Srikrishna- the Lord of the Universe

by Shivaji Sawant

  The minister was completely baffled with this unexpected proposal. He didn’t even know what to say. He stuttered “How - how- can I - I - take this decision?” Dada looked at me and gave a gentle smile. It meant that the matter was in my hands now.

  “Dear Raivatakas, the Yadavas are pleased to accept your pure love. This marriage will surely take place. We are going to need your support in the future. In my opinion dada should meet my future sister-in-law at least once!” I declared my decision.

  Millions of lights illuminated in King Kakudmin’s eyes. He quickly gave orders, and within a few moments Revatidevi, the princess of the Raivatakas, dressed in fine royal attire stood in the great hall in front of us, standing still like a statue, with downcast eyes. She was going to be Uddhava’s and my future sister-in-law. We looked at her carefully. Tall, healthy, with ruddy fair complexion and smiling, just like dada; she was a perfect match for him.

  Uddhava and I moved forward and bowed down to pay obeisance to her. She was baffled by our totally unanticipated action. Moving back instantly she exclaimed, “What are you doing?” She blushed instantly.

  “Revativahini, our relation is secured now. Not me, but it is dada who has taken this decision.” I said respectfully.

  All our family and Yadava relatives were back in Mathura. So, to resolve that difficulty King Kakudmin suggested that they would just carry out the basic Swayamwar ceremony according to the Raivataka tradition. And we could perform the formal wedding ceremony later in Mathura.

  As per his recommendation we carried out the Swayamwar ceremony, and along with a few of her friends we descended Mount Raivataka with Revativahini. While we were climbing down the long, curving road echoing the thunderous roaring of the lions I constantly kept feeling in my heart that eventually I was going to foster a firm bond with Mount Raivataka too. I will have to come here again; but I couldn’t tell for what purpose. I didn’t know it myself then.

  The warriors here were also going to assist us till Avanti now. Along with them we met Satyaki who had camped on the shores of the Kshipra. Crossing the river Kshipra in boats along with Dutta, dada, Uddhava and I entered the Ankapada aashrama, and handed him over to his mother. After so many years of separation she embraced him and wept for quite some time.

  I was very eager to show Aacharya the rare, divine conch that I had brought along. The new disciples of the aashrama would peek into Aacharya’s cottage and after seeing dada, Uddhava and me from a distance, they would return whispering among themselves. At dinner time before saying our regular prayers, I expressed my biggest concern in front of Aacharya, “The Magadha empire is enormous. Our Shursena kingdom is very small in comparison, almost negligible in size. Jarasandha, Kansa’s father-in-law, has been fuming with anger since Kansa’s execution; he doesn’t let the citizens of Mathura be in peace. We had to fight off his armed attacks fifteen-sixteen times so far. Could you please suggest a way out from this situation?”

  Aacharya smiled like a child and said, “Srikrishna, you have just returned after visiting the ocean. Wouldn’t you like to live in its company? Anyhow, aren’t you going to show me the divine conch that you have brought from the Shwetasagara ocean?” He purposefully digressed from the topic and just gave me a smile. I understood and reciprocated in the same manner.

  I had safely secured the shining, divine conch in the blue scarf wrapped around my waist. Carefully releasing the knot, I took it out, touched it to my forehead and gently kept it at Aacharya’s feet. He picked up the conch as delicately as the aashrama-mata would pick up a Prajkta flower drenched in the morning dew, lying under the Prajkta tree. His eyes gradually closed as soon as he touched the conch.

  In his melodious voice, he said, “Srikrishna, this is another invaluable jewel, as precious as the Vaijayanti garland around your neck. It will be renowned as ‘Paanchajanya’. You have fulfilled your promise of the Gurudakshina. I am going to present you with one more precious gift today. I have already taught you Dhanurveda. This gift will further enhance its reputation. You should consider it as another jewel.”

  He glanced at his wife standing inside the cottage. With Dutta’s assistance, she brought out a curvaceous bow decorated with beautiful garlands of Madhumalati flowers and a quiver full of arrows. Stepping forward, Aacharya balanced the bow in his hands, and twanged the bowstring once. Aacharya holding a bow! Indeed, it was a very rare sight. He said, “This is my gift to you. This meritorious bow is named ‘Ajitanjaya’.” I got up, touched it to my forehead and accepted the gift humbly as Aacharya’s blessing.

