Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
36. Killing the Keśī Demon and
Vyomāsura
After being
instructed by Kaṁsa,
the demon Keśī assumed the form of a terrible horse. He entered the area of Vṛndāvana, his great mane flying and
his hooves digging up the earth. He began to whinny and terrify the whole
world. Kṛṣṇa saw that the demon was terrifying
all the residents of Vṛndāvana with his whinnying and his tail wheeling
in the sky like a big cloud. Kṛṣṇa could understand that the horse was challenging
Him to fight. The Lord accepted his challenge and stood before the Keśī
demon. As He called him to fight, the horse began to proceed towards Kṛṣṇa, making a horrible sound like a
roaring lion. Keśī rushed toward the Lord with great speed and tried to
trample Him with his legs, which were strong, forceful, and as hard as stone.
Kṛṣṇa, however, immediately caught hold
of his legs and thus baffled him. Being somewhat angry, Kṛṣṇa began to move around the horse
dextrously. After a few rounds, He threw him a hundred yards away, just as
Garuḍa throws a big snake. Thrown by Kṛṣṇa, the horse immediately passed out,
but after a little while he regained consciousness and with great anger and
force rushed toward Kṛṣṇa again, this time with his mouth open. As soon
as Keśī reached Him, Kṛṣṇa pushed His left hand within the horse's mouth.
The horse felt great pain because the hand of Kṛṣṇa felt to him like a hot iron rod.
Immediately his teeth fell out. Kṛṣṇa's hand within the mouth of the horse at once
began to inflate, and Keśī's throat choked up. As the great horse began to
suffocate, perspiration appeared on his body, and he began to throw his legs
hither and thither. As his last breath came, his eyeballs bulged in their
sockets, and he passed stool and urine simultaneously. Thus the vital force
of his life expired. When the horse was dead, his mouth became loose and Kṛṣṇa could extract His hand without
difficulty. He did not feel any surprise that the Keśī demon was killed so
easily, but the demigods were amazed, and out of their great appreciation
they offered Kṛṣṇa
greetings by showering flowers.
After this
incident, Nārada Muni, the greatest of all devotees, came to see Kṛṣṇa in a solitary place and began to
talk with Him. "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa," he said, "You are the unlimited
Supersoul, the supreme controller of all mystic powers, the Lord of the whole
universe, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead. You are the resting place
of the cosmic manifestation, the master of all the devotees and the Lord of
everyone. My dear Lord, as the Supersoul of all living entities, You remain
concealed within their hearts exactly as fire remains concealed in every
piece of fuel. You are the witness of all the activities of the living
entities, and You are the supreme controller within their hearts. You are
self-sufficient; before the creation, You existed, and by Your energy You
have created the whole material universe. According to Your perfect plan,
this material world is created by the interaction of the modes of nature, and
by You they are maintained and annihilated. Although You are unaffected by
all these activities, You are the supreme controller eternally. My dear Lord,
You have advented Yourself on the surface of this world just to kill all the
so-called kings who are actually demons. These hobgoblins are cheating people
in the dress of the princely order. You have advented Yourself to fulfill
Your own statement that You come within this material world just to protect
the principles of religion and annihilate unwanted miscreants. My dear Lord,
I am therefore sure that the day after tomorrow I shall see demons like Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika and the other wrestlers and
elephants, as well as Kaṁsa himself, killed by You. And I shall see this
with my own eyes. After this, I hope I shall be able to see the killing of
other demons like Śaṅkha, Yavana, Mura, and Narakāsura. I shall also
see how You take away the pārijāta flower from the kingdom of heaven, and how
You defeat the King of heaven himself.
"My dear
Lord," Nārada Muni continued, "I shall then be able to see how You
marry princesses, the daughters of chivalrous kings, by paying the price of kṣatriya strength." (Whenever a kṣatriya wants to marry a very
beautiful and qualified princess of a great king, he must fight his
competitors and emerge victorious. Then he is given the hand of the princess
in charity.)
"I shall also
see how You save King Nṛga from a hellish condition," said Nārada
Muni. "This You shall enact in Dvārakā. I shall also be able to see how
You get Your wife and the Syamantaka jewel and how You save the son of a
brāhmaṇa from death after he has already
been transferred to another planet. After this, I will be able to see You
kill the Pauṇḍraka demon and burn to ashes the
kingdom of Kāśī. I will see how You kill the King of Cedi and Dantavakra in
great fights, on behalf of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Besides all this, it will be
possible for me to see many other chivalrous activities while You remain in
Dvārakā. And all these activities performed by Your grace will be sung by
great poets for all time. And at the battle of Kurukṣetra You will take part as the
chariot driver of Your friend Arjuna, and as the invincible death
incarnation, eternal time, You will vanquish all belligerents assembled
there. I shall see a large number of military forces killed in that
battlefield. My Lord, let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Your lotus
feet. You are situated completely in the transcendental position in perfect
knowledge and bliss. You are complete in Yourself and are beyond all desires.
