Hare Krsna,

I want to thank our dear teachers for sharing another version of the pastime of Kaliya as described in Sri Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta of Srila Sanatana Goswami. This pastime made for a sweet reading. According to me, this pastime explains the essence of Kaliya pastime and the final conclusions of devotional service.

“By the mercy of Sanātana Gosvāmī I have learned the final conclusions of devotional service, and by the grace of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī I have tasted the highest nectar of devotional service.” CC Adi 5.203)

If we study deeply, I can realize that the Kaliya pastime is not only about Krsna chastising ‘another’ demon. It is not only about Krsna uprooting ‘another anartha (anartha of brutality and treachery)’ from our hearts and thus purify and elevate us. It is not only about Krsna engaging the Nagapatnis in prayers honoring Himself. This pastime is not only about Krsna’s mercy extending even to seemingly wicked creatures like Kaliya. Or for that matter, this pastime goes beyond teaching us how to completely surrender to Krsna and complete love and devotion.

In fact, I would say that this pastime is less about Kaliya and more about the Vraja-vasis. Kaliya was just a medium through whom Krsna executed his plan. What is the plan? Krsna designed this plan to increase the Vraja-vasis’ love for Him.

In line with Mahaprabhu’s teachings and pastime, prema is enhanced continuously by union and separation. Therefore, from time to time, Krsna places His devotees in extreme distress just to enhance their love for Him and the subsequent bliss they feel. Thus, when Krsna jumped into the lake and allowed Himself to be enveloped in the serpent’s coils, all the Vraja-vasis fell into intense despair. The cowherd boys became as if struck down by death. When they saw Him motionless they all fainted. All the village animals — the cows, the bulls, the calves — and also the animals of the forest stood on the shore, eyes fixed on Kṛṣṇa’s face, and their cries made a great roar of suffering. Birds exhausted from loudly crying flew precipitously into the lake. Trees and plants suddenly dried up. And many terribly inauspicious omens appeared. The earth trembled, amidst other portentous omens. Mother Yasoda, Nanda Maharaja and even Balarama fainted. (Text 223-226)

Once He pushed the Vraja-vasis to the brink of desperation and imminent death, Krsna stopped His self-invented sport and freed Himself from the grip of Kāliya’s coils. Thereafter He provided bliss to the gopis by engaging in rasa dance on the hoods of Kaliya. Finally, He emerged from the lake making all the Vraja-vasis dance with joy.

Out of sheer spontaneous joy, the throng of cowherd men and women celebrated a charming festival of music, song, and other expressions of gaiety. Completely satisfied, Kṛṣṇa returned to His village. (Text 254)

Therefore, the key lesson and implication from this pastime is how Krsna is teaching us that devotional service to Him in feelings of separation elevates the devotee to the highest perfectional level, to the level of the gopīs. The various purpose of Krsna’s unlimited pastimes is to enhance the pleasure of the devotees. Killing the demons or establishing religion are secondary reasons. Krsna lives for the devotees and devotees live for Krsna. Each is in a transcendental competition to enhance the other side’s love and pleasure.

In line with this  final conclusions of devotional service,  Lord Caitanya recommended that the greatest achievement of human life is to achieve the grace of the Lord, love of God. He said, premā pumartho mahān: to achieve love of Godhead is the highest perfection of life. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was worshiped by Rūpa Gosvāmī because He distributed love of God, kṛṣṇa-premā, to everyone. Rūpa Gosvāmī praised Him as mahā-vadānya, a greatly munificent personality, because He was freely distributing to everyone love of Godhead, which is achieved by wise men only after many, many births. Kṛṣṇa-premā, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the highest gift which can be bestowed on anyone whom we presume to love. Therefore, pure love of Godhead, Krsna-prema, the ultimate abhista-labha – the attainment of all desires. (SB 3.23.8, Purport)

Chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, as instructed by Sri Mahaprabhu, bestows the seeds of and final attainment of Krsna-prema.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

I am impressed by the maturity displayed by Kaliya in his prayers; his prayers reveal his surrender to Krsna. He prays, “O Lord, since You are the omniscient Lord of the universe, You are the actual cause of freedom from illusion. Please arrange for us whatever You consider proper, whether it be mercy or punishment.” (SB 10.16.59) In other words, he is appealing to the Lord to do whatever the Lord desires to do. Of if the Lord thinks of doing something else, let that be done. In response, Krsna orders Kaliya to leave Vrindavan and go to the ocean. “O serpent, you may not remain here any longer. Go back to the ocean immediately, accompanied by your retinue of children, wives, other relatives and friends. Let this river be enjoyed by the cows and humans.” (SB 10.16.60)

I am astonished that Krsna did not let Kaliya stay in Vrindavan. Kaliya is no longer the envious and angry serpent he used to be. Krsna, by dancing on his hoods, took out all his poison and sinful reactions. In all other pastimes, Krsna has killed the demons. In Kaliya’s case, Krsna neither killed him nor let him stay in Vrindavan. I was wondering why! Generally, it is not approved by devotees that a person who has taken shelter of Vrindavan can be expelled. yad gatvā na nivartante. Those who reach it (the Supreme Abode of the Lord) never return to this material world. (BG 15.6)

To understand the hidden meaning of this pastime, I looked up various writings by devotees.

