Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
CHAPTER FIFTY
Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort
After his death, Kamsa’s two wives became widows. According to Vedic civilization, a woman is never independent. She has three stages of life: in childhood a woman should live under the protection of her father, a youthful woman should live under the protection of her young husband, and in the event of the death of her husband she should live either under the protection of her grown-up children, or if she has no grown-up children, she must go back to her father and live as a widow under his protection. It appears that Kamsa had no grown-up sons. After becoming widows, his wives returned to the shelter of their father. Kamsa had two queens. One was Asti, and the other Prapti, and both happened to be the daughters of King Jarasandha, the lord of the Bihar province (known in those days as Magadharaja). After reaching home, both queens explained their awkward position following Kamsa’s death. The King of Magadha, Jarasandha, was mortified on hearing their pitiable condition due to the slaughter. When informed of the death of Kamsa, Jarasandha decided on the spot that he would rid the world of all the members of the Yadu dynasty. He decided that since Krsna had killed Kamsa, the whole dynasty of the Yadus should be killed.
He began to make extensive arrangements to attack the kingdom of Mathura with his innumerable military phalanxes, consisting of many thousands of chariots, horses, elephants and infantry soldiers. Jarasandha prepared thirteen such military phalanxes in order to retaliate the death of Kamsa. Taking with him all his military strength, he attacked the capital of the Yadu kings, Mathura, surrounding it from all directions. Sri Krsna, who appeared as an ordinary human being, saw the immense strength of Jarasandha, which appeared as an ocean about to cover a beach at any moment. He also perceived that the inhabitants of Mathura were overwhelmed with fear. He began to think within Himself about the situation of His mission as an incarnation and how to tackle the present situation before Him. His mission was to diminish the overburdened population of the whole world; therefore He took the opportunity of facing so many men, chariots, elephants, and horses. The military strength of Jarasandha had appeared before Him, and He decided to kill the entire force of Jarasandha so that they would not be able to go back and again reorganize their military strength.
While Lord Krsna was thinking in that way, two military chariots, fully equipped with drivers, weapons, flags and other implements, arrived for Him from outer space. Krsna saw the two chariots present before Him, and immediately addressed His attendant brother, Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana: ”My dear elder brother, You are the best among the Aryans, You are the Lord of the universe, and specifically, You are the protector of the Yadu dynasty. The members of the Yadu dynasty sense great danger before the soldiers of Jarasandha, and they are very much aggrieved. Just to give them protection, Your chariot is also here, filled with military weapons. I request You to sit down on Your chariot and kill all these soldiers, the entire military strength of the enemy. Naturally, both of Us have descended on this earth just to annihilate such unnecessary bellicose forces and to give protection to the pious devotees. So we have the opportunity to fulfill Our mission. Please let Us execute it.“ Thus Krsna and Balarama, the descendants of the Gadaha King, Dasarha, decided to annihilate the thirteen military companies of Jarasandha.
Krsna went upon the chariot on which Daruka was the driver and with a small army, and to the blowing of conchshells, He came out of the city of Mathura. Curiously enough, although the other party was equipped with greater military strength, just after hearing the vibration of Krsna’s conchshell, their hearts were shaken. When Jarasandha saw both Balarama and Krsna, he was a little bit compassionate, because both Krsna and Balarama happened to be related to him as grandsons. He specifically addressed Krsna as purusadhama, meaning the lowest among men. Actually Krsna is known in all Vedic literatures as Purusottama, the highest among men. Jarasandha had no intention of addressing Krsna as Purusottama, but great scholars have determined the true meaning of the word purusadhama to be ”one who makes all other personalities go downward.“ Actually no one can be equal to or greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Jarasandha said, ”It will be a great dishonor for me to fight with boys like Krsna and Balarama.“ Because Krsna had killed Kamsa, Jarasandha specifically addressed Him as the killer of His own relatives. Kamsa had killed so many of his own nephews, yet Jarasandha did not take notice of it; but because Krsna had killed His maternal uncle, Kamsa, Jarasandha tried to criticize Him. That is the way of demoniac dealing. Demons do not try to find their own faults but try to find the faults of their friends. Jarasandha also criticized Krsna for not even being a ksatriya. Because He was raised by Maharaja Nanda, Krsna was not a ksatriya, but a vaisya. Vaisyas are generally called guptas, and the word gupta can also be used to mean ”hidden.“ So Krsna was both hidden and raised by Nanda Maharaja. Jarasandha accused Krsna of three faults: that He killed His own maternal uncle, that He was hidden in His childhood, and that He was not even a ksatriya. And therefore Jarasandha felt ashamed to fight with Him.
