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yadunandana Pastimes of Krishna in Dwaraka

Based on KRISHNA - The Supreme Personality of Godhead by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acharya of ISKCON

Adapted for children by Yaduraja Dasa

Sankirtana Trust Hill, Chord Road, Bangalore-10. A book in English Yadunandana Krishna - Pastimes of Krishna in Dwaraka Based on: KRISHNA - The Supreme Personality of Godhead by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acharya of ISKCON Adapted for children by Sri Yaduraja Dasa Published by Sankirtana Seva Trust, Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road, Bangalore-10 Printed at Brilliant Printers Pvt. Ltd. Lottegollahalli, Bangalore [Total no. of Pages : 204, Size : 1/8 Crown] © 2014, Sankirtan Seva Trust All Rights Reserved ISBN : 81-8239-022-2 First Printing 2007 : 5000 Copies Second Printing 2011 : 3000 Copies Third Printing 2013 : 1000 Copies Fourth Printing 2014 : 1000 Copies Fifth Printing 2015 : 1000 Copies Readers interested in the subject matter of this book are invited by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to correspond with its Secretary at the following address: International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road, Rajajinagar, Bangalore - 560 010. Tel: 080-23471956 Mobile: 9341211119 Email: [email protected] Website: www.iskconbangalore.org Contents

Introduction ...... 5 01. The Story of the Jewel ...... 6 02. The Killing of and Shatadhanva...... 14 03. Five Queens Married by Krishna ...... 19 04. The Bhaumasura ...... 28 05. Talks Between Krishna and ...... 36 06. The Game of Chess ...... 42 07. The Meeting of Usha and ...... 45 08. Lord Krishna Fights with ...... 50 09. The Story of King Nriga ...... 56 10. Lord Visits Vrindavana...... 62 11. The Deliverance of Paundraka and the King of Kashi ...... 67 12. Dvivida Gorilla ...... 73 13. The Marriage of ...... 76 14. Muni Visits Krishna’s Homes ...... 83 15. Lord Krishna’s Daily Activities ...... 88 16. Lord Krishna goes to Hastinapura...... 94 17. The Liberation of King ...... 97 18. Lord Krishna Returns to Hastinapura ...... 104 19. The Deliverance of ...... 107 20. ’s Envy ...... 113 21. Shalva Attacks Dwaraka ...... 115 22. The Deliverance of Shalva ...... 120 23. The Killing of and Viduratha ...... 125 24. Romaharshana Suta...... 127 25. The Liberation of Balvala ...... 131 26. Lord Balarama Tours the Sacred Places ...... 133 27. Sudama ...... 138 28. Sudama is Blessed ...... 144 29. The Solar Eclipse...... 150 30. Sacrificial Ceremonies Performed by .... 157 31. The Murdered Sons of ...... 160 32. The Kidnapping of ...... 164 33. Lord Krishna Visits Shrutadeva and Bahulasva ... 167 34. ’s Test...... 172 35. The Super-Excellent Power of Krishna ...... 176 Our Founder & Acharya Srila Prabhupada A Brief Life Sketch ...... 186 Model Questions ...... 192 Model Answer Sheet ...... 197 Answers for the Model Questions ...... 198 Glossary ...... 199 Yadunandana Krishna 5

Introduction

In the ancient Vedic literatures it is said that the cause and origin of everything is Lord Sri Krishna. The name Krishna means ‘all-attractive’. If someone is exceptionally rich, famous, renounced, clever, strong, or beautiful, then we find such a person to some extent attractive. Just imagine someone who is the wealthiest, the most beautiful, famous, renounced, intelligent person in the whole universe. That person, who has all those attractive qualities to an unlimited degree, is called Krishna. He is so attractive that anyone who sincerely tries to know Him will immediately become attracted. Krishna is God and is referred to by many names, according to different languages and cultures, such as Allah, Jehovah, Christos and . In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that anyone who hears and properly understands the pastimes of Lord Krishna will be able to leave this material world, which is full of suffering, and return to His eternal abode. This book gives an account of Krishna’s wonderful activities when He last appeared on Earth, in His original form, five thousand years ago. It has been adapted for children from the book — ‘KRISHNA-The Supreme Personality of Godhead’ authored by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. * * * 6 Yadunandana Krishna

1 01. The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel

King Satrajit was a great devotee of the sun-god, and gradually he developed a very friendly relationship with him. The sun-god was pleased with Satrajit and gave him an exceptional jewel known as Syamantaka. When Satrajit wore this jewel in a locket around his neck, he appeared exactly like an imitation sun-god. Putting on this jewel, he pompously entered the city of Dwaraka, and people thought that the sun-god himself had come to see Krishna. Krishna, of course, knew exactly who he was and how proud he had become. One day a prominent resident of Dwaraka came to inform Krishna of an important visitor to the city. “My dear Lord Krishna,” he said with great excitement, “Oh Supreme Personality of Godhead; I have come to inform you that the sun-god has personally entered Dwaraka to see you.” Krishna was playing chess at the time and casually looked up from the board. “Dear friend,” Krishna replied, “the person you describe as the sun-god is actually King Satrajit, who has come to our city just to show off his opulence in the form of the valuable jewel which he obtained from the sun-god.” Sadly, Satrajit had not come to see Krishna since he was completely overwhelmed by the glory of the Syamantaka jewel. He even had it installed in a where were engaged full time in its worship. This is an example of Yadunandana Krishna 7 a less intelligent person worshiping a material thing. The Syamantaka jewel was so powerful that it produced about 170 pounds of gold every day and wherever it was worshiped there was no possibility of famine, suffering or disease. King was the overlord of many dynasties and as we know also happened to be Krishna’s grandfather. Krishna asked Satrajit to present the Syamantaka jewel to King Ugrasena as a gift, pleading that the best of everything should be offered to the ruling monarch. But Satrajit, being a worshiper of the devatas, had become too materialistic to heed good advice. “I think it would be much better to keep the jewel here where we can worship it properly,” Satrajit said in response to Krishna’s suggestion. He was much too attached to collecting the 170 pounds of gold every day to part with the jewel. It is often difficult for people with large amounts of gold to surrender to Krishna, so sometimes He shows special mercy by taking away their wealth so they can become devotees. But Satrajit refused to abide by the order of Krishna and did not deliver the jewel. After this, Satrajit’s younger brother, called Prasena, took the jewel from the temple, hung it from his neck and rode on horseback out of the city and into the forest. He wanted to show off his family’s great wealth but he had not gone far when a huge lion attacked and killed both him and his horse; taking the jewel back to his cave. When the bear king, , heard about this he personally went and killed the lion and took away the jewel. Having been a great devotee of the Lord since the time of Lord Ramachandra, Jambavan was not interested in the jewel for himself, but gave it to his 8 Yadunandana Krishna young son to play with as a toy. Meanwhile, back in the city, when Prasena did not return from the forest, Satrajit became very upset. He did not know that his brother had been killed by a lion and that the lion had then been killed by Jambavan. He thought, instead, that since he had not agreed to give Krishna the jewel, Krishna may have forcibly taken it from Prasena and then killed him. This idea grew into a rumour which Satrajit deliberately spread in every part of Dwaraka. Krishna did not like to be defamed in that way, so He decided to go to the forest and find the Syamantaka jewel. Taking with Him some of the important inhabitants of Dwaraka, Krishna went to search out Prasena, soon finding he had been killed by a lion. Then Krishna found out that the lion had been killed in turn by Jambavan, and what’s more without the assistance of any weapon. Krishna and the citizens of Dwaraka then found in the forest a great tunnel, said to be the path to Jambavan’s house. Krishna knew that the inhabitants of Dwaraka would be afraid to enter the dark tunnel; therefore He asked them to remain outside, and He went in alone to find Jambavan. It was not long before Krishna discovered that the valuable Syamantaka jewel had been given to Jambavan’s son as a toy. Krishna approached the child to try to retrieve the jewel, but He was seen by the child’s nurse who called out loudly in fear. Hearing the nurse crying out, Jambavan appeared on the scene in a very angry mood. Jambavan was actually a great devotee of Lord Krishna, but because he was so angry he could not recognize his master and so challenged Krishna to a fight, thinking Him an ordinary man. Krishna and Yadunandana Krishna 9

Jambavan first fought with weapons, then with stones, then with big trees, then hand to hand, until at last they were hitting each other with their fists, their blows like the striking of thunderbolts. Each expected victory over the other, but the fighting continued non-stop, day and night for twenty- eight days. Although Jambavan was the strongest living entity of that time, his strength was reduced practically to nil, being struck constantly by the fists of Sri Krishna. Feeling extremely tired, with perspiration all over his body, Jambavan was astonished. Who was this opponent who could fight so well? Jambavan knew his own superhuman strength, but when he felt tired from being struck by Krishna, he could understand that Krishna must be none other than his worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the propensities and instincts of a human being. Just as humans sometimes like to fight, box and wrestle, so the Supreme Lord also enjoys such things, and when He so desires, He selects one of His suitable devotees to give Him that pleasure. For this purpose Krishna chose Jambavan. “My dear Lord,” said Jambavan catching his breath, “I can now understand that You are the creator of all the creators of the universe.” An ordinary man is impressed by the inventions of a great scientist, but the statement of Jambavan confirms that although a scientist may be a creator of many wonderful things, Krishna is the creator of the scientist. He is the creator of not only one scientist but of millions and trillions of them, all over the universe. Jambavan continued, “Not only are You the creator of the creators, but You are also the creator of the material elements which the so-called 10 Yadunandana Krishna creators manipulate.” Scientists utilize the physical elements or laws of nature to do something wonderful, but actually such laws and elements are really the creation of Krishna. This is the real scientific understanding. Jambavan continued, “You are the same Supreme Personality of Godhead whom I worship as Lord Ramachandra. My Lord Ramachandra wanted to construct a bridge over the ocean, and I saw personally how the ocean became disturbed simply by my Lord’s glancing over it. And when the whole ocean became agitated, the living entities like the whales, alligators and timingila fish became distressed. [The timingila fish are huge aquatics which live at a great depth and are capable of swallowing a whale in one gulp.] In this way the ocean was forced to give way and allow Ramachandra to cross to the island known as . After the construction of the bridge, the kingdom of was burnt to the ground. During the fighting with Ravana, all his limbs were slashed to pieces by Your sharp arrows, and his ten heads fell to the earth. Now I can understand that You are none other than my Lord Ramachandra. No one else has such immeasurable strength; no one else could defeat me in this way.” Lord Krishna was satisfied by the prayers and statements of Jambavan, and to diminish Jambavan’s pain, He began to stroke the lotus palm of His hand all over Jambavan’s body. Jambavan at once felt relieved from the fatigue of the great fight. Krishna informed Jambavan that He had come to ask for the Syamantaka jewel because ever since it had been stolen, His name had been defamed by the less intelligent. Jambavan understood the whole situation, and to satisfy the Lord Yadunandana Krishna 11

Jambavan gives Lord Krishna two jewels-the shyamantaka jewel and his daughter 12 Yadunandana Krishna he immediately gave Him not only the Syamantaka jewel but also his lovely daughter, Jambavati. Although the fighting between Krishna and Jambavan went on for twenty-eight days, the inhabitants of Dwaraka returned home sorry and tired on the twelfth day, suspecting something terrible had happened. All the members of Krishna’s family and the residents of His palace were greatly saddened when they heard the news. They all went to the temple to pray for His return and the moment when goddess Chandrabhaga was satisfied by their prayers, Krishna appeared, accompanied by His lovely new wife, Jambavati. All the inhabitants of Dwaraka became joyful once more. King Ugrasena then called for a meeting of all the important kings and chiefs. Krishna explained before the whole assembly what had happened with Prasena and the lion and how He had recovered the jewel from Jambavan. Krishna then kindly returned the valuable jewel to King Satrajit. Satrajit, however, felt ashamed that he had unfairly accused Krishna of stealing the jewel and killing his brother. He accepted the jewel in his hand, but remained silent, bowing his head. Without saying a word he returned home with the effulgent gem. Later he began to think carefully about how he could make up for the terrible injustice he had committed against Krishna. Satrajit decided to hand over to Krishna both the jewel and his highly attractive daughter, . Lord Krishna declined the jewel, saying He had no need of it: Yadunandana Krishna 13

“It is better to let the jewel remain in the temple as you have kept it,” He said, “and then every one of us will derive benefit from it.” However, Krishna happily accepted the hand of the lovely Satyabhama in marriage. * * * 14 Yadunandana Krishna

1 02. The Killing of Satrajit and Shatadhanva

After visited Hastinapura and reported the condition of the to Krishna, there were further developments. Duryodhana, the envious son of the blind king , invited his cousins, the five Pandavas, to come and stay in a palace he had deliberately coated in lac and constructed from other highly inflammable materials. This palace was then set ablaze in an attempt to murder them, and everyone believed that the Pandavas, along with their mother, , had been killed. This information was also sent to Lord Krishna and Balarama. They both knew that the Pandavas could not have been killed in that devastating fire, but in spite of this knowledge They wanted to go to Hastinapura to take part in the mourning and show sympathy to Their relatives. On arriving in Hastinapura, Krishna and Balarama first went to see the commander-in-chief of the Kuru dynasty, Bhishmadeva, to share his genuine sorrow, without disclosing the actual situation. They then saw Kripacharya, , and who all expressed their sorrow. Other members of the Kuru dynasty were not sorry at all because, out of envy, they wanted the Pandavas and their mother to be killed. While Krishna and Balarama were away from the city of Dwaraka there was a conspiracy to take the Syamantaka Yadunandana Krishna 15 jewel away from Satrajit, led by Shatadhanva. He was aided by the devotees Akrura and , whose prime motive was to return the jewel to Krishna. One night Shatadhanva entered the house of Satrajit, killed him while he slept and stole the jewel. In the morning all the residents of the palace were distraught. It was decided not to cremate Satrajit so that Krishna could see first hand what had happened and take appropriate action; so his body was preserved in a tank of oil. The grieving Satyabhama then went to fetch Krishna from Hastinapura. When Krishna was informed by Satyabhama of the murder of her father, He began to lament like an ordinary man. His eyes filled with tears as he lamented: “Oh, what unhappy incidents have taken place!” Then Krishna and Balarama, along with Satyabhama, immediately returned to Dwaraka and began to make plans to kill Shatadhanva and take back the jewel. Understanding Krishna’s plan to kill him, Shatadhanva quickly went to take shelter of Kritavarma. But Kritavarma wanted nothing to do with his schemes. “I shall never offend Lord Krishna and Balarama, for They are not ordinary persons. No one can be saved from Their wrath,” Kritavarma warned. When Shatadhanva was refused help by Kritavarma he went to see Akrura. “Balarama and Krishna are the Supreme Personality of Godhead,” Akrura advised, “anyone who knows Their unlimited strength would never dare offend Them or fight with Them.” Shatadhanva decided to give Akrura the Syamantaka jewel for safe keeping. Then, riding on a powerful horse that 16 Yadunandana Krishna could run at a great speed of up to four hundred miles at a stretch, he fled the city. When Krishna and Balarama were informed of the flight of Shatadhanva, They mounted Their chariot and swiftly followed after him. Shatadhanva rode so far and so fast that his horse became exhausted and died in Mithila. Without his horse Shatadhanva began to run with great speed. In order to be fair to Shatadhanva, Krishna and Balarama also left Their chariot and began to follow Shatadhanva on foot. Unlike today, members of the military class followed strict rules of chivalry. While Shatadhanva and Krishna were running, Krishna took His disc and cut off his head. After Shatadhanva was killed, Krishna searched through his clothing for the Syamantaka jewel, but He could not find it. He then returned to Balarama saying: “We have killed this person uselessly, for the jewel is not to be found on his body.” “The jewel might have been kept in the custody of another man in Dwaraka, so You’d better return and search it out,” Balarama suggested, adding that He wanted to remain in Mithila City because He enjoyed an intimate friendship with the King. So Krishna returned to Dwaraka alone. When the King of Mithila, whose name was Maharaja, saw Sri Balarama in his city he was most pleased and received Him with great honour and hospitality. He gave many valuable presents to Balarama in order to seek His pleasure and in this way Sri Balarama lived there for several years as his honoured guest. During this time, Duryodhana, the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, took the opportunity to come to Balarama and learn from Him the art of fighting with a Yadunandana Krishna 17 club. After killing Shatadhanva, Krishna returned to Dwaraka and satisfied His wife, Satyabhama, by informing her of the death of her father’s murderer. He also informed her that the jewel had not been found in his possession. Then Krishna, Satyabhama and all their friends and relatives performed ceremonies in honour of Satrajit. As mentioned, both Akrura and Kritavarma were prominent members in the conspiracy to kill Satrajit. So when they heard of the death of Shatadhanva at Krishna’s hand, and when they also heard that Krishna had returned to Dwaraka, they both hurriedly left the city. After the departure of Akrura, who took the jewel with him, some of the residents of Dwaraka began to experience inauspicious signs due to the absence of the Syamantaka jewel. When Lord Sri Krishna heard these rumours spread by the people, He decided to summon Akrura from the kingdom of Kashi where he had fled. As the Supersoul within everyone’s heart, Krishna knew everything about Akrura’s conspiracy with Shatadhanva. “My dear uncle,” Krishna said, smilingly, “it is already known to Me that Shatadhanva left the Syamantaka jewel with you. King Satrajit had no male children, so as it stands there is no heir to claim ownership of the Syamantaka jewel. His daughter Satyabhama is not eager to have it, but her expected son, as a grandson of Satrajit, would be the legal owner of the jewel.” By this Lord Krishna hinted that Satyabhama was pregnant and that her son would certainly lay claim to the jewel, meaning that there was a strong possibility Akrura would be forced to hand it back. Krishna continued, “This jewel is so powerful that no ordinary man is 18 Yadunandana Krishna able to keep it. I know that you are pious so there is no objection to the jewel’s being kept with you, so to clear up all the rumours would you be so kind as to produce the jewel just once before My other relatives. You cannot deny that the jewel is with you because we know you have been distributing large quantities of gold at different ceremonies.” At Lord Krishna’s request, Akrura brought out the valuable jewel that shone like the sun, although covered by a cloth, and presented it to Him. Lord Krishna took the Syamantaka jewel in His hand and showed it to all His relatives and friends and then returned it to Akrura in their presence, so they would all know exactly where it was, and who was looking after it. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 19

1 03. Five Queens Married by Krishna

As mentioned in the last chapter, there was a widespread rumour that the five brothers, along with their mother, Kunti, had died in a fire. But then the five brothers were seen at their marriage ceremony with , so another rumour spread that the Pandavas and their mother were actually still alive. When they finally returned to their capital city, Hastinapura, people saw them face to face. When Krishna heard this news He decided to go to Hastinapura. This time Krishna visited Hastinapura as a royal prince accompanied by His commander-in-chief, Yuyudhana, and by many other soldiers. He visited the Pandavas without invitation or warning, and all of them got up from their respective seats as soon as they saw Him. The Pandavas were greatly enlivened as Lord Krishna embraced every one of them. By the touch of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the Pandavas instantly became freed from all material contamination, and so they smiled in spiritual bliss. By seeing the face of Lord Krishna, everyone was transcendentally satisfied. Lord Krishna touched the feet of Yudhisthira and because they were His two older cousins. embraced Krishna as a friend of the same age, whereas the two younger brothers, namely and , touched the lotus feet of Krishna to show Him respect. After an exchange of greetings, Krishna was offered an exalted seat. 20 Yadunandana Krishna

When He was comfortably seated, the newly married Draupadi, young and very beautiful in her natural feminine gracefulness, came before Lord Krishna to offer her respectful greetings and when everyone else was properly seated, the five brothers took their seats near Lord Krishna. After meeting with the five brothers, Lord Krishna personally went to visit Kuntidevi, the mother of the Pandavas, who was also Krishna’s paternal aunt. In offering His respects to His aunt, Krishna also touched her feet. Kuntidevi’s eyes became wet, and, in great love, she feelingly embraced Lord Krishna. She then inquired from Him about the well-being of her paternal family members—her brother Vasudeva, his wife and other members of the family. Similarly, Krishna also inquired from His aunt about the welfare of the Pandava family. Although Kuntidevi was related to Krishna by family ties, she knew immediately after meeting Him that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She remembered the past calamities of her life and how by the grace of Krishna she and her sons, the Pandavas, had been saved. She knew perfectly well that no one, without Krishna’s grace, could have saved them from the fire ‘accident’ designed by the sons of Dhritarashtra. In a choked-up voice Srimati Kunti said: “My dear Krishna, I remember the day when You sent my brother Akrura to gather information about us, and I knew then that You are always remembering and protecting us.” King Yudhisthira also offered his heartfelt prayers and requested Krishna to stay with them for the four months of the rainy season, which He agreed to. One day, while Krishna was staying with the Pandavas, Yadunandana Krishna 21

He and Arjuna prepared themselves to go to the forest to hunt. Both of them sat down on Arjuna’s chariot, which flew a flag with a picture of . Arjuna dressed himself with armour in practice for the time when he would be killing many enemies on the battlefield. After entering the forest, Arjuna killed many tigers, boars, bison, gavayas (a kind of wild animal), rhinoceroses, deer, hares, porcupines and similar other animals, which he pierced with his arrows. Some of the dead animals that were fit to be offered in sacrifices were carried by servants and sent to King Yudhisthira. Other ferocious animals, such as tigers and rhinoceroses, were killed only to stop disturbances in the forest. Since there are many sages and saintly persons who are residents of the forest, it is the duty of the kings to keep it in a peaceful condition. (In Vedic culture the brahmanas are like the brain, since they instruct the whole of society; the are like the arms, since they defend all the citizens; the are like the belly since they manage food production, and the are like the legs since they serve the other three divisions with their honest labour. This social order is called Varnashrama, and is Lord Krishna’s system for managing human civilisation). Feeling tired and thirsty from hunting, Arjuna went to the bank of the with Krishna where they washed their hands, feet and mouths and drank the clear river water. While resting and drinking water, they saw a beautiful girl walking alone on the river bank. Krishna asked His friend Arjuna to go and speak to her. “My dear girl,” Arjuna inquired, “you are so beautiful— may I ask who you are? We are surprised to see you loitering 22 Yadunandana Krishna here alone. What is your purpose in coming here?” The girl was the river Yamuna personified. “Sir, I am the daughter of the sun-god,” she replied, “and I am now performing penance and austerity to have Lord as my husband.” The girl Yamuna knew that to approach Krishna directly may sometimes be futile, but to approach Krishna through His devotee is sure to be successful. She knew Arjuna was a great devotee of Krishna and she further told him: “My name is Kalindi, and I live within the waters of the Yamuna where my father was kind enough to construct a special house for me. I have vowed to remain in the water until I find Lord Krishna.” Arjuna told Krishna all that she had said and without further discussion, Krishna accepted Kalindi and asked her to join them on the chariot. At Yudhisthira’s request, Krishna called for , the great celestial architect, and had him construct a wonderful city for the Pandavas. After this city was built, Maharaja Yudhisthira requested Krishna to live with them for some time and so give them the pleasure of His association. Lord Krishna accepted the invitation and remained there for many more days. The contained many varieties of drugs in the form of healing plants and herbs. It so happened that , the devata of fire, was not feeling too well, and needed to eat them to get better again. Agni requested Krishna’s help knowing He was favourably disposed towards him since he had previously given Krishna the Sudarshana disc as a gift. After Agni had eaten up the Khandava forest, he offered Arjuna a special bow known as Gandhiva, four white horses, Yadunandana Krishna 23 one chariot and an in exhaustible quiver with two invincible arrows. When the Khandava forest was being devoured by the fire-god, there was a demon called who was saved by Arjuna from the devastating fire. After being saved, Maya became a great friend of Arjuna, and in order to please him constructed an amazing assembly house within the city constructed by Vishvakarma. After a few days, Krishna took permission from King Yudhisthira to return to Dwaraka. On returning, Krishna consulted many learned astrologers to find the suitable moment at which to marry Kalindi, and then He did so with great pomp. This marriage ceremony gave much pleasure to the relatives of both parties, and all of them enjoyed the great occasion. The kings of Avantipura (now known as ) were named Vindya and Anuvindya. Both kings were under the control of Duryodhana. They had one sister, named , who was a very qualified, learned and elegant girl. She was supposed to select her husband from an assembly of princes, but she also strongly desired to have Krishna as her husband. During the assembly for selecting her husband, Krishna was present, and He forcibly carried her away from right under the noses of many princes. Being unable to resist Krishna, the princes were left simply looking at each other. The King of Koshala province was called Nagnajit and his beautiful daughter was named . King Nagnajit wanted to give the hand of his daughter to any prince who could defeat seven strong bulls maintained by him. No one in the princely order could defeat the seven bulls, and 24 Yadunandana Krishna therefore no one could claim the hand of Satya. This news spread all over the country, and when Krishna heard of the challenge He went there with many soldiers. When it was known to the King of Koshala that Krishna had come to ask the hand of his daughter, he was very pleased. With great respect and pomp, he welcomed Krishna to the kingdom. He offered the Lord a suitable sitting place and articles for His reception. Krishna also offered him respectful obeisances, thinking him to be His future father-in-law. When Satya, the daughter of King Nagnajit, understood that Krishna Himself had come to marry her, she was greatly pleased. For a long time she had cherished the idea of marrying Krishna and she then began to think, “If I have performed any pious acts, and if I have sincerely desired Krishna as my husband, then I pray He may fulfil my long-cherished desire.” Of course Krishna could understand the mind of Satya, the daughter of King Nagnajit. He was also greatly pleased with the respectful worship of the King. “My dear King Nagnajit,” said Krishna, “I am asking you for the hand of your beautiful daughter just to establish our relationship in return for your great reception of Me. You may also know that in Our family tradition there is no scope for offering anything in exchange for accepting your daughter. We cannot pay any price you may impose for delivering her.” In other words, Krishna wanted the hand of Satya from the King without fulfilling the condition of defeating the seven bulls. “My dear Lord,” King Nagnajit replied, “both my daughter and I have always prayed for this opportunity since You are the chief of the dynasty. You may kindly know that Yadunandana Krishna 25 from the very beginning I have made a vow to marry my daughter only to one who can pass the test I have devised. You, Lord Krishna, are the chief of all heroes. I am sure You will be able to bring these seven bulls under control without any difficulty. Until now they have never been subdued by any prince; anyone who has tried has simply had his limbs broken.” After hearing this statement, Krishna could understand that the King did not want to break his vow. Thus, in order to fulfil his challenge, He tightened His belt and prepared to fight with the bulls. Krishna immediately divided Himself into seven separate , and each one of Them quickly caught hold of a bull and bridled its nose, thus bringing it under control as if it were a plaything. Krishna’s dividing Himself into seven is highly significant. It was known to Satya that Krishna had already married many other wives, but still she was attached to Krishna. In order to encourage her, since she may have thought she would never get to see Him in competition with so many wives, Krishna expanded Himself into seven. Krishna is one, but He has unlimited expansions. He married many thousands of wives, but this does not mean that while He was with one wife the others were left alone. Krishna could associate with each and every wife by His expansions, all at the same time. King Nagnajit was completely astonished when he saw what Krishna did and with great pleasure he handed Satya over to Krishna, who accepted her as His wife. Then the marriage ceremony was performed with great pomp. King Nagnajit was so pleased that he gave a dowry to his daughter and son-in-law consisting of: 10,000 cows, 3,000 well- 26 Yadunandana Krishna dressed young maidservants, 9,000 elephants, 900,000 chariots, 90,000,000 horses, and a hundred times more menservants than horses. (At that time royal princes maintained such menservants and maidservants with all facilities, as if they were their own children or family members). After giving this dowry, the king of the Koshala province bade Krishna and his daughter farewell as they set off for their new home guarded by a division of well- equipped soldiers. When the frustrated princes of the other dynasties heard that Krishna was successful in getting the hand of Satya by subduing the bulls, naturally they became envious. While Krishna was travelling to Dwaraka, all the frustrated and defeated princes encircled Him and began to shower their arrows on the bridal party. When they attacked Krishna’s party and shot arrows like incessant torrents of rain, Arjuna, the best friend of Krishna, took charge of the challenge, and he alone easily drove them off to please his great friend Krishna on the occasion of His marriage. After this, the chief of the Yadu dynasty, Lord Krishna, along with His newly married wife and the huge dowry, entered the city of Dwaraka with great pomp. Besides Kuntidevi, Krishna had another aunt who was His father’s sister; her name was Srutakirti, and she was married and lived in the province. She had a daughter whose name was . Bhadra wanted to marry Krishna, and her brother handed her over to Him unconditionally. Thereafter, Krishna married a daughter of the king of the Madras province. Her name was and she had all good qualities. Krishna kidnapped this girl Yadunandana Krishna 27 in the presence of many other princes in the assembly of her . (Svayamvara is a ceremony in which the bride can select her own husband from an assembly of many princes). Thus within a short time Krishna had married five of the most beautiful and qualified princesses in the world. * * * 28 Yadunandana Krishna

