CHAPTER ELEVEN
When the twin arjuna trees fell to the ground, making a sound like the falling of thunderbolts, all the inhabitants of Gokula, including Nanda MahÄrÄja, immediately came to the spot. They were very much astonished to see how the two great trees had suddenly fallen. Because they could find no reason for their falling down, they were puzzled. When they saw child KášášŁáša bound up to the wooden mortar by the ropes of Mother YaĹodÄ, they thought that it must have been caused by some demon. Otherwise, how was it possible? At the same time, they were very much perturbed because such uncommon incidents were always happening to child KášášŁáša. While the cowherd men were thus contemplating, the small children who were playing there informed the men that the trees had fallen because KášášŁáša had pulled the wooden mortar with the rope binding Him. âKášášŁáša came in between the two trees,â they explained, âand the wooden mortar was topsy-turvied and stuck in between the trees. KášášŁáša pulled the rope, and the trees fell down. When the trees fell down, two very dazzling men came out of the trees, and they said something to KášášŁáša.â
Most of the cowherd men did not believe the statement of the children. They could not believe that such things were at all possible. Some of the men, however, believed them and told Nanda MahÄrÄja, âYour child is different from all other children. He just might have done it.â Nanda MahÄrÄja smiled to hear about the extraordinary abilities of his son. He came forward and untied the knot just to free his wonderful child. After being freed by Nanda MahÄrÄja, KášášŁáša was taken onto the laps of the elder gopÄŤs. They took Him away to the courtyard of the house and began to clap, praising His wonderful activities. KášášŁáša danced along with their clapping, just like an ordinary child. The Supreme Lord KášášŁáša, being completely controlled by the gopÄŤs, sang and danced just like a puppet in their hands.
Sometimes Mother YaĹodÄ used to ask KášášŁáša to bring her a wooden plank for sitting. Although the wooden plank was too heavy to be carried by a child, still somehow or other KášášŁáša would bring it to His mother. Sometimes His father, while worshiping NÄrÄyaáša, would ask Him to bring his wooden slippers, and KášášŁáša, with great difficulty, would put the slippers on His head and bring them to His father. When He was asked to lift some heavy article and was unable to lift it, He would simply move His arms. In this way, daily, at every moment, He was the reservoir of all pleasure for His parents. The Lord was exhibiting such childish dealings with the inhabitants of VášndÄvana because He wanted to show the great philosophers and sages searching after the Absolute Truth how the Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead is controlled by and subject to the desires of His pure devotees.
One day, a fruit vendor came before the house of Nanda MahÄrÄja. Upon hearing the vendor call, âIf anyone wants fruits, please come and take them from me!â child KášášŁáša immediately took some grains in His palms and went to get fruits in exchange. In those days exchange was by barter; therefore KášášŁáša might have seen His parents acquire fruits and other things by bartering grain, and so He imitated. But His palms were very small, and He was not very careful to hold the grains tight, so He was dropping them. The vendor who came to sell fruits saw this and was very much captivated by the beauty of the Lord, so she immediately accepted whatever few grains were left in His palms and filled His hands with fruits. In the meantime, the vendor saw that her whole basket of fruit had become filled with jewels. The Lord is the bestower of all benedictions. If someone gives something to the Lord, he is not the loser; he is the gainer by a million times.
One day Lord KášášŁáša, the liberator of the twin arjuna trees, was playing with BalarÄma and the other children on the bank of the YamunÄ, and because it was already late in the morning, RohiášÄŤ, the mother of BalarÄma, went to call them back home. But BalarÄma and KášášŁáša were so engrossed in playing with Their friends that They did not wish to go back; They just engaged Themselves in playing more and more. When RohiášÄŤ was unable to take Them back home, she went home and sent Mother YaĹodÄ to call Them again. Mother YaĹodÄ was so affectionate toward her son that as soon as she came out to call Him back home, her breasts filled up with milk. She loudly cried, âMy dear child, please come back home. Your time for lunch is already past.â She then said, âMy dear KášášŁáša, O my dear lotus-eyed child, please come and suck my breast. You have played enough. You must be very hungry, my dear little child. You must be tired from playing for so long.â She also addressed BalarÄma thus: âMy dear RÄma, the glory of Your family, my dear child, please come back with Your younger brother KášášŁáša immediately. You have been engaged in playing since early morning, and You must be very tired. Please come back and take Your lunch at home. Your father NandarÄja is waiting for You. He has to eat, so You must come back so that he can eat.â
As soon as Kášáša and BalarÄma heard that Nanda MahÄrÄja was waiting for Them and could not take his food in Their absence, They started to return. Their playmates complained, âKášášŁáša is leaving us just at the point when our playing is at the summit. Next time we shall not allow Him to leave.â
His playmates then threatened not to allow Him to play with them again. KášášŁáša became afraid, and instead of going back home, He went back again to play with the boys. At that time, Mother YaĹodÄ scolded the children and told KášášŁáša, âMy dear KášášŁáša, do You think that You are a street boy? You have no home? Please come back to Your home! I see that Your body has become very dirty from playing since early morning. Now come home and take Your bath. Besides, today is Your birthday ceremony; therefore You should come back home and give cows in charity to the brÄhmaášas. Donât You see how Your playmates are decorated with ornaments by their mothers? You should also be cleansed and decorated with nice dress and ornaments. Please, therefore, come back, take Your bath, dress Yourself nicely, and then again You may go on playing.â
In this way Mother YaĹodÄ called back Lord KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, who are worshipable by great demigods like Lord BrahmÄ and Lord Ĺiva. She was thinking of Them as her children.
