A pure devotee of Kåñëa, who raised me as a Kåñëa concious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play the mådanga. He gave me Rädhä-Kåñëa Vigraha to worship, and he gave me Jagannätha-Ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play. He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him the ideas later on solidified by my spiritual master, the eternal father.

Everybody is looking for Kåñëa.

Some don't realize that they are, but they are.

KÅÑËA is GOD, the source of all that exists, the Cause of all that is, was, or ever will be.

As GOD is unlimited, HE has many Names.

Allah-Buddha-Jehova-Rama: ALL are KÅÑËA, all are ONE.

God is not abstract; He has both the impersonal and the personal GOD is abstract ; He has both the impersonal and the personal aspects to His personality which is SUPREME, ETERNAL, BLISSFUL, and full of KNOWLEDGE. As a single drop of water has the same qualities as an ocean of water, so has our consciousness the qualities of GOD'S consciousness … but through our identification and attachment with material energy (physical body, sense pleasures, material possessions, ego, etc.) our true TRANSCENDENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS has been polluted, and like a dirty mirror it is unable to reflect a pure image.

With many lives our association with the TEMPORARY has grown. This impermanent body, a bag of bones and flesh, is mistaken for our true self, and we have accepted this temporay condition to be final.

Through all ages, great SAINTS have remained as living proof that this non-temporary, permanent state of GOD CONSCIOUSNESS can be revived in all living Souls. Each soul is potentially divine.

Kåñëa says in Bhagavad Gita: "Steady in the Self, being freed from all material contamination, the yogi achieves the highest perfectional stage of happiness in touch with the Supreme Consciousness." (VI, 28)

YOGA (a scientific method for GOD (SELF) realization) is the process by which we purify our consciousness, stop further pollution, and arrive at the state of Perfection, full KNOWLEDGE, full BLISS.

If there's a God, I want to see Him. It's pointless to believe in something without proof, and Kåñëa Consciousness and meditation are methods where you can actually obtain GOD perception. You can actually see God, and hear Him, play with Him. It might sound crazy, but He is actually  there, actually with you.

There are many yogic Paths-Raja, Jnana, Hatha, Kriya, Karma, Bhakti-which are all acclaimed by the MASTERS of each method.

SWAMI BHAKTIVEDANTA is as his title says, a BHAKTI Yogi following the path of DEVOTION. By serving GOD through each thought, word and DEED, and by chanting HIS Holy Names, the devotee quickly develops God-consciousness. By chanting

Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa
Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare
Hare Räma, Hare Räma
Räma Räma, Hare Hare

One inevitable arrives at KÅÑËA Consciousness. (The proof of the pudding is in the eating!)

I request that you take advantage of this book KÅÑËA, and enter into its understanding. I also request that you make an appointment to meet your God now, through the self liberating process of YOGA (UNION) and GIVE PEACE A CHANCE.

 

(hand written)

All you need is Love (Krishna)  Hari Bol.

George Harrison  31/3/70

 

Apple Corps Ltd 3 Savile Row London W1 Gerrard 2771/3993 Telex Apcore London

KB Preface

nivåtta-tarñair upagéyamänäd
bhavauñadhäc chrotra-mano-’bhirämät
ka uttamaçloka-guëänuvädät
pumän virajyeta vinä paçu-ghnät

(Çrémad-Bhägavatam 10.1.4)

In the Western countries, when someone sees the cover of a book like Kåñëa, he immediately asks, “Who is Kåñëa? Who is the girl with Kåñëa?” etc.

The immediate answer is that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How is that? Because He conforms in exact detail to descriptions of the Supreme Being, the Godhead. In other words, Kåñëa is the Godhead because He is all-attractive. Outside the principle of all-attraction, there is no meaning to the word Godhead. How is it one can be all-attractive? First of all, if one is very wealthy, if he has great riches, he becomes attractive to the people in general. Similarly, if someone is very powerful, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very famous, he also becomes attractive, and if someone is very beautiful or wise or unattached to all kinds of possessions, he also becomes attractive. So from practical experience we can observe that one is attractive due to (1) wealth, (2) power, (3) fame, (4) beauty, (5) wisdom and (6) renunciation. One who is in possession of all six of these opulences at the same time, who possesses them to an unlimited degree, is understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These opulences of the Godhead are delineated by Paräçara Muni, a great Vedic authority.

We have seen many rich persons, many powerful persons, many famous persons, many beautiful persons, many learned and scholarly persons, and persons in the renounced order of life unattached to material possessions. But we have never seen any one person who is unlimitedly and simultaneously wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise and unattached, like Kåñëa, in the history of humanity. Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a historical person who appeared on this earth 5,000 years ago. He stayed on this earth for 125 years and played exactly like a human being, but His activities were unparalleled. From the very moment of His appearance to the moment of His disappearance, every one of His activities is unparalleled in the history of the world, and therefore anyone who knows what we mean by Godhead will accept Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to the Godhead, and no one is greater than Him. That is the import of the familiar saying “God is great.”

There are various classes of men in the world who speak of God in different ways, but according to the Vedic literature and according to the great äcäryas, the authorized persons versed in the knowledge of God in all ages, like äcäryas Çaìkara, Rämänuja, Madhva, Viñëusvämé, Lord Caitanya and all their followers by disciplic succession, all unanimously agree that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As far as we, the followers of Vedic civilization, are concerned, we accept the Vedic history of the whole universe, which consists of different planetary systems called Svargalokas, or the higher planetary system, Martyalokas, or the intermediary planetary system, and Pätälalokas, or the lower planetary system. The modern historians of this earth cannot supply historical evidences of events that occurred before 5,000 years ago, and the anthropologists say that 40,000 years ago Homo sapiens had not appeared on this planet because evolution had not reached that point. But the Vedic histories, the Puräëas and Mahäbhärata, relate human histories which extend millions and billions of years into the past.

For example, from these scriptures we are given the histories of Kåñëa’s appearances and disappearances millions and billions of years ago. In the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä Kåñëa tells Arjuna that both He and Arjuna had had many births before and that He (Kåñëa) could remember all of them and that Arjuna could not. This illustrates the difference between the knowledge of Kåñëa and that of Arjuna. Arjuna might have been a very great warrior, a well-cultured member of the Kuru dynasty, but after all, he was an ordinary human being, whereas Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the possessor of unlimited knowledge. Because He possesses unlimited knowledge, Kåñëa has a memory that is boundless.

Kåñëa’s knowledge is so perfect that He remembers all the incidents of His appearances some millions and billions of years in the past, but Arjuna’s memory and knowledge are limited by time and space, for he is an ordinary human being. In the Fourth Chapter Kåñëa states that He can remember instructing the lessons of the Bhagavad-gétä some millions of years ago to the sun-god, Vivasvän.

Nowadays it is the fashion of the atheistic class of men to try to become God by following some mystic process. Generally the atheists claim to be God by dint of their imagination or their meditational prowess. Kåñëa is not that kind of God. He does not become God by manufacturing some mystic process of meditation, nor does He become God by undergoing the severe austerities of the mystic yogic exercises. Properly speaking, He never becomes God because He is the Godhead in all circumstances.

Within the prison of His maternal uncle Kaàsa, where His father and mother were confined, Kåñëa appeared outside His mother’s body as the four-handed Viñëu-Näräyaëa. Then He turned Himself into a baby and told His father to carry Him to the house of Nanda Mahäräja and his wife Yaçodä. When Kåñëa was just a small baby the gigantic demoness Pütanä attempted to kill Him, but when He sucked her breast He pulled out her life. That is the difference between the real Godhead and a God manufactured in the mystic factory. Kåñëa had no chance to practice the mystic yoga process, yet He manifested Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead at every step, from infancy to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, and from boyhood to young manhood. In this book, Kåñëa, all of His activities as a human being are described. Although Kåñëa plays like a human being, He always maintains His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Since Kåñëa is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires should be focused on Kåñëa. In the Bhagavad-gétä it is said that the individual person is the proprietor or master of his own body but that Kåñëa, who is the Supersoul present in everyone’s heart, is the supreme proprietor and supreme master of each and every individual body. As such, if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Kåñëa only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized. When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body.

The art of focusing one’s attention on the Supreme and giving one’s love to Him is called Kåñëa consciousness. We have inaugurated the Kåñëa consciousness movement so that everyone can satisfy his propensity for loving others simply by directing his love towards Kåñëa. The whole world is very anxious to satisfy the dormant propensity of love for others, but the various invented methods like socialism, communism, altruism, humanitarianism and nationalism, along with whatever else may be manufactured for the peace and prosperity of the world, are all useless and frustrating because of our gross ignorance of the art of loving Kåñëa. Generally people think that by advancing the cause of moral principles and religious rites they will be happy. Others may think that happiness can be achieved by economic development, and yet others think that simply by sense gratification they will be happy. But the real fact is that people can be happy only by loving Kåñëa.

Kåñëa can perfectly reciprocate one’s loving propensities in different relationships called mellows, or rasas. Basically there are twelve loving relationships. One can love Kåñëa as the supreme unknown, as the supreme master, the supreme friend, the supreme child, the supreme lover. These are the five basic love rasas. One can also love Kåñëa indirectly in seven different relationships, which are apparently different from the five primary relationships. All in all, however, if one simply reposes his dormant loving propensity in Kåñëa, then his life becomes successful. This is not a fiction but is a fact that can be realized by practical application. One can directly perceive the effects that love for Kåñëa has on his life.

In the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä this science of Kåñëa consciousness is called the king of all knowledge, the king of all confidential things, and the supreme science of transcendental realization. Yet we can directly experience the results of this science of Kåñëa consciousness because it is very easy to practice and is very pleasurable. Whatever percentage of Kåñëa consciousness we can perform will become an eternal asset to our life, for it is imperishable in all circumstances. It has now been actually proved that today’s confused and frustrated younger generation in the Western countries can directly perceive the results of channeling the loving propensity toward Kåñëa alone.

It is said that although one executes severe austerities, penances and sacrifices in his life, if he fails to awaken his dormant love for Kåñëa, then all his penances are to be considered useless. On the other hand, if one has awakened his dormant love for Kåñëa, then what is the use in executing austerities and penances unnecessarily?

The Kåñëa consciousness movement is the unique gift of Lord Caitanya to the fallen souls of this age. It is a very simple method which has actually been carried out during the last four years in the Western countries, and there is no doubt that this movement can satisfy the dormant loving propensities of humanity. This book, Kåñëa, is another presentation to help the Kåñëa consciousness movement in the Western world. This transcendental work of literature is published with profuse illustrations. People love to read various kinds of fiction to spend their time and energy. Now this tendency can be directed to Kåñëa. The result will be the imperishable satisfaction of the soul, both individually and collectively.

It is said in the Bhagavad-gétä that even a little effort expended on the path of Kåñëa consciousness can save one from the greatest danger. Hundreds of thousands of examples can be cited of people who have escaped the greatest dangers of life due to a slight advancement in Kåñëa consciousness. We therefore request everyone to take advantage of this great transcendental literary work. One will find that by reading one page after another, an immense treasure of knowledge in art, science, literature, philosophy and religion will be revealed, and ultimately, by reading this one book, Kåñëa, love of Godhead will fructify.

My grateful acknowledgement is due to Çrémän George Harrison, now chanting Hare Kåñëa, for his liberal contribution of $19,000 to meet the entire cost of printing this volume. May Kåñëa bestow upon this nice boy further advancement in Kåñëa consciousness.

And at last my ever-willing blessings are bestowed upon Çrémän Çyämasundara däsa Adhikäré, Çrémän Brahmänanda däsa Brahmacäré, Çrémän Hayagréva däsa Adhikäré, Çrémän Satsvarüpa däsa Adhikäré, Çrématé Devahüti-devé däsé, Çrématé Jaduräëé-devé däsé, Çrémän Muralédhara däsa Brahmacäré, Çrémän Bhäradväja däsa Adhikäré and Çrémän Pradyumna däsa Adhikäré, etc., for their hard labor in different ways to make this publication a great success.

Hare Kåñëa.

Advent Day of
Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté

February 26th, 1970
ISKCON Headquarters
3764 Watseka Avenue
Los Angeles, California

KB Introduction

kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! he
kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! he
kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! rakña mäm
kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! kåñëa! pähi mäm
räma! räghava! räma! räghava! räma! räghava! rakña mäm
kåñëa! keçava! kåñëa! keçava! kåñëa! keçava! pähi mäm

Caitanya-caritämåta (Madhya 7.96)

While attempting to write this book, Kåñëa, let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, Oà Viñëupäda 108 Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja Prabhupäda. Then let me offer my respectful obeisances to the ocean of mercy, Lord Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa Himself, appearing in the role of a devotee just to distribute the highest principles of devotional service. Lord Caitanya began His preaching from the country known as Gauòadeça (West Bengal). And as I belong to the Madhva-Gauòéya-sampradäya, I must therefore offer my respectful obeisances to the disciplic succession of that name. This Madhva-Gauòéya-sampradäya is also known as the Brahma-sampradäya because the disciplic succession originally began from Brahmä. Brahmä instructed the sage Närada, Närada instructed Vyäsadeva, and Vyäsadeva instructed Madhva Muni, or Madhväcärya. Çré Mädhavendra Puré, the originator of the Madhva-Gauòéya-sampradäya, was a sannyäsé (renunciant) who belonged to the Madhväcärya disciplic succession. He had many renowned disciples, such as Nityänanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Éçvara Puré. Éçvara Puré happened to be the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. So let us offer our respectful obeisances to Éçvara Puré, Nityänanda Prabhu, Çré Advaita Äcärya Prabhu, Çréväsa Paëòita and Çré Gadädhara Paëòita. Next, let us offer our respectful obeisances to Svarüpa Dämodara, who acted as the private secretary to Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu; and let us offer our respectful obeisances to Çré Väsudeva Datta and the constant attendant of Lord Caitanya, Çré Govinda, and the constant friend of Lord Caitanya, Mukunda, and also to Muräri Gupta. And let us offer our respectful obeisances to the six Gosvämés of Våndävana—Çré Rüpa Gosvämé, Çré Sanätana Gosvämé, Çré Raghunätha Bhaööa Gosvämé, Çré Gopäla Bhaööa Gosvämé, Çré Jéva Gosvämé and Çré Raghunätha däsa Gosvämé.

Kåñëa Himself has explained in the Bhagavad-gétä that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that whenever there are discrepancies in the regulative principles of man’s religious life and a prominence of irreligious activities, He appears on this earthly planet. In other words, when Lord Çré Kåñëa appeared, there was a necessity of minimizing the load of sinful activities accumulated on this planet, or in this universe. For affairs of the material creation, Lord Mahä-Viñëu, the plenary portion of Kåñëa, is in charge.

When the Lord descends, the incarnation emanates from Viñëu. Mahä-Viñëu is the original cause of material creation, and from Him Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu expands, and then Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu. Generally, all the incarnations appearing within this material universe are plenary expansions from Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu. Therefore, the business of minimizing the overload of sinful activities on this earth does not belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa Himself. But when Kåñëa appears, all the Viñëu expansions also join with Him. Kåñëa’s different expansions—namely Näräyaëa, the quadruple expansion of Väsudeva, Saìkarñaëa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, as well as partial plenary expansions like Matsya, the incarnation of a fish, and the yuga-avatäras (incarnations for the millennium) and the manvantara-avatäras (incarnations who appear during the reigns of the Manus)—all combine together and appear with the body of Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kåñëa is the complete whole, and thus all plenary expansions and incarnations always live with Him.

Therefore when Kåñëa appeared, Lord Viñëu was also with Him. Kåñëa actually appears in order to demonstrate His Våndävana pastimes and in this way attract the fortunate conditioned souls and invite them back home, back to Godhead. The killing of the demons in Våndävana was carried out only by the Viñëu portion of Kåñëa.

The Lord’s abode is described in the Bhagavad-gétä, Eighth Chapter, twentieth verse, where it is stated that there is another, eternal nature, the spiritual sky, which is transcendental to this manifested and nonmanifested matter. The manifested world can be seen in the form of many stars and planetary systems, such as the sun and moon, but beyond this there is a nonmanifested portion, which is not approachable by anyone in this body. And beyond that nonmanifested matter is the spiritual kingdom. That kingdom is described in the Bhagavad-gétä as supreme and eternal, never to be annihilated. This material nature is subjected to repeated creation and annihilation. But that part, the spiritual nature, remains as it is, eternally.

The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, is also described in the Brahma-saàhitä as the abode of cintämaëi. That abode of Lord Kåñëa, known as Goloka Våndävana, is full of palaces made of touchstone. There the trees are called desire trees, and the cows are called surabhi. The Lord is served there by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. His name is Govinda, the Primeval Lord, and He is the cause of all causes. There the Lord plays His flute, His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like that of a beautiful cloud. On His head is a peacock feather. He is so attractive that He excels thousands of Cupids. Lord Kåñëa gives only a little hint in the Gétä of His personal abode, which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. But in Çrémad-Bhägavatam Kåñëa actually appears with all His paraphernalia and demonstrates His activities in Våndävana, then at Mathurä, and then at Dvärakä. The subject matter of this book will gradually reveal all these activities.

The family in which Kåñëa appeared is called the Yadu dynasty. This Yadu dynasty belongs to the family descending from Soma, the god in the moon planet. There are two different kñatriya families of the royal order, one descending from the king of the moon planet and the other descending from the king of the sun planet. Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears, He generally appears in a kñatriya family because He has to establish religious principles or the life of righteousness. The kñatriya family is the protector of the human race, according to the Vedic system. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Rämacandra, He appeared in the family descending from the sun-god, known as Raghu-vaàça; and when He appeared as Lord Kåñëa, He did so in the family of Yadu-vaàça. There is a long list of the kings of the Yadu-vaàça in the Ninth Canto, Twenty-fourth Chapter, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam. All of them were great, powerful kings. Kåñëa’s father’s name was Vasudeva, son of Çürasena, descending from the Yadu dynasty. Actually, the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not belong to any dynasty of this material world, but the family in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears becomes famous, by His grace. For example, sandalwood is produced in the states of Malaya. Sandalwood has its own qualifications apart from Malaya, but because accidentally this wood is mainly produced in the states of Malaya, it is known as Malayan sandalwood. Similarly, Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, belongs to everyone, but just as the sun rises from the east, although there are other directions from which it could rise, so by His own choice the Lord appears in a particular family, and that family becomes famous.

As explained above, when Kåñëa appears, all His plenary expansions also appear with Him. Kåñëa appeared along with Balaräma (Baladeva), who is known as His elder brother. Balaräma is the origin of Saìkarñaëa, of the quadruple expansion. Balaräma is also the plenary expansion of Kåñëa. In this book, the attempt will be made to show how Kåñëa appeared in the family of the Yadu dynasty and how He displayed His transcendental characteristics. This is very vividly described in Çrémad-Bhägavatam—specifically, the Tenth Canto—and thus the basis of this book will be the Tenth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

The pastimes of the Lord are generally heard and relished by liberated souls. Those who are conditioned souls are interested in reading stories of the material activities of some common man. Although similar narrations describing the transcendental activities of the Lord are found in Çrémad-Bhägavatam and other Puräëas, the conditioned souls still prefer to study ordinary narrations. They are not so interested in studying the narrations of the pastimes of the Lord, Kåñëa. And yet the descriptions or the pastimes of Lord Kåñëa are so attractive that they are relishable for all classes of men. There are three classes of men in this world. One class consists of liberated souls, another consists of those who are trying to be liberated, and the third consists of materialistic men. Whether one is liberated or is trying to be liberated, or is even grossly materialistic, the pastimes of Lord Kåñëa are worth studying.

Liberated souls have no interest in materialistic activities. The impersonalist theory that after liberation one becomes inactive and needs to hear nothing does not prove that a liberated person is actually inactive. A living soul cannot be inactive. He is either active in the conditioned state or in the liberated state. A diseased person, for example, is also active, but his activities are all painful. The same person, when freed from the diseased condition, is still active, but in the healthy condition the activities are full of pleasure. Similarly, the impersonalists only seek to get free from the diseased, conditioned activities, but they have no information of activities in the healthy condition. Those who are actually liberated and in full knowledge take to hearing the activities of Kåñëa; such engagement is pure spiritual activity.

It is essential for persons who are actually liberated to hear about the pastimes of Kåñëa. That is the supreme relishable subject matter for one in the liberated state. Also, if persons who are trying to be liberated hear such narrations as the Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam, then their path of liberation becomes very clear. The Bhagavad-gétä is the preliminary study of Çrémad-Bhägavatam. By studying the Gétä, one becomes fully conscious of the position of Lord Kåñëa; and when he is situated at the lotus feet of Kåñëa, he understands the narrations of Kåñëa as described in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Lord Caitanya has therefore advised His followers that their business is to propagate kåñëa-kathä.

Kåñëa-kathä means narrations about Lord Kåñëa. There are two kåñëa-kathäs: narrations spoken by Kåñëa and narrations spoken about Kåñëa. The Bhagavad-gétä is the narration or the philosophy on the science of God, spoken by Kåñëa Himself. Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the narration about the activities and transcendental pastimes of Kåñëa. Both are kåñëa-kathä. It is the order of Lord Caitanya that kåñëa-kathä should be spread all over the world, because if the conditioned souls, suffering under the pangs of material existence, take to kåñëa-kathä, then their path of liberation will be open and clear. The purpose of presenting this book is primarily to induce people to understand Kåñëa or kåñëa-kathä, because thereby they can become freed from material bondage.

This kåñëa-kathä will also be very much appealing to the most materialistic persons because Kåñëa’s pastimes with the gopés (cowherd girls) are exactly like the loving affairs between young girls and boys within this material world. Actually, the sex feeling found in human society is not unnatural because this same sex feeling is there in the original Personality of Godhead. The pleasure potency is called Çrématé Rädhäräëé. The attraction of loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we, the conditioned souls, being part and parcel of the Supreme, have such feelings also, but they are experienced within a perverted, minute condition. Therefore, when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Kåñëa’s pastimes with the gopés, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears to be materialistic. The advantage will be that they will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform. In the Bhägavatam it is stated that if one hears the pastimes of Lord Kåñëa with the gopés, from authorities with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished. In other words, such hearing will counteract material sex life.

This book, Kåñëa, which is filled with kåñëa-kathä, will thus appeal equally to the liberated souls and to persons who are trying to be liberated, as well as to the gross, conditioned materialist. According to the statement of Mahäräja Parékñit, who heard about Kåñëa from Çukadeva Gosvämé, kåñëa-kathä is equally applicable to every human being, whatever condition of life he is in. Surely everyone will appreciate it to the highest magnitude. But Mahäräja Parékñit also warned that persons who are simply engaged in killing animals and in killing themselves may not be very much attracted to kåñëa-kathä. In other words, ordinary persons who are following the regulative moral principles of scriptures, no matter in what condition they are found, will certainly be attracted, but not persons who are killing themselves. The exact word used in Çrémad-Bhägavatam is paçu-ghna, which means killing animals or killing oneself. Persons who are not self-realized and who are not interested in spiritual realization are killing themselves; they are committing suicide. Because this human form of life is especially meant for self-realization, by neglecting this important part of his activities one simply wastes his time like the animals. So he is paçu-ghna. The other meaning of the word refers to those who are actually killing animals. This means persons who are animal-eaters (even dog-eaters), for they are all engaged in killing animals in so many ways, such as hunting and opening slaughterhouses. Such persons cannot be interested in kåñëa-kathä.

King Parékñit was especially interested in hearing kåñëa-kathä because he knew that his forefathers, particularly his grandfather, Arjuna, were victorious in the great Battle of Kurukñetra only because of Kåñëa. We may also take this material world as a Battlefield of Kurukñetra. Everyone is struggling hard for existence on this battlefield, and at every step there is danger. According to Mahäräja Parékñit, the Battlefield of Kurukñetra was just like a vast ocean full of dangerous animals. His grandfather Arjuna had to fight with such great heroes as Bhéñma, Droëa, Karëa and many others who were not ordinary fighters. Such warriors have been compared to the timiìgila fish in the ocean. The timiìgila fish can very easily swallow up big whales. The great fighters on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra could swallow many, many Arjunas very easily, but simply due to Kåñëa’s mercy, Arjuna was able to kill all of them. Just as one can cross with no exertion over the little bit of water contained in the hoofprint of a calf, so Arjuna, by the grace of Kåñëa, was able to very easily jump over the ocean of the Battle of Kurukñetra.

Mahäräja Parékñit very much appreciated Kåñëa’s activities for many other reasons. Not only was his grandfather saved by Kåñëa, but he himself also was saved by Kåñëa. By the end of the Battle of Kurukñetra, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, both the sons and grandsons on the side of Dhåtaräñöra and those on the side of the Päëòavas, had died in the fighting. Except the five Päëòava brothers, everyone died on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra. Mahäräja Parékñit was at that time within the womb of his mother. His father, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, also died on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra, and so Mahäräja Parékñit was a posthumous child. When he was in the womb of his mother, a brahmästra weapon was released by Açvatthämä to kill the child. When Parékñit Mahäräja’s mother, Uttarä, approached Kåñëa, Kåñëa, seeing the danger of abortion, entered her womb as the Supersoul and saved Mahäräja Parékñit. Mahäräja Parékñit’s other name is Viñëuräta because he was saved by Lord Viñëu Himself while still within the womb.

Thus everyone, in any condition of life, should be interested in hearing about Kåñëa and His activities because He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. He is all-pervading: inside He is living within everyone’s heart, and outside He is living as His universal form. And yet, as described in the Bhagavad-gétä, He appears as He is in the human society just to invite everyone to His transcendental abode, back home, back to Godhead. Everyone should be interested in knowing about Kåñëa, and this book is presented with this purpose: that people may know about Kåñëa and be perfectly benefited in this human form of life.

In the Ninth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Çré Baladeva is described as the son of Rohiëé, a wife of Vasudeva. Vasudeva, the father of Kåñëa, had sixteen wives, and one of them was Rohiëé, the mother of Baladeva. But Baladeva is also described as the son of Devaké, so how could He be the son of both Devaké and Rohiëé? This was one of the questions put by Mahäräja Parékñit to Çukadeva Gosvämé, and it will be answered in due course. Mahäräja Parékñit also asked Çukadeva Gosvämé why Çré Kåñëa, just after His appearance as the son of Vasudeva, was immediately carried to the house of Nanda Mahäräja in Våndävana, Gokula. He also wanted to know what the activities of Lord Kåñëa were while He was in Våndävana and while He was in Mathurä. Besides that, he was especially inquisitive to know why Kåñëa killed His maternal uncle, Kaàsa. Kaàsa, being the brother of His mother, was a very intimate superior to Kåñëa, so how was it that He killed Kaàsa? Also, Mahäräja Parékñit asked how many years Lord Kåñëa remained in human society, how many years He reigned over the kingdom of Dvärakä, and how many wives He accepted there. A kñatriya king is generally accustomed to accept more than one wife; therefore Mahäräja Parékñit also inquired about His number of wives. The subject matter of this book is Çukadeva Gosvämé’s answering of these and other questions asked by Mahäräja Parékñit.

The position of Mahäräja Parékñit and Çukadeva Gosvämé is unique. Mahäräja Parékñit is the right person to hear about the transcendental pastimes of Kåñëa, and Çukadeva Gosvämé is the right person to describe them. If such a fortunate combination is made possible, then kåñëa-kathä immediately becomes revealed, and people may benefit to the highest possible degree from such a conversation.

This narration was presented by Çukadeva Gosvämé when Mahäräja Parékñit was prepared to give up his body, fasting on the bank of the Ganges. In order to assure Çukadeva Gosvämé that by hearing kåñëa-kathä he would not feel tired, Mahäräja Parékñit expressed himself very frankly: “Hunger and thirst may give trouble to ordinary persons or to me, but the topics of Kåñëa are so nice that one can continue to hear them without feeling tired because such hearing situates one in the transcendental position.” It is understood that one must be very fortunate to hear kåñëa-kathä seriously, like Mahäräja Parékñit. He was especially intent on the subject matter because he was expecting death at any moment. Every one of us should be conscious of death at every moment. This life is not at all assured; at any time one can die. It does not matter whether one is a young man or an old man. So before death takes place, we must be fully Kåñëa conscious.

At the point of his death, King Parékñit was hearing Çrémad-Bhägavatam from Çukadeva Gosvämé. When King Parékñit expressed his untiring desire to hear about Kåñëa, Çukadeva Gosvämé was very much pleased. Çukadeva was the greatest of all Bhägavata reciters, and thus he began to speak about Kåñëa’s pastimes, which destroy all inauspiciousness in this Age of Kali. Çukadeva Gosvämé thanked the King for his eagerness to hear about Kåñëa, and he encouraged him by saying, “My dear King, your intelligence is very keen because you are so eager to hear about the pastimes of Kåñëa.” He informed Mahäräja Parékñit that hearing and chanting the pastimes of Kåñëa are so auspicious that the processes purify the three varieties of men involved: he who recites the transcendental topics of Kåñëa, he who hears such topics, and he who inquires about Him. These pastimes are just like the Ganges water, which flows from the toe of Lord Viñëu: they purify the three worlds, the upper, middle and lower planetary systems.

KB 1: The Advent of Lord Kåñëa

Once the world was overburdened by the unnecessary defense force of different kings, who were actually demons but were posing themselves as the royal order. At that time, the whole world became perturbed, and the predominating deity of this earth, known as Bhümi, went to see Lord Brahmä to tell of her calamities due to the demoniac kings. Bhümi assumed the shape of a cow and presented herself before Lord Brahmä with tears in her eyes. She was bereaved and was weeping just to invoke the lord’s compassion. She related the calamitous position of the earth, and after hearing this, Lord Brahmä became much aggrieved, and he at once started for the ocean of milk, where Lord Viñëu resides. Lord Brahmä was accompanied by all the demigods headed by Lord Çiva, and Bhümi also followed. Arriving on the shore of the milk ocean, Lord Brahmä began to pacify Lord Viñëu, who formerly saved the earthly planet by assuming the transcendental form of a boar.

In the Vedic mantras, there is a particular type of prayer called Puruña-sükta. Generally, the demigods offer their obeisances unto Viñëu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by chanting the Puruña-sükta. It is understood herein that the predominating deity of every planet can see the supreme lord of this universe, Brahmä, whenever there is some disturbance on his planet. And Brahmä can approach the Supreme Lord Viñëu, not by seeing Him directly but by standing on the shore of the ocean of milk. There is a planet within this universe called Çvetadvépa, and on that planet there is an ocean of milk. It is understood from various Vedic scriptures that just as there is the ocean of salt water on this planet, there are various kinds of oceans on other planets. Somewhere there is an ocean of milk, somewhere there is an ocean of oil, and somewhere an ocean of liquor and many other types of oceans. Puruña-sükta is the standard prayer which the demigods recite to appease the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu. Because He is lying on the ocean of milk, He is called Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through whom all the incarnations within this universe appear.

