Krsna Book Audio Dictation - Chapter 07
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Seventh Chapter heading: "Salvation of Tṛṇāvarta."
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is always full of six opulences, namely complete wealth, complete strength, complete fame, complete knowledge, complete beauty and complete renunciation. As such, in His complete eternal form the Lord appears in different eternal forms of incarnation. The conditioned soul has immense opportunity to hear about the transcendental activities of the Lord in different incarnations.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9): the pastimes and activities of the Lord are not material—they are beyond material conception. But there are so many activities of the Lord, and for the benefit of the conditioned soul, so that they can hear such activities, although uncommon, but they have the opportunity to associate by hearing those activities, means evolving a transcendental nature simply by hearing. The conditioned soul has a natural aptitude to hear something about other conditioned soul in the form of fiction, drama and novel. That inclination to hear something about others may be utilized for hearing the pastimes of the Lord, by which they can immediately evolve their transcendental nature. Such pastimes are not only very beautiful but also very much pleasing to the mind. If somebody takes the advantage of hearing such pastimes of the Lord, the material contamination, dust accumulated in the heart due to long association with material nature, can be immediately cleansed up.
Lord Caitanya also recommended that simply by hearing the transcendental holy name of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa, 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 be automatically cleansed of the material contamination, and they will be able to realize his real constitutional position.
Our conditioned life is due to this contamination only, and as soon as these contaminations are cleared off, naturally the dormant function of the living entity to render service to the Lord becomes manifest. With such development of the eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, one becomes eligible to create friendship with devotees. Mahārāja Parīkṣit therefore recommended by his practical experience that everyone should try to hear about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. This Kṛṣṇa treatise is meant for that purpose, and the readers will take advantage of such hearing for attaining the ultimate goal of human life.
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The Lord therefore, out of His causeless mercy, descends on this material world and displays His activities just like ordinary man. Unfortunately, the impersonalist, or the atheist class of men, they take Kṛṣṇa as one of them, ordinary man, and deride at Him. That is condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself: avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11).
The mūḍhas, or the rascals, they take Kṛṣṇa as ordinary man or a little powerful man, but they cannot accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead out of their great misfortune. Sometimes such misfortunate persons misrepresent themself as incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, without any reference of the authoritative scripture.
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When Kṛṣṇa grew up a little more and from lying down position He began to turn Himself back side up, another function was observed by Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā, and as such they arranged for the birth ceremony of the Lord, as it is still observed by all the followers of the Vedic principles. (The birthday ceremony of Kṛṣṇa is observed India in by all Hindus, irrespective of their different sectarian views.) In that function, all the cowherds men and women were invited to participate in that jubilation, and there was nice band party playing, and people assembled were enjoying.
All the learned brāhmaṇas also were invited, and they were chanting Vedic hymns for auspicity of Kṛṣṇa's life, and along with the chanting of the Vedic hymns and playing of the bands, Kṛṣṇa was being bathed by mother Yaśodā. This bathing ceremony is technically called abhiṣeka, and up to date this abhiṣeka ceremony observed in all the temples of Vṛndāvana on the occasion of Janmāṣṭamī, or the birthday anniversary of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
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On that occasion, mother Yaśodā arranged for distributing a large quantity of grains and first-class cows decorated with golden ornaments for being given in charity to the learned, respectable brāhmaṇas. She therefore took bath and dressed herself nicely, and taking her child Kṛṣṇa, duly dressed and bathed, on her lap and sat down to hear the Vedic hymns chanted by the brāhmaṇas. While hearing the chanting of the Vedic hymns, the child appeared to be feeling asleep, and therefore mother Yaśodā very silently laid down Him on the bed.
On account of her being engaged in receiving all the friends and relatives resident of Vṛndāvana on that holy function, she forgot to feed the child with milk, and the child was crying, being hungry. Mother Yaśodā could not hear the cry on account of various kinds of noise on the occasion.
