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KB 1970-2-16 / Lord Krsna in Indraprastha City
16 / Lord Krsna in Indraprastha City
In the presence of the great sage Narada and all the other
associates of Lord Krsna, Uddhava considered the situation and
then spoke as follows: "My dear Lord, first of all let me say
that the great sage Narada Muni has requested You to go to
Hastinapura to satisfy King Yudhisthira, Your cousin, who is
making arrangements to perform the great sacrifice known as
Rajasuya. I think, therefore, that Your Lordship should
immediately go there to help the King in this great adventure.
However, although to accept the invitation offered by the sage
Narada Muni as primary is quite appropriate, at the same time,
my Lord, it is Your duty to give protection to the surrendered
souls. Both purposes can be served if we understand the whole
situation. Unless we are victorious over all the kings, no one
can perform this Rajasuya sacrifice. In other words, it is to
be understood that King Yudhisthira cannot perform this great
sacrifice without gaining victory over the belligerent King
Jarasandha. The Rajasuya sacrifice can only be performed
by one who has gained victory over all directions. Therefore,
to execute both purposes, we first of all have to kill
Jarasandha. I think that if we can somehow or other gain
victory over Jarasandha, then automatically all our purposes
will be served. The imprisoned kings will be
released, and with great pleasure we shall enjoy the spread of
Your transcendental fame at having saved the innocent kings
whom Jarasandha has imprisoned.
"But King Jarasandha is not an ordinary man. He has proved a
stumbling block even to great warriors because his bodily
strength is equal to the strength of 10,000 elephants. If
there is anyone who can conquer this king, he is none other
than Bhimasena because he also possesses the strength of 10,
000 elephants. The best thing would be for Bhimasena to
fight alone with him. Then there would be no unnecessary
killing of many soldiers. In fact, it will be very
difficult to conquer Jarasandha when he stands with his
aksauhini divisions of soldiers. We may therefore adopt a
policy more favorable to the situation. We know that King
Jarasandha is very much devoted to the brahmanas. He is very
charitably disposed towards them; he never refuses any request
from a brahmana. I think, therefore, that Bhimasena should
approach Jarasandha in the dress of a brahmana, beg charity
from him, and then personally engage in fighting him. And in
order to assure Bhimasena's victory, I think that Your Lordship
should also accompany him. If the fighting takes place in Your
presence, I am sure Bhimasena will emerge victorious because
simply by Your presence everything impossible is made
possible, just as Lord Brahma creates this universe and
Lord Siva destroys it simply through Your influence.
"Actually, You are creating and destroying the entire cosmic
manifestation; Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are only the
superficially visible causes. Creation and destruction are
actually being performed by the invisible time factor, which is
Your impersonal representation. Everything is under the control
of this time factor. If Your invisible time factor can perform
such wonderful acts through Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, will not
Your personal presence help Bhimasena to conquer Jarasandha? My
dear Lord, when Jarasandha is killed, then the queens of all
the imprisoned kings will be so joyful at their husbands' being
released by Your mercy that they will all begin to sing Your
glories. They will be as pleased as the gopis were when they
were released from the hands of Sankhasura. All the great sages,
the King of the elephants, Gajendra, the goddess of fortune,
Sita, and even Your father and mother, were all delivered by
Your causeless mercy. We also have been thus delivered, and we
are always singing the transcendental glories of Your
activities.
"Therefore, I think that if the killing of Jarasandha is
undertaken first, that will automatically solve many other
problems. As for the Rajasuya sacrifice arranged in Hastinapura,
it will be held, either because of the pious activities of the
imprisoned kings or the impious activities of Jarasandha.
"My Lord, it appears that You are also personally to go
to Hastinapura to perform this great sacrifice so
that demoniac kings like Jarasandha and Sisupala may be
conquered, the pious imprisoned kings released, and at the
same time the great Rajasuya sacrifice performed.
Considering all these points, I think that Your Lordship should
immediately proceed to Hastinapura."
