Deliverance of Nalakuvara and Manigriva

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The story of the cursing of Nalakuvara and Manigriva and their deliverance by

Krsna, under the all-blissful desire of the great sage Narada, is here

described. The two great demigods, Nalakuvara and Manigriva, were sons of the

treasurer of the demigods, Kuvera, who was a great devotee of Lord Siva. By the

grace of Lord Siva, Kuvera's material opulences had no limit. As a rich man's

sons often become addicted to wine and women, so these two sons of Kuvera were

also addicted to wine and sex. Once, these two demigods, desiring to enjoy,

entered the garden of Lord Siva in the province of Kailasa on the bank of

Mandakini Ganges. There they drank much and engaged in hearing the sweet

singing of beautiful women who accompanied them in that garden of fragrant

flowers. In an intoxicated condition, they both entered the water of the

Ganges, which was full with lotus flowers, and there they began to enjoy the

company of the young girls exactly as the male elephant enjoys the female

elephants within the water. While they were thus enjoying themselves in the

water, all of a sudden Narada, the great sage, happened to pass that way. He

could understand that the demigods Nalakuvara and Manigriva were too

intoxicated and could not even see that he was passing. The young girls,

however, were not so intoxicated as the demigods, and they at once became

ashamed at being naked before the great sage Narada. They began to cover

themselves with all haste. The two demigod-sons of Kuvera were so intoxicated

that they could not appreciate the presence of the sage Narada and therefore

did not cover their bodies. On seeing the two demigods so degraded by

intoxication, Narada desired their welfare, and therefore he exhibited his

causeless mercy upon them by cursing them. Because the great sage was

compassionate upon them, he wanted to finish their false enjoyment of

intoxication and association with young girls and wanted them to see Lord Krsna

eye to eye. He conceived of cursing them as follows. He said that the attraction

for material enjoyment is due to an increase of the mode of passion. A person in

the material world, when favored by the material opulence of riches, generally

becomes addicted to three things--intoxication, sex and gambling. Materially

opulent men, being puffed up with the accumulation of wealth, also become so

merciless that they indulge in killing animals by opening slaughterhouses. And

they think that they themselves will never die. Such foolish persons,

forgetting the laws of nature, become overly infatuated with the body. They

forget that the material body, even though very much advanced in civilization,

up to the position of the demigods, will finally be burned to ashes. And while

one is living, whatever the external

condition of the body may be, within there is only stool, urine and various

kinds of worms. Thus being engaged in jealousy and violence to other bodies,

materialists cannot understand the ultimate goal of life, and without knowing

this goal of life, they generally glide down to a hellish condition. In their

next birth, such foolish persons commit all kinds of sinful activities on

account of this temporary body, and they are even unable to consider whether

this body actually belongs to them. Generally it is said that the body belongs

to the persons who feed the body. One might therefore consider whether this

body belongs to one personally or to the master to whom one renders service.

The master of slaves claims full right to the bodies of the slaves because the

master feeds the slaves. It may be questioned then whether the body belongs to

the father, who is the seed-giving master of this body, or to the mother, who

develops the child's body in her womb. Foolish persons are engaged in

committing all sorts of sins due to the misconception of identifying the

material body with the self. But one should be intelligent enough to understand

to whom this body belongs. A foolish person indulges in killing other animals to

maintain the body, but he does not consider whether this body belongs to him or

to his father or mother or grandfather. Sometimes a grandfather or a father

gives his daughter in charity to a person with a view of getting back the

daughter's child as a son. The body may also belong to a stronger man who

forces it to work for him. Sometimes the slave's body is sold to the master on

the basis that the body will belong to the master. And at the end of life, the

body belongs to the fire, because the body is given to the fire and burned to

ashes. Or the body is thrown into the street to be eaten by the dogs and

vultures. Before committing all kinds of sins to maintain the body, one should

understand to whom the body belongs. Ultimately it is concluded that the body

is a product of material nature, and at the end it merges into material nature;

therefore, the conclusion should be that the body belongs to material nature.

