VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 66
The False Vâsudeva Paundraka and His Son Consumed by Their Own Fire
This chapter relates how Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Kāśī (present-day Benares) and killed Pauṇḍraka and Kāśirāja, and how the Lord's Sudarśana disc defeated a demon, incinerated the city of Kāśī and killed Sudakṣiṇa.
While Lord Baladeva was visiting Vraja, King Pauṇḍraka of Karūṣa, encouraged by fools, announced that he was the real Vāsudeva. Thus he challenged Lord Kṛṣṇa with the following message: "Since I alone am the true Personality of Godhead, You should give up Your false claim to this position, as well as my divine symbols, and take shelter of me. If You do not, then prepare for battle."
When Ugrasena and the members of his royal assembly heard Pauṇḍraka's foolish boast, they all laughed heartily. Śrī Kṛṣṇa then told Pauṇḍraka's messenger to convey a message to his master: "O fool, I will force you to give up the so-called Sudarśana disc and the other divine symbols of Mine you have dared to assume. And when you lie down on the battlefield, you will become the shelter of dogs."
Lord Kṛṣṇa then went to Kāśī. Pauṇḍraka, seeing the Lord preparing for battle, quickly came out of the city to confront Him with his army. His friend Kāśirāja followed him, leading the rear guard. Just as the fire of universal devastation destroys every living being in all directions, so Lord Kṛṣṇa annihilated the armies of Pauṇḍraka and Kāśirāja. Then, after chastising Pauṇḍraka, the Lord beheaded both him and Kāśirāja with His Sudarśana disc. Thereafter, He returned to Dvārakā. Because Pauṇḍraka had constantly meditated on the Supreme Lord, even dressing like Him, he gained liberation.
When Kṛṣṇa beheaded Kāśirāja, the King's head flew into his city, and when his queens, sons and other relatives saw it, they all began to lament. At that time a son of Kāśirāja's named Sudakṣiṇa, wanting to avenge his father' s death, began worshiping Lord Śiva with the intention of destroying his father's killer. Gratified by Sudakṣiṇa's worship, Lord Śiva offered him a choice of benedictions, and Sudakṣiṇa asked for a means to kill the one who had slain his father. Lord Śiva advised him to worship the Dakṣiṇāgni fire with black magic rituals. This Sudakṣiṇa did, with the result that a fearsome demon with a body of flames appeared from the pit of the sacrificial fire. The demon rose up carrying a fiery trident and at once set off for Dvārakā.
The residents of Lord Kṛṣṇa's capital became terrified as the demon approached the city, but Lord Kṛṣṇa assured them of protection and dispatched His Sudarśana cakra to oppose the magic creation of Lord Śiva. The Sudarśana overpowered the demon, who then returned to Vārāṇasī and burned Sudakṣiṇa to ashes, together with his priests. The Sudarśana disc, following the demon, entered Vārāṇasī and burned the entire city to the ground. Then the Lord's disc returned to His side in Dvārakā.
10.66.1
karūṣādhipatir nṛpa
vāsudevo 'ham ity ajño
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'With Balarâma gone to Nanda's cowherd village sent the ruler of Karûsha [Paundraka], o King, foolishly thinking 'I am Vâsudeva', a messenger to Krishna.
Since Lord Rāma had gone to Nanda-vraja, Pauṇḍraka foolishly thought that Lord Kṛṣṇa would be alone and therefore easy to challenge. Thus he dared to send his crazy message to the Lord.
10.66.2
iti prastobhito bālair
(2) Childishly people had alluded: 'You are Vâsudeva, the Supreme Lord who has descended as the Master of the Universe!', and so he imagined himself to be the Infallible One.
10.66.3
kṛṣṇāyāvyakta-vartmane
dvārakāyāḿ yathā bālo
(3) Like a boy of little intelligence who by kids was appointed king sent he, being silly, a messenger to Krishna, He whose ways are inscrutable, who resided in Dvârakâ.
the reason Śukadeva Gosvāmī here mentions for the second time that Pauṇḍraka sent a message to Lord Kṛṣṇa is that the great sage is astonished at Pauṇḍraka's extreme foolishness.
