Srimad Bhagavatam – day 638
Krishna helplessly watches his friends enter the python’s mouth
Narayana Narayana
“Krishna wanted to reveal the truth to the cowherd boys who had erroneously considered the demon to be a stone statue resembling a python. How was He to communicate to them effectively? Even though the truth was visible before their eyes, they were deluded”.
Not even one among the thousands of cowherd boys could identify that the statue in front of them was in reality a demon. Krishna wanted to bring them out of their delusion and ensure they grasped the truth. They had to be awakened from the slumber into which they had slipped.
“Krishna wanted to forbid them from entering that cave, but, by then the boys, who were dancing merrily and clapping joyfully, were proceeding towards the cave accompanied by their calves. He thought,
‘Isn’t this strange? Hasn’t delusion been explicitly compared to mistaking a rope for a snake in Vedanta? Likewise, the boys are entering the mouth of a python mistaking it to be a huge mountain cave. They are unable to comprehend the truth even when it stands before their eyes. They are unable to fathom that in reality it is a demon’.”
Such delusion is widespread in Kali-yuga. This is the ultimate stage in spiritual ignorance. This incident teaches that Srikrishna is the Supreme Lord who drives away spiritual ignorance and delusion that has enveloped the living entities. He is the one who destroys ignorance and showers Supreme Knowledge i.e. the Absolute Truth.
“By then the boys, along with their calves, had already reached the abdomen of the python”.
Even before Krishna could warn them, they had walked straight into its mouth. Even as they were admiring it, they continued to walk and soon they had reached its abdomen.
“Thinking of his siblings Putana and Baka who had been killed by Krishna, demon Agha, who was boiling in rage, did not swallow these boys. He allowed them to walk within. His gaze was focussed entirely upon Krishna and he was waiting for Krishna to enter his mouth. He wanted to swallow all the boys along with Krishna after the latter entered his mouth. ‘When will Krishna walk on my tongue and reach my abdomen?’- he thought.
Krishna, the Supreme Lord who protects all living entities, observed his friends who had slipped from his hands and who, like helpless creatures devoid of any protectors, were ready to be burnt in the digestive fire of the demon who stood before them in the form of death”.
Enveloped by spiritual ignorance, they had entered its abdomen and were now on the brink of death. The moment the python closed its jaws they would, like dried blades of grass, burn in its digestive fire. They would be crushed to death in his abdomen.
“Seeing his friends who, due to their destiny, had landed in this precarious situation wherein they on the verge of death, Krishna’s mind overflowed with compassion.
‘Oho! What a calamity! Isn’t is a pity that these little children, together with their tender calves, are innocently walking straight towards their death? They are going to be crushed to death the moment the demon closes his jaws’. He was deeply saddened at their plight. ‘Why have these boys walked towards their death? Why did they not consult me before entering it? They did not even bother to look at me for approval. What a calamity has befallen them now! More and more boys are still entering its mouth speedily. What is it that should be done in this situation’?”
A small spark can engulf an entire forest. It is impossible to stop a forest fire from spreading rapidly in all directions. Revolts too have a similar effect. One person begins the revolt, which, within no time spreads rapidly in all directions. It requires immense effort to restore normalcy. A small difference of opinion or a small tiff can turn into a huge revolt in which many lives are lost. The person who began the revolt fails to control the mob. Akin to it, here hordes of cowherd boys had walked into the python’s stomach and it was difficult to reverse the situation.
Krishna is the supreme conjurer who holds the strings in this play of illusion. The illusion created by the demons only leads towards destruction while the illusion created by the Lord leads to the well-being of others. Due to this striking difference, one should never compare the illusion of God with that of the demons. The illusion created by demons is cruel. It is replete with poisonous feelings of envy and is aimed at destroying others. It can be compared to poison or to a devastating fire. The illusion of the Lord is filled with compassion. It is aimed at helping others.
Narayana Narayana