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KB 1970-1-18 / Killing the Demon Pralambasura
18 / Killing the Demon Pralambasura
After extinguishing the devastating fire, Krsna, surrounded by
His relatives, friends, cows, calves and bulls and glorified by
their singing, again entered Vrndavana, which is
always full of cows. While Krsna and Balarama were enjoying
life in Vrndavana, in the midst of the cowherd boys and girls,
the season gradually changed to summer. The summer season in
India is not very much welcomed because of the excessive heat,
but in Vrndavana everyone was pleased because summer there
appeared just like spring. This was possible only because Lord
Krsna and Balarama, who are the controllers even of Lord Brahma
and Lord Siva, were residing there. In Vrndavana there are many
falls which are always pouring water, and the sound is so sweet
that it covers the sound of the crickets. And because water
flows all over, the forest always looks very green and
beautiful.
The inhabitants of Vrndavana were never disturbed by the
scorching heat of the sun or the high summer temperatures. The
lakes of Vrndavana are surrounded by green grasses, and various
kinds of lotus flowers bloom there, such as the kalhara-
kanjotpala, and the air blowing in Vrndavana
carries the aromatic pollen of those lotus flowers. When the
particles of water from the waves of the Yamuna, the lakes and
the waterfalls, touched the bodies of the inhabitants of
Vrndavana, they automatically felt a cooling effect. Therefore
they were practically undisturbed by the summer season.
Vrndavana is such a nice place. Flowers are always blooming,
and there are even various kinds of decorated deer. Birds are
chirping, peacocks are crowing and dancing, and bees are
humming. The cuckoos there sing nicely in five kinds of tunes.
Krsna, the reservoir of pleasure, blowing His flute,
accompanied by His elder brother Balarama and other cowherd
boys and cows, entered the beautiful forest of Vrndavana to
enjoy the atmosphere. They walked into the midst of newly grown
leaves of trees whose flowers resembled peacock feathers. They
were garlanded by those flowers and decorated with saffron
chalk. Sometimes they were dancing and singing and sometimes
wrestling with one another. While Krsna danced, some of the
cowherd boys sang, and others played on flutes; some bugled on
buffalo horns or clapped their hands, praising Krsna, "Dear
brother, You are dancing very nicely." Actually, all these boys
were demigods descended from higher planets to assist Krsna in
His pastimes. The demigods garbed in the dress of the cowherd
boys were encouraging Krsna in His dancing, just as one artist
encourages another with praise. Up to that time, neither
Balarama nor Krsna had undergone the haircutting ceremony;
therefore Their hair was clustered like crows' feathers. They
were always playing hide-and-seek with Their boy friends
or jumping or fighting with one another. Sometimes, while His
friends were chanting and dancing, Krsna would praise them, "My
dear friends, you are dancing and singing very nicely." The
boys played at catching ball with bell shaped fruits and
round amalaki. They played blindman's buff, challenging and
touching one another. Sometimes they imitated the forest deer
and various kinds of birds. They joked with one another by
imitating croaking frogs, and they enjoyed swinging underneath
the trees. Sometimes they would play like a
king and his subjects amongst themselves. In this way, Balarama
and Krsna, along with all Their friends, played all kinds of
sports and enjoyed the soothing atmosphere of Vrndavana, full
of rivers, lakes, rivulets, fine trees and excellent
fruits and flowers.
Once while they were engaged in their transcendental
pastimes, a great demon of the name Pralambasura entered their
company, desiring to kidnap both Balarama and Krsna. Although
Krsna was playing the part of a cowherd boy, as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead He could understand everything -- past,
present and future. So when Pralambasura entered their company,
Krsna began to think how to kill the demon, but externally He
received him as a friend. "O My dear friend," He said. "It is
very good that you have come to take part in our pastimes."
Krsna then called all His friends and ordered them: "Now we
shall play in pairs. We shall challenge one another in pairs."
With this proposal, all the boys assembled together. Some of
them took the side of Krsna, and some of them took the side of
Balarama, and they arranged to play in duel. The defeated
members in duel fighting had to carry the victorious members on
their backs. They began playing,
and at the same time tended the cows as they proceeded through
the Bhandiravana forest. The party of Balarama, accompanied by
Sridama and Vrsabha, came out victorious, and Krsna's party had
to carry them on their backs through the Bhandiravana forest.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, being defeated, had
to carry Sridama on His back, and Bhadrasena carried Vrsabha.
