Reading section 28

Having thus inaugurated Krishna, Indra, the husband of Sachi, again affectionately said—"I have done this at the request of the cattle; hear, I shall speak something else to thee, O noble one, being desirous of relieving the earth of her burden. O foremost of men, a portion of mine, under the name of Arjuna, has descended upon earth—do thou protect him always. He shall assist thee in relieving the earth of her burden. He should be protected by thee, O Slayer of Madhu, like thy own Self".

The Deity said "I know that in the family of Bharata, thy son has been born by Pritha. I shall protect him as long as I shall live on this earth. O Sakra, O Slayer of foes, O lord of the celestials, as long I shall be on this earth, no one shall be able to vanquish Arjuna in conflict. The highly powerful Asura Kansa and Arishtha Keshi, Nāraka and others being slain, there shall take place a terrible conflict, O king of the celestials; know that, O thousand-eyed deity, as what will relieve earth of her burden. Do thou go; it behoves thee not to be anxious for thy son. No enemy of Arjuna shall grow in power before me. For Arjuna I shall render back Yudhishthira and his brothers to Kunti after the great battle of Kurukshetra".

Parāçara said:—Being thus addressed, the king of the celestials embraced Janarddana and having mounted the elephant Airavata again went to the celestial region. Krishna too with the cows and cow-herds came back to Vraja by the way sanctified by the looks of the females of the cow-herds.

SECTION XIII.

Parāçara said:—Sakra having departed, the cow-herds, on seeing him uplift the mountain Govardhana, said to Krishna of wonderous deeds, delightedly:—"O thou of mighty arms, thou hast saved us from a great fear; by holding up the mountain thou hast protected the cows. Wonderful are thy childish sports and insignificant is the condition of a herdsman and all thy actions are those of a god. Tell us what is the meanings of all this. Kaliya has been vanquished in the water; Pralamba has been killed; Govardhana has been lifted up; our minds are filled with surprise. We can swear by the feet of Hari, O thou of unbounded might, that beholding thy powers we do not consider thee as man. O Kesava, the woman, the children and the old of Vraja are all pleased with thee—even all the celestials cannot perform the deeds thou hast done. Thy boyhood and thy prowess; thy humiliating birth amongst us, are contradictions that fill us with surprise whenever we think of them. Be thou a god, or a demon or a Yaksha or a Gandharva, or whatever, we may consider thee, we should respect thee for thou art our friend".

When they had finished, Krishna remained silent for some time as if hurt and wounded and then said to them, "Herdsmen, if you are not ashamed of my relationship, if I have deserved your praise, then what necessity have you to discuss thus concerning me? If you have any love for me, if I merit your praise, then consider me as your friend. I am neither a god, nor a Gandharva nor a Yaksha nor a demon—I am born as thy friend and you should not think otherwise of me".

