Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
61. The Meeting of Uṣā and
Aniruddha
This great hero Bāṇāsura, born of Mahārāja Bali, was a great devotee of Lord Śiva and was always ready to render service unto him. Because of his devotion, he achieved a great position in society, and he was honored in every respect. Actually, he was very intelligent and liberal also, and his activities are all praiseworthy because he never deviated from his promise and word of honor; he was very truthful and fixed in his vow. In those days, he was ruling over the city of Śonitapura. By the grace of Lord Śiva, Bāṇāsura had one thousand hands, and he became so powerful that even demigods like King Indra were serving him as most obedient servants.
Long ago, when Lord Śiva was dancing in his celebrated fashion called tāṇḍava-nṛtya, for which he is known as Naṭarāja, Bāṇāsura helped Lord Śiva in his dancing by rhythmically beating drums with his one thousand hands. Lord Śiva is well-known as Āśutoṣa, very easily pleased, and he is also very affectionate to his devotees. He is a great protector for persons who take shelter of him and is the master of all living entities in this material world. Being pleased with Bāṇāsura, he said, "Whatever you desire you can have from me because I am very much pleased with you." Bāṇāsura replied, "My dear lord, if you please, you can remain in my city just to protect me from the hands of my enemies."
Once upon a time, Bāṇāsura came to offer his respects to Lord Śiva. By touching the lotus feet of Lord Śiva with his helmet, which was shining like the sun globe, he offered his obeisances unto him. While offering his respectful obeisances, Bāṇāsura said, "My dear lord, anyone who has not fulfilled his ambition will be able to do so by taking shelter of your lotus feet, which are just like desire trees--one can take from them anything he desires. My dear lord, you have given me one thousand arms, but I do not know what to do with them. Please pardon me, but it appears that I cannot use them properly in fighting. I cannot find anyone competent to fight with me except your lordship, the original father of the material world. Sometimes I feel a great tendency to fight with my arms, and I go out to find a suitable warrior. Unfortunately, everyone flees, knowing my extraordinary power. Being baffled at not finding a match, I simply satisfy the itching of my arms by beating them against the mountains. In this way, I tear many great mountains to pieces."
Lord Śiva realized that his benediction had become troublesome for Bāṇāsura and addressed him, "You rascal! You are very eager to fight, but since you have no one to fight with, you are distressed. Although you think that there is no one in the world to oppose you except me, I say that you will eventually find such a competent person. At that time your days will come to an end, and your flag of victory will no longer fly. Then you will see your false prestige smashed to pieces!"
After hearing Lord Śiva's statement, Bāṇāsura became very puffed up with his power. He was elated that he would meet someone who would be able to smash him to pieces. Bāṇāsura then returned home with great pleasure, and he always waited for the day when the suitable fighter would come to cut down his strength. He was such a foolish demon. It appears that foolish, demonic human beings, when unnecessarily overpowered with material opulences, want to exhibit these opulences, and such foolish people feel satisfaction when these opulences are exhausted. The idea is that they do not know how to expend their energy for right causes, being unaware of the benefit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually, there are two classes of men--one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, the other is non-Kṛṣṇa conscious. The non-Kṛṣṇa conscious men are generally devoted to the demigods, whereas the Kṛṣṇa conscious men are devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa conscious persons utilize everything for the service of the Lord. The non-Kṛṣṇa conscious persons utilize everything for sense gratification, and Bāṇāsura is a perfect example of such a person. He was very anxious to utilize for his own satisfaction his extraordinary power to fight. Not finding any combatant, he struck his powerful hands against the mountains, breaking them into pieces. In contrast to this, Arjuna also possessed extraordinary powers for fighting, but he utilized them only for Kṛṣṇa.
Bāṇāsura had a very beautiful daughter, whose name was Uṣā. When she had attained the age of marriage and was sleeping amongst her many girl friends, she dreamt one night that Aniruddha was by her side and that she was enjoying a conjugal relationship with him, although she had never actually seen him nor heard of him before. She awoke from her dream exclaiming very loudly, "My dear beloved, where are you?" Being exposed to her other friends in this way, she became a little bit ashamed. One of Uṣā's girl friends was Citralekhā, who was the daughter of Bāṇāsura's prime minister. Citralekhā and Uṣā were intimate friends, and out of great curiosity Citralekhā asked, "My dear beautiful princess, as of yet you are not married to any young boy, nor have you seen any boys until now; so I am surprised that you are exclaiming like this. Who are you searching after? Who is your suitable match?"
On hearing Citralekhā's inquiries, Uṣā replied, "My dear friend, in my dream I saw a nice young man who is very, very beautiful. His complexion is swarthy, his eyes are just like lotus petals, and he is dressed in yellow garments. His arms are very long, and his general bodily features are so pleasing that any young girl would be attracted. I feel much pride in saying that this beautiful young man was kissing me, and I was very much enjoying the nectar of his kissing. I am sorry to inform you that just after this he disappeared, and I have been thrown into the whirlpool of disappointment. My dear friend, I am very anxious to find this wonderful young man, the desired lord of my heart."
After hearing Uṣā's words, Citralekhā immediately replied, "I can understand your bereavement, and I assure you that if this boy is within these three worlds--the upper, middle and lower planetary systems--I must find him for your satisfaction. If you can identify him from your dream, I shall bring you peace of mind. Now, let me draw some pictures for you to inspect, and as soon as you find the picture of your desired husband, let me know. It doesn't matter where he is; I know the art of bringing him here. So, as soon as you identify him, I shall immediately arrange for it."
