Garga Bhagavatham : Golok Khanda - Chapter 11

<< PrevChapter        Golok Khanda     NextChapter>>

The Lord enters the consciousness of Vasudeva and Devaki; Devatas singing their praise; Birth of the Lord; A glimpse of the Lord; Praises of the Lord, sung by Vasudeva and Devaki; Past life description of Devaki and Vasudeva and the Lord's order to be taken to the house of Nanda; Kamsa repenting for his sins after hearing the words of Devi Yogmaya and releasing Devaki-Vasudeva from prison; Demons begin the killing of infants everywhere

Narada said :- O King of Mithila! At first, The Greatest of the great and the complete (“paripoornatam”) Lord Sri Krishna, charged into the mind of Vasudeva first. As soon as the Lord entered into Vasudeva’s heart, he shined like the Sun, the Moon, and Agni deva (God of fire). It seemed as though Lord Yagnanarayan himself appeared in the form of Vasudeva. Then Sri Krishna, who allays the fear in everyone, entered the womb of Devaki. As soon as this happened, Devaki, who was imprisoned, shone like a bright diamond. Her brightness made the prison glow. Looking at Devaki’s brightened appearance, Kamsa was mentally distraught with fear and said, “my destroyer has arrived because Devaki was never so bright earlier. I will kill this child as soon as it is born”. Feeling feverish with fear, he began his wait for the birth of the child. Out of fear, he started seeing his earlier enemy Lord Vishnu everywhere. Lord Sri Krishna grants darshan (sight) of his Himself even to those who are firmly filled with enmity towards Him. The reason for asuras (demons) to have so much enmity towards Sri Krishna is to finally attain His feet. When Bhagavan entered the womb of Devaki, all Devas, including Brahma and myself (Narada), stood in the sky above Vasudeva’s house and paid our respects to the Lord. We started singing His greatness. 

Devas said :- YOU, who is the only form in the universe who appears while being awake and also dreaming, who is the cause for everything in the universe but is HIMSELF causeless, who is visible yet invisible, under whose protection the entire universe moves around in all directions, to you, Bhagavan Krishna, we offer our humble namaskar (salutations). Like the sparks which come out of the fire, however, does not enter into the fire again, the Lord who does not reenter into the Devas who have emerged out of HIM, to HIM, we offer our salutations. Lord, you on whom, the strongest of the strong, “Kaal” (time) has no hold; on whom even Maya is unable to cast her spell, we bow down to You. Even Vedas do not make you a subject matter, we have come to seek asylum at the feet of such an ultimate, “amruth” (nectar), calm and pure Lord Sri Krishna. We have come to bow before the complete (“paripoorna”) avatar of Sri Krishna. You will take the form of the past, present and future periods, yugas (ages) by your Kalavatar, and all those will be part Yourself. The auspicious time has come now. In this avatar, you will expand your complete splendor here. 

You will establish the truth and propagate welfare in this world. The dust of whose Feet, are impossible to be attained by yogis with the purest conscience, YOU oh Lord, will be easily attained by those devotees who will pray to you with a pure heart and who love you sincerely. We desire to keep the nectar (“Makarand”) and pollen(“parag”) of your tender lotus feet on our heads with great affection. This is our ultimate wish. Even in your earlier avatars, you were magnificent. Also, in this avatar, you will glow with the same beauty. Your beauty can attract a hundred crore “Kamadevas”. In this avatar, You will display to your devotees, the same effulgence with which you glow “Golokdham”. We bow to Sri Radha Vallabh, who is the bearer of Dharma, par excellence.low “Golokdham”. We bow to Sri Radha Vallabh, who is the bearer of Dharma, par excellence.

 