By exhibiting Your internal potency, You have set up the influence of māyā.
Your unlimited potency cannot even be measured by anyone. My dear Lord, You
are the supreme controller. You are under Your own internal potency, and it
is simply vain to think that You are dependent on any of Your creations.
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"You have taken birth in the Yadu
dynasty, or the Vṛṣṇi
dynasty. Your advent on the surface of the earth in Your original form of
eternal blissful knowledge is Your own pastime. You are not dependent on
anything but Yourself; therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto Your
lotus feet."
Nārada Muni wanted to impress upon
people in general that Kṛṣṇa is fully independent. His activities, such as His
appearance in the family of Yadu or His friendship with Arjuna, do not
necessarily oblige Him to act to enjoy their results. They are all pastimes,
and for Him they are all play. But for us they are actual, tangible facts.
After offering his respectful
obeisances to Lord Kṛṣṇa,
Nārada Muni took permission and left. After He had killed the Keśī demon, Kṛṣṇa returned to tending the cows with His
friends in the forest as though nothing had happened. Thus Kṛṣṇa is eternally engaged in His
transcendental activities in Vṛndāvana with His friends, the cowherd boys and
gopīs, but sometimes He exhibits the extraordinary prowess of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead by killing different types of demons.
Later that morning Kṛṣṇa went to play with His cowherd boy
friends on the top of the Govardhana Hill. They were imitating the play of
thieves and police. Some of the boys became police constables, and some became
thieves, and some took the role of lambs. While they were thus enjoying their
childhood pastimes, a demon known by the name of Vyomāsura, "the demon who
flies in the sky," appeared on the scene. He was the son of another great
demon named Maya. These demons can perform wonderful magic. Vyomāsura took the
part of a cowherd boy playing as thief and stole many boys who were playing the
parts of lambs. One after another he took away almost all the boys and put them
in the caves of the mountain and sealed the mouths of the caves with stones. Kṛṣṇa could understand the trick the demon
was playing; therefore He caught hold of him exactly as a lion catches hold of
a lamb. The demon tried to expand himself like a hill to escape arrest, but Kṛṣṇa did not allow him to get out of His
clutches. He was immediately thrown on the ground with great force and killed,
just as an animal is killed in the slaughterhouse. After killing the Vyoma
demon, Lord Kṛṣṇa released all His friends from the
caves of the mountain. He was then praised by His friends and by the demigods
for these wonderful acts. He again returned to Vṛndāvana with His cows and friends.
37. Akrūra's Arrival in Vṛndāvana
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Nārada Muni did not
mention Kṛṣṇa's killing Vyomāsura, which means
that he was killed on the same day as the Keśī demon. The Keśī demon was
killed in the early morning, and after that the boys went to tend the cows on
Govardhana Hill, and it was there that Vyomāsura was killed. Both demons were
killed in the morning. Akrūra was requested by Kaṁsa to arrive in Vṛndāvana by evening. After receiving
instruction from Kaṁsa, Akrūra started the next morning via chariot
for Vṛndāvana. Because Akrūra himself was a
great devotee of the Lord, while going to Vṛndāvana he began to praise to the
Lord. Devotees are always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, and Akrūra was constantly thinking
of Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus eyes.
He did not know what sort of pious
activities he must have done to gain an opportunity to go see Lord Kṛṣṇa. Akrūra thought that if Kṛṣṇa willed, he would be able to see Him. Akrūra
considered himself most fortunate that he was going to see Kṛṣṇa, whom great mystic yogīs desire to see. He was
confident that on that day all the sinful reactions of his past life would be
finished and his fortunate human form of life would be successful. Akrūra
also considered that he was very much favored by Kaṁsa,
who was sending him to bring back Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and thus enabling him
to see the Lord. Akrūra continued to consider that formerly great sages and
saintly persons were liberated from the material world simply by seeing the
shining nails of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
"That
Supreme Personality of Godhead has now come just like an ordinary human
being, and it is my great fortune to be able to see Him face to face,"
Akrūra thought. He was thrilled with expectations of seeing the very lotus
feet which are worshiped by great demigods like Brahmā, Nārada, and Lord
Śiva, which traverse the ground of Vṛndāvana, and which touch the breasts
of the gopīs covered with tinges of kuṅkuma. He thought, "I am so
fortunate that I will be able to see those very lotus feet on this day, and
certainly I shall be able to see the beautiful face of Kṛṣṇa, which is marked on the forehead
and the nose with tilaka. And I shall also see His smile and His curling
black hair. I can be sure of this opportunity because I see that today the
deer are passing on my right side. Today it will be possible for me to actually
see the beauty of the spiritual kingdom of Viṣṇuloka because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Viṣṇu, and He has advented Himself out of
His own good will. He is the reservoir of all beauty; therefore my eyes will
be filled today."
