The Upside-Down King

by Sudha Murty

  From this day on, Krishna also came to be known as Murari.

  Narakasura

  Narakasura was the son of Hiranyaksha and a mighty asura with a big kingdom and enormous power. The capital of his kingdom was Pragjyotishpura (today’s Guwahati). He had a special weapon known as Vaishnavastra, and he used it against kings, commoners, gods and his subjects. He was notorious for his defeat of Indra. He had taken Indra’s royal accessories and his mother Aditi’s earrings.

  A revered astrologer once said to Narakasura, ‘If you imprison 16,000 women, you will become invincible.’

  Hearing this prediction, Narakasura immediately began kidnapping girls and imprisoning them. Whoever stood in his way was ruthlessly executed.

  Indra felt helpless, and knew that another onslaught would take place in the heavens and on earth if he did nothing. So he went to Krishna and asked for help.

  Krishna agreed to help, and his wife Satyabhama accompanied him. So Krishna travelled on his vehicle, Garuda, to Pragjyotishpura and blew his conch—to announce his presence to the helpless and to declare a war against his enemies.

  Narakasura sent many generals to fight Krishna, but they all failed. Krishna killed everyone, including Mura.

  Finally, Narakasura decided to fight Krishna himself. The two faced each other even as the battle around them continued. The face-off was fierce. At the end, Satyabhama wounded Narakasura using a bow and arrow, and Krishna took the opportunity to kill him. He had to use all his weapons to defeat Narakasura. This is the only avatar where Krishna used his weapons as well as those of Vishnu. He used the Sudarshan Chakra (which he received from Vishwakarma), Panchajanya (which he obtained from the Panchajana tribe), the mace Koumodiki, the sword Nandaka, and his bow and arrow Sharanga.

  As Krishna killed Narakasura, some of Narakasura’s blood splashed on to Krishna’s body.

  Bhagadatta, Narakasura’s son, rushed to his father. When Krishna saw him, he said, ‘I don’t want to make an enemy out of you, Bhagadatta, and I do not desire your kingdom. The only reason I killed your father is that he was harassing everybody around him. Do not follow in your father’s footsteps. I hope that you will rule justly and lead a good life.’

  Bhagadatta, who was filled with sorrow at his father’s death, realized the truth in Krishna’s words. He nodded.

  ‘Please release all the imprisoned women,’ said Krishna.

  Bhagadatta ordered his guards to release the imprisoned women.

  When the women saw Krishna, they said that they wanted to live in Dwarka so that they may always be near their saviour. Krishna readily agreed. Hence, Krishna is also known to be the protector of 16,000 women.

  Bhagadatta returned the earrings of Aditi, Indra’s mother, and Indra’s royal accessories. He also presented Indra a heavenly flowering tree called Parijata.

  At the end of the long day, Krishna took an oil bath to remove all the blood from his body.

  Later, Krishna returned to Dwarka with Satyabhama and the citizens of the city were ecstatic. It was the fourteenth day from Amavasya, a moonless night. In an effort to welcome the lord, they cleaned their houses, threw away the junk, whitewashed their homes and lit lamps in the early hours of the morning.

  Today, we celebrate this festival as Diwali. Just like the citizens of Dwarka, we clean our homes before Diwali and get rid of the things we do not need. We have an oil bath to indicate the cleansing of our bodies and souls. This festival signifies the welcoming of Lord Krishna after his victory against Narakasura and is one of the many stories behind this celebration.

  Visions of a Blind Grandmother

  Pradyumna was the first son of Lord Krishna and Rukmini.

  Sambasura, a powerful demon king, had a blind grandmother who could see visions of the past and the future. She was aware that he was looking for opportunities to harm Krishna.

  One day, she said to him, ‘My child, don’t fight with Krishna. If you continue down this path, you will lose your children and your life.’

  ‘But there’s no one in this world who can slay me. Tell me, who do you think can do so?’ Sambasura questioned her with arrogance.

  ‘Krishna’s son will be the one to kill you,’ said his grandmother with sadness.

  Sambasura knew then that his grandmother’s words could come true. So he hatched a plan to kill Pradyumna.

  Soon, he sent a few fierce demons to abduct the child and murder him. But none of them were successful.

