This is part 5 of 6 of the titled post. The introduction
to this entire set is at Vishnu Puranam Full Audio 1 of 6 which needs to be read in order to use this part;
all the instructions are to be found there. Downloading instructions are there
also.
And Now the Continuation
of the Audio of Sri Vishnu Puranam:
Book
5 Ch 1: 86 Verses: 12 minutes 47 seconds: Size: 12 MB
Brief:
Maitreya asks Parashara to now explain in detail the avatara of Krishna. In
reply, Parashara states that Kamsa of the Bhoja race was driving the chariot of
Vasudeva and Devaki, he heard a voice from the sky that stated that the eighth
child of Devaki would kill him; at this Kamsa was about to kill Devaki, to
which Vasudeva restrained Kamsa and said that he would instead deliver every
child of Devaki to Kamsa. Kamsa agreed. At about the same time, the Devas went
to Brahma with the complaints that Prthvi ( the Mother Earth ) had made to them
about the excessive burdens She was carrying due to the demons. Brahma delivers
a phenomenal hymn ( verses 34 – 50 ) of praise to Sri Vishnu, who
confirms that He would be born as the eighth child of Devaki and destroy the
demons and thereby reduce the load on Prthvi. After 6 children born of Devaki
are killed, ( who were all the essence of the demon Hiranyakashipu ), the
seventh child is transferred from the womb of Devaki to that of Rohini, who was
another wife of Vasudeva with the reporting that Devaki had a miscarriage of
the seventh child due to the stress of children being killed by Kamsa. This
seventh child that grew in the womb of Rohini was Balarama. Krishna then takes
birth in the womb of Devaki as her eighth child; simultaneously Yoganidra the
Great Goddess enters the womb of Yashoda. Upon birth, Krishna is transferred to
Yashoda’s bed and the Great Goddess Yoganidra is transferred to Devaki’s bed.
Kamsa thus thinks that the eighth child of Devaki is a baby girl and tries to
slash the little baby girl on to a stone and at that point the baby girl slips
from his hand and onto the sky where Indra does homage to Yoganidra with
reverence and addresses Her by many names such as Aryaa, Durga, Ambikaa,
Kshemankari, etc. Meanwhile, Krishna safely grows in the family of Yashoda, and
eventually will kill Kamsa.
Book 5 Ch 2: 21 Verses: 3 minutes 16 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief: As commanded by Sri Vishnu, six embryos were planted
into Devaki’s womb by Goddess Jagadhdhaatri, the nurse of the universe and the
seventh was transferred to the womb of Rohini. Yoganidra entered the womb of
Yashoda and Sri Krshna into the womb of Devaki. Phenomenal hymn of praise to
Sri Devaki by all the Devatas ! (verse 7 to 21).
Book
5 Ch 3: 29 Verses: 4 minutes 12 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief:
Devaki delivers the baby Sri Krishna and both Vasudeva and Devaki sing in
praise of Krishna. Then Vasudeva carries Krishna over to Yashoda and takes the
female child of Yashoda over to Devaki’s quarters. Kamsa takes the girl child
next to Devaki’s bed thinking that She was the eighth child and hurls on to a
stone. The baby girl slips from Kamsa’s hand and laughs saying the one who will
slay him is already born and she goes over to the heavens.
Book 5 Ch 4: 17 Verses: 2 minutes 37 seconds: Size: 2 MB
Brief: Kamsa summons the asuras Pralambha, Keshin, Dhenuka,
Pootanaa, etc and tells them to be brave in attacking all the Brahmanas that
offer sacrifices with which the Gods subsist; and then go and kill every young
boy in the kingdom that shows unusual prowess and strength. He then releases
Devaki and Vasudeva saying he was sorry for killing their previously born
children for the one who is to kill Kamsa is still alive.
Book
5 Ch 5: 23 Verses: 3 minutes 19 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief:
Story of the killing of Pootana by the child Sri Krishna. Nanda the husband of
Yashoda recites a phenomenal song to put little Sri Krishna to bed at night. This song starts at verse 14 and ends at
verse 23 and can be used to put all little children to bed at night.
