MEERA BAI BORN

MiraBai was born in 1504 AD at Chaukari village in Merta District of Rajasthan. Merta was a small state in Marwar, Rajasthan ruled by the Ranthors, great devotees of Vishnu. Her father, Ratan Singh, was the second son of Rao Duda ji, a descendent of Rao Jodha ji Rathor, the founder of Jodhpur. MiraBai was raised and nurtured by her grandfather. As customary with royal families, her education included knowledge of scriptures, music, archery, fencing, horseback riding and driving chariots – she was also trained to wield weapons in case of a war. However, MiraBai also grew up amidst an atmosphere of total Krishna consciousness, which was responsible in molding her life in the path of total devotion towards Lord Krishna. When she was just four years of age, she manifested her deep devotion to Krishna. MiraBai watched a marriage procession in front of her residence. MiraBai, the child, spotted the well-dressed bridegroom and asked her mother innocently, "Dear mother, who will be my bridegroom?" MiraBai’s mother smiled, and half in jest and half in earnest, pointed towards the image of Sri Krishna and said, "My dear Mira, Lord Krishna - this beautiful fellow – is going to be your bridegroom". Soon after, MiraBai’s mother passed on. As MiraBai grew up, her desire to be with her Krishna grew intensely and she believed that Lord Krishna would come to marry her. In due course, she became firmly convinced that Krishna was to be her husband. MiraBai was soft-spoken, mild-mannered, gifted, sweet, and sang with a melodious voice. She was reputed to be one of the most extraordinary beauties of her time with fame spreading to several kingdoms and provinces. Her fame spread far and wide. Rana Sangram Singh, commonly known as Rana Sangha, the powerful King of Mewar, approached Rao Duda for MiraBai’s hand in marriage to his son Bhojraj (also known as Rana Kumbha or KumbhaRana). Bhojraj wanted to marry MiraBai for her pious nature and divine intent. Rao Duda agreed to the union. However, MiraBai could not bear the thought of marrying a human being when her heart was filled with thoughts of every nature, all about her Krishna. But unable to go against her beloved grandfathers word, she finally consented to the marriage. MiraBai was wed to Rana Kumbha in 1513, before she turned 14. As ordained, MiraBai was dutiful. She left for (Chittorgarh) Mewar with the Rana Kumbha. After her household duties were over, Meera would go to the temple of Lord Krishna, worship, sing and dance before Lord Krishna Idol daily. KumbhaRana’s mother and other ladies of the palace did not like the ways of MiraBai, as they were worldly-minded and jealous. MiraBai’s mother-in-law forced her to worship Durga and admonished her often. But MiraBai maintained, "I have already given up my life to my beloved Lord Krishna". MiraBai’s sister-in-law Udabai formed a conspiracy and began to defame the innocent Meera. She informed Rana Kumbha that Meera was in secret love with some one, that she witnessed Meera talking to her lover(s) in the temple, and that she would show him the persons if he would accompany her one night. The ladies further raved that MiraBai, by her conduct, had brought a great slur on the reputation of the Rana family of Chittor. The enraged Kumbha ran with sword in hand towards Meera, but as luck would have it Meera had gone to her Krishna temple. A sober relative of the Rana counseled him, "Rana! You will forever repent for your hasty behavior and consequences. Enquire into the allegation carefully and you will find the truth. Meera bai is a great devotee of the Lord. Remember why you sought her hand. Out of sheer jealousy the ladies might have concocted scandals against Meera Bai to incite you and ruin her". Kumbha calmed down and accompanied his sister who persistently took him to the temple at dead of night. Rana Kumbha broke open the door, rushed inside and found Meera alone in her ecstatic mood talking and singing to the idol. The Rana shouted at Meera, "Meera, show me your lover with whom you are talking now". Meera replied, "There sits He—my Lord—the Nanichora who has stolen my heart". She went into a trance. The ladies floated other rumors that Meera was mixing very freely with Sadhus. Meera was unaffected by such scandals and continued to invite Bhagavathas to join her in Krishna bhajan at the temple. She stood unruffled in the face of accusations from the royal family. When questioned about her marital responsibilities, Meera responded that it was Krishna to whom she was married. KumbhaRana was heart-broken but remained a good husband and sympathizer of Meera until his death. Rana’s relatives began persecuting Meera in various ways, even though Meera had no desire for the throne. Meera was sent a basket with a cobra inside and a message that the basket contained a garland of flowers. Meera, after meditation, opened the basket and found inside a lovely idol of Sri Krishna with a garland of flowers. The relentless Rana (her brother-in-law) sent her a cup of poison with the message that it was nectar. Meera offered it to her Lord Krishna and took it as His Prasad. It was real nectar to her. The bed of nails that the Rana sent transformed into a bed of roses when Meera reposed on it. When the torture and scandals continued, Meera sent a letter to Goswami Tulsidas and asked for his advice. She wrote, "Simply because I am constantly tortured by my relatives, I cannot abandon my Krishna. I am unable to carry on with my devotional practices in the palace. I have made Giridhar Gopala my friend from my very childhood. I feel a total bondage with him. I cannot break that bond".