One should not wrongly think that the body belongs to him. To maintain a false

possession, why should one indulge in killing? Why should one kill innocent

animals to maintain the body? When a man is infatuated with the false prestige

of opulence, he does not care for any moral instruction but indulges in wine,

women and animal-killing. In such circumstances, a poverty-stricken man is

often better situated because a poor man thinks of himself in relation to other

bodies. A poor man often does not wish to inflict injuries to other bodies

because he can understand more readily that when he himself is injured he feels

pain. As such, the great sage Narada considered that because the demigods

Nalakuvara and Manigriva were so infatuated by false prestige, they should be

put into a condition of life devoid of opulence. A person who has a pinprick in

his body does not wish others to be pricked by pins; a considerate man in the

life of poverty does not wish others to be also put into that condition.

Generally it is seen that one who has risen from a poverty-stricken life and

becomes wealthy creates some charitable institution at the end of his life so

that other poverty-stricken men might be benefited. In short, a compassionate

poor man may consider others' pains and pleasures with empathy. A poor man may

be seldom puffed with false pride, and he may be freed from all kinds of

infatuation. He may remain satisfied by whatever he gets for his maintenance by

the grace of the Lord. To remain in the poverty-stricken condition is a kind of

austerity. According to Vedic culture, therefore, the brahmanas, as a matter of

routine, keep themselves in a poverty-stricken condition to save themselves from

the false prestige of material opulence. False prestige due to advancement of

material prosperity is a great impediment for spiritual emancipation. A

poverty-stricken man cannot become unnaturally fat by eating more and more. And

on account of not being able to eat more than he requires, his senses are not

very turbulent. When the senses are not very turbulent, he cannot become

violent. Another advantage of poverty is that a saintly person can easily enter

a poor man's house, and thus the poor man can take advantage of the saintly

person's association. A very opulent man does not allow anyone to enter his

house; therefore, the saintly person cannot enter. According to the Vedic

system, a saintly person takes the position of a mendicant so that on the plea

of begging something from the householder, he can enter any house. The

householder, who has usually forgotten everything about spiritual advancement

because he is busy maintaining family affairs, can be benefited by the

association of a saintly person. There is a great chance for the poor man to

become liberated through association with a saint. Of what use are persons who

are puffed up with material opulence and prestige if they are bereft of the

association of saintly persons and devotees of the Supreme Personality of

Godhead? The great sage Narada thereafter thought that it was his duty to put

those demigods into a condition where they could not be falsely proud of their

material opulence and prestige. Narada was compassionate and wanted to save

them from their fallen life. They were in the mode of darkness, and being

therefore unable to control their senses, they were addicted to sex life. It

was the duty of a saintly person like Narada to save them from their abominable

condition. In animal life, the animal has no sense to understand that he is

naked. But Kuvera was the treasurer of the demigods, a very responsible man,

and Nalakuvara and Manigriva were two of his sons. And yet they became so

animalistic and irresponsible that they could not understand, due to

intoxication, that they were naked. To cover the lower part of the body is a

principle of human civilization, and when a men or women forgets this

principle, they become degraded. Narada therefore thought that the best

punishment for them was

to make them immovable living entities, or trees. Trees are, by nature's laws,

immovable. Although trees are covered by the mode of ignorance, they cannot do

harm. The great sage Narada thought it fitting that, although the brothers, by

his mercy, would be punished to become trees, they continued to keep their

memory to be able to know why they were being punished. After changing the

body, a living entity generally forgets his previous life, but in special

cases, by the grace of the Lord, as with Nalakuvara and Manigriva, one can

remember. Sage Narada therefore contemplated that the two demigods should

remain for one hundred years, in the time of the demigods, in the form of

trees, and after that they would be fortunate enough to see the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, face to face, by His causeless mercy. And thus they

would be again promoted to the life of the demigods and great devotees of the

Lord. After this, the great sage Narada returned to his abode known as

Narayanasrama, and the two demigods turned into trees, known as twin arjuna

trees. The two demigods were favored by the causeless mercy of Narada and given

a chance to grow in Nanda's courtyard and see Lord Krsna face to face. Although

the child Krsna was bound up to the wooden mortar, He began to proceed towards

the growing trees in order to fulfill the prophecy of His great devotee Narada.