Akrūra knew beyond doubt that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Viṣṇu.
Lord Viṣṇu glances over the material energy, and thus the
cosmic manifestation comes into being. And although Lord Viṣṇu is the creator of this material world, He is
free, by His own energy, from the influence of material energy. By His
internal potency He can pierce the darkness of material energy. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa the original Viṣṇu,
by expansion of His internal potency, created the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. In the Brahma-saṁhitā
it is also confirmed that the paraphernalia and abode of Kṛṣṇa are expansions of His internal potency. The
same internal potency is exhibited on earth as Vṛndāvana,
where Kṛṣṇa enjoys Himself with His parents and in the
company of His friends, the cowherd boys and gopīs. By the statement of
Akrūra, it is clear that, since Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to the modes of
material nature, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana,
who are engaged in loving service of the Lord, are also transcendental.
Akrūra also considered the necessity
of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. He thought that the
transcendental activities, instructions, qualities and pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are all for the good fortune of people in
general. The people can remain constantly in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness by discussing the Lord's transcendental form, qualities,
pastimes, and paraphernalia. By doing so, the whole universe can actually
live auspiciously and advance peacefully. But without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, civilization is but a decoration
for a dead body. A dead body may be decorated very nicely, but without
consciousness such decorations are useless. Human society without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is useless and lifeless.
Akrūra thought, "That Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has now appeared as one of the
descendants of the Yadu dynasty. The principles of religion are His enacted
laws. Those who are abiding by such laws are the demigods, and those who are
not abiding are demons. He has advented Himself to give protection to the
demigods, who are very obedient to the laws of the Supreme Lord. The demigods
and the devotees of the Lord take pleasure in abiding by the laws of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa takes pleasure in giving them all
sorts of protection. These activities of Kṛṣṇa,
His protection of the devotees and killing the demons, as confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gītā, are always good for men to hear and narrate. The glorious
activities of the Lord will ever increasingly be chanted by the devotees and
demigods.
"Kṛṣṇa,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the spiritual master of all spiritual
masters; He is the deliverer of all fallen souls and the proprietor of the
three worlds. Anyone is able to see Him by eyes smeared with love of Godhead.
Today I shall be able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who by His
transcendental beauty has attracted the goddess of fortune to live with Him
perpetually. As soon as I arrive in Vṛndāvana,
I will get down from this chariot and fall prostrate to offer my obeisances
to the Supreme Lord, the master of material nature and all living entities.
The lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa are always worshiped by great
mystic yogīs, so I shall also worship His lotus feet and become one of His
friends in Vṛndāvana like the cowherd boys. When I bow down
before Lord Kṛṣṇa in that way, certainly He will
place His fearless lotus hand on my head. His hand is offered to all
conditioned souls who take shelter under His lotus feet. Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of life for all people who
fear material existence, and certainly when I see Him He will give me the
shelter of His lotus feet. I am aspiring for the touch of His lotus-like
hands on my head."
Akrūra was afraid, however, of being deputed by Kaṁsa, the enemy of Kṛṣṇa. He thought, "I am going to see Kṛṣṇa as a messenger of the enemy." And at the same time, he thought, "Kṛṣṇa is in each and everyone's heart as the Supersoul, so He must know my heart." Although Akrūra was trusted by the enemy of Kṛṣṇa, his heart was clear. He was a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. He risked Kaṁsa's wrath just to meet Kṛṣṇa. He was certain that although he was going as a representative of Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa would not accept him as an enemy. "Even though I am on a sinful mission, being deputed by Kaṁsa, when I approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I shall stand before Him with all humility and folded hands. Surely, He will be pleased with my devotional attitude, and maybe He will smile lovingly and look upon me and thereby free me from all kinds of sinful reaction. I shall then be on the platform of transcendental bliss and knowledge. Since Kṛṣṇa knows my heart, certainly when I approach Him, He will embrace me. I am not only one of the members of the Yadu dynasty, but I am an unalloyed pure devotee. By His merciful embrace, my body, my heart and soul will be completely cleansed of the actions and reactions of my past life. When our bodies touch, I will immediately stand up with folded hands, with all humility. Certainly Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma will call me, 'Akrūra, Uncle,' and at that time my whole life will be glorious. Unless one is recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his life cannot be successful." It is clearly stated here that one should try to be recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one's service and devotion, without which the human form of life is condemned. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead, is equal to everyone. He has no friends and no enemies. But He is inclined to a devotee who renders Him service with devotional love. The Bhagavad-gītā also declares that the Supreme Lord is responsive to the devotional service rendered by the devotee. Akrūra thought that Kṛṣṇa was like the desire tree in the heavenly planets which gives fruit according to the desire of the worshiper. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also the source of everything. A devotee must know how to render service unto Him and thus be recognized by Him. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is therefore explained that one should serve both the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa simultaneously and in that way make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Service rendered to Kṛṣṇa under the direction of the spiritual master is bona fide service because the spiritual master is the manifested representative of Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākur says that when one satisfies the spiritual master, he satisfies the Supreme Lord. It is exactly like service in a government office. One has to work under the supervision of the departmental head. If the supervisor of the department is satisfied with the service of a particular person, a promotion and increase in pay will automatically come. Akrūra then thought, "When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are pleased with my prayers, certainly They will take my hand, receive me within Their homes and offer me all kinds of respectable hospitalities, and They will surely ask me of the activities of Kaṁsa and his friends." In this way, Akrūra, who was the son of Śvaphalka, meditated on Śrī Kṛṣṇa on his journey from Mathurā. He reached Vṛndāvana by the end of the day. Akrūra passed the whole journey without knowing how long it took. When he reached Vṛndāvana, the sun was setting. As soon as he entered the boundary of Vṛndāvana, he saw the footprints of the cows and Lord Kṛṣṇa's footprints, impressed with the signs of His sole, the flag, trident, thunderbolt and lotus flower. Upon seeing the footprints of Kṛṣṇa, Akrūra immediately jumped down from the chariot, out of respect. He became overwhelmed with all the symptoms of ecstasy; he wept, and his body trembled. Out of extreme jubilation upon seeing the dust touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Akrūra fell flat on his face and began to roll on the ground.
