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KB 1970-1-49 / Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort
49 / Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort
After his death, Kamsa's two wives became widows. According
to Vedic civilization, a woman is never independent. She has
three stages of life: In childhood a woman should live under
the protection of her father, a youthful woman should live
under the protection of her young husband, and in the event of
the death of her husband she should live either under the
protection of her grown-up children, or if she has no grown-up
children, she must go back to her father and live as a widow
under his protection. It appears that Kamsa had no grown-up
sons. After becoming widows, his wives
returned to the shelter of their father. Kamsa had two
queens. One was Asti, and the other Prapti, and both happened
to be the daughters of King Jarasandha, the lord of the Bihar
province (known in those days as Magadharaja). After reaching
home, both queens explained their awkward position
following Kamsa's death. The King of Magadha, Jarasandha, was
mortified on hearing their pitiable condition due to the
slaughter. When informed of the death of Kamsa, Jarasandha
decided on the spot that he would rid the world of all the
members of the Yadu dynasty. He decided that since Krsna had
killed Kamsa, the whole dynasty of the Yadus should be killed.
He began to make extensive arrangements to attack the kingdom
of Mathura with his innumerable military phalanxes, consisting
of many thousands of chariots, horses, elephants and infantry
soldiers. Jarasandha prepared thirteen such military phalanxes
in order to retaliate the death of Kamsa. Taking with him all
his military strength, he attacked the capital of the Yadu
kings, Mathura, surrounding it from all directions. Sri Krsna,
who appeared as an ordinary human being, saw the immense
strength of Jarasandha, which appeared as an ocean about to
cover a beach at any moment. He also perceived that the
inhabitants of Mathura were overwhelmed with fear. He began to
think within Himself about the situation of His mission as an
incarnation and how to tackle the present situation before Him.
His mission was to diminish the overburdened
population of the whole world; therefore He took the
opportunity of facing so many men, chariots, elephants, and
horses. The military strength of Jarasandha had appeared before
Him, and He decided to kill the entire force of Jarasandha so
that they would not be able to go back and again reorganize
their military strength.
While Lord Krsna was thinking in that way, two military
chariots, fully equipped with drivers, weapons, flags and other
implements, arrived for Him from outer space. Krsna saw the
two chariots present before Him, and immediately addressed His
attendant brother, Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana: "
My dear elder brother, You are the best among the Aryans, You
are the Lord of the universe, and specifically, You are the
protector of the Yadu dynasty. The members of the Yadu dynasty
sense great danger before the soldiers of Jarasandha, and they
are very much aggrieved. Just to give them protection, Your
chariot is also here, filled with military weapons. I request
You to sit down on Your chariot and kill all these soldiers,
the entire military strength of the enemy. Naturally, both of
Us have descended on this earth just to annihilate such
unnecessary bellicose forces and to give protection to the
pious devotees. So we have the opportunity to fulfill Our
mission. Please let Us execute it." Thus Krsna and Balarama,
the descendants of the Gadaha King, Dasarha, decided to
annihilate the thirteen military companies of Jarasandha.
Krsna went
upon the chariot on
which Daruka was the driver and with a small army, and to the
blowing of conchshells, He came out of the city of Mathura
. Curiously enough,
although the other party was equipped with greater military
strength, just after hearing the vibration of Krsna's
conchshell, their hearts were shakened. When Jarasandha saw
both Balarama and Krsna, he was a little bit compassionate,
because both Krsna and Balarama happened to be related to him
as grandsons. He specifically addressed Krsna as Purusadhama,
meaning the lowest among men. Actually Krsna is known in all
Vedic literatures as Purusottama, the highest among men.
Jarasandha had no intention of addressing Krsna as Purusottama,
but great scholars have determined the true meaning of the word
purusadhama to be "one who makes all other personalities go
downward." Actually no one can be equal to or greater than the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Jarasandha said, "It will be a great dishonor for me to fight
with boys like Krsna and Balarama." Because Krsna had killed
Kamsa, Jarasandha specifically addressed Him as the killer of
His own relatives. Kamsa had killed so many of his own nephews,
yet Jarasandha did not take notice of it; but because Krsna had
killed His maternal uncle, Kamsa, Jarasandha tried to criticize
Him. That is the way of demoniac dealing. Demons do not try to
find their own faults but try to
find the faults of their friends. Jarasandha also criticized
Krsna for not even being a ksatriya. Because He was raised by
Maharaja Nanda, Krsna was not a ksatriya, but a vaisya. Vaisyas
are generally called guptas, and the word gupta can also be
used to mean "hidden." So Krsna was both hidden and raised by
Nanda Maharaja. Jarasandha accused Krsna of three faults: that
He killed His own maternal uncle, that He was hidden in His
childhood, and that He was not even a ksatriya. And
therefore Jarasandha felt ashamed to fight with Him.
Next he turned toward Balarama and addressed Him: "You,
Balarama! If You like You can fight along with Him, and if You
have patience, then You can wait to be killed by my arrows.
