Reality - May 31, 2007

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Reality - May 31, 2007

 

Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana

Maharaja

REALITY

Houston, Texas: May 31, 2007

 

Yesterday we discussed how Mother Yasoda bound

unlimited Krsna, and why the rope was two-fingers

short while she was trying to bind Him. After she

finally bound Him, she told His many friends, such as

Sridama, Subala and Madhumangala, to look after Him,

and she left to churn yogurt. Her mind was upset,

however, and she was thinking again and again, “Why

did I do this, why did I do this?”

 

When Mother Yasoda left the room where the butter was

being stored in hanging pots and resumed her household

duties, all of Krsna’s friends began to clap their

hands and laugh. They joked with Him: “Will You

misbehave by breaking pots and feeding yoghurt to the

monkeys again? The blackish marks on Krsna’s face due

to His tears mixing with His black kajal (a medicinal

black eye make-up) had dried up, and Krsna was now

laughing and playing with the boys.

 

Sridama said, “I will untie the knot.” Although he

tried, he could not do it. All the boys tried, but

they also could not untie the knot. At that time

Baladeva Prabhu had just returned from the house of

Upananda, the eldest brother of Nanda Baba. When He

saw Krsna bound by the rope, He became angry and said,

“Who has tied up My brother?” Someone whispered in His

ear, “Mother Yasoda.” His anger disappeared at once,

and He could not say anything further.

 

In the meantime, Krsna remembered the curse given by

Narada Rsi (pronounced ‘rishi’) to the sons of the

extremely wealthy Kuvera (the treasurer of the

universe), named Nalakuvara and Manigriva:

 

Once, Narada Rsi was going to meet his friend Kuvera,

who was a devotee of Krsna. On the way he saw that the

two sons of Kuvera, Nalakuvara and Manigriva, were

drunk from drinking wine and were playing naked in a

pond with some beautiful young women. They had no

shame at all. When Narada Rsi reached there, the girls

came out of the pond, covered themselves with their

garments, and offered obeisances to Narada. Nalakuvara

and Manigriva, on the other hand, had drunk so much

wine that they had become inert – like trees – with no

sense. They began to call the girls, “Come on, come

on. Why did this person have to come here?! He should

go away from here!”

 

Srimad-Bhagavatam states:

 

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir

edhamana-madah puman

naivarhaty abhidhatum vai

tvam akincana-gocaram

 

[“My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but

only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is

on the path of progress, trying to improve himself

with respectable parentage, great opulence, high

education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with

sincere feeling.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.26)]

 

Sri Narada Rsi thought, “I see that those who take

birth in an aristocratic family, who are wealthy, who

are learned scholars and very beautiful – both ladies

and males – think like this: ‘No one is equal to me in

this world.’ These two persons are like that. Their

father is very wealthy, but their father is also a

devotee. I want to correct them because they are the

sons of my friend.”

 

Narada then cursed them: “At once become trees.” As

they began to transform into trees, they quickly put

their heads at the feet of Narada and prayed, “Prabhu,

now you have given us a curse. Please tell us how we

will be liberated from this.”

 

Narada replied, “Do not be afraid. You will be all

right.” Without punishment such persons cannot be

reformed.

 

Narada continued, “In the end of Dvapara-yuga, Sri

Krsna will personally come to the Earth to perform

sweet pastimes. At that time, you will be twin arjuna

trees in the courtyard of Nanda Baba. The root will be

one, but there will be two trees coming from that

root. Krsna will somehow come to you with a grinding

mortar. He will touch you and you will be liberated.

At that time, you will attain Krsna-bhakti.”

 

Now they were standing in the courtyard of Nanda Baba,

and Krsna remembered, “I must fulfill the desire of My

devotee.”

 

rser bhagavata-mukhyasya

satyam kartum vaco harih

jagama sanakais tatra

yatrastam yamalarjunau

 

[“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, to

fulfill the truthfulness of the words of the greatest

devotee, Narada, slowly went to that spot where the

twin arjuna trees were standing.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam

10.10.24)]

 

Krsna told His friends, “Let us play outside the

house, not in here.”

 

He began to pull that grinding mortar, and all the

cowherd boys were pushing it while laughing and

joking. The trees were standing outside the door. When

Krsna passed through the trees, the grinding mortar

became stuck there. Krsna pulled, but He didn’t

directly touch the trees. He touched the rope, the

rope touched the grinding mortar, and the grinding

mortar touched the trees.

