Even Lord Krsna was Falsely Accused

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Here is a remarkable story from the Bhagavat Purana detailing the

story of how Lord Krsna was falsely accused of murder. Even after He

cleared His name, the intrigue continued and led to the murder of

Krsna's father-in-Law. Even noble souls like Akrura, Krsna's own

uncle, were caught up in the crisis. So from the pages of Vedic

History we can see that intrigue, mayhem and injustice have always

been a part of life in this world. The noblest of souls have been

falsely implicated and entangled. So we should not be too dismayed

at the legal complications of Spiritual leaders and groups. It is an

ongoing story that is as old as history.

Vrndavan

 

"The false rumor that Krsna had killed Prasena and had taken away

the jewel was spread everywhere like wildfire. Krsna did not like to

be defamed in that way, and therefore He decided that He would go to

the forest and find the Syamantaka jewel, taking with Him some of

the inhabitants of Dvaraka."

http://www.krsnabook.com/ch56.html

 

THE STORY OF THE SHYAMANTAKA JEWEL

There was a king of the name Satrajit within the jurisdiction of

Dvaraka-dhama. He was a great devotee of the sun-god, who awarded

him the benediction of a jewel known as Syamantaka. Because of this

Syamantaka jewel, there was a misunderstanding between King Satrajit

and the Yadu dynasty. Later on the matter was settled when Satrajit

voluntarily offered Krsna his daughter, Satyabhama, along with the

jewel Syamantaka. Not only was Satyabhama married to Krsna on

account of the Syamantaka jewel, but Jambavati, the daughter of

Jambavan, was also married to Krsna. These two marriages took place

before the appearance of Pradyumna, as described in the last

chapter. How King Satrajit offended the Yadu dynasty and how he

later on came to his senses and offered his daughter and the

Syamantaka jewel to Krsna is described as follows.

 

Since he was a great devotee of the sun-god, King Satrajit gradually

entered into a very friendly relationship with him. The sun-god was

much pleased with him and delivered to him an exceptional jewel

known as Syamantaka. When this jewel was worn by Satrajit in a

locket around his neck, he appeared exactly like an imitation sun-

god. Putting on this jewel, he would enter the city of Dvaraka, and

people would think that the sun-god had come into the city to see

Krsna. They knew that Krsna, being the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, was sometimes visited by the demigods, so while Satrajit

was visiting the city of Dvaraka all the inhabitants except Krsna

took him to be the sun-god himself. Although King Satrajit was known

to everyone, he could not be recognized because of the dazzling

effulgence of the Syamantaka jewel.

 

Once, mistaking him to be the sun-god, some of the important

citizens of Dvaraka immediately went to Krsna to inform Him that the

sun-god had arrived to see Him. At that time, Krsna was playing

chess. One of the important residents of Dvaraka spoke thus: "My

dear Lord Narayana, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In

Your plenary portion of Narayana or Visnu, You have four hands with

different symbols--the conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower. You

are actually the owner of everything, but in spite of Your being the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, You have descended in

Vrndavana to act as the child of Yasodamata, who sometimes used to

tie You up with her ropes, and You are celebrated, therefore, by the

name Damodara."

 

That Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, as

accepted by the citizens of Dvaraka, was later on confirmed by the

great Mayavadi philosophical leader, Sankaracarya. By accepting the

Lord as impersonal, he did not reject the Lord's personal form. He

meant that everything which has form in this material world is

subjected to creation, maintenance and annihilation, but the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, Narayana, does not have a material form

subjected to these limitations. In order to convince the less

intelligent class of men who take Krsna to be an ordinary human

being, Sankaracarya therefore said that God is impersonal. This

impersonality means that He is not a person of this material

condition. He is a transcendental personality without a material

body.

 

The citizens of Dvaraka addressed Lord Krsna not only as Damodara,

but also as Govinda, which indicates that Krsna is very affectionate

to the cows and calves; and just to refer to their intimate

connection with Krsna, they addressed Him as Yadunandana. He is the

son of Vasudeva, born in the Yadu dynasty. In this way, the citizens

of Dvaraka concluded that they were addressing Krsna as the supreme

master of the whole universe. They addressed Krsna in many different

ways, proud of being citizens of Dvaraka who could see Krsna daily.