Imitating their play, Pralambasura, who appeared there as a
cowherd boy, carried Balarama on his back. Pralambasura was the
greatest of the demons, and he had calculated that Krsna was
the most powerful of the cowherd boys.
In order to avoid the company of Krsna, Pralambasura carried
Balarama far away. The demon was undoubtedly very strong and
powerful, but he was carrying Balarama, who is compared with a
mountain; therefore he began to feel the burden, and thus he
assumed his real form. When he appeared in his real feature, he
was decorated with a golden helmet and earrings and looked just
like a cloud with lightning carrying the moon. Balarama
observed the demon's body expanding up to the limits of the
clouds, his eyes dazzling like blazing fire and his mouth
flashing with sharpened teeth. At first, Balarama was surprised
by the demon's appearance, and He began to wonder, "How is it
that all of a sudden this carrier has changed in every way?"
But with a clear mind He could quickly understand that He was
being carried away from His friends by a demon who intended to
kill Him. Immediately He struck the head of the demon with His
strong fist, just as the King of the heavenly planets strikes a
mountain with his thunderbolt. Being stricken by the fist of
Balarama, the demon fell down dead, just like a snake with a
smashed head, and blood poured from his mouth. When the demon
fell, he made a tremendous sound, and it sounded as if a great
hill were falling upon being struck by the thunderbolt of King
Indra. All the boys then rushed to the spot. Being
astonished by the ghastly scene, they began to praise Balarama
with the words, "Well done, well done." All of them began to
embrace Balarama with great affection, thinking that He had
returned from death, and they offered their blessings and
congratulations. All the demigods in the heavenly planets
became very satisfied and showered flowers on the
transcendental body of Balarama, and they also offered their
blessings and congratulations for His having killed the great
demon Pralambasura.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighteenth Chapter
of Krsna, "Killing the Demon Pralambasura."
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KB 18: Killing the Demon Pralambasura
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Killing the Demon Pralambasura
After extinguishing the devastating fire, Krsna, surrounded by
His relatives, friends, cows, calves and bulls and glorified by
His friends' singing, again entered Vrndavana, which is
always full of cows. While Krsna and Balarama were enjoying
life in Vrndavana in the midst of the cowherd boys and girls,
the season gradually changed to summer. The summer season in
India is not very much welcomed because of the excessive heat,
but in Vrndavana everyone was pleased because summer there
appeared just like spring. This was possible only because Lord
Krsna and Balarama, who are the controllers even of Lord Brahma
and Lord Siva, were residing there. In Vrndavana there are many
falls which are always pouring water, and the sound is so sweet
that it covers the sound of the crickets. And because water
flows all over, the forest always looks very green and
beautiful.
The inhabitants of Vrndavana were never disturbed by the
scorching heat of the sun or the high summer temperatures. The
lakes of Vrndavana are surrounded by green grasses, and various
kinds of lotus flowers bloom there, such as the
kahlara, kanja and utpala, and the air blowing in
Vrndavana carries the aromatic pollen of those lotus flowers.
When the particles of water from the waves of the Yamuna, the
lakes and the waterfalls touched the bodies of the inhabitants
of Vrndavana, they automatically felt a cooling effect.
Therefore they were practically undisturbed by the summer
season.
Vrndavana is such a nice place. Flowers are always blooming,
and there are even various kinds of decorated deer. Birds are
chirping, peacocks are crowing and dancing, and bees are
humming. The cuckoos there sing nicely in five kinds of tunes.
