Krishna Nectar Lilas part 29 “Gopal Destroys Demon Duck”

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

As Krsna enacated His human-like pastimes, He looked very attractive with a necklace hanging on His chest when He awoke just before sunrise. After taking breakfast Krsna met His playmates and prepared to leave for the day.

Following the principles of vaisya dharma, Krsna and His powerful brother Balarama collected the calves and went out to the forest everyday. They brought the thirsty calves to a reservoir of clear, cool water, and left them on the banks to feed on the fresh sprouts and soft shoots of grass.

At that time Krsna, the beautiful, enchanting cowherd boy who performs wonderful pastimes and protects the whole creation, saw an unusual demon in the shape of a gigantic duck. Kamsa had sent this demon to kill Krsna. He was known as Bakasura, the demoniac brother of Putana, As a good tantric can see the future, Bakasura understood that Krsna fit the description of Kamsa’s dreaded enemy.

Bakasura immediately opened his ferocious beak in an attempt to swallow the Lord. His lower beak lay on the ground and his upper beak pierced the heavenly planets. It seemed he intended to devour all the living entities on earth and in heaven. Krsna’s friends felt great anxiety as they beheld that fearful monster.

The playmates of Krsna said, “O brother, this creature cannot be a bird because he is about to swallow us all in his deadly mouth. Seeing its aggressive behavior, it must be a demon in the form of a huge duck, so we should quickly run from here. His body is taller than the peak of Mt. Kailasa. It will be very difficult for us to escape from his gaping mouth.

To assure His dearest friends of His protection, Krsna glanced at them with a delicate smile that captivated their minds and satisfied their hearts. Krsna, the undaunted one who awards fearlessness to everyone in creation, smiled at the boys and moved near the demon. In a second that dreadful duck swallowed Krsna. Seeing this seemingly irreversible calamity, Balarama and the boys exclaimed, “Alas! Alas! What a disaster!”

The demigods observing from the sky fell unconscious. As a camel spits out fresh mango leaves immediately after chewing them, or a man experiences a fiery feeling in his sinuses if he takes water up his nose, similarly, that demon felt a burning sensation from swallowing Krsna and tried to spit Him out.

The demon suffered immense distress as Krsna simultaneously constricted and expanded his throat with a violent force. While rapidly flapping his wings in an attempt to eject Krsna from his throat, the demon felt his life airs rushing out of his heart.

Krsna escaped from the mouth of the demon just as the moon slips out from the mouth of Rahu, or as the sun escapes from the grip of a dense monsoon cloud. Krsna appeared like a lion cub coming out from the mouth of a mountain cave, or a devotee attaining deliverance from the dark well of material existence.

Surprisingly, Krsna’s clothing and ornaments had not become the least bit sullied from passing through the saliva filled throat of that demon. Looking fresh and beautiful, Krsna whispered some loving words to awaken His friends who had fallen unconscious on the banks of the Yamuna.

Renewing his deadly attack, Bakasura tried to pinch Krsna in his beaks. Krsna grabbed the demon’s beaks and split them in half just as easily as a child splits a blade of grass. Rivers of blood flowed in all directions. The two pieces of his dead body looked like twin mountain peaks lying on the ground.

The denizens of the higher planets happily showered flowers from Nanda-kanana (Indra’s celestial gardens) upon Bakari (Krsna). Celebrating the victory, the Gandharva and Kinnara women danced and cried in jubilation. Their teardrops, which washed away their kajala and fell through the sky, appeared like celestial honeybees dancing amidst the flowers falling from heaven. Dundubhi drums resounded everywhere proclaiming the triumph. Astonished by this wonderful pastime of Krsna, Vaivasvata Manu and many other sages offered prayers.

Witnessing this transcendental feat, Krsna’s playmates immersed in divine joy. The boys felt that they had regained their lives upon seeing Krsna, the lord of their hearts, walking confidently like a royal bull elephant.

Being late afternoon, the cowherd boys collected their calves and returned to Vrndavana along with their charming friend. The soft artistically shaped palms of Krsna’s beautiful hands resembled kadamba flowers.

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.