By Nirooshitha Sethuram, Yogaratna

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

After Jarasandha agreed to have a duel with Bhima, a fierce duel began. It attracted a large crowd of people. For thirteen days they remained engaged in a ferocious battle with no winner in sight. They both showed no signs of exhaustion. On the fourteenth day, Krishna addressed Bhima encouragingly, “The enemy looks very tired so don’t attack him with all your force, as it’s sure you would kill him if you did. Also don’t use your divine powers, with which you are so blessed by the Wind God.”  

Bhima got the message that it was time to put an end to Jarasandha’s life on earth. Bhima attacked Jarasandha in full fury, lifted him up in the air and tossed him down with a thud. Jarasandha was lying there for a moment, trying to regain his strength. Krishna caught Bhima’s attention by tearing a leaf into two. Bhima took this as a signal. He tore Jarasandha’s body into two in the same manner. As described earlier in the story, Jarasandha’s body was a vertical join of two halves of bodies, joined by the demoness Jara. So, Bhima could tear his body apart into two pieces without much difficulty. 

He threw the pieces, each on its own side, and turned towards Krishna and his brother with joy. But the happiness didn’t last long. When he turned back, he was horrified to see that the two parts of Jarasandha’s body drew closer and closer together and in no time joined again. Jarasandha was standing right in front of Bhima with a fierce look on his face.

Again, the duel continued. Again and again, Bhima tried his best, tearing Jarasandha’s body apart a few times relentlessly. But each time the same thing happened. The two parts of Jarasandha’s body drew closer and closer and joined together, again and again. Bhima felt quite helpless seeing this. So, he turned his eyes towards Krishna with frustration. He saw Krishna tearing a leaf vertically and throwing the halves in opposite directions. 

Bhima was able to understand the hint. He fell upon Jarasandha, flung him down and tore his body into two pieces once again. Now he threw the right side of his body to the left and the left side to his right. To his astonishment, the torn pieces didn’t move from where they had been thrown. That was the end of Jarasandha. 

Krishna along with Bhima and Arjuna freed all the imprisoned kings. The kings expressed their heartiest gratitude to Krishna and the two Pandava brothers for freeing them. Accepting that with humility, they invited each one of them to take part in the Rajasuya Yajňa at Indraprastha. 

Krishna, along with Bhima and Arjuna, were cordially invited into the palace of Jarasandha by his son Sahadev. He apologized on behalf of his father for his behavior and his arrogance. The three of them decided to forgive Sahadev and crowned him as the next king of Magadha kingdom. He wore his father’s crown with humility and gratitude. All congratulated and blessed him whole heartedly. 

Bhima’s victory was celebrated at the uppermost level. He was praised highly for his skill in wrestling. Sahadev praised Bhima for his immense prowess. But Bhima remained modest and attributed the credit of his success to his cousin Krishna. Krishna was duly honored and respected too. Krishna and the Pandava brothers then said their farewells to all and departed to Indraprastha.

As soon as the three of them returned to Indraprastha, they conveyed the successful news about Bhima slaying Jarasandha. Yudhishthira was very happy to hear the news of Jarasandha’s end. He was so pleased with Krishna that he celebrated him and, as a token of gratitude, presented a beautiful chariot to him. 

Yudhishthira was now cleared of all obstacles toward performing the Rajasuya Yajňa. Invitations were sent to saints and learned brahmins to participate in the yajňa. Invitations were also sent to all kings, respected merchants and other prominent citizens from all kingdoms to take part in the yajňa. Yudhishthira sent one of his brothers to Hastinapura in order to invite grandsire Bhishma, Vidura, Guru Drona, Kripacharya, Dhritarashtra and all the Kaurava princes. All of them came with valuable gifts for the Pandava King. 

As Saint Dhaumya was the Pandava’s royal priest, he was appointed as the chief priest to perform the yajňa. After all arrangements had been completed Yudhishthira inaugurated the yajňa. Sage Vyasa was there to supervise all rituals, making sure they were done according to the scriptures. By the grace of God, the yajňa was completed successfully without any interruption.

It was customary to select one guest as the special honored guest, to be honored before honoring everyone else who were present. Yudhishthira  chose to leave this choice to the assembly of kings who were gathered. He addressed the assembly, requesting them to choose the best participant so that the ritual of honoring can be initiated, then all the participants could be honored thereafter. Sahdev, the King of Magadha stood up and proposed Krishna’s name.  Bhishma seconded along with Guru Drona. 