Next he turned toward Balarama and addressed Him: ”You, Balarama! If You like You can fight along with Him, and if You have patience, then You can wait to be killed by my arrows. Thus You can be promoted to heaven.“ It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that a ksatriya can become benefited in two ways while fighting. If a ksatriya gains victory in the fight, he enjoys the results of victory, but even if he is killed in the fight, he is promoted to the heavenly kingdom.
After hearing Jarasandha speak in that way, Krsna answered: ”My dear King Jarasandha, those who are heroes do not talk much. Rather, they show their prowess. Because you are talking much, it appears that you are assured of your death in this battle. We do not care to hear you anymore, because it is useless to hear the words of a person who is going to die or one who is very distressed.“ In order to fight with Krsna, Jarasandha surrounded Him from all sides with great military strength, and the sun appeared covered by the cloudy air and dust. Similarly, Krsna, the supreme sun, was covered by the military strength of Jarasandha. Krsna’s and Balarama’s chariots were marked with pictures of Garuda and palm trees. The women of Mathura were all standing on the tops of the houses and palaces and gates to see the wonderful fight, but when Krsna’s chariot was surrounded by Jarasandha’s military force, they became so frightened that some of them fainted. Krsna saw Himself overwhelmed by the military strength of Jarasandha. His small number of soldiers was being harassed by them, so He immediately took up His bow, named Sarnga.
He began to take His arrows from their case, and one after another He set them on the bowstring and shot them toward the enemy. They were so accurate that the elephants, horses and infantry soldiers of Jarasandha were quickly killed. The incessant arrows thrown by Krsna appeared as a whirlwind of blazing fire killing all the military strength of Jarasandha. As Krsna released His arrows, gradually all the elephants began to fall down, their heads severed by the arrows. Similarly, all the horses fell, and the chariots also, along with their flags. The chariot fighters and the chariot drivers fell as well. Almost all the infantry soldiers fell on the field of battle, their heads, hands and legs cut off. In this way, many thousands of elephants and horses were killed, and their blood began to flow just like the waves of a river. In that river, the severed arms of the men appeared to be snakes, their heads appeared to be tortoises, and the dead bodies of the elephants appeared to be small islands. The dead horses appeared to be sharks. By the arrangement of the supreme will, there was a great river of blood filled with paraphernalia. The hands and legs of the infantry soldiers were floating like seaweed, and the floating bows of the soldiers appeared to be waves of the river. And all the jewelry from the bodies of the soldiers and commanders appeared to be so many pebbles flowing down the river of blood.
Lord Balarama, who is also known as Sankarsana, began to fight with His club in such a heroic way that the river of blood created by Krsna overflooded. Those who were cowards became very much afraid upon seeing the ghastly and horrible scene, and those who were heroes began to talk delightedly among themselves about the heroism of the two brothers. Although Jarasandha was equipped with a vast ocean of military strength, the fighting of Lord Krsna and Balarama converted the whole situation into a ghastly scene which was far beyond ordinary fighting. Persons of ordinary mind cannot estimate how it could be possible, but when such activities are accepted as pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose will everything is possible, then this can be understood. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is creating, maintaining and dissolving the cosmic manifestation by His will only. For Him to create such a vast scene of devastation while fighting with an enemy is not so wonderful. And yet, because Krsna and Balarama were fighting with Jarasandha just like ordinary human beings, the affair appeared to be wonderful.
All the soldiers of Jarasandha were killed, and he was the only one left alive. Certainly he became very depressed at this point. Sri Balarama immediately arrested him, just as, with great strength, one lion captures another lion. But while Lord Balarama was binding Jarasandha with the rope of Varuna and ordinary ropes also, Lord Krsna, with a greater plan in mind for the future, asked Him not to arrest him. Jarasandha was then released by Krsna. As a great fighting hero, Jarasandha became very much ashamed, and he decided that he would no longer live as a king, but would resign from his position in the royal order and go to the forest to practice meditation under severe austerities and penances.
