsana has a double
meaning. Sisupala intended it to mean "the disgrace of His family,"
which is its meaning when divided as above. But the word may also be analyzed
as ku-lapam amsana, giving a totally different meaning. Kulapam indicates those
who prattle with crooked words contrary to the Vedas, and amsana, derived from
the verb amsayati, means "destroyer." In other words, he was praising
Lord Krishna as "He who vanquishes all misguided and frivolous
speculations about the nature of truth." Sisupala wanted to compare Lord
Krishna to a crow with the words yatha kakah, these words may also be divided
yatha a-kakah. In that case, the word kaka is a combination of ka and aka,
which indicate material happiness and misery. Thus Lord Krishna is akaka in the
sense that He is beyond all material misery and happiness, being on the pure,
transcendental platform. Sisupala was right in saying the Lord Krishna does not
deserve merely the purodasa rice cake, offered to the lesser demigods as a
substitute for the heavenly beverage soma. In fact, Lord Krishna deserves to
receive everything that we possess, since He is the ultimate proprietor of
everything, including ourselves. Thus we should give Lord Krishna our life and
soul, not merely a ritualistic offering of rice cakes.
37. “How does one who follows no principles of the social
and spiritual orders or of family ethics, who has been excluded from all
religious duties, who behaves whimsically, and who has no good qualities—how
does such a person deserve to be worshiped?”
38. Actually, Krishna does not belong to any caste, nor
does He have to perform any occupational duty. It is stated in the Vedas that
the Supreme Lord has nothing to do as His prescribed duty. Whatever has to be
done on His behalf is executed by His different energies. Sisupala indirectly
praised Krishna by saying that He is not within the jurisdiction of Vedic
injunction. This is true because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That
He has no qualities means that Krishna has no material qualities, and because
He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He acts independently, not caring for
conventions or social or religious principles.
39. “Yayati cursed the dynasty of these Yadavas, and ever
since then they have been ostracized by honest men and addicted to liquor. How,
then, does Krishna deserve to be worshiped?”
40. The inner meaning of the words of Sisupala show how
he continued unintentionally glorifying Lord Krishna and His Yadu dynasty:
"Even though the Yadus were cursed by Yayati, they have been relieved
[bahish-kritam] of this curse by great saints, and consequently they have been
raised to a position of royal sovereignty by such persons as Kartavirya. Thus
they have become absorbed in pana, protecting the earth. Considering all this,
how does Krishna, the chief of the Yadus, deserve useless [vritha] worship?
Rather, He deserves opulent worship.”
41. “These Yadavas have abandoned the holy lands
inhabited by saintly sages-Mathura- and have instead taken shelter of a
fortress in the sea, a place where no brahminical principles are observed.
There, just like thieves, they harass their subjects.”
42. Sisupala went crazy because of Krishna's being
elected the supreme, first worshiped person in that meeting, and he spoke so
irresponsibly that it appeared that he had lost all his good fortune.
43. The Supreme Lord said nothing, just as a lion ignores
a jackal's cry.
44. Upon hearing such intolerable blasphemy of the Lord,
several members of the assembly covered their ears and walked out, angrily
cursing the King of Cedi.
45. Anyone who fails to immediately leave the place where
he hears criticism of the Supreme Lord or His faithful devotee will certainly
fall down, bereft of his pious credit.
46. Then the sons of Pandu became furious, and together
with the warriors of the Matsya, Kaikaya and Srinjaya clans, they rose up from
their seats with weapons poised, ready to kill Sisupala.
47. Undaunted, Sisupala then took up his sword and shield
in the midst of all the assembled kings, O Bharata, and hurled insults at those
who sided with Lord Krishna.
48. At that point the Supreme Lord stood up and checked
His devotees. He then angrily sent forth His razor-sharp, remote operated,
sharp-edged flying and turning disc and severed the head of His enemy as he was
attacking.
Sisupala was a mighty demoniac king, unconquerable by
humans and demigods. Krishna tolerated 99 insults and offenses to Himself. Then
Krishna beheaded him with His Sudarshana cakra.
49. If Lord Krishna had done nothing, there probably
would have been a savage fight on the sacrificial grounds, and thus the whole
ceremony would have been drenched in blood, spoiling the sanctified atmosphere.
Therefore, in order to protect the Rajasuya sacrifice of Krishna's beloved
devotee Yudhishthira, the Lord immediately severed Sisupala's head with His
razor-sharp disc in such a way that not a drop of blood fell within the
sacrificial grounds.
50. When Sisupala was thus killed, a great roar and howl
went up from the crowd. Taking advantage of that disturbance, the few kings who
were supporters of Sisupala quickly left the assembly out of fear for their
lives.
51. An effulgent light rose from Sisupala's body and, as
everyone watched, entered Lord Krishna just like a meteor falling from the sky
to the earth.
52. Sisupala is actually one of the Lord's eternal
associates playing the part of a belligerent demon. Thus to most observers it
appeared that Sisupala achieved the impersonal liberation of merging into Lord
Krishna's bodily effulgence. In fact, after being liberated from his mortal
frame, Sisupala returned to the side of his master, the Supreme Lord of the
spiritual world.
53. Obsessed with hatred of Lord Krishna throughout three
lifetimes, Sisupala attained the Lord's transcendental nature. Indeed, one's
consciousness determines one's future birth.
54. Sisupala and his friend Dantavakra were previously
Jaya and Vijaya, two gatekeepers in Vaikuntha. Because of an offense, the four
Kumaras cursed them to take three births in the material world as demons. The
first birth was as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu, the second as Ravana and Kumbhakarna,
and the third as Sisupala and Dantavakra. In each birth they were completely
absorbed in enmity toward the Lord and were slain by Him.
55. Although Sisupala acted as the enemy of Krishna, he
was not for a single moment out of Krishna consciousness. He was always
absorbed in thought of Krishna, and thus he got first the salvation of
sayujya-mukti, merging into the existence of the Supreme, and finally became
reinstated in his original position of personal service. One who is absorbed in
the thought of the Supreme Lord at the time of death immediately enters the
kingdom of God after quitting his material body.
56. Thus Sri Krishna, the Lord of all masters of mystic
yoga, saw to the successful execution of this great sacrifice on behalf of King
Yudhishthira.
57. Emperor Yudhishthira gave generous gifts to the
sacrificial priests and the members of the assembly, properly honored them with
pleasing words, auspicious offerings and various gifts-including valuable
jewelry- as remuneration all in the manner prescribed by the Vedas. He then
took the avabhritha bath in the divine river Yamuna. This bath marks the end of
the sponsor's period of initiation for the sacrifice
58. During the avabhritha celebration, the music of many
kinds of instruments resounded, including mridangas, conchshells, panavas,
dhundhuris, kettledrums and gomukha horns. Female dancers danced with great
joy, and choruses sang, while the loud vibrations of vinas, flutes and hand
cymbals reached all the way to the heavenly regions.
59. The massed armies of the Yadus, Srinjayas, Kambojas,
Kurus, Kekayas and Kosalas made the earth tremble as they followed Yudhishthira
Maharaja, the performer of the sacrifice, in procession.
60. The assembly officials, the priests and other
excellent brahmanas resoundingly vibrated Vedic mantras, while the demigods,
divine sages, Pitas and Gandharvas sang praises and rained down flowers.
61. Before the final bathing, there was much sporting;
men and women, all adorned with sandalwood paste, flower garlands, jewelry and
fine clothing, sported by smearing and sprinkling one another with various
liquids.
62. The men smeared the courtesans-vara-yoshitah- with
plentiful oil, yogurt, perfumed water, turmeric and kunkuma powder, and the
courtesans playfully smeared the men with the same substances.
63. Surrounded by guards, King Yudhishthira's queens came
out on their chariots to see the fun, just as the demigods' wives appeared in
the sky in celestial airplanes. As maternal cousins and intimate friends
sprinkled the queens with liquids, the ladies' faces bloomed with shy smiles,
enhancing the queens' splendid beauty.
64. The maternal cousins referred to here are Lord
Krishna and such brothers of His as Gada and Sarana, and the friends mentioned
are such persons as Bhima and Arjuna.
65. As the queens squirted water from syringes at their
brothers-in-law and other male companions, their own garments became drenched,
revealing their arms, breasts, thighs and waists. In their excitement, the
flowers fell from their loosened braids. By these charming pastimes they
agitated those with contaminated consciousness. Such behavior between pure
males and females is enjoyable, but it makes persons who are materially
contaminated become lustful.
66. The emperor, mounted upon his chariot drawn by
excellent horses wearing golden collars, appeared splendid in the company of
his wives, just like the brilliant Rajasuya sacrifice surrounded by its various
rituals.
67. King Yudhishthira with his queens appeared like the
personified Rajasuya sacrifice surrounded by its beautiful rituals.
68. The priests led the King through the execution of the
final rituals of patni-samyaja and avabhrithya. Then they had him and Queen
Draupadi sip water for purification and bathe in the Ganges.
69. The kettledrums of the gods resounded, along with
those of human beings. Demigods, sages, forefathers and humans all poured down
showers of flowers.
70. All the citizens belonging to the various orders of
varna and asrama then bathed in that place, where even the most grievous sinner
can immediately be freed from all sinful reactions.
71. Next the King put on new silken garments and adorned
himself with fine jewelry. He then honored the priests, assembly officials,
learned brahmanas and other guests by presenting them with ornaments and
clothing.
72. In various ways King Yudhishthira, who had totally
dedicated his life to Lord Narayana, continuously honored his relatives, his
immediate family, the other kings, his friends and well-wishers, and all others
present as well.
73. All the men there shone like demigods. They were
adorned with jeweled earrings, flower garlands, turbans, waistcoats, silk
dhotis and valuable pearl necklaces. The lovely faces of the women were
beautified by their matched earrings and locks of hair, and they all wore
golden belts.
74. Then the highly cultured priests, the great Vedic
authorities who had served as sacrificial witnesses, the specially invited
kings, the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaisyas, sudras, demigods, sages, forefathers
and mystic spirits, and the chief planetary rulers and their followers—all of
them, having been worshiped by King Yudhishthira, took his permission and
departed, O King, each for his own abode.
75. As they all glorified the wonderful Rajasuya-yajna
performed by that great saintly King and servant of Lord Hari, they were not
satiated, just as an ordinary man is never satiated when drinking nectar.
76. At that time Raja Yudhishthira stopped a number of
his friends, immediate family members and other relatives from departing, among
them Lord Krishna. Out of love Yudhishthira could not let them go, for he felt
the pain of imminent separation.
77. The Supreme Lord remained there for some time to
please the King, after first sending Samba and the other Yadu heroes back to
Dvaraka.
78. Thus King Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, was at
last relieved of his burning ambition, having by the grace of Lord Krishna
successfully crossed the vast and formidable ocean of his desires.
79. They had
elected Krishna as the most glorious of all personalities. Everyone was
directly shown that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this
Rajasuya, lord Siva a.o. demigods and the sages of the universe glorified Him
with prayers. Krishna was crowned the emperor of all kings and demigods.
80. Afterwards, the Lord stayed with His intimate friends
for a few months at their earnest request.
81. Then the Lord, the son of Devaki, took the reluctant
permission of the King and returned to His capital with His wives and ministers.
82. Purified in the final, avabhrithya ritual, which
marked the successful completion of the Rajasuya sacrifice, King Yudhishthira
shone among the assembled brahmanas and kshatriyas like the King of the
demigods himself.
83. The demigods, humans and residents of intermediate
heavens-pramathas, mystic yogis who accompany Lord Siva– , all properly honored
by the King, happily set off for their respective domains while singing the
praises of Lord Krishna and the great sacrifice.
84. They elected Krishna as the most glorious of all
personalities. Thus everyone was directly shown that Sri Krishna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. In this Rajasuya, lord Siva a.o. demigods and the sages
of the universe glorified Him with prayers, the kings performed a ritual
bathing ceremony with glistening water-pots. Krishna was crowned the emperor of
all kings and demigods.
85. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the delivering of Salva
1. Now another wondrous deed performed by Lord Krishna,
who appeared in His humanlike body to enjoy transcendental pastimes. Hear how
He killed the master of Saubha.
2. Salva was a friend of Sisupala's. When he attended the
wedding of Rukmini, the Yadu warriors defeated him in battle, along with
Jarasandha and the other kings.
3. Salva swore in the presence of all the kings: "I
will rid the earth of Yadavas. Just see my prowess!"
4. Having thus made his vow, the foolish King proceeded
to worship Lord Pasupati [Siva] as his deity by eating a handful of dust each
day and nothing more.
5. The great Lord Umapati is known as "he who is
quickly pleased," yet only at the end of a year did he gratify Salva, who
had approached him for shelter, by offering him a choice of benedictions.
6. Because, being bhagavan, a great, all-knowing
personality, he understood that any benediction given to Lord Krishna's enemy
would be fruitless. Still, as stated by the words saranam agatam, Salva had
come to Lord Siva for shelter, and thus to maintain the standard principle that
a worshiper receives a benediction, Lord Siva offered one to Salva.
7. Salva chose a vehicle that could be destroyed by
neither demigods, demons, humans, Gandharvas, Uragas nor Rakshasas, that could
travel anywhere he wished to go, and that would terrify the Vrishnis.
8. Lord Siva said, "So be it." On his order,
Maya Danava, who conquers his enemies' cities, constructed a flying iron city
named Saubha and presented it to Salva.
9. Salva had an aircraft resembling the present day UFO's
(unidentified flying objects) or flying saucers. This unassailable
(durasadam—unapproachable to others) vehicle was shrouded in darkness (tamah—of
darkness; dhama—abode) (remained unnoticed by others because wherever it moved,
it was creating darkness of illusion) and could go anywhere (kama-gam—moving at
his will). Upon obtaining it, Salva went to Dvaraka, remembering the Vrishnis'
enmity toward him.
10. Salva besieged the city with a large army, O best of
the Bharatas, decimating the outlying parks and gardens, the mansions along
with their observatories, towering gateways and surrounding walls, and also the
public recreational areas. From his excellent airship he threw down a torrent
of weapons, including stones, boulders, tree trunks, thunderbolts, snakes and
hailstones. A fierce whirlwind arose and blanketed all directions with dust.
11. Thus terribly tormented by the airship Saubha, Lord
Krishna's city had no peace, O King, just like the earth when it was attacked
by the three aerial cities of the demons– tripurasura.
12. Seeing His subjects so harassed, the glorious and
heroic Lord Pradyumna told them, "Do not fear," and mounted His
chariot.
13. The chief commanders of the chariot warriors—Satyaki,
Carudeshna, Samba, Akrura and his younger brothers, along with Hardikya,
Bhanuvinda, Gada, Suka and Sarana—went out of the city with many other eminent
bowmen, all girded in armor and protected by contingents of soldiers riding on
chariots, elephants and horses, and also by companies of infantry.
14. A tumultuous, hair-raising battle then commenced
between Salva's forces and the Yadus. It equaled the great battles between the
demons and demigods.
15. With His divine weapons Pradyumna instantly destroyed
all of Salva's magic illusions, in the same way that the warm rays of the sun
dissipate the darkness of night. He also bewildered Salva himself. Thus Salva's
airplane began wandering aimlessly on the earth, in the sky and on the tops of
mountains.
16. Lord Pradyumna's arrows all had gold shafts, iron
heads and perfectly smooth joints. With twenty-five of them He struck down
Salva's commander-in-chief [Dyuman], and with one hundred He struck Salva
himself. Then He pierced Salva's officers with one arrow each, his chariot
drivers with ten arrows each, and his horses and other carriers with three
arrows each.