After all the demigods offered the Puruña-sükta prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they apparently heard no response. Then Lord Brahmä personally sat in meditation, and there was a message-transmission from Lord Viñëu to Brahmä. Brahmä then broadcast the message to the demigods. That is the system of receiving Vedic knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is received first by Brahmä from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the medium of the heart. As stated in the beginning of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, tene brahma hådä ya ädi-kavaye: the transcendental knowledge of the Vedas was transmitted to Lord Brahmä through the heart. Here also, in the same way, only Brahmä could understand the message transmitted by Lord Viñëu, and he broadcast it to the demigods for their immediate action. The message was this: The Supreme Personality of Godhead would appear on the earth very soon, along with His supreme powerful potencies, and as long as He remained on the earth planet to execute His mission of annihilating the demons and establishing the devotees, the demigods should also remain there to assist Him. They should all immediately take birth in the family of the Yadu dynasty, wherein the Lord would also appear in due course of time. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Kåñëa, would personally appear as the son of Vasudeva. Before His appearance, all the demigods, along with their wives, should appear in different pious families in the world just to assist the Lord in executing His mission. The exact word used here is tat-priyärtham, which means the demigods should appear on the earth in order to please the Lord. In other words, any living entity who lives only to satisfy the Lord is a demigod. The demigods were further informed that the plenary portion of Lord Kåñëa, Ananta, who is maintaining the universal planets by extending His millions of hoods, would also appear on earth before Lord Kåñëa’s appearance. They were also informed that the external potency of Viñëu (Mäyä), with whom all the conditioned souls are enamored, would also appear by the order of the Supreme Lord, just to execute His purpose.

After instructing and pacifying all the demigods, as well as Bhümi, with sweet words, Lord Brahmä, the father of all prajäpatis, or progenitors of universal population, departed for his abode, the highest material planet, called Brahmaloka.

The leader of the Yadu dynasty, King Çürasena, was ruling over the country known as Mäthura, wherein lies the city of Mathurä, as well as the district known as Çürasena, which was named after him. On account of the rule of King Çürasena, Mathurä became the capital city of all the kings of the Yadus. Mathurä was also made the capital of the kings of the Yadu dynasty because the Yadus were a very pious family and knew that Mathurä is the place where Lord Çré Kåñëa lives eternally, just as He also lives in Dvärakä.

Once upon a time, Vasudeva, the son of Çürasena, just after marrying Devaké, was going home on his chariot with his newly wedded wife. The father of Devaké, known as Devaka, had contributed a sufficient dowry because he was very affectionate toward his daughter. He had contributed hundreds of chariots completely decorated with gold equipment. At that time, Kaàsa, the son of Ugrasena, in order to please his sister, Devaké, had voluntarily taken the reins of the horses of Vasudeva’s chariot and was driving. According to the custom of the Vedic civilization, when a girl is married, the brother takes the sister and brother-in-law to their home. Because the newly married girl may feel too much separation from her father’s family, the brother goes with her until she reaches her father-in-law’s house. The full dowry contributed by Devaka was as follows: 400 elephants fully decorated with golden garlands, 15,000 decorated horses, and 1,800 chariots. He also arranged for 200 beautiful girls to follow his daughter. The kñatriya system of marriage, still current in India, dictates that when a kñatriya is married, a few dozen of the bride’s young girlfriends (in addition to the bride) go to the house of the king. The followers of the queen are called maidservants, but actually they act as friends of the queen. This practice is prevalent from time immemorial, traceable at least to the time before the advent of Lord Kåñëa 5,000 years ago. So Vasudeva brought home another 200 beautiful girls along with his wife Devaké.

While the bride and bridegroom were passing along on the chariot, there were different kinds of musical instruments playing to indicate the auspicious moment. There were conchshells, bugles, drums and kettledrums; combined together, they were vibrating a nice concert. The procession was passing very pleasingly, and Kaàsa was driving the chariot, when suddenly there was a miraculous sound vibrated from the sky which especially announced to Kaàsa: “Kaàsa, you are such a fool! You are driving the chariot of your sister and your brother-in-law, but you do not know that the eighth child of this sister will kill you.”

Kaàsa was the son of Ugrasena, of the Bhoja dynasty. It is said that Kaàsa was the most demoniac of all the Bhoja dynasty kings. Immediately after hearing the prophecy from the sky, he caught hold of Devaké’s hair and was just about to kill her with his sword. Vasudeva was astonished at Kaàsa’s behavior, and in order to pacify the cruel, shameless brother-in-law, he began to speak as follows, with great reason and evidence. He said, “My dear brother-in-law Kaàsa, you are the most famous king of the Bhoja dynasty, and people know that you are the greatest warrior and a valiant king. How is it that you are so infuriated that you are prepared to kill a woman who is your own sister at this auspicious time of her marriage? Why should you be so much afraid of death? Death is already born along with your birth. From the very day you took your birth, you began to die. Suppose you are twenty-five years old; that means you have already died twenty-five years. Every moment, every second, you are dying. Why then should you be so much afraid of death? Final death is inevitable. You may die either today or in a hundred years; you cannot avoid death. Why should you be so much afraid? Actually, death means annihilation of the present body. As soon as the present body stops functioning and mixes with the five elements of material nature, the living entity within the body accepts another body, according to his present action and reaction. It is just like when a man walks on the street: he puts forward his foot, and when he is confident that his foot is situated on sound ground, he lifts the other foot. In this way, one after another, the bodies change and the soul transmigrates. See how the plantworms change from one twig to another so carefully! Similarly, the living entity changes his body as soon as the higher authorities decide on his next body. As long as a living entity is conditioned within this material world, he must take material bodies one after another. His next particular body is offered by the laws of nature, according to the actions and reactions of this life.

“This body is exactly like one of the bodies which we always see in dreams. During our dream of sleep, we create so many bodies according to mental creation. We have seen gold, and we have also seen a mountain, so in a dream we can see a golden mountain by combining the two ideas. Sometimes in dreams we see that we have a body which is flying in the sky, and at that time we completely forget our present body. Similarly, these bodies are changing. When you have one body, you forget the past body. During a dream, we may make contact with so many new kinds of bodies, but when we are awake we forget them all. And actually these material bodies are the creations of our mental activities. But at the present moment we do not recollect our past bodies.

“The nature of the mind is flickering. Sometimes it accepts something, and immediately it rejects the same thing. Accepting and rejecting is the process of the mind in contact with the five objects of sense gratification: form, taste, smell, sound and touch. In its speculative way, the mind comes in touch with the objects of sense gratification, and when the living entity desires a particular type of body, he gets it. Therefore, the body is an offering by the laws of material nature. The living entity accepts a body and comes out again into the material world to enjoy or suffer according to the construction of the body. Unless we have a particular type of body, we cannot enjoy or suffer according to our mental proclivities inherited from the previous life. The particular type of body is actually offered to us according to our mental condition at the time of death.

“The luminous planets like the sun, moon or stars reflect themselves in different types of reservoirs, like water, oil or ghee. The reflection moves according to the movement of the reservoir. The reflection of the moon is on the water, and the moving water makes the moon also appear to be moving, but actually the moon is not moving. Similarly, by mental concoction the living entity attains different kinds of bodies, although actually he has no connection with such bodies. But on account of illusion, being enchanted by the influence of mäyä, the living entity thinks that he belongs to a particular type of body. That is the way of conditioned life. Suppose a living entity is now in a human form of body. He thinks that he belongs to the human community, or a particular country or particular place. He identifies himself in that way and unnecessarily prepares for another body, which is not required by him. Such desires and mental concoctions are the cause of different types of body. The covering influence of material nature is so strong that the living entity is satisfied in whatever body he gets, and he identifies with that body with great pleasure. Therefore, I beg to request you not to be overwhelmed by the dictation of your mind and body.”

Vasudeva thus requested Kaàsa not to be envious of his newly married sister. One should not be envious of anyone, because envy is the cause of fear both in this world and in the next, when one is before Yamaräja (the lord of punishment after death). Vasudeva appealed to Kaàsa on behalf of Devaké, stating that she was his younger sister. He also appealed at an auspicious moment, at the time of marriage. A younger sister or brother is supposed to be protected as one’s child. “The position is overall so delicate,” Vasudeva reasoned, “that if you kill her, it will go against your high reputation.”

In this way Vasudeva tried to pacify Kaàsa by good instruction as well as by philosophical discrimination, but Kaàsa was not to be pacified because his association was demoniac. Because of his demoniac associations, he was a demon, although born in a very high royal family. A demon never cares for any good instruction. He is just like a determined thief: one can give him moral instruction, but it will not be effective. Similarly, those who are demoniac or atheistic by nature can hardly assimilate any good instruction, however authorized it may be. That is the difference between demigod and demon. Those who can accept good instruction and try to live their lives in that way are called demigods, and those who are unable to take such good instruction are called demons.

Failing in his attempt to pacify Kaàsa, Vasudeva wondered how he would protect his wife, Devaké. When there is imminent danger, an intelligent person should try to avoid the dangerous position as far as possible. But if, in spite of endeavoring by all intelligence, one fails to avoid the dangerous position, there is no fault on his part. One should try his best to execute his duties, but if the attempt fails, he is not at fault.

Vasudeva thought of his wife as follows: “For the present let me save the life of Devaké; then later on, if there are children, I shall see how to save them.” He further thought, “If in the future I get a child who can kill Kaàsa—just as Kaàsa is thinking—then both Devaké and the child will be saved because the law of Providence is inconceivable. But now, some way or other, let me save the life of Devaké.”

There is no certainty how a living entity contacts a certain type of body, just as there is no certainty how a blazing fire comes in contact with a certain type of wood in the forest. When there is a forest fire, it is experienced that the blazing fire sometimes leaps over one tree and catches another by the influence of the wind. Similarly, a living entity may be very careful in the matter of executing his duties, but it is still very difficult for him to know what type of body he is going to get in the next life. Mahäräja Bharata was very faithfully executing the duties of self-realization, but by chance he developed temporary affection for a deer, and in his next life he had to accept the body of a deer.

Vasudeva, after deliberating on how to save his wife, began to speak to Kaàsa with great respect, although Kaàsa was the most sinful man. Sometimes it happens that a most virtuous person like Vasudeva has to flatter a person like Kaàsa, a most vicious person. That is the way of all diplomatic transactions. Although Vasudeva was deeply aggrieved, he smiled outwardly. He addressed the shameless Kaàsa in that way because he was so atrocious. Vasudeva said to Kaàsa, “My dear brother-in-law, please consider that you have no danger from your sister. You are awaiting some danger because you have heard a prophetic voice in the sky. But the danger is to come from the sons of your sister, who are not present now. And who knows? There may or may not be sons in the future. Considering all this, you are safe for the present. Nor is there cause of fear from your sister. If there are any sons born of her, I promise that I shall present all of them to you for necessary action.”

Kaàsa knew the value of Vasudeva’s word of honor, and he was convinced by his argument. For the time being, he desisted from the heinous killing of his sister. Thus Vasudeva was pleased and praised the decision of Kaàsa. In this way, he returned to his home.

Each year thereafter, in due course of time, Devaké gave birth to a child. Thus she gave birth to eight male children, as well as one daughter. When the first son was born, Vasudeva kept his word of honor and immediately brought the child before Kaàsa. It is said that Vasudeva was very much elevated and famous for his word of honor, and he wanted to maintain this fame. Although it was very painful for Vasudeva to hand over the newly born child, Kaàsa was very glad to receive him. But he became a little compassionate with the behavior of Vasudeva. This event is very exemplary. For a great soul like Vasudeva, there is nothing considered to be painful in the course of discharging one’s duty. A learned person like Vasudeva carries out his duties without hesitation. On the other hand, a demon like Kaàsa never hesitates in committing any abominable action. It is said, therefore, that a saintly person can tolerate all kinds of miserable conditions of life, a learned man can discharge his duties without awaiting favorable circumstances, a heinous person like Kaàsa can act in any sinful way, and a devotee can sacrifice everything to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Kaàsa became satisfied by the action of Vasudeva. He was surprised to see Vasudeva keeping his promise, and being compassionate upon him and pleased, he began to speak as follows: “My dear Vasudeva, you need not present this child to me. I am not in danger from this child. I have heard that the eighth child born of you and Devaké will kill me. Why should I accept this child unnecessarily? You can take him back.”

When Vasudeva was returning home with his firstborn child, although he was pleased by the behavior of Kaàsa, he could not believe in him because he knew that Kaàsa was uncontrolled. An atheistic person cannot be firm in his word of honor. One who cannot control the senses cannot be steady in his determination. The great politician Cäëakya Paëòita said, “Never put your trust in a diplomat or in a woman.” Those who are addicted to unrestricted sense gratification can never be truthful, nor can they be trusted with any faith.

At that time the great sage Närada came to Kaàsa. He was informed of Kaàsa’s becoming compassionate to Vasudeva and returning his firstborn child. Närada was very anxious to accelerate the descent of Lord Kåñëa as soon as possible. He therefore informed Kaàsa that in Våndävana personalities like Nanda Mahäräja and all the other cowherd men and their wives, and on the other side Vasudeva, his father Çürasena and all his relatives born in the family of Våñëi of the Yadu dynasty, along with all their friends and well-wishers, were actually demigods. Närada warned Kaàsa to be careful of them, since Kaàsa and his friends and advisors were all demons. Demons are always afraid of demigods. After being thus informed by Närada about the appearance of the demigods in different families, Kaàsa at once became very much alarmed. He understood that since the demigods had already appeared, Lord Viñëu must be coming soon. He at once arrested both his brother-in-law Vasudeva and Devaké and put them behind prison bars.

Within the prison, shackled in iron chains, Vasudeva and Devaké gave birth to a male child year after year, and Kaàsa, thinking each of the babies to be the incarnation of Viñëu, killed them one after another. He was particularly afraid of the eighth child, but after the visit of Närada, he came to the conclusion that any child might be Kåñëa. Therefore it was better to kill all the babies who took birth from Devaké and Vasudeva.

This action of Kaàsa is not very difficult to understand. There are many instances in the history of the world of persons in the royal order who have killed father, brother or a whole family and friends for the satisfaction of their ambitions. There is nothing astonishing about this, for members of the demoniac, greedy royal order can kill anyone for their nefarious ambitions.

Kaàsa was made aware of his previous birth by the grace of Närada. He learned that in his previous birth he was a demon of the name Kälanemi and that he was killed by Viñëu. Having taken his birth in the Bhoja family, he decided to become the deadly enemy of the Yadu dynasty; Kåñëa was going to take birth in that family, and Kaàsa was very much afraid that he would be killed by Kåñëa, just as he had been killed in his last birth.

He first of all imprisoned his father, Ugrasena, because he was the chief king among the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties, and he also occupied the kingdom of Çürasena, Vasudeva’s father. He declared himself the king of all such places.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the First Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Advent of Lord Kåñëa.”

KB 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kåñëa in the Womb

King Kaàsa not only occupied the kingdoms of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties and the kingdom of Çürasena, but he also made alliances with all the other demoniac kings, as follows: the demon Pralamba, demon Baka, demon Cäëüra, demon Tåëävarta, demon Aghäsura, demon Muñöika, demon Ariñöa, demon Dvivida, demon Pütanä, demon Keçé and demon Dhenuka. At that time, Jaräsandha was the king of Magadha province (known at present as Bihar state). Thus by his diplomatic policy, Kaàsa consolidated the most powerful kingdom of his time, under the protection of Jaräsandha. He made further alliances with such kings as Bäëäsura and Bhaumäsura, until he was the strongest. Then he began to behave most inimically towards the Yadu dynasty, into which Kåñëa was to take His birth.

Being harassed by Kaàsa, the kings of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties began to take shelter in different states such as the state of the Kurus, the state of the Païcälas, and the states known as Kekaya, Çälva, Vidarbha, Niñadha, Videha and Koçala. Kaàsa broke the solidarity of the Yadu kingdom, as well as the Bhoja and Andhaka. He made his position the most solid within the vast tract of land known at that time as Bhärata-varña.

When Kaàsa killed the six babies of Devaké and Vasudeva one after another, many friends and relatives of Kaàsa approached him and requested him to discontinue these heinous activities. But all of them became worshipers of Kaàsa.

When Devaké became pregnant for the seventh time, a plenary expansion of Kåñëa known as Ananta appeared within her womb. Devaké was overwhelmed with both jubilation and lamentation. She was joyful, for she could understand that Lord Viñëu had taken shelter within her womb, but at the same time she was sorry that as soon as her child would come out, Kaàsa would kill Him. At that time the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, being compassionate upon the Yadus, who were fearful due to the atrocities committed by Kaàsa, ordered the appearance of Yogamäyä, His internal potency. Kåñëa is the Lord of the universe, but He is especially the Lord of the Yadu dynasty.

This Yogamäyä is the principal potency of the Personality of Godhead. In the Vedas it is stated that the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has multipotencies. Paräsya çaktir vividhaiva çrüyate. All the different potencies are acting externally and internally, and Yogamäyä is the chief of all potencies. He ordered the appearance of Yogamäyä in the land of Vrajabhümi, in Våndävana, which is always decorated and full with beautiful cows. In Våndävana, Rohiëé, one of the wives of Vasudeva, was residing at the house of King Nanda and Queen Yaçodä. Not only Rohiëé but many others in the Yadu dynasty were scattered all over the country due to their fear of the atrocities of Kaàsa. Some of them were even living in the caves of the mountains.

The Lord thus informed Yogamäyä: “Under the imprisonment of Kaàsa are Devaké and Vasudeva, and at the present moment My plenary expansion, Çeña, is within the womb of Devaké. You can arrange the transfer of Çeña from the womb of Devaké to the womb of Rohiëé. After this arrangement, I am personally going to appear in the womb of Devaké with My full potencies. Then I shall appear as the son of Devaké and Vasudeva. And you shall appear as the daughter of Nanda and Yaçodä in Våndävana.

“Since you will appear as My contemporary sister, and since you will quickly satisfy desires for sense gratification, people within the world will worship you with all kinds of valuable presentations: incense, candles, flowers and offerings of sacrifice. People who are after materialistic perfection will worship you under the different forms of your expansions, which will be named Durgä, Bhadrakälé, Vijayä, Vaiñëavé, Kumudä, Caëòikä, Kåñëä, Mädhavé, Kanyakä, Mäyä, Näräyaëé, Éçäné, Çäradä and Ambikä.”

Kåñëa and Yogamäyä appeared as brother and sister—the Supreme Powerful and the supreme power. Although there is no clear distinction between the Powerful and the power, power is always subordinate to the Powerful. Those who are materialistic are worshipers of the power, but those who are transcendentalists are worshipers of the Powerful. Kåñëa is the Supreme Powerful, and Durgä is the supreme power within the material world. Actually people in the Vedic culture worship both the Powerful and the power. There are many hundreds and thousands of temples of Viñëu and Devé, and sometimes they are worshiped simultaneously. The worshiper of the power, Durgä, or the external energy of Kåñëa, may achieve all kinds of material success very easily, but anyone who wants to be elevated transcendentally must engage in worshiping the Powerful in Kåñëa consciousness.

The Lord also declared to Yogamäyä, “My plenary expansion, Ananta Çeña, is within the womb of Devaké. On account of being forcibly attracted to the womb of Rohiëé, He will be known as Saìkarñaëa and will be the source of all spiritual power, or bala, by which one can attain the highest bliss of life, which is called ramaëa. Therefore the plenary portion Ananta will be known after His appearance either as Saìkarñaëa or as Balaräma.”

In the Upaniñads it is stated, näyam ätmä bala-hénena labhyaù. The purport is that one cannot attain the supreme platform of self-realization without being sufficiently favored by Balaräma. Bala does not mean physical strength. No one can attain spiritual perfection by physical strength. One must have the spiritual strength which is infused by Balaräma, or Saìkarñaëa. Ananta, or Çeña, is the power which sustains all the planets in their different positions. Materially this sustaining power is known as the law of gravitation, but actually it is a display of the potency of Saìkarñaëa. Balaräma, or Saìkarñaëa, is spiritual power, or the original spiritual master. Therefore Lord Nityänanda Prabhu, who is also the incarnation of Balaräma, is the original spiritual master. And the spiritual master is the representative of Balaräma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who supplies spiritual strength. In the Caitanya-caritämåta it is confirmed that the spiritual master is the manifestation of the mercy of Kåñëa.

Thus ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yogamäyä circumambulated the Lord and then appeared within this material world according to His order. When Yogamäyä, the supreme power of the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead, transferred Lord Çeña from the womb of Devaké to the womb of Rohiëé, both Devaké and Rohiëé were under Yogamäyä’s spell, which is called yoga-nidrä. When this was done, people understood that Devaké’s seventh pregnancy had been a miscarriage. Thus although Balaräma appeared as the son of Devaké, He was transferred to the womb of Rohiëé to appear as her son. After this arrangement, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, who is always ready to protect His unalloyed devotees, entered within the mind of Vasudeva as the Lord of the whole creation, with full inconceivable potencies. It is understood in this connection that Lord Kåñëa first of all situated Himself in the unalloyed heart of Vasudeva and was then transferred to the heart of Devaké. He was not put into the womb of Devaké by seminal discharge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable potency, can appear in any way. It is not necessary for Him to appear in the ordinary way, by seminal injection within the womb of a woman.

When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Kåñëa. The appearance of the form of Kåñëa anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhäma. Dhäma refers not only to Kåñëa’s form but also to His name, His qualities and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.

Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaké, exactly as the setting sun’s rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.

Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thus entered the body of Devaké from the body of Vasudeva without being subject to any of the conditions of an ordinary living entity. Since Kåñëa was there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Näräyaëa, and incarnations like Lord Nåsiàha and Varäha, were with Him, and They also were not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devaké became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devaké became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was confined within the house of Kaàsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devaké was kept within the prison walls of Kaàsa’s palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty, which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Kaàsa, however, saw the transcendental beauty of his sister Devaké, and he at once concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had taken shelter in her womb. She had never before looked so wonderfully beautiful. He could distinctly understand that there was something wonderful within the womb of Devaké. In this way, Kaàsa became perturbed because he was sure that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who would kill him in the future, had now come. Kaàsa began to think, “What is to be done with Devaké? Surely she has Viñëu or Kåñëa within her womb, so it is certain that Kåñëa has come to execute the mission of the demigods. And even if I immediately kill Devaké, His mission cannot be frustrated.” Kaàsa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose of Viñëu. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His purpose will be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. Kaàsa thought, “If I kill Devaké at the present moment, Viñëu will enforce His supreme will more vehemently. To kill Devaké just now would be a most abominable act. No one desires to kill his reputation, even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devaké now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devaké is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately my reputation, the results of my pious activities and my duration of life will all be finished.”

He further deliberated, “A person who is too cruel is as good as dead, even in this lifetime. No one likes a cruel person during his lifetime, and after his death, people curse him. On account of his self-identification with the body, he must be degraded and pushed into the darkest region of hell.” Kaàsa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing Devaké at that time.

Kaàsa finally decided not to kill Devaké right away but to wait for the inevitable future. But his mind became absorbed in animosity against the Personality of Godhead. He patiently waited for the deliverance of the child, expecting to kill Him, as he had done previously with the other babies of Devaké. Thus being merged in the ocean of animosity against the Personality of Godhead, he began to think of Kåñëa or Viñëu while sitting, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working—in all the situations of his life. His mind became so much absorbed with the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that indirectly he could see only Kåñëa or Viñëu around him. Unfortunately, although his mind was so absorbed in the thought of Viñëu, he is not recognized as a devotee because he was thinking of Kåñëa as an enemy. The state of mind of a great devotee is also to be always absorbed in Kåñëa, but a devotee thinks of Him favorably, not unfavorably. To think of Kåñëa favorably is Kåñëa consciousness, but to think of Kåñëa unfavorably is not Kåñëa consciousness.

At this time Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva, accompanied by great sages like Närada and followed by many other demigods, invisibly appeared in the house of Kaàsa. They began to pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in select verses, which are very pleasing to the devotees and which award fulfillment of their desires. The first words they spoke acclaimed that the Lord is true to His vow. As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, Kåñëa descends to this material world just to protect the pious and destroy the impious. That is His vow. The demigods could understand that the Lord had taken His residence within the womb of Devaké to fulfill His vow, and they were very glad that the Lord was appearing in order to fulfill His mission.

Then the demigods addressed the Lord as satyaà param, or the Supreme Absolute Truth. Everyone is searching after the truth. That is the philosophical way of life. The demigods give information that the Supreme Absolute Truth is Kåñëa. One who becomes fully Kåñëa conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. Kåñëa is the Absolute Truth because, unlike relative truth, He is Truth in all the three phases of eternal time. Time is divided into past, present and future. Kåñëa is Truth always—past, present and future. In the material world everything is being controlled by supreme time, in the course of past, present and future. But before the creation, Kåñëa was existing, and when there is creation, everything is resting in Kåñëa, and when this creation is finished, Kåñëa will remain. Therefore, He is Absolute Truth in all circumstances. If there is any truth within this material world, it emanates from the Supreme Truth, Kåñëa. If there is any opulence within this material world, the cause of the opulence is Kåñëa. If there is any reputation within this material world, the cause of the reputation is Kåñëa. If there is any strength within this material world, the cause of such strength is Kåñëa. If there is any wisdom and education within this material world, the cause of such wisdom and education is Kåñëa. Therefore Kåñëa is the source of all relative truths.

This material world is composed of five principal elements— earth, water, fire, air and ether—and all such elements are emanations from Kåñëa. The material scientists accept these primary five elements as the cause of the material manifestation, but the elements in their gross and subtle states are produced by Kåñëa. The living entities who are working within this material world are products of His marginal potency. In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä, it is clearly stated that the whole manifestation is a combination of two kinds of energies of Kåñëa, the superior energy and the inferior energy. The living entities are the superior energy, and the dead material elements are His inferior energy. In its dormant stage, everything remains in Kåñëa.

The demigods continued to offer their respectful prayers unto the supreme form of the Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, by analytical study of the material manifestation. What is this material manifestation? It is just like a tree. A tree stands on the ground. Similarly, the tree of the material manifestation is standing on the ground of material nature. This material manifestation is compared to a tree because a tree is ultimately cut off in due course of time. A tree is called våkña. Våkña means that thing which will be ultimately cut off. Therefore, this tree of the material manifestation cannot be accepted as the Ultimate Truth, because it is influenced by time. But Kåñëa’s body is eternal: He existed before the material manifestation, He is existing while the material manifestation is continuing, and when it will be dissolved, He will continue to exist. Therefore only Kåñëa can be accepted as the Absolute Truth.

The Kaöha Upaniñad also cites this example of the tree of material manifestation standing on the ground of material nature. This tree has two kinds of fruits, distress and happiness. Those who are living on the tree of the body are just like two birds. One bird is the localized aspect of Kåñëa known as the Paramätmä, and the other bird is the living entity. The living entity is eating the fruits of this material manifestation. Sometimes he eats the fruit of happiness, and sometimes he eats the fruit of distress. But the other bird is not interested in eating the fruit of distress or happiness because he is self-satisfied. The Kaöha Upaniñad states that one bird on the tree of the body is eating the fruits, and the other bird is simply witnessing. The roots of this tree extend in three directions. This means that the root of the tree is the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just as the tree’s root expands, so, by association of the modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), one expands his duration of material existence. The tastes of the fruits are of four kinds: religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, ultimately, liberation. According to the different associations in the three modes of material nature, the living entities are tasting different kinds of religiosity, different kinds of economic development, different kinds of sense gratification and different kinds of liberation. Practically all material work is performed in ignorance, but because there are three qualities, sometimes the quality of ignorance is covered with goodness or passion. The taste of these material fruits is accepted through five senses. The five sense organs through which knowledge is acquired are subjected to six kinds of whips: lamentation, illusion, infirmity, death, hunger and thirst. This material body, or the material manifestation, is covered by seven layers: skin, flesh, blood, marrow, bone, fat and semen. The branches of the tree are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. There are nine gates in this body: the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one genital, one rectum. And there are ten kinds of internal air passing within the body: präëa, apäna, udäna, vyäna, samäna, etc. The two birds seated in this tree, as explained above, are the living entity and the localized Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramätmä.

The root cause of the material manifestation described here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself to take charge of the three qualities of the material world. Viñëu takes charge of the mode of goodness, Brahmä takes charge of the mode of passion, and Lord Çiva takes charge of the mode of ignorance. Brahmä, by the mode of passion, creates this manifestation, Lord Viñëu maintains this manifestation by the mode of goodness, and Lord Çiva annihilates it by the mode of ignorance. The whole creation ultimately rests in the Supreme Lord. He is the cause of creation, maintenance and dissolution. And when the whole manifestation is dissolved, in its subtle form as the Supreme Lord’s energy it rests within His body.

“At the present,” the demigods prayed, “the Supreme Lord Kåñëa is appearing just for the maintenance of this manifestation. Actually the Supreme Cause is one, but, being deluded by the three modes of material nature, less intelligent persons see that the material world is manifested through different causes. Those who are intelligent can see that the cause is one, Kåñëa.” As it is stated in the Brahma-saàhitä, sarva-käraëa-käraëam [Bs. 5.1]. Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of all causes. Brahmä is the deputed agent for creation, Viñëu is the expansion of Kåñëa for maintenance, and Lord Çiva is the expansion of Kåñëa for dissolution.

“Our dear Lord,” the demigods prayed, “it is very difficult to understand Your eternal form or personality. People in general are unable to understand Your actual form; therefore You are personally descending to exhibit Your original eternal form. Somehow people can understand the different incarnations of Your Lordship, but they are puzzled to understand the eternal form of Kåñëa with two hands, moving among human beings exactly like one of them. This eternal form of Your Lordship gives ever-increasing transcendental pleasure to the devotees, but for the nondevotees this form is very dangerous.” As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, Kåñëa is very pleasing to the sädhus (pariträëäya sädhünäm) [Bg. 4.8]. But this form is very dangerous for the demons because Kåñëa also descends to kill the demons. He is, therefore, simultaneously pleasing to the devotees and dangerous to the demons.

“Our dear lotus-eyed Lord, You are the source of pure goodness. There are many great sages who simply by samädhi, or transcendentally meditating upon Your lotus feet and thus being absorbed in Your thought, have easily transformed the great ocean of nescience created by the material nature into no more than the water in a calf’s hoofprint.” The purpose of meditation is to focus the mind upon the Personality of Godhead, beginning from His lotus feet. Simply by meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages cross over this vast ocean of material existence without difficulty.

“O self-illuminated one, the great saintly persons who have crossed over the ocean of nescience by the help of the transcendental boat of Your lotus feet have not taken away that boat. It is still lying on this side.” If one takes a boat to cross over a river, the boat also goes with one to the other side of the river. And so when one reaches the destination, how can the same boat be available to those who are still on this side? To answer this difficulty, the demigods say in their prayer that the boat of the Lord’s lotus feet is not taken away. The devotees still remaining on this side are able to pass over the ocean of material nature because the pure devotees do not take the boat with them when they cross over. When one simply approaches the boat, the whole ocean of material nescience is reduced to the size of the water in a calf’s hoofprint. Therefore, the devotees do not need to take the boat to the other side: they simply cross the ocean immediately. Because the great saintly persons are compassionate toward all conditioned souls, the boat is still lying on this side. In other words, one can meditate upon the lotus feet of the Lord at any time, and by so doing one can cross over the great ocean of material existence.

Meditation means concentration upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Lotus feet indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are impersonalists do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord, and therefore their object of meditation is something impersonal. The demigods express their mature verdict that persons who are interested in meditating on something void or impersonal cannot cross over the ocean of nescience. Such persons are simply imagining that they have become liberated. “O lotus-eyed Lord! Their intelligence is contaminated because they fail to meditate upon the lotus feet of Your Lordship. As a result of this neglectful activity, the impersonalists fall down again into the material way of conditioned life, although they may temporarily rise to the point of impersonal realization.” Impersonalists undergo severe austerities and penances to merge themselves into the Brahman effulgence, or impersonal Brahman existence. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they have simply tried to negate the material ways of thinking. That does not mean that they have become liberated. Thus they fall down.

