Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
73. The
Deliverance of Śiśupāla
King Yudhiṣṭhira became very happy after hearing
the details of the Jarāsandha episode, and he spoke as follows: "My dear Kṛṣṇa, O eternal form of bliss and
knowledge, all the exalted directors of the affairs of this material world,
including Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and King Indra, are always anxious to receive
and carry out orders from You, and whenever they are fortunate enough to
receive such orders, they immediately take them and keep them in their hearts.
O Kṛṣṇa, You are unlimited, and although we
sometimes think of ourselves as royal kings and rulers of the world and become
puffed up over our paltry positions, we are very poor in heart. Actually, we
are fit to be punished by You, but the wonder is that instead of punishing us,
You so kindly and mercifully accept our orders and carry them out properly.
Others are very surprised that Your Lordship can play the part of an ordinary
human, but we can understand that You are performing these activities just like
a dramatic artist. Your real position is always exalted, exactly like that of
the sun, which always remains at the same temperature both during the time of
its rising and the time of its setting. Although we feel the difference in
temperature between the rising and the setting sun, the temperature of the sun
never changes. You are always transcendentally equipoised, and thus You are
neither pleased nor disturbed by any condition of material affairs. You are the
Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, and for You there are no
relativities. My dear Mādhava, You are never defeated by anyone. Material
distinctions--'This is me.' 'This is you.' 'This is mine.' 'This is
yours.'--are all conspicuous by dint of their absence in You. Such distinctions
are visible in the lives of everyone, even the animals, but those who are pure
devotees are freed from these false distinctions. Since these distinctions are
absent in Your devotees, they cannot possibly be present in You."
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After satisfying Kṛṣṇa
in this way, King Yudhiṣṭhira
arranged to perform the Rājasūya sacrifice. He invited all the qualified
brāhmaṇas
and sages to take part and appointed them to different positions as priests
in charge of the sacrificial arena. He invited the most expert brāhmaṇas and sages,
whose names are as follows: Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva, Bharadvāja, Sumantu,
Gautama, Asita, Vasiṣṭha,
Cyavana, Kaṇva,
Maitreya, Kavaṣa,
Trita, Viśvāmitra, Vāmadeva, Sumati, Jaimini, Kratu, Paila, Parāśara, Garga,
Vaiśampāyana, Atharvā, Kaśyapa, Dhaumya, Paraśurāma, Śukrācārya, Āsuri,
Vītihotra, Madhucchandā, Vīrasena and Akṛtavraṇa. Besides all these brāhmaṇas and sages,
he invited such respectable old men as Droṇācārya, Bhīṣma (the grandfather of the Kurus), Kṛpācārya, and
Dhṛtarāṣṭra.
He also invited all the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, headed by Duryodhana, and the great devotee
Vidura was also invited. Kings from different parts of the world, along with
their ministers and secretaries, were also invited to see the great sacrifice
performed by King Yudhiṣṭhira,
and the citizens, comprising learned brāhmaṇas, chivalrous kṣatriyas, well-to-do vaiśyas, and faithful śūdras,
all visited the ceremony. The brāhmaṇa priests and sages in charge of the sacrificial ceremony constructed the sacrificial arena as usual with a plow of gold, and they initiated King Yudhiṣṭhira as the performer of the great sacrifice, in accordance with Vedic rituals. Long years ago, when Varuṇa performed a similar sacrifice, all the sacrificial utensils were made of gold. Similarly, in the Rājasūya sacrifice of King Yudhiṣṭhira, all the utensils required for the sacrifice were golden. In order to participate in the great sacrifice performed by King Yudhiṣṭhira, all the exalted demigods like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, and Indra the King of heaven, accompanied by their associates, as well as the predominating deities of higher planetary systems like Gandharvaloka, Siddhaloka, Janoloka, Tapoloka, Nāgaloka, Yakṣaloka, Rākṣasaloka, Pakṣiloka and Cāraṇaloka, as well as famous kings and their queens, were all present by the invitation of King Yudhiṣṭhira. All the respectable sages, kings and demigods who assembled there unanimously agreed that King Yudhiṣṭhira was quite competent to take the responsibility of performing the Rājasūya sacrifice; no one was in disagreement on this fact. All of them knew thoroughly the position of King Yudhiṣṭhira; because he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, no accomplishment was extraordinary for him. The learned brāhmaṇas and priests saw to it that the sacrifice by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was performed in exactly the same way as in bygone ages by the demigod Varuṇa. According to the Vedic system, whenever there is an arrangement for sacrifice, the members participating in the sacrifice are offered the juice of the soma plant. The juice of the soma plant is a kind of life-giving beverage. On the day of extracting the soma juice, King Yudhiṣṭhira very respectfully received the special priest who had been engaged to detect any mistake in the formalities of sacrificial procedures. 