by Bibek Debroy
‘The locks of his hair were covered with dust raised by cows and peacock feathers were stuck to them. He was adorned with wild flowers. His eyes were beautiful and his smile was enchanting. He played tunes on his flute, while his companions followed him and sung about his glory. The gopis wished to see him. They assembled and came forward to greet him. Their eyes were as dark as bees and with these, they drank in the nectar of Mukunda’s face. During the day, the women of Vraja suffered from the heat of being separated from him and this was dissipated in the evening. Accepting all the honours, he entered the settlement of cowherds. The women cast sidelong glances at him, full of bashful and modest smiles. Yashoda and Rohini were devoted to their sons. Appropriate to the occasion, they pronounced the best of desired benedictions on their two sons. They were tired after the journey. They were bathed and massaged. They were attired in beautiful lower garments and decorated with divine garlands and fragrances. They ate the tasty food that was given to them by the two mothers. After being fondled by them, they lay down on the best of beds and happily slept in Vraja.
‘In this way, the illustrious Krishna roamed around in Vrindavana. O king! On one occasion, without Rama, but surrounded by his friends, he went to the Kalindi. The cows and the cowherds suffered from the heat of the summer. Afflicted by thirst, they drank the water, though it was contaminated by poison. Because of destiny, they lost their senses and touched that poisoned water. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Losing their lives, all of them fell down at the edge of that water. Krishna, the lord of all the lords of yoga, saw them there in that state. His glance is like a shower of amrita to those whom he protects and they were brought back to life. Regaining their memories, they arose, at the edge of that water. All of them were extremely surprised and looked at each other. O king! They decided that this must have been because of Govinda’s compassionate glances. Despite having drunk poison and died, it was as if they had arisen on their own.’
Chapter 10(16)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘The lord Krishna saw that the Yamuna 82 had been contaminated by the dark serpent. Desiring to purify it, he exiled the serpent.’
The king asked, ‘O brahmana! Inside the fathomless waters, how did the illustrious one subdue the serpent? How had it lived there for so many yugas? Tell us. O brahmana! The illustrious lord conducts himself as he wills. The generous one conducted himself as a cowherd. How can one be satisfied with hearing about this amrita?’
Shri-Shuka continued, ‘There was a pool inside Kalindi. 83 Kaliya resided there and there was fire in its poison. Therefore, the water boiled and even birds flying through the air fell down into it. Drops of that poisonous water mixed with the breeze, and anyone on the banks, mobile or immobile, who touched it, died. The poison was terrible in its energy and power. Krishna had assumed an avatara to subdue the wicked. He saw that the river had been contaminated. He climbed an extremely tall kadamba tree. He girded his loins and slapped his arms. He leapt into the poisoned water. The supreme Purusha descended into the serpent’s pool with great force. The mass of water, poisoned with the serpent’s breath was agitated and overflowed up to an extent of one hundred lengths of a bow. For someone whose valour is unlimited, this wasn’t surprising. O dear one! He sported in the pool and made the water swirl with the strength of his arms. His valour was like that of a supreme elephant. There was a roar. Hearing this, it decided that someone had invaded its own abode. Unable to tolerate this, Chakshushrava 84 issued forth. It saw him, delicate and as dazzling as a cloud. He had the shrivatsa mark and was attired in yellow garments. There was a beautiful smile on his face. With feet like the inside of a lotus, he was playing, without any kind of fear. Seeing him, the serpent angrily entwined him in its coils and bit his inner organs. He was enveloped in the serpent’s coils and no signs of movement could be seen. On seeing this, his beloved friends, the protectors of the animals, were extremely miserable. They had surrendered themselves, their relatives, their wealth, their wives and their desires to Krishna. Overcome by misery, repentance and fear and their intelligence dulled, they fell down. Bulls, cows and heifers 85 were extremely saddened and shrieked. Terrified, they stood there and glanced towards Krishna, as if they were crying. There were three kinds of extremely terrible portents in Vraja—those on earth, those in the firmament and those in the bodies of creatures, announcing impending danger. Noticing this, the gopas, with Nanda at