 

When Satrajit was visiting the city of Dvaraka, the citizens felt

great pride to think that although Krsna was living in Dvaraka like

an ordinary human being, the demigods were coming to see Him. Thus

they informed Lord Krsna that the sun-god, with his appealing bodily

effulgence, was coming to see Him. The citizens of Dvaraka confirmed

that the sun-god's coming into Dvaraka was not very wonderful,

because people all over the universe who were searching after the

Supreme Personality of Godhead knew that He had appeared in the

family of the Yadu dynasty and was living in Dvaraka as one of the

members of that family. Thus the citizens expressed their joy on

this occasion. On hearing the statement of His citizens, the all-

pervasive Personality of Godhead, Krsna, simply smiled. Being

pleased with the citizens of Dvaraka, Krsna informed them that the

person whom they described as the sun-god was actually King

Satrajit, who had come to visit Dvaraka City to show his opulence in

the form of the valuable jewel obtained from the sun-god.

 

Satrajit, however, did not come to see Krsna; he was instead

overwhelmed by the jewel of Syamantaka. He installed the jewel in a

temple to be worshiped by brahmanas he engaged for this purpose.

This is an instance of a less intelligent person worshiping a

material thing. In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that less

intelligent persons, in order to get immediate results from their

fruitive activities, worship the demigods who are created within

this universe. The word "materialist" means one concerned with

gratification of the senses within this material world. Although

Krsna later asked for this Syamantaka jewel, King Satrajit did not

deliver it to him, but he installed the jewel for his purposes of

worship. And who would not worship that jewel? The Syamantaka jewel

was so powerful that it was daily producing a large quantity of

gold. A quantity of gold is counted by a measurement called a bhara.

According to Vedic formulas, one bhara is equal to sixteen pounds;

one mound equals eighty-two pounds. The jewel was producing about

170 pounds of gold every day. Besides that, it is learned from Vedic

literature that in whatever part of the world this jewel is

worshiped there is no possibility of famine; not only that, but

wherever the jewel is present, there is no possibility of anything

inauspicious, such as pestilence or disease.

 

Lord Krsna wanted to teach the world that the best of everything

should be offered to the ruling chief of the country. King Ugrasena

was the overlord of many dynasties and happened to be the

grandfather of Krsna, and Krsna asked Satrajit to present the

Syamantaka jewel to King Ugrasena. Krsna pleaded that the best

should be offered to the King. But Satrajit, being a worshiper of

the demigods, had become too materialistic and, instead of accepting

the request of Krsna, thought it wiser to worship the jewel in order

to get the 170 pounds of gold every day. Materialistic persons who

can achieve such huge quantities of gold every day are not

interested in Krsna consciousness. Sometimes, therefore, in order to

show special favor, Krsna takes away great accumulations of

materialistic wealth from a person and thus makes him a great

devotee. But Satrajit refused to abide by the order of Krsna and did

not deliver the jewel to Him.

 

After this incident, Satrajit's younger brother, in order to display

the opulence of the family, took the jewel, put it on his neck and

rode on horseback into the forest, making a show of his material

opulence. While the brother of Satrajit, who was known as Prasena,

was moving here and there in the forest, a big lion attacked him,

killing both him and the horse on which he was riding, and took away

the jewel to his cave. The news was received by the gorilla king,

Jambavan, who then killed that lion in the cave and took away the

jewel. Jambavan had been a great devotee of the Lord since the time

of Lord Ramacandra, so he did not take the valuable jewel as

something he very much needed. He gave it to his young son to play

with as a toy.

 

In the city, when Satrajit's younger brother Prasena did not return

from the forest with the jewel, Satrajit became very upset. He did

not know that his brother had been killed by a lion and that the

lion had been killed by Jambavan. He was thinking instead that

because Krsna wanted that jewel and it had not been delivered to

Him, Krsna might have therefore taken the jewel away from Prasena by

force and killed him. This idea grew into a rumor which was being

spread by Satrajit in every part of Dvaraka.