17. When they saw the glorious Pradyumna perform that
amazing and mighty feat, all the soldiers on both sides praised Him.
18. At one moment the magic airship built by Maya Danava
appeared in many identical forms, many airplanes would appear to be in the sky,
and the next moment it was again only one. Sometimes it was visible, and
sometimes not. Thus Salva's opponents could never be sure where it was.
19. From one moment to the next the Saubha airship
appeared on the earth, in the sky, on a mountain peak or in the water. Like a
whirling, flaming baton (fire brand or – stick), it never remained in any one
place. Sometimes the airplane was visible on the ground, sometimes flying in
the sky or resting on the peak of a hill or floating on the water.
20. Wherever Salva would appear with his Saubha ship and
his army, there the Yadu commanders would shoot their arrows.
21. Salva became bewildered upon seeing his army and
aerial city thus harassed by his enemy's arrows, which struck like fire and the
sun and were as intolerable as snake venom.
22. The arrows of the Yadu commanders burned like fire,
struck simultaneously from all sides like the sun's rays, and, like snake
venom, were lethal by a single touch.
23. Because the heroes of the Vrishni clan were eager for
victory in this world and the next (if they would die in the fighting they
would attain a heavenly planet), they did not abandon their assigned posts on
the battlefield, even though the downpour of weapons hurled by Salva's
commanders tormented them.
24. Salva's minister Dyuman, previously wounded by Sri
Pradyumna, now ran up to Him and, roaring loudly, struck Him with his club of
black steel.
25. Pradyumna's driver, the son of Daruka, thought that
his valiant master's chest had been shattered by the club. Knowing well his
religious duty, he removed Pradyumna from the battlefield.
26. Lord Pradyumna has a sac-cid-ananda body, an eternal,
spiritual form that can never be wounded by mundane weapons. Daruka's son,
however, was a great devotee of the Lord, and out of intense love he feared for
the safety of his master and thus removed Him from the battlefield.
27. Immediately there was a roaring, 'Now He is dead! Now
He is dead!' The force of the club on Pradyumna's chest was very severe, enough
to tear asunder the chest of an ordinary man.
28. Quickly regaining consciousness, Lord Krishna's son
Pradyumna said to His charioteer: "O driver, this is abominable—for Me to
have been removed from the battlefield! Except for Me, no one born in the Yadu
dynasty has ever been known to abandon the battlefield. My reputation has now
been stained by a driver who thinks like a eunuch.
29. What will I say to My fathers, Rama and Kesava, when
I return to Them after having simply fled the battle? What can I tell Them that
will befit My honor?
30. Certainly My sisters-in-law will laugh at Me and say:
'O hero, tell us how in the world Your enemies turned You into such a coward in
battle.’ ”
31. The driver replied: “O long-lived one, I have done
this knowing full well my prescribed duty. O my Lord, the chariot driver must
protect the master of the chariot when he is in danger, and the master must
also protect his driver. With this rule in mind, I removed You from the
battlefield, since You had been struck unconscious by Your enemy's club and I
thought You were seriously injured.”
32. After refreshing Himself with water, putting on His
armor and picking up His bow, Lord Pradyumna told His driver, "Take Me
back to where the hero Dyuman is standing.”
33. In Pradyumna's absence, Dyuman had been devastating
His army, but now Pradyumna counterattacked Dyuman and, smiling, pierced him
with eight naraca arrows.
34. Pradyumna challenged Dyuman, saying "Now see if
you can strike Me!" After saying this and allowing Dyuman to shoot his
weapons, Pradyumna released His own deadly arrows.
35. With four of these arrows He struck Dyuman's four
horses, with one arrow, his driver, with two more arrows, his bow and chariot
flag, and with the last arrow, Dyuman's head. Gada, Satyaki, Samba and others
began killing Salva's army, and thus all the soldiers inside the airship began
falling into the ocean, their necks severed.
36. As the Yadus and Salva's followers thus went on
attacking one another, the tumultuous, fearsome battle continued for
twenty-seven days and nights.
37. Invited by Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, Lord
Krishna had gone to Indraprastha. Now that the Rajasuya sacrifice had been
completed and Sisupala killed, the Lord began to see inauspicious omens. So He
took leave of the Kuru elders and the great sages, and also of Pritha and her
sons, and returned to Dvaraka.
38. The Lord said to Himself: Because I have come here
with My respected elder brother, kings partial to Sisupala may well be
attacking My capital city.
39. After He arrived at Dvaraka and saw how His people
were threatened with destruction, and also saw Salva and his Saubha airship,
Lord Kesava arranged for the city's defense. Lord Krishna placed Sri Balarama
in a strategic position to guard the city, and He also appointed a special
guard for Sri Rukmini and the other queens inside the palaces. By a secret
route special soldiers conveyed the queens to safety inside Dvaraka.
40. Then He addressed Daruka as follows: “O driver,
quickly take My chariot near Salva. This lord of Saubha is a powerful magician;
don't let him bewilder you.”
41. Thus ordered, Daruka took command of the Lord's
chariot and drove forth. As the chariot entered the battlefield, everyone
there, both friend and foe, caught sight of the emblem of Garuda.
42. When Salva, the master of a decimated army, saw Lord
Krishna approaching, he hurled his spear at the Lord's charioteer. The spear
roared frighteningly as it flew across the battlefield.
43. Salva's hurtling spear lit up the whole sky like a
mighty meteor, but Lord Sauri tore the great weapon into hundreds of pieces
with His arrows.
44. Lord Krishna then pierced Salva with sixteen arrows
and struck the Saubha airship with a deluge of arrows as it darted about the
sky. Firing His arrows, the Lord appeared like the sun flooding the heavens
with its rays.
45. Salva then managed to strike Lord Krishna's left arm,
which held His bow Sarnga, and, amazingly, Sarnga fell from His hand.
46. Those who witnessed this all cried out in dismay.
Then the master of Saubha roared loudly and addressed Lord Janardana.
47. [Salva said:] “You fool! Because in our presence You
kidnapped the bride of our friend Sisupala, Your own cousin, and because You
later murdered him in the sacred assembly while he was inattentive, today with
my sharp arrows I will send You to the land of no return! Though You think
Yourself invincible, I will kill You now if You dare stand before me.”
48. The Supreme Lord said: “O dullard, you boast in vain,
since you fail to see death standing near you. Real heroes do not talk much but
rather show their prowess in action.”
49. Having said this, the furious Lord swung His club
with frightening power and speed and hit Salva on the collarbone, making him
tremble and vomit blood.
50. But as soon as Lord Acyuta withdrew His club, Salva
disappeared from sight, and a moment later a man approached the Lord. Bowing
his head down to Him, he announced, "Devaki has sent me," and,
sobbing, spoke the following words.
51. [The man said:] “O Krishna, Krishna, mighty-armed
one, who are so affectionate to Your parents! Salva has seized Your father and
taken him away, as a butcher leads an animal to slaughter.”
52. When He heard this disturbing news, Lord Krishna, who
was playing the role of a mortal man, showed sorrow and compassion, and out of
love for His parents He spoke the following words like an ordinary conditioned
soul.
53. [Lord Krishna said:] “Balarama is ever vigilant, and
no demigod or demon can defeat Him. So how could this insignificant Salva
defeat Him and abduct My father? Indeed, fate is all-powerful!”
54. After Govinda spoke these words, the master of Saubha
again appeared, apparently leading Vasudeva before the Lord. Salva then spoke
as follows.
55. [Salva said:] “Here is Your dear father, who begot
You and for whose sake You are living in this world. I shall now kill him
before Your very eyes. Save him if You can, weakling!”
56. After he had mocked the Lord in this way, the
magician Salva appeared to cut off Vasudeva's head with his sword. Taking the
head with him, he entered the Saubha vehicle, which was hovering in the sky.
57. By nature Lord Krishna is full in knowledge, and He
possesses unlimited powers of perception. Yet for a moment, out of great
affection for His loved ones, He remained absorbed in the mood of an ordinary
human being. He soon recalled, however, that this was all a demoniac illusion
engineered by Maya Danava and employed by Salva.
58. Now alert to the actual situation, Lord Acyuta saw
before Him on the battlefield neither the messenger nor His father's body. It
was as if He had awakened from a dream. Seeing His enemy flying above Him in
his Saubha plane, the Lord then prepared to kill him.
59. If someone thinks that Lord Krishna was actually
bewildered by Salva's magic and that the Lord was subjected to ordinary mundane
lamentation, such an opinion is illogical and contradictory, since it is well
known that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, transcendental
and absolute. How can lamentation, bewilderment, material affection or fear,
all born out of ignorance, be ascribed to the infinite Supreme Lord, whose
perception, knowledge and power are all similarly infinite?
60. Lamentation, aggrievement and bewilderment are
characteristics of conditioned souls, but how can such things affect the person
of the Supreme, who is full of knowledge, power and all opulence? Actually, it
is not at all possible that Lord Krishna was misled by the mystic jugglery of
Salva. He was displaying His pastime of playing the role of a human being.
61. Grief, illusion, attachment and fear, which arise out
of ignorance of the soul, can never be present in the transcendental dramatic
pastimes enacted by the Lord. For instance, when the cowherd boys entered the
mouth of Aghasura, Lord Krishna was apparently astonished. Similarly, when
Brahma took away Lord Krishna's cowherd boyfriends and calves, the Lord at
first began to look for them as if He did not know where they were. Thus the
Lord plays the part of an ordinary human being so as to relish transcendental
pastimes with His devotees.
62. By virtue of self-realization fortified by service
rendered to His feet, devotees of the Lord dispel the bodily concept of life,
which has bewildered the soul since time immemorial. Thus they attain eternal
glory in His personal association. How, then, can that Supreme Truth, the
destination of all genuine saints, be subject to illusion?
63. Then Salva thought that Krishna had been bewildered
by his mystic representations, he became encouraged and began to attack the
Lord with greater strength and energy by showering volumes of arrows upon Him.
But the enthusiasm of Salva can be compared to the speedy march of flies into a
fire. While Salva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at Him with great
force, Lord Krishna, whose prowess never fails, shot His arrows at Salva,
wounding him and shattering his armor, bow and crest jewel. Then with a
crashing blow from Krishna's club, Salva's wonderful airplane was demolished.
64. Shattered into thousands of pieces by Lord Krishna's
club, the Saubha airship plummeted into the water. Salva abandoned it,
stationed himself on the ground, took up his club and rushed toward Lord
Acyuta.
65. As Salva rushed at Him, the Lord shot a bhalla dart
and cut off his arm that held the club. Having finally decided to kill Salva,
Krishna then raised His Sudarsana disc weapon, which resembled the sun at the
time of universal annihilation. The brilliantly shining Lord appeared like the
easternmost mountain bearing the rising sun. The Sudarshana Cakra rotates
fastly and it is vested with 1000’s of beams like fire emitting flames.
66. Employing His disc, Lord Hari removed that great
magician's head with its earrings and crown, just as Purandara had used his
thunderbolt to cut off Vritra's head. Seeing this, all of Salva's followers
cried out, "Alas, alas!".
67. With the sinful Salva now dead and his Saubha airship
destroyed, the heavens resounded with kettledrums played by groups of demigods.
68. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Arjuna a.o. winning the battle of
Kurukshetra by taking shelter of Krishna
1. In the Mahabharata war Arjuna and his brothers' army
was qualitatively and quantitatively inferior then Duryodhana and his brothers’
army.
2. Krishna was advising Arjuna and his brothers and
therefore 640 million people, including the burden on the earth, got liberated
and removed.
3. God exists.
The argument of Krishna saving king Parikshit in the womb
of his mother
1. Lord Krishna, with His club and Sudarshana-cakra in
His hands entered the womb of Pariksit's mother and saved Pariksit's body which
was almost destroyed by the fiery weapon (brahmastra) released by Asvatthama.
He also protected the limbs of Pariksit Maharaja's mother.
2. The brahmastra is the greatest weapon. The demigods
can’t counteract it by their weapons.
3. Krishna is God, God exists
The argument of the liberation of Dantavakra
1. With the sinful Salva now dead and his Saubha airship
destroyed, the heavens resounded with kettledrums played by groups of demigods.
2. Then, hearing that Sisupala had been killed,
Dantavakra went to Mathura to fight against Krishna. When Krishna, moreover,
heard of this from Narada, He mounted His chariot and went to Mathura.
Therefore immediately after killing Salva, without first entering Dvaraka, the
Lord reached the vicinity of Mathura in a single moment on His chariot, which
also moves as swiftly as the mind.
3. Thus it is that even today, by the gate of Mathura
facing the direction of Dvaraka, there is a village known in the vernacular as
Datiha, a name derived from the Sanskrit dantavakra-ha, "killer of
Dantavakra." This village was founded by Krishna's great-grandson Vajra.
4. Acting out of friendship for Sisupala, Salva, and
Paundraka, who had all passed on to the next world, the wicked Dantavakra
appeared on the battlefield in a great rage. All alone, on foot and wielding a
club in his hand, the mighty warrior shook the earth with his footsteps.
5. Seeing Dantavakra approach, Lord Krishna quickly
picked up His club, jumped down from His chariot and stopped His advancing
opponent just as the shore holds back the ocean.
6. When Krishna appeared before Dantavakra, his heroic
march was immediately stopped, just as the great furious waves of the ocean are
stopped by the beach.
7. Between the two of them—Dantavakra and Lord
Vasudeva—there then began a battle at the gate of Mathura that lasted all day
and night.
8. Raising his club, the reckless King of Karusha said to
Lord Mukunda: "What luck! What luck—to have You come before me today!”
9. After having waited for three lifetimes, Dantavakra,
formerly a gatekeeper in Vaikuntha, could now return to the spiritual world.
Therefore the transcendental meaning of his statement is: "How fortunate!
How fortunate I am that today I can return to my constitutional position in the
spiritual world!"
10. "You are our maternal cousin, Krishna, but You
committed violence against my friends, and now You want to kill me also.
Therefore, fool, I will kill You with my thunderbolt club.”
11. Dantavakra refered to Krishna as matuleya, a maternal
cousin. Dantavakra's mother, Srutasrava, was the sister of Krishna's father,
Vasudeva.
12. There is the following alternate grammatical division
of the third line of this verse: atas tvam gadaya amanda, in which case
Dantavakra says, "My dear Lord Krishna, You are amanda [not foolish], and
therefore with Your powerful club You will now send me back home, back to
Godhead." This is the inner meaning of this verse.
13. “Then, O unintelligent one, I who am obliged to my
friends will have repaid my debt to them by killing You, my enemy disguised as
a relative, who are like a disease within my body.”
14. The word ajna indicates that in comparison to Lord
Krishna, no one is more intelligent. The word bandhu-rupam indicates that Lord
Krishna is actually everyone's true friend. Vyadhim indicates that Lord Krishna
is the Supersoul, the object of meditation within the heart, who takes away our
mental distress. The word hatva also translates as jnatva; in other words, by
knowing Krishna properly one can actually liberate all of one's friends.
15. Thus trying to harass Lord Krishna with harsh words,
as one might prick an elephant with sharp goads, Dantavakra struck the Lord on
the head with his club and roared like a lion.
16. Although hit by Dantavakra's club, Lord Krishna, the
deliverer of the Yadus, did not budge from His place on the battlefield.
Rather, with His massive Kaumodaki club the Lord struck Dantavakra in the
middle of his chest.
17. His heart shattered by the club's blow, Dantavakra
vomited blood and fell lifeless to the ground, his hair disheveled and his arms
and legs sprawling, all his limbs smashed like a mountain shattered by a
lightning bolt.