 

Making a sound like the roaring of thunder-clouds,

both trees at once fell to each side. They did not

fall straight, for if they had, Krsna and His friends

would have been smashed. Hearing the great sound of

the falling trees, all the Vrajavasis ran towards it.

Nanda Baba ran there from Brahmanda Ghat and cried

out, “Oh! Krsna is there, and the trees have fallen to

the sides! Somehow He has escaped.”

 

Krsna had been laughing and joking with His friends,

but when He saw His father, He began to cry, “Father,

Father, Father!” and tears fell from His eyes.

 

Nanda Baba put Krsna on His lap and gave Him some

laglus made with gur (like molasses). He asked, “Who

has bound You?” At this time, Mother Yasoda and all

her sakhis were somewhat at a distance, from where

they saw Nanda Baba putting Krsna on his lap. Mother

Yasoda was standing and thinking, “What have I done? I

have made a mistake. If Krsna had died....” She became

like a wooden statue, or a tree with no life.

 

She and her sakhis returned to their homes, but no one

cooked. Mother Yasoda was like a statue; She could not

even weep. In the meantime, Nanda Baba asked Krsna,

“Who bound You?” Krsna replied, “Mother, Mother.”

Nanda Baba raised his hand as if ready to give a slap,

and told Krsna, “Should I punish her for this? Krsna

tightly held Nanda Baba’s hand with both of His hands,

as if to stop him.

 

Nanda Baba then somehow pacified Krsna. He placed

Krsna and Baladeva on his shoulders and went to

Brahmanda Ghat, where they all took bath. By now it

was past midday; it was evening. Nanda Baba went to

the cowshed where the cows were waiting. He milked the

cows, squirting the milk directly into Baladeva Prabhu

and Krsna’s mouths until the boys were fully

satisfied.

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja receives a piece of paper,

reads it, and then continues:] A question has come

from someone in the audience: “After Nalakuvara and

Manigriva were liberated, did they remain the sons of

Kuvera or not?” No, they were liberated totally. They

went to Goloka Vrndavana by the mercy of Krsna. Krsna

benedicted them, and they became the two singers –

Snigdha-kanta and Madhu-kanta. They manifested very

sweet voices, like honey (madhu), their voices became

very cooling and soft, and they became kind and

affectionate (snigdha). They now sing in the assembly

of Nanda Baba and in the assembly of the gopis. They

describe the sweet pastimes of Krsna-lila as if those

sweet pastimes had just occurred – just now. Now they

are liberated, so how can they remain the sons of

Kuvera?

 

What became of this pastime of the Yamal-arjuna tree?

Who becomes the twin arjuna trees the next time this

pastime is performed? Sri Krsna arranges that other

living entities receive this fortune. Or, He may

arrange that the same liberated souls come again. In a

short time – in one moment of time in Goloka Vrndavana

– thousands of years pass here in this world.

Madhu-kanta and Snigdha-kanta can come here for one

moment, no harm.

 

Nanda Baba then took Krsna and Baladeva to his palace

and sat down where the males sit. In India, there are

two divisions of the house; the inside and the

outside; the ladies sit in the inside and males sit

outside. Nanda Baba sat outside with Krsna and

Baladeva. Although it was evening time, there had been

no cooking.

 

The wife of Upananda, Rohini-maiya (the mother of

Baladeva), and the other elder ladies approached

Baladeva and requested Him to take Krsna from the side

where He was sitting with His father, and bring Him to

His mother, who was suffering in separation from Him.

Baladeva went to get Krsna [baladeva was freely

associating with all the mothers, but Krsna and Nanda

Baba were boycotting Mother Yasoda for binding Krsna

to the mortar. –ed.], but Krsna gave Him such a big

push that He fell down.

 

Baladeva thought, “Oh, He is very strong.”

 

Rohini-maiya told Krsna, “Krsna, You should go to Your

mother.”

 

Krsna said, “No.”

 

She replied, “Who will You play with?

 

Krsna said, “I will play with My brother.”

 

“Who will feed You?”

 

“My father.”

 

“Will You not go to Your mother?”

 

“No.”

 

Then she said, “If Your mother…?” She snapped her

fingers, indicating, but not saying directly,

 

“If your mother dies?”

 

Krsna at once began to weep loudly, and His weeping

became louder and louder. He cried out, “Oh Mother,

Mother!” He went to the lap of Rohini-maiya, and

Rohini-maiya brought Him into His house and placed Him

on the lap of Mother Yasoda.