1 04. The Demon Bhaumasura

Bhaumasura was another powerful demon who audaciously stole the umbrella from the throne of the devata , and took the earrings of , the mother of the devatas. He also conquered a portion of Mount Meru, where the devatas reside. , the king of the heavenly planets, came to Dwaraka to complain about Bhaumasura to Lord Krishna. Hearing this complaint, Lord Krishna, accompanied by His wife Satyabhama, left on the back of (the eagle carrier of Lord Vishnu) and flew to Pragjyotisha-pura, Bhaumasura’s capital city. To enter the city of Pragjyotisha- pura was not an easy task since it was well fortified. First of all, there were four fortresses guarding the four corners of the city, which were well protected on all sides by formidable military strength. The next boundary was a water canal all around the city and then there was a massive electrified fence. The next fortification was of anila, a toxic, gaseous substance. After this, there was a network of razor sharp barbed wiring, constructed by a demon called Mura, a servant of Bhaumasura. The city appeared well protected even by today’s standard of scientific advancement. However, when Krishna arrived, He broke all the strongholds to pieces by the strokes of His club and scattered the military strength here and there by the constant onslaught of His arrows. With His celebrated Sudarshana He counteracted the electrified boundary, dispersed the channels Yadunandana Krishna 29 of water and the gaseous boundary, and cut to pieces the razor wire. By the vibration of His conchshell, He shattered the hearts of the opposing fighters and broke their fearsome war machines. He then smashed the high walls around the city with His invincible club. The sound of Krishna’s conchshell woke the demon Mura and he came out to see what had happened. He had five heads and had been living in the sea for a long time. The Mura demon was as brilliant as the sun and his temper was like blazing fire. He raised his trident and rushed towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead. First he attacked Garuda with his trident, and through his five mouths he roared so loudly, it could be heard throughout the entire universe. Lord Krishna shot two arrows toward the trident, cutting it to pieces. At the same moment, using many arrows, He pierced Mura’s mouths. When the Mura demon saw himself outmanoeuvred by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he began to strike the Lord in great anger with his club. But Lord Krishna, with His own club, broke the club of Mura to pieces before it could reach Him. The demon, bereft of his weapon, decided to attack Krishna with his strong arms, but Krishna, with the aid of His , quickly separated the demon’s five heads from his body and he fell back into the water with a huge splash. Mura had seven sons, all of whom became puffed up and vengeful because of the death of their father, and, by the order of Bhaumasura, they all attacked Krishna with many kinds of weapons, such as swords, clubs, lances, arrows and tridents. But they did not realize Krishna’s strength is unlimited and invincible. Krishna cut all their weapons into 30 Yadunandana Krishna pieces with His arrows. Krishna then weilded His own weapons, and Bhaumasura’s commander-in-chief, Pitha, along with all his vicious assistants, fell down dead. Bhaumasura was the son of the earth personified. When he saw that all his soldiers, commanders and fighters were killed on the battlefield by the strokes of the weapons of the Personality of Godhead, he became exceedingly angry at the Lord. He then came out of the city with a great number of elephants who had all been born and brought up on the seashore. When they came out, they saw that Lord Krishna and His wife were beautifully situated high in outer space just like a blackish cloud around the sun, glittering with the light of electricity. The demon Bhaumasura immediately released a devastating weapon called Shataghni, and all his assistants simultaneously threw their weapons at the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Krishna counteracted all these weapons by releasing His feathered arrows. The result of this fight was that all the soldiers and commanders of Bhaumasura fell to the ground, their arms, legs and heads separated from their trunks, and all their horses and elephants also fell with them. The Lord was fighting on the back of Garuda, who was helping Him by striking the horses and elephants with his wings and scratching their heads with his nails and sharp beak. The elephants, feeling much pain from Garuda’s attacks on them, all dispersed from the battlefield. Bhaumasura remained alone to fight with Krishna. He saw that Krishna’s carrier, Garuda, had caused great disturbance to his soldiers and elephants, and in great anger he struck Garuda with all his strength. Fortunately, Garuda was not an ordinary bird, and he felt the strokes just as a Yadunandana Krishna 31

Krishna kills Bhaumasura 32 Yadunandana Krishna great elephant feels the impact of a garland of flowers. Bhaumasura could see that none of his tricks were working against Krishna, yet he tried again, for the last time, to strike him with his trident. Krishna was so skilful that before Bhaumasura could even throw his trident, his head was cut off by the sharp Sudarshana chakra, and as it hit the ground all the demon’s relatives screamed in disappointment, whilst saintly persons glorified the chivalrous activities of the Lord. At this time, the earth personified appeared before Lord Krishna and greeted Him with a Vaijayanti flower garland. She also returned the dazzling earrings of Aditi, bedecked with jewels and gold, along with Varuna’s umbrella. After this, the earth personified offered her prayers to Krishna, the Supreme Personality and master of the world, who is always worshiped by exalted devatas. She fell down in obeisances and, in great devotional ecstasy, began to speak. “Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You who is the Lord of all devatas. My dear Lord, may I inform You that this boy, whose name is , is the son of my son, Bhaumasura. He has been greatly affected by the death of his father and I request Your Lordship to give him shelter.” When Lord Krishna heard the prayers of mother earth, He said to Bhagadatta: “Don’t be afraid.” Then He entered the opulent palace of Bhaumasura and He found 16,100 young princesses, who had all been kidnapped and held captive there. When the princesses saw Krishna enter the palace they immediately became captivated by His beauty and within their minds they decided to accept Him as their husband without hesitation. Krishna agreed to accept them as His wives and Yadunandana Krishna 33 then arranged for them to be brought to Dwaraka City. Krishna also collected unlimited wealth from the palace which was also sent to Dwaraka. After this incident, Lord Krishna and Satyabhama entered Amaravati, the capital city of the heavenly planets, and went straight to the palace of King Indra and his wife who welcomed them. Krishna then presented Indra the earrings of Aditi. When Krishna and Satyabhama were leaving the city of Indra, Satyabhama remembered Krishna’s promise to give her a parijata tree. Taking the opportunity of having come to the heavenly kingdom, she uprooted a parijata tree and placed it on the back of Garuda. Once Narada had taken a parijata flower and presented it to Krishna’s senior wife, Rukmini-. On account of this, Satyabhama had developed an inferiority complex; she also wanted such a flower from Krishna. But Indra was very irritated when he heard that, without his permission, Satyabhama had taken this special tree which is not to be found on the earth planet. Indra, along with other devatas, offered opposition to Krishna and Satyabhama for taking away the tree, so there was a fight between the devatas and Krishna. As usual, Krishna came out victorious, and He triumphantly brought the parijata tree chosen by His wife back to Dwaraka. After this, the tree was installed in the palace garden of Satyabhama. On account of this extraordinary tree Satyabhama’s garden became exceptionally beautiful. King Indra’s behaviour toward Krishna was not appreciated by the great saints and sages. Out of His causeless mercy, Krishna had gone to the heavenly kingdom, Amaravati, to present King Indra with his mother’s 34 Yadunandana Krishna earrings, which had been stolen by Bhaumasura, and Indra had been very glad to receive them. But just because Krishna took one single tree as a gift for His wife, Indra wanted to fight with Him. When it suited him, Indra offered all sorts of prayers to Krishna, but as soon as he got what he wanted he became a completely different creature. That is the way materialistic men act since they are only interested in their own profit. Too much wealth makes a man selfish and such a person will never take to Krishna consciousness. After defeating Indra, Krishna arranged to marry the 16,100 girls brought from the custody of Bhaumasura. By expanding Himself into 16,100 forms, He simultaneously married them all in different palaces at the same auspicious moment. All the queens’ palaces had lovely gardens, furniture and other paraphernalia. The queens of Krishna were all expansions of the goddess of fortune, , so the opulence of their palaces was without parallel in this world. Krishna lived with them all simultaneously in their different palaces, treating them exactly as a normal husband treats his wife. Although each and every queen had thousands of maidservants engaged for her service, the queens were all personally attentive in serving Krishna. They saw to fanning Him nicely, offering Him fragrant, floral oils, decorating Him with flower garlands, dressing His hair, asking Him to lie down to take rest, bathing Him personally and feeding Him palatable dishes. Yadunandana Krishna 35

Each queen did all these things herself and did not wait for their maidservants. In other words, Krishna and His different queens displayed on this earth an ideal household life. * * * 36 Yadunandana Krishna

1 05. Talks Between Krishna and Rukmini

Once, Krishna was sitting on Rukmini’s bedstead whilst maidservants fanned Him with chamaras (yak-tail fly- whisks). Rukmini’s palace was wonderfully furnished with many canopies hanging from the ceiling with laces bedecked with pearl garlands, and the whole building was illuminated by the effulgence of valuable jewels. There were many gardens full of mallika and chameli, considered the most fragrant flowers in . Little groups of humming bees gathered around the trees, attracted by the fragrance, and at night the pleasing moonshine glittered through the network of holes in the windows. Incense burned within the walls of the palace, and the fragrant smoke wafted out of the window shutters. Rukmini’s room had mattresses covered with white bed sheets as soft and white as milk foam. Rukmini wanted to serve the Lord personally and so took the handle of the chamara from the hand of a maidservant and began to move the fan. The handle of the chamara was made of gold and bedecked with valuable jewels, and it became more beautiful when taken by Rukmini because all her fingers were beautifully set with jewelled rings. Her legs were decorated with jewelled ankle bells, which rang very softly between the pleats of her sari. The characteristics of Rukmini were unusually bright, and Krishna was very satisfied with her behaviour. However, He wanted to see her Yadunandana Krishna 37 in an angry mood, and so he began to gently tease her. “My dear princess,” Krishna said to Rukmini, “it is most surprising. Many great personalities in the royal order wanted to marry you. Shishupala was a great king and was so mad after your beauty that if he had married you I think he would always have remained with you just like your faithful servant. In comparison to Shishupala I am nothing. May I inform you of My actual position—that I am inferior to all those princes who wanted to marry you. First of all, you may know that I was so afraid of Jarasandha that I could not dare live on the land, and thus I have constructed this palace on the ocean. I am a coward. Besides that, I have no fixed aim in life. People cannot understand Me very well or what is the ultimate goal of My life. They do not know whether I am a cowherd boy or a prince, whether I am the son of Maharaja or the son of Vasudeva. Because I have no fixed aim in life, people may call Me a vagabond. Therefore, I am surprised that you could select such a vagabond husband. Besides this, I am not so polished in social etiquette. A person should be satisfied with one wife, but you see that I have married many times, and I have more than sixteen thousand wives. I sometimes create situations with My wives that are not very happy. Because I was trained in a village in My childhood, I do not know the way to please a wife with nice words and behaviour. And from practical experience it is found that any woman who follows My way or becomes attracted by Me is ultimately left to cry for the rest of her life. I have heard from Akrura and that since I left Vrindavana, all My cowherd boyfriends, the gopis and Radharani, and My foster father, Nanda Maharaja, are simply crying constantly for 38 Yadunandana Krishna

Me. So you can easily understand that I have no steadiness of character; I am not a reliable husband. My dear beautiful princess, you may also know that I am always penniless since I own nothing. Also by nature, I am not so fond of family life. As My devotees are always neglectful of worldly possessions, I am also like that. Actually, I am interested in self-realization; that gives Me pleasure, and not this family life. You appear very intelligent, trained by your father and brother, but ultimately you have made a great mistake in selecting your life’s companion. Therefore I advise you that, better late than never, you may now select one of the great kshatriya princes and accept him as your life’s companion, and you may reject Me.” After saying all this and more besides, Lord Krishna suddenly stopped. By the way He was speaking, Rukmini was afraid of being separated from Him. She had never heard such harsh words from Krishna before and so she became perplexed with fear of separation, and her heart began to palpitate. Without replying to a word of Krishna’s speech, she simply cried in great anxiety, as if drowning in an ocean of grief. She silently scratched the ground with the nails of her toes, which reflected reddish light on the ground. The tears from her eyes mixed with the black cosmetic ointment from her eyelids and dropped down. Choked up on account of great anxiety, unable to speak even a word, she kept her head downward and the chamara fell from her hand. Her mind became puzzled, and she lost consciousness. The carefully combed hair on her head scattered here and there, and she fell down on the floor. Lord Krishna realized that Rukmini had not taken His Yadunandana Krishna 39 words in a joking spirit, but very seriously. When He saw Rukmini’s condition, Krishna’s heart immediately softened. He got down from the bedstead, brought her up by her hands and, placing His cooling hands on her face, smoothed the scattered hair on her head. Understanding the seriousness of Rukmini’s love for Him, He embraced her to His chest. “My dear Rukmini,” Krishna said, “please do not misunderstand Me. I know that you are sincerely and seriously attached to Me; you are My eternal companion. The words which have affected you so much are not factual. I wanted to irritate you a bit, and I was expecting you to chastise Me for those joking words. Unfortunately, you have taken them seriously; I am very sorry for it. O perfection of love, I never expected that your condition would be like this. My dear beautiful wife, please do not take My words seriously.” Gradually Rukmini could understand that what He had said was meant as a joke. When she had recovered sufficiently, she began to explain how all the negative things Krishna had said about Himself were really examples of His greatness: “You have described Yourself as penniless,” she said, “but this condition is not poverty. Since there is nothing in existence but You, You do not need to possess anything— You Yourself are everything. You do not possess anything, but no one is richer than You. And I know You cannot be attached to any woman, however exalted her position and beauty, since you are the most renounced. Whether You are attached to me or not, may my devotion and attention be always engaged at Your lotus feet.” 40 Yadunandana Krishna

After hearing Rukmini’s words and her clarification of each and every word He had used to arouse her anger toward Him, Krishna addressed Rukmini as follows: “My dear chaste wife, My dear princess, the wonderful explanation you have given to My every word is completely factual and approved by Me. O most beautiful Rukmini; you are My dearmost wife. I am greatly pleased to understand how much love you have for Me. Please take it for granted that no matter what ambition and desire you might have and no matter what you might expect from Me, I am always at your service. You sent your messenger inviting Me to kidnap you, and when you found that there was a little delay in My arriving, you saw the whole world as vacant. At that time you concluded that your beautiful body was not fit to be touched by anyone else; therefore, thinking that I was not coming, you decided to commit suicide. My dear Rukmini, such great and exalted love for Me will always remain within My soul. As far as I am concerned, it is not within My power to repay you for your unalloyed devotion to Me.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, certainly has no business being anyone’s husband or son or father, because everything belongs to Him and everyone is under His control. He does not require anyone’s help for His satisfaction. He is atmarama, self-satisfied; He can derive all pleasure by Himself, without anyone’s help. But to increase His pleasure, He descends to play the part of a human being and acts as a husband, son, friend or enemy in full perfection. Thus the Lord, although one, exhibited Himself as 16,108 ideal householders and with each wife Krishna had ten sons, all of them equal to their father in the opulences of strength, Yadunandana Krishna 41 beauty, wisdom, fame, wealth and renunciation. “Like father like son.” Krishna and His wives, along with their sons, grandsons and even great-grandsons—all combined together to a total of nearly one billion family members. * * * 42 Yadunandana Krishna

1 06. The Game of Chess

The King of was a friend of and once gave him the bad advice of trying to win a bet by engaging Balarama in a game of chess. Among kshatriya kings, betting and gambling in chess was not uncommon and if someone challenged a kshatriya he had to accept. Sri Balarama was not such an expert chess player, and this was known to the King of Kalinga. So Rukmi was advised to retaliate against the family members of Krishna by challenging Balarama to play chess. Although not an expert chess player, Sri Balarama was most enthusiastic in sporting activities. He accepted Rukmi’s challenge and sat down to play. Betting with gold coins, Balarama first challenged Rukmi with one hundred coins, then one thousand coins, then ten thousand coins. Each time, Balarama lost, and Rukmi was victorious. Seeing Balarama losing, the King of Kalinga began to criticize and make fun of both Him and Krishna, even mockingly showing his teeth to Balarama. Because Balarama had just lost, He was a little intolerant of the king’s sarcastic joking words and became quite annoyed. Rukmi again challenged Balarama, betting a hundred thousand gold coins, but fortunately this time Balarama won. Rukmi dishonestly claimed that he himself had won and because of this lie Balarama became most angry with him. This time He challenged Rukmi to a huge bet of Yadunandana Krishna 43 one hundred million coins. Once more Balarama was the winner according to the rules of chess, but Rukmi again cunningly claimed that he had won. Rukmi appealed to the princes present, and he especially mentioned the name of the King of Kalinga. During the dispute there was a voice from the sky, and it announced that Balarama was the actual winner of this game, that He was being abused, and that Rukmi’s claim of victory was absolutely false. In spite of this divine voice, Rukmi insisted that Balarama had lost and he began to criticize Him: “My dear Balarama, You two cowherd brothers may be very expert in tending cows, but how can You be expert in playing chess or shooting arrows on the battlefield? These arts are well known only to the princely order.” Hearing this, Lord Balarama became as agitated as burning cinders. He took His club in His hand and, without further talk, struck Rukmi solidly on the head. From that one blow, Rukmi fell down dead. The King of Kalinga thought he would be next so he started to run away, but before he managed even a few steps Balarama captured him. Since the King had mockingly shown his teeth while criticizing Balarama and Krishna, Balarama broke them all with His club and they clattered to the floor. The other princes supporting the King of Kalinga and Rukmi were also captured, and Balarama beat them with His club, breaking their legs and hands in punishment for their impudence. During this strife between Balarama and Rukmi, Lord Krishna did not utter a word, for He knew that if He 44 Yadunandana Krishna supported Balarama, Rukmini would be unhappy, and if He defended Rukmi then Balarama would be unhappy. Therefore, Lord Krishna was silent on the death of His brother-in-law Rukmi. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 45

1 07. The Meeting of Usha and Aniruddha

King was a great devotee of Krishna, and had one hundred sons, the eldest being Banasura. This great hero Banasura was a great devotee of Lord and was always ready to render service to him. Because of his devotion, he achieved a great position in society, and was honoured in every respect. He was truthful and fixed in his vows, and ruled over the city of Sonitapura. By the grace of Lord Shiva, Banasura had one thousand arms, and he became so powerful that even devatas like King Indra were serving him as most obedient servants. Long ago, when Lord Shiva was dancing in his celebrated fashion, Banasura helped him by rhythmically beating drums with his one thousand hands. Lord Shiva is well known to be easily pleased, and is most affectionate to his devotees. “Whatever you desire you can have from me,” Lord Shiva promised Banasura. “My dear lord, if you please, you can remain in my city just to protect me from the hands of my enemies,” Banasura replied. On one occasion Banasura came to offer his respects to Lord Shiva and while doing so said: “My dear lord, you have given me one thousand arms, but I do not know what to do with them. They are simply a burden. Sometimes I feel a great urge to fight with them and so I go out to find a suitable warrior, but unfortunately 46 Yadunandana Krishna everyone flees, knowing my extraordinary power. I then have to satisfy the itching of my arms by beating them against the mountains, tearing them to pieces.” “You upstart!” Lord Shiva replied, “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!” Banasura actually became happy when he heard Lord Shiva’s prediction that there was someone who would smash him to pieces. He returned home with great pleasure and waited expectantly for the day when that suitable fighter would come to cut him down. Foolish, demoniac human beings, when finding themselves in a powerful position, cannot resist using their strength, even at the risk of losing everything. They do not know how to use their energy for the right cause, being unaware of the benefit of Krishna consciousness. Banasura had a very beautiful daughter named Usha. When she had reached the age of marriage and was sleeping amongst her many girlfriends in the palace, she dreamt one night that Krishna’s grandson, Aniruddha, was by her side and that she was talking to him, although she had never actually seen him or 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 Usha’s girlfriends was , who was the daughter Yadunandana Krishna 47 of Banasura’s prime minister. Chitralekha and Usha were intimate friends, and out of great curiosity Chitralekha asked: “My dear beautiful princess, as yet you have never seen any boys, what to speak of marry anyone, so I am surprised that you are speaking like this. Who are you searching after?” “My dear friend,” Usha replied, “in my dream I saw a nice young man who is so very beautiful. His complexion is swarthy, his eyes are just like lotus petals, and he is dressed in yellow garments. I feel much pride in saying that this beautiful young man spoke to me. But 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.” “I can understand your bereavement,” Chitralekha replied, “and I assure you that if this boy is within the three worlds I shall find him for you. 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.” Chitralekha was a brilliant artist and began to draw many pictures of all the different devatas on higher planets, as well as many prominent human beings. (The statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Vedic literature prove that on each and every planet there are living entities of different varieties. Therefore, it is foolish to assert that there is only life on earth.) Chitralekha painted many pictures but when Usha saw the one of Aniruddha she became so bashful that she immediately lowered her head and smiled, having found 48 Yadunandana Krishna the man she was seeking. Chitralekha was a great mystic , and as soon as Usha identified the picture, although neither of them had ever seen him before, nor even knew his name, Chitralekha understood it was Aniruddha, a grandson of Krishna. That very night, she travelled through space and within a very short time reached the city of Dwaraka. She entered the palace and found Aniruddha sleeping in his bedroom on a large bed. Whilst he slept, Chitralekha, by her mystic power, brought Aniruddha to the city of Sonitapura just so Usha could see her desired husband. The palace in which Usha and Chitralekha lived was so well fortified that it was impossible for any male to enter, or even see inside. Usha and Aniruddha lived together in the palace, and day after day Usha’s love for him grew more and more. Usha pleased Aniruddha with valuable garments, flowers, garlands, scents and incense. Above all, she pleased him with sweet words and kind service. Usha worshiped Aniruddha as if he were God. 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 the housekeeper and the watchmen of the palace guessed from her behaviour that she was associating with a male friend, and so all of them informed their master, Banasura. In Vedic culture, an unmarried girl having association with a male is the greatest disgrace to the family. The servants assured their master that they were careful not to let any young man enter the palace, and so Yadunandana Krishna 49 could not understand how such a thing could occur. Banasura failed to understand what his daughter Usha was trying to conceal from him. This weighed heavily on his heart, and without delay he rushed towards the palace where Usha was living. There he found Usha and Aniruddha happily sitting together and talking. They looked very beautiful together, Aniruddha being the son of , who was Cupid himself. Banasura could see how his daughter and Aniruddha were a suitable match, yet for the sake of family prestige he did not like what had happened at all. In spite of seeing that Aniruddha was highly qualified, Banasura was very angry and called his soldiers to the palace. Finding no other weapon, Aniruddha took hold of a big iron rod and stood up before Banasura and his soldiers. Under the order of Banasura the soldiers from all sides attempted to capture and arrest him. When they came towards him, Aniruddha struck them with the rod, breaking their heads, legs, arms and thighs, and one after another they fell to the ground. In this way, Aniruddha was able to escape from the palace. Banasura then used a naga-pasha, snake-noose weapon, to capture Aniruddha as he exited the palace. When Usha received the news that her father had arrested Aniruddha, she was overwhelmed with grief and confusion. Tears glided down from her eyes, and being unable to check herself, she began to cry very loudly. * * * 50 Yadunandana Krishna

1 08. Lord Krishna Fights with Banasura

When the four months of the rainy season passed and Aniruddha had still not returned home, all the members of the Yadu family became worried, not knowing why the boy had not come home. One day the great sage Narada came and informed the family about Aniruddha’s disappearance and explained how Banasura had arrested him. The members of the Yadu dynasty prepared themselves to attack Banasura’s city of Sonitapura. Practically all the leaders of the family, including Pradyumna, , , Samba, Nanda, Upananda and Bhadra, combined together and gathered eighteen akshauhini military divisions. Then they all went to Sonitapura and surrounded it with soldiers, elephants, horses and chariots. When Banasura heard that the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty were attacking the whole city, tearing down various walls, gates and nearby gardens, he ordered his own highly trained soldiers to go and face them. Lord Shiva was so kind to Banasura that he personally came as the commander- in-chief of his army, assisted by his heroic sons and Ganapati. Seated on his favourite bull, Lord Shiva led the fighting against Lord Krishna and Balarama. The fighting was so fierce that those who saw the battle were struck with wonder. News of the fighting spread all over the universe and devatas such as Lord hovered over the battlefield Yadunandana Krishna 51 in their airplanes. Lord Shiva is called Bhuta-natha, since he is always assisted by powerful ghosts and goblins. (Of all the different kinds of ghosts, the Brahma- are the most powerful and dangerous. They are brahmanas who, after death, have entered the ghostly species of life.) The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, simply drove all these ghosts away from the battlefield with the arrows from His celebrated bow, -dhanur. Lord Shiva then began to release all his selected weapons against the Personality of Godhead. Lord Sri Krishna, without any difficulty, counteracted all these weapons. He counteracted the , similar to the atomic bomb, by another brahmastra, and when Lord Shiva released a violent hurricane weapon on the battlefield, Lord Krishna let loose a mountain weapon which stopped the hurricane dead. Similarly when Lord Shiva released his weapon of devastating fire, Krishna counteracted it with torrents of rain. When Lord Shiva released his personal weapon, called Pashupata-, Krishna immediately counteracted it with the -astra. Lord Shiva then became exasperated in fighting with Lord Krishna. Krishna 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 Shiva became so fatigued that he refused to fight anymore and began yawning. Krishna was now able to turn His attention from the attack of Lord Shiva to the efforts of Banasura, and He began to kill Banasura’s personal soldiers with swords and clubs. Meanwhile, Lord Krishna’s son Pradyumna was fighting fiercely with Karthikeya, the commander-in-chief of 52 Yadunandana Krishna the devatas. Karthikeya 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 Balarama smashed Banasura’s commander-in-chief, Kumbhanda, with the strokes of His club. Kupakarna was also wounded in this way, and both he and Kumbhanda fell on the battlefield, Kumbhanda being fatally wounded. Without superior guidance, all of Banasura’s soldiers scattered here and there. When Banasura saw that his soldiers and commanders had been defeated, his anger only increased. He thought it wise to stop fighting with Satyaki, Krishna’s commander-in- chief, and instead directly attack Lord Krishna. Now having the opportunity to use his one thousand arms, he rushed towards Krishna, simultaneously working five hundred bows and two thousand arrows. Such a foolish person could never understand Krishna’s strength. Without difficulty Krishna cut each of Banasura’s bows into two pieces and, to stop him from going any further, broke his chariot to pieces too. After doing this, Krishna blew His conchshell, . There was a devata named Kotara who was worshiped by Banasura, and their relationship was as mother and son. Mother Kotara was upset that Banasura’s life was in danger, so she appeared on the scene. With a naked body and scattered hair, she stood before Lord Krishna. Sri Krishna did not like the sight of this naked woman, and to avoid seeing her He turned His face. This gave Banasura the chance he needed to escape Krishna’s attack, and he quickly left the battlefield. All the strings of his bows were broken, and there was no chariot or driver, so he had no alternative Yadunandana Krishna 53 but to return to his city having lost everything in the battle. Being greatly harassed by the arrows of Krishna, all the associates of Lord Shiva, including the hobgoblins and ghosts, also left the battlefield. When Lord Shiva had recovered from the yawning weapon, as a last resort he released his greatest weapon of death, known as the Shiva- jvara, which destroys through excessive heat. It is said that at the end of creation the sun becomes twelve times more scorching than usual, and that temperature is called Shiva- jvara. When the Shiva-jvara personified was released, he had three heads and three legs, and as he came toward Krishna it appeared that he was burning everything to ashes. To match the Shiva-jvara weapon there is also a Narayana-jvara weapon, which produces excessive cold. Therefore, when Lord Krishna saw that the Shiva-jvara had been released by Lord Shiva, He had no recourse other than to release the Narayana-jvara. When the Narayana-jvara 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. When this happened, the Shiva-jvara began to cry for help from Lord Shiva, but he was unable to do anything against the cooling influence of the Narayana-jvara. Seeing he was helpless, the Shiva-jvara surrendered to Krishna, bowing before Him and offering a prayer so that the Lord might be pleased and give him protection. This fight between the ultimate weapons of Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna proves that Krishna is more powerful, and that if He gives someone protection, no one can kill him. After offering many prayers the defeated weapon left the 54 Yadunandana Krishna battlefield. In the meantime, Banasura somehow or other recovered from his setbacks, and, with rejuvenated energy, returned to fight with different kinds of weapons in his one thousand hands. Banasura furiously sprayed his different weapons at Lord Krishna like torrents of rain. When Lord Krishna saw the weapons of Banasura coming at Him, He took His sharp- edged Sudarshana disc and began to cut off the demon’s one thousand arms, one after another, just as a gardener trims the twigs of a tree with sharp cutters. When Lord Shiva saw that his devotee Banasura could not be saved even in his presence, he came to his senses and personally came before Lord Krishna and began to pray: “My dear Lord, no one is more powerful than you. 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. My Lord, I may inform You that this Banasura is very dear to me, and, being pleased with him, I have assured him safety. I pray to You, my Lord, that as You were pleased with his forefathers - King and Bali Maharaja, You will also be pleased with him.” “My dear Lord Shiva,” Krishna replied, “I accept your statements, and I also accept your desire for Banasura. I know that this Banasura is the son of Bali Maharaja, and as such I cannot kill him, for that is My promise. I gave a benediction to King Prahlada that any appearing in his family would never be killed by Me. Therefore, without killing this Banasura, I have simply cut off his arms to deprive Yadunandana Krishna 55 him of his false prestige. The large number of soldiers he was maintaining became a burden on this earth, and I have killed them all to minimize that burden. Now he has four remaining arms, and he will remain immortal, unaffected by 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 Banasura was blessed by Lord Krishna in this way he came and bowed down before Him, touching his head to the earth. Banasura immediately arranged to have his daughter, Usha, seated with Aniruddha on a splendid chariot, and then he presented them before Lord Krishna. After this, they all proceeded towards Dwaraka under the protection of many soldiers. In the meantime, all the people of Dwaraka, having received the news, decorated every corner of the city with flags, festoons and garlands. All the citizens joined their friends and relatives to welcome Lord Krishna with great pomp and jubilation. In this narration we see that being a devotee of devatas such as Lord Shiva cannot protect you from the will of Krishna. Only when Lord Shiva humbly appealed to Krishna to save his devotee, was Banasura saved. This is the supreme position of Lord Krishna. The exact words used in this connection in the Bhagavad-gita are mayaiva vihitan hi tan. This means that without the sanction of the Supreme Lord Krishna, no mere devata can award any benediction to his worshiper. * * * 56 Yadunandana Krishna