Srila Sanatana Goswami in his Brhad Vaisnava Tosani writes, “It is famous that Kaliya was touched by the Lord’s feet. But then he attained a place with his previous type of happiness. That is the astonishing action of the Lord. He went to the spot which he has previously left out of fear. Garuda also respected him and became friendly with him because he was marked by the Lord’s feet. His hoods became successful by the dancing and the foot dust which was desires by Laksmi and Brahma. He received instructions from the Lord, more than the Lord gave to Brahma and others, by which he drank the nectar of Krsna’s sweet words in person. Later, as a great devotee, he worshipped Krsna because he ultimately got mercy, though by an external vision he was punished. He received the highest grace, though he had been full of anger. Though he was an offender and crushed by Krsna’s feet repeatedly, simply by surrender in his heart he attained mercy.”

Srila Sanatana Goswami then reveals the hidden meaning of Krsna’s action. He says that Kaliya was expelled from the river in order that Krsna could play at ease with the people of Vraja on the bank of the Yamuna in Sri Vrindavana.

Elsewhere, in the May 1932 edition of The Harmonist, or Sree Sajjanatoshani, it is explained, “Kaliya is the type of cunning and malice. He is the embodiment of unrelenting cruelty. There is no place for Kaliya in the happy realm of Braja. Deceit and cruelty are as poison to the artless loving nature of the denizens of Braja. It is quite conceivable for the confiding chums of Krishna not to entertain any suspicion regarding the malicious intention of cruel and deceitful persons whose purpose is to poison them against Krishna. They may even unwittingly fall into the counsel of such evil persons. But Krishna is sure to rescue His Own from the whiles of His enemy…

The banishment of Kaliya from the lake of the Yamuna has a most important spiritual significance. Those who have a purpose to create trouble among the pure devotees of Krishna by infecting their nature with their own malicious dispositions meet with a certain degree of initial success in their nefarious undertaking. This emboldens them to make a direct attack on Krishna Himself when He appears on the scene of their depraved activities in order to restore the living faith of His Own bonafide associates… Those who are not exceedingly clever can never be servants of Krishna. But the service of Krishna is also never available to those whose cunning is employed for depriving Krishna of the fullness of His enjoyment… But these brutes are never allowed to associate with the servants of Krishna even after they forego their malice towards them. They are eternally debarred from the service of Krishna in Braja.

The article ends with this conclusion, “The mercy shown to Kaliya is so obviously and disproportionately great in its magnitude in face of the extreme gravity of his offense that no rationalistic explanation can do justice to its full beneficent significance.”

Important lessons for sadhakas to meditate upon and apply in our lives.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

I am going to start with an audacious statement which many of the readers may not agree with. The prayers of Nagapatnis is a classic case of ‘missed opportunity’. I am going to explain this a bit later.

First, I want to highlight some of the similarities of the Nagapatnis’ prayers with other prayers in Srimad Bhagavatam. See one such similarity in the Sanskrit and English translation.

SB 10.16.37

na nāka-pṛṣṭhaṁ na ca sārva-bhaumaṁ

na pārameṣṭhyaṁ na rasādhipatyam

na yoga-siddhīr apunar-bhavaṁ vā

vāñchanti yat-pāda-rajaḥ-prapannāḥ

Those who have attained the dust of Your lotus feet never hanker for the kingship of heaven, limitless sovereignty, the position of Brahmā or rulership over the earth. They are not interested even in the perfections of yoga or in liberation itself.

SB 6.11.25 (Prayers of Vrtasura)

na nāka-pṛṣṭhaṁ na ca pārameṣṭhyaṁ
na sārva-bhaumaṁ na rasādhipatyam
na yoga-siddhīr apunar-bhavaṁ vā
samañjasa tvā virahayya kāṅkṣe

O my Lord, source of all opportunities, I do not desire to enjoy in Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets or the planet where Lord Brahmā resides, nor do I want to be the supreme ruler of all the earthly planets or the lower planetary systems. I do not desire to be master of the powers of mystic yoga, nor do I want liberation if I have to give up Your lotus feet.

