Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead – a.k.a. Kåñëa book.
The Killing of Dhenukäsura
Thus Çré Kåñëa, along with His elder brother Balaräma, passed the childhood age known as kaumära and stepped into the age of paugaëòa, from the sixth year up to the tenth. At that time, all the cowherd men conferred and agreed to give those boys who had passed their fifth year charge of the cows in the pasturing ground. Given charge of the cows, Kåñëa and Balaräma traversed Våndävana, purifying the land with Their lotus footprints.
Accompanied by the cowherd boys and Balaräma, Kåñëa brought forward the cows and played on His flute as He entered the forest of Våndävana, which was full of flowers, vegetables, and pasturing grass. The Våndävana forest was as sanctified as the clear mind of a devotee and was full of bees, flowers and fruits. There were chirping birds and clear-water lakes with waters that could relieve one of all fatigue. Sweet-smelling breezes blew always, refreshing the mind and body. Kåñëa, with His friends and Balaräma, entered the forest and, seeing the favorable situation, desired to enjoy the atmosphere to the fullest extent. Kåñëa saw all the trees, overloaded with fruits and fresh twigs, bending down to touch the ground as if welcoming Him by touching His lotus feet. He was very pleased by the behavior of the trees, fruits and flowers, and He began to smile, realizing their desires.
Kåñëa then spoke to His elder brother Balaräma as follows: “My dear brother, You are superior to all of us, and Your lotus feet are worshiped by the demigods. Just see how these trees, full with fruits and flowers, have bent down to worship Your lotus feet. It appears that they are trying to get out of the darkness that has obliged them to accept the form of trees. Actually, the trees born in the land of Våndävana are not ordinary living entities. Having held the impersonal point of view in their past lives, they have been put into this stationary condition of life, but now they have the opportunity of seeing You in Våndävana, and they are praying for further advancement in spiritual life through Your personal association. Generally, living entities in the mode of darkness obtain the bodies of trees. The impersonalist philosophers are in that darkness, but they eradicate it by taking full advantage of Your presence. I think the drones that are buzzing all around You must have been Your devotees in their past lives. They cannot leave Your company because no one can be a better, more affectionate master than You. You are the supreme and original Personality of Godhead, and the drones are just trying to spread Your glories by chanting at every moment. I think some of them must be great sages, devotees of Your Lordship, and they are disguising themselves in the form of drones because they are unable to give up Your company even for a moment. My dear brother, You are the supreme worshipable Godhead. Just see how the peacocks are dancing before You in great ecstasy. The deer, whose behavior is just like that of the gopés, are welcoming You with the same affection. And the cuckoos who are residing in this forest are welcoming You with their joyful, sweet cries because they consider that Your appearance in their home is so auspicious. Even though they are trees and animals, these residents of Våndävana are glorifying You. They are prepared to welcome You to the best of their ability, as is the practice of great souls in receiving another great soul at home. As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate because the footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body.
“It is quite natural for these Våndävana inhabitants to thus receive a great personality like You. The herbs, creepers and plants are also so fortunate to touch Your lotus feet. And by Your touching the twigs with Your fingernails, these small plants are also made glorious. As for the hills and the rivers, they too are now glorious because You are glancing at them. Above all, the damsels of Vraja, the gopés, are the most glorious because You embrace them with Your strong arms, being attracted by their beauty.”
In this way, Lord Kåñëa and Balaräma began to enjoy the residents of Våndävana to Their full satisfaction as They herded the calves and cows on the bank of the Yamunä. In some places Kåñëa and Balaräma were accompanied by Their friends. The boys were singing, imitating the humming sound of the drones and accompanying Kåñëa and Balaräma, who were garlanded with forest flowers. While walking, the boys sometimes imitated the quacking sound of the swans in the lakes, or when they saw the peacocks dancing, they imitated them before Kåñëa. Kåñëa also moved His neck, imitating the dancing and making His friends laugh.
