Radha Krishn- EDT & The Epic based Doubts/ Discussions - Page 20

There is no Krishna without Radhe. The word "Radhe" means, Ra means Ras, which means love or juice of life. Dhe means "the giver."

In continuation from page 24th part 2---

Initially, Krishna cried and tried to get her attention but Yashodha did not relent. Then he got angry. Using all his strength he just dragged the heavy pounding wood, which would normally not have been possible for a child of seven, but here the divine Kid with his mischevious mood went on further. It was the middle of the afternoon and all the village folk were busy with their work so there was no one who could help him. He just dragged it on and went towards the forest because all the cowherds, his friends, and the elders, would be there in the forest. Above all, he wanted to show his mother his disapproval for being unreasonably angry over him!

As he was going towards the river in the forest, he passed between two big trees and the pounding wood got stuck. He pulled it with such strength that these two trees just got uprooted and crashed! But after this, he was bruised by the rope and was very tired so he just stopped and rested there. Suddenly, he heard two female voices coming towards him. Two girls came that way and they noticed Krishna. The younger girl Lalitha was his playmate. The older girl was about 12 years of age. He did not know who she was but he was just drawn to her. She was Radha!!

The moment Radhe set her eyes on 7-year-old Krishna, he never went out of her eyes. From that moment, Krishna just lived in her eyes her whole life, whether he was physically there or not there. To put it in her own words, “I live in him. He lives in me. And that’s all. It doesn’t matter where he is or who he is with, he is only with me. He cannot be anywhere else.”

The two girls came up to him and asked, “What happened to you? Who tied you up like this, is it hurting you little Krishna?”

Radhe tried to untie him from the mortar wood but Krishna said, “Don’t do that. I want my mother to untie it. If you untie it she may still remain angry. If she has to come in search of me and untie me, then it will help her to go beyond her anger!!”

The girls asked Krishna, “Is there anything else we can do for you?”

Krishna wanted Lalitha out of the way, so he told her, “Go get me some water please.” And 12-year-old Radhe and 7-year-old Krishna sat together, talked about many things, but most of the time spent looking into each other's eyes silently in that first meeting.--

Nobody could put them apart after that, so much so that even after thousands of years, we still cannot think of them as two separate people!!

Once Radha had made a visit to a Mahadeva temple in Gokula, where Shiva was worshipped by all the gopals and gopis there. She had taken a vow that she would visit the temple, and after her visit, she promised that she would come again. To fulfill this vow that Radhe had come with her maternal grandmother to Gokula.

For a few days, Krishna and Radha played together and then it was time for her to leave. She was traveling in a bullock cart along with her family when they saw Krishna running behind the cart. Being such a lovable boy, they took him in the cart so that he could ride with them until the outskirts of the village. At the outskirts of the village, Krishna got down. He came to know that the whole of Barsana village had decided to migrate to Vrindavan, a place which was not yet inhabited, on the banks of the river Yamuna.

Krishna told Radhe, “I will come to Vrindavan.” Radha just took this simple statement of Krishna as a promise and she waited for months. Almost 13 months later, because of certain problems in Gokula, especially because wild animals were attacking their cattle, the people of Gokula decided to migrate to Vrindavan which was a virgin forest with abundant grasslands next to the river. The whole village – men, women, children, all the livestock they had, the bullock carts and their things – everything was packed up and they moved to Vrindavan.---

A group of young and enthusiastic boys were leading the caravan to Vrindavan and Krishna was the leader of this group. Radha heard that Gokul is coming to Vrindavan and she took it as, “He is fulfilling his promise to me. He said he will come and he is coming.” Once a person rises beyond certain limitations of his consciousness, every thought of His becomes the will of God itself. The very destiny and course of the world could be decided just by His will, simply by thought. The whole of Gokula went to Vrindavan and a whole new life started there!

If you travel in North India, you will see stickers and posters with just Radha, no Krishna. Because in her love and her sense of inclusion, she just included him as a part of herself. They say, “There is no Krishna without Radha.” It’s not the other way around. It is not that there is no Radha without Krishna. There is no Krishna without Radha -- they say!