यज्जागरादिषु भवेषु परम् ह्यहेतुर्हेतुः स्विदस्य विचरन्ति गुणाश्रयेण ।

नैतद् विशन्ति महदिन्द्रियदेवसन्घास्तस्मै नमोग्रिमिव विस्त्रुतविस्फुलिन्गाः॥

नैवेशितुम् प्रभुरयम् बलिनाम् बलीयान् माया न शब्द उत नो विषयी करोति।

तद्ब्रह्म पूर्णममृतं परमम् प्रशान्तम् शुद्धम् परात्परम् शरणम् गताः स्मः॥

अम्शाम्शकाम्शकलाद्यवतार वृन्दैरावेशपूर्ण सहितैश्च परस्य यस्य

सर्गादयः किल भवन्ति तमेव ककृष्णं पूर्णात्परम् तु परिपूर्णतमम् नताः स्मः॥

मन्वन्तरेषु च युगेषु गतागतेषु कल्पेषु चाम्शकलया स्ववपुर्भिभर्षि।

अद्यैव धाम परिपूर्णतमम् तनोष्हि धर्मम् विधाय भुवि मन्गलमातनोषि॥

यद्दुर्लभम् विशदयोगिभिराप्यगम्यम् गम्यम् द्रवद्भिरमलाशय भक्तियोगैः।

आनन्दकन्द चरतस्तव मन्दयानपादारविन्दमकरन्दरजो दधामः॥

पूर्वम् तथात्र कमनीयवपुष्मयं त्वाम् कन्दर्पकोटि शतमोहनमद्भुतम् च

गोलोकधामधिशणद्युतिमादधानम् राधापतिम् धरमधुर्यधनम् दधानम्॥

 

YajjaagaraadiShu bhaveShu param hyaheturhetuH svidasya vicaranti guNaashrayeNa |

Naitad vishanti mahadindriyadevasanGhastasmai namogrimiva vistrutavisPhulingaaH||

Naiveshitum prabhurayam balinaam baliiyaan maayaa na shabda uta no viShayii karoti|

tadbrahma poorNamamrutam paramam prashaantam shuddham paraatparam sharaNam gataaH smaH||

amshaamshakaamshakalaadyavataara vrindairaaveshapoorNa sahitaishca parasya yasya|

sargaadayaH kila bhavanti tameva krishNam poorNaatparam tu paripuurNatamam nataaH smaH||

manvantareShu ca yugeShu gataagateShu kalpeShu caamshakalayaa svavapurbhibharShi|

adyaiva dhaama paripoorNatamam tanoShi dharmam vidhaaya bhuvi mangalamaatanoShi||

yaddurlabham vishadayogibhiraapyagamyam gamyam dravadbhiramalaashaya bhaktiyogaiH|

aanandakanda caratastava mandayaanapaadaaravindamakarandarajo dadhaamaH||

poorvam tathaatra kamaniiyavapuShmayam tvaam kandarpakotishatamohanamadbhutam ca|

golokadhaamadhishaNaddyutimaadadhaanam raadhaapatim dharamadhuryadhanam dadhaanam||

   

Then Brahma, along with other Devas and Sages, left for their respective abodes. 

King of Mithila, Bahulashwa said :-

           Around His neck was a necklace made of rare and pure pearls, and on his chest was a beautiful necklace studded with Kaustubha gem and various kinds of precious gems. There were beautiful anklets around his ankles and bracelets in his arms. There was a divine aura emanating from His body. The crown on his head and the earrings dangling from His ears looked radiant like the early morning sun. The bracelets on His wrists were shining with the radiance of fire. The radiance from the Kinkini(golden belt worn around the waist) was brightening all the directions. Bees were humming around the lotuses in the lotus-garland decorating His neck. The brilliance of divine Pitaambar that He was wearing, defeated the brilliance of freshly molten gold. The Pitaambar that was adorning His blue-hued body looked more radiant than the lightning that emerges from dark blue rain-bearing clouds. His beautiful face was surrounded by black and curly locks of hair. Radiant beams of light emanating from His divine face were playfully diminishing the darkness of the room. The beauty of the extremely beautiful smiling face that looked like a blue lotus was enhanced by His attractive eyes. The eyes were decorated by black collyrium (eyeliner), which was enhancing the beauty of His face which cannot even be matched by crores of Kamadevas (God of love). That attractive Lord was eager to play a melodious tune in His divine flute. 

 

स्फुरदच्छविचित्र हारिणम विलसत् कौस्तुभ​रत्नहारिणम ।

परिधिद्युतिनूपुराङ्गदम् धृतबालार्क किरीट कुण्डलम्॥

चलदद्भुतवह्निकङ्कणम् चलदूर्जद्गुणमेखलाचितम ।

मधुभृध्वानिपद्ममालिनम नवजाम्बूनददिव्यवाससम ॥

सतडिद्घनदिव्य सौभागं चलनीलालक वृन्द भृन्मुखं ।

चलदम्शुतमोहरम परम शुभदम सुन्दरमम्भुजेक्षणम् ॥

कृतपत्रविचित्र मण्डनम् सततम कोटि मनोजमोहनम ।

परिपूर्णतमम परात्परम कलवेणुध्वनिवाद्यतत्परम्॥

 