In the Bhagavad-gétä it is stated that the impersonalist has to undergo great tribulation in realizing his ultimate goal. At the beginning of Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is also stated that without devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive activities. The statement of Lord Kåñëa is there in the Bhagavad-gétä, and in Çrémad-Bhägavatam the statement of the great sage Närada is there, and here also the demigods confirm it. “Persons who have not taken to devotional service are understood to have come short of the ultimate purpose of knowledge and are not favored by Your grace.” The impersonalists simply think that they are liberated, but actually they have no feeling for the Personality of Godhead. They think that when Kåñëa comes into the material world He accepts a material body. They therefore overlook the transcendental body of Kåñëa. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä: avajänanti mäà müòhäù. In spite of conquering material lust and rising to the point of liberation, the impersonalists fall down. If they are engaged just in knowing things for the sake of knowledge and do not take to the devotional service of the Lord, they cannot achieve the desired result. Their achievement is the trouble they take, and that is all.

It is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gétä that to realize Brahman identification is not all. Brahman identification may help one become joyful without material attachment or detachment and to achieve the platform of equanimity, but after this stage one has to take to devotional service. When one takes to devotional service after being elevated to the platform of Brahman realization, he is then admitted into the spiritual kingdom for permanent residence in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the result of devotional service. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead never fall down like the impersonalists. Even if the devotees fall down, they remain affectionately attached to their Lord. They can meet all kinds of obstacles on the path of devotional service, and freely, without any fear, they can surmount such obstacles. Because of their surrender, they are certain that Kåñëa will always protect them. As it is promised by Kåñëa in the Bhagavad-gétä, “My devotees are never vanquished.”

“Our dear Lord,” the demigods continued, “You have appeared in Your original unalloyed form, the eternal form of goodness, for the welfare of all living entities within this material world. Taking advantage of Your appearance, all of them can now very easily understand the nature and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Persons who belong to the four divisions of the social order (the brahmacärés, the gåhasthas, the vänaprasthas and the sannyäsés) can all take advantage of Your appearance.

“Dear Lord, husband of the goddess of fortune, devotees who are dovetailed in Your service do not fall down from their high position like the impersonalists. Being protected by You, the devotees are able to traverse over the heads of many of Mäyä’s commanders in chief, who can always put stumbling blocks on the path of liberation. My dear Lord, You appear in Your eternal transcendental form for the benefit of the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service as recommended in the scriptures. Dear Lord, if You did not appear in Your eternal transcendental form, full of bliss and knowledge—a form which can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance about Your position—then all people would simply speculate about You according to their respective modes of material nature.”

The appearance of Kåñëa is the answer to all imaginative iconography of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone imagines the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to his mode of material nature. In the Brahma-saàhitä it is said that the Lord is the oldest person. Therefore a section of religionists imagine that God must be very old, and therefore they depict a form of the Lord like a very old man. But in the same Brahma-saàhitä, that is contradicted: although He is the oldest of all living entities, He has His eternal form as a fresh youth. The exact words used in this connection in Çrémad-Bhägavatam are vijïänam ajïäna-bhidäpamärjanam. Vijïänam means transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vijïänam is also experienced knowledge. Transcendental knowledge has to be accepted by the descending process of disciplic succession as Brahmä presents the knowledge of Kåñëa in the Brahma-saàhitä. The Brahma-saàhitä is vijïänam as realized by Brahmä’s transcendental experience, and in that way he presented the form and the pastimes of Kåñëa in the transcendental abode. This knowledge is ajïäna-bhidäpamärjanam, that which can smash all kinds of speculation in ignorance. People are imagining the form of the Lord: sometimes He has no form and sometimes He has form, according to their different imaginations. But the presentation of Kåñëa in the Brahma-saàhitä is vijïänam—scientific, experienced knowledge given by Lord Brahmä and accepted by Lord Caitanya. There is no doubt about it. Kåñëa’s form, Kåñëa’s flute, Kåñëa’s color—everything is reality. Here it is said that this vijïänam is always defeating all kinds of speculative knowledge. “Therefore, without Your appearing as Kåñëa, as You are, neither ajïäna-bhidä (the nescience of speculative knowledge) nor vijïänam would be realized. Ajïäna-bhidäpamärjanam—by Your appearance the speculative knowledge of ignorance will be vanquished, and the real experienced knowledge of authorities like Lord Brahmä will be established. Men influenced by the three modes of material nature imagine their own God according to the modes of material nature. In this way God is presented in various ways, but Your appearance will establish what the real form of God is.”

The highest blunder committed by the impersonalists is to think that when the incarnation of God comes He accepts the form of matter in the mode of goodness. Actually the form of Kåñëa or Näräyaëa is transcendental to any material idea. Even the greatest impersonalist, Çaìkaräcärya, has admitted, näräyaëaù paro ’vyaktät: the material creation is caused by the avyakta (impersonal) manifestation of matter, or the nonphenomenal total reservoir of matter, but Kåñëa is transcendental to that material conception. That is expressed in Çrémad-Bhägavatam as çuddha-sattva, or transcendental. He does not belong to the material mode of goodness, and He is above the position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental, eternal status of bliss and knowledge.

“Dear Lord, when You appear in Your different incarnations, You take different names and forms according to different situations. Lord Kåñëa is Your name because You are all-attractive; You are called Çyämasundara because of Your transcendental beauty. Çyäma means blackish, yet it is said that You are more beautiful than thousands of Cupids (kandarpa-koöi-kamanéya). Although You appear in a color which is compared to the blackish cloud, because You are Transcendental Absolute, Your beauty is many, many times more attractive than the delicate body of Cupid. Sometimes You are called Giridhäré because You lifted the hill known as Govardhana. You are sometimes called Nandanandana or Väsudeva or Devakénandana because You appear as the son of Mahäräja Nanda or Vasudeva or Devaké. Impersonalists think that Your many names or forms are according to a particular type of work and quality because they accept You from the position of a material observer.

“Our dear Lord, the way of understanding is not to study Your absolute nature, form and activities by mental speculation. One must engage himself in devotional service; then one can understand Your absolute nature and Your transcendental form, name and qualities. Actually only a person who has a little taste for the service of Your lotus feet can understand Your transcendental nature or form and qualities. Others may go on speculating for millions of years, but it is not possible for them to understand even a single part of Your actual position.” In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, cannot be understood by the nondevotees because there is a curtain of Yogamäyä which covers Kåñëa’s actual features. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä, nähaà prakäçaù sarvasya [Bg. 7.25]. The Lord says, “I am not exposed to anyone and everyone.” When Kåñëa came, He was actually present on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra, and everyone saw Him. But not everyone could understand that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, everyone who died in His presence attained complete liberation from material bondage and was transferred to the spiritual world.

“O Lord, the impersonalists or nondevotees cannot understand that Your name is identical with Your form.” Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form and name. The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting “mango, mango, mango.” But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between the name and the form of the Lord chants Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare / Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare and realizes that he is always in Kåñëa’s company.

For persons who are not very advanced in absolute knowledge of the Supreme, Lord Kåñëa exhibits His transcendental pastimes. They can simply think of the pastimes of the Lord and get full benefit. Since there is no difference between the transcendental name and form of the Lord, there is no difference between the transcendental pastimes and the form of the Lord. For those who are less intelligent (like women, laborers or the mercantile class), the great sage Vyäsadeva wrote the Mahäbhärata. In the Mahäbhärata Kåñëa is present in His different activities. The Mahäbhärata is history, and simply by studying, hearing and memorizing the transcendental activities of Kåñëa, the less intelligent can also gradually rise to the standard of pure devotees.

The pure devotees, who are always absorbed in the thought of the transcendental lotus feet of Kåñëa and who are always engaged in devotional service in full Kåñëa consciousness, are never to be considered to be in the material world. Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé has explained that those who are always engaged in Kåñëa consciousness with body, mind and activities are to be considered liberated even within this body. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä: those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord have already transcended the material position.

Kåñëa appears in order to give a chance to both the devotees and the nondevotees for realization of the ultimate goal of life. The devotees get the direct chance to see Him and worship Him. Those who are not on that platform get the chance to become acquainted with His activities and thus become elevated to the same position.

“Our dear Lord, O supreme controller, when You appear on earth, all the demons like Kaàsa and Jaräsandha will be vanquished, and all good fortune will be ushered into the world. When You walk on the globe, Your lotus feet will impress on the ground the marks of Your sole, such as the flag, the trident and the thunderbolt. Thus You will grace both the earth and us on the heavenly planets who shall see those marks.

“O dear Lord,” the demigods continued, “You are unborn; therefore we do not find any reason for Your appearance other than for Your pleasurable pastimes.” Although the reason for the appearance of the Lord is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (He descends just to give protection to the devotees and vanquish the nondevotees), actually He descends for His pleasure-meeting with the devotees, not really to vanquish the nondevotees. The nondevotees can be vanquished simply by one kick of material nature. “The actions and reactions of material nature (creation, maintenance and annihilation) are being carried out automatically. But simply by taking shelter of Your holy name the devotees are sufficiently protected, because Your holy name and Your personality are nondifferent.” The protection of the devotees and the annihilation of the nondevotees are actually not the business of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When He descends, it is just for His transcendental pleasure. There cannot be any other reason for His appearance.

“Our dear Lord, You are appearing as the best of the Yadu dynasty, and we are offering our respectful humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet. Before this appearance, You also appeared as the fish incarnation, as the horse incarnation, as the tortoise incarnation, as the half-man, half-lion incarnation, as the boar incarnation, as the swan incarnation, as King Rämacandra, as Paraçuräma and as many other incarnations. You appeared just to protect the devotees, and we request You in Your present appearance as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself to give us similar protection all over the three worlds and remove all obstacles for the peaceful execution of our lives.

“Dear mother Devaké, within your womb is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing along with all His plenary extensions. He is the original Personality of Godhead, appearing for our welfare. Therefore you should not be afraid of your brother, the King of Bhoja. Your son Lord Kåñëa, who is the original Personality of Godhead, will appear for the protection of the pious Yadu dynasty. The Lord is appearing not alone but accompanied by His immediate plenary portion, Baladeva.”

Devaké was very much afraid of her brother Kaàsa because he had already killed so many of her children. So she was very anxious about Kåñëa. In the Viñëu Puräëa it is stated that in order to pacify Devaké, all the demigods, along with their wives, used to visit her to encourage her not to be afraid that her son would be killed by Kaàsa. Kåñëa, who was within her womb, was to appear not only to diminish the burden of the world but specifically to protect the interests of the Yadu dynasty, and certainly to protect Devaké and Vasudeva. It is understood that Kåñëa had been transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaké, and from there to her womb. Thus all the demigods worshiped Devaké, the mother of Kåñëa.

After thus worshiping the transcendental form of the Lord, all the demigods, with Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva placed in front, departed for their heavenly abodes.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Chapter of Kåñëa, “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kåñëa in the Womb.”

KB 3: The Birth of Lord Kåñëa

In the Bhagavad-gétä the Lord says that His appearance, birth and activities are all transcendental and that one who understands them factually becomes immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man, who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the Second Chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohiëé was predominant. This star is considered to be very auspicious and is under the direct supervision of Brahmä. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kåñëa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious.

At that time, in all directions—east, west, south, north, everywhere—there was an atmosphere of peace and prosperity. There were auspicious stars visible in the sky, and on the surface in all towns and villages and pasturing grounds and within the minds of everyone there were signs of good fortune. The rivers were flowing full of waters, and lakes were beautifully decorated with lotus flowers. The forests were full with beautiful birds and peacocks. All the birds within the forests began to sing with sweet voices, and the peacocks began to dance along with their consorts. The wind blew very pleasantly, carrying the aroma of different flowers, and the sensation of bodily touch was very pleasing. At home, the brähmaëas, who were accustomed to offering sacrifices in the fire, found their homes very pleasant for offerings. Due to disturbances created by the demoniac kings, the sacrificial fire had been almost stopped in the houses of brähmaëas, but now they could find the opportunity to start the fire peacefully. Being forbidden to offer sacrifices, the brähmaëas had been very much distressed in mind, intelligence and activities, but just on the point of Kåñëa’s appearance, automatically their minds became full of joy because they could hear transcendental vibrations in the sky proclaiming the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The denizens of the Gandharva and Kinnara planets began to sing, and the denizens of Siddhaloka and the planets of the Cäraëas began to offer prayers in the service of the Personality of Godhead. In the heavenly planets, the angels along with their wives, as well as the Vidyädharas along with their wives, began to dance.

The great sages and the demigods, being pleased, began to shower flowers. At the seashore there was the sound of mild waves, and above the sea there were clouds in the sky which began to thunder very pleasingly.

When things were adjusted like this, Lord Viñëu, who is residing within the heart of every living entity, appeared in the darkness of night as the Supreme Personality of Godhead before Devaké, who also appeared as one of the demigoddesses. The appearance of Lord Viñëu at that time could be compared to the rising of the full moon over the eastern horizon. The objection may be raised that since Lord Kåñëa appeared on the eighth day of the waning moon, there could be no rising of the full moon. In answer to this it may be said that Lord Kåñëa appeared in the dynasty which is in the hierarchy of the moon; therefore, although the moon was incomplete on that night, because of the Lord’s appearance in the dynasty wherein the moon is himself the original person, the moon was in an overjoyous condition, so by the grace of Kåñëa he could appear just as a full moon.

In an astronomical treatise by the name Khamaëikya, the constellations at the time of the appearance of Lord Kåñëa are very nicely described. It is confirmed that the child born at that auspicious moment was the Supreme Brahman, or the Absolute Truth.

Vasudeva saw that wonderful child born as a baby with four hands, holding conchshell, club, disc and lotus flower, decorated with the mark of Çrévatsa, wearing the jeweled necklace of kaustubha stone, dressed in yellow silk, appearing dazzling like a bright blackish cloud, wearing a helmet bedecked with the vaidürya stone, valuable bracelets, earrings and similar other ornaments all over His body and an abundance of hair on His head. Due to the extraordinary features of the child, Vasudeva was struck with wonder. How could a newly born child be so decorated? He could therefore understand that Lord Kåñëa had now appeared, and he became overpowered by the occasion. Vasudeva very humbly wondered that although he was an ordinary living entity conditioned by material nature and was externally imprisoned by Kaàsa, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, Viñëu, or Kåñëa, was appearing as a child in his home, exactly in His original position. No earthly child is born with four hands, decorated with ornaments and nice clothing, fully equipped with all the signs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Over and over again Vasudeva glanced at his child, and he considered how to celebrate this auspicious moment: “Generally, when a male child is born,” he thought, “people observe the occasion with jubilant celebrations, and in my home, although I am imprisoned, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has taken birth. How many millions and millions of times should I be prepared to observe this auspicious ceremony!”

When Vasudeva, who is also called Änakadundubhi, was looking at his newborn baby, he was so happy that he wanted to give many thousands of cows in charity to the brähmaëas. According to the Vedic system, whenever there is an auspicious ceremony in the kñatriya king’s palace, out of joy the king gives many things in charity. Cows decorated with golden ornaments are delivered to the brähmaëas and sages. Vasudeva wanted to perform a charitable ceremony to celebrate Kåñëa’s appearance, but because he was shackled within the walls of Kaàsa’s prison, this was not possible. Instead, within his mind he gave thousands of cows to the brähmaëas.

When Vasudeva was convinced that the newborn child was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, he bowed down with folded hands and began to offer Him prayers. At that time Vasudeva was in the transcendental position, and he became completely free from all fear of Kaàsa. The newborn baby was also flashing His effulgence within the room in which He appeared.

Vasudeva then began to offer his prayers. “My dear Lord, I can understand who You are. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of all living entities and the Absolute Truth. You have appeared in Your own eternal form, which is directly perceived by us. I understand that because I am afraid of Kaàsa You have appeared just to deliver me from that fear. You do not belong to this material world; You are the same person who brings about the cosmic manifestation simply by glancing over material nature.”

One may argue that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who creates the whole cosmic manifestation simply by His glance, cannot come within the womb of Devaké, the wife of Vasudeva. To eradicate this argument, Vasudeva said, “My dear Lord, it is not a very wonderful thing that You have appeared within the womb of Devaké, because the creation was also made in that way. You were lying in the Causal Ocean as Mahä-Viñëu, and by Your breathing process, innumerable universes came into existence. Then You entered into each of the universes as Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu. Then again You expanded Yourself as Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu and entered into the hearts of all living entities and even within the atoms. Therefore Your entrance into the womb of Devaké is understandable in the same way. You appear to have entered, but You are simultaneously all-pervading. We can understand Your entrance and nonentrance from material examples. The total material energy remains intact even after being divided into sixteen elements. The material body is nothing but the combination of the five gross elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether. Whenever there is a material body, it appears that such elements are newly created, but actually the elements are always existing outside of the body. Similarly, although You have appeared as a child in the womb of Devaké, You are also existing outside. You are always in Your abode, but still You can simultaneously expand Yourself into millions of forms.

“One has to understand Your appearance with great intelligence because the material energy is also emanating from You. You are the original source of the material energy, just as the sun is the source of the sunshine. The sunshine cannot cover the sun globe, nor can the material energy—being an emanation from You—cover You. You appear to be in the three modes of material energy, but actually the three modes of material energy cannot cover You. This is understood by the highly intellectual philosophers. In other words, although You appear to be within the material energy, You are never covered by it.”

We hear from the Vedic version that the Supreme Brahman exhibits His effulgence and therefore everything becomes illuminated. We can understand from the Brahma-saàhitä that the brahmajyoti, or the Brahman effulgence, emanates from the body of the Supreme Lord. And from the Brahman effulgence, all creation takes place. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gétä that the Lord is the support of the Brahman effulgence. Therefore, originally He is the root cause of everything. But persons who are less intelligent think that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes within this material world, He accepts the material qualities. Such conclusions are not very mature but are made by the less intelligent.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is directly and indirectly existing everywhere; He is outside this material creation, and He is also within it. He is within this material creation not only as Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu; He is also within the atom. The existence of the atom is due to His presence. Nothing can be separated from His existence. In the Vedic injunctions we find that the Supreme Soul, or the root cause of everything, has to be searched out because nothing exists independently of the Supreme Soul. Therefore the material manifestation is also a transformation of His potency. Both inert matter and the living force—the soul—are emanations from Him. Only the foolish conclude that when the Supreme Lord appears He accepts the conditions of matter. Even if He appears to have accepted the material body, He is still not subjected to any material condition. Kåñëa has therefore appeared and defeated all imperfect conclusions about the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“My Lord, Your appearance, existence and disappearance are beyond the influence of the material qualities. Because Your Lordship is the Supreme Brahman and the controller of everything, there is nothing inconceivable or contradictory in You. As You have said, material nature works under Your superintendence, just like a government officer working under the orders of the chief executive. The influence of subordinate activities cannot affect You. Since You are the Supreme Brahman, everything is existing within You, and since all the activities of material nature are controlled by Your Lordship, none of these activities affect You.

“You are called çuklam. Çuklam, or “whiteness,’ is the symbolic representation of the Absolute Truth because it is unaffected by the material qualities. Lord Brahmä is called rakta, or red, because Brahmä represents the quality of passion for creation. Darkness is entrusted to Lord Çiva because he annihilates the cosmos. The creation, annihilation and maintenance of this cosmic manifestation are conducted by Your potencies, yet You are always unaffected by those qualities. As confirmed in the Vedas, harir hi nirguëaù säkñät: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always free from all material qualities. It is also said that the qualities of passion and ignorance are nonexistent in the person of the Supreme Lord.

“My Lord, You are the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead, the supreme great, maintaining the order of this cosmic manifestation. Yet in spite of Your being the supreme controller, You have so kindly appeared in my home. The purpose of Your appearance is to kill the followers of the demoniac rulers of the world, who are in the dress of royal princes but are actually demons. I am sure that You will kill all of them and their followers and soldiers.

“I understand that You have appeared in order to kill the uncivilized Kaàsa and his followers. But knowing that You were to appear in order to kill him and his followers, he has already killed so many of Your predecessors, Your elder brothers. Now he is simply awaiting the news of Your birth. As soon as he hears about it, he will immediately appear with all kinds of weapons to kill You.”

After this prayer of Vasudeva, Devaké, the mother of Kåñëa, offered her prayers. She was very frightened because of her brother’s atrocities. Devaké said, “My dear Lord, Your eternal forms, like Näräyaëa, Lord Räma, Hayaçérña, Varäha, Nåsiàha, Vämana, Baladeva and millions of similar incarnations emanating from Viñëu, are described in the Vedic literature as original. You are original because all Your forms as incarnations are outside of this material creation. Your form was existing before this cosmic manifestation was created. Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are evercognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only; all such transcendental, eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Viñëu.

“After many millions of years, when Lord Brahmä comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva then enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhäna, and the pradhäna enters into You. Therefore after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, qualities and paraphernalia.

“My Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because You are the director of the unmanifested total energy and the ultimate reservoir of the material nature. My Lord, the whole cosmic manifestation is under the influence of time, beginning from the moment up to the duration of the year. All act under Your direction. You are the original director of everything and the reservoir of all potent energies.

“All the conditioned souls are continually fleeing from one body to another and one planet to another, yet they do not get free from the onslaught of birth and death. But when one of these fearful living entities comes under the shelter of Your lotus feet, he can lie down without anxiety of being attacked by formidable death.” This statement by Devaké is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä by the Lord Himself. There the Lord says that even after traveling all over the universe, from Brahmaloka to Pätälaloka, one cannot escape the attack of birth, death, disease and old age. But one who enters the kingdom of God, the Lord says, is never again obliged to come to the material world.

“Therefore, my Lord, I request You to save me from the cruel hands of the son of Ugrasena, Kaàsa. I am praying to Your Lordship to please rescue me from this fearful condition because You are always ready to give protection to Your servitors.” The Lord has confirmed this statement in the Bhagavad-gétä by assuring Arjuna, “You may declare to the world, My devotee shall never be vanquished.”

While thus praying to the Lord for rescue, mother Devaké nonetheless expressed her motherly affection: “I understand that this transcendental form is generally perceived in meditation by the great sages, but I am still afraid because as soon as Kaàsa understands that You have appeared, he might harm You. So I request that for the time being You become invisible to our material eyes.” In other words, she requested the Lord to assume the form of an ordinary child. “My only cause of fear from my brother Kaàsa is due to Your appearance. My Lord Madhusüdana, Kaàsa may not know that You are already born. Therefore I request You to conceal this four-armed form of Your Lordship, which holds the four symbols of Viñëu—namely the conchshell, the disc, the club and the lotus flower. My dear Lord, at the end of the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation, You put the whole universe within Your abdomen; still by Your unalloyed mercy You have appeared in my womb. I am surprised that You imitate the activities of ordinary human beings just to please Your devotee.”

On hearing the prayers of Devaké, the Lord replied, “My dear mother, in the millennium of Sväyambhuva Manu, My father Vasudeva was living as one of the Prajäpatis. His name at that time was Sutapä, and you were his wife named Påçni. At that time, when Lord Brahmä was desiring to increase the population, he requested you to generate offspring. You controlled your senses and performed severe austerities. By practicing the breathing exercises of the yoga system, both you and your husband could tolerate all the influences of the material laws: the rainy season, the onslaught of the wind, and the scorching heat of the sunshine. You also executed all religious principles. In this way you were able to cleanse your heart and control the influences of material laws. In executing your austerity, you used to eat only the leaves of the trees which fell to the ground. Then with a steady mind and controlled sex drive, you worshiped Me, desiring some wonderful benediction from Me. Both of you practiced severe austerities for twelve thousand years by the calculation of the demigods. During that time, your mind was always absorbed in Me. When you were executing devotional service and always thinking of Me within your heart, I was very much pleased with you. O sinless mother, your heart is therefore always pure. At that time also I appeared before you in this form just to fulfill your desire, and I asked you to ask whatever you desired. At that time you wished to have Me born as your son. Although you saw Me personally, instead of asking for your complete liberation from material bondage, under the influence of My energy you asked Me to become your son.”

In other words, to appear in the material world the Lord selected His mother and father—namely Påçni and Sutapä, respectively. Whenever the Lord comes as a human being, He must have a mother and a father, so He selected Påçni and Sutapä perpetually as His mother and father. And on account of this, neither Påçni nor Sutapä could ask the Lord for liberation. Liberation is not so important as the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The Lord could have awarded Påçni and Sutapä immediate liberation, but He preferred to keep them within this material world for His different appearances, as will be explained in the following verses. On receiving the benediction from the Lord to become His father and mother, both Påçni and Sutapä retired from the activities of austerity and lived as husband and wife in order to beget a child who was the Supreme Lord Himself.

In due course of time Påçni became pregnant and gave birth to the child. The Lord spoke to Devaké and Vasudeva: “At that time My name was Påçnigarbha. In the next millennium you took birth as Aditi and Kaçyapa, and I became your child of the name Upendra. At that time My form was just like a dwarf, and for this reason I was known as Vämanadeva. I gave you the benediction that I would take birth as your son three times. The first time I was known as Påçnigarbha, born of Påçni and Sutapä, the next birth I was Upendra, born of Aditi and Kaçyapa, and now for the third time I am born as Kåñëa from you, Devaké and Vasudeva. I have appeared in this Viñëu form just to convince you that I am the same Supreme Personality of Godhead again taken birth. I could have appeared just like an ordinary child, but in that way you would not have believed that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had taken birth in your womb. My dear father and mother, you have therefore raised Me many times as your child, with great affection and love, and I am therefore very pleased and obliged to you. And I assure you that this time you shall go back home, back to Godhead, on account of your perfection in your mission. I know you are very concerned about Me and afraid of Kaàsa. Therefore I order you to take Me immediately to Gokula and exchange Me with the daughter who has just been born to Yaçodä.”

Having spoken thus to His father and mother, the Lord turned Himself into an ordinary child in their presence and remained silent.

Being ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva prepared to take his son from the delivery room, and exactly at that time, a daughter was born to Nanda and Yaçodä. She was Yogamäyä, the internal potency of the Lord. By the influence of this internal potency, Yogamäyä, all the residents of Kaàsa’s palace, especially the doorkeepers, were overwhelmed with deep sleep, and all the palace doors opened, although they were barred and shackled with iron chains. The night was very dark, but as soon as Vasudeva took Kåñëa on his lap and went out, he could see everything just as in the sunlight.

In the Caitanya-caritämåta it is said that Kåñëa is just like sunlight and that wherever there is Kåñëa, the illusory energy, which is compared to darkness, cannot remain. When Vasudeva was carrying Kåñëa, the darkness of the night disappeared. All the prison doors automatically opened. At the same time there was thunder in the sky and severe rainfall. While Vasudeva was carrying his son Kåñëa in the falling rain, Lord Çeña in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamunä and saw that the water of the Yamunä was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Räma when He was bridging over the gulf. In this way Vasudeva crossed the river Yamunä. On the other side, he went to the place of Nanda Mahäräja, situated in Gokula, where he saw that all the cowherd men were fast asleep. He took the opportunity of silently entering into the house of Yaçodä, and without difficulty he exchanged his son with the baby girl newly born in the house of Yaçodä. Then, after entering the house very silently and exchanging the boy with the girl, he returned to the prison of Kaàsa and silently put the girl on the lap of Devaké. He again clamped the shackles on himself so that Kaàsa could not recognize that so many things had happened.

Mother Yaçodä understood that a child was born to her, but because she was very tired from the labor of childbirth, she was fast asleep. When she awoke, she could not remember whether she had given birth to a male or a female child.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Third Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Birth of Lord Kåñëa.”

KB 4: Kaàsa Begins His Persecutions

After Vasudeva adjusted things as they had been before he carried Kåñëa to Gokula, and all the doors and gates became similarly closed, the gatekeepers awoke and heard the newborn child crying. Kaàsa was waiting to hear the news of the child’s birth, and the gatekeepers immediately approached him and informed him that the child was born. At that time, Kaàsa got up from his bed very quickly and exclaimed, “Now the cruel death of my life is born!” Kaàsa became perplexed now that his death was approaching, and his hair scattered. Immediately he proceeded toward the place where the child was born.

Devaké, on seeing her brother approaching, prayed in a very meek attitude to Kaàsa: “My dear brother, please do not kill this female child. I promise that this child will be the wife of your son; therefore don’t kill her. You are not to be killed by any female child. That was the prophecy. You are to be killed by a male child, so please do not kill her. My dear brother, you have killed so many of my children who were just born, shining as the sun. That is not your fault. You have been advised by demoniac friends to kill my children. But now I beg you to excuse this girl at least. Let her live as my daughter.”

Kaàsa was so cruel that he did not listen to the pitiful prayers of his sister Devaké. He forcibly grabbed the newborn child to rebuke his sister and attempted to dash her on the stone mercilessly. This is a graphic example of a cruel demon who could sacrifice all relationships for the sake of personal gratification. But the child immediately slipped out of his hands, went up into the sky and appeared with eight arms as the younger sister of Viñëu. She was decorated with nice garments and flower garlands and ornaments; in her eight hands she held a bow, lance, arrows, sword, conchshell, disc, club and shield.

Seeing the appearance of the child (who was actually the goddess Durgä), all the demigods from different planets like Siddhaloka, Cäraëaloka, Gandharvaloka, Apsaroloka, Kinnaraloka and Uragaloka presented her with various articles and began to offer their respective prayers. From above, the goddess addressed Kaàsa: “You rascal, how can you kill me? The child who will kill you is already born before me somewhere within this world. Don’t be so cruel to your poor sister.” After this appearance, the goddess Durgä became known by various names in various parts of the world.

After hearing these words, Kaàsa became very much overwhelmed with fear. Out of pity, he immediately released Vasudeva and Devaké from the bondage of their shackles and very politely began to address them. He said, “My dear sister and brother-in-law, I have acted just like a demon in killing my own nephews—your children—and thereby I have given up all consideration of our intimate relationship. I do not know what will be the result of these envious acts of mine. Probably I shall be sent to the hell where killers of brähmaëas go. I am surprised, however, that the celestial prophecy has not come true. It is not only in human society that false propaganda is found. Now it appears that even the celestial denizens speak lies. Because I believed in the words of the celestial denizens, I have committed so many sins by killing the children of my sister. My dear Vasudeva and Devaké, you are both very great souls. I have no instructions to give you, but still I request that you not be sorry for the death of your children. Every one of us is under the control of superior power, and that superior power does not allow us to remain together. We are bound to be separated from our friends and relatives in due course of time. But we must know for certain that even after the disappearance of the different material bodies, the soul remains intact eternally. For example, there are many pots made of earthly clay, and they are prepared and also broken. But in spite of this, the earth remains as it is perpetually. Similarly, the bodies of the soul under different conditions are made and destroyed, but the spirit soul remains eternally. So there is nothing to lament over. Everyone should understand that this material body is different from the spirit soul, and so long as one does not come to that understanding, he is sure to accept the processes of transmigration from one body to another.
My dear sister Devaké, you are so gentle and kind. Please excuse me—don’t be aggrieved by the death of your children, which I have caused. Actually this was not done by me, because all these are predestined activities. One has to act according to the predestined plan, even unwillingly. People misunderstand that with the end of the body the self dies, or they think that one can kill another living entity. All these misconceptions oblige one to accept the conditions of material existence. In other words, as long as one is not firmly convinced of the eternality of the soul, one is subjected to the tribulation of being killer and killed. My dear sister Devaké and brother-in-law Vasudeva, kindly excuse the atrocities I have committed against you. I am very poor-hearted, and you are so great-hearted, so take compassion upon me and excuse me.”

While Kaàsa was speaking to his brother-in-law and sister, tears flowed from his eyes, and he fell down at their feet. Believing the words of Durgä-devé, whom he had tried to kill, Kaàsa immediately released his brother-in-law and sister. He personally unlocked the iron shackles and very sympathetically showed his friendship for his family members.