If you want to see real Krishna, you must become feminine. This is not about being physically male or female. The feminine can be as alive in a man as it is in a woman because the feminine is a certain quality. If you want to know Krishna, you must be willing to become absolutely feminine. This is a path to the ultimate but it is a path of intimacy and tremendous passion!! It is a path which does not exclude anything but the very nature of the path is such that once a person steps into it, everything else just disappears. For Radha, the world does not exist. Only Krishna exists. She is not only a good social being but she is also an absolutely colorful eternal being!!

Dwaraka, the mythical city found under the sea near Gujarat coast where Mythology meets the Reality!! --

The discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka which is said to have been founded by Sri Krishna is an important landmark in the validation of historical relevance of Mahabharata. It has set at rest the doubts expressed by historians about the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dvaraka city. It has greatly narrowed the gap of Indian history by establishing the continuity of the Indian civilization from the Vedic age to the present day.

When underwater settlements are concerned within Indian marine archaeology, the most talked about would be the ancient city of Dwarka. As the legend goes, Krishna, the most powerful personality in Mahabharat, is said to have founded the city, in a place with the same name at the Devbhoomi Dwarka district in Gujarat’s west coast. Dwarka is one of the best-studied underwater sites in India.

According to ancient Hindu texts, Dwarka was a skirmish ground for Krishna and the evil King Salva. As the Mahabharat says, King Salva attacked Dwarka with a flying machine. It is the description of the battle that draws the attention of the ancient alien theorists, as it seems to suggest it was fought with sophisticated technology and advanced weapons, potentially with a craft attacking from the orbit. The spacecraft commenced an attack on the city with the use of energy weapons, which to on-lookers resembled lightning.

The attack was so devastating that most of the city lay in ruins.

Lord Krishna counterattacked and fired his weapons on the ship. Mythology describes them as arrows roaring like thunder and shining like the rays of the sun when released. The Indian mythology is replete with accounts of how the original Dwarka looked like.

Mahabharat says that Dwarka had 900,000 royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and decorated with emeralds>>[ after all it is the kingdom of Laxmi and her Pati !!] The city was connected by an elaborate system of boulevards, roads, market places, assembly houses, and temples. These legends have been etched into the Indian minds for so long that their authenticity is not questioned. Luckily, due to the grace of the marine archaeological department of India, the childhood stories have come to be a reality to a great extent.

Dwarka was supposed to have been built on six blocks, two on the right bank and four on the left. All the six sectors have protective walls built of dressed stones of sandstones. Whatever has been traced so far conforms to the description of Dwarka in the Mahabharat to a large extent. For example, the enclosures may correspond to the antahpurs (harems) of the texts.

Another crucial evidence is provided by Mudra (seal) in use of which there is a reference in the Harivamsa.

Dwarka excavations by the archaeological department have demonstrated that the rich underwater cultural heritage of India can be successfully explored, excavated, retrieved and preserved.

Based on the correlation between the excavated structures and artefacts with the description of Dwarka in Harivamsha Purana, and the fact that the carbon dating of artifacts fall around 3500BC, the same period concluded by many astronomical analysts as the period of the Mahabharata war and the submersion of Dwarka, it is more than reasonable to conclude that the excavated site near Bet Dwarka is indeed the legendary city of Dwarka.

Before the discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka, some scholars were of the view that the Hindu Epic Mahabharata is only a myth and that it would be futile to search for the remains of the ancient city and that too in the sea. Few scholars also believe that the Mahabharata battle was a family feud which was exaggerated into a war. Excavations of Dr S. R. Rao at Dwaraka prove that the descriptions found in the texts are not to be discarded as fancy stories but are to be treated as based on logic and reasoning.

