Krishna Nectar Lila 60 -“RAGAS & NAGAS”

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

Therefore, to remove the acute distress of His father, mother, and other relatives, Krishna 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, Krishna looked as exquisite and striking as the full moon embraced by the branch of a dark tree. Releasing Himself from Kaliya’s clutches, Krishna 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 (kettledrums) reverberated deep rhythms. The thunderous combination of these sounds of victory threatened to break the eardrums of all listeners.

Gradually 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 serpent, whose body looked blacker than iron and who spewed foam and fiery sparks from His mouth. The effulgence of the gems on his hundred heads diffused throughout the sky. Sparks shot from His burning eyes and his gaping mouth resembled a pan full of boiling ghee.

Raising his hoods high, Kaliya pounced on Krishna. The pride intoxicated Kaliya appeared to be licking the upper limits of the sky with his two hundred tongues. To enact yet another playful pastime Krishna slipped from Kaliya’s grip and mounted his broad serpentine heads, which resembled a garden of large swaying creepers.

Pointing toward Krishna, Balarama said, “Look at Krishna! 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.

Krishna 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, Krishna is revealing a desire to kick down the heads of Kaliya and enjoy a dance there.

“Look, just to please all of you, Krishna is determined to extinguish the dazzling gems on the hood of the serpent. Krishna’s body glows with a desire 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.”

Krishna smiled and relished the mellow of laughter while Baladeva spoke. The Vrajavasis forgot their lamentation upon hearing Balarama’s reassuring words. Although still overwhelmed with fear due to seeing the gigantic size of the king of the snakes, they blossomed with happiness upon seeing Krishna whose gleaming joyful eyes looked as pleasing as kunda flowers.

Before enacting His dramatic dance on the hoods of Kaliya, Krishna cast a sidelong glance to enliven His friends and relatives, who brimmed with affection and complete attachment to Him. Accompanied only by His mind, Krishna 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 appreciation for Krishna’s unique dance performance. This joyful group of demigods exhibited their talent in music, singing and dancing by playing sweet melodies on mridangas, murajas, panavas, and panas.

Sri Krishna, 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 Krishna 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 rhythms. 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-pitched sounds.

The demigods brought out newer and newer melodies by combining different notes, sounds, and rhythms. Responding accordingly, Krishna 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.

Krishna, 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, Krishna’s brilliance increased more and more as He stomped on the serpent’s heads.

The extraordinary expertise of Krishna’s dancing crushed the pride of the Apsaras and Gandharvas. Although feeling embarrassed, they tried their best to keep pace with Krishna. 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 Vrajavasis and depressed the demons.

Excerpt: Sri Kavi Karnapura’s Ananda Vrindavana Campu ki jai!

Krishna Nectar Lilas ki jai! Jai Jai Sri Radhe!

All parts of Krishna Nectar Lilas can be found here.