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KB 1970-1-15 / Killing of Dhenukasura
15 / Killing of Dhenukasura
In this way, Sri Krsna, along with His elder brother Balarama,
passed the childhood age known as kaumara and stepped into the
age of pauganda, from the sixth year up to the tenth. At that
time, all the cowherd men conferred and agreed to give those
boys who had passed their fifth year charge of the cows in the
pasturing ground. Given charge of the cows, Krsna and Balarama
traversed Vrndavana, purifying the land with Their
footprints.
Accompanied by the cowherd boys and Balarama, Krsna brought
forward the cows and played on His flute through the
forest of Vrndavana, which was full of flowers, vegetables, and
pasturing grass. The Vrndavana forest was as sanctified as the
clear mind of a devotee and was full of bees, flowers and
fruits. There were chirping birds and clear water lakes with
waters that could relieve one of all fatigues. Sweet
flavored breezes blew always, refreshing the mind and body.
Krsna, with His friends and Balarama, entered the forest and,
seeing the favorable situation, enjoyed the atmosphere
to the fullest extent. Krsna saw all the trees, overloaded with
fruits and fresh twigs, coming down to touch the ground as if
welcoming Him by touching His lotus feet. He was very
pleased by the behavior of the trees, fruits and flowers, and
He began to smile realizing their desires.
Krsna then spoke to His elder brother Balarama as follows: "My
dear brother, You are superior to all of us, and Your lotus
feet are worshiped by the demigods. Just see how these trees,
full with fruits, have bent down to worship Your
lotus feet. It appears that they are trying to get out of the
darkness of being obliged to accept the form of trees.
Actually, the trees born in the land of Vrndavana are not
ordinary living entities. Having held the impersonal point of
view in their past lives, they are now put into this
stationary condition of life, but now they have the opportunity
of seeing You in Vrndavana, and they are praying for further
advancement in spiritual life through Your personal association.
Generally the trees are living entities in the modes of
darkness. The impersonalist
philosophers are in that darkness, but they eradicate it by
taking full advantage of Your presence. I think the drones that
are buzzing all around You must have been Your devotees in
their past lives. They cannot leave Your company because no one
can be a better, more affectionate master than You. You are the
supreme and original Personality of Godhead, and the drones are
just trying to spread Your glories by chanting every moment.
I think some of them must be great sages, devotees of Your
Lordship, and they are disguising themselves in the form of
drones because they are unable to give up Your company even for
a moment. My dear brother, You are the supreme worshipable
Godhead. Just see how the peacocks in great ecstasy are dancing
before You. The deer, whose behavior is just
like the gopis, are welcoming You with the same
affection. And the cuckoos who are residing in this forest are
receiving You with great joy because they
consider that Your appearance is so auspicious in their home
. Even though they are trees and animals, these
residents of Vrndavana are glorifying You. They are prepared to
welcome You to their best capacity, as is the
practice of great souls in receiving another great soul at home.
As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate that the
footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body.
"It is quite natural for these Vrndavana inhabitants to thus
receive a great personality like You. The herbs, creepers and
plants are also so fortunate to touch Your lotus feet. And by
Your touching the twigs with Your hands, these small
plants are also made glorious. As for the hills and the rivers,
they too are now glorious because You are glancing at them.
Above all, the damsels of Vraja, the gopis, attracted by Your
beauty, are the most glorious, because You embrace them with
Your strong arms."
In this way, both Lord Krsna and Balarama began to enjoy the
residents of Vrndavana to Their full satisfaction, along with
the calves and cows on the bank of the Yamuna. In some
places both Krsna and Balarama were accompanied by Their
friends. The boys were singing, imitating the humming sound of
the drones and accompanying Krsna and Balarama, who were
garlanded with forest flowers. While walking, the boys
sometimes imitated the quacking sound of the swans in the lakes,
or when they saw the peacocks dancing, they imitated them
before Krsna. Krsna also moved His neck, imitating the dancing
and making His friends laugh.