Even though a large number of kings agreed with the decision, a small group of kings opposed the proposal.  They suggested either Bhishma or Drona should be honored as the best participant. The opposition group was led by Shishupala, a cousin of Krishna from his father’s side. He stood up and started attacking Sahadev verbally for proposing Krishna.  He went to the extent of insulting Bhishma and Drona for supporting the proposal. Then he demanded that Krishna refuse to accept the honor, as Shishupala thought that Krishna was not worthy of it. 

Shishupala kept launching abusive words towards Krishna who was standing quietly and patiently. Calling him a mere cowherd, Shishupala insisted that Krishna was worthless to be honored. The Kauravas were thoroughly enjoying all the verbal abuses, especially the ones targeted at Krishna and the Pandavas.

Bhishma stood up, asked Shishupala to calm down, then addressed the assembly. He said, “Among the kshatriyas the most valiant deserves this honor. In my opinion, Krishna stands above all of us in many ways. His courage, fame and his knowledge of Vedas and scriptures, as well as the wisdom and patience that he has, which he demonstrated at the moment when Shishupala used abusive words to insult him.”  

Shishupala was outraged by this praise of Krishna by Bhishma and burst into fury, now starting to use abusive and offensive language towards Grandsire Bhishma. Insulting Bhishma, Shishupala called his great vow to remain celibate throughout his life an act of cowardice. 

When Krishna heard the impolite words used against the elderly honorable Bhishma, he stood up and addressed the assembly. He said “Shishupala, my cousin, has repeatedly caused a lot of distress to me and my family. Every time when I tried to punish Shishupala for his misdeeds, his mother, my aunt came to me, begging to spare his life. So, I promised my aunt that I would pardon Shishupala for his first hundred offenses. I have been counting his misdeeds. They have already come to hundred. One more offence and I will have to punish him, as an example for all who don’t follow righteousness.”  

When Krishna said this, Shishupala laughed and again came out cursing and insulting Krishna using vulgar language. When these words were uttered by Shishupala, Krishna wielded his Sudarshana Chakra, which whirled around and went straight to targeting Shishupala. It chopped his head off his body, killing him on the spot.

All who were witnessing this stood frozen to their feet. Krishna consoled them all, then helped and guided Shishupala’s son to perform the last rites for his father. Krishna also crowned Shishupala’s son as the next king of Chedi. Shishupala was none other than Jaya, the gatekeeper of Vaikuntha. This was his third and last birth before his return to Vaikuntha. Thus, Jaya ended his three-birth curse on earth at Krishna’s hand, as promised by Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha.

As for Vijaya, he was born as Dantavakra, a cousin of Shishupala from his mother’s side, who was also a cousin of Krishna. He was very fond of Shishupala, thus hated Krishna. He refused to go to the Rajasuya Yajňa of Yudhishthira as he was furious about the death of his other friend, Jarasandha. To protest the killing of Jarasandha, he had not attended the Yajňa. 

When he heard about the death of Shishupala, he was outraged.  To avenge Shishupala’s death, Dantavakra attacked Krishna on his way home to Dwaraka after the Rajasuya Yajňa. Dantavakra was killed by Krishna in a duel with maces during this attack. Thus Vijaya, born as Dantavakra, also successfully completed his third lifetime on earth due to the curse.  He joined his brother Jaya, returning to Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Vishnu. Both Jaya and Vijaya were very thankful to Lord Vishnu, who was on earth as Krishna, for liberating them from their curse. They were delighted to be back in Vaikuntha, awaiting their Lord’s return.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram. Yogaratna

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

One fine day, while Krishna was in the assembly hall of the palace, one of his guards came in and announced the arrival of a stranger.  Krishna gave permission to admit this person to the royal court.  The stranger came in and bowed to Krishna, explaining he was sent by the kings imprisoned by Jarasandha, the mighty king of Magadha.  He said he came seeking help to save the kings from the tyrant Jarasandha.  He also said that Jarasandha was planning to capture as many kings as he could, to do a sacrifice to Rudra.  While Krishna was trying to console the stranger, and the stranger was praying to Krishna to save the kings, Sage Narada walked in.

Krishna welcomed the sage, offering due respect and a seat in the assembly.  Krishna said to Narada, “Honorable Sage, there is nothing you don’t know about.  You know all that happens in this manifestation of Ishvara (God).  So, we are delighted to hear about your visit to the Pandavas from you.” 