Citralekhā, while talking, began to draw many pictures of the demigods inhabiting the higher planetary systems, then pictures of the Gandharvas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Pannagas, Daityas, Vidyādharas and Yakṣas, as well as many human beings. (The statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literature prove definitely that on each and every planet there are living entities of different varieties. Therefore, it is foolish to assert that there are no living entities but those on this earth.) Citralekhā painted many pictures. Among those of the human beings was the Vṛṣṇi dynasty, including Vasudeva, the father of Kṛṣṇa, Śūrasena, the grandfather of Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Balarāmajī, Lord Kṛṣṇa and many others. When Uṣā saw the picture of Pradyumna, she became a little bashful, but when she saw the picture of Aniruddha, she became so bashful that she immediately lowered her head and smiled, having found the man she was seeking. She identified the picture to Citralekhā as that of the man who had stolen her heart.
Citralekhā was a great mystic yoginī, and as soon as Uṣā identified the picture, although neither of them had ever seen him nor knew his name, Citralekhā could immediately understand that the picture was of Aniruddha, a grandson of Kṛṣṇa. That very night she traveled in outer space and within a very short time reached the city of Dvārakā, which was well-protected by Kṛṣṇa. She entered the palace and found Aniruddha sleeping in his bedroom on a very opulent bed. Citralekhā, by her mystic power, immediately brought Aniruddha, in that sleeping condition, to the city of Śonitapura so that Uṣā might see her desired husband. Uṣā immediately bloomed in happiness and began to enjoy the company of Aniruddha with great satisfaction.
The palace in which Uṣā and Citralekhā lived was so well fortified that it was impossible for any male to either enter or see inside. Uṣā and Aniruddha lived together in the palace, and day after day the love of Uṣā for Aniruddha grew four times upon four times. Uṣā pleased Aniruddha with her valuable dresses, flowers, garlands, scents and incense. By his bedside sitting place were other paraphernalia for residential purposes--nice drinks such as milk and sherbet and nice eatables which could be chewed or swallowed. Above all, she pleased him with sweet words and very obliging service. Aniruddha was worshiped by Uṣā as if he were the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By her excellent service, Uṣā made Aniruddha forget all other things and was able to draw his attention and love upon her without deviation. In such an atmosphere of love and service, Aniruddha practically forgot himself and could not recall how many days he had been away from his real home.
In due course of time, Uṣā exhibited some bodily symptoms by which it could be understood that she was having intercourse with a male friend. The symptoms were so prominent that her actions could no longer be concealed from anyone. Uṣā was always cheerful in the association of Aniruddha, but she did not know the bounds of her satisfaction. The housekeeper and the watchmen of the palace could guess very easily that she was having relations with a male friend, and without waiting for further development, all of them informed their master, Bāṇāsura. In Vedic culture, an unmarried girl having association with a male is the greatest disgrace to the family, and so the caretaker cautiously informed his master that Uṣā was developing symptoms indicating a disgraceful association. The servants informed their master that they were not at all neglectful in guarding the house, being alert day and night against any young man who might enter. They were so careful that a male could not even see what was going on there, and so they were surprised that she had become contaminated. Since they could not trace out the reason for it, they submitted the whole situation before their master.
Bāṇāsura was shocked to understand that his daughter Uṣā was no longer a virgin maiden. This weighed heavily on his heart, and without delay he rushed towards the palace where Uṣā was living. There he saw that Uṣā and Aniruddha were sitting together and talking. Uṣā and Aniruddha looked very beautiful together, Aniruddha being the son of Pradyumna, who was Cupid himself. Bāṇāsura saw his daughter and Aniruddha as a suitable match, yet for family prestige, he did not like the combination at all. Bāṇāsura could not understand who the boy actually was. He appreciated the fact that Uṣā could not have selected anyone in the three worlds more beautiful. Aniruddha's complexion was brilliant and swarthy. He was dressed in yellow garments and had eyes just like lotus petals. His arms were very long, and he had nice, curling, bluish hair. The glaring rays of his glittering earrings and the beautiful smile on his lips were certainly captivating. Still, Bāṇāsura was very angry.
When Bāṇāsura saw him, Aniruddha was engaged in playing with Uṣā. Aniruddha was nicely dressed, and Uṣā had garlanded him with various beautiful flowers. The reddish kuṅkuma powder put on the breasts of women was spotted here and there on the garland, indicating that Uṣā had embraced him. Bāṇāsura was struck with wonder that, even in his presence, Aniruddha was peacefully sitting in front of Uṣā. Aniruddha knew, however, that his would-be father-in-law was not at all pleased and that he was gathering many soldiers in the palace to attack him.
Thus, not finding any other weapon, Aniruddha took hold of a big iron rod and stood up before Bāṇāsura and his soldiers. He firmly took a posture indicating that if he were attacked he would strike all of the soldiers down to the ground with the iron rod. Bāṇāsura and his company of soldiers saw that the boy was standing before them just like the superintendent of death with his invincible rod. Now, under the order of Bāṇāsura, the soldiers from all sides attempted to capture and arrest him. When they dared to come before him, Aniruddha struck them with the rod, breaking their heads, legs, arms and thighs, and one after another they began to fall to the ground. He killed them just as the leader of a flock of hawks kills barking dogs, one after another. In this way, Aniruddha was able to escape the palace.
Bāṇāsura knew various arts of fighting, and by the grace of Lord Śiva he knew how to arrest his opposing enemy by the use of a nāgapāśa, snake-noose, and so Aniruddha was seized as he came out of the palace. When Uṣā received the news that her father had arrested Aniruddha, she became overwhelmed with grief and confusion. Tears began to glide down her eyes, and being unable to check herself, she began to cry very loudly.