Tulsidasji sent a reply: "Abandon those who cannot understand you and who do not worship Rama or Syama, even though they are your dearest relatives. Prahlada abandoned his father; Vibhishana left his brother Ravana; Bharata deserted his stepmother; Bali forsook even his Guru; the Gopasthrees, the women of Vraja, disowned their husbands to get to their Krishna. Their lives were all the happier for having done so. The relation with God and the love of God are the only elements that are true and eternal; all other relationships are unreal and temporary". Meera met up once again with her Guru and mentor Raidas, who is said to have lived to a ripe age of 118 years. She went into the slums often to be in the satsang of this great teacher. This was the impetus and inspiration behind the many queries and controversies that she raised about Kulam in her songs. The turning point in Meerabai’s life occurred when once Akbar and his court musician Tansen came in disguise to Chittor to hear Meera’s devotional and inspiring songs. Both entered the temple and listened to Meera’s soul - stirring songs to their heart’s content. Before he departed, he touched the holy feet of Meera and placed a necklace of priceless gems in front of the idol as a present. Somehow the news reached the KumbhaRana that Akbar had entered the sacred temple in disguise, touched the feet of Meerabai and even presented her a necklace. The Rana became furious. He told Meerabai, "Drown yourself in the river and never show your face to the world in future. You have brought great disgrace on my family". Meerabai obeyed the words of King. She proceeded to the river to drown herself. The names of the Lord "Govinda, Giridhari, Gopala" were always on her lips. She sang and danced in ecstasy on her way to the river. When she raised her feet from the ground, a hand from behind grasped her and embraced her. She turned behind and saw her beloved Giridhari. She fainted on him. After a few minutes she opened her eyes. Lord Krishna smiled and gently whispered: "My dear Meera, your life with your mortal relatives is over now. You are absolutely free. Be cheerful. You are and have always been mine." Meera walked barefoot on the hot sandy beds of Rajasthan. On her way, many ladies, children and devotees received her with great hospitality. She reached Brindavan (or Vrindaban). It was at Brindavan that she again met and was inspired by Sant Raidas. She went about Brindavan doing Oonchavritti and worshipped in the Govinda Mandir which has since become famous and is now a great place of pilgrimage for devotees from all over the world. A repentant Kumbha came to Vrindavan to see Meera and prayed that he may be forgiven for all his previous wrongs and cruel deeds. He begged that Meera return to the kingdom and was assume her role as the queen once more. Meera said to Rana that Krishna is only one King and my life belongs to him. The KumbhaRana, for the first time, truly understood Meera’s exalted state of mind and prostrated before her in reverence. He then promptly left Vrindavan a changed soul. Jiva Gosain was the head of the Vaishnavites in Brindavan. Meera wanted to have Darshan of Jiva Gosain. He declined to see her. He sent word to Meera that he would not allow any woman in his presence. Mirabai retorted: "Everybody in Brindavan is a woman. Only Giridhar Gopala is Purusha. Today only I have come to know that there is another Purusha besides Krishna in Brindavan". Jiva Gosain was put to shame. He at once went to see Meera and paid her due respects. Meera’s fame spread far and wide. She was immersed in satsang day in and out. At the request of KumbhaRana, Meera returned to Mewar and Kumbha agreed to her request that she would reside in the temple of Krishna but would not restrict her movements and wanderings. From Mewar, she once again returned to Brindavan, and then went on to Dwaraka. The King went with her. On Krishna’s Janmashtami at the temple of Krishna. There was much happiness all around in the abode of the Lord. The light of the lamps, the sound of the bhajans and the energy from the devotees’ ecstacy were filling the air. With Tamburi in one hand and cymbals or chipla in the other the great tapasvini was singing ecstatically with her Gopala smiling in front of her closed eyes. Meera stood up and danced with her song ‘Mere Janama Maran ke sathee’, and when the song ended, Kumbha gently approached her and requested her to come back. Meera said, ‘Ranaji, the body is yours and you are a great devotee, but my mind, emotions and the soul are all his. I do not know what use am I to you at this state of mind’. Kumbha was moved and he started singing with her in unison. Meera rose up abruptly, stumbled and fell at the flowers on the feet of Giridhari. ‘Oh, Giridhari, are you calling me, I am coming’. When Kumbha and the rest were watching in awe, there was a lightning which enveloped Meera and the sanctum doors closed on their own. When the doors opened again, Meera’s saree was enveloping Lord Krishna’s idol and her voice and the flute accompaniment were the only sounds that could be heard. So many princesses and queens have come and gone. So many princesses, and queens have appeared on the stage of this world and vanished. How is it that the queen of Chittor alone is still remembered? Is this on account of her beauty? Is this on account of her poetic skill? No. It is on account of her renunciation, single-minded devotion to Lord Krishna and the self-realization. She conversed with Krishna. She ate with Krishna, her Beloved. She drank the Krishna-premarasa. She sang from the core of her heart about her unique spiritual experiences. She was indeed one of the foremost embodiments of Premabhakthi that ever walked on earth.