The cows taken care of by Krsna had different names, and Krsna
would call them with love. After hearing Krsna calling, the
cows would immediately respond by mooing, and the boys would
enjoy this exchange to their hearts' content. They would all
imitate the sound vibrations made by the different kinds of
birds, especially the cakoras, peacocks, cuckoo and
bharadvajas. Sometimes, when they would see the weaker animals
fleeing out of fear of the sounds of tigers and lions, the boys,
along with Krsna and Balarama, would imitate the animals and
run away with them. When they felt some fatigue, they would sit
down, and Balarama would put His head on the lap of one of the
boys just to take rest, and Krsna would immediately come and
begin massaging the legs of Balarama. And sometimes He would
take a palm fan and fan the body of Balarama, causing a
pleasing breeze to relieve Him of His fatigue. Other boys would
sometimes dance or sing while Balarama took rest, and sometimes
they would wrestle amongst themselves or jump. When the boys
were thus engaged, Krsna would immediately join them, and
catching their hands, He would enjoy their company and laugh
and praise their activities. When Krsna would feel tired and
fatigued, He would sometimes take shelter of the root of a big
tree, or the lap of a cowherd boy, and lie down. When He would
lie down with a boy or a root as His pillow, some of the boys
would come and massage His legs, and some would fan His body
with a fan made from leaves. Some of the more talented boys
would sing in very sweet voices to please Him. Thus very soon
His fatigue would go away. The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Krsna, whose legs are tended by the goddess of fortune, shared
Himself with the cowherd boys as one of them, expanding His
internal potency to appear exactly like a village boy. But
despite His appearing just like a village boy, there were
occasions when He proved Himself to be the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Sometimes men pose themselves as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and cheat innocent people, but they can
only cheat; they cannot exhibit the potency of God.
While Krsna was thus engaged in
exhibiting His internal potency along with the
supermost fortunate friends, there occurred another chance
for Him to exhibit the superhuman powers of Godhead. His most
intimate friends Sridama, Subala and Stokakrsna began to
address Krsna and Balarama with great love and affection thus:
"Dear Balarama, You are very powerful; Your arms are very
strong. Dear Krsna, You are very expert in killing all kinds of
disturbing demons. Will You kindly note that just near this
place there is a big forest of the name Talavana. This forest
is full of palm trees, and all the trees are filled with fruits.
Some are falling down, and some of them are very ripe even in
the trees. It is a very nice place, but because of a great
demon, Dhenukasura, it is very difficult to go there. No one
can reach the trees to collect the fruits. Dear Krsna and
Balarama, this demon is present there in the form of an ass,
and he is surrounded by similar demon friends who assume
the same shape. All of them are very strong, so it is
very difficult to approach this place. Dear brothers, You are
the only persons who can kill such demons. Other than You, no
one can go there for fear of being killed. Not even animals go
there, and no birds are sleeping there; they have all left. One
can only appreciate the sweet aroma that is coming from that
place. It appears that up until now, no one has tasted the
sweet fruits there, either on the tree or on the ground. Dear
Krsna, to tell You frankly, we are very attracted by this sweet
aroma. Dear Balarama, let us all go there and
enjoy these fruits. The aroma of the fruits is now spread
everywhere. Don't You smell it from here?"
When Balarama and Krsna were thus petitioned by Their smiling,
intimate friends, They were inclined to please them, and They
began to proceed towards the forest, surrounded by
all Their friends. Immediately upon entering the Talavana,
Balarama began to yank the trees with His arms, exhibiting the
strength of an elephant. Because of this jerking, all the ripe
fruits fell down on the ground. Upon hearing the sound of the
falling fruits, the demon Dhenukasura, who was living there in
the form of an ass, began to approach with great force,
shaking the whole field so that all the trees began to move as
if there were an earthquake. The demon appeared first before
Balarama and began to kick His chest with his hind legs. At
first, Balarama did not say anything, but the demon with great
anger began to kicked Him again more vehemently. This time
Balarama immediately caught hold of the legs of the ass with
one hand and, wheeling him around, threw him into the treetops.