10.66.4
kṛṣṇaḿ kamala-patrākṣaḿ
(4) The envoy arriving in Dvârakâ then in the royal assembly relayed to Krishna Almighty with the Lotuspetal Eyes the message of his king:
10.66.5
vāsudevo 'vatīrno 'ham
bhūtānām anukampārthaḿ
(5) 'I Vâsudeva, the one and only without a second, have descended to this world with the purpose of showing mercy to the living beings. You however, have to give up Your false title!
the real import of these two verses: "I am not Vāsudeva incarnate, but rather You alone, and no one else, are Vāsudeva. Since You have descended to show mercy to the living beings, please make me give up my false designation, which is like that of an oyster claiming to be silver." The Supreme Lord will certainly comply with this request.
10.66.6
no ced dehi mamāhavam
(6) O Sâtvata, give up my symbols. You carry them out of delusion. You better come to me for shelter; if not so, give me battle instead.'
Pauṇḍraka's words according to the inspiration of Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning. Thus they may be understood to mean "Out of foolishness I have assumed an imitation conchshell, disc, lotus and club, and You are maintaining these by allowing me to use them. You have not yet subdued me and gotten rid of these imitation symbols. Therefore please mercifully come and liberate me by forcing me to give them up. Give me battle, and grant me liberation by killing me."
10.66.7
pauṇḍrakasyālpa-medhasaḥ
ugrasenādayaḥ sabhyā
uccakair jahasus tadā
(7) S'rî S'uka said: 'Hearing that boasting of Paundraka so poor of intelligence, laughed the members of the assembly headed by Ugrasena loudly.
10.66.8
yais tvam evaḿ vikatthase
(8) The Supreme Lord, after the joking was done, said to the messenger: 'I'll hurl you, o fool, the symbols you so boast about.
The Sanskrit word utsrakṣye means "I will hurl, throw, let loose, abandon, etc." Foolish Pauṇḍraka demanded that Lord Kṛṣṇa give up His powerful weapons, such as the disc and the club, and here the Lord replies, utsrakṣye mūḍha cihnāni: "Yes, fool, I will indeed let loose these weapons when we meet on the battlefield."
In Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda nicely describes this scene as follows: "When all the members of the royal assembly, including King Ugrasena, heard this message sent by Pauṇḍraka, they laughed very loudly for a considerable time. After enjoying the loud laughter of all the members of the assembly, Kṛṣṇa replied to the messenger as follows: 'O messenger of Pauṇḍraka, you may carry My message to your master. He is a foolish rascal. I directly call him a rascal, and I refuse to follow his instructions. I shall never give up the symbols of Vāsudeva, especially My disc. I shall use this disc to kill not only King Pauṇḍraka but all his followers also. I shall destroy this Pauṇḍraka and his foolish associates, who merely constitute a society of cheaters and the cheated.' "
10.66.9
śayiṣyase hatas tatra
(9) The shelter of dogs you'll be, o ignoramus, lying dead with that face of yours covered by herons, vultures and vathas all around.'
Pauṇḍraka foolishly told the Supreme Lord to come to him for shelter, but here Lord Kṛṣṇa tells him, "You are not My shelter, but rather you will become the shelter of dogs when they happily feast on your dead body."
"[Lord Kṛṣṇa told Pauṇḍraka, 'When I shall destroy you,] foolish King, you will have to conceal your face in disgrace, and when your head is severed from your body by My disc, you will be surrounded by meat-eating birds like vultures, hawks and eagles. At that time, instead of becoming My shelter, as you have demanded, you will be subjected to the mercy of these lowborn birds. At that time your body will be thrown to the dogs, who will eat it with great pleasure.' "
10.66.10
(10) Thus addressed carried the messenger that insulting reply in full detail over to his master and went Krishna, riding His chariot, to Kâs'î [Vârânasî].
"The messenger carried the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa to his master, Pauṇḍraka, who patiently heard all these insults. Without waiting any longer, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa immediately started out in His chariot to punish the rascal Pauṇḍraka. Because at that time the King of Karūṣa [Pauṇḍraka] was living with his friend the King of Kāśī, Kṛṣṇa surrounded the whole city of Kāśī."
10.66.11
akṣauhiṇībhyāḿ saḿyukto
niścakrāma purād drutam
(11) As soon as the mighty warrior Paundraka saw that He was preparing for battle, appeared he from the city joined by two akshauhinîs.