Akrūra's journey to
Vṛndāvana is exemplary. One who intends
to visit Vṛndāvana should follow the ideal
footsteps of Akrūra and always think of the pastimes and activities of the
Lord. As soon as one reaches the boundary of Vṛndāvana, he should immediately smear
the dust of Vṛndāvana
over his body without thinking of his material position and prestige.
Narottamadāsa Ṭhākur
has sung in his celebrated song, Viṣaya-chāriyā kave śuddha have mana: "When my
mind will be purified after leaving the contamination of material sense
enjoyment, I shall be able to visit Vṛndāvana." Actually, one cannot
go to Vṛndāvana by purchasing a ticket. The
process of going to Vṛndāvana is shown by Akrūra.
When Akrūra entered
Vṛndāvana, he saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma engaged in supervising
the milking of the cows. Kṛṣṇa was dressed in yellow garments and Balarāma in
bluish. Akrūra also saw that Kṛṣṇa's eyes were exactly like the beautifully grown
lotus flower of the autumn season. He saw both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in the spring of Their
youth. Although both were similar in bodily features, Kṛṣṇa was blackish in complexion, whereas
Balarāma was whitish. Both were the shelter of the goddess of fortune. They
had well-constructed bodies, beautiful hands and pleasing faces, and They
were as strong as elephants. Now, after seeing Their footprints, Akrūra
actually saw Kṛṣṇa
and Balarāma, face to face. Although They were the most influential
personalities, They were glancing at him with smiling faces. Akrūra could
understand that both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had returned from tending cows in
the forest; They had taken Their baths and were dressed with fresh clothing
and garlanded with flowers and necklaces made of valuable jewels. Their
bodies were smeared with the pulp of sandalwood. Akrūra greatly appreciated
the aroma of flowers and sandalwood and Their bodily presence. He considered
himself very fortunate to see Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His
plenary expansion, Balarāma, face to face, for he knew that They were the
original personalities of the creation.
As stated in the
Brahma-saṁhitā, Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of
Godhead and the cause of all causes. Akrūra could understand that the Supreme
Personality of Godhead appeared personally for the welfare of His creation,
to reestablish the principles of religion and to annihilate the demons. With
Their bodily effulgence, the brothers were dissipating all the darkness of
the world, as if They were mountains of sapphire and silver. Without
hesitating, Akrūra immediately got down from his chariot and fell flat, just
like a rod, before Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Upon touching the lotus feet of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became overwhelmed with transcendental
bliss; his voice choked up and he could not speak. Due to Kṛṣṇa's transcendental presence,
incessant torrents of tears fell from his eyes. He remained stunned in
ecstasy, as if devoid of all powers to see and speak. Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is very kind to His devotees,
raised Akrūra with His hand and embraced him. It appeared that Lord Kṛṣṇa was very pleased with Akrūra.
Balarāma also embraced Akrūra. Taking him by the hand, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma brought him to Their
sitting room where They offered him a very nice sitting place and water for
washing his feet. They also worshiped him with suitable presentations of
honey and other ingredients. When Akrūra was thus comfortably seated, both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma offered Him a cow in
charity and then brought very palatable dishes of eatables, and Akrūra
accepted them. When Akrūra finished eating, Balarāma gave him betel nut and
spices, as well as pulp of sandalwood, just to make him more pleased and
comfortable. The Vedic system of receiving a guest was completely observed by
Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself to teach all others how to
receive a guest at home. It is a Vedic injunction that even if a guest is an
enemy, he should be received so well that he does not apprehend any danger
from the host. If the host is a poor man, he should at least offer a straw
mat as a sitting place and a glass of water to drink. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma welcomed Akrūra just
befitting his exalted position.