Above is one instance. There are also some similarities between the Nagapatnis’ prayers and the prayers of Gajendra (SB 8.3). Both these prayers reveal the knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

Now back to my comment about the prayers being ‘missed opportunity’. The Nagapatnis’ prayers are not first-class prayers. The golden standard of what a first-class prayer should be is established by none other than Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In His Sri Siksastakam, He prays

na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad-isha kamaye
mama janmani janmanishvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki twayi

O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.

This is what a quality prayer should be. We should only pray for pure devotional service unto the Supreme Lord. The Nagapatnis prayed just for the opposite. Instead of praying for pure devotional service, they prayed to have their husband Kaliya back. They could have prayed for servitude to Sri Krsna, to Sri Radha, and to the Vaisnavas. They could have prayed to be always able to hear Krsna-katha from the mouth of pure devotees. They could have prayed to be a tree or animal or even a grass in Vrindavan, just as what Lord Brahma prayed at the end of the pastime of stealing Krsna’s friends and calves. Unfortunately, the Nagapatnis prayed, “Give us our husband back!”

SB 10.16.52: “O Supreme Lord, please be merciful. It is proper for the saintly to feel compassion for women like us. This serpent is about to give up his life. Please give us back our husband, who is our life and soul.”

Srila Prabhupada highlights this in one of the purports of the Vrtasura chapters (SB 6.9). He writes:

“When the demigods finished offering their prayers, they anxiously waited for their enemy Vṛtrāsura to be killed. This means that the demigods are not pure devotees. Although without difficulty one can get anything he desires if the Lord is pleased, the demigods aspire for material profit by pleasing the Lord. The Lord wanted the demigods to pray for unalloyed devotional service, but instead they prayed for an opportunity to kill their enemy. This is the difference between a pure devotee and a devotee on the material platform. Indirectly, the Lord regretted that the demigods did not ask for pure devotional service.”

Thus, I say this is a case of ‘missed opportunity’. As we will see in the next few verses, Lord Krsna orders Kaliya and his family to leave Vṛndāvana and go to the ocean. How unfortunate! And here we are… praying and chanting to be bestowed the mercy to be eternal residents of Vṛndāvana.

Therefore, I relish studying Srimad Bhagavatam so much. There are so many lessons to learn and not to learn.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The ability to see apparent punishment as mercy needs maturity and surrender to (and love for) Krsna. An immature or neophyte devotee may blame Krsna for the calamities in his/her life. A pure devotee like Queen Kunti will be grateful for the calamities in her life as this gives an opportunity to remember Krsna.

SB 1.8.25: I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

Such pure devotees will never blame Krsna for the sufferings in their lives, but rather see this as special mercy of Krsna, as Lord Brahma realized in one of the previous chapters.

SB 10.14.8: My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

Srila Prabhupada explains beautifully in the purport, “This unhappiness suffered by a sincere devotee is not technically a karmic reaction; it is rather the Lord’s special mercy for inducing His devotee to completely let go of the material world and return home, back to Godhead… A sincere devotee earnestly desires to go back to the Lord’s abode. Therefore he willingly accepts the Lord’s merciful punishment and continues offering respects and obeisances to the Lord with his heart, words and body.” (SB 10.14.8 Purport)

This reminds me of Srila Prabhupada’s own journey. In 1965, Srila Prabhupada embarked on a challenging journey from India to the United States on a cargo ship called the “Jaladuta”, where he faced extreme seasickness, multiple heart attacks, and a near-death experience while attempting to spread the teachings of Krishna consciousness to the English-speaking world, ultimately arriving in New York City with very little money to start his mission. He had very little money, relying on a small amount of cash and his translated scriptures. Even in India after he took sannyasa and moved to Sri Sri Radha Damodara temple in Vrindavan, things were not easy. However he never blamed Krsna for his difficulties. Rather he was grateful that his spiritual master chose him to preach the message of Lord Caitanya in the West. He saw everything as Krsna’s special mercy. With that mood, he coined a beautiful prayer (Markine Bhagavata-Dharma) in Jaladuta.

boro-kṛpā kaile kṛṣṇa adhamer prati
ki lāgiyānile hethā koro ebe gati

My dear Lord Krsna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.

This is the reason I said that seeing punishment as Krsna’s mercy needs maturity. If we have love for Krsna, we will happily accept whatever the Lord bestows on us. Mārobi rākhobi, jo icchā tohārā. “Now I have surrendered. If you want, you can kill me. And if You want, You can keep me.” This is surrender. This is love.

Therefore, I am amazed at the Nagapatnis’ (wives of Kaliya) maturity to see Krsna’s punishment to Kaliya as special mercy on him. They see it as purification.