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 it is perfectly executed, a sacrifice cannot yield the desired result. In this age of Kali there is no such learned brāhmaṇa or priest available; therefore, all such sacrifices are forbidden. The only sacrifice recommended in the śāstras is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Another important procedure is that the most exalted personality in the assembly of such a sacrificial ceremony is first offered worship. After all arrangements were made for Yudhiṣṭhira's sacrifice, the next consideration was who should be worshiped first in the ceremony. This particular ceremony is called Agrapūjā. Agra means first, and pūjā means worship. This Agrapūjā is similar to election of the president. In the sacrificial assembly, all the members were very exalted. Some proposed to elect one person as the perfect candidate for accepting Agrapūjā, and others proposed someone else. When the matter remained undecided, Sahadeva began to speak in favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He said, "Lord Kṛṣṇa, the best amongst the members of the Yadu dynasty and the protector of His devotees, is the most exalted personality in this assembly. Therefore I think that He should without any objection be offered the honor of being worshiped first. Although demigods such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Indra, the King of heavenly planets, and many other exalted personalities are present in this assembly, no one can be equal to or greater than Kṛṣṇa in terms of time, space, riches, strength, reputation, wisdom, renunciation or any other consideration. Anything which is considered opulent is present originally in Kṛṣṇa. As an individual soul is the basic principle of the growth of his material body, similarly Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul of this cosmic manifestation. All kinds of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, such as the performance of sacrifices, the offering of oblations in the fire, the chanting of the Vedic hymns and the practice of mystic yoga--all are meant for realizing Kṛṣṇa. Whether one follows the path of fruitive activities or the path of philosophical speculation, the ultimate destination is Kṛṣṇa; all bona fide methods of self-realization are meant for understanding Kṛṣṇa. Ladies and gentlemen, it is superfluous to speak about Kṛṣṇa, because every one of you exalted personalities know the Supreme Brahman, Lord Kṛṣṇa, 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 a part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, there is no qualitative difference between Kṛṣṇa and all living entities. Everything is an emanation of Kṛṣṇa's energies, the material and spiritual energies. Kṛṣṇa'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. |
Sahadeva was fortunate to know of the glories of Kṛṣṇa, and after describing them in brief, he stopped speaking. After this speech was delivered, all the members present in that great sacrificial assembly applauded, confirming his words continuously by saying, "Everything that you have said is completely perfect. Everything that you have said is completely perfect." King Yudhiṣṭhira, after hearing the confirmation of all present, especially of the brāhmaṇas and learned sages, worshiped Lord Kṛṣṇa according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions. First of all, King Yudhiṣṭhira--along with his brothers, wives, children, other relatives and ministers--washed the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and sprinkled the water on their heads. After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa was offered various kinds of silken garments of yellow color, and heaps of jewelry and ornaments were presented before Him for His use.
King Yudhiṣṭhira felt such ecstasy by honoring Kṛṣṇa, who was his only lovable object, that tears glided down from his eyes, and although he wanted to, he could not see Lord Kṛṣṇa very well. Lord Kṛṣṇa was thus worshiped by King Yudhiṣṭhira. At that time all the members present in that assembly stood up with folded hands and began to chant, "Jaya! Jaya! Namaḥ! Namaḥ! " When all joined together to offer their respectful obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, there were showers of flowers from the sky.