Parāçara said Being addressed thus, O great Muni the cow-herds remained silent and went into the woods leaving Krishna apparently displeased. Beholding the clear sky with the autumnal moon, and the air perfumed with the fragrance of the wild water-lily in whose buds the clustering bees were murmuring their songs, he felt inclined to join with the females of cow-herds in sport. Thereupon with Rāma he began singing sweet low strains in various measures such as the woman loved; and they, as soon as they heard the music, left their homes and hastened to meet the Slayer of Madhu. One damsel gently sang an accompaniment to his song, another attentively listened to his music: one called him by the name and then shrank in bashfulness: whilst another, more bold and prompted by love, pressed close to his side; one, as she came out, saw some of the seniors of her family and dared not venture satisfying herself with meditating on Krishna with closed eyes and whole-minded devotion by which immediately all acts of merit were effaced by rapture and all sin was expiated by regret at not seeing him: and others again, reflecting upon the cause of the world, in the form of the Supreme Brahma, obtained, by their sighing, final emancipation. Thus encircled by the females of cow-herds Krishna thought the lovely moon-light night of autumn suited to the Rāsa[259] dance. Many of them so imitated the different actions of Krishna that in his absence they wandered through Vrindavana representing his person. "I am Krishna" exclaims one "behold the beauty of my movements". "I am Krishna" cries another "Listen to my song". "Wait! wicked Kāliya, I am Krishna" cries out another striking her arms defiantly. A fourth cries out: "Herdsmen, fear nothing, be steady, there is no danger of the storm any more for I uplift the Govardhana for your protection," and a fifth exclaims—"Now let the cattle graze wherever they will, for I have slain Dhenuka". In this wise the females of the cow-herds imitated the various actions of Krishna, and in his absence removed their sorrow by mimicking his sports. One damsel, looking on the earth with the down of her person erect and expanded eyes, exclaims "See here are the impressions of Krishna's feet and as he has gone, he has left those marks of the banner, the thunder-bolt and the goad. What fortunate damsel is going with him inebriate with her passion as her irregular footmarks prove? Here Damodara has called flowers from on high, for we see alone the marks of the tips of his feet. Here a nymph has sat down with him be-decked with flowers, fortunate in having propitiated Vishnu in a pristine birth. Having left her in a haughty mood because he had adored her with flowers, the son of Nanda has gone by this road; for see, unable to follow him with equal steps his companion has here tripped along upon her toes; and that holding his hand, the damsel has passed on is evident from the uneven and intermingled footsteps. The wicked Krishna merely took her by the hand and then left her. The damsel, being disappointed, is returning in faltering steps—for such her foot-marks indicate. Forsooth he proposed to her that he would come back soon, for here are his own footsteps returning with speed. Here he has entered the thick forest but as the rays of the moon do not enter here his footsteps can be traced no farther". Being hopeless of beholding Krishna, the females of the cow-herds came back and arriving at the banks of the Yamuna, they began to sing

his songs. They immediately saw the protector of the three worlds, with a smiling countenance, coming speedily towards them, on which one cried out "Krishna, Krishna" being unable to utter any thing else. One liked to contract her forehead with frowns as drinking with the bees of her eyes the lotus of the face of Hari: another, shutting her eyes, meditated, in her mind, upon his form as if being engaged in an act of devotion. Thereupon coming amongst them Mādhaba conciliated some with soft words some with gentle looks and some he took by the hand and the illustrious deity sported with them in the stations of the dance, after all the damsels had been propitiated. As each of the damsels attempted to remain in one place close to the side of Krishna, the circle of the dance could not be constructed. Thereupon taking each by the hand and when their eyelids were closed by the effects of such touch Hari formed the circle. Then began the dance in accompaniment with the music of their clashing bracelets and songs that celebrated in sweet melody the beauty of the autumnal season. Krishna sang the moon of autumn, a mine of gentle rays but the damsels chanted the praise of Krishna only. At times, one of them exhausted by the revolving dance, threw her arms, adorned with the tinkling bracelets round the neck of the Slayer of Madhu: another proficient in the art of singing his praises embraced him. The drops of perspiration from the arms of Hari were like fertilizing rain which produced a drop of dew upon the temples of the damsels of cow-herds. Krishna sang the melody that was suited to the dance. The damsels again and again repeated—"Bravo, Krishna," to his song. When leading, they followed him, when coming back, they met him and whether he went forwards or backwards they always followed his footsteps. Whilst sporting thus with the females of the cow-herds, they regarded one moment in his absence as a myriad of years. And although prohibited in vain by their husbands and brothers, they went out in night to sport with Krishna, the idol of their affection. Thus the deity of unbounded prowess, the remover of all imperfections, assumed the character of a youth amongst the damsels of Vraja, pervading their natures and that of their lords, by his own essence all diffusive like the wind, for even as in all creatures the elements of ether, fire, water, and air are comprehended, so also is he everywhere present and in all.

SECTION XIV.