the forefront, were anxious with fear. They learnt that, without Rama, Krishna had taken the cows out to graze. Not knowing about him, from these portents, they formed the view that he had come about his destruction. Their lives and their minds were immersed in him and they were afflicted by grief, sorrow and fear. O dear one! Surrounded by the animals, the young, the aged and the women emerged from Gokula. They were distressed, driven by the desire to see Krishna. The illustrious Madhava Bala saw that they were miserable. He knew about his younger brother’s prowess. However, he smiled a little and did not say anything. They looked for their beloved Krishna and searched out his trail. Following the marks of the illustrious one through his footprints, they went to the banks of the Yamuna. O dear one! Here and there, along the path, interspersed with the footprints of cows and other animals, they saw the lord’s footprints, with the marks of a lotus, barley, an elephant goad, the vajra and a standard. Looking at this, they advanced swiftly. From a distance, they saw Krishna inside the pool, enveloped in the coils of the serpent inside the water. Surrounded by their animals, the gopas lost their senses. Filled with great lassitude and afflicted, they wept. The minds of the gopis were devoted to the illustrious Ananta. They remembered his affectionate smiles, glances and words. Since their beloved had been grasped by the serpent, they were extremely distressed and tormented. Deprived of their beloved, they glanced towards the three worlds as if they were empty. Tears of grief flowed down and they suffered as much as Krishna’s mother did. But they held her back from following her son. 86 With their eyes fixed on Krishna’s face, they seemed to be dead. They recited to her beloved accounts from Vraja. The illustrious Rama knew about Krishna’s sentiments. He saw that Nanda and the others, whose lives were immersed in Krishna, were entering the pool and restrained them.
‘Gokula had no recourse other than him. He saw that it was in this state, with the women and the children extremely miserable on his account. He followed the conduct of mortals and remained in that position for a muhurta. 87 Then he rose up from the serpent’s bonds. He expanded his own body and crushed the serpent’s body with his. The serpent abandoned him and enraged, raised its hood high. It stood there, breathing poison heavily through its nostrils. Its immobile eyes were like two frying pans with torches in them and using these, it looked towards Hari. It licked the corners of its mouth with its forked tongue. Its fiery sight was filled with virulent poison. Like the Indra among the birds, 88 he played with it. It also moved around, waiting for an opportunity to strike. As it kept wheeling around with a raised hood, its energy was exhausted. The original being made it lower its stout hood and climbed atop it. Touching the heap of jewels on its hood, his lotus feet turned coppery red. The original preceptor of all kinds of arts started to dance. The gandharvas, 89 the Siddhas, the sages, the charanas, 90 the gods and the wives of the gods saw that he was ready to dance. They were delighted and quickly assembled, with flowers and other gifts, sounding drums, kettledrums, tambourines and other musicial instruments, and singing. O dear one! It possessed one hundred and one hoods. Whenever one of these hoods would not bow down, the one who wields a harsh staff would strike it with his feet and make it bend down. As it was whirled around, it started to vomit blood through its mouth and its nostrils. The serpent suffered from great misery. Poisonous waste oozed out of its eyes. Sometimes, an angry hood would rise up, and enraged, breathe heavily. Whenever this happened, he danced and pressed it down with his feet. The ancient Purusha was worshipped with flowers that were showered down on him. O king! The hoods were like umbrellas and that violent dance crushed them. With its body shattered, it start
ed to vomit copious quantities of blood from its mouth. It remembered the ancient Purusha, the preceptor of mobile and immobile objects. In its mind, it went and sought shelter with Narayana. The universe is inside Krishna’s stomach. Its hoods were like umbrellas and they were shattered from the blows of his feet and it suffered from his extremely heavy load. Seeing this, the serpent’s wives approached the original being. Their garments and ornaments were disarrayed and the braids of their hair were dishevelled. Their minds were extremely anxious and they placed their sons in front of them. They prostrated their bodies on the ground and bowed down to the lord of creatures. Those virtuous wives of a wicked husband joined their hands in salutation. Desiring to save his life, they sought refuge with the one who provides shelter.