When Devaké saw her brother so repentant, she also became pacified and forgot all his atrocious activities against her children. Vasudeva also, forgetting all past incidents, spoke smilingly with his brother-in-law. Vasudeva told Kaàsa, “My dear fortunate brother-in-law, what you are saying about the material body and the soul is correct. Every living entity is born ignorant, misunderstanding this material body to be his self. This conception of life is due to ignorance, and on the basis of this ignorance we create enmity or friendship. Lamentation, jubilation, fearfulness, envy, greed, illusion and madness are different features of our material concept of life. A person influenced like this engages in enmityonly  due to the material body. Being engaged in such activities, we forget our eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Vasudeva took the opportunity of Kaàsa’s benevolence and informed him that his atheistic activities were also due to this misconception of life—namely taking the material body to be the self. When Vasudeva talked with Kaàsa in such an illuminating way, Kaàsa became very much pleased, and his guilt for killing his nephews subsided. With the permission of his sister Devaké and brother-in-law Vasudeva, he returned to his home with a relieved mind.

But the next day Kaàsa called all his counselors together and narrated to them all the incidents that had happened the night before. All the counselors of Kaàsa were demons and eternal enemies of the demigods, so they became depressed upon hearing their master speak of the night’s events. And although they were not very much experienced or learned, they began to give instructions to Kaàsa as follows: “Dear sir, let us now make arrangements to kill all children who were born within the last ten days in all towns, counties, villages and pasturing grounds. Let us execute this plan indiscriminately. We think that the demigods cannot do anything against us if we perform these atrocities. They are always afraid of fighting with us, and even if they wish to check our activities, they will not dare to do so. Because of your immeasurable strength, they fear your bow. Indeed, we have practical experience that whenever you stood to fight with them and began to shower your arrows on them, they immediately fled in all directions just to save their lives. Many of the demigods were unable to fight with you, and they immediately surrendered themselves unto you by loosening their turbans and the tufts of hair on their heads. With folded hands they begged you to spare them and said, “My lord, we are all afraid of your strength. Please release us from this dangerous fight.’ We have also seen many times that you would never kill such surrendered fighters when they were all fearful, their bows, arrows and chariots broken, forgetful of their military activities and unable to fight with you. So actually we have nothing to fear from these demigods. They are very proud of being great fighters in peacetime outside the war field, but actually they cannot show any talent or military power on the war field. Although Lord Viñëu, Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä are always ready to help the demigods, headed by Indra, we have no reason to be afraid of them. As far as Lord Viñëu is concerned, He has already hidden Himself within the hearts of all living entities, and He cannot come out. As far as Lord Çiva is concerned, he has renounced all activities; he has already entered into the forest. And Lord Brahmä is always engaged in different types of austerities and meditation. And what to speak of Indra—he is a straw in comparison to your strength. Therefore we have nothing to fear from any of these demigods. But we must not neglect them, for the demigods are our determined enemies. We must be careful to protect ourselves. To root them out from their very existence, we should just engage ourselves in your service and be always ready for your command.”

The demons continued to say, “If there is some disease in the body which is neglected, it worsens and becomes incurable. Similarly, when one is not careful about restraining the senses and lets them loose, it is then very difficult to control them. Therefore, we must now be very careful of the demigods before they get too strong to be subdued. The foundation of strength of the demigods is Lord Viñëu, because the ultimate goal of all religious principles is to satisfy Him. The Vedic injunctions, the brähmaëas, the cows, austerities, sacrifices, performances of charity and distribution of wealth are all for the satisfaction of Lord Viñëu. So let us immediately begin by killing all the brähmaëas who are in charge of the Vedic knowledge and the great sages who are in charge of sacrificial ritualistic performances. Let us kill all the cows, which are the source of butter, which is so necessary for performing sacrifices. Please give us your permission to kill all these creatures.

“Actually the limbs of the transcendental body of Lord Viñëu are the brähmaëas, the cows, Vedic knowledge, austerity, truthfulness, sense and mind control, faithfulness, charity, tolerance and performance of sacrifices. Lord Viñëu is situated in everyone’s heart and is the leader of all demigods, including Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä. Therefore we think that to persecute the great sages and brähmaëas is to kill Lord Viñëu.”

Thus being advised by his demoniac ministers, Kaàsa, who was from the very beginning the greatest rascal, decided to persecute the brähmaëas and Vaiñëavas, being entrapped by the shackles of all-devouring, eternal time. He ordered the demons to harass all kinds of saintly persons, and then he entered his house. The adherents of Kaàsa were all influenced by the mode of passion as well as illusioned by the mode of ignorance, and their only business was to create enmity with saintly persons. Such activities can only reduce one’s duration of life. The demons accelerated the process and invited their deaths as soon as possible. The result of persecuting saintly persons is not only untimely death. The act is so offensive that the perpetrator also gradually loses his beauty, his fame and his religious principles, and thus his promotion to higher planets is checked. Driven by various kinds of mental concoctions, the demons diminish all kinds of auspiciousness. An offense at the lotus feet of the devotees and brähmaëas is a greater offense than that committed at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A civilization that commits such sinful activities generally loses all faith in the Supreme Lord, and such a godless civilization becomes the source of all calamities in human society.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fourth Chapter of Kåñëa, “Kaàsa Begins His Persecutions.”

KB 5: The Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva

Although Kåñëa was the real son of Vasudeva and Devaké, because of Kaàsa’s atrocious activities Vasudeva could not enjoy the birth ceremony of his son. But Nanda Mahäräja, the foster father, celebrated the birth ceremony of Kåñëa very joyfully. The next day, it was declared that a male child had been born to Yaçodä. According to Vedic custom, Nanda Mahäräja called for learned astrologers and brähmaëas to perform the birth ceremony. After the birth of a child, the astrologers calculate the moment of the birth and make a horoscope of the child’s future life. Another ceremony takes place after the birth of the child: the family members take baths, cleanse themselves and decorate themselves with ornaments and nice garments; then they come before the child and the astrologer to hear of the future life of the child. Nanda Mahäräja and other members of the family dressed and sat down in front of the birthplace. All the brähmaëas who were assembled there on this occasion chanted auspicious mantras, according to the rituals, while the astrologers performed the birth ceremony. All the demigods are also worshiped on this occasion, as well as the forefathers of the family. Nanda Mahäräja distributed to the brähmaëas 200,000 cows, which were well decorated with cloth and ornaments. He gave the brähmaëas not only cows in charity but also hills of grain decorated with ornaments and golden-bordered cloth.

In the material world we possess riches and wealth in many ways, but sometimes not in very honest and pious ways, because that is the nature of accumulating wealth. According to Vedic injunction, therefore, one should purify such wealth by giving cows and gold in charity to the brähmaëas. A newborn child is also purified by gifts of grains in charity to the brähmaëas. In this material world it is to be understood that we are always living in a contaminated state. We therefore have to purify the duration of our lives, our possession of wealth and our self. We can purify our duration of life by taking daily bath and cleansing the body inside and outside and accepting the ten kinds of purificatory processes. By austerities, by worship of the Lord, and by distribution of charity, we can purify the possession of wealth. We can purify our self by studying the Vedas in order to understand the Absolute Truth and achieve self-realization. It is therefore stated in the Vedic literature that by birth everyone is born a çüdra, that by accepting the purificatory process one becomes twice-born, that by studying the Vedas one becomes a vipra, which is the preliminary qualification for becoming a brähmaëa, and that when one perfectly understands the Absolute Truth he is called a brähmaëa. And when the brähmaëa reaches further perfection, he becomes a Vaiñëava, or a devotee.

In that ceremony, all the assembled brähmaëas began to chant different kinds of Vedic mantras to invoke all good fortune for the child. There are different kinds of chanting, known as süta, mägadha, vandéja and virudävalé. Along with this chanting of mantras and songs, bugles and kettledrums are sounded outside the house. On this occasion, the joyous vibrations could be heard in all the pasturing grounds and all the houses. Within and outside of the houses there were varieties of artistic paintings, done with rice pulp, and scented water was sprinkled everywhere, even on the roads and streets. Ceilings and roofs were decorated with different kinds of flags, festoons and green leaves. The gates were made of green leaves and flowers. All the cows, bulls and calves were smeared with a mixture of oil and turmeric and painted with minerals like red oxide, yellow clay and manganese. They wore garlands of peacock feathers and were covered with nice colored cloths and gold necklaces.

When all the ecstatic cowherd men heard that Nanda Mahäräja, the father of Kåñëa, was celebrating the birth ceremony of his son, they became spontaneously joyful. They dressed themselves with very costly garments and ornamented their bodies with different kinds of earrings and necklaces and wore great turbans on their heads. After dressing themselves in this gorgeous way, they took various kinds of presentations and thus approached the house of Nanda Mahäräja.

As soon as they heard that mother Yaçodä had given birth to a child, all the cowherd women became overwhelmed with joy, and they also dressed themselves with various kinds of costly garments and ornaments and smeared scented cosmetics on their bodies.

As the dust on the lotus flower exhibits the exquisite beauty of the flower, all the gopés (cowherd women) applied the dust of kuìkuma on their lotuslike faces. These beautiful gopés took their different presentations and very soon reached the house of Mahäräja Nanda. Overburdened with their heavy hips and swollen breasts, the gopés could not proceed very quickly towards the house of Nanda Mahäräja, but out of ecstatic love for Kåñëa they proceeded as quickly as possible. Their ears were decorated with pearl rings, their necks were decorated with jewel lockets, their lips and eyes were decorated with different kinds of lipstick and ointment, and their hands were decorated with nice golden bangles. As they were very hastily passing over the stone road, the flower garlands which were decorating their bodies fell to the ground, and it appeared that a shower of flowers was falling from the sky. From the movement of the different kinds of ornaments on their bodies, they were looking still more beautiful. In this way, they all reached the house of Nanda-Yaçodä and blessed the child: “Dear child, You live long just to protect us.” While they were blessing child Kåñëa in this way, they offered a mixture of turmeric powder, oil, yogurt, milk and water. They sprinkled this mixture not only on the body of child Kåñëa but on all other persons who were present there. Also on that auspicious occasion, there were different bands of expert musicians playing.

When the cowherd men saw the pastimes of the cowherd women, they became very joyful, and in response they also began to throw yogurt, milk, clarified butter and water upon the bodies of the gopés. Then both parties began to throw butter on each other’s bodies. Nanda Mahäräja was also very happy to see the pastimes of the cowherd men and women, and he became very liberal in giving charity to the different singers who were assembled there. Some singers were reciting great verses from the Upaniñads and Puräëas, some were glorifying the family ancestors, and some were singing very sweet songs. There were also many learned brähmaëas present, and Nanda Mahäräja, being very satisfied on this occasion, gave them different kinds of garments, ornaments and cows in charity.

It is very important to note in this connection how wealthy the inhabitants of Våndävana were simply by raising cows. All the cowherd men belonged to the vaiçya community, and their business was to protect the cows and cultivate crops. By their dress and ornaments, and by their behavior, it appears that although they were in a small village, they still were rich in material possessions. They possessed such an abundance of various kinds of milk products that they were throwing butter lavishly on each other’s bodies without restriction. Their wealth was in milk, yogurt, clarified butter and many other milk products, and by trading their agricultural products, they were rich in various kinds of jewelry, ornaments and costly garments. Not only did they possess all these things, but they could give them away in charity lavishly, as did Nanda Mahäräja.

Thus Nanda Mahäräja, the foster father of Lord Kåñëa, began to satisfy the desires of all the men assembled there. He respectfully received them and gave them in charity whatever they desired. The learned brähmaëas, who had no other source of income, were completely dependent on the vaiçya community for their maintenance, and they received gifts on such festive occasions as birthdays and marriages. While Nanda Mahäräja was worshiping Lord Viñëu on this occasion and was trying to satisfy all the people there, his only desire was that the newborn child Kåñëa be happy. Nanda Mahäräja had no knowledge that this child was the origin of Viñëu; he was praying to Lord Viñëu to protect Him.

Rohiëédevé, the mother of Balaräma, was the most fortunate wife of Vasudeva. She was away from her husband, yet just to congratulate Mahäräja Nanda on the occasion of the birth ceremony of his son, Kåñëa, she dressed herself very nicely. Wearing a garland, a necklace and other bodily ornaments, she appeared on the scene and moved hither and thither. According to the Vedic system, a woman whose husband is not at home does not dress herself very nicely. But although Rohiëé’s husband was away, she still dressed herself very nicely on this occasion.

From the opulence of the birth ceremony of Kåñëa, it is very clear that at that time Våndävana was rich in every respect. Because Lord Kåñëa took birth in the house of King Nanda and mother Yaçodä, the goddess of fortune was obliged to manifest her opulences in Våndävana. It appeared that Våndävana had already become a site for the pastimes of the goddess of fortune.

After the birth ceremony, Nanda Mahäräja decided to go to Mathurä to pay the annual tax to the government of Kaàsa. Before leaving, he called for the able cowherd men of the village and asked them to take care of Våndävana in his absence. When Nanda Mahäräja arrived in Mathurä, Vasudeva got the news and was very eager to congratulate his friend. He immediately went to the place where Nanda Mahäräja was staying. When Nanda saw Vasudeva, he felt that he had regained his life. Nanda, overwhelmed with joy, immediately stood up and embraced Vasudeva. Vasudeva was received very warmly and offered a nice place to sit. Anxious about his two sons, who had been put under the protection of Nanda without Nanda’s knowledge, Vasudeva inquired about Them with great anxiety. Both Balaräma and Kåñëa were the sons of Vasudeva. Balaräma was transferred to the womb of Rohiëé, Vasudeva’s own wife, but Rohiëé was kept under the protection of Nanda Mahäräja. Kåñëa was personally delivered to Yaçodä and exchanged with her daughter. Nanda Mahäräja knew that Balaräma was the son of Vasudeva, although he did not know that Kåñëa was also Vasudeva’s son. But Vasudeva was aware of this fact and inquired very eagerly about Kåñëa and Balaräma.

Vasudeva then addressed him, “My dear brother, you were old and very anxious to beget a son, and yet you had none. Now by the grace of the Lord you are fortunate to have a very nice son. I think that this incident is very auspicious for you. Dear friend, I was imprisoned by Kaàsa, and now I am released; therefore this is another birth for me. I had no hope of seeing you again, but by God’s grace I can see you.” In this way, Vasudeva indirectly expressed his anxiety about Kåñëa. Kåñëa was sent incognito to the bed of mother Yaçodä, and after very pompously celebrating His birth ceremony, Nanda went to Mathurä. So Vasudeva was very pleased and said, “This is a new birth for me.” He never expected that Kåñëa would live, because all his other sons had been killed by Kaàsa.

Vasudeva continued, “My dear friend, it is very difficult for us to live together. Although we have our family and relatives, sons and daughters, by nature’s way we are generally separated from one another. The reason for this is that every living entity appears on this earth under different pressures of fruitive activities; although they assemble together, there is no certainty of their remaining together for a long time. According to one’s fruitive activities, one has to act differently and thereby be separated. For example, many plants and creepers are floating on the waves of the ocean. Sometimes they come together, and sometimes they separate forever: one plant goes one way, and another plant goes another. Similarly, our family assembly may be very nice while we are living together, but after some time, in the course of the waves of time, we are separated.”

The purport of this expression by Vasudeva is this: although he had eight sons born in the womb of Devaké, unfortunately they were all gone. He could not even keep his one son Kåñëa with him. Vasudeva was feeling His separation, but he could not express the real fact. “Please tell me about the welfare of Våndävana,” he said. “You have many animals—are they happy? Are they getting sufficient grass and water? Please also let me know whether the place where you are now living is undisturbed and peaceful.” This inquiry was made by Vasudeva because he was very anxious about Kåñëa’s safety. He knew that Kaàsa and his followers were trying to kill Kåñëa by sending various kinds of demons. They had already resolved that all children born within ten days of the birthday of Kåñëa should be killed. Because Vasudeva was so anxious about Kåñëa, he inquired about the safety of His residence. He also inquired about Balaräma and His mother, Rohiëé, who were entrusted to the care of Nanda Mahäräja. Vasudeva also reminded Nanda Mahäräja that Balaräma did not know His real father. “He knows you as His father. And now you have another child, Kåñëa, and I think you are taking very nice care for both of Them.” It is also significant that Vasudeva inquired about the welfare of Nanda Mahäräja’s animals. The animals, and especially the cows, were protected exactly in the manner of one’s children. Vasudeva was a kñatriya, and Nanda Mahäräja was a vaiçya. It is the duty of the kñatriyas to give protection to the citizens, and it is the duty of the vaiçyas to give protection to the cows. The cows are as important as the citizens. Just as the human citizens should be given all kinds of protection, so the cows also should be given full protection.

Vasudeva continued to say that the maintenance of religious principles, economic development and the satisfactory execution of meeting the demands of the senses depend on cooperation among relatives, nations and all humanity. Therefore, it is everyone’s duty to see that his fellow citizens and the cows are not put into difficulty. One should see to the peace and comfort of his fellow man and the animals. The development of religious principles, economic development and sense gratification can then be achieved without difficulty. Vasudeva expressed his sorrow due to not being able to give protection to his own sons born of Devaké. He was thinking that religious principles, economic development and the satisfaction of his senses were therefore all lost.

Upon hearing this, Nanda Mahäräja replied, “My dear Vasudeva, I know that you are very much aggrieved because the cruel king Kaàsa has killed all your sons born of Devaké. Although the last child was a daughter, Kaàsa could not kill her, and she has entered into the celestial planets. My dear friend, do not be aggrieved; we are all being controlled by our past unseen activities. Everyone is subjected to his past deeds, and one who is conversant with the philosophy of karma and its reactions is a man in knowledge. Such a person will not be aggrieved at any incident, happy or miserable.”

Vasudeva then replied, “My dear Nanda, if you have already paid the government taxes, then return soon to your place, because I think that there may be some disturbances in Gokula.”

After the friendly conversation between Nanda Mahäräja and Vasudeva, Vasudeva returned to his home. Nanda Mahäräja and the other cowherd men, who had come to Mathurä to pay their taxes, also returned home.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifth Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva.”

KB 6: Pütanä Killed

While Nanda Mahäräja was returning home, he considered Vasudeva’s warning that there might be some disturbance in Gokula. Certainly the advice was friendly and not false. So Nanda thought, “There is some truth in it.” Therefore, out of fear, he began to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is quite natural for a devotee in danger to think of Kåñëa, because he has no other shelter. When a child is in danger, he takes shelter of his mother or father. Similarly, a devotee is always under the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but when he specifically sees some danger, he remembers the Lord very rapidly.

After consulting with his demoniac ministers, Kaàsa instructed a witch named Pütanä, who knew the black art of killing small children by ghastly sinful methods, to kill all kinds of children in the cities, villages and pasturing grounds. Such witches can play their black art only where there is no chanting or hearing of the holy name of Kåñëa. It is said that wherever the chanting of the holy name of Kåñëa is done, even negligently, all bad elements—witches, ghosts and dangerous calamities—immediately disappear. And this is certainly true of the place where the chanting of the holy name of Kåñëa is done seriously—especially in Våndävana when the Supreme Lord was personally present. Therefore, the doubts of Nanda Mahäräja were certainly based on affection for Kåñëa. Actually there was no danger from the activities of Pütanä, despite her powers. Such witches are called khecaré, which means they can fly in the sky. This black art of witchcraft is still practiced by some women in the remote northwestern side of India. They can transfer themselves from one place to another on the branch of an uprooted tree. Pütanä knew this witchcraft, and therefore she is described in the Bhägavatam as khecaré.

Pütanä entered the county of Gokula, the residential quarter of Nanda Mahäräja, without permission. Dressing herself just like a beautiful woman, she entered the house of mother Yaçodä. She appeared very beautiful, with raised hips, nicely swollen breasts, earrings, and flowers in her hair. She looked especially beautiful on account of her thin waist. She was glancing at everyone with very attractive looks and smiling face, and all the residents of Våndävana were captivated. The innocent cowherd women thought that she was the goddess of fortune appearing in Våndävana with a lotus flower in her hand. It seemed to them that she had personally come to see Kåñëa, who is her husband. Because of her exquisite beauty, no one checked her movement, and therefore she freely entered the house of Nanda Mahäräja. Pütanä, the killer of many, many children, found baby Kåñëa lying on a small bed, and she could at once perceive that the baby was hiding His unparalleled potencies, which resembled fire covered by ashes. Pütanä thought, “This child is so powerful that He can destroy the whole universe immediately.”

Pütanä’s understanding is very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, is situated in everyone’s heart. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä that He gives one necessary intelligence, and He also causes one to forget. Pütanä was immediately aware that the child whom she was observing in the house of Nanda Mahäräja was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. He was lying there as a small baby, but that does not mean He was less powerful. The materialistic theory that God-worship is anthropomorphic is not correct. No living being can become God by undergoing meditation or austerities. God is always God. Kåñëa as a baby is as complete as He is as a full-fledged youth. The Mäyäväda theory holds that the living entity was formerly God but has now become overwhelmed by the influence of mäyä. Therefore they say that presently he is not God, but when the influence of mäyä is taken away, then he again becomes God. This theory cannot be applied to the minute living entities. The living entities are minute parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they are minute particles or sparks of the original fire. So these sparks can be covered by the influence of mäyä, but the original fire, Kåñëa, cannot. Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even from the beginning of His appearance in the house of Vasudeva and Devaké.

Kåñëa showed the nature of a small baby and closed His eyes, as if to avoid the face of Pütanä. This closing of the eyes is interpreted and studied in different ways by the devotees. Some say that Kåñëa closed His eyes because He did not like to see the face of Pütanä, who had killed so many children and who had now come to kill Him. Others say that Pütanä hesitated to take the baby on her lap because something extraordinary was being dictated to her from within, and in order to give her assurance, Kåñëa closed His eyes so that she would not be frightened. And yet others interpret in this way: Kåñëa appeared in order to kill the demons and give protection to the devotees, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä: pariträëäya sädhünäà vinäçäya ca duñkåtäm [Bg. 4.8]. The first demon to be killed was a woman. According to Vedic rules, the killing of a woman, a brähmaëa, cows or a child is strictly forbidden. Kåñëa was obliged to kill the demon Pütanä, and because the killing of a woman is forbidden according to Vedic çästra, He could not help but close His eyes. Another interpretation is that Kåñëa closed His eyes because He simply took Pütanä to be His nurse. Pütanä came to Kåñëa just to offer her breast for the Lord to suck. Kåñëa is so merciful that even though He knew Pütanä was there to kill Him, He took her as His nurse or mother.

There are seven kinds of mothers according to Vedic injunction: the real mother, the wife of a teacher or spiritual master, the wife of a king, the wife of a brähmaëa, the cow, the nurse and mother earth. Because Pütanä came to take Kåñëa on her lap and offer her breast milk to be sucked by Him, she was accepted by Kåñëa as one of His mothers. That is considered to be another reason He closed His eyes: He had to kill a nurse or mother. But His killing of His mother or nurse was no different from His love for His real mother or foster mother Yaçodä. We further understand from Vedic information that Pütanä was also treated as a mother and given the same facility as Yaçodä. As Yaçodä was given liberation from the material world, Pütanä was also given liberation. When the baby Kåñëa closed His eyes, Pütanä took Him on her lap. She did not know that she was holding death personified. If a person mistakes a snake for a rope, he dies. Similarly, Pütanä had killed so many babies before meeting Kåñëa, and she mistook Him to be like them, but now she was accepting the snake that would kill her immediately.

When Pütanä was taking baby Kåñëa on her lap, both Yaçodä and Rohiëé were present, but they did not forbid her because she was so beautifully dressed, and because she showed motherly affection towards Kåñëa. They could not understand that she was a sword within a decorated case. Pütanä had smeared a very powerful poison on her breasts, and immediately after taking the baby on her lap, she pushed her breastly nipple within His mouth. She was hoping that as soon as He would suck her breast, He would die. But baby Kåñëa very quickly took the nipple in anger. He sucked the milk-poison along with the life air of the demon. In other words, Kåñëa simultaneously sucked the milk from her breast and killed her by sucking out her life. Kåñëa is so merciful that because the demon Pütanä came to offer her breast milk to Him, He fulfilled her desire and accepted her activity as motherly. But to stop her from further nefarious activities, He immediately killed her. And because the demon was killed by Kåñëa, she got liberation. As Kåñëa pressed her breast extremely hard and sucked out her very breath, Pütanä fell down on the ground, spread her arms and legs and began to cry, “Oh, child, leave me, leave me!” She was crying loudly and perspiring, and her whole body became wet.

As she died screaming, there was a tremendous vibration on the earth and in the sky, on the upper and lower planets and in all directions, and people thought that thunderbolts were falling. Thus the nightmare of the Pütanä witch was over, and she assumed her real feature as a great demon. She opened her fierce mouth and spread her arms and legs all over. She fell exactly as Våträsura did when struck by the thunderbolt of Indra. The long hair on her head was scattered all over her body. Her fallen body extended up to twelve miles and smashed all the trees to pieces, and everyone was struck with wonder upon seeing this gigantic body. Her teeth appeared just like plows, and her nostrils appeared just like mountain caves. Her breasts appeared like small hills, and her hair was a vast reddish bush. Her eye sockets appeared like blind wells, and her two thighs appeared like two banks of a river. Her two hands appeared like two strongly constructed bridges, and her abdomen seemed like a dried-up lake. All the cowherd men and women became struck with awe and wonder upon seeing this. And the tumultuous sound of her falling shocked their brains and ears and made their hearts beat strongly.

When the gopés saw little Kåñëa fearlessly playing on Pütanä’s lap, they very quickly came and picked Him up. Mother Yaçodä, Rohiëé and other elder gopés immediately performed the auspicious rituals by taking the tail of a cow and circumambulating His body. The child was completely washed with the urine of a cow, and the dust created by the hooves of the cows was thrown all over His body. This was all just to save little Kåñëa from future inauspicious accidents. This incident gives us a clear indication of how important the cow is to the family, society and to living beings in general. The transcendental body of Kåñëa did not require any protection, but to instruct us on the importance of the cow, the Lord was smeared over with cow dung, washed with the urine of a cow, and sprinkled with the dust upraised by the walking of the cows.

After this purificatory process, the gopés, headed by mother Yaçodä and Rohiëé, chanted twelve names of Viñëu to give Kåñëa’s body full protection from all evil influences. They washed their hands and feet and sipped water three times, as is the custom before chanting mantra. They chanted as follows: “My dear Kåñëa, may the Lord who is known as Aja protect Your legs; may Lord Maëimän protect Your knees; may Lord Yajïa protect Your thighs; may Lord Acyuta protect Your upper waist; may Lord Hayagréva protect Your abdomen; may Lord Keçava protect Your heart; may Lord Éça protect Your chest; may Lord Sürya protect Your neck; may Lord Viñëu protect Your arms; may Lord Urukrama protect Your face; may Lord Éçvara protect Your head; may Lord Cakradhara protect Your front; may Lord Gadädhara protect Your back; may Lord Madhusüdana, who carries a bow in His hand, protect Your right side; may Lord Ajana protect Your left side; may Lord Urugäya with His conchshell protect You on all sides; may the Personality of Godhead Upendra protect You from above; may Lord Tärkñya protect You on the ground; may Lord Haladhara protect You from all sides; may the Personality of Godhead known as Håñékeça protect all Your senses; may Lord Näräyaëa protect Your life airs; may the Lord of Çvetadvépa, Näräyaëa, protect the core of Your heart; may Lord Yogeçvara protect Your mind; may Lord Påçnigarbha protect Your intelligence; and may the Supreme Personality of Godhead protect Your soul. While You are playing, may Lord Govinda protect You from all sides, and when You are sleeping, may Lord Mädhava protect You from all danger; when You are walking, may the Lord of Vaikuëöha protect You from falling down; when You are sitting, may Lord Näräyaëa give You all protection; and while You are eating, may the Lord of all sacrifices give You all protection.”

Thus mother Yaçodä chanted different names of Viñëu to protect child Kåñëa’s different bodily parts. Mother Yaçodä was firmly convinced that she should protect her child from different kinds of evil spirits and ghosts—namely Òäkinés, Yätudhänés, Kuñmäëòas, Yakñas, Räkñasas, Vinäyakas, Koöaräs, Revatés, Jyeñöhäs, Pütanäs, Mätåkäs, Unmädas and similar other evil spirits, who cause persons to forget their own existence and give trouble to the life airs and the senses. Sometimes they appear in dreams and cause much perturbation; sometimes they appear as old women and suck the blood of small children. But no such ghosts and evil spirits can remain where there is chanting of the holy name of God. Mother Yaçodä was firmly convinced of the Vedic injunctions about the importance of cows and the holy name of Viñëu; therefore she took all shelter in the cows and the name of Viñëu just to protect her child Kåñëa. She recited all the holy names of Viñëu so that He might save the child. Vedic culture has taken advantage of keeping cows and chanting the holy name of Viñëu since the beginning of history, and persons who are still following the Vedic ways, especially the householders, keep at least one dozen cows and worship the Deity of Lord Viñëu, who is installed in their house. Persons who are advancing in Kåñëa consciousness should take instruction from this pastime and also be very much interested in cows and the holy name of Viñëu.

The elder gopés of Våndävana were so absorbed in affection for Kåñëa that they wanted to save Him, although there was no need to, for He had already protected Himself. They could not understand that Kåñëa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing as a child. After performing the formalities to protect the child, mother Yaçodä took Kåñëa and let Him suck her breast. When the child was protected by viñëu-mantra, mother Yaçodä felt that He was safe. In the meantime, all the cowherd men who had gone to Mathurä to pay tax returned home and were struck with wonder at seeing the gigantic dead body of Pütanä.

Nanda Mahäräja recalled the prophecy of Vasudeva and considered him a great sage and mystic yogé; otherwise, how could he have foretold an incident that happened during his absence from Våndävana? After this, all the residents of Vraja cut the gigantic body of Pütanä into pieces and piled it up with wood for burning. When all the limbs of Pütanä’s body were burning, the smoke emanating from the fire created a good aroma of aguru. This aroma was due to her being killed by Kåñëa. This means that the demon Pütanä was washed of all her sinful activities and attained a celestial body. Here is an example of how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-good: Pütanä came to kill Kåñëa, but because He sucked her milk, she was immediately purified, and her dead body attained a transcendental quality. Her only business was to kill small children; she was only fond of blood. But in spite of being envious of Kåñëa, she attained salvation because she gave her milk to Him to drink. So what can be said of those who are affectionate to Kåñëa in the relationship of mother, who with great love and affection render service to Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul of every living entity?

It is concluded therefore that even a little energy expended in the service of the Lord gives one immense transcendental profit. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gétä: sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya träyate mahato bhayät. Devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness is so sublime that even a little service to Kåñëa, knowingly or unknowingly, gives one the greatest transcendental benefit. The system of worshiping Kåñëa by offering flowers from a tree is also beneficial for the living entity who is confined to the bodily existence of that tree. When flowers and fruits are offered to Kåñëa, the tree that bore them also receives much benefit, indirectly. The arcana process, or worshiping procedure, is therefore beneficial for everyone. Kåñëa is worshipable by great demigods like Brahmä and Lord Çiva, and Pütanä was so fortunate that the same Kåñëa played in her lap as a little child. The lotus feet of Kåñëa, which are worshiped by great sages and devotees, were placed on the body of Pütanä. People worship Kåñëa and offer food with great reverence and devotion, but automatically He sucked the milk from the body of Pütanä. Devotees therefore pray that if simply by offering something as an enemy Pütanä got so much benefit, then who can measure the benefit of worshiping Kåñëa in love and affection? Therefore only Kåñëa should be worshiped, for so much benefit awaits the worshiper.