  In the end, he decided to go himself. He journeyed to Dwarka and entered Krishna’s palace disguised as a woman with the help of his mayavi vidya.

  Within minutes, he abducted Pradyumna even as he was sleeping next to Rukmini, and flew off into the sky with the child. Up in the air, he realized that he could simply drop the baby into the ocean and let him drown. So he threw the child down with great force and returned to his kingdom.

  Back at his palace, Sambasura said to his grandmother, ‘Your vision is wrong this time. I have slayed Pradyumna and nobody can harm me now. I am immortal.’

  The grandmother was sure of her vision. She replied tersely, ‘I don’t think so, child. I have seen Pradyumna sparring with you, but it was only a vision and I do not understand all that I saw.’

  ‘O Grandmother, you are rather old now and your eyesight is failing you. Even your visions may not be what they appear to be,’ said Samba arrogantly, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

  Meanwhile, the child who had fallen from the sky was swallowed by a fish in the ocean. When the fish grew big, some fishermen caught it. It was so big that the fishermen decided to take it to the king. ‘We are ordinary people and can’t handle this,’ they said to each other. ‘This fish appears to be extraordinary. We should give it to King Sambasura and perhaps he will give us a reward for our find.’

  When the fishermen presented the huge fish to the king, Sambasura was happy and rewarded them with gold coins.

  Queen Mayavati sent the fish to the royal chef. The chef and his wife, Banavati, had been longing for a child of their own for many years. Banavati was a secret devotee of Lord Vishnu. When she saw the gigantic fish, she said to her husband, ‘Let’s cut the fish carefully. I think there is something inside—perhaps gold or jewels. There is no other reason for a fish to grow to this size or shape.’

  When the couple sliced the fish, they found a cherubic baby inside its stomach. Banavati took it as a sign from the heavens—God had sent this baby for her—and she immediately adopted him as her own.

  After a few days, she carried the baby to Sambasura and asked for his blessings, without revealing where she had found him. Clueless Sambasura named the child Pradyumna.

  ‘Why have you named him so?’ somebody asked him in court.

  ‘With the slaying of baby Pradyumna, I have established my victory over Krishna. I want to name this baby Pradyumna too as a reminder of my victory.’

  Banavati loved the baby like her own, and Pradyumna grew up in the house of his enemy. Because of her knowledge of mayavi vidya, he grew up faster than normal into a handsome young man—and looked uncannily like Manmatha, the god of love, who had been killed as a result of Shiva’s anger. His wife, Rati, had been inconsolable then. Vishnu had felt sorry for her and said, ‘Don’t cry, Rati. Your husband will be born in Dvapara yuga again as a human in the form of Pradyumna in Dwarka. You should also take birth and another form so that you can marry him again.’

  Thus, Rati was born as the daughter of Rukmi, who was Rukmini’s brother. In this form, Rati was named Rukmavati.

  In time, Pradyumna became increasingly aware of his identity and the reason for his birth. He waged a fierce war against Sambasura, killed him with his unique weapon Vaishnavastra and went back to Dwarka. He was the constant companion of Krishna and was loved by all. He then married Rukmavati, who later gave birth to their son, Aniruddha.

  The Groom in a Dream

  Banasura, the son of King Bali, was a mighty asura who ruled over a large kingdom. He was a great devotee of
Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. At the end of a long penance, Shiva appeared and asked Banasura what his deepest desire was.

  ‘O Lord,’ said Banasura, ‘I want a thousand arms so that I can play the mridangam when you dance the Tandava, and win all wars.’

  Shiva smiled and nodded.

  Banasura thought to himself, satisfied, ‘With my thousand arms and the ability to win wars, no one can stand against me. I am invincible.’

  Shiva handed Banasura a flagpole with a fire burning on top of it. ‘When this is destroyed, it will signal the end of your rule,’ warned Shiva.

  Banasura soon became uncontrollable and destroyed everything that came in his way. He began using his thousand arms to shoot arrows, thus ensuring that he became a formidable opponent to anyone who dared stand against him. The devas became worried about the future.