‘The wives of the serpent said, “This one has committed a crime and this punishment is proper. You assume an avatara for the subjugation of the wicked. You are impartial in your outlook, towards enemies and towards your own sons. You inflict punishment with a view to achieving the fruits. You have shown us your favours. Indeed, when an evil person is punished, he is cleansed of sin. This embodied being assumed the form of a serpent 91 because he was wicked. Your anger should be revered as a favour. Did he torment himself with extremely difficult austerities in an earlier life? Did he control his insolence and show respect towards others? Did he follow dharma? Did he show compassion towards all beings? You are the source of all living beings and you are now satisfied with him. O god! We do not know what this is the result of. What has granted him the right to touch the dust of your feet? Desiring this, Shri, supreme among women, performed austerities. Giving up all other desire, she was firm in her vows for an extremely long period. Those who have obtained the dust of your lotus feet do not wish for the vault of heaven, the state of being a universal emperor, the position of Parameshthi, sovereignty over earth, siddhis in yoga, or emancipation from the wheel of life. O protector! What this one has achieved is extremely difficult for others to achieve. This lord of serpents was born in a species characterized by tamas and fell prey to anger. Your glory has manifested itself before him, something that embodied beings who whirl around in the wheel of samsara wish for. O illustrious Purusha! O great-souled one! We bow down before you. You reside in all creatures, but you are the supreme cause behind all creatures. You are the paramatman. You are the reservoir of jnana and vijnana. 92 You are the brahman, infinite in powers. You are without gunas and without transformations. We bow down before the one who controls Prakriti. You are time. You are the one who is the foundation for time. Time is your form. You are the witness. You are the universe. You are the one who witnesses the universe. You are the one who creates the universe. You are the cause behind the universe. Your atman is in the elements, the objects of the senses, the senses, the breaths of life, the mind, the intelligence and the heart. Because of the three gunas and ahamkara, your atman remains hidden from perception. We bow down before the infinite one. We bow down before the subtle one. We bow down before the mysterious one. We bow down before the omniscient one. We bow done before the one who allows many kinds of debates about himself. We bow down to the power of speech and the power of the one speech describes. We bow down before the one who is the foundation of proof. We bow down before the wise one, the one who is the source of the sacred texts. We bow down before nivritti and pravritti. 93 We bow down before the one who is the source of nigama texts. 94 We bow down to Krishna and Rama, the sons of Vasudeva. We bow down to Pradyumna, Aniruddha and the lord of the Satvatas. We bow down to the one who illuminates the gunas. We bow down to the one who hides the gunas. We bow down to the one who can be discerned from the functioning of the gunas. We bow down to the one who witnesses the gunas. We bow down to the one who reveals himself to his devotees. Your pastimes and deeds are beyond comprehension. You are the one who can be understood as the cause behind everything. We bow down to Hrishikesha. We bow down to the sage. We bow down to the one who is silent in conduct. You are the one who knows about the progress of everything, superior and inferior. We bow down before the one who is the controller of everything. We bow down to the one who is not the universe. We bow down to the one who is the universe. We bow down to the one who is the witness and is also the cause. O lord! Without being involved and without acting, you use the gunas to ensure the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. You are the one who upholds the prowess of time. You awaken the latent and innate truth. You are the one who acts. Your pastimes and glances are invincible. You are the one who creates the bodies in the three worlds, serene, turbulent and those born as inferior species. However, those who are serene and virtuous are loved by you and you protect them. The reason for your presence in this world is the protection of dharma. If his own servant commits a crime only once, a master should pardon it. You are serene in your atman. You should pardon this foolish one, who has committed a crime out of ignorance. O illustrious one! This serpent is about to give up his life. Please show him your favours. The virtuous should grieve over women. Our husband is our life. Give him back to us. We are your servant-maids. Order us. We will abide by your commands. We will faithfully carry everything out. Free us from all kinds of fear.”’