Narada was happy to share the details of his visit with the Pandavas. “I visited the Pandavas in Indraprastha.  I was duly received by Yudhishthira.  I was very much honored and warmly welcomed by them all.  Then I conveyed to them that I was going to tell them a wish their father King Pandu had.  Yudhishthira with respect immediately said that he will fulfill his father’s wish at any cost.

Then I disclosed the wish of Pandu by saying, ‘You must perform the Rajasuya Yaj~na to establish your superiority to all other kings. Yudhishthira immediately called his royal priest and conveyed his desire.  He also wanted to consult you, Krishna, about this matter.”

Hearing this, Krishna immediately started his journey to Indraprastha to advise Yudhishthira on the Rajasuya Yaj~na and the need to eliminate Jarasandha.  As soon as Krishna reached Indraprastha, he was lovingly welcomed by Yudhishthira and his brothers.  Krishna embraced them all with love and affection and gave his respects to Kunti, their mother and his aunt.  Draupadi received Krishna’s wives cordially and led them to their rooms.  

Yudhishthira begin to explain his plan about the yaj~na, also expressing his concerns about Jarasandha and Shishupala.  After listening to Yudhishthira Krishna started to devise a plan.  Yudhishthira then asked, “How can we accomplish the killing of Jarasandha?  He is gifted with inimitable strength by Lord Shiva and has thus become invincible.”

Krishna assured Yudhishthira not to worry but to simply send Bhima and Arjuna with him.  He said that he would make sure Bhima kills Jarasandha.  Bhima defeating Jarasandha would establish Yudhishthira as the mightiest king, capable of performing the Rajasuya Yaj~na.  As Yudhishthira completely trusted Krishna,  he had no fear in sending Bhima and Arjuna with him.  Still knowing Jarasandha’s valor very well he had several doubts in his mind which disturbed his peace.

Krishna again assured Yudhishthira saying, “Bhima will challenge Jarasandha for a wrestling duel.  Knowing Jarasandha, he will be sure to accept it.  By dueling with him, mighty Bhima will get a chance to kill him.” Yudhishthira was satisfied as he knew that, with the help and guidance from Krishna, Bhima will be victorious.  Also, the invincible archer Arjuna will be there with them.  Krishna also pointed out that Jarasandha’s end is imminent because his misdeeds have crossed all limits.  Nature never spares a man whose excesses exceed the appropriate norms.  Yudhishthira was certain that the Gods would be on their side because, by killing Jarasandha, they would be rescuing the kings who were imprisoned by him for sacrifice.  

As a first step towards this, Krishna advised Yudhishthira to send Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva on a journey in all four directions to conquer all the other neighboring kings.  They went as emissaries to all these other kings, demanding a vassal fee.  This showed their willingness to accord Yudhishthira the position of an Emperor.  This was done easily and all four of them returned in no time, with vassal fees sent to Yudhishthira willingly as he was loved by them all.  

Now only Jarasandha remained.  As planned earlier by Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna set out with Krishna to Magadha Kingdom, traveling in the guise of brahmins.  After a long journey they reached the capital city.  On their way, they destroyed the revered mountain of the Magadha kingdom.  The brahmins belonging to the mountain took this as an ill omen.  Right away, they informed Jarasandha about the mountain having been destroyed by some strangers.

Advised by his priests, Jarasandha started a Yaj~na to resolve the effect of the bad omen and to avert the misfortunes that looked to be looming large upon him and his kingdom.  This was a great opportunity that created a way for Krishna and the Pandava brothers to enter the venue of the Yaj~na and meet Jarasandha.  

They presented themselves before King Jarasandha and were cordially welcomed by him since he didn’t recognize who they were, because of their disguise.  According to Krishna’s plan, both Pandava brothers stayed silent without uttering a word.  Jarasandha was annoyed that the two men didn’t acknowledge his warm welcome.  Krishna addressed their silence saying that they were both on a silence fast and they will not speak until midnight.  Jarasandha requested them to rest and agreed to return after midnight to meet them.

As agreed, Jarasandha came to the place where Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna were staying and offered his salutations to them again.  Arjuna blessed him and asked him to take a seat.  Jarasandha gazed carefully at both the Pandava brothers and got suspicious of them.  When they spoke, he recognized their voices to be familiar.  Even their appearance was recognizable, despite the clothing they were wearing.  And looking at their wrists confirmed his doubts that brahmins in front of him were not at all brahmins but kshatriyas (warriors).

