Studies in the Epics and Puranas c12.83

c12.83

On account of evil omens and the onrush of hundreds of ferocious wolves, the cowherds in a body left Gokula for Vṛndāvana and soon settled there. In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa subjugated Kāliya, a Nāga chief, and ordered him to leave the place with his tribe.⁵² Kṛṣṇa used to gather his friends in the forest, and enjoyed many a game, during the course of which Balarāma killed Pralamba, an Asura, who joined them dressed as a cowherd boy. In Vṛndāvana, instead of the usual Indrayajña current among herdsmen, Kṛṣṇa established the practice of worshipping Nature, the visible manifestation of God, the Govardhana Hill. There was a heavy down-pour when the herdsmen were engaged in their new sacrifice, and through some extraordinary miraculous device, Kṛṣṇa saved them all.⁵³