The Meerabai Great Krishna Bhakta

Mirabai is one of the brightest stars in the star-filled spiritual firmament of our country. We are too near history to either add to her greatness or detract from it. For, five hundred years in the history of a nation that stretches back several millennia is a short period. But her place in the religious history of our country is unique as she had danced and sang her way into the hearts of millions of her admirers.

This Rajput princess was an Empress among God’s devotees and a princess only in name. She treated royal conventions with disdain in worshipping her beloved Murlidhar (Krishna). She belonged to the Rathore clan of Medta, in Marwar, and married into the Sisodia family of Chitor, Mewar. The Sisodias were very proud of their lineage and did not tolerate any deviation from etiquette which they considered to be correct. And it was this etiquette that Mira flouted from the beginning.

Mira, like Andal of yore and the legendary gopis, considered Bhagwan Krishna to be her Lord and husband, even after her marriage to Bhojraj, son of Rana Sangramsimha (Rana Sanga) of Mewar. What is worth noting is the fact that while her menfolk clashed with Muslim invaders, and her father Ratansimha and her husband attained martyrdom, Mira kept herself busy singing bhajans in praise of Krishna or Kanha, unmindful of the din of battle all around.

She sums up her spiritual message in a kirtan, “Satsang no ras chãkh prãni...” – “O being! Savour the fruit of satsang, in the beginning it may be bitter. But as time goes on it will become as sweet as mango. Don’t you be proud of this body, in the end it will be reduced to ashes. You cannot take elephants, horses, other forms of wealth when you depart this world. If you resort to satsang you can have mukti; as the Vedas proclaim. Mira says take refuge at Hari’s feet.”

A brief account of the times in which Mira lived places her remarkable life in the correct perspective. It is certain she belonged to the sixteenth century as Rana Sanga was a contemporary of the Mughal invader, Babar, who fought the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

The century was a period of uncertainty in the history of India. The weak Lodhi dynasty was on its last leg. Rana Sanga, a brave battle-scarred Rajput warrior, made the mistake of inviting Babar to invade India. He was under the impression that the Farghana adventurer would hasten the end of the Lodhis, collect his booty and go back to his native Central Asia. But after defeating Ibrahim Lodhi at the First Battle of Panipat, Babar had other ideas. He founded the Mughal empire which turned out to be an enduring one till it was supplanted by the British in 1856. Rana Sanga had to fight Babar in the Battle of Khanua, near Agra. Ratansimha, Mira’s father, fought alongside Sanga in this battle.

Now coming to Mirabai, she became an ardent devotee of Krishna when she was three. It came about this way. Her grandfather Dudaji was a devotee of Krishna. One day a sadhu came to his palace. He had a murti of Krishna with him. Child Mira wanted the murti of Krishna; the sadhu was reluctant to part with it. Mira began to cry for the murti and gave up eating. According to one account Krishna appeared to the sadhu in his dream and asked him to hand over the murti to Mira, which he did. The murti was to become a lifelong companion of the princess.