  I also twanged the powerful bowstring of Ajitanjaya once. Its stimulating sound kept resonating in the cottage for a long time. I carried the exceptional gift on my shoulders for some time. Then I handed the victorious bow over to Balaramadada, who was staring at it with fascination. He also carried it on his shoulders. Meanwhile Uddhava had checked out all the arrows in the quiver.

  At this moment of bliss an amusing thought entered my mind like a beautiful royal swan descending on the lake. Looking intently at Aacharya I implored, “Gurudeva, only once, please blow this conch, in our presence. Exonerate it forever, of all the blemishes it had acquired in the company of the Asuras. Purify the Paanchajanya absolutely.”

  Aacharya smiled innocently. He picked up the Paanchajanya conch resting on the tiger skin with his tapering fingers. Holding his chin high up towards the ceiling of the cottage, with closed eyes our venerable Aacharya blew the divine conch with passionate intensity at such a high pitch that it made the veins in his throat protrude. Instantly his fair face flushed.

  I simply kept gazing, unable to decide whether Aacharya’s thick beard was whiter or his teeth which produced a childlike smile were whiter or the Paanchajanya conch in his palms or the remarkable white brightness produced by the sound of conch that also rendered goose bumps, was the brightest!

  This time when we returned to Mathura I had four priceless jewels with me. The Vaijayanti garland, Paanchajanya, Ajitanjaya and one could say that our Revativahini was the fourth jewel!

  We returned to Mathura. Maharaja Ugrasena himself came to receive us at the border of Mathura. The citizens of Mathura showered us with flowers and they welcomed Revativahini with joy. The entire city was decorated with festoons and flowers to welcome her. Paancahjanya was entering the Shursena kingdom for the first time. Recognizing the importance of the occasion, on the border of the city dada put his loving hand on my shoulders and prodded me, “Dhakalya, Paanchajanya!” I smiled looking at him and Revativahini. Along with Gargamuni almost all leading Yadavas had gathered at the border of the city. Among them Gada and Sarana were at the front along with fresh young blood like Yashaswi, Chitraketu, Brihadbala and many more.

  For once I feasted my eyes upon the river Yamuna encircling Mathura in a crescent shape with her dancing waves. Remembering Vasudevababa and Devakimata who were waiting for me in the royal palace, I bowed down. Then, on the border of the Shursena kingdom, I blew the pure white Paanchajanya conch for the first time with all my might.

  Since the moment I held this conch in my hands I was transformed completely. As if the old Krishna had vanished completely. The melodious sound waves of that pure white conch hugged the waves of Yamuna and conveyed the deepest meaning of my present as well as future plans.

  We were welcomed in Mathura with fanfare. But Jarasandha, the tyrant emperor of Magadha was not going to rest until he had completely annihilated the Yadavas of the Shursena kingdom. In Girivraja, the royal capital of the Magadhas, his daughters and Kansa’s wives – Asti and Prapti wouldn’t let him think of anything else except ‘the destruction of the Yadavas and mainly Srikrishna’s execution at the earliest’.

  Following the political adage ‘An enemy of the enemy is a friend’, he had formed a political alliance with Dantavakra, the king of Karusha, and Shishupala, the son of the Chedi king Damaghosha. In fact, both of them were my paternal cousins. But they had surrendered to and joined hands with the more powerful Jarasandh. The trio of
Shishupala, Dantavakra and Jarasandha had also succeeded in convincing the otherwise prudent Bhishmaka, the king of Vidarbha, to join their clique. King Shaibya of Sauvira, Vatsa, the king of Kashi, Shalva, the king of Videha, Trigarta, the king of Madra, Darada, and so on – Jarasandha had invited all his vassal kings to the royal capital of Girivraja. All our nemeses had gathered together to obliterate the Yadavas. Within just a week my Paanchajanya had to face the challenge of the Magadha invasion again.

  This was the seventeenth attack by Jarasandha! Crossing rivers like Gomati, Sharayu, Gandaki, and Kaushiki, a giant fourfold army assembled in Girivraja. It crossed the Yamuna in a large number of boats and roaring war cries, it reached Mathura. Compared to the prior sixteen invasions, this was the ultimate, conclusive invasion. Jarasandha himself had crossed the river Yamuna and descended upon Mathura as the commander of the giant Magadha army today. Thousands of large and small boats were anchored in the expanse of the Yamuna. Magadhas were brave warriors and warmongers.