In that meeting, King Śiśupāla was also present. He was an avowed enemy of Kṛṣṇa for many reasons, especially because of Kṛṣṇa's having stolen Rukmiṇī from the marriage ceremony; therefore, he could not tolerate such honor to Kṛṣṇa and glorification of His qualities. Instead of being happy to hear the glories of the Lord, he became very angry. When everyone offered respect to Kṛṣṇa by standing up, Śiśupāla remained in his seat, but when he became angry at Kṛṣṇa's being honored, Śiśupāla stood up suddenly, and, raising his hand, began to speak very strongly and fearlessly against Lord Kṛṣṇa. He spoke in such a way that Lord Kṛṣṇa could hear him very distinctly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I can appreciate now the statement of the Vedas that, after all, time is the predominating factor. In spite of all endeavors to the contrary, the time element executes its own plan without opposition. For example, one may try his best to live, but when the time for death comes, no one can check it. I see here that although there are many stalwart personalities present in this assembly, the influence of time is so strong that they have been misled by the statement of a boy who has foolishly spoken about Kṛṣṇa. There are many learned sages and elderly persons present, but still they have accepted the statement of a foolish boy. This means that by the influence of time, even the intelligence of such honored persons as are present in this meeting can be misdirected. I fully agree with the respectable persons present here that they are competent enough to select the personality who can be first worshiped, but I cannot agree with the statement of a boy like Sahadeva, who has spoken so highly about Kṛṣṇa and has recommended that Kṛṣṇa is fit to accept the first worship in the sacrifice. I can see that in this meeting there are many personalities who have undergone great austerities, who are highly learned, and who have performed many penances. By their knowledge and direction, they can deliver many persons who are suffering from the pangs of material existence. There are great ṛṣis here whose knowledge has no bounds, as well as many self-realized persons and brāhmaṇas also, and therefore I think that any one of them could have been selected for the first worship because they are worshipable even by the great demigods, kings and emperors. I cannot understand how you could have selected this cowherd boy, Kṛṣṇa, and have left aside all these other great personalities. I think Kṛṣṇa to be no better than a crow--how can He be fit to accept the first worship in this great sacrifice?
"We cannot even ascertain as yet to which caste this Kṛṣṇa belongs or what His actual occupational duty is." Actually, Kṛṣṇa 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.
Śiśupāla continued: "Kṛṣṇa does not belong to a high family. He is so independent that no one knows His principles of religious life. It appears that He is outside the jurisdiction of all religious principles. He always acts independently, not caring for the Vedic injunctions and regulative principles. Therefore He is devoid of all good qualities." Śiśupāla indirectly praised Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa 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.
Śiśupāla continued: "Under these circumstances, how can He be fit to accept the first worship in the sacrifice? Kṛṣṇa is so foolish that He has left Mathurā, which is inhabited by highly elevated persons following the Vedic culture, and He has taken shelter in the ocean, where there is not even talk of the Vedas. Instead of living openly, He has constructed a fort within the water and is living in an atmosphere where there is no discussion of Vedic knowledge. And whenever He comes out of the fort, He simply harasses the citizens like a dacoit, thief or rogue."
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Śiśupāla went crazy because of Kṛṣṇa'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. Being overcast with misfortune, Śiśupāla continued to insult Kṛṣṇa
further, and Lord Kṛṣṇa
patiently heard him without protest. Just as a lion does not care when a
flock of jackals howl, Lord Kṛṣṇa remained silent and unprovoked. Kṛṣṇa
did not reply to even a single accusation made by Śiśupāla, but all the
members present in the meeting, except a few who agreed with Śiśupāla, became
very agitated because it is the duty of any respectable person not to
tolerate blasphemy against God or His devotee. Some of them, who thought that
they could not properly take action against Śiśupāla, left the assembly in protest,
covering their ears with their hands in order not to hear further
accusations. Thus they left the meeting condemning the action of Śiśupāla. It
is the Vedic injunction that whenever there is blasphemy of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one must immediately leave. If he does not do so, he
becomes bereft of his pious activities and is degraded to the lower condition