SB 10.16.34: What You have done here is actually mercy for us, since the punishment You give to the wicked certainly drives away all their contamination. Indeed, because this conditioned soul, our husband, is so sinful that he has assumed the body of a serpent, Your anger toward him is obviously to be understood as Your mercy.

We can also see this from another perspective. The Lord gives special protection to the family members and descendants of a devotee, even though such members are themselves non-devotees! Mahārāja Prahlāda was a great devotee of the Lord, but his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, was a great atheist and declared enemy of the Lord. But despite all this, Hiraṇyakaśipu was awarded salvation due to his being the father of Mahārāja Prahlāda. Similarly the Lord was kind to Kaliya because he happened to be the husband of the Nagapatnis who are pure devotees of the Lord.

May I therefore pray to the Supreme Lord to grant me maturity and wisdom to see any punishment or suffering or distress  as special mercy of the Lord. May I accept them with gratitude. The merciful Lord arranged this for my purification so that I may return home, back to Godhead soon.

“Just as one cannot approach the sun without becoming fire, one cannot approach the supreme pure, Lord Kṛṣṇa, without undergoing a rigid purificatory process, which may appear like suffering but which is in fact a curative treatment administered by the personal hand of the Lord.” (SB 10.14.8 Purport)

 All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Devotees of Krsna can appreciate that Krsna performed these pastimes with the Kaliya snake to give impetus to intensified feelings of love for Him. Seeing Krsna in trouble, the devotees in Vrndavana became absorbed in remembering His smiling face, His loving words and His dealings with the various demons He had vanquished. The devotees on the bank of the Yamuna, therefore, demonstrated the highest stage of Krsna consciousness the ecstasy of love in a feeling of separation. Krsna did not want to disturb their mood of concern and anxiety for Him by immediately showing them that there was no need for distress. Therefore He remained wrapped in the serpent’s coils.

Nectar of Devotion (Chapter 28: Existential Ecstatic Love) gives a detailed description of ecstatic symptoms of love for Krsna. When a devotee is always intensely affected by love for Kṛṣṇa in a direct relationship with Him – or even a little apart from Him – his status is called existential ecstatic love.

According to Srila Rupa Goswami, there are eight symptoms of existential ecstatic love: becoming stunned, perspiring, standing of the hairs on the body, faltering of the voice, trembling of the body, changing of bodily colors, shedding of tears and devastation.

In this pastime of Krsna and Kaliya, the symptom of becoming stunned seems, to me, to be more prominent. The symptom of being stunned is caused by ecstatic tribulation, fearfulness, astonishment, lamentation and anger. This symptom is exhibited by a stoppage of talking, a stoppage of movement, a feeling of voidness and an extreme feeling of separation.

Many of these symptoms have been manifested by the Vrajavasis after seeing Krsna enwrapped in the coils of the black serpent, Kaliya. Unaware of the whereabouts of Krsna, Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men were overwhelmed with grief, lamentation and fear.

Seeing the inauspicious omens, Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men were fearful, for they knew that Kṛṣṇa had gone to herd the cows that day without His elder brother,  Balarāma. Because they had dedicated their minds to Kṛṣṇa, accepting Him as their very life, they were unaware of His great power and opulence. Thus they concluded that the inauspicious omens indicated He had met with death, and they were overwhelmed with grief, lamentation and fear. (SB 10.16.13-15)

Upon finding that Kṛṣṇa was in the lake, motionless within the coils of the black serpent, the residents of Vṛndāvana were overwhelmed with anguish and confusion.

As they hurried along the path to the bank of the Yamunā River, they saw from a distance that Kṛṣṇa was in the lake, motionless within the coils of the black serpent. They further saw that the cowherd boys had fallen unconscious and that the animals were standing on all sides, crying out for Kṛṣṇa. Seeing all this, the residents of Vṛndāvana were overwhelmed with anguish and confusion. (SB 10.16.19)

The young gopis, attached to Kṛṣṇa in madhurya-bhava, and due to the fire of separation from Kṛṣṇa saw the three worlds turn empty and meaningless.

When the young gopīs, whose minds were constantly attached to Kṛṣṇa, the unlimited Supreme Lord, saw that He was now within the grips of the serpent, they remembered His loving friendship, His smiling glances and His talks with them. Burning with great sorrow, they saw the entire universe as void. (SB 10.16.20)

This is the same state Lord Caitanya, in the mood of Srimati Radharani, displayed in separation from Krsna.

“O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.” (Sri Siksastakam 8)

The elderly gopis (who were in vatsalya-bhava, parental love) became paralyzed like corpses upon seeing Krsna enwrapped in the serpent’s coils. The elderly gopis drowned everyone in the waves from the rivers of their lamentation. 