  Meanwhile, Banasura soon got bored of wining all battles with his unlimited power, so he went back to Shiva and prayed to him. Arrogant Banasura said, ‘O Lord! There is no fun in fighting lesser men. I don’t want to fight Indra, who is bound to run to you, and there are no humans on earth who can face me. Please grant me one battle with someone who is equal to me.’

  Shiva nodded.

  Time passed, and Banasura gazed at the flagpole every day, waiting for a change, but there was none to be seen.

  Banasura had a daughter, Usha, who was a devotee of Goddess Parvati. She was such a beauty that the whole world spoke about her.

  So Banasura decided to arrange a swayamvara for Usha and also prayed to Parvati. ‘Please, Goddess, ensure that my daughter, Usha, gets a worthy match.’

  Before the swayamvara. Banasura made a doubleedged announcement. ‘Here is a set of weapons that must be used to cut down the flagpole. Whoever does so will marry my daughter, Usha.’ Clever Banasura knew that the cutting of the flagpole would earn him the battle he desired.

  On the day of the swayamvara, Usha glanced at the suitors and prayed earnestly to Parvati. ‘O Mother! I want a handsome man and a good husband who will love me for who I am, and not just someone who will be successful at cutting down the flagpole.’

  The goddess granted Usha her sincere wish, and as destiny was to play out, none of the suitors were able to complete the task. Banasura became so frustrated at the outcome that he wanted to cut it down himself, almost forgetting the consequences of that action.

  That same night, Usha dreamt of a striking man who exuded an aura of love and spoke to her. When she awoke the next morning, the dream was broken, and she suddenly missed the enchanting presence. She became confused—was it a dream or was it real? The following night, she saw him again in her dream, and talked to him the entire night. She began seeing him every night as the days passed. He was so charming that Usha couldn’t help but lose her heart to this fascinating man.

  One day, the young man said to her, ‘Today is a good day. Let us get married.’

  Head over heels in love, Usha agreed, and the two exchanged garlands and completed the marriage ceremony.

  The next day, Usha seemed absolutely lost in a dreamworld and unable to take her mind off her husband. Her constant companion was a young maiden named Chitralekha, who was also an artist. She noticed the change in her friend and asked, ‘What is going on, Usha? You appear to be happy, and yet, you seem lost in daydreams. Should I call the royal physician or perhaps inform your mother?’

  Usha couldn’t contain herself any longer. ‘A young man has been appearing in my dreams in the recent past, and I have fallen in love with him. He is the answer to my prayers, thanks to Goddess Parvati. Yesterday, we got married quietly and without any fanfare.’

  Chitralekha was not expecting this. How could Usha, a princess, get married without the consent of her parents? But she decided not to jump to any conclusions. ‘What is his name? Which dynasty does he belong to? Who are his parents, Usha?’ she asked.

  ‘I really don’t know, Chitralekha. Whenever I see him, he charms me so much that I forget to ask him any practical questions.’

  Chitralekha was a smart young woman. She knew that she must find out who this man was. So she showed many portraits to her friend, but none of them appeared to match the young man in question. Finally, Chitralekha suggested, ‘Describe his appearance and his features, Usha. I will start sketching and you can correct me as I go along until the portrait resembles him.’

  Usha nodded and began describing her husband.

  As she gave details about the young man, Chitralekha quickly adjusted and modified her sketch until Usha told her to stop. ‘I think you can stop sketching! This looks almost exactly like my husband.’

  ‘But who is he?’ Chitralekha wondered to herself. She also knew mayavi vidya, which allowed her to travel fast and change her appearance at will. Keeping the portrait of the handsome young man with herself, Chitralekha changed her form and went in search of him.

  A few days later, she came back and told Usha about her findings. ‘Forget this boy, Usha. He is the grandson of your father’s sworn enemy, Krishna. The young man’s name is Aniruddha, his father’s name is Pradyumna and your husband is the grandson of Krishna and Rukmini. Aniruddha is uniquely stunning, and he resembles his grandfather. But your father will never give your hand in marriage to him. It is better for your own sake that you let him go.’

  ‘But he is the one chosen for me,’ Usha said longingly. ‘I can’t let him go, Chitralekha. Our union is blessed by the goddess herself.’