of life. All the kings present, belonging to the Kuru dynasty, Matsya dynasty, Kekaya dynasty and Sṛñjaya dynasty, became very angry and immediately took up their swords and shields to kill Śiśupāla. Śiśupāla was so foolish that he did not become even slightly agitated, although all the kings present were ready to kill him. He did not care to think of the pros and cons of his foolish talking, and when he saw that all the kings were ready to kill him, instead of stopping, he stood to fight with them and took up his sword and shield. When Lord Kṛṣṇa saw that they were going to engage in fighting in the arena of the auspicious Rājasūya yajña, He personally pacified them. Out of His causeless mercy He Himself decided to kill Śiśupāla. When Śiśupāla was abusing the kings who were about to attack him, Lord Kṛṣṇa took up His disc, which was as sharp as the blade of a razor, and immediately separated the head of Śiśupāla from his body. When Śiśupāla was thus killed, a great roar and howl went up from the crowd of that assembly. Taking advantage of that disturbance, the few kings who were supporters of Śiśupāla quickly left the assembly out of fear for their lives. But despite all this, the fortunate Śiśupāla's spirit soul immediately merged into the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the presence of all members, exactly as a burning meteor falls to the surface of the globe. Śiśupāla's soul's merging into the transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa reminds us of the story of Jaya and Vijaya, who fell to the material world from the Vaikuṇṭha planets upon being cursed by the four Kumāras. For their return to the Vaikuṇṭha world, it was arranged that both Jaya and Vijaya, for three consecutive births would act as deadly enemies of the Lord, and at the end of these lives they would again return to the Vaikuṇṭha world and serve the Lord as His associates. Although Śiśupāla acted as the enemy of Kṛṣṇa, he was not for a single moment out of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He was always absorbed in thought of Kṛṣṇa, and thus he got first the salvation of sāyujya-mukti, merging into the existence of the Supreme, and finally became reinstated in his original position of personal service. The Bhagavad-gītā corroborates the fact that if one is absorbed in the thought of the Supreme Lord at the time of death, he immediately enters the kingdom of God after quitting his material body. After the salvation of Śiśupāla, King Yudhiṣṭhira rewarded all the members present in the sacrificial assembly. He sufficiently remunerated the priests and the learned sages for their engagement in the execution of the sacrifice, and after performing all this routine work, he took his bath. This bath at the end of the sacrifice is also technical. It is called the avabhṛtha bath. |
The story of the fall of Jaya and Vijaya from the Vaikuṇṭha planets to the material world is described in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The killing of Śiśupāla has a direct link with that narration of Jaya and Vijaya, but the most important instruction that we get from this incident is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, being absolute, can give salvation to everyone, whether one acts as His enemy or as His friend. It is therefore a misconception that the Lord acts with someone in relationship of a friend and with someone else in the relationship of an enemy. His being an enemy or friend is always on the absolute platform. There is no material distinction.
After King Yudhiṣṭhira took his bath after the sacrifice and stood in the midst of all the learned sages and brāhmaṇas, he seemed exactly like the King of heaven and thus looked very beautiful. King Yudhiṣṭhira sufficiently rewarded all the demigods who participated in the yajña, and being greatly satisfied, all of them left praising the King's activities and glorifying Lord Kṛṣṇa.
When Śukadeva Gosvāmī was narrating these incidents of Kṛṣṇa's killing Śiśupāla and describing the successful execution of the Rājasūya yajña by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, he pointed out also that after the successful termination of the yajña there was only one person who was not happy. He was Duryodhana. Duryodhana by nature was very envious because of his sinful life, and he appeared in the dynasty of the Kurus as a chronic disease personified in order to destroy the whole family.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī assured Mahārāja Parīkṣit that the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa--the killing of Śiśupāla and Jarāsandha and the releasing of the imprisoned kings--are all transcendental vibrations, and anyone who hears these narrations from the authorized persons will be immediately freed from all the reactions of the sinful activities of his life.
74. Why
Duryodhana Felt Insulted at the End of the Rājasūya Sacrifice
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "My dear King Parīkṣit, your grandfather, King Yudhiṣṭhira, was a great soul. His congenial disposition attracted everyone as his friend, and therefore he was known as ajātaśatru, one who never created an enemy. He engaged all the members of the Kuru dynasty in taking charge of different departments for the management of the Rājasūya sacrifice. For example, Bhīmasena was put in charge of the kitchen department, Duryodhana in charge of the treasury department, Sahadeva in charge of the reception department, Nakula in charge of the store department, and Arjuna was engaged in looking after the comforts of the elderly persons. The most astonishing feature was that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, took charge of washing the feet of all the incoming guests. The Queen, the goddess of fortune Draupadī, was in charge of administering the distribution of food, and because Karṇa was famous for giving charity, he was put in charge of the charity department. In this way Sātyaki, Vikarṇa, Hārdikya, Vidura, Bhūriśravā, and Santardana, the son of Bāhlīka, were all engaged in different departments for managing the affairs of the Rājasūya sacrifice. They were all so bound in loving affection for King Yudhiṣṭhira that they simply wanted to please him.