18. A most subtle and wondrous spark of light-the soul-
then rose from the demon's body and entered Lord Krishna while everyone looked
on, just as when Sisupala was killed.
19. Killing such a
great demoniac hero was not possible for any demigod or human being.
20. But then Dantavakra's brother Viduratha, immersed in
sorrow over his brother's death, came forward breathing heavily, sword and
shield in hand. He wanted to kill the Lord.
21. As Viduratha fell upon Him, Lord Krishna used His
razor-edged Sudarsana disc to remove his head, complete with its helmet and
earrings.
22. And after killing Viduratha, Krishna crossed the
Yamuna and went to the cowherd village of Nanda, where He honored and consoled
His aggrieved parents. They drenched Him with tears and embraced Him, and then
the Lord offered obeisances to the elder cowherd men and gratified all the
residents with abundant gifts of clothing, ornaments and so on.
23. Lord Kesava sported continuously with the cowherd
women on the Kalindi's charming bank, which was filled with pious trees. Thus
the Supreme Lord, assuming the appearance of a cowherd, resided there for two
months, enjoying the pleasure of intimate pastimes in various moods of loving
reciprocation.
24. Then, by Lord Vasudeva's grace, Nanda and all the
other residents of that place, together with their children and wives, assumed
their eternal, spiritual forms, boarded a celestial airplane and ascended to
the supreme Vaikuntha planet [Goloka Vrindavana]. Lord Krishna, however, after
bestowing on Nanda Gopa and all the other inhabitants of Vraja His own
transcendental abode, which is free of all disease, traveled through the sky
and returned to Dvaraka as demigods chanted His praises.
25. The word putra in the phrase nanda-gopadayah sarve
janah putra-daradi-sahitah ("Nanda Gopa and the others, together with
their children and wives") refers to such sons as Krishna, Sridama and
Subala, while the word dara refers to such wives as Sri Yasoda and Kirtida, the
mother of Radharani. The phrase sarve janah ("all the people") refers
to everyone living in the district of Vraja. Thus they all went to the topmost
Vaikuntha planet, Goloka. The phrase divya-rupa-dharah indicates that in Goloka
they engage in pastimes appropriate to demigods, not those suited to humans, as
in Gokula. Just as during Lord Ramacandra's incarnation the residents of
Ayodhya were transported to Vaikuntha in their selfsame bodies, so in this
incarnation of Krishna the residents of Vraja attained to Goloka in theirs.
26. Since Drona and other demigods had previously
descended to earth to merge as partial expansions into the King of Vraja and
other devotees of Vrindavana, at this time it was these demigod expansions whom
Lord Krishna sent off to Vaikuntha. Lord Hari is perpetually enjoying pastimes
in Vrindavana with His intimate devotees, the residents of Gokula, who are
dearer to Him than even His most dear other devotees.
27. Lord Krishna's journey from Dvaraka to Vraja is
confirmed by the following passage of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.11.9): yarhy
ambujakshapasasara bho bhavan kurun madhun vatha suhrid-didrikshaya/
tatrabda-koti-pratimah kshano bhavet. "O lotus-eyed Lord, whenever You go
away to Mathura, Vrindavana or Hastinapura to meet Your friends and relatives,
every moment of Your absence seems like a million years.”
28. Lord Krishna had been harboring a desire to go see
His friends and relatives in Vraja ever since Lord Baladeva had gone there, but
His mother, father and other elders in Dvaraka had refused to give Him
permission. Now, however, after the killing of Salva, when Krishna heard from
Narada that Dantavakra had gone to Mathura, no one could object to the Lord's
going there immediately without first entering Dvaraka. And after killing
Dantavakra, He would have the opportunity to meet with His friends and
relatives living in Vraja.
29. Thinking like this, and also remembering Uddhava's
allusion to the gopis in the words gayanti te visada-karma (SB 10.71.9), He
went to Vraja, dispelling the feelings of separation of the inhabitants. For
two months Lord Krishna enjoyed in Vrindavana just as before, previous to His
leaving there to kill Kamsa in Mathura.
30. Then, at the end of two months, He withdrew His Vraja
pastimes from mundane eyes by taking the demigod portions of His parents and
other relatives and friends to Vaikuntha. Thus, in one complete plenary
manifestation He went to Goloka in the spiritual world, in another He remained
perpetually enjoying in Vraja while invisible to material eyes, and in yet
another He mounted His chariot and returned alone to Dvaraka. The people of
Saurasena province thought that after killing Dantavakra Krishna had paid a
visit to His parents and other dear ones and now was returning to Dvaraka. The
people of Vraja, on the other hand, could not understand where He had suddenly
disappeared to, and so they were totally astonished.
31. Sukadeva considered that Parikshit Maharaja might
think, "How is it that the same Krishna who caused the cowherds to attain
Vaikuntha in their selfsame bodies also caused the residents of Dvaraka to
attain such an inauspicious condition in the course of His maushala-lila?"
Thus the King might consider the arrangement unfair because of his own affinity
for the Yadus. That is why Sukadeva Gosvami did not allow him to hear this
pastime.
32. Having thus destroyed Salva and his Saubha airship,
along with Dantavakra and his younger brother, all of whom were invincible
before any other opponent, the Lord was praised by demigods, human beings and
great sages, by Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas and Mahoragas, and also by Apsaras,
Pitas, Yakshas, Kinnaras and Caranas. As they sang His glories and showered Him
with flowers, the Supreme Lord entered His festively decorated capital city in
the company of the most eminent Vrishnis.
33. Thus Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, the master all mystic power and Lord of the universe, is ever
victorious. Only those of beastly vision think He sometimes suffers defeat.
34. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of Lord Balarama and The liberation of Romaharsana and Balvala
1. Lord Balarama then heard that the Kurus were preparing
for war with the Pandavas. Being neutral, He departed on the pretext of going
to bathe in holy places.
2. Both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira were dear to Lord
Balarama, and so to avoid an awkward situation He departed. Furthermore, after
killing the demon Viduratha, Lord Krishna put aside His weapons, but Lord
Balarama still had to kill Romaharshana and Balvala to finish relieving the
earth of her burden of demons.
3. After bathing at Prabhasa and honoring the demigods,
sages, forefathers and prominent human beings, He went in the company of
brahmanas to the portion of the Sarasvati that flows westward into the sea.
4. Lord Balarama visited Prithudaka, the Bindu-saras
Lake, Tritakupa, Sudarsana, Visala, Brahma-tirtha, Cakra-tirtha and the
eastward-flowing Sarasvati. He also went to all the holy places along the
Yamuna and the Ganges, O Bharata, and then He came to the Naimisha forest,
where great sages were performing an elaborate sacrifice.
5. Recognizing the Lord upon His arrival, the sages, who
had been engaged in their sacrificial rituals for a long time, greeted Him
properly by standing up, bowing down and worshiping Him.
6. After being thus worshiped along with His entourage,
the Lord accepted a seat of honor. Then He noticed that Romaharshana,
Vyasadeva's disciple, had remained seated.
7. Lord Balarama became extremely angry upon seeing how
this member of the suta caste had failed to stand up, bow down or join his
palms, and also how he was sitting above all the learned brahmanas.
8. Romaharshana had failed to greet Lord Balarama in any
of the standard ways for welcoming a superior personality. Also, despite being
of a lower caste, he sat in a seat above the assembly of exalted brahmanas.
9. [Lord Balarama said:] “Because this fool born from an
improperly mixed marriage sits above all these brahmanas and even above Me, the
protector of religion, he deserves to die.
10. Although he is a disciple of the divine sage Vyasa
and has thoroughly learned many scriptures from him, including the lawbooks of
religious duties and the epic histories and Puranas, all this study has not
produced good qualities in him. Rather, his study of the scriptures is like an
actor's studying his part, for he is not self-controlled or humble and vainly
presumes himself a scholarly authority, though he has failed to conquer his own
mind.”
11. One might argue that Romaharshana committed an
innocent mistake when he failed to recognize Lord Balarama, but such an
argument is refuted here by Lord Balarama's strong criticism.
12. “The very purpose of My descent into this world is to
kill such hypocrites who pretend to be religious. Indeed, they are the most
sinful rascals.”
13. Lord Balarama was not prepared to overlook
Romaharshana's offense. The Lord had descended specifically to eliminate those
who claim to be great religious leaders but do not even respect the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
14. Although Lord Balarama had stopped killing the
impious, Romaharshana's death was inevitable. Thus, having spoken, the Lord
killed him by picking up a blade of kusa grass and touching him with its tip.
15. If someone questions how Lord Balarama could kill
Romaharshana Suta simply by striking him with a blade of kusa grass, the answer
is given in the Srimad-Bhagavatam by the use of the word prabhu (master). The
Lord's position is always transcendental, and because He is omnipotent He can
act as He likes without being obliged to follow the material laws and
principles. Thus it was possible for Him to kill Romaharshana Suta simply by
striking him with a blade of kusa grass.
16. All the sages cried out, "Alas, alas!" in
great distress. They told Lord Sankarshana, "O master, You have committed
an irreligious act! O favorite of the Yadus, we gave him the seat of the
spiritual master and promised him long life and freedom from physical pain for
as long as this sacrifice continues.”
17. Although Romaharshana was not a brahmana, having been
born of a mixed marriage, he was invested with that status by the assembled
sages and thus given the brahmasana, the seat of the chief officiating priest.
18. You have unknowingly killed a brahmana. Of course,
even the injunctions of revealed scripture cannot dictate to You, the Lord of
all mystic power. But if by Your own free will You nonetheless carry out the
prescribed purification for this slaying of a brahmana, O purifier of the whole
world, people in general will greatly benefit by Your example.”
19. The Personality of Godhead said: “I will certainly
perform the atonement for this killing, since I wish to show compassion to the
people in general. Please, therefore, prescribe for Me whatever ritual is to be
done first.
20. O sages, just say the word, and by My mystic power I
shall restore everything you promised him—long life, strength and sensory
power.”
21. The sages said: “Please see to it, O Rama, that Your
power and that of Your kusa weapon, as well as our promise and Romaharshana's
death, all remain intact.”
22. The Supreme Lord said: “The Vedas instruct us that
one's own self takes birth again as one's son. Thus let Romaharshana's son
become the speaker of the Puranas, and let him be endowed with long life,
strong senses and stamina.”
23. “You have taken birth from my various limbs and have
arisen from my very heart. You are my own self in the form of my son. May you
live through a hundred autumns." This verse appears in the Satapatha
Brahmana (14.9.8.4) and the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad (6.4.8).
24. Wanting to do something more for the sages, Balarama
said: “Please tell Me your desire, O best of sages, and I shall certainly
fulfill it. And, O wise souls, please carefully determine My proper atonement,
since I do not know what it might be.”
25. The sages said: “A fearsome demon named Balvala, the
son of Ilvala, comes here every new-moon day and contaminates our sacrifice.”
26. First the sages tell Lord Balarama the favor they
would like Him to do for them.
27. “O descendant of Dasarha, please kill that sinful
demon, who pours down pus, blood, feces, urine, wine and meat upon us. This is
the best service You can do for us.
28. Thereafter, for twelve months, You should
circumambulate the land of Bharata in a mood of serious meditation, executing
austerities and bathing at various holy pilgrimage sites. In this way You will
become purified.
29. The word visudhyasi means that Lord Balarama would
achieve spotless fame by setting such a perfect example for the people in
general.
30. Then, on the new-moon day, O King, a fierce and
frightening wind arose, scattering dust all about and spreading the filthy
smell of pus and dirt everywhere. There appeared a great hailstorm caused by
him.
31. Next, onto the sacrificial arena came a downpour of abominable
things sent by Balvala, after which the demon himself appeared, trident in
hand.
32. The immense demon resembled a mass of pitch black
carbon, like a great mountain. His topknot of hair on the head and his beard
were like molten copper, and his very frightening face had horrible fangs and
furrowed eyebrows. Upon seeing him, Lord Balarama thought of His club, which
tears to pieces His enemies' armies, and His plow weapon, which punishes the
demons. Thus summoned, His two weapons appeared before Him at once.
33. With the tip of His plow Lord Balarama caught hold of
the demon Balvala as he flew through the sky and dragged him down. Then with
His club the Lord angrily struck that harasser of brahmanas on the head.
34. Balvala cried out in agony and fell to the ground,
his forehead cracked open and gushing blood. He resembled a red mountain struck
by a lightning bolt.
35. The demon appeared reddish with blood, like a
mountain red with oxide.
36. The exalted sages honored Lord Rama with sincere
prayers and awarded Him infallible blessings. Then they performed His ritual
bath, just as the demigods had formally bathed Indra when he killed Vritra.
37. They gave Lord Balarama a Vaijayanti garland of
unfading lotuses in which resided the goddess of fortune, and they also gave
Him a set of divine garments and jewelry.
38. God, Balarama, Krishna, exists.
The argument of the blessing of the Brahmana Sudama
1. Lord Krishna had a certain brahmana friend [named
Sudama] who was most learned in Vedic knowledge and detached from all sense
enjoyment. Furthermore, his mind was peaceful and his senses were subdued.
Sudama brahmana (priest) was very, very poor.
2. Living as a householder, he maintained himself with
whatever came of its own accord. The wife of that poorly dressed brahmana
suffered along with him and was emaciated from hunger.
3. Sudama's chaste wife was also poorly dressed, and
whatever food she obtained she gave to her husband. Thus she remained fatigued
from hunger.
4. The chaste wife of the poverty-stricken brahmana, one
day, unable to find any food to prepare for her husband, went to him and asked
that he visit his friend Krishna in Dvaraka and beg some charity. Her face
dried up because of her distress. Trembling with fear, she spoke as follows.
5. The chaste lady was especially unhappy because she
could not obtain food to feed her husband. She was fearful to approach her
husband because she knew that he did not want to beg for anything other than
devotion to the Supreme Lord.
6. “O brahmana, isn't it true that the husband of the
goddess of fortune is the personal friend and old school friend of your exalted
self? That greatest of Yadavas, the Supreme Lord Krishna, is compassionate to
brahmanas and very willing to grant them His shelter.”
7. The brahmana's wife anticipated every possible
objection her husband might make to her request that he go to Lord Krishna to
beg charity. If the brahmana might say, "How could the husband of the
goddess of fortune befriend a fallen soul like myself?" she replies by
saying that Lord Krishna is brahmanya, very favorably disposed toward the
brahmanas. If Sudama might claim to have no real devotion for the Lord, she replies
by saying that he is a great and wise personality who would surely obtain the
shelter and mercy of the Lord. If the brahmana might object that Lord Krishna
is equally disposed to all the countless unhappy conditioned souls suffering
the fruits of their own karma, she replies that Lord Krishna is especially the
Lord of the devotees, and thus even if He Himself did not grant Sudama His
mercy, certainly the devotees engaged in serving the Lord would mercifully give
him some charity. Since the Lord protects the Satvatas, the members of the Yadu
dynasty, what difficulty would there be for Him to protect a humble brahmana
like Sudama, and what fault would there be in His doing so?
8. “O fortunate one, please approach Him, the real
shelter of all saints. He will certainly give abundant wealth to such a
suffering householder as you.
9. Lord Krishna is now the ruler of the Bhojas, Vrishnis
and Andhakas and is staying at Dvaraka. Since He gives even His own self to
anyone who simply remembers His lotus feet, what doubt is there that He, the
spiritual master of the universe, will bestow upon His sincere worshiper
prosperity and material enjoyment, which are not even very desirable?”
10. The brahmana's wife here implies that since Lord
Krishna is the ruler of the Bhojas, Vrishnis and Andhakas, if these opulent
rulers merely acknowledge Sudama as a personal friend of Krishna's, they could
give him everything he required.