When Mother YaĹodÄâs children, KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, came home, she bathed Them very nicely and dressed Them with ornaments. She then called for the brÄhmaášas, and through her children she gave many cows in charity for the occasion of KášášŁášaâs birthday. In this way she performed the birthday ceremony of KášášŁáša at home.
After this incident, all the elder cowherd men assembled together, and Nanda MahÄrÄja presided. They began to consult amongst themselves how to stop the great disturbances in MahÄvana on account of the demons. In this meeting, Upananda, the brother of Nanda MahÄrÄja, was present. He was considered to be learned and experienced, and he was a well-wisher of KášášŁáša and BalarÄma. He was a leader, and he addressed the meeting as follows: âMy dear friends! Now we should leave here for another place because we are continually finding that great demons are coming here to disturb the peaceful situation, and they are especially attempting to kill the small children. Just consider PĹŤtanÄ and KášášŁáša. It was simply by the grace of Lord Hari that KášášŁáša was saved from the hands of such a great demon. Next the whirlwind demon took KášášŁáša away into the sky, but by the grace of Lord Hari He was saved, and the demon fell down on a stone slab and died. Very recently, this child was playing between two trees, and the trees fell down violently, and yet there was no injury to the child. So Lord Hari saved Him again. Just imagine the calamity if this child or any other child playing with Him were crushed by the falling trees! Considering all these incidents, we must conclude that this place is no longer safe. Let us leave. We have all been saved from different calamities by the grace of Lord Hari. Now we should be cautious and leave this place and reside somewhere where we can live peacefully. I think that we should all go to the forest known as VášndÄvana, where just now there are newly grown plants and herbs. It is very suitable for pasturing ground for our cows, and we and our families, the gopÄŤs with their children, can very peacefully live there. Near VášndÄvana is Govardhana Hill, which is very beautiful, and there are newly grown grass and fodder for the animals, so there will be no difficulty in living there. I therefore suggest that we start immediately for that beautiful place, as there is no need to waste any more time. Let us prepare all our carts immediately, and, if you like, let us go, keeping all the cows in front.â
On hearing the statement of Upananda, all the cowherd men immediately agreed. âLet us immediately go there.â Everyone then loaded all their household furniture and utensils onto the carts and prepared to go to VášndÄvana. All the children, women and old men of the village were arranged on seats, and the cowherd men equipped themselves with bows and arrows to follow the carts. All the cows and bulls were placed in the front along with their calves, and the men, with their bows and arrows, surrounded the herds and carts and began to blow on their horns and bugles. In this way, with tumultuous sound, they started for VášndÄvana.
And who can describe the damsels of Vraja? They were all seated on the carts and were very beautifully dressed with ornaments and costly saris. They chanted the pastimes of child KášášŁáša as usual. Mother YaĹodÄ and Mother RohiášÄŤ were seated on a separate cart, and KášášŁáša and BalarÄma were seated on their laps. While Mother RohiášÄŤ and YaĹodÄ were riding on the cart, they talked to KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, and feeling the pleasure of such talks, they looked very, very beautiful.
In this way, after reaching VášndÄvana, where everyone lives eternally, very peacefully and happily, they encircled VášndÄvana, drew all the carts together in a half circle, and in this way constructed a temporary residence. When KášášŁáša and BalarÄma saw the beautiful appearance of VášndÄvana, Govardhana Hill and the banks of the river YamunÄ, They felt very happy. As They grew up They began talking with Their parents and others in childish language, and thus They gave great pleasure to all the inhabitants of VášndÄvana.
Soon KášášŁáša and BalarÄma had grown sufficiently to be given charge of the calves. Cowherd boys, from the very beginning of their childhood, are trained to take care of the cows, and their first responsibility is to take care of the little calves. So along with the other little cowherd boys, KášášŁáša and BalarÄma went into the pasturing ground and took charge of the calves, and there They played with Their playmates. While taking charge of the calves, sometimes the two brothers played on Their flutes. And sometimes They played with Ämalaka fruits and bael fruits, just as small children play with balls. Sometimes They danced and made tinkling sounds with Their ankle bells. Sometimes They made Themselves into bulls and cows by covering Themselves with blankets. Thus KášášŁáša and BalarÄma played. The two brothers also used to imitate the sounds of bulls and cows and play like two bulls fighting. Sometimes They used to imitate the sounds of various animals and birds. In this way, They enjoyed Their childhood pastimes apparently like ordinary, mundane children.
