Bhagavada Vahini - Chapter 40

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Bhagavada Vahini by Sathya Sai Baba

 

Chapter 40

Serpent Kaliya

 

 

 

The Divine Boy, Gopala, was but God who had taken human form in sheer

sport. He grew up like human children and attained the age of five.

One day - no one can know the significance of His movements - He was

never in the habit of communicating to others, about His sports or

Leelas <http://vahini.org/glossary/l.html#Leela(s)> , either before

or after; one has only to observe and obey; no one can guess their

nature or plumb their meaning whoever he may be, whatever his

attainments - one day, He collected the cattle secretly, so that even

the parents did not know anything about it. Every day, the elder

brother at least would know and he would also accompany, but, that

day, even he was not aware of the goings-on. Krishna got together His

comrades from the cowherd homes, and proceeded with the cattle to the

bank of the Yamuna river. He took them to a deep pool in the river,

which people generally avoided.

 

That pool had a sinister history. Pools such as that one will

naturally be stagnant and slushy, but, this pool was blue in colour

and boiling hot; the water was bubbling ceaselessly emitting steam

into the upper air. A cloud hung over it, in consequence. Whoever

breathed that atmosphere fouled by the fumes breathed his last, to

the consternation and amazement of all. Birds that innocently flew

over that pool were so fatally poisoned that they flapped their wings

violently in despair and rolled down dead into its depths.

 

Every one in Gokul knew all about this mortal trap, this deadly

wonder. They were carefully avoiding approaching it; they warned

their children against it; they vigilantly prevented their cattle

from grazing anywhere near it. Of course, His comrades protested

vehemently and pleaded with Krishna that He should not go near that

pool; they prayed, long and loud; but, it was all in vain. He

asserted that He must go to that very pool; that was His

predetermined destination that day. The boys drew Him

back and did their best to prevent the inevitable 'disaster'. He shook

them off, and, removing His clothes announced, that He would delight

in swimming, inside that poison pool!

 

The boys could not muster enough courage to warn Him aloud against the

terrors of that pool; their mild protestations, He brushed aside.

With a certain perverse Will of His own, He got upon a tree on the

bank and plunged into the horrid pool, by the side of the bank. He

did not come up for a long time. The cowherd boys, for whom Krishna

was the very breath of their lives, were overwhelmed with fear; they

gathered round the pool and started calling Him in unbearable agony,

sobbing and shedding tears of extreme grief.

 

Meanwhile, Gopala appeared above the waters, shaking the pool (as if

an earthquake was rocking it) with the strokes of His swimming.

Suddenly, they saw a huge serpent following Him, spitting poison and

belching fire like a volcano, through its glowing eyes.

 

The boys could not look on, at this dreadful scene, without bawling

out, in uncontrollable anguish, " Krishna! Come on, to the bank, come

this way, come, to this bank. " Krishna swam about, as if He did not

hear their prayers. He was happy in the pool, thrilled with

excitement and joy. At last, the serpent succeeded in pursuing

Krishna round the pool through the high tossing waves. It wound

itself round His body, gradually tightening the grip. Seeing this,

some boys ran as fast as they could to Gokul, and broke the news to

Nanda and Yasoda, the father and the mother of Krishna. They wept

aloud, while telling them what had happened.

 

Immediately, Nanda and Yasoda, with all the Gopas and Gopis, the

entire population of Gokul, ran towards the poison pool, urged on by

fear that some dire calamity was about to over-take Krishna.

Balarama, the elder brother too, was among them. He knew the strength

and skill of Krishna; So, he calmed the anxiety of the parents; he

assured them that no calamity can befall Krishna; He consoled and

conferred confidence in many ways. Within a short time, the bank of

the river was packed thick with people. On all sides, the cry of

despair, " Krishna! Krishna! " was resounding from every throat,

steeped in grief. Many fainted and lost consciousness when they cast

their looks at Krishna and the serpent. Oh, it was indeed a heart-

rending sight!

 

Many Gopis could not bear to see Krishna caught in the coils of that

mighty monster, dragged down the blood-red waters one moment, pulling

Himself up the next, struggling valiantly with the serpent which was

emitting fiery sparks of poison. Yasoda and many Gopis swooned and

fell on the sands. They were nursed by others back into

consciousness; when they came to, they wept plaintively and called

out the name of their beloved Krishna. " My dear child, where was this

horrible serpent hiding all this while? Why did it emerge now? "

lamented Yasoda, in despair.