11. Since Lord Krishna had at this point put aside His
weapons, He no longer traveled outside His own capital of Dvaraka.
12. Material wealth and sense gratification are not very
desirable. The reason for this is that in the long run they give no real
satisfaction. Still, Sudama's wife thought, even if Sudama went to Dvaraka and
simply remained silent before the Lord, He would certainly give him abundant
wealth, as well as shelter at His lotus feet, which was Sudama's real
objective.
13. When his wife thus repeatedly implored him in various
ways, the brahmana thought to himself, "To see Lord Krishna is indeed the
greatest achievement in life." Thus he decided to go, but first he told
her, "My good wife, if there is anything in the house I can bring as a
gift, please give it to me.”
14. Sudama's wife begged four handfuls of flat rice from
neighboring brahmanas, tied up the rice in a torn piece of cloth and gave it to
her husband as a present for Lord Krishna.
15. Taking the flat rice, the saintly brahmana set off
for Dvaraka, all the while wondering "How will I be able to have Krishna's
audience?"
16. Among other things, Sudama assumed that the
gatekeepers would stop him.
17. The learned brahmana, joined by some local brahmanas,
passed three guard stations and went through three gateways, and then he walked
by the homes of Lord Krishna's faithful devotees, the Andhakas and Vrishnis,
which ordinarily no one could do. He then entered one of the opulent palaces
belonging to Lord Hari's sixteen thousand queens, and when he did so he felt as
if he were attaining the bliss of liberation.
18. The brahmana actually entered the palace of Rukmini:
sa tu rukminy-antah-pura-dvari kshanam tushnim sthitah. "He stood for a
moment in silence at the doorway of Queen Rukmini's palace."
19. When the saintly brahmana entered the precincts of
Lord Krishna's palaces and then actually entered one of the palaces, he
completely forgot everything else, and thus his state of mind is compared to
that of one who has just achieved the bliss of spiritual liberation.
20. At that time Lord Acyuta was seated on His consort's
bed. Spotting the brahmana at some distance, the Lord immediately stood up,
went forward to meet him and with great pleasure embraced him.
21. The lotus-eyed Supreme Lord felt intense ecstasy upon
touching the body of His dear friend, the wise brahmana, and thus He shed tears
of love.
22. Lord Krishna seated His friend Sudama upon the bed.
Then the Lord, who purifies the whole world, personally offered him various
tokens of respect and washed his feet, after which He sprinkled the water on
His own head. He anointed him with divinely fragrant sandalwood, aguru and
kunkuma pastes and happily worshiped him with aromatic incense and arrays of
lamps. After finally offering him betel nut and the gift of a cow, He welcomed
him with pleasing words.
23. By fanning him with her camara, the divine goddess of
fortune, Rukmini, personally served that poor brahmana, whose clothing was torn
and dirty and who was so thin that veins were visible all over his body.
24. The people in the royal palace were astonished to see
Krishna, the Lord of spotless glory, so lovingly honor this shabbily dressed
brahmana, as if as if God had come on earth.
25. [The residents of the palace said:] “What pious acts
has this unkempt, impoverished brahmana performed? People regard him as lowly
and contemptible, yet the spiritual master of the three worlds, the abode of
Goddess Sri, is serving him reverently. Leaving the goddess of fortune sitting
on her bed, the Lord has embraced this brahmana as if he were an older
brother.”
26. Taking each other's hands, O King, Krishna and Sudama
talked pleasantly about how they once lived together in the school of their
guru.
27. The Supreme Lord said: “My dear brahmana, you know
well the ways of dharma. After you offered the gift of remuneration to our guru
and returned home from his school, did you marry a compatible wife or not?
28. Even though you are mostly involved in household
affairs, your mind is not affected by material desires. Nor, O learned one, do
you take much pleasure in the pursuit of material wealth. This I am well aware
of.
29. Having renounced all material propensities, which
spring from the Lord's illusory energy, some people execute worldly duties with
their minds undisturbed by mundane desires. They act as I do, to instruct the
general populace.
30. My dear brahmana, do you remember how we lived
together in our spiritual master's school? When a twice-born student has
learned from his guru all that is to be learned, he can enjoy spiritual life,
which lies beyond all ignorance.
31. My dear friend, he who gives a person his physical
birth is his first spiritual master, and he who initiates him as a twice-born
brahmana and engages him in religious duties is indeed more directly his
spiritual master. But the person who bestows transcendental knowledge upon the
members of all the spiritual orders of society is one's ultimate spiritual
master. Indeed, he is as good as My own self.
32. Certainly, O brahmana, of all the followers of the
varnasrama system, those who take advantage of the words I speak in My form as
the spiritual master and thus easily cross over the ocean of material existence
best understand their own true welfare.”
33. One's father is a natural object of reverence, as is
a religious leader who initiates one into sacred ceremonies and instructs one
in general wisdom. But ultimately the bona fide spiritual master, learned in
the transcendental science and thus able to take one across the ocean of birth
and death to the spiritual world—such a guru is most deserving of worship and
respect, for he is the direct representative of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
34. “I, the Soul of all beings, am not as satisfied by
ritual worship, brahminical initiation, penances or self-discipline as I am by
faithful service rendered to one's spiritual master.”
35. The word prajati here indicates either begetting good
children or the second birth obtained by ritual initiation into Vedic culture.
Although both of these are praiseworthy, Lord Krishna here states that faithful
service rendered to a bona fide spiritual master is still higher.
36. “O brahmana, do you remember what happened to us
while we were living with our spiritual master? Once our guru's wife sent us to
fetch firewood, and after we entered the vast forest, O twice-born one, an
unseasonal storm arose, with fierce wind and rain and harsh thunder.”
37. This storm arose during winter and was therefore
unseasonal.
38. “Then, as the sun set, the forest was covered by
darkness in every direction, and with all the flooding we could not distinguish
high land from low. Constantly besieged by the powerful wind and rain, we lost
our way amidst the flooding waters. We simply held each other's hands and, in
great distress, wandered aimlessly about the forest.”
39. The verb paribabhrima may be understood to be the
prefix pari with either the verb bhri or bhram. In the case of bhram, it
indicates that Krishna and Sudama wandered all about, and in the case of bhri,
which means "to carry," it indicates that as the two young boys
wandered about, they continued to carry the firewood they had secured for their
spiritual master.
40. “Our guru, Sandipani, understanding our predicament,
set out after sunrise to search for us, his disciples, and found us in
distress.
41. [Sandipani said:] “O my children, you have suffered
so much for my sake! The body is most dear to every living creature, but you
are so dedicated to me that you completely disregarded your own comfort. This
indeed is the duty of all true disciples: to repay the debt to their spiritual
master by offering him, with pure hearts, their wealth and even their very
lives. You boys are the best of the twice-born, and I am satisfied with you.
May all your desires be fulfilled, and may the Vedic mantras you have learned
never lose their meaning for you, in this world or the next.”
42. [Lord Krishna continued:] “We had many similar experiences
while living in our spiritual master's home. Simply by the grace of the
spiritual master a person can fulfill life's purpose and attain eternal peace.”
43. The brahmana said: “What could I possibly have failed
to achieve, O Lord of lords, O universal teacher, since I was able to
personally live with You, whose every desire is fulfilled, at the home of our
spiritual master?”
44. Sudama Brahmana wisely understands his extraordinary
good fortune of having lived with Sri Krishna at the residence of their
spiritual master. Thus whatever external difficulties they experienced were
actually an expression of the Lord's mercy, to teach the importance of service
to the spiritual master.
45. “O almighty Lord, Your body comprises the Absolute
Truth in the form of the Vedas and is thus the source of all auspicious goals
of life. That You took up residence at the school of a spiritual master is
simply one of Your pastimes in which You play the role of a human being only to
set an example for human society.”
46. Lord Hari, Krishna, perfectly knows the hearts of all
living beings, and He is especially devoted to the brahmanas. While the Supreme
Lord, the goal of all saintly persons, conversed in this way with the best of
the twice-born, He laughed and spoke the following words to that dear friend of
His, the brahmana Sudama, all the while smiling and looking upon him with
affection.
47. The words sarva-bhuta-mano-'bhijna indicate that
since Lord Krishna knows the minds of everyone, He could tell at once that His
friend Sudama had brought some flat rice for Him and was ashamed to present it.
Lord Krishna smiled at this moment, thinking "Yes, I am going to make you
show what you brought for Me." His smile then turned to laughter as He
thought, "How long are you going to keep this precious gift hidden in your
cloth?”
48. Krishna glanced toward the bundle hidden inside His
friend's garment, telling Sudama by His loving glance, "The veins showing
through your emaciated skin and your ragged clothes astonish everyone present,
but these symptoms of poverty will last only until tomorrow morning.”
49. The Supreme Lord said: O brahmana, what gift have you
brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My
devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not
please Me.
50. patram pushpam phalam toyam
51. yo me bhaktya prayacchati
52. tad aham bhakty-upahritam
53. asnami prayatatmanah
54. WORD-FOR-WORD MEANINGS
55. patram—a leaf; pushpam—a flower; phalam—a fruit;
toyam—water; yah—whoever; me—unto Me; bhaktya—with devotion;
prayacchati—offers; tat—that; aham—I; bhakti-upahritam—offered in devotion;
asnami—accept; prayata-atmanah—from one in pure consciousness.
56. TRANSLATION: If one offers Me with love and devotion
a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”
57. This verse is a reply to Sudama's anxiety that his
bringing such an unfit offering was ill-considered. The use of the words
bhaktya prayacchati and bhakty-upahritam may seem redundant, since they both
mean "offered with devotion," but bhaktya can also indicate how the
Lord reciprocates the devotional mood of whoever offers Him something with
love. In other words, Lord Krishna here declares that His reciprocation in a
pure loving exchange is not dependent on the external quality of what is
offered. Krishna says, "Something may or may not be impressive and
pleasing in its own right, but when My devotee offers it to Me in devotion,
with the expectation that I will enjoy it, it gives Me great pleasure; in this
regard I make no discrimination." The verb asnami, "I eat,"
implies that Lord Krishna eats even a flower, which is supposed to be smelled,
bewildered as He is by the ecstatic love He feels for His devotee. Someone
might then question the Lord, "So, will You refuse an offering made to You
by a devotee of some other deity?" The Lord answers, "Yes, I will
refuse to eat it." This the Lord states by the phrase prayatatmanah,
implying "Only by devotional service to Me can one become pure in heart.”
58. Even after being addressed in this way, the brahmana
felt too embarrassed to offer his palmfuls of flat rice to the husband of the
goddess of fortune. He simply kept his head bowed in shame.
59. The description here of Krishna as "the husband
of the goddess of fortune" implies that Sudama questioned himself,
"How can the Lord of Sri eat this hard, stale rice?" By bowing his
head, the brahmana revealed his meditation: "My dear master, please do not
make me ashamed. Even if You request it from me repeatedly, I will not give
this to You. I have made up my mind." But the Lord countered with His own
thought: "The intention you had fixed in your mind while coming here must
not be frustrated, for you are My devotee.”
60. Being the direct witness in the hearts of all living
beings, Lord Krishna fully understood why Sudama had come to see Him. Thus He
thought, "In the past My friend has never worshiped Me out of a desire for
material opulence, but now he comes to Me to satisfy his chaste and devoted
wife. I will give him riches that even the immortal demigods cannot obtain.”
61. Someone may point out that Sudama should not have
been so poverty-stricken, since appropriate enjoyment comes as a by-product of
service to God even for a devotee who has no ulterior motives. This is
confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.22):
62. ananyas cintayanto mam
63. ye janah paryupasate
64. tesham nityabhiyuktanam
65. yoga-kshemam vahamy aham
66. "But those who always worship Me with exclusive
devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack,
and I preserve what they have."
67. In response to this point, a distinction must be made
between two kinds of renounced devotees: one kind is inimical to sense
gratification, and the other is indifferent to it. The Supreme Lord does not
force sense gratification upon the devotee who is extremely averse to worldly
enjoyments. This is seen among such great renouncers as Jada Bharata. On the
other hand, the Lord may give limitless wealth and power to a devotee who is
neither repelled nor attracted by material things, such as Prahlada Maharaja.
Up to this point in his life, Sudama Brahmana was totally averse to sense
gratification, but now, out of compassion for his faithful wife—and also
because he hankered to have Krishna's audience—he went to beg from the Lord.
68. Then, the Lord snatched from the brahmana's garment
the grains of flat rice tied up in an old piece of cloth and exclaimed,
"What is this? My friend, have You brought this for Me? It gives Me
extreme pleasure. Indeed, these few grains of flat rice will satisfy not only
Me but also the entire universe.”
69. Krishna, being the original source of everything, is
the root of the entire creation. As watering the root of a tree immediately
distributes water to every part of the tree, so an offering made to Krishna, or
any action done for Krishna, is to be considered the highest welfare work for
everyone, because the benefit of such an offering is distributed throughout the
creation. Love for Krishna is distributed to all living entities.
70. After saying this, the Supreme Lord ate one palmful
and was about to eat a second when the devoted goddess Rukmini took hold of His
hand.
71. Queen Rukmini took hold of Krishna's hand to prevent
Him from eating any more of the flat rice. With this gesture she meant to tell
the Lord, "This much of Your grace is sufficient to assure anyone vast
riches, which are merely the play of my glance. But please do not force me to
surrender myself to this brahmana, as will happen if You eat one more handful.”
72. Also, by taking hold of the Lord's hand Rukmini implied,
"If You eat all of this wonderful treat Your friend brought from his
house, what will I have left for my friends, co-wives, servants and myself?
There will not be enough left to distribute even one grain to each of us."
And to her maidservant companions she said by her gesture, "This hard rice
will upset my Lord's tender stomach.”
73. When food is offered to Lord Krishna with love and
devotion and He is pleased and accepts it from the devotee, Rukmini-devi, the
goddess of fortune, becomes so greatly obliged to the devotee that she has to
personally go to the devotee's home to turn it into the most opulent home in
the world. If one feeds Narayana sumptuously, the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi,
automatically becomes a guest in one's house, which means that one's home
becomes opulent.
74. The brahmana spent that night in Lord Acyuta's palace
after eating and drinking to his full satisfaction. He felt as if he had gone
to the spiritual world.
75. The next day, Sudama set off for home while being
honored by Lord Krishna, the self-satisfied maintainer of the universe. The
brahmana felt greatly delighted, my dear King, as he walked along the road.
76. The word abhivanditah indicates that Sri Krishna
accompanied Sudama on the road for a short distance and finally parted with the
brahmana after bowing down to him and speaking some respectful words.
77. Lord Krishna maintains the supply of desirable
objects for the whole universe. Therefore it is to be understood that He was
about to manifest for Sudama opulence greater than Indra's. Being sva-sukha,
perfectly complete in His own bliss, the Lord has an unlimited capacity for
bestowing gifts.
78. Although he had apparently received no wealth from
Lord Krishna, Sudama was too shy to beg for it on his own. He simply returned
home, feeling perfectly satisfied to have had the Supreme Lord's audience.
79. [Sudama thought:] “Lord Krishna is known to be
devoted to the brahmanas, and now I have personally seen this devotion. Indeed,
He who carries the goddess of fortune on His chest has embraced the poorest
beggar. Who am I? A sinful, poor friend of a brahmana. And who is Krishna? The
Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in six opulences. Nonetheless, He has
embraced me with His two arms.”
80. Sudama was so humble that he considered his poverty
to be his own fault, a result of sin.
