Krishna Slays Salva

In the seventy seventh chapter, Krsna returns to Dvaraka from Indraprastha, and quickly kills Salva riding in his magical vehicle.

In order to correct the fault of fleeing from the battlefield incurred by his charioteer doing his duty of protecting him, Pradyumna, skilful in ksatriya dharma, doing acamana, put on his armor.

Saying “Oh, attack as long as you can!” he received Dyuman’s attack and then counter attacked (pratihatya), piercing him with eight arrows (naracaih).

This verse describes how he dispensed the eight arrows.

Those riding in the Sauba aircraft (saubheyah), fell in the ocean with their heads cut off.

They fought for twenty seven (three times nine) days and nights.

This verse expresses Krsna’s thoughts. “I have come here with Balarama (arya misra), the most worshipable.” This however is not the opinion of Sukadeva, but someone else, as Sukadeva explains in verse 30.

Thinking in this way, he arrived at Dvaraka. He saw the affliction caused to his people by Salva as well as Salva and his aircraft. Considering to protect Rukmini and the other queens in the inner chambers of the city, he spoke to Daruka, with the idea that generals should put them in the center of the city by a secret path.

Both sides saw Garuda (aruna anujam) on the flag of his chariot.

Salva whose generals (balsevara) were almost dead saw Krsna.

The saubha aircraft was like the akasa, dark in color and quick in movement. Krsna is compared to the sun, whose power can defeat everything else, and whose arrows were countless and painful like the rays of the sun.

This and the next verse are not the opinion of Sukadeva. Doh (Arm) in the neutral form is sometimes seen, as in Raghu Kavya. That the bow fell from Lord’ s hand was astonishing because the Lord’s arm has unlimited strength.

“O fool I will make you die.”

However the other meaning is: “because there is no confusion for you (yat tvaya amudha) , you took your rightful wife who is actually Laksmi, while we and our friend and paternal cousin Sisupala looked on (and you ignored us. Genitive case implies disregard.) Today I let you, the object of adoration for being invincible to sharp arrows, give me liberation.” Or “I attain you who gives liberation ( tvam apunar avrttim) and therefore will not take rebirth.”

From this verse to verse twenty nine is not the version of Sukadeva.

Ghrni here means compassionate.

I will kill your father who gave birth (janita) to you while you watch.

Krsna remained overcome (upaplutah) with the sentiments of an ordinary human (prakrtiau) but then because of his great powers (mahanubhavah) understood that it was a demonic illusion created by Mayadanava and used by Salva

Therefore, as if awaking from a dream world, Krsna no longer saw his father’s body or the messenger.

Having presented the story as told by others, now Sukadeva destroys it with this verse. Some sages who were not careful to see the agreement of all statements before and after (na anvitah) have related this story. They did not consider that their words were contradictory to other statements of the bhagavatam. Krsna did not go to the rajasuya sacrifice with Balarama as stated in verse eight, since previously it was stated that Krsna took permission from Balarama and then went to Indraprastha without him. Thus how can the words attributed to Krsna in verse eight be true? Even if they were true, how could Krsna say such things as “How did weak Salva defeat Balarama unconquerable by devas or demons and take away my father?”

31.Moreover, is it possible that Krsna could be bewildered by Salva’s illusions? How are the affection and lamentation for Vasudeva caused by this illusion possible? Nor is possible that he could have fear of Salva. And how is it possible for him to let go of his bow Sarnga by that illusion of Salva? Therefore Sukadeva speaks this verse. Lamentation and other emotions are of two types: caused by ignorance and caused by knowledge. The emotions described here are possible in people who are ignorant, or do not know everything, who are dependent on wrong sources of knowledge. But how is it possible in the supreme lord Krsna who has unlimited knowledge?

The spiritual emotions such as lamentation possible in those who have knowledge, who are beyond illusion,. occur in the devotees and in the Lord who is the very form of all sweet rasa arising as sancari bhavas as part of rasa. This can be very clearly seen in Damodara pastimes (Krsna crying), and the purva raga of the gopis during the rasa lila. Fear mentioned in this verse refers to verse eight. That fear is impossible for Krsna. Fear which caused Krsna to flee is not actual fear as mentioned by Uddhava. If it were real fear then the intelligence of the wise would be erroneous, according to the bhagavatamrta. Such stories prevent the tasting of nectar, like restricting a horse with a halter.

The impossibility of Krsna being fooled by Salva’s tricks is further explained in this verse, by showing that even the Lord’s devotees cannot be bewildered what to speak of the Lord. How is it possible for Salva , a human being to bewilder Krsna, the supreme lord who is the goal of the saints, who remove the endless delusion of being happy or sad by knowledge of the Lord nourished by service to his lotus feet, and do not have any conception of being a controller (atmiyam anantam aisvaram na labhante)? It is not possible and therefore those words are false.

After defeating the versions of others now Sukadeva continues the story. Krsna broke (ruroja) the aircraft with his club.

That Saubha craft (tat), broken by the club thrown by Krsna into a thousand pieces, fell in the water.

Wanting to perform the death rites by taking revenge for the death of his friends like Sisupala, Dantavakra approached Krsna in anger.