After Akrūra was
thus properly received and seated, Nanda Mahārāja, the foster father of Kṛṣṇa, said, "My dear Akrūra, what
shall I inquire from you? I know that you are being protected by Kaṁsa, who is most cruel and demoniac.
His protection is just like the slaughterhouse keeper's protection of animals
he will kill in the future. Kaṁsa is so selfish that he has killed the sons of
his own sister, so how can I honestly believe that he is protecting the
citizens of Mathurā?" This statement is most significant. If the
political or executive heads of the state are simply interested in
themselves, they can never look after the welfare of the citizens.
As Nanda Mahārāja
spoke to Akrūra with pleasing words, Akrūra forgot all the fatigue of his
day's journey from Mathurā to Vṛndāvana.
38. Akrūra's Return Journey and
His Visiting of Viṣṇuloka Within the Yamunā River
Akrūra was
warmly received by Lord Kṛṣṇa
and Nanda Mahārāja and offered a resting place for the night. In the
meantime, the two brothers Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa went to take Their supper. Akrūra sat on his
bed and began to reflect that all the desires which he had anticipated while
coming from Mathurā to Vṛndāvana
had been fulfilled. Lord Kṛṣṇa
is the husband of the goddess of fortune; being pleased with His pure
devotee, He can offer whatever the devotee desires. But the pure devotee does
not ask anything from the Lord for his personal benefit.
"O Providence,
you are so cruel! It appears that you do not know how to show mercy to
others. By your arrangement, friends contact one another, but without
fulfilling their desires you separate them. This is exactly like children's
play that has no meaning. It is very abominable that you arrange to show us
beautiful Kṛṣṇa, whose bluish curling hair
beautifies His broad forehead and sharp nose, who is always smiling to
minimize all contention in this material world, and then arrange to separate
Him from us. O Providence, you are so cruel! But most astonishingly you appear
now as 'Akrūra,' which means 'not cruel.' In the beginning we appreciated
your workmanship in giving us these eyes to see the beautiful face of Kṛṣṇa, but now, just like a foolish
creature, you are trying to take out our eyes so we may not see Kṛṣṇa here again. Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, is also
very cruel! He must always have new friends; He does not like to keep
friendship for a long time with anyone. We gopīs of Vṛndāvana, having left our homes,
friends, and relatives, have become Kṛṣṇa's maidservants, but He is
neglecting us and going away. He does not even look upon us, although we are
completely surrendered unto Him. Now all the young girls in Mathurā will have
the opportunity. They are expecting Kṛṣṇa's arrival, and they will enjoy His
sweet smiling face and will drink its honey. Although we know that Kṛṣṇa is very steady and determined, we
are threatened that as soon as He sees the beautiful faces of the young girls
in Mathurā, He will forget Himself. We fear He will become controlled by them
and will forget us, for we are simple village girls. He will no longer be
kind to us. We therefore do not expect Kṛṣṇa to return to Vṛndāvana. He will not leave the
company of the girls in Mathurā."
The gopīs began to
imagine the great functions in the city of Mathurā. Kṛṣṇa would pass through the streets, and
the ladies and young girls of the city would see Him from the balconies of
their respective houses. Mathurā City contained different communities, known
then as Daśārha, Bhoja, Andhaka and Sātvata. All these communities were
different branches of the same family in which Kṛṣṇa appeared, namely the Yadu dynasty.
They were also expecting the arrival of Kṛṣṇa. It had already been ascertained
that Kṛṣṇa, who is the rest of the goddess of
fortune and reservoir of all pleasure and transcendental qualities, was going
to visit Mathurā City.
The gopīs then
began to condemn the activities of Akrūra. They stated that he was taking Kṛṣṇa, who was more dear than the dearest
to them and who was the pleasure of their eyes. He was being taken from their
sight without their being informed or solaced by Akrūra. Akrūra should not
have been so merciless but should have taken compassion on them. The gopīs
went on to say: "The most astonishing feature is that Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda, without
consideration, has already seated Himself on the chariot. From this it
appears that Kṛṣṇa
is not very intelligent. Yet He may be very intelligent--but He is not very
civilized. Not only Kṛṣṇa, but all the cowherd men are so callous that they
are already yoking the bulls and calves for the journey to Mathurā. The
elderly persons in Vṛndāvana are also merciless; they do not take our
plight into consideration and stop Kṛṣṇa's journey to Mathurā. Even the demigods are
very unkind to us; they are not impeding His going to Mathurā."