As long as Mira stayed with her grandfather she had no problems. When she was seven years old, she lost her mother, Hansaba. Just before that Mira saw a marriage procession passing by from the palace window. He asked her mother, “Who’s going to be my bride-groom?” Her mother replied, “Kanha.” That took root in her mind; and Mira had to face a sea of troubles once she entered the proud Sisodia family. The royalty worshipped Durga, the goddess of the warrior class, befitting the martial traditions of the family. As part of the ritual, they used to sacrifice animals and eat meat as prasad. This Mira could not do and made no bones about it. This led to a lot of friction between Mira and the Mewar royalty. These differences were fuelled by her sister-in-law, Uda. When she stood her ground an explosive situation developed. Things became worse after the death of her husband, Bhojraj. She was asked to ascend the funeral pyre of her husband which she flatly refused as she was wedded to Giridhar and not to any mortal.

Matters took a turn for the worse with the accession of Vikramjit (her brother-in-law) to the throne of Chitor. He tried to kill her by various means, but all his efforts failed by the grace of Giridhar Gopal (Krishna).

Mira continued to offer unalloyed devotion to Krishna till she merged in his murti in Dwarka, Saurashtra, in a state of ecstasy.

All the while she was singing and dancing before him. Her audience comprised sadhus and other devotees. With kartal in one hand and a stringed instrument in the other and ghungroo on her feet she used to sing her bhajans.

Mirabai has mentioned about her trials and tribulations in her compositions, not by way of complaint, but to illustrate the concern of her loving Dinanath, who stood by her at every crisis in her life.

She addresses Krishna by various names: Kanha, Prabhu, Murlidhar, Giridhar Nagar, Ghanshyam, Dwarikadhish, Ranchod, Dinanath, etc. in her bhajans written in Marwari Hindi and Gujarati, with a sprinkling of Punjabi words. She herself set the tunes to her compositions.

By choosing Raidas, a leather worker as her guru, Mira had committed an unpardonable sin in the eyes of the Sisodia family. In another bhajan she describes the anger of Rana for choosing Raidas as her guru, “Ignominy and shame and the scandal of the world, I cherish and welcome for the love of Paramatma, O Rana.

“I care neither for the disgrace nor the applause of the world – for my spiritual path is different from that of the world. With great difficulty I gained my guru. If the world condemns me for meeting him, my preceptor, then says Mira, on such people’s heads may hell fires fall.”

When they made it impossible for her to worship her Krishna, Mira considered it the last straw on the camel’s back and left Chitor. She set out on a tirth yatra connected with the lila of Bhagwan Krishna. In her bhajans she recounts the adventures of Bal Krishna during his Vrindavan days as a saviour – a role he played so admirably. These compositions relate to the killing of Putana, Kaliya mardan, crowned by the annihilation of his own arrogant Uncle Kansa. She touches on her own life and the trials and tribulations she had to undergo because of her intense ardour and devotion to her Ghanshyam. She did a circuit of the places connected with Krishna, as had already been mentioned. During her stay in Vrindavan a strange thing happened. Mira expressed a desire to meet the distinguished Vashnava saint and disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Jiva Goswami. When she went to his hut she was told that he could not see a woman as it was against his code of conduct. Mira exclaimed, “I thought in Vrindavan the only man is Krishna and all others are gopis.” On hearing this retort the Acharya realized his mistake. He came out of the hut and conducted her inside.

The following is the purport of what Mira had to say of her life and devotion as gleaned from her bhajans:

Referring to her marriage to Bhojraj, her temporal husband, she tells Vikramjit who harassed her the most, “Ranaji I wholeheartedly love Girdhar. In my previous life I was a gopi of Vraj. I have come to this place by mistake. I was born in King Jaimal’s house and was given in marriage into your family. I shall not forsake Krishna’s name even for a minute even though you tried to poison me. Mira has married Hari.”

Talking of the purpose of human life one of her bhajans proclaims,

“O mind! You worship dear Mohan, the dear one who plays murali. You have crossed the seven seas, don’t drown on the shore. Human birth is for liberation, why bother about family. O mind always sing the praise of Giridhar’s qualities.” She was only exhorting others what she had done all her life.