While he was being wheeled around by Balarama, the demon lost
his life. Balarama threw the demon into the biggest palm tree
about, and the demon's body was so heavy that the palm tree
fell upon other trees, and several fell down. It appeared as if
a great hurricane had passed through the forest, and all the
trees were falling down, one after another. This exhibition of
extraordinary strength is not astonishing because Balarama is
the Personality of Godhead known as Ananta Sesanaga, who
is holding all the planets on the hoods of His millions of
heads. The whole cosmic manifestation is
maintained by Him exactly as two threads
hold the weaving of a cloth.
After the demon was thrown into the trees, all the friends
and associates of Dhenukasura immediately assembled and
attacked Balarama and Krsna with great force. They were
determined to retaliate and avenge the death of their friend.
But Krsna and Balarama began to catch each of the asses by the
hind legs and, exactly in the same way, wheeled them around.
Thus They killed all of them by throwing them into the palm
trees. Because of the dead bodies of the asses, there was a
panoramic scene. It appeared as if clouds of various colors
were assembled in the trees. Hearing of this great incident,
the demigods from the higher planets began to shower flowers
on Krsna and Balarama and began to beat their drums and offer
devotional prayers.
A few days after the killing of Dhenukasura, people began to
come into the Talavana forest to collect the fruits, and
animals began to return without fear to feed on the nice
grasses grown there. Just by chanting or hearing these
transcendental activities and pastimes of the brothers Krsna
and Balarama, one can amass pious activities.
When Krsna, Balarama and Their friends entered the village
of Vrndavana, They played Their flutes,
and the boys praised Their uncommon activities in the forest.
Their faces were decorated with tilaka and smeared with the
dust raised by the cows, and Krsna's head was decorated with a
peacock feather. Both He and Balarama played Their flutes, and
the young gopis were joyous to see Krsna returning home. All
the gopis in Vrndavana remained very morose on account of Krsna'
s absence. All day they were thinking of Krsna in the forest or
of Him herding cows in the pasture. When they saw Krsna
returning, all their anxieties were immediately relieved, and
they began to look at His face the way drones hover over the
honey of the lotus flower. When Krsna entered the village, the
young gopis smiled and laughed. Krsna, while playing the flute,
enjoyed the beautiful smiling faces of the gopis.
Then Krsna and Balarama were immediately received by Their
affectionate mothers, Yasoda and Rohini, and, according to the
time's demands, they began to fulfill the desires of their
affectionate sons. Simultaneously, the mothers rendered service
and bestowed benediction upon their transcendental sons. They
very nicely took care of their children by bathing and
dressing Them. Krsna was dressed in bluish
garments, and Balarama was dressed in yellowish garments, and
They were given all sorts of ornaments and flower garlands.
Being relieved of the fatigue of Their day's work in the
pasturing ground, They looked refreshed and very beautiful.
They were given palatable dishes by Their mothers, and They
pleasantly ate everything. After eating, They were seated
nicely on clean bedding, and the mothers began to sing various
songs of Their activities. As soon as They sat down on the
bedding, They very quickly fell fast asleep. In this way, Krsna
and Balarama used to enjoy Vrndavana life as cowherd boys.
Sometimes Krsna used to go with His boy friends and with
Balarama, and sometimes He used to go alone with His friends to
the bank of the Yamuna and tend the cows. Gradually, the summer
season arrived, and one day, while in the field, the boys and
cows became very thirsty and began to drink the water of the
Yamuna. The river, however, was made poisonous by the
venom of the great serpent known as Kaliya.
Because the water was so poisonous, the boys and cows became
visibly affected immediately after drinking. They suddenly fell
down on the ground, apparently dead. Then Krsna, who is the
life of all lives, simply cast His merciful glance over
them, and all the boys and cows regained consciousness and
began to look at one another with great astonishment. They
could understand that by drinking the water of Yamuna they
had died and that the merciful glance of Krsna restored
their life. Thus they appreciated the mystic power of Krsna,
who is known as Yogesvara, the master of all mystic yogis.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifteenth Chapter of
Krsna, "Killing of Dhenukasura."
