CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX The Slaying of Ariṣṭā, the Bull Demon

According to the Śrī Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Ariṣṭāsura entered Kṛṣṇa’s village at twilight, as the Lord prepared to dance with the gopīs:

“Once, midway through the period of dusk, when Lord Janārdana was eager to perform the rāsa dance, Ariṣṭāsura madly entered the cowherd village, terrifying everyone.”

The Vedic literature categorizes miscarriages as follows: Ā-caturthād bhavet srāvaḥ pātaḥ pañcama-ṣaṣṭhayoḥ/ ata ūrdhvaṁ prasūtiḥ syāt. “Up to the fourth month a premature delivery is called srāva, in the fifth and sixth months it is called pāta, and after this it is considered a birth (prasūti).”

Lord Kṛṣṇa showed His contempt for the ignorant demon.

This verse exemplifies the sublime contrast of spiritual qualities within Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In one four-line verse we simultaneously learn that Lord Kṛṣṇa killed a powerful and wicked demon and that His boyish beauty gave festive pleasure to His young girlfriends. Lord Kṛṣṇa is as hard as a thunderbolt or as soft as a rose, depending on our attitude toward Him. The demon Ariṣṭa wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa and all His friends, so the Lord beat him into a wet rag and killed him. The gopīs, however, loved Kṛṣṇa, and thus the Lord boyishly reciprocated their conjugal feelings.

The term deva-darśana can be understood in many ways, all of which are consistent with the context and purport of this narration. Deva means “God,” and darśanaḥ means “seeing” or “an audience with a great personality.” Thus deva-darśana, a name for Nārada Muni, indicates that Nārada has attained the perfection of seeing God, that getting Nārada’s audience is as good as getting God’s (since Nārada is a pure representative of the Lord), and also that Nārada’s audience is as good as that of the demigods, who are also known as devas. That there are all these meanings of the term deva-darśanaḥ reveals something of the richness of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s language.

From the Purāṇas, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has quoted twenty verses describing a joking conversation between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa that took place after Kṛṣṇa had killed the demon Ariṣṭa. This conversation, so kindly quoted by the ācārya, describes the origin of Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa, Rādhā’s and Kṛṣṇa’s bathing ponds. The verses are as follows:

“The innocent young gopīs said, ‘Ah, Kṛṣṇa, don’t touch us now, O killer of a bull! Alas, even though Ariṣṭa was a terrible demon, still he was a male cow, so You will have to undergo atonement, just as Lord Indra did after killing Vṛtrāsura. But how can You purify Yourself without going to the trouble of visiting every single holy place in the three worlds?’”

“[Kṛṣṇa replied,] ‘Why should I have to wander throughout the entire universe? I will at once bring all the countless pilgrimage places here and take My bath in them. Just watch!’ With this, Lord Mukunda struck His heel on the ground.”

“[Then He said,] ‘This is the water of the Bhogavatī River, coming from the Pātāla region. And now, O holy places, all of you please come here!’ When the Supreme Lord had spoken these words, all the holy places went there and appeared before Him. Kṛṣṇa then addressed the gopīs as follows.”

“‘See all the holy places!’

“But the gopīs replied, ‘We don’t see them as You describe.’

“Then those best of holy places, joining their palms in supplication, spoke up:

“‘I am the salt ocean.’

“‘I am the Ocean of Milk.’

“‘I am the Amara-dīrghikā.’”

“‘I am the river Śoṇa.’

“‘I am the Sindhu.’

“‘I am the Tāmraparṇī.’

“‘I am the holy place Puṣkara.’

“‘I am the river Sarasvatī.’

“‘And we are the Godāvarī, Yamunā and Revā rivers and the confluence of rivers at Prayāga. Just see our waters!’”

“After purifying Himself by bathing, Lord Hari became quite arrogant and said, ‘I have produced a pond containing all the various holy places, whereas you gopīs must never have executed any religious duties on this earth for the pleasure of Lord Brahmā.’ Then Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī addressed Her girlfriends as follows.”

“‘I must create an even more beautiful pond. So go to work!’ Having heard these words, the gopīs saw that Ariṣṭāsura’s hooves had dug a shallow ditch just west of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pond.”

“At that nearby spot, all the gopīs began digging up lumps of soft mud with their hands, and in this way a divine pond manifested in the short span of an hour. Kṛṣṇa was astonished to see the lake they produced.”

“He said, ‘Go ahead, lotus-eyed one. You and Your companions should fill this pond with water from Mine.’

“But Rādhā replied, ‘No, no, no, no! This is impossible, since the water of Your pond is contaminated by Your terrible sin of killing a cow.’”

“‘I will have My countless gopī companions bring the pure water of the Mānasa-gaṅgā here in billions of pots. In this way I will fill this lake with My own water and thus make its renown unequaled in the entire world.’”