The gopīs prayed to
the demigods to create some natural disturbance, such as a hurricane, storm
or heavy rainfall, so that Kṛṣṇa could not go to Mathurā. They then began to
consider: "Despite our elderly parents and guardians, we shall
personally stop Kṛṣṇa
from going to Mathurā. We have no other alternative than to take this direct
action. Everyone has gone against us to take away Kṛṣṇa from our sight. Without Him we
cannot live for a moment." The gopīs thus decided to obstruct the
passage through which the chariot of Kṛṣṇa was supposed to pass. They began to
talk among themselves: "We have passed a very long night--which seemed
only a moment--engaged in the rāsa dance with Kṛṣṇa. We were looking at His sweet smile
and were embracing and talking. Now, how shall we live even for a moment if
He goes away from us? At the end of the day, in the evening, along with His
elder brother Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa would return home with His friends. His face
would be smeared with the dust raised by the hooves of the cows, and He would
smile and play on His flute and look upon us so kindly. How shall we be able
to forget Him? How shall we be able to forget Kṛṣṇa, who is our life and soul? He has
already taken away our hearts in so many ways throughout our days and nights,
and if He goes away, there is no possibility of our continuing to live."
Thinking like this, the gopīs became more and more griefstricken at Kṛṣṇa's leaving Vṛndāvana. They could not check their
minds, and they began to cry loudly, calling the different names of Kṛṣṇa, "O dear Dāmodara! Dear
Mādhava!"
The gopīs cried all
night before the departure of Kṛṣṇa. As soon as the sun rose, Akrūra finished his
morning bath, got on the chariot and began to start for Mathurā with Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Nanda Mahārāja and
the cowherd men got up on bullock carts, after loading them with milk
preparations, such as yogurt, milk, and ghee, filled in big earthen pots, and
began to follow the chariot of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. In spite of Kṛṣṇa's asking them not to obstruct their
way, all the gopīs surrounded the chariot and stood up to see Kṛṣṇa with pitiable eyes. Kṛṣṇa was very much affected upon seeing
the plight of the gopīs, but His duty was to start for Mathurā, for this was
foretold by Nārada. Kṛṣṇa, therefore, consoled the gopīs. He told them
that they should not be aggrieved; He was coming back very soon after
finishing His business. But they could not be persuaded to disperse. The
chariot, however, began to head west, and as it proceeded, the minds of the
gopīs followed it as far as possible. They watched the flag on the chariot as
long as it was visible; finally they could see only the dust of the chariot
in the distance. The gopīs did not move from their places but stood until the
chariot could not be seen at all. They remained standing still, as if they
were painted pictures. All the gopīs decided that Kṛṣṇa was not returning immediately, and
with greatly disappointed hearts, they returned to their respective homes.
Being greatly disturbed by the absence of Kṛṣṇa, they simply thought all day and
night about His pastimes and thus derived some consolation.
The Lord,
accompanied by Akrūra and Balarāma, drove the chariot with great speed
towards the bank of the Yamunā. Simply by taking a bath in the Yamunā, anyone
can diminish the reaction of his sinful activities. Both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma took Their baths in
the river and washed Their faces. After drinking the transparent crystal
clear water of the Yamunā, They took Their seats again on the chariot. The
chariot was standing underneath the shade of big trees, and both brothers sat
down there. Akrūra then took Their permission to also take bath in the
Yamunā. According to Vedic ritual, after taking bath in the river, one should
stand at least half submerged and murmur the Gāyatrī mantra. While he was
standing in the river, Akrūra suddenly saw both Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa within the water. He was surprised
to see Them there because he was confident that They were sitting on the
chariot. Confused, he immediately came out of the water and went to see where
the boys were, and he was very surprised to see that They were sitting on the
chariot as before. When he saw Them on the chariot, he began to wonder
whether he saw Them in the water. He therefore went back to the river. This
time he saw not only Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa there, but many of the demigods and all the
Siddhas, Cāraṇas,
and Gandharvas. They were all standing before the Lord, who was lying down.
He also saw the Śeṣa
Nāga with thousands of hoods. Lord Śeṣa Nāga was covered with bluish
garments, and His necks were all white. The white necks of Śeṣa Nāga appeared exactly like
snowcapped mountains. On the curved lap of Śeṣa Nāga, Akrūra saw Kṛṣṇa sitting very soberly, with four
hands. His eyes were like the reddish petals of the lotus flower.