 

A few of His comrades sobbed, " Cannot the serpent strike its fangs on

us, instead of wounding Krishna? Can it not release Gopala

<http://vahini.org/glossary/g.html#Gopala> ? " Some cowherd maidens,

prepared themselves to plunge into the pool so that the serpents may

give up Krishna and attack them, instead. " We shall give up our lives,

so that Krishna may be saved " , they declared. But, Balarama stood in

their way; he assured them that Krishna will come out unscathed, that

no harm can approach him; he called out to Krishna to come to them

soon, after triumphing over the monster.

 

Many Gopis prayed ardently for victory to Krishna, for, " The safety of

Krishna is the safety of the worlds. Our Krishna is the sole Sovereign

of all the Worlds. Therefore, may Krishna be released quickly, from

the stranglehold of the serpent " . Their prayers were addressed to the

very Krishna whom they wished to save, by means of the prayer! They

opened their eyes, even while praying, to find out whether He had

released Himself already. The huge gathering on the river-bank was

awaiting, with eyes that did not even wink, the release of Krishna,

that may happen any moment; They were overpowered by fear and

anxiety, hope and faith.

 

At that moment, 0, how can I contemplate and describe that scene, to

you, King? " - Suka could not proceed, He could not suppress the flow

of Ananda <http://vahini.org/glossary/a.html#Ananda> , grief, wonder

and adoration that rose from his heart. He was so overcome that he

covered his face behind his clasped palms in a vain effort to

suppress his tears.

 

Parikshith saw this and he exclaimed, " Master! Master! What wonder is

this? What happened later? What calamity intervened that you are

grieving thus? Please tell me quick. "

 

Suka recovered his composure, wiping the flow of tears with the end of

his ochre robe. He said, " Maharaja! No calamity took place, yet, this

wonder happened. Krishna grew so fast, so big and so tall every moment

that the serpent had to uncoil from around Him, ring by ring. When the

Gopas and Gopis saw the little child growing before their very eyes,

they were struck with amazement and joy. At last, the serpent had to

release its hold. It was too exhausted to do any harm; still, its

anger was unabated; so, it vomited poison into the waters and the

air. It lifted its hoods every few moments, and fixed its glare on

Krishna as if its desire to finish Him was still unquenched.

 

Meanwhile, Krishna caught it by its tail, and whirled the serpent

pretty fast; He beat the surface of the water with its body. This

forced the serpent to hang down its heads, but, with great effort it

struggled to keep them erect over the waters. Then, Krishna jumped

upon it and holding the tail in one hand, He decided to dance upon

the line of hoods! The serpent could not beat the weight of the Lord,

stepping merrily from hood to hood; it was bleeding profusely from

nose and mouth; it whined piteously through pain and shame. It could

scarcely breathe. It was about to die.

 

Seeing this, the people who were gathered on the bank shouted, in

their joy and confidence, " Krishna! Come over to the bank, now. You

have saved us all from this monster. The crisis is over. You have won

the victory; our prayers have been answered. We have won the fruit of

our good deeds. " While the cowherds were thus exulting over the

amazing turn of events, the serpentesses, who were the consorts of

the monster, rose from the depths of the pool, sobbing aloud, and in

great anguish. They fell at the feet of Krishna and prayed, " Lord!

You have incarnated with the avowed object of punishing the wicked

and the vicious; so, your trampling on this monster and curbing his

pride is right and proper. It is but just. You have merely carried

out Your Task and Mission. But, however cruel our husband was, we are

sure that his nature has been transformed when Your Feet were planted

on his heads. Pardon him, O Lord and give us back our husband, with

your gracious blessings. Save him and bless him that he no longer

cause any living thing any harm. "

 

The Lord condescended to grant their prayers. He pardoned the monster,

Kaliya. He released him, with the admonition: " Henceforth, do not

inflict injury on any one, without provocation, be Sathwic

<http://vahini.org/glossary/s.html#Sathwic> in nature. I bless you

that no one will harm you and provoke you into vengeance. You carry

on your heads My Footprints and so, even your natural enemy the

Garuda eagle, will not harm you any more. Go and live in peace. "