Chapter Seven
The Killing of the Demon Tṛṇāvarta
TEXT 18
ekadāroham ārūḍhaṁ
lālayantī sutaṁ satī
garimāṇaṁ śiśor voḍhuṁ
na sehe giri-kūṭavat
SYNONYMS
ekadā—one time (estimated to have been when Kṛṣṇa was one year old); āroham—on His mother’s lap; ārūḍham—who was sitting; lālayantī—was patting; sutam—her son; satī—mother Yaśodā; garimāṇam—because of an increase in heaviness; śiśoḥ—of the child; voḍhum—to bear Him; na—not; sehe—was able; giri-kūṭa-vat—appearing like the weight of a mountain peak.
TRANSLATION
One day, a year after Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, mother Yaśodā was patting her son on her lap. But suddenly she felt the child to be heavier than a mountain peak, and she could no longer bear His weight.
PURPORT
Lālayantī. Sometimes a mother lifts her child, and when the child falls in her hands, the child laughs, and the mother also enjoys pleasure. Yaśodā used to do this, but this time Kṛṣṇa became very heavy, and she could not bear His weight. Under the circumstances, it is to be understood that Kṛṣṇa was aware of the coming of Tṛṇāvartāsura, who would take Him far away from His mother. Kṛṣṇa knew that when Tṛṇāvarta came and took Him away from His mother’s lap, mother Yaśodā would be greatly bereaved. He did not want His mother to suffer any difficulty from the demon. Therefore, because He is the source of everything (janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]), He assumed the heaviness of the entire universe. The child was on the lap of Yaśodā, who was therefore in possession of everything in the world, but when the child assumed such heaviness, she had to put Him down in order to give Tṛṇāvartāsura an opportunity to take Him away and play with Him for some time before the child returned to the lap of His mother.
TEXT 19
bhūmau nidhāya taṁ gopī
vismitā bhāra-pīḍitā
mahā-puruṣam ādadhyau
jagatām āsa karmasu
SYNONYMS
bhūmau—on the ground; nidhāya—placing; tam—the child; gopī—mother Yaśodā; vismitā—being astonished; bhāra-pīḍitā—being aggrieved by the weight of the child; mahā-puruṣam—Lord Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa; ādadhyau—took shelter of; jagatām—as if the weight of the whole world; āsa—engaged herself; karmasu—in other household affairs.
TRANSLATION
Feeling the child to be as heavy as the entire universe and therefore being anxious, thinking that perhaps the child was being attacked by some other ghost or demon, the astonished mother Yaśodā put the child down on the ground and began to think of Nārāyaṇa. Foreseeing disturbances, she called for the brāhmaṇas to counteract this heaviness, and then she engaged in her other household affairs. She had no alternative than to remember the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa, for she could not understand that Kṛṣṇa was the original source of everything.
PURPORT
Mother Yaśodā did not understand that Kṛṣṇa is the heaviest of all heavy things and that Kṛṣṇa rests within everything (mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni). As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4), mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: Kṛṣṇa is everywhere in His impersonal form, and everything rests upon Him. Nonetheless, na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: Kṛṣṇa is not everywhere. Mother Yaśodā was unable to understand this philosophy because she was dealing with Kṛṣṇa as His real mother by the arrangement of yogamāyā. Not understanding the importance of Kṛṣṇa, she could only seek shelter of Nārāyaṇa for Kṛṣṇa’s safety and call the brāhmaṇas to counteract the situation.
TEXT 20
daityo nāmnā tṛṇāvartaḥ
kaṁsa-bhṛtyaḥ praṇoditaḥ
cakravāta-svarūpeṇa
jahārāsīnam arbhakam
SYNONYMS
daityaḥ—another demon; nāmnā—by the name; tṛṇāvartaḥ—Tṛṇāvartāsura; kaṁsa-bhṛtyaḥ—a servant of Kaṁsa; praṇoditaḥ—having been induced by him; cakravāta-svarūpeṇa—in the form of a whirlwind; jahāra—swept away; āsīnam—the sitting; arbhakam—child.
TRANSLATION
While the child was sitting on the ground, a demon named Tṛṇāvarta, who was a servant of Kaṁsa’s, came there as a whirlwind, at Kaṁsa’s instigation, and very easily carried the child away into the air.
PURPORT
Kṛṣṇa’s heaviness was unbearable for the child’s mother, but when Tṛṇāvartāsura came, he immediately carried the child away. This was another demonstration of Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable energy. When the Tṛṇāvarta demon came, Kṛṣṇa became lighter than the grass so that the demon could carry Him away. This was ānanda-cinmaya-rasa, Kṛṣṇa’s blissful, transcendental pleasure.