One evening whilst Janārddana was engaged in Rāsa, the demon Aristha, disguised as a bull, came there striking terror into the hearts of all. His appearance was like a cloud saturated with waters—his two horns were very sharp and his two eyes were bright like the sun. As he proceeded, he ploughed up the ground with his hoofs: his tongue was repeatedly licking his lips; his tail was erect; the sinews of his shoulders were strong and between them rose a hump of enormous proportions; his haunches were soiled with ordure and he was a dread to the herds; his dewlap hung low and his face was marked with scars from butting against the trees. Terrifying all the kine, and destroying hermits and ascetics that demon, in the guise of a bull, haunts all the forests. Being greatly stricken with fear on beholding that dreadful bull, the cow-herds and their females cried out "Krishna, Krishna". Krishna then shouted and slapped his arms in defiance. When the demon heard the noise, he turned upon his challenger, and fixing his eyes and pointing his horns at the belly of Kesava, he ran furiously upon the youth. Krishna did not stir from his place, but smiling in sport and derision, awaited the near approach of the bull, when he seized him, as an alligator would have done and held him firmly by the horns, whilst he pressed his sides with his knees. Having thus humiliated his pride and held him captive by his horn, he wrung his throat as if it had been a piece of wet cloth; and then tearing off one of the horns, he beat the dreadful demon with it until he died vomiting blood from his mouth. Seeing him slain the herdsmen glorified Krishna, as the companies of the celestials of old praised Indra, when he triumphed over the Asura Jambha.

SECTION XV.

After these things had happened, Aristha, the bull demon and Dhenuka and Pralamba had been destroyed, Govardhana had been uplifted, the serpent Kailya had been vanquished, the two trees had been broken, the female fiend Putanā had been destroyed and the wagon had been overturned, Nārada went to Kansa and related to him the whole, beginning with the transference of the child from Devaki to Yosadā. Hearing this from Nārada, Kansa was greatly enraged with Vasudeva and remonstrated with him hard, and with all the Yadavas in an assembly of the race. Then thinking what was to be done he determined to destroy both Krishna and Rāma whilist they were yet young and before they had attained to man-hood. Accordingly he made up his mind, to invite them from Vraja under the plea of the solemn rite of the lustration of arms, when he would engage them in a trial of strength with his chief boxers Chānura and Mushtika, by whom they would undoubtedly be slain. "I will send" he said "the noble Akrura, the son of Swapalka to Gokula to bring them hither. I will order the dreadful Kesin, who frequents the forest of Vrindavan, to attack him, and he is of unequalled prowess and will, for certain, kill them; or if they come here, my elephant Kuvalayapida shall trample to death these two cow-boy sons of Vasudeva". Having thus planned to kill Rāma and Janārddana, the vicious Kansa sent for the heroic Akrura and said to him, "O master of liberal gifts, hear my words: and out of friendship for me perform my orders. Ascend your chariot and go to the house of the milkman Nanda. The two vicious boys, portions of Vishnu, have been born there, for the very object of bringing about my destruction. On the fourteenth lunation I intend celebrating the rite of the lustration of arms. I wish them to be brought here by you to take part in the games and that the people may behold them engage in a boxing match with my too skilled boxers Chānura and Mushtika; or by chance, my elephant, driven against them by his rider, shall destroy these vicious youngsters—the sons of Vasudeva. When they are out of the way, I shall kill Vasudeva himself, the cow-herds and my foolish father Ugrasena and I will get there by the flocks, herds and all the properties of the rebelious cow-herds who have ever been inimical to me. Save thou, lord of liberality, all the Yadavas have been my enemies and I will find out means for their destruction; and I shall then govern my kingdom with thee without any disturbance. If you regard me, do thou go as I direct thee; and thou shalt command the cow-herds to bring in speedily their supplies of milk and butter and curds".

Being thus advised the illustrious Akrura the immediately undertook to see Krishna and ascending his magnificent chariot he went, out from the city of Mathura.

SECTION XVI.