1 09. The Story of King Nriga

Once, the family members of Lord Krishna, such as Samba, Pradyumna, Charu, Bhanu and Gada, went for a long picnic in the forest near Dwaraka. In the course of their excursion, all of them became thirsty, and so they approached a well in the forest. When they looked into the well they found it had no water, but instead a wonderful creature. It was a large lizard which was trapped, and all of them were astonished to see such an amazing animal. Out of they tried to get the large lizard out of the well but were unable to do so. When the princes returned home they told Lord Krishna about it, and after hearing of the lizard's plight 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 Krishna, that great lizard gave up its former shape and appeared as a beautiful devata. His complexion glittered like molten gold, he was decorated with fine garments and he wore costly ornaments around his neck. Krishna knew the entire history of the devata, but for the benefit of others the Lord inquired: “My dear fortunate devata, now I see that your body is so beautiful and lustrous. Who are you? We can guess that you are one of the best devatas in the heavenly planets. 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 Yadunandana Krishna 57 your identity.” “My dear Lord, I am King Nriga,” he said, bowing down, “I am the son of King Ikshvaku. You have ordered me to explain my history, and I shall therefore narrate the full story.” King Nriga then explained how in the past he had been very charitably disposed, and had given away millions upon millions of cows to the brahmanas. He explained how the cows he had given were not ordinary. Each one was very young and had given birth to only one calf. They were full of milk, peaceful and healthy and were all purchased with money earned legally. Furthermore, their horns were gold-plated, their hooves were bedecked with silver plating, and they were covered with necklaces and had silken covers embroidered with pearls. He stated that these valuably decorated cows had not been given to any worthless persons, but had only been distributed to first-class brahmanas, whom he had also decorated with fine garments and gold ornaments. A real brahmana never hoards money for a luxurious life, like the kshatriyas or the vaishyas, but always keeps himself poverty- stricken, knowing that money diverts the mind to materialistic ways of life. The King also stated that not only had he bestowed gifts on the brahmanas, but he had performed other pious activities, such as digging wells, planting trees on the roadside and installing ponds on the highways. “In spite of all this,” the King explained “it so happened that by misfortune one of the brahmanas' cows I had given away happened to wander back amongst my other cows. Not knowing this, I again gave it in charity, to another brahmana. As the cow was being taken away by this brahmana, its former master claimed it as his own, stating: 58 Yadunandana Krishna

'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 brahmanas, and they came before me and charged that I had taken back a cow I had previously given in charity.” To give something to someone and then to take it back is considered a great sin, especially when dealing with a brahmana. When both the brahmanas charged the King with the same complaint, he was puzzled as to how it had happened. With great humility the King offered each of them 100,000 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. The King fervently appealed to the brahmanas not to cause his downfall into hell because of this unintentional mistake. A brahmana’s property is called brahma-sva, and according to ’s law it cannot be acquired even by the government. Both brahmanas, however, insisted that the cow was theirs and could not be taken back under any condition; neither of them agreed to exchange it for the 100,000 cows. Thus disagreeing with the King’s proposal, the two brahmanas left the place in anger, thinking that their lawful possession had been taken. After this incident, when the time came for the King to give up his body, he was taken before Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, who asked him whether he first wanted to enjoy the results of his pious activities or suffer the results of his impious activities. Seeing that the King had executed so many pious activities and charities, Yamaraja also hinted that he had acted so piously that there would be Yadunandana Krishna 59 practically no end to the King’s material happiness. But in spite of this hint, the King rather foolishly decided to first suffer the results of his impious activities; therefore Yamaraja immediately transferred him to the body of a lizard. King Nriga had remained in the well as a big lizard for a long time. From the King’s experiences it is clear that people who engage in charity simply for their own long term benefit are not so intelligent. The Krishna conscious person develops love of God, Krishna, not love for pious or impious activities; and in that way he is not subjected to the results of such action - either good or bad. The King continued: “My dear Lord, I had a great desire that someday I might be able to see You personally; You were always in my thoughts. I think that because of my pious acts and this desire to see You, I was able to retain the memory of who I was in my former life, even though I became a lizard.” A person who remembers his past life is called jati-smara. Modern research has also uncovered instances of small children recalling many details of their past lives, and when these recollections were researched they were found to be genuine. When King Nriga 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 promoted to a higher status of life like a great devata. However, along with his pious activities, he thought of Krishna, so he was quickly released from the body of a lizard and given the body of a devata. By worshiping the Supreme Lord, those who desire material opulences are given the bodies of powerful devatas. If such devatas continue to devote 60 Yadunandana Krishna themselves to the Lord, eventually they will become eligible to return to the spiritual world. “My dear Lord, You are not an ordinary living entity, You are the Supreme Lord and are worshiped by all the devatas.” Having offered prayers to the Lord, King Nriga touched his helmet to the Lord’s lotus feet and bowed before Him. He then mounted an airplane and left for the heavenly planets. It is recommended that if one cannot directly become a devotee of the Lord, one should at least 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 still has a hope of being transferred to the spiritual planets. At this time Lord Krishna was surrounded by His relatives. “Even though a kshatriya king may be as powerful as fire, it is not possible for him to take the property of a brahmana and utilize it for his own purpose. I do not think that taking poison is as dangerous as taking a brahmana’s property. For ordinary poison there is treatment—one can be relieved from its effects—but if one drinks the poison of taking a brahmana’s property, there is no remedy for the mistake. If someone even touches a brahmana’s property, his family is ruined for three generations. However, if a brahmana’s property is forcibly taken away, the taker’s family for ten generations before him and ten generations after will be subject to ruination. On the other hand, if someone becomes a pure devotee of the Lord, ten Yadunandana Krishna 61 generations of his family before and after his birth will be liberated.” Thus Lord Krishna gave instruction not only to His family members and the inhabitants of Dwaraka but to all the members of human society. After this, the Lord entered His palace. * * * 62 Yadunandana Krishna

1 10. Lord Balarama Visits Vrindavana

Lord Balarama became most anxious to see His father and mother so He set off on a chariot for Vrindavana. The inhabitants of Vrindavana had also been anxious to see Krishna and Balarama for a long time. When Lord Balarama arrived, all the cowherd boys and the gopis, who had now grown up, embraced Him with great joy and Balarama embraced them too. After this He visited Maharaja Nanda and and offered His respectful obeisances. In response, mother Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja offered their blessings to Him and, seating Him, on their laps began to cry, wetting Balarama with their tears. “Dear Balarama,” Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda inquired, “are our friends like Vasudeva and others in the family doing well? Now You and Krishna are grown-up, happily married men with children; do You still sometimes remember us, Your poor father and mother?” Balarama pacified his parents and when the gopis arrived He glanced over them with loving eyes. Being overjoyed, the gopis, who had so long been mortified on account of Krishna’s and Balarama’s absence, began to ask about the welfare of the two brothers. They specifically asked Balarama whether Krishna was enjoying His life surrounded by the enlightened women of Dwaraka. They were upset that Krishna still had not returned even after promising he would. “My dear Balarama,” said one gopi, “we are of course Yadunandana Krishna 63

The river goddess Yamuna prays for Balarama’s mercy 64 Yadunandana Krishna just village girls, so Krishna could cheat us in that way, but what about the women of Dwaraka? The women in the city of Dwaraka are very clever and intelligent. Therefore I would be surprised if such city women could be misled by Krishna and could believe His words.” Then another gopi began to speak: “My dear friend,” she said, “Krishna is extremely clever at using words. No one can compete with Him in that art. He can manufacture such colourful words and talk so sweetly that the heart of any woman would be misled. Besides that, He has perfected the art of smiling very attractively, and by seeing His smile women become mad after Him and give themselves to Him without hesitation.” “My dear friends,” said another gopi, “what is the use in talking about Krishna? If you are at all interested in passing time by talking, let us talk on some subject other than Him. If cruel Krishna can pass His time without us, why can’t we pass our time without Krishna? Of course, Krishna is passing His days without us quite happily, but we cannot pass our days happily without Him.” When the gopis were talking in this way, their feelings for Krishna became more and more intense, and they were strongly experiencing the effects of Krishna’s smiling, Krishna’s words of love, Krishna’s attractive features, Krishna’s characteristics and Krishna’s embraces. By the force of their ecstatic feelings, it appeared to them that Krishna was personally present and dancing before them. Because of their sweet remembrance of Krishna, they could not stop their tears, and they cried without consideration. Lord Balarama, of course, could understand the ecstatic Yadunandana Krishna 65 feelings of the gopis, and therefore He wanted to pacify them. He was also expert at speaking and in presenting an appeal, and so, treating the gopis most respectfully, He began to narrate the stories of Krishna so carefully that all the gopis became satisfied. To keep the gopis in Vrindavana happy, Lord Balarama stayed there continuously for two months, namely the months of Chaitra (March-April) and Vaishakha (April-May). The devata known as Varuna sent his daughter Varuni in the form of liquid honey oozing from the hollows of the trees. Because of this honey the whole forest became aromatic and the sweet aroma of the liquid honey (called Varuni), captivated Balarama. Balarama and all the gopis became greatly attracted by the taste of it, and all drank it together. While drinking this natural beverage, all the gopis chanted the glories of Lord Balarama, and Lord Balarama felt very happy, as if He had become intoxicated. While Balarama was in that happy mood, they desired to swim in the water of the Yamuna. Therefore He called the Yamuna to come nearby. But the Yamuna neglected His order, considering Him intoxicated. Lord Balarama became displeased at the Yamuna and so He took up His plough. “You wretched river!” He addressed the Yamuna, “You did not care for My order. Now I shall teach you a lesson! With the help of My plough I shall force you to come. I shall divide you into hundreds of scattered streams!” At this threat the Yamuna became deeply afraid of Balarama’s power and instantly came in person, falling at His lotus feet and praying thus: “My dear Balarama, You are the most powerful personality, 66 Yadunandana Krishna and You are pleasing to everyone. Unfortunately, I forgot Your glorious, exalted position, but now I have come to my senses.” Upon displaying this submissive attitude, the Yamuna was forgiven, and when she came nearby, Lord Balarama enjoyed the pleasure of swimming in the water and so did the gopis. After bathing in the Yamuna, Lord Balarama, dressed in blue garments and decorated with golden ornaments, looked highly attractive to everyone. Lord Balarama’s complexion is white, and when He was properly dressed He looked exactly like the white elephant of King Indra in the heavenly planets. (The river Yamuna still has many small branches due to being scratched by Lord Balarama’s plough). Lord Balarama and the gopis enjoyed transcendental pastimes together every night for two months, and time passed so quickly that all those nights appeared to be only one night. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 67

1 11. The Deliverance of Paundraka and the King of Kashi

The story of King Paundraka is interesting because it proves that there have always been rascals and fools who have considered themselves equal to God, just as there are today. Even when the Supreme Personality of Godhead was personally present on Earth, performing His amazing activities, there was such a foolish person. Being incredibly proud and puffed up, King Paundraka, who ruled the Karusa province, sent a messenger to Lord Krishna with the following declaration: “I am the only Supreme Personality of Godhead. No man can compete with me. I have descended as King Paundraka, taking compassion on the distressed conditioned souls out of my unlimited causeless mercy. You have falsely taken my position without authority, but You should not propagate this false idea. You must give up Your position, and after doing so come and surrender to me. If, out of gross impudence, You do not care for my words then I challenge You to fight. I am inviting You to a battle in which the decision will be settled.” When all the members of the royal assembly, including King Ugrasena, heard this message sent by Paundraka, they laughed loudly for a considerable period of time. After enjoying the loud laughter of all the members of the assembly, Krishna replied to the messenger as follows: “O messenger of Paundraka, you may carry My message 68 Yadunandana Krishna to your master: 'You are a foolish rascal. I directly call you a rascal, and I refuse to follow your instructions. I shall use My disc to kill not only you, but all your followers too. I shall destroy you and your foolish associates. O foolish King, you will then have to conceal your face in disgrace, and when your head is severed from your body by My disc, it will be surrounded by meat-eating birds like vultures, hawks and eagles. At that time, instead of becoming My shelter, as you have demanded, you will be subject to the mercy of these lowborn birds. At that time your body will be thrown to the dogs, which will eat what remains with great pleasure.’ ” The messenger nervously carried the words of Lord Krishna to his master, Paundraka, who patiently heard all these insults. Without waiting for any further response, Lord Sri Krishna immediately started out on His chariot to punish the impudent king. At that time Paundraka was living with his friend the King of Kashi, so Krishna surrounded the whole city of Kashi. King Paundraka was actually a great warrior, and as soon as he heard of Krishna’s attack, he came out of the city with two akshauhini divisions of soldiers. The King of Kashi also came out, with three of his own akshauhini divisions. When the two kings came before Lord Krishna to oppose Him, Krishna saw Paundraka face to face for the first time. Krishna saw that Paundraka had decorated himself with the symbols of the conchshell, disc, lotus and club, just like Lord Narayana. He carried an imitation Sharanga bow, and on his chest was a mock insignia of . His neck was decorated with a false Kaustubha jewel, and he wore a flower garland also in exact imitation of Lord Narayana’s. Yadunandana Krishna 69

He was dressed in yellow silken garments, and the flag on his chariot carried the symbol of Garuda, exactly imitating Krishna’s. He had a valuable helmet on his head, and his earrings, like swordfish, glittered brilliantly. On closer inspection, however, it was clear that his dress and makeup were imitations. When Lord Sri Krishna saw Paundraka for the first time, imitating His posture and dress, He could not stop laughing. The soldiers on the side of King Paundraka then began to shower their weapons on Krishna. The weapons, including various kinds of tridents, clubs, poles, lances, swords, daggers and arrows, came flying in deadly waves, but Krishna easily counteracted them. He smashed not only the weapons but also the soldiers and assistants of Paundraka. The elephants, chariots, horses and infantry belonging to the opposite party were all scattered by Krishna’s weapons. Indeed, the whole battlefield became strewn with smashed chariots and the bodies of men and animals. There were fallen horses, elephants, men, asses and camels. At this time, Lord Krishna called out to Paundraka: “You requested Me to give up the symbols of Lord Vishnu, specifically My disc. Now I will give it up to you. Be careful! You falsely declared yourself to be Vishnu, imitating Me. Therefore no one is a greater fool than you.” From this statement of Krishna’s it is clear that any rascal who advertises himself as God is the greatest fool in human society. Krishna continued, “Now, Paundraka, You wanted Me to surrender to you so here is your chance. We shall now fight, and if I am defeated and you are victorious, I shall certainly surrender unto you.” 70 Yadunandana Krishna

After severely chastising Paundraka, He smashed his chariot to pieces by shooting an arrow. With the help of His disc He then separated Paundraka’s head from his body, just as Indra shaves off the peaks of mountains by striking them with his thunderbolt. Similarly, He also killed the King of Kashi with His arrows. Lord Krishna arranged for the King of Kashi’s head to be thrown into the city so that his relatives and family members could see it. When the head of the King of Kashi was thrown through the city gate, people gathered and were astonished. They tried to guess whose head it might be. Some thought it was Krishna’s head, thrown into the city by their king. But it gradually dawned on them that the head was not Krishna’s, but that of their own monarch, Kashiraja himself. When the reality of the situation hit them fully, the queens of the King of Kashi began to lament the death of their husband. “Our dear lord,” they cried, “upon your death, we have become just like dead bodies.” Having completed His mission, Krishna returned to His capital city, Dwaraka. As far as Paundraka was concerned, somehow or other he always thought of Lord Krishna since he was constantly trying to imitate Him. Also, being killed for his offensive imitation purified Paundraka of all sinful reactions, and therefore he achieved svarupya, one of the five kinds of liberation. He was promoted to the planets in the spiritual world, where the devotees have the same bodily features as Vishnu, with four hands holding the four symbols. The King of Kashi had a son whose name was Sudakshina. After observing his father’s funeral he took a vow that he would avenge his father by killing Krishna. Yadunandana Krishna 71

Therefore, accompanied by a learned priest, he began to worship Lord Shiva. The lord of the kingdom of Kashi is Vishvanatha (Lord Shiva) and his temple still exists in where many thousands of pilgrims still gather there daily. By the worship of Sudakshina, Lord Shiva was much pleased, and wanted to give a benediction to his devotee. Sudakshina’s purpose was to kill Krishna, and therefore he prayed for the power to accomplish this. Lord Shiva advised Sudakshina to use his brahmanas to perform black magic to evoke the evil spirit named Dakshinagni who would carry out any order given to him (other than killing a brahmana). He would be assisted by Lord Shiva’s ghostly companions, and so the desire of Sudakshina to kill his enemy would be fulfilled. Encouraged by Lord Shiva in this way, Sudakshina was sure he would succeed. With a determined vow of austerity, he began to execute the black art of chanting , assisted by the priests. Suddenly, out of the sacrificial fire came a great, demoniac form, whose hair, beard and moustache were exactly the colour of hot copper. As the demon arose from the fire, cinders emanated from the sockets of his eyes. He exhibited long, sharp teeth, and, sticking out his long tongue, he licked his upper and lower lips. He was naked, and carried a blazing trident. After appearing from the fire of sacrifice, the demon proceeded toward Dwaraka with many hundreds of ghostly companions. The surface of the earth trembled with his footsteps and when he entered the city of Dwaraka, all the residents panicked, just like animals in a forest fire. At that time Krishna was playing chess in the royal 72 Yadunandana Krishna assembly hall. All the residents of Dwaraka appealed to Lord Krishna for protection from the fiery demon. “Don’t worry. I shall give you all protection,” Krishna assured His citizens. He knew that the fiery demon was a creation of Lord Shiva and in order to vanquish him He sent His invincible Sudarshana chakra which illuminated the entire universe with the brilliance of millions of suns. The fiery demon was stopped by Lord Krishna’s fearsome weapon, and, being defeated, he went back to where he had been invoked. According to the black arts, if the powers created by fail to kill the intended enemy, they will return to kill the original creator instead. Sudakshina was the originator, and the priests assisted him; therefore the fiery demon went back to Varanasi, the kingdom of Kashiraja, and burned all of them to ashes. Demons have the tendency to create something to kill God, but then by the same weapon they themselves are killed. Following just behind the fiery demon, the Sudarshana chakra also entered Varanasi. This city had been wealthy and great for a very long time (even today it is a famous city). There were then many big palaces, assembly houses, marketplaces and gates, with large and important monuments. But because the King of Kashi and his son Sudakshina were against Lord Krishna, the disc weapon of Lord Krishna devastated the whole city by burning all these important places to dust. The Lord’s Sudarshana disc is far more powerful than any modern weapon stored in the military arsenals of today. When the Sudarshana chakra had finished his duty, he came back to his Lord, Sri Krishna, at Dwaraka. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 73

1 12. Dvivida Gorilla

There was a gorilla named Dvivida who was a great friend of Bhaumasura, the demon who had previously been killed by Krishna over the kidnapping of thousands of princesses. Dvivida was the minister of the famous ape king, . His brother, Mainda, was also a very powerful gorilla king. When Dvivida gorilla heard his friend had been killed by Lord Krishna, he planned to create mischief throughout the country in order to avenge the death of Bhaumasura. He set fire to villages and towns up and down the land and would sometimes use his immense strength to uproot mountains and smash them to pieces. Sometimes he would go to the seashore, and with his powerful hands create huge waves that would flood whole cities, drowning the inhabitants. He also kidnapped both men and women, and took them to caves in the mountains where he trapped them behind large chunks of stone. In this way he provocatively created great disturbances all over the country, especially in the province of Kathwar where Krishna’s magnificent city of Dwaraka was situated. One day, while busy causing trouble, Dvivida caught the sound of sweet music coming from Raivataka Mountain. He followed that melodious sound until he came upon Lord Balarama in the midst of many beautiful young girls, enjoying their company whilst singing and dancing. He became captivated by the beauty of Lord Balarama’s 74 Yadunandana Krishna body, whose every feature was most attractive. Being a gorilla, Dvivida climbed amongst the nearby trees jumping from one branch to another. In doing so the branches jerked and made a loud cracking sound that Lord Balarama found irritating. Dvivida then came down from the trees and began to make faces at some of the young girls, making them laugh. He also mockingly showed his teeth and moved his eyebrows in a vulgar way. Because he disrespected the women, Balarama took a stone and threw it at Dvivida; but he managed to dodge it. In order to insult Balarama, the gorilla took away the earthen pot in which Balarama’s varuni drink was kept. Dvivida then began to tear off all the valuable clothes worn by Balarama and the young girls thinking he could just get away with it. Balarama became exceedingly angry and decided to kill him, so He took up His club. To counteract Balarama, the gorilla uprooted a big oak tree and with great force he came and struck Lord Balarama’s head with it. Lord Balarama just caught hold of the tree and remained undisturbed. To retaliate, He took His club, named Sunanda, and hit the gorilla with it, severely injuring his head. Blood flowed from the gorilla’s head with great force, but he was not even slightly disturbed by the injury. On the contrary, he immediately uprooted another big oak tree and after clipping off all its leaves, again struck Balarama’s head with it. Balarama smashed the tree to pieces with His club but the gorilla took up another tree and this time struck Lord Balarama’s body. Each time the gorilla used a big tree to strike Balarama He would just tear it to pieces with His club. As a result of this continuous fighting, the whole forest became treeless. When Yadunandana Krishna 75 no more trees were available, Dvivida took help from the hills and threw large pieces of stone at Balarama’s body. Lord Balarama, in a great sporting mood, began to smash those big pieces of stone into mere pebbles. The gorilla began to beat Lord Balarama’s chest with his fists making Him even angrier, and so in return Balarama struck the collarbone of the gorilla. This blow proved fatal to Dvivida, who immediately vomited blood and fell dead to the ground with a huge crash. After this horrible incident, all the great sages and saintly persons from the upper planetary system showered flowers on Lord Balarama and chanted, “All glories to Lord Balarama! By killing this great demon, Dvivida, You have blessed the world with renewed fortune.” After this Balarama returned to His capital city, Dwaraka. * * * 76 Yadunandana Krishna

1 13. The Marriage of Samba

Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, had a daughter by the name of Lakshmana. She was a highly qualified girl in the ruling Kuru dynasty, so many princes wanted to marry her. Often in such cases the svayamvara ceremony was held, so that the girl in question may select a husband of her choice. Lakshmana was about to select a husband when Krishna’s son, Samba, suddenly appeared on the scene. Samba wanted Duryodhana’s daughter, Lakshmana, although she was not inclined to have him. Therefore Samba kidnapped Lakshmana by force from the midst of the svayamvara assembly. Because Samba (who was Krishna’s son had with His wife Jambavati) took Lakshmana away by force, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, took it as a great insult to their family tradition. All of them knew that Lakshmana did not want him, and that due to his action she had not been given the chance to select her own husband. They decided he must be arrested and punished, but not killed, since they all realized that having been touched by Samba, Lakshmana would not now be able to marry anyone else. (According to the Vedic system, once a girl has been touched by a boy she cannot be married or given to anyone else. Nor would anyone agree to marry a girl who had already associated with another boy.) Despite the risk of starting a war with the opposing Yadu dynasty, to which Samba belonged, being Krishna’s Yadunandana Krishna 77 son, all the senior members of the Kuru dynasty resolved to teach him a lesson, and was made the commander- in-chief of the whole operation. According to the principles of Vedic warfare there are different grades of fighters, the most powerful being maha- rathi, then ati-rathi and then rathi. Maha-rathis could single- handedly fight with tens of thousands of men, and six of them including Karna, Shala, Bhuri, Yajnaketu, Duryodhana and Bhishmadeva combined together to arrest Samba. Samba was also a maha-rathi, but he was alone against these six other maha-rathis. Still he was not deterred when he saw them all coming up behind him to arrest him. He turned towards them and defiantly took up his bow. Karna, leading the party, then challenged Samba: “Why are you fleeing? Just stand and we shall teach you a lesson!” When challenged by another kshatriya to stand and fight, a kshatriya cannot go away; he must fight. Therefore, as soon as Samba accepted the challenge and stood alone before them, he was overpowered by showers of arrows shot by all the great warriors. A lion is never afraid of being chased by many wolves and jackals. Similarly, Samba, the glorious son of the Yadu dynasty, blessed with inconceivable potencies as the son of Lord Krishna, became very angry at the warriors of the Kuru dynasty for unfairly attacking him in this way. He fought them all with great talent. Firstly, he struck each of the six charioteers with six separate arrows. He used another four arrows to kill the charioteers’ horses, four on each chariot. Then he used one arrow to kill the driver and one arrow for Karna as well as the other celebrated fighters. 78 Yadunandana Krishna