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After Śiśupāla had died by the mercy
of Lord Kṛṣṇa
and had become merged in the spiritual existence, and after the end of the
Rājasūya yajña, when all friends, guests and well-wishers had been sufficiently
honored and rewarded, King Yudhiṣṭhira went to bathe in the Ganges. The city of
Hastināpura is today standing on the bank of the Yamunā, and the statement of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that King Yudhiṣṭhira went to bathe in the Ganges indicates,
therefore, that during the time of the Pāṇḍavas, the river Yamunā was also known as the
Ganges. While the King was taking the avabhṛtha bath, different musical instruments, such as
mṛdaṅgas,
conchshells, drums, kettledrums and bugles, vibrated. In addition, the ankle
bells of the dancing girls jingled. Many groups of professional singers
played vīṇās,
flutes, gongs and cymbals, and thus a tumultuous sound vibrated in the sky.
The princely guests from many kingdoms, like Sṛñjaya, Kāmboja, Kuru, Kekaya and Kośala, were
present with their different flags and gorgeously decorated elephants,
chariots, horses and soldiers. All were passing in a procession, and King
Yudhiṣṭhira
was in the forefront. The executive members such as the priests, religious
ministers and brāhmaṇas,
were performing a sacrifice and all were loudly chanting the Vedic hymns. The
demigods, the inhabitants of the Pitṛloka and Gandharvaloka, as well as many sages,
showered flowers from the sky. The men and women of Hastināpura,
Indraprastha, their bodies smeared with scents and floral oils, were nicely
dressed in colorful garments and decorated with garlands, jewels and
ornaments. They were all enjoying the ceremony, and they threw on each other
liquid substances like water, oil, milk, butter and yogurt. Some even smeared
these on each other's bodies. In this way, they were enjoying the occasion.
The professional prostitutes were also engaged by jubilantly smearing these
liquid substances on the bodies of the men, and the men reciprocated in the
same way. All the liquid substances had been mixed with turmeric and saffron,
and their color was a lustrous yellow.
In order to observe the great
ceremony, many wives of the demigods had come in different airplanes, and
they were visible in the sky. Similarly the queens of the royal family
arrived gorgeously decorated and surrounded by bodyguards on the surface of
different palanquins. During this time, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the maternal cousin of the Pāṇḍavas,
and His special friend Arjuna, were both throwing the liquid substances on
the bodies of the queens. The queens became bashful, but at the same time
their beautiful smiling brightened their faces. Because of the liquid
substances thrown on their bodies, the saris covering them became completely
wet. The different parts of their beautiful bodies, particularly their
breasts and their waists, became partially visible because of the wet cloth.
The queens also brought in buckets of liquid substances and sprinkled them on
the bodies of their brothers-in-law. As they engaged in such jubilant
activities, their hair fell loose, and the flowers decorating their bodies
began to fall. When Lord Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna and the queens were thus engaged in
these jubilant activities, persons who were not clean in heart became
agitated by lustful desires. In other words, such behavior between pure males
and females is enjoyable, but persons who are materially contaminated become
lustful.
King Yudhiṣṭhira,
in a gorgeous chariot yoked by excellent horses, was present with his queens,
including Draupadī and others. The festivities of the sacrifice were so
beautiful that it appeared as if Rājasūya was standing there in person with
the functions of the sacrifice.
Following the Rājasūya sacrifice,
there was the Vedic ritualistic duty known as patnīsaṁyāja. This
sacrifice was performed along with one's wife, and it was also duly performed
by the priests of King Yudhiṣṭhira. When Queen Draupadī and King Yudhiṣṭhira
were taking their avabhṛtha
bath, the citizens of Hastināpura as well as the demigods began to beat on
drums and blow trumpets out of feelings of happiness, and there was a shower
of flowers from the sky. When the King and the Queen finished their bath in
the Ganges, all the other citizens, consisting of all the varṇas or
castes--the brāhmaṇas,
the kṣatriyas,
the vaiśyas, and the śūdras--took their baths in the Ganges. Bathing in the
Ganges is recommended in the Vedic literatures because by such bathing one
becomes freed from all sinful reactions. This is still current in India,
especially at particularly auspicious moments. At such times, millions of
people bathe in the Ganges.