  A Yadava council was organized under the leadership of Maharaja Ugrasena and baba. Along with me, dada, commander Anadhrishti, Yuyudhana-Satyaki, Uddhava, Akrura, Kritavarmana, Satrajita, Shini, all my kakas, mamas and the Yadava leaders gathered with determination in this council. Among all of them dada, Satyaki, Kritavarma and Anadhrishti were determined to do only one thing – fight off the Magadhas with plenty of grit and make them lose the ground by hook or by crook.

  I gathered all the accurate and minute details from my informers. I came to realize that this invasion was not only of the Magadhas or Jarasandha himself, but many a small and big Yadava nemeses had gathered under his leadership. This was a way more disparate war and it would go on for quite some time.

  Compared to the mammoth Magadha army the Yadavas would have appeared like a mouse in front of an elephant. Yet I silently listened to the resolve of the fervent Yadavas. Short-tempered Yadavas were not going to learn to be cautious unless and until they had firsthand experience. They were not going to amend until then. I gave my silent approval to them. As proposed unanimously in the council, the Yadavas got all geared up to fight the Magadhas.

  Based on the previous experience the frontiers of Mathura were secured by sealing all gates on the four sides. The borders of Mathura were besieged by the giant, roaring fourfold army of Magadha. Thunderous sounds of the war drums, kettle drums echoed in the atmosphere. A long, violent, unpredictable war had begun.

  The Yadavas inside were all geared up for defence and the Magadhas outside were all eager for invasion and attack. Such was the scene now. The Magadhas started propelling huge rocks and burning torches inside the enclosure of Mathura continuously. Yadavas also began counter-attacking them from inside. About eight days passed by. The battle was still inconclusive, and it was not going to end any time soon. On the outskirts of Mathura, the farming land of the Shursena kingdom was getting destroyed under the feet of the elephants, the camels and the horses.

  Jarasandha’s armed riders started attacking the towns close by and badgering the citizens of the Shursena kingdom. Sometimes they would catch the civilians and detain them. They also extorted food grains and money from the people. After ten days I offered a pragmatic suggestion to Maharaja Ugrasena. I discussed a secret decision with him in private, and proposed to arrange the Yadava royal council immediately. Until today many Yadava royal councils had been held either before the beginning of a war or after the end of it. Those were usually held in the night. This was the very first unexpected, royal council arranged while the war was still on.

  Maharaja Ugrasena commenced the royal council. While looking at the burning torches in the council he said, “We Yadavas have determinedly faced the constant armed assaults of the giant Magadha army and if required we will do so again in future. I can see that Srikrishna is the only Yadava leader in our kingdom today with the capability to evaluate a situation correctly and take a suitable decision accordingly. In my opinion you all should listen to him and comply with his decision. Srikrishna believes that this war should be brought to an end. If the Magadhas are not ready to do so, then the Yadavas should do it from their side.”

  “What does this mean? We have fought with them staunchly sixteen times before; why surrender now? That is not possible.” Satyaki burst out with his usual vigour. Along with Balaramadada and Anadhrishti many valiant Yadavas supported him unanimously, “He is right. We will keep fighting till the end.” After a long, chaotic discussion and a furore of questions and answers the council was clearly divided in two groups – one that agreed to end the war and the other that was ready to fight the war with determination and win it at any cost.

  Sitting quietly on my seat I kept listening to everything. At this time, I strongly felt an innate trait of the Yadavas. They feel, look, behave and are powerful and invincible as long as they are united. But once their ego is hurt and they are divided, it is impossible for anybody to control them.

  The royal council that Maharaja Ugrasena had held at night had commenced so peacefully and now it had turned tense due to conflicting opinions of the attendees. In the utter chaos, nobody could comprehend what others were saying. Yet I was quiet! I was utterly silent.

  Finally, Vikadru, the oldest and most senior Yadava in the council hall stood up. His pure white, thick beard trembled with his wobbly neck. Raising both his arms he roared in a commanding voice, “Silence, everyone keep quiet! Using my authority as the most senior and experienced person I demand that all of you listen to me carefully and do as I tell you to do.”