Book 5 Ch 6: 52 Verses: 6 minutes 48 seconds: Size: 6 MB
Brief: Story of the child Sri Krishna overturning a heavy
cart. Yashoda ties Krishna to a mortar with a rope ( hence the name
Dhaamodharaa – Dhaamaa means rope, Udharaa means belly ); Krishna moves along
with the mortar which gets caught between two trees and as He pulls it, brings
down the trunks of the trees. Nanda wants to move away from Vraja since too
many unnatural events were being witnessed and all of the cowherd families move
to Vrindaavan.
Book
5 Ch 7: 81 Verses: 11 minutes 16 seconds: Size: 10 MB
Brief:
Sri Krishna observes Kaliya, the massive serpent spewing poison on the Yamuna
River, preventing people and animals from quenching their thirst. He jumps into
the River and attacks the serpent. All the Gopikas and citizens of the
community are scared for Krishna’s life, including Balarama who petitions
Krishna not to indulge in such dangerous activity. Krishna continues and
finally Kaliya spews blood. The many wives of Kaliya worship and plead Krishna
to spare the life of their husband. Finally Kaliya hymns to Krishna and says
that being savage is the nature of a serpent; and if he were to stop being
savage then it means he is violating his own dharma; he says even punishment by
Krishna is welcome to him for He is his Creator and asks Him what to do. To
that Sri Krishna replies that he needs to repair to the ocean and there even
Garuda ( the Divine Eagle , the enemy of serpents ) will not harm him when
Garuda sees the footprints of Krishna on the head of Kaliya. Then Kaliya with
his many wives goes away to the ocean. This
is a very powerful chapter with beautiful wording in the lyrics.
Book 5 Ch 8: 13 Verses: 1 minute 58 seconds: Size: 2 MB
Brief: Brief story of the killing of the demon Dhenukasura
who is the form of a donkey.
Book
5 Ch 9: 38 Verses: 5 minutes 36 seconds: Size: 5 MB
Brief:
Story of the killing of Pralambasura by Balarama. Once Pralambasura decides to
attack the cowherds by camouflaging himself as one of them; they play a game
wherein the loser has to carry the winner on his shoulder; Pralambasura
disguised as one of the cowherds, matches up with Balarama and intentionally
loses; so he carries Balarama on his shoulder; once on, Pralambasura runs away
in high speed thereby kidnapping Balarama who screams for help; Krishna reminds
Balarama of His Divine Nature and Strength. Balarama then kills Pralambasura
and the cowherds are all happy.
Book 5 Ch 10: 49 Verses: 6 minutes 54 seconds: Size: 6 MB
Brief: Once during the scorching summer, when the lakes had
receded and animals were getting famished, the cowherds led by Nanda were
preparing for a massive sacrifice ( Yagna ) for Indra. Sri Krishna decided to
control the ego of Indra and gave a speech to Nanda explaining that one must
worship one’s profession and since the Gods of the cowherds were cattle and the
mountains, they should be performing the sacrifice ( Yagna ) to the cattle and
the mountains and feed Brahmanas. Nanda agreed to this suggestion and accordingly
the Yagna was conducted for the Govardhana Mountain and to the cattle.
Book
5 Ch 11: 25 Verses: 3 minutes 37 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief:
Indra gets angry because of being denied the offerings of the Yagna that was
offered to the Govardhana Mountain and orders the clouds to pour incessant rain
on the cattle, who were attacked thus by torrential rain and heavy winds.
Krishna then picks up the entire Govardhana Mountain and asks the cowherds to
bring their cattle and all to take refuge under the cover of the Mountain.
Indra’s plan was thus foiled and the clouds were ordered to stop the rain and
Krishna put back the Mountain into the former state after the cows and cowherds
had safely been taken care of.
Book 5 Ch 12: 26 Verses: 3 minutes 35 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief: Having been subdued, Indra visits Sri Krishna and
offers His homage and after performing Abhishekam to Sri Krishna, Indra tells
Him that a portion of Him (Indra) is going to be born as Arjuna and requests
that Sri Krishna offer His protection to Arjuna; Sri Krishna agrees.
Book
5 Ch 13: 61 Verses: 8 minutes 13 seconds: Size: 8 MB
Brief:
The cowherds gather and thank Sri Krishna for protecting them from all of the
difficulties they faced. The Gopikas (cowherdesses) then join and dance with
intense devotion to Sri Krishna in what is commonly called Raasa Leelaa.