10.66.12-14
akṣauhiṇībhis tisṛbhir
śrīvatsādy-upalakṣitam
amūlya-mauly-ābharaṇaḿ
(12-14) The Lord saw Paundraka within his wake his friend, the master of Kâs'î, with three akshauhinîs more, o King. He presented himself complete with a conch, a disc, a sword and a club, a S'ârnga and the mark of a S'rîvatsa and other symbols, including a Kaustubha-gem and the decoration of a forest flower garland. Wearing a pair of fine silken yellow garments and in his banner Garuda wore he a valuable crown and had he ornamented himself with gleaming shark-shaped earrings.
10.66.15
(15) The sight of him dressed up as His spitting image, like he was an actor on a stage, made the Lord laugh heartily.
"On the whole, [Pauṇḍraka's] dress and makeup were clearly imitation. Anyone could understand that he was just like someone on a stage playing the part of Vāsudeva in false dress. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw Pauṇḍraka imitating His posture and dress, He could not check His laughter, and thus He laughed with great satisfaction."
that it was a benediction from Lord Śiva that enabled Pauṇḍraka to imitate the Lord's dress and appearance exactly — a fact gleaned from the Uttara-khaṇḍa of Śrī Padma Purāṇa.
10.66.16
śulair gadābhiḥ parighaiḥ
prāharann arayo harim
(16) With tridents, clubs and bludgeons, pikes, blades, barbed missiles, lances, swords, axes and arrows was the Lord attacked by the enemies.
10.66.17
kṛṣṇas tu tat pauṇḍraka-kāśirājayor
gadāsi-cakreṣubhir ārdayad bhṛśaḿ
(17) Krishna however with His club, sword, disc and arrows fiercely tormented that military force of elephants, chariots, horses and infantry of Paundraka and the king of Kâs'î, like He was the fire at the end of the world to the different kinds of living entities.
"The soldiers on the side of King Pauṇḍraka began to shower their weapons upon Kṛṣṇa. The weapons, including various kinds of tridents, clubs, poles, lances, swords, daggers and arrows, came flying in waves, and Kṛṣṇa counteracted them. He smashed not only the weapons but also the soldiers and assistants of Pauṇḍraka, just as during the dissolution of this universe the fire of devastation burns everything to ashes. The elephants, chariots, horses and infantry belonging to the opposite party were scattered by the weapons of Kṛṣṇa."
10.66.18
dvipat-kharoṣṭrair ariṇāvakhaṇḍitaiḥ
ākrīḍanaḿ bhūta-pater ivolbaṇam
(18) That battlefield, strewn with the by His disc cut to pieces chariots, horses, elephants, bipeds, mules and camels, shone like the horrible playground of the Lord of the Ghosts [Bhûtapati, or S'iva], bringing pleasure to the wise.
"Although the devastated battlefield appeared like the dancing place of Lord Śiva at the time of the dissolution of the world, the warriors who were on the side of Kṛṣṇa were very much encouraged by seeing this, and they fought with greater strength."
10.66.19
athāha pauṇḍrakaḿ śaurir
(19) S'auri then said to Paundraka: 'Those weapons you spoke of to Me through the words of your messenger, I now discharge at you.
"At this time Lord Kṛṣṇa told Pauṇḍraka, 'Pauṇḍraka, you requested Me to give up the symbols of Lord Viṣṇu, specifically My disc. Now I will give it up to you. Be careful! You falsely declare yourself to be Vāsudeva, imitating Myself. Therefore no one is a greater fool than you.' From this statement of Kṛṣṇa's it is clear that any rascal who advertises himself as God is the greatest fool in human society."
10.66.20
tyājayiṣye 'bhidhānaḿ me
(20) I'll make you renounce My name and all, that you falsely assumed, o fool; let Me today turn to you for shelter [as you wanted], if not wishing the battle.'
Now, Pauṇḍraka, I shall force you to give up this false representation. You wanted Me to surrender unto you. Now this is your opportunity. We shall fight, and if I am defeated and you become victorious, I shall certainly surrender unto you."