The information I gathered from the different sites of the internet-- Madhuri.😊

Gayathri & Madhuri thanks for sharing all stories

m read them one by one...its treat for all of us

Do keep sharing

SB Canto 1 Ch 3

"In the beginning the Supreme Lord assumed, for the creation of the worlds, the form of the Original Person[: the integrity of the material realm] composed of the sixteen elements [of the ten knowing and working senses, the mind and the five elements] and the cosmic intelligence and such. (2) Resting in His meditative slumber in that water, out of the lotus that spread from the lake of His navel, Brahmâ was manifested, the master of the progenitors in the universe. (3) One supposes the different worlds [as expansions] to be part of the form of the Fortunate One that constitutes the excellence of the purest existence. (4) In a perfect [spiritual] vision His form is seen as having numerous legs, thighs, arms and faces, with wonderful heads, ears, eyes and noses, all glowing with countless garlands, earrings and dresses. (5)This source of the multifarious incarnations is the imperishable seed from which the plenary portions originate as also the portions thereof,such as the gods, the human beings and the animals."

The first position the godhead [Nârâyaṇa] created was that 0f the sons of Brahmâ [the Kumâras] who performed the most difficult discipline of continuous celibacy. The Supreme Enjoyer secondly assumed the form of a boar for the welfare of the earth that had sunken to the lowest regions and lifted her up[from the ocean]. Thirdly He accepted His presence among the seers [in the form of Nârada Muni] for the sake of evolving the Vedic knowledge concerning the performance of devotional service free from material motives. Fourth born as the twin sons of [Mûrti] the wife of king Dharma He in the form of Nara-Nârâyaṇa subjected Himself to severe penances to attain control over the senses. Fifth He, carrying the name of Kapila, gave an exposition to the brahmin Âsuri on the nature of metaphysics and the elements of creation, because in the course of time that knowledge had been lost. Sixth as the son of Atri [named Dattâtreya] being born from Anasûyâ who prayed for Him, He lectured to Alarka, Prahlâda and others about transcendence. Seventh being born from Âkûti as Yajña, the son of Prajâpati Ruci, He together with His son Yama and other demigods, ruled during the period of Svâyambhuva Manu [and became the Indra]. Eighth, from the wife of King Nâbhi, Merudevî, the Almighty Lord took birth as King Rishabha and showed the path of perfection respected by people of all stages of life. His ninth incarnation He accepted in response to the prayers of the sages,whereupon He [as Prithu] ruled the earth for the sake of collecting ['milking'] her produces, which made her most attractive. Assuming the form of a fish [Mâtsya],He after the period of Câkshusha Manu protected Vaivasvata Manu, keeping him in a boat afloat the waters when the world was deeply inundated. Eleventh the mighty Lord in the form of a tortoise [Kurma] sustained the Mandarâcala Hill of the theists and atheists that served as a pivot in the ocean. Twelfth He appeared as Dhanvantari [Lord of medicine] and Thirteenth He appeared before the atheists as an alluring beautiful woman and gave nectar to the demigods. In His fourteenth incarnation He, half as a lion, appeared as Nrisimha, who with His nails on His lap tore apart the king of the a theists like a carpenter splitting cane. Fifteenth He assumed the form of Vâmana [the dwarf brâhmana] who went to the arena of sacrifice of Mahârâja Bali to beg for only three steps of land, concealing His wish to regain the three worlds. In His sixteenth incarnation He [as Bhrigupati or Paras'urâma] saw that the ruling class was hostile towards the brahmins and acted twenty-one times against them. Seeing that the common people were less intelligent He, seventeenth, incarnated as Vyâsadeva taking birth from Satyavatî with Parâs'ara Muni as His father, for the purpose of dividing the desire tree of the Veda into several branches. Next He performed in a superhuman way having assumed the form of a divine human being [Râma], by controlling the Indian Ocean and such, so that He could act for the sake of the godly souls. Nineteenth as also twentieth Bhagavân took birth in the Vrishni family as Balarâma and Krishna and thus removed the burden from the world. Thereafter at the beginning of the Age of Kali He shall appear in Gayâ [Bihar] as the son of [mother] Añjanâ with the name Buddha for the purpose of deluding the ones envious of the theists. Next, at the conjunction of two yugas [this one and the next], when there is hardly a ruler to be found who is not a plunderer, the Lord of the Creation carrying the name of Kalki will take birth as the son of Vishnu Yas'â."