This advice of Uddhava's was appreciated by all who were
present in the assembly, and everyone considered that Lord
Krsna's going to Hastinapura would be beneficial from all
points of view. The great sage Narada, the elderly
personalities of the Yadu dynasty, and the Supreme Personality
of Godhead Krsna Himself all supported the statement of
Uddhava. Lord Krsna then took permission from His father
Vasudeva and grandfather Ugrasena, and He immediately ordered
His servants Daruka and Jaitra to arrange for travel to
Hastinapura. When everything was prepared, Lord Krsna
especially bid farewell to Lord Balarama and the King of the
Yadus, Ugrasena, and after dispatching His queens along with
their children and sending their necessary luggage ahead, He
mounted His chariot, which bore the flag marked with the symbol
of Garuda.
Before starting the procession, Lord Krsna satisfied the great
sage Narada by offering him different kinds of worshipable
articles. Naradaji wanted to fall at the lotus feet
of Krsna, but because the Lord was playing the part of a human
being, he simply offered his respects within his mind, and
fixing the transcendental form of the Lord within his heart, he
left the assembly house by the airways. Usually the sage Narada
never walks on the surface of the globe, but travels in
outer space. After the departure of Narada, Lord Krsna
addressed the messenger who had come from the imprisoned kings.
He told him that they should not be worried. He would very
soon arrange to kill the King of Magadha, Jarasandha. Thus He
wished good fortune to all the imprisoned kings and the
messenger. After receiving this assurance from Lord Krsna, the
messenger returned to the imprisoned kings and informed them of
the happy news of the Lord's forthcoming visit. All the kings
became joyful at the news and began to wait very anxiously for
the Lord's arrival.
The chariot of Lord Krsna began to proceed, accompanied
by many other chariots, along with elephants, cavalry, infantry
and similar royal paraphernalia. Bugles, drums, trumpets,
conchshells, horns and coronets all began to produce a loud
auspicious sound which vibrated in all directions. The 16,
000 queens, headed by the goddess of fortune Rukminidevi,
the ideal wife of Lord Krsna, and accompanied by their
respective sons, all followed behind Lord Krsna. They were
dressed in costly garments decorated with ornaments, and their
bodies were smeared with sandalwood pulp and garlanded with
fragrant flowers. Riding on palanquins which were nicely
decorated with silks, flags and golden lace, they followed
their exalted husband, Lord Krsna. The infantry soldiers
carried shields, swords and lances in their hands and acted as
royal bodyguards to all the queens. In the rear of the
procession were the wives and children of all the other
followers, and there were many society girls also following.
Many beasts of burden like bulls, buffaloes, mules, and asses
carried the camps, bedding and carpets, and the women who
were following were seated in separate palanquins on the
backs of camels. This panoramic procession was accompanied by
the shouts of the people and was full with the display of
different colored flags, umbrellas and whisks and different
varieties of weapons, dress, ornaments, helmets and armaments.
The procession, being reflected in the sunshine,
appeared just like an ocean with high waves and
sharks.
In this way the procession of Lord Krsna's party advanced
towards Hastinapura (New Delhi) and gradually passed through
the kingdoms of Anarta (Gujarat Province), Sauvira (Sauret),
the great desert of Rajasthan, and then Kuruksetra. In
between those kingdoms there were many mountains, rivers, towns,
villages, pasturing grounds and mining fields. The procession
passed through all of these places in its advance. On His way
to Hastinapura, the Lord crossed two big rivers, the Drsvati
and the Sarasvati. Then He crossed the province of Panchala
and the province of Matsya. In this way, ultimately He
arrived at Indraprastha.
The audience of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is
not very commonplace. Therefore, when King Yudhisthira
heard that Lord Krsna had already arrived in his capital city,
Hastinapura, he became so joyful that all his bodily hairs
stood on end in great ecstasy, and he immediately came out of
the city to properly receive Him. He ordered the musical
vibration of different instruments and songs, and the learned
brahmanas of the city began to chant the hymns of the Vedas
very loudly. Lord Krsna is known as Hrsikesa, the master of the
senses, and King Yudhisthira went forward to receive Him
exactly as the senses meet the consciousness of life. King
Yudhisthira was the elderly cousin of Krsna. Naturally he had
great affection for the Lord, and as soon as he saw Him, his
heart became filled with great love and affection. He had not
seen the Lord for many days, and therefore he thought himself
most fortunate to see Him present before him. The King
therefore began to embrace Lord Krsna again and again in
great affection.