When the ruler made it extremely difficult for Mira to worship Krishna she decided to leave Chitor for Medta. Before leaving she declared, “Govind nã guna gãshu...” – “I shall continue to sing Govind’s virtues. I have vowed to take charanamrut and visit the mandir every day after getting up (in the morning).

“If Rana is angry, he will deprive me of my kingdom. But if Bhagwan is angry, I will die.

“The Rana (Vikramaditya) sent a cup of poison which turned into nectar. I will row the boat of Bhagwan’s name and cross the ocean of Maya.

“Mira has taken refuge in Giridhar and shall ever remain at his lotus feet.”
Mira’s death in Dwarka at the age of 67 in 1546 was a miraculous phenomenon. The Chitor ruler and his subjects felt that the problems they were facing were a sign of divine displeasure at the way they had treated a great devotee of God. The Rana sought to make amends for it by sending a deputation of Brahmins with a request to Mira to return to Chitor. She was not willing to leave the peaceful Dwarka to an uncertain welcome in Mewar. She was not sure whether she would be allowed to worship her Giridhar Gopal in peace. She conveyed her message to the Brahmin deputation. The Brahmins went on a hunger strike to make her change her mind. Mira was greatly distressed at the turn of events. She entered Dwarkadhish mandir and never came out of it as she became one with her Murlidhar.

Bhaktha Meera Bai

During   the reign of the Pandavas Udaipur was a great holy town. It had beautiful buildings and temple towers. It was a flourishing town and the people were very pious. The people spent their free time in listening to religious lectures, devotional songs and participating in bhajans .They worshipped lord Krishna with great love.

The king of this region was a reverent bhaktha of Vishnu, to whom by the grace of god a beautiful girl baby was born and she was given the name Meera Bai. This Meera Bai grew up to be very devoted to lord Krishna. She would always have an idol of Krishna with her named “Giridhara gopala”. She would decorate the idol with beautiful silk dresses, pearl  malas and other jewels which made the idol so pleasing to look at and enchanting with his wonderful  broad smile. In the palace she used to listen to Bagavatham and Bhagavad-Gita lectures. With passage of time she developed intense bhakthi to lord Krishna and even firmly decided to marry Krishna when she grew up.

Meera with Lord Krishna

Soon Meera Bai came off marriageable age and her father decided to look for a worthy bridegroom and get her married. On hearing about this Meera Bai said in a sweet voice to her father, ”I have already chosen a husband for myself and  it is none other than lord Krishna ,whom you worship.”The king was taken by surprise and he tried to convince her, telling her that the Krishna she was so fond of was only an image and it would only be befitting for a princess like her to marry a prince belonging to a great dynasty. Meera Bai was reluctant and argued saying that Krishna was more than an image and was the most superior being ever. She was very strong willed  and on seeing her bhakthi the king was astonished and even gave her an exclusive  room in the palace  for her Krishna .Meera Bai  installed her Giridhara Gopal in that room and did aradhana, adorned him with beautiful ornaments and garments. She constantly chanted his nama and sang hymns which were outpourings of her divine bhakthi. Giridhari looked charming with vaijayanthi mala, a beautiful tulsi mala and he also adorned a crown and often in true visible form showed his beauty to her. Meera bai would often invite holy people and worship them and listen to them tell numerous interesting stories of Krishna and also performed nama sankeertanam with them.

However there were some crooked minded men in the town remarking that Meera Bai was ruining the reputation of the king and spoke ill of Meera Bai’s activities. They thought that it was improper for the royal princess to engage with sadhus and poor bhaktas by singing and dancing in their presence. Rumors about Meera’s immoral character and unbecoming behavior were afloat throughout the town and they soon reached to the kings ears. The king due to a gross lapse of judgment grew angry with Meera and decided to punish her. He asked his wife to control and put an end to Meera’s bhakti related activities and expressed his desire to get her married right away.

The queen went to Meera Bai and told her about her father’s unhappiness with her behavior and  his wishes. Meera Bai replied, ”Tell my father I will marry only Krishna and none other. My heart has no fear. Some say, I have become crazy, but those ignorant people do not understand my heart. I am determined to walk the path of bhakthi.” Unable to convince Meera, her mother came back and told the king about Meera Bai’s strong determination .Hearing this the king became very angry and replied,” then I have no choice other than to poison her. “He gave the queen a cup of deadly poison and asked her to give it to Meera with her own hands.