62. Lord Kṛṣṇa
Fights with Bāṇāsura
Bāṇāsura heard that the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty were attacking the whole city, tearing down various walls, gates and nearby gardens. Becoming very angry, he immediately ordered his soldiers, who were of equal caliber, to go and face them. Lord Śiva was so kind to Bāṇāsura that he personally came as the commander-in-chief of the military force, assisted by his heroic sons Kārttikeya and Gaṇapati. Seated on his favorite bull, Nandīśvara, Lord Śiva led the fighting against Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. We can simply imagine how fierce the fighting was--Lord Śiva with his valiant sons on one side and Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His elder brother, Śrī Balarāmajī, on the other. The fighting was so fierce that those who saw the battle were struck with wonder, and the hairs on their bodies stood up. Lord Śiva was engaged in fighting directly with Lord Kṛṣṇa, Pradyumna was engaged with Kārttikeya, and Lord Balarāma was engaged with Bāṇāsura's commander-in-chief, Kumbhāṇḍa, who was assisted by Kūpakarṇa. Sāmba, the son of Kṛṣṇa, was engaged in fighting with the son of Bāṇāsura, and Bāṇāsura was engaged in fighting with Sātyaki, commander-in-chief of the Yadu dynasty. In this way the fighting was waged.
News of the fighting spread all over the universe. Demigods such as Lord Brahmā, from higher planetary systems, along with great sages and saintly persons, Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Gandharvas--all being very curious to see the fight between Lord Śiva, Lord Kṛṣṇa and their assistants--were hovering over the battlefield in their airplanes. Lord Śiva is called the bhūta-nātha, being assisted by various types of powerful ghosts and denizens of the inferno-- bhūtas, pretas, pramathas, guhyakas, ḍākinīs, piśācas, kuṣmāṇḍas, vetālas, vīṇāyakas and brahma-rākṣasas. (Of all kinds of ghosts, the brahma-rākṣasas are very powerful. Brāhmaṇas transferred to the role of ghosts become brahma-Rākṣasas.)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa simply drove all these ghosts away from the battlefield, beating them with His celebrated bow, Śārṅgadhanu. Lord Śiva then began to release all his selected weapons upon the Personality of Godhead. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, without any difficulty, counteracted all these weapons with counter-weapons. He counteracted the brahmāstra, similar to the atomic bomb, by another brahmāstra, and an air weapon by a mountain weapon. When Lord Śiva released a particular weapon bringing about a violent hurricane on the battlefield, Lord Kṛṣṇa presented just the opposing element, a mountain weapon which checked the hurricane on the spot. Similarly when Lord Śiva released his weapon of devastating fire, Kṛṣṇa counteracted it with torrents of rain.
At last, when Lord Śiva released his personal weapon, called pāśupata-śastra, Kṛṣṇa immediately counteracted it by the nārāyaṇa-śastra. Lord Śiva then became exasperated in fighting with Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa then took the opportunity to release His yawning weapon. When this weapon is released, the opposing party becomes tired, stops fighting, and begins to yawn. Consequently, Lord Śiva became so fatigued that he refused to fight anymore and began to yawn. Kṛṣṇa was now able to turn His attention from the attack of Lord Śiva to the efforts of Bāṇāsura, and He began to kill his personal soldiers with swords and clubs. Meanwhile, Lord Kṛṣṇa's son Pradyumna was fighting fiercely with Kārttikeya, the commander-in-chief of the demigods. Kārttikeya was wounded, and his body was bleeding profusely. In this condition, he left the battlefield and, without fighting anymore, rode away on the back of his peacock carrier. Similarly, Lord Balarāma was smashing Bāṇāsura's commander-in-chief, Kumbhāṇḍa, with the strokes of His club. Kūpakarṇa was also wounded in this way, and both he and Kumbhāṇḍa fell on the battlefield, the commander-in-chief being fatally wounded. Without guidance, all of Bāṇāsura's soldiers scattered here and there.
When Bāṇāsura saw that his soldiers and commanders had been defeated, his anger only increased. He thought it wise to stop fighting with Sātyaki, Kṛṣṇa's commander-in-chief, and instead directly attacked Lord Kṛṣṇa. Now having the opportunity to use his one thousand hands, he rushed towards Kṛṣṇa, simultaneously working 500 bows and 2,000 arrows. Such a foolish person could never measure Kṛṣṇa's strength. Immediately, without any difficulty, Kṛṣṇa cut each of Bāṇāsura's bows into two pieces and, to check him from going further, made his chariot horses lay on the ground. The chariot then broke to pieces. After doing this, Kṛṣṇa blew His conchshell, Pāñcajanya.
There was a demigoddess named Koṭarā who was worshiped by Bāṇāsura, and their relationship was as mother and son. Mother Koṭarā was upset that Bāṇāsura's life was in danger, so she appeared on the scene. With naked body and scattered hair, she stood before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa did not like the sight of this naked woman, and to avoid seeing her, He turned His face. Bāṇāsura, getting this chance to escape Kṛṣṇa's attack, left the battlefield. All the strings of his bows were broken, and there was no chariot or driver, so he had no alternative than to return to his city. He lost everything in the battle.
Being greatly harassed by the arrows of Kṛṣṇa, all the associates of Lord Śiva, the hobgoblins and ghostly bhūtas, pretas and kṣatriyas, left the battlefield. Lord Śiva then took to his last resort. He released his greatest death weapon, known as Śivajvara, which destroys by excessive temperature. It is said that at the end of this creation the sun becomes twelve times more scorching than usual. This twelve-times-hotter temperature is called Śivajvara. When the Śivajvara personified was released, he had three heads and three legs, and as he came toward Kṛṣṇa it appeared that he was burning everything into ashes. He was so powerful that he made blazing fire appear in all directions, and Kṛṣṇa observed that he was specifically coming toward Him.
As there is a Śivajvara weapon, there is also a Nārāyaṇajvara. Nārāyaṇajvara is represented by excessive cold. When there is excessive heat, one can somehow or other tolerate it, but when there is excessive cold, everything collapses. This is actually experienced by a person at the time of death. At the time of death, the temperature of the body first of all increases to 107 degrees, and then the whole body collapses and immediately becomes as cold as ice. To counteract the scorching heat of the Śivajvara, there is no other weapon but Nārāyaṇajvara.
