॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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श्रीशुक उवाच
स उपस्पृश्य सलिलं दंशितो धृतकार्मुक: । नय मां द्युमत: पार्श्वं वीरस्येत्याह सारथिम् ॥
T: Sage Shuka answered the doubt anyone would have had after listening to the story of Shalva’s attack on Dwaraka. Wehere were Balarama and Sri Krishna? Indeed, Sri Krishna and Balarama were still in Indraprastha as the guests of the Pandavas. But Sri Krishna saw evil omens and guessed that some enemies would have taken advantage of the brother’s absence and attacked Dwaraka. So he hurriedly took leave of all the dear Pandavas and rushed with Balarama to Dwaraka.
Meanwhile, Pradyumna purified himself with holy water and came back to the battlefield with renewed energy and a great set of weapons. He countered Shalva’s military chief Dyuman with weapons that nullified everyone of his attacks. Then with four of his arrows, he struck Dyuman’s four horses, with one arrow, his charioteer, with two more arrows, his bow and chariot flag, and with the last arrow, Dyuman’s head. Gada, Satyaki, Samba and others began killing Shalva’s army, and thus all the soldiers inside the Saubha airship began falling into the ocean, their necks severed.
After Sri Krishna arrived at Dwaraka, he saw how his people were threatened with destruction, and also Shalva in his magical airship Saubha wreaking havoc. Sri Krishna asked Balarama to defend the city and its people and told his own charioteer to take him to the battlefield. He also cautioned Daruka not to give in to Shalva’s magic tricks. As Sri Krishna’s chariot entered the battlefield, everyone there, both friend and foe, caught sight of the emblem of Garuda.
Shalva right away launched a terrific spear at Daruka, intent on killing Sri Krishna’s charioteer. The hurtling spear lit up the whole sky like a mighty meteor and hissed loudly, but Shauri, meaning the Valiant One, a name of Sri Krishna, tore the great weapon into hundreds of pieces with his arrows.
तं च षोडशभिर्विद्ध्वा बाणै: सौभं च खे भ्रमत् । अविध्यच्छरसन्दोहै: खं सूर्य इव रश्मिभि: ॥
T: Sri Krishna then pierced Shalva with sixteen arrows and struck the Saubha airship with a deluge of arrows as it darted about the sky. Firing his arrows, Bhagavan appeared like the sun flooding the heavens with its rays. Shalva then managed to strike Sri Krishna’s left arm, which held his bow Sharnga, and, amazingly, the Sharnga fell from his hand.
No one expected this, and all cried out in dismay. Then the master of Saubha roared loudly and addressed Janardana, another epithet which means protector of the people..
Shalva said:
त्त्वया मूढ न: सख्युर्भ्रातुर्भार्या हृतेक्षताम् ।
प्रमत्त: स सभामध्ये त्वया व्यापादित: सखा ॥
तं त्वाद्य निशितैर्बाणैरपराजितमानिनम् ।
नयाम्यपुनरावृत्तिं यदि तिष्ठेर्ममाग्रत: ॥
T: “You fool! I wish to teach you a lesson. In our presence, you kidnapped the bride of our friend Shishupala, your cousin, and later murdered him in the sacred assembly of Rajasuya Yajna in a moment when he was distracted! Today, with my sharp arrows, I will send you to the land of no return! Though you think of yourself as invincible, I will kill you just now as you dare stand before me ( unless you run away!)
श्रीभगवानुवाच
वृथा त्वं कत्थसे मन्द न पश्यस्यन्तिकेऽन्तकम् ।
पौरुषं दर्शयन्ति स्म शूरा न बहुभाषिण: ॥
T: The Supreme Lord replied: “You are in fact the dullard, Shalva, as you boast in vain, since you fail to see Death standing near you! Real heroes do not talk much but rather show their prowess in action.”
इत्युक्त्वा भगवाञ्छाल्वं गदया भीमवेगया ।
तताड जत्रौ संरब्ध: स चकम्पे वमन्नसृक् ॥
T: Having said this, the furious Sri Krishna swung his Gada with frightening power and speed and hit Shalva on the collarbone, making him tremble and vomit blood.