 

The false rumor that Krsna had killed Prasena and had taken away the

jewel was spread everywhere like wildfire. Krsna did not like to be

defamed in that way, and therefore He decided that He would go to

the forest and find the Syamantaka jewel, taking with Him some of

the inhabitants of Dvaraka. Along with important men of Dvaraka,

Krsna went to search out Prasena, the brother of Satrajit, and He

found him dead, killed by the lion. At the same time, Krsna also

found the lion which had been killed by Jambavan, who is generally

called by the name Rksa. It was found that the lion had been killed

by the hand of Rksa without the assistance of any weapon. Krsna and

the citizens of Dvaraka then found in the forest a great tunnel,

said to be the path to Rksa's house. Krsna knew that the inhabitants

of Dvaraka would be afraid to enter the tunnel; therefore He asked

them to remain outside, and He Himself entered the dark tunnel alone

to find Rksa, Jambavan. After entering the tunnel, Krsna saw that

the very valuable jewel known as Syamantaka had been given to the

son of Rksa as a toy, and in order to take the jewel from the child,

He went there and stood before him. When the nurse who was taking

care of Rksa's child saw Krsna standing before her, she was afraid,

thinking the valuable Syamantaka jewel might be taken away by Him.

She began to cry loudly out of fear.

 

Hearing the nurse crying, Jambavan appeared on the scene in a very

angry mood. Jambavan was actually a great devotee of Lord Krsna, but

because he was in an angry mood he could not recognize his master;

he thought Him to be an ordinary man. This brings to mind the

statement of the Bhagavad-gita in which the Lord advises Arjuna to

get free from anger, greed and lust in order to rise up to the

spiritual platform. Lust, anger and greed run parallel in the heart

and check one's progress on the spiritual path.

 

Not recognizing his master, Jambavan first challenged Him to fight.

There was then a great fight between Krsna and Jambavan in which

they fought like two opposing vultures. Whenever there is an eatable

corpse the vultures fight heartily over the prey. Krsna and Jambavan

first of all began fighting with weapons, then with stones, then

with big trees, then hand to hand, until at last they were hitting

one another with their fists, and the blows were like the striking

of thunderbolts. Each was expecting victory over the other, but the

fighting continued for days, both in daytime and at night, without

stopping. In this way the fighting continued for twenty-eight days.

 

Although Jambavan was the strongest living entity of that time,

practically all the joints of his bodily limbs became slackened and

his strength reduced to practically nil after being constantly

struck by the fists of Sri Krsna. Feeling very tired, with

perspiration all over his body, Jambavan was astonished. Who was

this opponent who was weakening him? Jambavan was quite aware of his

own superhuman bodily strength, but when he felt tired from being

struck by Krsna, he could understand that Krsna was no one else but

his worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This

incident has a special significance for devotees. In the beginning,

Jambavan could not understand Krsna because his vision was obscured

by material attachment. He was attached to his boy and to the

greatly valuable Syamantaka jewel, which he did not want to spare

for Krsna. In fact, when Krsna came there he became angry, thinking

that He had come to take away the jewel. This is the material

position; although one is very strong in body, that cannot help him

understand Krsna.

 

In a sporting attitude, Krsna wanted to engage in a mock fight with

His devotee. As we have experienced from the pages of the Srimad-

Bhagavatam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the

propensities and instincts of a human being. Sometimes, in a

sportive spirit, He wishes to fight to make a show of bodily

strength, and when He so desires, He selects one of His suitable

devotees to give Him that pleasure. Krsna desired this pleasure of

mock fighting with Jambavan. Although Jambavan was a devotee by

nature, he was without knowledge of Krsna while giving service to

the Lord by his bodily strength. But as soon as Krsna was pleased by

the fighting, Jambavan immediately understood that his opponent was

none other than the Supreme Lord Himself. The conclusion is that he

could understand Krsna by his service. Krsna is sometimes satisfied

by fighting also.

