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KB 1970-2-21 / The Battle Between Salva and the Yadu
Dynasty
21 / The Battle Between Salva and the Yadu Dynasty
While Sukadeva Gosvami was narrating various activities of Lord
Krsna in playing the role of an ordinary human being, he also
narrated the history of the battle between the dynasty of Yadu
and a demon of the name Salva, who had managed to possess a
wonderful airship named Saubha. King Salva was a great friend
of Sisupala's. When Sisupala went to marry Rukmini, Salva was
one of the members of the bridegroom's party. When there was a
fight between the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty and the kings of
the opposite side, Salva was defeated by the soldiers of the
Yadu dynasty. But, despite his defeat, he made a promise before
all the kings that he would in the future rid the whole world
of all the members of the Yadu dynasty. Since his defeat in the
fight during the marriage of Rukmini, he had maintained within
himself an unforgettable envy of Lord Krsna, and he was, in
fact, a fool, because he had promised to kill Krsna.
Usually such foolish demons take shelter of a demigod like Lord
Siva to execute their ulterior plans, and so Salva, in order to
get strength, took shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Siva.
He underwent a severe type of austerity during which he would
eat no more than a handful of ashes daily. Lord Siva, the
husband of Parvati, is generally very merciful, and he becomes
very quickly satisfied if someone undertakes severe austerities
in order to please him. So after continued austerities by Salva
for one year, Lord Siva became pleased with him and asked him
to beg for the fulfillment of his desire.
Salva begged from Lord Siva the gift of an airplane which would
be so strong that it could not be destroyed by any demigod,
demon, human being, Gandharva, Naga, or even by any Raksasa.
Moreover, he desired that the airplane be able to fly anywhere
and everywhere he would like to pilot it, and be specifically
very dangerous and fearful to the dynasty of the Yadus. Lord
Siva immediately agreed to give him the benediction, and Salva
took the help of the demon Maya to manufacture this iron
airplane, which was so strong and formidable that no one could
crash it. It was a very big machine, almost like a big city,
and it could fly so high and at such a great speed that it was
almost impossible to see where it was, and so there was no
question of attacking it. Although it might be dark
outside, the pilot could fly it anywhere
and everywhere. Having acquired such a wonderful airplane,
Salva flew it to the city of Dvaraka, because his main purpose
in obtaining the airplane was to attack the city of the Yadus,
toward whom he maintained a continual feeling of animosity.
Salva thus not only attacked the city of Dvaraka from the sky,
but he also surrounded the city by a large number of infantry.
The soldiers on the surface began to attack the beautiful
spots of the city. They began to destroy the baths, the
city gates, the palaces and the skyscraper houses, the high
walls around the city and the beautiful spots where the people
would gather for recreation. While the soldiers were
attacking on the surface, the airplane began to drop big slabs
of stone, tree trunks, thunderbolts, poisonous snakes and many
other dangerous things. Salva also managed to create such a
strong whirlwind within the city that all of Dvaraka became
dark because of the dust that covered the sky. The airplane
occupied by Salva put the entire city of Dvaraka into distress
equal to that caused on the earth long, long ago by the
disturbing activities of Tripurasura. The inhabitants of
Dvaraka Puri became so harassed that they were not in a
peaceful condition for even a moment.
The great heroes of Dvaraka City, headed by commanders such as
Pradyumna, counterattacked the soldiers and the airplane of
Salva. When he saw the extreme distress of the citizens,
Pradyumna immediately arranged his soldiers and personally got
upon a chariot, encouraging the citizens by assuring safety.
Following his command, many warriors like Satyaki, Carudesna
and Samba, all young brothers of Pradyumna, as well as Akrura,
Krtavarma, Bhanuvinda, Gada, Suka and Sarana -- all came out of
the city to fight with Salva. All of them were great
fighters; each one could fight with thousands of men. All
were fully equipped with necessary weapons and assisted by
hundreds and thousands of charioteers, elephants, horses and
infantry soldiers. Fierce fighting began between the two
parties, exactly as was formerly carried on between the
demigods and the demons. The fighting was very severe, and
whoever observed the fierce nature of the fight felt his
hairs stand on end.
