Garga Bhagavatham : Golok Khanda - Chapter 10

<< PrevChapter        Golok Khanda     NextChapter>>


Attrocities of Kamsa; Descension of Sri Balabhadra and Stuti (praise) by Sage Vyaasa



Narada says :- King of Mithila! Out of fear that Vasudeva would escape with his newly wedded wife, Kamsa stationed ten thousand armed soldiers around the palace of Vasudeva. Over the next few years, Vasudeva and Devaki delivered eight children, one per year. Then they also delivered a daughter who is the eternal Yoga Maya of the Supreme Lord. The very first child they had named Kirtimaan. Vasudeva delicately carried him in his arms to the court of Kamsa. As promised, he handed the child to Kamsa. Looking at the honesty of Vasudeva, Kamsa was moved to kindness. Holy men do not go back on their words even if they have to endure great miseries. Oh, King, who is not moved by honesty?

Kamsa said:- Oh Vasudeva, let this child go back home with you. I do not fear this one. However, do not doubt that I will slay the eighth child that you both deliver.

Narada says :- Oh King, hearing the words of Kamsa, Vasudeva took his child back to his palace. However, he knew that there was not even an iota of truth in Kamsa's words. At the time, I descended from the sky and reached there. Ugrasena's son, Kamsa, welcomed me with folded hands with great respect and asked me about the opinion of the devatas(demi-gods). Listen to the answer I gave him at that time. "Gopas like Nanda are the avatar of Vasus and others like Vrishabhaanu are the avatars of demigods. Oh King among men, Kamsa! The Gopis who reside in the land of Vraja, are verily the embodiment of Vedas. Others like Vasudeva, who belong to the clan of Vrishnis, are basically demigods. Devaki and other maidens residing here are all demi goddesses as well. After counting seven, you will always reach eight. If one starts counting from the child who is destined to slay you, this first child could very well be counted as the eighth one. Remember, the demigods sometimes tend to count in reverse!

Narada says :- King of Mithila! When I left there, Kamsa became furious at the Devas, who he knew were eager to destroy the demons. He considered killing all the Yadavas right then! He had Vasudeva and Devaki shackled in heavy metal chains and imprisoned them. He snatched Devaki's firstborn and killed the child by smashing its body on a rock. Kamsa had memories of all the incidents from his past lives. Our of fear for Lord Vishnu, and also out of his cruel nature, he immediately slew every child that Devaki gave birth to. Witnessing these events, the King of Yadus, Ugrasena became furious. He attempted to help Vasudeva and tried to stop the atrocities of Kamsa. Many brave Yadava kinsmen, who opposed Kamsa, lent their support to Ugrasena. War broke out between the supporters of Kamsa and supporters of Ugrasena, right in the palace grounds. Ten thousand soldiers were wounded in this battle. At this point, Kamsa took up his maze and started destroying the army of his father. Just by the mere touch of his maze, many soldiers broke their skulls, had their limbs cut off, and completely lost their morale. Many soldiers vomited blood and were thrown into the jaws of death. The palace grounds became soaked with blood. 

Oh King of Kings! In this manner, the evil Kamsa, intoxicated by his power, became enraged and destroyed all those who opposed him and had his own father arrested. The vicious Kamsa dragged his father down from his throne, shackled him in heavy metal chains, and threw him in prison with is supporters. He seized all the properties of Madhu and Shoorasena, took over the throne and began to rule the kingdom himself. All the oppressed Yadavas dispersed in different directions and hid in the houses of their friends and relatives and lay in wait of an opportune moment. The eighth fetus of Devaki was a source of happiness as well as sorrow for all of them. Lord Ananthasesha himself descended into the womb of Devaki. Devi Yogamaya extracted the fetus from the womb of Devaki and placed it in the womb of Rohini, who was residing in the land of Vraj. Upon hearing about the loss of the fetus in Devaki's womb, the people of Mathura were deeply saddened. They spoke thus, " Alas! Where did the fetus go from poor Devaki's womb? How did she lose it?" Within just five days of the fetus entering the womb of Rohini, on the sixth day of Shukla paksha in the month of Bhadrapada and on the auspicious star of Swati, which happened to be a Wednesday, Lord Anantashesha appeared from the womb of Rohini, the wife of Vasudeva. In the lagna of Tula, with five planets situated in superior positions, during the afternoon time, the child was born. At the auspicious moment of birth, the demigods showered divine flowers from the skies. The clouds broke out in gentle drizzles and it appeared as if Lord Anantha was illuminating the entire palace of Nanda, with the brilliance of body. King Nanda performed auspicious JaataKarmas (rituals) upon the child's birth and donated ten lakh cows to Brahmins. He organized grand festivities and invited many Gopas and arranged for the best among musicians to perform at the event. Many sages including Devala, Devaraata, Vasishta, Brihaspati, and myself (Narada) headed by Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyaasa arrived at the palace of Nanda and accepted his hospitality. We were very pleased with the same. 