 

Jambavan therefore said to the Lord, "My dear Lord, I can now

understand who You are. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

Lord Visnu, the source of everyone's strength, wealth, reputation,

beauty, wisdom and renunciation." This statement of Jambavan's is

confirmed by the Vedanta-sutra, wherein the Supreme Lord is declared

to be the source of everything. Jambavan identified Lord Krsna as

the Supreme Personality, Lord Visnu: "My dear Lord, You are the

creator of the creators of the universal affairs." This statement is

very instructive to the ordinary man, who is amazed by the

activities of a person with an exceptional brain. The ordinary man

is surprised to see the inventions of a great scientist, but the

statement of Jambavan confirms that although a scientist may be a

creator of many wonderful things, Krsna is the creator of the

scientist. He is not only the creator of one scientist, but of

millions and trillions, all over the universe. Jambavan said

further, "You are not only creator of the creator, but You are also

creator of the material elements which are manipulated by the so-

called creators." Scientists utilize the physical elements or laws

of material nature and do something wonderful, but actually such

laws and elements are also the creation of Krsna. This is actual

scientific understanding. Less intelligent men do not try to

understand who created the brain of the scientist; they are simply

satisfied by seeing the wonderful creation or invention of the

scientist.

 

Jambavan continued: "My dear Lord, the time factor which combines

all the physical elements is also Your representative. You are the

supreme time factor in which all creation takes place, is

maintained, and is finally annihilated. And not only the physical

elements and the time factors but also the persons who manipulate

the ingredients and advantages of creation are part and parcel of

You. The living entity is not, therefore, an independent creator. By

studying all factors in the right perspective, one can see that You

are the supreme controller and Lord of everything. My dear Lord, I

can therefore understand that You are the same Supreme Personality

of Godhead whom I worship as Lord Ramacandra. My Lord Ramacandra

wanted to construct a bridge over the ocean, and I saw personally

how the ocean became agitated simply by my Lord's glancing over it.

And when the whole ocean became agitated, the living entities like

the whales, alligators and timingila fish, all became perturbed.

[The timingila fish in the ocean can swallow big aquatics like

whales in one gulp.] In this way the ocean was forced to give way

and allow Ramacandra to cross to the island known as Lanka [now

supposed to be Ceylon]. This construction of a bridge over the ocean

from Cape Comorin to Ceylon is still well-known to everyone. After

the construction of the bridge, a fire was set all over the kingdom

of Ravana. During the fighting with Ravana, each and every part of

Ravana's limbs was slashed and cut into pieces by Your sharp arrows,

and his head fell to the face of the earth. Now I can understand

that You are none other than my Lord Ramacandra. No one else has

such immeasurable strength; no one else could defeat me in this way."

 

Lord Krsna became satisfied by the prayers and statements of

Jambavan, and to mitigate the pains of his body, He began to smear

the lotus palm of His hand all over the body of Jambavan. Jambavan

at once felt relieved from the fatigue of the great fight. Lord

Krsna then addressed him as King Jambavan, because he and not the

lion was actually the king of the forest; with his naked hand,

without a weopon, Jambavan had killed the lion. Krsna informed

Jambavan that He had come to him to ask for the Syamantaka jewel

because since the Syamantaka jewel had been stolen His name had been

defamed by the less intelligent. Krsna plainly informed him that He

had come there to ask him for the jewel in order to be free from the

defamation. Jambavan understood the whole situation, and to satisfy

the Lord he not only immediately delivered the Syamantaka jewel, but

he also brought his daughter Jambavati, who was of marriageable age,

and presented her to Lord Krsna.

 

The episode of Jambavati's marriage with Krsna and the delivery of

the jewel known as Syamantaka was finished within the mountain cave.

Although the fighting between Krsna and Jambavan went on for twenty-

eight days, the inhabitants of Dvaraka waited outside the tunnel for

twelve days, and after that they decided that something undesirable

must have happened. They could not understand what had actually

happened for certain, and being very sorry and tired, they had

returned to the city of Dvaraka.

