Krishna Episode 15 – Liberation of Trinavarta

trinavarta

 

In the earlier days, there was a king named Sahasraksha in Pandudesh. He was roaming ith his queens on the banks of Narmada.  During that time on the banks of narmada sage –Durvasa came , but he did not bow down. The sage became angry and cursed the king s/aying  – ‘You become a demon.’ When he fell at his feet and begged, Durvasaji said – ‘You will be free as soon as Lord Krishna touches you. The same king named Sahastraksha was born in Dwapar Yuga as a demon named Trinavarta. Trinavarta was the personal servant of Kansa. He could transform himself into a tornado. After Putana and Shakata were killed, Kansa ordered Trinavarta to kill Krishna.

 

On one day, the pious lady Yashoda seated the child in her lap and was fondling him. But (suddenly) she was not able to bear the weight of the Baby, as if he was heavy like a mountain peak. The wife of Nanda, being oppressed with the burden of the child, was astonished and placed him on the ground. She contemplated on the Supreme Lord not knowing that the whole universe is contained in his body and set about her work.

 

The demon called Trnävarta in the service of Kamsa was specially detailed and deputed to kill Kṛṣṇa. Assuming the form of a whirl-wind, he carried away the child that was sitting. He enveloped the whole of Gokula with a cloud of dust and blinded the eyes of the inhabitants. He made the quarters and intermediate points tremble with his extremely terrible roar. For an hour or so the whole of Gokula was covered with a cloud of dust and darkness. Yasoda could not see her son at the place where she kept him. Being assailed by sand particles wafted by Tṛṇāvarta, nobody could see himself or another person in that blinding confusion.

 

Thus not being able to find the trace of her son in the heavy downpour of dust caused by the whirlwind of vehement velocity, the helpless mother Yasoda, brooding over him, tenderly began to bewail in the most pitiable manner, and dropped down to the ground like unto a cow bereaved of her calf. When the vehemence of the stormy wind and of the dust-shower abated, the Gopis (cowherd-women) heard the lamentations of Yasoda. Not finding Nanda’s son there, they were extremely tormented at heart, and broke out crying with their faces flooded with tears.

 

Having assumed the form of a whirlwind, Tṛṇāvarta carried away Kṛṣṇa to the skies. But in consequence of his having been compelled to bear the unbearably stupendous weight of Kṛṣṇa, he could not proceed further beyond a certain height and his velocity abated to a stand-still.  Due to his extraordinary weight, the Asura thought him to be a mountain. As he was tightly gripped at the throat by him, he could not disengage himself from that wonderful superhuman child. Being tightly clasped at the throat with extraordinary pressure, he was rendered motionless. His eyes came out of their sockets. With an indistinct groan he fell dead on the ground at Vraja, with the child dangling from his neck.

 

The bewailing women who assembled there saw the terrible demon falling from the sky on a rock, getting all his limbs shattered like the city Tripura cleft by the arrow of Rudra. Astonished to see Kṛṣṇa dangling on the chest of the demon, they picked him up and restored him to his mother. Finding him safe and sound in body though carried away through the sky by the demon, and getting him back unscathed from the jaws of death, Gopis and Gopas headed by Nanda were verily filled with rapturous delight.

 

 “Oh! How miraculous! This child, carried by the demon, and practically brought to its end death, has come back safe! While the blood-thirsty wicked demon was killed under the weight of his own sins, and a pious soul is saved from fear due to his even-ness of attitude towards all. Oh! What austere penance, what adoration to Lord Visņu, what charitable acts in public interest like building of temples or tanks, what sacrificial performances, what deeds benevolent to living beings have been done by us that by virtue of which the child which was as good as dead, has been fortunately restored to us, bringing delight to us, his kinsfolk Amazed at the frequent recurrence of such miracles in that big forest (Gokula), Nanda highly esteemed the parting words of Vasudeva.

 

One day the beautiful lady (Yasoda) placed the child on her lap, and being overcome with motherly affection made him suck her breast overflowing with milk. When his sucking was almost over, she was caressing his face which was beaming with a graceful smile. and when he yawned she saw the following in his mouth : The sky, the firmament above and the earth below, host of luminaries, the cardinal points, the Sun, the Moon, the fire god, the wind-god, oceans, continents, mountains and their daughters (i.e. rivers), forests and the mobile and immobile creation.  Perceiving suddenly the whole of the universe in his mouth she was seized with tremor. The lady with eyes resembling those of fawns, closed her eyes, and stayed greatly astonished.



Categories: Bhagwat Puran, Krishna Avataar, Lord Krishna

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