The eternal form of Lord Krsna is the everlasting residence of
the goddess of fortune. As soon as King Yudhisthira embraced
Him, he became free from all the contamination of material
existence. He immediately felt transcendental bliss, and he
merged in an ocean of happiness. There were tears in his eyes,
and his body shook in ecstasy. He completely forgot that he was
living in the material world. After this, Bhimasena, the
second brother of the Pandavas, smiled and embraced Lord Krsna,
thinking of Him as his own maternal cousin, and thus he was
merged in great ecstasy. Bhimasena also was so filled with
ecstasy that for the time being he forgot his material
existence. Then Lord Sri Krsna Himself embraced the other three
Pandavas, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. The eyes of all three
brothers were inundated with tears, and Arjuna began to
embrace Krsna again and again because they were intimate
friends. The two younger Pandava brothers, after being embraced
by Lord Krsna, fell down at His lotus feet to offer their
respects. Lord Krsna thereafter offered His obeisances to the
brahmanas present there, as well as to the elderly members of
the Kuru dynasty, like Bhisma, Drona and Dhrtarastra. There
were many kings of different provinces such as Kuru, Srnjaya
and Kekaya, and Lord Krsna duly reciprocated greetings and
respects with them. The professional reciters like the sutas,
magadhas and vandinas, accompanied by the brahmanas, began to
offer their respectful prayers to the Lord. Artists and
musicians like the Gandharvas, as well as the royal jokers,
began to play their drums, conchshells, kettledrums,
vinas, mrdangas, and bugles, and they exhibited their dancing
art in order to please the Lord. Thus the all-famous Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, entered the great city of
Hastinapura, which was opulent in every respect. While Lord
Krsna was entering the city, everyone was talking
amongst themselves about the glories of the Lord, praising His
transcendental name, quality, form, etc.
The roads, streets and lanes of Hastinapura were all sprinkled
with fragrant water through the trunks of intoxicated elephants.
In different places of the city there were colorful festoons
and flags decorating the houses and streets. At important
road crossings there were gates with golden decorations,
and at the two sides of the gates there were golden water jugs.
These beautiful decorations glorified the opulence of the city.
Participating in this great ceremony, all the citizens of the
city gathered here and there, dressed in colorful new clothing,
decorated with ornaments, flower garlands, and fragrant
scents. Each and every house was illuminated by hundreds and
thousands of lamps placed in different corners of the cornices,
walls, columns, bases and architraves, and from far away the
rays of the lamps resembled the festival of
Dipavali (a particular festival observed on the New Year's Day
of the Hindu calendar). Within the walls of the houses,
fragrant incense was burning, and smoke rose through the
windows, making the entire atmosphere very pleasing. On the top
of every house flags were flapping, and the gold waterpots
kept on the roofs shone very brilliantly.
Lord Krsna thus entered the city of the Pandavas, enjoyed the
beautiful atmosphere and slowly proceeded ahead. When the young
girls in every house heard that Lord Krsna, the only object
worth seeing, was passing on the road, they became very anxious
to see this all-famous personality. Their hair loosened, and
their tightened saris became slack due to their hastily rushing
to see Him. They gave up their household engagements, and those
who were lying in bed with their husbands immediately left them
and came directly down onto the street to see Lord Krsna. The
procession of elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry was
very crowded; some, being unable to see properly
in the crowd, got up on the roofs of the houses. They were
pleased to see Lord Sri Krsna passing with His thousands of
queens. They began to shower flowers on the procession, and
they embraced Lord Krsna within their minds and gave Him a
hearty reception. When they saw Him in the midst of His many
queens, like the full moon situated amidst many luminaries,
they began to talk amongst themselves.
One girl said to another, "My dear friend, it is very difficult
to guess what kind of pious activities these queens might have
performed, for they are always enjoying the smiling face and
loving glances of Krsna." While Lord Krsna was thus passing on
the road, at intervals some of the citizens, who were all rich,
respectable and freed from sinful activities presented
auspicious articles to the Lord, just to offer Him a reception
to the city. Thus they worshiped Him as humble servitors.