Extinguishing the Forest Fire

King Parīkṣit, after hearing of the chastisement of Kāliya, inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī as to why Kāliya left his beautiful land and why Garuḍa was so antagonistic to him. Śukadeva Gosvāmī informed the King that the island known as Nāgālaya was inhabited by serpents and that Kāliya was one of the chief serpents there. Being accustomed to eating snakes, Garuḍa used to come to this island and kill many serpents at his will. Some of them he actually ate, but some were unnecessarily killed. The reptile society became so disturbed that their leader, Vāsuki, appealed to Lord Brahmā for protection. Lord Brahmā made an arrangement by which Garuḍa would not create a disturbance: on each half-moon day, the reptile community would offer a serpent to Garuḍa. The serpent was to be kept underneath a tree as a sacrificial offering to Garuḍa. Garuḍa was satisfied with this offering, and therefore he did not disturb any other serpents.

Krishna's Bird Carrier Garuda struck the body of Kaliya with his effulgent golden wings

But gradually, Kāliya took advantage of this situation. He was unnecessarily puffed up by the volume of his accumulated poison, as well as by his material power, and he thought, "Why should Garuḍa be offered this sacrifice?" He then ceased offering any sacrifice; instead, he himself ate the offering intended for Garuḍa. When Garuḍa, the great devotee-carrier of Viṣṇu, understood that Kāliya was eating the offered sacrifices, he became very angry and quickly rushed to the island to kill the offensive serpent. Kāliya tried to fight Garuḍa and faced him with his many hoods and poisonous sharp teeth. Kāliya attempted to bite him, and Garuḍa, the son of Tārkṣya, in great anger and with the great force deserving the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu, struck the body of Kāliya with his effulgent golden wings. Kāliya, who is also known as Kadrūsuta, son of Kadrū, immediately fled to the lake known as Kāliyadaha, underneath the Yamunā River, which Garuḍa could not approach.

Kāliya took shelter within the water of the Yamunā for the following reason. Just as Garuḍa went to the island of the Kāliya snake, so he also used to go to the Yamunā to catch fish to eat. There was, however, a great yogi known as Saubhari Muni, who used to meditate within the water there and who was sympathetic with the fish. He asked Garuḍa not to come there and disturb the fish. Although Garuḍa was not under anyone's order, being the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu, he did not disobey the order of the great yogi. Instead of staying and eating many fish, he carried off one big fish, who was their leader. Saubhari Muni was sorry that one of the leaders of the fish was taken away by Garuḍa, and thinking of their protection, he cursed Garuḍa in the following words: "Henceforward from this day, if Garuḍa comes here to catch fish, then--I say this with all my strength--he will be immediately killed."

This curse was known only to Kāliya. Kāliya was, therefore, confident that Garuḍa would not be able to come there, and so he thought it wise to take shelter of the lake within the Yamunā. But Kāliya's taking shelter of Saubhari Muni was not successful; he was driven away from the Yamunā by Kṛṣṇa, the master of Garuḍa. It may be noted that Garuḍa is directly related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is so powerful that he is never subjected to anyone's order or curse. Actually the cursing of Garuḍa--who is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to be of the stature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān--was an offense on the part of Saubhari Muni. Although Garuḍa did not try to retaliate, the Muni was not saved from his offensive act against a great Vaiṣṇava personality. Due to this offense, Saubhari fell down from his yogic position and afterwards became a householder, a sense enjoyer in the material world. The falldown of Saubhari Muni, who was supposed to be absorbed in spiritual bliss by meditation, is an instruction to the offender of Vaiṣṇavas.