While Samba so diligently fought alone with the six great warriors, they all appreciated the boy’s amazing powers. But then Samba’s chariot was suddenly broken to pieces, his horses slain, his driver killed and his bow string severed so he could no longer fight. Samba was then arrested and Lakshmana recovered. Thereafter, the Kuru warriors entered the city of Hastinapura in great triumph.The great sage Narada immediately carried the news to the Yadu dynasty that Samba had been arrested, and when they heard the unfair circumstances, they became extremely angry. Now, with the permission of the head of the Yadu dynasty, King Ugrasena, they prepared to attack the capital city of the Kuru dynasty. Lord Balarama knew that in this current age of (quarrel and hypocrisy) people are prepared to fight with one another over practically nothing. He did not like the idea that the two great dynasties, Kuru and Yadu, would fight amongst themselves. “Instead of fighting with them,” Balarama wisely thought, “let Me go to Hastinapura and see if the fight can be settled by mutual understanding.” Balarama’s idea was that if the Kuru dynasty could be persuaded to release Samba along with his wife, Lakshmana, then the fight could be avoided. He therefore quickly arranged for a fine chariot to go to Hastinapura, accompanied by learned priests and brahmanas, as well as by some of the elder members of the Yadu dynasty. He was confident that the members of the Kuru dynasty would have the good sense to overlook the relatively minor issue of this marriage, in order to avoid what would amount to a devastating world war. When Lord Balarama reached the outskirts of Hastinapura He did not Yadunandana Krishna 79 enter, but stationed Himself in a camp outside the city. Then He asked Uddhava to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty and inquire from them whether they wanted to fight with the Yadu dynasty or to make a settlement. Uddhava went to meet all the important leaders of the Kuru dynasty, including Bhishmadeva, Dhritarashtra, Dronacharya, Duryodhana and . After offering them due respects, he informed them that Lord Balarama had come to find a peaceful settlement, and was stationed outside the city gate. The leaders of the Kuru dynasty, especially Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana, were joyful because they knew that Lord Balarama was a great well-wisher of their family. In order to properly receive Lord Balarama they all took auspicious gifts as they went to greet Him outside the city gate. When they had welcomed Him, Lord Balarama said: “My dear friends, I have come to you as a messenger with the order of the all-powerful King Ugrasena. Please, therefore, hear the order with great attention and then follow it without hesitation. King Ugrasena knows very well that you warriors of the Kuru dynasty improperly fought with the pious Samba, who was all alone, and that with unrighteous tactics you have arrested him. I do not think, however, that we should disturb our good relationship over this matter, and so please immediately release Samba and bring him, along with his wife, Lakshmana, before Me.” Lord Balarama spoke in a commanding tone full of heroic assertion, supremacy and chivalry, which the leaders of the Kuru dynasty did not appreciate at all. With great anger they replied: “Oh! These words are quite astonishing, though typical 80 Yadunandana Krishna of this age of Kali where hypocrisy is said to reign. The language and tone used by Balarama are simply abusive. The Yadus had practically no position before we generously gave them a portion of our kingdom to rule, and now they have the audacity to order us around as though they were in charge. Well, enough of their impudence!” Having spoken in this impolite way, the Kuru leaders returned to the city. Lord Balarama heard their insulting words and from His appearance it was clear He was burning with anger. He laughed loudly and said: “It is true that if a man becomes too puffed up because of his family, opulence, beauty and material advancement, he no longer wants a peaceful life but becomes aggressive toward all others. It is useless to give such a person good instruction; on the contrary, one should punish him. Therefore, on this very day, I shall rid the whole world of any trace of the Kuru dynasty!” While saying this, Lord Balarama stood up steadily, and, taking His plough in His hand, began striking the ground with it, separating the whole city of Hastinapura from the earth. Then with inconceivable strength He began to drag the entire city toward the flowing water of the river . This caused a massive tremor throughout Hastinapura as buildings and palaces shook and trees crashed all around. It seemed that the whole city would crumble to bits. When the members of the Kuru dynasty saw that their city was about to fall into the water of the Ganges, and when they heard their citizens howling in great anxiety, they quickly came to their senses and without waiting another second, brought forward Lakshmana and Samba. All the members Yadunandana Krishna 81 of the Kuru dynasty appeared before Lord Balarama with folded hands just to beg the pardon of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “O Lord Balarama, reservoir of all pleasures,” they said, "please consider us most foolish. Our intelligence was bewildered. Therefore we have come before You to beg Your pardon. Please excuse us. You are the original creator, sustainer and annihilator of the whole cosmic manifestation, the original puppeteer, and everything in the world is just like Your toy. We are now completely surrendered to You. Please, therefore, be merciful upon us and give us Your protection.” When the prominent members of the Kuru dynasty had offered their respectful prayers, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Balarama, became softened and assured them that there was no further cause for fear. They then handed Lakshmana back to Samba who was freed; so settling the whole matter amicably. Being affectionate towards his daughter Lakshmana, Duryodhana had her married to Samba in great pomp. For her dowry he gave 1,200 elephants, each at least 60 years old; 10,000 magnificent horses, 6,000 chariots, dazzling just like the sunshine, and 1,000 maidservants decorated with golden ornaments. Balarama was completely satisfied and accompanied by the newly married couple, He started towards His capital city of Dwaraka. In those days the river flowing through the city of Hastinapura (present-day New Delhi) was known as the Ganges, although today it is called the Yamuna. From great Vedic authorities, like Jiva Gosvami, it is confirmed that the Ganges and Yamuna are the same 82 Yadunandana Krishna river flowing in different courses. Even to this day that part of what was formerly Hastinapura which slopes towards the Yamuna, becomes inundated during the rainy season, reminding everyone of Lord Balarama’s threatening to cast the city into the Ganges. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 83

1 14. Narada Muni Visits Krishna’s Homes

The great sage Narada heard that Lord Krishna had married sixteen thousand wives after killing their captor Bhaumasura, but was astonished at how He was able to expand Himself into sixteen thousand forms and marry them all simultaneously in different palaces. Being inquisitive as to how Krishna was managing His household affairs with so many wives, Narada set out to visit Krishna’s different homes. When he arrived in Dwaraka, Narada saw gardens and parks full of various flowers of different colours and orchards overloaded with a variety of fruits. Beautiful birds were chirping, and peacocks crowed delightfully. There were ponds full of blue and red lotus flowers, and some of these tanks were filled with varieties of lilies. The lakes were full of graceful swans and cranes, and the voices of these birds resounded everywhere. In the city there were as many as 900,000 great palaces built of first-class marble, with gates and doors made of silver. The pillars of the houses and palaces were bedecked with jewels such as touchstone, sapphires and emeralds, and the floors gave off a beautiful lustre. The highways, lanes, streets, crossings and marketplaces were all beautifully decorated. On both sides of every path there were bushes, and at regular intervals there were large trees that shaded the avenues so that the sunshine would not bother the passers-by. The whole city was full of residential homes, 84 Yadunandana Krishna assembly houses and , all of different architectural beauty. All this made Dwaraka a glowing city. In this greatly beautiful city of Dwaraka, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, had many residential quarters. The great kings and princes of the world used to visit these palaces just to worship Him. The architectural plans were made personally by Vishvakarma, the engineer of the devatas, and in the construction of the palaces he exhibited all his talents and ingenuity. As mentioned previously, these residential quarters numbered more than sixteen thousand, and a different queen of Lord Krishna resided in each of them. The great sage Narada entered one of these houses and saw that the pillars were made of coral and the ceilings were bedecked with jewels. The chairs and other furniture were made of ivory and bedecked with gold and diamonds, and jewelled lamps dissipated the darkness within the palace. There was so much incense and fragrant gum burning, that scented fumes were coming out of the windows. The peacocks sitting on the steps became confused by the fumes, mistaking them for clouds, and began dancing jubilantly. There were many maidservants, all of whom were decorated with gold necklaces, bangles and beautiful saris. There were also many male servants, finely dressed in cloaks and turbans and jewelled earrings. Beautiful as they were, the servants were still all engaged in normal household duties. Narada saw that Lord Krishna was sitting with Rukmini- devi, the mistress of that particular palace, who was holding the handle of a chamara whisk. Even though there were many thousands of maidservants equally beautiful and Yadunandana Krishna 85 qualified and of the same age, Rukmini-devi personally fanned Lord Krishna. As soon as Krishna saw Narada enter the palace, He got down from Rukmini’s bedstead and stood up to honour him. Lord Krishna is the teacher of the whole world, and in order to instruct everyone how to respect a saintly person like Narada Muni, He bowed down, touching His helmet to the ground. He also touched the feet of Narada and with folded hands requested him to sit on His own chair. “What can I do in your service?” Krishna asked Narada. “My dear Lord,” Narada replied, “the conditioned souls who have been placed into the blind well of material existence can get out of this eternal captivity only by accepting Your lotus feet. Thus, You are the only shelter of all conditioned souls. My dear Lord, You have very kindly asked what You can do for me. In answer to this I simply request that I may not forget Your lotus feet at any time.” By asking this benediction from the Lord, sage Narada showed the ideal prayer of all pure devotees. After departing from the palace of Rukmini, Narada wanted to see further workings of Lord Krishna’s internal potency, yogamaya; thus he entered the palace of another queen. There he saw Lord Krishna again, only this time He was playing chess with His dear wife and Uddhava. The Lord once again immediately got up from His seat and invited Narada Muni to sit on His personal seat. The Lord again worshiped him with as much attention as He had in the palace of Rukmini. Lord Krishna acted as if He did not know what had happened in the palace of Rukmini. He therefore asked Narada: “What reception can We offer you, and what can We 86 Yadunandana Krishna possibly give you?” Narada knew everything about the pastimes of the Lord, so without further discussion he simply left the palace silently, in great astonishment over the Lord’s activities. He then entered another palace. This time he saw that Lord Krishna was engaged as an affectionate father petting His small children. From there he entered another palace and saw Lord Krishna preparing to take His bath. In some of the palaces Narada found Him consulting with ministers like Uddhava on important matters of business. In one palace He was found surrounded by many young society girls, enjoying in a swimming pool. In another palace He was found giving well-decorated cows in charity to the brahmanas, and in another palace He was found hearing the narrations of the and histories such as the Mahabharata. In one palace He was found sitting in meditation. Meditation is meant for concentrating one’s mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. Lord Krishna is Himself the original Vishnu, so obviously He has no need to meditate on any higher truth since He is already the Supreme Absolute Truth. But in order to set the perfect example He meditated on Himself. In one situation the great sage Narada saw Lord Krishna acting as a spy by changing His usual dress in order to understand the motives of different citizens in the city and the palaces. In this way, Narada Muni entered each and every one of the sixteen thousand residential palaces of the queens of Lord Krishna, and in each of them he found Krishna engaged in different ways. Saint Narada then addressed the Lord as follows: “My dear Lord of all mystic powers, Your Lordship has very kindly revealed to me the actions of Your internal potency. Yadunandana Krishna 87

Now please give me Your blessings so that I may be able to travel all over the universes singing the glories of Your transcendental activities.” “My dear Narada,” Krishna replied, “O sage among the devatas, you know that I am the supreme instructor and perfect follower of all religious principles, as well as the supreme enforcer of such principles. I am therefore personally executing such religious principles in order to teach the whole world how to act. Please do not be confused by my unlimited potencies.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead was engaged in His so-called household affairs in order to teach people in general how to purify one’s life, even whilst living in the material world. * * * 88 Yadunandana Krishna

1 15. Lord Krishna’s Daily Activities

From the previous chapter it is clear that no one can act the way Lord Krishna does. We should clearly note this fact: the activities of the Lord should be followed, but they cannot be imitated. For example, Krishna’s ideal life as a householder can be followed, but if one wants to imitate Krishna by expanding into many forms, that is not possible. We should always remember, therefore, that Lord Krishna, although playing the part of a human being, at the same time maintains the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Krishna used to lie down with His sixteen thousand wives at night, but He would also rise from bed very early in the morning, three hours before sunrise. There is no need for alarm clocks since as soon as the cock crows early in the morning, it is to be understood that it is time to rise from bed. Hearing that sound, Krishna would immediately get up from bed at that early hour every single day. An ideal householder should learn from the behaviour of Lord Krishna how to rise early in the morning, however comfortably he may be lying in bed. After rising from bed, Lord Krishna would wash His mouth, hands and feet and would then sit down and meditate on Himself. This does not mean, however, that we should also sit down and meditate on ourselves. We have to meditate upon Krishna; or Radha-Krishna to be Yadunandana Krishna 89 precise. That is real meditation. By such meditation Krishna would feel great satisfaction, and similarly we will also feel transcendentally pleased and satisfied if we utilize the early brahma-muhurta time to meditate on Radha and Krishna. After His meditation, the Lord would bathe with clear, sanctified water. Then He would change into fresh clothing, and engage Himself in His daily religious functions, including the silent chanting of the Gayatri mantra. At sunrise the Lord would offer prayers to the sun-god and His elders. His next duty was to give cows and other items in charity to the brahmanas. Lord Krishna used to give as many as 13,084 cows, each one decorated gorgeously. Although the Lord is by nature very beautiful due to the perfect figure of His transcendental body, He would dress Himself in yellow garments and put on His necklace of Kaustubha jewels. He would wear flower garlands, smear His body with the pulp of sandalwood and decorate Himself with similar cosmetics and ornaments. It is said that the ornaments themselves became beautiful upon being placed on the transcendental body of the Lord. After decorating Himself in this way, the Lord would then look at marble statues of the cow and calf and visit temples of Vishnu or devatas like Lord Shiva. There were many brahmanas who were anxious to see the Supreme Lord every day before taking their breakfast, and He happily welcomed them. His next duty was to please all kinds of men belonging to the different castes, both in the city and within the palace compound. He made them happy by fulfilling their different desires, and when the Lord saw them happy He also became greatly pleased. By the time the Lord finished all these daily 90 Yadunandana Krishna duties and activities, His charioteer, Daruka, would come with His wonderful chariot and stand before the Lord with folded hands, hinting that the chariot was ready, and that the Lord was welcome to come out of the palace to travel. Then the Lord, accompanied by Uddhava and Satyaki, would ride on the chariot. When the Lord was about to leave His palaces, all the queens looked at Him with feminine gestures. The Lord would respond to their greetings with smiles, attracting their hearts so much that they would feel intense separation from Him. As He left in the morning, the Lord would say good-bye to all His wives in all the sixteen thousand palaces, and then He would suddenly combine all these sixteen thousand forms of Himself into just one, and enter the Sudharma assembly house in procession with other members of the Yadu dynasty. After entering the assembly house, He used to sit on the exalted royal throne and would be seen to radiate glaring rays of transcendental effulgence. In the midst of all the great heroes of the Yadu dynasty, Krishna resembled the full moon in the sky surrounded by many luminaries. In this assembly house were professional jokers, dancers, musicians and ballet girls, and as soon as the Lord sat on His throne they would start to perform just to please the Lord and put Him in a happy mood. Firstly the jokers would entertain and refresh the Lord and His associates with their humour. The dramatic actors would then play their parts, and the dancing ballet girls would separately display their artistic movements. All these functions would be accompanied by the beating of mridanga drums and the sounds of the vina, conchshells, flutes and bells. Professional singers called sutas and Yadunandana Krishna 91 would sing, and others would perform their dancing art. In this way, as devotees, they would offer respectful prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes the learned brahmanas present in that assembly would chant Vedic hymns and explain them to the audience, and sometimes some of them would recite old historical accounts of the activities of prominent kings. Once upon a time, an unkown person arrived at the gateway of the assembly house. Lord Krishna gave permission for him to be admitted by the doorkeeper, and so the man appeared and offered his respectful obeisances to the Lord with folded hands. The man was a messenger on behalf of twenty thousand kings who had been imprisoned by King Jarasandha after he had conquered all their kingdoms. After offering many prayers the messenger said: “Dear Lord, this Jarasandha possesses the power of ten thousand elephants, and with this power he has imprisoned us, just as a lion captures a flock of sheep. You have already fought with Jarasandha eighteen times, out of which You have defeated him seventeen times. But in Your eighteenth fight You exhibited Your human behaviour, and thus it appeared that You were defeated. Unfortunately, foolish Jarasandha could not understand Your tricks, and he has since then become puffed up thinking that he really is more powerful than You, even though this is not possible. As the messenger and representative of all those imprisoned kings, I humbly request You to please be merciful to them and act for their good fortune.” Lord Krishna, along with His ministers and secretaries, 92 Yadunandana Krishna began to carefully consider how to attack the kingdom of Jarasandha and rescue those unfortunate kings. At that moment the great sage Narada arrived. Because he was a great saint, his hair was dazzling like gold, and when he entered the assembly house it appeared that the sun- god was personally present in their midst. Lord Krishna stood up with His ministers and secretaries to receive the great sage who then took a comfortable seat while Lord Krishna worshiped him. “My dear great sage,” Krishna said to Narada, “you know everything, and so I wish to question you. Are the Pandavas doing well, and what is the present plan of King Yudhisthira? Will you kindly let Me know what they want to do at present?” “My dear Lord,” Narada replied, “King Yudhisthira wants to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice just to get Your association and please You. King Yudhisthira is so opulent he does not lack anything, but now he wants to worship You to achieve Your causeless mercy, and I beg You to fulfil his desires.” Because the assembly had previously been discussing a plan to attack Jarasandha, they were not so keen on this new idea for Lord Krishna to go to Hastinapura for Maharaja Yudhisthira’s great Rajasuya sacrifice. Lord Krishna could understand the thoughts of His associates and so He smilingly turned to Uddhava: “My dear Uddhava, you are always My well-wishing confidential friend. I believe that your counsel is always right. Therefore I am asking your opinion. What should I do?” It was known to Uddhava that although Lord Krishna was Yadunandana Krishna 93 acting like an ordinary man, He knew everything—past, present and future. However, because the Lord wanted to consult with him, Uddhava was happy to render that service and so began to speak. * * * 94 Yadunandana Krishna

1 16. Lord Krishna goes to Hastinapura

In the presence of the great sage Narada, and all the other associates of Lord Krishna, Uddhava considered the situation and then spoke as follows: “My dear Lord, unless King Yudhisthira is victorious over all the kings of the world, he will not be able to perform this Rajasuya sacrifice. The nature of the Rajasuya sacrifice is that it can only be performed by one who has gained victory over all others. Therefore, to protect your devotees (the imprisoned kings) and perform this sacrifice, we must first kill Jarasandha. But King Jarasandha is not an ordinary man since his bodily strength is equal to ten thousand elephants. If there is anyone who can conquer this king it is the Pandava, Bhima. He also possesses the strength of ten thousand elephants; so it would be best for Bhimasena to fight alone with Jarasandha. We know that King Jarasandha is so devoted to the brahmanas that he would never refuse one any request. I suggest, therefore, that Bhima should approach Jarasandha disguised as a brahmana, beg charity from him and then personally engage in fighting him. And in order to assure Bhimasena’s victory, I think that Your Lordship should accompany him.” Uddhava’s advice was appreciated by the whole assembly, including Narada and Krishna. Lord Krishna took permission from His father, Vasudeva, and grandfather, Ugrasena, to leave, and then He ordered His servants Yadunandana Krishna 95

Daruka and Jaitra to arrange for travel to Hastinapura. When everything was prepared, Lord Krishna bade farewell and mounted His chariot, which bore the flag marked with the symbol of Garuda. After receiving assurance from Lord Krishna that the kings would soon be free, the messenger returned to them and informed them of the happy news. Lord Krishna’s chariot started for Hastinapura accompanied by many other chariots carrying all His wives and sons, along with elephants, cavalry, infantry and similar royal paraphernalia. Shining in the sunlight, the procession appeared just like an ocean with high waves and sharks as it neared the imposing city walls of Hastinapura. King Yudhisthira was ecstatic to hear that Lord Krishna had arrived at his capital city, and he rushed out of the city to properly greet his younger cousin by affectionately embracing Him again and again. Bhimasena, the second brother of the Pandavas, also smiled and embraced Lord Krishna, and became so merged in ecstasy that for a moment he completely forgot his material existence. Then Lord Sri Krishna embraced the other three Pandavas, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. The eyes of all three brothers were inundated with tears, and Arjuna embraced Krishna again and again because they were intimate friends. To celebrate Krishna’s grand arrival, all the roads, streets and lanes of Hastinapura were sprinkled with fragrant water through the trunks of elephants. In different places of the city there were colourful flags decorating the houses and streets. At important road crossings there were gates with golden decorations, and hanging from both sides of the gates there were golden water jugs. When the young girls in every 96 Yadunandana Krishna house heard that Lord Krishna, the only object worth seeing, was passing on the road, they were very eager to see this all-famous personality. They all left whatever they were doing and came down onto the street to see Lord Krishna. When Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, saw her nephew Lord Krishna, she was overpowered by love and affection. She appeared before Him with her daughter-in-law, Draupadi, and in maternal love and affection she embraced Him. As King Yudhisthira brought Krishna into the palace he was so lost in joy that he almost forgot what he was meant to do for Krishna’s formal reception. Lord Krishna delightfully offered His respects and obeisances to Kunti and other elder ladies of the palace. His younger sister, Subhadra, was also standing there with Draupadi, and both offered their respectful obeisances to the lotus feet of the Lord. King Yudhisthira arranged for Krishna’s rest and saw to it that all who came along with Him—namely His queens, soldiers, ministers and secretaries—were comfortably situated. To please King Yudhisthira, Lord Krishna remained in the city of Hastinapura for several months. During His stay He enjoyed strolling here and there and driving on chariots with His close friend Arjuna. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 97

1 17. The Liberation of King Jarasandha

In the great assembly of respectable citizens, friends, relatives and brahmanas of Hastinapura, King Yudhisthira addressed Lord Krishna as follows: “My dear Lord Krishna, the sacrifice known as the Rajasuya- is considered the king of all sacrifices and only the emperor can perform it. Your presence here will assure its success. By performing this sacrifice I wish to invite all the devatas, including Lord Shiva and Brahma, to prove to them and the world that they have no power independent of You. The verdict of all Vedic wisdom is that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we are all your servants. I want to establish this fact, and I also want to show the world the difference between accepting You as the Supreme Lord and accepting You merely as an ordinary historical figure.” “My dear King Yudhisthira,” Krishna replied, “O ideal of justice personified, I completely support your decision to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice. After you perform this great sacrifice, your good name will remain well established forever in the history of human civilization. But I request that you first conquer all the kings of the world. My dear King Yudhisthira, your four brothers are direct representatives of important devatas like and Indra. (It is said that Bhima was born of the devata Vayu, Arjuna was born of the devata 98 Yadunandana Krishna

Indra, and King Yudhisthira was born of the devata Yamaraja). As such, you are all great heroes and must be victorious since you are all My devotees.” King Yudhisthira’s face brightened blissfully at Lord Krishna’s encouraging words, and so he ordered his younger brothers to conquer all the worldly kings in all directions. Lord Krishna thus empowered the Pandavas to carry out His great mission of chastising the wrongdoers of the world and giving protection to His faithful devotees. Sahadeva, accompanied by soldiers of the Srinjaya tribe, was sent by the king to conquer the southern countries. Nakula, accompanied by the soldiers of Matsyadesha, was sent to conquer the kings of the western side. Arjuna, accompanied by the soldiers of Kekayadesha, was sent to conquer the kings of the northern side, and Bhimasena, accompanied by the soldiers of Madradesha, was ordered to conquer the kings on the eastern side. It may be noted that by sending his younger brothers to conquer in different directions, King Yudhisthira did not intend to declare war on all the kings of the world. Actually, the brothers' mission was mainly to inform the respective kings of King Yudhisthira’s intention to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, and to collect taxes from them for that purpose. This payment of taxes to Emperor Yudhisthira meant that the particular king accepted his superiority. If any king refused to contribute then there was certainly a fight. So in this way, by their influence and strength, Yudhisthira’s brothers conquered all the kings of the world, and were thus able to bring back sufficient taxes for the sacrifice to be properly performed. King Yudhisthira was very anxious, however, Yadunandana Krishna 99 when he heard that King Jarasandha of did not accept his sovereignty. Seeing King Yudhisthira’s anxiety, Lord Krishna informed him of the plan explained by Uddhava for conquering King Jarasandha. Bhimasena, Arjuna and Lord Krishna then started together for Girivraja, the capital city of Jarasandha, dressing themselves in the garb of brahmanas. Arriving in the court of Jarasandha, Lord Krishna, in the dress of a brahmana, said to the King: “We wish all glories to Your Majesty. We three guests at your royal palace have come from a great distance to ask you for charity, and we hope that you will kindly bestow upon us whatever we ask from you.” As Krishna spoke, Jarasandha noticed that the three of them did not appear to be brahmanas. There were signs on their bodies by which Jarasandha could understand that they were kshatriyas. Their shoulders were marked with impressions due to carrying bows, they had strong, beautiful bodily structures, and their voices were grave and commanding. He also thought that he had seen them somewhere before. But although these three persons were kshatriyas, they had come to his door begging alms like brahmanas. Therefore he decided that he would fulfil their desires in spite of their being kshatriyas, because they had already diminished their position by appearing before him as beggars. “Under the circumstances,” he thought, “I am prepared to give them anything. The life of a kshatriya who does not live for the benefit of the brahmanas is certainly condemned.” “My dear brahmanas,” said King Jarasandha to Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna, “you may ask from me whatever you like. 100 Yadunandana Krishna

If you so desire, you may take my head also. I am prepared to give it.” “My dear King,” Krishna replied, “please note that we are not actually brahmanas, nor have we come to ask for food or grains. We are all kshatriyas, and we have come to beg a duel with you. We hope that you will agree to this proposal. You may note that here is the second son of King , Bhimasena, and the third son of Pandu, Arjuna. As for Myself, you may know that I am your old enemy Krishna, the cousin of the Pandavas.” When Lord Krishna disclosed their disguise, King Jarasandha laughed loudly, and then in great anger he exclaimed: “You fools! If you want to fight with me, I immediately grant your request. But Krishna, I already know that You are a coward so I refuse to fight with You. As far as Arjuna is concerned, he is younger than I and is not an equal fighter, so I refuse to fight with him too. But as far as Bhimasena is concerned, I think he is a suitable competitor.” After speaking in this way, King Jarasandha handed a heavy club to Bhimasena, picked up one for himself, and then all of them went outside the city walls to fight. Bhimasena and King Jarasandha started fighting, and with their respective clubs, which were as strong as thunderbolts, they began to strike each other severely. They were both expert fighters with clubs, and their techniques of striking each other were so beautiful that they appeared to be two dramatic artists dancing on a stage. When the clubs of Jarasandha and Bhimasena collided, the impact sounded like the heavy tusks of two fighting elephants. They were so Yadunandana Krishna 101

Bhima kills Jarasandha by tearing him in two 102 Yadunandana Krishna tough that when Bhimasena and Jarasandha struck each other with their clubs on different parts of each other’s bodies, their clubs were crushed to pieces. In this way all their clubs were ruined, and so the two enemies began to smash each other with their clenched fists. Neither was able to defeat the other, however, for both were expert in fighting, they were of equal strength, and their fighting techniques were also equal. At the end of each day’s fighting, they met in the evening and lived as friends in Jarasandha’s palace, and the next day they would fight again to the death. In this way they fought for twenty-seven consecutive days. On the twenty- eighth day, Bhimasena told Krishna: “I must frankly admit that I cannot conquer Jarasandha.” Lord Krishna, however, knew the mystery of Jarasandha’s birth. Jarasandha had been born in two different parts from two different mothers. When his father saw that the baby was useless, he threw the two parts into the forest. There they were later found by a witch named Jara, who was skilled in the black arts. She managed to join the two parts of the baby from top to bottom. Knowing this, Lord Krishna therefore also knew how to kill him. He hinted to Bhimasena that since Jarasandha was brought to life by the joining of the two parts of his body, he could be killed by the separation of these two parts. Lord Krishna transferred His power into the body of Bhimasena and informed him of the device by which Jarasandha could be killed. Lord Krishna picked up a twig from a tree, took it in His hand, and pulled it in two. With this hint from Krishna, Bhimasena took hold of Jarasandha’s legs and threw him to the ground. When Jarasandha fell, Yadunandana Krishna 103

