Deliverance of Śālva

Next, Seventy-seventh Chapter.

Subject matter: "Deliverance of Salva."

Next paragraph.

After talking with his charioteer, the son of Daruka, Pradyumna could understand the real position. Therefore, he again refreshed himself by washing his mouth and hands, and thus properly he armored himself with bows and arrows and asked his charioteer to take him near the place where the commander-in-chief of Salva was standing. During the short absence of Pradyumna from the battlefield, the commander-in-chief of Salva, namely Dyuman, frustrated the position of the soldiers of Yadu dynasty. Immediately on his appearance in the battlefield, Pradyumna stopped him in doing so, and smilingly, immediately struck him with eight arrows. By four arrows he immediately killed his four horses, by one arrow he killed his chariot driver, by another arrow he cut into two his bow, by another he cut into pieces his flag, and by another he cut his head separated from his body.

On the other fronts, heroes like Gada, Satyaki, Samba were engaged in killing the soldiers of Salva. The soldiers who were staying with Salva on the aeroplane, they were also killed while fighting, and after thus being killed they would fall down on the ocean. In this way, each party began to strike the opposite party very severely, and the battle was fierceful and dangerous and continued for twenty-seven days without any stop.

Next paragraph.

While the fight was going on in the city of Dvaraka, at that time Krsna was staying in Indraprastha along with the Panḍavas and King Yudhisthira. This fighting with Salva took place after the Rajasūya yajna performed by the king Yudhisthira was over and after Sisupala was killed. When Lord Krsna understood that there was great danger in the city of Dvaraka, He took permission from the elderly members of the Panḍava family, especially from His aunt Kuntidevi, and after taking their permission He immediately began to start for Dvaraka City.

Lord Krsna began to think within Himself that while He kept in Hastinapura along with Balarama, and after the killing of Sisupala, his party men must have attacked Dvaraka. Just then after reaching Dvaraka City, Lord Krsna saw that the whole city was in great dangerous position. He immediately placed Balaramaji for the protection of the city, and He Himself asked His charioteer, Daruka, to prepare for starting. He said, [within quotation] "Daruka, please immediately take Me in chariot where Salva is staying. You may know also that this Salva is very powerful, mysterious man. Don't be afraid of him even very slightly." [quotation close] Daruka, as soon as he got the order of Lord Krsna, he got Him seated on the chariot and drove very quickly toward the direction where Salva was staying.

The chariot of Lord Krsna was marked with the flag bearing the insignia of Garuḍa. The soldiers and warriors of Yadu dynasty, as soon as they saw the flag, immediately they could understand that Lord Krsna was on the battlefield. By this time, almost all the soldiers of Salva were killed, but Salva, when he saw that Krsna had come in the battlefield, he released a great, powerful weapon, and it was flying on the sky with roaring sound as if a great meteor. It was so much shining that every direction became brightened on account of its presence. But as soon as Lord Krsna appeared there, He tore the great weapon into hundreds and thousands pieces by releasing His own arrow.

After this, He released sixteen arrows upon the body of Salva. Lord Krsna attacked the aeroplane of Salva by throwing thousands of arrows upon it. The brilliance of the arrow…

[break]

Tape LA nineteen. Dated Year 1970, Day 3, Month 3, March 3, 1970. Krsna, Chapter Seventy-seven continued.

After this, Lord Krsna struck Salva with sixteen arrows, and He overpowered the aeroplane with showers of arrows exactly like when the sun is there in the clear sky he overpowers the whole sky by unlimited number of molecules of sunshine. Salva also played his tactics, and he tried to injure the left side of Krsna, on which Lord Krsna was carrying His bow known as Sarhga. The strike was certainly very severe, and as a result of which the Sarhga bow of Lord Krsna became displaced from His hand. This kind of displacement of Krsna's bow from His hand is also wonderful. Great personalities and demigods who were observing the fighting between Salva and Krsna became too much perturbed by this action of Salva upon the body of Krsna, and they began to exclaim, "Alas! Alas!"

Upon this, Salva thought that he has become victorious, and with a roaring sound began to address Lord Krsna as follows: [within quotation] "You rascal, Krsna! You kidnapped Rukmini forcibly, even in the presence of us, and You baffled my friend Sisupala to marry her. And again, in a great assembly of King Yudhisthira's Rajasūya yajna, while my friend Sisupala was a little absent-minded, You took the chance and killed him. In this way, everyone thinks that You are a great fighter and nobody can conquer You. So just now You will have to prove Your strength. But I think if You stand before me a little more, then with my sharpened arrows I shall send You to such a place wherefrom You will never come back." [quotation close]

Upon this, Lord Krsna replied, "You foolish Salva, unnecessarily you are talking nonsense, and you do not know that your last moment of death is already up on your head. Actually, those who are heroes, they do not talk much. They practically prove their prowess by practical exhibition of chivalrous activities." [quotation close]

After saying this, Lord Krsna, in great anger, struck Salva with His club so severely on the collarbone that he immediately vomit blood from inside and began to tremble as if he was going to collapse in severe cold. By the time the club of Krsna returned to Him, Salva, immediately taking the opportunity, became invisible by his mystic...