Book 5 Ch 14: 13 Verses: 2 minutes 11 seconds: Size: 2 MB
Brief: Brief story of the killing of Vrshabhaasura, the
demon disguised as a bull. Audio error in verse 1 - should be Raasa not Rasaa.
Book
5 Ch 15: 24 Verses: 3 minutes 31 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief:
Sage Narada goes to Kamsa and tells him of the destruction of tha asuras
Dhenuka, Pralambha, Pootana, the serpent Kaaliyaa, the lifting of the Mountain
Govardhana by Sri Krishna and Sri Balarama. Kamsa gets angry and decides to
send Akrura, the son of Svaphaalkaa to Gokula to bring Krishna and Balarama for
a boxing match with his chief boxers Chaanuuraa and Mushtikaa and plans to have
Krishna and Balarama killed in the match and if they survive, he planned to
kill them both using his elephant Kuvalayapaadaa.
Book 5 Ch 16: 28 Verses: 3 minutes 53 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief: Brief description of the destruction of the demon
Keshin.
Book
5 Ch 17: 34 Verses: 5 minutes 7 seconds: Size: 5 MB
Brief:
In continuation of Chapter 15 above, Akrura sets off to see Sri Krishna. Along
the way, he gets excited to see the Divine Krishna and is mentally full of
praise for the pious Sri Krishna.
Book 5 Ch 18: 58 Verses: 8 minutes 5 seconds: Size: 7 MB
Brief: Akrura meeta Sri Krishna and Balarama and explains
the purpose of his visit. Krishna tells him He was aware of all that and that
within three days, He will kill Kamsa. Meanwhile the Gopikas feel sad that Krishna
would be leaving them to go to Mathura to fight Kamsa and feel that the women
of the city of Mathura might enchant Him with their beauty; so they get angry
with Akrura for taking Krishna away from them. Along the way Akrura sings hymns
in praise of Krishna and Balarama. This
is a very moving Chapter.
Book
5 Ch 19: 28 Verses: 4 minutes 21 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief:
Detailed description of the travel of Krishna and Balarama along with Akrura to
Mathura to face off Kamsa. Along the way They meet flower sellers, clothes
sellers, etc.
Book 5 Ch 20: 91 Verses: 12 minutes 24 seconds: Size: 11 MB
Brief: Krishna and Balarama meet along the way a humped back
woman selling perfumes, whose crooked back deformity disappears as soon as she
offers Them perfumes. Thus dressed in blue and yellow garments, Krishna and Balarama
enter the hall and immediately snap a bow into two pieces. Hearing of the
arrival of the Two, Kamsa orders the boxers Chaanuuraa and Mushtikaa to kill
the Two Youths by fair OR unfair means; and orders the elephant driver to run
over Them with the elephant Kuvalayapaadaa. In the hall, the citizens oppressed
by Kamsa were all worried about the safety of Krisna and Balarama and grew anxious.
Krishna and Balarama destroyed and killed Kuvalayapaadaa, Chaanuura, Mushtikaa,
another demon Tomalakaa and eventually decimated Kamsa. Vasudeva then offers
praise to Krishna and Balarama. Audio error in verse 72: should be Utpatyaa not Utpaatyaa.
Book
5 Ch 21: 31 Verses: 4 minutes 44 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief:
Having killed Kamsa, Krishna removed Ugrasena from confinement and made him the
King. Then like ordinary mortals, Krishna and Balarama went to study under the
guidance of Maharishi Sandipani. Maharishi Sandipani found Both of Them to have
supernatural intellect; upon completion of their studies, They asked their
teacher what should be given as the fees; knowing that They were Both NOT
ordinary mortals, Maharishi Sandipani asks for the return of His dead son.
Krishna and Balarama find that the son was in the possession of demon
Paanchajanaa; They kill Paanchajanaa and restore him to their father. ( Maharishi Sandipani’s Ashram where Sri
Krishna and Balarama studied is in the township of Ujjain on the outskirts of
Indore, Madhya Pradesh in India and one can visit the place and observe
tremendous peace and sanctity there ).
Book 5 Ch 22: 18 Verses: 2 minutes 58 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief: Jarasandhaa, the King of Magadhaa had two
daughters Asti and Praapti, who were
Kamsa’s wives. Having heard that Krishna had killed his son-in-law, Jarasandhaa
decides to wage war with Krishna and Balarama. He conducts war eighteen times
and is eventually destroyed. Audio error in verse 5: should be Mathimuththamaam not Munimuththamaam.