Although Pütanä was an evil spirit, she gained elevation just like the mother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is clear that the cows and the elder gopés who offered milk to Kåñëa were also elevated to the transcendental position. Kåñëa can offer anyone anything, from liberation to anything materially conceivable. Therefore, there cannot be any doubt of the salvation of Pütanä, whose bodily milk was sucked by Kåñëa for such a long time. And how can there be any doubt about the salvation of the gopés who were so fond of Kåñëa? Undoubtedly all the gopés, cowherd boys, cows and everyone else who served Kåñëa in Våndävana with love and affection were liberated from the miserable condition of material existence.

When all the inhabitants of Våndävana smelled the good aroma from the smoke of the burning Pütanä, they inquired from each other, “Where is this good fragrance coming from?” And while conversing, they came to understand that it was the fumes of the burning Pütanä. They were very fond of Kåñëa, and as soon as they heard that the demon Pütanä had been killed by Kåñëa, they offered blessings to the little child out of affection. After the burning of Pütanä, Nanda Mahäräja came home and immediately took up the child on his lap and began to smell His head. In this way, he was quite satisfied that his little child was saved from this great calamity. Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé has given a blessing to all persons who hear the narration of the killing of Pütanä by Kåñëa: they will surely attain the favor of Govinda.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Sixth Chapter of Kåñëa, “Pütanä Killed.”

KB 7: The Salvation of Tåëävarta

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kåñëa, is always full with six opulences—namely complete wealth, complete strength, complete fame, complete knowledge, complete beauty and complete renunciation. The Lord appears in different complete, eternal forms of incarnation. The conditioned soul has immense opportunity to hear about the transcendental activities of the Lord in these different incarnations. In the Bhagavad-gétä it is said, janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. The pastimes and activities of the Lord are not material—they are beyond the material conception—and the conditioned soul can benefit by hearing such uncommon activities. Hearing is an opportunity to associate with the Lord; to hear His activities is to evolve to the transcendental nature—simply by hearing. The conditioned soul has a natural aptitude to hear something about other conditioned souls in the form of fiction, drama and novel. That inclination to hear something about others may be utilized in hearing the pastimes of the Lord. Then one can immediately evolve to his transcendental nature. Kåñëa’s pastimes are not only beautiful; they are also very pleasing to the mind.

If someone takes advantage of hearing the pastimes of the Lord, the material contamination of dust, accumulated in the heart due to long association with material nature, can be immediately cleansed. Lord Caitanya also instructed that simply by hearing the transcendental name of Lord Kåñëa one can cleanse the heart of all material contamination. There are different processes for self-realization, but this process of devotional service—of which hearing is the most important function—when adopted by any conditioned soul, will automatically cleanse him of the material contamination and enable him to realize his real constitutional position. Conditional life is due to this contamination only, and as soon as it is cleared off, then naturally the dormant function of the living entity—rendering service to the Lord—awakens. By developing his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, one becomes eligible to create friendship with the devotees. Mahäräja Parékñit recommended, from practical experience, that everyone try to hear about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. This Kåñëa treatise is meant for that purpose, and the reader may take advantage of it to attain the ultimate goal of human life.

The Lord, out of His causeless mercy, descends to this material world and displays His activities just like an ordinary man. Unfortunately the impersonalists or the atheistic class of men consider Kåñëa to be an ordinary man like themselves, and so they deride Him. This is condemned in the Bhagavad-gétä by the Lord Himself when He says, avajänanti mäà müòhäù. The müòhas, or rascals, take Kåñëa to be an ordinary man or a slightly more powerful man; out of their great misfortune, they cannot accept Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes such unfortunate persons misrepresent themselves as incarnations of Kåñëa without referring to the authorized scriptures.

When Kåñëa grew up a little more, He began to turn Himself backside up; He did not merely lie down on His back. And another function was observed by Yaçodä and Nanda Mahäräja: Kåñëa’s first birthday. They arranged for Kåñëa’s birthday ceremony, which is still observed by all followers of the Vedic principles. (Kåñëa’s birthday ceremony is observed in India by all Hindus, irrespective of different sectarian views.) All the cowherd men and women were invited to participate in the jubilant celebration. A nice band played, and the people assembled enjoyed it. All the learned brähmaëas were invited, and they chanted Vedic hymns for the good fortune of Kåñëa. During the chanting of the Vedic hymns and playing of the bands, Kåñëa was bathed by mother Yaçodä. This bathing ceremony is technically called abhiñeka, and even today this is observed in all the temples of Våndävana on Janmäñöamé Day, or the birthday anniversary of Lord Kåñëa.

On this occasion, mother Yaçodä arranged to distribute a large quantity of grains, and first-class cows decorated with golden ornaments were made ready to be given in charity to the learned, respectable brähmaëas. Yaçodä took her bath and dressed herself nicely, and taking child Kåñëa, duly dressed and bathed, on her lap, she sat down to hear the Vedic hymns chanted by the brähmaëas. While listening to the chanting of the Vedic hymns, the child appeared to be falling asleep, and therefore mother Yaçodä very silently laid Him down on the bed. Being engaged in receiving all the friends, relatives and residents of Våndävana on that holy occasion, she forgot to feed the child milk. He was crying, being hungry, but mother Yaçodä could not hear Him cry because of the various noises. The child, however, became angry because He was hungry and His mother was not paying attention to Him. So He lifted His legs and began to kick His lotus feet just like an ordinary child. Baby Kåñëa had been placed underneath a hand-driven cart, and while He was kicking His legs, He accidentally touched the wheel of the cart, and it collapsed. Various kinds of utensils and dishes made of brass and other metals had been piled up in the handcart, and they all fell down with a great noise. The wheel of the cart separated from the axle, and the spokes of the wheel were all broken and scattered hither and thither. Mother Yaçodä and all the gopés, as well as Mahäräja Nanda and the cowherd men, were astonished as to how the cart could have collapsed by itself. All the men and women who were assembled for the holy function crowded around and began to suggest how the cart might have collapsed. No one could ascertain the cause, but some small children who were entrusted to play with baby Kåñëa informed the crowd that it was due to Kåñëa’s striking His feet against the wheel. They assured the crowd that they had seen how it happened with their own eyes, and they strongly asserted the point. Some were listening to the statement of the small children, but others said, “How can you believe the statements of these children?” The cowherd men and women could not understand that the all-powerful Personality of Godhead was lying there as a baby and that He could do anything. Both the possible and impossible were in His power. While the discussion was going on, baby Kåñëa cried. Without remonstration, mother Yaçodä picked the child up on her lap and called the learned brähmaëas to chant holy Vedic hymns to counteract the evil spirits. At the same time she allowed the baby to suck her breast. If a child sucks the mother’s breast nicely, it is to be understood that he is out of all danger. After this, all the stronger cowherd men put the broken cart in order, and all the scattered things were set up nicely as before. The brähmaëas thereafter began to offer oblations to the sacrificial fire with yogurt, butter, kuça grass and water. They worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the good fortune of the child.

The brähmaëas who were present at that time were all qualified because they were not envious, they never indulged in untruthfulness, they were never proud, they were nonviolent, and they never claimed any false prestige. They were all bona fide brähmaëas, and there was no reason to think that their blessings would be useless. With firm faith in the qualified brähmaëas, Nanda Mahäräja took his child on his lap and bathed Him with water mixed with various herbs while the brähmaëas chanted hymns from the Åg, Yajur and Säma Vedas.

It is said that without being a qualified brähmaëa one should not read the mantras of the Vedas. Here is the proof that the brähmaëas were qualified with all the brahminical symptoms. Mahäräja Nanda also had full faith in them. Therefore they were allowed to perform the ritualistic ceremonies by chanting the Vedic mantras. There are many different varieties of sacrifices recommended for different purposes, but the mantras are all to be chanted by qualified brähmaëas. And because in this Age of Kali such qualified brähmaëas are not available, all Vedic ritualistic sacrifices are forbidden. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has therefore recommended only one kind of sacrifice in this age—namely saìkértana-yajïa, or simply chanting the mahä-mantra, Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare / Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.

As the brähmaëas chanted the Vedic hymns and performed the ritualistic ceremonies for the second time, Nanda Mahäräja again gave huge quantities of grains and many cows to them. All the cows which were given in charity were covered with nice gold-embroidered garments, and their horns were bedecked with golden rings; their hooves were covered with silver plate, and they wore garlands of flowers. He gave so many cows just for the welfare of his wonderful child, and the brähmaëas in return bestowed their heartfelt blessings. And the blessings offered by the able brähmaëas were never to be baffled.

One day, shortly after the ceremony, when mother Yaçodä was patting her baby on her lap, the baby felt too heavy, and being unable to carry Him, she unwillingly placed Him on the ground. After a while, she became engaged in household affairs. At that time, a servant of Kaàsa’s known as Tåëävarta, as instructed by Kaàsa, appeared there in the shape of a whirlwind. He picked the child up on his shoulders and raised a great dust storm all over Våndävana, covering everyone’s eyes. Within a few moments the whole area of Våndävana became so densely dark that no one could see himself or anyone else. During this great catastrophe, mother Yaçodä could not see her baby, who was taken away by the whirlwind, and she began to cry very piteously. She fell down on the ground exactly like a cow who has just lost her calf. When mother Yaçodä was so piteously crying, all the cowherd women immediately came and began to look for the baby, but they were disappointed and could not find Him.

The Tåëävarta demon went high into the sky with baby Kåñëa on his shoulder, but the baby assumed such a weight that suddenly he could not go any further, and he had to stop his whirlwind activities. Baby Kåñëa made Himself heavy and began to weigh down the demon, catching hold of his neck. Tåëävarta felt the baby to be as heavy as a big mountain, and he tried to get out of His clutches, but he was unable to do so, and his eyes popped out from their sockets. Crying very fiercely, he fell down to the ground of Våndävana and died. The demon fell exactly like Tripuräsura, who was pierced by the arrow of Lord Çiva. Tåëävarta hit a stone slab, and his limbs were smashed. His body became visible to all the inhabitants of Våndävana.

When the gopés saw the demon killed and child Kåñëa very happily playing on his body, they immediately picked Kåñëa up with great affection. The cowherd men and women became very happy to get back their beloved child Kåñëa. At that time they began to talk about how wonderful it was that the demon had taken away the child to devour Him but could not do so; instead he fell down dead. Some of them supported the situation: “This is proper because those who are too sinful die from their sinful reactions, and child Kåñëa is pious; therefore He is saved from all kinds of fearful situations. And we too must have performed great sacrifices in our previous lives, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, giving great wealth in charity and acting philanthropically for the general welfare of men. Because of such pious activities, the child is saved from all danger.”

The gopés assembled there spoke among themselves: “What sort of austerities and penances we must have undergone in our previous lives! We must have worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, offered different kinds of sacrifices, made charities and performed many welfare activities for the public, such as growing banyan trees and excavating wells. As a result of these pious activities, we have gotten back our child, even though He was supposed to be dead. Now He has come back to enliven His relatives.” After observing such wonderful happenings, Nanda Mahäräja began to think of the words of Vasudeva again and again.

After this incident, when Yaçodä once was nursing her child and patting Him with great affection, there streamed a profuse supply of milk from her breast, and when she opened the mouth of the child with her fingers, she suddenly saw the universal manifestation within His mouth. She saw within the mouth of Kåñëa the whole sky, including the luminaries, stars in all directions, the sun, moon, fire, air, seas, islands, mountains, rivers, forests and all other movable and immovable entities. When mother Yaçodä saw this, her heart began to throb, and she murmured within herself, “How wonderful this is!” She could not express anything, but simply closed her eyes. She was absorbed in wonderful thoughts. Kåñëa’s showing the universal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even when lying down on the lap of His mother, proves that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether He is manifested as a child on the lap of His mother or as a charioteer on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra. The concoction of the impersonalist, that one can become God by meditation or by some artificial material activities, is herewith declared false. God is always God in any condition or status, and the living entities are always the parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. They can never be equal to the inconceivable, supernatural power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Seventh Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Salvation of Tåëävarta.”

KB 8: Vision of the Universal Form

After this incident, Vasudeva asked his family priest, Garga Muni, to visit the place of Nanda Mahäräja in order to astrologically calculate the future life of Kåñëa. Garga Muni was a great saintly sage who had undergone many austerities and penances and been appointed priest of the Yadu dynasty. When Garga Muni arrived at the home of Nanda Mahäräja, Nanda Mahäräja was very pleased to see him and immediately stood up with folded hands and offered his respectful obeisances. He received Garga Muni with the feeling of one who is worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He offered him a nice sitting place, and when he sat down, Nanda Mahäräja offered him a warm reception. Addressing him very politely, he said, “My dear brähmaëa, your appearance in a householder’s place is only to enlighten. We are always engaged in household duties and are forgetting our real duty of self-realization. Your coming to our house is to give us some enlightenment about spiritual life. You have no other purpose to visit householders.” Actually a saintly person or a brähmaëa has no business visiting householders, who are always busy in the matter of dollars and cents. The only reason saintly persons and brähmaëas go to the place of a householder is to enlighten him. If it is asked, “Why don’t the householders go to a saintly person or a brähmaëa for enlightenment?” the answer is that householders are very poor-hearted. Generally householders think that their engagement in family affairs is their prime duty and that self-realization or enlightenment in spiritual knowledge is secondary. Out of compassion only, saintly persons and brähmaëas go to householders’ homes.

Nanda Mahäräja addressed Garga Muni as one of the great authorities in astrological science. The foretellings of astrological science, such as the occurrence of solar or lunar eclipses, are wonderful calculations, and by this particular science a person can understand the future very clearly. Garga Muni was proficient in this knowledge. By this knowledge one can understand what his previous activities were that are causing him to enjoy or suffer in this life.

Nanda Mahäräja also addressed Garga Muni as “the best of the brähmaëas.” A brähmaëa is one who is expert in the knowledge of the Supreme. Without knowledge of the Supreme Absolute, one cannot be recognized as a brähmaëa. The exact word used in this connection is brahma-vidäm, which means those who know the Supreme very well. An expert brähmaëa is able to give reformatory facilities to the subcastes—namely the kñatriyas and vaiçyas. The çüdras observe no reformatory performances. The brähmaëa is considered to be the spiritual master or priest for the kñatriya and vaiçya. Nanda Mahäräja happened to be a vaiçya, and he accepted Garga Muni as a first-class brähmaëa. He therefore offered his two foster sons—namely Kåñëa and Balaräma—to him to purify. He agreed that not only these boys but all human beings just after birth should accept a qualified brähmaëa as spiritual master.

Upon this request, Garga Muni replied, “Vasudeva has sent me to see to the reformatory performances of these boys, especially Kåñëa’s, but if I do so it may incidentally appear that Kåñëa is the son of Devaké, since I am Vasudeva’s family priest.” By his astrological calculation, Garga Muni could understand that Kåñëa was the son of Devaké but that He was being kept under the care of Nanda Mahäräja, which Nanda did not know. Indirectly he said that Kåñëa and Balaräma were both sons of Vasudeva. Balaräma was known as the son of Vasudeva because His mother, Rohiëé, was present there, but Nanda Mahäräja did not know about Kåñëa. Garga Muni indirectly disclosed the fact that Kåñëa was the son of Devaké. Garga Muni also warned Nanda Mahäräja that if he would perform the reformatory ceremony, then Kaàsa, who was naturally very sinful, would understand that Kåñëa was the son of Devaké and Vasudeva. According to astrological calculation, Devaké could not have a female child, although everyone thought that the eighth child of Devaké was female. In this way Garga Muni intimated to Nanda Mahäräja that the female child was born of Yaçodä and that Kåñëa was born of Devaké and they were exchanged. The female child, or Durgä, also informed Kaàsa that the child who would kill him was already born somewhere else. Garga Muni stated, “If I give your child a name and if He fulfills the prophecy of the female child to Kaàsa, then it may be that the sinful demon will come and kill this child also after the name-giving ceremony. But I do not want to become responsible for all these future calamities.”

On hearing the words of Garga Muni, Nanda Mahäräja said, “If there is such danger, then it is better not to plan any gorgeous name-giving ceremony. It would be better for you to simply chant the Vedic hymns and perform the purificatory process. We belong to the twice-born caste, and I am taking this opportunity of your presence. So please perform the name-giving ceremony without external pomp.” Nanda Mahäräja wanted to keep the name-giving ceremony a secret and yet take advantage of Garga Muni’s performing the ceremony.

When Garga Muni was so eagerly requested by Nanda Mahäräja, he performed the name-giving ceremony as secretly as possible in the cowshed of Nanda Mahäräja. He informed Nanda Mahäräja that the son of Rohiëé would be very pleasing to His family members and relatives and therefore would be called Räma. In the future He would be extraordinarily strong and therefore would be called Balaräma. Garga Muni said further, “Because your family and the family of the Yadus are so intimately connected and attracted, His name will also be Saìkarñaëa.” This means that Garga Muni awarded three names to the son of Rohiëé—namely Balaräma, Saìkarñaëa and Baladeva. But he carefully did not disclose the fact that Balaräma also appeared in the womb of Devaké and was subsequently transferred to the womb of Rohiëé. Kåñëa and Balaräma are real brothers, being originally sons of Devaké.

Garga Muni then informed Nanda Mahäräja, “As far as your son is concerned, this child has taken different bodily complexions in different yugas [millennia]. First of all He assumed the color white, then the color red, and then the color yellow, and now He has assumed the color black. Besides that, He was formerly the son of Vasudeva; therefore His name should be Väsudeva as well as Kåñëa. Some people will call Him Kåñëa, and some will call Him Väsudeva. But one thing you must know: this son has had many, many other names and activities due to His different pastimes.”

Garga Muni further hinted to Nanda Mahäräja that his son would also be called Giridhäré because of His uncommon pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. Since Garga Muni was an astrologer, he could understand everything past and future, and thus he said, “I know everything about His activities and names, but others do not know. This child will be very pleasing to all the cowherd men and cows. Being very popular in Våndävana, He will be the cause of all good fortune for you. Because of His presence, you will overcome all kinds of material calamities, despite opposing elements.”

Garga Muni continued to say, “My dear King of Vraja, in His previous births this child many times protected righteous persons from the hands of rogues and thieves whenever there was political disruption. Your child is so powerful that anyone who will become a devotee of your boy will never be troubled by enemies. Just as demigods are always protected by Lord Viñëu, the devotees of your child will always be protected by Näräyaëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This child will grow in power, beauty, opulence—in everything—on the level of Näräyaëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore I would advise that you protect Him very carefully so that He may grow without disturbance.” In other words, Garga Muni informed Nanda Mahäräja that because he was a great devotee of Näräyaëa, Lord Näräyaëa had given Nanda a son equal to Him. At the same time, Garga Muni indicated that this son would be disturbed by so many demons and that Nanda should therefore be careful and protect Him. In this way, Garga Muni convinced Nanda Mahäräja that Näräyaëa Himself had become his son. In various ways he described the transcendental qualities of his son. After giving this information, Garga Muni returned to his home. Nanda Mahäräja began to think of himself as the most fortunate person, and he was very satisfied to receive such a benediction in this way.

A short time after this incident, both Balaräma and Kåñëa began to crawl on Their hands and knees. When They were crawling like that, They pleased Their mothers. The bells tied to Their waist and ankles sounded fascinating, and They would move around very pleasingly. Sometimes, just like ordinary children, They would be frightened by others and would immediately hurry to Their mothers for protection. Sometimes They would fall into the clay and mud of Våndävana and would approach Their mothers smeared with clay and saffron. They were actually smeared with saffron and sandalwood pulp by Their mothers, but due to crawling over muddy clay, They would simultaneously smear Their bodies with clay. As soon as They would come crawling to Their mothers, Yaçodä and Rohiëé would take Them on their laps and, covering Them with the lower portion of their saris, allow Them to suck their breasts. When the babies were sucking their breasts, the mothers would see small teeth coming in. Thus their joy would be intensified to see their children grow. Sometimes the naughty babies would crawl up to the cowshed, catch the tail of a calf and stand up. The calves, being disturbed, would immediately begin running here and there, and the children would be dragged over clay and cow dung. To see this fun, Yaçodä and Rohiëé would call all their neighboring friends, the gopés. Upon seeing these childhood pastimes of Lord Kåñëa, the gopés would be merged in transcendental bliss. In their enjoyment they would laugh very loudly.

Both Kåñëa and Balaräma were so restless that Their mothers Yaçodä and Rohiëé would try to protect Them from cows, bulls, monkeys, water, fire and birds while they were executing their household duties. Always being anxious to protect the children and to execute their duties, they were not very tranquil. In a very short time, both Kåñëa and Balaräma began to stand up and slightly move on Their legs. When Kåñëa and Balaräma began to walk, other friends of the same age joined Them, and together They began to give the highest transcendental pleasure to the gopés, specifically to mother Yaçodä and Rohiëé.

All the gopé friends of Yaçodä and Rohiëé enjoyed the naughty childish activities of Kåñëa and Balaräma in Våndävana. In order to enjoy further transcendental bliss, they all assembled and went to mother Yaçodä to lodge complaints against the restless boys. When Kåñëa was sitting before mother Yaçodä, all the elder gopés began to lodge complaints against Him so that Kåñëa could hear. They said, “Dear Yaçodä, why don’t you restrict your naughty Kåñëa? He comes to our houses along with Balaräma every morning and evening, and before the milking of the cows They let loose the calves, and the calves drink all the milk of the cows. So when we go to milk the cows, we find no milk, and we have to return with empty pots. If we warn Kåñëa and Balaräma about doing this, They simply smile so charmingly that we cannot do anything. Also, your Kåñëa and Balaräma find great pleasure in stealing our stock of yogurt and butter from wherever we keep it. When Kåñëa and Balaräma are caught stealing the yogurt and butter, They say, “Why do you charge Us with stealing? Do you think that butter and yogurt are in scarcity in Our house?’ Sometimes They steal butter, yogurt and milk and distribute them to the monkeys. When the monkeys are well fed and do not take any more, then your boys chide, “This milk and butter and yogurt are useless—even the monkeys won’t take it.’ And They break the pots and throw them hither and thither. If we keep our stock of yogurt, butter and milk in a solitary dark place, your Kåñëa and Balaräma find it in the darkness by the glaring effulgence of the ornaments and jewels on Their bodies. If by chance They cannot find the hidden butter and yogurt, They go to our little babies and pinch their bodies so that they cry, and then They go away. If out of fear of these naughty boys we keep our stock of butter and yogurt high on the ceiling, hanging on a swing, although it is beyond Their reach They arrange to reach it by piling all kinds of wooden planks over the grinding machine. And if They cannot reach, They make a hole in the pot. We think therefore that you’d better take all the jeweled ornaments from the bodies of your children.”

On hearing this, Yaçodä would say, “All right, I will take all the jewels from Kåñëa so that He cannot see the butter hidden in the darkness.” Then the gopés would say, “No, no, don’t do this. What good will you do by taking away the jewels? We do not know what kind of boys these are, but even without ornaments They spread some kind of effulgence so that even in darkness They can see everything.” Then mother Yaçodä would inform them, “All right, keep your butter and yogurt carefully so that They may not reach it.” In reply to this, the gopés said, “Yes, actually we do so, but because we are sometimes engaged in our household duties, these naughty boys enter our house somehow or other and spoil everything. Sometimes, being unable to steal our butter and yogurt, out of anger They pass urine on the clean floor and sometimes spit on it. Now just see how your boy is hearing these complaints. All day He simply makes arrangements to steal our butter and yogurt, and now He is sitting just like a very silent good boy. Just see His face.” When mother Yaçodä thought to chastise her boy after hearing all the complaints, she saw His pitiable face, and smiling, she did not chastise Him.

Another day, when Kåñëa and Balaräma were playing with Their friends, all the boys joined Balaräma and complained to mother Yaçodä that Kåñëa had eaten clay. On hearing this, mother Yaçodä caught hold of Kåñëa’s hand and said, “My dear Kåñëa, why have You eaten earth in a solitary place? Just see, all Your friends, including Balaräma, are complaining about You.” Being afraid of His mother, Kåñëa replied, “My dear mother, all these boys, including My elder brother, Balaräma, are speaking lies against Me. I have never eaten any clay. My elder brother, Balaräma, while playing with Me today, became angry, and therefore He has joined with the other boys to complain against Me. They have all combined together to complain so you will be angry and chastise Me. If you think they are truthful, then you can look within My mouth to see whether I have eaten clay or not.” His mother replied, “All right, if You have actually not eaten any clay, then just open Your mouth. I shall see.”

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kåñëa was so ordered by His mother, He immediately opened His mouth just like an ordinary boy. Then mother Yaçodä saw within that mouth the complete opulence of creation. She saw the entire outer space in all directions, mountains, islands, oceans, seas, planets, air, fire, moon and stars. Along with the moon and the stars she also saw the entire elements—water, sky, the extensive ethereal existence along with the total ego and the products of the senses and the controller of the senses, all the demigods, the objects of the senses like sound and smell, and the three qualities of material nature. She also could perceive that within His mouth were all living entities, eternal time, material nature, spiritual nature, activity, consciousness and different forms of the whole creation. Yaçodä could find within the mouth of her child everything necessary for cosmic manifestation. She also saw, within His mouth, herself taking Kåñëa on her lap and having Him suck her breast. Upon seeing all this, she became struck with awe and began to wonder whether she were dreaming or actually seeing something extraordinary. She concluded that she was either dreaming or seeing the play of the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She thought that she had become mad, mentally deranged, to see all those wonderful things. Then she thought, “It may be cosmic mystic power attained by my child, and therefore I am perplexed by such visions within His mouth. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the expression of consciousness, mind, work and philosophical speculation, and whose different energies produce everything manifested and unmanifested. Under His energy, bodily self and bodily possessions are conceived.” She then said, “Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Him under whose illusory energy I am thinking that Nanda Mahäräja is my husband and Kåñëa is my son, that all the properties of Nanda Mahäräja belong to me and that all the cowherd men and women are my subjects. All this misconception is due to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. So let me pray to Him that He may protect me always.”

While mother Yaçodä was thinking in this high philosophical way, Lord Kåñëa again expanded His internal energy just to bewilder her with maternal affection. Immediately mother Yaçodä forgot all philosophical speculation and accepted Kåñëa as her own child. She took Him on her lap and became overwhelmed with maternal affection. She thus began to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is understood through the processes of cultivating knowledge derived from the Upaniñads and the Vedänta-sütra, practicing mystic yoga and studying Säìkhya philosophy, as her own begotten child.

Certainly mother Yaçodä had executed many, many pious activities, as a result of which she got the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as her son who sucked milk from her breast. Similarly, Nanda Mahäräja also must have performed many great sacrifices and pious activities for Lord Kåñëa to become his son and address him as “father.” But it is surprising that Vasudeva and Devaké did not enjoy the transcendental bliss of Kåñëa’s childhood pastimes, although Kåñëa was their real son. The childhood pastimes of Kåñëa are glorified even today by many sages and saintly persons, but Vasudeva and Devaké could not enjoy such childhood pastimes personally. The reason for this was explained by Çukadeva Gosvämé to Mahäräja Parékñit as follows.

When the best of the Vasus, named Droëa, and his wife Dharä were ordered to increase progeny by Lord Brahmä, they said unto him, “Dear father, we are seeking your benediction. When we take birth again within the universe, may the Supreme Lord Kåñëa in His most attractive feature of childhood absorb our whole attention. May our dealings with Him be so powerful that simply by hearing of these childhood activities of His, anyone will very easily cross over the nescience of birth and death.” Lord Brahmä agreed to give them the benediction, and as a result the same Droëa appeared as Nanda Mahäräja in Våndävana, and the same Dharä appeared as mother Yaçodä, the wife of Nanda Mahäräja.

In this way, Nanda Mahäräja and his wife, mother Yaçodä, developed their unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, having gotten Him as their son. And all the gopés and cowherd men who were associates of Kåñëa naturally developed their own different feelings of love for Kåñëa.

Therefore, just to fulfill the benediction of Lord Brahmä, Lord Kåñëa appeared along with His plenary expansion, Balaräma, and performed all kinds of childhood pastimes in order to increase the transcendental pleasure of all the residents of Våndävana.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighth Chapter of Kåñëa, “Vision of the Universal Form.”

KB 9: Mother Yaçodä Binds Lord Kåñëa

Once upon a time, seeing that her maidservant was engaged in different household duties, mother Yaçodä personally took charge of churning butter. And while she churned butter, she sang the childhood pastimes of Kåñëa and enjoyed thinking of her son.

The end of her sari was tightly wrapped while she churned, and on account of her intense love for her son, milk automatically dripped from her breasts, which moved as she labored very hard, churning with two hands. The bangles and bracelets on her hands tinkled as they touched each other, and her earrings and breasts shook. There were drops of perspiration on her face, and the flower garland which was on her head scattered here and there. Before this picturesque sight, Lord Kåñëa appeared as a child. He felt hungry, and to increase His mother’s love, He wanted her to stop churning. He indicated that her first business was to let Him suck her breast, and then she could churn butter later.

Mother Yaçodä took her son on her lap and pushed the nipple of her breasts into His mouth, and while Kåñëa was sucking the milk, she was smiling, enjoying the beauty of her child’s face. Suddenly, the milk which was on the stove began to boil over. Just to stop the milk from spilling, mother Yaçodä at once put Kåñëa aside and went to the stove. Left in that state by His mother, Kåñëa became very angry, and His lips and eyes became red in rage. He pressed His teeth and lips, and taking up a piece of stone, He immediately broke the butter pot. He took butter out of it, and with false tears in His eyes, He began to eat the butter in a secluded place.

In the meantime, mother Yaçodä returned to the churning place after setting the overflowing milk pan in order. She saw the broken pot, in which the churning yogurt had been kept. Since she could not find her boy, she concluded that the broken pot was His work. She smiled as she thought, “The child is very clever. After breaking the pot He has left this place, fearing punishment.” After she sought all over, she found her son sitting on a big wooden grinding mortar, which was kept upside down. He was taking butter from a pot which was hanging from the ceiling on a swing, and He was feeding it to the monkeys. She saw Kåñëa looking this way and that way in fear of her because He was conscious of His naughty behavior. After seeing her son so engaged, she very silently approached Him from behind. Kåñëa, however, saw her coming toward Him with a stick in her hand, and He immediately got down from the grinding mortar and began to flee in fear. Mother Yaçodä chased Him to all corners, trying to capture the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never approached even by the meditations of great yogés. In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, who is never caught by the yogés and speculators, was playing just like a little child for such a great devotee as mother Yaçodä. Mother Yaçodä, however, could not easily catch the fast-running child because of her thin waist and heavy body. Still she tried to follow Him as fast as possible. Her hair loosened, and the flowers in her hair fell to the ground. Although she was tired, she somehow reached her naughty child and captured Him. When He was caught, Kåñëa was almost on the point of crying. He smeared His hands over His eyes, which were anointed with black eye cosmetics. The child saw His mother’s face while she stood over Him, and His eyes became restless from fear.

