Harivamsha

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘Kamsa’s face was full of sweat and he glanced towards Krishna. Using his left hand, he indicated that the trumpets should cease. He instructed that the trumpets and the drums should stop. The innumerable divine trumpets that were blaring in the sky also stopped. However, as Hrishikesha, the lotus-eyed one, continued to fight, all the trumpets began to sound of their own accord. The gods were in celestial vehicles that could travel as they wished, together with beautiful vidyadharas. Though remaining invisible, they assembled, desiring Krishna’s victory. All the saptarshis who were in the sky exclaimed, “May Krishna defeat the danava Chanura who has assumed the form of a wrestler.” Devaki’s son played with Chanura for a long time. But on discerning Kamsa’s sentiments, he summoned up all his strength. The earth trembled. The arena started to move around. The best of gems fell down from Kamsa’s crown. Chanura had already lived his life. With his arms, Krishna bent him. He struck him on the head with his fist and on the chest with his knee. Tears and blood flowed from his eyes and his eyeballs emerged from their sockets, hanging like bells from a seat on an elephant. With his eyes gouged out, he fell down in the middle of the arena. Bereft of life and with his lifespan over, Chanura lay down on the ground. Bereft of life Chanura’s body lay down in the arena. The large road was seen to be obstructed, as if by a mountain.’

  Chapter 76

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Chanura was proud of his strength. On seeing that he had been killed, in that arena, Rohini’s son seized Mushtika. Krishna seized Tosalaka.807 At first, those two wrestlers808 were senseless with rage. Having come under the subjugation of time, they engaged with Rama and Krishna. The powerful Krishna raised up Tosalaka, who was like the summit of a mountain. He whirled him around one hundred times and dashed him down on the ground. That powerful one was afflicted and oppressed by Krishna. Copious quantities of blood emerged from his mouth and he was about to die. The immensely strong Samkarshana fought for a long time. The wrestler from Andhra809 was a great wrestler and exhibited various techniques. The energetic and brave one810 struck him on the head with a blow of his fist and it was like the vajra. It was as if the vajra had shattered a huge mountain. His head was shattered. On his face, the eyes emerged from their sockets. Uttering a loud roar, he fell down there. After killing the wrestler from Andhra and Tosalaka, Krishna and Samkarshana leapt around in the middle of the arena, their eyes red with anger. They were terrible to behold. When the wrestler from Andhra811 and the great wrestler, Mushtika, had been killed, no other wrestlers were left in the arena. On seeing this, all the gopas, with Nandagopa at the forefront, stood rooted at the spot. Their limbs trembled because of fear. Full of questions, Devaki also trembled and glanced towards Krishna. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes. On having seen Krishna, her eyes were filled with tears. Because of his affection, Vasudeva discarded his old age and became young. With their eyes, the best among courtesans drank in Krishna’s face, like bees doing this to lotuses in the twinkling of an eye.

  ‘There were beads of sweat on Kamsa’s face and between his brows. Having seen Krishna, his inner hatred led to these manifestations. The fire in his inner heart and mind blazed and it was as if his breath was fanned by the wind of rage, emitting smoke towards Keshava. His lips trembled and he furrowed his eyebrows. Because of his rage, Kamsa’s face assumed the form of the red sun. There were beads of sweat on a face that was red with rage. This looked like dew created by the rising sun. Angrily, he instructed many men, “These gopas roam around in the forest. Expel them from the assembly. They are wicked and deformed. I do not wish to see them. The gopas do not deserve to remain in my kingdom. Nandagopa is wicked in intelligence and regards me as someone who is evil in conduct. Bind him in iron chains and iron shackles. Vasudeva is wicked in conduct and has always acted deceitfully towards me. He deserves a punishment that is not meant for the aged. I will quickly kill him. These ordinary gopas are devoted to Damodara. Seize their cattle and any other riches that they possess.” In harsh words, Kamsa issued these commands. Krishna, with truth as his valour, glanced towards his face. Keshava was angry at what had been said about his father and Nandagopa. He saw the distress of his relatives and that Devaki was senseless. The mighty-armed Achyuta climbed up, for Kamsa’s destruction. He was as forceful as a maned lion, born with valour. From the middle of the arena, Krishna jumped up, to near Kamsa’s throne. He was like a cloud tinged with lightning, fanned by the wind. All those who were in the middle of the arena didn’t actually see him leap up.812 The residents of the city only saw him standing next to Kamsa. Kamsa was under the subjugation of the dharma of time. He saw Govinda near him and thought that the lord had descended there from the sky. In the midst of that assembly in the arena, Krishna used his arms, which were like clubs, and seized Kamsa by the hair on his head. The crown, decorated with gold and diamonds, fell down. His head was seized by Krishna’s hands. With the hair grasped by the hands, Kamsa was unable to make any efforts. He was senseless and didn’t know what to do. Seized by the hair, he sighed gently. Kamsa was incapable of looking towards Krishna’s face. The earrings were dislodged from his ears. The necklace was torn away from his chest. With his arms hanging down, the ornaments were dislodged from his body. His upper garment was dislodged. The throne moved violently. Thus grabbed by Krishna’s energy, Kamsa trembled. Keshava dragged him down from the gallery on to the middle of that great arena. With his hair seized with great force, Kamsa confronted a great hardship. The immensely radiant king of Bhoja was thus dragged by Krishna along that arena. As his body was dragged along, potholes were created there. In that arena, Krishna played around and dragged him along. When he had lost his life, Krishna flung Kamsa’s body a long distance away. A body that was used to happiness lay down on the ground. It was pale and covered with dust, the opposite of what used to happen earlier. He was without a crown and his face was dark. The eyes were closed. The radiance was destroyed. It was as if a lotus no longer had its petals. Kamsa wasn’t slain in a battle, wounded by arrows. He died from being grasped by the neck. He thus deviated from the path meant for the brave. He had been violently dragged along. Marks could be seen on the body, wounds made in the flesh by Keshava’s nails, while he was still alive. Having slain him, Pundarikaksha’s joy doubled. With the thorn dead, he worshipped at Vasudeva’s feet. The delight of the Yadu lineage lowered his head and kneaded his mother’s feet. Krishna was sprinkled with the milk that flowed from this happiness. Krishna, blazing in his own energy, asked about the welfare of all the Yadavas, in due order and according to age. Kamsa’s brother was named Sunama. Using his arms, Baladeva, with dharma in his soul, brought him down and defeated him. Those two brave and victorious ones had conquered their anger. They had been reared in Vraja for a long period of time. Cheerful in their minds, they went to the residence of their own father.’