  Unfortunately for the two young maidens, Banasura overheard the conversation as he approached his daughter’s chambers. He walked in and came upon Aniruddha’s portrait lying in plain sight. He became livid. ‘How can you decide to marry Krishna’s grandson, Usha? How dare you!’

  Saying thus, he grabbed the portrait and threw it out of the open window. His anger was so unrestrained that the speed with which he threw the picture brought down the upright flag post.

  Banasura calmed down, realizing that his destiny would be decided in the impending war. He was happy. This is what he had wanted all along—a chance to prove his supremacy.

  He quickly arranged for a tight vigilance of his daughter’s chambers and left to prepare for the war.

  Usha felt terrible. She realized that her father would rather fight Aniruddha than be happy for her. She knew that her father could not be defeated by anyone because of his thousand arms.

  Unable to see the suffering of her friend, Chitralekha hatched a plan. Using mayavi vidya, she travelled to Dwarka, carried away the clueless and sleeping Aniruddha and transported him to Usha’s chambers.

  Usha was ecstatic to see the young man who had appeared in her dreams. He looked exactly as she had seen him.

  When Aniruddha finally awoke, he was confused. Where was he? When the girls told him the story of Usha’s visions and her father’s fury, he was visibly frustrated, yet enchanted by Usha’s beauty. ‘I am captivated by you, Usha. But I would never voluntarily go to a maiden’s chamber in the middle of the night. It does not suit my reputation, nor would I jeopardize a maiden’s character in this manner. I would rather be a man, fight for you in a war and then marry you.’

  ‘But you are Krishna’s grandson, and my father will never agree to this match,’ Usha countered, her eyes bright with love. ‘If my father knows that you are here, he will throw you out immediately. The best way to be together is to get married right now and later reconcile with our respective families. Sometimes, it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission, my dear Aniruddha.’

  After much convincing, Aniruddha finally agreed, and Chitralekha wondered about the arrangements for a quick and simple ceremony.

  A few minutes later, Banasura came to his daughter’s room. He was a doting father, and despite the fact that he was busy preparing for a war, he thought that he should check on Usha and suggest strongly that she forget this young man whom she claimed to have married without her father’s permission. It was only a dream, after all, and it meant nothing.

  His sudden entra
nce surprised Usha, Chitralekha and Aniruddha. Banasura was immediately enraged to see the man from the portrait who had already supposedly married his daughter without his permission. His anger grew by leaps and bounds. When he saw Chitralekha, he realized that she was responsible for bringing Aniruddha here. He screamed at her, ‘You were supposed to look after the best interests of Usha. Instead, what have you done?’

  Out of control, he yelled out to his guards to capture the three of them and threw them in jail. Without further delay, he declared war against Aniruddha and his family. Within a short period of time, Krishna heard the news of his grandson’s imprisonment and came marching to Banasura’s kingdom with Pradyumna and the Yadava troops.

  The war was brutal. The Yadava army was soon shot down by the arrows from Banasura’s thousand arms. Finally, Krishna decided to face Banasura himself. The lord cut away all his hands and Banasura fell down to the ground desperately praying to the almighty Shiva and Goddess Parvati to come to his assistance.

  Lord Shiva appeared and said, ‘Any day, any time, anywhere—a war is unnecessary, Banasura. You have fought this war only for the sake of your ego and to display your might. Many innocent people have died because of you. Parvati has arranged the marriage of your daughter. You had requested a boy who is worthy of her, and Aniruddha happened to be the perfect match. But most of all, you have misused the power I blessed you with. And yet, you are lucky to die at the hands of Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu.’

  Saying thus, Shiva disappeared.

  Intelligent Banasura looked at Krishna.

  Krishna smiled. ‘Dear child, you haven’t understood who I am. Arrogance has destroyed the devotion inside you, and that’s why I stand here today. Open your eyes and see the truth. Your family has been extremely lucky because I have visited your ancestors for the fourth time. The first time, I took the avatar of Varaha to fight against your ancestor Hiranyaksha and save the world. The second time, I came as Narasimha because of the devotion of your greatgrandfather Prahlada. The third time, I came in the form of Vamana to teach a lesson to your father, Bali, who was my devotee. This time, I have come in the form of Krishna to cut away your thousand arms, which haven’t been used for a worthy cause. Out of my ten avatars, I have come four times to your door.’