When Lord Kṛṣṇa saw that the Śivajvara had been released by Lord Śiva, He had no other recourse than to release Nārāyaṇajvara. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Nārāyaṇa and the controller of the Nārāyaṇajvara weapon. When the Nārāyaṇajvara was released, there was a great fight between the two jvaras. When excessive heat is counteracted by extreme cold, it is natural for the hot temperature to gradually reduce, and this is what occurred in the fight between Śivajvara and Nārāyaṇajvara. Gradually, Śivajvara's temperature diminished, and Śivajvara began to cry for help from Lord Śiva, but Lord Śiva was unable to help him in the presence of the Nārāyaṇajvara. Unable to get any help from Lord Śiva, the Śivajvara could understand that he had no means of escape outside surrendering unto Nārāyaṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Lord Śiva, the greatest of the demigods, could not help him, what to speak of the lesser demigods, and therefore Śivajvara ultimately surrendered unto Kṛṣṇa, bowing before Him and offering a prayer so that the Lord might be pleased and give him protection.
By this incidence of the fight between the ultimate weapons of Lord Śiva and Lord Kṛṣṇa it is proved that if Kṛṣṇa gives someone protection, no one can kill him. But if Kṛṣṇa does not give one any protection, then no one can save him. Lord Śiva is called Mahādeva, greatest of all demigods, although sometimes Lord Brahmā is considered the greatest of all demigods, because he can create, whereas Lord Śiva can annihilate the creations of Brahmā. But both Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva act only in one capacity. Lord Brahmā can create, and Lord Śiva can annihilate, but neither of them can maintain. Lord Viṣṇu, however, not only maintains, but He creates, and annihilates also. Factually, the creation is not effected by Brahmā, because Brahmā himself is created by Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Śiva is created, or born, of Brahmā. The Śivajvara thus understood that without Kṛṣṇa or Nārāyaṇa, no one could help him. He therefore rightly took shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa and, with folded hands, began to pray as follows.
"My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because You have unlimited potencies. No one can surpass Your potencies, and thus You are the Lord of everyone. Generally people consider Lord Śiva to be the most powerful personality in the material world, but Lord Śiva is not all-powerful; You are all-powerful. This is factual. You are the original consciousness or knowledge. Without knowledge or consciousness, nothing can be powerful. A material thing might be very powerful, but without the touch of knowledge or consciousness it cannot act. A material machine may be very gigantic and wonderful, but without the touch of someone conscious and in knowledge, the material machine is useless for all purposes. My Lord, You are complete knowledge, and there is not a pinch of material contamination in Your personality. Lord Śiva may be a powerful demigod because of his specific power to annihilate the whole creation, and similarly, Lord Brahmā may be very powerful because he can create the entire universe, but actually neither Brahmā nor Lord Śiva is the original cause of this cosmic manifestation. You are the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Brahman, and You are the original cause. The original cause of the cosmic manifestation is not the impersonal Brahman effulgence. That impersonal Brahman effulgence is resting on Your personality." As is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, the cause of the impersonal Brahman is Lord Kṛṣṇa. This Brahman effulgence is likened to the sunshine which emanates from the sun globe. Therefore, impersonal Brahman is not the ultimate cause. The ultimate cause of everything is the supreme eternal form of Kṛṣṇa. All material actions and reactions are taking place in the impersonal Brahman, but in the personal Brahman, the eternal form of Kṛṣṇa, there is no action and reaction. My Lord, Your body is therefore completely peaceful, completely blissful and is devoid of material contamination.
"In the material body there are actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature. The time factor is the most important element and is above all others, because the material manifestation is effected by time agitation. Thus natural phenomena come into existence, and as soon as there is the appearance of phenomena, fruitive activities are visible. As the result of these fruitive activities, a living entity takes his form. He acquires a particular type of nature which is packed up in a subtle body and gross body formed by the life air, the ego, the ten sense organs, the mind and the five gross elements. These then create the type of body which later becomes the root or cause of various other bodies, which are acquired one after another by the transmigration of the soul. All these phenomenal manifestations are the combined actions of Your material energy. Unaffected by the action and reaction of different elements, You are the cause of this external energy, and because You are transcendental to such compulsions of material energy, You are the supreme tranquillity. You are the last word in freedom from material contamination. I am therefore taking shelter at Your lotus feet, giving up all other shelter.
"My dear Lord, Your appearance as the son of Vasudeva in Your role as a human being is one of the pastimes of Your complete freedom. To benefit Your devotees and to vanquish the nondevotees, You appear in multi-incarnations. All such incarnations descend in fulfillment of Your promise in the Bhagavad-gītā that You appear as soon as there are discrepancies in the system of progressive life. When there are disturbances by irregular principles, my dear Lord, You appear by Your internal potency. Your main business is to protect and maintain the demigods and spiritually inclined persons and maintain the standard of material law and order. Simultaneous to the maintenance of such law and order, Your violence to the miscreants and demons is quite befitting. This is not the first time You have incarnated; it is to be understood that You have done so many, many times before.
"My dear Lord, I beg to submit that I have been very greatly chastised by the release of Your Nārāyaṇajvara. It is certainly very cooling yet at the same time very severely dangerous and unbearable for all of us. My dear Lord, as long as one is forgetful of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, driven by the spell of material desires and ignorant of the ultimate shelter at Your lotus feet, one who has accepted this material body becomes disturbed by the three miserable conditions of material nature. Because one does not surrender unto You, he therefore continues to suffer perpetually."
After hearing the Śivajvara, Lord Kṛṣṇa replied, "O three-headed one, I am pleased with your statement. Be assured there is no more suffering for you from the Nārāyaṇajvara. Not only are you now free from fear of Nārāyaṇajvara, but anyone in the future who simply recollects this fight between Śivajvara and Nārāyaṇajvara will also be freed from all kinds of fearfulness." After hearing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Śivajvara offered his respectful obeisances unto His lotus feet and left.