 

All the members of the family, namely the mother of Krsna, Devaki,

His father Vasudeva, and His chief wife Rukmini, along with all

other friends, relatives and residents of the palace, became very

sorry when the citizens returned home without Krsna. Because of

their natural affection for Krsna, they began to call Satrajit ill

names, for he was the cause of Krsna's disappearance. They went to

worship the goddess Candrabhaga, praying for the return of Krsna.

The goddess was satisfied by the prayers of the citizens of Dvaraka,

and she immediately offered them her benediction. Simultaneously,

Krsna appeared on the scene accompanied by His new wife Jambavati,

and all the inhabitants of Dvaraka and relatives of Krsna became

joyful. The inhabitants of Dvaraka became as joyful as someone

receiving a dear relative back from the dead. The inhabitants of

Dvaraka had concluded that Krsna had been put into great

difficulties due to the fighting; therefore, they had become almost

hopeless of His return. But when they saw that Krsna had actually

returned, not alone but with a new wife, Jambavati, they immediately

performed another celebration ceremony.

 

King Ugrasena then called for a meeting of all important kings and

chiefs. He also invited Satrajit, and Krsna explained before the

whole assembly the incident of the recovery of the jewel from

Jambavan. Krsna wanted to return the valuable jewel to King

Satrajit. Satrajit, however, became ashamed because he had

unnecessarily defamed Krsna. He accepted the jewel in his hand, but

he remained silent, bending his head downwards, and without speaking

anything in the assembly of the kings and chiefs, he returned home

with the jewel. Then he thought about how he could clear himself

from the abominable action he had performed by defaming Krsna. He

was conscious that he had offended Krsna very grievously and that he

had to find a remedial measure so that Krsna would again be pleased

with him.

 

King Satrajit was eager to get relief from the anxiety he had

foolishly created due to being attracted by a material thing,

specifically the Syamantaka jewel. Satrajit was truly afflicted by

the offense he had committed toward Krsna, and he sincerely wanted

to rectify it. From within, Krsna gave him good intelligence, and

Satrajit decided to hand over to Krsna both the jewel and his

beautiful daughter, Satyabhama. There was no alternative for

mitigating the situation, and therefore he arranged the marriage

ceremony of Krsna and his beautiful daughter. He gave in charity

both the jewel and his daughter to the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. Satyabhama was so beautiful and qualified that Satrajit, in

spite of being asked for the hand of Satyabhama by many princes, was

waiting to find a suitable son-in-law. By the grace of Krsna he

decided to hand his daughter over to Him.

 

Lord Krsna, being pleased upon Satrajit, informed him that He did

not have any need of the Syamantaka jewel. "It is better to let it

remain in the temple as you have kept it," He said, "and every one

of us will derive benefit from the jewel. Because of the jewel's

presence in the city of Dvaraka, there will be no more famine or

disturbances created by pestilence or excessive heat and cold."

 

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifty-sixth Chapter of

Krsna, "The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel."

 

The Killing of Satrajit and Satadhanva

http://www.krsnabook.com/ch57.html

After Akrura visited Hastinapura and reported the condition of the

Pandavas to Krsna, there were further developments. The Pandavas

were transferred to a house which was made of shellac and was later

on set ablaze, and everyone understood that the Pandavas along with

their mother, Kunti, had been killed. This information was also sent

to Lord Krsna and Balarama. After consulting together, They decided

to go to Hastinapura to show sympathy to Their relatives. Krsna and

Balarama certainly knew that the Pandavas could not have been killed

in the devastating fire, but in spite of this knowledge They wanted

to go to Hastinapura to take part in the bereavement. On arriving in

Hastinapura, Krsna and Balarama first of all went to see Bhismadeva

because he was the chief of the Kuru dynasty. They then saw Vidura,

Gandhari and Drona. Other members of the Kuru dynasty were not

sorry, because they wanted the Pandavas and their mother to be

killed. But some family members, headed by Bhisma, were actually

very sorry for the incident, and Krsna and Balarama expressed equal

sorrow, without disclosing the actual situation.

