THE KING

The people of Dwarka adored their king Lord Srikrishn. They longed to see him when he went away to spend time with cousin Arjun in Indraprasth (modern Delhi). When he would enter his empire, people will line up on roadsides to usher him in. They used to feel that he was a superman who was there to protect them under all circumstances. Long back an ancestor of Yadav named Yayati had cursed his son Yadu that he and his descendents will remain empire less forever. Lord Srikrishn belonged to the lineage of Yadu. To honour the curse of Yayati, he did not create his empire on land and asked the guardian deity of sea to allow him to build a township in the Arabian Sea. The deity considered it his fortune that Lord of Universe chose him for this favour. Lord Srikrishn promised that once he leaves the township, he might drown the kingdom. The remains of this township have been discovered recently.

Search for Syamantak Mani

Lord Srikrishn was a mighty king loved by his empire. Yet there were arrogant and envious people such as Satrajit, who enjoyed defaming him. He performed tapasya and pleased god Surya to bless him with precious Syamantak Mani.

When he came to Dwarka wearing the glittering Mani, no one could recognize him for he shone as bright as god Surya.  The people of Dwarka informed Lord Srikrishn that god Surya had arrived there to see him. Lord Srikrishn laughed and told them that he was no god but Satrajit who shone so bright because of the Mani he received from god Surya. Satrajit however, having received the peerless stone, became very arrogant. His family celebrated his achievement and enshrined the Mani in a temple. The Mani used to produce mounds of gold daily. The Mani was capable of dispelling evil energy such as disease, famine, ill effects of planets and stars, mental and spiritual discontentment. Lord Srikrishn advised him to give away the Mani to king Ugrasen of Yadav. But Satrajit being greedy of gold, disobeyed him. Later on his brother Prasen put on the Mani and went hunting in the forest. A lion killed him and his horse and took the Mani away. As the lion entered a cave the king of beers Jambvan killed him. He gave the Mani to a child for playing. When Prasen did not return from the forest, Satrajit thought that Lord Srikrishn must have got him killed to take the Mani for he had an eye on it. He spread this rumour all around to malign him. Lord Srikrishn noticed the rumour doing rounds. He decided to wash the blemish off and proceeded to the forest (modern Jammu), with some of his men, in search of Prasen. He searched through the forest. As they went exploring and peering through the forest they discovered that a lion had killed Prasen. They followed the footprints of lion and learnt that a beer had killed the lion. The footprints of beer led to a huge cave. Lord Srikrishn asked his men to wait outside and entered the cave to spot the beer. A tiny tot played with the Mani inside the cave. Lord Srikrishn furtively crept in and stood near the child.  On seeing a stranger there the maid of the child unleashed a loud scream.  Hearing her cries, the aged and powerful king of wild beers, Jambvan rushed out and angrily attacked Lord Srikrishn who also retaliated in equal terms. They pounced upon each other like swift eagles. The duo fought for days and nights. No one proved weaker. They punched, kicked, threw rocks and trees upon each other. Lord Srikrishn fractured the skeleton of Jambvan who rolled down and began to ponder. After all, what man could fracture a warrior who had made even demons lick the dust in the battle fought by Lord Ram with Ravan?

The men awaiting Lord Srikrishn outside the cave waited for twelve days and when they did not find him coming out of the cave, presumed him dead and returned to Dwarka. When family of Lord Srikrishn learnt that he had disappeared into a cave into the thick forest, they lamented and believing that he had departed from Earth, performed religious ceremonies to appease his soul. This enhanced the power of Lord Srikrishn and he soon floored Jambvan.

Pondering hard as to who the person fighting such terrific battle could be, Jambvan inwardly prayed to Lord Ram who subtly made him realize the identity of intruder. Realizing, that his enemy was no other than his lord Ram, repentant, enthralled king of Beer fell for him and prayed to him. Lord Srikrishn smiled meaningfully. They had been fighting for twenty-eight days. Sporty Lord Srikrishn sat beside him and stroked his wounded body with his own hands. He said with affection, -"King of beers! I have entered your cave for the Syamantak Mani. I merely want to wipe off the blemish of taking away the Mani from someone". Jambvan felt relieved and blessed having received the vicinity of his lord after such long time, say eons. He not only offered him the lost Mani but also gave away in marriage his daughter Jambavati who was an incarnation of goddess Parvati waiting for his arrival in the cave.

In Dwarka relatives propitiated goddess Durga when Lord Srikrishn appeared along with the Mani and his new bride Jambavati, the darling daughter of Jambvan. The public of Dwarka danced with joy to receive their great king with his new queen.

Rescuing Bhanumati

 Lord Srikrishn was away to a picnic with his family members at the sea. Nikumbh, the demon, enraged against him for killing his brother Vajranabh and marrying his daughter Prabhavati to his son Pradyumn, looked for an opportunity to avenge. Nikumbh therefore, entered Dwarka invisibly and kidnapped a yadav girl Bhanumati, the daughter of Bhanu.Helpless Bhanumati cried for help. King Vasudev and grandfather of Lord Srikrishn king Ugrasen got alert to hear her cries but could not spot the invisible demon. The duo reached at the sea where Lord Srikrishn was merry making.