Mother Yaçodä could understand that Kåñëa was unnecessarily afraid, and for His benefit she wanted to allay His fears. Being the topmost well-wisher of her child, mother Yaçodä thought, “If the child is too fearful of me, I don’t know what will happen to Him.” Mother Yaçodä then threw away her stick. In order to punish Him, she thought to bind His hands with some ropes. She did not know it, but it was actually impossible for her to bind the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mother Yaçodä was thinking that Kåñëa was her tiny child; she did not know that the child had no limitation. There is no inside or outside of Him, nor beginning or end. He is unlimited and all-pervading. Indeed, He is Himself the whole cosmic manifestation. Still, mother Yaçodä was thinking of Kåñëa as her child. Although He is beyond the reach of all senses, she endeavored to bind Him to a wooden grinding mortar. But when she tried to bind Him, she found that the rope she was using was too short—by two inches. She gathered more ropes from the house and added to it, but still she found the same shortage. In this way, she connected all the ropes available at home, but when the final knot was added, she saw that it was still two inches too short. Mother Yaçodä was smiling, but she was astonished. How was it happening?

In attempting to bind her son, she became tired. She was perspiring, and the garland on her head fell down. Then Lord Kåñëa appreciated the hard labor of His mother, and being compassionate upon her, He agreed to be bound up by the ropes. Kåñëa, playing as a human child in the house of mother Yaçodä, was performing His own selected pastimes. Of course, no one can control the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The pure devotee surrenders himself unto the lotus feet of the Lord, who may either protect or vanquish the devotee. But for his part, the devotee never forgets his own position of surrender. Similarly, the Lord also feels transcendental pleasure by submitting Himself to the protection of the devotee. This was exemplified by Kåñëa’s surrender unto His mother, Yaçodä.

Kåñëa is the supreme bestower of all kinds of liberation to His devotees, but the benediction which was bestowed upon mother Yaçodä was never experienced even by Lord Brahmä or Lord Çiva or the goddess of fortune.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as the son of Yaçodä and Nanda Mahäräja, is never so completely known to the yogés and speculators. But He is easily available to His devotees. Nor is He appreciated as the supreme reservoir of all pleasure by the yogés and speculators.

After binding her son, mother Yaçodä engaged herself in household affairs. At that time, bound up to the wooden mortar, Kåñëa could see a pair of trees before Him which were known as arjuna trees. The great reservoir of pleasure, Lord Çré Kåñëa, thus thought to Himself, “Mother Yaçodä first of all left without feeding Me sufficient milk, and therefore I broke the pot of yogurt and distributed the stock butter in charity to the monkeys. Now she has bound Me up to a wooden mortar. So I shall do something more mischievous than before.” And thus He thought of pulling down the two very tall arjuna trees.

There is a history behind the pair of arjuna trees. In their previous lives, the trees were born as the human sons of Kuvera, and their names were Nalaküvara and Maëigréva. Fortunately, they came within the vision of the Lord. In their previous lives they were cursed by the great sage Närada in order to receive the highest benediction of seeing Lord Kåñëa. This benediction-curse was bestowed upon them because of their forgetfulness due to intoxication. This story will be narrated in the next chapter.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Ninth Chapter of Kåñëa, “Mother Yaçodä Binds Lord Kåñëa.”

KB 10: The Deliverance of Nalaküvara and Maëigréva

The story of the cursing of Nalaküvara and Maëigréva and their deliverance by Kåñëa, under the all-blissful desire of the great sage Närada, is here described.

The two great demigods Nalaküvara and Maëigréva were sons of the treasurer of the demigods, Kuvera, who was a great devotee of Lord Çiva. By the grace of Lord Çiva, Kuvera’s material opulences had no limit. As a rich man’s sons often become addicted to wine and women, so these two sons of Kuvera were also addicted to wine and sex. Once, these two demigods, desiring to enjoy, entered the garden of Lord Çiva in the province of Kailäsa on the bank of the Mandäkiné Ganges. There they drank much and engaged in hearing the sweet singing of beautiful women who accompanied them in that garden of fragrant flowers. In an intoxicated condition, they both entered the water of the Ganges, which was full with lotus flowers, and there they began to enjoy the company of the young girls exactly as the male elephant enjoys the female elephants within the water.

While they were thus enjoying themselves in the water, all of a sudden Närada, the great sage, happened to pass that way. He could understand that the demigods Nalaküvara and Maëigréva were too much intoxicated and could not even see that he was passing. The young girls, however, were not so much intoxicated as the demigods, and they at once became ashamed at being naked before the great sage Närada. They began to cover themselves with all haste. The two demigod sons of Kuvera were so much intoxicated that they could not appreciate the presence of the sage Närada and therefore did not cover their bodies. On seeing the two demigods so degraded by intoxication, Närada desired their welfare, and therefore he exhibited his causeless mercy upon them by cursing them.

Because the great sage was compassionate upon them, he wanted to finish their false enjoyment of intoxication and association with young girls and wanted them to see Lord Kåñëa face to face. He conceived of cursing them as follows. He said that the attraction for material enjoyment is due to an increase of the mode of passion. A person in the material world, when favored by the material opulence of riches, generally becomes addicted to three things—intoxication, sex and gambling. Materially opulent men, being puffed up with the accumulation of wealth, also become so merciless that they indulge in killing animals by opening slaughterhouses. And they think that they themselves will never die. Such foolish persons, forgetting the laws of nature, become overly infatuated with the body. They forget that the material body, even though very much advanced in civilization, up to the position of the demigods, will finally turn into ashes or stool. And while one is living, whatever the external condition of the body may be, within there is only stool, urine and various kinds of worms. Thus being engaged in jealousy and violence to other bodies, materialists cannot understand the ultimate goal of life, and without knowing this goal of life, they generally glide down to a hellish condition in their next life. Such foolish persons commit all kinds of sinful activities on account of this temporary body, and they are even unable to consider whether this body actually belongs to them. Generally it is said that the body belongs to the persons who feed the body. One might therefore consider whether this body belongs to one personally or to the master to whom one renders service. The master of slaves claims full right to the bodies of the slaves because the master feeds the slaves. It may also be questioned whether the body belongs to the father, who is the seed-giving master of this body, or to the mother, who develops the child’s body in her womb.

Foolish persons are engaged in committing all sorts of sins due to the misconception of identifying the material body with the self. But one should be intelligent enough to understand to whom this body belongs. A foolish person indulges in killing animals to maintain the body, but he does not consider whether this body belongs to him or to his father or mother or maternal grandfather. Sometimes a father gives his daughter in charity to a person with a view of getting back the daughter’s child as a son. The body may also belong to a stronger man who forces it to work for him. Sometimes a slave’s body is sold to a master, and from that day on the body belongs to the master. And at the end of life the body belongs to the fire, because the body is given to the fire and burned to ashes. Or the body is thrown into the street to be eaten by the dogs and vultures.

Before committing all kinds of sins to maintain the body, one should understand to whom the body belongs. Ultimately it is concluded that the body is a product of material nature, and at the end it merges into material nature; therefore, the conclusion should be that the body belongs to material nature. One should not wrongly think that the body belongs to him. To maintain a false possession, why should one indulge in killing? Why should one kill innocent animals to maintain the body?

When a man is infatuated with the false prestige of opulence, he does not care for any moral instruction but indulges in wine, women and animal-killing. In such circumstances, a poverty-stricken man is often better situated because a poor man thinks of himself in relation to other bodies. A poor man often does not wish to inflict injuries upon other bodies because he can understand more readily that when he himself is injured he feels pain. As such, the great sage Närada considered that because the demigods Nalaküvara and Maëigréva were so infatuated by false prestige, they should be put into a condition of life devoid of opulence.

A person who has a pinprick in his body does not wish others to be pricked by pins; a considerate man in the life of poverty does not wish others to be also put into that condition. Generally it is seen that one who has risen from a poverty-stricken life and becomes wealthy creates some charitable institution at the end of his life so that other poverty-stricken men might be benefited. In short, a compassionate poor man may consider others’ pains and pleasures with empathy. A poor man is seldom puffed up with false pride, and he may be freed from all kinds of infatuation. He may remain satisfied by whatever he gets for his maintenance by the grace of the Lord.

To remain in the poverty-stricken condition is a kind of austerity. According to Vedic culture, therefore, the brähmaëas, as a matter of routine, keep themselves in a poverty-stricken condition to save themselves from the false prestige of material opulence. False prestige due to advancement of material prosperity is a great impediment for spiritual emancipation. A poverty-stricken man cannot become unnaturally fat by eating more and more. And on account of not being able to eat more than he requires, his senses are not very turbulent. When the senses are not very turbulent, he cannot become violent.

Another advantage of poverty is that a saintly person can easily enter a poor man’s house, and thus the poor man can take advantage of the saintly person’s association. A very opulent man does not allow anyone to enter his house; therefore, the saintly person cannot enter. According to the Vedic system, a saintly person takes the position of a mendicant so that on the plea of begging something from the householder, he can enter any house. The householder, who has usually forgotten everything about spiritual advancement because he is busy maintaining family affairs, can be benefited by the association of a saintly person. There is a great chance for the poor man to become liberated through association with a saint. Of what use are persons who are puffed up with material opulence and prestige if they are bereft of the association of saintly persons and devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

The great sage Närada thereafter thought that it was his duty to put those demigods into a condition where they could not be falsely proud of their material opulence and prestige. Närada was compassionate and wanted to save them from their fallen life. They were in the mode of darkness, and being therefore unable to control their senses, they were addicted to sex life. It was the duty of a saintly person like Närada to save them from their abominable condition. In animal life, the animal has no sense to understand that he is naked. But Kuvera was the treasurer of the demigods, a very responsible man, and Nalaküvara and Maëigréva were two of his sons. And yet they became so animalistic and irresponsible that they could not understand, due to intoxication, that they were naked. To cover the lower part of the body is a principle of human civilization, and when men or women forget this principle, they become no better than animals. Närada therefore thought that the best punishment for them was to make them immovable living entities, or trees. Trees are, by nature’s laws, immovable. Although trees are covered by the mode of ignorance, they cannot do harm. The great sage Närada thought it fitting that, although the brothers would be punished to become trees, by his mercy they would continue to keep their memory and be able to know why they were being punished. After changing the body, a living entity generally forgets his previous life, but in special cases, by the grace of the Lord, as with Nalaküvara and Maëigréva, one can remember.

Sage Närada therefore contemplated that the two demigods should remain for one hundred years, in the time of the demigods, in the form of trees, and after that they would be fortunate enough to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, by His causeless mercy. And thus they would be again promoted to the life of the demigods and become great devotees of the Lord.

After this, the great sage Närada returned to his abode, known as Näräyaëäçrama, and the two demigods turned into trees, known as twin arjuna trees. The two demigods were favored by the causeless mercy of Närada and given a chance to grow in Nanda’s courtyard and see Lord Kåñëa face to face.

Although child Kåñëa was bound up to the wooden mortar, He began to crawl towards the twin trees in order to fulfill the prophecy of His great devotee Närada. Lord Kåñëa knew that Närada was His great devotee and that the trees standing before Him as twin arjuna trees were actually the sons of Kuvera. “I must now fulfill the words of My great devotee Närada,” He thought. Then He proceeded through the passage between the two trees. Although He was able to pass through the passage, the large wooden mortar stuck horizontally between the trees. Taking advantage of this, with great strength Lord Kåñëa began to pull the rope, which was tied to the mortar. As soon as He pulled, the two trees, with all their branches and limbs, fell down immediately with a great sound. Out of the broken, fallen trees came two great personalities, shining like blazing fire. All sides became illuminated and beautiful by their presence. The two purified personalities immediately came before child Kåñëa and bowed down to offer their respects and prayers in the following words.

“Dear Lord Kåñëa, You are the original Personality of Godhead, master of all mystic powers. Learned brähmaëas know very well that this cosmic manifestation is an expansion of Your potencies, which are sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest. You are the original provider of the life, body and senses of all living entities. You are the eternal God, Lord Viñëu, who is all-pervading, the imperishable controller of everything, and You are eternal time. You are the original source of the cosmic manifestation, which is acting under the spell of the three modes of material nature—goodness, passion and ignorance. You are living as the Supersoul in all the multiforms of living entities, and You know very well what is going on within their bodies and minds. Therefore You are the supreme director of all activities of all living entities. But although You are in the midst of everything which is under the spell of the material modes of nature, You are not affected by such contaminated qualities. No one under the jurisdiction of the material modes can understand Your transcendental qualities, which existed before the creation; therefore You are called the Supreme Transcendence. Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of You, Lord Väsudeva, the Supreme Brahman, who are always glorified by Your personal internal potencies.

“In this material world You make Yourself known only by Your different incarnations. Although You assume different types of bodies, these bodies are not part of the material creation. They are always full of the transcendental potencies of unlimited opulence, strength, beauty, fame, wisdom and renunciation. In the material existence there is a difference between the body and the owner of the body, but because You appear in Your original spiritual body, there is no such difference for You. When You appear, Your uncommon activities indicate that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such uncommon activities are not possible for anyone in material existence. You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cause the birth and death as well as the liberation of the living entities, and You are full with all Your plenary expansions. You can bestow on everyone all kinds of benedictions. O Lord! O source of all auspiciousness and goodness, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You. You are the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme source of peace and the supreme personality in the dynasty of King Yadu. O Lord, our father, known as Kuvera, the demigod, is Your servant. Similarly, the great sage Närada is also Your servitor, and only by their grace have we been able to see You personally. We therefore pray that we may always be engaged in Your transcendental loving service by speaking only about Your glories and hearing about Your transcendental activities. May our hands and other limbs be engaged in Your service and our minds always be concentrated at Your lotus feet and our heads always bowed down before the all-pervading universal form of Your Lordship.”

When the demigods Nalaküvara and Maëigréva finished their prayers, the child, Lord Kåñëa, the master and proprietor of Gokula, bound to the wooden grinding mortar by the ropes of Yaçodä, smiled and said, “It was already known to Me that My great devotee Närada Muni had shown his causeless mercy by saving you from the abominable condition of pride due to possessing extraordinary beauty and opulence in a family of demigods. He has saved you from gliding down into the lowest condition of hellish life. All these facts are already known to Me. You are very fortunate because not only were you cursed by him, but you had the great opportunity to see him. If someone is able, by chance, to see face to face a great saintly person like Närada, who is always serene and merciful to everyone, then immediately that conditioned soul becomes liberated. This is exactly like being situated in the full light of the sun: there cannot be any visionary impediment. Therefore, O Nalaküvara and Maëigréva, your lives have now become successful because you have developed ecstatic love for Me. This is your last birth within material existence. Now you can go back to your father’s residence in the heavenly planets, and by remaining in the attitude of devotional service, you will be liberated in this very life.”

After this, the demigods circumambulated the Lord many times and bowed down before Him again and again, and thus they left. The Lord remained bound up with ropes to the grinding mortar.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Tenth Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Deliverance of Nalaküvara and Maëigréva.”

KB 11: Killing the Demons Vatsäsura and Bakäsura

When the twin arjuna trees fell to the ground, making a sound like the falling of thunderbolts, all the inhabitants of Gokula, including Nanda Mahäräja, immediately came to the spot. They were very much astonished to see how the two great trees had suddenly fallen. Because they could find no reason for their falling down, they were puzzled. When they saw child Kåñëa bound up to the wooden mortar by the ropes of mother Yaçodä, they thought that it must have been caused by some demon. Otherwise, how was it possible? At the same time, they were very much perturbed because such uncommon incidents were always happening to child Kåñëa. While the cowherd men were thus contemplating, the small children who were playing there informed the men that the trees had fallen because Kåñëa had pulled the wooden mortar with the rope binding Him. “Kåñëa came in between the two trees,” they explained, “and the wooden mortar was topsy-turvied and stuck in between the trees. Kåñëa pulled the rope, and the trees fell down. When the trees fell down, two very dazzling men came out of the trees, and they said something to Kåñëa.”

Most of the cowherd men did not believe the statement of the children. They could not believe that such things were at all possible. Some of the men, however, believed them and told Nanda Mahäräja, “Your child is different from all other children. He just might have done it.” Nanda Mahäräja smiled to hear about the extraordinary abilities of his son. He came forward and untied the knot just to free his wonderful child. After being freed by Nanda Mahäräja, Kåñëa was taken onto the laps of the elder gopés. They took Him away to the courtyard of the house and began to clap, praising His wonderful activities. Kåñëa danced along with their clapping, just like an ordinary child. The Supreme Lord Kåñëa, being completely controlled by the gopés, sang and danced just like a puppet in their hands.

Sometimes mother Yaçodä used to ask Kåñëa to bring her a wooden plank for sitting. Although the wooden plank was too heavy to be carried by a child, still somehow or other Kåñëa would bring it to His mother. Sometimes, while worshiping Näräyaëa, His father would ask Him to bring his wooden slippers, and Kåñëa, with great difficulty, would put the slippers on His head and bring them to His father. When He was asked to lift some heavy article and was unable to lift it, He would simply move His arms. In this way, daily, at every moment, He was the reservoir of all pleasure to His parents. The Lord was exhibiting such childish dealings with the inhabitants of Våndävana because He wanted to show the great philosophers and sages searching after the Absolute Truth how the Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead is controlled by and subject to the desires of His pure devotees.

One day, a fruit vendor came before the house of Nanda Mahäräja. Upon hearing the vendor call, “If anyone wants fruits please come and take them from me!” child Kåñëa immediately took some grains in His palm and went to get fruits in exchange. In those days exchange was by barter; therefore Kåñëa might have seen His parents acquire fruits and other things by bartering grains, and so He imitated. But His palms were very small, and He was not very careful to hold them tight, so He was dropping the grains. The vendor who came to sell fruits saw this and was very much captivated by the beauty of the Lord, so she immediately accepted whatever few grains were left in His palm and filled His hands with fruits. In the meantime, the vendor saw that her whole basket of fruit had become filled with jewels. The Lord is the bestower of all benediction. If someone gives something to the Lord, he is not the loser; he is the gainer by a million times.

One day Lord Kåñëa, the liberator of the twin arjuna trees, was playing with Balaräma and the other children on the bank of the Yamunä, and because it was already late, Rohiëé, the mother of Balaräma, went to call them back home. But Balaräma and Kåñëa were so engrossed in playing with Their friends that They did not wish to come back; They just engaged Themselves in playing more and more. When Rohiëé was unable to take Them back home, she went home and sent mother Yaçodä to call Them again. Mother Yaçodä was so affectionate toward her son that as soon as she came out to call Him back home, her breast filled up with milk. She loudly cried, “My dear child, please come back home. Your time for lunch is already past.” She then said, “My dear Kåñëa, O my dear lotus-eyed child, please come and suck my breast. You have played enough. You must be very hungry, my dear little child. You must be tired from playing for so long.” She also addressed Balaräma thus: “My dear Räma, the glory of Your family, my dear child, please come back with Your younger brother Kåñëa immediately. You have been engaged in playing since morning, and You must be very tired. Please come back and take Your lunch at home. Your father Nandaräja is waiting for You. He has to eat, so You must come back so that he can eat.”

As soon as Kåñëa and Balaräma heard that Nanda Mahäräja was waiting for Them and could not take his food in Their absence, They started to return. Their playmates complained, “Kåñëa is leaving us just at the point when our playing is at the summit. Next time we shall not allow Him to leave.”

His playmates then threatened not to allow Him to play with them again. Kåñëa became afraid, and instead of going back home, He went back again to play with the boys. At that time, mother Yaçodä scolded the children and told Kåñëa, “My dear Kåñëa, do You think that You are a street boy? You have no home? Please come back to Your home! I see that Your body has become very dirty from playing since morning. Now come home and take Your bath. Besides, today is Your birthday ceremony; therefore You should come back home and give cows in charity to the brähmaëas. Don’t You see how Your playmates are decorated with ornaments by their mothers? You should also be cleansed and decorated with nice dress and ornaments. Please, therefore, come back, take Your bath, dress Yourself nicely, and then again You may go on playing.”

In this way mother Yaçodä called back Lord Kåñëa and Balaräma, who are worshipable by great demigods like Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva. She was thinking of Them as her children.

When mother Yaçodä’s children, Kåñëa and Balaräma, came home, she bathed Them very nicely and dressed Them with ornaments. She then called for the brähmaëas, and through her children she gave many cows in charity for the occasion of Kåñëa’s birthday. In this way she performed the birthday ceremony of Kåñëa at home.

After this incident, all the elderly cowherd men assembled together, and Nanda Mahäräja presided. They began to consult amongst themselves how to stop great disturbances in the Mahävana on account of the demons. In this meeting, Upananda, the brother of Nanda Mahäräja, was present. He was considered to be learned and experienced, and he was a well-wisher of Kåñëa and Balaräma. He was a leader, and he addressed the meeting as follows: “My dear friends! Now we should leave here for another place because we are continually finding that great demons are coming here to disturb the peaceful situation, and they are especially attempting to kill the small children. Just consider Pütanä and Kåñëa. It was simply by the grace of Lord Hari that Kåñëa was saved from the hands of such a great demon. Next the whirlwind demon took Kåñëa away in the sky, but by the grace of Lord Hari He was saved, and the demon fell down on a stone slab and died. Very recently, this child was playing between two trees, and the trees fell down violently, and yet there was no injury to the child. So Lord Hari saved Him again. Just imagine the calamity if this child or any other child playing with Him were crushed by the falling trees! Considering all these incidents, we must conclude that this place is no longer safe. Let us leave. We have all been saved from different calamities by the grace of Lord Hari. Now we should be cautious and leave this place and reside somewhere where we can live peacefully. I think that we should all go to the forest known as Våndävana, where just now there are newly grown plants and herbs. It is very suitable for pasturing ground for our cows, and we and our families, the gopés with their children, can very peacefully live there. Near Våndävana is Govardhana Hill, which is very beautiful, and there is newly grown grass and fodder for the animals, so there will be no difficulty in living there. I therefore suggest that we start immediately for that beautiful place, as there is no need to waste any more time. Let us prepare all our carts immediately, and, if you like, let us go, keeping all the cows in front.”

On hearing the statement of Upananda, all the cowherd men immediately agreed. “Let us immediately go there.” Everyone then loaded all their household furniture and utensils on the carts and prepared to go to Våndävana. All the old men of the village, the children and the women were arranged on seats, and the cowherd men equipped themselves with bows and arrows to follow the carts. All the cows and bulls were placed in the front along with their calves, and the men, with their bows and arrows, surrounded the herds and carts and began to blow on their horns and bugles. In this way, with tumultuous sound, they started for Våndävana.

And who can describe the damsels of Vraja? They were all seated on the carts and were very beautifully dressed with ornaments and costly saris. They chanted the pastimes of child Kåñëa as usual. Mother Yaçodä and mother Rohiëé were seated on a separate cart, and Kåñëa and Balaräma were seated on their laps. While mother Rohiëé and Yaçodä were riding on the cart, they talked to Kåñëa and Balaräma, and feeling the pleasure of such talks, they looked very, very beautiful.

In this way, after reaching Våndävana, where everyone lives eternally, very peacefully and happily, they encircled Våndävana, drew all the carts together in a half circle, and in this way constructed a temporary residence. When Kåñëa and Balaräma saw the beautiful appearance of Våndävana, Govardhana Hill and the banks of the river Yamunä, They felt very happy. As They grew up They began talking with Their parents and others in childish language, and thus They gave great pleasure to all the inhabitants of Våndävana.

Soon Kåñëa and Balaräma had grown sufficiently to be given charge of the calves. From the very beginning of their childhood, cowherd boys are trained to take care of the cows, and their first responsibility is to take care of the little calves. So along with the other little cowherd boys, Kåñëa and Balaräma went into the pasturing ground and took charge of the calves, and there They played with Their playmates. While taking charge of the calves, sometimes the two brothers played on Their flutes. And sometimes They played with ämalaka fruits and bael fruits, just as small children play with balls. Sometimes They danced and made tinkling sounds with Their ankle bells. Sometimes They made Themselves into bulls and cows by covering Themselves with blankets. Thus Kåñëa and Balaräma played. The two brothers also used to imitate the sounds of bulls and cows and play at bullfighting. Sometimes They used to imitate the sounds of various animals and birds. In this way, They enjoyed Their childhood pastimes apparently like ordinary, mundane children.

Once, when Kåñëa and Balaräma were playing on the bank of the Yamunä, a demon of the name Vatsäsura assumed the shape of a calf and came there intending to kill the brothers. By taking the shape of a calf, the demon could mingle with the other calves. Kåñëa, however, specifically noticed this, and He immediately alerted Balaräma about the entrance of the demon. Both brothers then silently approached him. Kåñëa caught hold of the demon-calf by the two hind legs and tail, whipped him around very forcibly and threw him up into a tree. The demon lost his life and fell down from the top of the tree to the ground. When the demon lay dead on the ground, all the playmates of Kåñëa congratulated Him, “Well done, well done,” and the demigods in the sky showered flowers with great satisfaction. In this way, the maintainers of the complete creation, Kåñëa and Balaräma, used to take care of the calves every day, beginning in the morning, and thus They enjoyed Their childhood pastimes as cowherd boys in Våndävana.

One day, all the cowherd boys went to the bank of the river Yamunä to water their calves. When the calves drank water from the Yamunä, the boys also drank. After drinking, when they were sitting on the bank of the river, they saw a huge animal which looked something like a heron and was as big as a hill. Its top was as strong as a thunderbolt. When they saw that unusual animal, they became afraid of it. The name of this beast was Bakäsura, and he was a friend of Kaàsa’s. He appeared on the scene suddenly and immediately attacked Kåñëa with his pointed, sharp beak and quickly swallowed Him up. When Kåñëa was thus swallowed, all the boys, headed by Balaräma, became almost breathless, as if they had died. But when the Bakäsura demon was swallowing up Kåñëa, he felt a burning, fiery sensation in his throat. This was due to the glowing effulgence of Kåñëa. The demon quickly threw Kåñëa up and tried to kill Him by pinching Him in his beak. Bakäsura did not know that although Kåñëa was playing the part of a child of Nanda Mahäräja, He was still the original father of Lord Brahmä, the creator of the universe. Mother Yaçodä’s child, who is the reservoir of pleasure for the demigods and who is the maintainer of saintly persons, caught hold of the great gigantic heron by the two halves of his beak and, before His cowherd boyfriends, bifurcated his mouth, just as a child very easily splits a blade of grass. From the sky, the denizens of the heavenly planets showered flowers like the mallikä, the most fragrant of all flowers, as a token of their congratulations. Accompanying the showers of flowers was a vibration of bugles, drums and conchshells.

When the boys saw the showering of flowers and heard the celestial sounds, they became struck with wonder. And when they saw Kåñëa freed from the mouth of the great demon Bakäsura, all of them, including Balaräma, were so pleased that it seemed as if they had regained their very source of life. As soon as they saw Kåñëa coming towards them, they one after another embraced the son of Nanda and held Him to their chests. After this, they assembled all the calves under their charge and began to return home.

When they arrived home, they spoke of the wonderful activities of the son of Nanda. When the gopés and cowherd men all heard the story from the boys, they felt great happiness because naturally they loved Kåñëa, and by hearing about His glories and victorious activities they became still more affectionate toward Him. Thinking that child Kåñëa had been saved from the mouth of death, they looked upon His face with great love and affection. Indeed, they could not turn their faces from the vision of Kåñëa. The gopés and the men began to converse amongst themselves about how wonderful it was that child Kåñëa had been attacked in so many ways and so many times by so many demons, and yet the demons themselves had been killed and Kåñëa had remained uninjured. They continued to converse amongst themselves about how so many great demons in such fierce bodies had attacked Kåñëa to kill Him but, by the grace of Hari, had not been able to cause even a slight injury. Rather, they had died like small flies in a fire. Thus they remembered the words of Garga Muni, who had foretold, by dint of his vast knowledge of the Vedas and astrology, that this boy would be attacked by many demons. Now they were actually seeing that this was coming true, word for word.

All the cowherd men, including Nanda Mahäräja, used to talk of the wonderful activities of Lord Kåñëa and Balaräma, and they were always so much absorbed in those talks that they forgot the threefold miseries of this material existence. This is the effect of Kåñëa consciousness. What was enjoyed five thousand years ago by Nanda Mahäräja can still be enjoyed by persons who are in Kåñëa consciousness simply by talking about the transcendental pastimes of Kåñëa and His associates.

In this way Balaräma and Kåñëa enjoyed Their childhood pastimes, imitating Lord Rämacandra’s monkeys, who constructed the bridge over the ocean, and Hanumän, who jumped over the water to Ceylon. They used to imitate such pastimes among Their friends and so happily passed Their childhood life.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eleventh Chapter of Kåñëa, “Killing the Demons Vatsäsura and Bakäsura.”

KB 12: The Killing of the Aghäsura Demon

Once the Lord desired to go early in the morning with all His cowherd boyfriends to the forest, where they were to assemble together and take lunch. As soon as He got up from bed, He blew His buffalo-horn bugle and called all His friends together. Keeping the calves before them, they started for the forest in a great procession. In this way, Lord Kåñëa assembled thousands of His boyfriends. They were each equipped with a stick, flute and horn, as well as a lunch bag, and each of them was taking care of thousands of calves. All the boys appeared very jolly and happy in that excursion. Each and every one of them, including Kåñëa, was attentive to his personal calves as he herded them in the different places in the forest. The boys were fully decorated with various kinds of golden ornaments, yet out of sporting propensities they began to pick up flowers, leaves, twigs, peacock feathers and red clay from different places in the forest and further decorate themselves in different ways. While passing through the forest, one boy stole another boy’s lunch package and passed it to a third. And when the boy whose lunch package was stolen came to know of it, he tried to take it back. But the boy who had it threw it to another boy. This sportive playing went on amongst the boys as childhood pastimes.

When Lord Kåñëa went ahead to a distant place in order to see some specific scenery, the boys behind Him ran to try to catch up and be the first to touch Him. So there was a great competition. One would say, “I will go there and touch Kåñëa,” and another would say, “Oh, you cannot go. I’ll touch Kåñëa first.” Some of them played on their flutes or vibrated bugles made of buffalo horn. Some of them gladly followed the peacocks and imitated the onomatopoetic sounds of the cuckoo. While the birds were flying in the sky, the boys ran after the birds’ shadows along the ground and tried to follow their exact courses. Some of them went to the monkeys and silently sat down by them, and some of them imitated the dancing of the peacocks. Some of them caught the tails of the monkeys and played with them, and when the monkeys jumped into a tree, the boys followed. When a monkey showed its face and teeth, a boy imitated and showed his teeth to the monkey. Some of the boys played with the frogs on the bank of the Yamunä, and when, out of fear, the frogs jumped into the water, the boys immediately dove in after them, and they would come out of the water when they saw their own shadows and stand imitating, making caricatures and laughing. They would also go to an empty well and make loud sounds, and when the echo came back, they would call it ill names and laugh.

As stated personally by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad-gétä, He is realized proportionately by transcendentalists as Brahman, Paramätmä and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Here, in confirmation of the same statement, Lord Kåñëa, who awards the impersonalist the pleasure of Brahman realization by His bodily effulgence, also gives pleasure to the devotees as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are under the spell of the external energy, mäyä, take Him only as a beautiful child. Yet He gave full transcendental pleasure to the cowherd boys who played with Him. Only after accumulating heaps of pious activities were those boys promoted to personally associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Who can estimate the transcendental fortune of the residents of Våndävana? They were personally seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, He whom many yogés cannot find even after undergoing severe austerities, although He is sitting within their hearts. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saàhitä: One may search for Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the pages of the Vedas and Upaniñads, but it is difficult to find Him there. However, one who is fortunate enough to associate with a devotee can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. After accumulating pious activities in many, many previous lives, the cowherd boys were seeing Kåñëa face to face and playing with Him as friends. They could not understand that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they were playing as intimate friends with intense love for Him.