 

When Krsna and Balarama were away from the city of Dvaraka, there

was a conspiracy to take away the Syamantaka jewel from Satrajit.

The chief conspirator was Satadhanva. Along with others, Satadhanva

wanted to marry Satyabhama, the beautiful daughter of Satrajit.

Satrajit had promised that he would give his beautiful daughter in

charity to various candidates, but later on the decision was

changed, and Satyabhama was given to Krsna along with the Syamantaka

jewel. Satrajit had no desire to give the jewel away along with his

daughter, and Krsna, knowing his mentality, accepted his daughter

but returned the jewel. After getting back the jewel from Krsna, he

was satisfied and kept it with him always. But in the absence of

Krsna and Balarama there was a conspiracy by many men, including

even Akrura and Krtavarma, who were devotees of Lord Krsna, to take

the jewel from Satrajit. Akrura and Krtavarma joined the conspiracy

because they wanted the jewel for Krsna. They knew that Krsna wanted

the jewel and that Satrajit had not delivered it properly. Others

joined the conspiracy because they were disappointed in not having

the hand of Satyabhama. Some of them incited Satadhanva to kill

Satrajit and take away the jewel.

 

The question is generally raised, Why did a great devotee like

Akrura join this conspiracy? And why did Krtavarma, although a

devotee of the Lord, join the conspiracy also? The answer is given

by great authorities like Jiva Gosvami and others that although

Akrura was a great devotee, he was cursed by the inhabitants of

Vrndavana because of his taking Krsna away from their midst. Because

of his wounding their feelings, Akrura was forced to join the

conspiracy declared by sinful men. Similarly, Krtavarma was a

devotee, but because of his intimate association with Kamsa, he was

also contaminated by sinful reaction, and he also joined the

conspiracy.

 

Being inspired by all the members of the conspiracy, Satadhanva one

night entered the house of Satrajit and killed him while he was

sleeping. Satadhanva was a sinful man of abominable character, and

although due to his sinful activities he was not to live for many

days, he decided to kill Satrajit while Satrajit was sleeping at

home. When he entered the house to kill Satrajit, all the women

there began to cry very loudly, but in spite of their great

protests, Satadhanva mercilessly butchered Satrajit without

hesitation, exactly as a butcher kills an animal in the

slaughterhouse. Since Krsna was absent from home, His wife

Satyabhama was also present on the night Satrajit was murdered, and

she began to cry, "My dear father! My dear father! How mercilessly

you have been killed!" The dead body of Satrajit was not immediately

removed for cremation because Satyabhama wanted to go to Krsna in

Hastinapura. Therefore the body was preserved in a tank of oil so

that Krsna could come back and see the dead body of Satrajit and

take real action against Satadhanva. Satyabhama immediately started

for Hastinapura to inform Krsna about the ghastly death of her

father.

 

When Krsna was informed by Satyabhama of the murder of His father-in-

law, He began to lament like an ordinary man. His great sorrow is,

again, a strange thing. Lord Krsna has nothing to do with action and

reaction, but because He was playing the part of a human being He

expressed His full sympathy for the bereavement of Satyabhama, and

His eyes filled with tears upon hearing about the death of His

father-in-law. He thus began to lament, "O, what unhappy incidents

have taken place!" In this way both Krsna and Balarama, along with

Satyabhama, the wife of Krsna, immediately returned to Dvaraka and

began to make plans to kill Satadhanva and take away the jewel.

Although he was a great outlaw in the city, Satadhanva was still

very much afraid of Krsna's power, and thus he became most afraid on

Krsna's arrival.

 

Understanding Krsna's plan to kill him, he immediately went to take

shelter of Krtavarma. But on being approached by him, Krtavarma

said, "I shall never be able to offend Lord Krsna and Balarama

because They are not ordinary persons. They are the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. Who can be saved from death if he has

offended Balarama and Krsna? No one can be saved from Their wrath."

