Shakatasura

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


After hearing this pastime, Maharaja Parikshit, charmed by Sri Krishna’s extraordinary lila-madhurya, eagerly said to Sri Shukadeva (BhAg. 10.7.3),

athAnyad api kRSNasya tokAcaritam adbhutam |
mAnuSaM lokam AsAdya taj-jAtim anurundhataH ||

“Sri Krishna descended into the world of man and displayed his transcendentally sweet humanlike pastimes. Please describe more of his wonderful childhood adventures.” tad evaM svacamatkAre hetum Aha adbhutaM rUpa-guNa-vilAsa-lIlA-cAturIbhiH kvacit tad-anugata-duruhaizvarya-milanena ca vismayAvaham (VaiSNava-ToSaNI-TIkA). “When Sri Parikshit heard Sri Krishna’s childhood lila, he was astonished by the perplexing but compatible union of Sri Krishna’s aisvarya with his unparalleled humanlike beauty, qualities, charm, pastimes and cleverness.” It should be understood that it is this wonder or astonishment that produces the experience of rasa upon tasting lila-madhurya.

After hearing the words of Maharaja Parikshit, Sripada Shukamuni began to narrate Sri Krishna’s other inconceivably powerful lilas, such as the breaking of the cart and the killing of Trnavarta. An ordinary child is at first only able to lie on his back and sleep; then gradually getting stronger, he can eventually move his limbs around and turn on his side. In the same way, even though he is the reservoir of boundless power, in his nara-lila Sri Nandanandana first of all lay on his back and slept. By drinking Sri Yasomati Mata’s breast-milk, his body gradually became well-nourished and by the age of three months, he was able to move his limbs all about and turn on his side. “Sri Yasodanandana has now learned to turn on his side!” This joyful news was immediately proclaimed everywhere in Gokula and all the gopas and gopis living there gathered at Nanda’s home to get the sweet vision of Nandanandana doing so. By chance, Sri Krishna’s birth star (rohiNI-nakSatra) was also ascendant on that day, so an ocean of divine bliss swelled in the hearts of all. A great festival for Sri Nandanandana’s welfare was celebrated in Nanda’s home.

While drinking Mata Yasomati’s breast-milk, baby Krishna fell asleep, so she laid him in a rocking cradle underneath a large cart and went to participate in the festival. After the killing of Putana, Kamsa had known with certainty that Sri Nandanandana was the deadly Sri Hari. So on that day he had dispatched a powerful demon to Gokula for the purpose of killing him. Remaining unseen in the sky, the asura considered that while everyone was absorbed in enjoying the festival, the baby could easily be crushed to death if enough pressure were placed upon the large cart as the child lay in a bed underneath.

Even though the inconceivably powerful Sri Hari, immersed in his lila, slept when near the bhaktas, he was always alert to the presence of asuras. As soon as the demon pressed upon the cart, Sri Krishna awoke and began to cry for his mother’s milk, but because of the loud merrymaking of the festival, the sound of his crying failed to reach his mother’s ears. Absorbed in weeping, his mouth trembled slightly, beautiful as a half-bloomed blue lotus. Tears fell from his lotus eyes like drops of flower nectar, adorning his cheeks as though pearls upon a sapphire mirror. Continuing to cry, he threw his tender hands and feet upward and began kicking. Because of his inconceivable power, by only the slight touch of the tips of his delicate feet the heavy cart was tossed upside down a short distance away. At the place where the cart fell, there were metal pots filled with curds and milk and so on. So when the cart landed, it produced a loud, clattering sound as it hit the pots and broke to pieces. Imperceptibly, the weight-causing demon was also killed in the cart. Seeing this sudden calamity, Nanda, Yasomati and the assembled gopas and gopis became extremely anxious about Sri Nandanandana’s welfare, so they arranged for the brahmanas, well-versed in the Vedas, to protect the child with mantras that mitigate the influence of evil spirits and other malevolent beings. Yasomati then placed him in her lap and gave him her breast-milk, and when everyone saw the baby calm down as he suckled, they all felt much relieved.