Kaliya Ghat

This is where Krishna subdued the multi-hooded and venomous serpent (naga) known as Kaliya, by ecstatically dancing on the snakes many hoods. After Kaliya Naga heard that Garuda, the eagle carrier of Lord Vishnu, could no longer enter Vrindavana due to a curse pronounced on him by Saubhari Muni, Kaliya decided to move his residence to this place where a large lake had formed within the River Yamuna, because he felt he would be safe from any attack by Garuda, who is the mortal enemy of all snakes. Because of Kaliya’s presence, this part of the river became highly poisonous and all the fish died, any animal that drank the water would die immediately, even birds that by chance flew over the lake would fall down dead after inhaling the toxic fumes. Understanding the great danger to everyone concerned, especially the cows who used to drink water from the river, Krishna decided that He must rid the Yamuna of this poisonous serpent forever.
Climbing a nearby kadamba tree, Krishna jumped into the water and began splashing about trying to attract the attention of Kaliya. Sure enough, the envious snake soon arrived on the spot to see who was causing all the commotion. The great snake immediately grabbed hold of Krishna in his powerful coils and attempted to crush His delicate body. The serpent exerted all his strength in attempting to crush Krishna, but to no avail. After Krishna saw all the Vrajavasis on the riverbank crying and falling unconscious on the ground due to anxiety that He might be killed, He decided it was time to exhibit His own strength. Krishna immediately freed Himself from the powerful coils of Kaliya Naga and then jumped on to the hoods of the serpent, and while playing on His flute , began to dance ecstatically from one hood to the next. As Krishna rhythmically stamped His feet down on Kaliya’s hoods while dancing, it felt to Kaliya that he was being struck on the head by thunderbolts. Within a short time, Kaliya Naga was completely exhausted due to Krishna’s incessant dancing on his hoods, which left him battered and bruised with blood oozing from his many mouths.
The wives of Kaliya Naga known as the naga-patnis, immediately came before Krishna
begging Him to spare their poor husband, who appeared to be on the verge of death. After
hearing the heartfelt prayers of the naga-patnis, Krishna decided to release the Kaliya serpent, but ordered him to leave the vicinity of the Yamuna River and depart with his wives and children to the ocean, where he could cause no harm to anyone. Kaliya Naga readily agreed to the proposal and after bowing his hoods in submission, quickly left the Yamuna along with his family forever

Vedic scripturs describe s the purifying effect of bathing at selected location along the Yamuna river where krsna enacted his exiting transcendental escapades by talking bath at keshi ghat one is frred from all sinful activituies due to the changing course of the Yamuna river however many of the sacred spots like kaliya ghat are now withgout water still evry thousands of piligrimes visitys this nplaces & touch dust from dried up river bed to their head in order to sanctify themselves it is consider that they receive the same benefit as if they bathed in Yamuna river which had previously flowed their