The queen was shocked. But due to the king’s order, crying bitterly she took the cup of poison and went to the temple where Meera was. She said to Meera, ”oh lovely child, your father has sent this cup of poison to you.” Meera pacified her mother with her sweet voice  ,”Ma, Don’t worry, nothing will happen, due Krishna’s blessing and grace this poison which you have brought will turn into a nectar.” Meera took Krishna in one hand and the poison on other hand and said, ”Oh Lord, my father has sent poison for me. Now I will reach your lotus feet. But my only worry is who will look after you when I am nomore.” She offered the poison to Giridhara Gopal  as she habitually  always offered  everything to him before par taking it and drank it  as Prasad at once.

A wonderful thing happened. The poison Meera Bai drank really  became harmless nectar. But the idol began to change its colour due to the poison’s effect. On hearing about this the king rushed there immediately, his throat choked with emotion. He then pleaded, ”I am a sinner and a wicked person, I have made god drink this poison.” He grasped the feet of Meera Bai and begged her to forgive him for his gruesome deed. She lifted the head of her father and prostrated in front of him and said, ”O father, it is because of you that the lord has shown and demonstrated that he is integral with me.”

Everyone who spoke ill about Meera felt ashamed of themselves as they failed to recognize Meera’s supreme stature. On the other hand all the bhakthas on seeing this miracle became ecstatic and burst out singing and dancing with joy. The entire place reverberated to the namavali ,”Giridhari Giridhari Govardhana Giridhari ….”

The king severely regretted his misdoing and begged Meera to pray to Lord Krishna so that his form be restored to its original color. This, he said would let him feel relieved and indicative of the lord’s forgiveness. But Lord Krishna however chose to retain his changed colour around his throat so as to demonstrate to the world the greatness of Meera’s bhakthi.

Another version of bhaktha Meera charitra which is very popular is as follows.

Right from her childhood Meera was totally in love with lord Krishna and her bhakthi was known far and wide. She held her idol “Giridhara Gopala“ even dearer than her own life. This extreme form of bhakthi was an obstacle to her father who tried to get her married to some deserving prince. However Prince Kumba Rana who himself was a great devotee of Krishna respected Meera for her bhakthi and asked for her hand in marriage. Meera too agreed to the wedding as lord Krishna appeared in her dream and asked her to marry.

After their wedding, Kumba Rana erected a beautiful temple for Meera’s Giridhara Gopala as a token of appreciation of Meera’s bhakthi. Meera, then spent most of her time in the temple itself singing  bhajans, conducting poojas and assembling  sadhus and  other devotees and  her bhajans gained great popularity far and wide. With passage of time Meera’s activities were misunderstood by the people of Mewar who did not realize her greatness. Due to sheer ignorance they spoke badly about her. On one occasion Tansen the renowned singer in King Akbar’s palace sang one of Meera’s compositions and that emotionally moved King Akbar and haunted him that he decided to visit Mewar in disguise to hear Meera herself sing. In Mewar, Akbar in the disguise of a sadhu listened to Meera’s bhajans and rewarded her with a garland of precious stone and she accepted it as Krishna Prasad. But this incident made Jaimal Kumbarana’s brother cast an evil eye on Meera and talk badly about her doings. Even though Kumbarana heard many of his relatives talk badly about Meera for negating her royal duties he never mistook her.

However considering his duties to his subjects more important than his own opinion and due to severe  lapse of judgment Rana decided to poison Meera, but the poison did not affect Meera one bit. Then he finally decided to bring down the temple that he himself once constructed for Meera’s Giridhara Gopala. Unable to bear the insult that her husband inflicted on her lord Giridhara  Gopala Meera decided to leave the palace and left for  the holy land of Vrindavan. The queen of Mewar who until recently was bejeweled with priceless ornaments made a home for herself and settled on the banks of Yamuna. It is said in the puranas that dwelling in Vrindavan is evermore a greater blessing than Vaikunta itself and Gopi Bhava is special to this place.

Once Meera was standing on the banks of Yamuna and was singing Kirtans on Krishna. Some Vaishnavas passing that way recognized her and knowing her greatness, they prostrated in front of Meera and said,” we have come from Dwaraka. The doors of the temple of Dwaraka have remained closed for sometime now and we are of the collective opinion that only a person of your stature can get the doors open and enable everyone have darshan of Srinathji” (the presiding deity of Dwaraka). Meera said, ”I am not a great bhaktha as you think, But  I cannot refuse the  wish  of vaishnava sadhus like you and I will come along with you.” Then along with Meera they left for Dwaraka, singing bhajans all the way.