In the meantime, Bāṇāsura somehow or other recovered from his setbacks and, with rejuvenated energy, returned to fight. This time Bāṇāsura appeared before Lord Kṛṣṇa, who was seated on His chariot, with different kinds of weapons in his one thousand hands. Bāṇāsura was very much agitated. He began to splash his different weapons, like torrents of rain, upon the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Lord Kṛṣṇa saw the weapons of Bāṇāsura coming at Him, like water coming out of a strainer, He took His sharp-edged Sudarśana disc and began to cut off the demon's one thousand hands one after another, just as a gardener trims the twigs of a tree with sharp cutters. When Lord Śiva saw that his devotee Bāṇāsura could not be saved even in his presence, he came to his senses and personally came before Lord Kṛṣṇa and began to pacify Him by offering the following prayers.
Lord Śiva said, "My dear Lord, You are the worshipable object of the Vedic hymns. One who does not know You considers the impersonal brahmajyoti to be the ultimate Supreme Absolute Truth, without any knowledge that You are existing behind Your spiritual effulgence in Your eternal abode. My dear Lord, You are therefore called Parambrahman. This word, Parambrahman, has been used in the Bhagavad-gītā to identify You. Saintly persons who have completely cleansed their hearts of all material contamination can realize Your transcendental form, although You are all-pervading like the sky, unaffected by any material thing. Only the devotees can realize You, and no one else. In the impersonalists' conception of Your supreme existence, the sky is just like Your navel, the fire is Your mouth, and the water is Your semina. The heavenly planets are Your head, all the directions are Your ears, the Urvī planet is Your lotus feet, the moon is Your mind, and the sun is Your eye. As far as I am concerned, I act as Your ego. The ocean is Your abdomen, and the King of heaven, Indra, is Your arm. Trees and plants are the hairs of Your body, the cloud is the hair on Your head, and Lord Brahmā is Your intelligence. All the great progenitors, known as Prajāpatis, are Your symbolic representatives. And religion is Your heart. The impersonal feature of Your supreme body is conceived of in this way, but You are ultimately the Supreme Person. The impersonal feature of Your supreme body is only a small expansion of Your energy. You are likened to the original fire, and the expansions are Your light and heat."
Lord Śiva continued: "My dear Lord, although You are manifested universally, different parts of the universe are the different parts of Your body, and by Your inconceivable potency You can simultaneously be both localized and universal. In the Brahma-saṁhitā we also find it stated that although You always remain in Your abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, You are nevertheless present everywhere. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, You appear to protect the devotees, which indicates good fortune for all the universe. All of the demigods are directing different affairs of the universe by Your grace only. Thus the seven upper planetary systems are being maintained by Your grace. At the end of this creation, all manifestations of Your energies, whether in the shape of demigods, human beings or lower animals, enter into You, and all immediate and remote causes of cosmic manifestation rest in You without distinctive features of existence. Ultimately, there is no possibility of distinction between Yourself and any other thing on an equal level with You or subordinate to You. You are simultaneously the cause of this cosmic manifestation and its ingredients as well. You are the Supreme Whole, one without a second. In the phenomenal manifestation there are three stages: the stage of consciousness, the stage of semiconsciousness in dreaming, and the stage of unconsciousness. But Your Lordship is transcendental to all these different material stages of existence. You exist, therefore, in a fourth dimension, and Your appearance and disappearance do not depend on anything beyond Yourself. You are the supreme cause of everything, but for Yourself there is no cause. You Yourself cause Your own appearance and disappearance. Despite Your transcendental position, my Lord, in order to show Your six opulences and advertise Your transcendental qualities, You have appeared in Your different incarnations--fish, tortoise, boar, Nṛsiṁha, Keśava, etc.--by Your personal manifestation; and You have appeared as different living entities by Your separated manifestations. By Your internal potency, You appear as the different incarnations of Viṣṇu, and by Your external potency You appear as the phenomenal world.
"Because it is a cloudy day to the common man's eyes, the sun appears to be covered. But the fact is that because the sunshine creates the cloud, even though the whole sky is cloudy, the sun can never actually be covered. Similarly, the less intelligent class of men claims that there is no God, but when the manifestation of different living entities and their activities is visible, enlightened persons see You present in every atom and through the via media of Your external and marginal energies. Your unlimited potential activities are experienced by the most enlightened devotees, but those who are bewildered by the spell of Your external energy identify themselves with this material world and become attached to society, friendship and love. Thus they embrace the threefold miseries of material existence and are subjected to the dualities of pain and pleasure. They are sometimes drowned in the ocean of attachment and sometimes taken out of it.
"My dear Lord, only by Your mercy and grace can the living entity get the human form of life, which is a chance to get out of the miserable condition of material existence. However, a person who possesses a human body but who cannot bring the senses under control is carried away by the waves of sensual enjoyment. As such, he cannot take shelter of Your lotus feet and thus engage in Your devotional service. The life of such a person is very unfortunate, and anyone living such a life of darkness is certainly cheating himself and thus cheating others also. Therefore, human society without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a society of cheaters and the cheated.
My Lord, You are actually the dearmost Supersoul of all living entities and the supreme controller of everything. The human being who is always illusioned is afraid of ultimate death. A man who is simply attached to sensual enjoyment voluntarily accepts the miserable material existence and thus wanders after the will-o'-the-wisp of sense pleasure. He is certainly the most foolish man, for he drinks poison and puts aside the nectar. My dear Lord, all the demigods, including myself and Lord Brahmā, as well as great saintly persons and sages who have cleansed their hearts of this material attachment, have, by Your grace, wholeheartedly taken shelter of Your lotus feet. We have all taken shelter of You, because we have accepted You as the Supreme Lord and the dearmost life and soul of all of us. You are the original cause of this cosmic manifestation, You are its supreme maintainer, and You are the cause of its dissolution also. You are equal to everyone, the most peaceful supreme friend of every living entity. You are the supreme worshipable object for every one of us. My dear Lord, let us always be engaged in Your transcendental loving service, so that we may get free from this material entanglement.