When Lord Kåñëa was enjoying His childhood pastimes with His boyfriends, one Aghäsura demon became very impatient. He was unable to tolerate seeing Kåñëa play so happily, and therefore he appeared before the boys intending to kill them all. This Aghäsura was so dangerous that even the denizens of heaven were afraid of him. Although the denizens of heaven drank nectar daily to prolong their lives, they were afraid of this Aghäsura and were wondering, “When will the demon be killed?” The denizens used to drink nectar to become immortal, but actually they were not confident of their immortality. On the other hand, the boys who were playing with Kåñëa had no fear of the demons. They were free of fear. Any material arrangement for protecting oneself from death is always unsure, but if one is in Kåñëa consciousness, then immortality is confidently assured.

The demon Aghäsura appeared before Kåñëa and His friends. Aghäsura happened to be the younger brother of Pütanä and Bakäsura, and he thought, “Kåñëa has killed my brother and sister. Now I shall kill Him along with all His friends and calves.” Aghäsura was instigated by Kaàsa, so he had come with determination. Aghäsura also thought that when he would offer grains and water in memory of his brother and sister and kill Kåñëa and all the cowherd boys, then automatically all the inhabitants of Våndävana would die. Generally, for the householders, the children are the life and breath force. When all the children die, then naturally the parents also die on account of strong affection for them.

Aghäsura, thus deciding to kill all the inhabitants of Våndävana, expanded himself by the yogic siddhi called mahimä. The demons are generally expert in achieving almost all kinds of mystic powers. In the yoga system, by the perfection called mahimä-siddhi, one can expand himself as he desires. The demon Aghäsura expanded himself up to eight miles and assumed the shape of a very fat serpent. Having attained this wonderful body, he stretched his mouth open just like a mountain cave. Desiring to swallow all the boys at once, including Kåñëa and Balaräma, he sat on the path.

The demon in the shape of a big fat serpent expanded his lips from land to sky; his lower lip was touching the ground, and his upper lip was touching the clouds. His jaws appeared like a big mountain cave, without limitation, and his teeth appeared just like mountain summits. His tongue appeared to be a broad traffic way, and he was breathing just like a hurricane. His eyes were blazing like fire. At first the boys thought that the demon was a statue, but after examining it they saw that it was a big serpent lying down on the road and widening his mouth. The boys began to talk among themselves: “Dear friends, this figure appears to be a great animal, and he is sitting in such a posture just to swallow us all. Just see—is it not a big snake that has widened his mouth to eat all of us?”

One of them said, “Yes, what you say is true. This animal’s upper lip appears to be just like the sunshine, and its lower lip is just like the reflection of red sunshine on the ground. Dear friends, just look to the right- and left-hand side of the mouth of the animal. Its mouth appears to be like a big mountain cave, and its height cannot be estimated. The chin is also raised just like a mountain summit. That long highway appears to be its tongue, and inside the mouth it is as dark as in a mountain cave. The hot wind that is blowing like a hurricane is his breathing, and the fishy bad smell coming out from his mouth is the smell of his intestines.”

Then they further consulted among themselves: “If we all at one time entered into the mouth of this great serpent, how could it possibly swallow all of us? And even if it were to swallow all of us at once, it could not swallow Kåñëa. Kåñëa will immediately kill him, as He did Bakäsura.” Talking in this way, all the boys looked at the beautiful lotuslike face of Kåñëa, and they began to clap and smile. And so they marched forward and entered the mouth of the gigantic serpent.

Meanwhile, Kåñëa, who is the Supersoul within everyone’s heart, could understand that the big statuesque figure was a demon. The boys did not know this, however, and thus while Kåñëa was planning how to stop the destruction of His intimate friends, all the boys along with their cows and calves entered the mouth of the serpent. But Kåñëa did not enter. The demon was awaiting Kåñëa’s entrance, and he was thinking, “Everyone has entered except Kåñëa, who has killed my brother and sister.”

Kåñëa is the assurance of safety to everyone. But when He saw that His friends were already out of His hands and were lying within the belly of a great serpent, He became momentarily aggrieved. He was also struck with wonder at how the external energy works so wonderfully. He then began to consider how He could kill the demon and at the same time save the boys and calves. Although there was no factual concern on Kåñëa’s part, He was thinking like that. Finally, after some deliberation, He also entered the mouth of the demon. When Kåñëa entered, all the demigods, who had gathered to see the fun and who were hiding within the clouds, expressed their feelings with the words “Alas! Alas!” At the same time, all the friends of Aghäsura, especially Kaàsa, who were all accustomed to eating flesh and blood, expressed their jubilation, understanding that Kåñëa had also entered the mouth of the demon.

While the demon was trying to smash Kåñëa and His companions, Kåñëa heard the demigods crying “Alas! Alas!” and He immediately began to expand Himself within the throat of the demon. Although he had a gigantic body, the demon choked by the expanding of Kåñëa. His big eyes moved violently, and he quickly suffocated. His life air could not come out from any source, and ultimately it burst out of a hole in the upper part of his skull. Thus his life air passed off. After the demon was dead, Kåñëa, with His transcendental glance alone, brought all the boys and calves back to consciousness and came with them out of the mouth of the demon. While Kåñëa was within the mouth of Aghäsura, the demon’s spirit soul came out like a dazzling light, illuminating all directions, and waited in the sky. As soon as Kåñëa came out of the mouth of the demon with His calves and friends, that glittering effulgent light immediately merged into the body of Kåñëa within the vision of all the demigods.

The demigods became overwhelmed with joy and showered flowers on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, and thus they worshiped Him. The denizens of heaven danced in jubilation, and the denizens in Gandharvaloka offered various kinds of prayers. Drummers beat drums in jubilation, the brähmaëas recited Vedic hymns, and all the devotees of the Lord chanted the words “Jaya! Jaya! All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead!”

When Lord Brahmä heard those auspicious vibrations, which sounded throughout the higher planetary system, he immediately came down to see what had happened. He saw that the demon was killed, and he was struck with wonder at the uncommon, glorious pastimes of the Personality of Godhead.

The gigantic mouth of the demon remained in an open position for many days and gradually dried up; it remained a spot of pleasure pastimes for all the cowherd boys.

The killing of Aghäsura took place when Kåñëa and all His boyfriends were under five years old. Children under five years old are called kaumära, from five years up to the tenth year they are called paugaëòa, and from the tenth year up to the fifteenth year they are called kaiçora. After the fifteenth year, boys are called youths. For one year there was no discussion of the incident of the Aghäsura demon in the village of Vraja. But when the boys attained their sixth year, they informed their parents of the incident with great wonder.

For Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is far greater than such demigods as Lord Brahmä, it is not at all difficult to award one the opportunity of merging with His eternal body. This He awarded to Aghäsura. Aghäsura was certainly the most sinful living entity, and it is not possible for the sinful to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth. But in this particular case, because Kåñëa entered into Aghäsura’s body, the demon became fully cleansed of all sinful reactions. Persons constantly thinking of the eternal form of the Lord in the shape of the Deity or in the shape of a mental form are awarded the transcendental benediction of entering into the kingdom of God and associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we can just imagine the elevated position of someone like Aghäsura, into whose body the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, personally entered. Great sages, meditators and devotees constantly keep the form of the Lord within their hearts, or they see the Deity form of the Lord in the temples; in that way they become liberated from all material contamination and at the end of the body enter into the kingdom of God. This perfection is possible simply by keeping the form of the Lord within the mind. But in the case of Aghäsura, the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally entered. Aghäsura’s position was therefore greater than the ordinary devotee’s or the greatest yogé’s.

Mahäräja Parékñit, who was engaged in hearing the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kåñëa (who saved the life of Mahäräja Parékñit while he was in the womb of his mother), became more and more interested to hear about Him. And thus he questioned the sage Çukadeva Gosvämé, who was reciting Çrémad-Bhägavatam before the King.

King Parékñit was a bit astonished to understand that the killing of the Aghäsura demon was not discussed for one year, until after the boys attained the paugaëòa age. Mahäräja Parékñit was very inquisitive to learn about this, for he was sure that such an incident was due to the working of Kåñëa’s different energies.

Generally, the kñatriyas or the administrative class are always busy with their political affairs, and they have very little chance to hear about the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kåñëa. But while Parékñit Mahäräja was hearing these transcendental pastimes, he considered himself to be very fortunate because not only was he hearing Kåñëa’s pastimes but he was doing so from Çukadeva Gosvämé, the greatest authority on Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Thus being requested by Mahäräja Parékñit, Çukadeva Gosvämé continued to speak about the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kåñëa in the matter of His form, quality, fame and paraphernalia.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twelfth Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Killing of the Aghäsura Demon.”

KB 13: The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmä

Çukadeva Gosvämé was very much encouraged when Mahäräja Parékñit asked him why the cowherd boys did not discuss the death of Aghäsura until after one year had passed. He explained thus: “My dear King, you are making the subject matter of the transcendental pastimes of Kåñëa fresher by your inquisitiveness.”

It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Kåñëa. This is called Kåñëa consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting about Kåñëa, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nitya-nava-naväyamäna. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.

It is the duty of the spiritual master to disclose all confidential subject matter to the inquisitive and sincere disciple. Thus Çukadeva Gosvämé began to explain why the killing of Aghäsura was not discussed until one year had passed. Çukadeva Gosvämé told the King, “Now hear of this secret with attention. After saving His friends from the mouth of Aghäsura and killing the demon, Lord Kåñëa brought His friends to the bank of the Yamunä and addressed them as follows: “My dear friends, just see how this spot is very nice for taking lunch and playing on the soft, sandy Yamunä bank. You can see how the lotus flowers in the water are beautifully blown and how they distribute their fragrance all around. The chirping of the birds along with cooing of the peacocks, surrounded by the whispering of the leaves in the trees, combine and present sound vibrations that echo one another. And this just enriches the beautiful scenery created by the trees here. Let us have our lunch in this spot because it is already late and we are feeling hungry. Let the calves remain near us, and let them drink water from the Yamunä. While we engage in our lunch-taking, the calves may engage in eating the soft grasses that are in this spot.’”

On hearing this proposal from Kåñëa, all the boys became very glad and said, “Certainly, let us all sit down here to take our lunch.” They then let loose the calves to eat the soft grass. Sitting down on the ground and keeping Kåñëa in the center, they began to open their lunch boxes brought from home. Lord Çré Kåñëa was seated in the center of the circle, and all the boys kept their faces toward Him. They ate and constantly enjoyed seeing the Lord face to face. Kåñëa appeared to be the whorl of a lotus flower, and the boys surrounding Him appeared to be its different petals. The boys collected flowers, leaves of flowers and the bark of trees and placed their lunch on them, as well as in their boxes, and thus they began to eat their lunch, keeping company with Kåñëa. While taking lunch, each boy began to manifest different kinds of relations with Kåñëa, and they enjoyed each other’s company with joking words. While Lord Kåñëa was thus enjoying lunch with His friends, His flute was pushed within the belt of His cloth on His right side, and His bugle and cane were pushed in on the left-hand side of His cloth. In his left palm He was holding a lump of food prepared with yogurt, butter, rice and pieces of fruit salad, which could be seen through His petallike finger-joints. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who accepts the results of all great sacrifices, was laughing and joking, enjoying lunch with His friends in Våndävana. And thus the scene was being observed by the demigods from heaven. As for the boys, they were simply enjoying transcendental bliss in the company of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

At that time, the calves that were pasturing nearby entered into the deep forest, allured by new grasses, and gradually went out of sight. When the boys saw that the calves were not nearby, they became afraid for their safety, and they immediately cried out, “Kåñëa!” Kåñëa is the killer of fear personified. Everyone is afraid of fear personified, but fear personified is afraid of Kåñëa. By crying out the word “Kåñëa,” the boys at once transcended the fearful situation. Out of His great affection, Kåñëa did not want His friends to give up their pleasing lunch engagement and go searching for the calves. He therefore said, “My dear friends, you need not interrupt your lunch. Go on enjoying. I am going personally to find the calves.” Thus Lord Kåñëa, still carrying the lump of yogurt-and-rice preparation in His left hand, immediately started to search out the calves in the caves and bushes. He searched in the mountain holes and in the forests, but nowhere could He find them.

At the time when Aghäsura was killed and the demigods were looking on the incident with great surprise, Brahmä, who was born of the lotus flower growing out of the navel of Viñëu, also came to see. He was surprised how a little boy like Kåñëa could act so wonderfully. Although he was informed that the little cowherd boy was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he wanted to see more of the Lord’s glorious pastimes, and thus he stole all the calves and cowherd boys and took them to a different place. Lord Kåñëa, therefore, in spite of searching for the calves, could not find them, and He even lost His boyfriends on the bank of the Yamunä, where they had been taking their lunch. In the form of a cowherd boy, Lord Kåñëa was very little in comparison to Brahmä, but because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He could immediately understand that all the calves and boys had been stolen by Brahmä. Kåñëa thought, “Brahmä has taken away all the boys and calves. How can I alone return to Våndävana? The mothers will be aggrieved!”

Therefore in order to satisfy the mothers of His friends as well as to convince Brahmä of the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead, He immediately expanded Himself as the cowherd boys and calves. In the Vedas it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has already expanded Himself into so many living entities by His energy. Therefore it was not very difficult for Him to expand Himself again into so many boys and calves. He expanded Himself to become exactly like the boys, who were of all different features and facial and bodily construction, and who were different in their clothing and ornaments and in their behavior and personal activities. In other words, each person, being an individual soul, has entirely different tastes, activities and behavior. Yet Kåñëa exactly expanded Himself into all the different positions of the individual boys. He also became the calves, who were also of different sizes, colors, activities, etc. This was possible because everything is an expansion of Kåñëa’s energy. In the Viñëu Puräëa it is said, parasya brahmaëaù çaktiù. Whatever we actually see in the cosmic manifestation—be it matter or the activities of the living entities—is simply an expansion of the energies of the Lord, as heat and light are the different expansions of fire.

Thus expanding Himself as the boys and calves in their individual capacities, and surrounded by such expansions of Himself, Kåñëa entered the village of Våndävana. The residents had no knowledge of what had happened. After entering the village of Våndävana, all the calves entered their respective cowsheds, and the boys went to their respective mothers and homes.

The mothers of the boys heard the vibration of their flutes before their entrance, and to receive them, they came out of their homes and embraced them. And out of maternal affection, milk was flowing from their breasts, and they allowed the boys to drink it. However, their offering was not exactly to their boys but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had expanded Himself into such boys. This was a chance for all the mothers of Våndävana to feed the Supreme Personality of Godhead with their own milk. Therefore not only did Lord Kåñëa give Yaçodä the chance to feed Him, but this time He gave the chance to all the elder gopés.

All the boys dealt with their mothers as usual, and the mothers also, on the approach of evening, bathed their respective children, decorated them with tilaka and ornaments and gave them necessary food after the day’s labor. The cows also, who were away in the pasturing ground, returned in the evening and called their respective calves. The calves immediately came to their mothers, and the mothers began to lick the bodies of the calves. These relations between the cows and the gopés with their calves and boys remained unchanged, although actually the original calves and boys were not there. Actually the cows’ affection for their calves and the elder gopés’ affection for the boys causelessly increased. Their affection increased naturally, even though the calves and boys were not their offspring. Although the cows and elderly gopés of Våndävana had greater affection for Kåñëa than for their own offspring, after this incident their affection for their offspring increased unlimitedly, exactly as it did for Kåñëa. For one year continuously, Kåñëa Himself expanded as the calves and cowherd boys and was present in the pasturing ground.

As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, Kåñëa’s expansion is situated in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. Similarly, instead of expanding Himself as the Supersoul, He expanded Himself as a portion of calves and cowherd boys for one continuous year.

One day, a few days before a year had passed, Kåñëa and Balaräma were maintaining the calves in the forest when They saw some cows grazing on the top of Govardhana Hill. The cows could see down into the valley where the calves were being taken care of by the boys. Suddenly, on sighting their calves, the cows began to run towards them. They leaped downhill with joined front and rear legs. The cows were so melted with affection for their calves that they did not care about the rough path from the top of Govardhana Hill down to the pasturing ground. They approached the calves with their milk bags full of milk, and they raised their tails upwards. When they were coming down the hill, their milk bags were pouring milk on the ground out of intense maternal affection for the calves, although they were not their own calves. These cows had their own calves, and the calves that were grazing beneath Govardhana Hill were larger; they were not expected to drink milk directly from the milk bag but were satisfied with the grass. Yet all the cows came immediately and began to lick their bodies, and the calves also began to suck milk from the milk bags. There appeared to be a great bondage of affection between the cows and calves.

When the cows were running down from the top of Govardhana Hill, the men who were taking care of them tried to stop them. Older cows are taken care of by the men, and the calves are taken care of by the boys; and as far as possible, the calves are kept separate from the cows, so that the calves do not drink all the available milk. Therefore the men who were taking care of the cows on the top of Govardhana Hill tried to stop them, but they failed. Baffled by their failure, they were feeling ashamed and angry. They were very unhappy, but when they came down and saw their children taking care of the calves, they all of a sudden became very affectionate toward the children. It was very astonishing. Although the men came down disappointed, baffled and angry, as soon as they saw their own children, their hearts melted with great affection. At once their anger, dissatisfaction and unhappiness disappeared. They began to show paternal love for the children, and with great affection they lifted them in their arms and embraced them. They began to smell their children’s heads and enjoy their company with great happiness. After embracing their children, the men took the cows back to the top of Govardhana Hill. Along the way they began to think of their children, and affectionate tears fell from their eyes.

When Balaräma saw this extraordinary exchange of affection between the cows and their calves and between the fathers and their children—when neither the calves nor the children needed so much care—He began to wonder why this extraordinary thing had happened. He was astonished to see all the residents of Våndävana so affectionate to their own children, exactly as they had been to Kåñëa. Similarly, the cows had grown affectionate to their calves—as much as to Kåñëa. Balaräma therefore concluded that the extraordinary show of affection was something mystical, either performed by the demigods or by some powerful man. Otherwise, how could this wonderful change take place? He concluded that this mystical change must have been caused by Kåñëa, whom Balaräma considered His worshipable Personality of Godhead. He thought, “It was arranged by Kåñëa, and even I could not check its mystic power.” Thus Balaräma understood that all those boys and calves were only expansions of Kåñëa.

Balaräma inquired from Kåñëa about the actual situation. He said, “My dear Kåñëa, in the beginning I thought that all these calves and cowherd boys were either great sages and saintly persons or demigods, but at present it appears that they are actually Your expansions. They are all You; You Yourself are playing as the calves and boys. What is the mystery of this situation? Where have those other calves and boys gone? And why are You expanding Yourself as the calves and boys? Will You kindly tell Me what is the cause?” At the request of Balaräma, Kåñëa briefly explained the whole situation: how the calves and boys were stolen by Brahmä and how He was concealing the incident by expanding Himself so people would not know that the original calves and boys were missing.

While Kåñëa and Balaräma were talking, Brahmä returned after a moment’s interval (according to the duration of his life). We have information of Lord Brahmä’s duration of life from the Bhagavad-gétä: 1,000 times the duration of the four ages, or 1,000 x 4,320,000 years, constitute Brahmä’s twelve hours. Similarly, one moment of Brahmä is equal to one year of our solar calculation. After one moment of Brahmä’s calculation, Brahmä came back to see the fun caused by his stealing the boys and calves. But he was also afraid that he was playing with fire. Kåñëa was his master, and he had played mischief for fun by taking away His calves and boys. He was really anxious, so he did not stay away very long; he came back after a moment (of his calculation). He saw that all the boys and calves were playing with Kåñëa in the same way as when he had come upon them, although he was confident that he had taken them and made them lie down asleep under the spell of his mystic power. Brahmä began to think, “All the boys and calves were taken away by me, and I know they are still sleeping. How is it that a similar batch of boys and calves is playing with Kåñëa? Is it that they are not influenced by my mystic power? Have they been playing continually for one year with Kåñëa?” Brahmä tried to understand who they were and how they were uninfluenced by his mystic power, but he could not ascertain it. In other words, he himself came under the spell of his own mystic power. The influence of his mystic power appeared like snow in darkness or a glowworm in the daytime. During the night’s darkness, the glowworm can show some glittering power, and the snow piled up on the top of a hill or on the ground can shine during the daytime. But at night the snow has no silver glitter, nor does the glowworm have any illuminating power during the daytime. Similarly, when the small mystic power exhibited by Brahmä was before the mystic power of Kåñëa, it was just like snow at night or a glowworm during the day. When a man of small mystic power wants to show potency in the presence of greater mystic power, he diminishes his own influence; he does not increase it. Even such a great personality as Brahmä, when he wanted to show his mystic power before Kåñëa, became ludicrous. Brahmä was thus confused about his own mystic power.

In order to convince Brahmä that all those calves and boys were not the original ones, the calves and boys who were playing with Kåñëa transformed into Viñëu forms. Actually, the original ones were sleeping under the spell of Brahmä’s mystic power, but the present ones, seen by Brahmä, were all immediate expansions of Kåñëa, or Viñëu. Viñëu is the expansion of Kåñëa, so the Viñëu forms appeared before Brahmä. All the Viñëu forms were of bluish color and dressed in yellow garments; all of Them had four hands decorated with club, disc, lotus flower and conchshell. On Their heads were glittering golden helmets inlaid with jewels; They were bedecked with pearls and earrings and garlanded with beautiful flowers. On Their chests was the mark of Çrévatsa, Their arms were decorated with armlets and other jewelry, and Their necks were just like conchshells. Their legs were decorated with bells, Their waists with golden belts, and Their fingers with jeweled rings. Brahmä also saw that upon the whole body of each Lord Viñëu, beginning from the lotus feet up to the top of the head, fresh tulasé leaves and buds had been thrown. Another significant feature of the Viñëu forms was that all of Them were looking transcendentally beautiful. Their smiling resembled the moonshine, and Their glancing resembled the early rising of the sun. Just by Their glancing They appeared to be the creators and maintainers of the modes of ignorance and passion. Viñëu represents the mode of goodness, Brahmä represents the mode of passion, and Lord Çiva represents the mode of ignorance. Therefore as the maintainer of everything in the cosmic manifestation, Viñëu is also the creator and maintainer of Brahmä and Lord Çiva.

After this manifestation of Lord Viñëu, Brahmä saw that many other Brahmäs and Çivas and demigods and even insignificant living entities down to the ants and very small straws—movable and immovable living entities—were dancing, surrounding Lord Viñëu. Their dancing was accompanied by various kinds of music, and all of Them were worshiping Lord Viñëu. Brahmä realized that all those Viñëu forms were complete in mystic power, beginning from the aëimä perfection of becoming small like an atom up to becoming infinite like the cosmic manifestation. All the mystic powers of Brahmä, Çiva, all the demigods and the twenty-four elements of cosmic manifestation were fully represented in the person of Viñëu. By the influence of Lord Viñëu, all subordinate mystic powers were engaged in His worship. He was being worshiped by time, space, the cosmic manifestation, reformation, desire, activity and the three qualities of material nature. Lord Viñëu, Brahmä also realized, is the reservoir of all truth, knowledge and bliss. He is the combination of three transcendental features, namely eternity, knowledge and bliss, and He is the object of worship by the followers of the Upaniñads. Brahmä realized that all the different forms of boys and calves transformed into Viñëu forms were not transformed by a mysticism of the type that a yogé or a demigod can display by specific powers invested in him. The calves and boys transformed into viñëu-mürtis, or Viñëu forms, were not displays of viñëu-mäyä, or Viñëu’s energy, but were Viñëu Himself. The respective qualifications of Viñëu and viñëu-mäyä are just like fire and heat. In the heat there is the qualification of fire, namely warmth; and yet heat is not fire. The manifestation of the Viñëu forms of the boys and calves was not like the heat but rather the fire—they were all actually Viñëu. Factually, the qualification of Viñëu is full truth, full knowledge and full bliss. Another example can be given with material objects, which are reflected in many, many forms. For example, the sun is reflected in many waterpots, but the reflections of the sun in the many pots are not actually the sun. There is no actual heat or light from the suns in the pots, although they appear like the sun. But the forms which Kåñëa assumed were each and every one full Viñëu. The specific word used in this connection is satya-jïänänantänanda: satya means truth; jïäna, full knowledge; ananta, unlimited; and änanda, full bliss.

The transcendental forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are so great that the impersonalistic followers of the Upaniñads cannot reach the platform of knowledge to understand them. Indeed, the transcendental forms of the Lord are far beyond the reach of the impersonalists, who can only understand, through studying the Upaniñads, that the Absolute Truth is not matter, or is not materially restricted. From Kåñëa’s expansion into Viñëu forms, Lord Brahmä could understand by his limited potency that everything movable and immovable within the cosmic manifestation is existing due to the expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord.

When Brahmä was thus standing baffled in his limited power and conscious of his limited activities within the eleven senses, he could realize that he was also a creation of the material energy, just like a puppet. As a puppet has no independent power to dance but dances according to the direction of the puppet master, so the demigods and living entities are all subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is stated in the Caitanya-caritämåta, the only master is Kåñëa, and all others are servants. The whole world is under the waves of the material spell, and beings are floating like straws in water. So their struggle for existence is continuing. But as soon as one becomes conscious that he is the eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this mäyä, or illusory struggle for existence, is immediately stopped.

Lord Brahmä, who has full control over the goddess of learning and who is considered to be the best authority in Vedic knowledge, was thus perplexed, being unable to understand the extraordinary power manifested by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the mundane world, even a personality like Brahmä is unable to understand the mystic power of the Supreme Lord. Not only did Brahmä fail to understand, but he was perplexed even to see the display which was being manifested by Kåñëa before him.

Kåñëa took compassion upon Brahmä, who was unable even to see how He was displaying the forms of Viñëu and transforming Himself into calves and cowherd boys, and thus, while fully manifesting the Viñëu expansions, He suddenly pulled His curtain of yogamäyä over the scene. In the Bhagavad-gétä it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not visible due to the curtain spread by yogamäyä. That which covers the reality is mahä-mäyä, or the external energy, which does not allow a conditioned soul to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead beyond the cosmic manifestation. But the energy which partially manifests the Supreme Personality of Godhead and partially does not allow one to see is called yogamäyä. Brahmä is not an ordinary conditioned soul. He is far, far superior to all the other demigods, and yet he could not comprehend the display of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore Kåñëa willingly stopped manifesting any further potency. The conditioned soul not only becomes bewildered but is completely unable to understand. The curtain of yogamäyä was drawn so that Brahmä would not become more and more perplexed.

When Brahmä was relieved from his perplexity, he appeared to awaken from an almost dead state, and he began to open his eyes with great difficulty. Thus he could see the external cosmic manifestation with common eyes. He saw all around him the superexcellent view of Våndävana—full with trees—which is the source of life for all living entities. He could appreciate the transcendental land of Våndävana, where all the living entities are transcendental to ordinary nature. In the forest of Våndävana, even ferocious animals like tigers and others live peacefully along with the deer and human beings. He could understand that because of the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Våndävana is transcendental to all other places and is free of lust and greed.

Brahmä thus found Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, playing the part of a small cowherd boy; he saw that little child with a lump of food in His left hand, searching out His friends and calves, just as He had actually been doing one year before, after their disappearance.

Immediately Brahmä descended from his great swan carrier and fell down before the Lord just like a golden stick. The word used among the Vaiñëavas for offering respect is daëòavat. This word means “falling down like a stick”; one should offer respect to the superior Vaiñëava by falling down straight, with his body just like a stick. So Brahmä fell down before the Lord just like a stick to offer respect; and because the complexion of Brahmä is golden, he appeared to be like a golden stick lying down before Lord Kåñëa. All the four helmets on the heads of Brahmä touched the lotus feet of Kåñëa. Brahmä, being very joyful, began to shed tears, and he washed the lotus feet of Kåñëa with his tears. Repeatedly he fell and rose as he recalled the wonderful activities of the Lord. After repeating obeisances for a long time, Brahmä stood up and smeared his hands over his eyes. Seeing the Lord before him, he, trembling, began to offer prayers with great respect, humility and attention.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Thirteenth Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmä.”

KB 14: Prayers Offered by Lord Brahmä to Lord Kåñëa

Brahmä said, “My dear Lord, You are the only worshipful Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead; therefore I am offering my humble obeisances and prayers just to please You. Your bodily features are of the color of clouds filled with water. You are glittering with a silver electric aura emanating from Your yellow garments.

“Let me offer my respectful repeated obeisances unto the son of Mahäräja Nanda, who is standing before me with conchshell earrings and a peacock feather on His head. His face is beautiful; He is wearing a helmet and is garlanded by forest flowers, and He stands with a morsel of food in His hand. He is decorated with a cane, a buffalo-horn bugle and a flute. He stands before me with small lotus feet.

“My dear Lord, people may say that I am the master of all Vedic knowledge, and I am supposed to be the creator of this universe, but it has been proved now that I cannot understand You, who are present before me just like a child. You are playing with Your boyfriends and calves, which might imply that You do not even have sufficient education. You are appearing just like a village boy, carrying Your food in Your hand and searching for Your calves. And yet there is so much difference between Your body and mine that I cannot estimate the potency of Your body. As I have already stated in the Brahma-saàhitä, Your body is not material.”

In the Brahma-saàhitä it is stated that the body of the Lord is all-spiritual; there is no difference between the Lord’s body and His self. Each limb of His body can perform the actions of all the others. The Lord can see with His hands, He can hear with His eyes, He can accept offerings with His legs, and He can create with His mouth.

Brahmä continued, “Your appearance as a cowherd child is for the benefit of the devotees, and although I have committed an offense at Your lotus feet by stealing away Your boys and calves, I can understand that You have bestowed Your mercy upon me. That is Your transcendental quality: You are very affectionate toward Your devotees. But in spite of Your great affection for me, I cannot estimate the potency of Your bodily activities. It is to be understood that when I, Lord Brahmä, the supreme personality of this universe, cannot estimate the childlike body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then what to speak of others? And if I cannot estimate the spiritual potency of Your childlike body, then what can I understand about Your transcendental pastimes? Therefore, as it is said in the Bhagavad-gétä, anyone who can understand a little of the transcendental pastimes, appearance and disappearance of the Lord becomes immediately eligible to enter into the kingdom of God after quitting the material body. This statement is also confirmed in the Vedas, where it is stated: Simply by understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can overcome the chain of repeated birth and death. I therefore recommend that people should not try to understand You by their speculative knowledge.

“The best process of understanding You is to submissively give up the speculative process and try to hear about You, either from Yourself as You have given statements in the Bhagavad-gétä and many similar Vedic scriptures, or from a realized devotee who has taken shelter at Your lotus feet. One has to hear from a devotee without speculation. One does not even need to change his worldly position; he simply has to hear Your message. Although You are not understandable by the material senses, simply by hearing about You one can gradually conquer the nescience of misunderstanding. By Your own grace only, You become revealed to a devotee. You are unconquerable by any other means. Speculative knowledge without any trace of devotional service is simply a useless waste of time in the search for You. Devotional service is so important that even a little attempt can raise one to the highest perfectional platform. One should not, therefore, neglect this auspicious process of devotional service and take to the speculative method. By the speculative method one may gain partial knowledge of Your cosmic manifestation, but it is not possible to understand You, the origin of everything. The attempt of persons who are interested only in speculative knowledge is simply wasted labor, like the labor of a person who attempts to gain something by beating an empty husk of rice paddy. A little quantity of paddy can be husked by the grinding wheel, and one can gain some grains of rice, but if the skin of the paddy has already been beaten by the grinding wheel, there is no further gain in beating even a huge quantity of the husk. It is simply useless labor.