Thus You can be promoted to heaven." It is stated in the
Bhagavad-gita that a ksatriya can become benefited in
two ways while fighting. If a ksatriya gains victory in the
fight, he enjoys the results of victory, but even if he is
killed in the fight, he is promoted to the heavenly kingdom.
After hearing Jarasandha speak in that way, Krsna answered: "My
dear King Jarasandha, those who are heroes do not talk much.
Rather, they show their prowess. Because you are talking much
, it appears that you are assured of your death in
this battle. We do not care to hear you anymore, because
it is useless to hear the words of a person who is going to die
or one who is very distressed." In order to fight with Krsna,
Jarasandha surrounded Him from all sides with great military
strength, and the sun appeared covered by the cloudy air and
dust. Similarly, Krsna, the supreme sun, was covered by the
military strength of Jarasandha. Krsna's and Balarama's
chariots were marked with pictures of Garuda and palm trees
. The women of Mathura were all standing on the
tops of the houses and palaces and gates to see the wonderful
fight, but when Krsna's chariot was surrounded by Jarasandha's
military force, they became
so frightened that some of them fainted. Krsna saw Himself
overwhelmed by the military strength of Jarasandha. His small
number of soldiers were being harassed by them, so He
immediately took up His bow, named Sarnga.
He began to take His arrows from their case, and one after
another He set them on the bowstring and shot them toward the
enemy. They were so accurate that the elephants, horses and
infantry soldiers of Jarasandha were quickly killed. The
incessant arrows thrown by Krsna appeared as a whirlwind of
blazing fire killing all the military strength of Jarasandha.
As Krsna released His arrows, gradually all the elephants
began to fall down, their heads severed by the arrows.
Similarly, all the horses fell, and the
chariots also, along with their flags. The chariot
fighters and the chariot drivers fell as well. Almost all
the infantry soldiers fell on the field of battle, their heads,
hands and legs cut off. In this way, many thousands of
elephants and horses were killed, and their blood
began to flow just like the waves of a river. In that river,
the severed arms of the men appeared to be snakes, their
heads appeared to be tortoises, and the dead bodies of the
elephants appeared to be small islands. The dead horses
appeared to be sharks. By the arrangement of the supreme will,
there was a great river of blood filled with paraphernalia.
The hands and legs of the infantry soldiers were floating
like
seaweed, and the floating bows of the soldiers
appeared to be waves of the river. And all the jewelry from
the bodies of the soldiers and commanders appeared to be so
many pebbles flowing down the river of blood.
Lord Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana, began to fight
with His club in such a heroic way that the river of blood
created by Krsna overflooded. Those who were cowards became
very much afraid upon seeing the ghastly and horrible scene,
and those who were heroes began to talk delightedly among
themselves about the heroism of the two brothers. Although
Jarasandha was equipped with a vast ocean of military strength,
the fighting of Lord Krsna and Balarama converted the whole
situation into a ghastly scene which was far beyond ordinary
fighting. Persons of ordinary mind cannot estimate how it
could be possible, but when such activities are accepted as
pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose
will everything is possible, then this can be understood. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is creating, maintaining
and dissolving the cosmic manifestation by His will only.
For Him to create such a vast scene of devastation while
fighting with an enemy is not so wonderful. And yet, because
Krsna and Balarama were fighting with Jarasandha just like
ordinary human beings, the affair appeared to be wonderful.
All the soldiers of Jarasandha were killed, and he
was the only one left alive. Certainly he became very depressed
at this point. Sri Balarama immediately arrested him, just
as, with great strength, one lion captures another lion.
But while Lord Balarama was binding Jarasandha with the rope
of Varuna and ordinary ropes also, Lord Krsna, with a greater
plan in mind for the future, asked Him not to arrest
him. Jarasandha was then released by Krsna. As a great
fighting hero, Jarasandha became very much ashamed, and he
decided that he would no longer live as a king, but would
resign from his position in the royal order and go to the
forest to practice meditation under severe austerities and
penances.
As he was returning home with other royal friends, however,
they advised him not to retire, but to regain strength to fight
again with Krsna in the near future. The princely friends of
Jarasandha began to instruct him that ordinarily it would
not have been possible for him to have been defeated by the
strength of the Yadu kings, but the defeat which he had
experienced was simply due to his ill luck. The princely order
encouraged King Jarasandha. His fighting, they said, was
certainly heroic; therefore, he should not take his defeat very
seriously, as it was due only to his past mistakes. After
all, there was no fault in his fighting.
In this way, Jarasandha, the King of Magadha province, having
lost all his strength and having been insulted by his arrest
and subsequent release, could do nothing but return to his
kingdom. Thus Lord Krsna conquered the soldiers of Jarasandha.
Although Krsna's army was tiny in comparison to Jarasandha's,
not a pinch of His strength was lost, whereas all of Jarasandha'
s men were killed.
At that time the denizens of heaven became very pleased
and began to offer their respects by chanting in
glorification of the Lord and by showering Him with flowers.