"Lastly, my Lord, I may inform You that this Bāṇāsura is very dear to me. He has rendered very valuable service unto me; therefore I want to see him always happy. Being pleased with him, I have given him the assurance of safety. I pray to You, my Lord, that as You were pleased upon his forefathers King Prahlāda and Bali Mahārāja, You will also be pleased with him."
After hearing Lord Śiva's prayer, Lord Kṛṣṇa addressed him also as lord and said, "My dear Lord Śiva, I accept your statements, and your desire for Bāṇāsura is also accepted by Me. I know that this Bāṇāsura is the son of Bali Mahārāja, and as such I cannot kill him because that is My promise. I gave a benediction to King Prahlāda that all the demons who would appear in his family would never be killed by Me. Therefore, without killing this Bāṇāsura, I have simply cut off his arms to deprive him of his false prestige. The large number of soldiers which he was maintaining became a burden on this earth, and I have killed them all in order to minimize the burden. Now he has four remaining arms, and he will remain immortal, without being affected by the material pains and pleasures. I know that he is one of the chief devotees of your lordship, so you can now rest assured that henceforward he need have no fear from anything."
When Bāṇāsura was benedicted by Lord Kṛṣṇa in this way, he came before the Lord and bowed down before Him, touching his head to the earth. He immediately arranged to bring Aniruddha along with his daughter Uṣā, seated on a nice chariot, and presented them before Lord Kṛṣṇa. After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa took charge of Aniruddha and Uṣā, who had become very opulent materially because of the blessings of Lord Śiva. Thus, keeping forward a division of one akṣauhiṇī of soldiers, Kṛṣṇa began to proceed toward Dvārakā. In the meantime, all the people at Dvārakā, having received the news that Lord Kṛṣṇa was returning with Aniruddha and Uṣā in great opulence, decorated every corner of the city with flags, festoons and garlands. All the big roads and crossings were carefully cleansed and sprinkled with sandalwood pulp mixed with water. Everywhere there was the flavor of sandalwood. All the citizens, accompanied by their friends and relatives, welcomed Lord Kṛṣṇa with great pomp and jubilation. At that time, there was a tumultuous vibration of conchshells and drums and bugles to receive the Lord. In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa entered His capital, Dvārakā.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī assured King Parīkṣit that the narration of the fight between Lord Śiva and Lord Kṛṣṇa is not at all inauspicious like ordinary fights. On the contrary, if one remembers the narration of this fight between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śiva in the morning and takes pleasure in the victory of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he will never experience defeat anywhere in his struggle of life.
This episode of Bāṇāsura's fighting with Kṛṣṇa and later on being saved by the grace of Lord Śiva is confirmation of the statement in the Bhagavad-gītā that the worshipers of demigods cannot achieve any benediction without its being sanctioned by the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Here, in this narration, we find that although Bāṇāsura was a great devotee of Lord Śiva, when he faced death by Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śiva was not able to save him. But Lord Śiva appealed to Kṛṣṇa to save his devotee, and it was thus sanctioned by the Lord. This is the position of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The exact words used in this connection in the Bhagavad-gītā are mayaiva vihitān hi tān. This means that without the sanction of the Supreme Lord, no demigod can award any benediction to the worshiper.
63. The Story of King Nṛga
Once the family members of Lord Kṛṣṇa, such as
Sāmba, Pradyumna, Cārubhānu and Gada, all princes of the Yadu dynasty, went for
a long picnic in the forest near Dvārakā. In the course of their excursion, all
of them became thirsty, and so they began to try to find out where water was
available in the forest. When they approached a well, they found that there was
no water in it, but on the contrary, within the well was a wonderful living
entity. It was a large lizard, and all of them became astonished to see such a
wonderful animal. They could understand that the animal was trapped and could
not escape by its own effort, so out of compassion they tried to take the large
lizard out of the well. Unfortunately, they could not get the lizard out, even
though they tried to do so in many ways.
When the princes returned home, their
story was narrated before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the friend of all living entities. Therefore,
after hearing the appeal from His sons, He personally went to the well and
easily got the great lizard out simply by extending His left hand. Immediately
upon being touched by the hand of Lord Kṛṣṇa, that great lizard gave up its former shape and
appeared as a beautiful demigod, an inhabitant of the heavenly planets. His
bodily complexion glittered like molten gold. He was decorated with fine
garments, and he wore costly ornaments around his neck.
How the demigod had been obliged to
accept the body of a lizard was not a secret to Lord Kṛṣṇa, but still,
for others' information, the Lord inquired, "My dear fortunate demigod,
now I see that your body is so beautiful and lustrous. Who are you? We can
guess that you are one of the best demigods in the heavenly planets. All good
fortune to you. I think that you are not meant to be in this situation. It must
be due to the results of your past activities that you have been put into the
species of lizard life. Still, I want to hear from you how you were put in this
position. If you think that you can disclose this secret, then please tell us
your identity."
Actually this large lizard was King Nṛga, and when he
was questioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead he immediately bowed down
before the Lord, touching to the ground the helmet on his head, which was as
dazzling as the sunshine. In this way, he first of all offered his respectful
obeisances unto the Supreme Lord. He then said, "My dear Lord, I am the
son of King Ikṣvāku,
and am King Nṛga.
If you have ever taken account of all charitably disposed men, I am sure You
must have heard my name. My Lord, You are the witness. You are aware of every
bit of work done by the living entities--past, present and future. Nothing can
be hidden from Your eternal cognizance. Still, You have ordered me to explain
my history, and I shall therefore narrate the full story."
King Nṛga proceeded to narrate the history of his
degradation, caused by his karma-kāṇḍa activities. He was very charitably disposed and
had given away so many cows that he said the number was equal to the amount of
dust on the earth, the stars in the sky and the rainfall. According to the
Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, a man who is charitably disposed is commanded to
give cows to the brāhmaṇas.