In other words,
after returning, Akrūra saw Balarāma turned into Śeṣa Nāga and Kṛṣṇa turned into Mahā-Viṣṇu. He saw the fourhanded Supreme
Personality of Godhead, smiling very beautifully. He was very pleasing to all
and was looking towards everyone. He appeared beautiful with His raised nose,
broad forehead, spread-up ears and reddish lips. His arms, reaching to the
knees, were very strongly built. His shoulders were high, His chest very
broad and shaped like the conchshell. His navel was very deep, and His
abdomen was marked with three lines. His waist was broad and big, resembling
the hips of a woman, and His thighs resembled the trunks of elephants. The
other parts of His legs, the joints and lower extremities, were all very
beautiful, the nails of His feet were dazzling, and His toes were as
beautiful as the petals of the lotus flower. His helmet was decorated with
very valuable jewels. There was a nice belt around the waist, and He wore a
sacred thread across His broad chest. Bangles were on His hands and armlets
on the upper portion of His arms. He wore bells on His ankles. He possessed
dazzling beauty, and His palms were like the lotus flower. He was still more
beautiful with different emblems of the Viṣṇu-mūrti, the conchshell, club, disc
and lotus flower, which He held in His four hands. His chest was marked with
the particular signs of Viṣṇu, and He wore fresh flower garlands. All in all,
He was very beautiful to look at. Akrūra also saw His Lordship surrounded by
intimate associates like the four Kumāras, Sanaka, Sanātana, Sananda and
Sanatkumāra, and other associates like Sunanda and Nanda, as well as demigods
like Brahmā and Lord Śiva. The nine great learned sages were there, and
devotees like Prahlāda and Nārada were engaged in offering prayers to the
Lord with clean hearts and pure words. After seeing the transcendental
Personality of Godhead, Akrūra immediately became overwhelmed with great
devotion, and all over his body there was transcendental shivering. Although
for the moment he was bewildered, he retained his clear consciousness and
bowed down his head before the Lord. With folded hands and faltering voice,
he began to offer prayers to the Lord.
39. Prayers by Akrūra
Akrūra offered his prayers as
follows: "My dear Lord, I here pay my respectful obeisances unto You
because You are the supreme cause of all causes and the original
inexhaustible Personality, Nārāyaṇa. From Your navel a lotus flower
grows, and from that lotus, Brahmā, the creator of this universe, is born.
Since Brahmā is the cause of this universe, You are the cause of all causes.
All the elements of this cosmic manifestation--earth, water, fire, air,
ether, ego and the total material energy, as well as nature, the marginal energy,
the living entities, mind, senses, the sense objects and the demigods who
control the affairs of the cosmos--are all produced from Your body. You are
the Supersoul of everything, but no one knows Your transcendental form.
Everyone within this material world is influenced by the modes of material
nature. Demigods like Lord Brahmā, being covered by the influence of material
nature, do not exactly know Your transcendental existence beyond the cosmic
manifestation of the three modes of material nature. Great sages and mystics
worship You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original cause of all
living entities, all cosmic manifestation and all demigods. They worship You
as all-inclusive. Some of the learned brāhmaṇas
also worship You by observing the ritualistic ceremony of the Ṛg-veda. They offer different kinds of sacrifices
in the names of different gods. And there are others also who are fond of
worshiping transcendental knowledge. They are very peaceful and wish to give
up all kinds of material activities. They engage themselves in the
philosophical search for You, known as jñāna-yoga.
"There
are devotees also known as Bhāgavatas who worship You as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. After being properly initiated in the method of
Pāñcarātra, they decorate their bodies with tilaka and engage in worshiping
Your different forms of Viṣṇu mūrti. There are others also, known
as Śaivites, followers of the different ācāryas, who worship You in the form
of Lord Śiva."
It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā
that worship of demigods is also indirectly worship of the Supreme Lord. But
such worship is not orthodox, because the worshipable Lord is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. Demigods such as Brahmā and Śiva
are incarnations of the material qualities, which are also emanations from
the body of Nārāyaṇa. Actually, there was no one
existing before the creation except Nārāyaṇa,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The worship of a demigod is not on the
level with worship of Nārāyaṇa.
Akrūra said, "Although the minds
of those who are devotees of the demigods are fixed on a particular demigod,
because You are the Supersoul of all living entities, including the demigods,
worship of demigods indirectly goes to You. Sometimes, after flowing down
from the mountains during the rainy season, small rivers fail to reach the
sea; some reach the sea and some do not. Similarly, the worshipers of the
demigods may or may not reach You. There is no guarantee. Their success
depends on the strength of their worship."
According to Vedic principle, when a
worshiper worships a particular demigod, he also conducts some ritual for
Nārāyaṇa, Yajñeśvara, for it is mentioned in the
Bhagavad-gītā that demigods cannot fulfill the desires of their worshipers
without the sanction of Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa.
The exact words used in the Bhagavad-gītā are mayaiva vihitān hi tān, which
means that the demigods can award some benediction after being authorized by
the Supreme Lord. When the demigod worshiper comes to his senses, he can
reason as follows: "The demigod can offer benediction only after being
empowered by the Supreme Lord, so why not worship the Supreme Lord
directly?" Worshipers of the demigods may come to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, but others, who take the demigod as all in all,
cannot reach the ultimate goal.