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When everyone was refreshed after bathing and was dressed in silken clothing with jeweled earrings, flower garlands, turbans, long wrappers and pearl necklaces, they looked, all together, like the demigods from heaven. This was especially true of the women, who were very nicely dressed. Each wore a golden belt around the waist. They were all smiling. Spots of tilaka and curling hair were scattered here and there. This combination was very attractive.
Persons who had participated in the Rājasūya sacrifice--including the most cultured priests, the brāhmaṇas who had assisted in the performance of the sacrifice, the citizens of all varṇas, kings, demigods, sages, saints and citizens of the Pitṛloka--were all very much satisfied by the dealings of King Yudhiṣṭhira, and at the end they happily departed for their residences. While returning to their homes, they talked of the dealings of King Yudhiṣṭhira, and even after continuous talk of his greatness they were not satiated, just as one may drink nectar over and over again and never be satisfied.
After the departure of all others, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira restrained the inner circle of his friends, including Lord Kṛṣṇa, by not allowing them to leave. Lord Kṛṣṇa could not refuse the request of the King. He therefore sent back all the heroes of the Yadu dynasty, like Sāmba and others. All of them returned to Dvārakā, and Lord Kṛṣṇa personally remained in order to give pleasure to the King.
In the material
world, everyone has a particular type of desire to be fulfilled, but one is
never able to fulfill his desires to his full satisfaction. But King Yudhiṣṭhira, because of his unflinching
devotion to Kṛṣṇa,
could fulfill all his desires successfully by the performance of the Rājasūya
yajña. From the description of the execution of the Rājasūya yajña, it appears
that such a function is a great ocean of opulent desires. It is not possible
for an ordinary man to cross over such an ocean; nevertheless, by the grace of
Lord Kṛṣṇa, King Yudhiṣṭhira was able to cross over it very
easily, and thus he became freed from all anxieties.
When Duryodhana
saw that Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira
had become very famous after performance of the Rājasūya yajña and was fully
satisfied in every respect, he began to burn with the fire of envy because his
mind was always poisonous. For one thing, he envied the imperial palace which
had been constructed by the demon Maya for the Pāṇḍavas. The palace was excellent in its
puzzling artistic workmanship and was befitting the position of great princes,
kings or leaders of the demons. In that great palace, the Pāṇḍavas were living with their family
members, and Queen Draupadī was serving her husbands very peacefully. And
because in those days Lord Kṛṣṇa was also there, the palace was also decorated by His thousands
of queens. When the queens, with their heavy breasts and thin waists, moved
within the palace, and their ankle bells rang very melodiously with their
movement, the whole palace appeared more opulent than the heavenly kingdoms.
Because a portion of their breasts was sprinkled with saffron powder, the pearl
necklaces on their breasts appeared to be reddish. With their full earrings and
flowing hair, the queens appeared very beautiful. After looking at such
beauties in the palace of King Yudhiṣṭhira, Duryodhana became envious. He became especially envious and
lustful upon seeing the beauty of Draupadī because he had cherished a special
attraction for her from the very beginning of her marriage with the Pāṇḍavas. In the marriage selection
assembly of Draupadī, Duryodhana had also been present, and with other princes
he had been very much captivated by the beauty of Draupadī, but had failed to
achieve her.
Once upon a
time, King Yudhiṣṭhira
was sitting on the golden throne in the palace constructed by the demon Maya.