The child, however, became angry on account of being hungry and mother not paying any attention to Him, lifted His legs and He began to move His lotus feet just like ordinary child. Baby Kṛṣṇa was laid down just underneath a hand-driven cart, and while the child was throwing the legs, He touched the wheel of the cart and accidentally the cart fell down, all topsy-turvied. Various kinds of utensils and brass metal dishes were piled up in that handcart, and all of them fell down with great sound. The wheel of the cart separated from the central hub, and the spokes of the wheel were all broken and scattered hither and thither.
After this happening, mother Yaśodā, along with all the gopīs, as well as Mahārāja Nanda along with all other cowherds men who assembled there to observe the holy function, became amazed and astonished how the cart could fall down automatically. All the men and women who were assembled in that function, all of them crowded that place and began to suggest in their own ways how the carts could fall down, and all of them could not ascertain the cause of the cart's falling down. At that time, some small children who were entrusted to play with baby Kṛṣṇa informed the crowd that it was Kṛṣṇa who struck His leg on the wheel of the cart, and thus the cart fell down. They assured the crowd that all of them had seen with their own eyes how it happened, and they strongly asserted the point.
While some of them were listening to the statement of the small children, others said, "How could you believe the childish statement of these children?" The cowherds men and women could not understand the all-powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead was lying there as a baby and He could do everything impossible. He could do possible, impossible, and impossible possible—that was in His power.
While the discussion was going on, in the meantime, baby Kṛṣṇa cried. Mother Yaśodā, without remonstration, picked up her child on the lap and immediately called for the learned brāhmaṇas to chant holy Vedic hymns just to counteract the action of the evil spirit. At the same time she allowed the baby to suck her breast. It is a test, if the child sucks the mother’s breast nicely, it is to be understood that he is out of all danger. After this, all the stronger cowherds men who were present there put the broken cart in order, and all the things scattered were set up nicely as before. The learned brāhmaṇas thereafter began to offer oblations to the sacrificial fire with yogurt, butter and the grass known as kuśa, along with water, and thus they worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead for auspicity of the child.
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The brāhmaṇas who were present at that time, they were all qualified because they were not envious, they never indulged in untruth, they were never proud, they were never violent and they never claimed any false prestige, and as such they were all bona fide brāhmaṇas, and there was no reason to think that their blessings would be useless. Nanda Mahārāja thus with firm faith on the qualified brāhmaṇas took his child on the lap and bathed Him with water mixed with various herbs, and while the brāhmaṇas were chanting hymns from Vedas: Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma.
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It is said that without being a qualified brāhmaṇa nobody should read the mantras of the Vedas. Here is the proof that the brāhmaṇas, who were all qualified in the brahminical symptoms, and Mahārāja Nanda 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 to be performed for different purposes, but the mantras are to be chanted by qualified brāhmaṇas. And because in this age of Kali such qualified brāhmaṇas are not available, all such Vedic ritualistic sacrifices are forbidden. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has therefore recommended only one kind of sacrifice in this age, known as saṅkīrtana-yajṣa, or simply chanting the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
As the brāhmaṇas chanted the Vedic hymns and performed the ritualistic ceremonies for the second time, Nanda Mahārāja again gave in charity huge quantity of grains and many cows to the brāhmaṇas. All the cows which were given in charity to the brāhmaṇas were covered with nice garment with gold embroidery work, and the horns were bedecked with golden ring. The hooves were covered with silver plate, along with garlands of flower. Thus for the auspicity of his wonderful child he gave in charity those cows, and the brāhmaṇas in return bestowed the child with heartfelt blessings. And as it is stated above, the blessings offered by such brāhmaṇas were never to be baffled.
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After this incidence, one day mother Yaśodā was taking his (her) baby on the lap, was patting, one day. But on that day particularly she felt the baby too heavy, and being unable to carry the baby on the lap, she unwillingly placed the baby on the ground, and after a while she became engaged in the household affairs. At that time, one of the servants of Kaṁsa known as Tṛṇāvarta, instructed by Kaṁsa, appeared there in the shape of whirlwind and picked up the child on his shoulder. After this, he created a great dust storm all over Vṛndāvana, with great sound in all direction, and on account of dust storm everyone eyes became covered. Within a few moments only, the whole area of Vṛndāvana became densely dark, and as a result nobody could see himself or anyone else.
