CHAPTER FIFTEEN
In this way ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša, along with His elder brother BalarÄma, passed the childhood age known as kaumÄra and stepped into the age of paugaášá¸a, from the sixth year up to the tenth. At that time, all the cowherd men conferred and agreed to give those boys who had passed their fifth year charge of the cows in the pasturing ground. Given charge of the cows, KášášŁáša and BalarÄma traversed VášndÄvana, purifying the land with Their lotus footprints.
Accompanied by the cowherd boys and BalarÄma, KášášŁáša brought forward the cows and played on His flute as He entered the forest of VášndÄvana, which was full of flowers, vegetation and pasturing grass. The VášndÄvana forest was as sanctified as the clear mind of a devotee and was full of bees, flowers and fruits. There were chirping birds and clear-water lakes, with waters that could relieve one of all fatigue. Sweet-smelling breezes blew always, refreshing the mind and body. KášášŁáša, with His friends and BalarÄma, entered the forest and, seeing the favorable situation, desired to enjoy the atmosphere to the fullest extent. KášášŁáša saw all the trees, overloaded with fruits and fresh twigs, bending down to touch the ground as if welcoming Him by touching His lotus feet. He was very much pleased by the behavior of the trees, fruits and flowers, and He began to smile, realizing their desires.
KášášŁáša then spoke to His elder brother BalarÄma as follows: âMy dear brother, You are superior to all of us, and Your lotus feet are worshiped by the demigods. Just see how these trees, full with fruits and flowers, have bent down to worship Your lotus feet. It appears that they are trying to get out of the darkness that has obliged them to accept the form of trees. Actually, the trees born in the land of VášndÄvana are not ordinary living entities. Having held the impersonal point of view in their past lives, they have been put into this stationary condition of life, but now they have the opportunity of seeing You in VášndÄvana, and they are praying for further advancement in spiritual life through Your personal association. Generally, living entities in the mode of darkness obtain the bodies of trees. The impersonalist philosophers are in that darkness, but they eradicate it by taking full advantage of Your presence. I think the drones that are buzzing all around You must have been Your devotees in their past lives. They cannot leave Your company because no one can be a better, more affectionate master than You. You are the supreme and original Personality of Godhead, and the drones are just trying to spread Your glories by chanting at every moment. I think some of them must be great sages, devotees of Your Lordship, and they are disguising themselves in the form of drones because they are unable to give up Your company even for a moment. My dear brother, You are the supreme worshipable Godhead. Just see how the peacocks are dancing before You in great ecstasy. The deer, whose behavior is just like that of the gopÄŤs, are welcoming You with the same affection. And the cuckoos who are residing in this forest are welcoming You with their joyful, sweet cries because they consider that Your appearance in their home is so auspicious. Even though they are trees and animals, these residents of VášndÄvana are glorifying You. They are prepared to welcome You to the best of their ability, as is the practice of great souls in receiving another great soul at home. As for the land, it is so pious and fortunate because the footprints of Your lotus feet are marking its body.
âIt is quite natural for these VášndÄvana inhabitants to thus receive a great personality like You. The herbs, creepers and plants are also so fortunate to touch Your lotus feet. And by Your touching the twigs with Your fingernails, these small plants are also made glorious. As for the hills and the rivers, they too are now glorious because You are glancing at them. Above all, the damsels of Vraja, the gopÄŤs, are the most glorious because You embrace them with Your strong arms, being attracted by their beauty.â
In this way, Lord KášášŁáša and BalarÄma began to enjoy the residents of VášndÄvana to Their full satisfaction as They herded the calves and cows on the bank of the YamunÄ. In some places KášášŁáša and BalarÄma were accompanied by Their friends. The boys were singing, imitating the humming sound of the drones and accompanying KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, who were garlanded with forest flowers. While walking, the boys sometimes imitated the quacking sound of the swans in the lakes, or when they saw the peacocks dancing, they imitated them before KášášŁáša. KášášŁáša also moved His neck, imitating the dancing and making His friends laugh.
