The Killing of Putana

(From Madhurya-Tattva-Vijnana, by Sri Ananta Dasa Babaji Maharaja)


When Sri Krishna was only six days old, still an infant lying on his back, the demoness Putana entered Gokula, sent by Kamsa to kill all the babies living there. Wishing to move freely and easily finish her work, Putana abandoned her frightful raksasi form and assumed the form of a beautiful mother. She could have assumed any form to enter Gokula, but at the beginning of the lila, merciful Sri Hari inspired her by his divine power to assume this form because he wanted to bestow upon her the state of a mother at death. Seeing Putana’s illusory form, the men and women of Gokula became spellbound. These persons are Sri Hari’s direct companions incarnate, endowed with powers similar to his. It is not possible that they could ever be deluded by the magic of an insignificant raksasi, particularly since Svayam Bhagavan Sri Krishna is present there. kRSNa sUrya sama mAyA ghora andhakAra. yAGhA kRSNa tAGhA nAhi mAyAra adhikAra (C.C.). “Krishna is like the sun; mAyA is dreadful darkness. Wherever Krishna is, mAyA has no authority.” Therefore, it should be understood that both the delusion of the residents of Gokula and the existence of Putana’s magic are the result of Sri Hari’s divine power. Sri Krishna’s dear friends Sridama and others had also descended with him. Because Putana could have gone to harm them, Sri Krishna’s full demon-killing shakti was present and ready there in his birthing room.

Sripada Shukamuni has said, vibudhya tAM bAlaka-mArikA-grahaM carAcarAtmA sa nimIlitekSaNaH. “Upon seeing the child-killer Putana arrive, Sri Hari, the self of all, closed his eyes.” In the Sri-VaiSNava-ToSaNI commentary, five reasons have been delineated for Sri Krishna’s closing his eyes that demonstrate an unprecedented harmony between his presence as a child and his divinity: tac ca tasyAM nijAtyanta-bAlatva-bhIrutva-bodhanAya, tAdRza-duSTa-darzanAbhAvAya, svadRSTi-svAbhAvika-tad-vidha-dharSaNAbhAvAya, tad-dhitArthAvazya-kRtye ’pi vadhe sarva-sad-guNa-nidheH svasya sAkSAl-lajjAc-chAdanAya maraNe tad-vaikalya-darzanAbhAvAya ca.

The meaning is that by Sri Hari closing his eyes, his timidity and consummate childlike behavior were displayed. A tiny baby sleeps much of the time, so his eyes are often closed. Sometimes he awakes and opens his eyes and then closes them again. Even though Sri Nandanandana is Bhagavan himself, to Sri Nanda and Yasomati, who felt parental affection for him, he was only a six-day-old child. So in keeping with his childlike nature, he closed his eyes. Near his own people, a baby laughs and plays, but if he sees someone unfamiliar, he becomes afraid. So when Sri Hari, in his childlike state, saw Putana, he closed his eyes in fear. Putana has come to kill all the babies of Gokula, who happen to be Sri Hari’s dearest companions. Therefore, to avoid seeing the face of such a wicked, devotee-hating raksasi, Sri Hari closed his eyes. Having assumed her crafty disguise, Putana entered Sri Hari’s birthing room. Knowing everything, Sri Bhagavan understood that if he looked at her, her disguise would vanish, and upon seeing Putana’s dreadful raksasi form, Mother Yasoda would faint. And as Sri Hari was in the mood of a child as he killed Putana by sucking her breast-milk, he would feel a little discomfort, so he closed his eyes. By killing Putana and bestowing upon her the status of mother in Goloka, Sri Bhagavan would be giving her the highest blessing. Nevertheless, because he was going to kill Putana, Sri Bhagavan, the repository of all good qualities, felt ashamed to look at her. At the time of death, Putana would suffer terrible pain. Being soft-hearted, Sri Hari closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see her agony.
Imitating a mother, Putana, whose breasts were smeared with poison so strong it could kill immediately at contact, took Sri Hari in her lap and placed her nipple in his mouth. In the mood of a child, Sri Bhagavan effortlessly killed her by sucking her breast. gADhaM karAbhyAM bhagavAn prapIDya tat prANaiH samaM roSa-samanvito’pibat (BhAg.). “Angrily, Sri Hari squeezed firmly with both hands and sucked out her life along with her breast milk.” kuThAra samanvito vRkSam achinad itivat svayaM tu tad-anukaraNa-mAtraM kRtavAn ity arthaH. Just as a woodcutter moves his hands and the axe cuts down a tree, Sri Hari sucked Putana’s breast and the power of his anger killed her. When the enormous, lifeless body of Putana fell to the ground, the ladies of Vraja were overjoyed and astonished to see the baby Sri Hari playing fearlessly upon her chest. After they brought him to his mother Yasoda, she and Rohini protected Sri Krishna with a rakSA-bandhana and so on. In Srimad-BhAgavatam 10.6.19-20, it is described as such:

bAlaM ca tasyA urasi krIDantam akutobhayam |
gopyas tUrNaM samabhyetya jagRhur jAta-sambhramAH ||
yazodA-rohiNIbhyAM tAH samaM bAlasya sarvataH |
rakSAM vidadhire samyag gopuccha-bhramaNAdibhiH ||

In this way, within one of Sri Krishna’s sweet childhood pastimes, the destruction of the powerful raksasi Putana was accomplished. Such is the incomparable lila-mAdhurI of Sri Krishna. In Srimad-BhAgavatam 10.6.44, at the end of this pastime, Sri Shukamuni says,

ya etat pUtanA-mokSaM kRSNasyArbhakam adbhutam |
zRNuyAc chraddhayA martyo govinde labhate ratim ||

“Whoever hears with faith Sri Krishna’s wonderful childhood pastime of his deliverance of Putana shall obtain love for the lotus feet of Sri Govinda.” In the VaiSNava-ToSaNI commentary, we find an explanation of the word adbhuta as used in this verse: adbhutam arbhaka-bhAvAparityAge pi tAdRza mAraNa-mokSaNAdinA vismaya-kautukAvaham. “The wonder of this pastime is that without giving up his childlike mood and activities, Sri Krishna killed a powerful demoness like Putana and awarded her the status of mother. This is very amazing and curious.” At the end of his commentary on this verse, the commentator quotes another verse: ArambhAd eva lIlAyA bakI-dhAtrI-gati-pradaH. kRSNaH svaguNa-mAdhurye tRSNayAmAsa vaiSNavAn. “By blessing the raksasi Putana with the status of mother even at the beginning of the pastime, Sri Nandanandana caused the VaiSNavas to thirst for his personal qualities (such as being affectionate to the devotees) and the sweetness of his lila.”