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KB 15: The Killing of Dhenukasura
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Killing of Dhenukasura
In this way Sri Krsna, along with His elder brother Balarama,
passed the childhood age known as kaumara and stepped into the
age of pauganda, from the sixth year up to the tenth. At that
time, all the cowherd men conferred and agreed to give those
boys who had passed their fifth year charge of the cows in the
pasturing ground. Given charge of the cows, Krsna and Balarama
traversed Vrndavana, purifying the land with Their lotus
footprints.
Accompanied by the cowherd boys and Balarama, Krsna brought
forward the cows and played on His flute as He entered the
forest of Vrndavana, which was full of flowers, vegetation and
pasturing grass. The Vrndavana forest was as sanctified as the
clear mind of a devotee and was full of bees, flowers and
fruits. There were chirping birds and clear-water lakes, with
waters that could relieve one of all fatigue. Sweet-smelling
breezes blew always, refreshing the mind and body.
Krsna, with His friends and Balarama, entered the forest and,
seeing the favorable situation, desired to enjoy the atmosphere
to the fullest extent. Krsna saw all the trees, overloaded with
fruits and fresh twigs, bending down to touch the ground as if
welcoming Him by touching His lotus feet. He was very much
pleased by the behavior of the trees, fruits and flowers, and
He began to smile, realizing their desires.
Krsna then spoke to His elder brother Balarama as follows: "My
dear brother, You are superior to all of us, and Your lotus
feet are worshiped by the demigods. Just see how these trees,
full with fruits and flowers, have bent down to worship Your
lotus feet. It appears that they are trying to get out of the
darkness that has obliged them to accept the form of trees.
Actually, the trees born in the land of Vrndavana are not
ordinary living entities. Having held the impersonal point of
view in their past lives, they have been put into this
stationary condition of life, but now they have the opportunity
of seeing You in Vrndavana, and they are praying for further
advancement in spiritual life through Your personal association.
Generally, living entities in the mode of
darkness obtain the bodies of trees. The impersonalist
philosophers are in that darkness, but they eradicate it by
taking full advantage of Your presence. I think the drones that
are buzzing all around You must have been Your devotees in
their past lives. They cannot leave Your company because no one
can be a better, more affectionate master than You. You are the
supreme and original Personality of Godhead, and the drones are
just trying to spread Your glories by chanting at every moment.
I think some of them must be great sages, devotees of Your
Lordship, and they are disguising themselves in the form of
drones because they are unable to give up Your company even for
a moment. My dear brother, You are the supreme worshipable
Godhead. Just see how the peacocks are dancing
before You in great ecstasy. The deer, whose behavior is just
like that of the gopis, are welcoming You with the same
affection. And the cuckoos who are residing in this forest are
welcoming You with their joyful, sweet cries because they
consider that Your appearance in their home is
so auspicious. Even though they are trees and animals, these
residents of Vrndavana are glorifying You. They are prepared to
welcome You to the best of their ability, as is the
practice of great souls in receiving another great soul at home.
As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate because the
footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body.
"It is quite natural for these Vrndavana inhabitants to thus
receive a great personality like You. The herbs, creepers and
plants are also so fortunate to touch Your lotus feet. And by
Your touching the twigs with Your fingernails, these small
plants are also made glorious. As for the hills and the rivers,
they too are now glorious because You are glancing at them.
Above all, the damsels of Vraja, the gopis,
are the most glorious because You embrace them with
Your strong arms, being attracted by their beauty."
In this way, Lord Krsna and Balarama began to enjoy the
residents of Vrndavana to Their full satisfaction as They
herded the calves and cows on the bank of the Yamuna. In some
places Krsna and Balarama were accompanied by Their
friends. The boys were singing, imitating the humming sound of
the drones and accompanying Krsna and Balarama, who were
garlanded with forest flowers. While walking, the boys
sometimes imitated the quacking sound of the swans in the lakes,
or when they saw the peacocks dancing, they imitated them
before Krsna. Krsna also moved His neck, imitating the dancing
and making His friends laugh.