Book
5 Ch 23: 45 Verses: 6 minutes 52 seconds: Size: 6 MB
Brief:
Shyaala calls Gargya impotent in an assembly of Yadavas; the latter gets angry,
performs an arduous penance for twelve years to Mahadeva in order to obtain a
son who would become a terror to the Yadavas. He then gets a son dark as a bee
through his wife and names him Kaalayavana; he then places the son on the
throne and retires to the forests. Kaalayavana asks Sage Narada as to who are
the most invincible at that time and Narada points to the Yadavas and
Kaalayavana sets out to attack them. Meanwhile, Krishna feels that if the Yadavas fight with Kaalayavana, they may get so exhausted that the King of Magadha could then overpower them and so they were in a position of double danger; so He builds them a strong city called Dwaraka and
waited at its entrance for Kaalayavana. When the latter arrived, Krishna
decided to escape; Kaalayavana pursued Krishna, who entered Muchukundaa’s cave
and hid there. When Kaalayavana entered the cave, he found a sleeping yogi
(Muchukundaa) and kicked him. The latter was woken up and stared at Kaalayavana
which reduced him to ashes, because upon helping the Devas win the asuras in an
earlier battle, Muchukunda was blessed with a long period of rest with the
associated boon that he who would wake him up would be reduced to ashes. After
burning Kaalayavana, when Muchukunda beheld Krishna, he asked about who He was.
To which Krishna explained his origin and Muchukunda started singing hymns in
praise of Krishna.
Book 5 Ch 24: 21 Verses: 3 minutes 34 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief: Hearing the praise of Muchukunda, Sri Krishna tells
him to go enjoy the heavens and when his merits have been used up, he would be
born in a distinguished family and eventually attain salvation. Having
conquered Jarasandha and Kuvalayavana, Krishna takes their armies, horses and
elephants and gives them to Ugrasena, thereby protecting the Yadavas from
further invasion. Balarama wants to visit his kinsmen and goes to Nanda’s
cowpens, where the Gopikas are still in thoughts of Krishna and ask Balarama if
Krishna has forgotten them; Balarama consoles them and gives them the gentle
and affectionate messages from Krishna to them and they get happy!
Book
5 Ch 25: 19 Verses: 3 minutes 7 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief:
Having succeeded along with Krishna in destroying the asuras , Balarama relaxes
by having intoxicating liquor provided by Vaarunee the wife of Varunaa. He then
takes a bath in the Yamuna River and then returns to Dwaraka, where He married
Revati, the daughter of the King Revata.
Book 5 Ch 26: 15 Verses: 2 minutes 30 seconds: Size: 2 MB
Brief: Bhishmaka, the King of Vidharbha, had a son named
Rukmin and a daughter named Rukmini. Krishna fell in love with Rukmini. But
Bhishmaka alongwith King Jarasandha, with the approval of the Rukmin, the
former’s son decided NOT to give Rukmini in marriage to Krishna, but rather to
the prince Sishupaalaa. On the eve of the nuptials ceremony, Krishna decided to
carry off the bride Rukmini. A fierce battle ensued and Rukmin was almost going
to get killed by Krishna and Rukmini came to his rescue and pleaded with
Krishna to spare the life of his brother. Krishna caved to Rukmini’s request
but then formally wedded Rukmini and the latter bore Pradyumnaa, a portion of
Vishnu. Pradyumnaa was carried away by the demon Sambara who was subsequently
killed by the former.
Book
5 Ch 27: 31 Verses: 4 minutes 53 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief:
This is a phenomenal chapter for those
aspirants that follow Puranas.
Maitreya
asks ParaShara to explain the details of Pradymnaa killing Sambara, to which
Sage ParaShara details as follows. When Pradyumnaa was born to Rukmini and was
only six days old, Sambara kidnapped Him, knowing that if left alive,
Pradyumnaa would kill Sambara. Taking away the little child, Sambara threw Him
into the ocean where a big fish swallowed the child but did not kill. Fishermen
that caught the fish gave to Mayavati, who was the wife of Samabara and in
charge of the kitchen. When the fish was cut open a beautiful child was found.