Looking at them closely, he said to them, “You claim yourself to be brahmins.  Except for your clothing, your physique and all your deeds are like those of kshatriyas.  Upon your arrival, I am hearing about our revered mountain been destroyed.  Plus you refused to accept my honor this morning on the pretext of observing a silence vow.  So, I demand you disclose your true identity and the purpose of your visit, like true kshatriyas.” 

Krishna replied, saying they didn’t accept his honor that morning as they were then, and even now, in the presence of their enemy.  Jarasandha couldn’t quite understand what Krishna was saying and asked how they are enemies to him, demanding an explanation.  So, Krishna pointed out how he has imprisoned kings for no fault of theirs.  As kshatriyas, they came to Magadha for those who were imprisoned.  Therefore, they considered Jarasandha as an enemy.  Jarasandha argued, saying that he imprisoned them after defeating them in fierce battles.  As victor, it is his right to treat them as he wishes.

Jarasandha was an ardent devotee of the brahmins and followed the dharma of giving.  Due to his visitors’ brahmin attire, he decided to fulfill their wish, despite what consequences it might would bring.  So, he asked what their wish was.  

Krishna said that they were not there to beg for food but to challenge him to a duel.  He then disclosed their identity, saying, “I am Krishna, the son of Vasudeva of the Yadava clan.  This is Arjuna, the greatest archer of all times and a Pandava prince.  And this is Bhima, his elder brother, destroyer of demons Hidimba and Bakasura.”  Then he threw out a challenge to duel, asking him to choose one of them for the duel.  

Jarasandha was furious at once.  Especially his arch enemy Krishna being right in front of him, he couldn’t refuse the challenge, because of his arrogance.  He then roared with laughter and exclaimed, “Hey Yadava! you are so afraid to fight with me that you deserted Mathura and took refuge in the city of Dwaraka.  So, I wouldn’t want to fight you.  Arjuna is youngest of you all and wouldn’t be a match for me in a duel either.

“The only one whom I can even consider is Bhima.  Even though he is incomparable to my valor, he is better than both of you.  So, I am willing to have a fight with him.”  So, the day was fixed for the ferocious fight between the two mighty men.  

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

Krishna wanted to tease Rukmini, so he started with a questionable statement, “My dear Rukmini, I could never understand why you chose me out of many great personalities in the royal order who wanted to marry you.  Among them, some were famous kings, very powerful and strong.  Some may not have been kings, but they all possessed the affluence and riches of kingly order.  They were not unfitting in anyway.  In particular, your parents and brother gave their word of honor to Shishupala who was a great king.  He was madly in love with you, especially after your beauty and he would have remained with you just like your faithful servant.  In comparison with Shisupala’s personality, I am nothing.  I am surprised you rejected him for me.  May I ask you the reason that convinced you to accept me, as I feel I am inferior to all those princes who wanted to marry you?  Remember I was so much afraid of Jarasandha that I could not dare to live in Madura, and I had to construct Dwaraka in the middle of the sea to evade him.”

He didn’t stop there.  He continued, “It’s not too late.  You have the freedom to select a suitable husband who is an actual equal to you in family tradition, wealth, beauty and in all other respects.  As you know, usually a person does not establish a marital relationship with a person who is either higher or lower than his position.” 

Rukmini was well aware that her husband was not an ordinary being.  But upon hearing this, Rukmini was afraid of being separated from her Lord, for she had never heard such insensitive words from Krishna before.  Filled with fear and anxiety, without replying with a single word, she cried as if being drowned in an ocean of grief.  She lost all her reasoning powers and became so weak that immediately her body lost so much weight that the bangles on her wrists became loosened.  The fan with which she was serving Krishna immediately fell from her hand.  Her mind and memory became puzzled, and she lost consciousness.  She fell down straight, like a tree brought down by an axe.

Lord Krishna immediately realized that Rukmini had not taken his words in a playful spirit.  She had taken them very seriously.  In her extreme anxiety over immediate separation from him, she had fallen into this condition.  

Seeing this, Krishna’s heart was softened by Rukmini’s condition.  He appeared in front of her in his real form, as Lord Vishnu with his four hands.  He got down from the bedstead and brought her up by her hands.  He placed his hands on her face and smoothed the scattered hairs on her head gently.  He then hugged her to his chest.