They accepted the victory with great appreciation. Jarasandha
returned to his kingdom, and Mathura city was made safe from
the danger of an imminent attack. The citizens of Mathura
organized the combined services of a circus of professional
singers, like sutas, magadhas, and poets who could
compose nice songs, and they began to chant the victory
glorification of Lord Krsna. When Lord Krsna entered the city
after the victory, many bugles, conches and kettledrums were
sounded, and the vibrations of various musical instruments,
like bherya, turya, vina, flute and mrdanga -- all joined
together to make a beautiful reception. While Krsna was
entering, the whole city was very much cleansed, all the
different streets and roads were sprinkled with water, and the
inhabitants, being joyous, decorated their respective houses,
roads and shops with flags and festoons. The brahmanas chanted
Vedic mantras at numerous places. The people constructed road
crossings, entrances, lanes and streets. When
Lord Krsna was entering the nicely decorated city of Mathura in
a festive attitude, the ladies and girls of Mathura prepared
different kinds of flower garlands to make the ceremony more
auspicious. In accordance with the Vedic custom, they took
yogurt mixed with freshly grown green grass and began to
strew it here and there to make the victory jubilation even
more auspicious. As Krsna passed through the street, all the
ladies and women began to regard Him with great
affection. Krsna and Balarama carried various kinds of
booty, ornaments and jewels carefully collected from
the battlefield and presented them to King Ugrasena. Krsna
thus offered His respect to His grandfather because he
was at that time the crowned king of the Yadu dynasty.
Jarasandha, the King of Magadha, not only besieged the city of
Mathura once, but he attacked it seventeen times in the same
way, equipped with the same number of military phalanxes. Each
and every time, he was defeated, and all his soldiers were
killed by Krsna, and each time he had to return disappointed in
the same way. Each time, the princely order of the
Yadu dynasty arrested Jarasandha in the same way and again
released him in an insulting manner, and each time Jarasandha
shamelessly returned home.
While Jarasandha was attempting one such attack, a Yavana
king somewhere to the south of Mathura became attracted by the
opulence of the Yadu dynasty and also attacked the city. It is
said that the King of the Yavanas, known as Kalayavana, was
induced to attack by Narada. This story is narrated in the
Visnu Purana. Once, Gargamuni, the priest of the Yadu
dynasty, was taunted by his brother-in-law. When the kings of
the Yadu dynasty heard the taunt they laughed at him, and
Gargamuni became angry at the Yadu kings. He decided that
he would produce someone who would be very fearful to the Yadu
dynasty, so he pleased Lord Siva and received from him the
benediction of a son. He begot this son, Kalayavana, in the
wife of a Yavana king. This Kalayavana inquired from Narada, "
Who are the most powerful kings in the world?" Narada informed
him that the Yadus were the most powerful. Being thus informed
by Narada, Kalayavana attacked the city of Mathura at the same
time that Jarasandha attempted to attack it for the eighteenth
time. Kalayavana was very anxious to declare war on a king of
the world who would be a suitable combatant for him, but he had
not found any. However, being informed about Mathura by Narada,
he thought it wise to attack this city. When he attacked
Mathura he brought with him thirty million Yavana soldiers.
When Mathura was thus besieged, Lord Sri Krsna began to
consider how much the Yadu dynasty was in distress, being
threatened by the attacks of two formidable enemies, Jarasandha
and Kalayavana. Time was growing very short. Kalayavana was
already besieging Mathura from all sides, and it was expected
that the next day Jarasandha would also come, equipped with the
same number of divisions of soldiers as in his previous
seventeen attempts. Krsna was certain that Jarasandha would
take advantage of the opportunity to capture Mathura when it
was also being besieged by Kalayavana. He therefore thought it
wise to take precautionary measures to defend the strategic
points of Mathura. If both Krsna and Balarama were engaged in
fighting with Kalayavana at one place, Jarasandha might come at
another place to attack the whole Yadu family and take his
revenge. Jarasandha was very powerful, and having been defeated
seventeen times, he might vengefully kill the members of the
Yadu family or arrest them and take them to his kingdom. Krsna
therefore decided to construct a formidable fort in a place
where no two-legged animal, either man or demon, could enter.
He decided to keep His relatives there so that He would then be
free to fight with the enemy. It appears that formerly Dvaraka
was also part of the kingdom of Mathura, because in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam it is stated that Krsna constructed a fort in the
midst of the sea. Remnants of the fort which Krsna constructed
are still existing on the Bay of Dvaraka.
He first of all constructed a very strong wall covering
ninety-six square miles, and the wall itself was within the sea.
It was certainly wonderful and was planned and constructed by
Visvakarma. No ordinary architect could construct such a fort
within the sea, but an architect like Visvakarma, who is
considered to be the engineer among the demigods, can execute
such wonderful craftsmanship anywhere in any part of the
universe. If huge planets can be floated in weightlessness
in the outer space by the arrangement of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, surely the architectural construction
of a fort within the sea covering a space of ninety-six square
miles was not a very wonderful act.
