Chapter 39
The Killing of the Demons Bakasura and
Aghasura
Indeed,
recollecting the boyish pranks of Krishna, and enabling
others to listen to descriptions of those pranks were
assignments that gave great delight to Suka! Therefore,
as soon as he was asked, he began, "O King, there is no
higher course for you during the few remaining days of
life, than devoting them to the contemplation of God. Is
it not? The doings of the Lord are drops of Nectar. Every
one of them is a fountain of Ananda.
Tell me which of them you wish to hear about. I shall
describe to you the truth of each, and the glory I
saw."
At this, King
Parikshith said, "Master! I desire to hear of the
wondrous way in which Gopala moved among the cowherd
boys; that will give me such joy, that I can liberate
myself from the hold of death-and-birth."
So, Suka said, "King!
Gopala woke early, during the Brahma Muhurtha (the hours
from 4 to 6); he finished wash quite soon and went into
the cowshed, to select and separate the cows and calves
that had to be taken to the pastures that day and gave
them water to drink, he heaped grass before the animals
that were to be left behind, so that they can feed their
fill; he loosened the ropes from the posts to which the
cows he wanted to take with him were tied and, drove them
out of the shed, into the area in front of his home;
then, he went inside the house and collected his 'cold
rice and curds packet, with a bit of pickles in it', he
cautioned his elder brother that it was time to start;
and, in order to alert his companions to be ready to join
him, he blew a horn, standing on the road. On hearing
that call the cowherd boys were activated quite suddenly;
they finished their allotted tasks at home hurriedly;
they bore the bundles of noontime food packets, and
hastened to the house of Yasoda, the mother, ready for
the task for which Krishna called.
Then the boys
proceeded, playing on flutes, singing melodious tunes.
Some of them responded to the kokils that sang on trees,
with echoing songs of their own. Others ran along the
shadows of the birds that flew above. Some lay flat on
the backs of the cows and sang merrily their favourite
songs, all the while watching with eagerness, what Gopala
was doing and where He was. Thus, they moved on into the
forest.
Gopala will then place
the flute tight in his loins: he holds the noon day meal
packet in his left hand; and, raising His lovely silver
voice, He will sing a charming song and slowly walk
along. The cows too stepped in unison with the song, as
if their feet kept time and delighted in doing so. They
pointed their ears, to listen to the Divine Melody. They
raised their heads in silent admiration and adoration. At
last, they reached the banks of the tank.
By then, it would be
time for partaking food. They sat under the trees and
untied the cloth bundles, which contained cold rice mixed
with curds, cream and milk, and other items according to
the taste and need of each. The boys waited, until Gopala
opened his packet and started eating, to take the first
morsel themselves. As soon as Gopala took a mouthful,
each boy began eating. Once a while, Gopala used to give
his companions a handful of food from his packet and
receive from each of them a handful from out of his
stock! He went to every one and asked for a share from
his packet! He went to every one and asked for a share
from his packet! The boys were reluctant and even afraid
to give Gopala the handful of food he asked for, from
their plates, for, it had been rendered ceremonially
impure by their eating out of them. Seeing this, Gopala
assured them that the One resides in all of them and so,
they should not feel He was separate from them; how can
ceremonial impurity arise, when all are One, He asked.
Then, he took the half-bitten pickle-fruit that they had
kept aside and bit off a portion, for his own chew. How
can the Lord who ate with relish the leavings of Sabari
from her plate, in the Rama incarnation desist from
eating the leavings of the cowherd companions? Both were
so intimately devoted to Him.
One day, sitting on the
rocks in the shadow of the hills, they ate their meal,
and washed their hands; Gopala then ran towards the group
of cows grazing in the open pasture. His companions
wondered what the matter was; they noticed among the herd
a huge beautiful calf. Gopala went straight towards that
animal; he lifted it, holding both its hind legs, and
rotated it fast over his head, until he brought it
heavily down on a rock, to smash it: but, it made a
terrific noise and turned into a Rakshasa
(Ogre), spouting blood and breathed it last. The boys
were amazed at this; they ran in hot haste towards Gopala
and questioned Him, to tell them what the mystery was.
Gopala beamed with a radiant smile on his lips, he said,
'A wicked ogre assumed this form and came here enjoined
by Kamsa to kill me. He mingled among our herd of cows
and was enacting this role in the drama he had decided
on. I have given him due punishment now'.
At this, the boys
extolled Gopala's foresight, bravery and strength, and
exclaimed, 'Gopala! You have given him what he deserved'.
They jumped around him excitedly in great joy. They
searched among the herd for any other strange calf or
cow, suspecting other ogres who might have come in that
disguise.