[Hrada and daha both mean “a deep pool within a river”.] The current name of this place is Käléya-daha. Çré Kåñëa subdued the serpent Käléya here. The keli-kadamba tree from which Çré Kåñëa jumped with great speed into the Käléya-hrada stands nearby. All of the trees and creepers around the lake were burnt to ashes by the poison of the Käléya serpent. Only this one keli-kadamba tree remained. The mighty and valiant Garuòa was once carrying a pot of nectar from the heavenly planets in order to free his mother Vinatä from the slavery of his stepmother Kadrü. He rested on this keli-kadamba tree for some time, and the strength of the nectar’s fragrance, or a drop of the nectar itself that had spilled, was enough to save this keli-kadamba tree. Käléyanäga was also very valiant and powerful. When he tied Kåñëa in his coils, Kåñëa became somewhat helpless and motionless. At that time, the Nägapatnés (wives of Käléya), who were great devotees of Kåñëa, prayed, “We would rather be widows than be the wives of a husband opposed to Bhagavän.” But when Kåñëa freed Himself from the serpent’s coils and began to dance on and kick Käléya’s hoods, Käléya vomited blood from his thousands of mouths and surrendered unto the Lord. At that time, the Nägapatnés folded their hands and begged Kåñëa to spare their husband’s life, considering his surrendered mood. Their prayers pleased Çré Kåñëa. He granted Käléyanäga freedom from fear and ordered him to go to Ramaëaka-dvépa with his family. He assured Käléya of His protection, saying, “You need no longer fear Garuòa. When he sees My footprints on your hoods, he will forget his enmity towards you.” The Nägapatnés prayed as follows: “O Lord, Çré Lakñmé-devé gave up all her desires, took a vow and performed austerities for a long, long time just to attain the dust of Your lotus feet. She nonetheless failed to achieve her heart’s desire. Who knows what pious deed Käléyanäga performed to become qualified to receive that same rare foot dust.”3 The Gauòéya Vaiñëava commentators on this verse explain this beautifully: The sole reason why Bhagavän Çré Kåñëa bestowed His causeless mercy upon Käléya was the spontaneous unmotivated devotion that Käléyanäga’s wives had for Him. The Supreme Lord’s mercy follows and is obedient to the mercy of the devotee.

At Kaliya Ghat, we offer obeisances to a Deity of Krishna beneath a big kadamba tree. From its branches, it is said, Krishna jumped into the river to dance on Kaliya’s hoods. Now the river runs about fifty yards from the tree.

Text 387

atha kaliya-hradasya tatraiva

kaliyasya hradaà gatva
kréòaà kåtva vasundhare
snana-matrena tatraiva
sarva-papaiù pramucyate

atha – now; kaliya-hradasya – of Käliya-hrada; tatra – there; eva – indeed; kaliyasya hradam – Käliya-hrada; gatva – having gone; kréòam – pastimes; kåtva – having done; vasundhare – O earth; snana-matrena – simply by bathing; tatra – there; eva – indeed; sarva-papaiù – of all sins; pramucyate – becomes freed.

Glorification of Käliya-hrada
In the same scripture it is said:

O earth-goddess, a person who goes to Käliya-hrada, bathes there and plays in the water, simply by bathing becomes freed from all sins.

Text 388

varahe

kaliyasya hradaà punyam
asti guhyaà paraà mama
yatrahaà kréòaye nityaà
vimale yamunambhasi

varahe – in the Varäha Puräëa; kaliyasya hradam – Käliya-hrada; puëyam – sacred; asti – is; guhyam – secret; param – great; mama – My; yatra – where; aham – I; kréòaye – enjoy pastimes; nityam – eternally; vimale – in the pure; yamuna – of the Yamunä; ambhasi – water.

In the Varäha Puräëa it is said:

Sacred Käliya-hrada, where I eternally play in the Yamuna’s pure waters, is a great secret of Mine.

Text 389

tatrabhiñekaà kurvéta
aho-ratroñito naraù
takñakasya gåhaà gatva
mama loke mahéyate

tatra – there; abhiñekam – bath; kurvéta – does; ahaù – day; ratra – and night; uñitaù – fasting; naraù – a person; takñakasya – of a carpenter; gåham – to the home; gatva – having gone; mama – My; loke – in the abode;mahéyate – glorified.

Even a person born in a carpenter’s house, who fasts for a day and night and bathes there, is glorified in My abode.

Text 390-391

atrapi mahad açcaryaà
paçyanti panòita naraù
kaliya-hrada-purvena
kadambo mahato drumaù

çata-çakho viçalakñi
puñpaà surabhi-gandhi ca
sa ca dvadaça-masani
manojïaù çubha-çétalaù
puñpayati viçalakñi
bhasvaraàs tu diço daça

atra – here; api – also; mahad – great; açcaryam – wonder; paçyanti – see; panòitaù naraù – wise; kaliya-hrada – of Käliya-hrada;purvena – in the east; kadambaù – kadamba tree; mahataù – great; drumaù – tree; çata – hundred; çakhaù – branches; viçala – large; akñi – eyes; puñpam – flowers; surabhi-gandhi-fragrant; ca – and; sah – it; ca – and; dvadaça-masani – for 12 months; manojïaù – beautiful; çubha – pleasant; çétalaù – cool; puñpayati – blooms; viçalakñi – O girl with the beautiful eyes; bhasvaran – shining; tu – indeed; diçaù – directions; daça – ten.