It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that this new, well-
constructed city, developed within the sea, had regular planned
roads, streets and lanes. Not only were there well-planned
roads, streets and lanes, but there were well-planned paths and
gardens filled with plants known as kalpavrksas, or
desire trees. These desire trees are not like the ordinary
trees of the material world; the desire trees are found in the
spiritual world. By Krsna's supreme will, everything is
possible, so such desire trees were planted in the
city of Dvaraka constructed by Krsna. The city was also filled
with many palaces and gopuras, or big gates. These gopuras are
still found in some of the larger temples. They are very high
and constructed with extreme artistic skill. Such palaces and
gates held golden waterpots (kalasa). These waterpots on the
gates or in the palaces are considered to be auspicious signs.
Almost all the palaces were skyscrapers. In each and every
house there were big pots of gold and silver
and grains stocked in underground rooms. And there were many
golden waterpots within the rooms. The bedrooms were all
bedecked with jewels, and the floors were mosaic pavements of
marakata jewels. The Visnu Deity, worshiped by the descendants
of Yadu, was installed in each house in the city. The
residential quarters were so arranged that the different castes,
brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras, had their
respective quarters. It appears from this that the caste system
was existing even at that time. In
the center of the city there was another residential quarter
made specifically for King Ugrasena. This place was the most
dazzling of all the houses.
When the demigods saw that Krsna was constructing a
particular city of His own choice, they sent the celebrated
parijata flower of the heavenly planet to be planted in the
new city, and they also sent a parliamentary house, Sudharma.
The specific quality of this assembly house was that anyone
participating in a meeting within it would overcome the
influence of invalidity due to old age. The demigod Varuna also
presented a horse, which was all white except for black ears
and which could run at the speed of the mind. Kuvera, the
treasurer of the demigods, presented the art of attaining the
eight perfectional stages of material opulences. In this way,
all the demigods began to present their respective gifts
according to their different capacities. There are thirty-three
million demigods, and each of them is entrusted with a
particular department of universal management. All the demigods
took the opportunity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's
constructing a city of His own choice to present their
respective gifts, making the city of Mathura unique within the
universe. This proves that there are undoubtedly
innumerable demigods, but none of them are independent of Krsna.
As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsna is the supreme
master, and all others are servants. So all the servants
took the opportunity of rendering service to Krsna when He was
personally present within this universe. This example should be
followed by all, especially those who are Krsna conscious, for
they should serve Krsna by their respective abilities.
When the new city was fully constructed according to plan,
Krsna transferred all the inhabitants of Mathura and entrusted
Sri Balarama as the city father. After this He consulted with
Balarama, and being garlanded with lotus flowers
, He came out of the city to meet Kalayavana, who had
already seized Mathura without taking up any weapons.
When Krsna came out of the city, Kalayavana, who had never seen
Krsna before, saw Him to be extraordinarily beautiful, dressed
in yellow garments. Passing through his assembly of soldiers,
Krsna appeared like the moon in the sky passing through the
assembled clouds. Kalayavana was fortunate enough to see the
lines of Srivatsa, a particular impression on the chest of Sri
Krsna, and the Kaustubha jewel which He was wearing. Kalayavana
saw Him, however, in His Visnu form, with a well-built body,
with four hands, and eyes like newly blooming lotus petals.
Krsna appeared blissful, with a handsome forehead and beautiful
face, with smiling restless eyes and moving earrings. Before
seeing Krsna, Kalayavana had heard about Him from Narada, and
now the descriptions of Narada were confirmed. He noticed Krsna'
s specific marks and the jewels on His chest, His beautiful
garland of lotus flowers, His lotus-like eyes and similar
beautiful bodily features. He concluded that this beautiful
personality must be Vasudeva, because every description of
Narada's which he had heard previously was substantiated by the
presence of Krsna. Kalayavana was very much astonished to see
that He was passing through without any weapon in His hands and
without any chariot. He was simply walking on foot. Kalayavana
had come to fight with Krsna, and yet he had sufficient
principles not to take up any kind of weapon. He decided to
fight with Him hand to hand. Thus he prepared to capture Krsna
and fight.
Krsna, however, went ahead without looking at Kalayavana, and
Kalayavana began to follow Him with a desire to capture Him.
But in spite of all his swift running, he could not capture
Krsna. Krsna cannot be captured even by the mental speed
attained by great yogis. He can be captured only by devotional
service, and Kalayavana was not practiced in devotional service.
He wanted to capture Krsna, and as he could not do so he was
following Him from behind.
Kalayavana began running very fast, and he was thinking, "Now I
am nearer; I will capture Him," but he could not. Krsna led him
far away, and He entered the cave of a hill. Kalayavana thought
that Krsna was trying to avoid fighting with him and was
therefore taking shelter of the cave. He began to chastise Him
with the following words: "Oh You, Krsna! I heard that You are
a great hero born in the dynasty of Yadu, but I see that You
are verily running away from fighting, like a coward. It is not
worthy of Your good name and family tradition." Kalayavana was
following, running very fast, but still he could not catch
Krsna because he was not freed from all contaminations of
sinful life.