She became curious and at that point Sage Narada told Mayavati that the child
was a portion of Vishnu and that she should bring Him up with tender loving
care. Observing such tender care, Pradyumnaa, the son of Krishna and Rukmini,
asked Mayavati as to why she was loving Him more than a mother would. To that
Mayavati said that she was not His real mother but that Sambara had thrown Him
into the ocean where a fish swallowed Him and she is taking care because His
real mother might be weeping still.
Pradymnaa
was filled with anger and decided to kill Sambara. They both took on illusory
forms in the battle and eventually Pradyumnaa, the master of illusion, killed
Sambara. With the same illusory powers, He returned to His Father’s (Krishna’s)
house along with Mayavati. The women in the house thought Pradyumna was
Krishna Himself. ( because of His handsomeness ). Rukmini beheld Pradyumnaa and
wept saying “Who is Your Mother? My Son would have been of the same age as
You!” At this point, Krishna arrived with Narada and told Rukmini: “This is
Pradyumnaa, your own Son. And this virtuous girl is Mayavati, his wife and not the wife of Sambara. When
Manmatha, the Deity of Love had perished, His wife Rati wanted to be re-united
with Him. This Pradyumnaa is Manmatha re-incarnated; this Mayavati is Rati
re-incarnated!”. Upon hearing this, Rukmini became happy for recovering Her
Son. And the whole city of Dwaraka celebrated !
Book 5 Ch 28: 28 Verses: 4 minutes 24 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief: Rukmini bore to Krishna several other sons besides
Pradyumnaa. Even though Rukmin, her brother was inimical to Krishna, he agreed
to give his daughter to Pradyumnaa in marriage. They bore the brave prince
Anirudhdhaa. Krishna arranged daughter of Rukmin's son to wed Anirudhdhaa ( Anirudhdhaa who was son of Rukmin's daughter ) . After the wedding, Rukmin decided to get one up on Balarama by
playing a game of dice. Balarama was not an expert at the game and kept losing
initially, but then placed a very large bet; Rukmin decided to throw the dice
and lost. When Balarama claimed the stake, Rukmin refused saying that even
though Balarama won, he (Rukmin) had not formally accepted the bet. A voice in
the sky said “Even though not verbally accepted, Rukmin’s action of throwing
the dice was implied acceptance of the bet and so Rukmin has lost”. Upon
continued reluctance, Balarama killed Rukmin. When Krishna heard of this, He
made no remarks, being caught between Rukmini on one hand and Balarama on the
other. So He simply took the newlyweds and returned to Dwaraka !
Book
5 Ch 29: 35 Verses: 5 minutes 35 seconds: Size: 5 MB
Brief:
Shakraa (Indra) mounted on His celestial elephant Airavata visits Sauree
(Krishna) and tells that while the asuraas Dhenukaa, Chaanuuraa, Mushtikaa,
Keshin, etc have been slain, Narakaa, the son of Prthvi, the Earth, continues
to oppress the Gods, Saints and Kings, taking Their maidens and gems, including
the earrings of Aditi, the Mother of the Devas. Krishna, hearing this
complaint, mounts on Garuda, the Divine Eagle, and flies to Pragjyotisha,
(modern day Assam) and kills Narakaa. Prthvi, the Mother Earth, then addresses
Krishna saying that by His contact as Varaahaa incarnation, Narakaa was born
and has now been killed by Vishnu Himself; and She asks Him to take the
earrings and to protect Narakaa’s progeny. Krishna then takes all of Narakaa’s
elephants, horses, gems,etc including sixteen thousand women who were
imprisoned, and dispatched them all to Dwaraka. ( This episode of the killing of Narakaasuraa is in perfect synchrony
with the description of the same in Kalika Puranam ).