Wise men see a great wonder there. To the east of Käliya-hrada is a great kadamba tree. O girl with beautiful, large eyes, this beautiful, splendidly white, pleasnatly cool, hundred-branched tree is filled with fragrant flowers. O girl with beauitful, large eyes, this tree remains always in bloom through all twelve months of the year, always filling the ten directions with its splendor.

Text 392

saura-purane

tataù kaliya-térthakhyaà
térthaà aàho-vinaçanam
anåtyad yatra bhagavan
balaù kaliya-mastake

saura-purane – in the Saura Puräna; tataù – then; kaliya-tértha-akhyam – named Käliya-tirtha; tértham – holy place; aàhaù – sins; vinaçanam – destroying; anåtyad – danced; yatra – where; bhagavan – the Lord; balaù – a child; kaliya – of Käliya; mastake – on the head.

In the Saura Puräëa it is said:

Next is the holy place named Käliya-tirtha, which destroys sins. There the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a boy danced on Käliya’s head.

Text 393

tatra yas tu kåta-snano
vasudevaà samarcayet
aganya-janma-duñprapaà
kåñna-sayujyam açnute

tatra – there; yaù – who; tu – indeed; kåta-snanaù – bathes; vasudevam – Lord Väsudeva; samarcayet – worships; agaëya – countless; janma – births; duñprapam – difficult to attain; kåñëa-sayujyam – Kåñëa-sayuja mukti; açnute – enjoys.

A person who bathes there and worships Lord Väsudeva attains kåñëa-säyujya-mukti, which is difficult to attain even after countless births.