81. “He treated me just like one of His brothers, making
me sit on the bed of His beloved consort. And because I was fatigued, His queen
personally fanned me with a yak-tail camara. Although He is the Lord of all
demigods and the object of worship for all brahmanas, He worshiped me as if I
were a demigod myself, massaging my feet and rendering other humble services.
Devotional service to His lotus feet is the root cause of all the perfections a
person can find in heaven, in liberation, in the subterranean regions and on
earth. Thinking "If this poor wretch suddenly becomes rich, he will forget
Me in his intoxicating happiness," the compassionate Lord did not grant me
even a little wealth.”
82. Sudama's statement that Lord Krishna bestowed on him
"not even a little wealth" may also be taken to mean that instead of
giving him wealth that was abhuri, "slight," the Lord in fact gave
him the immense treasure of His association.
83. Thinking thus to himself, Sudama finally came to the
place where his home stood.
84. But that place was now crowded on all sides with
towering, celestial palaces rivaling the combined brilliance of the sun, fire
and the moon. There were splendorous courtyards and gardens, each filled with
flocks of cooing birds and beautified by ponds in which kumuda, ambhoja,
kahlara and utpala lotuses grew. Finely attired men and doe-eyed women stood in
attendance. Sudama wondered, "What is all this? Whose property is it? How
has this all come about?
85. This is the sequence of the brahmana's thoughts:
First, seeing a great, unfamiliar effulgence, he thought! "What is
this?" Then, noting the palaces, he asked himself, "Whose place is
this?" And recognizing it as his own, he wondered, "How has it become
so transformed?”
86. As he continued to ponder in this way, the beautiful
men—and maidservants, as effulgent as demigods, came forward to greet their
greatly fortunate master with loud song and instrumental music.
87. The word pratyagrihnan ("they acknowledged in
turn") indicates that first Sudama accepted the servants within his mind,
deciding "My Lord must want me to have them," and in response to the
visible change in his attitude, they approached him as their master.
88. When she heard that her husband had arrived, the
brahmana 's wife quickly came out of the house in a jubilant flurry. She
resembled the goddess of fortune herself emerging from her divine abode.
89. Since Lord Krishna had turned Sudama's home and
native city into a heavenly abode, everyone living there now possessed
beautiful bodies and attire appropriate to the residents of heaven.
90. The night before, Sudama's poor, emaciated wife had
been sleeping in rags under a crumbling roof, but when she woke in the morning
she found herself and her house wonderfully changed. Only for a moment was she
confused; she then realized that this opulence was the Lord's gift to her
husband, who must be on his way home. Thus she prepared to greet him.
91. When the chaste lady saw her husband, her eyes filled
with tears of love and eagerness. As she held her eyes closed, she solemnly
bowed down to him, and in her heart she embraced him.
92. Sudama was amazed to see that woman (he didn’t
recognize as his wife). Shining forth in the midst of maidservants adorned with
jeweled lockets, she looked as effulgent as a demigoddess in her celestial
airplane.
93. Up to now the Supreme Lord had kept the brahmana in
his wretched state so that his wife could recognize him. Sudama was simply
astonished at the sight of that woman- his wife. As he wondered, "Who is
this demigod's wife who has approached such a fallen soul as me?" the
maidservants informed him, "This is indeed your wife." At that very
moment Sudama's body became young and beautiful, bedecked in fine clothing and
jewelry.
94. With pleasure he took his wife with him and entered
his house, where there were hundreds of gem-studded pillars, just as in the
palace of Lord Mahendra. In Sudama's home were beds as soft and white as the
foam of milk, with bedsteads made of ivory and ornamented with gold. There were
also couches with golden legs, as well as royal camara fans, golden thrones,
soft cushions and gleaming canopies hung with strings of pearls. Upon the walls
of sparkling crystal glass, inlaid with precious emeralds, shone jeweled lamps,
and the women in the palace were all adorned with precious gems. As he viewed
this luxurious opulence of all varieties, the brahmana calmly reasoned to
himself about his unexpected prosperity.
95. [Sudama thought:] “I have always been poor. Certainly
the only possible way that such an unfortunate person as myself could become
suddenly rich is that Lord Krishna, the supremely opulent chief of the Yadu
dynasty, has glanced upon me.
96. After all, my friend Krishna, the most exalted of the
Dasarhas and the enjoyer of unlimited wealth, noticed that I secretly intended
to beg from Him. Thus even though He said nothing about it when I stood before
Him, He actually bestowed upon me the most abundant riches. In this way He
acted just like a merciful rain cloud.”
97. Krishna did not tell Sudama how He was going to
fulfill his unspoken request because He was thinking at the time, "My dear
friend has given Me these grains of rice, which are greater than all the
treasures I own. Even though in his own house he had no such gift to bring Me,
he took the trouble of begging it from a neighbor. Therefore it is only proper
that I give him something more valuable than all My possessions. But nothing is
equal to or greater than what I possess, so all I can do is give him such
meager things as the treasures of Indra, Brahma and other demigods."
Embarrassed at being unable to properly reciprocate His devotee's offering,
Lord Krishna bestowed His favor on the brahmana silently. The Lord acted just
like a magnanimous rain cloud which provides the necessities of life for
everyone near and far but feels ashamed that its rain is too insignificant a
gift to give in return for the abundant offerings that farmers make to it. Out
of shame the cloud may wait until nighttime, when the farmers are asleep,
before watering their fields.
98. “The Lord considers even His greatest benedictions to
be insignificant, while He magnifies even a small service rendered to Him by
His well-wishing devotee. Thus with pleasure the Supreme Soul accepted a single
palmful of the flat rice I brought Him. The Lord is the supremely compassionate
reservoir of all transcendental qualities. Life after life may I serve Him with
love, friendship and sympathy, and may I cultivate such firm attachment for Him
by the precious association of His devotees. To a devotee who lacks spiritual
insight, the Supreme Lord will not grant the wonderful opulences of this
world-kingly power and material assets. Indeed, in His infinite wisdom the
unborn Lord well knows how the intoxication of pride can cause the downfall of
the wealthy.
99. Thus firmly fixing his determination by means of his
spiritual intelligence, Sudama remained absolutely devoted to Lord Krishna, the
shelter of all living beings. Free from avarice, he enjoyed, together with his
wife, the sense pleasures that had been bestowed upon him, always with the idea
of eventually renouncing all sense gratification.
100. Lord Hari is the God of all gods, the master of all
sacrifices, and the supreme ruler. But He accepts the saintly brahmanas as His
masters, and so there exists no deity higher than them.
101. Thus seeing how the unconquerable Supreme Lord is
nonetheless conquered by His own servants, the Lord's dear brahmana friend felt
the remaining knots of material attachment within his heart being cut by the
force of his constant meditation on the Lord. In a short time he attained Lord
Krishna's supreme abode, the destination of great saints.
102. Sudama's last trace of illusion lay in the subtle
pride of being a renounced brahmana. This trace was also destroyed by his
contemplating the Supreme Lord's submission to His devotees.
103. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the marriage of Laksmana and Krishna
1. Princess Sri Lakshmana said: “I repeatedly heard
Narada Muni glorify the appearances and activities of Acyuta, and thus my heart
also became attached to that Lord, Mukunda. Indeed, even Goddess Padmahasta,
the Goddess of fortune chose Him as her husband after careful consideration,
rejecting the great demigods who rule various planets.
2. My father, Brihatsena, was by nature compassionate to
his daughter, and knowing how I felt he arranged to fulfill my desire.
3. Just as an artificial fish-matsya- was used as a target
in your svayam-vara ceremony, O Queen, to assure that you would obtain Arjuna
as your husband, so a fish was also used in my ceremony. In my case, however,
it was concealed on all sides, and only its reflection could be seen in a pot
of water placed below at the bottom of the pillar. It could not be seen by
looking up. One had to hit with an arrow the fish, which was moving very
quickly and which was high up on the pillar, not looking straight up from the
angle of the water-pot.”
4. Arjuna is famous as the most expert bowman. Why, then,
could he not hit the fish target at Srimati Lakshmana's svayam-vara ceremony
just as he had done once before to win Draupadi? The target at Draupadi's
svayam-vara had been covered only partially, so that a marksman could see it if
he looked straight up the pillar on which it was placed. To shoot Lakshmana's
target, however, it was necessary to aim by looking up and down at the same
time, an impossible feat for any mortal. Therefore only Krishna could strike
the target.
5. “Hearing of this, thousands of kings expert in
shooting arrows and in wielding other weapons converged from all directions on
my father's city, accompanied by their military teachers.
6. My father properly honored each king according to his
strength and seniority. Then those whose minds were fixed on me took up the bow
and arrow and one by one tried to pierce the target in the midst of the
assembly.
7. Some of them picked up the bow but could not string
it, and so they threw it aside in frustration. Some managed to pull the
bowstring toward the tip of the bow, only to have the bow spring back and knock
them to the ground.
8. A few heroes—namely Jarasandha, Sisupala, Bhima,
Duryodhana, Karna and the King of Ambashtha—succeeded in stringing the bow, but
none of them could find the target.
9. Then Arjuna looked at the reflection of the fish in
the water and determined its position. When he carefully shot his arrow at it,
however, he did not pierce the target but merely grazed (=touch or scrape
lightly while passing) it.
10. Arjuna was more expert a marksman than the other
kings, but his physical strength was not adequate to the task of shooting it
with perfect accuracy.
11. After all the arrogant kings had given up, their
pride broken, the Supreme Personality of Godhead picked up the bow, easily
strung it and then fixed His arrow upon it. As the sun stood in the
constellation Abhijit, He looked at the fish in the water only once and then
pierced it with the arrow, shooting the arrow straight through the target,
knocking it to the ground.”
12. Each day the sun passes once through the lunar
constellation Abhijit, marking the period most auspicious for victory. On this
particular day the muhurta of Abhijit coincided with high noon, further
emphasizing Lord Krishna's greatness by making the target all the more
difficult to see.
13. “Kettledrums resounded in the sky, and on the earth
people shouted "Jaya! Jaya!" Overjoyed, demigods showered flowers.
14. Just then I walked onto the ceremonial ground, the
ankle bells on my feet gently tinkling. I was wearing new garments of the
finest silk, tied with a belt, and I carried a brilliant necklace fashioned of
gold and jewels. There was a shy smile on my face and a wreath of flowers in my
hair.”
15. Sri Lakshmana was so excited by remembering how she
obtained the Supreme Lord that she forgot her natural shyness and went on to
describe her own triumph.
16. “I lifted my face, which was encircled by my abundant
locks and effulgent from the glow of my earrings reflected from my cheeks.
Smiling coolly, I glanced about. Then, looking around at all the kings, I
slowly placed the necklace on the shoulder of Murari, who had captured my
heart.
17. Just then there were loud sounds of conchshells and
mridanga, pataha, bheri and anaka drums, as well as other instruments. Men and
women began to dance, and singers began to sing.
18. The leading kings there could not tolerate my having
chosen the Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Draupadi. Burning with lust, they
became quarrelsome.
19. The Lord then placed me on His chariot, drawn by four
most excellent horses. Donning His armor and readying His bow Sarnga, He stood
on the chariot, and there on the battleground He manifested His four arms.”
20. With two of His four arms, Lord Krishna embraced His
bride, and with the other two He held His bow and arrows.
21. Daruka drove the Lord's gold-trimmed chariot as the
kings looked on, O Queen, like small animals helplessly watching a lion.
22. The kings pursued the Lord like village dogs chasing
a lion. Some kings, raising their bows, stationed themselves on the road to
stop Him as He passed by.
23. These warriors were deluged by arrows shot from the
Lord's bow, Sarnga. Some of the kings fell on the battlefield with severed
arms, legs and necks; the rest gave up the fight and fled.
24. The Lord of the Yadus then entered His capital city,
Kusasthali [Dvaraka], which is glorified in heaven and on earth. The city was
elaborately decorated with flagpoles carrying banners that blocked the sun, and
also with splendid archways. As Lord Krishna entered, He appeared like the
sun-god entering his abode.”
25. The abode of the sun is in the western mountains,
where he sets each evening.
26. “My father honored his friends, family and in-laws
with priceless clothing and jewelry and with royal beds, thrones and other
furnishings.
27. With devotion he presented the perfectly complete
Lord with a number of maidservants bedecked with precious ornaments.
Accompanying these maidservants were guards walking on foot and others riding
elephants, chariots and horses. He also gave the Lord extremely valuable
weapons.
28. Thus, by renouncing all material association and
practicing austere penances, we queens have all become personal maidservants of
the self-satisfied Supreme Lord.”
29. Srimati Lakshmana became embarrassed when she
realized that she had been talking about herself, and so she spoke this verse
praising her co-wives. In her humility Lakshmana claimed that Krishna's queens,
unlike ordinary wives, could not bring their husband under control, and thus
they could relate to Him only as servile housekeepers. In fact, however, since
the Lord's queens are direct expansions of His internal pleasure potency
(hladini-sakti), they fully controlled Him with their love.
30. Arjuna the partial incarnation of the king of the
demigods, Indra, touched the fish with his arrow but not the centre of the
fish, Krishna's arrow pierced the fish.
31. There is a superior to Indra, the king of the
demigods.
32. That is Krishna, the king of all the kings, including
the king of the demigods.
33. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the retrieving of Devaki's sons who were
killed by Kamsa
1. One day the two sons of Vasudeva—Sankarshana
(Balarama) and Acyuta (Krishna)—came to pay him respects, bowing down at his
feet. Vasudeva greeted Them with great affection and spoke to Them.
2. Having heard the great sages' words concerning the
power of his two sons, and having seen Their valorous deeds, Vasudeva became
convinced of Their divinity. Thus, addressing Them by name, he spoke to Them as
follows.
3. “O Krishna, Krishna, best of yogis, O eternal
Sankarshana! I know that You two are personally the source of universal creation
and the ingredients of creation as well.”
4. Pradhana is the creative energy of the purusha, the
Supreme Person. Thus, of these two principles, the pradhana is the predominated
energy, female, incapable of independent action, while the purusha is the
absolutely independent, primeval creator and enjoyer. Neither Krishna nor His
brother Balarama belong to the category of subordinate energy; rather, both of
Them together are the original purusha, who is always joined by His manifold
potencies of pleasure, knowledge and creative emanation.
5. “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who
manifest as the Lord of both nature and the creator of nature [Maha-vishnu].
Everything that comes into existence, however and whenever it does so, is
created within You, by You, from You, for You and in relation to You.
6. O transcendental Lord, from Yourself You created this
entire variegated universe, and then You entered within it in Your personal
form as the Supersoul. In this way, O unborn Supreme Soul, as the life force
and consciousness of everyone, You maintain the creation.
7. Whatever potencies the life air and other elements of
universal creation exhibit are actually all personal energies of the Supreme
Lord, for both life and matter are subordinate to Him and dependent on Him, and
also different from one another. Thus everything active in the material world
is set into motion by the Supreme Lord.
8. The glow of the moon, the brilliance of fire, the
radiance of the sun, the twinkling of the stars, the flash of lightning, the
permanence of mountains and the aroma and sustaining power of the earth—all
these are actually You.
9. My Lord, You are water, and also its taste and and its
capacities to quench thirst and sustain life. You exhibit Your potencies
through the manifestations of the air as bodily warmth, vitality, mental power,
physical strength, endeavor and movement.
10. You are the directions and their accommodating
capacity, the all-pervading ether and the elemental sound residing within it.
You are the primeval, unmanifested form of sound; the first syllable, om; and
audible speech, by which sound, as words, acquires particular references.
11. You are the power of the senses to reveal their
objects, the senses' presiding demigods, and the sanction these demigods give
for sensory activity. You are the capacity of the intelligence for
decision-making, and the living being's ability to remember things accurately.