  The old man hawked, his body shook for a moment. Then he continued, “What is all this ruckus about? It is all in vain! Do you even know the actual reason of the wrath of Jarasandha, Kansa’s father-in-law? Are you ever going to take that into account? He has no reason to be hostile towards the Yadavas. As he is your kith and kin he never had any enmity towards you before. Isn’t Srikrishna the only reason for all this? Kansa sent many deadly executioners to kill Srikrishna because he thought that Srikrishna was the one who was going to destroy him. Srikrishna survived all the attacks astutely and killed him. As Kansa’s father-in-law, wouldn’t Jarasandha want to avenge his son-in-law? He wants to inflict vengeance on Srikrishna. Only for that purpose, time and again he is assaulting Mathura with his army. Not once or twice, but sixteen times he has attacked. How long are we going to sacrifice our young Yadavas in these battles against the Magadhas? How long are we going to let them get victimized by Jarasandha’s uncontrollable wrath?

  “I see only one solution that will benefit all Yadavas from this situation. Srikrishna is younger in age. I believe he will understand precisely what I am saying, without getting upset. I clearly think that henceforth Srikrishna and Balarama should not stay in Mathura even for a moment. They should go somewhere far away to live incognito. That will give some peace to the citizens of Mathura left behind. Isn’t this the only solution to this problematic situation?”

  “ Srikrishna, what do you think about this?” Old Vikadru stood shaking and staring at me pointedly. The piercing and experienced words of an aged Yadava left all those gathered aghast. This was totally unexpected, unthinkable.

  Getting up quietly, I briskly glanced around the fully packed Yadava council. Then my inner voice as melodious as the flute of Gokul and resonating like the conch of the western ocean, erupted, “Yadavas! Isn’t what the venerable Vikadrubaba said significant? It is the bitter truth. The words of the aged are like an effective medicine. Aren’t they? He has fearlessly and accurately diagnosed the current problem of the Yadavas. Jarasandha is desperate for Srikrishna’s blood! I am well aware that the powerful Jarasandha, whose son-in-law I executed, is my arch enemy. Today he is riding on the unconquerable pinnacle of power, trying to crush the innocent Yadavas under the feet of his giant army, only to seek revenge on me. He has untiringly done it sixteen times before.

  “Isn’t Vikadrubaba speaking the truth? Why should many people suffer for the sake of a single person? If I am a true Yadava, then should
n’t I give up the thought of my personal good for the sake of the whole Yadava clan?

  “Vikadrubaba’s hair has turned gray with his experience of dealing with the world, and not due to the assault of weather! As I am younger in age I would like to humbly tell him that I had already proposed to Maharaja Ugrasena to arrange this council today to implement the very suggestion that he just offered. I have already told him that instead of becoming the cause of the Yadavas’ peril, I am going to leave Mathura today itself along with Balaramadada!

  “I know that due to my actions today, future generations will loathe and mock me as ‘Ranachhodadasa’ – a runaway warrior. I am happily willing to bear that dishonour, that stigma on my character. I would rather accept a single Yadava being called Ranachhodadasa’ than the whole Yadava clan perishing in vain.”

  I glanced around the hall. I could clearly see a lot of faces distressed and agitated at the thought of me leaving Mathura. It was the same look that the Gopas and Gopikas of Gokul had on their faces when I left Gokul.

  Maharaja Ugrasena stood up and said, “Oh Yadavas, Srikrishna had already informed his decision to me and he was the one who suggested this council be held today. I think Srikrishna is not easy to understand, for you, me or anybody for that matter! From whatever I know of him, I declare as the king of Mathura that whatever anybody wishes, Srikrishna is not going to stay in Mathura even for a moment now. It is not in his nature to remain in one place anyway! Does water or air ever remain stagnant in one place? Do the rays from the sky ever stay in one place? But wherever he goes, I implore him from the bottom of my heart that his emotional bond with Mathura should always stay alive in his heart, at least as long as I am alive.”

  The special council of the Yadavas was over. That very night, by a secret passage, Balaramadada, Uddhava and I along with Vipruthu and a few chosen Yadava warriors reached the shore of Yamuna. We sailed towards the South in large ships.