Pradyumna immediately counteracted the mystic demonstration
occasioned by the airplane of Salva, the King of Saubha. By the
mystic power of the airplane, Salva had created a darkness as
dense as night, but Pradyumna all of a sudden appeared like the
rising sun. As with the rising of the sun the darkness of night
is immediately dissipated, so with the appearance of Pradyumna
the power exhibited by Salva became null and void. Each and
every one of Pradyumna's arrows had a golden feather at the end,
and the shaft was fitted with a sharp iron edge. By releasing
twenty-five such arrows, Pradyumna severely injured Salva's
commander-in-chief. He then released another one hundred arrows
toward the body of Salva. After this, he pierced each and every
soldier by releasing one arrow, and he killed the chariot
drivers by firing ten arrows at each one of them. The
carriers like the horses and elephants were killed
by the release of three arrows directed toward each one
of them. When everyone present on the battlefield saw this
wonderful feat of Pradyumna, the great fighters on both the
sides began to praise his acts of chivalry.
But still the airplane occupied by Salva was very mysterious.
It was so extraordinary that sometimes there would
appear to be many airplanes in the sky, and sometimes it would
seem that there was none. Sometimes it was
visible, and sometimes it was not visible, and the warriors of
the Yadu dynasty became puzzled about the whereabouts of the
peculiar airplane. Sometimes they would see the airplane on the
ground, and sometimes they would see it flying in the sky.
Sometimes they would see the airplane resting on the peak of a
hill, and sometimes it was seen floating on the water. The
wonderful airplane was flying in the sky like a firefly in
the wind -- it was not steady even for a moment. But
despite the mysterious maneuvering of the airplane, the
commanders and the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty would
immediately rush toward Salva wherever he was present with his
airplane and soldiers. The arrows released by the dynasty of
the Yadus were as brilliant as the sun and as dangerous as the
tongues of serpents. All the soldiers fighting on behalf of
Salva became soon distressed by the incessant release of
arrows upon them by the heroes of the Yadu dynasty, and Salva
himself became unconscious from the attack of these arrows.
The soldiers and the fighters fighting on behalf of Salva were
also very strong, and the release of their arrows also harassed
the heroes of the Yadu dynasty. But still the Yadus were so
strong and determined that they did not move from their
strategic positions. The heroes of the Yadu dynasty were
determined to either die in the battlefield or gain
victory. They were confident of the fact that if they died in
the fighting they would attain a heavenly planet, and if they
were to came out victorious they would enjoy the world. The
name of Salva's commander-in-chief was Dyuman. He was very
powerful, and although bitten by twenty-five of Pradyumna's
arrows, he suddenly attacked Pradyumna with his fierce club and
struck him so strongly that Pradyumna became unconscious.
Immediately there was a roaring, "Now he is dead! Now he is
dead!" The force of the club on the chest of Pradyumna
was very severe, enough to tear asunder the chest
of an ordinary man.
Pradyumna's chariot was being driven by the son of Daruka.
According to Vedic military principles, the chariot driver and
the hero on the chariot have to cooperate during the fighting.
As such, it was the duty of the chariot driver to take
care of the hero on the chariot during the dangerous and
precarious fighting on the battlefield. Thus Daruka removed the
body of Pradyumna from the battlefield. Two hours later,
in a quiet place, Pradyumna regained his consciousness, and
when he saw that he was in a place other than the battlefield
he addressed the charioteer and condemned him:
"Oh, you have done the most abominable act! Why have you
moved me from the battlefield? My dear charioteer, I have
never heard that anyone in our family was ever removed
from the battlefield. None of them left the battlefield while
fighting. By this removal you have overburdened me with a great
defamation. It will be said that I left the battlefield while
fighting was going on. My dear charioteer, I must accuse you --
you are a coward and emasculator! Tell me, how can I go before
my uncle Balarama and before my father Krsna, and what shall I
say before Them? Everyone will talk about me and say that I
fled from the fighting place, and if they inquire from me about
this, what will be my reply? My sisters-in-law will play jokes
upon me with sarcastic words: 'My dear hero, how have you
become such a coward? How have you become such a eunuch? How
have you become so low in the eyes of the fighters who opposed
you?' I think, my dear charioteer, that you have committed a
great offense by removing me from the battlefield."
The charioteer of Pradyumna replied, "My dear sir, I wish a
long life for you. I think I did not do anything wrong,
as it is the duty of the charioteer to help the fighter in
the chariot when he is in a precarious condition. My dear sir,
you are completely competent in the battlefield activities. It
is the mutual duty of the charioteer and the warrior to
give protecion to each other in a precarious condition. I
was completely aware of the regulative principles of fighting,
and I did my duty. The enemy all of a sudden struck you with
his club so severely that you lost consciousness. You were in a
dangerous position, surrounded by your enemies. Therefore I was
obliged to act as I did."
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
Twenty-first Chapter, of Krsna, "The Battle Between Salva and
Members of the Yadu Dynasty."