From King Nṛga's
statement, it appears that he followed this principle earnestly; however, as a
result of a slight discrepancy in his action, he was forced to take birth as a
lizard. Therefore it is recommended by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā that one
who is charitably disposed and desires to derive the benefit of his charity
should offer his gifts to please Kṛṣṇa. To give in charity means to perform pious
activities. As a result of pious activities one may be elevated to the higher
planetary systems; but promotion to the heavenly planets is no guarantee that
one will never fall down. Rather, from the example of King Nṛga, it is
definitely proved that fruitive activities, even if they are very pious, cannot
give us eternal blissful life. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the result of
work, either pious or impious, is sure to bind a man unless it is discharged as
yajña on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
King Nṛga continued to say that the cows given in charity
were not ordinary cows. Each one was very young and had given birth to only one
calf. They were full of milk, very peaceful and healthy. All the cows were purchased
with money that had been earned legally. Furthermore, their horns were
gold-plated, their hooves were bedecked with silver plates, and they were
covered with silken wrappers which were embroidered with pearls and necklaces.
He stated that these valuably decorated cows were not given to any worthless
person, but were distributed to the first-class brāhmaṇas, whom he had
also decorated with nice garments and gold ornaments. The brāhmaṇas were well
qualified, none of them were rich, and their family members were always in want
for the necessities of life. A real brāhmaṇa never hoards money for a luxurious life, like the
kṣatriyas
or the vaiśyas, but always keeps himself in a poverty-stricken condition,
knowing that money diverts the mind to materialistic ways of life. To live in
this way is the vow of a qualified brāhmaṇa, and all of these brāhmaṇas were well
situated in that exalted vow. They were well learned in Vedic knowledge. They
executed the required austerities and penances in their lives, and were
liberal, meeting the standard of qualified brāhmaṇas. They were equally friendly to everyone; above
all, they were young and quite fit to act as qualified brāhmaṇas. Besides the
cows, they were also given land, gold, houses, horses and elephants. Those who
were not married were given wives, maidservants, grains, silver, utensils,
garments, jewels, household furniture, chariots, etc. This charity was nicely
performed as a sacrifice according to the Vedic rituals. The King also stated
that not only had he bestowed gifts on the brāhmaṇas, but he had performed other pious activities,
such as digging a well, planting trees on the roadside and installing ponds on
the highways
|
The King continued, "In spite of
all this, unfortunately one of the brāhmaṇa's cows chanced to enter amongst my other cows.
Not knowing this, I again gave it in charity to another brāhmaṇa. As the cow
was being taken away by the brāhmaṇa, its former master claimed it as his own,
stating, 'This cow was formerly given to me, so how is it that you are taking
it away?' Thus there was arguing and fighting between the two brāhmaṇas, and they
came before me and charged that I had taken back a cow that I had previously
given in charity." To give something to someone and then to take it away
is considered a great sin, especially in dealing with a brāhmaṇa. When both
the brāhmaṇas
charged the King with the same complaint, he was simply puzzled as to how it
had happened. Thereafter, with great humility, the King offered each of them
one hundred thousand cows in exchange for the one cow that was causing the
fight between them. He prayed to them that he was their servant and that
there had been some mistake. Thus, in order to rectify it, he prayed that
they would be very kind upon him and accept his offer in exchange for the
cow. The King fervently appealed to the brāhmaṇas not to cause his downfall into hell because of
this mistake. A brāhmaṇa's
property is called brahma-sva, and according to Manu's law, it cannot be
acquired even by the government. Both brāhmaṇas insisted that the cow was theirs and could not
be taken back under any condition; neither of them agreed to exchange it for
the one hundred thousand cows. Thus disagreeing with the King's proposal,
both brāhmaṇas
left the place in anger, thinking that their lawful position had been
usurped.
After this incident, when the time
came for the King to give up his body, he was taken before Yamarāja, the
superintendent of death. Yamarāja asked him whether he wanted to first enjoy
the results of his pious activities or first suffer the results of his
impious activities. Yamarāja also hinted that since the King had executed so
many pious activities and charities, the limit of Nṛga's enjoyment
would be unknown to him. There was practically no end to the King's material
happiness, but in spite of this hint, he was bewildered. He decided to first
suffer the results of his impious activities and then to accept the results
of his pious activities; therefore Yamarāja immediately turned him into a
lizard.
King Nṛga had remained in the well as a big lizard for a
very long time. He told Lord Kṛṣṇa: "In spite of being put into that degraded
condition of life, I simply thought of You, my dear Lord, and my memory was
never vanquished." It appears from these statements of King Nṛga that
persons who follow the principles of fruitive activities and derive some
material benefits are not very intelligent. Being given the choice by the
superintendent of death, Yamarāja, King Nṛga could have first accepted the results of his pious
activities. Instead he thought it would be better to first receive the
effects of his impious activities and then enjoy the effects of his pious
activities without disturbance. On the whole, he had not developed Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. The Kṛṣṇa
conscious person develops love of God, Kṛṣṇa, not love for pious or impious activities;
therefore he is not subjected to the results of such action. As stated in the
Brahma-saṁhitā,
a devotee, by the grace of the Lord, does not become subjected to the
resultant reactions of fruitive activities.
Somehow or other, as a result of his
pious activities, King Nṛga had aspired to see the Lord. He continued to
say: "My dear Lord, I had a great desire that someday I might be able to
see You personally. I think that my tendency to perform ritualistic and
charitable activities, combined with this great desire to see You personally,
has enabled me to retain the memory of who I was in my former life, even
though I became a lizard." (Such a person, who remembers his past life,
is called jāti-smara.) "My dear Lord, You are the Supersoul seated in
everyone's heart. There are many great mystic yogīs who have eyes to see You
through the Vedas and Upaniṣads. In order to achieve the elevated position of
being equal in quality with You, they always meditate on You within their
hearts. Although such exalted saintly persons may see You constantly within
their hearts, they still cannot see You eye to eye; therefore I am very much
surprised that I am able to see You personally. I know that I was engaged in
so many activities, especially as a king. Although I was in the midst of
luxury and opulence and was subjected to so much of the happiness and misery
of material existence, I am so fortunate to be seeing You personally. As far
as I know, when one becomes liberated from material existence, he can see You
in this way."