The cows taken care of by KášášŁáša had different names, and KášášŁáša would call them with love. After hearing KášášŁáša calling, the cows would immediately respond by mooing, and the boys would enjoy this exchange to their heartsâ content. They would all imitate the sound vibrations made by the different kinds of birds, especially the cakoras, peacocks, cuckoos and bhÄradvÄjas. Sometimes, when they would see the weaker animals fleeing out of fear of the sounds of tigers and lions, the boys, along with KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, would imitate the animals and run away with them. When they felt some fatigue, they would sit down, and BalarÄma would put His head on the lap of one of the boys just to take rest, and KášášŁáša would immediately come and begin massaging the legs of BalarÄma. And sometimes KášášŁáša would take a palm fan and fan the body of BalarÄma, causing a pleasing breeze to relieve Him of His fatigue. Other boys would sometimes dance or sing while BalarÄma took rest, and sometimes they would wrestle amongst themselves or jump. When the boys were thus engaged, KášášŁáša would immediately join them, and catching their hands, He would enjoy their company and laugh and praise their activities. When KášášŁáša would feel tired and fatigued, He would sometimes take shelter of the root of a big tree or the lap of a cowherd boy and lie down. When He would lie down with a boy or a root as His pillow, some of the boys would come and massage His legs, and some would fan His body with a fan made from leaves. Some of the more talented boys would sing in very sweet voices to please Him. Thus very soon His fatigue would go away. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, KášášŁáša, whose legs are tended by the goddess of fortune, shared Himself with the cowherd boys as one of them, expanding His internal potency to appear exactly like a village boy. But despite His appearing just like a village boy, there were occasions when He proved Himself to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes men pose themselves as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cheat innocent people, but they can only cheat; they cannot exhibit the potency of God.
While KášášŁáša was thus engaged in His transcendental pastimes, exhibiting His internal potency in the company of the supermost fortunate cowherd boys, there occurred another chance for Him to exhibit the superhuman powers of Godhead. His most intimate friends ĹrÄŤdÄmÄ, Subala and Stoka-kášášŁáša addressed KášášŁáša and BalarÄma with great love and affection thus: âDear BalarÄma, You are very powerful; Your arms are very strong. Dear KášášŁáša, You are very expert in killing all kinds of disturbing demons. Will You kindly note that just near this place there is a big forest of the name TÄlavana? This forest is full of palm trees, and all the trees are filled with fruits. Some have fallen down, and some are very ripe even in the trees. It is a very nice place, but because of a great demon, DhenukÄsura, it is very difficult to go there. No one can reach the trees to collect the fruits. Dear KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, this demon is present there in the form of an ass, and he is surrounded by similar demon friends who have assumed the same shape. All of them are very strong, so it is very difficult to approach this place. Dear brothers, You are the only persons who can kill such demons. Other than You, no one can go there for fear of being killed. Not even animals go there, and no birds are living there; they have all left. One can only appreciate the sweet aroma that is coming from that place. It appears that up until now, no one has tasted the sweet fruits there, either on the tree or on the ground. Dear KášášŁáša, to tell You frankly, we are very attracted by this sweet aroma. Dear BalarÄma, if You like, let us all go there and enjoy these fruits. The aroma of the fruits is now spread everywhere. Donât You smell it from here?â
When BalarÄma and KášášŁáša were thus petitioned by Their intimate friends, They were inclined to please them, and with smiling faces They proceeded toward the forest, surrounded by all Their friends. Immediately upon entering the TÄlavana, BalarÄma began to yank the trees with His arms, exhibiting the strength of an elephant. Because of this jerking, all the ripe fruits fell down on the ground. Upon hearing the sound of the falling fruits, the demon DhenukÄsura, who was living there in the form of an ass, approached with great force, shaking the whole field so that all the trees moved as if there were an earthquake. The demon appeared before BalarÄma and kicked His chest with his hind legs. At first BalarÄma did not say anything, but with great anger the demon kicked Him again more vehemently. This time BalarÄma immediately caught hold of the legs of the ass with one hand and, wheeling him around, threw him into the treetops. While he was being wheeled around by BalarÄma, the demon lost his life. BalarÄma threw the demon into the biggest palm tree about, and the demonâs body was so heavy that the palm tree fell upon other trees, and several fell down. It appeared as if a great hurricane was passing through the forest, and all the trees were falling down, one after another. This exhibition of extraordinary strength is not astonishing because BalarÄma is the Personality of Godhead known as Ananta Ĺeᚣa NÄga, who is holding all the planets on the hoods of His millions of heads. He maintains the whole cosmic manifestation exactly as horizontal and vertical threads hold the weaving of a cloth.