[break]

...moment, a mysterious, unknown man came before Lord Krsna and bowed down on His lotus feet and began to submit before the Lord, crying loudly and saying as follows: [within quotation] "I have been sent by your mother Devaki to inform You about an unfortunate news. Your mother Devaki has sent news for You that You are the most beloved son of Your father, Vasudeva, who has now been arrested by Salva and taken away by force, exactly in the same way as a butcher takes away the animal mercilessly." [quotation close]

When Lord Krsna heard this unfortunate news from the unknown man, for the time being He became very much perturbed, exactly like a human being. There were signs on His face by which it appeared that He became too much aggrieved, and exactly like an ordinary human being He began to say as follows in a piteous tone: "Oh, I am surprised how it could happen because My brother Lord Balarama is there, and it is impossible for anyone to conquer over Balaramaji. He is in charge of Dvaraka City, and I know He is always alert on this point. How it could be possible that Salva could enter the city and arrest My father in that way? Whatever he may be, Salva's power is limited, so how it could be possible that he has conquered over the strength of Balaramaji? And how he has taken away My father, arresting him as described by this man? Alas! The destiny is, after all, very powerful."

When Sri Krsna was thinking like that, immediately at that time Salva brought before Him a man arrested exactly resembling Vasudeva, His father. These were all creation by Salva by his mystic power. Salva began to address Krsna, [within quotation] "You rascal, Krsna! See! This is Your father, who has begotten You and by whose mercy You are still living. Now just look over how I kill Your father, and if You have any strength, just try to save him." [quotation close]

The mystic juggler Salva, speaking in this way, immediately cut off the head of false Vasudeva before Lord Krsna. Then without waiting a moment he took away the body of the so-called Vasudeva dead, went up and sat down on his aeroplane. Lord Krsna is self-sufficient, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; still, because He was playing the role of a human being, for a moment He became very much depressed, as if He had actually lost His father, and thus became too much aggrieved. But in the very next moment He could understand that all these were demonstration of the jugglery mystic power of Salva, which he learned from the demon Maya. Immediately after this He came to His self-consciousness and could see that there was no messenger and no head of His father, but Salva had left that place and gone up to his aeroplane, which was flying on the sky. Now He began to think of slaying Salva, who was expert in creating mystic phenomenal disturbances.

Next paragraph.

The sudden overwhelming of Krsna because of His father being killed, although it was not a fact, is a controversial point among the great authorities and saintly persons. How Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all power and knowledge, could be bewildered in such a way? Lamentation, aggrievement, bewilderment-these things are possible on the person of a conditioned soul. Then how such things could act on the person of the Supreme, who is full of knowledge, power and all opulences? Therefore, Lord Krsna's being misled by the mystic jugglery power of Salva is not at all possible, but what was displayed by Him, it was because of His pastimes, playing the role of a human being.

Great saintly persons and sages who are engaged in the devotional service of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, and thus have achieved the greatest perfection of self-realization, by such self-realization they have had already finished the bewilderment of bodily concept of life. Lord Krsna is the ultimate goal of life for such saintly persons. How then Krsna can be bewildered by the jugglery mystic power of Salva? Therefore, the conclusion is that Lord Krsna's bewilderment was another opulence of His supreme personality.

Next paragraph.

When Salva think that Krsna was bewildered by his mystic representations, he became very much enthused, and with greater strength and energy he began to attack the Lord by showering volumes of arrows upon Him. But such enthusiasm of Salva can be compared like the speedy march of the flies into the fire. Lord Krsna, by His unfathomable strength, very soon injured Salva fatally by His arrows. His armor, his bow, the jewel on his helmet, all of them became scattered into pieces. Simultaneously, by the crashing of His club, Salva's wonderful aeroplane crashed into pieces. The wonderful aeroplane thus fell down on the sea after being torn into pieces.

Salva was very careful, and instead of being crashed along with the aeroplane, he managed to jump over the land, and with great care he again rushed toward Lord Krsna. When Salva was coming to attack Krsna with great force along with his club, Lord Krsna cut off his hand along with the club, then at last deciding to kill him, took up His wonderful disc, which was shining like the brilliant sun at the time of dissolution of the material creation. When Lord Sri Krsna stood up with His disc to kill Salva, it appeared just like the red sun rising upon a mountain. Lord Krsna then cut off his head, along with his earring and helmet, and Salva's head fell down on the ground. Salva was killed exactly in the manner as Indra the king of heaven killed Vrtrasura.

When Salva was thus killed, all his soldiers and followers began to cry, "Alas! Alas!" When the soldiers and men of Salva were crying on account of Salva's death, the demigods from heavenly planets began to shower flowers on Krsna, and they trumpeted the victory by beating on drums and bugles. Just at this very moment, other friends of Sisupala, as Dantavakra, appeared on the scene to fight with Krsna in order to revenge the death of Sisupala and others. When Dantavakra appeared before Lord Krsna, he was very, very angry.

Next paragraph.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport Krsna Seventy-seventh Chapter describing "Liberation of Salva."