Vanquishing the Kaliya Serpent
One day, Vanamali Krsna left His brother Rama at home and went with His friends to tend the cows and play beside the Yamuna. At that time, the serpent Kaliya, the son of Kadru, lived in a lake within the riv Yamuna. Kaliya had taken shelter in the Yamuna, the daughter of Suryadeva, to hide from his enemy Garuda. This venomous snake, the embodi ment of the mellow of fear (bhaya rasa), existed in Vrndavana like an incurable heart disease. He was like death waiting as a helpful friend to engage one, or Rudra’s fire of devastation that destroys the three worlds
The burning venom of the great serpent Kaliya constantly heated and boiled the waters of the Yamuna. Yamuna-devi felt like she had a black ball of fire within her belly. Indeed, the poisonous vapors thus created polluted the air, and caused birds flying overhead to fall down into the water. The entire atmosphere was contaminated by the inauspicious pres¬ence of Kaliya, who continually harassed the inhabitants of Vrndavana. The forceful exhalation of fiery poison from his nostrils illuminated the Yamuna’s waves with a crimson golden radiance. The beauty of this scene resembled the waves of the salt ocean glittering under the moonlight. The dense black smoke lingering above the Yamuna indicated the presence of a raging fire within. Nothing could live in the Yamuna except Kaliya’s wives and sons due to the calamitous situation caused by the burning poison of that crooked serpent. As one takes shelter under an umbrella, Kaliya stayed safely in a deep lake within the Yamuna.
The cowherd boys and cows sipped some water from the Yamuna to quench their thirst. Although the gopas have eternal transcendental bod¬ies, by the supreme will of Krsna they fell unconscious immediately after drinking. Krsna, the destroyer of demons, worried for a moment about His friends and then He quickly revived them with a sidelong glance. It appeared that life-giving nectar dripped from Krsna’s lotus eyes. Return¬ing to consciousness, the boys felt astonished and smiled gently. They Warmly embraced each other and talked among themselves in great happiness. One cowherd boy said, “Krsna is wonderful. He rescued us just like He did when we wandered into the cave-like mouth of Aghasura. almost died from drinking that poisonous water but Krsna mercifully sav us. It seems that He has given sanjivani rasa to revive us.” After speaking thus, all the gopas looked lovingly at their dearest friend.
Since Krsna had descended from the spiritual world specifically due envious demons, He immediately climbed to the top of a very tall tree beside the Yamuna. That tall kadamba touched the clouds and kissed the sky. With a desire to crush the pride of Kaliya, the incomparable and conceivable Lord Krsna prepared Himself for a fight. He gathered His locks of hair, retied His turban, tightened His belt, and clenched His lotus hand into a fist eager for victory. Krsna’s tender body and slender waist displayed the prime of His joyful youth. Totally relaxed, Kåñëa gently toward the cowherd boys and said, “Do not be afraid My friends. My transcendental effulgence will dispel all misfortune. Just wait here and watch the cows.”
His face illuminated by a row of radiant teeth, Krsna beamed a confi¬dent smile. With His fathomless intelligence and charming characteristics Krsna easily removes the pride and arrogance of materialistic people. Krsna enthusiastically leaped into the Yamuna, just as a kingfisher dives into a river to catch its prey. Krsna’s forceful plunge pushed the Yamuna over her banks. The deadly poison from the serpent rose up into a mass of foam cresting on the high waves of the river. The cows and cowherd boys ran away in fear upon seeing these ominous waves rushing toward the banks,
Krsna dove so deeply into the River Yamuna that it seemed He went to trample the Patala region of the universe. Krsna sported in Kaliya’s lake like a lordly elephant—swirling His mighty arms and making the water resound in various ways. This agitation caused the poisonous water to burst into flames. Unable to bear the vigorous vibrations, Kaliya felt as if his life was being thrashed out of him.
Kaliya saw Krsna’s beauty surpassing the sublime elegance of a tamala tree. Krsna’s eyes looked peaceful and pleasing, and His handsome effulgent form easily defeated the sweetness of Kandarpa. Seeing Krsna’s body covered with fragrant yellow sandalwood pulp easily destroys one’s false pride. Despite beholding this wonderful darsana, the envious Kaliya relt Krsna to be the source of an intolerable fever. Shaking with anger, ^aliya furiously lunged at Krsna, bit Him on the chest, and attempted to squeeze Krsna to death by completely enveloping Him in his mighty coils. ^ aliya considered how this person had so brazenly violated his watery domain. Beset with doubt and suspicion about the identity of Krsna, who removes the power of the best of snakes, Kaliya pondered, “Who is this unknown person who has created such a disturbance? And where has He come from?”