His four brothers and other relatives, as well as his great well-wisher, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, were present and the material opulence of King Yudhiṣṭhira seemed no less than that of Lord
Brahmā. When he was sitting on the throne surrounded by his friends, and the reciters
were offering prayers to him in the form of nice songs, Duryodhana, with his
younger brother, came to the palace. Duryodhana was decorated with a helmet,
and he carried a sword in his hand. He was always in an envious and angry mood,
and therefore, on a slight provocation, he spoke sharply with the doorkeepers
and became angry. He was irritated because he failed to distinguish between
water and land. By the craftsmanship of the demon Maya, the palace was so
decorated in different places that one who did not know the tricks would
consider water to be land and land to be water. Duryodhana was also illusioned
by this craftsmanship, and when he was crossing water thinking it to be land,
he fell down. When Duryodhana, out of his foolishness, had thus fallen, the
queens enjoyed the incident by laughing. King Yudhiṣṭhira, could understand the feelings of
Duryodhana, and he tried to restrain the queens from laughing, but Lord Kṛṣṇa indicated that King Yudhiṣṭhira should not restrain them from
enjoying the incident. Kṛṣṇa
desired that Duryodhana might be fooled in that way and that all of them might
enjoy his foolish behavior. When everyone laughed, Duryodhana felt very
insulted, and his hairs stood up in anger. Being thus insulted, he immediately
left the palace, bowing his head. He was silent and did not protest. When
Duryodhana left in such an angry mood, everyone regretted the incident, and
King Yudhiṣṭhira
also became very sorry. But despite all occurrences, Kṛṣṇa was silent. He did not say anything
against or in favor of the incident. It appeared that Duryodhana had been put
into illusion by the supreme will of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and this was the beginning of the enmity between the two sects
of the Kuru dynasty. It appeared that it was a part of Kṛṣṇa's plan in His mission to decrease the
burden of the world.
King Parīkṣit had inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī as to why Duryodhana was not
satisfied after the termination of the great Rājasūya sacrifice, and thus it
was explained by Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
75. The
Battle Between Śālva and the Yadu Dynasty
Usually such foolish demons take shelter of a demigod like Lord Śiva to execute their ulterior plans, and so Śālva, in order to get strength, took shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Śiva. He underwent a severe type of austerity during which he would eat no more than a handful of ashes daily. Lord Śiva, the husband of Pārvatī, is generally very merciful, and he becomes very quickly satisfied if someone undertakes severe austerities in order to please him. So after continued austerities by Śālva for one year, Lord Śiva became pleased with him and asked him to beg for the fulfillment of his desire.
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Śālva begged from Lord Śiva the gift
of an airplane which would be so strong that it could not be destroyed by any
demigod, demon, human being, Gandharva, Nāga, or even by any Rākṣasa. Moreover,
he desired that the airplane be able to fly anywhere and everywhere he would
like to pilot it, and be specifically very dangerous and fearful to the
dynasty of the Yadus. Lord Śiva immediately agreed to give him the
benediction, and Śālva took the help of the demon Maya to manufacture this
iron airplane, which was so strong and formidable that no one could crash it.
It was a very big machine, almost like a big city, and it could fly so high
and at such a great speed that it was almost impossible to see where it was,
and so there was no question of attacking it. Although it might be dark
outside, the pilot could fly it anywhere and everywhere. Having acquired such
a wonderful airplane, Śālva flew it to the city of Dvārakā, because his main
purpose in obtaining the airplane was to attack the city of the Yadus, toward
whom he maintained a continual feeling of animosity.
Śālva thus not only attacked the city
of Dvārakā from the sky, but he also surrounded the city by a large number of
infantry. The soldiers on the surface began to attack the beautiful spots of
the city. They began to destroy the baths, the city gates, the palaces and
the skyscraper houses, the high walls around the city and the beautiful spots
where the people would gather for recreation. While the soldiers were
attacking on the surface, the airplane began to drop big slabs of stone, tree
trunks, thunderbolts, poisonous snakes and many other dangerous things. Śālva
also managed to create such a strong whirlwind within the city that all of
Dvārakā became dark because of the dust that covered the sky. The airplane
occupied by Śālva put the entire city of Dvārakā into distress equal to that
caused on the earth long, long ago by the disturbing activities of
Tripurāsura. The inhabitants of Dvārakā Purī became so harassed that they were
not in a peaceful condition for even a moment.
The great heroes of Dvārakā City,
headed by commanders such as Pradyumna, counterattacked the soldiers and the
airplane of Śālva. When he saw the extreme distress of the citizens,
Pradyumna immediately arranged his soldiers and personally got upon a
chariot, encouraging the citizens by assuring safety. Following his command,
many warriors like Sātyaki, Cārudeṣṇa and Sāmba, all young brothers of Pradyumna, as
well as Akrūra, Kṛtavarmā,
Bhānuvinda, Gada, Śuka and Sāraṇa--all came out of the city to fight with Śālva.
All of them were great fighters; each one could fight with thousands of men.