sphuradacchavicitra haariNam vilasatkaustubharatnahaariNam |

paridhidyutinuupuraangadam dhrtabaalaarkakiriitakundalam||

caladadbhutavahnikankaNam caladuurjadguNamekhalaacitam |

madhubhrdhvanipadmamaalinam navajaambuunadadivyavaasasam ||

sataDidghanadivyasaubhagam calaniilaalakavrindabhrunmukham |

caladamshutamoharam param shubhadam sundaramambujekhaNam||

kritaptravicitramandanam satatam koTi manojamohanam |

paripuurNatamam paraatparam kalaveNudhvanivaadyatatparam||

 Upon witnessing the birth of such a divine child, the eyes of Vasudeva, the best among the Yadavas, became filled with happiness. He mentally offered one lakh cows to Brahmins. When the Lord appeared inside the prison, Vasudeva’s fear started to fade. With folded hands, he began to sing the praise of Lord Sri Hari, who is without beginning or end.  

Sri Vasudeva said:-  Oh Lord! You, who is the One, who is without a second, appear in various forms due to the satva gunaas of prakruti(nature). You are the creator, destroyer, and maintainer of this world. Oh Primordial Lord! Oh Lord of the three worlds! Oh, Paramatma! Just as the sphaTikaa gem remains devoid of any colors, you remain devoid of the colors of the material body. My bow down to thee.

 Just as fire is hidden within the fuel, you remain within all the objects of this world. Just as the element of space (Akaasha) exists inside and outside everyone, You also exist inside and outside of everything. Just as the element of Earth (prithvi), You are the basis of everything and is the witness to everything; and You are capable of traveling everywhere just like the element of Wind (vaayu). You are the protectors of cows, Devatas, Brahmins, your devotes, and calves. You have taken an avatar in my house to redeem Mother Earth of her unbearable burden. You are the best among the best of the men in this world. Oh Lord of the universe! Please protect me from the evil Kamsa. 

Sri Narada says:- Oh King of Mithila! Devaki, who is herself the form of a Devi, also realized that the son that she delivered is none other than the complete Lord, Shyamasundar, Sri Krishna. Hence, she also bowed down to him and spoke thus. 

Devaki said:- oh sacchidaanandaghana (embodiment of eternal bliss) Sri Krishna! Oh Lord of the infinite universes! Oh, Parameshwara! Oh, flag of the temple of GolokDham! Oh Primordial Lord! Oh Complete Lord! Oh, Lord! Please protect me from the evil Kamsa! Protect me!

 Sri Narada says:- Oh King! Listening to the prayers of His mother and father, the Lord smiled softly and spoke thus.

 Sri Bhagavan said:- In the previous life, she was mother Prishni and you were Prajapati, Sutapa. By the order of Lord Brahma, you both performed severe penance with the desire of good progeny, renouncing food and water. One manvantara passed and you continued your penance. Pleased by this, I appeared to you and said, “You ask for the best boon”. As soon as you heard me, you both said, “Oh Lord! Please bless us with a son like You”. I said, “So be it!” and disappeared. By virtue of your past good deeds, you took birth as Prajapati. In this creation, there is no one else like Me. Hence I descended as your son Myself. In that lifetime, I became famous in the world as Prishnigarbha. When you later took birth as Aditi and Kashyapa, I took the form of your dwarf (Vamana) son, Upendra. Similarly in this lifetime, I have taken avatar as your son. Father, now you take me to the house of Nanda. You will not be harmed by this action. Please bring the daughter of Nanda here and you shall attain peace. 

Sri Narada says:- Oh King! Saying so, the Lord became quiet. In front of their eyes, the Lord took the form of an infant lying on the ground, just an actor changes his costume in a play. Just as Vasudeva got ready to carry the divine child in a bassinet, in Nanda’s house in Mahavan, Devi Yogmaya took birth from the womb of Nanda’s wife. By her divine influence, everyone fell asleep. Even the guards fell into a deep slumber. All the doors fell open. Locks and shackles broke into pieces. When Vasudeva lifted Sri Krishna and place him over his head, both the ignorance within him and the darkness outside disappeared, just like darkness is instantly dispelled by the rising sun. Clouds covered the sky and started to pour. At that time, the thousand hooded serpent, Seshnaag appeared and followed Vasudeva, shielding him baby Krishna from the rain. The water began to rise in the river Yamuna. The river became very turbulent and began to sweep away wild animals like lions, snakes, etc. However, the moment she saw Vasudeva, she instantly gave way to him. The entire village of Vraj was immersed in a deep sleep. As soon as Vasudeva reached there, he placed his divine baby next to Yashoda and lay his eyes on her divine newborn daughter. Taking the baby girl with him, Vasudeva crossed the river Yamuna and returned home as before. 

