Garga Bhagavatham : Sri Mathura khanda - Chapter 6

  

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Akrura attains the realization of the supreme eternal form of the Sri Krishna and sings the praise of the Lord; Sri Krishna goes for the sight seeing of Mathura along with the cowherd boys; the women of the city are enamored by the Lord and the Lord redeems a washerman

 

 

Sri Narada says :- King! Thereafter, the son of Nanda, Sri Krishna,  along with Balaram,

went to the house of a gardener by the name Sudama, who was always engaged in making flower garlands. As soon as he saw the two brothers, the gardener stood up. He folded his hands and bowed down to them and gave them a beautiful throne decorated with flowers

Sudama said :- Lord! By your auspicious arrival, both my house and my clan has been immensely blessed. I believe that the seven generations on my mother's side, seven generations on my father's side and seven generations on my wife's side have all ascended to Vaikuntha. You both are the forms of the Supreme Lord and you have incarnated in this clan of Yadus to redeem mother Earth from her burdens. I bow down to you both, who have blessed me by coming to my humble abode even though I am the lowest of the lowly. You are the the Lord of all there is!

Sri Narada says :- King! So saying, the gardener offered them a beautiful garland of flowers and honey surrounded by the buzzing of honey bees. Along with Balaram, Sri Hari adorned Himself with the garlands and also offered them to the cowherd boys. With a beautiful smile on his face, he addressed the gardener thus, "Sudama, May you have eternal devotion towards my lotus feet, may you always be in the company of my devotees and may you attain me in this life time itself!" Then, Sri Balaram also blessed his clan with ever growing fortune. King! Then the brothers left and went towards the other streets of Mathura. On the way a beautiful maiden with lotus-like eyes was passing by. In her hand was a bowl full of sandalwood paste. She was youthful, however her body looked crooked and old. Madhav asker her thus.

Sri Bhagavan said:- Sundari (Beautiful one)! Who are you? Whose beloved are you? For whom are you taking this sandalwood paste? Please share this sandalwood paste with the two us. That will bring all auspiciousness into your life.

The maid said:- O crestjewel of beauty! I am the maid of Kamsa. O intelligent one! My name is Kubja. The king of Bhoja, Kamsa very much likes the sandalwood paste prepared by me. Up until now I was a maid only for Kamsa, but at this moment, I present myself before you. Your arms are strong like the trunk of the elephant and my mind has become attached to them. Other than the two of you, who could be deserving of this sandalwood paste? There is no one equal in beauty to the two of you in all the three worlds. 

Sri Narada says :- King! Filled with happiness, Kubja anointed the two brothers with sandalwood paste. The beauty of the  two brothers Sri Krishna and Balaram increased by this anointment. The other cowherd boys of Vraja also accepted a bit of this sandalwood paste. Kubja was bent in 3 places. Sri Krishna decided to straighten her body immediately. The supreme all-pervading Lord, pressed her toes with His foot and with the his right hand, He held her chin and just as everyone was watching, He straightened her body. Right away, her body became straight as a stick and she became so immensely beautiful  and youthful, that even the celestial dancer Rambha's beauty paled in comparison. Intense desire arose in her mind and she held the garment of the Lord and spoke to Him thus.

The maid said:- O handsome one! Please come to my house, I cannot bear your separation. You are the knower of everyone's mind; please shower your mercy on me. Rasik Shekhar(most passionate one)! O elegant one! you have churned my mind very quickly. 

Sri Narada says :- King! All the cowherd boys started laughing and jeering at this. Balaram was also observing all the very closely. Upon getting her invitation to go to her home, Sri Hari gave a very befitting answer.

Sri Bhagavan said:- Aho! Blessed is this Mathura city, where even the gentle natured ones live and invite unknown passers-by into their homes. I will take my time to see the rest of the city and eventually come to your abode. 

Sri Narada says :- King! After conveying this in a friendly tone, Sri Hari pulled the edge of His garment from her hand and proceeded further along the royal path. He sighted a few wealthy traders. Those highly wise traders offered beetle leaves, flowers, scent, milk and fruits etc., to the Lord. They offered Him a beautiful seat and bowed down before Him.