As he was returning home with other royal friends, however, they advised him not to retire, but to regain strength to fight again with Krsna in the near future. The princely friends of Jarasandha began to instruct him that ordinarily it would not have been possible for him to have been defeated by the strength of the Yadu kings, but the defeat which he had experienced was simply due to his ill luck. The princely order encouraged King Jarasandha. His fighting, they said, was certainly heroic; therefore, he should not take his defeat very seriously, as it was due only to his past mistakes. After all, there was no fault in his fighting.
In this way, Jarasandha, the King of Magadha province, having lost all his strength and having been insulted by his arrest and subsequent release, could do nothing but return to his kingdom. Thus Lord Krsna conquered the soldiers of Jarasandha. Although Krsna’s army was tiny in comparison to Jarasandha’s, not a pinch of His strength was lost, whereas all of Jarasandha’s men were killed.
At that time the denizens of heaven became very pleased and began to offer their respects by chanting in glorification of the Lord and by showering Him with flowers. They accepted the victory with great appreciation. Jarasandha returned to his kingdom, and Mathura city was made safe from the danger of an imminent attack. The citizens of Mathura organized the combined services of a circus of professional singers, like sutas, magadhas, and poets who could compose nice songs, and they began to chant the victory glorification of Lord Krsna. When Lord Krsna entered the city after the victory, many bugles, conches and kettledrums were sounded, and the vibrations of various musical instruments, like bherya, turya, vina, flute and mrdanga--all joined together to make a beautiful reception. While Krsna was entering, the whole city was very much cleansed, all the different streets and roads were sprinkled with water, and the inhabitants, being joyous, decorated their respective houses, roads and shops with flags and festoons. The brahmanas chanted Vedic mantras at numerous places. The people constructed road crossings, entrances, lanes and streets. When Lord Krsna was entering the nicely decorated city of Mathura in a festive attitude, the ladies and girls of Mathura prepared different kinds of flower garlands to make the ceremony more auspicious. In accordance with the Vedic custom, they took yogurt mixed with freshly grown green grass and began to strew it here and there to make the victory jubilation even more auspicious. As Krsna passed through the street, all the ladies and women began to regarded Him with great affection. Krsna and Balarama carried various kinds of booty, ornaments and jewels carefully collected from the battlefield and presented them to King Ugrasena. Krsna thus offered His respect to His grandfather because he was at that time the crowned king of the Yadu dynasty.
Jarasandha, the King of Magadha, not only besieged the city of Mathura once, but he attacked it seventeen times in the same way, equipped with the same number of military phalanxes. Each and every time, he was defeated, and all his soldiers were killed by Krsna, and each time he had to return disappointed in the same way. Each time, the princely order of the Yadu dynasty arrested Jarasandha in the same way and again released him in an insulting manner, and each time Jarasandha shamelessly returned home.
While Jarasandha was attempting one such attack, a Yavana king somewhere to the south of Mathura became attracted by the opulence of the Yadu dynasty and also attacked the city. It is said that the King of the Yavanas, known as Kalayavana, was induced to attack by Narada. This story is narrated in the Visnu Purana. Once, Garga Muni, the priest of the Yadu dynasty, was taunted by his brother-in-law. When the kings of the Yadu dynasty heard the taunt they laughed at him, and Garga Muni became angry at the Yadu kings. He decided that he would produce someone who would be very fearful to the Yadu dynasty, so he pleased Lord Siva and received from him the benediction of a son. He begot this son, Kalayavana, in the wife of a Yavana king. This Kalayavana inquired from Narada, ”Who are the most powerful kings in the world?“ Narada informed him that the Yadus were the most powerful. Being thus informed by Narada, Kalayavana attacked the city of Mathura at the same time that Jarasandha attempted to attack it for the eighteenth time. Kalayavana was very anxious to declare war on a king of the world who would be a suitable combatant for him, but he had not found any. However, being informed about Mathura by Narada, he thought it wise to attack this city. When he attacked Mathura he brought with him thirty million Yavana soldiers. When Mathura was thus besieged, Lord Sri Krsna began to consider how much the Yadu dynasty was in distress, being threatened by the attacks of two formidable enemies, Jarasandha and Kalayavana. Time was growing very short. Kalayavana was already besieging Mathura from all sides, and it was expected that the next day Jarasandha would also come, equipped with the same number of divisions of soldiers as in his previous seventeen attempts. Krsna was certain that Jarasandha would take advantage of the opportunity to capture Mathura when it was also being besieged by Kalayavana. He therefore thought it wise to take precautionary measures to defend the strategic points of Mathura. If both Krsna and Balarama were engaged in fighting with Kalayavana at one place, Jarasandha might come at another place to attack the whole Yadu family and take his revenge. Jarasandha was very powerful, and having been defeated seventeen times, he might vengefully kill the members of the Yadu family or arrest them and take them to his kingdom. Krsna therefore decided to construct a formidable fort in a place where no two-legged animal, either man or demon, could enter. He decided to keep His relatives there so that He would then be free to fight with the enemy. It appears that formerly Dvaraka was also part of the kingdom of Mathura, because in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that Krsna constructed a fort in the midst of the sea. Remnants of the fort which Krsna constructed are still existing on the Bay of Dvaraka.
