Vamanaya namah

Maharishi Śuka continued, “Trṇāvarta came in the form of a forceful whirlwind and carried into the skies, the infant who was sitting on the floor. Within minutes this whirlwind covered entire Gokula with dust. Due to the intensity of the dust which had risen due to these winds, everyone’s eyes closed. Gokula was completely covered in darkness. A deafening sound, which reverberated in all directions, accompanied the whirlwind filling people with fear”.

When there is an earthquake, it is normal for people to rush outdoors. An important point people should remember is that they should not immediately re-enter the building. This is because many aftershocks follow an earthquake. Even though the building would have withstood the initial earthquake it will be reduced to rubble during the aftershocks. More houses are destroyed as a result of the reverberation created by the earthquake.

Likewise in Gokula, the original deafening sound accompanied by its reverberation caused people to tremble frightfully. Often during thunder, we hear resounds.

“For almost an hour Gokula was enveloped with darkness and dust caused due to the dreadful sand storm. The demon Trṇāvrta ensured that large as well as fine sand and dust particles were blown with force covering the entire hamlet. With sand in their eyes, people felt blinded so much so that they could not see even their own body.

Due to lowered visibility, they could not figure out what was happening around them. Yashoda who did not find her son in the place where she had left him, panicked. She was deeply agitated”.

Such sand storms are common in deserts. Huge winds carry the sand and dust particles from one place and deposit them in other places creating sand dunes.

“The storm created by the demon caused sand particles to rain down. Along with sand particles, pebbles were also being transported from one place to another. Yashoda began to grieve that her son was missing. In that storm she could not call out to anyone for help. She felt helpless. Thinking of her son, she who was grieving profusely, fell unconscious on the floor. Just as a mother cow laments for its dead calf, Yashoda wept piteously”.

A cow laments piteously when its calf is missing. Just take the new-born calf a little distance away from its mother, the mother panics. Our hearts melt seeing her pain.

“A little later the storm subsided. Hearing loud wails from Nanda’s house, Gopikas rushed there. All of them were agitated upon knowing that Nanda’s son was missing. All of them wept for him.

Meanwhile, demon Tṛṇāvarta carried the infant, who was weighing heavier than a mountain, and reached the skies. However as the infant’s weight consistently increased, Tṛṇāvarta’s speed kept reducing. Tṛṇāvarta, the gigantic demon who could carry any heavy object, failed to carry this heavy child. The infant’s weight caused his speeds to reduce significantly. He lost the ability to move forward at rapid speeds.

Tṛṇāvata cast a glance at the infant and admired him. He thought the child was extra-ordinary. He had never ever come across such a wondrous child who was heavier than him!”

Where the object is heavier than him, the person finds it burdensome and manages to carry it only for a limited distance. Only where the object is lesser than him in weight, he can carry it for longer distance.

“Tṛṇāvarta, who could no longer carry this weight, thought, “What a grave mistake I have committed! This is no infant child. It is a huge boulder. No, in fact he is a mountain. Considering it to be an infant I mistakenly carried a mountain”.

Narayanaya namah.