When Lord Krsna entered the palace, all the ladies there became
overwhelmed with affection just upon seeing Him. They
immediately received Lord Krsna with glittering eyes expressing
their love and affection for Him, and Lord Krsna smiled and
accepted their feelings and gestures of reception. When Kunti,
the mother of the Pandavas, saw her nephew Lord Krsna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, she became overpowered with
love and affection. She at once got up from her bedstead and
appeared before Him with her daughter-in-law, Draupadi, and in
maternal love and affection she embraced Him. As he
brought Krsna within the palace, King Yudhisthira
became so confused in his jubilation that he practically forgot
what he was to do at that time in order to receive Krsna and
worship Him properly. Lord Krsna delightfully offered His
respects and obeisances to Kunti and other elderly ladies of
the palace. His younger sister, Subhadra, was also standing
there with Draupadi, and both offered their respectful
obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord. At the indication
of her mother-in-law, Draupadi brought clothing, ornaments and
garlands, and with this paraphernalia they received the queens
Rukmini, Satyabhama, Bhadra, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda,
Laksmana and the devoted Satya. These principal queens of Lord
Krsna were first received, and then the remaining queens were
also offered a proper reception. King Yudhisthira arranged for
Krsna's rest and saw that all who came along with Him --
namely His queens, His soldiers, His ministers and His
secretaries -- were comfortably situated. He had arranged that
they would experience a new feature of reception everyday
while staying as guests of the Pandavas.
It was during this time that Lord Sri Krsna, with the help of
Arjuna, for the satisfaction of the fire-god, Agni, allowed
Agni to devour the Khandava Forest. During
the forest fire, Krsna saved the demon Mayasura, who was hiding
in the forest. Upon being saved, Mayasura felt obliged to the
Pandavas and Lord Krsna, and he constructed a wonderful
assembly house within the city of Hastinapura. In this way,
Lord Krsna, in order to please King Yudhisthira,
remained in the city of Hastinapura for several months. During
His stay, He enjoyed strolling here and there. He used to drive
on chariots along with Arjuna, and many warriors and soldiers
used to follow them.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Sixteenth Chapter, of Krsna, "Lord Krsna in Indraprastha City."
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KB 71: Lord Krsna in Indraprastha City
CHAPTER SEVENTY–ONE
Lord Krsna in Indraprastha City
In the presence of the great sage Narada and all the other
associates of Lord Krsna, Uddhava considered the situation and
then spoke as follows: "My dear Lord, first of all let me say
that the great sage Narada Muni has requested You to go to
Hastinapura to satisfy King Yudhisthira, Your cousin, who is
making arrangements to perform the great sacrifice known as
Rajasuya. I think, therefore, that Your Lordship should
immediately go there to help the King in this great venture.
However, although to accept the invitation offered by the sage
Narada as primary is quite appropriate, at the same time,
my Lord, it is Your duty to give protection to the surrendered
souls. Both purposes can be served if we understand the whole
situation. Unless we are victorious over all the kings, no one
can perform this Rajasuya sacrifice. In other words, it is to
be understood that King Yudhisthira cannot perform this great
sacrifice without gaining victory over the belligerent King
Jarasandha. The Rajasuya sacrifice can be performed only
by one who has gained victory over all directions. Therefore,
to execute both purposes, we first have to kill
Jarasandha. I think that if we can somehow or other gain
victory over Jarasandha, all our purposes
will automatically be served. The imprisoned kings will be
released, and with great pleasure we shall enjoy the spread of
Your transcendental fame for having saved the innocent kings
whom Jarasandha has imprisoned.
"But King Jarasandha is not an ordinary man. He has proved a
stumbling block even to great warriors because his bodily
strength is equal to the strength of ten thousand elephants. If
there is anyone who can conquer this king, he is none other
than Bhimasena because he also possesses the strength of ten
thousand elephants. The best thing would be for Bhimasena to
fight alone with him. Then there would be no unnecessary
killing of many soldiers. In fact, Jarasandha will be very
difficult to conquer when he stands with his
aksauhini divisions of soldiers. We may therefore adopt a
policy more favorable to the situation. We know that King
Jarasandha is very much devoted to the brahmanas and very
charitably disposed toward them; he never refuses any request
from a brahmana. I think, therefore, that Bhimasena should
approach Jarasandha in the dress of a brahmana, beg charity
from him and then personally engage in fighting him. And in
order to assure Bhimasena's victory, I think that Your Lordship
should accompany him. If the fighting takes place in Your
presence, I am sure Bhimasena will emerge victorious,
for Your presence makes everything impossible
possible. Indeed, Lord Brahma creates this universe and
Lord Siva destroys it simply through Your influence.