Krtavarma further said that Kamsa, although powerful and assisted by

many demons, could not be saved from the wrath of Krsna, and what to

speak of Jarasandha, who had been defeated by Krsna eighteen times

and each time had to return from the fighting in disappointment.

 

When Satadhanva was refused help by Krtavarma he went to Akrura and

implored him to help. Akrura also replied, "Both Balarama and Krsna

are Themselves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and anyone who

knows Their unlimited strength would never dare to offend Them or

fight with Them." He further informed Satadhanva, "Krsna and

Balarama are so powerful that simply by willing They are creating

the whole cosmic manifestation, maintaining it and dissolving it.

Unfortunately, persons who are bewildered by the illusory energy

cannot understand the strength of Krsna, although the whole cosmic

manifestation is fully under His control." He cited, as an example,

that Krsna, even at the age of seven years, had lifted Govardhana

Hill and had continued to hold up the mountain for seven days,

exactly as a child carries a small umbrella. Akrura plainly informed

Satadhanva that he would always offer his most respectful obeisances

to Krsna, the Supersoul of everything that is created and the

original cause of all causes. When Akrura also refused to give him

shelter, Satadhanva decided to deliver to the hands of Akrura the

Syamantaka jewel. Then, riding on a horse which could run at great

speed and up to four hundred miles at a stretch, he fled the city.

 

When Krsna and Balarama were informed of the flight of Satadhanva,

They mounted Their chariot, its flag marked by the picture of

Garuda, and followed immediately. Krsna was particularly angry with

Satadhanva and wanted to kill him because he had killed Satrajit, a

superior personality. Satrajit happened to be the father-in-law of

Krsna, and it is the injunction of the sastras that anyone who has

rebelled against a superior person, or guru-druha, must be punished

in proportion to the volume of offense. Because Satadhanva had

killed His father-in-law, Krsna was determined to kill him by any

means.

 

Satadhanva's horse became exhausted and died near a garden house in

Mithila. Unable to take help of the horse, Satadhanva began to run

with great speed. In order to be fair to Satadhanva, Krsna and

Balarama also left Their chariot and began to follow Satadhanva on

foot. While both Satadhanva and Krsna were running on foot, Krsna

took His disc and cut off the head of Satadhanva. After Satadhanva

was killed, Krsna searched through his clothing for the Syamantaka

jewel, but He could not find it. He then returned to Balarama and

said, "We have killed this person uselessly because the jewel is not

to be found on his body." Sri Balarama suggested, "The jewel might

have been kept in custody of another man in Dvaraka, so You'd better

return and search it out." Sri Balarama expressed His desire to

remain in Mithila City for some days because He enjoyed an intimate

friendship with the King. Therefore, Krsna returned to Dvaraka, and

Balarama entered the city of Mithila.

 

When the King of Mithila saw the arrival of Sri Balarama in his

city, he became most pleased and received the Lord with great honor

and hospitality. He presented many valuable presents to Balaramaji

in order to seek His pleasure. At this time Sri Balarama lived in

the city for several years as the honored guest of the King of

Mithila, Janaka Maharaja. During this time, Duryodhana, the eldest

son of Dhrtarastra, took the opportunity of coming to Balarama and

learning from Him the art of fighting with a club.

 

After killing Satadhanva, Krsna returned to Dvaraka, and in order to

please His wife Satyabhama, He informed her of the death of

Satadhanva, the killer of her father. But He also informed her that

the jewel had not been found in his possession. Then, according to

religious principles, Krsna, along with Satyabhama, performed all

kinds of ceremonies in honor of the death of His father-in-law. In

that ceremony all the friends and relatives of the family joined

together.