When Kṛṣṇa finally came out of Kāliya's lake, He was seen by all His friends and relatives on the bank of the Yamunā. He appeared before them nicely decorated, smeared all over with candana pulp, bedecked with valuable jewels and stones, and almost completely covered with gold. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, cowherd boys and men, mother Yaśodā, Mahārāja Nanda and all the cows and calves, saw Kṛṣṇa coming from the Yamunā, and it was as though they had recovered their very life. When a person regains his life, naturally he becomes absorbed in pleasure and joyfulness. They each in turn pressed Kṛṣṇa to their chests, and thus they felt a great relief. Mother Yaśodā, Rohiṇī, Mahārāja Nanda and the cowherd men became so happy that they embraced Kṛṣṇa and thought they had achieved their ultimate goal of life.

Balarāma also embraced Kṛṣṇa, but He was laughing because He had known what would happen to Kṛṣṇa when everyone else was so overwhelmed with anxiety. All the trees on the bank of the Yamunā, all the cows, bulls and calves were full of pleasure because of Kṛṣṇa's appearance there. The brāhmaṇa inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, along with their wives, immediately came to congratulate Kṛṣṇa and His family members. Brahmanas are considered to be the spiritual masters of society. They offered their blessings to Kṛṣṇa and the family on account of Kṛṣṇa's release. They also asked Mahārāja Nanda to give them some charity on that occasion. Being so pleased by Kṛṣṇa's return, Mahārāja Nanda began to give many cows and much gold in charity to the brāhmaṇas. While Nanda Mahārāja was thus engaged, mother Yaśodā simply embraced Kṛṣṇa and made Him sit on her lap while she shed tears continually.

Since it was almost night, and all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the cows and calves, were very tired, they decided to take their rest on the river bank. In the middle of the night, while they were taking rest, there was suddenly a great forest fire, and it quickly appeared that the fire would soon devour all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. As soon as they felt the warmth of the fire, they immediately took shelter of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He was playing just like their child. They began to say, "Our dear Kṛṣṇa! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! Our dear Balarāma, the reservoir of all strength! Please try to save us from this all devouring and devastating fire. We have no other shelter than You. This devastating fire will swallow us all!" Thus they prayed to Kṛṣṇa, saying that they could not take any shelter other than His lotus feet. Lord Kṛṣṇa, being compassionate upon His own townspeople, immediately swallowed up the whole forest fire and saved them. This was not impossible for Kṛṣṇa because He is unlimited. He has unlimited power to do anything He desires.

Krishna and Yashoda

There was hardly any woman, young or old, who was not influenced by Sri Krishna’s disarming charm. Legend has it that Sri Krishna had 16,008 wives. However, how was His relationship with the three most important women in His life— Yashoda, His mother, Rukmini, His first wife, and Radha, His unrequited love? All of them are Krishna devotees and have a close association with him!

Although Krishna was born to Devaki, it was Yashoda who had the good fortune of bringing Him up. She was the one who experienced the joys of holding Bal Gopal when He took His first steps, of feeding Him, of putting Him to sleep, and of watching Him grow up to a lovely youth.

According to a story, one day, when Narada arrived at Mathura, he saw mother Yashoda bathing her Krishna. Her legs were stretched and Krishna was lying on her legs with His face down. He clutched onto Yashoda’s toes in order to avoid falling off. Narada was overwhelmed by what he saw and wondered what penance had Yashoda undertaken in her previous life so that the Lord Himself was touching her feet.

Later, when it was time for Bal Krishna to walk, mother Yashoda held His tender fingers and helped Him take His first steps. Vishnu in His Trivikrama avatar measured the three worlds with His three giant steps and here was Krishna ‘allowing’ a mere mortal to hold His hands and teach Him walking!! Again, it was Yashoda who saw the seven oceans, the whole universe, and Narayana seated upon Adishesha beside Mahalakshmi inside little Krishna’s mouth!!

Yashoda’s affection for Krishna was more than ‘Vatsalya Prema’. Her love for Krishna was more than motherly love; it was ‘Vatsalya Bhakti’, a mother’s devotion!!