According to the Vedic culture, anyone who does not live
following the regulative principles of life observed by the
higher castes like the brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and even
the laborer class is called mleccha. The Vedic social situation
is so planned that persons who are accepted as sudras can
gradually be elevated to the position of brahmanas by the
cultural advancement known as samskara, or the purificatory
process. The version of the Vedic scriptures is that no one
becomes a brahmana or a mleccha simply by birth; by birth
everyone is accepted as sudra. One has to elevate himself by
the purificatory process to the stage of brahminical life. If
he doesn't, if he degrades himself further, then he is called
mleccha. Kalayavana belonged to the class of mleccha and
yavanas. He was contaminated by sinful activities and could not
approach Krsna. The principles from which higher class men are
restricted, namely illicit sex indulgence, meat eating,
gambling and intoxication, are part and parcel of the lives of
the mlecchas and yavanas. Being bound by such sinful activities
one cannot make any advancement in God realization. The
Bhagavad-gita confirms that only one who is completely freed
from all sinful reactions can be engaged in devotional service
or Krsna consciousness.
When Krsna entered the cave of the hill, Kalayavana followed,
chastising Him with various harsh words. Krsna suddenly
disappeared from the demon's sight, but Kalayavana followed and
also entered the cave. The first thing he saw was a man lying
down asleep within the cave. Kalayavana was very anxious to
fight with Krsna, and when he could not see Krsna, but saw
instead only a man lying down, he thought that Krsna was
sleeping within this cave. Kalayavana was very puffed up and
proud of his strength, and he thought Krsna was avoiding the
fight. Therefore, he very strongly kicked the sleeping man,
thinking him to be Krsna. The sleeping man had been lying down
for a very long time. When he was awakened by the kicking of
Kalayavana, he immediately opened his eyes and began to look
around in all directions. At last he began to see Kalayavana,
who was standing nearby. This man was untimely awakened and
therefore very angry, and when he looked upon Kalayavana in his
angry mood, rays of fire emanated from his eyes, and Kalayavana
burned into ashes within a moment.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Forty-ninth
Chapter of Krsna, "Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort."
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KB 50: Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort
CHAPTER FIFTY
Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort
Upon Kamsa's death, his two wives became widows. According
to Vedic civilization, a woman is never independent. She has
three stages of life: in childhood a woman should live under
the protection of her father, a youthful woman should live
under the protection of her young husband, and in the event of
the death of her husband she should live under the
protection of her grown-up sons, or if she has no grown-up
sons she must go back to her father and live as a widow
under his protection. It appears that Kamsa had no grown-up
sons. Therefore, after his wives became widows
they returned to the shelter of their father. Kamsa had two
queens, Asti and Prapti, and both happened
to be the daughters of King Jarasandha, the lord of the Bihar
Province (known in those days as Magadha). After reaching
home, the two queens explained their awkward position
following Kamsa's death. The King of Magadha, Jarasandha, was
mortified on hearing of the pitiable condition of his
daughters. When informed of the death of Kamsa, Jarasandha
decided on the spot that he would rid the world of all the
members of the Yadu dynasty. He decided that since Krsna had
killed Kamsa, the whole dynasty of the Yadus should be killed.
He began to make extensive arrangements to attack the kingdom
of Mathura with his innumerable military phalanxes, consisting
of many thousands of chariots, horses, elephants and infantry
soldiers. Jarasandha prepared thirteen such military phalanxes
to retaliate the death of Kamsa. Taking with him all
his military strength, he attacked the capital of the Yadu
kings, Mathura, surrounding it from all directions. Sri Krsna,
who appeared like an ordinary human being, saw the immense
strength of Jarasandha, which appeared like an ocean about to
cover a beach at any moment. He also perceived that the
inhabitants of Mathura were overwhelmed with fear. He began to
think within Himself about His mission as an
incarnation and how to tackle the present situation before Him.
He thought that since He was not going to conquer the kingdom
of Magadha, to kill the King of Magadha, namely Jarasandha, was
useless. His mission was to diminish the overburdening
population of the whole world; therefore He took the
opportunity to face so many men, chariots, elephants and
horses. The military strength of Jarasandha had appeared before
Him, and He decided to kill the entire force of Jarasandha so
that he would go back and reorganize
his military strength.
While Lord Krsna was thinking in that way, two beautiful
chariots, fully equipped with drivers, weapons, flags and other
paraphernalia, arrived for Him from outer space. Krsna saw the
two chariots present before Him and immediately addressed His
elder brother, Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana: "
My dear elder brother, best among the Aryans, You
are the Lord of the universe, and, specifically, You are the
protector of the Yadu dynasty. The members of the Yadu dynasty
sense great danger before the soldiers of Jarasandha, and they
are very much aggrieved. Just to give them protection, Your
chariot is also here, filled with weapons. I request
You to sit on Your chariot and kill all these soldiers,
the entire military strength of the enemy. The two of
Us have descended to this earth just to annihilate such
unnecessary bellicose forces and give protection to the
pious devotees. So We have the opportunity to fulfill Our
mission. Please let Us execute it." Thus Krsna and Balarama,
the descendants of Dasarha, decided to
annihilate the thirteen military companies of Jarasandha.