Bhimasena pressed one of Jarasandha’s legs to the ground with his foot and took hold of the other leg with his two hands. Catching Jarasandha in this way, he tore his body in two. The spectators watching the fight saw that Jarasandha’s body was now divided into two halves. Each half had one leg, one thigh, half a backbone, half a chest, one collarbone, one arm, one eye, one ear and half a face. As soon as the news of Jarasandha’s death was announced, all the citizens of Magadha began to cry, “Alas! Alas!” while Lord Krishna and Arjuna embraced Bhimasena to congratulate him. Although Jarasandha was killed, neither Krishna nor the two Pandava brothers made a claim to the throne. Their purpose in killing Jarasandha was to stop him from creating a disturbance to world peace. Lord Krishna then called for the son of Jarasandha, whose name was also Sahadeva, and with due ceremony he was allowed to occupy the seat of his father and reign over the kingdom peacefully. After installing Sahadeva on the throne, He released all the kings and princes who had been imprisoned unnecessarily by Jarasandha. * * * 104 Yadunandana Krishna

1 18. Lord Krishna Returns to Hastinapura

The kings and princes released by Lord Krishna after the death of Jarasandha were rulers of different parts of the world. Jarasandha was so powerful in military strength that he had conquered all these princes and kings, numbering 20,800. They had all been imprisoned within a mountain cave, adapted as a fort, for a long time. When they were released by the grace of Lord Krishna, their garments were in rags, they were weak due to hunger, and their faces had lost all beauty and lustre, but still they smiled happily as they saw daylight at last. These kings had plenty of opportunity to think about Lord Krishna, but now they were able to actually see Him with their own eyes. They saw that the colour of the transcendental body of Lord Krishna resembled the hue of a newly arrived cloud in the sky. He appeared before them nicely adorned in yellow silken garments, with four hands like Vishnu, and carrying the different symbols of the club, the conchshell, the disc and the lotus flower. After so much distress, when the kings and princes finally saw Lord Krishna, with His beautiful transcendental features, they looked upon Him to their hearts’ content, as if drinking nectar through their eyes. Therefore, without reservation, they surrendered themselves to Him. With folded hands and with great devotion, they offered prayers to Lord Krishna, as follows. Yadunandana Krishna 105

“Dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, master of all devatas, it is by Your causeless mercy that we have been released from the imprisonment of Jarasandha, but now we pray that You release us from imprisonment within material existence, Your illusory energy (also called maya). This whole material world is just like a great prison for all conditioned souls. Please stop our continuous cycle of birth and death. Under the influence of Your illusory energy, we became falsely proud of our kingly positions, just like a foolish person who considers a mirage in the desert to be a reservoir of real water. Foolish persons think that their material possessions will give them protection; but because we were all envious and wanted to conquer one another, we spent our lives fighting each other for supremacy, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of many citizens. We were so fooled that we became the cause of death for others, forgetting our own impending death. Now we are aged, and instead of being proud of our bodily strength, we are getting weaker day by day and have no more interest in material enjoyment. Please, therefore, accept us as Your surrendered servants.” “My dear kings,” Krishna replied, “I bestow upon you My blessings. From this day forth you will be attached to My devotional service without fail. I give you this benediction, as you have desired. I am always sitting within your hearts as the Supersoul, and because you have now turned your faces towards Me, I, as master of everyone, shall always give you good counsel so that you may never forget Me and so that gradually you will come back home, back to Godhead.” After delivering His instructions to the kings and princes, Lord Krishna arranged for their comfort and asked many 106 Yadunandana Krishna servants and maidservants to take care of them. Lord Krishna requested Sahadeva, the son of King Jarasandha, to supply all necessities to the kings and show them all respect and honour. After seeing that each was taken care of, Lord Krishna, in a sweet voice, asked them to return to their respective kingdoms. The citizens of their kingdoms were greatly pleased to see them return, and when they heard of the kind dealings of Lord Krishna, they were all delighted. The kings began to manage the affairs of their kingdoms in accordance with the instructions of Lord Krishna, and all those kings and their subjects passed their days very happily. Then Lord Krishna, accompanied by Bhimasena and Arjuna, returned to the city of Hastinapura where the citizens, headed by King Yudhisthira, greeted them with great joy. King Yudhisthira attentively heard the narration of the killing of Jarasandha and the setting free of the kings. He also heard the tactics adopted by Krishna to kill Jarasandha. After hearing the whole story the king became even more bound in love for Krishna and tears of ecstasy glided from his eyes. He was so stunned that he was almost unable to speak. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 107

1 19. The Deliverance of Shishupala

King Yudhisthira was now ready to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice. He invited all the qualified brahmanas and sages to take part and appointed them to different positions as priests in charge of the sacrificial arena. He invited such respectable old men as Dronacharya, (the grandfather of the Kurus), Kripacharya and Dhritarashtra. He also invited all the sons of Dhritarashtra, headed by Duryodhana, and also the great devotee Vidura. Kings from different parts of the world, along with their ministers and secretaries, were also invited to see the great sacrifice. The brahmana priests and sages in charge of the sacrificial ceremony constructed the arena, as was customary, with a golden plough, and they initiated King Yudhisthira as the performer of the great sacrifice. All the utensils required for this Vedic sacrifice were made of solid gold. As he had promised, King Yudhisthira also invited exalted devatas like Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and Indra, the King of , accompanied by their associates, as well as the predominating of higher planetary systems. King Yudhisthira then respectfully received the special priest whose function was to detect any mistake in the sacrificial procedure. The Vedic mantras must be pronounced perfectly and chanted with the proper accent; if the priests who are engaged in this business commit any mistake, this checker, or referee priest, immediately 108 Yadunandana Krishna corrects the procedure so it is all perfectly executed. In this current age of Kali there are no such learned brahmanas or priests available; therefore, all such sacrifices are forbidden. The only sacrifice recommended in the for this current age is the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. Another important procedure is that the most exalted personality in the assembly of such a sacrificial ceremony is first offered worship. This particular ceremony is called Agra- . Agra means “first,” and puja means “worship.” This Agra-puja is similar to the election of a president. Since there were so many exalted personalities in the assembly there was some discussion over who should receive this honour. When the matter remained undecided, Sahadeva began to speak in favour of Lord Krishna: “Lord Krishna, the best amongst the members of the Yadu dynasty and the protector of His devotees, is the most exalted personality in this assembly. Therefore I think that He should, without any objection, be offered the honour of being worshiped first.” All the members present in that great sacrificial assembly applauded, confirming his opinion to be correct. After hearing this confirmation, King Yudhisthira then worshiped Lord Krishna accordingly. He felt such ecstasy in honouring Krishna, his only lovable object, that tears glided down from his eyes, and so although he wanted to, he could not see Lord Krishna very well. Then all the members present in the assembly stood up with folded hands and began to offer their respectful obeisances to Krishna, and there were showers of flowers from the sky. Thus King Yudhisthira achieved his main purpose which was to prove beyond all Yadunandana Krishna 109

Krishna kills Shishupala with his Sudarshana Chakra 110 Yadunandana Krishna doubt that Krishna was the Supreme Person. King Shishupala, an avowed enemy of Krishna, was also present in that assembly. He disliked Krishna for many reasons, but especially for having stolen Rukmini from the marriage ceremony. Therefore, he could not tolerate to see such glorification and honour being shown to Krishna. Instead of being happy to hear the glories of the Lord, he became very angry. When everyone offered respect to Krishna by standing up, Shishupala remained in his seat, but as he became angrier at Krishna’s being honoured, he stood up suddenly, raised his hand and spoke strongly and fearlessly: “Ladies and gentlemen, I see here that although many great personalities are present in this assembly, still they have somehow all been misled by the statement of this boy Sahadeva who has foolishly spoken about Krishna. This means that by the influence of time even the intelligence of such honoured persons as those present in this meeting can be distorted. I really cannot understand how you could have selected this cowherd boy, Krishna, and have left aside all these great personalities. I think Krishna to be no better than a crow—how can He be fit to accept the first worship in this great sacrifice? Krishna does not belong to a high family. Instead of living openly, He has constructed a fort within the water and is living in a place where there is no discussion of Vedic knowledge. And whenever He comes out of the fort, He simply harasses the citizens like a dacoit, thief or rogue.” Shishupala went crazy because he was so envious of seeing Krishna elected as the first-worshiped person in that meeting, and so he continued to insult Krishna. Lord Krishna patiently heard him without protest. Except for a few who Yadunandana Krishna 111 agreed with Shishupala, everyone present was extremely agitated since no respectable person can tolerate blasphemy against God or His devotee. Some of them left the assembly in protest, condemning Shishupala and covering their ears with their hands so as not to hear further insults. All the kings present, belonging to the Kuru dynasty, dynasty, Kekaya dynasty and Srinjaya dynasty, were very angry and immediately took up their swords and shields to kill Shishupala. Shishupala did not care to think of the pros and cons of his foolish talking, and instead of stopping when he saw that all the kings were ready to kill him, he took up his sword and shield to fight with them. When Lord Krishna saw that they were going to fight in the arena of the auspicious Rajasuya-yajna, He personally pacified them. Out of His causeless mercy He decided to kill Shishupala Himself. When Shishupala was abusing the kings who were about to attack him, Lord Krishna took up His disc, as sharp as the blade of a razor, and unleashed it at Shishupala, separating his head from his body. When Shishupala was thus killed, a great roar and howl went up from the crowd. Taking advantage of that disturbance, the few kings who were supporters of Shishupala quickly left the assembly out of fear for their lives. Then Shishupala’s spirit soul merged into the body of Lord Krishna in the presence of all, exactly as a burning meteor falls to the surface of the globe. Although Shishupala acted as the enemy of Krishna, he was not for a single moment out of Krishna consciousness. He was always absorbed in thought of Krishna, and thus he was liberated from the material world. 112 Yadunandana Krishna

After the salvation of Shishupala, King Yudhisthira rewarded everyone present in the sacrificial assembly and then he took his bath; thus officially ending the sacrifice. After the successful termination of the yajna everyone was satisfied; everyone that is except Duryodhana. Lord Krishna remained in Hastinapura for a few more months and then took permission from the King to return to Dwaraka with His queens and ministers. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 113

1 20. Duryodhana’s Envy

When Duryodhana saw that Maharaja Yudhisthira had become world-famous after performing the Rajasuya- yajna, and was fully satisfied in every respect, his poisonous mind began to burn with the fire of envy. For one thing, he envied the imperial palace constructed by the demon Maya for the Pandavas. The palace was excellent in its puzzling, artistic workmanship and it was there that the Pandavas lived happily with their family members, and where Queen Draupadi served her five husbands peacefully. Duryodhana was envious and lustful of Draupadi because at her marriage selection ceremony he had also been completely captivated by her beauty, but had failed to achieve her. Once, King Yudhisthira was sitting on the golden throne in the palace constructed by the demon Maya. His four brothers and other relatives, as well as his great well-wisher Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were present, and the material opulence of King Yudhisthira seemed no less than that of Lord Brahma. At this time Duryodhana came to the palace with his younger brothers. He was always in an envious and irate mood, and therefore on a slight provocation he spoke sharply with the doorkeepers and so became angry. The palace was cleverly constructed with all sorts of visual tricks and puzzles, so that one who did not know 114 Yadunandana Krishna would mistake a pond for marble flooring, and a marble floor for a pond. Duryodhana was tricked by this craftsmanship and he stepped into a pond, thinking it to be solid marble, falling down with a splash. When the queens of the palace saw Duryodhana fall into the water, they burst out laughing. King Yudhisthira could understand Duryodhana’s embarrassment and so tried to restrain the queens, but Lord Krishna indicated that he should leave them to enjoy the incident. Krishna desired that Duryodhana be fooled in that way and that all of them enjoy his foolish behaviour. When everyone laughed, Duryodhana felt deeply insulted and stormed out of the palace. After he had gone everyone regretted the incident, but Krishna just remained silent. It appeared that Duryodhana had been put into illusion by the supreme will of Lord Krishna, and that this was a significant escalation of the hostility between the two sects of the Kuru dynasty that would ultimately lead to a devastating war. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 115

1 21. Shalva Attacks Dwaraka

There was a demon called Shalva who possessed a wonderful airship named Saubha. King Shalva was a great friend of Shishupala’s. When Shishupala went to marry Rukmini, Shalva was one of the members of the bridegroom’s party. In the fight between the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty and the kings of the opposite side, Shalva was defeated. Despite his crushing defeat, he still made a foolish promise before all the kings that he would in the future rid the world of all the members of the Yadu dynasty, including Krishna. Usually such foolish demons take shelter of a devata to execute their reckless schemes, and being no exception, Shalva approached the lotus feet of Lord Shiva. He underwent a severe type of austerity, during which he would eat no more than a handful of ashes daily. Lord Shiva, the husband of , is generally very merciful and is quickly satisfied if someone undertakes severe austerities to please him. So after continued austerities by Shalva for one year, Lord Shiva asked him what he desired. Shalva begged from Lord Shiva the gift of an airplane which would be so strong that it could not be destroyed by any devata, demon, human being, or any other type of being. Moreover, he desired that the airplane be able to fly anywhere and everywhere he wanted to pilot it, and be highly dangerous and fearful to the dynasty of the Yadus. Lord Shiva immediately agreed to give him the benediction, 116 Yadunandana Krishna and Shalva took the help of the demon Maya to manufacture this formidable, iron airplane. The machine was huge, almost like a big city, and it could fly so high and at such great speed that it was almost impossible to see, so there was little question of attacking it. It appeared to be covered with darkness, yet the pilot could fly it anywhere and everywhere. Having acquired such a wonderful airplane, Shalva flew it to Krishna’s city. Shalva then attacked Dwaraka from the sky, and surrounded the city from the ground using a large number of infantry. The soldiers on the ground began to destroy the lovely parks, the city gates, the palaces and tall houses, the high walls around the city, and the beautiful spots where people would gather for recreation. While the soldiers attacked on the surface, the airplane began to drop big slabs of stone, tree trunks, thunderbolts, poisonous snakes and many other dangerous things from the sky. Shalva also managed to create such a strong whirlwind within the city that all of Dwaraka became dark, as thick clouds of choking dust filled the sky. Shalva’s airplane put the entire city of Dwaraka into enormous distress. Soon the great heroes of Dwaraka, headed by commanders such as Pradyumna, counter attacked the soldiers and airplane of Shalva. When he saw the extreme distress of the citizens, Pradyumna quickly arranged his soldiers and personally rode on a chariot. Pradyumna and his younger brothers, as well as Akrura, Kritavarma, Bhanuvinda and Gada, all came out of the city to fight with Shalva. All of them were maha-rathis, great warriors able to fight with thousands of men, all were fully equipped with lethal Yadunandana Krishna 117 weapons and all were assisted by hundreds and thousands of charioteers, elephants, horses and infantry soldiers. Fierce fighting began between the two parties. By the mystic power of the airplane, Shalva had created a darkness as dense as night, but Pradyumna suddenly appeared like the rising sun. Each of Pradyumna’s arrows had a golden feather at the end, and the shaft was fitted with a sharp iron head. By releasing twenty-five such arrows, Pradyumna severely injured Shalva’s commander-in-chief. He released another one hundred arrows toward the body of Shalva in the craft. After this, he pierced each and every soldier by releasing one arrow, he killed the chariot drivers by firing ten arrows at each one of them, and he killed the carriers like the horses and elephants by the release of three arrows directed toward each one. When everyone present on the battlefield saw this wonderful feat of Pradyumna’s, the great fighters on both sides praised his acts of chivalry. Shalva’s airplane was very mysterious. It was so extraordinary that sometimes many airplanes would appear to be in the sky, and sometimes there were apparently none. Sometimes the plane was visible and sometimes it was invisible, often making the warriors of the Yadu dynasty puzzled as to its whereabouts. Sometimes they would see the airplane on the ground, and at other times it would be soaring through the sky. Sometimes the craft rested on the peak of a hill and sometimes it floated on the ocean. The wonderful 118 Yadunandana Krishna airplane flew in the sky like a whirling firebrand—it was not steady even for a moment. But despite the mysterious manoeuvring of the airplane, the commanders and soldiers of the Yadu dynasty would immediately rush to attack Shalva wherever he appeared. The arrows released by the dynasty of the Yadus were as brilliant as the sun and as dangerous as the tongues of serpents. All the soldiers fighting on behalf of Shalva soon became distressed by the incessant release of arrows upon them by the heroes of the Yadu dynasty, and Shalva himself became unconscious from the attack of these arrows. The name of Shalva’s commander-in-chief was Dyuman. He was exceedingly powerful, and although struck by twenty-five of Pradyumna’s arrows, he suddenly attacked him with his fierce club and struck him so strongly that Pradyumna became unconscious. Immediately there was a roaring, “Now he is dead! Now he is dead!” The force of the club on Pradyumna’s chest was severe, and it appeared as though his chest had been torn asunder. Pradyumna’s chariot was being driven by the son of Daruka, who removed Pradyumna from the battlefield. Two hours later, in a quiet place, Pradyumna regained consciousness, and when he saw that he was in a place other than the battlefield, he spoke angrily to his charioteer. “Oh, you have done the most abominable act! Why have you removed me from the battlefield? It will now be said that I left like a coward while fighting was still Yadunandana Krishna 119 going on. I think you have committed a great offence by removing me like you did.” “My dear sir,” the charioteer humbly replied, “I think that I did nothing wrong, for it is the duty of the charioteer to help the fighter in the chariot when he is in a precarious condition. You were in a dangerous position, wounded as you were and surrounded by your enemies. Therefore I was obliged to act as I did.” * * * 120 Yadunandana Krishna

1 22. The Deliverance of Shalva

After talking with his charioteer, Pradyumna could understand the whole situation, and so forgave him. Pradyumna then refreshed himself by washing his mouth and hands, and after arming himself properly with bows and arrows, he asked his charioteer to take him near the place where Shalva’s commander-in-chief was standing. During the short absence of Pradyumna from the battlefield, Dyuman, Shalva’s commander-in-chief, had been effectively beating the Yadu army back from their positions. Appearing on the battlefield, Pradyumna immediately stopped him, and, smiling, shot eight arrows at him. With four arrows he killed Dyuman’s four horses, with one arrow his chariot driver, with another arrow he cut his bow in two, with another he cut his flag to pieces, and with the last he severed his head from his body. On the other fronts, heroes like Gada, Satyaki and Samba were killing the soldiers of Shalva. The soldiers in the airplane with Shalva were also killed in the fighting, and they fell screaming into the ocean. Each party began to strike the opposite party severely in a fierce, dangerous battle that continued for twenty-seven days without stop. While this fight was going on in the city of Dwaraka, Krishna was staying with the Pandavas and King Yudhisthira in Hastinapura. When Lord Krishna understood that Dwaraka was under attack He took permission from Yadunandana Krishna 121 the elder members of the Pandava family, especially from His aunt Kuntidevi, and set out quickly to protect His city. On reaching Dwaraka, Lord Krishna saw that the whole city was greatly endangered. He placed Balarama in a strategic position for the protection of the city, and He asked His charioteer, Daruka, to take Him to where Shalva was fighting. As soon as the soldiers and warriors of the Yadu dynasty saw the flag of Garuda on Krishna’s chariot, they could understand that Lord Krishna was personally on the battlefield. By this time, almost all the soldiers of Shalva had been killed, but when Shalva saw that Krishna had come to the battlefield, he released a great, powerful weapon, which flew through the sky with a roaring sound like a great meteor. It was so bright that the whole sky was lit up by its presence. But as soon as Lord Krishna appeared, He tore the great weapon into hundreds and thousands of pieces by releasing His own arrows. Lord Krishna then struck Shalva with sixteen arrows, and with showers of arrows He overpowered the airplane. Shalva struck a severe blow to Krishna’s left side, knocking His bow called Sharanga from His hand. When the devatas saw this they exclaimed, “Alas! Alas!” Shalva also saw Krishna lose His bow and thinking that victory would soon be his, with a roaring voice he addressed Lord Krishna as follows: “You rascal, Krishna! You kidnapped Rukmini forcibly, even in our presence. And in the great assembly at King Yudhisthira’s Rajasuya-yajna, while my friend Shishupala was a little absent-minded, You took an opportunity to kill him. Everyone thinks that You are a great fighter and that no one can conquer You. So now You’ll have to prove Your 122 Yadunandana Krishna strength. I think that if You stand before me any longer, with my sharp arrows I shall send You to a place wherefrom You will never return.” “Foolish Shalva, you are talking nonsense,” Krishna replied, “you do not know that the moment of death is already upon your head. Actual heroes do not talk much. They prove their prowess by practical exhibition of chivalrous acts.” After saying this, Lord Krishna, in great anger, struck Shalva on the collarbone with His club so severely that he began to vomit blood and tremble as if he would collapse. Before Krishna was able to strike him again, however, Shalva became invisible by his mystic power. Within a few moments, a mysterious, unknown man came before Lord Krishna. Crying loudly, he bowed down at the Lord’s lotus feet and said to Him: “Since You are the most beloved son of Your father, Vasudeva, Your mother, Devaki, has sent me to inform You of the unfortunate news that Shalva has arrested Your father and taken him away by force, just as a butcher mercilessly takes away an animal.” When Lord Krishna heard this unfortunate news from the unknown man, He at first became most upset, just like an ordinary human being. His face showed signs of grief, and He began to cry in a piteous tone: “How could that happen? My brother, Lord Balarama, is there and it is impossible for anyone to conquer Him. Alas! Destiny is, after all, very powerful.” While Sri Krishna was thinking like this, Shalva brought before Him a man in chains who exactly resembled His father, Vasudeva. In reality these were all creations of the mystic Yadunandana Krishna 123 power of Shalva. Shalva then addressed Krishna: “You rascal, Krishna! Look. This is Your father; now just see how I kill him. If You have any strength, try to save him.” The mystic juggler Shalva then cut off the head of the false Vasudeva. Then without hesitation he took away the dead body and got into his airplane. Lord Krishna is the self- sufficient Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet because He was playing the role of a human being, He became depressed for a moment, as if He had actually lost His father. But at the next moment He could understand that the arrest and killing of His father were demonstrations of the mystic powers which Shalva had learned from the demon Maya. Coming to His right consciousness, He could see that the so-called messenger and His father’s head had completely vanished. Krishna then saw Shalva flying away in his airplane high into the sky, so He considered how best to kill him. Actually, it is not possible for Krishna to ever become bewildered; He was displaying these emotions since He was simply enjoying playing the part of a normal human being. When Shalva thought that Krishna had been bewildered by his mystic tricks, he became encouraged and began to attack the Lord with even greater strength and energy by showering volleys of arrows upon Him. Lord Krishna showered more deadly arrows on Shalva, shattering his armour, bow and jewelled helmet into tiny fragments. With a crashing blow from Krishna’s club, Shalva’s wonderful airplane burst into pieces and fell into the sea. Shalva somehow managed to jump out of the airplane just before it hit the waves, and he fell on dry ground. He recovered himself and again rushed towards Krishna with his club. This time 124 Yadunandana Krishna

Lord Krishna cut off his hand, which fell to the ground with the club, and then took up His wonderful disc, which shone like the brilliant sun. When Lord Sri Krishna stood up with His disc to kill Shalva, He appeared just like a mountain with the red sun rising over it. Lord Krishna then unleashed the disc which cut off Shalva’s head. When Shalva was killed, all his soldiers and followers cried, “Alas! Alas!” Meanwhile the devatas from the heavenly planets showered flowers on Krishna and announced the victory by beating drums and blowing bugles. But there was still more fighting to come. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 125

1 23. The Killing of Dantavakra and Viduratha

After the demise of Shishupala, Shalva and Paundraka, a foolish demoniac king called Dantavakra wanted to kill Krishna to avenge the death of his friend Shalva. He became so agitated that he appeared on the battlefield without proper arms, ammunition or even a chariot. His only weapons were his great anger, and the club in his hand, but he was so powerful that when he moved everyone felt the earth tremble. When Lord Krishna saw him approaching, He swiftly got down from His chariot, again observing the rule of military etiquette that fighting should take place only between equals. Knowing that Dantavakra was alone and armed with only a club, Lord Krishna responded similarly. Dantavakra approached Krishna and spoke to Him as follows: “It is a great pleasure and fortunate opportunity, Krishna, that we are seeing each other face to face. My dear Krishna, You are my maternal cousin, and I should not kill You in this way, but unfortunately You have committed a great mistake by killing my friend Shalva. Moreover, You are not satisfied by killing my friend; I know that You want to kill me also. Because of Your determination, I must kill You by tearing You to pieces with my club. Krishna, although You are my relative, You are foolish. You are our greatest enemy, so I must kill You today just as a person removes a boil on his body by a surgical operation.” 126 Yadunandana Krishna

Saying this, Dantavakra struck Krishna on the head with his club and made a roaring sound like a lion, but Krishna did not move even an inch, nor did He feel any pain. Taking His club and moving skillfully, Krishna struck Dantavakra’s chest so fiercely that his heart literally split in two. As a result, Dantavakra began to vomit blood, his hair scattered, and he fell to the ground, spreading his hands and legs. After the death of Dantavakra, just as at the time of Shishupala’s death, in the presence of all the persons standing there, a small particle of spiritual effulgence came out of the demon’s body and wonderfully merged into the body of Lord Krishna. (As with the others, this did not mean he ‘became one with God’, but simply that he returned, via Krishna’s transcendental body, back to the spiritual world to reside eternally with the Lord as His servant. It is not possible to ever spiritually merge with Krishna since we are eternally individuals). Dantavakra had a brother named Viduratha, who was overwhelmed with grief at his death. Out of grief and anger, Viduratha was breathing heavily, and just to avenge the death of his brother he also appeared before Lord Krishna with a sword and a shield in his hands. He wanted to kill Krishna immediately. When Lord Krishna understood Viduratha’s intention, He employed His razor-sharp Sudarshana chakra to cut off Viduratha’s head. In this way, after killing Shalva and destroying his wonderful airplane and then killing Dantavakra and Viduratha, Lord Krishna at last entered His city, Dwaraka. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 127