गदायां सन्निवृत्तायां शाल्वस्त्वन्तरधीयत ।
ततो मुहूर्त आगत्य पुरुष: शिरसाच्युतम् ।
देवक्या प्रहितोऽस्मीति नत्वा प्राह वचो रुदन् ॥
T: But with his magical power, Shalva now disappeared from sight, and a moment later a man appeared near Sri Krishna with the poignant message from Devaki that Vasudeva, her husband and his father, had been captured by Shalva and was bound hand and foot! Sri Krishna was momentarily fooled, wondering how Balarama had failed to defend Dwaraka. Just then Shalva came, with Vasudeva bound hand and foot, and decapitated him! He then rose up to his Saubha vehicle, with Vasudeva’s head in hand.
ततो मुहूर्तं प्रकृतावुपप्लुत: स्वबोध आस्ते स्वजनानुषङ्गत: ।
महानुभावस्तदबुध्यदासुरीं मायां स शाल्वप्रसृतां मयोदिताम् ॥
T: By nature, Sri Krishna is complete in knowledge, and he possesses unlimited powers of perception. Yet for a moment, out of great affection for his loved ones, here he was, absorbed in the poignant mood of an ordinary human being. He soon recalled, however, that this was all a demoniac illusion engineered by Maya Asura on order and now deployed by Shalva.
न तत्र दूतं न पितु: कलेवरं प्रबुद्ध आजौ समपश्यदच्युत: ।
स्वाप्नं यथा चाम्बरचारिणं रिपुं सौभस्थमालोक्य निहन्तुमुद्यत: ॥
T: Now alert to the actual situation, Achyuta Sri Krishna saw before him on the battlefield neither the messenger nor his father’s body as the magic was broken. It was as if he had awakened from a dream. Seeing his enemy flying above, in his Saubha plane, the Lord then prepared to kill him.
एवं वदन्ति राजर्षे ऋषय: के च नान्विता: ।
यत् स्ववाचो विरुध्येत नूनं ते न स्मरन्त्युत ॥
क्व शोकमोहौ स्नेहो वा भयं वा येऽज्ञसम्भवा: ।
क्व चाखण्डितविज्ञानज्ञानैश्वर्यस्त्वखण्डित: ॥
T: Sage Shuka now adds something significant. “Such is the account given by some sages, Oh wise King, but those who speak in this illogical way are contradicting themselves, having forgotten their own previous statements. How can lamentation, bewilderment, material affection or fear, all born out of ignorance, be ascribed to the infinite Supreme Ishwara, whose perception, knowledge and power are all similarly infinite?”
“Even his devotees finally get rid of all delusion and are fully liberated. How then can Bhagavan himself be deluded on the battlefield?”
Shuka continues.
तं शस्त्रपूगै: प्रहरन्तमोजसा शाल्वं शरै: शौरिरमोघविक्रम: ।
विद्ध्वाच्छिनद् वर्म धनु: शिरोमणिं सौभं च शत्रोर्गदया रुरोज ह ॥
T: While Shalva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at him with great force, Sri Krishna, whose prowess never fails, shot his arrows at Shalva, wounding him and shattering his armour, bow and crest jewel. Then with his Gada, the Lord smashed His enemy’s Saubha airship. Shattered into thousands of pieces by Sri Krishna’s Gada, the Saubha airship plummeted into the water. Shalva abandoned it, stationed himself on the ground, took up his club and rushed toward Achyuta.
As Shalva rushed at him, the Lord shot a bhalla dart and cut off his arm that held the club. Having finally decided to kill Shalva, Sri Krishna then raised his Sudarshana Chakra, which resembled the sun at the time of universal annihilation. The brilliantly shining Lord now appeared like the easternmost mountain bearing the rising sun.
The Sudarshana deployed by Sri Hari removed that great magician’s head with its earrings and crown, just as Purandara had used his thunderbolt to cut off Vṛittra’s head. Seeing this, all of Shalva’s followers cried out, “Alas, alas!”
तस्मिन् निपतिते पापे सौभे च गदया हते ।
नेदुर्दुन्दुभयो राजन् दिवि देवगणेरिता: ।
सखीनामपचितिं कुर्वन्दन्तवक्रो रुषाभ्यगात् ॥
With the sinful Shalva now dead and his Saubha airship destroyed, the heavens resounded with kettledrums played by groups of gods. Then Dantavakra, wanting to avenge the death of his friends, furiously attacked the Lord. That story is next.
PS: One of the names for Sri Maha Vishnu in the Sahasranama is रणप्रियः। Adi Shankara explains that Bhagavan delights in his Leelas wherein he encounters and destroys the wicked with his divine weapons!
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