 

Akrura and Krtavarma, who were prominent members in the conspiracy

to kill Satrajit, had incited Satadhanva to kill him, but when they

heard of the death of Satadhanva at Krsna's hand, and when they

heard also that Krsna had returned to Dvaraka, they both immediately

left Dvaraka. The citizens of Dvaraka felt themselves threatened

with pestilence and natural disturbances due to the absence of

Akrura from the city. This was a kind of superstition because while

Lord Krsna was present there could not be any pestilence, famine or

natural disturbances. But in the absence of Akrura there were some

disturbances in Dvaraka. Once in the province of Kasi within the

barricade of Varanasi there was severe drought and practically no

rainfall. At that time the King of Kasi arranged the marriage of his

daughter, known as Gandini, with Svaphalka, the father of Akrura.

This was done by the King of Kasi on the advice of an astrologer,

and actually it so happened that after the marriage of the King's

daughter with Svaphalka there was sufficient rainfall in the

province. Due to this supernatural power of Svaphalka, his son

Akrura was also considered equally powerful, and people were under

the impression that wherever Akrura or his father remained, there

would be no natural disturbance, famine or drought. That kingdom is

considered to be happy where there is no famine, pestilence or

excessive heat and cold and where people are happy mentally,

spiritually and bodily. As soon as there is some disturbance, people

consider the cause to be due to the absence of an auspicious

personality in the city. Thus there was a rumor that because of the

absence of Akrura inauspicious things were happening. After the

departure of Akrura, some of the elderly members of the town began

to perceive that there were also inauspicious signs due to the

absence of the Syamantaka jewel. When Lord Sri Krsna heard these

rumors spread by the people He decided to summon Akrura from the

kingdom of Kasi. Akrura was Krsna's uncle; therefore, when he came

back to Dvaraka Lord Krsna first of all welcomed him as befitting a

superior person. Krsna is the Supersoul in everyone's heart; He

knows everything going on in everyone's heart. He knew everything

that had happened in connection with Akrura's conspiracy with

Satadhanva. Therefore, He smilingly began to address Akrura.

 

Addressing him as the chief among magnificent men, Krsna said, "My

dear uncle, it is already known to Me that the Syamantaka jewel was

left by Satadhanva with you. Presently there is no direct claimant

of the Syamantaka jewel, for King Satrajit has no male issue. His

daughter Satyabhama is not very anxious for this jewel, yet her

expected son, as grandson of Satrajit, would, after performing the

regulative principles of inheritance, be the legal claimant of the

jewel." Lord Krsna indicated by this statement that Satyabhama was

already pregnant and that her son would be the real claimant for the

jewel and would certainly take the jewel from him.

 

Krsna continued, "This jewel is so powerful that no ordinary man is

able to keep it. I know that you are very pious in activities, so

there is no objection to the jewel being kept with you. There is one

difficulty, and that is that My elder brother, Sri Balarama, does

not believe My version that the jewel is with you. I therefore

request you, O large-hearted one, to show Me the jewel before My

other relatives so that they may be pacified. You cannot deny that

the jewel is with you because from various kinds of rumors we can

understand that you have enhanced your opulence and are performing

sacrifices on an altar made of solid gold." The properties of the

jewel were known: wherever the jewel remained, it would produce for

the keeper almost nine mounds of pure gold daily. Akrura was getting

gold in that proportion and was distributing it very profusely at

sacrificial performances. Lord Krsna cited Akrura's lavishly

spending in gold as positive evidence of his possessing the

Syamantaka jewel.

 

When Lord Krsna, in friendly terms and in sweet language, impressed

Akrura about the real fact and Akrura understood that nothing could

be concealed from the knowledge of Sri Krsna, he brought the

valuable jewel, shining like the sun and covered by cloth, and

presented it before Krsna. Lord Krsna took the Syamantaka jewel in

His hand and showed it to all His relatives and friends present

there and then again returned the jewel to Akrura in their presence

so that they would know that the jewel was actually being kept by

Akrura in Dvaraka City.

 

This story of the Syamantaka jewel is very significant. In the

Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said that anyone who hears the story of the

Syamantaka jewel or describes it or simply remembers it will be free

from all kinds of defamation and the reactions of all impious

activities and thus will attain the highest perfectional condition

of peace.

 

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifty-seventh Chapter of

Krsna, "The Killing of Satrajit and Satadhanva."