Lord Krsna knew that Narada was His great devotee and that the trees standing

before Him as twin arjuna trees were actually the sons of Kuvera. "I must now

fulfill the words of My great devotee Narada," He thought. Then He began to

proceed through the passage between the two trees. Although He was able to pass

through the passage, the large wooden mortar stuck horizontally between the

trees. Taking advantage of this, Lord Krsna began to pull the rope which was

tied to the mortar. As soon as He pulled, with great strength, the two trees,

with all branches and limbs, fell down immediately with a great sound. Out of

the broken, fallen trees came two great personalities, shining like blazing

fire. All sides became

illuminated and beautiful by their presence. The two purified bodies immediately

came before child Krsna and bowed down to offer their respects and prayers in

the following words. "Dear Lord Krsna, You are the original Personality of

Godhead, master of all mystic powers. Learned brahmanas know very well that

this cosmic manifestation is an expansion of Your potencies which are sometimes

manifest and sometimes unmanifest. You are the original provider of the life,

body and senses of all living entities. You are the eternal God, Lord Visnu,

who is all-pervading, the principal controller of everything. You are the

original source of the cosmic manifestation which is acting under the spell of

the three modes of material nature--goodness, passion and ignorance. You are

living as the Supersoul in all the multi-forms of living entities, and You know

very well what is going on within their bodies and minds. Therefore You are the

supreme director of all activities of all living entities. But although You are

in the midst of everything which is under the spell of the material modes of

nature, You are not affected by such contaminated qualities. No one under

the jurisdiction of the material modes can understand Your transcendental

qualities, which existed before the creation; therefore You are called the

Supreme Brahman who is always glorified by His personal internal potencies. In

this material world You can be known only by Your different incarnations.

Although You assume different types of bodies, these bodies are not part of the

material creation. They are always full of transcendental potencies of unlimited

opulence, strength, beauty, fame, wisdom and renunciation. In the material

existence, there is a difference between the body and the owner of the body,

but because You appear in Your original spiritual body, there is no such

difference for You. When You appear, Your uncommon activities indicate that You

are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such uncommon activities are not

possible for anyone in material existence. You are that Supreme Personality of

Godhead, now appearing to cause the birth and death as well as liberation of

the living entities, and You are full with all Your plenary expansions. You can

bestow on everyone all kinds of benedictions. O Lord! O source of all fortune

and goodness, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You. You are the

all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of peace and the

supreme person in the dynasty of King Yadu. O Lord, our father known as Kuvera,

the demigod, is Your servant. Similarly, the great sage Narada is also Your

servitor, and by their grace only we have been able to see You personally. We

therefore pray that we may always be engaged in Your transcendental loving

service by speaking only about Your glories and hearing about Your

transcendental activities. May our hands and other limbs be engaged in Your

service and our minds always be concentrated at Your lotus feet and our heads

always bowed down before the all-pervading universal form of Your Lordship."

When the demigods Nalakuvara and Manigriva finished their prayers, the child,

Lord Krsna, the master and proprietor of Gokula, bound to the wooden grinding

mortar by the ropes of Yasoda, began to smile and said, "It was already known

to Me that My great devotee-sage Narada had shown his causeless mercy by saving

you from the abominable condition of pride due to possessing extraordinary

beauty and opulence in the family of the demigods. He has saved you from

gliding down into the lowest condition of hellish life. All these facts are

already known to Me. You are very fortunate because you were not only cursed by

him, but you had the great opportunity to see him. If someone is able, by

chance, to see a great saintly person like Narada face to face, who is always

serene and merciful to everyone, then immediately that conditioned soul becomes

liberated. This is exactly like being situated in the full light of the sun:

there cannot be any visionary impediment. Therefore, O Nalakuvara

and Manigriva, your lives have now become successful because you have developed

ecstatic love for Me. This is your last birth within material existence. Now

you can go back to your father's residence in the heavenly planet, and by

remaining in the attitude of devotional service, you will be liberated in this

very life." After this, the demigods circumambulated the Lord many times and

bowed down before Him again and again, and thus they left. The Lord remained

bound up with ropes to the grinding mortar. Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport

of the Tenth Chapter of Krsna, "Deliverance of Nalakuvara and Manigriva."