1 24. Romaharshana Suta

Lord Balarama heard that there was soon to be a huge fight between the two rival parties in the Kuru dynasty, one headed by Duryodhana and the other by the Pandavas. Balarama did not like the idea of trying to mediate again between the two sides, so He left Dwaraka on the plea of visiting holy places of pilgrimage. After visiting many sites He finally came to the holy place known as Naimisharanya. This place still exists in , and was used in ancient times for the meetings of great sages and saintly persons with the aim of understanding spiritual life and self- realization. Indeed, at that very moment there was an important sacrifice being performed by a large assembly of such personalities. These meetings were often planned to last for thousands of years, and when Lord Balarama arrived, the participants rose from their seats and welcomed Him with great honour and respect. After this formality, Lord Balarama was offered a suitable seat, and the sages worshiped Him with great reverence. Unfortunately, after being worshiped and seated in His place, Lord Balarama noticed that Romaharshana, the disciple of Vyasadeva (the literary of Godhead), was still sitting on his vyasasana. He had neither risen from his seat nor offered Him any respects. Because he was seated on the vyasasana (large ceremonial seat), he foolishly thought himself greater than the Lord; therefore he did not 128 Yadunandana Krishna stand up or bow down before Him. Lord Balarama then considered the history of Romaharshana: he was born in a suta family (mixed caste), his mother being a brahmana and his father a kshatriya. Therefore, although Romaharshana considered Balarama a kshatriya, he should not have remained sitting on a higher seat. Lord Balarama did not like the audacity of Romaharshana. “This man, Romaharshana, is so impudent that he has accepted a higher seat than that of all the respectable brahmanas present here, although he was born in a degraded family.” Lord Balarama said in a deeply commanding voice. Although a person sitting on a vyasasana does not normally have to stand to receive new arrivals, and although Romaharshana Suta was voted to the seat of honour by all the brahmanas, he should still have followed the behaviour of other learned sages and brahmanas by showing respect to Lord Balarama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Lord Balarama decided to chastise him for being puffed up: “This man should be punished with death because, although he had a brahminical upbringing and has studied all the scriptures, still he was not submissive in the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Despite wearing a valuable jewel on its hood, a cobra is still a cobra and is as fearful as an ordinary serpent. Similarly, if a brahmana does not become meek and humble through his austerities, then all his studies of the and Puranas and his vast knowledge in the shastras are simply a waste of time. Such a person simply remains poisonously envious of the Lord and His devotees, despite the jewel of all his vast learning. It is envy of Krishna that brings us to the material Yadunandana Krishna 129 world in the first place, and it is through brahminical practice that one is meant to purify himself of this envy. Lord Balarama then killed Romaharshana Suta simply by striking him with a straw, which was nothing but a blade of grass. At the death of Romaharshana Suta, everyone present became much aggrieved and cried out, “Alas! Alas!” Although all the brahmanas and sages present knew Lord Balarama to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they did not hesitate to protest and suggest He atone for his action. Balarama responded to their concerns as follows: “Yes, you are correct, I must atone for this action which may have been proper for Me but not for others; I can also give this Romaharshana Suta his life back again. Not only this, but if you desire I shall be glad to award him anything else you may ask.” Although His killing of Romaharshana Suta may be considered improper, Balarama could immediately counteract it with greater profit to all. Not wanting to detract from the Lord's mission to rid the world of envious men, all of those present prayed: “Our dear Lord, the uncommon use of Your kusha weapon to kill Romaharshana Suta may remain as it is; because You desired to kill him he should not be brought to life again. At the same time, Your Lordship may remember that we sages and brahmanas granted him a long life so he could complete the sacrifice; therefore, such a benediction should not be cancelled.” The sages wanted to keep their benediction that Romaharshana Suta would have a long life, but at the same time they did not want to overturn Balarama’s act of killing him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead therefore brilliantly 130 Yadunandana Krishna solved the problem. “The Vedas say that the son is the father’s representative. Therefore I say that Ugrashrava Suta, the son of Romaharshana Suta, should henceforth take his father’s position and continue the discussion on the Puranas, and because you wanted Romaharshana to have a long duration of life, this benediction will be transferred to his son. The son, Ugrashrava, will therefore have all the facilities you offered—a long duration of life in a good and healthy body, with no disturbances and full strength.” Lord Balarama then implored all the sages and brahmanas that aside from the benediction offered to the son of Romaharshana, they should ask Him for any other benediction. “Our dear Lord,” the brahmanas replied, “there is a very powerful demon named Balvala who visits this sacred place every fortnight and creates a great disturbance to the sacrifice. The demon throws contaminated filth on us from the sky, like pus, blood, stool, urine and wine; and in that way pollutes this sacred place. After killing Balvala, You may continue touring all the sacred places of pilgrimage for twelve months, and in that way You will have atoned fully for your actions against Romaharshana. That is our prescription.” * * * Yadunandana Krishna 131

1 25. The Liberation of Balvala

Lord Balarama prepared Himself to meet the demon Balvala, in order to fulfil His promise to the sages. At the time when the demon usually attacked the sacred place, there appeared a great hailstorm. The whole sky became covered with dust, and the atmosphere became filled with a filthy smell. Just after this, the mischievous demon Balvala began to shower torrents of stool and urine and other impure substances on the sacrificial arena. After this nasty onslaught, the demon himself appeared with a great trident in his hand. He was a gigantic person, and his black body was like a huge mass of carbon. His hair, beard and moustache appeared reddish like copper, making his mouth look dangerous and fierce. As soon as He saw the demon, Lord Balarama prepared to attack him. When Lord Balarama called for His weapons, the plough and club, they immediately appeared before Him. The demon Balvala was flying in the sky, and at the first opportunity, Lord Balarama dragged him down with His plough and angrily smashed the demon’s head with His club. Balarama’s striking fractured the demon’s forehead, making blood flow profusely. Screaming loudly the demon fell to the ground. The inhabitants of Naimisharanya, learned sages and brahmanas, became most pleased by seeing this, and they offered their respectful prayers to Lord Balarama. They also offered their heartfelt blessings to the Lord, and they 132 Yadunandana Krishna all agreed that Lord Balarama would be successful in whatever He attempted. The sages and brahmanas then performed a ceremonial bathing of Lord Balarama, just as the devatas bathe King Indra when he is victorious over the demons. The brahmanas and sages honoured Lord Balarama by presenting Him first-class, new clothing and ornaments and the lotus garland of victory. This garland was the reservoir of all beauty and would never wilt or fade. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 133

1 26. Lord Balarama Tours the Sacred Places

After this incident, Lord Balarama took permission from the brahmanas assembled at Naimisharanya and, accompanied by other brahmanas, went to the bank of the river Kaushiki. After taking His bath in this holy place, He proceeded toward the river Sarayu and visited its source. Travelling on the bank of the Sarayu River He gradually reached Prayaga, where there is a confluence of three rivers, the Ganges, Yamuna and . Here also He took His bath and worshiped in the local temples of the devatas, and, as enjoined in the Vedic literature, made offerings to the forefathers and sages. He continued His travels and gradually came to the pilgrimage city of Gaya, where there is a celebrated Vishnu temple. From here He travelled to the delta of the Ganges, where the sacred river Ganges mixes with the Bay of Bengal. This sacred place is called Gangasagara, and at the end of January every year there is still a great assembly of saintly persons and pious men, just as there is an assembly of saintly persons in Prayaga every year called the Magha-mela fair. Southern India is divided into five parts, called Pancha- dravida. Northern India is also divided into five parts, called Pancha-gauda. All the important acharyas of the modern age—namely Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, , Vishnu Swami and Nimbarka—advented 134 Yadunandana Krishna themselves in the southern Dravida provinces. Lord Chaitanya, however, appeared in Bengal, which is part of the five northern Gauda-deshas. The most important place of pilgrimage in southern India, or Dravida, is Venkatachala, commonly known as Tirupathi. After visiting this place, Lord Balarama proceeded toward the bank of the Kaveri river. He stopped at Vishnukanchi, and He also visited Shivakanchi. Lord Balarama took His bath in the river Kaveri; then He gradually reached Rangakshetra (also known as Srirangam). The biggest Vishnu temple in the world is in Rangakshetra, and the Vishnu there is celebrated as Lord . There is a similar temple of Ranganatha in Vrindavana. Although not as big as the temple in Rangakshetra, it is the largest in Vrindavana. After visiting Rangakshetra, Lord Balarama proceeded toward , commonly known as the of southern India. After visiting this place, He proceeded toward Setubandha (also known as Rameshwaram), the place where Lord Ramachandra constructed the stone bridge from India to Lanka. In this particularly holy place, Lord Balarama distributed ten thousand cows to the local brahmana priests. After that, Lord Balarama went to the Kritamala and Tamraparni rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred, and Lord Balarama bathed in both of them. He then proceeded toward Malaya Hill. After visiting the great sage , Lord Balarama proceeded toward the Indian Ocean. At the point of the cape (known today as Kanya Kumari) is a big temple of goddess , who is known there as . This temple was previously visited by Lord Ramachandra, who last appeared on earth in the Yadunandana Krishna 135

Treta-yuga (around two million years ago), so there must have been a temple on that site since at least that time. From there Lord Balarama went on to visit the pilgrimage city known as Phalguna-, which is on the shore of the Indian Ocean. This place is celebrated because Lord Vishnu in His incarnation of is lying there. From there Lord Balarama went on to visit another pilgrimage spot, known as Panchapsarasa. From Kanya Kumari Lord Balarama turned toward and then He came to Gokarna-tirtha, where Lord Shiva is constantly worshiped. Balarama then visited the temple of Aryadevi, which is completely surrounded by water. From that island He went on to a place known as Shurparaka. After this He bathed in the rivers known as Tapi, Payoshni and Nirvindhya, and then He came to the forest known as . This is the same Dandakaranya forest where Lord Ramachandra lived while in exile. Lord Balarama next came to the bank of the river Narmada, the biggest river in central India. On the bank of this sacred river Narmada is a pilgrimage spot known as -. After bathing there Lord Balarama returned to Prabhasa-tirtha, where He had begun His journey. When He arrived back at the place He had started, Balarama heard from the local brahmanas news about the great war between the Pandavas and the . The brahmanas told him that most of the kshatriyas in the devastating Battle of had been killed. Although He felt relieved to hear that the burden of the world had been reduced, when the brahmanas told him there was still fighting going on, He left and travelled swiftly to the battlefield. There He found Bhimasena and Duryodhana fighting a duel 136 Yadunandana Krishna to the death. As a well-wisher to them both, Lord Balarama wanted them to stop the fight. When He appeared on the scene, King Yudhisthira, his younger brothers Nakula and Sahadeva, as well as Lord Krishna and Arjuna, immediately offered Him their respectful obeisances, but they did not speak at all. The reason they were silent was because they all knew that Lord Balarama was somewhat affectionate toward Duryodhana, who had learned from Him the art of fighting with a club. When the fighting was going on, King Yudhisthira and the others thought that Balarama might have come there to say something in favour of Duryodhana and they therefore remained silent. Both Duryodhana and Bhimasena were angry and danced around as they skillfully fought with their clubs in the midst of a large audience, each trying to strike the other. “My dear King Duryodhana and Bhimasena,” Balarama pleaded, “I know that both of you are great fighters and are well known in the world as heroes. My opinion is that you are evenly matched and that neither of you can gain victory over the other. Therefore I request you not to waste your time fighting in this way.” Bhimasena and Duryodhana were so consumed with anger that they could only think about their long-lasting hatred for each other. Each thought only of killing the other, and so they did not pay any attention to the instruction of Lord Balarama. Lord Balarama, knowing their destiny, did not try to instruct them further but decided instead to go back to Dwaraka. When He arrived at the fabulous city of Dwaraka, He was received with great jubilation by relatives and friends who all came forward to welcome Him home. After this, He Yadunandana Krishna 137 again went to the holy place of pilgrimage at Naimisharanya, and the sages, saintly persons and brahmanas all received Him respectfully. This time everyone stood up when He entered their meeting. * * * 138 Yadunandana Krishna

1 27. Sudama Brahmana

There was once a very nice brahmana friend of Lord Krishna called Sudama Vipra. He had so much transcendental knowledge that he was a perfect devotee of the Lord. As is explained in the Bhagavad-gita, a person who has reached the perfection of knowledge surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and so has no interest in mundane, material pleasure as derived through the five bodily senses. Although the brahmana was a householder, he was not bothered about accumulating wealth or living comfortably, and was always satisfied with whatever came to him of its own accord. A man in perfect knowledge knows that everyone is destined to suffer a certain amount of distress and enjoy a certain amount of happiness. The amount of happiness and distress is already predestined for all of us, and no material arrangement, however seemingly clever, can ever change this. Externally the brahmana appeared exceedingly poor, without decent clothes for either himself or his wife. They were not even eating sufficiently and thus both he and his wife appeared very thin. The wife was not anxious for her personal comfort, but she felt concerned for her husband. She trembled due to her weak health and although she did not like to dictate to her husband, she spoke as follows: “My dear lord, I know that Lord Krishna, the husband Yadunandana Krishna 139 of the goddess of fortune, is your personal friend. You are also a devotee of Lord Krishna and He is always ready to help His devotee. Even if you think that you are not performing any devotional service to Krishna, still you are surrendered to Him and the Lord is the protector of the surrendered soul. If you go to Him I am sure He will understand how poor you are and so give you sufficient riches to live comfortably.” The brahmana thought there was no need to ask any material benefit from Lord Sri Krishna, but because of the repeated requests of his wife he agreed to go. Moreover, he thought, “If I go there I shall be able to see the Lord personally. That will be a great opportunity, even if I don’t ask for anything.” When he had decided to go to Krishna, he asked his wife if she had anything in the home that he could offer as a gift. Having nothing in the house, the wife collected four palmfuls of chipped rice from her neighbouring friends and tied it in a small cloth, like a handkerchief and gave it to her husband to present to Krishna. Without waiting any longer, Sudama Vipra took the present and proceeded toward Dwaraka to see his Lord, thinking only of Krishna throughout the entire journey. As the brahmana entered the palace, Lord Krishna left His seat and came forward to receive him with a warm embrace. Lord Krishna is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure, yet He Himself felt great pleasure upon embracing the poor brahmana because He was meeting His dear friend. Lord Krishna had him seated on His own bedstead and personally brought him all kinds of fruits and drinks. Lord Sri Krishna is the supreme pure, but because He was playing the role of an ordinary human being, He immediately washed 140 Yadunandana Krishna

Sudama Vipra’s feet and for His own purification, sprinkled the water onto His head. After this the Lord smeared the body of the brahmana with different kinds of scented pulp, such as sandalwood, aguru and saffron. He immediately burned several kinds of incense and, as is usual when receiving a worshipable guest, offered him arati with burning lamps. After Sudama Vipra had taken food and drink, Lord Krishna said: “My dear friend, it is a great fortune that you have come here.” The brahmana, being very poor, was not dressed well; his clothing was torn and dirty, and his body was lean and thin. He appeared unclean, and because of his weak body, his bones were distinctly visible. The goddess of fortune, Rukmini-devi, personally began to fan him with the chamara, but the other women in the palace were astonished at Lord Krishna’s behaviour in receiving such a scruffy looking brahmana in that way. After Sudama had been well received and seated on Lord Krishna’s own cushioned bed, he and Krishna took each other’s hands and began to talk about their early life, when they had both lived together as friends at the same gurukula (boarding school). Lord Krishna said: “I hope, My dear brahmana friend, that you remember all those days of our school life. Actually, whatever knowledge you and I received in life was gained in our student days. My dear friend, everyone should consider his father to be his first teacher. Our next spiritual master is he who initiates us into transcendental knowledge and he is to be worshiped as much as I am. The spiritual master who instructs the disciple about spiritual matters is called the shiksa- and the Yadunandana Krishna 141

Lord Krishna washes Sudhama’s feet to welcome him 142 Yadunandana Krishna spiritual master who initiates the disciple is called the diksha- guru. Both of them are My representatives. There may be many spiritual masters who instruct, but the initiator spiritual master is just one. A human being who takes good advantage of these spiritual masters and, receiving proper knowledge from them, crosses the ocean of material existence, is to be understood as having properly used his human form of life.” Sudama Vipra listened with joyful attention as Krishna reminded him of their childhood pastimes together. “Do you remember the time we went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of our guru’s wife,” Krishna continued, “while collecting the dried wood, we entered the dense forest and became lost. There was an unexpected dust storm, clouds and lightning in the sky and the explosive sound of thunder. Then sunset came, and we were lost in the dark jungle. After this, there was severe rainfall; the whole ground was over-flooded with water and we could not trace out the way to return to our guru’s . In that distressed condition, we took each other’s hand and tried to find our way out. We passed the whole night in that way, and, early in the morning, when our absence became known to our gurudeva, he sent his other disciples to search us out. He also came with them, and when they reached us in the jungle they found us in such distress. With great compassion our gurudeva said, “My dear boys, it is wonderful that you have suffered so much trouble for me. Most people’s first consideration is to take care of their own body, but you are so good and faithful to your guru that without caring for bodily comforts you have taken so much trouble for the satisfaction of the spiritual master. It is by the mercy of the spiritual master Yadunandana Krishna 143 and by his blessings, that one can achieve peace and prosperity and be able to fulfil the mission of human life.” My dear brahmana friend,” Krishna continued, “you are most intelligent, and you know perfectly well the principles of religious life. I know that from the beginning you were never attached to the materialistic way of life and therefore you are now in need of money. In this material world, persons who are not attached to material opulence are rarely found.” On hearing this, Sudama Vipra replied: “My dear Krishna, You are the Supreme Lord and the supreme spiritual master of everyone.” * * * 144 Yadunandana Krishna

1 28. Sudama is Blessed

Lord Krishna spoke with Sudama Vipra for a long time about their past association. Then Lord Krishna began to smile; “My dear friend, what have you brought for Me? Has your wife given you some tasty eatable for Me?” While addressing His friend, Lord Krishna looked upon him and smiled with great love. Lord Krishna knew that Sudama was hesitating to present Him the paltry chipped rice, which was actually unfit for His eating. Understanding the mind of Sudama Vipra, the Lord added, “My dear friend, I am certainly not in need of anything, but if My devotee gives Me something as an offering of love, even though it may be quite insignificant, I accept it with great pleasure. On the other hand, if a person is not a devotee, even though he may offer Me very valuable things, I do not like to accept them. If My pure devotee offers Me even the most insignificant things—a little flower, a leaf, a little water— but saturates the offering in devotional love, then not only do I gladly accept such an offering, but I eat it with great pleasure.” Out of great shyness, Sudama Vipra hesitated to present his gift to the Lord. He was thinking, “How can I offer such insignificant things to Krishna?” and he simply bowed his head. Lord Krishna, the Supersoul, knows everything in everyone’s heart. He knew, therefore, the Yadunandana Krishna 145 reason for Sudama Vipra’s coming to Him. He knew that, driven by extreme poverty, he had come there at the request of his wife. Thinking of Sudama as His most dear class friend, He knew that Sudama’s love for Him as a friend was never tainted by any desire for material benefit. Krishna thought, “Sudama has not come asking anything from Me; he only came here to see Me and please his wife.” Lord Krishna therefore decided that He would give more material opulence to Sudama Vipra than could be imagined even by the King of heaven. Krishna then suddenly snatched the bundle of chipped rice which was in the bundle hanging on the shoulder of the poor brahmana. “What is this? My dear friend, you have brought Me nice, palatable chipped rice!” Krishna said, “I consider that this quantity of chipped rice will satisfy not only Me but the whole creation.” Just as watering the root of a tree distributes water to every part of the tree, so an offering made to Krishna, or any action done for Krishna, is to be considered the highest welfare work for everyone, because the benefit of such an offering is distributed throughout the creation. Love for Krishna is distributed to all living entities. While Lord Krishna was speaking to Sudama Vipra, He ate one morsel of chipped rice with great pleasure. But when He attempted to eat a second morsel, Rukmini-devi stopped Him by catching hold of His hand. “My dear Lord,” Rukmini said, “this one morsel of chipped rice is sufficient to cause him who offered it to become lavishly opulent both in this life and the next. My Lord, You are so 146 Yadunandana Krishna kind to Your devotee that even this one morsel of chipped rice pleases You so greatly.” If one feeds Narayana sumptuously, the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, automatically becomes a guest in one’s house, which means that one’s home becomes opulent. The learned brahmana Sudama passed that night at the house of Lord Krishna, and while there he felt as if he were living in a Vaikuntha planet. The learned brahmana Sudama did not ask anything from the Lord, nor did he appear to receive anything in particular. The next morning he started for his home, thinking blissfully about his meeting with Krishna: “It is most pleasurable to see Lord Krishna, who is most devoted to the brahmanas. How can there be any comparison between me, a poor, sinful brahmana, and the Supreme Lord Krishna, who is the only shelter of the goddess of fortune? And yet, considering me a brahmana, He embraced me with heartfelt pleasure in His two transcendental arms. Lord Krishna was so kind to me that He allowed me to sit down on the same bedstead where the goddess of fortune lies down. He considered me His real brother. How can I appreciate my obligation to Him? How kind Krishna was to me. Although He knew of my poverty He did not give me even a farthing since He knew that if I had some money I might become puffed up and mad after material opulence and then forget Him.” An ordinary man who is poor and prays to the Lord for money and who then somehow or other becomes richer, will usually quickly forget his obligation to the Lord. Therefore, the Lord does not offer opulences to His devotee unless the Yadunandana Krishna 147 devotee is thoroughly tested. Thinking in this way, the learned brahmana gradually reached his home. But there he saw that everything was wonderfully changed. He saw that in place of his cottage there were large palaces made of valuable stones and jewels, glittering like the sun, moon and rays of fire. Not only were there big palaces, but at intervals there were beautifully decorated parks in which many beautiful men and women were strolling. In those parks there were clear lakes full of lotus flowers and beautiful lilies, along with flocks of multicoloured birds. Seeing the wonderful conversion of his humble village, the brahmana was astonished and began to think, “How am I seeing all these changes? Do I live here, or does this place belong to someone else?” While the learned brahmana was considering this, a group of beautiful men and women with features resembling those of the devatas, accompanied by musical chanters, approached to welcome him. All were singing auspicious songs. The wife of the brahmana was most happy when she heard that her husband had arrived, and with great haste she also came out of the palace to greet him. The brahmana’s wife appeared so beautiful that it seemed as if the goddess of fortune herself had come to receive him. As soon as she saw her husband, tears of joy fell from her eyes and her voice became so choked up that she could not speak to him. She simply closed her eyes in ecstasy and with great love and affection bowed down before her husband, and within herself she thought of embracing him. The brahmana was most surprised to see his wife looking so beautiful, and in great affection and without saying a word he entered the 148 Yadunandana Krishna palace with her. When Sudama entered his personal apartment in the palace, he saw that it was not like an ordinary apartment, but rather the residence of the King of heaven. The palace was surrounded by many columns of jewels. The couches and the bedsteads were all made of ivory and bedecked with gold and jewels, and the bedding was as white as the foam of milk and as soft as a lotus. There were many whisks hanging from golden rods, and many golden thrones with sitting cushions as soft as lotus flowers. In various places there were velvet and silken canopies with laces of pearls hanging all around. The structure of the building stood on excellent transparent marble, with engravings made of emerald stones. All the women in the palace carried lamps made of valuable jewels. The flames and the jewels combined to produce a wonderfully brilliant light. When the brahmana saw his position suddenly changed to one of opulence and when he could not determine the cause for such a sudden change, he began to gravely consider how it had happened: “From the beginning of my life I have been extremely poverty-stricken, so what could be the cause of such great and sudden opulence? I do not find any cause other than the all-merciful glance of my friend, Lord Krishna. Certainly all this must be a gift from Him. I simply offered Him a morsel of chipped rice, and in exchange He has given me greater opulence than even the King of heaven.” Whatever a devotee offers to the Lord comes back in a quantity a million times greater. Sudama felt great obligation to Krishna and thought: “I pray to have the friendship of Lord Krishna, to engage in His service, and to surrender Yadunandana Krishna 149 fully to Him in love and affection, life after life. I do not want any opulence. I only desire not to forget His service.” The learned brahmana Sudama concluded that whatever opulences he had received from the Lord should not be used for his own extravagant sense gratification, but for the service of the Lord. He enjoyed varieties of food by first offering it to the Lord and then taking it as prasadam (sanctified foodstuffs). Similarly, if by the grace of the Lord we get such opulences as material wealth, fame, power, education and beauty, it is our duty to consider them all His gifts, to be used for His service and not for our own selfish pleasure. The learned brahmana remained in that mood and thus his love and affection for Lord Krishna increased day after day. * * * 150 Yadunandana Krishna

1 29. The Solar Eclipse

Once upon a time while Lord Krishna and Balarama were living peacefully in Their great city of Dwaraka, there was the rare occasion of a full solar eclipse such as takes place at the end of every , or day of Brahma. Everyone decided to assemble at the holy place in Kurukshetra known as Samanta-. The Samanta-panchaka pilgrimage site is celebrated because Lord performed great sacrifices there after having killed all the kshatriyas in the world twenty-one times, causing their blood to flow in streams. He dug five big lakes at Samanta-panchaka and filled them with this blood and then, in order to exhibit ideal character by appearing to atone for this mass slaughter, He performed great sacrifices there. Taking advantage of the occasion of the solar eclipse, all important persons from all parts of the world visited this holy place of pilgrimage. Because almost all the members of the Yadu dynasty went to Kurukshetra, some important personalities, like Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna, and Kritavarma, the commander-in-chief of the Yadu dynasty, remained in Dwaraka to protect the city. The members of the Yadu dynasty came to Kurukshetra in their gorgeously decorated chariots, resembling the airplanes of the devatas, pulled by big horses that moved like the waves of the ocean. After arriving in Kurukshetra, the members of the Yadu dynasty took their baths and observed fasting for the whole Yadunandana Krishna 151 period of the eclipse and gave many cows in charity. After the eclipse, all the members of the Yadu dynasty again took their baths in the lakes created by Lord Parashurama. Then they sumptuously fed all the assembled brahmanas with first-class cooked food, all prepared in butter. After lunch they selected resting places underneath large, shady trees and when they had taken sufficient rest, they prepared to receive visitors. But above all, the visitors from Vrindavana were most prominent. The residents of Vrindavana, headed by Nanda Maharaja, had been living in great anxiety because of separation from Krishna and Balarama. Taking advantage of the solar eclipse, they all came to see their life and soul, Krishna and Balarama. The inhabitants of Vrindavana were well-wishers and intimate friends of the Yadu dynasty. This meeting of the two parties after long separation was a very touching scene. At this meeting Kuntidevi and Vasudeva, who were sister and brother, met after a long separation, along with their respective sons and daughters-in-law, children and other family members. Seeing Lord Krishna present on the spot, all the visitors felt transcendental pleasure and became very peaceful. When they saw Lord Krishna with His thousands of queens, they were fully satisfied at the sight of such beauty and transcendental opulence. Everyone who came to Kurukshetra took the opportunity to visit and pay their respects to Lord Balarama and Krishna. As soon as Vasudeva saw Nanda Maharaja, he ran to him and embraced him most affectionately. Similarly, Lord Balarama and Krishna also embraced King Nanda and mother Yashoda and offered Their respects by bowing down. 152 Yadunandana Krishna

Because of Their feeling affection for Nanda and Yashoda, Lord Krishna and Balarama became choked up and for a few seconds They could not speak. The most fortunate King Nanda and mother Yashoda placed their sons on their laps and began to embrace Them to their full satisfaction. After this, Krishna’s mother, Devaki, and Balarama’s mother, , both embraced mother Yashoda saying: “Dear Queen Yashoda-devi and Nanda Maharaja, you have been great friends to us. When Krishna and Balarama were born, before They even saw Their real father and mother, They were entrusted to your care, and you raised Them as your own children. You have nicely fed, nourished and loved Them and have performed many auspicious religious ceremonies for Their benefit. Actually They are not our sons; They belong to you. You are the real father and mother of Krishna and Balarama.” Because they had been separated from Krishna for so many years, the gopis felt intense ecstasy upon seeing Krishna. No one can even imagine how eager the gopis were to see Him again; they took Him inside their hearts through their eyes and embraced Him to their full satisfaction. Krishna was sitting with mother Yashoda, Devaki and Rohini, but when they started talking amongst themselves, He took the opportunity and went to a secluded place to meet the gopis. As soon as He approached them He smiled and after embracing them and inquiring about their welfare, He began to encourage them, saying: “My dear friends, you know that Lord Balarama and I left Vrindavana just to please Our relatives and family members. Thus We were long engaged in fighting with Our enemies Yadunandana Krishna 153