 

Mother Yasoda began to weep very loudly, and then

Rohini and Upananda’s wife and all the other elderly

gopis began to weep. Krsna was also weeping. Nanda

Baba saw them all weeping, and he also began to weep.

And then everyone began to weep.

 

These are some pathetic scenes of Krsna’s sweet

pastimes.

 

Why did Krsna act in this way? So that in the future

everyone would have an opportunity to remember His

sweet pastimes. In this way, their anarthas (bad

thoughts and habits) would go away, and very soon they

would become liberated, develop pure bhakti, and reach

His abode in Goloka Vrndavana.

 

itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde

sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam

tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam

punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

 

[“By childhood pastimes such as this, He perpetually

immerses the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of pure

bliss, and through them informs the devotees desirous

of knowing His aspect of supreme opulence and majesty

that He is conquered only by those who are free from

knowledge of His aisvarya – with great love I again

and again worship that Damodara Sri Krsna.” (Sri

Damodarastakam, verse 3)]

 

Sri Krsna performed so many pastimes. When He was

about 2 and a half years old, Upananda (Krsna’s uncle)

and all the cowherd-men held a meeting. In that

meeting Upananda said, “We have been facing so many

problems here recently. So many demons are coming. We

should leave Gokula and go to Vrndavana. Yamuna River

is nearby, the land is full with grass and trees, and

there are so many places for the boys to play. We

should all go there with our cows and calves.”

 

It was declared that all the residents of Gokula would

leave the following day for Vrndavana, so all the

families were present for that procession. Mother

Yasoda and Rohini rode on a bullock cart with Krsna

and Baladeva. All the elderly persons, ladies and

children also sat on bullock carts, and in this way

all the Vrajavasis arrived in the village of

Cattikara.

 

There was actually no village there at that time. The

Vrajavasis crossed the river Yamuna and reached

Vrndavana, and there in Cattikara they created a

village by keeping their bullock carts in a

semi-circle and keeping the remaining area fenced by

thorn trees. Sri Krsna, Nanda Baba, Upananda and all

their associates stayed there for some time.

 

When Krsna reached the age of five, Krsna told His

mother and father, “I must take the cows out for

herding.” They could not dissuade Him, although they

wanted to because of His young age. Therefore on a

good day, Gopastami, Krsna began to go out with

Balarama and His friends to the forest, to take the

calves for grazing.

 

One day, while the boys were out cow-herding,

Vatsasura, a demon in the form of a calf, began

thinking, “How shall I kill Krsna?” After Vatsasura

entered the midst of Krsna and His friends and calves,

the calves smelled his bad odor, and they began

running here and there. Krsna told Baladeva by signals

from His eyes, “Oh, look at this! This calf is

actually a demon!” After jointly making Their decision

regarding how to proceed, Sri Krsna took the demon’s

hind legs, twirled him around, and thus killed him.”

 

Krsna performed so many pastimes like this.

 

After this, Kamsa prepared to send Aghasura to kill

Krsna. He said, “Aghasura, I sent others to kill

Krsna, but no one is returning to bring me the news of

what happened. Instead, they have all been killed.”

Aghasura had mystic powers, and he was thus able to

assume the form of a very large python with one jaw on

the ground and the other in the sky. His tongue was

reddish and looked like a carpet. The cowherd boys

approached him, thinking, “What is this? Is this a

mountain? It must be a mountain, but it looks like a

python. We must go and see what is inside.”

 

As they were entering inside with all their calves,

Krsna called out to warn them, “Don’t go, don’t go.”

But they did not hear Him. They were thinking, “If it

is a demon, we have no fear because Krsna will save

us.”

 

Krsna thought, “I warned them, but still they went

in.” And then He also went inside.

 

Once Krsna entered, Aghasura closed his mouth. Krsna

then became very large and very hot, like a great

red-hot iron rod. He entered Aghasura’s throat, and

Aghasura’s life-air was stopped. His soul exited

through his head and began moving in the sky. When

Krsna glanced over all the boys, they regained

consciousness. He took all of them with Him and came

out of Aghasura’s body, and at that time the light

which was moving in the air entered the lotus feet of

Krsna.

 

Brahma saw this and thought, “That was a demon. He

wanted to kill Krsna, yet he received liberation

(svarupya-mukti).