After equipping Themselves with military dress, Krsna and
Balarama mounted Their chariots. Krsna rode the chariot of
which Daruka was the driver. With a small army
They came out of the city of Mathura,
blowing Their respective conchshells. Curiously enough,
although the other party was equipped with greater military
strength, when they heard the vibration of Krsna's
conchshell their hearts were shaken. When Jarasandha saw
Balarama and Krsna, he was a little bit compassionate
because They happened to be related to him
as grandsons. He specifically addressed Krsna as purusadhama,
meaning "the lowest among men." Actually Krsna is known in all
Vedic scriptures as Purusottama, the highest among men.
Jarasandha had no intention of addressing Krsna as Purusottama,
but great scholars have determined the true meaning of the word
purusadhama to be "one who makes all other personalities go
downward." Actually no one can be equal to or greater than the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Jarasandha said, "It will be a great dishonor for me to fight
with boys like Krsna and Balarama." Because Krsna had killed
Kamsa, Jarasandha specifically addressed Him as the killer of
His own relatives. Kamsa had killed many of his own nephews,
yet Jarasandha did not take notice, but because Krsna had
killed His maternal uncle, Kamsa, Jarasandha tried to criticize
Him. That is the way of demoniac dealings. Demons do not try to
find their own faults or those of their friends, but try to
find the faults of their enemies. Jarasandha also criticized
Krsna for not even being a ksatriya. Because He was raised by
Maharaja Nanda, Krsna was not a ksatriya but a vaisya. Vaisyas
are generally called guptas, and the word gupta can also be
used to mean "hidden." So Krsna was both hidden and raised by
Nanda Maharaja. Jarasandha accused Krsna of three faults: that
He killed His own maternal uncle, that He was not even a
ksatriya, and that He was hidden in His childhood. And
therefore Jarasandha felt ashamed to fight with Him.
Next he turned toward Balarama and addressed Him: "You,
Balarama! If You like You can fight along with Him, and if You
have patience, then You can wait to be killed by my arrows.
Thus You can be promoted to heaven." It is stated in the
Bhagavad-gita that a ksatriya can benefit in either
of two ways while fighting. If a ksatriya gains victory in the
fight, he enjoys the results of victory, but even if
killed he is promoted to the heavenly kingdom.
After hearing Jarasandha speak in that way, Krsna answered, "My
dear King Jarasandha, heroes do not talk much.
Rather, they show their prowess. Because you are talking a
great deal, it appears that you are assured of your death in
this battle. We do not care to hear you any longer, for
it is useless to hear the words of a person who is going to die
or of one who is very distressed." To fight with Krsna,
Jarasandha surrounded Him from all sides with great military
strength. As the sun appears covered by cloudy air and
dust, Krsna, the supreme sun, was covered by the
military strength of Jarasandha. Krsna's and Balarama's
chariots were marked with pictures of Garuda and palm trees,
respectively. The women of Mathura all stood on the
tops of the houses, palaces and gates to see the wonderful
fight, but when Krsna's chariot was surrounded by Jarasandha's
military force and was no longer visible to them, they were
so frightened that some of them fainted. Krsna saw Himself
overwhelmed by the military strength of Jarasandha. His small
army of soldiers was being harassed, so He
immediately took up His bow, named Sarnga.
He took His arrows from their quiver, and one after
another He set them on the bowstring and shot them toward the
enemy. They were so accurate that the elephants, horses and
infantry soldiers of Jarasandha were quickly killed. The
incessant arrows shot by Krsna appeared like a whirlwind of
blazing fire killing all the military strength of Jarasandha.
As Krsna released His arrows, all the elephants
gradually began to fall, their heads severed by the arrows.
Similarly, all the horses fell, their necks severed, and the
chariots fell also, along with their flags and the
fighters and drivers on the chariots. Almost all
the infantry soldiers fell on the field of battle, their heads,
hands and legs cut off. In this way, many thousands of
elephants, horses and men were killed, and their blood
flowed just like the waves of a river. In that river,
the severed arms of men appeared like snakes and their
heads like tortoises. The dead bodies of the
elephants appeared like small islands, and the dead horses
appeared like sharks. By the arrangement of the supreme will,
there was a great river of blood filled with paraphernalia.
The hands and legs of the infantry soldiers floated just
like different kinds of fish, the hair of the soldiers floated
like seaweed and moss, and the floating bows of the soldiers
resembled waves of the river. And all the jewelry from
the bodies of the soldiers and commanders seemed like
many pebbles flowing down the river of blood.
