Srimad Bhagavatam – day 563
Kamsa’s ministers advised, “O King, why fear? Since we have no idea where the infant resides, let us search in all villages, towns, cities, in all cowherd-settlements as well as in other settlements. Let us kill all infants who are less than ten days of age or slightly more.
Devatas dread war. The sound of your bowstring instills fear in them causing them to tremble. Even in war they fail to harm us. O valiant king, do you remember that war wherein you rained continuous arrows from all directions inflicting unimaginable wounds upon Devatas? Fearing for their lives, the Devatas had to abandon the war and disperse in all directions. Some threw away their weapons, folded their hands and begged mercy. Some took on forms as animals and birds and fled from the scene while some held on to your feet. In a quivering voice the Devatas, whose garments loosened due to fright and whose hair was all scattered, begged your mercy pleading, “We are frightened of your might.”
O King, during the war, you, the valorous hero, do not kill those who have forgotten the application of the appropriate mantras and weapons. You spare the lives of those who are devoid of chariots, who are trembling in fear, who are engaged in a battle with another, who are running away from the battlefield, whose bow is broken and those who have abandoned war”.
Indeed, Kamsa was valorous. His wickedness stemmed from his fear of death.
“Devatas move bravely only in those places where fear is missing”.
It is not uncommon for some to keep dictating to other family members, including aged parents, disciplines and morals. Their rigidity and dedication towards the rituals and disciplines lasts as long as they are safe within the four walls of their house. But the moment they step outdoors, they tremble violently and are ineffective in adhering to their disciplines. Another example is a pet dog which barks ferociously when it is in the secure premises of the owner’s home but which whines piteously when forced to face other stray dogs. Here the ministers of Kamsa compare the Devatas to such timid entities.
The evil person always has plenty of impious advisors who instigate him to tread the wrong path. In fact, these evil advisors take him towards total destruction. Be cautious when listening to advise given by others. Do not blindly follow their advice without using your own discretion. Only then such fall can be avoided.
In the guise of ministers, the demons were instigating Kamsa to fight the Devatas. They implied, ‘Why fear when we are with you? Devatas boast plentifully only during times of peace. During war they chicken out. Lord Vishnu resides in the ocean of milk. He lives there in hiding. Lord Shiva, accompanied by the troops (ganas) he has created, wanders either in the forests or in crematoriums’.
Swamiji explains: Once Brahma asked Shiva to help in creation. Immediately Shiva created hordes of bhoota-ganas (ghosts and goblins). Alarmed at this creation, Lord Brahma begged him to stop creating. He further said, ‘O Shiva, please proceed to Kailasa. Please take with you these Bhoota-ganas whom you have created. Please do not leave them behind.’ These bhoota-ganas were crazy creations of Shiva. One was exceedingly tall while another was a dwarf. One was extremely fat while another was like a lean stick. One was crooked-faced. Another’s belly was crooked. There was no uniformity in the creation. They appeared terrible and ugly. Brahma thought, ‘Oho! What creation this is! If these bhoota-ganas beget progeny what will happen to my creation? Is this the help that Shiva gives when asked? Oho! I don’t want to see any of these creatures here. O Shiva! Please pack your bags and leave immediately. Kindly take these troops along with you to Kailasa’.
For this reason, Kamsa’s ministers thought, ‘Anyways Shiva is eternally wandering in the forests with his troops. Indra’s prowess is not even worth a thought. Lord Brahma is eternally engaged in meditation with his eyes closed. Why then do we need to fear these Devatas? We can easily quell them. Nevertheless, since it is our firm belief that we should never take our enemies for granted, we should be vigilant and attack them at every possible opportunity’.
“The ministers continued, ‘O King, in our opinion at first we should eliminate Srihari, the mother-root for all these Devatas. When any diseased limb is neglected, the disease takes total control over that limb so much so that no medication can cure it. Furthermore, the disease gradually spreads though the body creating a life-threatening situation. Amputation is the best remedy in such situation. Similarly, Srihari is the disease who has attacked our world of demons. If we pluck out this mother-root then automatically these Devatas will disappear. We will then be restored to our original happy state’.”
Narayana Narayana