Although the elder gopīs were feeling just as much distress as she and were pouring forth a flood of sorrowful tears, they had to forcibly hold back Kṛṣṇa’s mother, whose consciousness was totally absorbed in her son. Standing like corpses, with their eyes fixed upon His face, these gopīs each took turns recounting the pastimes of the darling of Vraja. (SB 10.16.21)

Thus, we see from this pastime how Lord Krsna reciprocates and intensifies the love of His devotees. A pure devotee’s anxiety caused by thinking that Krsna is in distress is not, however, like the material lamentation of a man in ignorance. The devotee’s emotion is transcendental and purifying because it is in relationship with Krsna. There is no question of danger or distress for Krsna, the Supreme Godhead. Therefore, Krsna’s appearing to be in difficulty with Kaliya was a pretense, but His devotees’ anxiety for Him was a transcendental emotion. When we appreciate Krsna in this mood, we will best understand the significance of this narrative of Krsna and the Kaliya snake. (Reference: Article on Krishna’s Subduing the Serpent Kaliya by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Hearing the pastime of Krsna subduing Kaliya reminds me of the pitiable condition of my heart. The tranquil lake of my heart has been polluted by the poisonous venom emanating from the mouth of a poisonous snake (which represents the dark ignorance of avidya established since time immemorial). This snake has many hoods represented by unlimited and unfavorable material desires and unwanted habits (such as pride, deceit, harming others, and cruelty). Because of this poison, the whole area of my heart has become so contaminated that it emanates poisonous material desires twenty-four hours a day. If a bird carrying sweet transcendental message were to pass over the spot, the divine voice would be immediately subdued by the cacophony of material desires. The lake is quite wide and even the demigods could not cross over it to reach me. Approaching the lake is difficult for its shores are covered with the holes in which the serpents of material desires live. All around the river is a fog generated by the fire of the serpents’ poison, and this powerful fire would at once burn up every blade of bhakti-lata creeper and wish-fulfilling trees. Worse of all, my spirit soul is entangled by the coils of this snake. Despite its best efforts, the powerless and infinitesimally minute soul is unable to free itself from the strong coils.

In such turmoil of my soul, Krsna (the Supersoul) is watching from the branch of a Kadamba tree situated on the bank of the river and waiting to be summoned for help. The pride of my soul wants to fight it out alone without seeking any help. Alas, the coils of the serpent binds me (the soul) harder and harder until I have no alternative but to cry out to Krsna (Supersoul) for help. For my bhakti to blossom, the anarthas of pride, deceit, harming others and cruelty must be driven out of the heart.

The presence of Kadamba tree on the banks of the river of my heart is not a mere coincidence. Why did the tree remain on the bank when everything else died? It remained because it is Krsna’s tree; He is sitting and waiting on a branch to help His lost friend (my soul).

Hearing my cries for help, Kṛṣṇa, who advented Himself just to kill all undesirable elements in the world, immediately tightened His belt cloth and, flapping His arms just like a wrestler, jumped in the midst of the poisonous lake. When He jumped into the water, the river overflooded its banks, as if something very large had fallen into it. This exhibition of Kṛṣṇa’s strength is not at all uncommon because He is the reservoir of all strength.

Expectedly the serpents of my heart will not sit idle and let them be subdued by Krsna. They became extremely agitated and began breathing heavily, further polluting my heart with volumes of poisonous material desires. It’s as if Krsna has found a capable opposition who is resisting Krsna’s intervention will full might. Little does it know that Supreme Lord possesses infinite strength. Our sweet Krsna began sporting in the lake of my heart like a lordly elephant—swirling His mighty arms and making the water resound in various ways. When the serpent heard these sounds, he understood that someone was trespassing in his waters. The serpent could not tolerate this and immediately came forward.

The Lord looked extremely beautiful. He wore yellow silken garments, was very delicate, His attractive body shining like a glowing white cloud, His chest bearing the mark of Śrīvatsa, His face smiling beautifully and His feet resembling the whorl of a lotus flower. The Lord was playing fearlessly in the water. Despite His wonderful appearance, the envious Kāliya furiously bit Him on the chest and then completely enwrapped Him in his coils.

Seeing Krsna enveloped in the snake’s coils, my heart cries in agony. How much danger I, the ignorant fool, have put the Lord into for rescuing me!

No wonder in the actual pastime when the members of the cowherd community, who had accepted Kṛṣṇa as their dear most friend, saw Him enveloped in the snake’s coils, motionless, they were greatly disturbed. They had offered Kṛṣṇa everything—their very selves, their families, their wealth, wives and all pleasures. At the sight of the Lord in the clutches of the Kāliya snake, their intelligence became deranged by grief, lamentation and fear, and thus they fell to the ground. Even the cows, bulls and female calves, in great distress, called out piteously to Kṛṣṇa. Fixing their eyes on Him, they stood still in fear, as if ready to cry but too shocked to shed tears.