All were fully equipped with necessary weapons and assisted by hundreds and
thousands of charioteers, elephants, horses and infantry soldiers. Fierce
fighting began between the two parties, exactly as was formerly carried on
between the demigods and the demons. The fighting was very severe, and
whoever observed the fierce nature of the fight felt his hairs stand on end.
Pradyumna immediately counteracted
the mystic demonstration occasioned by the airplane of Śālva, the King of
Saubha. By the mystic power of the airplane, Śālva had created a darkness as
dense as night, but Pradyumna all of a sudden appeared like the rising sun.
As with the rising of the sun the darkness of night is immediately
dissipated, so with the appearance of Pradyumna the power exhibited by Śālva
became null and void. Each and every one of Pradyumna's arrows had a golden
feather at the end, and the shaft was fitted with a sharp iron edge. By
releasing twenty-five such arrows, Pradyumna severely injured Śālva's
commander-in-chief. He then released another one hundred arrows toward the
body of Śālva. After this, he pierced each and every soldier by releasing one
arrow, and he killed the chariot drivers by firing ten arrows at each one of
them. The carriers like the horses and elephants were killed by the release
of three arrows directed toward each one of them. When everyone present on
the battlefield saw this wonderful feat of Pradyumna, the great fighters on
both the sides began to praise his acts of chivalry.
But still the airplane occupied by
Śālva was very mysterious. It was so extraordinary that sometimes there would
appear to be many airplanes in the sky, and sometimes it would seem that
there was none. Sometimes it was visible, and sometimes it was not visible,
and the warriors of the Yadu dynasty became puzzled about the whereabouts of
the peculiar airplane. Sometimes they would see the airplane on the ground,
and sometimes they would see it flying in the sky. Sometimes they would see
the airplane resting on the peak of a hill, and sometimes it was seen
floating on the water. The wonderful airplane was flying in the sky like a
firefly in the wind--it was not steady even for a moment. But despite the
mysterious manoeuvering of the airplane, the commanders and the soldiers of
the Yadu dynasty would immediately rush toward Śālva wherever he was present
with his airplane and soldiers. The arrows released by the dynasty of the
Yadus were as brilliant as the sun and as dangerous as the tongues of
serpents. All the soldiers fighting on behalf of Śālva became soon distressed
by the incessant release of arrows upon them by the heroes of the Yadu
dynasty, and Śālva himself became unconscious from the attack of these
arrows.
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Pradyumna's chariot was being driven by the son of Dāruka. According to Vedic military principles, the chariot driver and the hero on the chariot have to cooperate during the fighting. As such, it was the duty of the chariot driver to take care of the hero on the chariot during the dangerous and precarious fighting on the battlefield. Thus Dāruka removed the body of Pradyumna from the battlefield. Two hours later, in a quiet place, Pradyumna regained his consciousness, and when he saw that he was in a place other than the battlefield he addressed the charioteer and condemned him:
"Oh, you have done the most abominable act! Why have you moved me from the battlefield? My dear charioteer, I have never heard that anyone in our family was ever removed from the battlefield. None of them left the battlefield while fighting. By this removal you have overburdened me with a great defamation. It will be said that I left the battlefield while fighting was going on. My dear charioteer, I must accuse you--you are a coward and emasculator! Tell me, how can I go before my uncle Balarāma and before my father Kṛṣṇa, and what shall I say before Them? Everyone will talk about me and say that I fled from the fighting place, and if they inquire from me about this, what will be my reply? My sisters-in-law will play jokes upon me with sarcastic words: 'My dear hero, how have you become such a coward? How have you become such a eunuch? How have you become so low in the eyes of the fighters who opposed you?' I think, my dear charioteer, that you have committed a great offense by removing me from the battlefield."
The charioteer of Pradyumna replied, "My dear sir, I wish a long life for you. I think I did not do anything wrong, as it is the duty of the charioteer to help the fighter in the chariot when he is in a precarious condition. My dear sir, you are completely competent in the battlefield activities. It is the mutual duty of the charioteer and the warrior to give protecion to each other in a precarious condition. I was completely aware of the regulative principles of fighting, and I did my duty. The enemy all of a sudden struck you with his club so severely that you lost consciousness. You were in a dangerous position, surrounded by your enemies. Therefore I was obliged to act as I did."
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
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