Krishna meets the gopis at Kurukshetra 154 Yadunandana Krishna and were obliged to forget you, who were so much attached to Me in love and affection. I can understand that I have been ungrateful to you, but still I know that you are faithful to Me. May I inquire if you have been thinking of Us, although We had to leave you behind? My dear gopis, do you now dislike remembering Me, considering Me to have been ungrateful to you? Please understand that you are always with Me and that there is no cause of lamentation in our being separated from one another.” The universe is nothing but a display of Krishna’s energy, and because the energy is not different from the energetic, nothing is different from Krishna. When this absolute consciousness, Krishna consciousness, is absent, we are separated from Krishna; but, fortunately, if this Krishna consciousness is present, then we cannot be separated from Krishna for even a minute. The process of devotional service is the revival of Krishna consciousness, and if the devotee is fortunate enough to understand that the material energy is not separate from Krishna, then he can utilize this energy and its products in the service of the Lord. “Dear Krishna,” the gopis replied, “we are always busy in our family affairs. We therefore request that You remain within our hearts as the rising sun. That will be Your greatest benediction.” The gopis are always liberated souls and only pretended to be entangled in household affairs in Vrindavana. Because of their separation from Krishna, He might have asked them to return with Him to His capital city, Dwaraka. But the inhabitants of Vrindavana, the gopis, were not interested in the idea of going with Krishna to Dwaraka. They wanted to Yadunandana Krishna 155 remain busy in Vrindavana and thus feel the presence of Krishna in every step of their lives. There were many visitors who came to see Krishna and among them were the Pandavas, headed by King Yudhisthira. After talking with the gopis and bestowing upon them the greatest benediction, Lord Krishna welcomed King Yudhisthira and other relatives who had come to see Him. When Lord Krishna, as a matter of etiquette, inquired from King Yudhisthira about his welfare, the King happily replied: “My dear Lord Krishna, since we are fully surrendered to You and have no other shelter than Your lotus feet, we are always confident of our good fortune.” Draupadi then spoke to the many wives of Lord Krishna: “My dear Rukmini, Bhadra, Jambavati, Satya, Satyabhama, Kalindi, Shaibya, Lakshmana, Rohini and all other wives of Lord Krishna, will you please let us know how the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepted you as His wives?” To this question, the chief of the queens, Rukmini- devi, replied: “My dear Draupadi, it was practically a settled fact that princes like Jarasandha wanted me to marry King Shishupala, and, as is usual, all the princes present during the marriage ceremony were prepared with their armour and weapons to fight with any rival who dared to stop the marriage. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead kidnapped me the way a lion takes away a lamb from the flock. It is my eternal desire that life after life I be engaged in the service of Lord Krishna, who is the reservoir of all pleasure and beauty. This is my only desire and ambition in life.” After this, other principal wives of Krishna, including 156 Yadunandana Krishna

Satyabhama and Jambavati, told their stories and expressed similar sentiments towards their Lord. When all the principal queens of Lord Krishna had finished their statements, Rohini, as the representative of the other sixteen thousand queens, began to narrate the incident of their becoming wives of Krishna. “My dear Queen, when Bhaumasura was conquering the entire world, he collected wherever possible all the beautiful daughters of the kings and kept us arrested within his palace. When news of our imprisonment reached Lord Krishna, He fought with Bhaumasura and released us. Lord Krishna killed Bhaumasura and all his soldiers and although He had no need to accept even one wife, He nevertheless, by our request, married all sixteen thousand of us. My dear Queen, our only qualification was that we were always thinking of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, which is the way to release oneself from the bondage of repeated birth and death. We have no interest in large palaces and wealth; we simply desire this dust which accumulates under the lotus feet of Krishna as He travels on the land of Vrindavana as a cowherd boy. The gopis especially, but also the cowherd men and the aborigine tribeswomen, always desire to become the grass and straw on the streets of Vrindavana, to be trampled by the lotus feet of Krishna. My dear Queen, we wish to remain as such life after life, without any other desire.” * * * Yadunandana Krishna 157

1 30. Sacrificial Ceremonies Performed by Vasudeva

When the different queens of Lord Krishna were telling their stories as to how they had been married and accepted by Him as His wives, all the female members of the Kuru dynasty were struck with wonder. They were filled with admiration at how much love and affection Krishna’s queens felt for Him and realising this they could not stop their eyes from filling with tears. While the men and women were talking among themselves, there arrived from all directions, many of the most important sages and ascetics in the universe, all of whom had come especially to see Lord Krishna and Balarama. When all the sages had been properly worshipped and were comfortably seated, Lord Krishna, who descended for the protection of religion, began to address them on behalf of all the kings: “All glories to the assembled sages and ascetics! Today we all feel that our lives have become successful. Today we have achieved the desired goal of life because we now see face to face all the exalted, liberated sages and ascetics, whom even the great devatas in the desire to see.” Neophyte devotees or religionists cannot understand the importance of great mahatmas (highly advanced souls). They tend to go to the temple as a matter of formality and pay their respectful obeisances to the Deity, but they are not so 158 Yadunandana Krishna interested in surrendering and serving the pure devotee. Krishna continued: “One cannot purify himself merely by travelling to holy places of pilgrimage and taking a bath there or by seeing the devatas’ forms in the temples. But if one happens to meet a great devotee, a mahatma who is a representative of the Personality of Godhead, one is immediately purified.” When the supreme authority, Lord Krishna, was thus speaking with absolute gravity, all the sages and ascetics remained silent, since they realized that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The sages then spoke to Krishna thus: “Dear Lord, we, the leaders of human society, are supposed to possess the proper philosophy of life, yet we are bewildered by the spell of Your external energy. We are surprised to see Your behaviour, which is just like that of an ordinary human being and which conceals Your real identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and we therefore consider Your pastimes to be all-wonderful. We know well that by constant engagement in Your devotional service one can be completely purified and promoted to the kingdom of God in the spiritual world.” After offering prayers to Lord Krishna, the assembled sages departed for their respective ashramas. After the performance of the different sacrifices, Vasudeva offered ample riches, clothing, ornaments, cows, land and maidservants to the priests. After Vasudeva and his wives took their baths, all the garments and ornaments they had worn were distributed to the subordinate persons engaged in singing, dancing and similar activities. After this, Vasudeva Yadunandana Krishna 159 and his wives, dressed in new ornaments and garments, fed everyone most sumptuously, from the brahmanas down to the dogs. Then all the persons assembled there took permission from Lord Krishna, the husband of the goddess of fortune, and while glorifying the perfection of the sacrifice made by Vasudeva, they all departed to their respective homes. The minds of the inhabitants of Vrindavana remained, however, with Krishna and Balarama and therefore all of them started for Vrindavana without their minds. When the members of the family saw all their friends and visitors departing, they observed that the rainy season was approaching and thus they decided to return to Dwaraka. They were fully satisfied, for they regarded Krishna as everything. When they returned to Dwaraka, they described to all their associates the sacrifice performed by Vasudeva, their meeting with various friends and well-wishers and all the various other incidents that occurred during their travels in the places of pilgrimage. * * * 160 Yadunandana Krishna

1 31. The Murdered Sons of Devaki

Devaki, the mother of Lord Krishna, had heard that Krishna and Balarama were so kind to Their teacher that They had brought back his dead son from the clutches of death. Thinking about this incident, she thought about her own sons who had been so ruthlessly killed by and while remembering them she was overwhelmed with grief. So Devaki appealed thus to Lord Krishna and Balarama: “My dear Balarama, Your very name suggests that You give all pleasure and strength to everyone. I have heard that when You wanted to reward Your teacher, Muni and he asked You to bring back his dead son, You and Krishna immediately brought him from the custody of Yamaraja, although he had been dead for a very long time. I therefore ask You to bring back all my sons who were killed by Kamsa; upon Your bringing them back, my heart will be content and it will be a great pleasure for me just to see them once.” After hearing Their mother speak in this way, Lord Balarama and Krishna set out for the lower planetary system known as Sutala. The great devotee Bali Maharaja was the ruler of Sutala and when he saw that Lord Balarama and Krishna had come to his planet, he was overjoyed. He and all his family members stood up from their seats and bowed down at the lotus feet of the Lords. Bali Yadunandana Krishna 161

Devaki and Vasudeva are reunited with their six sons by Lord Krishna’s help 162 Yadunandana Krishna

Maharaja offered Lord Krishna and Balarama the best seat he had in his possession and when both Lords were seated comfortably, he began to wash Their lotus feet. He then sprinkled the water on his head and on the heads of his family members. After this, Bali Maharaja brought Them valuable gifts, offered Them both worship and wonderful prayers: “My dear Lord,” he said, “You are the supreme master and director of the whole universe. Please, therefore, engage me in Your service and let me become freed from all material contaminations.” “My dear King of the demons,” Krishna replied, “long ago there were six devatas who once criticized Lord Brahma when he became captivated by the beauty of his daughter. There was no fault in Lord Brahma (due to his special circumstances as the controller of the mode of passion) and so this criticism was actually a great offence. For this reason the six souls were forced to take birth in the family of a demon and then later placed into the womb of mother Devaki where they were killed by Kamsa one after another the minute they were born. My dear King, mother Devaki is most anxious to see these six dead sons again. I know that all of them are living with you, so I have decided to take them with Me to pacify My mother. After seeing mother Devaki, all six of these conditioned souls will be transferred to their original planets and reinstated as devatas.” Bali Maharaja understood the Lord’s purpose and presented Him with the six souls. Bidding farewell, Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama took the conditioned souls back to the city of Dwaraka, where Lord Krishna presented them Yadunandana Krishna 163 as little babies before His mother, Devaki. Mother Devaki was overwhelmed with motherly joy and was so ecstatic that milk began to flow from her breasts. She fed the babies with great satisfaction, taking them on her lap again and again, smelling their heads and thinking, “I have got my lost children back!” The milk from the breasts of Devaki was transcendental nectar because it had also been sucked by Lord Krishna. Because of this special milk the babies immediately became fully self-realized. Remarkably, the babies then began to offer their obeisances to Lord Krishna, Balarama, their father Vasudeva and their mother Devaki. After this, they were instantly transferred to their respective heavenly planets. After they departed, Devaki was stunned with wonder that her dead children had come back and had again been transferred to their heavenly planets. She could come to terms with the events only by concluding that Lord Krishna can perform anything wonderful because His potencies are all inconceivable. * * * 164 Yadunandana Krishna

1 32. The Kidnapping of Subhadra

Once, the great hero Arjuna was visiting various holy places of pilgrimage. While travelling, he happened to come to Prabhasa-kshetra where he heard the news that Lord Balarama was negotiating the marriage of Subhadra, the daughter of Arjuna’s maternal uncle, Vasudeva. Although her father, Vasudeva, and her brother Krishna were not in agreement with Him, Balarama was in favour of marrying Subhadra to Duryodhana. Arjuna, however, desired to gain Subhadra’s hand for himself. As he thought of Subhadra and her beauty, Arjuna became more and more captivated with the idea of marrying her, and with a plan in mind he dressed himself like a Vaishnava sannyasi, carrying a tridandi in his hand. The Mayavadi sannyasis (those who teach that the individual soul and the Supreme Lord are exactly one and the same) take one danda, or one rod, whereas the Vaishnava sannyasis take three dandas, or three rods (strapped together). The three rods, or tridanda, indicate that a Vaishnava sannyasi has vowed to render service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his body, mind and words. The fact that Arjuna chose that particular disguise proves that the system of tridanda- has been in existence for a long time, and that Vaishnava sannyasis were quite common five thousand years ago. (As explained previously, devotees of Krishna exist wherever Lord Vishnu or Krishna is accepted as Yadunandana Krishna 165 supreme; they preach all over the universe and have existed since the beginning of creation). Sannyasis are generally meant to travel all over the country preaching, but during the four months of the rainy season in India, from July through October, they do not travel but take shelter in one place and remain there without moving. This period, when sannyasis remain in one place, is called Chaturmasya-. When a sannyasi stays in one place for these four months, the local inhabitants take advantage of his presence to become spiritually advanced. In that disguise Arjuna remained in the city of Dwaraka for the four months of the rainy season, devising a plan whereby he could get Subhadra as his wife. None of the inhabitants of Dwaraka, including Lord Balarama, recognized who he was. One day Lord Balarama invited this particular sannyasi to lunch at His home. Balarama respectfully offered him all kinds of palatable dishes, and the so-called sannyasi ate sumptuously as he stared constantly at the beautiful Subhadra, who was irresistibly enchanting to great heroes and kings. Out of love for her, Arjuna’s eyes brightened and he decided that somehow or other he would achieve Subhadra as his wife. Arjuna was himself extraordinarily beautiful, and his bodily structure was highly attractive to Subhadra, who decided within her mind that she would accept only Arjuna as her husband. As a simple girl, she was smiling with great pleasure, looking at Arjuna. Thus Arjuna also became more and more attracted to her. In this way, Subhadra dedicated herself to Arjuna and he resolved to marry her by any means. One day Subhadra left the palace fort on a chariot to 166 Yadunandana Krishna visit the temple. Arjuna took this opportunity and with the permission of Vasudeva and Devaki he kidnapped her. After getting on Subhadra’s chariot he prepared himself for a fight. Taking up his bow he fought off the soldiers who had been ordered to stop him as he took Subhadra away. While Subhadra was being kidnapped by Arjuna, her relatives and family members began to cry. When it was disclosed to Lord Balarama that the so-called sannyasi was really Arjuna, that he had planned all along to steal Subhadra, and that he had now actually taken her, He became greatly disturbed. Lord Krishna was in favour of Arjuna; therefore, along with other members of the family, He tried to pacify Balarama by falling at His feet and begging Him to pardon Arjuna. Krishna convinced Lord Balarama that Subhadra was attached to Arjuna and when he heard this Balarama became happy and pacified. The matter was settled, and to please the newly married couple, Lord Balarama arranged to send a dowry consisting of an abundance of riches, including elephants, chariots, horses, menservants and maidservants. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 167

1 33. Lord Krishna Visits Shrutadeva and Bahulasva

There was a householder brahmana in the city of Mithila, the capital of the kingdom of Videha, who was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. Every day he would get the necessities of life in just the quantity required, and not more. The King of Mithila, whose name was Bahulasva, was as good a devotee as the brahmana, and had a perfect reputation as a fine king who was not in the least ambitious to extend his kingdom for the sake of his own sense gratification. As such, both the brahmana and King Bahulasva remained pure devotees of Lord Krishna in Mithila. Feeling particularly merciful toward these two devotees, Lord Krishna one day asked His driver, Daruka, to take His chariot into the capital city of Mithila. Lord Krishna was accompanied by many great sages at the time. On the journey, whenever the Lord passed through a populated region, all the local inhabitants would come to visit Him. Simply by glancing over them the Lord would bestow all good fortune upon them and liberate them from all kinds of ignorance. In this way, Lord Krishna gradually reached the kingdom of Videha. When the citizens received the news of the Lord’s arrival, they all felt unlimited happiness and came to welcome Him, taking gifts in their hands to offer. King Bahulasva and the brahmana Shrutadeva, knowing well that the Lord had come there just to grace them with His 168 Yadunandana Krishna favour, immediately fell at the Lord’s lotus feet and offered their respects. With folded hands, the King and the brahmana each simultaneously invited Lord Krishna and all the sages to his home. In order to please both of them, Lord Krishna expanded Himself into two and went to the houses of each one of them; yet neither the King nor the brahmana could understand that the Lord had gone to the house of the other. Both thought that the Lord had gone only to his own house. Bahulasva, the King of Videha, was highly intelligent and was a perfect gentleman. He was astonished that so many great sages, along with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were personally present in his home. Feeling much obliged and wanting to receive his guests to the best of his ability, he called for plush chairs and cushions, and Lord Krishna, along with all the sages, sat down comfortably. At that time, King Bahulasva’s mind was restless, not because of any problems, but because of his great ecstasy of love and devotion. His heart was filled with love and affection for the Lord and His associates, and his eyes were filled with tears of ecstasy. He washed the feet of his divine guests, and afterwards he and his family members sprinkled the water on their own heads. After this, he offered the guests colourful and fragrant flower garlands, sandalwood pulp, incense, new garments, ornaments, lamps, cows and bulls. In a manner just befitting his royal position, he worshiped each one of them in this way. When all had been fed sumptuously and were sitting very comfortably, Bahulasva came before Lord Krishna and caught His lotus feet. He placed them on his lap and, while massaging the feet with his hands, began Yadunandana Krishna 169 to speak about the glories of the Lord in a sweet voice. “My dear Lord, I beg to request You and Your companions, the great sages and brahmanas, to remain at my place so that my family may be sanctified by the dust of Your lotus feet at least for a few days.” Lord Krishna could not refuse the request of His devotee, thus He remained there for a few days with the sages, to bless the city of Mithila and all its citizens. Meanwhile the brahmana was simultaneously receiving Lord Krishna and His associates at his home, and was transcendentally overwhelmed with joy to do so. After offering his guests sitting places, the brahmana began to dance. Shrutadeva welcomed his distinguished guests to the best of his ability but he was not at all rich, so could only offer mattresses, wooden planks and straw to Lord Krishna and the sages. He spoke very highly of the Lord and the sages, and he and his wife washed the feet of each one of them. After this, he took the water and sprinkled it over all the members of his family. After welcoming the Lord and His companions, according to his ability he brought fruits, incense, scented water, scented clay, tulasi leaves, kusha straw and lotus flowers. They were not costly items but because they were offered with devotional love, Lord Krishna and His associates accepted them gladly. The brahmana’s wife cooked simple foods like rice and dhal, and Lord Krishna and His followers were pleased to accept them because again they were offered in devotional love. When Lord Krishna and His associates were fed in this way, the brahmana Shrutadeva was thinking thus: “I am fallen into the deep, dark well of householder life and am the most unfortunate 170 Yadunandana Krishna person. How has it become possible that Lord Krishna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His associates, the great sages, whose very presence makes a place as sanctified as a pilgrimage site, have agreed to come to my home?” While the brahmana was thinking in this way, the guests finished their lunch and sat back comfortably. At that time, the brahmana Shrutadeva and his wife, children and other relatives appeared there to render service to the distinguished guests. While touching the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, the brahmana began to speak. “My dear Lord,” he said, “You are the Supreme Person, transcendentally situated beyond the material creation. We can appreciate You have given Your audience not just to myself, but You are also associating with all the living entities as Paramatma (Supersoul within the heart) since the beginning of creation.” When He heard Shrutadeva’s heartfelt prayers of pure devotion, Krishna was greatly pleased and held his hands addressing him thus: “My dear Shrutadeva, all these great sages, brahmanas and saintly persons have been kind to you by personally coming here to see you. You should consider this opportunity to be a great fortune for you. You may accept all these great saintly persons, brahmanas and sages as My bona fide representatives. By worshiping them faithfully, you will be worshiping Me more diligently. I consider worship of My devotees to be better than direct worship of Me. If someone attempts to worship Me directly without worshiping My devotees, I do not accept such worship, even though it may be presented with great opulence.” Yadunandana Krishna 171

In this way both the brahmana Shrutadeva and the King of Mithila, under the direction of the Lord, worshiped Krishna and His followers, the great sages and saintly brahmanas, on an equal level of spiritual importance. Both brahmana and king ultimately achieved the supreme goal of being transferred to the spiritual world. King Bahulasva and Shrutadeva the brahmana were accepted by the Lord on the same level because both were pure devotees. It has become the fashion of this age to be falsely proud of having taken birth in the family of a kshatriya or a brahmana. It is common to see persons without any qualification other than birth claiming to be a brahmana or kshatriya or . But as stated in the scriptures, kalau sudra-sambhavau: “In this age of Kali, everyone is born a .” Without being properly purified, no one can be classified as a member of a particular caste, especially of a higher caste, simply by birthright. Such claims can only be made on the basis of qualification, purity and knowledge. * * * 172 Yadunandana Krishna

1 34. Bhrigu’s Test

Long, long ago, there was an assembly of sages on the bank of the river Saraswati who performed a great sacrifice called Satra. In such assemblies, the great sages present usually discuss Vedic subject matters and philosophical topics, and in this particular meeting the following question was raised: The three predominating deities of this material world, namely, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, are directing all the affairs of this cosmos, but who among them is the Supreme? After much discussion on this question, the eminent sage, Bhrigu, the son of Lord Brahma, was sent to test all three predominating deities and report to the assembly as to who is the greatest. Bhrigu Muni first went to his father’s residence in Brahmaloka. The three deities are the controllers of the three material qualities, namely the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance. Since goodness is the highest quality of the three, the plan was for Bhrigu to test which deities possessed the quality of goodness to the fullest degree. In order to test his father, Lord Brahma, when he entered his father's palace, Bhrigu purposely did not offer his respects, either by bowing down or by offering prayers. Bhrigu Muni did this just to see Lord Brahma’s reaction. Lord Brahma was very angry at his son’s impudence, and Yadunandana Krishna 173 almost cursed him, but because Bhrigu was his son, Lord Brahma controlled himself with higher intelligence. This means that although the quality of passion was prominent in Lord Brahma, he had the power to control it. After testing Lord Brahma, Bhrigu Muni went directly to the planet Kailasha, where Lord Shiva resides. Bhrigu Muni happened to be Lord Shiva’s brother. Therefore, as soon as Bhrigu Muni approached, Lord Shiva was enormously glad and personally rose to embrace him. But when Lord Shiva approached, Bhrigu Muni refused to embrace him. “My dear brother,” he said, “you are always so impure because you smear your body with ashes, so please do not touch me, stay away.” When Bhrigu Muni refused to embrace his brother, Lord Shiva became exceedingly angry with him. Because the quality of ignorance is prominent in Lord Shiva, when he heard Bhrigu’s insult his eyes instantly became red with anger and with uncontrollable rage, he took up his trident and prepared to kill Bhrigu Muni. At that time Lord Shiva’s wife, Parvati was present. Her personality, like Lord Shiva’s, is a mixture of the three modes of nature (known as gunas) and therefore she is also called Trigunamayi. In this case, she saved the situation by evoking Lord Shiva’s quality of goodness. She fell down at the feet of her husband, and with her sweet words she talked him out of killing his brother, Bhrigu Muni. After being saved from the anger of Lord Shiva, Bhrigu Muni went directly to the planet Svetadvipa, where Lord Vishnu (an expansion of Krishna) was lying on a bed of flowers, accompanied by His wife, the goddess of fortune, 174 Yadunandana Krishna who was massaging His lotus feet. Bhrigu Muni purposely offended Lord Vishnu by kicking the Lord in the chest. It is said that an offence can be committed either with the mind, by speech or by the body. The first offence committed by Bhrigu Muni was mental (he did not offer respects to Lord Brahma), the second offence was vocal (he verbally insulted Lord Shiva), and the third offence was physical. These different offences are progressively more serious. So Bhrigu Muni committed the greatest offence to Lord Vishnu; but being all-merciful He did not become even the slightest bit angry with the sage. A brahmana is to be excused even if he sometimes commits an offence, and Lord Vishnu set the example. Yet it is said that from the time of this incident the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, has not been favourably disposed towards the brahmanas, and therefore, because the goddess of fortune withholds her benedictions from them, the brahmanas are generally quite poor. Bhrigu Muni’s kicking the chest of Lord Vishnu with his foot was certainly a serious offence, but Lord Vishnu is so great that He did not care. Instead of being angry or cursing Bhrigu Muni, Lord Vishnu got up straight away from His bed and offered respectful obeisances to the brahmana. “My dear brahmana,” Lord Vishnu said gently, “it is My greatest fortune that you have come here. O great sage, I know that your feet are very soft, like a lotus flower, and that My chest is as hard as a thunderbolt. I am therefore afraid that you may have felt some pain by kicking My chest with your feet. Let Me touch them to relieve the pain you have suffered.” Lord Vishnu then began to massage the feet of Bhrigu Muni. “My dear lord,” Vishnu continued, “My chest Yadunandana Krishna 175 has now become sanctified because of the touch of your feet, and I am now assured that the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, will be most glad to live there perpetually.” Another name for Lakshmi is Chanchala, indicating that she does not stay in one place for a long time. Therefore, we see that a rich man’s family sometimes becomes poor after a few generations, and sometimes we see that a poor man’s family becomes rich. Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, is Chanchala in this material world, whereas in the Vaikuntha planets she eternally lives at the lotus feet of the Lord. Bhrigu Muni was struck with wonder at the behaviour of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because of his gratitude, his voice choked up and he was unable to reply to the words of the Lord. Tears glided from his eyes and he could not say anything. He simply stood silently before the Lord. After testing Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, Bhrigu Muni returned to the assembly of great sages on the bank of the river Saraswati and described his experience. After hearing him with great attention, the sages concluded that of all the predominating deities, Lord Vishnu, who is actually non-different to Lord Krishna, is certainly the greatest. * * * 176 Yadunandana Krishna

1 35. The Super-Excellent Power of Krishna

Once upon a time in Dwaraka, a brahmana’s wife gave birth to a child. Unfortunately, just after being born the child died. The brahmana father took the child and went directly to the palace of the king. In the past the king would be held responsible for the untimely death of a child in the presence of his parents. Cradling the dead baby in his arms, the brahmana accused the King as follows: “The present king, Ugrasena, is envious of the brahmanas! No one should offer respects or worship to a king whose only business is envy. Such a king spends his time either hunting and killing animals in the forest or killing citizens for criminal acts. He has no self-control and possesses bad character. If such a king is worshiped or honoured by the citizens, the citizens will never be happy. They will always remain poor, full of anxieties and always unhappy.” In modern politics, the post of king has been abolished. In this age of Kali, the executive head of a state somehow or other gets votes and is elected to a high position; yet despite the promises of such politicians, the condition of the mass of citizens often continues to be full of anxiety, distress, unhappiness and dissatisfaction. With a monarchy, the king is fully responsible for the suffering of his citizens; whereas in a so-called democracy the citizens all share the Yadunandana Krishna 177 responsibility, since they all elect their own leader. Since people in general are not spiritually trained they tend to elect leaders who are similarly unqualified, and who usually end up cheating them in various ways. It can also be noted that in Vedic culture there was also great freedom of speech amongst the intelligent class. If a qualified brahmana had some criticism to make he was free to do so, and it was the duty of the ruling kings to take note of such pointed advice. In this story we can see that even though the brahmana was shouting scathing criticism right into the king’s palace, no-one made any attempt to stop him. The brahmana had nine children, who all tragically died at birth, and on each occasion he came to the gate of the palace to accuse the king. When the brahmana came to accuse the King of Dwaraka for the ninth time, Arjuna happened to be present with Krishna. On hearing that a brahmana was accusing the king of not properly protecting him, Arjuna became inquisitive and approached the brahmana. “My dear brahmana, why do you say that there are no proper kshatriyas to protect the citizens of your country?” asked Arjuna, who then went on to promise the brahmana that he himself would protect him. “My dear Arjuna,” the brahmana replied, “Lord Balarama is present, but He could not give protection to my children. Lord Krishna is present, but He also could not give them protection.” The brahmana clearly did not think Arjuna would be able to offer him protection when even the Supreme Personality of Godhead could not. He felt that Arjuna was promising something beyond his power. The brahmana 178 Yadunandana Krishna continued, “I consider your promise to be like that of an inexperienced child. I cannot put my faith in it.” Arjuna then understood that the brahmana had lost all faith in the kshatriya or kingly class to which he belonged. Therefore, to encourage him, Arjuna spoke as if criticizing even his friend Lord Krishna. While Lord Krishna and others were listening, he said: “I am neither Balarama nor Krishna nor one of Krishna’s sons like Pradyumna or Aniruddha. My name is Arjuna, and I carry the bow known as Gandhiva. You cannot insult me, for I have satisfied even Lord Shiva by my prowess. Do not doubt my chivalry. I shall bring back your sons even if I have to fight with death personified.” Arjuna declared that if he did not find the child he would throw himself on a fire. When the brahmana was assured by Arjuna in such exalted words, he was somehow or other convinced, and thus he returned home. When the brahmana’s wife was to give birth to another child, the brahmana began to utter, “My dear Arjuna, please come now and save my child.” After hearing him, Arjuna quickly prepared himself by touching sanctified water and uttering holy mantras to protect his bows and arrows from danger. He specifically took the arrow presented to him by Lord Shiva, known as Pashupata, and while going out he remembered Lord Shiva and his great favour. He thought that since Krishna could not give protection to the brahmana, it was better to take shelter of Lord Shiva. This mentality is explained in the Bhagavad-gita: kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah prapadyante ’nya-devatah [Bg. 7.20]. “A person who loses his intelligence because of greed and Yadunandana Krishna 179 lust forgets the Supreme Personality of Godhead and takes shelter of the devatas.” Of course, Arjuna was not an ordinary living entity, but because of his friendly dealings with Krishna he thought He was unable to give protection to the brahmana. Arjuna did his best to protect the newborn by chanting different mantras, and shooting arrows up and down to guard the maternity home from all directions. The brahmana’s wife delivered a male child, and as usual the child began to cry. But suddenly, within a few minutes, both the child and Arjuna’s arrows disappeared into the sky. It appears that the brahmana’s house was near Krishna’s residence and that it was He who played the trick of taking away the brahmana’s baby, as well as Shiva’s arrows, of which Arjuna was so proud. Antavat tu phalam tesam tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam: “Less intelligent men take shelter of the devatas due to bewilderment and are satisfied with the temporary benefits they award.” In the presence of Lord Krishna and others, the brahmana began to accuse Arjuna: “Everyone please note my foolishness! I put my faith in the words of Arjuna, who is impotent and who is expert only in false promises. How foolish I was to believe him. I therefore condemn Arjuna for his impudence in declaring himself greater than Lord Balarama, Lord Krishna, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. How can anyone save my child, when he has already been transferred to another planet?” Condemned by the brahmana, Arjuna then empowered himself with a mystic perfection so that he could travel to any planet in the universe. He first went to the planet known as Yamaloka, where the superintendent of death, 180 Yadunandana Krishna