The cows taken care of by Kåñëa had different names, and Kåñëa would call them with love. After hearing Kåñëa calling, the cows would immediately respond by mooing, and the boys would enjoy this exchange to their hearts’ content. They would all imitate the sound vibrations made by the different kinds of birds, especially the cakoras, peacocks, cuckoos and bhäradväjas. Sometimes, when they would see the weaker animals fleeing out of fear of the sounds of tigers and lions, the boys, along with Kåñëa and Balaräma, would imitate the animals and run away with them. When they felt some fatigue, they would sit down, and Balaräma would put His head on the lap of one of the boys just to take rest, and Kåñëa would immediately come and begin massaging the legs of Balaräma. And sometimes He would take a palm fan and fan the body of Balaräma, causing a pleasing breeze to relieve Him of His fatigue. Other boys would sometimes dance or sing while Balaräma took rest, and sometimes they would wrestle amongst themselves or jump. When the boys were thus engaged, Kåñëa would immediately join them, and catching their hands, He would enjoy their company and laugh and praise their activities. When Kåñëa would feel tired and fatigued, He would sometimes take shelter of the root of a big tree or the lap of a cowherd boy, and lie down. When He would lie down with a boy or a root as His pillow, some of the boys would come and massage His legs, and some would fan His body with a fan made from leaves. Some of the more talented boys would sing in very sweet voices to please Him. Thus very soon His fatigue would go away. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, whose legs are tended by the goddess of fortune, shared Himself with the cowherd boys as one of them, expanding His internal potency to appear exactly like a village boy. But despite His appearing just like a village boy, there were occasions when He proved Himself to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes men pose themselves as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cheat innocent people, but they can only cheat; they cannot exhibit the potency of God.
While Kåñëa was thus engaged in His transcendental pastimes, exhibiting His internal potency along with His supermost fortunate friends, there occurred another chance for Him to exhibit the superhuman powers of Godhead. His most intimate friends Çrédämä, Subala and Stoka Kåñëa addressed Kåñëa and Balaräma with great love and affection thus: “Dear Balaräma, You are very powerful; Your arms are very strong. Dear Kåñëa, You are very expert in killing all kinds of disturbing demons. Will You kindly note that just near this place there is a big forest of the name Tälavana. This forest is full of palm trees, and all the trees are filled with fruits. Some are falling down, and some of them are very ripe even in the trees. It is a very nice place, but because of a great demon, Dhenukäsura, it is very difficult to go there. No one can reach the trees to collect the fruits. Dear Kåñëa and Balaräma, this demon is present there in the form of an ass, and he is surrounded by similar demon friends who have assumed the same shape. All of them are very strong, so it is very difficult to approach this place. Dear brothers, You are the only persons who can kill such demons. Other than You, no one can go there for fear of being killed. Not even animals go there, and no birds are living there; they have all left. One can only appreciate the sweet aroma that is coming from that place. It appears that up until now, no one has tasted the sweet fruits there, either on the tree or on the ground. Dear Kåñëa, to tell You frankly, we are very attracted by this sweet aroma. Dear Balaräma, if You like, let us all go there and enjoy these fruits. The aroma of the fruits is now spread everywhere. Don’t You smell it from here?”
When Balaräma and Kåñëa were thus petitioned by Their intimate friends, They were inclined to please them, and with smiling faces They proceeded towards the forest, surrounded by all Their friends. Immediately upon entering the Tälavana, Balaräma began to yank the trees with His arms, exhibiting the strength of an elephant. Because of this jerking, all the ripe fruits fell down on the ground. Upon hearing the sound of the falling fruits, the demon Dhenukäsura, who was living there in the form of an ass, approached with great force, shaking the whole field so that all the trees moved as if there were an earthquake. The demon appeared before Balaräma and kicked His chest with his hind legs. At first Balaräma did not say anything, but with great anger the demon kicked Him again more vehemently. This time Balaräma immediately caught hold of the legs of the ass with one hand and, wheeling him around, threw him into the treetops. While he was being wheeled around by Balaräma, the demon lost his life. Balaräma threw the demon into the biggest palm tree about, and the demon’s body was so heavy that the palm tree fell upon other trees, and several fell down. It appeared as if a great hurricane had passed through the forest, and all the trees were falling down, one after another. This exhibition of extraordinary strength is not astonishing because Balaräma is the Personality of Godhead known as Ananta Çeña Näga, who is holding all the planets on the hoods of His millions of heads. He maintains the whole cosmic manifestation exactly as horizontal and vertical threads hold the weaving of a cloth.