Lord Srikrishn immediately took Arjun along, mounted his vehicle Garud and asked son Pradyumn to follow him with the army. Lord Srikrishn caught the demon soon. Nikumbh however, adopted three bodies and shielded himself behind Bhanumati. Lord Srikrishn, Arjun and Pradyumn could not attack him as poor Bhanumati blocked their way. When the trio attacked him from three other sides, he disguised as a bird and flew around the entire earth. At mountain Gokarn, which was on the seashore near river Ganga the demon, failed to fly and fell down. This happened as Lord Shiv had willed that no demon or deity or even sage could get over the mountain. Pradyumn swiftly took away Bhanumati from him. He dropped her at Dwarka and came back to Shatpur to join Lord Srikrishn and Arjun who were waiting outside the cave for Nikumbh. As the demon came out, the three matchless warriors attacked him. He retaliated so forcefully that Arjun and Pradyumn fainted. Lord Srikrishn fought single handed, with him with such momentum that Indra and other deities arrived to witness the ferocious warfare. Their intense dual appeared as if two giant bulls or Jackals fought for a single female.

His blows made Lord Srikrishn unconscious. Indra rushed to sprinkle water from the celestial river to resuscitate him. When he regained consciousness and got up to fight, alert Nikumbh applied his illusory power and vanished in the sky. Pradyumn being deft in the art of illusion soon followed his trickery. Nikumbh appeared in billions of forms. Lord Srikrishn, Arjun and Pradyumn also adopted billions of forms and the battle went on in the sky. As soon as Lord Srikrishn would cut each form of Nikumbh in to two halves, each half would become a complete Nikumbh. Lord Srikrishn pondered over and applied his yogic power to spot the original Nikumbh. He threw his weapon Sudarshan and floored the demon. Pradyumn held up the Arjun who was falling from the sky. Thus Lord Srikrishn saved   Bhanumati and his dear cousin Arjun from the clutches of ferocious demon.

When he returned he found Narad waiting for him. Narad is a devotee who always senses the intention of his lord in advance and ever rejoices in fulfilling his command. The anxious parents of Bhanumati were still beside themselves even though their mighty king had ensured safe retrieval of their innocent daughter. Narad consoled the father of Bhanumati in various ways and finally divulged the cause of the catastrophe. Curious parents were all ears to know the background of the event. Narad narrated –“Once your daughter was playing on mount Raivatak. Sage Durvasa arrived and she ignored him. The angry sage cursed her that she would be kidnapped by a demon. When I and other sages appealed to sage Durvasa to pardon her, he said that although she would be kidnapped, she would remain chaste and later on marry a worthy groom. Sahdev the son of Pandu is worthy for her. You give now your daughter in marriage to him.” The obliged and convinced parents followed the advice of wise sage and wedded Bhanumati to the younger brother of Arjun in Dwarka.

The Social Reformer

It is believed that history remembers those who dare to oppose it. Masses appear and reappear on the stage of life without leaving a mark on the sands of time. Only those who dare wage a war against the tide are remembered by posterity. Lord Srikrishn left such indelible marks that left everyone agape. The radical steps he took to reform a fearful society are inimitable forever.

Worship one that sutains you

The innocent masses of Vrindavan used to worship god Indra. Lord Srikrishn was just a little boy. He asked his father, -"Taat (dad)!, What are you preparing for?" His father took his words lightly and replied,-"God Indra is the controller of rain. He gives us the rain. From rain grow crops and forests. We therefore, worship and perform Yajna to please him."

 

Lord Srikrishn promptly asked, -"Everybody reaps the fruit of one's own actions. God is one and immanent in all. One should worship God in that form which gives one livelihood. To us mount Govardhan is the source of livelihood. Our livestock grazes on this mountain. We should therefore, worship God in the form of mount Govardhan." His words enlightened the elders having witnessed his divine actions since birth. Everyone agreed to worship the mountain as they had profound faith in their little mentor. All devotedly worshipped the mountain with auspicious offerings and prayers. Lord Srikrishn himself appeared from the mountain and accepted offerings of simple villagers. Indra could not tolerate this and asked clouds to rain heavily on Vrindavan. It thundered, lightened and rained heavily drowning the entire. Lord Srikrishn however, assuaged the fear of masses and exhorted them, -"Fear not, come with me under the mountain." All followed him. Lord Srikrishn lifted the mount Govardhan with his one finger and gave shelter to all people and livestock under the mountain. It continued to rain for seven days. Indra finally accepted his defeat. Rain stopped and the sky became clear, allowing Sun to spread warmth and light all over the land of Vrindavan. All rejoiced and danced. Their saviour had once again proved his superiority over all little deities who often become victimized by pride and arrogance. Lord Srikrishn asked people to go back to their homes. Indra descended from heaven and begged pardon from Lord Srikrishn.

Thus Lord Srikrishn gave the message that one should not fear deities but face the challenges of life confidently with faith in him who alone is capable of securing peace and protection to his pure hearted devotees. The day Lord Srikrishn worshipped mount Govardhan in Vrindavan is still celebrated in North India as Govardhan pujan, which falls next day after Diwali. To commemorate the event Mount Govardhan is drawn on the floor with cow dung. It is decorated with puffed rice and devotees take its seven rounds with reverence.