He began to speak again in a soft gentle way, “My dear daughter of Vidarbha, my beloved Rukmini, please don’t misunderstand me.  The words I spoke that affected you so much are not factual.  I just wanted to irritate you and was expecting you to make counter arguments.  I am very sorry that you have taken them seriously.  I expected to see your angry face and that your red lips would tremble in anger.  I thought you would chastise me in many words.  I never expected that your condition would be like this.  My dear Rukmini you know that we are householders and are always busy in household affairs.  We long for times that we can enjoy some teasing words between us, the ultimate game in household life.”  

In this way, Krishna wanted to exhibit himself as just an ordinary householder who delights himself by exchanging joking words with his wife.  Thus, he repeatedly requested Rukmini not to take the words he had spoken seriously.

Hearing this, Rukmini was freed from all her fear of separation from the Lord.  She started speaking softly.  “Oh Lord! Yes, you are right about we not being equal.  I can never be equal with you as you are the One Divine Reality in its full form.  You are the master of all greatness, controller of the three qualities and object of worship.  You reside in the deep recesses of the heart of all beings, who are always battling the powerful material senses, which are their enemies.  Your movements which are mysterious for even the sages are certainly incomprehensible for human beings.  There is nothing beyond you.”

Krishna said, “Oh dear princess, as I said earlier, I fooled you just because I wanted to hear what you would say.  Your answers are absolutely correct.  Even though you were disturbed by my words, your mind couldn’t be dragged away.  I have now perceived pure love towards one’s husband, and adherence to vows of chastity.  In all my palaces I do not find another as loving as you.” Rukmini’s delight by hearing this was unmeasurable.  

Days and weeks passed in Dwaraka.  One fine day the guards came into the palace and informed Krishna that his dearest friend Sudama had come to see him.  Hearing this, Krishna rushed to meet Sudama.  When he saw Sudama, he embraced him and welcomed him with the greatest joy.  Then he took him to his personal room.  Who is this Sudama that Krishna is so fond of?

Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends who studied under Guru Sandipani.  Years passed and Krishna became the King of Dwaraka, Sudama returned to his village and immersed himself into Vedic studies.  Sudama belonged to a poor Brahmin family.  After some time, he got married and had many children.  Even though he was a Vedic scholar, he was suffering from severe poverty.  But he never begged for money from others, as he was satisfied with whatever the little money he earned.  As he didn’t have good clothes to wear, he often wore worn out clothes with holes in them.  

That made people call him Kuchela, a person who wears rags.  Kuchela’s wife was admired by all for her domestic virtues.  She was always satisfied with whatever her husband brought, having devoted her life to him and the children.  She gave the children the education they needed and filled their hearts with dharmic principles, preparing them to be good citizens.  Even though what Kuchela brought was not enough, she found a way to feed them all sufficiently, going to bed with an empty stomach herself.  After some time, living that way too became difficult.  It was time for her to come up with a plan, as she couldn’t bear the sufferings her family was going through.  

That’s when she remembered Krishna, a great friend of Kuchela.  She went to her husband and told him to approach his good old friend Krishna and ask for help, hoping that he would honor his request.  She was sure of it, as she had heard many stories about people approaching Krishna with love and devotion.  They always got rewarded for their devotion.  Though Kuchela was hesitant at first, he was encouraged by his wife’s persuasion and decided to visit Krishna.  

He didn’t want to visit his old friend empty handed, after all these years.  But he didn’t know what he should offer to Krishna.  The usual practice and courtesy required him to take something, so he asked his wife for suggestions.  She told him that the idea of a gift was excellent, but as they were so poor and couldn’t afford any gift to be given to a king.  After contemplating they both agreed that Kuchela should carry some aval, rice flakes.  So, he carried aval in a small sachet and started his journey to Dwaraka.  

Kuchela began dreaming about meeting Krishna at Dwaraka.  He prepared himself with all the things he could say to please him.  He was so delighted that he was getting to go and serve, honor and embrace him.  Then suddenly, fear came into him.  He wondered how he would pass through the guards.  What if they don’t let him in?  

But he was determined to go see Krishna so he entered the palace confidently.  To his surprise, no one stopped him from entering the palace.  He went straight to the guards, who came to Krishna and informed him of his dearest friend Kuchela’s arrival.