TEXT 21
gokulaṁ sarvam āvṛṇvan
muṣṇaṁś cakṣūṁṣi reṇubhiḥ
īrayan sumahā-ghora-
śabdena pradiśo diśaḥ
SYNONYMS
gokulam—the whole tract of land known as Gokula; sarvam—everywhere; āvṛṇvan—covering; muṣṇan—taking away; cakṣūṁṣi—the power of vision; reṇubhiḥ—by particles of dust; īrayan—was vibrating; su-mahā-ghora—very fierce and heavy; śabdena—with a sound; pradiśaḥ diśaḥ—entered everywhere, in all directions.
TRANSLATION
Covering the whole land of Gokula with particles of dust, that demon, acting as a strong whirlwind, covered everyone’s vision and began vibrating everywhere with a greatly fearful sound.
PURPORT
Tṛṇāvartāsura assumed the form of a whirlwind and covered with a dust storm the whole tract of land known as Gokula, so that no one could see even the nearest thing.
TEXT 22
muhūrtam abhavad goṣṭhaṁ
rajasā tamasāvṛtam
sutaṁ yaśodā nāpaśyat
tasmin nyastavatī yataḥ
SYNONYMS
muhūrtam—for a moment; abhavat—there was; goṣṭham—throughout the whole pasturing ground; rajasā—by big particles of dust; tamasā āvṛtam—covered with darkness; sutam—her son; yaśodā—mother Yaśodā; na apaśyat—could not find; tasmin—in that very spot; nyastavatī—she had placed Him; yataḥ—where.
TRANSLATION
For a moment, the whole pasturing ground was overcast with dense darkness from the dust storm, and mother Yaśodā was unable to find her son where she had placed Him.
TEXT 23
nāpaśyat kaścanātmānaṁ
paraṁ cāpi vimohitaḥ
tṛṇāvarta-nisṛṣṭābhiḥ
śarkarābhir upadrutaḥ
SYNONYMS
na—not; apaśyat—saw; kaścana—anyone; ātmānam—himself; param ca api—or another; vimohitaḥ—being illusioned; tṛṇāvarta-nisṛṣṭābhiḥ—thrown by Tṛṇāvartāsura; śarkarābhiḥ—by the sands; upadrutaḥ—and thus being disturbed.
TRANSLATION
Because of the bits of sand thrown about by Tṛṇāvarta, people could not see themselves or anyone else, and thus they were illusioned and disturbed.
TEXT 24
iti khara-pavana-cakra-pāṁśu-varṣe
suta-padavīm abalāvilakṣya mātā
atikaruṇam anusmaranty aśocad
bhuvi patitā mṛta-vatsakā yathā gauḥ
SYNONYMS
iti—thus; khara—very strong; pavana-cakra—by a whirlwind; pāṁśu-varṣe—when there were showers of dust and small dust particles; suta-padavīm—the place of her son; abalā—the innocent woman; avilakṣya—not seeing; mātā—because of being His mother; ati-karuṇam—very pitifully; anusmarantī—she was thinking of her son; aśocat—lamented extraordinarily; bhuvi—on the ground; patitā—fell down; mṛta-vatsakā—who has lost her calf; yathā—like; gauḥ—a cow.
TRANSLATION
Because of the dust storm stirred up by the strong whirlwind, mother Yaśodā could find no trace of her son, nor could she understand why. Thus she fell down on the ground like a cow who has lost her calf and began to lament very pitifully.
TEXT 25
ruditam anuniśamya tatra gopyo
bhṛśam anutapta-dhiyo ’śru-pūrṇa-mukhyaḥ
rurudur anupalabhya nanda-sūnuṁ
pavana upārata-pāṁśu-varṣa-vege
SYNONYMS
ruditam—mother Yaśodā, crying pitifully; anuniśamya—after hearing; tatra—there; gopyaḥ—the other ladies, the gopīs; bhṛśam—highly; anutapta—lamenting sympathetically after mother Yaśodā; dhiyaḥ—with such feelings; aśru-pūrṇa-mukhyaḥ—and the other gopīs, their faces full of tears; ruruduḥ—they were crying; anupalabhya—without finding; nanda-sūnum—the son of Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa; pavane—when the whirlwind; upārata—had ceased; pāṁśu-varṣa-vege—its force of showering dust.
TRANSLATION
When the force of the dust storm and the winds subsided, Yaśodā’s friends, the other gopīs, approached mother Yaśodā, hearing her pitiful crying. Not seeing Kṛṣṇa present, they too felt very much aggrieved and joined mother Yaśodā in crying, their eyes full of tears.
PURPORT
This attachment of the gopīs to Kṛṣṇa is wonderful and transcendental. The center of all the activities of the gopīs was Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was there they were happy, and when Kṛṣṇa was not there, they were unhappy. Thus when mother Yaśodā was lamenting Kṛṣṇa’s absence, the other ladies also began to cry.