  Chapter 77

  Vaishampayana said, ‘On seeing that their husband had been killed, like a planet that had lost its splendour, all of Kamsa’s wives surrounded the dead Kamsa from all sides. Having lost his life, the lord of the earth was sleeping on a bed on the ground. The wives saw this and grieved, like female deer when the male deer has been slain. “O mighty-armed one! Alas! We have been killed. Our hopes have been destroyed. Our relatives have been killed. We are the brave wives of a brave person. We have been devoted to the vows of the brave. O tiger among kings! Those who have seen how you came about your end are grieving. With your relatives, we are lamenting. O immensely strong one! We are without a foundation. Abandoned by you, we beautiful ones are without subsistence. Now that you have died, you have left us without a protector. When we are pale in our limbs, desiring to have intercourse and like creepers that cannot move, who will convey us to our beds? O amiable one! Your breath has now merged with the air and your beautiful face is being scorched by the sun, like a lotus that is deprived of water. These ears are empty and are no longer adorned by earrings. Your head has always loved earrings and is now lying down on the ground. O brave one! Your crown was decorated wit
h all the jewels. Where is it now? It possessed the complexion of the sun and brought prosperity to your head. We are the wives and women who adorned your inner quarters. Now that you have gone to another world, what will these miserable ones do? Wives who are virtuous are never deprived from objects of pleasure and are never abandoned by their husbands. If that is indeed the case, where are you going? Time, which circles in its tasks, is immensely powerful. Time is like an enemy who is swiftly taking you away from us. We do not deserve unhappiness and have always enjoyed happiness. O lord! We are overcome by distress. How will we live as widows? For women of good character, the husband alone is the supreme refuge. You have been our objective. Death has proved to be stronger and has taken you away. We are now in the state of widows. Our minds are full of sorrow and grief. It is certain that we will be immersed in weeping. Where will we go without you? Time has left with you and so has the time for playing on your lap. We have been deprived in an instant. The fortune of men is transient. O one who grants honours! Alas! We are distressed. We are miserable. All of us must have committed the same crime. That is why we have become widows at the same time. We found delight in intercourse and you nurtured us. You have left for heaven. All of us desire you. Abandoning us, where are you going? O lord! We are lamenting like female ospreys. O protector of the universe! O one who grants honours! You should reply to us. O great king! Your wives are lamenting in this way and your relatives are sorrowing. To us, your departure seems to be terrible. O handsome one! There is no doubt that the beautiful women in the other world must be more beautiful than us. O brave one! That is the reason you have abandoned the people in your own household and have left. O brave one! O lord of the earth! Your wives are piteously shrieking and weeping. Then, why are you not waking up now? Alas! This last journey of men is pitiable. They must neglect the wives and leave. It is better for women to have no husband than for women to have a husband who is brave. That is because the women in heaven love brave ones more and are also loved by those brave ones. You loved to fight and you have swiftly been rendered invisible. Death has struck all of us in our inner organs. In battles, you have killed Jarasandha’s soldiers and have defeated the yakshas. O lord of the universe! How could you have been slain by an ordinary human? In a battle, you have fought with Indra, using arrows in that encounter. You have vanquished the immortals in a battle? How could you have been slain by a mortal? The ocean cannot be agitated and you agitated it with your shower of arrows. You defeated the wielder of the noose813 and seized all his jewels. Vasava was deficient in showering down. For the sake of the citizens, you penetrated the clouds with your arrows and used your strength to cause rain. All the kings were forced to submit to your powers. They sent excellent and expensive gems and garments to you. Witnessing your valour, the enemies thought that you were like a god. How could this terrible fear, which caused loss of life, arrive? With our lord having been brought down, we confront the prospect of being addressed as widows. We were not distracted. But we have been deprived by death and have become distracted. O lord! Even if you wanted to leave and forget us, it was your duty to tell us that you were going and take our leave. O lord! Show us your favours. We are scared. Our heads are lowered at your feet. O lord of Mathura! There has been enough of residence at a distant spot. Return. O brave one! Alas! How can you lie down on a bed of grass and dust? Does your mind not suffer because of lying down on the ground? Who struck us while we were asleep? Who struck us suddenly? Who has struck all these women in this extremely terrible way? As long as women are alive, they have to weep and lament. We are weeping. Why should we not depart with our husband?”