They were also
apprehensive that their own cows might have come to harm,
or might have been swallowed alive by some wicked ogre in
some shape. They vigilantly examined their own herds, to
discover, before it becomes too late, any sign of
danger.
Meanwhile, they reached
a hill rich in pasture, by noon. The cows were driven
into the shades, under the overhanging rocks, to be free
from the scorching sun, and the boys too rested a while
stretching themselves on the grass. It was afternoon soon
and when evening came on, one boy rose and approached the
herd, to collect the cows for the return to the village.
He saw there a giant crane, picking up the animals and
gulping them whole into its cavernous stomach. He cried
out, 'Krishna, Gopala; hearing his desperate cry for
help, Gopala reached there in a trice. He caught hold of
the beak of that crane, (which he knew was an ogre, by
name Bakasura come in that disguise) and pulling the
upper and lower parts apart, he tore the crane in two.
The cows inside the stomach were freed. (See also
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter
11)
Thus, Gopala destroyed
the messengers despatched by Kamsa, each day a new
miracle a novel wonder! The cowherd boys came to feel it
as supreme sport. They were no longer amazed; they
realized deep in their hearts that His skills and powers
were superhuman and incomprehensible. So, they were ready
at any time to accompany Him anywhere without any
fear.
Hearing that Gopala had
killed his brother who had planned to get near Him and
swallow Him whole, the brother of Bakasura got so
incensed that he swore revenge and came into the forests
where the pastures lay, as a python. It lay across the
jungle track, with wide open mouth scheming to swallow
whole, the cows and the cowherd boys, as well as Balarama
and Krishna. To all appearance, it looked like a long
cave and, unaware of the fact that it was a trap. Cows
and cowherds walked into it. Gopala recognized it as
another wicked ogre; He too entered the python's body,
only to hack it open and save the lives that had been
entrapped. They lost all fear and moved on to their
homes, secure under Gopala's protection.
From that day, the
cowherds had no trace of fear; they believed that Gopala
will certainly safeguard them against all danger, for He
was omnipotent. So, they cared for nothing on the way,
they never watched the sides of the road, but, walked
confidently on in the direction Krishna took. (See also
Srimad
Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter
12)
The sport of the Boy
Krishna was every moment, a wonder, a miracle an amazing
event, a heroic adventure. What can I describe about
them? Can ordinary humans perform such wonders? Those who
do not have faith, in spite of seeing such event, are but
burdening the earth, they are fruits that have no taste
and no kind of use."
Suka had his face
lighted by a deep inner smile as he said this; his eyes
shone as if he saw the vision of the resplendent One, as
he fixed them intently for long on one spot.
Parikshith asked him,
"Master! While even Danavas
(sub-human monsters) develop faith in God and worship
Him, how is it that human beings forget Him and neglect
to worship Him? They put trust in the ears that hear,
rather than eyes that see. I consider this to be the
consequence of some great sin they have committed. Or, it
may be the effect of some curse."
At this, Suka said, "O
King, your words are true. Monstrous individuals like
Kamsa, Jarasandha, Salya and Sisupala saw with their own
eyes evidence of Krishna's supra-human powers, but, the
falsehood that he was just a cowherd boy was so
overpoweringly echoing inside their ears that they were
always aware only of the Akashvani they heard from the
sky, rather than what they saw with their eyes. As a
consequence they lost their lives, ignominiously. They
ignored the miracles, the wondrous events, the amazing
achievements that they witnessed, the successive defeats
that their emissaries suffered at His hands and neglected
the duty to the God before them; what other explanation
can we give for this, except that they were cursed so to
behave. And, that curse must have fallen upon them, as a
result of sin.
Gopala
is Lokapala,
and not a cowherd boy. (Go means cow; pala means he who
fosters and protects; Loka means the World). The Form he
has assumed is Human, that of a cowherd boy; that is all.
But, really speaking He is the most auspicious Form who
liberates from bondage, having in His hands,
Sakthi
(power), Yukthi
(means of attainment) and Mukthi
(freedom from bondage)."
Parikshith was
supremely delighted at these words of the sage; "My
grandparents had the unique good fortune of being in the
divine company of Gopala; they played with Him; they
talked with Him; they had the bliss of His company and
Presence. Well, I am able to listen to the description of
at least a fraction of His Glory and enjoy the
Ananda
therefrom. This too is great good fortune. This chance of
hearing about it from such a celebrated sage as you is
also due to the blessings of those grandparents. Can such
a chance be won, without special good luck, said
Parikshith, with tears of joy flowing down his
cheeks.
He said, "Master! I
have heard that Gopala trampled on the serpent Kaliya and
humbled its pride. What is the inner meaning of that
sport? What great truth underlies that miracle? How was
it considered to be an amazing sign of His glory? Please
describe these to me and remove the doubt that afflicts
me," he prayed.
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