Shri-Shuka continued, ‘The illustrious one was properly praised by the wives of the serpent in this way. He was senseless and his hoods were crushed, struck by the blows of the feet. He was allowed to escape. Slowly, Kaliya regained his senses and his breath of life. He breathed with a great deal of difficulty. Miserable, he joined his hands in salutation and spoke to Krishna. “We are wicked because of our birth. We are immersed in tamas and our anger is great. O protector! People find it extremely difficult to give up their innate nature, since it grasps those who are evil. O creator! You have created the universe, with its gunas and different characteristics. There are many kinds of nature, valour, energy, species, seeds, hearts and forms. O illustrious one! We are serpents and we are born angry. How can we abandon your maya? You yourself confound us and make it difficult for us to give it up. You are the cause behind this. You are omniscient and the lord of the universe. Whether it is favour or punishment, do what you think is right for us.” Behaving in the form of a human being, the illustrious one heard these words and replied. “O serpent! You must not remain in this place. Without any delay, leave for the ocean, with your relatives, children and wives. Let the river be enjoyed by cattle and men. If a mortal person remembers my instruction to you and recounts this at the time of both the sandhyas, 95 he will not face any fear on your account. If a person bathes at this spot, where I have played, and offers water to gods and others, if he fasts and remembers me and worships me, he will be freed from all sins. Out of fear on account of Suparna, 96 you left Ramanaka dvipa 97 and sought refuge in this pool. However, since you have been marked with my feet, he will not eat you now.” O king! The illustrious Krishna, extraordinary in his deeds, freed him in this way. Delighted, the serpent and his wives affectionately worshipped him. They worshipped the protector of the universe with divine garments, garlands, jewels, extremely expensive ornaments, celestial scents and unguents and a large garland of blue lotuses. This pleased the one who has Garuda on his standard. Delighted, they sought his permission, circumambulating and worshipping him. With his wives, well-wishers and sons, he went to the middle of that dvipa. 98 Cleansed of poison, the water of the Yamuna became like amrita. This was because of the favours of the illustrious one, who sported in human form.’
Chapter 10(17)
The king asked, ‘Why did Kaliya abandon Ramanaka, the abode of the nagas? 99 What did he do so as to make him Suparna’s sole enemy?’
Shri-Shuka said, ‘O mighty-armed one! Every month, the nagas received a share of offerings from people and it had earlier been agreed that every month, the serpents would leave a share of these at the foot of a large tree. On every new moon day, for the sake of their protection, the nagas would leave a share for the great-souled Suparna. 100 Because of the vigour from his poison, Kaliya, Kadru’s son, was fil
led with insolence. He slighted Garuda by himself eating up the offerings meant for him. O king! Hearing this, the illustrious one, loved by the illustrious one, 101 became angry. Desiring to kill Kaliya, he rushed towards him with an extremely great speed. As he violently descended, he 102 raised his many hoods to strike back, using poison as a weapon. His fangs were his weapons and using these fangs, he bit Suparna. His tongues were terrible. He hissed and his eyes were fierce. Filled with rage, Tarkshya’s son repelled him. The one who carried Madhusudana was terrible in his force. Fierce in his valour, he struck Kadru’s son with his left wing, which was as dazzling as gold. Struck by Suparna’s wing, Kaliya became extremely agitated. He entered Kalindi, which was very difficult to penetrate and he 103 couldn’t follow him there. Once, Garuda was hungry and wished to eat an aquatic creature. He was restrained by Soubhari. 104 However, rash and hungry, he seized it. On seeing that the king of the fish had been killed, the fish were extremely miserable and distressed. Full of compassion and to ensure the welfare of those who lived there, Soubhari said, “If Garuda enters this place and eats fish, he will instantly be separated from his life. What I have spoken is the truth.” Only Kaliya knew about this great secret. The other serpents didn’t know. Therefore, scared of Garuda, he resided there, until Krishna banished him.