Parāçara said:—Being commissioned by Kansa's emissary, Kesin, elated with the confidence of his prowess, reached Vrindavana, being desirous of bringing about the destruction of Krishna. He assailed the cow-herds, spurning the ground with his hoofs, scattering the clouds with his mane and obstructing the paths of the sun and the moon. Being terrified by the neighings of the demon, assuming the shape of a steed, the cow-herds and their females fled to Govinda for shelter exclaiming "Save us! Save us!!" Hearing their cries, Govinda replied in a voice deep as the roaring of the thunder cloud. Srikrishna said: "Away with the fears of Keshin, O cowherds; being born as Gopals, why do you destroy my valour and heroism? Why are you afraid of one of such little might whose neighings are his only terrors, a galloping and vicious horse who is ridden by the strength of Daityas? Come on, wretch. I am Krishna and I will knock all thy teeth down thy throat, as the wielder of trident did to Pushan". Thus defying him, Govinda went to fight with Kesin. The demon with his mouth wide open, ran upon Krishna. But Krishna, enlarging his arms, thrust it into his mouth and knocked down the teeth which fell from his jaws like fragments of white clouds. Still the arm of Krishna in the throat of Krishna continued to enlarge, as a disease, neglected in the beginning, increasing till the dissolution. The torn lips of the demon vomitted forth foam and blood; his eyes rolled in affliction; his joints gave way; he struck the earth with his feet; his body was covered with perspiration and he became incapable of any exertion. Having his mouths rent open by the arm of Krishna, that dreadful demon fell down like a tree struck and shattered by lightning, divided into two portions. Each of those portions had two legs, half a back, half a tail, one ear, one eye and one nostril. Krishna stood, unhurt and smiling after the destruction of the demons encircled by the cow-herd, who, together with their females, were filled with surprise at the death of Kesin and glorified the lotus-eyed deity. Beholding the destruction of Kesin, the Brāhmin Nārada, invisible and seated in a cloud, delightedly exclaimed—"Well done, O lord of the universe who has easily destroyed Kesin, the oppresser of the celestials. I have never heard of such a combat between a man and a horse; being curious to behold it, I have come from heaven. My heart is filled with joy and surprise, O slayer of Madhu, on beholding the wonderful works thou hast done in thy descent upon earth. O Krishna Indra and other celestials lived in fear of this horse, who tossed his mane and neighed and looked down upon the clouds, Because thou hast slain the impious Kesin thou shalt be celebrated in the world by the name of Kesava. Farewell! I will now go. I shall meet thee again, O subduer of Kesin, in two days more, when thou shalt be engaged in a conflict with Kansa, When the son of Ugrasena, with his follwers shall have been slain, then, O upholder of the earth earth's burden will have been lightened by thee. Many are the battles of the kings that have to see, in which thou shalt be renowned; I will now go away, O Govinda. Thou hast accomplished a great deed admired by the celestials, I have been much pleased with thee and take my leave". When Nārada had departed, Krishna, who was the cynosure of the eyes of the damsels of Vraja, not the least surprised, went back with the cow-herds to Gokula.

SECTION XVII.