12. You are false ego in the mode of ignorance, which is
the source of the physical elements; false ego in the mode of passion, which is
the source of the bodily senses; false ego in the mode of goodness, which is
the source of the demigods; and the unmanifest, total material energy, which
underlies everything.
13. You are the one indestructible entity among all the
destructible things of this world, like the underlying substance that is seen
to remain unchanged while the things made from it undergo transformations.
14. The modes of material nature—namely goodness, passion
and ignorance—together with all their functions, become directly manifest within
You, the Supreme Absolute Truth, by the arrangement of Your Yogamaya.
15. Thus these created entities, transformations of
material nature, do not exist except when material nature manifests them within
You, at which time You also manifest within them. But aside from such periods
of creation, You stand alone as the transcendental reality.
16. They are truly ignorant who, while imprisoned within
the ceaseless flow of this world's material qualities, fail to know You, the
Supreme Soul of all that be, as their ultimate, sublime destination. Because of
their ignorance, the entanglement of material work forces such souls to wander
in the cycle of birth and death.
17. By good fortune a soul may obtain a healthy human
life—an opportunity rarely achieved. But if he is nonetheless deluded about
what is best for him, O Lord, Your illusory Maya will cause him to waste his
entire life.
18. You keep this whole world bound up by the ropes of
affection, and thus when people consider their material bodies, they think,
"This is me," and when they consider their progeny and other
relations, they think, "These are mine.”
19. You are not our sons but the very Lords of both
material nature and its creator [Maha-vishnu]. As You Yourself have told us,
You have descended to rid the earth of the rulers who are a heavy burden upon
her.
20. Therefore, O friend of the distressed, I now approach
Your lotus feet for shelter—the same lotus feet that dispel all fear of worldly
existence for those who have surrendered to them. Enough! Enough with hankering
for sense enjoyment, which makes me identify with this mortal body and think of
You, the Supreme, as my child.
21. Indeed, while still in the maternity room You told us
that You, the unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son in
previous ages. After manifesting each of these transcendental bodies to protect
Your own principles of religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing
and disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified, all-pervading Lord, who
can understand the mystic, deluding potency of Your opulent expansions?”
22. Having heard His father's words, the Supreme Lord,
leader of the Satvatas, replied in a gentle voice as He bowed His head in
humility and smiled.
23. “My dear father, I consider your statements
appropriate, since you have explained the various categories of existence by
referring to Us, your sons.
24. Not only I, but also you, along with My respected
brother and these residents of Dvaraka, should all be considered in this same
philosophical light, O best of the Yadus. Indeed, we should include all that
exists, both moving and nonmoving.
25. The supreme spirit, Paramatma, is indeed one. He is
self-luminous and eternal, transcendental and devoid of material qualities. But
through the agency of the very modes He has created, the one Supreme Truth
manifests as many among the expansions of those modes.
26. The elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth
become visible, invisible, minute or extensive as they manifest in various
objects. Similarly, the Paramatma, though one, appears to become many.”
27. Hearing these instructions spoken to him by the
Supreme Lord, Vasudeva became freed from all ideas of duality. Satisfied at
heart, he remained silent.
28. At that time, O best of the Kurus, the universally
worshiped Devaki took the opportunity to address her two sons, Krishna and
Balarama. Previously she had heard with astonishment that They had brought
Their spiritual master's son back from death. Now, thinking of her own sons who
had been murdered by Kamsa, she felt great sorrow, and thus with tear-filled
eyes she beseeched Krishna and Balarama.
29. “O Rama, Rama, immeasurable Supreme Soul! O Krishna,
Lord of all masters of yoga! I know that You are the ultimate rulers of all
universal creators, the primeval Personalities of Godhead.
30. Taking birth from me, You have now descended to this
world in order to kill those kings whose good qualities have been destroyed by
the present age, and who thus defy the authority of revealed scriptures and
burden the earth.
31. O Soul of all that be, the creation, maintenance and
destruction of the universe are all carried out by a fraction of an expansion
of an expansion of Your expansion. Today I have come to take shelter of You,
the Supreme Lord.
32. It is said that when Your spiritual master ordered
You to retrieve his long-dead son, You brought him back from the forefathers'
abode as a token of remuneration for Your guru's mercy. Please fulfill my
desire in the same way, O supreme masters of all yoga masters. Please bring
back my sons who were killed by the King of Bhoja, so that I may see them once
again.”
33. Thus entreated by Their mother, Balarama and Krishna
employed Their mystic Yogamaya potency and entered the region of Sutala-loka,
situated downwards in this universe, calculated from the ecliptic.
34. When the King of the Daityas, Bali Maharaja, noticed
the arrival of the two Lords, his heart overflowed with joy, since he knew Them
to be the Supreme Soul and worshipable Deity of the entire universe, and
especially of himself. He immediately stood up and then bowed down to offer
respects, along with his entire entourage.
35. Bali took pleasure in offering Them elevated seats.
After They sat down, he washed the feet of the two Supreme Personalities. Then
he took that water, which purifies the whole world even up to Lord Brahma, and
poured it upon himself and his followers.
36. He worshiped Them with all the riches at his
disposal—priceless clothing, ornaments, fragrant sandalwood paste, betel nut,
lamps, sumptuous food and so on. Thus he offered Them all his family's wealth,
and also his own self.
37. Taking hold of the Lords' lotus feet again and again,
Bali, the conqueror of Indra's army, spoke from his heart, which was melting
out of his intense love. As tears of ecstasy filled his eyes and the hair on
his limbs stood on end, he began to speak with faltering words.
38. “Obeisances to the unlimited Lord, Ananta, the
greatest of all beings. And obeisances to Lord Krishna, the creator of the
universe, who appears as the impersonal Absolute and the Supersoul in order to
disseminate the principles of sankhya and yoga.
39. Seeing You Lords is a rare achievement for most
living beings. But even persons like us, situated in the modes of passion and
ignorance, can easily see You when You reveal Yourself by Your own sweet will.
40. Many who had been constantly absorbed in enmity
toward You ultimately became attracted to You, who are the direct embodiment of
transcendental goodness and whose divine form comprises the revealed
scriptures. These reformed enemies include Daityas, Danavas, Gandharvas,
Siddhas, Vidyadharas, Caranas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Pisacas, Bhutas, Pramathas
and Nayakas, and also ourselves and many others like us. Some of us have become
attracted to You because of exceptional hatred, while others have become
attracted because of their mood of devotion based on lust. But the demigods and
others infatuated by material goodness feel no such attraction for You.”
41. The Lord awards sense gratification to those demigods
who are proud of their being situated in the mode of goodness; thus they become
deluded and forget Him.
42. “What to speak of ourselves, O Lord of all perfect
yogis, even the greatest mystics do not know what Your spiritual power of
delusion is or how it acts.
43. Please be merciful to me so I may get out of the
blind well of family life—my false home—and find the true shelter of Your lotus
feet, which selfless sages always seek. Then, either alone or in the company of
great saints, who are the friends of everyone, I may wander freely, finding
life's necessities at the feet of the universally charitable trees.
44. O Lord of all subordinate creatures, please tell us
what to do and thus free us of all sin. One who faithfully executes Your
command, O master, is no longer obliged to follow the ordinary Vedic rites.”
45. The Supreme Lord said: “During the age of the first
Manu, the sage Marici had six sons by his wife Irna. They were all exalted
demigods, but once they laughed at Lord Brahma when they saw him preparing to
have sex with his own daughter.
46. Because of that improper act, they immediately
entered a demoniac form of life, and thus they took birth as sons of
Hiranyakasipu. The goddess Yogamaya then took them away from Hiranyakasipu, and
they were born again from Devaki's womb. After this, O King, Kamsa murdered
them. Devaki still laments for them, thinking of them as her sons. These same
sons of Marici are now living here with you.”
47. After taking Marici's six sons from Hiranyakasipu,
Lord Krishna's Yogamaya first made them pass through one more life as children
of another great demon, Kalanemi, and then she finally transferred them to the
womb of Devaki. Marici's sons were condemned for their offense against Lord
Brahma, and in addition Hiranyakasipu once cursed them to be killed by their
own father in a future life. This curse was fulfilled by Vasudeva's letting
Kamsa murder them one by one.
48. “We wish to take them from this place to dispel their
mother's sorrow. Then, released from their curse and free from all suffering,
they will return to their home in heaven.
49. By My grace these six—Smara, Udgitha, Parishvanga,
Patanga, Kshudrabhrit and Ghrini—will return to the abode of pure saints.”
50. After saying this, Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama,
having been duly worshiped by Bali Maharaja, took the six sons and returned to
Dvaraka, where They presented them to Their mother.
51. When she saw her lost children, Goddess Devaki felt
such affection for them that milk flowed from her breasts. She embraced them
and took them onto her lap, smelling their heads again and again.
52. Lovingly she let her sons drink from her breast,
which became wet with milk just by their touch. She was entranced by the same
illusory energy of Lord Vishnu that initiates the creation of the universe.
53. The word srishti can here also refer to the creative
process by which Lord Vishnu's Yogamaya arranges the settings and situations of
His pastimes. There is indeed no question of mother Devaki being affected by
the material aspect of Maya.
54. By drinking her nectarean milk, the remnants of what
Krishna Himself had previously drunk, the six sons touched the transcendental
body of the Lord, Narayana, and this contact awakened them to their original
identities as demigods. They bowed down to Govinda, Devaki, their father and
Balarama, and then, as everyone looked on, they left for the abode of the
demigods.
55. Lord Krishna remained as an infant with Devaki and
Vasudeva for only a very short time. First the Lord appeared before them in His
four-armed Vishnu form, and after hearing their prayers He changed Himself into
an apparently ordinary infant for their pleasure. But to save Krishna from
suffering His brothers' fate, Vasudeva at once removed Him from Kamsa's prison.
Just before Vasudeva took Him away, mother Devaki suckled Krishna once so that
He would not feel thirsty during the long trip to Nanda-vraja.
56. Seeing her sons return from death and then depart
again, saintly Devaki was struck with wonder. She concluded that this was all
simply yoga-maya (divine magic) created by Krishna.
57. The 6 sons of devaki (before the birth of Krishna and
Balarama) were killed directly after birth. Krishna and Balarama went to one
planet Sutala loka situated downwards in this universe. They brought these 6
conditioned souls back to Devaki, who gave them her breastmilk, from breasts suckled
before by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This all was only possible by
inconceivable potencies. These 6 souls had been demigods before but were
cursed. Now they became so purified by touching Devaki that they awakened their
original identities and went back to the spiritual world.
58. Krishna is God. God exists.
The argument of Krishna and the sages, simultaneously in
the palace of king Bahulasva and the house of the brahmana Srutadeva.
1. There was a devotee of Krishna's known as Srutadeva,
who was a first-class brahmana. Perfectly satisfied by rendering unalloyed
devotional service to Lord Krishna, he was peaceful, learned and free from
sense gratification.
2. Living as a religious householder in the city of
Mithila, within the kingdom of Videha, he managed to fulfill his obligations
while maintaining himself with whatever sustenance easily came his way.
3. By the will of Providence he obtained each day just what
he needed for his maintenance, and no more. Satisfied with this much, he
properly executed his religious duties.
4. Similarly free from false ego was the ruler of that
kingdom, a descendant of the Mithila dynasty named Bahulasva. Both these
devotees were very dear to Lord Acyuta.
5. Pleased with both of them, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead mounted His chariot, which Daruka had brought, and traveled to Videha
with a group of sages.
6. Srutadeva and Bahulasva were unable to travel to
Dvaraka to see Lord Krishna because both of them had vowed to regularly worship
their personal Deity at home. Sri Krishna was very glad to go out of His way to
give them both His audience, and while leaving Dvaraka He insisted that the
sages who wanted to come with Him should join Him on His chariot, because
otherwise they would exhaust themselves following on foot. Renowned sages would
ordinarily never even consider traveling in such an opulent conveyance, but on
the Lord's order they put aside their natural aversion and joined Him on His
chariot.
7. Among these sages were Narada, Vamadeva, Atri,
Krishna-dvaipayana Vyasa, Parasurama, Asita, Aruni, myself, Brihaspati, Kanva,
Maitreya and Cyavana.
8. In every city and town the Lord passed along the way,
the people came forward to worship Him with offerings of arghya water in their
hands, as if to worship the risen sun surrounded by planets.
9. The men and women of Anarta, Dhanva, Kuru-jangala,
Kanka, Matsya, Pancala, Kunti, Madhu, Kekaya, Kosala, Arna and many other
kingdoms drank with their eyes the nectarean beauty of Lord Krishna's lotuslike
face, which was graced with generous smiles and affectionate glances.
10. Simply by glancing at those who came to see Him, Lord
Krishna, the spiritual master of the three worlds, delivered them from the
blindness of materialism. As He thus endowed them with fearlessness and divine
vision, He heard demigods and humans singing His glories, which purify the
entire universe and destroy all misfortune. Gradually, He reached Videha.
11. How the ordinary people along the path could even see
the Lord, since not only were their eyes covered by ignorance, but the Lord's
chariot was traveling faster than the wind. Lord Krishna's special glance of
mercy empowered every one of them with the devotional purity required for
entering into His association. Otherwise, He would have remained outside the
scope of their power to see, as He Himself states in His instructions to
Uddhava: bhaktyaham ekaya grahyah. "I can be perceived only by
devotion." (SB 11.14.21)
12. Hearing that Lord Acyuta had arrived, the residents
of the cities and villages of Videha joyfully came forth to receive Him with
offerings in their hands.
13. As soon as the people saw Lord Uttamasloka, their
faces and hearts blossomed with affection. Joining their palms above their
heads, they bowed down to the Lord and to the sages accompanying Him, whom they
had previously only heard about.
14. Both the King of Mithila and Srutadeva fell at the
Lord's feet, each thinking that the spiritual master of the universe had come
there just to show him mercy.
15. At exactly the same time, King Maithila and Srutadeva
each went forward with joined palms and invited the Lord of the Dasarhas to be
his guest, along with the brahmana sages.
16. Wanting to please them both, the Lord accepted both
their invitations. Thus He simultaneously went to both homes, and neither could
see Him entering the other's house.
17. Krishna visited Srutadeva and Bahulasva at the same
time by manifesting Himself in duplicate forms, along with the sages. Thus King
Bahulasva thought that Lord Krishna had come only to his house, leaving
Srutadeva to return home disappointed, while Srutadeva believed that just the
reverse was the case. That Lord Krishna and His companions were present in both
houses, although both the brahmana and the King thought He was present in one
house only, is another opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This
opulence is described in the revealed scriptures as vaibhava-prakasa. When Lord
Krishna married sixteen thousand wives, He expanded Himself into sixteen
thousand forms, each one of them as powerful as He Himself. Similarly, in
Vrindavana, when Brahma stole Krishna’s calves and cowherd boys, Krishna
expanded Himself into many new calves and boys.
18. When King Bahulasva, a descendant of Janaka, saw Lord
Krishna approaching his house from a distance with the sages, who were somewhat
fatigued from the journey, he immediately arranged to have seats of honor
brought out for them. After they were all comfortably seated, the wise King,
his heart overflowing with joy and his eyes clouded by tears, bowed down to
them and washed their feet with intense devotion. Taking the wash water, which
could purify the entire world, he sprinkled it on his head and the heads of his
family members. Then he worshiped all those great lords by offering them
fragrant sandalwood paste, flower garlands, fine clothing and ornaments,
incense, lamps, arghya and cows and bulls.