Lord Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana, began to fight
with His club in such a heroic way that the river of blood
created by Krsna overflooded. Cowards became
very much afraid upon seeing the ghastly and horrible scene,
and heroes began to talk delightedly among
themselves about the heroism of the two brothers. Although
Jarasandha was equipped with a vast ocean of military strength,
the fighting of Lord Krsna and Balarama converted the whole
situation into a ghastly scene far beyond ordinary
fighting. Persons of ordinary merit cannot estimate how it
could be possible, but when such activities are accepted as
pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose
will everything is possible, then this can be understood. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead creates, maintains
and dissolves the cosmic manifestation merely by His will.
For Him to create such a vast scene of devastation while
fighting with an enemy is not so wonderful. And yet, because
Krsna and Balarama were fighting with Jarasandha just like
ordinary human beings, the affair appeared wonderful.
When all the soldiers of Jarasandha had been killed and he
was the only one left alive, certainly he was very much
depressed. Sri Balarama immediately arrested him
with great strength, just as one lion captures another.
But while Lord Balarama was binding Jarasandha with the rope
of Varuna and ordinary ropes also, Lord Krsna, with a greater
plan in mind for the future, asked Lord Balarama not to arrest
him. Krsna then released Jarasandha. As a great
fighting hero, Jarasandha was ashamed, and he
decided that he would no longer live as a king but would
resign from his position in the royal order and go to the
forest to practice meditation under severe austerities and
penances.
As he was returning home with his royal friends, however,
they advised him not to retire but to regain strength to fight
again with Krsna in the near future. The princely friends of
Jarasandha instructed him that ordinarily it would
not have been possible for him to be defeated by the
strength of the Yadu kings; the defeat he had
experienced was simply due to his ill luck. The princely order
encouraged King Jarasandha. His fighting, they said, was
certainly heroic; therefore, he should not take his defeat very
seriously, since it was due only to his past misdeeds. After
all, there was no fault in his fighting.
In this way, Jarasandha, the King of Magadha Province, having
lost all his strength and having been insulted by his arrest
and subsequent release, could do nothing but return to his
kingdom. Thus Lord Krsna conquered the soldiers of Jarasandha.
Although Krsna's army was tiny in comparison to Jarasandha's,
not a pinch of His strength was lost, whereas all of Jarasandha'
s men were killed.
The denizens of heaven were very much pleased,
and they offered their respects by chanting in
glorification of the Lord and showering Him with flowers,
accepting the victory with great appreciation. Jarasandha
returned to his kingdom, and Mathura City was saved from
the danger of imminent attack. The citizens of Mathura
organized the combined services of professional
singers like sutas and magadhas, along with poets who could
compose nice songs, and they began to chant the victory
glorification of Lord Krsna. When Lord Krsna entered the city
after the victory, many bugles, conches and kettledrums
sounded, and the vibrations of various musical instruments
like bheris, turyas, vinas, flutes and mrdangas all joined
together to make a beautiful reception. While Krsna was
entering, the whole city was cleansed, all the
different streets and roads were sprinkled with water, and the
inhabitants, being joyous, decorated their respective houses
and shops with flags and festoons. The brahmanas chanted
Vedic mantras at numerous places. The people constructed road
crossings and gates at entrances to lanes and streets. When
Lord Krsna was entering the nicely decorated city of Mathura in
a festive attitude, the ladies and girls of Mathura prepared
different kinds of flower garlands to make the ceremony most
auspicious. In accordance with the Vedic custom, they took
yogurt mixed with fresh green grass and strewed
it here and there to make the victory jubilation even
more auspicious. As Krsna passed through the street, all the
ladies and women regarded Him with eyes bright with great
affection. Krsna and Balarama carried various kinds of
ornaments, jewels and other booty carefully collected from
the battlefield and presented it all to King Ugrasena. Krsna
thus offered His respect to His grandfather because Ugrasena
was at that time the crowned king of the Yadu dynasty.
Jarasandha, the King of Magadha, besieged the city of
Mathura not only once but seventeen times in the same
way, equipped with the same number of military phalanxes. Each
and every time, he was defeated and all his soldiers were
killed by Krsna, and each time he had to return home
disappointed. Each time, the princely order of the
Yadu dynasty arrested Jarasandha in the same way and again
released him in an insulting manner, and each time Jarasandha
shamelessly returned home.
While Jarasandha was attempting his eighteenth attack, a Yavana
king somewhere to the south of Mathura became attracted by the
opulence of the Yadu dynasty and also attacked the city. It is
said that the King of the Yavanas, known as Kalayavana, was
induced to attack by Narada. This story is narrated in the
Visnu Purana. Once, Garga Muni, the priest of the Yadu
dynasty, was taunted by his brother-in-law. When the kings of
the Yadu dynasty heard the taunt they laughed at him, and
Garga Muni became angry at the Yadu kings. He decided that
he would produce someone who would be very fearful to the Yadu
dynasty, so he pleased Lord Siva and received from him the
benediction of a son. He begot this son, Kalayavana, in the
wife of a Yavana king. This Kalayavana inquired from Narada, "
Who are the most powerful kings in the world?" Narada informed
him that the Yadus were the most powerful. Thus informed
, Kalayavana attacked the city of Mathura at the same
time that Jarasandha tried to attack it for the eighteenth
time. Kalayavana was very eager to declare war on a king of
the world who would be a suitable combatant for him, but he had
not found any. However, being informed about Mathura by Narada,
he thought it wise to attack this city
with thirty million Yavana soldiers.