Book 5 Ch 30: 79 Verses: 11 minutes 56 seconds: Size: 11 MB
Brief: Mounted on Garuda, Krishna visits Aditi, the Mother
of the Gods, and returns Her earrings that Narakaasuraa had stolen. Aditi
offers a great hymn of praise to Krishna who was accompanied by His wife
Satyabhaamaa. On Their way back, Satyabhaamaa sees the beautiful Paarijaataa
Tree, the favorite of Sachi, Indra’s consort, and wants Krishna to bring It
down to Dwaraka. Krishna complies, while garden keepers advised Krishna that
this move may not be well received by Sachi. Hearing this, Satyabhaamaa argues
that the Paarijaataa Tree was produced by the churning of the ocean and is the
common property of all and not only that of Sachi and Indra. Sachi does not
agree and a battle ensues between Krishna and Indra. Indra gets defeated and as
He is about to run away, Satyabhaamaa pleads Indra not to retreat, but to take
back the Paarijaataa Tree and said She felt bad for Him. Indra agreed but said
He did not feel bad for it is a grace to be conquered by the Supreme Being
Himself.
Book
5 Ch 31: 18 Verses: 2 minutes 57 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief:
Indra hymns about Krishna and asks Him to decorate Dwaraka with the Paarijaataa
Treee. Krishna then marries the sixteen thousand one hundred women and all were
happy.
Book 5 Ch 32: 24 Verses: 3 minutes 50 seconds: Size: 4 MB
Brief: Pradyumnaa was the son of Rukmini and Krishna.
Pradyumnaa’s son was Aniruddha. Ushaa was the daughter of Banasura who was the son of Bali. Ushaa weds Aniruddhaa who had won Banasura in war. In that
war, a battle took place between Shiva and Krishna. Maitreya asks ParaShara to
expound on this battle between Shiva and Krishna. ParaShara expounded as
follows: (Chapters 32 and 33)
Once Ushaa, the daughter of Banasura, sees Parvati sporting
with Shiva, and thought to herself about her own marriage. Parvati told her
that the prince who comes in her dream on the twelfth day of the bright lunar
fortnight in the month of Vaishaka would become her husband. The dream does
come and Ushaa confides the description of Aniruddhaa to her friend
Chitralekha.
Book
5 Ch 33: 18 Verses: 6 minutes 59 seconds: Size: 6 MB
Brief:
Ushaa’s friend brings Aniruddhaa to Ushaa’s inner apartments; the guards seeing
a stranger, report to Banasura, who subdues Aniruddha and takes him away to
Sonitapura. To retrieve Aniruddhaa, Krishna went on Garuda along with Balarama
and Pradyumnaa to Sonitapura. Along the way, they were intercepted by the Great
Fever, which was an emanation from Rudra, in order to protect Banasura, who was
a devotee of Shiva. In the fierce battle, Kaarthikeya, the Deity of War, assisted
Rudra in protecting Banasura. After a long time, when Krishna was just about to
annihilate Banasura with His discus, the Sudarshana Chakra, Shiva tells Krishna
that Banasura is an ardent devotee of Himself (Shiva) and has been given a boon
(by Shiva) that he will be protected against anyone and so pleads Krishna to
ensure that the promise does not get dissolved. Krishna immediately arrests His
discus, and releases Banasura and retrieves Aniruddhaa and returned with all to
Dwaraka.
Book 5 Ch 34: 44 Verses: 6 minutes 23 seconds: Size: 6 MB
Brief: Once an imposter called Paundraka, in conjunction
with the King of Kaashi, decided to impersonate Krishna and cause havoc in the
kingdom. Krisna annihilates both Paundraka and the King of Kaashi to restore
order and peace.
Book
5 Ch 35: 38 Verses: 6 minutes 16 seconds: Size: 6 MB
Brief:
Maitreya asks ParaShara to expound on some of the exploits of Sri Balarama.
ParaShara starts by telling the incident when Sambha, the son of Jaambhavati,
carried off the daughter of Duryodhanaa, when she was in the process of
selecting a husband. A major battle ensued between Duryodhanaa and the Kauravas
and Balarama. Balarama wins the battle and sets Sambha and his bride free. Error in Audio: verse 2 should be Mahaabhaagha not Mahaabhaatha; verse 31 should be Praakaaravapre not Prakaaravapre.
Book 5 Ch 36: 24 Verses: 3 minutes 21 seconds: Size: 3 MB
Brief: Continuing to expound on the exploits of Balarama,
ParaShara details the encounter of Sri Balarama with Dvividhaa, who was a
friend of Narakaasuraa. Vowing to avenge the killing of Narakaasuraa by
Krishna, Dvividhaa created headaches for the peaceful Saints and religiously
inclined people and farmers. Balarama annihilates him.