The traders said:- Lord! If you successfully establish your kingdom here, please take care of us, who are your dear ones. We are your loyal subjects. Upon becoming part of royalty, no one remembers anyone. 

Sri Narada says :- King! Then Achyuta smiled at them and asked them in a sweet voice, " Where is the bow at?" But those traders were quite clever. They suspected that the bow may get broken by the Lord and hence they did not disclose its place. But the other city dwellers who were mesmerized by the beauty of the Lord offered to help and said, "Young lad! Please come, we will show you the bow."

    Then following the path shown by them, Sri Krishna entered the path where the bow was kept. Along the way, He befriended many other youngsters of Mathura who were of the same age as Him. He found the bow to be well decorated by golden decorations. It was as long as 7 Tala trees. It resembled a rainbow. It was so heavy that it required 5000 people to carry it from place to another. It was made with eight different metals. The mighty bow weighed 1 lakh tons and was kept in a pedestal near the place of the Yagya by the people of Mathura, who had performed its worship on the day of Chaturdasi.  In the distant past, the son of Brighu, Parashuram, had presented the bow to King Yadu.  Sri Krishna looked at the bow, which looked like a serpent who was sitting with its hood lifted. Even though the people of Mathura kept stopping Him, Sri Krishna playfully lifted the bow and strung it with ease. Then Sri Hari, with His strong arms, bent the bow all the way down to His ears and broke it just as an elephant picks up and breaks a sugar cane stick with its trunk.  Along with the seven lokas including Bhoo(Earth) and the seven netherworlds, the entire universe resonated with the sound. The directions became restless, and stars started to break. Then entire Earth started trembling and the people of the Earth, became almost deafened. That sound disturbed the mind of Kamsa for two hours. The demons who were guarding the bow became enraged and with the wish to capture Krishna, they said to each other, "Tie him up!" Upon seeing the demons charging to attack them with weapons, Sri Krishna and Balaram picked up the two halves of the broken bow and struck the evil demons with it. By the strike of the bow, the demons became badly injured. Some broke their legs, some broke off all their nails, many had broken arms and broken shoulders. In this manner, five thousand brave demons were rendered lifeless on the spot. There was a great disruption among the people of Mathura. Many people rushed to witness the event. There was a lot of chaos in the city and the people became filled with fear. The roof of Kamsa's court instantly collapsed. 

    O King of Kings! By day break,  Sri Krishna, along with Balaram and the cowherd boys, left the place where the bow was placed and rushed to Nanda as though he was frightened. Seeing the beautiful form of Krishna, the maidens of Mathura were extremely awestruck. Their garments loosened. The flowers from their tresses also loosened. The pain of love arose in their hearts and they started discussing with their sakhis (friends)

 

The City Maidens said:- Sakhis!  Endowed with the beauty of crores of cupids, Sri Hari roams freely in the city of Mathura. All of us young maiden was blessed to see Him, have Him embedded in each and every part of our body, just like cupid.

Some Clever Maidens said:-  Are there any cruel women here in Mathura, who were staring at all the different parts of the body of Sri Krishna, who even sways the mind of Kamadeva(cupid)? Don't we all ogle at the beauty of the supremely beautiful and blissful Sri Krishna? Sometimes our eyes get stuck in the beauty of a particular part of His body just like a kite would get stuck.  How can we possibly see Him and drink all His beauty with only two eyes? Each and every part of the body of Nandanandan Sri Krishna is immensely attractive. When the eyes fall on each part, they get stuck there and do not want to return. He is the ocean of elegance. Our souls are immersed in Him as if drowning in an ocean.

Sri Narada says :- King of Mithila! Even the maidens of Mathura, who barely saw Krishna during the day, saw only Him in even in their dreams every night. Then what can be said about the Gopis who were blessed to be in the Raasa dance with Him? How can they possibly forget His divine form even for a moment?

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