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KB 76: The Battle Between Salva and Members of the Yadu
Dynasty
CHAPTER SEVENTY–SIX
The Battle Between Salva and Members of the Yadu Dynasty
While Sukadeva Gosvami was narrating various activities of Lord
Krsna in playing the role of an ordinary human being, he also
narrated the history of the battle between the dynasty of Yadu
and a demon of the name Salva, who had managed to possess a
wonderful airship named Saubha. King Salva was a great friend
of Sisupala's. When Sisupala went to marry Rukmini, Salva was
one of the members of the bridegroom's party. In the
fight between the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty and the kings of
the opposite side, Salva was defeated by the soldiers of the
Yadu dynasty. But, despite his defeat, he made a promise before
all the kings that he would in the future rid the whole world
of all the members of the Yadu dynasty. Since his defeat in the
fight during the marriage of Rukmini, he had maintained within
himself an unforgettable envy of Lord Krsna, and he was, in
fact, a fool, because he had promised to kill Krsna.
Usually such foolish demons take shelter of a demigod like Lord
Siva to execute their ulterior plans, and so in order to
get strength, Salva took refuge at the lotus feet of Lord Siva.
He underwent a severe type of austerity during which he would
eat no more than a handful of ashes daily. Lord Siva, the
husband of Parvati, is generally very merciful, and he is
very quickly satisfied if someone undertakes severe austerities
to please him. So after continued austerities by Salva
for one year, Lord Siva became pleased with him and asked him
to beg for the fulfillment of his desire.
Salva begged from Lord Siva the gift of an airplane which would
be so strong that it could not be destroyed by any demigod,
demon, human being, Gandharva or Naga, or even any Raksasa.
Moreover, he desired that the airplane be able to fly anywhere
and everywhere he would like to pilot it, and be specifically
very dangerous and fearful to the dynasty of the Yadus. Lord
Siva immediately agreed to give him the benediction, and Salva
took the help of the demon Maya to manufacture this iron
airplane, which was so strong and formidable that no one could
crash it. It was a very big machine, almost like a big city,
and it could fly so high and at such a great speed that it was
almost impossible to see; so there was no
question of attacking it. It appeared to be almost
covered with darkness, yet the pilot could fly it anywhere
and everywhere. Having acquired such a wonderful airplane,
Salva flew it to the city of Dvaraka, because his main purpose
in obtaining the airplane was to attack the city of the Yadus,
toward whom he maintained a constant feeling of animosity.
Salva thus attacked the city of Dvaraka from the sky,
and he also surrounded the city by a large number of infantry.
The soldiers on the surface attacked the beautiful
spots of the city. They began to destroy the nice parks, the
city gates, the palaces and skyscraper houses, the high
walls around the city, and the beautiful spots where people
would gather for recreation. While the soldiers attacked
on the surface, the airplane began to drop big slabs
of stone, tree trunks, thunderbolts, poisonous snakes and many
other dangerous things. Salva also managed to create such a
strong whirlwind within the city that all of Dvaraka became
dark because of the dust that covered the sky. The airplane
occupied by Salva put the entire city of Dvaraka into distress
equal to that caused on the earth long, long ago by the
disturbing activities of Tripurasura. The inhabitants of
Dvaraka Puri became so harassed that they were not
peaceful for even a moment.
The great heroes of Dvaraka City, headed by commanders such as
Pradyumna, counterattacked the soldiers and airplane of
Salva. When he saw the extreme distress of the citizens,
Pradyumna immediately arranged his soldiers and personally got
up on a chariot, encouraging the citizens by assuring safety.
Following his command, many warriors like Satyaki, Carudesna
and Samba, all young brothers of Pradyumna, as well as Akrura,
Krtavarma, Bhanuvinda, Gada, Suka and Sarana, all came out of
the city to fight with Salva. All of them were maha-rathis,
great warriors able to fight with thousands of men. All
were fully equipped with necessary weapons and assisted by
hundreds and thousands of charioteers, elephants, horses and
infantry soldiers. Fierce fighting began between the two
parties, exactly like that formerly carried on between the
demigods and the demons. The fighting was severe, and
whoever observed the fierce nature of the fight felt his bodily
hairs stand on end.