After the demon had been thrown into the trees, all the friends and associates of DhenukÄsura immediately assembled and attacked BalarÄma and KášášŁáša with great force. They were determined to retaliate and avenge the death of their friend. But KášášŁáša and BalarÄma caught each of the asses by the hind legs and, exactly in the same way, wheeled them around. Thus They killed all of them and threw them into the palm trees. Because of the dead bodies of the asses, there was a panoramic scene. It appeared as if clouds of various colors were assembled in the trees. Hearing of this great incident, the demigods from the higher planets showered flowers on KášášŁáša and BalarÄma and beat their drums and offered devotional prayers.
A few days after the killing of DhenukÄsura, people began to come into the TÄlavana forest to collect the fruits, and animals began to return without fear to feed on the nice grasses growing there. Just by chanting or hearing these transcendental activities and pastimes of the brothers KášášŁáša and BalarÄma, one can amass pious activities.
When KášášŁáša and BalarÄma entered the village of VášndÄvana along with Their friends, They played Their flutes, and the boys praised Their uncommon activities in the forest. Their faces were decorated with tilaka and smeared with the dust raised by the cows, and KášášŁášaâs head was decorated with a peacock feather. Both He and BalarÄma played Their flutes, and the young gopÄŤs were joyous to see KášášŁáša returning home. All the gopÄŤs in VášndÄvana remained very morose on account of KášášŁášaâs absence. All day they were thinking of KášášŁáša in the forest or of Him herding cows in the pasture. When they saw KášášŁáša returning, all their anxieties were immediately relieved, and they began to look at His face the way drones hover over the honey of the lotus flower. When KášášŁáša entered the village, the young gopÄŤs smiled and laughed. KášášŁáša, while playing the flute, enjoyed the beautiful smiling faces of the gopÄŤs.
Then KášášŁáša and BalarÄma were immediately received by Their affectionate mothers, YaĹodÄ and RohiášÄŤ, who, according to the timeâs demands, began to fulfill the desires of their affectionate sons. Simultaneously, the mothers rendered service and bestowed benediction upon their transcendental sons. They took care of their children by bathing Them and dressing Them very nicely. KášášŁáša was dressed in yellowish garments, and BalarÄma was dressed in bluish garments, and They were given all sorts of ornaments and flower garlands. Being relieved of the fatigue of Their dayâs work in the pasturing ground, They looked refreshed and very beautiful.
They were given palatable dishes by Their mothers, and They pleasantly ate everything. After eating, They were seated nicely on clean bedding, and the mothers began to sing various songs of Their activities. As soon as They lay down on the bedding, They very quickly fell fast asleep. In this way, KášášŁáša and BalarÄma used to enjoy VášndÄvana life as cowherd boys.
Sometimes KášášŁáša used to go with His boyfriends and BalarÄma, and sometimes He used to go alone with His friends to the bank of the YamunÄ and tend the cows. Gradually, the summer season arrived, and one day, while in the field, the boys and cows became very thirsty and began to drink the water of the YamunÄ. The river, however, had been made poisonous by the venom of the great serpent known as KÄliya.
Because the water was so poisonous, the boys and cows became visibly affected immediately after drinking. They suddenly fell down on the ground, apparently dead. Then KášášŁáša, who is the life of all that lives, simply cast His merciful glance over them, and all the boys and cows regained consciousness and began to look at one another with great astonishment. They could understand that by drinking the water of the YamunÄ they had died and that the merciful glance of KášášŁáša had restored their lives. Thus they appreciated the mystic power of KášášŁáša, who is known as YogeĹvara, the master of all mystic yogÄŤs.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifteenth Chapter of KášášŁáša, âThe Killing of DhenukÄsura.â