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| Krishna in Vrindavan |
Events such as these would surely disturb his elders. Little did they realize that Krishna was God incarnate and nothing could harm him. They were too worried about is safety. They felt that Gokul was no longer safe for Krishna. So, all elders in Gokul met together and discussed about what they should do. Finally, it was decided that they should leave Gokul and move to another nearby place called Vrindavan, also on the banks of river Yamuna.
These people were after all, cowherds. All that they needed was some place suitable for grazing their cattle and to live peacefully. Vrindavan was a forested area with lush green pastures well suited to graze the cattle. This area was surrounded by hills called Govardhana hills. Since it was on the banks of river Yamuna, they could make use of its pure crystal-clear water. As the place was a bit secluded, there was no fear from Kamsa’s soldiers.
Krishna and his companions were around 5-year-old at that time. Vrindavan was an ideal place for them to play and explore. Often, they played in the Yamuna waters splashing water on each other. At other times they would enter the forest and pluck fruits from the trees and enjoy them to their heart’s content.
These mischievous kids would tease the monkeys on the trees by imitating them. And whenever they got a chance, they even pulled their tails. And when the monkeys climbed high up the trees, these boys would also follow them, jumping from branch to branch just like the monkeys. They laughed at the plight of those poor monkeys.
One day, when these kids were busy playing and tending the cows near the banks of Yamuna, suddenly a huge monstrous bird landed there from nowhere. It looked like a stork with long beaks. It suddenly approached Krishna and gulped him whole. But as Krishna went inside the bird’s neck, Krishna started burning like a ball of fire. That was totally unbearable to the bird and the bird spit him out.
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| Krishna subduing Baka |
When the bird again tried to catch Krishna within its beaks, Krishna caught hold of the two halves of its beak and pulled them apart as if to tear them into two. The stork writhed in pain. But Krishna would not let it escape. He kept pulling the beaks apart till he tore the bird into two halves. The bird finally died unable to bear the pain.
This bird was actually one of the demons sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna. His name was Baka. He was the younger brother of Putana who was killed by Krishna as an infant. He had come to Vrindavan in the guise of a huge stork. But he failed to achieve whatever he intended.
On another occasion, the cowherd boys who were playing in the forest came across what appeared to be a huge Boa constrictor. It lay down almost inert with its mouth wide open as if it was the entrance of some cave. The cowherd boys were quite curious as to what it was. They were too young to understand the it was a huge snake which could swallow them whole.
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| Story of Agha |
This creature was actually another demon, who had come there in the guise of a huge boa to avenge the death of his sister Putana and brother Baka. His name was Agha. He was in lookout for Krishna. But the cowherd boys had no inkling of that. They were too innocent to anticipate any danger from such an inert creature. One by one, they came and playfully entered the wide-open mouth of the boa. They were curious to see what awaited them inside such a huge tunnel like body of the serpent.
Krishna smiled at their innocence.
Agha was not interested in swallowing those kids. So, he let them go inside him. He was waiting eagerly for Krishna. Finally, Krishna too entered the wide-open mouth of Agha, fully knowing who he was.
Agha was greatly delighted thinking that he had finally trapped Krishna. He was about to crush Krishna between his jaws. But as he attempted to do that, Krishna kept growing bigger in size, till the snake almost got choked. The demon struggled for his breath but finally succumbed to death. But his death was in the hands of God. So, he too like Putana attained liberation from his evil birth. There was a bright light that came out of the demon’s body which finally dissolved into Krishna, suggesting merger with him. How fortunate he was!
This way, the Bhagavata goes on narrating wonderful sports of the God in his child form. Each act was impossible for any normal human child. But the innocent cowherds never realized that what they looked upon as a small kid was none other than the God of the universe. They were over concerned about his safety all the time.
The Bhagavata narrates another incident.
“There lived a huge serpent called Kaliya in certain portion of the Yamuna river. He was not only just wicked but was also very poisonous. He kept spitting poison all the time, contaminating that part of the river.
The trees and other vegetation on the bank of the river in that region, dried out as a result of the fierce poison spit out by Kaliya. Even the birds that flew over that region of the river would fall dead due to the poisonous fumes emanating from the polluted river water. Krishna pitied the plight of these helpless creatures. He decided to teach a lesson to Kaliya.
Krishna climbed a tree on the banks of the river. He moved to the top of the tree and suddenly jumped into the river waters, splashing its waters and raising several waves. He went deep into the river where Kaliya was.
Kaliya who was probably taking rest, was quite upset and furious by some mortal disturbing him. He did not like anyone intruding into his place. With his eyes spitting fire, Kaliya charged towards Krishna who was playfully enjoying his dive. Kaliya pounced over Krishna and bit him with his poisonous fangs. But Krishna was not perturbed at all! That further infuriated Kaliya. He encircled Krishna and tried to crush him.
The cowherd boys who were watching from the bank, were shocked. They loved Krishna more than their own lives. They would have done anything to save Krishna. They were even prepared to enter the waters to save Krishna. But there was no need. In a matter of moments, Krishna freed himself from the grips of Kaliya. He resurfaced with a smiling face as if nothing had happened! How wonderful!
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| Krishna dancing on the hoods of Kaliya |
Krishna suddenly pulled down one of the hoods of Kaliya, that fierce snake who had not one but 101 hoods, and climbed a top his head. He started dancing by trampling upon the raised hoods of Kaliya one after another. The tinkling sound of his belled anklets provided the music along with the sound of his bangles.
The divine beings in the heavens were also elated to see God dancing. They too wanted to take part in this divine play. They started to play their musical instruments and joined steps with Krishna. Some of them showered flowers from the skies. The cowherds were relieved by seeing that Krishna was safe. They too enjoyed the dance.”
One of the 16th century poets of India namely, Naaraayana Bhattathiri describes this wonderful dance of Krishna in his composition Naaraayaneeyam. There is an interesting anecdote about why Bhattathiri composed this Naaraayaneeyam.
Apparently, at the age of hardly 27, Bhattathiri was hit by a paralytic stroke. Bhattathiri became completely immobile and suffered a lot. He was a great devotee of Krishna. Finally, one day someone suggested to him that he should write something about the playful sports of Krishna.
Bhattathiri then composed in Sanskrit language, a detailed account of various incarnations of God based on the Bhagavata. His work came to be known as Naaraayaneeyam. Bhattathiri used to recite his work each day as and when he added more stanzas.
The story goes that when Bhattathiri finished his composition, he had a vision of the lord, and he was completely cured of paralysis! So, the devout Indians even today believe that anyone who recites this beautiful Sanskrit composition Naaraayaneeyam with piety, would surely be cured of all physical ailments.
Dr. Padma Subramaniam a well known Indian classical dancer, along with her accompanying artists, has performed this small piece from Naaraayaneeyam that I described a while ago, in her wonderful Bharata Natyam dance* style.
The story of Kaliya ends with Kaliya surrendering to Krishna. Krishna asks Kaliya to move to the oceans along with his entourage, so that the cowherds who use the Yamuna river can live with peace.
Let us continue with more of Krishna’s wonderful stories in the next episode.
The songs sung as kaaliya mardhana is narrated, brings before one s eye the entire event! Beautiful songs!
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