He first of all constructed a very strong wall covering ninety-six square miles, and the wall itself was within the sea. It was certainly wonderful and was planned and constructed by Visvakarma. No ordinary architect could construct such a fort within the sea, but an architect like Visvakarma, who is considered to be the engineer among the demigods, can execute such wonderful craftsmanship anywhere in any part of the universe. If huge planets can be floated in weightlessness in the outer space by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surely the architectural construction of a fort within the sea covering a space of ninety-six square miles was not a very wonderful act.
It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that this new, well-constructed city, developed within the sea, had regular planned roads, streets and lanes. Not only were there well-planned roads, streets and lanes, but there were well-planned paths and gardens filled with plants known as kalpavrksas, or desire trees. These desire trees are not like the ordinary trees of the material world; the desire trees are found in the spiritual world. By Krsna’s supreme will, everything is possible, so such desire trees were planted in the city of Dvaraka constructed by Krsna. The city was also filled with many palaces and gopuras, or big gates. These gopuras are still found in some of the larger temples. They are very high and constructed with extreme artistic skill. Such palaces and gates held golden waterpots (kalasa). These waterpots on the gates or in the palaces are considered to be auspicious signs.
Almost all the palaces were skyscrapers. In each and every house there were big pots of gold and silver and grains stocked in underground rooms. And there were many golden waterpots within the rooms. The bedrooms were all bedecked with jewels, and the floors were mosaic pavements of marakata jewels. The Visnu Deity, worshiped by the descendants of Yadu, was installed in each house in the city. The residential quarters were so arranged that the different castes, brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras, had their respective quarters. It appears from this that the caste system was existing even at that time. In the center of the city there was another residential quarter made specifically for King Ugrasena. This place was the most dazzling of all the houses.
When the demigods saw that Krsna was constructing a particular city of His own choice, they sent the celebrated parijata flower of the heavenly planet to be planted in the new city, and they also sent a parliamentary house, Sudharma. The specific quality of this assembly house was that anyone participating in a meeting within it would overcome the influence of invalidity due to old age. The demigod Varuna also presented a horse, which was all white except for black ears and which could run at the speed of the mind. Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods, presented the art of attaining the eight perfectional stages of material opulences. In this way, all the demigods began to present their respective gifts according to their different capacities. There are thirty-three million demigods, and each of them is entrusted with a particular department of universal management. All the demigods took the opportunity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s constructing a city of His own choice to present their respective gifts, making the city of Dvaraka unique within the universe. This proves that there are undoubtedly innumerable demigods, but none of them are independent of Krsna. As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsna is the supreme master, and all others are servants. So all the servants took the opportunity of rendering service to Krsna when He was personally present within this universe. This example should be followed by all, especially those who are Krsna conscious, for they should serve Krsna by their respective abilities.
When the new city was fully constructed according to plan, Krsna transferred all the inhabitants of Mathura and entrusted Sri Balarama as the city father. After this He consulted with Balarama, and being garlanded with lotus flowers, He came out of the city to meet Kalayavana, who had already seized Mathura without taking up any weapons.