After inquiring the welfare of his family, Krishna asked Kuchela what he had brought for him.  After seeing the splendor of Dwaraka, Kuchela was feeling embarrassed with his gift of rice flakes.  Krishna noticed that Kuchela was hiding a small bag and even without asking for it he snatched it from his hands.  He opened it and his eyes lit up in delight, seeing the rice flakes.  Immediately he took a handful of rice flakes and happily put them into his mouth.  It was so tasty that Krishna wanted to eat more, but Rukmini intervened and took it from him.  

Kuchela enjoyed the stay with Krishna and his family.  When the time came to leave, he was very sad.  On his way back home, he was thinking only about the time he spent with Krishna, particularly the happiness he felt when he was with Krishna.  But halfway home, he was a bit unhappy that he had not asked for anything from Krishna, as he and his wife had planned.  But he consoled himself by saying, if it was to be, Krishna would have given him the wealth. Krishna didn’t want me to immerse myself in the pleasures of worldliness, he thought to himself.  With these running through in his mind he returned to his hut.

He was pleasantly surprised that a miracle had taken place.  He couldn’t recognize his hut.  In its place was a beautiful and lavish mansion.  What he gave Krishna was a merely a fist full of rice flakes with love, but in return Krishna had ordered Vishwakarma the divine architect to build this fine mansion for him.  Kuchela noticed his family wearing new clothes and found an abundance of food in the house, or should we say mansion.  He was so happy that Krishna had showered his blessings on him.  

In spite of all this wealth, Kuchela did not indulge in worldly pleasures, but instead immersed in the thought of Krishna for the rest of his life.  Kuchela set an example to all, as the grace of God is the final gift to every human being and we should aspire for it and it alone. 

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

The next encounter in Krishna’s life was Narakasura.  Who is Narakasura?  

Narakasura, also known as Bhumasura, was the son of Bhumata, Mother Earth.  She is the incarnation of Lakshmi and the consort of Varaha.  When Lord Vishnu incarnated as Varaha, at her request he married her, having saved her and the good people on earth by slaying Hiranyaksha.  [see blog on Narasimha Avatar]

Narakasura was born out of their union.  When the child was born, Bhumata prayed to Lord Vishnu, asking him to bless their son with a long life.  Lord Vishnu told her that she need not worry about her son since he would have to come back in another incarnation to end his son’s life, when the time comes.  

Narakasura was brought up pious and humble until his association with the asuras.  The demons changed him into one of them.  He became so powerful and mighty that he brought all the kingdoms on earth under his control.  Then he started harassing the devas, the heavenly beings.  Even the mighty Lord of the Devas couldn’t withstand his assault.  Indra fled the heavens.  

This made Narakasura the king of heaven and earth.  He didn’t stop there.  He stole the earrings of Aditi, Indra’s mother, as they had extraordinary powers.  He snatched Varuna’s umbrella and occupied Indra’s seat on top of mount Meru.  He had already kidnapped sixteen thousand young princesses too, keeping them captive in his palace.

Led by Indra, all the devas went to Lord Vishnu seeking help.  Lord Vishnu promised to protect them from Narakasura when the time came.  And now was that time.  Lord Indra visited Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and complained about Narakasura.  Indra reminded Lord Vishnu to protect him and the devas from Narakasura’s tyranny.  

Krishna, to fulfill his promise to Indra and the devas, as also to Bhumata, went to war with Narakasura.  Krishna rode on Garuda, his eagle mount, along with his wife Satyabhama.  

The reason Krishna went with Satyabhama was that she is the incarnation of Bhumata.  Aditi, Indra’s mother, and the devas had also complained to Satyabhama about Narakasura’s wrongdoings.  

Once Krishna reached the city of Pragjyotisha, he blew his horn Panchajanya.  Then he attacked Narakasura’s great fortress.  The fortress was fortified by several barriers consisting of mountain ranges, water, fire and cyclonic winds.  He destroyed all the protective formations one by one with little or no effort.  

Then came Mura, Narakasura’s general.  He used many magical weapons to attack Krishna.  Krishna was able to defuse them very easily and killed Mura with his mace.  Ever since that, Krishna has been called Murari the slayer of Mura.  

Narakasura himself came to fight Krishna and used several divine weapons against him.  Krishna again easily neutralized them all.   Narakasura also started attacking Garuda, Krishna’s mount.  He tried his best to beat Garuda, using all his strength, but nothing worked.  Garuda didn’t even get a scratch.  