“My dear Lord, there are many instances in the history of human society where a person, after failing to achieve the transcendental platform, engaged himself in devotional service with his body, mind and words and thus attained the highest perfectional state of entering into Your abode. The processes of understanding You by speculation or mystic meditation are all useless without devotional service. One should therefore engage himself in Your devotional service even in his worldly activities, and one should always keep himself near You by the process of hearing and chanting Your transcendental glories. Simply by being attached to hearing and chanting Your glories, one can attain the highest perfectional stage of entering into Your kingdom. If a person, therefore, always keeps in touch with You by hearing and chanting Your glories and offers the results of his work for Your satisfaction only, he very easily and happily attains entrance into Your supreme abode. You are realizable by persons who have cleansed their hearts of all contamination. This cleansing of the heart is made possible by chanting and hearing the glories of Your Lordship.”

The Lord is all-pervading. As it is stated by Lord Kåñëa in the Bhagavad-gétä, “Everything is sustained by Me, but at the same time I am not in everything.” Since the Lord is all-pervading, there is nothing existing without His knowledge. The all-pervasive nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can never be within the limited knowledge of a living entity; therefore, a person who has attained steadiness of the mind by fixing the mind on the lotus feet of the Lord is able to understand the Supreme Lord to some extent. It is the business of the mind to wander over varied subject matter for sense gratification. Therefore only a person who always engages the senses in the service of the Lord can control the mind and be fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord. This concentration of the mind upon the lotus feet of the Lord is called samädhi. Until one reaches the stage of samädhi, or trance, he cannot understand the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There may be some philosophers or scientists who can study the cosmic nature from atom to atom; they may be so advanced that they can count the atomic composition of the cosmic atmosphere or all the planets and stars in the sky, or even the shining molecular parts of the sun or other stars and luminaries in the sky. But it is not possible to count the qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As described in the beginning of the Vedänta-sütra, the Supreme Person is the origin of all qualities. He is generally called nirguëa. Nirguëa means “whose qualities are beyond estimation.” Guëa means “quality,” and nir means “beyond estimation.” But impersonalists interpret this word nirguëa as “having no quality.” Because they are unable to estimate the qualities of the Lord in transcendental realization, they conclude that the Supreme Lord has no qualities. But that is actually not the position. The real position is that He is the original source of all qualities. All qualities are emanating constantly from Him. How, therefore, can a limited person count the qualities of the Lord? One may estimate the qualities of the Lord for one moment, but the next moment the qualities are increased; so it is not possible to make an estimation of the transcendental qualities of the Lord. He is therefore called nirguëa, one whose qualities cannot be estimated.

One should not uselessly labor in mental speculation to estimate the Lord’s qualities. There is no need of adopting the speculative method or exercising the body to attain mystic yoga perfection. One should simply understand that the distress and happiness of this body are predestined; there is no need to try to avoid the distress of this bodily existence or to attempt to achieve happiness by different types of exercises. The best course is to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead with body, mind and words and always be engaged in His service. This transcendental labor is fruitful, but other attempts to understand the Absolute Truth are never successful. Therefore an intelligent man does not try to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative or mystic power. Rather, he engages in devotional service and depends on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knows that whatever may happen to the body is due to his past fruitive activities. If one lives such a simple life in devotional service, then automatically he inherits the transcendental abode of the Lord. Actually, every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and a son of the Godhead. Each has the natural right to inherit and share the transcendental pleasures of the Lord, but due to the contact of matter, conditioned living entities have been practically disinherited. If one adopts the simple method of engaging himself in devotional service, automatically he becomes eligible to be freed from material contamination and elevated to the transcendental position of associating with the Supreme Lord.

Lord Brahmä presented himself to Lord Kåñëa as the most presumptuous living creature because he wanted to examine the wonder of His personal power. He stole the boys and calves of the Lord in order to see how the Lord would recover them. Now Lord Brahmä admitted that his attempt was most presumptuous, for he was attempting to test his energy before the person of original energy. Coming to his senses, Lord Brahmä saw that although he was a very powerful living creature in the estimation of all other living creatures within this material world, his power was nothing in comparison to the power and energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The scientists of the material world have discovered wonders such as atomic weapons, and when tested in a city or some insignificant place on this planet, such powerful weapons create so-called havoc, but if the atomic weapons are tested on the sun, what is their significance? They are insignificant there. Similarly, Brahmä’s stealing of the calves and boys from Çré Kåñëa may be a wonderful display of mystic power, but when Çré Kåñëa exhibited His expansive power in so many calves and boys and maintained them without effort, Brahmä could understand that his own power was insignificant.

Brahmä addressed Lord Kåñëa as Acyuta because the Lord is never forgetful of a little service rendered by His devotee. He is so kind and affectionate towards His devotees that a little service by them is accepted by Him as a great deal. Brahmä has certainly rendered much service to the Lord. As the supreme personality in charge of this particular universe, he is, without a doubt, a faithful servant of Kåñëa; therefore he could appease Kåñëa. He asked that the Lord understand him as a subordinate servant whose little mistake and impudence might be excused. He admitted that he was puffed up by his powerful position as Lord Brahmä. Because he is the qualitative incarnation of the mode of passion within this material world, this was natural for him, and therefore he committed the mistake. But Lord Brahmä hoped that since he was, after all, Lord Kåñëa’s subordinate, the Lord would kindly take compassion upon him and excuse him for his gross mistake.

Lord Brahmä realized his actual position. He is certainly the supreme teacher of this universe, in charge of the production of material nature, consisting of the complete material energy, false ego, sky, air, fire, water and earth. Such a universe may be gigantic, but it can be measured, just as we measure our body as seven spans. Generally everyone’s personal bodily measurement is calculated to be seven spans of his hand. This particular universe may appear as a very gigantic body, but it is nothing but the measurement of seven spans for Lord Brahmä. Aside from this universe, there are unlimited other universes which are outside the jurisdiction of this particular Lord Brahmä. Just as innumerable atomic infinitesimal fragments pass through the holes of a screened window, so millions and trillions of universes in their seedling form are coming out from the bodily pores of Mahä-Viñëu, and that Mahä-Viñëu is but a part of a part of the plenary expansion of Kåñëa. Under these circumstances, although Lord Brahmä is the supreme creature within this universe, what is his importance in the presence of Lord Kåñëa?

Lord Brahmä therefore compared himself to a little child within the womb of his mother. If the child within the womb plays with his hands and legs, and while playing touches the body of the mother, is the mother offended with the child? Of course she isn’t. Similarly, Lord Brahmä may be a very great personality, and yet not only Brahmä but everything that be is existing within the womb of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord’s energy is all-pervading: there is no place in the creation where it is not acting. Since everything is existing within the energy of the Lord, the Brahmä of this universe and the Brahmäs of the many other millions and trillions of universes are existing within the energy of the Lord; therefore the Lord is considered to be the mother, and everything existing within the womb of the mother is considered to be the child. And the good mother is never offended with the child, even if he touches the body of the mother by kicking his legs.

Lord Brahmä then said that his birth was from the lotus flower which blossomed from the navel of Näräyaëa after the dissolution of the three worlds, or three planetary systems, known as Bhürloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka. The universe is divided into three divisions, namely Svarga, Martya and Pätäla. These three planetary systems are merged into water at the time of dissolution. At that time Näräyaëa, the plenary portion of Kåñëa, lies down on the water, and gradually a lotus stem grows from His navel, and from that lotus flower, Brahmä is born. It is naturally concluded that the mother of Brahmä is Näräyaëa. Because the Lord is the resting place of all the living entities after the dissolution of the universe, He is called Näräyaëa. The word nära means the aggregate total of all living entities, and ayana means the resting place. The form of Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu is called Näräyaëa because He rests Himself on that water. In addition, He is the resting place of all living creatures. Besides that, Näräyaëa is also present in everyone’s heart, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä. In that sense, also, He is Näräyaëa, as ayana means the source of knowledge as well as the resting place. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä that the remembrance of the living entity is due to the presence of the Supersoul within the heart. After changing the body, a living creature forgets everything of his past life, but because Näräyaëa, the Supersoul, is present within his heart, he is reminded by Him to act according to his past desire. Lord Brahmä wanted to prove that Kåñëa is the original Näräyaëa, that He is the source of Näräyaëa, and that Näräyaëa is not an exhibition of the external energy, mäyä, but is an expansion of spiritual energy. The activities of the external energy, or mäyä, are exhibited after the creation of this cosmic world, and the original spiritual energy of Näräyaëa was acting before the creation. So the expansions of Näräyaëa—from Näräyaëa to Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu, from Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu to Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu, from Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu to Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu, and from Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu to everyone’s heart—are actually Kåñëa’s expansions, manifestations of His spiritual energy. They are not conducted by the material energy; therefore they are not temporary. Anything conducted by the material energy is temporary, but everything executed by the spiritual energy is eternal.

Lord Brahmä reconfirmed his statement establishing Lord Kåñëa as the original Näräyaëa. He said that the Lord’s gigantic universal form is resting on the water known as Garbhodaka. He spoke as follows: “This gigantic universal form is another manifestation of Your energy. On account of His resting on the water, this universal form is also Näräyaëa, and we are all within the womb of this Näräyaëa form. I see Your different Näräyaëa forms everywhere. I can see You on the water, I can feel You within my heart, and I can also see You before me now. You are the original Näräyaëa.

“My dear Lord, in this incarnation You have proved that You are the supreme controller of mäyä. You remain within the cosmic manifestation, and yet the whole creation is within You. This fact has already been proved by You when You exhibited the whole universal creation within Your mouth before Your mother Yaçodä. By Your inconceivable potency of yogamäyä, You can make such things effective without external help.

“My dear Lord Kåñëa, the whole cosmic manifestation that we are visualizing at present is all within Your body. Yet I am seeing You outside, and You are also seeing me outside. How can such things happen without being influenced by Your inconceivable energy?”

Lord Brahmä stressed herein that without accepting the inconceivable energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot explain things as they are. He continued, “My dear Lord, leaving aside all other things and just considering today’s happenings—what I have seen—are they not all due to Your inconceivable energies? First of all I saw You alone; thereafter You expanded Yourself as Your cowherd boyfriends, the calves and all the existence of Våndävana; then I saw You and all the boys and calves as four-handed Viñëus, and They were being worshiped by all elements and all demigods, including myself. Again They were all wound up, and You remained alone as You were before. Does this not mean that You are the Supreme Lord Näräyaëa, the origin of everything, that everything emanates from You and again enters into You, leaving You the same as before?

“Persons who are unaware of Your inconceivable energy cannot understand that You alone expand Yourself as the creator (Brahmä), the maintainer (Viñëu) and the annihilator (Çiva). Persons who are not in awareness of things as they are contemplate that I, Brahmä, am the creator, Viñëu is the maintainer, and Lord Çiva is the annihilator. Actually, You alone are everything—creator, maintainer and annihilator. Similarly, You expand Yourself in different incarnations: among the demigods You incarnate as Vämanadeva, among the great sages You incarnate as Paraçuräma, among the human beings You appear as Yourself, Lord Kåñëa, or as Lord Räma, among the animals You appear as the boar incarnation, and among the aquatics You appear as the fish incarnation. And yet You have no appearance or disappearance: You are always eternal. Your appearance and disappearance are made possible by Your inconceivable energy just to give protection to the faithful devotees and to annihilate the faithless demons. O my Lord, O all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Supersoul, controller of all mystic powers, no one can appreciate Your transcendental pastimes as they are exhibited within these three worlds. No one can estimate how You have expanded Your yogamäyä and Your incarnations and how You act by Your transcendental energy. My dear Lord, this whole cosmic manifestation is just like a flashing dream, and its temporary existence simply disturbs the mind. As a result, we are full of anxiety in this existence; to live within this material world means simply to suffer and to be full of all miseries. And yet this temporary existence of the material world appears to be pleasing and dear on account of its having evolved from Your body, which is eternal and full of bliss and knowledge.

“My conclusion is, therefore, that You are the Supreme Soul, the Absolute Truth, and the supreme original person; and although by Your inconceivable transcendental potencies You have expanded Yourself in so many Viñëu forms, and also in the living entities and other energies, You are the supreme one without a second, the supreme Supersoul. The innumerable living entities are simply like sparks of the original fire, Your Lordship. The conception of the Supersoul as impersonal is wrongly accepted because I see that You are the original person. Persons with a poor fund of knowledge may think that because You are the son of Mahäräja Nanda You are not the original person, that You are born just like a human being. They are mistaken. You are the actual original person; that is my conclusion. In spite of Your being the son of Nanda, You are the original person, and there is no doubt about it. You are the Absolute Truth, and You are not of this material darkness. You are the source of the original brahmajyoti as well as the material luminaries—the sun, moon and stars. Your transcendental effulgence is identical with the brahmajyoti. As it is described in the Brahma-saàhitä, the brahmajyoti is nothing but Your personal bodily effulgence. There are many Viñëu incarnations and incarnations of Your different qualities, but all those incarnations are not on the same level. You are the original lamp. Other incarnations may possess the same candlepower as the original lamp, but the original lamp is the beginning of all light. And because You are not one of the creations of this material world, even after the annihilation of this world, Your existence as You are will continue.

“Because You are the original person, You are described in the Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad, as well as in the Brahma-saàhitä, as govindam ädi-puruñam. Govinda is the original person, the cause of all causes. In the Bhagavad-gétä also it is stated that You are the source of the Brahman effulgence. No one should conclude that Your body is like an ordinary material body. Your body is akñara, indestructible. The material body is always full of threefold miseries, but Your body is sac-cid-änanda-vigraha: [Bs. 5.1] full of bliss, knowledge and eternality. You are also niraïjana because Your pastimes, as the little son of mother Yaçodä or the lover of the gopés, are never contaminated by the material qualities. And although You exhibited Yourself as so many cowherd boys and calves, Your transcendental potency was not reduced. You are always complete. As it is described in the Vedic literature, even if the complete is taken away from the complete—the Supreme Absolute Truth—it remains the complete Supreme Absolute Truth. And although many expansions from the complete are visible, the complete is one without a second. Since all Your pastimes are spiritual, there is no possibility of their being contaminated by the material modes of nature. When You place Yourself as subordinate to Your father and mother, Nanda and Yaçodä, You are not reduced in Your potency; this is an expression of Your loving attitude for Your devotees. There is no second identity to compete with You. A person with a poor fund of knowledge concludes that Your appearance and pastimes are simply material designations. You are transcendental to both nescience and knowledge, as it is confirmed in the Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad. You are the original amåta (indestructible nectar of immortality). As confirmed in the Vedas, amåtaà çäçvataà brahma. Brahman is the eternal, the supreme origin of everything, who has no birth or death.

“In the Upaniñads it is stated that the Supreme Brahman is as effulgent as the sun and is the origin of everything, and anyone who can understand that original person becomes liberated from the material, conditioned life. Anyone who can simply be attached to You by devotional service can know Your actual position, birth, appearance, disappearance and activities. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä, simply by understanding Your constitutional position, appearance and disappearance, one can be immediately elevated to the spiritual kingdom after quitting this present body. Therefore to cross over the ocean of material nescience, an intelligent person takes shelter of Your lotus feet and is easily transferred to the spiritual world.

“There are many so-called meditators who do not know that You are the Supreme Soul. As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, You are the Supreme Soul present in everyone’s heart. Therefore there is no necessity of one’s meditating on something beyond You. One who is always absorbed in meditation on Your original form of Kåñëa easily crosses over the ocean of material nescience. But persons who do not know that You are the Supreme Soul remain within this material world in spite of their so-called meditation. If, by the association of Your devotees, a person comes to the knowledge that Lord Kåñëa is the original Supersoul, then it is possible for him to cross over the ocean of material ignorance. For instance, when a person mistakes a rope for a snake he is filled with fear, but as soon as he understands that the rope is not a snake, he is liberated from fear. If one understands You, therefore, through Your personal teachings, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, or through Your pure devotees, as stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam and all other Vedic scriptures—if one realizes that You are the ultimate goal of understanding—he need no more fear this material existence.

“So-called liberation and bondage have no meaning for a person who is already engaged in Your devotional service, just as a rope is not fearful to a person who knows that it is not a snake. A devotee knows that this material world belongs to You, and he therefore engages everything in Your transcendental loving service. Thus there is no bondage for him. For a person who is already situated in the sun planet, there is no question of the appearance or disappearance of the sun in the name of day or night. It is also said that You, Kåñëa, are just like the sun, and that mäyä is like darkness. When the sun is present, there is no question of darkness; so, for those who always remain in Your presence by engaging in Your service, there is no question of bondage or liberation. They are already liberated. On the other hand, persons who falsely think themselves to be liberated without taking shelter of Your lotus feet fall down because their intelligence is not pure.

“If one therefore thinks that the Supersoul is something different from Your personality and thus searches out the Supersoul or the Supreme Brahman somewhere else, in the forest or in the caves of the Himälayas, his condition is very lamentable. Your teachings in the Bhagavad-gétä are that one should give up all other processes of self-realization and simply surrender unto You, for that is complete. Because You are the Supreme in every respect, those who are searching after the Brahman effulgence are also searching after You. And those who are searching after Supersoul realization are also searching after You. You state in the Bhagavad-gétä that You Yourself, by Your partial representation as the Supersoul, have entered into this material cosmic manifestation. You are present in everyone’s heart, and there is no need to search out the Supersoul anywhere else. If someone does so, he is simply in ignorance. One who is transcendental to such a position understands that You are unlimited; You are both within and without. Therefore Your presence is everywhere. Instead of searching for the Supersoul anywhere else, a devotee only concentrates his mind on You within. Actually, one who is liberated from the material concept of life can search for You; others cannot. The analogy of thinking the rope to be a snake is applicable only to those who are still in ignorance of You. Actually, when one mistakes a rope for a snake, the existence of the snake is only within the mind. The existence of mäyä, similarly, is only within the mind. Mäyä is nothing but ignorance of Your personality. When one forgets Your personality, that is the conditioned state of mäyä. Therefore one who is fixed upon You both internally and externally is not illusioned.

“One who has attained a little result of devotional service can understand Your glories. Even one striving for Brahman realization or Paramätmä realization cannot understand these features of Your personality unless You bestow on him the result of at least a slight bit of devotional service. One may be the spiritual master of many impersonalists, or he may go to the forest or to a mountain cave and meditate as a hermit for many, many years, but he cannot understand Your glories without being favored by a slight degree of devotional service. Brahman realization or Paramätmä realization are also not possible even after one searches for many, many years unless one is touched by the wonderful effect of devotional service.

“Therefore, my dear Lord, I pray that I may be so fortunate that in this life or in another life, wherever I may take my birth, I may be counted as one of Your devotees. Wherever I may be, I pray that I may be engaged in Your devotional service. I do not even care what form of life I get in the future, because I can see that even in the form of cows and calves or cowherd boys, the devotees are so fortunate to be always engaged in Your transcendental loving service and association. Therefore I wish to be one of them instead of such an exalted person as I am now, for I am full of ignorance. The gopés and cows of Våndävana are so fortunate that they have been able to supply their breast milk to You. Persons who are engaged in performing great sacrifices and offering many valuable goats in sacrifice cannot attain the perfection of understanding You, but simply by devotional service these innocent village women and cows are all able to satisfy You with their milk. You have drunk their milk to satisfaction, yet You are never satisfied as much by those engaged in performing sacrifices. I am simply surprised, therefore, with the fortunate position of Mahäräja Nanda, mother Yaçodä and the cowherd men and gopés, because You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, are existing here as their most intimate lovable object. My dear Lord, no one can actually appreciate the good fortune of these residents of Våndävana. We are all demigods, controlling deities of the various senses of the living entities, and we are proud of enjoying such privileges, but actually there is no comparison between our position and the position of these fortunate residents of Våndävana because they are actually relishing Your presence and enjoying Your association by dint of their sensory activities. We may be proud of being controllers of the senses, but here the residents of Våndävana are so transcendental that they are not under our control. Actually they are enjoying their senses through service to You. I shall therefore consider myself fortunate to be given a chance to take birth in this land of Våndävana in any of my future lives.

“My dear Lord, I am therefore not interested in either material opulences or liberation. I am most humbly praying at Your lotus feet for You to please give me any sort of birth within this Våndävana forest so that I may be able to be favored by the dust of the feet of some of the devotees of Våndävana. If I am given the chance to grow as a humble blade of grass in this land, that would be a glorious birth for me. But if I am not so fortunate to take birth within the forest of Våndävana, I beg to be allowed to take birth outside the immediate area of Våndävana so that when the devotees go out they will walk over me. Even that would be a great fortune for me. I am just aspiring for a birth in which I will be smeared by the dust of the devotees’ feet, because I can see that everyone here is simply full of Kåñëa consciousness. No one here knows anything but the lotus feet of Kåñëa, or Mukunda, for which the Vedas themselves are searching.”

It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä that the purpose of Vedic knowledge is to find Kåñëa. And it is said in the Brahma-saàhitä that it is very difficult to find Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by systematic reading of the Vedic literature. But He is very easily available through the mercy of a pure devotee. The pure devotees of Våndävana are fortunate because they can see Mukunda (Lord Kåñëa) all the time. This word mukunda can be understood in two ways. Muk means liberation. Lord Kåñëa can give liberation and therefore transcendental bliss. The word also refers to His smiling face, which is just like the kunda flower. Mukha means “face.” The kunda flower is very beautiful, and it appears to be smiling. Thus the comparison is made.

The difference between the pure devotees of Våndävana and devotees in other places is that the residents of Våndävana have no other desire but to be associated with Kåñëa. Kåñëa, being very kind to His devotees, fulfills their desire; because they always want Kåñëa’s association, the Lord is always prepared to give it to them. The devotees of Våndävana are also spontaneous lovers. They are not required to strictly follow regulative principles because they are already naturally developed in transcendental love for Kåñëa. Regulative principles are required for persons who have not achieved such a position of spontaneous love. Brahmä is also a devotee of the Lord, but he is an ordinary devotee subject to following regulative principles. He prays to Kåñëa to give him the chance to take birth in Våndävana so that he might be elevated to the platform of spontaneous love.

Lord Brahmä continued, “My Lord, sometimes I am puzzled as to how Your Lordship will be able to repay, in gratitude, the devotional service of these residents of Våndävana. Although I know that You are the supreme source of all benediction, I am puzzled to know how You will be able to repay all the service that You are receiving from these residents of Våndävana. I think of how You are so kind, so magnanimous, that even Pütanä, who came to cheat You by dressing herself as a very affectionate mother, was awarded liberation and the actual post of a mother. And other demons belonging to the same family, such as Aghäsura and Bakäsura, were also favored with liberation and achieved You. Under the circumstances, I am puzzled. These residents of Våndävana have given You everything—their bodies, their minds, their love, their homes, their possessions. Everything is being utilized for Your purpose. So how will You be able to repay Your debt to them? You have already given Yourself to Pütanä! I surmise that You shall ever remain a debtor to the residents of Våndävana, being unable to repay their loving service. My Lord, I can understand that the superexcellent quality of the service rendered by the residents of Våndävana is due to their spontaneously engaging all natural instincts in Your loving service. It is said that attachment for material objects and home is due to illusion, which makes a living entity conditioned in the material world. But this is only the case for persons who are not Kåñëa conscious. In the case of the residents of Våndävana, such obstructions as attachment to hearth and home are nonexistent. Because their attachment has been directed unto You and their homes have been converted into temples by Your constant presence there, and because they have forgotten everything for Your sake, there is no impediment. For a Kåñëa conscious person, there is no such thing as impediments due to attachment for hearth and home. Nor is there illusion.

“I can also understand that Your appearance as a small cowherd boy, a child of the cowherd men, is not at all a material activity. You are so much obliged by their affection that You are here to inspire them with more loving service by Your transcendental presence. In Våndävana there is no distinction between material and spiritual because everything is dedicated to Your loving service. My dear Lord, Your Våndävana pastimes are simply to inspire Your devotees. If someone takes Your Våndävana pastimes to be material, he will be misled.

“My dear Lord Kåñëa, those who deride You, claiming that You have a material body like an ordinary man, are described in the Bhagavad-gétä as demoniac and less intelligent. You are always transcendental. The nondevotees are cheated because they consider You to be a material creation. Actually, You have assumed this body, which exactly resembles that of an ordinary cowherd boy, simply to increase the devotion and transcendental bliss of Your devotees.

“My dear Lord, I have nothing to say about people who advertise that they have already realized God or that by their realization they have themselves become God. But as far as I am concerned, I admit frankly that for me it is not possible to realize You by my body, mind or speech. What can I say about You, or how can I realize You by my senses? I cannot even think of You perfectly with my mind, which is the master of the senses. Your qualities, Your activities and Your body cannot be conceived of by any person within this material world. Only by Your mercy can one understand, to some extent, what You are. My dear Lord, You are the Supreme Lord of all creation, although I sometimes falsely think that I am the master of this universe. I may be the master of this universe, but there are innumerable universes, and there are innumerable Brahmäs also who preside over these universes. But actually You are the master of them all. As the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, You know everything. Please, therefore, accept me as Your surrendered servant. I hope that You will excuse me for committing the great offense of disturbing You in Your pastimes with Your friends and calves. Now if You will kindly allow me, I will immediately leave so You can enjoy Your friends and calves without my presence.

“My dear Lord Kåñëa, Your very name suggests that You are all-attractive. The attraction of the sun and the moon are all due to You. By the attraction of the sun, You are beautifying the very existence of the Yadu dynasty. With the attraction of the moon, You are enhancing the potency of the land, the demigods, the brähmaëas, the cows and the oceans. Because of Your supreme attraction, demons like Kaàsa and others are annihilated. Therefore it is my deliberate conclusion that You are the only worshipable Deity within the creation. Accept my humble obeisances until the annihilation of this material world. As long as there is sunshine within this material world, kindly accept my humble obeisances.”

In this way, Brahmä, the master of this universe, after offering humble and respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and circumambulating Him three times, was ready to return to his abode, known as Brahmaloka. By His gesture, the Supreme Personality of Godhead gave him permission to return.

As soon as Brahmä left, Lord Çré Kåñëa immediately returned to the bank of the Yamunä and rejoined His calves and cowherd boyfriends, who were situated just as they had been on the very day they had vanished. Kåñëa had left His friends on the bank of the Yamunä while they were engaged in lunch, and although He returned exactly one year later, the cowherd boys thought that He had returned within a second. That is the way Kåñëa’s different energies act. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä that Kåñëa Himself is residing in everyone’s heart, and He causes both remembrance and forgetfulness. All living entities are controlled by the supreme energy of the Lord, and sometimes they remember and sometimes they forget their constitutional position. His friends, being controlled in such a way, could not understand that for one whole year they were absent from the Yamunä’s bank and were under the spell of Brahmä’s illusion. When Kåñëa appeared before the boys, they thought, “Kåñëa has returned within a minute.” They began to laugh, thinking that Kåñëa was not willing to leave their lunchtime company. They were very jubilant and invited Him, “Dear friend Kåñëa, You have come back so quickly! All right, we have not as yet begun our lunch, not even taken one morsel of food. So please come and join us, and let us eat together.” Kåñëa smiled and accepted their invitation, and He began to enjoy the lunchtime company of His friends. While eating, Kåñëa was thinking, “These boys believe that I have come back within a second, but they do not know that for the last year I have been involved with the mystic activities of Lord Brahmä.”

After finishing their lunch, Kåñëa and His friends and calves began to return to their Vrajabhümi homes. While passing, they enjoyed seeing the dead carcass of Aghäsura in the shape of a gigantic serpent. When Kåñëa returned home to Vrajabhümi, He was seen by all the inhabitants of Våndävana. He was wearing a peacock feather in His helmet, which was also decorated with forest flowers. Kåñëa was also garlanded with flowers and painted with different colored minerals collected from the caves of Govardhana Hill. Govardhana Hill is always famous for supplying natural red oxides, and Kåñëa and His friends painted their bodies with them. Each of them had a bugle made of buffalo horn and a stick and a flute, and each called his respective calves by their particular names. They were so proud of Kåñëa’s wonderful activities that, while entering the village, they all sang His glories. All the gopés in Våndävana saw beautiful Kåñëa entering the village. The boys composed nice songs describing how they were saved from being swallowed by the great serpent and how the serpent was killed. Some described Kåñëa as the son of Yaçodä, and others as the son of Nanda Mahäräja. “He is so wonderful that He saved us from the clutches of the great serpent and killed him,” they said. But little did they know that one year had passed since the killing of Aghäsura.

In this regard, Mahäräja Parékñit asked Çukadeva Gosvämé how the inhabitants of Våndävana suddenly developed so much love for Kåñëa, although Kåñëa was not a member of any of their families. Mahäräja Parékñit inquired, “During the absence of the original cowherd boys, when Kåñëa expanded Himself, why is it that the boys’ parents became more loving toward Him than toward their own sons? Also, why did the cows become so loving toward the calves, more than toward their own calves?”

Çukadeva Gosvämé told Mahäräja Parékñit that every living entity is actually most attached to his own self. Outward paraphernalia such as home, family, friends, country, society, wealth, opulence and reputation are all only secondary in pleasing the living entity. They please only because they bring pleasure to the self. For this reason, one is self-centered and is attached to his body and self more than he is to relatives like wife, children and friends. If there is some immediate danger to one’s own person, he first of all takes care of himself, then others. That is natural. That means he loves his own self more than anything else. The next important object of affection, after his own self, is his material body. A person who has no information of the spirit soul is very much attached to his material body, so much so that even in old age he wants to preserve the body in so many artificial ways, thinking that his old and broken body can be saved. Everyone is working hard day and night just to give pleasure to his own self, under either the bodily or spiritual concept of life. We are attached to material possessions because they give pleasure to the senses or to the body. The attachment to the body is there only because the “I,” the spirit soul, is within the body. Similarly, when one is further advanced, he knows that the spirit soul is pleasing because it is part and parcel of Kåñëa. Ultimately, it is Kåñëa who is pleasing and all-attractive. He is the Supersoul of everything. And in order to give us this information, Kåñëa descends and tells us that the all-attractive center is He Himself. Without being an expansion of Kåñëa, nothing can be attractive.

Whatever is attractive within the cosmic manifestation is due to Kåñëa. Kåñëa is therefore the reservoir of all pleasure. The active principle of everything is Kåñëa, and highly elevated transcendentalists see everything in connection with Him. In the Caitanya-caritämåta it is stated that a mahä-bhägavata, or highly advanced devotee, sees Kåñëa as the active principle in all movable and immovable living entities. Therefore he sees everything within this cosmic manifestation in relation to Kåñëa. For the fortunate person who has taken shelter of Kåñëa as everything, liberation is already there. He is no longer in the material world. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä: Whoever is engaged in the devotional service of Kåñëa is already on the brahma-bhüta or spiritual platform. The very name Kåñëa suggests piety and liberation. Anyone who takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kåñëa enters the boat for crossing over the ocean of nescience. For him, this vast expansion of the material manifestation becomes as insignificant as the water in a hoofprint. Kåñëa is the shelter of all great souls, and He is also the shelter of the material worlds. For one who is on the platform of Kåñëa consciousness, Vaikuëöha, or the spiritual world, is not far away. He does not live within the material world, where there is danger at every step.

In this way, Kåñëa consciousness was fully explained by Çukadeva Gosvämé to Mahäräja Parékñit. Çukadeva Gosvämé even recited to the King the statements and prayers of Lord Brahmä. These descriptions of Lord Kåñëa’s pastimes with His cowherd boys, His eating with them on the bank of the Yamunä and Lord Brahma’s prayers unto Him, are all transcendental subject matters. Anyone who hears, recites or chants them surely gets all his spiritual desires fulfilled. Thus Kåñëa’s childhood appearance, His sporting with Balaräma in Våndävana, was described.

Thus ends the Bhaktiveda