"Actually, You create and destroy the entire cosmic
manifestation; Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are only the
superficially visible causes. Creation and destruction are
actually performed by the invisible time factor, which is
Your impersonal representation. Everything is under the control
of this time factor. If Your invisible time factor can perform
such wonderful acts through Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, will not
Your personal presence help Bhimasena conquer Jarasandha? My
dear Lord, when Jarasandha is killed, the queens of all
the imprisoned kings will be so joyful at their husbands' being
released by Your mercy that they will all sing Your
glories, being as pleased as the gopis were when
released from the hands of Sankhacuda. All the great sages;
the King of the elephants, Gajendra; the goddess of fortune,
Sita; and even Your father and mother were all delivered by
Your causeless mercy. We also have been thus delivered, and we
always sing the transcendental glories of Your
activities.
"Therefore, I think that if the killing of Jarasandha is
undertaken first, that will automatically solve many other
problems. As for the Rajasuya sacrifice arranged in Hastinapura,
it will be held, either because of the pious activities of the
imprisoned kings or the impious activities of Jarasandha.
"My Lord, it appears that You are to go
personally to Hastinapura to conquer
demoniac kings like Jarasandha and Sisupala, to release
the pious imprisoned kings, and also
to perform the great Rajasuya sacrifice.
Considering all these points, I think that Your Lordship should
immediately proceed to Hastinapura."
This advice of Uddhava's was appreciated by all who were
present in the assembly; everyone considered that Lord
Krsna's going to Hastinapura would be beneficial from all
points of view. The great sage Narada, the elder
personalities of the Yadu dynasty, and the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Krsna Himself, all supported the statement of
Uddhava. Lord Krsna then took permission from His father,
Vasudeva, and grandfather, Ugrasena, and He immediately ordered
His servants Daruka and Jaitra to arrange for travel to
Hastinapura. When everything was prepared, Lord Krsna
especially bid farewell to Lord Balarama and the King of the
Yadus, Ugrasena, and after dispatching His queens along with
their children and sending their necessary luggage ahead, He
mounted His chariot, which bore the flag marked with the symbol
of Garuda.
Before starting the procession, Lord Krsna satisfied the great
sage Narada by offering him different kinds of
articles of worship. Naradaji wanted to fall at the lotus feet
of Krsna, but because the Lord was playing the part of a human
being, he simply offered his respects within his mind, and,
fixing the transcendental form of the Lord within his heart, he
left the assembly house by the airways. Usually the sage Narada
does not walk on the surface of the globe but travels in
outer space. After the departure of Narada, Lord Krsna
addressed the messenger who had come from the imprisoned kings
and told him that they should not be worried, for He would very
soon arrange to kill the King of Magadha, Jarasandha. Thus He
wished good fortune to all the imprisoned kings and the
messenger. After receiving this assurance from Lord Krsna, the
messenger returned to the imprisoned kings and informed them of
the happy news of the Lord's forthcoming visit. All the kings
were joyful at the news and began to wait very anxiously for
the Lord's arrival.
The chariot of Lord Krsna started for Hastinapura accompanied
by many other chariots, along with elephants, cavalry, infantry
and similar royal paraphernalia. Bugles, drums, trumpets,
conchshells and horns all produced a loud
auspicious sound which vibrated in all directions. The sixteen
thousand queens, headed by the goddess of fortune Rukminidevi,
the ideal wife of Lord Krsna, and accompanied by their
respective sons, all followed behind Lord Krsna. They were
dressed in costly garments decorated with ornaments, and their
bodies were smeared with sandalwood pulp and garlanded with
fragrant flowers. Riding on palanquins nicely
decorated with silks, flags and golden lace, they followed
their exalted husband, Lord Krsna. The infantry soldiers
carried shields, swords and lances in their hands and acted as
royal bodyguards to the queens. In the rear of the
procession were the wives and children of all the other
followers, and there were many society girls also following.