Akrūra continued to pray: "My
dear Lord, the whole world is filled with the three material modes of nature,
namely, goodness, passion and ignorance. Everyone within this material world
is covered by these modes, from Lord Brahmā down to the immovable plants and
trees. My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, because You
are beyond the influence of the three modes. Except for You, everyone is
being carried away by the waves of these modes. My dear Lord, fire is Your
mouth, the earth is Your feet, the sun is Your eye, the sky is Your navel,
and the directions are Your ears. Space is Your head, the demigods are Your
arms, the oceans and seas are Your abdomen, and the winds and air are Your
strength and vitality. All the plants and herbs are the hair on Your body;
the clouds are your hair, the mountains are Your bones and nails, the days
and nights are the twinkling of Your eyelids; Prajāpati (the progenitor) is
Your genitals, and the rains are Your semina.
"My dear Lord, all living
entities, including different grades of demigods, different grades of
overlords, kings and other living entities, are supposed to be resting in
You. As part and parcel of the big unit, one cannot know You by experimental
knowledge. One can simply understand Your transcendental existence as the
great ocean in which different grades of living entities are included, or as
the fruit kadamba, out of which small mosquitoes come. My dear Lord, whatever
eternal forms and incarnations You accept and which appear in this world are
meant for relieving the living entities from their ignorance, illusion and
lamentation. All people, therefore, can appreciate the incarnations and
pastimes of Your Lordship and eternally glorify Your activities. No one can
estimate how many forms and incarnations You have, nor can anyone estimate
the number of universes that are existing within You.
"Let me
therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the incarnation of fish, who
appeared in devastation, although Your Lordship is the cause of all causes.
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Hayagrīva incarnation who
killed the two demons, Madhu and Kaiṭabha; let me offer my respectful
obeisances unto You who appeared as the gigantic tortoise and held up the
great mountain Mandara, and who appeared as the boar who rescued the earth
planet which had fallen into the water of Garbhodaka. Let me offer my
respectful obeisances unto Your Lordship, who appeared as Nṛsiṁhadeva, who delivered all kinds of
devotees from the fearful condition of atheistic atrocities. Let me offer my
respectful obeisances unto You who appeared as Vāmanadeva and covered the
three worlds simply by expanding Your lotus feet. Let me offer my respectful
obeisances unto You who appeared as the Lord of the Bhṛgus in order to kill all the infidel
administrators of the world. And let me offer my respectful obeisances unto
You who appeared as Lord Rāma to kill demons like Rāvaṇa. You are worshiped by all devotees
as the chief of the Raghu dynasty, Lord Rāmacandra. Let me offer my
respectful obeisances unto You who appeared as Lord Vāsudeva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, Lord Pradyumna and Lord Aniruddha.
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who appeared as Lord Buddha
in order to bewilder the atheistic and demoniac. And let me offer my
respectful obeisances unto You, who appear as Kalki in order to chastise the
so-called royal order degraded to the abominable condition of the mlecchas,
who are below the jurisdiction of Vedic regulative principles."My dear Lord, everyone within this material world is conditioned by Your illusory energy. Under the impression of false identification and false possession, everyone is transmigrating from one body to another in the path of fruitive activities and their reactions. My dear Lord, I am also no exception to these conditioned souls. I am falsely thinking myself happy in possessing my home, wife, children, state, property and effects. In this way I am acting as if in a dreamland because none of these are permanent. I am a fool to be always absorbed in such thoughts, accepting them as permanent and truth. My dear Lord, due to my false identification, I have accepted everything which is nonpermanent, such as this material body, which is not spiritual and is the source of all kinds of miserable conditions. Being bewildered by such concepts of life, I am always absorbed in thoughts of duality, and I have forgotten You who are the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure. I am bereft of Your transcendental association and am just like a foolish creature who goes in search of water in the desert, leaving the water spot which is covered by water-nourished vegetables. The conditioned souls want to quench their thirst, but they do not know where to find water. They give up the spot where there is actually a reservoir of water and run into the desert where there is no water. My dear Lord, I am completely incapable of controlling my mind, which is now driven by the unbridled senses and is attracted by fruitive activities and their results. My dear Lord, Your lotus feet cannot be appreciated by any person in the conditional stage of material existence, but somehow or other I have come near Your lotus feet, and I consider this to be Your causeless mercy upon me. You can act in any way because You are the supreme controller. I can thus understand that when a person becomes eligible to be delivered from the path of repeated birth and death, it is only by Your causeless mercy that he further progresses to become attached to Your causeless devotional service."
Akrūra fell down before the Lord and
said, "My dear Lord, Your transcendental eternal form is full of
knowledge. Simply by concentrating one's mind upon Your form, one can
understand in full knowledge everything that be, because You are the original
source of all knowledge. You are the supreme powerful, possessing all kinds
of energies. You are the Supreme Brahman and the Supreme Person, supreme
controller and master of the material energies. I offer my respectful
obeisances unto You because You are Vāsudeva, the resting place of all
creation. You are the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You
are also the Supreme Soul residing in everyone's heart and giving direction
to act. Now, my Lord, I am completely surrendered unto You. Please give me Your
protection."
40. Kṛṣṇa Enters Mathurā
|
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
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