When King Nṛga elected to
receive the results of his impious activities, he was given the body of a
lizard because of the mistake in his pious activities; thus he could not be
directly converted to a higher status of life like a great demigod. However,
along with his pious activities, he thought of Kṛṣṇa,
so he was quickly released from the body of a lizard and given the body of a
demigod. By worshiping the Supreme Lord, those who desire material opulences
are given the bodies of powerful demigods. Sometimes these demigods can see
the Supreme Personality of Godhead eye to eye, but they are still not yet
eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the Vaikuṇṭha
planets. However, if the demigods continue to become devotees of the Lord,
the next chance they get they will enter into the Vaikuṇṭha
planets.
|
"My dear Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, because You
have given me this body of a demigod, I will have to go to some heavenly
planet; so I am taking this opportunity to beg for Your mercy, that I may have
the benediction of never forgetting Your lotus feet, no matter to which form of
life or planet I may be transferred. You are all-pervading, present everywhere
as cause and effect. You are the cause of all causes, and Your potency and
power are unlimited. You are the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead and the Supreme Brahman. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances
unto You again and again. My dear Lord, Your body is full of transcendental
bliss and knowledge, and You are eternal. You are the master of all mystic
powers; therefore You are known as Yogeśvara. Kindly accept me as insignificant
dust at Your lotus feet."
Before entering the heavenly planets,
King Nṛga
circumambulated the Lord. He touched his helmet to the lotus feet of the Lord
and bowed before Him. Seeing the airplane from the heavenly planets present
before him, he was given permission by the Lord to board it. After the
departure of King Nṛga,
Lord Kṛṣṇa
expressed His appreciation for the King's devotion to the brāhmaṇas as well as
his charitable disposition and his performance of Vedic rituals. Therefore, it
is recommended that if one cannot directly become a devotee of the Lord, one
should follow the Vedic principles of life. This will enable him, one day, to
see the Lord by being promoted either directly to the spiritual kingdom or indirectly
to the heavenly kingdom, where he has hope of being transferred to the
spiritual planets.
At this time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was present
among His relatives who were members of the kṣatriya class. To teach them through the exemplary
character of King Nṛga,
He said: "Even though a kṣatriya king may be as powerful as fire, it is not
possible for him to usurp the property of a brāhmaṇa and utilize it
for his own purpose. If this is so, how can ordinary kings, who falsely think
of themselves the most powerful beings within the material world, usurp a
brāhmaṇa's
property? I do not think that taking poison is as dangerous as taking a brāhmaṇa's property.
For ordinary poison there is treatment--one can be relieved from its effects;
but if one drinks the poison of taking a brāhmaṇa's property, there is no remedy for the mistake.
The perfect example was King Nṛga. He was very powerful and very pious, but due to
the small mistake of unknowingly usurping a brāhmaṇa's cow, he was
condemned to the abominable life of a lizard. Ordinary poison affects only
those who drink it, and ordinary fire can be extinguished simply by pouring
water on it; but the araṇi
fire ignited by the spiritual potency of a brāhmaṇa can burn to ashes the whole family of a person
who provokes such a brāhmaṇa." (Formerly, the brāhmaṇas used to
ignite the fire of sacrifice not with matches or any other external fire but
with their powerful mantras, called araṇi.) "If someone even touches a brāhmaṇa's property, he
is ruined for three generations. However, if a brāhmaṇa's property is
forcibly taken away, the taker's family for ten generations before him and for
ten generations after him will be subject to ruination. On the other hand, if
someone becomes a Vaiṣṇava
or devotee of the Lord, ten generations of his family before his birth and ten
generations after will become liberated."
Lord Kṛṣṇa continued: "If some foolish king who is
puffed up by his wealth, prestige and power wants to usurp a brāhmaṇa's property, it
should be understood that such a king is clearing his path to hell; he does not
know how much he has to suffer for such unwise action. If someone takes away
the property of a very liberal brāhmaṇa who is encumbered by a large dependent family,
then such a usurper is put into the hell known as Kumbhīpāka; not only is he
put into this hell, but his family members also have to accept such a miserable
condition of life. A person who takes away property which has either been
awarded to a brāhmaṇa or
given away by him is condemned to live for at least 60,000 years as miserably
as an insect in stool. Therefore I instruct you, all My boys and relatives
present here, do not, even by mistake, take the possession of a brāhmaṇa and thereby
pollute your whole family. If someone even wishes to possess such property, let
alone attempts to take it away by force, the duration of his life will be
reduced. He will be defeated by his enemies, and after being bereft of his
royal position, when he gives up his body he will become a serpent. A serpant
gives trouble to all other living entities. My dear boys and relatives, I
therefore advise you that even if a brāhmaṇa becomes angry with you and calls you by ill names
or cuts you, still you should not retaliate. On the contrary, you should smile,
tolerate him and offer your respects to the brāhmaṇa. You know very
well that even I Myself offer My obeisances to the brāhmaṇas with great
respect three times daily. You should therefore follow My instruction and
example. I shall not forgive anyone who does not follow them, and I shall
punish him. You should learn from the example of King Nṛga that even if
someone unknowingly usurps the property of a brāhmaṇa, he is put
into a miserable condition of life."
Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is always
engaged in purifying the conditioned living entities, gave instruction not only
to His family members and the inhabitants of Dvārakā, but to all the members of
human society. After this the Lord entered His palace.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
dot com and Hinduism online dot com for
the collection)
(The Blog is reverently for all the seekers of truth,
lovers of wisdom and to share the Hindu Dharma, Bhakti, Jnana and Vairagya with others on the
spiritual path and also this is purely a non-commercial)
0 comments:
Post a Comment