During this great catastrophe, mother Yaśodā could not see her baby, who was taken away by the whirlwind, and Yaśodā began to cry very piteously. She immediately fell down on the ground exactly like the cow who lost her calf very recently. When mother Yaśodā was so piteously crying, all the cowherds women immediately came there. All of them began to search out the baby everywhere, but they were after all disappointed without finding the baby.
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The Tṛṇāvarta demon, who took away baby Kṛṣṇa on his shoulder, got high in the sky, but the baby, assuming too much heavy burden, he could not go very far off from the ground and was obliged to stop his activities as whirlwind, and immediately everything appeared to be peaceful. Kṛṣṇa baby, however, assumed too much heavy and began to hang down, catching hold the neck of the demon. The demon Tṛṇāvarta thought the baby as if a big mountain, and he tried to get out of the clutches of the baby but he was unable to do so.
When the demon was unable to get out of the clutches of the baby, his eyes came out from the socket; crying very fiercefully, immediately fell down to the ground of Vṛndāvana as dead body. The child was sitting on the body of the demon. The demon fell down on the ground exactly like Tripurāsura, who was pierced by the arrow of Lord Śiva, and while the demon fell down on the stone chunk, every part of his limbs became smashed on it, and thus he became visible to all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana.
When the gopīs saw that the demon is killed and the child Kṛṣṇa was very happily playing on his body, immediately they picked up Kṛṣṇa with great affection, and all the cowherds women headed by Yaśodā and cowherds men headed by Nanda became so much happy by getting back their beloved child Kṛṣṇa. At that time they began to talk, "How wonderful it is that the demon took away the child for devouring, but he could not do so; instead of that he came down as dead body." Some of them supported the situation that "This is the right thing, because those who are too much sinful, they die out of their sinful reaction, and our child Kṛṣṇa is pious. Therefore He is saved from all kinds of fearful situation on account of His equanimity. It is concluded, however, that we must have had performed great sacrifices in our previous life, worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or we gave in charity great wealth in thanks, distributed money in charity, acted very philanthropically for the general welfare of men, and on account of such pious activities, the child is to be saved from......"
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78:20 Tape number nine, Kṛṣṇa
The gopīs assembled there began to speak amongst themselves: "What sort of austerity and penances we must have had done in our previous life, or must have worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offered different kinds of sacrifices, made charities or performed many welfare activities for the public, such as growing banyan tree and excavating wells, so much so that as the result of such pious activities we have got again back our child, even though He was supposed to be dead. Now He has come again back to enliven His relatives." Nanda Mahārāja also, after observing such wonderful happenings, began to think of the words of Vasudeva again and again.
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Sometimes after this incidence, one day when Yaśodā was feeding her child with breast milk, patting her beloved Kṛṣṇa with great affection, there was profuse supply of milk from her breast, and when mother Yaśodā was opening the mouth of the child by pushing her fingers through the mouth, at that time she saw the universal manifestation within the face. She saw within the mouth of Kṛṣṇa the whole sky, the whole luminaries, the stars, all directions, the sun, moon, fire, air, the seas, islands, mountains, rivers, forests and all other movable and immovable entities within the mouth.
Mother Yaśodā, after seeing the whole universe within the mouth of Kṛṣṇa, began to throb in his (her) heart, murmur within herself, "How wonderful this is!" So she could not express anything, but simply closed her eyes and was absorbed in such wonderful thoughts. This incidence of showing the universal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even when the Lord was lying down on the lap of His mother, proves that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead, either He manifests Himself as a child on the lap of His mother or in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra.
The concoction of the impersonalist that one can become God by meditation or by some artificial means of material acti vities is falsified here. God is always God, in any condition or any status of manifestation, and the living entities are always the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, but they can never be equal with the inconceivable, supernatural power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Thus ends the Seventh Chapter of Bhaktivedanta summary study of Kṛṣṇa in the matter of "Salvation of the Demon known as Tṛṇāvarta."