Parāçara said:—Having issued out of the house of Kansa, Akrurā being desirous of seeing Krishna, proceeded towards the house of Nanda in a swift-coursing car. He thought within himself. "There is none more fortunate than I, for I shall behold the countenance of a portion of the holder of discus. To-day my life has borne fruit, my night is followed by the dawn of day, for I shall behold the countenance of Vishnu resembling full-blown lotuses. Blessed are my eyes and blessed are my words, for on beholding Vishnu a conversation shall take place between him and me. I shall behold the countenance of Vishnu having lotus eyes, which, when seen only in imagination, removes all sins. I shall behold to-day the mouth of Vishnu—the glory of glories, whence proceeded the Vedas and all their divisions. I shall behold the lord of the universe by whom the world is sustained, who is worshipped as the best Purusha and as the male of sacrifice in sacrificial rites. I shall behold Keseva, who is without beginning or end, by worshipping whom with a hundred sacrifices, Indra obtained the sovereignty over the celestials. That Hari, whose nature is unknown to Brahmā, Indra, Rudra, the Aswins, the Vasus, the Adityas and Maruts, will this day touch my body. He, who is the soul of all omniscient, is identical with everything, omnipresent, permanent, undecaying, all-pervading, shall converse with me. He, the unborn, who has preserved the world in diverse forms of a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a horse, a lion, will this day talk with me. The lord of the universe, who assumes shapes at will, has taken upon him the condition of humanity to satisfy some object of his heart. The endless, who holds the earth upon his crest and who has descended upon earth for its protection, will this day call me by my name. Glory to that being, whose deceptive adoption of father, son, brother, friend, mother, and relative, the world is unable to comprehend. Salutation unto him, who is identical with true knowledge, who is inscrutable and through whom, when seated in his heart the ascetic gets over the worldly ignorance and illusion, I bow to him, who, by the performers of holy rites, is denominated Yajnapurusha (the male of a sacrifice), Vāsudeva, by the devotees and Vishnu by the adepts in Vedānta philosophy. May he, who comprises in himself, cause and effect and the world itself, be pleased with me, through his truth, for I always confide in that unborn and eternal Hari, by meditating on whom man becomes the repository of all auspicious things".

Parāçara said:—Thus meditating upon Vishnu, Akrura, having his mind animated by devout faith, reached Gokula a little before sun-set; and there he beheld Krishna amongst the cattle, dark as the leaf of the full-blown lotus; his eyes of the same colour and his breast adorned with Srivatsa mark; long-armed, broad-chested; having a high nose, a graceful countenance with smiles; treading firmly on the ground with feet whose nails were tinted red; dressed in yellow raiments and be-decked with a garland of forest flowers; having a creeper just collected in his hands, and a chaplet of white lotus-flowers on his head. Akrura also saw there Balabhadra, white as a jasmine, a swan or the moon dressed in a blue dress; having large and mighty arms and a countenance as radiant as a blue lotus, like the Kailāsa mountain adorned with a wreath of clouds.

When Akrura, beheld these two young men, his countenance expanded with joy and the down of his body stood erect with delight. And he thought—"This is the supreme happiness and repository; this the double manifestation of the divine Vāsudeva; blessed are my eyes for I have seen the protector of the universe and my bodily form shall yield fruit, when by the favour of the deity it shall come in contact with his person. Shall that assumer of infinite forms place his hand on my back by the touch of whose fingers alone all sins are dispelled and imperishable, felicity is secured. And by this hand holding the fierce irresistible discus blazing with all the flames of fire, lightning, and the sun, were slain the Daitya chiefs, and the collyrium from the eyes of their females was washed. Into this hand Bali poured water and obtained enjoyments in the region under the earth and immortality and dominion over the celestials for a whole Manwantara without danger from any enemy. Although I am not sinful, perhaps he will despise me for my connection with the vicious Kansa. If so, cursed is my birth who is counted amongst the wicked. What is there unknown to him who resides in the hearts of all men, who is ever existent, freed from imperfection, the aggregate of the quality of purity and at one with true knowledge? With a heart animated with devout faith I approach the lord of lords, the descended portion of that excellent Purusha, Vishnu, who his without beginning, middle or end".

SECTION XVIII.

Parāçara said Thus meditating, Akrura, born in the race of the Yadus, bowed his hand down to the feet of Hari saying—"I am Akrura". And Krishna placed his hand upon him, which was marked with the flag, the thunder-bolt, the lotus, and drew him towards him and affectionately embraced him.