Book
5 Ch 37: 69 Verses: 10 minutes 2 seconds: Size: 9 MB
Brief:
This is an involved Chapter.
In
summary, ParaShara states that having relieved Earth of Her burdens, Krishna
finally merged with Vishnu, His Own Self. Maitreya asks ParaShara to expound
how Krishna relinquished His own body. ParaShara explains as follows: At the
holy place of Pindaaraka, Sages such as Vishwamitra, Kanva, etc were seen by
some Yadu youth. Overcome with the strength and stupidity of youthfulness,
these youth decided to dress up Samba, the son of Jaambhavati, as a maiden and
asked the Sages what kind of child will this female give birth to. The Sages, who
knew the mean trick being played by the youth, said “ She will bring forth a
club that will destroy the entire race of the Yadus”. The boys reported this to
the King Ugrasena. As foretold, an iron club was produced from the belly of
Samba, which was thrown into the ocean, which was eaten by a fish and was
recovered by a hunter named Jaraa.
About
the same time, Krishna received a message from the Gods of the Heaven, stating
that over a hundred years have passed since He went to Earth. Several demons
have been slain and it is time He returned to Heaven to keep company to the
Gods, if He didn’t will otherwise. To that Krishna replied that He was well
aware of Their requests, and that He would return to Heaven soon with Balarama,
as soon as the Yadava tribe itself has been cleared out. Krishna then asked the
Yadavas to prepare to move to Prabhaashaa, since evil portents were visible in
Dwaraka. On their way, the Yadavas were getting heavily intoxicated and started
destroying each other mutually. In a brief time, very few Yadavas was left
alive such as Krishna, Balarama and Darukaa, etc.
Soon,
Balarama left His body and moved to the Heavens. The sea flooded the city of
Dwaraka and Sri Krishna went into a meditative state. At that time, the hunter
Jaraa came and mistaking Krishna to be a deer, threw his axe and as Krishna
fell down, Jaraa bowed down and asked for forgiveness saying he did it
unwittingly mistaking for a deer. Krishna told him not to worry and that he
(Jaraa) would reach the heavens. Soon Krishna having united Himself with His
own Pure, Undecaying, Imperishable Spirit, left the physical body. And Kali
Yuga started.
Book 5 Ch 38: 93 Verses: 12 minutes 8 seconds: Size: 11 MB
Brief: This is very
moving Chapter.
Arjuna performed the obsequial rites for Krishna, Balarama
and the slain Yadavas. The wives of Krishna, Balarama, Ugrasena, etc all
committed to the flames. The ocean rose up and consumed all of Dwaraka, leaving
only the temple where Krishna conducted all His activities; ParaShara states
that one who visits that holy place is absolved of all his sins.
Arjuna took all the widows and the rest of the people that
were still alive and left the city of Dwarka to Mathura. On the way they were
overtaken by barbarians and thieves who take all the gems and take away all the
women. Arjuna could not fight the village barbarians and chalked up his
previous successes in battle to the Grace of Krishna. Without Krishna, he was
now rendered powerless even to fight the villagers. In Mathura, Arjuna
encountered Veda Vyasa, the Divine Sage, Who asked him of his dull countenance.
When Arjuna explains the reason of his discomfiture and his inability even to
overcome the villagers, Veda Vyasa gives a phenomenal discourse on the effect
of Time, in Whose Form is the Supreme ParaBrahman Himself.
Veda Vyasa then tells Arjuna in regard to the women that
were taken over by the thieves, the story of Ashtaavakra, an ancient Brahmana,
who was performing penance for years at a stretch standing knee deep in water.
Once beautiful damsels went past him and they praised and hymned the ascetic.
The Sage then asked the damsels what they wanted and they said they wanted a husband who would be the best of men and a
superior Brahmana. Hearing this request, the Sage Ashtaavakra came out of the
waters and said, “You might as well marry me, a superior Brahmana, the best of
men”. The women seeing his body crooked in eight places, laughed and laughed
aloud. The Sage got upset and cursed them saying “Due to my Grace, you will end
up marrying the First among males and then you will fall into the hands of
thieves and eventually you will ascend to the heavens”. Thus the women married
Krishna at first and then fell into the hands of thieves. Error in Audio: verse 73 should be Rambhaa not Sambhaa.
Please proceed to Part 6.
Om Sri Vishnave Namaha !