19. When they had eaten to their full satisfaction, for
their further pleasure the King began to speak slowly and in a gentle voice as
he held Lord Vishnu's feet in his lap and happily massaged them.
20. “O almighty Lord, You are the Soul of all created
beings, their self-illumined witness, and now You are giving Your audience to
us, who constantly meditate on Your lotus feet.”
21. Bahulasva's inner thoughts are as follows: Bahulasva
glorifies Lord Krishna as the inspiring Soul of all life and consciousness,
thinking that even an inert dullard like himself could be awakened to
devotional awareness by His mercy. He glorifies the Lord as the witness of all
pious and impious actions, confident that the Lord remembers whatever little
devotional service he has ever done. And he glorifies Him as self-illumined,
never needing to be enlightened or informed by any external source, with the
knowledge that the Lord has always been aware of Bahulasva's long-cherished
secret desire to see Him.
22. “You have said, "Neither Ananta, Goddess Sri nor
unborn Brahma is dearer to Me than My unalloyed devotee." To prove Your
own words true, You have now revealed Yourself to our eyes. What person who
knows this truth would ever abandon Your lotus feet, when You are ready to give
Your very self to peaceful sages who call nothing their own? Appearing in the
Yadu dynasty, You have spread Your glories, which can remove all the sins of
the three worlds, just to deliver those entrapped in the cycle of birth and
death. Obeisances to You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna,
whose intelligence is ever unrestricted. Obeisances to the sage Nara-Narayana,
who always undergoes austerities in perfect peace.”
23. The King offered these prayers to encourage Lord
Krishna to remain at his home for some days. The King thought, "Since
contact with the Supreme Lord can free anyone from misconceptions and doubts,
Krishna's presence in my home will fortify my intelligence so that I can
withstand the onslaughts of material desires. In His expansion as Nara-Narayana
Rishi, the Lord always resides in Badarikasrama for the good of the whole land
of Bharata, and so He may also create good fortune for the land of Mithila by
remaining here for at least a few days. Since Lord Krishna's propensity is
toward peace and simplicity, He will certainly prefer my simple home to the
excessive opulence of Dvaraka.
24. “Please stay a few days in our house, along with
these brahmanas, O all-pervading one, and with the dust of Your feet sanctify
this dynasty of Nimi.”
25. Thus invited by the King, the Supreme Lord, sustainer
of the world, consented to stay for some time to bestow good fortune on the men
and women of Mithila.
26. Srutadeva received Lord Acyuta into his home with as
much enthusiasm as that shown by King Bahulasva. After bowing down to the Lord
and the sages, Srutadeva began to dance with great joy, waving his shawl. After
bringing mats of grass and darbha straw and seating his guests upon them, he
greeted them with words of welcome. Then he and his wife washed their feet with
great pleasure.
27. To provide even this simple welcome, Srutadeva had to
go next door to his neighbors and borrow extra mats.
28. With the wash water, the virtuous Srutadeva copiously
sprinkled himself, his house and his family. Overjoyed, he felt that all his
desires had now been fulfilled. He worshiped them with offerings of auspicious
items easily available to him, such as fruits, usira root, pure, nectarean
water, fragrant clay, tulasi leaves, kusa grass and lotus flowers. Then he
offered them food that increases the mode of goodness.
29. He wondered: “How is it that I, fallen into the blind
well of family life, have been able to meet Lord Krishna? And how have I also
been allowed to meet these great brahmanas, who always carry the Lord within
their hearts? Indeed, the dust of their feet is the shelter of all holy
places.”
30. When his guests were seated comfortably, having each
received a proper welcome, Srutadeva approached them and sat down nearby with
his wife, children and other dependents. Then, while massaging the Lord's feet,
he addressed Krishna and the sages.
31. “It is not that we have attained the audience of the
Supreme Person only today, for we have in fact been associating with Him ever
since He created this universe with His energies and then entered it in His
transcendental form. The Lord is like a sleeping person who creates a separate
world in his imagination and then enters his own dream and sees himself within
it.”
32. In the illusion of his dream, a sleeping person
creates an apparent world, complete with cities populated by the fictional
products of his imagination. In somewhat the same way, the Lord manifests the
cosmos. Of course, the creation is not illusory for the Lord, but it is for
those souls who are put under the control of His Maya potency. As her service
to the Lord, Maya deludes the conditioned souls into accepting as real her
temporary, insubstantial manifestations.
33. “You reveal Yourself within the hearts of those
persons of pure consciousness who constantly hear about You, chant about You,
worship You, glorify You and converse with one another about You. Let me offer
my obeisances unto You. You are realized as the Supreme Soul by those who know
the Absolute Truth, whereas in Your form of time You impose death upon the
forgetful souls. You appear both in Your causeless spiritual form and in the
created form of this universe, thus simultaneously uncovering the eyes of Your
devotees and obstructing the vision of the nondevotees.”
34. When the Lord appears before His devotees in His
eternal, spiritual form, their eyes become "uncovered" in the sense
that all vestiges of illusion are dispelled and they drink in the beautiful
vision of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. For the nondevotees,
on the other hand, the Lord "appears" as material nature, His
universal form, and in this way He covers their vision so that His spiritual,
personal form remains invisible to them.
35. “O Lord, You are that Supreme Soul, and we are Your
servants. How shall we serve You? My Lord, simply seeing You puts an end to all
the troubles of human life.”
36. After hearing Srutadeva speak these words, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who relieves His surrendered devotees'
distress, took Srutadeva's hand in His own and, smiling, spoke to him as
follows.
37. Lord Krishna took Srutadeva's hand and smiled as a
gesture of friendship, to tell him, "Yes, you know the truth about Me, and
I also know all about you. So now I will tell you something special.”
38. “My dear brahmana, you should know that these great
sages have come here just to bless you. They travel throughout the worlds with
Me, purifying them with the dust of their feet.”
39. Lord Krishna thought Srutadeva had shown too much
reverence to Him and not enough to the sages, and thus He turned the brahmana's
attention to them.
40. “One can gradually become purified by seeing,
touching and worshiping temple deities, places of pilgrimage and holy rivers.
But one can attain the same result immediately simply by receiving the glance
of exalted sages. By his very birth, a brahmana is the best of all living beings
in this world, and he becomes even more exalted when he is endowed with
austerity, learning and self-satisfaction, what to speak of devotion to Me.
Even My own four-armed form is no dearer to Me than a brahmana. Within himself
a learned brahmana comprises all the Vedas, just as within Myself I comprise
all the demigods. Ignorant of this truth, foolish people neglect and enviously
offend a learned brahmana, who, being nondifferent from Me, is their spiritual
master and very self. They consider worshipable only such obvious
manifestations of divinity as My Deity form. Therefore you should worship these
brahmana sages, O brahmana, with the same faith you have in Me. If you do so,
you will worship Me directly, which you cannot do otherwise, even with offerings
of vast riches.”
41. So instructed by his Lord, with single-minded
devotion Srutadeva worshiped Sri Krishna and the topmost brahmanas accompanying
Him, and King Bahulasva did the same. Thus both Srutadeva and the King attained
the ultimate transcendental destination. The Personality of Godhead, who is
devoted to His own devotees, stayed for some time with His two great devotees
Srutadeva and Bahulasva, teaching them the behavior of perfect saints. Then the
Lord returned to Dvaraka.
42. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the deliverance of Lord Siva from the
demon Vrka
1. Question:”Those demigods, demons and humans who
worship Lord Siva, a strict renunciant, usually enjoy wealth and sense
gratification, while the worshipers of the Supreme Lord Hari, the husband of
the goddess of fortune, do not.”
2. Answer: “Lord Siva is always united with his personal
energy, the material nature. Manifesting himself in three features in response
to the entreaties (= earnest request, prayer) of nature's three modes, he thus
embodies the threefold principle of material ego in goodness, passion and
ignorance. The sixteen elements have evolved as transformations of that false
ego. When a devotee of Lord Siva worships his manifestation in any one of these
elements, the devotee obtains all sorts of corresponding enjoyable opulences.”
3. False ego transforms into the mind, in sattva-guna,
ten senses (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, hands, feet, voice, genitals
and anus), in raja-guna, and five physical elements (earth, water, fire, air
and ether), in tama-guna. Lord Siva appears in a special linga form in each of
these sixteen substances, which are worshiped individually as deities in
various sacred locations of the universe. A devotee of Siva may worship one of
his particular lingas to obtain the mystic opulences pertaining to it. Thus
Lord Siva's akasa-linga bestows the opulences of ether, his jyotir-linga
bestows the opulences of fire, and so on.
4. “Lord Hari, however, has no connection with the
material modes. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-seeing
eternal witness, who is transcendental to material nature. One who worships Him
becomes similarly free from the material modes.”
5. Lord Vishnu is situated in His own transcendental
position, beyond the material energy. Why, therefore, should His worship bear
the fruit of material opulence? The real fruit of worshiping Lord Vishnu is
transcendental knowledge. Thus Lord Vishnu's worshiper gains the eye of
transcendental knowledge instead of being blinded by mundane assets. The Lord
being the detached witness of the material creation, His devotee also becomes
aloof from the interaction of the Lord's inferior energies.
6. “The modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, whose
individual natures are peaceful, violent and foolish, are personally regulated
by Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, respectively
7. Lord Vishnu's peaceful mode of goodness does not
differ substantially from His original, spiritual qualities, although it is
only a partial manifestation of them within this world. Thus Lord Vishnu's mode
of goodness is never tainted by agitation [in passion] or delusion [in
ignorance].
8. By the modes of passion and ignorance, on the other
hand, the original, spiritual qualities of Lord Brahma and Lord Rudra are
obscured. Thus these spiritual qualities appear only partially, as separated,
material qualities.
9. According to their mode of worship, devotees of
Brahma, Rudra and other demigods obtain the limited success of material
opulences. Eventually they may possibly become qualified for full liberation.
10. Therefore focusing one's consciousness upon Lord
Vishnu, the embodiment of all goodness, leads one to liberation. Such God
consciousness also generates material success as a by-product, but its proper nature
is pure spiritual ecstasy.”
11. The Personality of Godhead answered: “If I especially
favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and
friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one
distress after another. When he becomes frustrated in his attempts to make
money and instead befriends My devotees, I bestow My special mercy upon him. A
person who has thus become sober fully realizes the Absolute as the highest
truth, the most subtle and perfect manifestation of spirit, the transcendental
existence without end. In this way realizing that the Supreme Truth is the
foundation of his own existence, he is freed from the cycle of material life.”
12. A devotee is relieved of all karmic reactions, including
those that have not yet begun to manifest (aprarabdha), those that are just
about to manifest (kuta), those that are barely manifesting (bija) and those
that have manifested fully (prarabdha). As a lotus gradually loses its many
petals, so a person who takes shelter of devotional service has all his karmic
reactions destroyed. Those who practice devotional service remain in material
bodies and apparently material situations for some time, this is simply an
expression of the inconceivable mercy of the Lord, who bestows the fruits of
devotion only when it has become pure. In every stage of devotion, however, the
Lord watches over His devotee and sees to the gradual elimination of his karma.
Thus despite the fact that the happiness and distress devotees experience
resemble ordinary karmic reactions, they are in fact given by the Lord Himself.
13. An analogy: A very affectionate father takes the
responsibility of restricting his children's play and making them go to school.
He knows that this is a genuine expression of his love for them, even if the
children fail to understand. Similarly, the Supreme Lord Vishnu is mercifully
strict with all His dependents, not only with immature devotees struggling to
become qualified. Even perfect saints like Prahlada, Dhruva and Yudhishthira
were subjected to great tribulations, all for their glorification.
14. Suffering helps protect the confidentiality of
devotional service by discouraging intrusions by the faithless.
15. It is at night that the sunrise becomes attractive,
during the hot summer that cold water gives comfort, and during the cold winter
months that warm water is pleasing. Lamplight appears attractive in darkness,
not in the glaring light of day, and when one is distressed by hunger, food
tastes especially good." In other words, to strengthen his devotees' mood
of dependence on Him and longing for Him, the Lord arranges for His devotees to
go through some suffering, and when He appears in order to deliver them, their
gratitude and transcendental pleasure are boundless.
16. Krishna continued: “Because I am difficult to
worship, people generally avoid Me and instead worship other deities, who are
quickly satisfied. When people receive kingly opulences from these deities,
they become arrogant, intoxicated with pride and neglectful of their duties.
They dare to offend even the demigods who have bestowed benedictions upon
them.”
17. Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Siva and others are
able to curse or bless one. Lord Siva and Lord Brahma are very quick to curse
or bestow benedictions, my dear King, but the infallible Supreme Lord is not.
18. In this connection, an ancient historical account is
related concerning how the Lord of Kailasa Mountain was put into danger by
offering a choice of benedictions to the demon Vrika.
19. The demon named Vrika, a son of Sakuni's, once met
Narada on the road. The wicked fellow asked him which of the three chief gods
could be pleased most quickly.
20. Narada told him: “Worship Lord Siva and you will soon
achieve success. He quickly becomes pleased by seeing his worshiper's slightest
good qualities—and quickly angered by seeing his slightest fault. He became
pleased with ten-headed Ravana, and also with Bana, when they each chanted his
glories, like bards in a royal court. Lord Siva then bestowed unprecedented
power upon each of them, but in both cases he was consequently beset with great
difficulty.”
21. Ravana worshiped Lord Siva to gain power and then
misused that power to uproot the lord's residence, sacred Kailasa-parvata. On
Banasura's request, Lord Siva agreed to personally guard Bana's capital, and
later he had to fight for Bana against Sri Krishna and His sons.
22. Thus advised, the demon proceeded to worship Lord
Siva at Kedaranatha by taking pieces of flesh from his own body and offering them
as oblations into the sacred fire, which is Lord Siva's mouth.
23. Vrikasura became frustrated after failing to obtain a
vision of the lord. Finally, on the seventh day, after dipping his hair into
the holy waters at Kedaranatha and leaving it wet, he took up a hatchet and
prepared to cut off his head. But at that very moment the supremely merciful
Lord Siva rose up out of the sacrificial fire, looking like the god of fire
himself, and grabbed both arms of the demon to stop him from killing himself,
just as we would do. By Lord Siva's touch, Vrikasura once again became whole.
24. Lord Siva said to him: “My friend, please stop, stop!
Ask from me whatever you want, and I will bestow that boon upon you. Alas, you
have subjected your body to great torment for no reason, since I am pleased
with a simple offering of water from those who approach me for shelter.”
25. The benediction sinful Vrika chose from the lord
would terrify all living beings. Vrika said, "May death come to whomever I
touch upon the head with my hand.”
26. Upon hearing this, Lord Rudra seemed somewhat
disturbed. Nonetheless, he vibrated om to signify his assent, granting Vrika
the benediction with an ironic smile, as if giving milk to a poisonous snake.
27. In this way Vrkra wanted to become immortal, by
killing everyone including death. Vrkasura first of all wanted to kill Siva so
to take away Gauri, Siva's wife for his personal enjoyment.
28. Also, to test Lord Sambhu's benediction, the demon
then tried to put his hand on the lord's head. Thus Siva was frightened because
of what he himself had done.
29. As the demon pursued him, Lord Siva fled swiftly from
his abode in the north, shaking with terror. He ran as far as the limits of the
earth, the sky and the corners of the universe.
30. The great demigods could only remain silent, not
knowing how to counteract the benediction. Then Lord Siva reached the luminous
realm of Vaikuntha, beyond all darkness, where the Supreme Lord Narayana is
manifest. That realm is the destination of renunciants who have attained peace
and given up all violence against other creatures. Going there, one never
returns.