The proud, impudent, materially attached Kaliya wondered how Kåñëa — a mere boy, blissful and beautiful with blooming youth —could have so effortlessly subdued the massive Aghasura. Finally he concluded that Krsna must have the ability to expand Himself to any unlimited size. Nevertheless Kaliya tried to smother and crush Krsna by expanding his own body to monstrous proportions. Failing in his endeavor, Kaliya succumbed to exhaustion.
On one level the supremely independent Lord created an inauspicious atmosphere of impending death just to see how much love the Vrajavasis had for Him, and to make them impatient to run to Him. But on another level Krsna, His handsome chest adorned with the glistening kaustubha gem, performed this pastime of being bound by Kaliya just to satisfy His desire to dance on the hoods of the serpent. He merely awaited the ap¬proval of His Vrajavasi friends and relatives standing on the shore of the River Yamuna.
Observing the lord of their hearts trapped in the snake’s coils and sub¬merged under the water, the cows and cowherd boys filled with fear and lamentation. Paralyzed by grief, the cowherd boys froze in place, held their palms on their foreheads, and wept profusely while crying out pite-ously to Krsna, “How painful! How painful! We cannot bear to live!” Seeing the whole world as void and nearing destruction, they collapsed on the ground. Feeling they had entered an ocean of poison, the cowherd boys nearly died from the devastating inundation of simultaneously expe¬riencing the eight symptoms of transcendental ecstasy. Viewing the Vrajavasis enduring such misfortune, the demigods, their hair loosened and clothing disheveled, felt their hearts pierced with flaming arrows. In great distress they called out, “Alas! Alas!”
The three types of fearful omens, namely those on the earth, in the sky, and in the bodies of living creatures, which announce imminent danger, descended upon Vrndavana at that moment. Jackals shrieked harshly at the sun, smoke and dust as dark as the horns of a buffalo blanketed the sky, and the sun appeared dull and lackluster. High winds howled in every direction and violent earthquakes shook the earth. Afflicted by the inaus-piciousness, the left side of men’s bodies (hand, eye, thigh), and the right side of women’s bodies trembled. Anxiety seized the atmosphere and dis¬turbed everyone’s minds with grief and discontent.
Perceiving all these inauspicious omens in his village, Nanda Maharaja and the gopas understood that a devastating time had assailed the earth. The hostile unfavorable atmosphere submerged their hearts in the mud of tearfulness. Although they had innumerable experiences of the unlim¬ited majesty of Krsna, due to the covering potency of Yogamaya, they knew only His sweet intimacy. Forgetting about the Lord’s omnipotence, they simply worried about the safety of Krsna.
While lamenting over the disturbances some of the learned gopas said, “Oh! How dreadful! Due to negligence and naivete our innocent Krsna has wandered alone into the dense forest which is infested with various demons that always bring calamities. And He has gone there without the company of His intelligent, powerful elder brother Balarama. Without our beloved Krsna we cannot live. But since we cannot fathom the actual situation from here, let us invoke good fortune by chanting, ‘Siva! Siva!’ ”
Overwhelmed with fear and lamentation, the Vrajavasis quickly left their eating and drinking and rushed out intent on finding Krsna. The whole village joined in that procession from one year-old babies to elderly men. They followed the path marked by Krsna’s footprints, which bore the unique, symbols of a flag, barleycorn, thunderbolt, lotus flower, and el¬ephant goad.
Nanda and Vrajesvari Yasoda, Balarama, the elderly gopas, and all the children hurried along the path to the bank of the Yamuna River. From a distance they saw Krsna trapped in the lake, motionless within the coils of the venomous black serpent. Stepping closer, they immediately under¬stood the situation just by seeing the facial expressions of Krsna’s friends lying unconscious on the bank. Witnessing this, the Vrajavasis succumbed to anguish and confusion.
Though standing on the bank, they felt they too were drowning in the poisonous lake. Their hearts burned just like a person afflicted by poison. The women fell on the ground like creepers thrown down by a high wind, and the men toppled like uprooted trees. They sprawled out in all direc¬tions beside the lake.