The cows taken care of by Krsna had different names, and Krsna
would call them with love. After hearing Krsna calling, the
cows would immediately respond by mooing, and the boys would
enjoy this exchange to their hearts' content. They would all
imitate the sound vibrations made by the different kinds of
birds, especially the cakoras, peacocks, cuckoos and
bharadvajas. Sometimes, when they would see the weaker animals
fleeing out of fear of the sounds of tigers and lions, the boys,
along with Krsna and Balarama, would imitate the animals and
run away with them. When they felt some fatigue, they would sit
down, and Balarama would put His head on the lap of one of the
boys just to take rest, and Krsna would immediately come and
begin massaging the legs of Balarama. And sometimes Krsna would
take a palm fan and fan the body of Balarama, causing a
pleasing breeze to relieve Him of His fatigue. Other boys would
sometimes dance or sing while Balarama took rest, and sometimes
they would wrestle amongst themselves or jump. When the boys
were thus engaged, Krsna would immediately join them, and
catching their hands, He would enjoy their company and laugh
and praise their activities. When Krsna would feel tired and
fatigued, He would sometimes take shelter of the root of a big
tree or the lap of a cowherd boy and lie down. When He would
lie down with a boy or a root as His pillow, some of the boys
would come and massage His legs, and some would fan His body
with a fan made from leaves. Some of the more talented boys
would sing in very sweet voices to please Him. Thus very soon
His fatigue would go away. The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Krsna, whose legs are tended by the goddess of fortune, shared
Himself with the cowherd boys as one of them, expanding His
internal potency to appear exactly like a village boy. But
despite His appearing just like a village boy, there were
occasions when He proved Himself to be the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Sometimes men pose themselves as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and cheat innocent people, but they can
only cheat; they cannot exhibit the potency of God.
While Krsna was thus engaged in His transcendental pastimes,
exhibiting His internal potency in the company of the
supermost fortunate cowherd boys, there occurred another chance
for Him to exhibit the superhuman powers of Godhead. His most
intimate friends Sridama, Subala and Stoka-krsna
addressed Krsna and Balarama with great love and affection thus:
"Dear Balarama, You are very powerful; Your arms are very
strong. Dear Krsna, You are very expert in killing all kinds of
disturbing demons. Will You kindly note that just near this
place there is a big forest of the name Talavana? This forest
is full of palm trees, and all the trees are filled with fruits.
Some have fallen down, and some are very ripe even in
the trees. It is a very nice place, but because of a great
demon, Dhenukasura, it is very difficult to go there. No one
can reach the trees to collect the fruits. Dear Krsna and
Balarama, this demon is present there in the form of an ass,
and he is surrounded by similar demon friends who have
assumed the same shape. All of them are very strong, so it is
very difficult to approach this place. Dear brothers, You are
the only persons who can kill such demons. Other than You, no
one can go there for fear of being killed. Not even animals go
there, and no birds are living there; they have all left. One
can only appreciate the sweet aroma that is coming from that
place. It appears that up until now, no one has tasted the
sweet fruits there, either on the tree or on the ground. Dear
Krsna, to tell You frankly, we are very attracted by this sweet
aroma. Dear Balarama, if You like, let us all go there and
enjoy these fruits. The aroma of the fruits is now spread
everywhere. Don't You smell it from here?"
When Balarama and Krsna were thus petitioned by Their
intimate friends, They were inclined to please them, and with
smiling faces They proceeded toward the forest, surrounded by
all Their friends. Immediately upon entering the Talavana,
Balarama began to yank the trees with His arms, exhibiting the
strength of an elephant. Because of this jerking, all the ripe
fruits fell down on the ground. Upon hearing the sound of the
falling fruits, the demon Dhenukasura, who was living there in
the form of an ass, approached with great force,
shaking the whole field so that all the trees moved as
if there were an earthquake. The demon appeared before
Balarama and kicked His chest with his hind legs. At
first Balarama did not say anything, but with great
anger the demon kicked Him again more vehemently. This time
Balarama immediately caught hold of the legs of the ass with
one hand and, wheeling him around, threw him into the treetops.