At that time all that Yashoda knew was she had delivered a child. Because of the intense pain of childbirth, she had become extremely tired and had fallen asleep. Back in Mathura, the soldiers and prison guards were awakened by the cries of the baby. They rushed to Kamsa and delivered the news of the baby’s birth. As soon as Kamsa heard this news, he was filled with fear and rushed to the prison-house. Distraught by the sight of her brother, Devaki began to cry and spoke to Kamsa thus.

Devaki said:- Brother, you are the savior of the destitute. I am your sister, yet I have been thrown in prison. All my children have been killed. I am that unfortunate mother, whose children have all been slain. I only have one daughter left, and I beg you to spare her. She is a helpless girl and it is not befitting for a brave man like you to kill her. My dear auspicious brother, please let me have this child. Only an action such as this is most befitting of you.  

Sri Narada says:- Oh King! Tears were flowing down Devaki’s face. Out of her attachment, she hid the child in her scarf and begged him desperately to spare the child. The evil Kamsa was not at all moved by this; he snatched the child from her arms. He was a disgrace to the Yadava clan and the lowliest person on Earth. Because of always associating with evil-minded people, his life had become very sinful. He held his sister’s child by her legs and smashed her against a rock. The child was none other than the Avatar of Devi Yogmaya Herself. As soon Kamsa let of her, she jumped high and reached the sky. She ascended a divine chariot by the name “Shatapatra” which was drawn by one hundred horses. Her attendants in the chariot began fanning her. She made her divine form visible from the chariot. She had eight arms adorned by various weapons. The divine Mayadevi was being served by her attendants. She was as brilliant as a hundred suns. She spoke in a majestic voice that resembled the roar of the clouds.

 Sri Yogmaya said:- Kamsa! The child who is destined to kill you has taken Avatar elsewhere. You are torturing your sister, Devaki in vain! 

Sri Narada says:- Oh King! After speaking thus, Goddess Yogamaya proceeded to the Vindhya mountains. She came to be worshipped there by various names. Kamsa was astonished by her words and he immediately released Devaki and Vasudeva.  

Kamsa said:- My dear sister and brother-in-law! I am a sinner. My deeds are sinful. I am the most fallen in this clan of Yadavas. I am the killer of all your children. Please forgive my evil deeds. Please listen to me. I believe these are actions merely inspired by destiny. Just as the wind pushes the clouds as per its wish, destiny made me act according to its plan. I trusted the words of demigods, however, it seems that demigods are also capable of speaking untruth. Devi Yogmaya just said that my destroyer has taken avatar elsewhere. However, I do not know where he is. 

 Sri Narada says:- Oh King! Saying so, Kamsa fell at the feet of his sister and brother-in-law and began to weep inconsolably. Tears started flowing down his cheeks and he showed great affection towards them. When the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna casts his glance on you, what can be impossible in this creation? The next morning, Kamsa convened a meeting with all the demons such as Pralambasura, etc, and told them about Yogmaya’s prophecy 

Kamsa said:- As per the words of Yogmaya, the child destined to kill me has descended elsewhere on this Earth. Therefore, go ahead and search in all directions and kill all infants born within the last ten days and all infants, who are more than ten days old.  

The Demons said:- Oh Great King, whenever you entered the warfare, all the Devas would tremble upon hearing the twang of your bow. Why then are you fearing them now? Cows, Brahmins, saints, Vedas, Devatas, Dharma, and Yagyas and other such principles are considered to be the body of Lord Vishnu. We, Demons are well equipped to destroy these. If your enemy Lord Vishnu is indeed born on this Earth, the most suitable way to kill him is to specifically begin the torture of Cows, Brahmins etc. 

 Sri Narada says:- Oh King! Kamsa ordered the demons to proceed with this terrible task. Having obtained Kamsa’s orders, the evil demons spread in all directions and began to torture cows and Brahmins; and also began to kill infants. Those demons, capable of changing their forms at will, began to wander the face of the Earth, including the oceans. The demons began to enter every household like rodents and snakes. The fierce demons, who are evil-minded by nature were inspired even more by Kamsa’s orders. A monkey is very fickle by nature. If such a monkey gets drunk and gets is by a bee, on top of that, the resulting restlessness it displays is not possible to be measured. Oh, king of Videha! Oh emperor of Mithila, Oh foremost devotee of Lord Vishnu, Oh Sage, Oh Brave Warrior, Oh King of Anga, Bahulashwa Janaka! When saints are tormented in such a way on this Earth, it leads to the complete destruction of the four Purusharthas – Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. 

<< PrevChapter        Golok Khanda     NextChapter>>