6 During his childhood his mouth, opening with its sweet lips, shone like a lotus flower and smelled like a lotus flower. 7 Framed by the loose locks of his hair, his lotus face shone like a group of lotuses framed by drifts of bees. 8 The crown on his head was made from sprigs of the arjuna and kadam trees and set with jungle-flame and plantain flowers, and it shone like the crown of constellations in the sky. 9 Dark as a cloud during the monsoon, like the month of Nabhasya personified, our hero looked beautiful in that crown of every blossom. 10 He looked beautiful, with one bright peacock-feather hanging from a cord round his neck, stirring in the gentle breeze.
11 Sometimes he sang, sometimes he played games, and time and time again he kept moving along through the forest. Sometimes he made pleasant-sounding music by blowing through leaves. 12 Playing the sweet-sounding cowherd flute to his heart’s content, the glorious young master, dark like a raincloud, roamed around with the herd of cattle, anywhere in the forest that would keep the cows happy. 13 There he enjoyed himself in various delightful tracts of woodland that inflamed his passions. Ringing with peacock cries and reverberating with echoes of thunder everywhere, 14 they were studded with mushrooms and their trails were covered with green grass. They flowed with fresh water, and their bright plantain flowers were like teeth. 15 It was as if they were young women gasping again and again on all sides, with the fresh perfumes of the rose-chestnut flowers being equivalent to gasps of love. 16 Wafted by the fresh breezes coming through the clustered trees, Krishna had a lovely time in those gentle forest tracts.
17 One day, as he was roaming around in the forest with the cows, he found a broad and tall tree. It was the most magnificent tree. 18 It was like a cloud, but standing upon the earth and covered with masses of leaves, its form rising halfway to the sky, bending in the wind. 19 Thick with fruits and shoots, it was visited by numerous birds with bodies of bright and dark colours, and it looked like a cloud behind a rainbow. 20 Its bowers were like palaces. It was beautifully adorned with creepers and blossoms, and had thick aerial roots growing down from its branches. Holding the clouds and the wind aloft, 21 it was as if it was exercising supremacy over the other trees in the region, or showering the imperishable down upon someone who did good deeds.
22 This banyan tree, called by the name of Bhāndīra, looked like a mountain. The lord looked at it, and made up his mind to stay there for the day. 23 Accompanied by calf-herders the same age as himself, Krishna the blameless had a really lovely day there, as if he were in heaven in the old days.
24 While Krishna stayed under the Bhāndīra, playing, many of the cowherds amused him with toys from the forest. 25 Other cowherds went around singing with joy in their hearts, and some of the cowherds, devoted to pleasure, sang only about Krishna. 26 As they sang, the mighty boy made music by blowing through leaves, or at other times played a flute, or a vīnā made from a gourd.
27 One time, while he was grazing the cattle, keeping an eye on the cows and bulls, he came to the bank of the Yamunā, where the trees are swathed in creepers.
28 He looked at the River Yamunā, with her lilies and lotuses. A pleasant wind was ruffling her waters. Her waves were the curving corners of her eyes. 29 She had fine bathing places, sweet water, lakes, and a strong current, and the trees on her banks had been bent over by the buffeting of the rain and high winds. 30 She rang with the cries of ducks and geese and resounded with the calls of cranes, and brahminy ducks lived upon her in couples. 31 She was full of aquatic creatures, rich in aquatic features, and dotted with aquatic flowers, her waters green with lotus leaves.
32 Her feet were the rolling current, the curves of her hips were the sandy beaches, her deep navel was a whirlpool, her pubic hairs were the lotus flowers, 33 her peerless waist was a slender lake, the three creases on her belly were three waves, her jutting breasts were the brahminy ducks, her face was her long shores and banks, 34 her teeth were the tossing foam. When she was in a good mood her laughter was the geese, and her eyes were the petals of the splendid water-lilies. When she arched her brows her eyes were the lotuses, 35 and the edges of her brows were long lakes, and the hairs on her head were the hornwort leaves underwater, and she looked ravishing. Her long arms were deep channels, her long ears were meanders, 36 her earrings were mallards, and her eyes were glorious lotuses growing up from the mud.
She wore the golden kans grass for her clothes, and her features were her geese. 37 She wore the ornaments that grew on her shores, her belt was bright with fish, her linen clothes were the swell after swell of the water, and her anklets chimed in the cries of the cranes. 38 Her limbs were coated with crocodiles and fish, and she was graced with species of turtle. The wild beasts’ watering-places were her crown. Her waters were what the wild beasts had left. People, too, drank from her breasts: she was dotted with ashrams and settlements.