Filled with anger, as a last resort he threw his trident at Krishna.  For this Krishna acted as he was fainting.  Due to a boon that Narakasura had gotten, he could only be killed by the one who gave birth to him.  Seeing that Krishna had fainted enraged Satyabhama, who is Bhumata.  She beheaded Narakasura with Krishna’s Sudarshana Chakra.  

While taking his last few breaths, Narakasura realized his sins.  He surrendered to Krishna and asked him for his mercy.  He also asked for a boon to celebrate the day of his death as the day of liberation, the festival of lights.  It is celebrated as Diwali.  

The devas were delighted to see Narakasura fall.  They showered flowers from the sky while praising Krishna’s name.  Narakasura’s son was crowned by Krishna at the request of Bhumata.  Krishna released the sixteen thousand captive princesses who had been jailed by Narakasura.  They fell at Krishna’s feet asking him to accept them as his wives, as no one else would now support them.  Krishna accepted them all as his consorts and sent them to Dwaraka with guards carrying tons of wealth.

Krishna visited Deva Loka with Satyabhama by his side.  He lovingly returned Indra’s mother’s earrings to her and Varuna’s umbrella to him.  Indra and his wife Indrani worshipped Krishna. 

There in Indra’s garden Satyabhama saw the celestial Parijata tree with its golden bark and intoxicating fragrance.  She reminded Krishna of a promise.  Thus, on his way back, Krishna took the Parijata tree from Deva Loka without Indra’s knowledge.  Why would Krishna do this knowing it would make Indra angry?

Some time earlier, Sage Narada got a few flowers from the celestial Parijata tree and offered them to Krishna.  Narada had an ulterior motive, wanting to see which one of Krishna’s beloved wives he would give the flowers to.  With delight, Krishna gave the flowers to Rukmini.  

Finding this out, Satyabhama was provoked with jealousy.  She confronted Krishna, expressing her anger and disappointment about the whole incident.  Krishna said, “Are you crying over just a few flowers.  I’ll get you the tree itself from Deva Loka.”  Thus, Krishna uprooted the tree and loaded it on Garuda to take home to Dwaraka.  

When Indra found out, he was furious and took his army to battle with Krishna, forgetting all the favors he had just gotten from him.  Krishna easily defeated them all and returned to Dwaraka with the celestial tree.  

Defeated, Indra cursed that the plant would never bear fruits, though it might bear flowers.  Since then the Parijata tree does not bear any fruit. 

Satyabhama happily brought the tree to her palace, showing it off as her trophy.  Rukmini also took a fancy to it because of its flowers.  She loves adorning Krishna’s feet with flowers.  So she insisted that she too wanted the flowers.  

As Krishna loved them both, he planted the tree in Satyabhama’s courtyard in such a way that its flowers fell down in Rukmini’s courtyard.  In this way he made both of his wives happy.  

Krishna also married the sixteen thousand princesses, in as many palaces.  He took on as many forms for them at the same time.  All of his wives were accommodated in their special palaces so that there would be peace among them all.  

Sage Narada was a celibate, so he had a doubt as how Krishna treated all his wives and how they regarded him.  The thought of keeping a single wife seemed a great burden to him.  So he wanted to know how Krishna managed to please all his wives, while still finding time for all his other accomplishments.  

Narada went to Rukmini’s palace and saw Krishna relaxing on a swing bed with Rukmini lovingly fanning him.  Krishna jumped up as soon as he saw the sage and welcomed him.  After accepting all the hospitalities, Narada then went to the next door to Satyabhama.  To his astonishment, there he saw Krishna playing a game of dice with her.  Krishna again jumped up and greeted the Sage.  Narada was puzzled.  After enjoying their company, he moved on to the next palace.  There he found Krishna with his wife Jambavati.  

Poor Narada stuck to his self-imposed task, climbing in and out of as many palaces as he could.  In each of them he was greeted by smiling Krishna and a loyal, pleased and contented wife.  Then he realized his mistake was in doubting Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.  He is the one in all.  Everything exists in him.  Then he prayed to the Lord, asking for forgiveness for doubting him.

Out of all his wives, Krishna could never find any fault with Rukmini.  She was very great and always engaged in his service wholeheartedly.  One day, Krishna wanted to see Rukmini’s beautiful face in an aggravated condition.  So he schemed out a conversation which would press her buttons and make her irritated.  Why would Krishna want to do this to Rukmini? It is said that it’s important for husband and wife, though in love, to have small conflicts and find ways to unite again.  

More to come…