TEXT 26
tṛṇāvartaḥ śānta-rayo
vātyā-rūpa-dharo haran
kṛṣṇaṁ nabho-gato gantuṁ
nāśaknod bhūri-bhāra-bhṛt
SYNONYMS
tṛṇāvartaḥ—the demon Tṛṇāvarta; śānta-rayaḥ—the force of the blast reduced; vātyā-rūpa-dharaḥ—who had assumed the form of a forceful whirlwind; haran—and had thus taken away; kṛṣṇam—Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nabhaḥ-gataḥ—went up to the top of the sky; gantum—to go further; na aśaknot—was not able; bhūri-bhāra-bhṛt—because Kṛṣṇa then became more powerful and heavy than the demon.
TRANSLATION
Having assumed the form of a forceful whirlwind, the demon Tṛṇāvarta took Kṛṣṇa very high in the sky, but when Kṛṣṇa became heavier than the demon, the demon had to stop his force and could go no further.
PURPORT
Here is a competition in yogic power between Kṛṣṇa and Tṛṇāvartāsura. By practicing mystic yoga, asuras generally attain some perfection in the eight siddhis, or perfections, namely aṇimā, laghimā, mahimā, prāpti, prākāmya, īśitva, vaśitva and kāmāvasāyitā. But although a demon may acquire such powers to a very limited extent, he cannot compete with the mystic power of Kṛṣṇa, for Kṛṣṇa is Yogeśvara, the source of all mystic power (yatra yogeśvaro hariḥ). No one can compete with Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes, of course, having acquired a fragmental portion of Kṛṣṇa’s mystic power, asuras demonstrate their power to the foolish public and assert themselves to be God, not knowing that God is the supreme Yogeśvara. Here also we see that Tṛṇāvarta assumed the mahimā-siddhi and took Kṛṣṇa away as if Kṛṣṇa were an ordinary child. But Kṛṣṇa also became a mystic mahimā-siddha. When mother Yaśodā was carrying Him, He became so heavy that His mother, who was usually accustomed to carrying Him, could not bear Him and had to place Him down on the ground. Thus Tṛṇāvarta had been able to take Kṛṣṇa away in the presence of mother Yaśodā. But when Kṛṣṇa, high in the sky, assumed the mahimā-siddhi, the demon, unable to go further, was obliged to stop his force and come down according to Kṛṣṇa’s desire. One should not, therefore, compete with Kṛṣṇa’s mystic power.
Devotees automatically have all mystic power, but they do not like to compete with Kṛṣṇa. Instead, they fully surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and their yogic power is demonstrated by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Devotees can show mystic yoga so powerful that a demon could not even dream of it, but they never try to demonstrate it for their personal sense gratification. Whatever they do is for the service of the Lord, and therefore they are always in a position superior to that of the demons. There are many karmīs, yogīs and jñānīs who artificially try to compete with Kṛṣṇa, and thus ordinary, foolish people who do not care to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from authorities consider some rascal yogī to be Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the present moment there are many so-called bābās who present themselves as incarnations of God by showing some insignificant mystic wonder, and foolish people regard them as God because of lacking knowledge of Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 27
tam aśmānaṁ manyamāna
ātmano guru-mattayā
gale gṛhīta utsraṣṭuṁ
nāśaknod adbhutārbhakam
SYNONYMS
tam—Kṛṣṇa; aśmānam—very heavy stone like a lump of iron; manyamānaḥ—thinking like that; ātmanaḥ guru-mattayā—because of being heavier than he could personally perceive; gale—his neck; gṛhīte—being embraced or encircled by His arms; utsraṣṭum—to give up; na aśaknot—was not able; adbhuta-arbhakam—this wonderful child who was different from an ordinary child.
TRANSLATION
Because of Kṛṣṇa’s weight, Tṛṇāvarta considered Him to be like a great mountain or a hunk of iron. But because Kṛṣṇa had caught the demon’s neck, the demon was unable to throw Him off. He therefore thought of the child as wonderful, since he could neither bear the child nor cast aside the burden.
PURPORT
Tṛṇāvarta intended to take Kṛṣṇa up in the sky and kill Him, but Kṛṣṇa enjoyed the pastime of riding on Tṛṇāvarta’s body and traveling for a while in the sky. Thus Tṛṇāvarta’s attempt to kill Kṛṣṇa failed, while Kṛṣṇa, ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-vigraha, enjoyed this pastime. Now, since Tṛṇāvarta was falling because of Kṛṣṇa’s heaviness, he wanted to save himself by throwing Kṛṣṇa off from his neck, but was unable to do so because Kṛṣṇa held him very tightly. Consequently, this would be the last time for Tṛṇāvarta’s yogic power. Now he was going to die by the arrangement of Kṛṣṇa.
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