(Adapted from the verses of SB 10.16.1-12 and related chapter from Krsna book)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura wrote in one of his publications (Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusini):

anartha na gele name guna bujha jaya na
anartha na gele name krsna-seva haya na

If anarthas are not removed, then the Holy Name will never produce knowledge of the divine qualities of Krsna. If anarthas are not destroyed by the chanting of the Holy Name, one can never engage in service to Krsna.

In Caitanya-siksamrta and Krsna-samhita of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura the main anarthas to devotional service have been described in relation to their appearance as demons killed by Krsna and Balarama.

Dhenukasura symbolizes ignorance and the ass-like gross discrimination that exists based on caste, color, creed, or social status. He represents a lack of awareness about one’s true spiritual identity, the sacred nature of the Holy Name, and the essence of Krsna.

In Krsna’s pastimes, Dhenukasura is unable to enjoy the sweet fruits from the palm tree and actively prevents others from doing so as well. Similarly, some people, like Dhenukasura, are unable to understand or appreciate the deeper spiritual teachings in the writings of past spiritual masters. These individuals, who are fixated on rigid rules and bound by discriminatory thinking, cannot make real spiritual progress.

Without understanding the deeper connection with Krsna, one’s spiritual journey remains superficial, much like the work of an ordinary person seeking material rewards. Only when the “ass-like” mentality, represented by Dhenukasura, is overcome, can one truly advance in the path of Krsna consciousness.

Those who wish to serve Krsna with pure devotion in the mood of Vraja must work to eliminate the various anarthas (undesirable tendencies) that have taken shelter in our hearts. Some of these obstacles can be removed through the devotee’s own efforts and purity, while others are destroyed by Krsna’s mercy.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that the anarthas symbolized by Dhenukasura and Pralamba are removed by Baladeva (Balarama). When a devotee prays with humility, asking Krsna to cleanse their heart of these anarthas—represented by the demons Krsna defeated—Krsna will surely grant this request. However, some obstacles, symbolized by the demons killed by Baladeva, require personal effort to overcome.

A devotee can remove these challenges through their own introspection and disciplined practice while remaining under the shelter of their spiritual duties.

My dear Parīkṣit, that Lord Balarāma killed Dhenukāsura is not such a wonderful thing, considering that He is the unlimited Personality of Godhead, the controller of the entire universe. Indeed, the entire cosmos rests upon Him just as a woven cloth rests upon its own horizontal and vertical threads. (SB 10.15.35)

What is magnificent to hear after Lord Balarama killed Dhenukasara is the aftereffect.

The earth then appeared beautifully covered with heaps of fruits and with the dead bodies of the demons, which were entangled in the broken tops of the palm trees. Indeed, the earth shone like the sky decorated with clouds. (SB 10.15.38)

This means that when the anarthas are uprooted from our heart by the mercy of Krsna and Balarama, our heart will become very beautiful and pure. It will become a perfect place to set up an altar where the Radha, Krsna and Balarama (along with their associates) can come and eternally reside. We will then obtain the true realization of and service to the Holy Name.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The friendship between Krsna, Balarama and the cowherd boys are transcendental and unique. Devotees who are correctly situated in a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa are attracted by loving features, not by a godless display of opulences. Krsna’s friends and parents never want Kṛṣṇa to show His opulences. They are so immersed in pure love that they do not even know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In their loving exchange they forget that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the boys who play with Kṛṣṇa are all highly pious souls, and after many, many births they are able to play with Kṛṣṇa. Such boys do not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They take Him as a personal friend.

In SB 10.12.11, Sukadeva Goswami says, “Here is the Supreme Person, who is considered the impersonal Brahman by great sages, the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotees, and a product of material nature by ordinary men. Now these boys, who have performed many, many pious activities in their past lives, are playing with that Supreme Personality of Godhead.” 

Krsna also loves this kind of relationship. In CC Adi Chapter 4, it is mentioned that Krsna thinks, “All the universe is filled with the conception of My majesty, but love weakened by that sense of majesty does not satisfy Me. If one regards Me as the Supreme Lord and himself as a subordinate, I do not become subservient to his love, nor can it control Me. In whatever transcendental mellow My devotee worships Me, I reciprocate with him. That is My natural behavior.”

Krsna further says, “If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him…My friends climb on My shoulders in pure friendship, saying, ‘What kind of big man are You? You and I are equal.”

