Srihari Narayana

Maharishi Śuka continued,

“When Śrikrishna emerged safely from the pond, all the residents of Brindavan felt as if life was re-infused back into them. In great elation they went forward and lovingly embraced Him. Together with their wives, the learned Brahmins who were adept in the Vedic-knowledge, approached Nanda and said,

“Your son narrowly escaped from the clutches of the dreaded serpent Kaliya. This undoubtedly is an auspicious occasion. It would be advisable for you to give away charities to celebrate his safe return”. Nanda joyously gifted away cows and gold to Brahmins. Yashoda, the chaste woman, considered herself truly fortunate that her son, who was caught in the jaws of death, had returned safely to her”.

All along she had been fretting that the serpent will kill her son.

“Upon seeing her son freed from the jaws of death, Yashoda embraced him, placed him on her lap and shed uncontrollable, profuse tears while embracing him again and again. By then, the inhabitants of Brindavan who were fatigued, experienced weakness due to hunger and thirst. Even the cattle were exhausted. Drained of energy to travel back to the hamlet, all of them spent that night by the banks of Kalindi. Since morning they had not eaten a morsel”.

Seeing Krishna in the clutches of the serpent, they had turned numb and had remained like statues till his safe return.

“On that summer night, as they were resting near the Kalindi pond, suddenly a great fire broke out in the forests and quickly enveloped the people from all sides”.

During summers, when the trees touch one another, the resultant friction leads to sudden fire.

“The inhabitants of Gokula, who were rudely awakened by the forest fire, which was burning them from all directions, sought shelter in Śrikrishna, who is none other than the Supreme Lord and who, using His illusionary energy has taken on a human form.

Kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahā-bhaga he rāmāmita-vikrama

Eṣa ghoratamo vahnis tāvakān grasate hi naḥ

O Krishna! Krishna! O Balarama! You both possess immeasurable might. This fire is shortly going to devour us, your dearest relatives. O Lord, it is impossible to exit from this fire, which has arrived here in the form of our death. Please rescue us O Lord from this devastating fire. We are your relatives and friends. We will always hold on to Your feet. Those who seek refuge in Your feet never have any fear.

In this way, the inhabitants of Brindavan sought shelter under Śrikrishna and Balarama. Śrikrishna, the Lord of all the universes, who possess infinite energies and who in reality exists beyond time, observed the thousands of people who were extremely agitated. Unable to bear the scorching heat, all of them were crying pitiably. Krishna, who observed them suffering, suddenly gulped down this fearful fire!”

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

Tenth Canto Chapter Eighteen

In this chapter, the Lord slays demon Pralamba.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “In great joy, all the residents of Brindavan, who were thus rescued from the forest fire, surrounded Śrikrishna. They began to sing songs and extoll Him. Surrounded by them all, Krishna entered Brindavan. The herds of cows were the ornaments that beautified the place.

Balarama and Krishna, using their illusionary energies had come in the guise of cowherd boys and were sporting in this place. Days went by and once again it was summer, the season that is not greatly enjoyed by people. Yet, to the people of Brindavan, due to the specialities of that place this period was as pleasant as spring. What were these specialities? The Supreme Lord Srihari, along with Balarama was living in Brindavan. Due to their presence, Brindavan experienced a pleasant weather even during peak summers.

During summer, the sound of the cascading waterfalls drowned the harsh sounds of the crickets. Due to constant spraying of the water from these cascading waterfalls, all the trees in Brindavan were eternally wet. The presence of the tall grasses and the thickets enlivened Brindavan and rendered them ever-green.

Early morning, beautiful fragrant flowers bloomed in the many ponds there. During afternoons, these ponds were filled with lovely lotuses and during nights, night-lilies decorated the ponds. The wind that blew on these flowers carried with it their pollen. The cool breeze that blew across the ponds, rivers and rivulets that flowed through Brindavan, ensured that the people did not experience the scorching summer heat. The heatwaves in summers cause fire to melt and lead towards devastating forest fires. Brindavan did not experience such terrible weather conditions.

Deep rivers gushed through Brindavan. The waves from these rivers continuously beat the banks of rivers ensuring that the sandy banks as well as the mud were kept moist. The moistened earth was overflowing with green grasses, due to which, the poisonous rays of the scorching summer Sun, which although was intense, failed to dry up the moisture from the Earth. All this ensured that the place remained cool during summers.

The forests adjoining the hamlet shone brightly with all their flowers. Throughout the year, Brindavan and Gokula experienced such pleasant weather. The loud chirps of the birds and cries of the animals filled the place. Peacocks were singing while bees were humming melodiously. Cuckoos were cooing while cranes cackled everywhere.

Desiring to leisurely wander through that forest, Śrikrishna, who was accompanied by brother Balarama and other cowherd boys, entered it while playing various musical notes on his flute”.

Krishna Krishna