॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Sunday, 25 September 2022 - The third chapter of the third Skandha- Uddhava continues to narrate the life of Sri Krishna.
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After he vanquished Kamsa and installed Ugrasena on the throne, releasing his parents Devaki and Vasudeva from prison, Sri Krishna went to the gurukula.
सान्दीपनेः सकृत्प्रोक्तं ब्रह्माधीत्य सविस्तरम्। तस्मै प्रादाद्वरं पुत्रं मृतं पञ्चजनोदरात्॥
T: Sage Sandipani taught Sri Krishna (and Balarama) the entire Vedas that Sri Krishna mastered by listening just once. Thereafter, he brought back the Guru’s son from the dead by extracting him from inside the demon Panchajana undersea. Thus he removed the Guru’s and Gurumata’s sorrow.
Sri Krishna married Princess Rukmini, daughter of King Bhishmaka, in the Gandharva ceremony (by mutual love and not arrangement), after defeating Shishupala and others who wanted to force her into marrying Shishupala.
Sri Krishna won the hand of Princess Satyabhama by taming seven wild bulls in a contest. He also brought the Parijata tree from heaven to please her.
Sri Krishna killed Narakasura, son of Mother Earth, a demon who had subjugated all kings and abducted thousands of helpless princesses. After their release, on their submission, he married all those princesses. Using his Maya shakti, Sri Krishna cohabited with each one by creating the same number of Sri Krishnas. Each bride had her own palace and begot ten sons from Sri Krishna.
Thereafter, Sri Krishna had to vanquish a large number of evil kings who attacked and beleaguered Mathura. He made his warriors kill them to show his powers of delegation, too. Similarly, he supervised the Kurukshetra battle for restoring Dharma.
Sri Krishna realized that the Yadu clan was the new threat to peace in the world as they were swollen with power and unbridled in their acts. He willed that the Yadu dynasty should be ended by internal strife after he would give up his physical form soon.
Establishing Yudhishthira on the throne in Hastinapura, Sri Krishna made him perform three Ashwamedha yajnas well. Yudhishthira ruled the whole world as a good king.
Sri Krishna also saved the unborn child of Uttara, the bride of Abhimanyu, from the Brahmastra of Ashwatthama.
भगवान् अपि विश्वात्मा लोकवेदपथानुगः। कामान्निषेवे द्वार्वत्यामसक्तः साङ्ख्यमास्थितः॥
स्निग्धस्मितावलोकेन वाचा पीयूषकल्पया। चरित्रेणानवद्येन श्रीनिकेतेन चात्मना॥
T: The Lord then stayed in Dwaraka, observing all societal norms and accepted behaviour for enjoying a householder’s life, but subduing his desires following the Sankhya philosophy and practising total detachment.
Sri Krishna was sweet, ever smiling, and kind to all. His voice was nectarine, his behaviour was totally blemishless, and he was the embodiment of beauty. He continued to give great joy to the Yadus and everyone else in this world.
After many years of living in this way, the Lord lost interest in his householder’s life. After all, all worldly enjoyment and all material attractions are ever under the control of the Supreme Being, ishwara.
Seeing someone as powerful, successful and prosperous as Sri Krishna in Dwaraka losing interest in material pleasures, a true devotee will learn a powerful lesson.
Once some Yadavas misbehaved with a sage and earned his terrible curse that they would soon destroy one another in a senseless battle. This curse was pronounced by the sage knowing the intention of the Lord.
A short time later, the Yadavas departed from Dwaraka after making many generous gifts to sages and Brahmins. They took all their belongings on a journey and went to Prabhasa.
This was also willed by Sri Krishna and only his true devotees stayed back with him.
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