When Krsna came out of the city, Kalayavana, who had never seen Krsna before, saw Him to be extraordinarily beautiful, dressed in yellow garments. Passing through his assembly of soldiers, Krsna appeared like the moon in the sky passing through the assembled clouds. Kalayavana was fortunate enough to see the lines of Srivatsa, a particular impression on the chest of Sri Krsna, and the Kaustubha jewel which He was wearing. Kalayavana saw Him, however, in His Visnu form, with a well-built body, with four hands, and eyes like newly blooming lotus petals. Krsna appeared blissful, with a handsome forehead and beautiful face, with smiling restless eyes and moving earrings. Before seeing Krsna, Kalayavana had heard about Him from Narada, and now the descriptions of Narada were confirmed. He noticed Krsna’s specific marks and the jewels on His chest, His beautiful garland of lotus flowers, His lotus-like eyes and similar beautiful bodily features. He concluded that this beautiful personality must be Vasudeva, because every description of Narada’s which he had heard previously was substantiated by the presence of Krsna. Kalayavana was very much astonished to see that He was passing through without any weapon in His hands and without any chariot. He was simply walking on foot. Kalayavana had come to fight with Krsna, and yet he had sufficient principles not to take up any kind of weapon. He decided to fight with Him hand to hand. Thus he prepared to capture Krsna and fight.
Krsna, however, went ahead without looking at Kalayavana, and Kalayavana began to follow Him with a desire to capture Him. But in spite of all his swift running, he could not capture Krsna. Krsna cannot be captured even by the mental speed attained by great yogis. He can be captured only by devotional service, and Kalayavana was not practiced in devotional service. He wanted to capture Krsna, and as he could not do so he was following Him from behind.
Kalayavana began running very fast, and he was thinking, ”Now I am nearer; I will capture Him,“ but he could not. Krsna led him far away, and He entered the cave of a hill. Kalayavana thought that Krsna was trying to avoid fighting with him and was therefore taking shelter of the cave. He began to chastise Him with the following words: ”O You, Krsna! I heard that You are a great hero born in the dynasty of Yadu, but I see that You are verily running away from fighting, like a coward. It is not worthy of Your good name and family tradition.“ Kalayavana was following, running very fast, but still he could not catch Krsna because he was not freed from all contaminations of sinful life.
According to the Vedic culture, anyone who does not live following the regulative principles of life observed by the higher castes like the brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and even the laborer class is called mleccha. The Vedic social situation is so planned that persons who are accepted as sudras can gradually be elevated to the position of brahmanas by the cultural advancement known as samskara, or the purificatory process. The version of the Vedic scriptures is that no one becomes a brahmana or a mleccha simply by birth; by birth everyone is accepted as sudra. One has to elevate himself by the purificatory process to the stage of brahminical life. If he doesn’t, if he degrades himself further, then he is called mleccha. Kalayavana belonged to the class of mleccha and yavanas. He was contaminated by sinful activities and could not approach Krsna. The principles from which higher class men are restricted, namely illicit sex indulgence, meat eating, gambling and intoxication, are part and parcel of the lives of the mlecchas and yavanas. Being bound by such sinful activities one cannot make any advancement in God realization. The Bhagavad-gita confirms that only one who is completely freed from all sinful reactions can be engaged in devotional service or Krsna consciousness.
When Krsna entered the cave of the hill, Kalayavana followed, chastising Him with various harsh words. Krsna suddenly disappeared from the demon’s sight, but Kalayavana followed and also entered the cave. The first thing he saw was a man lying down asleep within the cave. Kalayavana was very anxious to fight with Krsna, and when he could not see Krsna, but saw instead only a man lying down, he thought that Krsna was sleeping within this cave. Kalayavana was very puffed up and proud of his strength, and he thought Krsna was avoiding the fight. Therefore, he very strongly kicked the sleeping man, thinking him to be Krsna. The sleeping man had been lying down for a very long time. When he was awakened by the kicking of Kalayavana, he immediately opened his eyes and began to look around in all directions. At last he began to see Kalayavana, who was standing nearby. This man was untimely awakened and therefore very angry, and when he looked upon Kalayavana in his angry mood, rays of fire emanated from his eyes, and Kalayavana burned into ashes within a moment.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fiftieth Chapter of Krsna, “Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort.”