Filled with panic and shock, Nanda Maharaja cried out in a voice choked with tears, “0 my darling son! Why have you suddenly done this? 0 dear¬est of all, please come back to us.” Gripped with lamentation, the cow¬herd men fell down unconscious on the ground around the King of Vrndavana. Yasgda swooned with equal distress and sadness. Sympathiz¬ing with her and wailing piteously like kurari birds, the elderly gopis col¬lapsed on the ground next to the Queen of Vrndavana.
At first the young gopis could neither cry nor lament as they starred at Krsna with unblinking eyes glittering with love. Then their piteous wail¬ing strained the atmosphere, and the downpour of their tears muddied the bank of the Yamuna. Taking shelter in the embrace of the sakhi of personified unconsciousness, they fell flat on the ground like creepers and trees cut down by a hurricane. Though fainting, the gopis retained their life airs by recounting the pastimes of the beloved of Vrndavana. Even in that miserable state the gopis somehow maintained their exist-^ce. Indeed, intense lamentation permeated the atmosphere.
Seeing the extent of Krsna’s influence, Haladhara (Balarama) looked on with amazement. Then Balarama said, “0 father, because Krsna is so dear to you, your heart is burning and you are overwhelmed with lamentation. Nevertheless, you need not be in anxiety for this body that is existing due to Krsna’s mercy. 0 Mago! (Yasoda) Do not cry or lament anymore. Please hear My words and be patient. 0 Vrajavasis! You sh not be so grief-stricken now that you have ascertained the extent of the danger.
“You are unaware of the magnitude of My younger brother’s valor which always increases the joy of others. I am the only one who knows the ext of His transcendental identity. Among the greatest demigods who understand even a fraction of His opulence? Please be steady in in intelligence.
“For the lion-like Krsna it is a paltry achievement to subdue the demn Kaliya. Just as the wind cannot conquer a mountain, or as darkness can never cover the sun, or as a clump of reeds can never extinguish a raein? forest fire, similarly, Krsna, who wears makara earrings, is not the least bit afraid of this tiny water snake. Therefore give up your grief. Any mo¬ment now My brother will finish this lowly snake and come out of the water. You can have complete confidence in My words.”
By His illusory energy Krsna bewilders both the demons and the demi¬gods. He possesses unlimited transcendental opulences and has a most elegant form. He relishes His own prowess within and without, and everv-one knows His boundless power. To the surrendered soul He is an ocean of happiness.
Therefore, to remove the acute distress of His father, mother, and other relatives, Krsna decided to free Himself from the serpent the moment Balarama, who glowed like pure moonlight, finished speaking. Enwrapped in the thick coils of that black snake, Krsna looked as exquisite and strik¬ing as the full moon embraced by the branch of a dark tree. Releasing Himself from Kaliya’s clutches, Krsna lifted His lotus face and cast a blissful smile toward the Vrajavasis.
Conchshells blasted from the assembly house of the demigods, the dundubhis pounded “dhun\ dhun\ dhun\ dhun\” and the bheris (kettle¬drums) reverberated deep rhythms. The thunderous combination of these sounds of victory threatened to break the eardrums of all listeners. Gradu¬ally the Vrajavasis regained their lives upon hearing the auspicious drums of the demigods. As they pushed themselves up from the ground with their arms, they heard that joyous celestial music spreading in all directions and saw Lord Balarama standing nearby.
Everyone shivered in fright upon noticing that extremely fierce serpe ^ whose body looked blacker than iron and who spewed foam and sparks from His mouth. The effulgence of the gems on his hundred heads diffused throughout the sky. Sparks shot from His burning eyes and gaping mouth resembled a pan full of boiling ghee. Raising his hoods, Kaliya pounced on Krsna. The pride- intoxicated Kaliya appeared licking the upper limits of the sky with his two hundred tongues. To enact yet another playful pastime Krsna slipped from Kaliya’s grip and mounted yet another of his heads, which resembled a garden of large swaying creepers.
Pointin towards Krsna, Balarama said, “Look at Krsna! His tender body and eyes beautified with kajala appear before you as personified death for the Kaliya serpent. His priceless jeweled ornaments sparkle a million times more than the fiery sparks dancing inside Kaliya’s poisonous mouth. Kåñëa has all the power to finish this demon, and He is artistically dressed with a turban, earrings, yellow cloth, and a fragrant forest garland. His beautiful curly hair has loosened during the fight to free Himself from the grip of the serpent. Tightening His cloth, Krsna is revealing a desire to kick down the heads of Kaliya and enjoy a dance there.