Krsna, the reservoir of pleasure, blowing His flute,
accompanied by His elder brother Balarama and the other cowherd
boys and the cows, entered the beautiful forest of Vrndavana to
enjoy the atmosphere. They walked into the midst of newly grown
leaves of trees whose flowers resembled peacock feathers. They
were garlanded by those flowers and decorated with saffron
chalk. Sometimes they were dancing and singing and sometimes
wrestling with one another. While Krsna danced, some of the
cowherd boys sang and others played on flutes; some bugled on
buffalo horns or clapped their hands, praising Krsna, "Dear
brother, You are dancing very nicely." Actually, all these boys
were demigods descended from higher planets to assist Krsna in
His pastimes. The demigods garbed in the dress of the cowherd
boys were encouraging Krsna in His dancing, just as one artist
encourages another with praise. Up to that time, neither
Balarama nor Krsna had undergone the haircutting ceremony;
therefore Their hair was clustered like crows' feathers. They
were always playing hide-and-seek with Their boyfriends
or jumping or fighting with them. Sometimes, while His
friends were chanting and dancing, Krsna would praise them, "My
dear friends, you are dancing and singing very nicely." The
boys played at catching ball with fruits such as bael
and amalaka. They played blindman's buff, challenging and
touching one another. Sometimes they imitated the forest deer
and various kinds of birds. They joked with one another by
imitating croaking frogs, and they enjoyed swinging underneath
the trees. Sometimes they would play amongst themselves like a
king and his subjects. In this way, Balarama
and Krsna, along with all Their friends, played all kinds of
sports and enjoyed the soothing atmosphere of Vrndavana, full
of rivers, lakes, rivulets, fine trees and excellent gardens
filled with fruits and flowers.
Once while the boys were engaged in their transcendental
pastimes, a great demon of the name Pralambasura entered their
company, desiring to kidnap both Balarama and Krsna. Although
Krsna was playing the part of a cowherd boy, as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead He could understand everything -- past,
present and future. So when Pralambasura entered their company,
Krsna began to think how to kill the demon, but externally He
received him as a friend. "O My dear friend," He said, "it is
very good that you have come to take part in our pastimes."
Krsna then called all His friends and ordered them: "Now we
shall play in pairs. We shall challenge one another in pairs."
With this proposal, all the boys assembled together. Some of
them took the side of Krsna, and some of them took the side of
Balarama, and they arranged to play in duel. The defeated
members in duel fighting had to carry the victorious members on
their backs, as a horse carries its master. They began playing,
and at the same time tended the cows as they proceeded through
the Bhandiravana forest
.
The party of Balarama, accompanied by Sridama and Vrsabha, came
out victorious, and Krsna's party had to carry them on their
backs through the Bhandiravana forest. The Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Krsna, being defeated, had to carry Sridama on His
back, and Bhadrasena carried Vrsabha. Imitating their play,
Pralambasura, who appeared there as a cowherd boy, carried
Balarama on his back. Pralambasura was the greatest of the
demons, and he had calculated that Krsna was the most powerful
of the cowherd boys.
In order to avoid the company of Krsna, Pralambasura carried
Balarama far away. The demon was undoubtedly very strong and
powerful, but he was carrying Balarama, who is compared to a
mountain; therefore he began to feel the burden, and thus he
assumed his real form. When he appeared in his real feature, he
was decorated with a golden helmet and earrings and looked just
like a cloud with lightning carrying the moon. Balarama
observed the demon's body expanding up to the limits of the
clouds, his eyes dazzling like blazing fire and his mouth
flashing with sharpened teeth. At first, Balarama was surprised
by the demon's appearance, and He began to wonder, "How is it
that all of a sudden this carrier has changed in every way?"
But with a clear mind He could quickly understand that He was
being carried away from His friends by a demon who intended to
kill Him. Immediately He struck the head of the demon with His
strong fist, just as the King of the heavenly planets strikes a
mountain with his thunderbolt. Stricken by the fist of
Balarama, the demon fell down dead, just like a snake with a
smashed head, and blood poured from his mouth. When the demon
fell, he made a tremendous sound, and it sounded as if a great
hill were falling upon being struck by the thunderbolt of King
Indra. All the boys then rushed to the spot. Astonished
by the ghastly scene, they began to praise Balarama
with the words "Well done! Well done!" All of them then
embraced Balarama with great affection, thinking that He had
returned from death, and they offered their blessings and
congratulations. All the demigods in the heavenly planets
became very satisfied and showered flowers on the
transcendental body of Balarama, and they also offered their
blessings and congratulations for His having killed the great
demon Pralambasura.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighteenth Chapter
of Krsna, "Killing the Demon Pralambasura."
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