Pradyumna immediately counteracted the mystic demonstration
occasioned by the airplane of Salva, the King of Saubha. By the
mystic power of the airplane, Salva had created a darkness as
dense as night, but Pradyumna all of a sudden appeared like the
rising sun. As with the rising of the sun the darkness of night
is immediately dissipated, with the appearance of Pradyumna
the power exhibited by Salva became null and void. Each
of Pradyumna's arrows had a golden feather at the end,
and the shaft was fitted with a sharp iron head. By releasing
twenty-five such arrows, Pradyumna severely injured Salva's
commander in chief. He then released another one hundred arrows
toward the body of Salva. After this, he pierced each and every
soldier by releasing one arrow, he killed the chariot
drivers by firing ten arrows at each one of them, and he
killed the carriers like the horses and elephants
by releasing three arrows directed toward each one
. When everyone present on the battlefield saw this
wonderful feat of Pradyumna's, the great fighters on both
sides praised his acts of chivalry.
But still the airplane occupied by Salva was very mysterious.
It was so extraordinary that sometimes many airplanes would
appear to be in the sky, and sometimes
there were apparently none. Sometimes the plane was
visible and sometimes not visible, and the warriors of
the Yadu dynasty were puzzled about the whereabouts of the
peculiar airplane. Sometimes they would see the airplane on the
ground, sometimes flying in the sky,
sometimes resting on the peak of a
hill, and sometimes floating on the water. The
wonderful airplane flew in the sky like a whirling
firebrand -- it was not steady even for a moment. But
despite the mysterious maneuvering of the airplane, the
commanders and soldiers of the Yadu dynasty would
immediately rush toward Salva wherever he was present with his
airplane and soldiers. The arrows released by the dynasty of
the Yadus were as brilliant as the sun and as dangerous as the
tongues of serpents. All the soldiers fighting on behalf of
Salva soon became distressed by the incessant release of
arrows upon them by the heroes of the Yadu dynasty, and Salva
himself became unconscious from the attack of these arrows.
The soldiers fighting on behalf of Salva were
also very strong, and the release of their arrows also harassed
the heroes of the Yadu dynasty. But still the Yadus were so
strong and determined that they did not move from their
strategic positions. The heroes of the Yadu dynasty were
determined either to die on the battlefield or to gain
victory. They were confident that if they died in
the fighting they would attain a heavenly planet and if they
came out victorious they would enjoy the world. The
name of Salva's commander in chief was Dyuman. He was very
powerful, and although bitten by twenty-five of Pradyumna's
arrows, he suddenly attacked Pradyumna with his fierce club and
struck him so strongly that Pradyumna became unconscious.
Immediately there was a roaring, "Now he is dead! Now he is
dead!" The force of the club on Pradyumna's chest
was very severe, and it appeared as though his chest
had been torn asunder.
Pradyumna's chariot was being driven by the son of Daruka.
According to Vedic military principles, the chariot driver and
the hero on the chariot must cooperate during the fighting.
As such, because it was the duty of the chariot driver to take
care of the hero on the chariot during the dangerous and
precarious fighting, Daruka's son
removed Pradyumna from the battlefield. Two hours later,
in a quiet place, Pradyumna regained consciousness, and
when he saw that he was in a place other than the battlefield,
he addressed the charioteer and condemned him.
"Oh, you have done the most abominable act! Why have you
removed me from the battlefield? My dear charioteer, I have
never heard that any of our family members was ever removed
from the battlefield. None of them left the battlefield while
fighting. By this removal you have overburdened me with a great
defamation. It will be said that I left the battlefield while
fighting was going on. My dear charioteer, I must accuse you --
you are a coward and emasculator! Tell me, how can I go before
my uncle Balarama and my father, Krsna, and what shall I
say before Them? Everyone will talk about me and say that I
fled from the fighting place, and if they inquire from me about
this, what will be my reply? My sisters-in-law will play jokes
upon me with sarcastic words: ‘My dear hero, how have you
become such a coward? How have you become a eunuch? How
have you become so low in the eyes of the fighters who opposed
you?' I think, my dear charioteer, that you have committed a
great offense by removing me from the battlefield."
The charioteer of Pradyumna replied, "My dear sir, I wish a
long life for you. I think that I did nothing wrong,
for it is the duty of the charioteer to help the fighter in
the chariot when he is in a precarious condition. My dear sir,
you are completely competent in the battlefield. But
it is the duty of the charioteer and the warrior to
protect each other in a precarious condition. I
was completely aware of the regulative principles of fighting,
and I did my duty. The enemy all of a sudden struck you with
his club so severely that you lost consciousness. You were in a
dangerous position, surrounded by your enemies. Therefore I was
obliged to act as I did."
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Seventy
-sixth Chapter of Krsna, "The Battle Between Salva and
Members of the Yadu Dynasty."
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