 

Brahma prayed, “One may say, ‘I know the endless

glories of Krsna,’ but that person is not telling the

truth. Even I do not know His glories.” Brahma offered

obeisances, while Krsna held a lotus flower in His

hand and was twirling it, His other hand resting upon

a cowherd-boy’s shoulder. Krsna appeared to be

neglecting Brahma, and as Brahma was leaving, the boys

called out, “Choma, choma – four-headed, four-headed.”

 

 

Brahma is our guru, but in this pastime, by the

influence of Krsna’s internal Yogamaya potency, he had

done something wrong. He had thought, “I will steal

the friends and calves of Krsna, and then I will see

what He will do. That way I will see another sweet

pastime.” If Brahma would have simply waited for some

more time to see sweet pastimes of Krsna, Krsna would

have automatically performed them. Actually, Krsna’s

Yogamaya potency had come in Brahma’s mind, and she

did everything. All the gopis were married to the

cowherd boys, who were actually Krsna’s expansions,

non-different from Him. [*See endnote 1]

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja then called on Sripad Nemi

Maharaja to narrate the pastime of Krsna and Baladeva

killing Dhenukasura, the demon in the form of an ass,

and then he himself explained the teachings behind the

pastime of Dhenukasura:]

 

 

 

Dhenukasura was a demon in the form of a donkey.

Donkeys are foolish. Although they are repeatedly

kicked by the hind-legs of she-donkeys as they follow

behind the she-donkeys, still they continue to follow.

Those who are foolish and do not serve Krsna are like

donkeys. They are kicked by the hind-legs of their

wives and others (when they go to them to enjoy sense

gratification). We should always try to serve Krsna

and Gurudeva; otherwise, we are foolish like donkeys

that will not hear or serve Guru and Krsna.

 

In this way, Krsna was performing so many sweet

pastimes.

 

After that: Yamuna’s water became filled with poison.

The Kaliya serpent had come to the Yamuna from

Ramanika-dvipa, because he knew that his enemy Garuda

could not go there due to a curse of Saubhari Rsi.

[*See endnote 2] His dangerous poisonous vapor

constantly heated and boiled the Yamuna’s waters. If a

bird happened to even pass over the spot, it would

immediately die and fall down into the water. Due to

the poisonous effect of the Yamuna’s vapors, the trees

and grass near the bank of the Yamuna had all dried

up. Only one kadamba tree remained alive, because

Garuda had brought nectar there in a jug long before,

and some of that nectar had dropped on that tree.

 

One day the cows and cowherd boys were very thirsty,

and so they drank the Yamuna water, not knowing that

it was poisonous. They suddenly fell down on the

ground, apparently dead. Krsna cast His merciful

glance over them, and all the boys and cows regained

consciousness. Krsna thought, “I should do something.”

He told the boys, “Wait here. I am coming very soon.”

He climbed the tree, tied His pitambara around His

waist, and jumped in the water. Kaliya became very

angry and attacked Him. When Krsna appeared to be

lifeless in Kaliya’s coils, Nanda Baba, Yasoda, and

all the Vrajavasis wanted to jump in the water. But

Baladeva Prabhu ran there and stopped them.

 

After some time, Krsna came out from Kaliya’s coils.

He jumped on the hoods of Kaliya and began to dance on

his hoods as Sankara (Lord Siva) dances. Kaliya’s

wives began to pray to Krsna, and Krsna then ordered

Kaliya, “You should go to Ramanika-dvipa. Do not

remain here.” Kaliya said, “Garuda will make problems

for me.” Krsna replied, “My footprints are here on

your hoods, so do not worry.”

 

After that, Pralambhasura was killed by Baladeva, and

after that Krsna swallowed a forest fire and saved His

cowherd-boy friends.

 

Later, in the autumn season, there were very clear

waters in Yamuna and in the ponds and lakes, like

Pavana-sarovara, Krsna-kunda, Manasi Ganga, and

Kusuma-sarovara. A cool breeze was blowing, and at

that time, Krsna, along with Baladeva Prabhu and other

boys, entered the forest.

 

kusumita-vanaraji-susmi-bhrnga

dvija-kula-ghusta-sarah-sarin-mahidhram

madhupatir avagahya carayan gah

saha-pasu-pala-balas cukuja venum

 

[“The lakes, rivers and hills of Vrndavana resounded

with the sounds of maddened bees and flocks of birds

moving about the flowering trees. In the company of

the cowherd boys and Balarama, Madhupati entered that

forest, and while herding the cows He began to vibrate

His flute.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.21.2)]

 

The forest of Vrndavana was full with beli, cameli,

jui, kadamba, and all other flowers. Bees were

humming, cuckoo birds were singing, and peacocks were

dancing. Krsna roamed from one forest to another, and

all His cowherd friends praised Him and played on

their flutes.