39 Yamunā was the ocean’s chief queen, and as Krishna looked her up and down he roamed around in transports of delight, which made her all the more beautiful.
40 As he roamed along that supreme river, he discovered an amazing pool. Long, and one yojana wide, so even the thirty gods couldn’t have crossed it, 41 it was deep with unperturbable waters, like a motionless ocean. There were no water-birds upon it, and when the wild beasts went to drink water they avoided it. 42 Full of fathomless water, it was like a sky full of clouds.
It was perilous to approach, because of the many holes in its banks with snakes living in them. 43 It was swathed in smoke from the fire that their poison kindled, so even though his cattle were looking for water, they couldn’t enjoy it or drink from it, 44 and good people who wanted to do their morning, noon, and evening ablutions avoided using it. The birds flying in the sky wouldn’t access it even from the sky.
45 The pool was blazing with energy, as if pieces of straw were falling into a fire. It was dangerous to get within a whole yojana of the banks on any side. 46 The pool blazed up in flames with its terrible fire of poison, no more nor less than a league to the north of the cattle station.
47 Krishna looked at that huge pool and thought to himself:
Whose is this massive pool, fathomless and shining? 48 The one named Kāliya evidently lives in this pool: the vicious overlord of the snakes, like a ridge of black kohl. 49 I brought him here previously, after he’d abandoned his home in the ocean for fear of the eagle, king of birds, devourer of snakes.
50 He’s defiling the whole Yamunā, as she heads for the sea. This region is deserted for fear of that lord of snakes. 51 The forest is thick with green grass, strewn with various plants and creepers, and has trees with aerial roots, but it’s sinister—it has a frightening appearance. 52 The forest is guarded by the snake king’s forest-dwelling associates, and since it’s continuously guarded on all sides by those trusty servants it has the form of a null realm, like poisoned food that can’t be touched. 53 But both banks of the pool glitter with garlands of eel grass, and with trees, and clumps of bushes and creepers, and they should have tracks made along them.
54 I must curb this serpent king, so that the river can provide water, so she can be a vessel of sweet water. 55 Once I’ve tamed the snake, she’ll be as she should be. The herding community will be able to enjoy her, her paths will be pleasant in every season, and all her bathing places easy to access. 56 This is the purpose of my life as a cowherd and my sojourn within this community: the purpose of correcting the wicked ones who’ve gone astray. 57 So while playing a childhood game, I’ll climb this kadam tree, jump into the sinister pool, and curb Kāliya.
56. The Curbing of Kāliya
1 Vaishampāyana said:
Young Krishna stepped up to the riverbank, girded his loins tightly, and had soon climbed to the top of the kadam tree. 2 Lotus-eyed Krishna looked like a cloud as he swung from the top of the kadam, and then he dropped into the middle of the pool with a splash.
3 Disturbed by the falling Krishna, the great pool spilled out in a flood. It was as if the restless ocean was overflowing. 4 The snake’s great p
alace was shaken by the noise, and the snake rose up out of the water with eyes full of fury. 5 Kāliya the lord of the serpents appeared there in a rage, with red-rimmed eyes, looking like a bank of clouds. 6 He was fronted by five huge hideous heads. With five faces and mouths of fire, he breathed fire and flickered his tongues.
7 He filled up the whole pool with coils the colour of fire, and he seemed to be twitching with rage and blazing with energy. 8 All of the River Yamunā’s water seemed to boil with his anger, and she nearly flowed upstream in terror. His mouth was full of the fire of his fury, and a wind blew from it: 9 when he saw Krishna in the pool amusing himself with children’s games, flames and smoke blasted out from the snake king’s mouth. 10 As he spewed the fire of his fury he reduced the trees growing on the nearby banks to ashes in an instant, as if he were really the fire at the end of the age.
11 His sons, wives, ministers, and other great snakes rushed up, supreme snakes of peerless power, wreathed in smoke, spitting fearsome venom-born fire from their mouths. 12 Those snakes imprisoned Krishna within their coils, where he remained as motionless as a mountain, making no movement from his face to his feet. 13 Those snake lords bit Krishna with sharp fangs that clouded the water with sprays of venom, but he was strong, and he didn’t die.