These are the stories of God from the people of God, in most of the folklore stories or the stories as the extensions of the Great Epics, the theme will be simple, in line with the commoner’s perception… imagining Gad as a common human being with a simple living style!😊

Although perfect in all his roles as son, brother, husband, friend, father, warrior, king, or mentor, Krishna is best remembered as a lover. His relationship with Radha is considered the paramount paradigm of love. But his disarming charm did not spare any woman in Vrindavan and beyond. Everywhere he went, women gave him their hearts and sought him as their husband and lord. In fact, Hindu mythology ascribes an astounding 16,008 wives to him! Of these, 16,000 were rescued princesses, and eight were principal wives!! Of these, Rukmini is considered the first among equals, Rukmini started her life as the first consort queen of Krishna, although she would not be the last!

Read this beautiful story of Krishna

Once Krishna sat down for a meal. Rukmani was serving the food. Krishna had hardly taken the first morsel when all of a sudden he got up and ran out. But no sooner had he reached the door than he came back and sat down.

Rukmani couldn’t understand this behavior. She asked him, “Why did you run? for what? Then why did you come back from the door? You ran as if some house was on fire and you had to extinguish it before having your meal. But then you came back as if nothing had happened.”

Krishna replied, “Yes, certainly something was on fire, but by the time I reached the door it was extinguished, so I came back. One of my devotees was walking on a street of the capital. People were throwing stones at him, his forehead was bleeding and he was calling, “Govinda, Govinda!” He was neither reacting nor trying to save himself. He had trusted himself to me entirely. So to save him I had to run.”

When one becomes helpless like that man, existence has to take care of him. When a person becomes so empty that in spite of being stoned he is doing nothing to save himself, he is not even running away and not even reacting, then the whole existence comes to save him. When there is a pit, water rushes from all sides to fill it up. Rukmani asked, “Then why did you come back?”

Krishna replied, “By the time I reached the door, he had changed his mind. He had picked up a stone in his hand. He himself was reacting so I was not needed anymore.”

God is needed when you are helpless, and in that helpless condition when “Govinda, Govinda!” is uttered by you, then that is bhajan, devotion. There is no need to say the word Govinda aloud; the inner emotion is enough. When your eyes full of love look towards the sky, when your heart is opened towards the sky and you’re making no effort to do anything from your side, that is the moment when the divine rushes towards you. If you become a pit, he is always ready to fill it up.

I think, through this deed and his words Krishna reiterated his Karma Theory>>> act, Proact and react, according to the situation. Or is there any other specific meaning behind this ?

LordBalarama killed many demons in his life time.They were:

1 Dhenukasura(the ass demon).

Once Krishna,Balaramaand other cowherd boys wandered into the forest where Dhenukasura lived.Theywere driven towards the forest by sweet smell of the palm treefruits.Dhenukasura charged at Balarama, who caught the demon by it’slegs,whirled it towards a tree and broke it’s major body parts(chest,neck andwaist).Thus, he killed Dhenuka and his acquaintances and freed the forest.

2 Pralambasura

The demondisguised himself as a boy and joined Krishna,Balarama and other boys in agame.He carried Balarama on his back as a part of the game.He started runningspeedily and assumed his true form.Balarama later beat him to death.

3 Balvala

Thisdemon used to disturb sages’ sacred activities by throwing impure materialslike blood,pus,etc.Balarama came forward to fight him to protect the sages.Hedragged the flying demon down to earth by his plough and struck his head withhis club.The demon died due to profuse bleeding from the head.

Apartfrom the demons, he killed one of Kansa’s wrestlers called Mushtikawhile he and Krishna were in Mathura for killing Kansa.

He laterkilled a wicked and atrocious gorilla called Dvivida by punching it withgreat force.Dvivida was a friend of demon Narakasura,who was killed by Krishna.

Balaramaalso killed a disciple of Vyasadeva named Romaharshana Suta because hethought that he had disrespected everyone by sitting on the highest position ofall learned sages and had not greeted him.But later, he atoned for killing him.

Balaramaalso killed Rukmi( brother of Rukmini and hence, Krishna’s brother-in-law) with his mace because Rukmi had purposefully insulted and cheated himin a chess match,at the occasion of Aniruddha’s(Krishna’s grandson’s )marriage.