Therefore, the cowherd boys playing with Krsna and Balarama, making fun with each other, imitating the sounds vibrations of the different kinds of birds, running away with the animals as if from fear, wrestling among themselves, dancing and singing bring tremendous joy to Krsna, Balarama and friends themselves. Even the friends’ request Krsna and Balarama to kill the demon Dhenukasura to taste the tala fruits is not for their own sense gratification. Rather they want the Lords to taste the fruits.  They spoke out of prema, not with greed for the tala fruits and not for killing the demon. They spoke to please their dear friends Krsna and Balarama. The nature of prema is to sometimes request dear things.

What does this pastime and the dealing of the cowherd boys with Krsna and Balarama teach us? That just like the cowherd boys, Krsna is our eternal friend. It’s just that we haven’t fully realized it yet. Without considering Krsna as our eternal friend, we have no hope. Our solace, our consolation in life, is that ultimately we are under the care of such a loving friend as Krsna. With Krsna behind us, what do we have to worry about? One of the six limbs of surrender is the conviction that Krsna will give us protection.

This sentiment is expressed by Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Saranagati:

raksa koribo tuhun niscaya jani pana korobun hama yamuna pani

Fearless and confident of your protection, I shall drink the waters of the Yamuna, whether they are poisoned or not. I am your property. You must take care of me; You can’t leave me.

kaliya-dokha korobi binasa sodhobi nadi-jala badobi asa bhakativinoda tuwa gokula-dhana rakhobi kesava! korato jatana

Although the Kaliya serpent’s venom has poisoned the Yamuna’s waters, I know that poison will not act. Your presence will cleanse the waters and so increase our confidence in your protection. Bhaktivinoda is now the property of Gokula, your holy abode, O Kesava. Kindly protect him with care.

If we are still not convinced that Ktsna is our eternal friend and the best well-wisher, we should continue chanting the Holy Name with sincerity. Gradually the ignorance in our hearts will be destroyed and we will gradually come to realize our eternal relationship with Krsna.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

This is a profoundly beautiful meditation topic, where choosing a starting point feels almost impossible. Vṛndāvana is imbued with countless layers of sweetness and charm, evoking a spectrum of emotions whenever we read or hear about it—let alone contemplate the experience of actually living there.

One striking realization is how Kṛṣṇa lovingly reciprocates with every living entity, especially the residents of Vṛndāvana. These residents include not only the human devotees but also the trees, flowers, grass, bushes, earth, Yamunā, mountains, and animals such as peacocks, deer, and bees. Each is uniquely touched by His divine presence, adding to the wonder of this sacred abode.

We read in Brahma-Samhita (Text 29):

“I worship that transcendental seat, known as Svetadvipa where as loving consorts the Laksmis in
their unalloyed spiritual essence practice the amorous service of the Supreme Lord Krishna as their
only lover; where every tree is a transcendental purpose tree; where the soil is the purpose gem, all
water is nectar, every word is a song, every gait is a dance, the flute is the favorite attendant, effulgence is full of transcendental bliss and the supreme spiritual entities are all enjoyable and tasty, where numberless milk cows always emit transcendental oceans of milk; where there is eternal existence of transcendental time, who is ever present and without past or future and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away even for the space of half a moment. That realm is known as Goloka only to a very few self-realized souls in this world.”

I am awestruck by the extraordinary good fortune of the transcendental residents of Vṛndāvana. They are blessed to receive the touch and glance of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. The grass and shrubs are fortunate to feel the touch of Their divine feet. The earth itself is graced with the sacred impressions left by Their extraordinary footsteps and those of the cows, which adorn her like precious ornaments.

The trees and creepers are blessed as Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma lovingly touch them while picking fruits, flowers, and leaves for Their playful ornaments. The Yamunā River and mountains like Govardhana are sanctified by the contact of Their lotus feet. Even birds such as peacocks and animals like deer, standing at a distance, are enveloped in Their mercy through the tender glance of Their compassionate eyes.

There are moments when I wonder if I am too insignificant to attract Kṛṣṇa’s merciful glance. Do my humble services even merit mention before the magnificent offerings rendered by His countless pure devotees? Yet, this lesson—and the pastimes it reveals—gives me a glimmer of hope. No service is ever insignificant in the eyes of the Lord.

Kṛṣṇa’s attention is drawn to every living entity, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential. He is captivated by bhakti, the sincere devotion we offer, and He reciprocates accordingly. In Vṛndāvana, we see that every tree, fruit, bee, and animal glorifies the Lord in its unique way. There exists a transcendental competition, a divine exchange of love, where the Lord glorifies His devotees just as they glorify Him. This mutual celebration of devotion is a testament to His boundless compassion and love.