10.66.21
śiro 'vṛścad rathāńgena
(21) Thus deriding him, drove He with His sharp arrows Paundraka out of his chariot and lopped He with His disc his head off, just like Indra with his thunderbolt would cut a mountain top.
10.66.22
chira utkṛtya patribhiḥ
(22) So too severed He with His arrows the head of the king of Kâs'î from his body, sending it flying into Kâs'î-puri like the wind transporting a calyx of a lotus.
why Kṛṣṇa threw Kāśirāja's head into the city: "As he went off to battle, the King of Kāśī had promised the citizens: 'My dear residents of Kāśī, today I will bring the enemy's head into the midst of the city. Have no doubt of this.' The King's sinful queens had also boasted to their maids-in-waiting: 'Today our master will certainly bring the head of the Lord of Dvārakā.' Therefore the Supreme Lord threw the King's head into the city to astonish the inhabitants."
10.66.23
gīyamāna-kathāmṛtaḥ
(23) Thus having killed as well the envious Paundraka as his friend, entered the Lord Dvârakâ where He was honored by the perfected who recited His nectarean stories.
10.66.24
pradhvastākhila-bandhanaḥ
(24) And so did he [Paundraka] of whom by his constant meditation upon Him in assuming the personal form of the Lord all bondage was completely shattered, become fully absorbed in Him [viz. Krishna conscious], o King [see sârûpya].
"As far as Pauṇḍraka was concerned, somehow or other he was always thinking of Vāsudeva by falsely dressing himself in that way, and therefore Pauṇḍraka achieved sārūpya, one of the five kinds of liberation, and was thus promoted to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, where the devotees have the same bodily features as Viṣṇu, with four hands holding the four symbols. Factually, his meditation was concentrated on the Viṣṇu form, but because he thought himself to be Lord Viṣṇu, he was offensive. After being killed by Kṛṣṇa. however, that offense was also mitigated. Thus he was given sārūpya liberation, and he attained the same form as the Lord."
10.66.25
(25) Seeing the head with the earrings that had landed near the palace gate, wondered the people: 'Whose head would this be?'
"When the head of the King of Kāśī was thrown through the city gate, people gathered and were astonished to see that wonderful thing. When they found out that there were earrings on it, they could understand that it was someone's head. They conjectured as to whose head it might be. Some thought it was Kṛṣṇa's head because Kṛṣṇa was the enemy of Kāśirāja, and they calculated that the King of Kāśī might have thrown Kṛṣṇa's head into the city so that the people might take pleasure in the enemy's having been killed. But it was finally detected that the head was not Kṛṣṇa's but that of Kāśirāja himself. "
10.66.26
(26) Recognizing it as the head of the king, the ruler of Kâs'î, cried his queens, his sons and other relatives and the citizens their eyes out over it: 'Alas master, o master, o King, we're killed!'
10.66.27-28
ity ātmanābhisandhāya
sopādhyāyo maheśvaram
(27-28) His son named Sudakshina for the father executing the funeral rites, made up his mind and decided: 'In order to avenge my father I'll kill my father's murderer', and for that reason prayed he as su-dakshina, 'the excellence of the reward', together with priests with great attention to Mahes'vara [Lord S'iva].
"The lord of the kingdom of Kāśī is Viśvanātha (Lord Śiva). The temple of Lord Viśvanātha is still existing in Vārāṇasī, and many thousands of pilgrims still gather daily in that temple."
10.66.29
prīto 'vimukte bhagavāḿs
(29) At [the holy place of] Avimukta offered the great lord him satisfied a choice of benedictions, upon which he as his benediction from the mighty demigod chose for a means to slay Him who had killed his father.
10.66.30-31
dakṣiṇāgniḿ paricara
kṛṣṇāyābhicaran vratī
(30-31) [S'iva said: ] 'With brahmins and the original priest be of service to the dakshina [southern] fire with an abhicâra ['hurting'] ritual of use against an enemy of the brahmins, so that surrounded by the Pramathas [see also 10.63: 6] your desire is fulfilled', and thus instructed observed he the vows with the purpose of harming Krishna.
It is clearly stated here that the powerful Dakṣiṇāgni fire could be directed only against someone unfavorable to brahminical culture. Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, is most favorable to the brāhmaṇas and in fact maintains the brahminical culture. Lord Śiva thus knew that if Sudakṣiṇa attempted to direct the power of this ritual against Lord Kṛṣṇa, Sudakṣiṇa himself would perish.