 

In the meantime, all the gopis were in their houses.

They met in groups and were hearing the flute-song of

Krsna as though it was right there with them. The

gopis then began to sing the glories of Krsna’s flute.

 

 

barhapidam nata-vara-vapuh karnayoh karnikaram

bibhrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantim ca malam

randhran venor adhara-sudhayapurayan gopa-vrndair

vrndaranyam sva-pada-ramanam pravisad gita-kirtih

 

[“Wearing a peacock-feather ornament upon His head,

blue karnikara flowers on His ears, a yellow garment

as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayanti garland, Lord

Krsna exhibited His transcendental form as the

greatest of dancers as He entered the forest of

Vrndavana, beautifying it with the marks of His

footprints. He filled the holes of His flute with the

nectar of His lips, and the cowherd boys sang His

glories.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.21.5)]

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja called upon Sripad Tirtha

Maharaja to summarize Srimad-Bhagavatam’s 21st

chapter, known as “Venu-gita” (The gopis glorify the

flute-song of Krsna), and then he himself explained

further:]

 

In this way, the gopis were seeing Krsna’s beauty and

hearing His flute. Even demigoddesses in their

airplanes could see Krsna, and they fainted on the

laps of their husbands.

 

Krsna is so beautiful and the song of His flute is so

sweet. Even the cows forget everything when they hear

the sweet melody of the flute and see very beautiful

Krsna. Hearing the flute-song, they turn their ears

towards that sound. They can neither chew nor swallow

the grass in their mouths. And what about their

calves? The calves are drinking milk from the udders

of their mothers, and that milk is now in their

mouths, but they can neither swallow it nor throw it

out.

 

purnah pulindya urugaya-padabja-raga

sri-kunkumena dayita-stana-manditena

tad-darsana-smara-rujas trna-rusitena

limpantya anana-kucesu jahus tad-adhim

 

[“The aborigine women of the Vrndavana area become

disturbed by lust when they see the grass marked with

reddish kunkuma powder. Endowed with the color of

Krsna's lotus feet, this powder originally decorated

the breasts of His beloveds, and when the aborigine

women smear it on their faces and breasts, they feel

fully satisfied and give up all their anxiety.”

(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.21.17)]

 

The gopis think, “Oh, these aborigine Pulindi girls

are so fortunate.”

 

When Krsna meets with the gopis, the kunkum of the

gopis’ breasts comes onto His lotus feet. Then, when

Krsna walks on the grass, that kunkum falls on the

grass. Later, the Pulindi girls smear that kunkum all

over their bodies, and thus they become free from the

fire of separation from Krsna.

 

It is the gopis who are speaking this verse. The

kunkum comes from them, but still they are thinking,

“We are nothing. These Pulindi girls are so fortunate.

We cannot meet with Krsna as they do. When we want to

meet with Him, we are stopped by our husbands.”

 

Remembering these pastimes, the gopis sang their

Venu-gita, and this became a very beautiful chapter of

Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the next days, we will speak

about Gopi-gita, Rasa-lila, and many other such

pastimes.

 

[*Endnote 1: Brahma wanted to see more sweet pastimes

of Krsna, but he thought that he could create Krsna’s

pastimes himself, by his own power. He thought, “I

should steal the cowherd boys and calves, and then I

will see what happens.” Brahma used his own

intelligence. If he would have prayed to Krsna,

“Please allow me to see Your pastimes,” it would have

been all right. But he did something wrong, and

therefore Krsna’s Yogamaya potency covered his

intelligence.

 

Krsna considered, “All the cows want Me to be their

calves, all the elderly gopis want Me to be their

sons, and the Vraja gopis want Me to be Their most

beloved.” So He accomplished many tasks by this one

pastime.

 

Baladeva wondered what had happened. He thought,

“Whose maya is this? Is this a demon’s maya? No, it

cannot be so, because material maya cannot cover Me.

He then asked Krsna, “What is going on?”

 

Krsna began to laugh, and He said, “Brahma wanted to

see My pastimes, and also I desired to be the son of

the gopis and the calves of the cows. I wanted to

perform a miracle like this.”