“Lord Kṛṣṇa then gestured to a heavenly personality who was an intimate associate of all the holy places. Suddenly that person rose up out of Kṛṣṇa’s pond and bowed down to the daughter of Śrī Vṛṣabhānu [Rādhārāṇī]. Then, with palms joined and tears pouring from his eyes, he began praying to Her in devotion.”

“‘O goddess, even Lord Brahmā himself, the knower of all scriptures, cannot understand Your glories, nor can Lord Śiva or Lakṣmī. Only Kṛṣṇa, the supreme goal of all human endeavor, can understand them, and thus He feels obliged to personally make sure that You can wash away Your perspiration when You are fatigued.’”

“‘He is always anointing Your lotus feet with nectarean cāru and yāvaka and decorating them with ankle bells, and He rejoices and feels most fortunate simply by satisfying the tips of the toes of Your lotus feet. On His order we have immediately come here to live in this most excellent pond, which He created by one stroke of His heel. But only if You now feel satisfied with us and bestow upon us Your merciful glance will the tree of our desire bear fruit.’”

“Hearing this prayer spoken by the representative of the full assembly of holy places, Śrī Rādhā was pleased and said, ‘So, kindly tell Me your desire.’

“They then told Her plainly, ‘Our lives would be successful if we could come to Your pond. That is the benediction we desire.’”

“Glancing at Her beloved from the corners of Her eyes, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu replied with a smile, ‘Please come.’ Her gopī companions all agreed with Her decision and became immersed in the ocean of happiness. Indeed, the beauty of all creatures, both mobile and stationary, was enhanced.”

“Thus gaining the grace of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the holy rivers and lakes in Śrī Kṛṣṇa-kuṇḍa forcibly broke through its boundary walls and swiftly filled Rādhā-kuṇḍa with their waters.”

“Lord Hari then said, ‘My dear Rādhā, may this pond of Yours become even more world-renowned than Mine. I will always come here to bathe and to enjoy My water pastimes. Indeed, this lake is as dear to Me as You are.’”

“Rādhā replied, ‘I will come to bathe in Your pond as well, even though You may kill hundreds of Ariṣṭa demons here. In the future, anyone who has intense devotion for this lake, which is on the spot where You chastised Ariṣṭāsura, and who bathes or resides here is sure to become very dear to Me.’”

“That night Lord Kṛṣṇa initiated a rāsa dance at Rādhā-kuṇḍa, generating a torrent of the greatest mood of splendorous pleasure. Śrī Kṛṣṇa resembled a cloud, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī a brilliant flash of lightning filling the sky with abundant beauty. In this way Their divine glories permeated the expanses of the three worlds.”

As a final note, it should be mentioned that Nārada Muni, being a great sage, understood that the killing of Ariṣṭa more or less concluded the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Therefore Nārada, anxious to facilitate the transferal of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes to Mathurā, approached Kaṁsa and addressed him as follows.

Kaṁsa had been led to believe that Kṛṣṇa was the son of Yaśodā and that Devakī’s eighth child had been a daughter. The identity of Devakī’s eighth child was extremely important to Kaṁsa because a prophecy had foretold that her eighth child would kill him. Here Nārada informs the King that the eighth child of Devakī was the formidable Kṛṣṇa, thus implying that the prophecy should be taken very seriously. Having received this information, Kaṁsa obviously will now do everything in his power to kill Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

Kaṁsa realized that there was no use in killing Vasudeva, since it was Vasudeva’s sons, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, who were to kill him. According to the ācāryas, Nārada also advised Kaṁsa that if he killed Vasudeva the two young boys might flee and that it was therefore better not to kill him. Rather, Nārada recommended, Kaṁsa should bring Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to Kaṁsa’s capital city, Mathurā.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī points out that Nārada did not act inimically toward the great devotees Vasudeva and Devakī when he revealed this information to Kaṁsa. In fact, as explained in the Eleventh Canto, Vasudeva was grateful to Nārada because he was arranging for Kaṁsa’s death at Kṛṣṇa’s hands, and further arranging for Kṛṣṇa to come and live in Mathurā, where His loving father could associate with Him.

Before having Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma brought to Mathurā, Kaṁsa tried sending one more demon to Vṛndāvana.

The word mañcāḥ refers to platforms constructed with large pillars. Kaṁsa wanted a festive atmosphere so that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma would not be afraid to come.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī gives the following interesting note: “When King Kaṁsa said ‘with this chariot,’ he pointed with his index finger to a brand-new, attractive chariot. Kaṁsa thought that since Akrūra was innocent by nature, when he saw this fine, new vehicle he would naturally want to drive it and quickly bring the two boys back. But the actual reason Akrūra went on a new chariot was that it would have been clearly inappropriate for the Supreme Personality of Godhead to mount a chariot that had already been enjoyed by the wicked Kaṁsa.”

Even today there are wicked political leaders throughout the world who make such plans and even carry them out.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that although what Akrūra said was courteous and encouraging, his hidden meaning was far different. What he really meant was this: “Your plan is not fit to execute, yet I will carry it out since you are the King and I am your subject, and in any case, you are about to die.”