Many beasts of burden like bulls, buffalo, mules and asses
carried the camps, bedding and carpets, and the women who
followed were seated in separate palanquins on the
backs of camels. This panoramic procession was accompanied by
the shouts of the people and was full with the display of
different colored flags, umbrellas and whisks and different
varieties of weapons, dress, ornaments, helmets and armaments.
Shining in the sunlight, the
procession appeared just like an ocean with high waves and
sharks.
In this way the procession of Lord Krsna's party advanced
toward Hastinapura (New Delhi) and gradually passed through
the kingdoms of Anarta (Gujarat Province), Sauvira (Surat),
the great desert of Rajasthan, and then Kuruksetra. Between
those kingdoms were many mountains, rivers, towns,
villages, pasturing grounds and mining fields. The procession
passed through all these places in its advance. On His way
to Hastinapura, the Lord crossed two big rivers, the Drsadvati
and the Sarasvati. Then He crossed the provinces of Pancala
and Matsya. In this way, He
ultimately arrived at Hastinapura, or Indraprastha.
The audience of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is
not at all commonplace. Therefore, when King Yudhisthira
heard that Lord Krsna had arrived in his capital city,
Hastinapura, he became so joyful that all his bodily hairs
stood on end in great ecstasy, and he immediately came out of
the city to properly receive the Lord. He ordered the musical
vibration of different instruments and songs, and the learned
brahmanas of the city began to chant the hymns of the Vedas
very loudly. Lord Krsna is known as Hrsikesa, the master of the
senses, and King Yudhisthira went forward to receive Him
exactly as the senses meet the consciousness of life. King
Yudhisthira was the elder cousin of Krsna. Naturally he had
great affection for the Lord, and as soon as he saw Him, his
heart became filled with great love and affection. He had not
seen the Lord for many days, and therefore he thought himself
most fortunate to see the Lord present before him. The King
therefore embraced Lord Krsna again and again in
great affection.
The eternal form of Lord Krsna is the everlasting residence of
the goddess of fortune. As soon as King Yudhisthira embraced
Him, he became free from all the contamination of material
existence. He immediately felt transcendental bliss and
merged in an ocean of happiness. There were tears in his eyes,
and his body shook in ecstasy. He completely forgot that he was
living in this material world. After this, Bhimasena, the
second brother of the Pandavas, smiled and embraced Lord Krsna,
thinking of Him as his own maternal cousin, and thus he also
merged in great ecstasy. Bhimasena was so filled with
ecstasy that for the time being he forgot his material
existence. Then Lord Sri Krsna Himself embraced the other three
Pandavas, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. The eyes of all three
brothers were inundated with tears, and Arjuna embraced
Krsna again and again because they were intimate
friends. The two younger Pandava brothers, after being embraced
by Lord Krsna, fell down at His lotus feet to offer their
respects. Lord Krsna thereafter offered His obeisances to the
brahmanas present, as well as to the elder members of
the Kuru dynasty, like Bhisma, Drona and Dhrtarastra. There
were many kings of different provinces such as Kuru, Srnjaya
and Kekaya, and Lord Krsna duly reciprocated greetings and
respects with them. The professional reciters like the sutas,
magadhas and vandis, accompanied by the brahmanas, offered
their respectful prayers to the Lord. Performing artists
like the Gandharvas, as well as the royal jokers,
began to play their panava drums, conchshells, kettledrums,
vinas, mrdangas and bugles, and they exhibited their dancing
art to please the Lord. Thus the all-famous Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, entered the great city of
Hastinapura, which was opulent in every respect. While Lord
Krsna was entering the city, all the people talked
amongst themselves about the glories of the Lord, praising His
transcendental name, qualities, form and so on.
The roads, streets and lanes of Hastinapura were all sprinkled
with fragrant water through the trunks of intoxicated elephants.
In different places of the city there were colorful festoons
and flags decorating the houses and streets. At important
crossroads there were gates with golden decorations,
and at the two sides of the gates there were golden water jugs.
