Harivamsha 71

English (machine translation) 71

Language: English

71.1

Vaiśaṃpāyana said:
Having yoked the excellent chariot, all those of boundless might,
together with Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa, arrived.
He reached the charming city of Mathurā, protected by Kaṃsa;
they entered that foremost of cities at the hour of the red sun.

71.2

The two heroes, Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa,
were escorted to his own residence by the wise Akrūra, radiant as the sun.

71.3

Afraid, the lord of gifts then spoke to the two possessing excellent complexion of limbs:
“My dears, your desire to go to Vasudeva's house must be abandoned.

71.4

For on your account the old man is harassed by Kaṃsa,
and threatened day and night: ‘You must not remain here!’

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Therefore the highest comfort ought to be secured by both of you for your father's sake.

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Whatever action brings him peace and is beneficial must be performed.

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Without the two of you, I will not enter the city of Mathurā.

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You ought not to abandon me, O Lord, your devotee, O you who are affectionate to devotees!

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Come, let us go to our homes; provide us with a protector, O Adhokṣaja!

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Purify with the dust of your feet the houses of us householders,

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by whose cleansing the ancestors, the gods, and the sacred fires are continually satisfied.

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The pure waters that wash your feet have purified the three worlds,

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which Śarva bore on his head, and through which the sons of Sagara were redeemed.

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O God of gods, Lord of the universe, whose renown and praise are sacred!

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O most renowned of the Yadus, Nārāyaṇa, obeisance be to you!”

71.5

Then Kṛṣṇa said to him: “We two will go unrecognized,
viewing Mathurā and the king's highway, O virtuous hero.

71.5x799

Yet we will go to his house, O good man, if you think fit.”

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Spoken to thus by the Blessed One, Akrūra, seeming dejected,

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entered the city, reported his deed to Kaṃsa, and went to his own house.

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Vaiśaṃpāyana said:
Akrūra too, having bowed in his mind to imperishable Viṣṇu,

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went into the presence of Kaṃsa with an inner self overjoyed.

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And those two gods, lords of the universe, known as Bala and Keśava,

71.6

instructed [by him], those two heroes set forth as spectators,
like two elephants released from their tying-posts eager for battle.

71.6x803

And children followed along their path on all sides.

71.7

Seeing a washerman, a dyer, walking on the road,
the two asked him for those spotlessly clean garments.

71.8

The washerman said to them: “Whose forest-dwellers are you two fools
who, devoid of fear, ask for the king's garments?

71.9

I dye Kaṃsa's garments originating from diverse regions,
in hundreds of beloved colors and varied styles.

71.10

To whom do you two belong, born in the forest and raised alongside deer,
that passion has arisen in you upon seeing this abundance of dyed clothing?

71.11

Ah, you have abandoned your lives, that you two fools with rustic understanding,
having come here, dare to ask for these garments!”

71.12

Kṛṣṇa grew enraged at that dim-witted washerman,
that fool whose doom was at hand, who emitted verbal poison.

71.13

With a palm like a thunderbolt, he struck him on the head;
with his skull shattered, the washerman fell dead upon the earth.

71.14

Lamenting him who had been killed, his wives wailed,
and with disheveled hair went swiftly to Kaṃsa's dwelling.

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Kṛṣṇa and Balabhadra, having taken the garments on all sides,

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having put them on first, looked radiant, those two of great intelligence.

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Then, having given the very smooth and soft ones to the children,

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they all, well-dressed, shone by the hundreds.

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And the remaining garments, very numerous indeed, Kṛṣṇa then...

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Tearing and tearing [the rest] to pieces at once, he cut them up and crushed them,

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and reduced the washerman's dwelling to ashes.

71.15

Well-clothed, the two also went for the sake of garlands, / fittingly, appropriately, and displaying [their clothes] as suited, / to the street of the garland-shops, like two elephants scenting a fragrance.

71.16

There was a man there named Guṇaka, a maker of garlands, speaking pleasant words, / who possessed an abundant garland-shop, prosperous, making a living by garlands.

71.17

To him Kṛṣṇa, in smooth speech uttered for the sake of garlands, / said at that moment to the fearless garland-maker: 'Give.'

71.18

Pleased, the garland-maker gave them abundant garlands, / and, pleasant to behold, said: 'This belongs to both of you.'

71.19

Pleased in his mind, Kṛṣṇa granted a boon to Guṇaka: / 'O gentle one, through resting upon me, Fortune will advance upon you with torrents of wealth.'

71.20

Having obtained the boon, the composed garland-maker, with his head bowed down, / fell at Kṛṣṇa's feet and accepted that boon with his head.

71.21

The garland-maker then thought: 'These two are Yakṣas.' / Greatly agitated by fear, he made no reply.

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Even today his prosperous lineage is full of jewels;

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it was made constantly renowned and strong by Keśava at that time.

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The very great favor of Viṣṇu always protected his line.

71.22

Walking along the royal highway, both sons of Vasudeva / then saw a hunchbacked woman carrying a vessel of unguents.

71.23

Kṛṣṇa said to her: 'O hunchbacked woman, for whom are you carrying / this unguent, O lotus-petal-eyed one? You ought to tell us quickly.'