14 At that point, every last one of the cowherds was terrified. They ran back to the cattle station, wailing in voices blurred by tears: 15 Krishna’s lost his mind and jumped right into Kāliya’s pool, and now he’s being eaten by the serpent king, so come straight away! 16 Quick, tell cowherd Nanda the herdsman that his son’s being dragged off into a huge pool by a snake!
17 When cowherd Nanda heard those words, they hit him like a thunderbolt. Panicking, he went with stumbling strides to that amazing pool. 18 All the people, including the children, the young women, and the aged, made their way to the playground of the serpent king, and so too did young Sankarshana.
19 With cowherd Nanda at their head, all the cowherds stood on the bank of the pool with tears in their eyes, shrieking and howling. 20 By turns ashamed, amazed, and sorrowful, they wailed in great distress, some of them calling out to Krishna, some scolding him, and some announcing the ruin of the community.
21 The women cried out to Yashodā:
Alas! You’re done for, since you see your beloved son in the power of the serpent king, wrapped up in the coils of a snake, being dragged off like a wild beast! 22 It seems your heart must be made of iron, Yashodā—otherwise how can it not break when you see your son like this?
23 Alas! We see that cowherd Nanda has caught a glimpse of his son’s face and is glued to the edge of the pool, out of his mind with distress. 24 We’re going to follow Yashodā and enter this snake-infested pool. None of us will leave without Dāmodara! 25 What would a day be without the sun? What would a night be without the moon? What would cows be without a bull? What would the cattle station be without Krishna? Just as cows won’t leave without their calves, we won’t leave without Krishna!
26 When he heard the wailing of these women, and of the others who lived in the cattle station, Sankarshana became exasperated. He knew their bodies had the same nature—they were one person divided in two—and he said to the changeless Krishna:
27 Krishna, strong-armed Krishna, the cowherds’ pride and joy! You must quickly tame this snake king whose weapon is poison. 28 All these relatives of ours have human ideas and think you’re human, my mighty boy, and they’re weeping in woe.
29 When Krishna heard what the son of Rohinī suggested he agreed with it, and he playfully spread his arms apart and broke open the prison of the coils. 30 Krishna then strode across the mass of wet coils on his own two feet, grabbed Kāliya’s head, and bent it down with his hand. 31 Krishna quickly climbed onto Kāliya’s massive central head, and then he stood up on his skull and danced, his armbands sparkling.
32 As Krishna trampled upon him, the snake’s head was worn down, and he spoke these despairing words from mouths that spat blood:
33 Krishna, with your fine face. It was out of ignorance that I showed my anger. I’m defeated, my venom vanquished, and I submit to your wishes. 34 So give the command: what should I do, together with my wives, children, and relatives? Into whose power shall I pass? But spare my life!
35 When he saw that the snake had bowed all five of his heads, the holy one—who has the snakes’ enemy on his banner—replied to the lord of serpents without any ill-feeling:
36 I’ll give you a home, snake, but not here in the waters of the Yamunā. Go, with your children and relatives, to the waters of the restless ocean. 37 If any of your vassals or descendants should be seen here again, whether in the water or on dry land, they’ll immediately be mine to kill. 38 This water has to be benign, and so you must go to the great restless ocean. Remaining here would be a great mistake, and would lead to your death. 39 But in the ocean, when he sees my footprints on your head, Garuda the serpents’ enemy won’t attack you, snake.
40 The bull of the snakes touched Krishna’s feet with his head, and then, as the cowherds looked on, he left the pool and disappeared.
41 After the defeated snake had left, the amazed cowherds helped Krishna onto firm ground, and then they praised him and walked around him in reverence. 42 In great satisfaction, all those forest-dwellers said to cowherd Nanda:
You’re blessed. You’re favoured, since you have such a son. 43 From this day forward, faultless man, long-eyed Krishna is the lord of the herding station’s cows and cowherds, and their refuge in times of trouble. 44 Now the entire Yamunā will have benign waters and be visited by sages, and our cows will always roam freely, using every point of access. 45 Krishna is like a fire hidden in a cattle station. Even though he’s in full view, we cowherds in the forest don’t recognise him for the great being he is.
46 Praising the eternal Krishna in this way, all the amazed companies of cowherds repaired to the compound like the gods repairing to Kubera’s pleasure-grove.
57. The Killing of Dhenuka
1 Vaishampāyana said:
After Krishna had curbed the snake king in the pool on the Yamunā, Rāma and Keshava roamed over that same region together. 2 And as they travelled around, red with dust, alongside their wealth of cattle, Vasudeva’s two sons went towards the lovely Mount Govardhana. 3 Then, to the north of Govardhana, the two heroes discovered a large and lovely palm-forest resting on the bank of the Yamunā. 4 The lovely palm-forest was full of palm fronds, and those two loved it there and romped around in great delight. It was as if two young bulls had arrived.
5 That place was quite a large piece of raised land, with dark soil and plenty of darbha grass. It was flat and smooth, with no stones or clumps of earth, 6 and it looked magnificent with those palm trees sticking up. With their thick trunks, dark knots, and branches tipped with fruit, they were like elephants’ trunks sticking up.
7 Dāmodara, superb speaker that he was, said this:
Ah! This woodland is perfumed by ripe palm-fruits. 8 Ripe palm-fruits are sweet, fragrant, dark, and tasty, and we’re both making them fall with our quick steps, brother. 9 If this is how they smell—sweet and good to the nose—then I think they’ll be as tasty as nectar.
10 After hearing Dāmodara’s words, Rohinī ’s son shook the trees, chuckling slightly as he made the ripe palm-fruits fall.
11 However, that palm-forest was closed to human beings, and trespassing was dangerous. It had been turned into barren land, as if cannibals lived there. 12 The vicious Daitya named Dhenuka lived there in the form of a donkey, surrounded by a large herd of donkeys. 13 That wicked donkey patrolled the dreadful palm-forest, terrorising any groups of people, birds, or wild beasts.
14 Dhenuka heard the resonant sound of palm-fruits being felled, and, like a bull elephant in musth hearing a handclap,* he couldn’t tolerate it, and he became irritated. 15 Irritated, he ran towards the sound, haughtily tossing his mane and mouth, braying brashly with staring eyes, clawing the earth with his hooves, 16 tossing his tail, and br
istling like Death with his jaws open.
As he rushed up, he saw the son of Rohinī standing there. 17 The wicked donkey saw Rohinī ’s eternal son under the palm trees, looking like he was carrying his palm-tree standard.† And using his teeth as weapons, he bit him. 18 Then the Daitya turned his back on him and kicked Rohinī ’s unarmed son in the chest with both hind legs.
19 Rohinī ’s son grabbed the donkey Daitya by those two legs and sent him, head and shoulders flying, into the top of a palm tree. 20 With broken thighs, hips, neck, and a broken back, the disfigured donkey crashed onto the face of the earth, amid a flurry of palm-fruits. 21 After making sure that the fallen donkey was not just disfigured but dead, he threw his relatives and other associates into the palm tree. 22 The ground was covered with the fallen bodies of donkeys, and with ripe palm-fruits. It looked like the sky when it’s covered with clouds before the autumn comes.
23 Once the donkey Daitya and his followers had been felled, that attractive palm-forest become very much more attractive. 24 Its dangers banished, the superb palm-forest presented a cleansed appearance, and looked magnificent. The cows grazed there happily, 25 and the forest-ranging cowherds all chattered away happily and all rambled around the forest without a care. 26 After the cows had dispersed happily, the two boys as bold as great elephants built themselves a couch out of fronds from the trees, and reclined there in suitable fashion.
58. The Killing of Pralamba
1 Vaishampāyana said:
Then the two sons of Vasudeva, who were both enjoying themselves immensely, left the palm-forest and went back to the Bhāndīra tree.
2 Those two handsome-faced boys, driving a thriving holding of cows, looking out over glades overgrown with rich grains, 3 humming and singing, plucking things from the trees, calling the cows and the calves by name—those two were destroyers of the foe. 4 Both were finely fitted out, with ropes and halters strapped around both shoulders and forest garlands hanging on their chests. They were like two bulls with young horns. 5 Their bodies were the colour of gold and the colour of kohl, but each was dressed in the hue of the other, so they were like clouds that are bright and dark at the same time, and thus accompanied by a rainbow. 6 They were both dressed in forest clothes, and on the forest paths they made delightful ear-ornaments out of flowers and kusha-grass heads. 7 Those two devotees of Mount Govardhana roamed in the forest with their companions, unbeaten in all the popular games. 8 Those two who were honoured by the gods roamed the forest like this, undergoing their initiation into the human condition with games appropriate to the characteristics of their community.
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