These beautiful decorations glorified the opulence of the city.
Participating in this great ceremony, all the citizens
gathered here and there, dressed in colorful new clothing
and decorated with ornaments, flower garlands and fragrant
scents. The houses were all illuminated by hundreds and
thousands of lamps placed in different corners of the cornices,
walls, columns, bases and architraves, and from far away the
rays of the lamps appeared to be celebrating the festival of
Dipavali (a particular festival observed on the New Year's Day
of the Hindu calendar). Within the walls of the houses,
fragrant incense was burning, and smoke rose through the
windows, making the entire atmosphere very pleasing. On the top
of every house, flags were flapping, and the golden waterpots
kept on the roofs shone brilliantly.
Lord Krsna thus entered the city of the Pandavas, enjoyed the
beautiful atmosphere and slowly proceeded ahead. When the young
girls in every house heard that Lord Krsna, the only object
worth seeing, was passing on the road, they were very eager
to see this all-famous personality. Their hair loosened, and
their tightened saris became slack due to their hastily rushing
to see Him. They gave up their household engagements, and those
who were lying in bed with their husbands immediately left them
and came directly down onto the street to see Lord Krsna. The
procession of elephants, horses, chariots and infantry was
very crowded; some of the girls, being unable to see properly
in the crowd, got up on the roofs of the houses. Pleased
to see Lord Sri Krsna passing with His thousands of
queens, they showered flowers on the procession,
embraced Lord Krsna within their minds and gave Him a
hearty reception. When they saw Him in the midst of His many
queens, like the full moon situated amidst many luminaries,
they began to talk amongst themselves.
One girl said to another, "My dear friend, it is very difficult
to guess what kind of pious activities these queens have
performed, for they are always enjoying the smiling face and
loving glances of Krsna." While Lord Krsna was thus passing on
the road, at intervals some of the citizens, who were all rich,
respectable and freed from sinful activities, presented
auspicious articles to the Lord, just to offer Him a reception
to the city. Thus they worshiped Him as humble servitors.
When Lord Krsna entered the palace, all the ladies there were
overwhelmed with affection just upon seeing Him. They
immediately received Lord Krsna with glittering eyes expressing
their love and affection for Him, and Lord Krsna smiled and
accepted their feelings and gestures of reception. When Kunti,
the mother of the Pandavas, saw her nephew Lord Krsna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, she was overpowered by
love and affection. She at once got up from her bedstead and
appeared before Him with her daughter-in-law, Draupadi, and in
maternal love and affection she embraced Him. As Maharaja
Yudhisthira brought Krsna within the palace, the King
became so confused in his jubilation that he practically forgot
what he was to do at that time to receive Krsna and
worship Him properly. Lord Krsna delightfully offered His
respects and obeisances to Kunti and other elder ladies of
the palace. His younger sister, Subhadra, was also standing
there with Draupadi, and both offered their respectful
obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord. At the indication
of her mother-in-law, Draupadi brought clothing, ornaments and
garlands, and with this paraphernalia they received the queens
Rukmini, Satyabhama, Bhadra, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda,
Laksmana and the devoted Satya. These principal queens of Lord
Krsna were first received, and then the other queens were
also offered a proper reception. King Yudhisthira arranged for
Krsna's rest and saw to it that all who came along with Him --
namely His queens, soldiers, ministers and
secretaries -- were comfortably situated. He had arranged that
they would experience a new feature of reception every day
while staying as guests of the Pandavas.
It was during this time that Lord Sri Krsna, with the help of
Arjuna, allowed the fire-god, Agni,
to devour the Khandava forest for his satisfaction. During
the forest fire, Krsna saved the demon Mayasura, who was hiding
in the forest. Upon being saved, Mayasura felt obliged to the
Pandavas and Lord Krsna, and he constructed a wonderful
assembly house within the city of Hastinapura. To
please King Yudhisthira, Lord Krsna
remained in the city of Hastinapura for several months. During
His stay, He enjoyed strolling here and there. He used to drive
on chariots with Arjuna, and many warriors and soldiers
used to follow them.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Seventy-first
Chapter of Krsna, "Lord Krsna in
Indraprastha City."
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