 

Gargacarya had foretold, “This year is very

auspicious. All fathers and mothers should marry their

sons and daughters in this year.” But the gopas were

Krsna. In this way, all the gopis were married to

Krsna, a miracle that was created by Yogamaya. The

Vrajavasis married even those children who were in the

womb. They promised each other, “If my child is a girl

and your child is a boy, they will be married.” Thus,

all the Vrajavasis married their daughters and sons.

 

Nanda Baba and Mother Yasoda-devi wanted that Srimati

Radhika marry their son Krsna, and Vrsabhanu Maharaja

and Kirtida-devi also wanted this. Vrsabhanu Maharaja

thought, “My daughter should be married to the son of

Nanda, Krsna, because there is no one more beautiful

and qualified than He.”

 

Yogamaya saw that Krsna’s desire would not be

fulfilled if He were to be married to Srimati Radhika.

In marriage, a wife becomes like a servant; she is

controlled by her husband. So by trick, Yogamaya

changed the minds of Radha’s and Krsna’s parents, and

now they thought that if Srimati Radhika would marry

Krsna, there might be some problems. They now thought

it would be better that She marry into a good family

like that of Abhimanyu, the son of Jatila.

 

That marriage was performed with a shadow of Radhika,

not actually with Radhika. Yogamaya created that

shadow, and then Abhimanyu thought, “I am the husband

of Radhika.” But he could never be so.

 

In this way, by the arrangement of Yogamaya, all the

gopis like Lalita and Visakha were married to gopas in

Yavat. Vrsabhanu Maharaja did not marry his daughter

to Krsna, and in this way Sri Sri Radha and Krsna

could remain beloveds. This is parakiya-rasa (the mood

of paramour). (Srila Narayana Maharaja, Hawaii,

January 16, 2007)

 

*Endnote 2: from the book, Vraja Mandala Parikrama:

 

”Before the time of Krsna-lila, Saubhari Rsi performed

austerities here for thousands of years. To conquer

his senses, he remained standing in the water of the

Yamuna during all seasons, including summer and

winter. One day Garuda, an associate of Lord Visnu,

arrived here. Following his nature as a bird, he

swallowed a big male fish right before everyone's

eyes. Seeing this, the fish community lamented and

prayed to Saubhari Rsi for retaliation. Engrossed in

dry austerities and unaware of the glories of the

Lord's devotees, Saubhari Rsi cursed Garuda, saying

that if he came here again his head would be cut off.

Because Saubhari Rsi had cursed a great devotee, a

desire arose in his heart to enjoy the material world.

He came out of the waters of the Yamuna, and by his

yogic power transformed himself into a young man. He

married the many beautiful young daughters of Maharaja

Mandhata, and remained entangled in worldly pleasures

for thousands of years.

 

“By the desire of the Supreme Lord, the Kaliya serpent

later moved to that same Yamuna pond with his family,

in order to protect himself from the very powerful

Garuda. This rendered the water in the pond poisonous,

and all the fish living here, who had also committed

an offence towards Garuda, died. In this way, Saubhari

Rsi and all the fish who had taken shelter of him

faced total destruction, because they had committed an

offence towards a pure devotee.

 

“All of the trees and creepers around the lake were

burnt to ashes by the Kaliya serpent's poison. Only

this one keli-kadamba tree remained. This was because

the mighty and valiant Garuda was once carrying a pot

of amrita from the heavenly planets in order to free

his mother Vinata from the slavery of his step-mother

Kadru. He rested on this keli-kadamba tree for some

time, and the strength of the nectar's fragrance or a

drop of the nectar itself that had spilled, was enough

to save this keli-kadamba tree.

 

Kaliya Serpent was also very valiant and powerful.

When he tied Krsna in his coils, Krsna became somewhat

helpless and motionless. At that time, the Nagapatnis,

who were great devotees of Krsna, began to pray, " We

would rather be widows than be the wives of a husband

opposed to the Supreme Lord. " But when Krsna freed

Himself from the serpent's coils and began to dance on

and kick Kaliya's hoods, Kaliya vomited blood from his

thousands of mouths and surrendered to Krsna. At that

time, the Nagapatnis folded their hands and begged

Krsna to spare their husband's life, taking into

account his surrendered mood. Sri Krsna was pleased by

their prayers. He granted Kaliya freedom from fear and

ordered him to go to Ramanaka-dvipa with his family.

He assured Kaliya of His protection, saying, " You need

no longer fear Garuda. When he sees My footprints on

your hoods, he will forget his enmity towards you. " ]

 

 

 

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