Yamaraja, lives. There he searched for the brahmana’s baby, but was unable to find him. He then went to the planet where the King of heaven, Indra, lives. When unable to find the baby there, he went to the planet of the fire devata, then to many other planets of the devatas. When he was unable to find the baby even after searching all possible planets, he attempted to throw himself into a fire, as he vowed to the brahmana. But Lord Krishna persuaded Arjuna not to enter the fire in disgrace. Krishna indicated that since Arjuna was His friend, if he were to enter the fire in hopelessness, indirectly it would be a blemish on Him. Lord Krishna assured Arjuna, that He would find the baby: “Do not foolishly commit suicide.” He told Arjuna as He called for His transcendental chariot. When it arrived He and Arjuna mounted it, proceeded north. Lord Krishna, the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, could have brought the child back without any effort, but He was playing the part of a human being, so wanted to appear to make an endeavour to achieve His aim. Krishna and Arjuna travelled into space and passed through many planetary systems until the earth became a tiny spot in the distance behind them. The planet on which we are living is called Jambudvipa. Outer space is taken as a great ocean of air, and within that are many islands or planets. On each and every planet there are oceans too. On some planets the oceans consist of salt water, and on some there are oceans of milk. On others there are oceans of liquor, ghee or oil. Krishna and Arjuna passed over all these planets and finally reached the covering of the universe. This covering is Yadunandana Krishna 181 described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam as a great darkness. When they approached the covering layer of this universe, the four horses which were drawing the chariot—Shaibya, Sugriva, Meghapushpa and Balahaka—all hesitated to enter the deep gloom. When Krishna saw that His horses were hesitant to proceed into the darkness, He released His Sudarshana chakra, which illuminated the sky a thousand times brighter than sunlight. With the light from the disc, Lord Krishna and Arjuna were able to cross over the great region of darkness covering the material universes. Arjuna then saw the effulgence of light known as the brahmajyoti. The brahmajyoti is situated outside the covering of the material universes. This spiritual effulgence is the ultimate destination of the impersonalists (those who claim that God is a formless light devoid of personality) also known as Vedantists. The brahmajyoti is also described as ananta-param, unlimited and unfathomed and when they reached it Arjuna could not tolerate the glaring brightness, and so he closed his eyes. “My dear Arjuna,” Krishna said, “the glaring, transcendental light you are seeing, is My bodily rays. This brahmajyoti is I Myself.” Just as the sun globe and the sunshine cannot be separated, Krishna and His bodily rays, the brahmajyoti, cannot be separated. The brahmajyoti is made up of billions upon billions of minute particles. These particles are spiritual sparks or souls. “This brahmajyoti is an expansion of My internal, spiritual energy,” Krishna told Arjuna, “the brahmajyoti is beyond the material world which is made of My external energy, or maya-.” After this, Lord Krishna and Arjuna entered a vast spiritual ocean. This spiritual water is called the Karana Ocean, which 182 Yadunandana Krishna means it is the origin of the creation of the material world. This place is also known as Viraja, because it is free from the influence of the three qualities of the material world, goodness, passion and ignorance. It is stated in the Brahma- : yah karanarnava-jale bhajati sma yoga-nidram ananta-jagad-anda-sa-roma-kupah: [Bs. 5.47] “Lord Maha- Vishnu is lying in the Karana Ocean. When He exhales, innumerable universes come into existence, and when He inhales, innumerable universes enter within Him.” In this way, the material creation, with all the billions of egg-shaped universes filled with billions of planets, is generated and again withdrawn. When Lord Krishna and Arjuna entered the Karana ocean, it seemed as though a strong hurricane of transcendental effulgence was blowing and agitating the shimmering waters. Then Arjuna saw a large palace within the water. There were many thousands of pillars and columns made of valuable jewels, and the glaring effulgence of those columns was so beautiful that Arjuna was charmed by it. Within that palace, Arjuna and Krishna saw the gigantic form of Anantadeva. Lord Anantadeva, or Sesha Naga, was in the form of a great serpent with thousands of hoods, each one of them decorated with valuable, effulgent jewels, beautifully dazzling. Each of Anantadeva’s hoods had two fearsome looking eyes. His body was as white as the mountaintop of Kailasha, which is always covered by snow. His necks were bluish, as were His tongues. Arjuna saw that on the soft, white body of Sesha Naga, Lord Maha-Vishnu was lying comfortably. He appeared all-pervading and unlimitedly powerful. Lord Maha-Vishnu had eight arms, all very long, Yadunandana Krishna 183 reaching to His knees. His neck was decorated with the Kaustubha jewel, and His chest was marked with the symbol of Shrivatsa, which means “the resting place of the goddess of fortune.” The Lord wore a garland of lotus flowers, known as a Vaijayanti garland, which extended down to His knees. The Lord was attended by His personal associates Nanda and Sunanda, and the personified Sudarshana disc was also standing by Him. As stated in the Vedas, the Lord has innumerable energies, and they also stood there in their personified forms. The most important among them were as follows: Pusti, the energy for nourishment; Sri, the energy of beauty; Kirti, the energy of reputation; and Aja, the energy of material creation. All these energies are invested in those personalities who oversee the material creation, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Indra, , Varuna and the sun- god. In other words, all these devatas, being empowered by the Lord with certain energies, engage in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The form of Maha-Vishnu is an expansion of Krishna’s body, as explained in the ancient Brahma-samhita. All such expansions are non-different from the Personality of Godhead, but since Krishna appeared within this material world to manifest His pastimes as a human being, He and Arjuna immediately offered their respects to Lord Maha- Vishnu by bowing down before Him. This means that Krishna offered obeisances unto none other than Himself, because Lord Maha-Vishnu is non-different from Krishna Himself. After this, the gigantic form of Maha-Vishnu, greatly pleased, smiled pleasingly and spoke as follows. 184 Yadunandana Krishna

“My dear Krishna and Arjuna, I was most eager to see you both, and therefore I arranged to take away the babies of the brahmana and keep them here. I have been expecting to see you both at this palace. You have appeared in the material world as My in order to protect the devotees and to annihilate the demons and especially to establish religious principles so that peace and tranquillity may continue. You are teaching the basic principles of factual religion so that the people of the world may follow you and thereby be peaceful and prosperous.” Both Lord Krishna and Arjuna then offered their obeisances to Lord Maha-Vishnu, and, taking back the brahmana’s children, they returned to Dwaraka via the same route they had entered the spiritual world. After returning to Dwaraka, Lord Krishna and Arjuna delivered to the brahmana all of his sons. Arjuna, however, was struck with great wonder after visiting the transcendental realm of Lord Maha-Vishnu, and by the grace of Krishna he could understand that whatever opulence there may be within this material world, it is just a tiny spark of Krishna’s splendour. One should always try to remain conscious of Krishna, in a mood of gratitude, because whatever one may possess is all given by Him. Arjuna’s incredible experience is just one of the many thousands of pastimes performed by Lord Krishna during His stay in this material world. They were all unique and have no parallel in the history of the world. Later, Krishna decided it was time for Him, His expansions, and all the devatas to depart from the earth and return to the spiritual world. To bring this about He arranged for all the members of the Yadu dynasty to receive Yadunandana Krishna 185 a brahminical curse. This curse directly led to them all becoming intoxicated and killing each other in a huge fight at Prabhasa. While this happened Krishna sat against a tree with His right lotus foot on His left thigh, and by His own special arrangement He also departed for the spiritual world. After Krishna departed the ocean swallowed up the fabulous city of Dwaraka. All these wonderful pastimes prove beyond all doubt that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His mission was to give protection to the devotees and to kill the demoniac kings. Therefore He killed many hundreds and thousands of demons, many of them personally and some by his expansions and devotees such as Arjuna. In this way He established many pious kings, such as Maharaja Yudhisthira, and thereby ensured peace and tranquility in human society. Those killed directly by Krishna obtained liberation from material life, and returned back to the spiritual world. Anyone who sincerely hears and understands Krishna’s wonderful activities, under the guidance of an authorised spiritual master, is also guaranteed to return home, back to Godhead. * * * 186 Yadunandana Krishna

Our Founder & Acharya Srila Prabhupada A Brief Life Sketch

According to the Vedic literatures, the most recent incarnation of Lord Krishna appeared just over five hundred years ago as Sri , the Golden Avatara, in Mayapur, West Bengal. It was Lord Chaitanya who predicted that the chanting of His holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare , Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - would spread beyond the shores of India to every town and village of the world. The person who eventually made this prophecy come true was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada). The following is a brief account of his life and teachings. Srila Prabhupada was born on September 1, 1896, the day after Janmashtami (the appearance day of Lord Krishna) in Kolkata. At the time of his birth an astrologer predicted that at the age of seventy, he would leave India to establish 108 temples of Krishna all over the world. Srila Prabhupada certainly displayed great devotion to Lord Sri Krishna from a very early age. His father had given him small Deities of Radha and Krishna which he worshipped daily and Yadunandana Krishna 187 at the age of six he organised a blissful Ratha-yatra Krishna festival in his local community which lasted for eight days. After leaving the prestigious Scottish Churches College, where he studied for his degree, Srila Prabhupada met the person who was to become his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who, on their very first meeting, requested Srila Prabhupada to preach Krishna consciousness in the West. It was this instruction that Srila Prabhupada took to heart and dedicated his life to fulfilling. As a married man, Srila Prabhupada ran a business and spent as much time and money as he could, assisting the preaching mission of his spiritual master. In 1944 He started a magazine called ‘Back to Godhead’ which he wrote, edited, printed and sold single-handedly. He also started a mission in Jhansi called ‘The League of Devotees’. Recognizing Srila Prabhupada’s philosophical learning and devotion, the society of devotees and scholars in Vrindavana honoured him in 1947 with the title “Bhaktivedanta.” In 1959, he was awarded sannyasa (the renounced order of life) and after retiring from family life he went to live in the holy village of Vrindavana where he spent his whole time studying and writing, living very simply in one room. Here he worked on his life’s masterpiece: a multivolume annotated translation of the eighteen- thousand-verse Srimad-Bhagavatam ( Purana). 188 Yadunandana Krishna

Srila Prabhupada figured that since everyone was following the Americans, if he could convince them of Krishna consciousness, then the whole world would eventually follow too. Through a contact he had, Srila Prabhupada managed to get free passage on a regular cargo carrier that was headed for New York. So on August 13, 1965, just a few days before his sixty-ninth birthday when most people would have retired, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada set sail to start his preaching mission in the West. The crossing proved very difficult for Srila Prabhupada, and he suffered two heart attacks. On board the ship there was neither a doctor, nor any medicine that could help him, and he feared a third attack would kill him. That night he had a wonderful dream. Lord Krishna was rowing a boat and reassuring Srila Prabhupada that He would protect him from all danger. Thirty seven days later, Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York knowing no-one, with just 40 rupees in his pocket, a metal suitcase full of his books, an umbrella and a supply of dry cereal, in case he could not find anything vegetarian to eat. But what could one man, who had no visible help or support, was in poor health and who was preaching a message completely unheard of in America, possibly achieve? In short, between the years 1965 and 1977, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, or Srila Prabhupada, as his followers affectionately came to know him, had spread the teachings of Lord Krishna Yadunandana Krishna 189 to every major city in the world and had formed an international society comprising of thousands of dedicated members. As predicted by his childhood astrologer, he had established 108 Krishna temples, including a thirteen storied building in the heart of the world’s most important city, New York, along with magnificent estates spread across six continents. He had circled the globe fourteen times to personally guide the membership of his growing mission. His simple dedication to the order of his spiritual master, and his deep faith and devotion to Krishna had made the words ‘Hare Krishna’ a household name all over the world, just as Lord Chaitanya had predicted five hundred years ago. As if this were not enough accomplishment for a person of such advanced age, Srila Prabhupada had also written and published over seventy volumes of books, which have been translated to over twenty- eight languages, tens of millions of which have been distributed throughout the world. He had delivered thousands of lectures, written thousands of letters, and taken part in thousands of conversations with followers, admirers, and critics alike. And he had won the esteem of dozens of important scholars, professors, social figures and politicians, who had genuine appreciation for Srila Prabhupada’s contributions to religion, philosophy, and culture. He gained recognition amongst academicians, scholars, religious leaders, political and social figures as possibly the greatest ever exponent of the teachings of Lord 190 Yadunandana Krishna

Krishna.

“Here for the first time since the days of the Roman Empire is a new Asian religion – that is to say, an Asian religion new to the Western world – being practised by people of Western race. It arose out of nothing in less than twenty years and has become known all over the West…and an important fact in the history of the Western world.” — A.L Basham, a leading authority on Indian history and religion.

“Besides being a man of deep moral strength, humility, and holiness, he was genuinely renounced. Srila Prabhupada’s life. . . is the epitome of his ideal, an ideal that he set forth for others to follow.” — Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California.

“His books are significant contributions to the salvation of mankind.” — Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri, Former Prime Minister of India.

Srila Prabhupada also instructed that his temples should distribute free prasadam (sanctified food) to the poor. This programme is known worldwide as “Food for Life,” and ISKCON, Bangalore, currently feeds tens of lakhs of poor school children every day with nourishing foodstuffs under the Akshaya Patra programme All this inspired by the love and deep compassion of a truly saintly person, Srila Prabhupada. * * * Yadunandana Krishna 191 192 Yadunandana Krishna Model Questions

I. Answer the following questions by picking the best choice from the options given below: 1. Who among the following was the wife of Kamsa? A) Mukti B) Ashti C) Bhukti D) Vashti 2. The father-in-law of Kamsa was A) B) Shishupala C) Jarasandha D) Ugrasena 3. Which dynasty did Jarasandha vow to annihilate? A) Vadhu B) Yadu C) Raghu D) Bhoja 4. Which was the kingdom of Jarasandha? A) Dwaraka B) Vrindavana C) Magadha D) Kurukshetra 5. What is an Akshauhini? A) Plane B) Chariot C) Kingdom D) Military Division 6. Which was the capital of Yadu kings? A) Mathura B) C) Indraprasta D) 7. The Emblem of which bird was marked in the chariots? A) Garuda B) Takshaka C) D) Shuka 8. In which form did Lord Krishna appear before ? A) B) Vishnu C) Himself D) 9. How was Krishna traveling? A) Chariot B) Garuda C) Foot D) Plane 10. Kalayavana followed Krishna into a? A) Cave B) Open Field C) City D) Fortress II. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate word: 11 . A ______was sleeping inside the cave. A) lion B) python C) man D) bat 12. King Muchukunda ______the demon. A) garlanded B) praised C) preached to D) burnt 13. Lord Balarama dragged ______down with his plough. A) Balvala B) Dantavakra C) Satrajit D) Shantadhanva 14. ______is the confluence of three rivers,the Ganges,Yamuna and Yadunandana Krishna 193

Saraswati. A) Gangasagara B) Naimisharanya C) Prayag D) Gaya 15. On leaving the cave, King Muchukunda realized he was in ______A) Dwapar Yuga B) C) Kali Yuga D) Satya Yuga 16. After King Muchukunda’s visit, Gandhamadana came to be known as ______. A) Hemkunt B) Ahobila C) Kedarnath D) Badrikashrama 17. Jarasandha attacked Krishna’s Kingdom ______times. A) 21 B) 10 C) 18 D) 50 18. Krishna is also called as ______as he left the battlefield without fighting. A) Makhan Chor B) Ranachora C) Gopi Chor D) Dahi Chor 19. A Spiritual Master who instructs a disciple about spiritual matters is called ______. A) Gurudeva B) Brahmana C) Diksha Guru D) Guru 20. The universe is nothing but a display of the energy of ______. A) Balarama B) Krishna C) Brahma D) Durga devi III. State whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE: 21. Dantavakra was the father of Shalva and friend of Viduratha. A) True B) False 22. Rukmini’s father was called as Maharaj Bhishmaka. A) True B) False 23. Rukma was the elder brother of Rukmini A) True B) False 24. Shishupala was being prepared to marry Rukmini. A) True B) False 25. Lord Balarama killed Romaharshana Suta with a Kusha straw. A) True B) False 26. Kaumodaki is the name of Krishna’s club. A) True B) False 194 Yadunandana Krishna

27. The Brahmanas in Naimisharanya asked Lord Balarama to revive Romaharshana Suta. A) True B) False 28. The temple of Aryadevi is completely surrounded by water. A) True B) False 29. Duryodhana had learned the art of fighting with a club from Lord Krishna. A) True B) False 30. Sudama Vipra had brought chipped rice for Lord Krishna. A) True B) False IV. Picture based questions:

31. What is the name of the man on the chariot? A) Kamsa B) Balarama C) Krishna D) Arjuna 32. Identify the lady on the chariot A) Radharani B) Satyabhama C) Rukmini D) Yashodamata 33. What is the man doing on the chariot? A) Kidnapping the lady B) Playing with the lady Yadunandana Krishna 195

C) Killing the lady D) Marrying the lady 34. Who went to protest after the incident? A) Sudhama B) Jarasandha C) Rukmi D) Bhaumasura 35. What happened when the protest was made? A) A fight started B) Peace reigned C) Lady changed her mind D) Chariot broke down 36. What are the other kings doing? A) Watching helplessly B) Starting to chase C) Ran away D) Feeling very angry 37. How many horses are pulling the chariot A) 8 B) 4 C) 2 D) 6 38. What are the ladies behind the chariot trying to do? A) Prevent her kidnap B) Asking her to go fast C) Crying helplessly D) Wishing her good fortune 39. In which city is this scene taking place? A) Mayapur B) Kundina C) Vrindavana D) Ujjain 40. Where is the chariot headed? A) Vrindavana B) Puri C) Dwaraka D) Ujjain V. Read this passage and answer the questions following: Soon Rukmini and Krishna had a son together who was named Pradyumna. In his previous life Pradyumna was the devata of love, known as Cupid. Being Krishna’s son, his qualities were strikingly similar to those of Krishna, and as it happened there was a demon called Shambara who was destined to be killed by him. The Shambara demon knew of his destiny, and as soon as he learned that Pradyumna was born, he took the shape of a woman and kidnapped the baby from the maternity home less than ten days after his birth. The demon took him and threw him into the sea. But, as it is said, “Whoever is protected by Krishna, no one can kill, and whoever is destined to be killed by Krishna, no one can protect.” When Pradyumna was thrown into the sea a big fish instantly swallowed him up. Later this fish was caught in the net of a fisherman, and was later sold to Shambara who gave it to his cooks to prepare. Demons like Ravana, Kamsa and , although born of brahmana and kshatriya fathers, used to eat meat and flesh without discrimination. (Devotees of Krishna only eat foods that can first be 196 Yadunandana Krishna offered to the Lord with love and devotion, and He does not accept offerings of meat, fish or eggs). 41. What was the name of the son of Krishna and Rukmini? A) Pradyumna B) Chandragupta C) Karna D) 42. A demon was destined to be killed by Krishna’s son. What was his name? A) Ravana B) Bhaumasura C) Shambara D) Bakasura 43. What form did the demon take to kidnap Krishna’s son? A) Man B) Woman C) Bird D) Beast 44. What is the devata of love known as? A) Maya B) Kotara C) Bhavani D) Cupid 45. What are the foodstuffs that cannot be offered to Lord Krishna? A) Meat B) Fish C) Eggs D) All of the above VI. Match the following: No. Question Choice 46. Vaishaka A) Blue – Black 47. Sugriva B) March – April 48. Shyamasundara C) April – May 49. Chaitra D) Ape King

VII. 50. Write the complete Hare Krishna maha-mantra in the space provided in your answer sheet. Yadunandana Krishna 197

Model Answer Sheet Please shade ( ) the correct answer. A B C D A B C D 1. 11. 2. 12. 3. 13. 4. 14. 5. 15. 6. 16. 7. 17. 8. 18. 9. 19. 10. 20. True False A B C D 21. 31. 22. 32. 23. 33. 24. 34. 25. 35. 26. 36. 27. 37. 28. 38. 29. 39. 30. 40. A B C D A B C D 41. 46. 42. 47. 43. 48. 44. 49. 45.

50. Write the Hare Krishna maha-mantra here ______198 Yadunandana Krishna

Answers for the Model Questions 1. A 11. C 21. B 31. C 41. A 2. C 12. D 22. A 32. C 42. C 3. B 13 . A 23. B 33. A 43. B 4. C 14. C 24. A 34. C 44. D 5. D 15 . C 25. A 35. A 45. D 6. A 16 . D 26. A 36. A 46. C 7. A 17. C 27. B 37. B 47. D 8. B 18. B 28. A 38. A 48. A 9. C 19 . D 29. B 39. B 49. B 10. A 20. B 30. A 40. C Yadunandana Krishna 199

Glossary

Absolute Truth – God, who is independent of everything. acharya – a spiritual master who teaches by his own personal behaviour. all-pervading – that which extends throughout. – a demon or nondevotee. austerities – voluntary acceptance of bodily inconvenience for the sake of spiritual advancement. avatara – an incarnation of Godhead who descends from the spiritual world. benediction – a blessing. Bhagavad-gita – the book that records the spiritual instructions given by Krishna to His friend Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. bhakta – a devotee. Brahma – the first created living being in the universe. brahmachari – a celibate student under the guidance of a spiritual master. – the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. brahmanas – the spiritual order of society whose occupation is the cultivation of Vedic knowledge. Brahma-samhita – a scripture written by Lord Brahma in which his authoritative prayers to the Lord are recorded. cause of all causes – the original cause from which universal creation comes about, as a series of causes and effects. That original cause is Lord Krishna and He is described as sarva karana karanam. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – the incarnation of Krishna as His own devotee who comes in this age to teach the process of devotional service by chanting the holy names of God. conditioned soul – a spirit soul who is subjected to the conditions of the material world and has forgotten his real spiritual identity. conjugal love – the love between husband and wife. consorts – husbands or wives. cosmic manifestation – display of the material universes. demigods – also known as devas or devatas, they are devotees of Lord Vishnu and are empowered by Him to oversee the various affairs of the 200 Yadunandana Krishna material world. effulgence – rays of brightness. Ekadashi – a day of fasting which occurs twice a month and which is meant for increasing Krishna consciousness. expansion – a complete form of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, having all the powers that the Lord possesses. – celestial denizens of the heavenly planets who sing very beautifully. Garuda – the giant bird-carrier of Vishnu. gopis – cowherd girls, specifically the transcendental girl-friends of Lord Krishna. – one who is in the householder order of life. guru – a spiritual master. illusory energy – the Lord’s energy called Maya that puts one in an illusion of one’s real identity. initiated – Formally introduced to spiritual discipline under the guidance of the spiritual master (guru). internal potency – the Supreme Lord has multiple potencies which are classified into three broad categories – external, internal and marginal. The material world is a manifestation of His external potency, the spiritual world is a manifestation of His internal potency and the living entities (jiva atmas) constitute His marginal potency. jaya – victory. jnani – someone who engages in mental speculation in pursuit of knowledge. kadamba – a tree which bears a round yellow flower and which is generally seen only in the Vrindavana area. – fruitive activities or their reactions. karmi – a fruitive worker. Kaustubha – a transcendental jewel worn around the neck of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. kshatriyas – the spiritual order of society whose occupation is governmental administration and military protection of the citizens. lila – pastimes. Lord Sesha – Ananta Sesha, the thousand-headed serpent form of the Yadunandana Krishna 201

Lord, who sustains the planets on His hoods. manifested – displayed, exhibited. material energy – see internal potency. material opulences – material wealth or riches. Maya (Mahamaya) – the external, material energy of the Supreme Lord, which covers the conditioned soul and does not allow him to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mayavadi – one who adheres to impersonalist or voidist philosophy and does not accept the eternal existence of the transcendental form of the Lord. miscreants – villains, sinners or criminals. mukti – liberation. Mukunda – Lord Krishna, who awards liberation and whose smiling face is like a kunda flower. mystic potencies – superhuman or spiritual powers. obeisances – bowing down in respect. Pandavas – the five sons of King Pandu (, Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva). Paramatma – the expansion of the Supreme Lord who lives in the heart of all living entities. parijata – a type of flower found on the heavenly planets. parts and parcels – portions, particles. pastimes – the completely spiritual activities of the Lord, with his devotees. pious – (punya karma) those activities recommended by the Vedas, which will bring about material prosperity in the form of wealth, beauty, intelligence, good birth, fame, etc. prasadam – food first offered to the Supreme Lord and then distributed. puffed up – proud. pure devotees – devotees of the Lord who serve Him without any material desire, simply for His pleasure. rasa – a transcendental relationship between the individual soul and the Supreme Lord. rasa-lila – Lord Krishna’s transcendental pastime of dancing with the gopis. sannyasi – one who is in the renounced order. shastras – revealed scriptures. self realization – to know the real self beyond the designations of body, as 202 Yadunandana Krishna a spirit soul (jiva atma), in theory and practice. shudras – the spiritual order of society who are not very intelligent and are unqualified for any work other than menial service. Shyamasundara – a name of Krishna. Shyama means ‘blackish’ and sundara means ‘very beautiful.’ Srimad-Bhagavatam – the authoritative Vedic scripture that deals exclusively with the pastimes of the Personality of Godhead and His devotees. Sudarshana – the wheel that is the personal weapon of Vishnu or Krishna. tapasya – austerity. tilaka – a clay mark that decorates the faces of Krishna and His devotees. transcendental – spiritual, beyond this material world. Tulasi – a great devotee in the form of a plant, who is very dear to Lord Krishna. Vaishnava – a devotee of the Supreme Lord Vishnu or Krishna. vaishyas – the agricultural community in Vedic culture, who protect cows and cultivate crops. Vishnu – the Supreme Lord; an expansion of Lord Krishna for the creation and maintenance of the material world. whorl – circular arrangement of leaves or flowers. yajna – sacrifice. yoga – the process of linking with the Supreme. Yogamaya – the principal internal (spiritual) potency of the Supreme Lord. – one who practices yoga. Yadunandana Krishna 203

Books by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: Bhagavad-gita As It Is Srimad-Bhagavatam Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (9 vols.) Teachings of Lord Chaitanya The Nectar of Devotion The Nectar of Instruction Sri Isopanisad Easy Journey to Other Planets Krishna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers Teachings of Lord , the Son of Devahuti Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja Dialectic Spiritualism-A Vedic View of Western Philosophy Teachings of Queen Kunti Krishna, the Reservoir of Pleasure The Science of Self-Realization The Path of Perfection Search for Liberation Life Comes from Life The Perfection of Yoga Beyond Birth and Death On the Way to Krishna Raja-vidya: The King of Knowledge Elevation to Krishna Consciousness Krishna Consciousness: The Matchless Gift The Narada-- (with disciples) The Mukunda-mala- (with disciples) A Second Chance The Journey of Self-Discovery The Laws of Nature The Sword of Knowledge Back to Godhead magazine (founder)