“Look just to please all of you, Krsna is determined to extinguish the dazzling gems on the hood of the serpent. Krsna’s body glows with a de¬sire to dance and diminish the radiance of those jewels. Understand this deeply and try to realize the purport of My words. Do not worry anymore about this insignificant calamity.”
Krsna smiled and relished the mellow of laughter while Baladeva spoke. The Vrajavasis forgot their lamentation upon hearing Balarama’s reas¬suring words. Although still overwhelmed with fear due to seeing the gi¬gantic size of the king of the snakes, they blossomed with happiness upon seeing Krsna whose gleaming joyful eyes looked as pleasing as kunda flow¬ers.
Before enacting His dramatic dance on the hoods of Kaliya, Krsna cast a sidelong glance to enliven His friends and relatives, who brimmed with affection and complete attachment to Him. Accompanied only by His mind, Krsna displayed amazing skill as the best of dancers and the savior of His devotees. The Siddhas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas and other demigods immediately arrived there to show their respect and ap¬preciation for Krsna’s unique dance performance. This joyful group of demigods exhibited their talent in music, singing and dancing by playing sweet melodies on mrdangas, murajas, panavas, and panas.
Sri Krsna, the unlimited reservoir of wonder who is expert in all artistic skills appeared to be cruelly smashing down Kaliya’s heads with His feet, but actually Krsna showed him the greatest mercy. The demigods delighted in the variety of fast, slow and medium dances shown by the Lord, as they kept time with the right rythmn. The instruments of the demigods softly sounded thiya-ta-ta, ta-ta-thiya, thai-thai-thai, thaiya-ta-ta. They also played loud and high ptched sounds.
The demigods brought out newer and newer melodies by combining different notes, sounds and rhythms. Responding accordingly, Krsna nimbly stepped from one hood of the serpent to another. The demigods, however, could not keep up with the unique self-styled dancing of the Lord. Krsna, the supreme controller, moved rhythmically on the hoods of the serpent, and expertly danced in such a way to crush and suppress each of his hoods. As the beat drung-drung-drung, drimi-drimi, tung-tung-tung boomed faster and louder, Krsna’s brilliance increased more and more as He stomped on the serpent’s heads.
The extraordinary expertise of Krsna’s dancing crushed the pride of the Apsaras and Gandharvas. Although feeling embarrassed, they tried their best to keep pace with Krsna. Defeated in their attempt, they just danced delightfully on their own. The resounding sounds of dundubhis, the deep reverberations of kettledrums, the chanting of hymns by the sages, and the showering of flowers from Nanda-kanana exhilarated the Yrajavasis and depressed the demons.
The ruthless steps of Vanamali Krsna’s tandava dance devastated the serpent. Blood streamed from Kaliya’s mouths, his eyes popped out, and his hoods completely collapsed. Seeing their husband vanquished and heart broken, the Nagapatnis (wives of Kaliya) felt sorry for him and cried pit-eously. Out of affection for him they thought, “Our husband will not sur¬vive unless he attains the mercy of the Lord.” Abandoning all fear and shyness, the Nagapatnis put their children on their laps and approached Krsna to petition Him on behalf of their husband.
The Nagapatnis offered prayers to Sri Krsna with sweet voices: “0 Lord, all glories unto You! 0 crest-jewel on the head of the demigods! Who other than You can be the Supreme Brahman? Brahma and Siva con¬stantly glorify You, the unlimited ocean of transcendental qualities. The yogis and paramahamsas happily praise and meditate upon Your lotus feet, which are forever massaged by the auspicious lotus hands of God¬dess Laksmi. As a swan extracts milk from a watery mixture, the paramahamsas reject the four desirable goals of human life to immerse themselves in the bliss of Your service.
“0 Lord, extolled throughout the Vedas. Please hear our prayer. 0 Lord, You are the personification of eternity, bliss and knowledge! You assume a transcendental body to annihilate all the demons! You are the oldest, the origin of everything, and yet You are an ever-fresh youth. You are the fountainhead of all the Visnu expansions! 0 Supreme Personality of Godhead! Please give up Your anger and show us Your mercy!