“My dear brother, You are superior to all of us, and Your lotus feet are worshiped by the demigods. Just see how these trees, full with fruits, have bent down to worship Your lotus feet… I think the drones that are buzzing all around You must have been Your devotees in their past lives. They cannot leave Your company because no one can be a better, more affectionate master than You… Just see how the peacocks in great ecstasy are dancing before You. The deer, whose behavior is just like the gopīs, are welcoming You with the same affection. And the cuckoos who are residing in this forest are receiving You with great joy because they consider that Your appearance is so auspicious in their home. Even though they are trees and animals, these residents of Vṛndāvana are glorifying You. They are prepared to welcome You to their best capacity, as is the practice of great souls in receiving another great soul at home. As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate that the footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body.” (Krsna book 1-19)

Another realization is how deeply attractive and pleasing the Lord finds the sincere chanting of His Holy Name. If Kṛṣṇa is easily pleased by the residents of Vṛndāvana, why wouldn’t He be equally pleased by the suffering residents of the material world who chant and glorify His name, form, qualities, pastimes, and abode? After all, the Holy Name is non-different from the Lord Himself.

A final reflection is on the perfect harmony and purity of the original, transcendental Vṛndāvana. In contrast, modern world reflects the degradation of human society, where sinfulness has led to polluted waters and dangerously contaminated air. Similarly, while modern agribusiness offers an abundance of food in supermarkets, it has also caused the death of family farms, polluted groundwater, eroded precious topsoil, and created countless other environmental issues.

We should earnestly aspire to return to our eternal home and reside in the beautiful forests of Vṛndāvana, living in harmony with its pure, transcendental inhabitants and engaging in loving service to the Lord.

Thus expressing His satisfaction with the beautiful forest of Vṛndāvana and its inhabitants, Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoyed tending the cows and other animals with His friends on the banks of the river Yamunā below Govardhana Hill. (SB 10.15.9)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

As I was going through the lesson on how Krsna consciousness (the Lord’s lotus feet) is the transcendental boat that can help one cross over the material ocean of birth and death, I am reminded of Ajamila’s story. Ajamila was considered a greatly sinful man but was liberated when four order carriers of Viṣṇu came to rescue him from the hands of the order carriers of Yamarāja. He was trained by his parents to become a perfect brāhmaṇa by studying the Vedas and following the regulative principles, but because of his past, this youthful brāhmaṇa was somehow attracted by a prostitute, and because of her association he became most fallen and abandoned all regulative principles. Ajāmila begot in the womb of the prostitute ten sons, the last of whom was called Nārāyaṇa. At the time of Ajāmila’s death, when the order carriers of Yamarāja came to take him, he loudly called the name Nārāyaṇa in fear because he was attached to his youngest son. Thus he remembered the original Nārāyaṇa, Lord Viṣṇu. Although he did not chant the holy name of Nārāyaṇa completely offenselessly, it acted nevertheless. As soon as he chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu immediately appeared on the scene. A discussion ensued between the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu and those of Yamarāja, and by hearing that discussion Ajāmila was liberated. (SB 6^th Canto).

“One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.” (SB 6.2.14)

This is the power of devotional service. Even by performing it half-heartedly one quickly becomes eligible for liberation as can be seen from the story of Ajamila.

“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.” (BG 2.40)

The advantage of Kali Yuga is the special concession granted for the immense benefits of chanting the Holy Name.

My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. (SB 12.3.51)

“”The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity (karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa), the chandas, or Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the reality of all Vedānta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.” Similarly, the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad states, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are the only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to the chanting of the holy name.” (CC Adi 7.76 Purport)

We studied in the previous lesson that Krsna is the final (and should be the ONLY) object of our love. His names, qualities, pastimes, etc. are so charming and pleasing to chant and hear that this is the only food for the soul. This is what the deprived soul craves for. One who takes complete shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet can get liberated and realize Him.

“The boat of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet gives shelter to the great devotees who have taken complete shelter. For these devotees the ocean of the material world becomes like the water in a calf’s hoof-print that can be crossed without any great effort. Their goal is the supreme transcendental abode of Vaikuntha or Sri Vrndavana. Great devotees never fall into difficulty because their minds are not attached to anything except the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.” (SVT on SB 10.14.58)

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step. (SB 10.14.58)

The people in this vast ocean of birth and death are being blown about by the winds of material dualities. As they flounder in the perilous waters of sense indulgence, with no boat to help them, they are sorely distressed by the need to protect their sons, daughters, and wives. Only the boat that is Lord Viṣṇu can save them. (Mukunda Mala Stotra 11)

May I dive deeply into the ocean of the Holy Name, which is non-different from the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. May it grant me the strength to cross over the ocean of birth and death, riding on the boat of His divine lotus feet.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!