Chapter 45: Krishna Rescues His Teacher's Son

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'With His parents arriving at the idea that He would be the Supreme Personality said He to Himself: 'This should not be so', and thus expanded He the personal illusory potency [of His yogamâyâ] which bewilders the people. (2) Approaching them together with His elder brother, the Greatest of the Veritable [the Sâtvatas], said He, to gratify them, with humility bowing down to His parents respectfully: 'Dear father and mother! (3) There has, o father [and mother] who because of us were always in anxiety, indeed for the two of you never been anything of the toddler-age, the boyhood and youth of your two sons [see *]. (4) As ordained by fate could We, deprived of residing in your presence, not experience the pampered happiness of children living at home with their parents. (5) To the parents from whom one is born and by whom one is maintained, is a mortal person never, not for a lifespan of hundred years, able to repay the debt, for they are the source of the body that is there for all goals of life [purushârthas, compare 10.32: 22]. (6) A son who, of them capable, with his resources and wealth does not provide for their sustenance, will after death be made to eat his own flesh [see also 5.26]. (7) Being capable of but not maintaining one's mother and father, the elderly, one's chaste wife, one's very young child, the spiritual master and the learned one seeking shelter, is one dead even though one breathes [see B.G. 11: 33]. (8) Therefore were the two of Us, because of Kamsa who was always disturbing, with a mind motivated for counteraction unable to honor you and have We spent these days [of youth] without having been of any use to you. (9) Please forgive Us the fact that, o father and mother, under the control of others from Our part not being at your service, the hardhearted one [Kamsa] caused such a great pain.' 

(10) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus bewildered by the deluding power of Him, the Lord and Soul of the Universe appearing as a human being, raised they Them upon their laps to experience the joy of closing Them in their arms. (11) Bound by the rope of affection crying a river couldn't they say a thing, o King, being overwhelmed with their throats full of tears. (12) The Supreme Lord, the son of Devakî, thus consoled His parents and made His maternal grandfather Ugrasena, King over the Yadus. (13) He then told him: 'With Us, o great King, as your subjects please take command, since one because of the curse of Yayâti [see 9.18: 42] being born as a Yadu should not sit on the throne. (14) When I am present attending to you as a servant, will the demigods and all belonging to them bow down to offer you tribute; and what then to say of other rulers of men?'

 (15-16) All His close relatives and other relations, the Yadus, Vrishnis, Andhakas, Madhus, Dâs'ârhas, Kukuras and other clans, who disturbed in fear of Kamsa had fled in all directions, were honored and consoled, for living in foreign regions had made them weary. He, the Maker of the Universe, arranged for their homes and gratified them with valuable gifts. (17-18) Protected by the arms of Krishna and Sankarshana enjoyed they in their homes perfectly the fulfillment of their desires as because of Krishna and Râma the fever [of a material life] had ceased, now that they day by day saw the loving, always cheerful, beautiful lotuslike face of Mukunda with the merciful, smiling glances. (19) Even the eldest were youthful and full of strength and vitality, there [in Mathurâ] drinking in with their eyes repeatedly the nectar of Mukunda's lotus face. (20) Next, o great King, were the Supreme Lord, the son of Devakî, and Sankarshana approached by Nanda and this is what They, embracing him, said: (21) 'O father, by the great affection and the fondling of the two of you, have you cared for Us in a great way, truely is for parents the love for their children greater even than the love they have for themselves. (22) Those persons are father and mother who nourish as their own children the sons who were abandoned by their own family not capable of maintaining and protecting them. (23) Please, all of you, go to Vraja dear father, We [represented by ...] will visit you and your kin aching of love, after We've made our friends here happy.' (24) Acyuta thus appeasing Nanda and the folk of Vraja, then respectfully honored them with clothing, jewelry and pots and such. 

(25) Thus addressed by the two of Them embraced Nanda Them, engulfed by affection, with tears filling his eyes and went he with the gopas to Vraja. (26) Then had the son of S'ûrasena [Vasudeva], o King, by a priest and brahmins for his sons the second-birth initiation properly performed. (27) He donated to them in worship, for remuneration fully decorated cows with golden chains and ornaments complete with calves and garlands of flowers of flax. (28) He, magnanimous, gave them in charity the cows that were stolen away by Kamsa, the same cows he previously had donated within his mind on the day that Krishna and Râma were born [see 3.10: 11-12]. (29) After by initiation having attained the twice-born status, took They, sincere in Their vows from Garga, the preceptor of the Yadus, the vow of celibacy [to be a student, see also gâyatrî and brahmacârya]. (30-31) As the Lords of the Universe of all being the origin and in knowledge being omniscient did They, by their humanlike activities concealing the impeccable knowledge that was achieved from no other source, then desire to live at the school of the guru native to Kâsî [Benares] named Sândîpani who dwelt in the city of Avantî [Ujjain]. (32) The spiritual teacher who in that circumstance was allowed to receive Them in self-restraint, was by Them, who approached him for his service as if he was the Lord, that way with Their devotion used to set an irreproachable example for others. (33) That best one of the twiceborn, satisfied as he was with Their pure love and submissive acts, taught as Their guru Them all the Vedas with their corollary literatures and philosophical treatises, [**] (34) the Dhanur-veda [military science, archery] along with all its secrets [the mantras], the dharma [codes of human conduct, the laws] and the nyâya [the methods of logic] as also ânvîkshikîm [the knowledge of philosophical debate or tarka] and the six aspects of râja-nîtim [political science, see ***]. (35-36) As the best of all first class persons and of all knowledge being the promulgators did They, o ruler of man, fixed in concentration fully assimilate with simply having it heard once, the complete of the sixty-four arts in as many days and nights [*4] and offered They being satisfied their preceptor, o King, compensation [gurudakshinâ]. (37) The twiceborn man, in due consideration of that amazing greatness of Their superhuman intelligence, o King, after consulting with his wife, arrived at the wish to see his child back that had perished in the ocean at Prabhâsa [see also 1.15: 49, 3.1: 20, 3.3: 25]. (38) Saying 'So be it' mounted the two great charioteers of unlimited prowess then a chariot and walked they, reaching there, up to the shore to sit down for a moment, upon which the ocean in recognition brought Them offerings of tribute [compare 9.10: 13]. (39) To him said the Supreme Lord: 'At once present Us the son of Our guru, a young boy whom by you with a mighty wave has been seized here.' 

(40) The person of the ocean said: 'It was not I who took him away, o Lord, it was a powerful Daitya named Pañcajana, o Krishna, a demon who roams in the water assuming the form of a conch. (41) By him living here has he indeed been taken away'. Hearing that hurried the Master into the water and killed He him, but the boy He couldn't find in his belly. (42-44) Taking the conchshell, that had grown as a part of the demon, returned He to the chariot and left He for the beloved city of Yamarâja [the Lord of death] known as Samyamanî [*5]. On His way being accompanied by Him who has the Plow for His Weapon [Balarâma], blew Janârdana loudly on the conchshell [see also B.G. 1: 15] of which the sound was heard by Yamarâja, the restrainer of the ones born. Overflowing with devotion performed he elaborate worship for Them and said he humbly, bowing down to Krishna who dwells in each his heart: 'What can I do for the two of You, o Vishnu, who appeared as human beings?'