10.66.32-33
tato 'gnir utthitaḥ kuṇḍān
ańgārodgāri-locanaḥ
(32-33) Thereupon rose up from the fire of the altar pit, an impressive figure most horrendous with a tuft of hair, beard and mustache like molten copper, hot radiating cinders of eyes, terrible teeth and a harsh face with arched and furrowed eyebrows, who, with his tongue licking the corners of his mouth, naked waved a blazing trident [see also 4.5: 3 and 6.9: 12].
10.66.34
so 'bhyadhāvad vṛto bhūtair
(34) With legs as big as palm trees shaking the earth ran he accompanied by ghosts to Dvârakâ burning the directions.
10.66.35
āyāntaḿ dvārakaukasaḥ
(35) Seeing him, created from the abhicâra fire, approaching were all the residents of Dvârakâ, just like animals are with a big forest fire, stricken with fear.
10.66.36
bhagavantaḿ bhayāturāḥ
(36) Distraught went they in panic to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who in the royal court was playing a game of dice [and said to Him]: 'Save us, save us from the fire burning down the city, o Lord of the Three Worlds!'
10.66.37
śrutvā taj jana-vaiklavyaḿ
śaraṇyaḥ samprahasyāha
(37) Hearing this clamor of the people and seeing how upset His own men were, laughed S'aranya, the Protector, loudly and said: 'Do not be afraid of this, I'll protect you!'
10.66.38
(38) The Almighty Lord, the Witness within and without of everyone, understood the creature to be of Mahes'vara and aimed to put an end to him the cakra He had always at His side.
that Lord Kṛṣṇa, playing the part of a king, was absorbed in a gambling match and did not want to be disturbed by such an insignificant matter as the attack of a fiery demon. So He simply dispatched His cakra weapon and ordered him to take the necessary steps.
10.66.39
jājvalyamānaḿ pralayānala-prabham
(39) That weapon, the Sudars'ana cakra of Krishna, that like a million suns was blazing with an effulgence like the fire at the end of the universe, tormented with its heat the sky, the heavens and the earth in the ten directions, affecting as well the fire [of the demon; see also 9.4: 46].
10.66.40
kṛtyānalaḥ pratihataḥ sa rathānga-pāṇer
astraujasā sa nṛpa bhagna-mukho nivṛttaḥ
(40) He, the fire that was created, frustrated by the power of the weapon of Him with the Disc in His Hand turned around, o King, and in his deference from all sides closed in on Vârânasî and burned to death Sudakshina and all his priests with the abhicâra he had called for himself.
"Having failed to set fire to Dvārakā, [the fiery demon] went back to Vārāṇasī, the kingdom of Kāśirāja. As a result of his return, all the priests who had helped instruct the black art of mantras, along with their employer, Sudakṣiṇa, were burned into ashes by the glaring effulgence of the fiery demon. According to the methods of black-art mantras instructed in the tantra, if the mantra fails to kill the enemy, then, because it must kill someone, it kills the original creator. Sudakṣiṇa was the originator, and the priests assisted him; therefore all of them were burned to ashes. This is the way of the demons: the demons create something to kill God, but by the same weapon the demons themselves are killed."
10.66.41
cakraḿ ca viṣṇos tad-anupraviṣṭaḿ
vārānasīḿ sāṭṭa-sabhālayāpaṇām
(41) So also did the cakra of Vishnu in pursuit enter Vârânasî with its gateways and watchtowers and its many raised porches, assembly halls, market places, warehouses and the buildings housing the elephants, horses, chariots and grains.
10.66.42
viṣṇoś cakraḿ sudarśanam
kṛṣṇasyākliṣṭa-karmaṇaḥ
(42) Having laid in ashes all of Vârânasî returned Vishnu's Sudars'ana disc to the side of Krishna whose actions are effortless.
10.66.43
(43) Any mortal who in full attention recounts or hears this heroic pastime of the Supreme One who is praised in the verses will be released of all sins.'
Thus end of the Tenth Canto, Sixty-sixth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Pauṇḍraka, the False Vāsudeva."
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