“0 Vasudeva, You are the life-giving Lord of all! 0 Sankarsana, You remove all the miseries of the universe! 0 Pradyumna, You are the trea¬sure of love for all the Vrajavasis! 0 Aniruddha, Your Yogamaya potency prevents ordinary people from perceiving You! You are the Supersoul of all the demigods! Ah! You are the life and soul of the Vrajavasis. Be pleased with our prayers, 0 Lord, for the life of our husband is about to depart. “Your lotus feet which delight the atmaramas, remove all mental anxi¬eties, and are rarely achieved even in samadhi now stand on the hoods of our husband. 0 Lord, we have no idea how Kaliya has attained such a rare fortune. This wicked snake deserves to be punished. Only by Your mercy can one give up his wickedness and follow the righteous path. It is impossible for a living entity to do this on his own.
“0 Lord! You alone maintain the entire universe created by the three modes of material nature by the mode of goodness, which purifies the mind. You create the world with passion and by ignorance, which is darker than night, You destroy the creation. 0 mighty armed! It is by name only that Visnu, who rides on Garuda, is called the maintainer, and that Brahma, who sits upon a lotus, is the creator, and that Siva, who sits atop Nandi, is called the destroyer.
“0 one who is dear to those who have nothing! Living entities appear by different combinations of the modes of nature. Being bom in the mode of ignorance, it is natural for a snake like Kaliya to be crooked. As it is impossible to see a flower creeper in the sky, it also impossible to find gentle behavior or good manners in him. He does nothing good for any¬one, and he has no power to overcome Your maya. This is the nature of one who lives in hole.
“His actions cannot be considered offensive because that is his very nature. So how can You, who are eternally liberated, the ocean of mercy, and full of all opulence, deny him Your mercy? You always treat everyone equally and all Your acts convey auspiciousness. Therefore, please quickly show Your mercy to our afflicted husband. It does not befit You to kill such a lowly living entity.
“Even Siva, Brahma, Laksmi, and the sannyasis who perform sadhana, meditation, and attentive service cannot understand You. Hence, how can Kaliya, who is bewildered by pride and ignorance, know You? Your playful kicks and dancing on his heads have practically killed him. Al¬though he is a very powerful serpent, he is so weakened that only his life air remains. Indeed he is cruel and ill behaved, but nevertheless he is one of Your living entities. Alas! We hope he will not die. Please forgive his offense and return our husband so that we will not become widows.” The gentle beautiful Nagapatnis petitioned the Lord with piteous choked voices.
Krsna responded compassionately by dissipating His anger and reduc¬ing the punishment. Smiling sweetly, Krsna replied to the wives of Kaliya, “Do not fear. Although I am very angry, your sweet appeal has satisfied Me. As a monsoon shower extinguishes a forest fire, your pleasing prayers have removed My intense anger. As a result I will spare his life. Now I request you to take your husband and return to your original abode. Since your husband’s heads are now decorated with My bliss-giving lotus foot¬prints, Garuda will feel blessed to see them. From now on you need not fear him.”
His false pride broken like a person bent over from carrying a heavy mass of iron, Kaliya felt relieved and happy by the Lord’s assurance of protection. With fear, devotion, and submission Kaliya said, “0 Lord! With all Your opulence You appear in this world to crush the demons and award the treasure ofprema to Your devotees. As long as the sun and the moon remain, Your beautiful pastimes will give joy to the minds of Your devotees. You always bring immediate auspiciousness to the unfortunate 0 abode of compassion!
“The River Yamuna is the ideal place for Your pastimes. Therefore You have rightly punished me for my offense of poisoning her waters. Who could have shown me more mercy than You? Your dancing has deco¬rated my hoods with the splendid marks of Your lotus feet. Now my life has become completely auspicious. 0 younger brother of Baladevai By Your order I will now return to Ramanaka Island. 0 Supreme Lord of all the demigods! Due to some misfortune I have offended You. 0 You who wear makara kundala earrings! Please forgive me for my offensive behav¬ior.”
Concluding his prayer, Kaliya took out some special jewels from his collection and presented a valuable ruby and pearl necklace to Krsna as a gift. Then he and his family offered obeisances to the Lord and left the Yamuna. Immediately the water transformed into the sweetest nectar. After Kaliya left, the prince of Vraja, who ever enacts fresh and effulgent playful pastimes, climbed up on the bank of the Yamuna. The golden bangles on His lotus hands glistened attractively and His shimmering dhoti defeated the brightness of lightning.