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| Krishna curing Trivarka |
There were some who were close admirers of Kamsa and loyal to him. They tried to slight Krishna in whatever way they could. But there was a vast silent majority who suffered a lot from the tyrant Kamsa. They were quite jubilated to see Krishna. They had heard so many heroic stories about Krishna that they were hoping that Krishna would free them from the oppressor Kamsa.
Krishna and Balarama reached the place were preparations for the bow sacrifice were going on. This bow ritual was just a pretext to trap Krishna and finally kill him. Krishna knew very well the plans of Kamsa. So, unmindful of the resistance of the soldiers who guarded that place, Krishna and Balarama entered that place. Just to send a stern warning to Kamsa, Krishna effortlessly lifted the huge bow and broke it into pieces. The soldiers tried to capture Krishna but they did not succeed. They were no match for his divine powers.
On the way back from the ritual place, Krishna came across a lady who was physically deformed. Her body was bent in three ways and was rightly called Trivakra – bent in three ways. That lady was quite hesitant to face Krishna due to her appearance. She was the royal maid who supplied perfumes and other cosmetics to the women in the palace.
Krishna went near her and asked her to apply some perfume on his body. But the lady was so deformed that she could not even lift her head and see Krishna eye to eye. Krishna jovially pressed her feet with his toe and forcibly lifted her chin saying
“Young lady, let me see your face”.
And Lo! Her body at once became straight, free from all the deformity! She was so thankful to Krishna that she happily anointed Krishna with the most precious perfume she had.
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| Krishna fighting the elephant |
Next the duo marched towards the arena where Kamsa had setup another trap to kill Krishna. Kamsa’s men were waiting with a mad elephant to trample Krishna under its feet. On seeing Krishna, the elephant charged towards him and hit him hard with its forehead. It encircled its trunk around Krishna and lifted him high into the sky so as to hurl him around. But Krishna easily slipped from its hold and hid between its legs. For sometime the elephant was confused. It was looking around not knowing where Krishna was.
But finally, it could smell Krishna and tried to kick him with its legs. There was a tough fight between Krishna and the elephant. Finally, Krishna had to kill the elephant. He pulled out its tusk and took it along with him when he entered the arena where Kamsa had arranged a wrestling match. Match was only an excuse to kill Krishna.
Two fierce wrestlers ChaNura and Mustika were waiting for Krishna and Balarama in the arena. Kamsa was eagerly waiting in a high throne in front of the arena. Lot of people had gathered to watch the fight. Wicked Kamsa had chained Vasudeva and Devaki – Krishna’s real parents – and made them watch the fun – the fun of their children being killed mercilessly in front of their very eyes. Cruel Kamsa did not spare his own father Ugrasena. He too was made to watch whatever was going on.
The wrestlers challenged Krishna and Balarama for a fight. It was totally an unfair match. Krishna and Balarama were hardly 7 or 8-year-old, and the wresters looked totally formidable. How could anyone arrange for such a match? But Kamsa was very clear in his intentions. He wanted to somehow get rid of these two, whom he considered as his sworn enemies.
There was unrest among the gathered crowd. None liked the idea of pairing these unequal fighters. How could Kamsa allow such a match between kids and grownup adult fighters? They probably would have left the arena in protest. But none had the courage to oppose Kamsa.
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| Krishna wrestling with Chanura |
The wrestlers justified their move by saying that if Krishna could kill such an elephant single handedly, he could very well face them.
Kamsa too supported their argument since it was very well part of his plan. He knew that those fierce wrestlers would finish Krishna and Balarama in no time. That was exactly what he wanted.
Devaki and Vasudeva silently shed tears. They cursed themselves for being in such a helpless condition. None had the guts to stop this unfair match. So, the wrestling match went ahead.
The fight went on for quite some time. And finally, both Chanura and mustika were over powered by Krishna and Balarama. Kamsa had more wresters in his game plan. But none could match Krishna and Balarama and all of them fled the scene.
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| Krishna finally kills Kamsa |
Kamsa was quite furious. All his attempts to kill these two kids had gone in vain. Now it was time for an open encounter. So, Kamsa pulled out his sword and started stepping down from his high throne. He had now reached a point where he was no longer worried about the impression that would create among his subjects. He wanted to put an end to this story once for all.
Looks like even Vyasa wanted to pull down the curtains a bit too soon without going into too much of elaboration. As Kamsa surged towards Krishna from his high throne, Krishna too pulled him down and in a matter of seconds killed Kamsa.
Kamsa had all along hated Krishna and was always thinking of ways to kill him. In that way Kamsa thought about Krishna all the time. And this Krishna was none other than God in human form. So, how could anyone who thinks of God all the time even if in hatred, be deprived of God’s grace? So, Kamsa got liberated from his cruel human birth and finally got united with God. Whether you love or hate, all that the God wants is a single pointed attention. And Kamsa did exactly that. He thought about God all the time. So, he finally merged with God!
After the customary funeral rites of Kamsa, Krishan asked his maternal grandfather Ugrasena to ascend the throne which was snatched away from him by his own son Kamsa. Krishna wanted Ugrasena to be also the king of Yadu dynasty to which Krishna belonged. Due to some curse from their ancestor Yayaati, people of Yadu dynasty were not expected to ascend the throne. (Please see my book “Unravelling the hidden mystery of the Vedas - Part 1” where I have explained this story of Yayaati in greater detail.)
Krishna also apologized to Vasudeva and Devaki – his real parents for not being with them all through his childhood. He thanked Nandagopa for taking care of him all through. Krishna also sent word to all those who had fled Mathura fearing Kamsa, and resettled them back.
When everything was peaceful once again, it was time for Krishna to go ahead with his human role. Vasudeva wanted Krishna and Balarama to join some residential school to undergo their studies. Vasudeva’s priest Garga administered the oath of studentship to both by performing their sacred thread ceremony.
Krishna and Balarama left Mathura to go and join their Guru Sandipani who was at that time running a residential school in the city of Avanti.
Let us continue our story in the next episode.
Got to know a few more details - like trivakra,release of Kamsa.The background effects during the krishna- kamsa yuddha is nice!
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