Narayana

The Yakshas who were freed from their curse continued to glorify Krishna,

“Namaḥ parama-kalyāṇa namaḥ parama-maṅgala

Vāsudevāya śāntāya yadūnāṁ pataye namaḥ

O Srikrishna! All the varied methods that grant ultimate auspiciousness and even ultimate liberation are nothing but Your manifestations. You, the son of Vasudeva, are an embodiment of peace. To You, the leader of the Yadavas, we offer many respectful obeisances.

O infinite Lord! We are the servants of Maharishi Nārada, who is Your fervent follower. The grace of Maharishi Nārada alone has bestowed us with this opportunity to have Your divine darshan. O Lord, kindly permit us to leave.

O Lord, may our speech be eternally engaged in singing Your glories; may our ears be eternally engrossed in listening to Your transcendental glories; may our hands be eternally occupied in worshipping You; may our mind be eternally absorbed in meditating upon Your lotus feet; may our heads eternally offer obeisance to this world created by You; may our eyes be engaged in seeing noble saints, who are Your forms. O Lord, kindly bless us to remain thus!”

This is how a true devotee prays- O Lord, may every limb in this body think of You alone. May the food I eat be an offering to You. May my sleep be considered as prostration to You. May every step I take be circumambulation to You. My body, mind, senses, intellect and every other limb should eternally be engaged in thinking of You. Barring this there should be no thought. Please bless me with such devotion.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “In this way, the Yakshas wonderfully glorified the Supreme Lord, the Lord of everyone, who was still tied to the stone mortar. He laughingly addressed them saying,

“Arrogance due to opulence destroyed your wisdom and intelligence. Your pride in your handsomeness also added to it. At such juncture, the ever-compassionate Maharishi Nārada, blessed you both by throwing you away from your divine status in heaven and reducing you to the state of trees. I was aware of all these happenings right from the beginning.

Just as darkness is dispelled immediately upon Sunrise, just as illumination becomes visible upon opening the eyes, merely with the darshan of noble saints who accept dualities with feelings of equal-mindedness, the ignorant human being is released from this repeated cycle of re-births (samsāra). His bondages are shred. This is because the minds of such pure saints rests eternally upon Me.

O sons of Kubera! Merely with the darshan of Maharishi Nārada, your bondages were shred. Nevertheless, with the intention that you should be purified completely, you had to go through this experience.

I permit you both to return to your abode. Understanding that I am the Supreme Essence, serve Me. Retain your focus exclusively upon Me. Consecrate Me in your inner mind. The living entity whose devotion towards the Lord intensifies by the day and who is totally freed from all desires no longer has a re-birth. I bless you with such supreme selfless devotion”- said Krishna, who was tied to the stone mortar.

The sons of Kubera circumambulated Lord Krishna, offered many obeisances and immediately began to travel in the northern direction to reach their abode.

With this the tenth chapter of the tenth canto comes to an end.

Canto Ten Chapter Eleven

In this chapter, Krishna kills demons Vatsāsura and Bakāsura.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “O most supreme among the Kuru lineage! O Parikshit! Nanda and all other cowherds heard a thunderous crashing sound. Fearing that lightning had struck, they rushed in the direction of the sound”.

In between the time the trees crashed and the cowherds arrived, Krishna had liberated the two Yakshas, who after offering Him prayers had proceeded to their abode.

“The cowherds who arrived there noticed the two huge Arjuna trees that had crashed to the ground. In front of the trees was little Krishna, who was, with full force, dragging the stone mortar as he walked forward.

The Supreme Lord, who had freed two Yakshas from their curse, was now, like a small boy dragging the mortar to which He was tied. The residents of Gokula, who could not understand that Krishna was the cause for the fall of the trees, were grateful that the trees did not crush him. They watched Krishna who was busily dragging his stone chariot”.

He whose chariot is pulled by horses, by Yakshas and by other celestials; He whose chariot dashes amidst the clouds at rapid speeds, was now, like a horse pulling a stone chariot on Earth. Having felled two huge trees, the Lord now resumed his actions like a naughty boy bewildering all the residents of Gokula. They presumed that the trees had accidently fallen exactly around the time he was walking past them. They were thankful that he remained safe. What to say of the Lord’s illusion, which bewilders everyone?