While he was being wheeled around by Balarama, the demon lost
his life. Balarama threw the demon into the biggest palm tree
about, and the demon's body was so heavy that the palm tree
fell upon other trees, and several fell down. It appeared as if
a great hurricane was passing through the forest, and all the
trees were falling down, one after another. This exhibition of
extraordinary strength is not astonishing because Balarama is
the Personality of Godhead known as Ananta Sesa Naga, who
is holding all the planets on the hoods of His millions of
heads. He maintains the whole cosmic manifestation
exactly as horizontal and vertical threads
hold the weaving of a cloth.
After the demon had been thrown into the trees, all the friends
and associates of Dhenukasura immediately assembled and
attacked Balarama and Krsna with great force. They were
determined to retaliate and avenge the death of their friend.
But Krsna and Balarama caught each of the asses by the
hind legs and, exactly in the same way, wheeled them around.
Thus They killed all of them and threw them into the palm
trees. Because of the dead bodies of the asses, there was a
panoramic scene. It appeared as if clouds of various colors
were assembled in the trees. Hearing of this great incident,
the demigods from the higher planets showered flowers
on Krsna and Balarama and beat their drums and offered
devotional prayers.
A few days after the killing of Dhenukasura, people began to
come into the Talavana forest to collect the fruits, and
animals began to return without fear to feed on the nice
grasses growing there. Just by chanting or hearing these
transcendental activities and pastimes of the brothers Krsna
and Balarama, one can amass pious activities.
When Krsna and Balarama entered the village
of Vrndavana along with Their friends, They played Their flutes,
and the boys praised Their uncommon activities in the forest.
Their faces were decorated with tilaka and smeared with the
dust raised by the cows, and Krsna's head was decorated with a
peacock feather. Both He and Balarama played Their flutes, and
the young gopis were joyous to see Krsna returning home. All
the gopis in Vrndavana remained very morose on account of Krsna'
s absence. All day they were thinking of Krsna in the forest or
of Him herding cows in the pasture. When they saw Krsna
returning, all their anxieties were immediately relieved, and
they began to look at His face the way drones hover over the
honey of the lotus flower. When Krsna entered the village, the
young gopis smiled and laughed. Krsna, while playing the flute,
enjoyed the beautiful smiling faces of the gopis.
Then Krsna and Balarama were immediately received by Their
affectionate mothers, Yasoda and Rohini, who, according to the
time's demands, began to fulfill the desires of their
affectionate sons. Simultaneously, the mothers rendered service
and bestowed benediction upon their transcendental sons. They
took care of their children by bathing Them and
dressing Them very nicely. Krsna was dressed in yellowish
garments, and Balarama was dressed in bluish garments, and
They were given all sorts of ornaments and flower garlands.
Being relieved of the fatigue of Their day's work in the
pasturing ground, They looked refreshed and very beautiful.
They were given palatable dishes by Their mothers, and They
pleasantly ate everything. After eating, They were seated
nicely on clean bedding, and the mothers began to sing various
songs of Their activities. As soon as They lay down on the
bedding, They very quickly fell fast asleep. In this way, Krsna
and Balarama used to enjoy Vrndavana life as cowherd boys.
Sometimes Krsna used to go with His boyfriends and
Balarama, and sometimes He used to go alone with His friends to
the bank of the Yamuna and tend the cows. Gradually, the summer
season arrived, and one day, while in the field, the boys and
cows became very thirsty and began to drink the water of the
Yamuna. The river, however, had been made poisonous by the
venom of the great serpent known as Kaliya.
Because the water was so poisonous, the boys and cows became
visibly affected immediately after drinking. They suddenly fell
down on the ground, apparently dead. Then Krsna, who is the
life of all that lives, simply cast His merciful glance over
them, and all the boys and cows regained consciousness and
began to look at one another with great astonishment. They
could understand that by drinking the water of the Yamuna they
had died and that the merciful glance of Krsna had restored
their lives. Thus they appreciated the mystic power of Krsna,
who is known as Yogesvara, the master of all mystic yogis.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifteenth Chapter of
Krsna, "The Killing of Dhenukasura."
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