Once, when KášášŁáša and BalarÄma were playing on the bank of the YamunÄ, a demon of the name VatsÄsura assumed the shape of a calf and came there intending to kill the brothers. By taking the shape of a calf, the demon could mingle with the other calves. KášášŁáša, however, specifically noticed this, and He immediately alerted BalarÄma about the entrance of the demon. Both brothers then silently approached him. KášášŁáša caught hold of the demon-calf by the two hind legs and tail, whipped him around very forcibly and threw him up into a tree. The demon lost his life and fell down from the top of the tree to the ground. When the demon lay dead on the ground, all the playmates of KášášŁáša congratulated Him, âWell done! Well done!â and the demigods in the sky showered flowers with great satisfaction. In this way, the maintainers of the complete creation, KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, used to take care of the calves every day, beginning in the morning, and thus They enjoyed Their childhood pastimes as cowherd boys in VášndÄvana.
One day, all the cowherd boys went to the bank of the river YamunÄ to water their calves. When the calves drank water from the YamunÄ, the boys also drank. After drinking, when they were sitting on the bank of the river, they saw a huge animal which looked something like a heron and was as big as a hill. Its top was as strong as a thunderbolt. When they saw that unusual animal, they became afraid of it. The name of this beast was BakÄsura, and he was a friend of Kaášsaâs. He appeared on the scene suddenly and immediately attacked KášášŁáša with his pointed, sharp beak and quickly swallowed Him up. When KášášŁáša was thus swallowed, all the boys, headed by BalarÄma, became almost breathless, as if they had died. But when the BakÄsura demon was swallowing up KášášŁáša, he felt a burning, fiery sensation in his throat. This was due to the glowing effulgence of KášášŁáša. The demon quickly threw KášášŁáša up and tried to kill Him by pinching Him in his beak. BakÄsura did not know that although KášášŁáša was playing the part of a child of Nanda MahÄrÄja, He was still the original father of Lord BrahmÄ, the creator of the universe. Mother YaĹodÄâs child, who is the reservoir of pleasure for the demigods and who is the maintainer of saintly persons, caught hold of the great gigantic heron by the two halves of his beak and, before His cowherd boyfriends, bifurcated his mouth, just as a child very easily splits a blade of grass. From the sky, the denizens of the heavenly planets showered flowers like the mallikÄ, the most fragrant of all flowers, as a token of their congratulations. Accompanying the showers of flowers was a vibration of bugles, drums and conchshells.
When the boys saw the showering of flowers and heard the celestial sounds, they became struck with wonder. And when they saw KášášŁáša freed from the mouth of the great demon BakÄsura, all of them, including BalarÄma, were so pleased that it seemed as if they had regained their very source of life. As soon as they saw KášášŁáša coming toward them, they one after another embraced the son of Nanda and held Him to their chests. After this, they assembled all the calves under their charge and began to return home.
When they arrived home, they spoke of the wonderful activities of the son of Nanda. When the gopÄŤs and cowherd men all heard the story from the boys, they felt great happiness because naturally they loved KášášŁáša, and by hearing about His glories and victorious activities they became still more affectionate toward Him. Thinking that child KášášŁáša had been saved from the mouth of death, they looked upon His face with great love and affection. They were full of anxiety and could not turn their faces from the vision of KášášŁáša. The gopÄŤs and the men began to converse amongst themselves about how wonderful it was that child KášášŁáša had been attacked in so many ways and so many times by so many demons, and yet the demons themselves had been killed and KášášŁáša had remained uninjured. They continued to converse amongst themselves about how so many great demons in such fierce bodies had attacked KášášŁáša to kill Him but, by the grace of Hari, had not been able to cause even a slight injury. Rather, they had died like small flies in a fire. Thus they remembered the words of Garga Muni, who had foretold, by dint of his vast knowledge of the Vedas and astrology, that this boy would be attacked by many demons. Now they were actually seeing that this was coming true, word for word.
All the cowherd men, including Nanda MahÄrÄja, used to talk of the wonderful activities of Lord KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, and they were always so much absorbed in those talks that they forgot the threefold miseries of this material existence. This is the effect of KášášŁáša consciousness. What was enjoyed five thousand years ago by Nanda MahÄrÄja can still be enjoyed by KášášŁáša conscious persons simply by talking about the transcendental pastimes of KášášŁáša and His associates.
Thus BalarÄma and KášášŁáša enjoyed Their childhood pastimes, imitating Lord RÄmacandraâs monkeys, who constructed the bridge over the ocean, and HanumÄn, who jumped over the water to Ceylon. They used to imitate such pastimes among Their friends and so happily passed Their childhood life.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eleventh Chapter of KášášŁáša, âKilling the Demons VatsÄsura and BakÄsura.â