71.24

Stopping and looking back, she replied to the lotus-eyed / Kṛṣṇa, deep as a raincloud, walking crookedly like lightning:

71.25

'I am going to the king's bathhouse; take this unguent. / The moment I saw you, lotus-eyed one, lovely-faced one, I was amazed. / I have stopped; come, may you have good fortune! You are dear to my heart.

71.26

And from where have you come, gentle one, that you do not know me, / the beloved of the great king, appointed to provide unguent?'

71.27

To the hunchbacked woman standing there and laughing, Kṛṣṇa spoke; / then Kṛṣṇa said to the maidservant, as if laughing: / 'Give us this fragrant unguent, worthy of a king, brilliant, O lovely-faced one, / suited to our limbs.

71.28

For we are wrestlers who have arrived as guests to this land, O woman of lovely face, / to see the divine bow-festival and the kingdom of great prosperity.'

71.29

Then she replied to Kṛṣṇa: 'You are dear to my sight.' / Then, having bowed, she gave the unguent: / 'This is excellent, worthy of a king; take this unguent.'

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Then Kṛṣṇa and Balabhadra took that unguent,

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and smeared their limbs with what was auspicious and highly fragrant.

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Then, with a bound garland composed of many flowers,

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Govinda, the lord of cattle, Kṛṣṇa, shone, adorned with a crest.

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Then mighty Saṃkarṣaṇa shone with many a garland.

71.30

The two, their limbs anointed and bodies moist, shone forth / like two bulls at a ford in the Yamunā with limbs smeared with mud.

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And all the boys shone in the same way, wearing crests,

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even though adorning themselves clumsily, by the power of the wielder of the Śārṅga bow.

71.31

Then Kṛṣṇa, who knows the ways of play, / gently raised up that hunchbacked woman with two fingers of his hand.

71.32

With her pair of sunken breasts [lifted], her limbs elongated, her smile pure, / her swelling breasts prominent, straight as a staff, she laughed loudly like a creeper.

71.33

Out of love that beautiful woman said to Kṛṣṇa: / 'Where will you go, detained by me? O beloved, stay, take me!'

71.34

Laughter arose in both imperishable ones; clapping hands / and looking at each other, they burst into laughter, having heard the extent of the hunchback's words.

71.35

With a smile Kṛṣṇa dismissed the love-afflicted hunchbacked woman: / 'Go as you wish, good woman; I am not that sort of man.' / Then, released by the hunchbacked woman, the two entered the royal assembly.

71.36

The two, who grew up in the cowherd settlement and were adorned in cowherd attire, / concealing their actions and faces, entered that royal palace.

71.37

The two boys, fearless, went to the hall of the bow / like two lions of immense strength born in the Himālaya forest.

71.38

Desiring to see that great bow decorated for the sacrificial offering, / the two heroes then questioned the keeper of the armory:

71.39

'Ho, guardian of Kaṃsa's bows, listen to the words of us two! / Which is that bow, gentle one, whose festival this is, / which has become the offering of Kaṃsa? Show it if you please.'

71.40

He showed the two of them that bow, resembling a pillar, / unstringable and unbreakable even by the gods together with Indra.

71.41

Taking it, the mighty Kṛṣṇa, the lotus-petal-eyed one, / weighed it with both arms, his inner self delighted.

71.42

Having weighed that bow worshipped by the Daityas as much as he wished, / the mighty one strung it and bent it repeatedly.

71.43

Bent with great force by Kṛṣṇa, moving like a serpent, / the bow decorated for the sacrificial offering snapped in two in the middle.

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The sound of the bow breaking filled the sky, heaven and earth,

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and the directions; hearing it, Kaṃsa was seized with terror.

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Its guards, together with their followers, enraged, assassins all,

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surrounded them wishing to seize them, shouting: 'Let him be seized! Let him be killed!'

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Then, seeing those men of evil intent, Bala and Keśava,

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enraged, took the two pieces of the bow and struck them down.

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And having slain the force dispatched by Kaṃsa, the two, proud,

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stepped forth from the hall's entrance and strolled, looking at the city's splendors.

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Hearing of their wonderful prowess,

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and seeing their splendor, boldness, and form, the city-dwellers deemed them the foremost of gods.

71.44

Having broken that excellent bow, Kṛṣṇa of swift valor / went forth with great speed, and so did the youth Saṃkarṣaṇa.

71.45

When the bow was broken, the two were pursued by the guards; / at the sound of the bow's snapping, which made a roar like the wind, / the entire inner court trembled and the directions were filled.

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Having departed from the armory, they went into the presence of the cowherds.

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The weapon-keeper, rushing with speed, bewildered in mind,

71.46

the armory-man, terrified, moving with hasty strides, / went near to the king and spoke, panting like a crow.

71.47

“May my petition be heard! In the house of the bow, / a wonder has occurred at this time resembling a panic of the whole world.

71.48

Two men together, belonging to who knows whom, their crests spreading over their hair, / wearing blue and yellow garments, smeared with yellow and white unguents,

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entered the inner quarters unrecognised, moving with swift desire.

71.49

Resembling sons of gods, two heroes like youthful fires, / standing in the house of the bow, handsome, having suddenly arrived as if from the sky, / handsome and eager for the festival, those two bulls among men came; / clearly seen by me, wearing lovely garments and garlands.

Linked texts (1)

Harivaṃśa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit