Chapter 16...SUBDUING KALIYA. When He understood that the water of the Yamuna was being polluted by the black serpent Kaliya, Lord Krsna took action against him and made him leave the Yamuna and go elsewhere, and thus the water became purified. When this story was being narrated by Sukadeva Gosvami, Maharaja Pariksit became eager to hear more about Krsnas childhood pastimes. He inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami how Krsna chastised Kaliya, who was living in the water for many years. Actually, Maharaja Pariksit was becoming more and more enthusiastic to hear the transcendental pastimes of Krsna, and his inquiry was made with great interest. Sukadeva Gosvami narrated the story as follows. Within the river Yamuna there was a great lake, and in that lake the black serpent Kaliya used to live. Because of his poison, the whole area was so contaminated that it emanated a poisonous vapor twenty-four hours a day. If a bird happened to even pass over the spot, he would immediately fall down in the water and die. Due to the poisonous effect of the Yamunas vapors, the trees and grass near the bank of the Yamuna had all dried up. Lord Krsna saw the effect of the great serpents poison: the whole river that ran before Vrndavana was now deadly. Krsna, who advented Himself just to kill all undesirable elements in the world, immediately climbed up in a big kadamba tree on the bank of the Yamuna. The kadamba is a round yellow flower, generally seen only in the Vrndavana area. After climbing to the top of the tree, He tightened His belt cloth and, flapping His arms just like a wrestler, jumped in the midst of the poisonous lake. The kadamba tree from which Krsna had jumped was the only tree there which was not dead. Some commentators say that due to touching the lotus feet of Krsna, the tree became immediately alive. In some other Puranas it is stated that Garuda, the eternal carrier of Visnu, knew that Krsna would take this action in the future, so he put some nectar on this tree to preserve it. When Lord Krsna jumped into the water, the river overflooded its banks, as if something very large had fallen into it. This exhibition of Krsnas strength is not at all uncommon because He is the reservoir of all strength. When Krsna was swimming about, just like a great strong elephant, He made a tumultuous sound which the great black serpent Kaliya could hear. The tumult was intolerable for him, and he could understand that this was an attempt to attack his home. Therefore he immediately came before Krsna. Kaliya saw that Krsna was indeed worth seeing because His body was so beautiful and delicate; its color resembled that of a cloud, and His legs resembled a lotus flower. He was decorated with Srivatsa, jewels and yellow garments. He was smiling with a beautiful face and was playing in the river Yamuna with great strength. But in spite of Krsnas beautiful features, Kaliya felt great anger within his heart, and thus he grabbed Krsna with his mighty coils. Seeing the incredible way in which Krsna was enveloped in the coils of the serpent, the affectionate cowherd boys and inhabitants of Vrndavana immediately became stunned out of fear. They had dedicated everything to Krsna, their lives, property, affection, activities--everything was for Krsna--and when they saw Him in that condition, they became overwhelmed with fear and fell down on the ground. All the cows, bulls and small calves became overwhelmed with grief, and they began to look at Him with great anxiety. Out of fear they could only cry in agony and stand erect on the bank, unable to help their beloved Krsna. While this scene was taking place on the bank of the Yamuna, there were ill omens manifest. The earth trembled, meteors fell from the sky, and the bodies of men shivered. All these are indications of great immediate danger. Observing the inauspicious signs, the cowherd men, including Maharaja Nanda, became very anxious out of fear. At the same time they were informed that Krsna had gone to the pasturing ground without His elder brother, Balarama. As soon as Nanda and Yasoda and the cowherd men heard this news, they became even more anxious. Out of their great affection for Krsna, unaware of the extent of Krsnas potencies, they became overwhelmed with grief and anxiety because they had nothing dearer than Krsna and because they dedicated their everything--life, property, affection, mind and activities--to Krsna. Because of their great attachment for Krsna, they thought, Today Krsna is surely going to be vanquished! All the inhabitants of Vrndavana came out of the village to see Krsna. The assembly consisted of children, young and old men, women, animals and all living entities; they knew that Krsna was their only means of sustenance. While this was happening, Balarama, who is the master of all knowledge, stood there simply smiling. He knew how powerful His younger brother Krsna was and that there was no cause for anxiety when Krsna was fighting with an ordinary serpent of the material world. He did not, therefore, personally take any part in their concern. On the other hand, all the inhabitants of Vrndavana, being disturbed, began to search out Krsna by following the impression of His footprints on the ground, and thus they moved towards the bank of the Yamuna. Finally, by following the footprints marked with flag, bow and conchshell, the inhabitants of Vrndavana arrived at the river bank and saw that all the cows and boys were weeping to behold Krsna enwrapped in the coils of the black serpent. Then they became still more overwhelmed with grief. While Balarama was smiling to see their lamentation, all the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi merged into the ocean of grief because they thought that Krsna was finished. Although the residents of Vrndavana did not know much about Krsna, their love for Him was beyond comparison. As soon as they saw that Krsna was in the river Yamuna enveloped by the serpent Kaliya and that all the boys and cows were lamenting, they simply began to think of Krsnas friendship, His smiling face, His sweet words and His dealings with them. Thinking of all these and believing that their Krsna was now within the clutches of Kaliya, they at once felt that the three worlds had become vacant. Lord Caitanya also said that He was seeing the three worlds as vacant for want of Krsna. This is the highest stage of Krsna consciousness. Almost all of the inhabitants of Vrndavana had the highest ecstasy, love for Krsna.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 18:37:55 +0000