When Mathura was thus besieged, Lord Sri Krsna began to
consider, in consultation with Baladeva, how much the Yadu
dynasty was in distress, being threatened by the attacks of two
formidable enemies, Jarasandha and Kalayavana. Time was growing
short. Kalayavana was already besieging Mathura from all sides,
and it was expected that the day after next, Jarasandha would
also come, equipped with the same number of divisions of
soldiers as in his previous seventeen attempts. Krsna was
certain that Jarasandha would take advantage of the opportunity
to capture Mathura when it was also being besieged by
Kalayavana. He therefore thought it wise to take precautionary
measures for defending against an attack upon Mathura from two
strategic points. If both Krsna and Balarama were engaged in
fighting with Kalayavana at one place, Jarasandha might come at
another to attack the whole Yadu family and take his revenge.
Jarasandha was very powerful, and having been defeated
seventeen times, he might vengefully kill the members of the
Yadu family or arrest them and take them to his kingdom. Krsna
therefore decided to construct a formidable fort where no two-
legged animal, either man or demon, could enter. He decided to
keep His relatives there so that He would then be free to fight
the enemy. It appears that formerly Dvaraka was also part of
the kingdom of Mathura. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that
Krsna constructed the fort in the midst of the sea. Remnants of
the fort Krsna constructed still exist in the Bay of Dvaraka.
Krsna first of all constructed a very strong wall covering
ninety-six square miles, and the wall itself was within the sea.
It was certainly wonderful and was planned and constructed by
Visvakarma. No ordinary architect could construct such a fort
within the sea, but an architect like Visvakarma, who is
considered to be the engineer among the demigods, can execute
such wonderful craftsmanship anywhere in the
universe. If huge planets can float in weightlessness
in outer space by the arrangement of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, surely the architectural construction
of a fort covering ninety-six square
miles within the sea was not very wonderful.
It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam that this new, well-
constructed city, developed within the sea, had regular planned
roads, streets and lanes. There were also
well-planned parks and
gardens filled with plants known as kalpa-vrksas, or
desire trees. These desire trees are not like the ordinary
trees of the material world; the desire trees are found in the
spiritual world. By Krsna's supreme will, everything is
possible, so such desire trees were planted in Dvaraka, the
city constructed by Krsna. The city was also filled
with many palaces and gopuras, or big gates. These gopuras are
still found in some of the larger temples. They are very high
and constructed with fine artistic skill. Such palaces and
gates held golden waterpots (kalasas). These waterpots on the
gates or on the palaces are considered auspicious signs.
Almost all the palaces were skyscrapers. In each and every
house there were underground rooms containing big golden
and silver pots for stocking grain. And there were many
golden waterpots within the rooms. The bedrooms were all
bedecked with jewels, and the floors were mosaic pavements of
marakata jewels. The Visnu Deity, worshiped by the descendants
of Yadu, was installed in each house in the city. The
residential quarters were so arranged that the different castes
-- brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras -- had their
respective quarters. It appears from this that the caste system
mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita existed even at that time. In
the center of the city was a residence
made specifically for King Ugrasena. This was the most
dazzling of all the houses.
When the demigod Indra saw that Krsna was constructing a
particular city of His own choice, he sent the celebrated
parijata tree of the heavenly planets to be planted in the
new city, and he also sent a parliamentary house, Sudharma.
The specific quality of this assembly house was that anyone
participating in a meeting within it would overcome the
influence of invalidity due to old age. The demigod Varuna
presented a horse, which was all white except for black ears
and which could run at the speed of the mind. Kuvera, the
treasurer of the demigods, presented the art of attaining the
eight perfectional stages of material opulence. In this way,
all the demigods began to present their respective gifts
according to their different capacities. There are thirty-three
million demigods, each entrusted with a
particular department of universal management. All the demigods
took the opportunity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's
constructing a city of His own choice to present their
respective gifts, making the city of Dvaraka unique within the
universe. This proves that while there are undoubtedly
innumerable demigods, none of them is independent of Krsna.
As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsna is the supreme
master, and all others are His servants. So all the demigods
took the opportunity to render service to Krsna when He was
personally present within this universe. This example should be
followed by all, especially those who are Krsna conscious, for
they should serve Krsna by their respective abilities.
When the new city was fully constructed according to plan,
Krsna transferred all the inhabitants of Mathura and installed
Sri Balarama as the city father. After this He consulted with
Balarama, and, being garlanded with lotus flowers but carrying
no weapons, He came out of the city to meet Kalayavana, who had
already surrounded Mathura.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fiftieth
Chapter of Krsna, "Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort."
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