  ‘At this time, Kamsa’s mother also arrived there. She was miserable and trembling. “Where is my child? Where is my son?” She wept piteously. She saw her dead son, who was like a pale moon. Her heart was shattered and she lamented repeatedly. She glanced towards her son and exclaimed, “I have been killed. Alas!” Afflicted and miserable, she lamented and wept with her daughters-in-law. She loved her son. Miserably, she raised his head on her lap. Having done this, she thought of her son and wept in piteous words. “O son! You followed the vow of heroes. You brought delight to your relatives. O son! Why do you want to leave so quickly? O son! Without a bed, why are you sleeping in this way? O son! Those with your kind of signs should not sleep in this way on the ground. In ancient times, Ravana, who was superior in strength in all the worlds, chanted a shloka in an assembly of rakshasas and this is revered by virtuous men. ‘Because of the energy I have obtained, I am capable of slaying the gods. However, it is certain that I will confront a terrible fear that will come through my relatives.’ In that way, though my intelligent son loves his relatives, a great fear will arise on account of the relatives and lead to loss of life.” Weeping and senseless, she spoke these words to her husband and king, the aged Ugrasena, who was also senseless. She was like Surabhi, deprived of her calf. “O king! O one with dharma in his soul! Come and see your son, the lord of men. He is lying down on a bed meant for heroes, like a mountain that has been shattered by the vajra. O great king! He has now died and gone to Yama’s abode. We should perform the funeral rites that befit his departure. Brave ones enjoy kingdoms. We have been defeated. Go and instruct Krishna about performing Kamsa’s funeral rites. All enmity is pacified after death. There is peace. The funeral rites must be performed. The dead do not commit any crimes.” She spoke these words to the lord of the Bhojas. Then, miserable, she started to tear out her hair. She glanced towards her son’s face and lamented piteously. “O king! Your wives deserved happiness. What will they do now? You were their husband. Though they had an excellent husband, their hopes have been belied. Can’t you see your aged father? He is dried up, like a pond without water and is under Krishna’s subjugation. O son! I am your mother. Why are you not speaking to me? You have abandoned your beloved relatives and have left for a long journey. O brave one! Alas! I am unfortunate and have been deprived by death. O one who were accomplished in policy! You enveloped me. But unfortunate as I am, you have been taken away from me. O leader of the herd! Your herd of servants has received gifts from you and has been satisfied by your qualities. They are weeping. O tiger among men! O long-armed one! O immensely strong one! Arise. Save all the people who are miserable, in the city and in the inner quarters.” Extremely stricken by grief, Kamsa’s women wept a lot. The sun was tinged by the hue of dusk and prepared to set.’

  Chapter 78

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Miserable, Ugrasena approached Krishna. Because he was tormented on account of his son, his sighs were like that of a person who has drunk poison. He saw Krishna in the house, surrounded by Yadavas, overcome by the prospect of Kamsa having been killed and lamenting. Having heard many extremely piteous lamentations by Kamsa’s women, he was censuring himself in that assembly of Yadavas. “Alas! Because of childishness, I have succumbed to the human trait of rage. Because of my act, thousands of Kamsa’s wives have become widows. Indeed, even an ordinary person will take pity on women. Because I have brought down their husband, they are weeping piteously. It is indeed the case that lamentations increase sorrow. Knowing this, compassion for women will be generated even in the lord of death. Earlier, it was my view that the slaying of Kamsa was the best. He created enmity towards the virtuous and was full of wickedness. In this world, an easy death is preferable for men who have deviated in conduct and are limited in intelligence. That is better than being alive and hated. Kamsa was addicted to evil and was not respected by the virtuous. As long as he was alive, that deviant was cursed by everyone. Why should there be compassion towards him? Those who perform pure deeds and observe austerities obtain the fruits of being able to reside in heaven. In that fashion, they also obtain fame in this world. If people are engaged in the good, if the subjects are devoted to dharma and if men conduct themselves according to dharma, there is no reason for the king to be a deviant. Death reduces the qualities of those who are evil in conduct by one-fourth. In this world, the best dharma is one that ensures
the world hereafter. The gods excessively protect a man who is devoted to dharma. In this world, it is extremely easy to find the performers of evil deeds. From here, Kamsa wouldn’t have obtained an end meant for the virtuous. However, I have countered his evil deeds by severing them at the roots. Therefore, comfort all the women who are overcome by grief. Comfort the citizens and all the other ranks in the city.” Govinda was speaking in this way.