Being thus honored by him, Balarāma and Kesava, delighted, entered with him their own habitation. Having entered into conversation with them and been fed, he related to them everything duly, how their father Anakadundhubi, the princess Devaki and even his own father had been insulted by the wicked demon Kansa and for what purpose he had been despatched. Having heard all from him the illustrious slayer of Kesin said—"O thou of liberal gift, I know all thou hast said; O great one, I shall devise proper measures for this—do not think otherwise of this; consider Kansa as already slain. Rāma and I will go to Mathura tomorrow along with you. The elders of the cow-herds shall accompany us carrying sufficient offerings. Rest here tonight and drive all thy anxiety. Within three nights I will destroy Kansa and all his followers".

Having thus commanded the cow-herds, Akrura with Kesava and Rāma retired to rest and slept soundly in the house of Nanda. The next morning was clear and the young men prepared to proceed to Mathura with Akrura. The females of the cow-herds, on seeing them about to depart, were much afflicted. They wept bitterly—their bracelets were loose upon their arms—and they thus thought within themselves—"If Govinda goes to Mathura, how will he come back to Gokula? His ears will be pleased by the sweet and finished conversation of the damsels of the city. And being used to the language of the graceful females of Mathura he will never again like the rustic expressions of the Gopees. Hari, the pride of our village is taken away and a fatal blow is laid upon us by inexorable destiny.

"The women of the city have sweet smiles, graceful language, beautiful air, elegant gait and significant glances. Hari is of rustic breeding, and, captivated by their fascinations, what likelihood is there of his returning to the society of any one amongst us? Kevasa, who has mounted the car to go to Mathura, has been deceived by the cruel, vile, and desperate Akrura. Does not the unfeeling traitor know the affection that we all here feel for our Hari, the joy of our eyes, that he is taking him away? Unkind that he is, Govinda is departing from us, along with Rāma: haste! let us stop him! Why talk of telling our seniors that we cannot bear his loss? What can they do for us, we are consumed by the fires of separation? The Gopas, with Nanda at their head, are themselves preparing to depart; no one makes any attempt to detain Govinda. Bright is the morning that succeeds to this night for the women of Mathura, for the bees of their eyes will feed upon the lotus face of Achyuta. Happy are they who may go hence without impediment, and behold, enraptured, Krishna on his journey. A great festival will delight today the eyes of the inhabitants of Mathura when they will behold the person of Govinda. What pleasurable dream was seen by the happy damsels of the city that their graceful eyes shall behold unobstructed the countenance of Krishna! Alas! the eyes of the females of cow-herds have been deprived of their vision by the relentless Brahmā, after he had shown them this great treasure. Hari departing with his love for us decayed, the bracelets from our arms slip. The cruel-hearted Akrura urges on the steeds; who does not feel pity for females like us who are bewailing? Alas! behold the dust of Krishna's chariot-wheels! and now he is distanced from us by that for even that dust is no longer to be seen". Thus lamented by the damsels, Kesava and Rāma left the hamlet of Vraja. Travelling in a car drawn by quick-coursing steeds they reached, at noon, the banks of the Yamuna when Akrura requested them to halt a little whilst he performed the usual daily ceremonial in the river. They having agreed to this, the high-minded Akrura bathed in the water and rinsed his mouth and then entering the stream he stood meditating upon the Supreme Being. He beheld, in his meditation, Balabhadra, having a thousand-hooded heads, a garland of jasmine flowers, having large-red eyes resembling lotus petals, surrounded by Vasuki, Rambba and other mighty serpents, praised by Gandharvas, decorated with garlands of wild flowers, clad in dark-coloured raiment, crowned with a chaplet of lotuses, adorned with brilliant ear-rings, drunk and standing at the bottom of the river in the water. He saw on his lap Vishnu, having four arms, and holding conch, discus, and mace, having the complexion of cloud, coppery and expansive eyes, excellent ear-rings and an elegant form, clad in yellow clothes, adorned with many coloured flowers and appearing like a cloud adorned with streams of lightnings and the bow of Indra; his breast was marked with celestial sign, four arms were adorned with keyuras and head with a brilliant crown: he was attended by Sanandana and other holy sages, who, fixing their eyes upon the tips of their noses, were absorbed in profound meditation.