After the demon had been thrown into the trees, all the friends and associates of Dhenukäsura immediately assembled and attacked Balaräma and Kåñëa with great force. They were determined to retaliate and avenge the death of their friend. But Kåñëa and Balaräma caught each of the asses by the hind legs and, exactly in the same way, wheeled them around. Thus They killed all of them and threw them into the palm trees. Because of the dead bodies of the asses, there was a panoramic scene. It appeared as if clouds of various colors were assembled in the trees. Hearing of this great incident, the demigods from the higher planets showered flowers on Kåñëa and Balaräma and beat their drums and offered devotional prayers.
A few days after the killing of Dhenukäsura,
people began to come into the Tälavana forest to collect the fruits,
and animals began to return without fear to feed on the nice grasses grown
there. Just by chanting or hearing these transcendental activities and
pastimes of the brothers Kåñëa and Balaräma, one
can amass pious activities.
When Kåñëa, Balaräma and
Their friends entered the village of Våndävana, They played
Their flutes, and the boys praised Their uncommon activities in the forest.
Their faces were decorated with tilaka and smeared with the dust raised
by the cows, and Kåñëa’s head was decorated with a peacock
feather. Both He and Balaräma played Their flutes, and the young gopés
were joyous to see Kåñëa returning home. All the gopés
in Våndävana remained very morose on account of Kåñëa’s
absence. All day they were thinking of Kåñëa in the forest
or of Him herding cows in the pasture. When they saw Kåñëa
returning, all their anxieties were immediately relieved, and they began
to look at His face the way drones hover over the honey of the lotus flower.
When Kåñëa entered the village, the young gopés
smiled and laughed. Kåñëa, while playing the flute, enjoyed
the beautiful smiling faces of the gopés.
Then Kåñëa and Balaräma
were immediately received by Their affectionate mothers, Yaçodä
and Rohiëé, who, according to the time’s demands, began to
fulfill the desires of their affectionate sons. Simultaneously, the mothers
rendered service and bestowed benediction upon their transcendental sons.
They took care of their children by bathing Them and dressing Them very
nicely. Kåñëa was dressed in yellowish garments, and
Balaräma was dressed in bluish garments, and They were given all sorts
of ornaments and flower garlands. Being relieved of the fatigue of Their
day’s work in the pasturing ground, They looked refreshed and very beautiful.
They were given palatable dishes by Their mothers,
and They pleasantly ate everything. After eating, They were seated nicely
on clean bedding, and the mothers began to sing various songs of Their
activities. As soon as They sat down on the bedding, They very quickly
fell fast asleep. In this way, Kåñëa and Balaräma
used to enjoy Våndävana life as cowherd boys.
Sometimes Kåñëa used to go with His boyfriends and with Balaräma, and sometimes He used to go alone with His friends to the bank of the Yamunä and tend the cows. Gradually, the summer season arrived, and one day, while in the field, the boys and cows became very thirsty and began to drink the water of the Yamunä. The river, however, had been made poisonous by the venom of the great serpent known as Käliya.
Because the water was so poisonous, the boys and cows became visibly affected immediately after drinking. They suddenly fell down on the ground, apparently dead. Then Kåñëa, who is the life of all that lives, simply cast His merciful glance over them, and all the boys and cows regained consciousness and began to look at one another with great astonishment. They could understand that by drinking the water of the Yamunä they had died and that the merciful glance of Kåñëa had restored their life. Thus they appreciated the mystic power of Kåñëa, who is known as Yogeçvara, the master of all mystic yogés.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifteenth Chapter of Kåñëa, “The Killing of Dhenukäsura.”