Narada says :- Oh King! With great astonishment Nanda showed the child, who was actually Lord Ananta himself, lying in the cradle to all the sages. The son of Satyavati, Sage Vyaasa, bowed down to the child lying in the cradle and sang in his praise.


Sri Vyaasa said:- Oh Lord! I bow down to thee, who is the primary Devata of all Devatas and who fulfills the wishes of one and all. I bow down to you, who is none other than Lord Seshnaag, who will be known as Balaram. You are the bearer of the Earth, you are the complete Lord, you are self-illumined, you are adorned with a thousand hoods and you are Lord Sankarshana. I bow down to you. Oh Consort of Revati, you are Baladeva and older brother of Sri Krishna. You have the plow as your weapon and you are the destroyer of Pralambasura. Oh, best among men! Please protect me. You are Bala, Balabhadra and you are the bearer of the flag that is adorned by the symbol of Taala. You adorn beautiful blue garments, you are fair complexioned and you are the dear child of Rohini. I bow down to you. You are the enemy of Dhenuka, Mushtika, Kumbhaanda, Rukmi, Koopakarna, Koota, and Balvalaka. You are the one who will change the course of River Kaalindi and You are also the one who will push the entire Hastinapura towards River Ganga. You are the destroyer of Dvivida, the Lord of the Yaadavas, and the jewel of Vraja Mandala. You are the destroyer Kamsa's brothers and you embark on Tirtha Yatra(holy tours). You are the Guru of Duryodhana. Your greatness never dulls and You are the great Lord Ananta. May you be victorious always! Your fame has spread in all directions. You are best among sages, demigods and serpents. You are the bearer of the plow and you are the strong one. I bow down to you! In this world, those who sing this song in praise of you will attain the abode of Lord Sri Hari at the end of his life. While in the world, they will have the complete power to destroy their enemies. They will always be victorious and will be the owner of immense wealth. 

व्यास उवाच:

देवादिदेव भगवान्  कामपाल नमोस्तु ते | नमो अनन्ताय शेषाय साक्षाद्रामाय ते नमः ||
धराधराय पूर्णाय स्वधाम्ने सीरपाणये | सहस्र शिरसे नित्यं नमः संकर्षणाय ते ||
रेवतीरमण त्वं वै बलदेवो अच्यताग्रजः |हलायुधः प्रलभघ्न: पाहि मां पुरुषोत्तम||
बलाय बलभद्राय तालाङ्काय नमो नमः| नीलाम्बराय गौराय रौहिणेयाय ते नमः ||
धेनुकारिर्मुष्टिकारि: कुम्भाण्डारिस्त्वमेवहि | रुक्म्यरि: कूपकर्णारिः कूटारिर्बल्वलान्तक: ||
कालिन्दीभेदनोsसि त्वं हस्तिनापुरकर्षक:| द्विविदारिर्यादवेन्द्रो व्रजमन्णडल मण्डन:||
कम्सभ्रातृप्रहन्तासि तीर्थयात्रकरः प्रभु:| दुर्योनगुरु: साक्षात् पाहि पाहि प्रभो जगत्||

जय जयाच्युत देव परात्पर स्वयमनन्तदिगन्तगतश्रुत |
सुरमुनीन्द्र फणीन्द्र वराय ते मुसलिने बलिने हलिने नमः ||
इह पठेत्सततं स्तवनं तु य: स तु हरे: परमं पदमाव्रजे |
जगति सर्व बलं त्वरिमर्दनं भवति तस्य जय: स्वधनं धनं||

devaadideva bhagavan kaamapaala namostu te| 
namo anantaaya sheShaaya saakshaadraamaya te namah||
dharaadharaaya poorNaaya svadhaamne siirapaaNaye|
sahasra shirase nityam namah sankarShaNaaya te||
revatiiramaNa tvam vai baladevo achyutaagrajah|
halaayudhah pralambhaghnah paahi maam puruShottama||
balaaya balabhadraaya taalaankaaya namo namah|
niilaambaraaya gauraaya rauhiNeyaaya te namah||
dhenukaarirmuShTikaarih kumbhaaNDaaristvamevahi|
rukmyarih kuupakarNaarih kuuTaarir balvalaantakah||
kaalindii bedhanosi tvam hastinaapurakarShakah|
dvividhaarir yaadavendro vraja manDala manDanah||
kamsa bhraatriprahantosi tiirthayaatra karah prabhuh|
duryodhanaguruh saakshaat paahi paahi prabho jagat||

jaya jayaachyuta deva paraatpara svayamananta diganta gata shruta|
suramuniindra phaNiindra varaaya te musaline baline haline namah||
iha paThet satatam stavanam tu yah sa tu hareh paramam padamaavraje|
jagati sarva balam tvarimardanam bhavati tasya jayah svadhanam dhanam||


Narada says :- Oh King! The wise son of Parashara and Satyavati, Sage Baadarayana, also known as KrishnaDwaipaayana, Sage Vyaasa, along with other sages, bowed down to Lord Balarama a hundred times and then circumambulated him. Later he returned to his abode on the banks of River Saraswrati.


Comments