31. Lord Siva entered the planet of Svetadvipa, a special
outpost of the spiritual world within the confines of the material universe.
There, on a beautiful white island surrounded by the celestial ocean of milk,
Lord Vishnu rests on the serpent bed of Ananta Sesha, making Himself available
to the demigods when they need His help.
32. The Supreme Lord, who relieves His devotees'
distress, had seen from afar that Lord Siva was in danger. Thus by His mystic
Yogamaya potency He assumed the form of a brahmacari student, with the
appropriate belt, deerskin, rod and prayer beads, and came before Vrikasura.
The Lord's effulgence glowed brilliantly like fire. Holding kusa grass in His
hand, He humbly greeted the demon.
33. The disguised Lord Narayana said: "For Us seers
of the Absolute Truth, all created beings are worthy of respect. And since you
are the son of Sakuni, a wise man and performer of great austerities, you
certainly deserve the respectful greeting of a young brahmacari like Myself.”
34. The Supreme Lord said: “My dear son of Sakuni, you
appear tired. Why have you come such a great distance? Please rest for a
minute. After all, it is one's body that fulfills all one's desires.”
35. Before the demon could argue that he had no time to
take rest, the Lord informed him about the importance of the body, and the
demon was convinced. Any man, especially a demon, takes his body to be very
important.
36. “O mighty one, please tell Us what you intend to do,
if We are qualified to hear it. Usually one accomplishes his purposes by taking
help from others.”
37. Even an envious demon will not refuse the help of a
brahmana's potency to gain his ends. The brahmacari was dressed as a follower
of Siva and was very effulgent and attractive. By saying, “Son of Sakuni”, he
also gained confidence; that He was someone known to his family.
38. Thus questioned by the Personality of Godhead in
language that poured down upon him like sweet nectar, Vrika felt relieved of
his fatigue. He described to the Lord everything he had done.
39. The Supreme Lord said: “If this is the case, We
cannot believe what Siva says; Siva is the same lord of the Pretas and Pisacas
whom Daksha cursed to become like a carnivorous hobgoblin. O best of the
demons, if you have any faith in him because he is the spiritual master of the
universe, then without delay put your hand on your head and see what happens.
If the words of Lord Sambhu prove untrue in any way, O best of the danava’s,
then kill the liar so he may never lie again.”
40. “Lord Siva may have the power to revive himself even
after being killed by you, but at least he will be dissuaded from lying again,
having gotten a good beating.”
41. Thus bewildered by the Personality of Godhead's
enchanting, artful words, and by the expansion of Visnu's superior illusory
energy, foolish Vrika, forgetting the power of Lord Siva and his benediction,
and without realizing what he was doing, placed his hand on his head.
42. Instantly his head shattered as if struck by a
lightning bolt, and the demon fell down dead. From the sky were heard cries of
"Victory!" "Obeisances!" and "Well done!”
43. The celestial sages, Pitas and Gandharvas rained down
flowers to celebrate the killing of sinful Vrikasura. Now Lord Siva was out of
danger.
44. The Supreme Personality of Godhead then addressed
Lord Girisa, who was now out of danger: "Just see, O Mahadeva, My lord,
how this wicked man has been killed by his own sinful reactions. Indeed, what
living being can hope for good fortune if he offends exalted saints, what to
speak of offending the lord and spiritual master of the universe?”
45. This statement of Lord Vishnu's implies a mild
scolding: "My dear possessor of unlimited vision, O you of clear
intelligence, benedictions should not be given to wicked demons in this way.
You could have been killed! But you were only concerned about saving this poor
soul, so you disregarded what would happen to you as a result." Thus, Lord
Narayana's mild rebuke also highlighted Lord Siva's exceptional compassion.
46. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the testing of Bhrgu and the sages
1. Once, as a group of sages were performing a Vedic
sacrifice on the banks of the Sarasvati River, a controversy arose among them
as to which of the three chief deities is supreme, Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma or
Lord Siva.
2. The plan decided upon by the sages was for Bhrigu to
test which one of the predominating deities possesses the quality of goodness
in full. One who is in the mode of goodness possesses such qualities as
tolerance and equanimity, whereas those conducted by the modes of passion and
ignorance are prone to easily lose their temper.
3. Eager to resolve this question, O King, the sages sent
Lord Brahma's son Bhrigu to find the answer. First he went to his father's
court.
4. To test how well Lord Brahma was situated in the mode
of goodness, Bhrigu failed to give him any respect; obeisance’s, bow down or
glorify him with prayers. The lord became angry at him, inflamed into fury by
his own passion and nearly cursed him.
5. Though anger toward his son was now rising within his
heart, Lord Brahma was able to subdue it by applying his intelligence, in the
same way that fire is extinguished by its own product, water.
6. Lord Brahma is sometimes affected by his contact with
the mode of passion. But because he is adi-kavi, the firstborn and foremost
learned scholar in the universe, when anger begins to disturb his mind he can
control it by means of discriminating self-examination. In this instance he
reminded himself that Bhrigu was his son. Thus, the analogy that Brahma's own
expansion (his son) served to put out his anger just as water, which originally
evolved from elemental fire in the primeval creation, puts out a fire.
7. Bhrigu then went to Mount Kailasa. There Lord Siva
stood up and happily came forward to embrace his brother.
8. It is considered very important to properly greet
one's family members, especially when one has not seen them for a long time. A
worthy son should show respect to his father, a younger brother should honor
his older brother, and the older brother should show affection to his younger brother
in turn.
9. But Bhrigu refused his embrace, telling him, "You
are an unclean, deviant heretic. You smear your body with ashes, you are
impure." At this Lord Siva became angry, and his eyes burned ferociously.
He raised his trident and was about to kill Bhrigu when Goddess Devi fell at
his feet and spoke some words to pacify him.
10. Bhrigu then left that place and went to
Vaikuntha-Svetadvipa-, where Lord Janardana resides. There he went up to the
Supreme Lord, who was lying on a bed of flowers, with His head on the lap of
His consort, Sri, and kicked Him on the chest. The Lord then rose, along with
Goddess Lakshmi, as a sign of respect. Coming down from His bedstead, that
supreme goal of all pure devotees bowed His head to the floor before the sage and
told him, ‘Welcome, brahmana. Please sit in this chair and rest awhile. Kindly
forgive us, dear master, for not noticing your arrival’.
11. At the time of this pastime Bhrigu Muni had not yet
become a pure Vaishnava; otherwise he would not have acted so rashly toward the
Supreme Lord. Not only was Lord Vishnu taking rest, but He was lying with His
head in His wife's lap. For Bhrigu to strike Him in this position—and not with
his hand but with his foot—was worse than any other offense Bhrigu could have
imagined.
12. "Please purify Me, My realm and the realms of
the universal rulers devoted to Me by giving us the water that has washed your
feet. This holy water is indeed what makes all places of pilgrimage sacred.
Today, My lord, I have become the exclusive shelter of the goddess of fortune,
Lakshmi; she will consent to reside on My chest because your foot has rid it of
sins and sanctified it. My dear sir, O great sage, your feet are indeed very
tender, soft as a lotus flower. My chest is as heard as a thunderbolt. I hope
you didn't feel pain touching my chest. It is a great fortune that you came.
Excuse Me that I didn't get up immediately when you came. Let me massage your
feet to relieve you of your pain”
13. Saying this,
Lord Vishnu began massaging the brahmana's feet with His own hands.
14. Bhrigu felt satisfied and delighted to hear the
solemn words spoken by Lord Vaikuntha. Overwhelmed with devotional ecstasy, he
remained silent, his eyes brimming with tears.
15. Bhrigu could not offer the Lord any words of praise
because his throat was choking with tears of ecstasy. The sage should not be
condemned for his offensive behavior, since his role in this transcendental
pastime was arranged by the Personality of Godhead.
16. Bhrigu then returned to the sacrificial arena of the
wise Vedic authorities and described his entire experience to them.
17. Amazed upon hearing Bhrigu's account, the sages were
freed from all doubts and became convinced that Vishnu is the greatest Lord.
From Him come peace; fearlessness; the essential principles of religion;
detachment with knowledge; the eightfold powers of mystic yoga; and His
glorification, which cleanses the mind of all impurities. He is known as the
supreme destination for those who are peaceful and equipoised—the selfless,
wise saints who have given up all violence. His most dear form is that of pure
goodness, and the brahmanas are His worshipable deities. Persons of keen
intellect who have attained spiritual peace worship Him without selfish
motives.
18. The Lord expands into three kinds of manifest
beings—the Rakshasas, the demons and the demigods—all of whom are created by
the Lord's material energy and conditioned by her modes. But among these three
modes, it is the mode of goodness which is the means of attaining life's final
success.
19. The learned brahmanas living along the river
Sarasvati came to this conclusion in order to dispel the doubts of all people.
Thereafter they rendered devotional service to the Supreme Lord's lotus feet
and attained His abode.
20. According to the sages, Visnu or Krishna is the
Highest of all the Gods, the God of the demigods.
21. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of establishing law and order
1. Lord Sri Krishna is He who is known as jana-nivasa,
the ultimate resort of all living entities, and who is also known as
Devakinandana or Yasoda-nandana, the son of Devaki and Yasoda. He is the guide
of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty arms He kills everything inauspicious,
as well as every man who is impious. By His presence He destroys all things
inauspicious for all living entities, moving and inert. His blissful smiling
face always increases the lusty desires of the gopis of Vrindavana. May He be
all glorious and happy!
2. This consoles those who lament the fact that Lord
Krishna did not continue to manifest His intimate pastimes down to the present
time; the Lord is eternally present in this world—in His holy abode, His name
and the recitation of His glories. This idea is expressed by the word jayati
("He is victorious"), which is in the present tense rather than the
past.
3. O Lord Krishna, all glories unto You. You are present
in everyone's heart as Paramatma. Therefore You are known as Jananivasa, one
who lives in everyone's heart.' As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, isvarah
sarva-bhutanam hrid-dese 'rjuna tishthati: 'The Supreme Lord in His Paramatma
feature lives within everyone's heart.' This does not mean, however, that
Krishna has no separate existence as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
Mayavadi philosophers accept the all-pervading feature of Parabrahman, but when
Parabrahman, or the Supreme Lord, appears, they think that He appears under the
control of material nature. Because Lord Krishna appeared as the son of Devaki,
the Mayavadi philosophers accept Krishna to be an ordinary living entity who
takes birth within this material world. Therefore: devaki-janma-vada, which
means that although Krishna is famous as the son of Devaki, actually He is the
Supersoul, or the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotees,
however, take this word devaki-janma-vada in a different way. The devotees
understand that actually Krishna was the son of Mother Yasoda. Although Krishna
first appeared as the son of Devaki, He immediately transferred Himself to the
lap of Mother Yasoda, and His childhood pastimes were blissfully enjoyed by
Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja. This fact was admitted by Vasudeva himself
when he met Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda at Kurukshetra. He admitted that Krishna
and Balarama were actually the sons of Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja.
Vasudeva and Devaki were only Their official father and mother. Their actual
father and mother were Nanda and Yasoda. Therefore here it is described that
Lord Krishna is devaki-janma-vada.
4. Then, the Lord is one who is honored by the
yadu-vara-parishat, the assembly house of the Yadu dynasty, and as the killer
of different kinds of demons. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
could have killed all the demons by employing His different material energies,
but He wanted to kill them personally, to give them salvation. There was no
need of Krishna's coming to this material world to kill the demons; simply by
His willing, many hundreds and thousands of demons could have been killed
without His personal endeavor. But actually He descended for His pure devotees,
to play as a child with Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja and to give pleasure
to the inhabitants of Dvaraka. By killing the demons and giving protection to
the devotees, Lord Krishna established the real religious principle, which is
simply love of God. By following the factual religious principle of love of
God, even the living entities known as sthira-cara were also delivered of all
material contamination and transferred to the spiritual kingdom. Sthira means
the trees and plants, which cannot move, and cara means the moving animals,
especially the cows. When Krishna was present, He delivered all the trees,
monkeys and other plants and animals who happened to see Him and serve Him,
both in Vrindavana and in Dvaraka.
5. Lord Krishna is especially glorified for giving
pleasure to the gopis and the queens of Dvaraka. Sukadeva Gosvami glorifies
Lord Krishna for His enchanting smile, by which He enchanted not only the gopis
of Vrindavana but also the queens of Dvaraka. The exact words used in this
connection are vardhayan kama-devam. In Vrindavana, as the boyfriend of many
gopis, and in Dvaraka, as the husband of many queens, Krishna increased their
pure desires to enjoy with Him. For God realization or self-realization, one
generally has to undergo severe austerities and penances for many, many
thousands of years, and then it may be possible to realize God. But the gopis
and the queens of Dvaraka, simply by enhancing their loving desires to enjoy
Krishna as their boyfriend or husband, received the highest type of salvation.
6. He alone has set forth the principles of the various
disciplic successions of sages. Krishna solidly reinstated religion on its four
pillars of compassion, austerity, cleanliness and truth. Thus dharma (religion)
could once again become the protector of the earth.
7. Sri Krishna also established the religious function of
Govardhana-puja to honor His favorite hill, the cows and the brahmanas. He also
became the hill (gotra) Himself, assuming its form to accept the cowherds'
offerings. Moreover, He cultivated the dharma, or loving nature, of Vraja's
divine cowherds (gotras), whose love for Him has never been equaled.
8. This was a superhuman task, only the Supreme of all
the superhumans Krishna, God could have performed.
9. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of the Supreme Purifier
1. Previous to Krishna's descent, Ganga-devi was the most
sacred of all the sacred places of pilgrimage, being the water that had bathed
Lord Visnu-Vamanadeva's lotus Feet. Krishna's glories made all places He
contacted as a sacred place of pilgrimage eclipsing that of the holy Ganges.
When the Lord descended among the Yadus, His glories eclipsed the Ganges as a
holy place.
2. Another river, the Yamuna, became even greater than
the Ganges by contacting the dust from Sri Krishna's feet in the districts of
Vraja and Mathura:
3. "The renowned Yamuna in My domain of Mathura is
hundreds of times greater than the Ganges. About this there can be no dispute.”
4. Krishna is the most holy and pure of all
personalities.
5. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
6. Krishna, God exists.
The argument of giving liberation
1. Krishna gave liberation to His surrendered devotees
and to His enemies. Loving devotees like the Vraja-gopi's attained the
opportunity to enjoy pastimes of conjugal love with Krishna's personal form in
the spiritual world.
2. Inimical
devotees (like Kamsa), when killed by Krishna, attained mukti (liberation).
Either merging into His spiritual bodily effulgence or living on one of the
unlimited spiritual planets. “My Lord, You have already given Yourself to
Putana and her family members simply because she dressed herself as a devotee.”
3. Krishna's expansions and parts of the expansions don't
give liberation to the enemies They killed.
4. Krishna is God, God exists.
The argument of being charmed only by pure love
1. The unattainable and supremely self-satisfied original
goddess of fortune, Srimati Radharani, for the sake of whose favor everyone
else struggles, belongs to Him alone.
2. The goddess of fortune, Lord Narayana's constant
companion and consort, whom great demigods such as Brahma serve menially to win
her slight favor could not conquer Krishna. Even by severe austerities she
could not bring Krishna under control and participate in the rasa-lila dance as
the Vraja-gopi's did, since She could not transcend her natural mood of
reverence.
3. Krishna can be charmed only by selfless activity
purely done for Him.
The sweetness and intimacy Lord Krishna manifested in
Vrindavana constitute a unique kind of opulence found nowhere else, even in
Vaikuntha.
4. Krishna is the best of all gods, God exists.