At Dwaraka Meera Bai sang, ”oh, Krishna, Govardhana prabo, Pranams. Oh, Bhaktavatsala, srinatha, In this world you are the only one I know. You are my father, mother, husband and guru. There is no other protector in this world other than you. I have suffered a lot of trials and tribulations in this samsara. Kesava, please take me in your lotus feet, your leela of shutting yourself in is unbearable for us. So ,oh, Gopala, Accept my prayers, bless me and give darshan. ”To the joy and exclamation of the devotees of srinathji who had gathered around, “The doors  opened, Lord Krishna with his beautiful lotus eyes and broad smile welcomed her and immediately Meera Bai ran into the temple and embraced Krishna .There was a flash of bright light and  She became one with the lord and her form vanished.”

Our Sath Gurunath Maharaj, Sri Sri Krishna Premi says the specialty of Meera’s charithram is that those who read it or listen to her life stories will develop absolute Prema bhakti.

The Advent of Lord Krishna

Krishna was born in a tense historical period preceeding a devastating war. The warring factions built up so many weapons that the burden on the earth became unbearable. Finally the goddess of Earth took the form of a cow and prayed to Lord Brahma for relief. Lord Brahma called all the demigods to the shore of the Milk Ocean to hear Mother Earth and to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma fell into trance reciting the Vedic hymns known as the Purusa-sukta and heard the voice of Lord Vishnu. Then he announced, "O demigods, hear from me the words of God. He is aware of the distress on Earth and wants you demigods to incarnate as sons and daughters in the Yadu dynasty. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, will personally appear as the son of Vasudeva. Therefore you will all have the benediction of joining the eternal pastimes of Lord Krishna."

Lord Brahma consoled the cow and sent her home, then returned to his planet, Brahmaloka. The demigods then began to take birth in the Yadu dynasty, awaiting the appearance of Lord Krishna. The members of the Yadu dynasty, headed by Vasudeva and Devaki, along with their friends, relatives and well- wishers were all demigods. The residents of Vrindavana, headed by King Nanda, Queen Yasoda and Queen Rohini, were also demigods.

King Kamsa was another relative in the family, however he was not a demigod. He usurped the throne of his father, Ugrasena, and put him in prison. When Devaki, a member of Ugrasena's family, married Vasudeva, she received a large dowry of elephants, horses, chariots and servants. After the wedding, Kamsa took the reins of the wedding chariot and started to escort the couple home. Along the way, a voice from the sky addressed him: "You foolish king, the eighth son of Devaki will kill you!"

Kamsa pulled Devaki down by her hair, drew his sword and prepared to kill her on the spot, but Vausdeva begged for his bride's life and promised to let him kill the eighth child, so that the oracle would not be fulfilled. Kamsa agreed to spare her life, but locked Vasudeva and Devaki in a stone prison. Thereafter, he mercilessly killed the first six sons of Devaki. Devaki's seventh son miscarried but mystically transferred to the womb of Queen Rohini in Vrindavana. This became Krishna's older brother, Balarama. Soon thereafter, Devaki became pregnant with her eighth child.

The Appearance of Krishna

Krishna was born at the stroke of midnight in His four-armed Vishnu form, dressed in silk and jewels, carrying the four weapons: the conch, disc, club and lotus. His parents prayed for Him to turn Himself into an ordinary baby so they could hide Him from Kamsa. The Lord advised Vasudeva to take him to Vrindavana and exchange him with a girl that had just been born there. Then He turned Himself into a baby.

Magically, the guards in Kamsa's prison fell asleep, and all the iron shackles, chains and locks automatically opened. Without questioning this, Vasudeva took the child and departed for Vrindavana. Like the story of Moses, the story of Krishna also includes a parting of the waters, allowing Vasudeva to carry Krishna across the Jamuna River to Vrindavana. When Vasudeva reached the house of Nanda, all the cowherds were asleep. Thus he placed his own son on the bed of Yasoda, picked up her newborn girl and returned to the prison of Kamsa.

There was a chance Kamsa would spare the child because the omen said it would be the eighth son that would kill him. Devaki pleaded with him, but Kamsa pulled the baby girl from her arms and dashed her against a stone. The girl slipped from his hands and rose above his head as the eight-armed form of Goddess Durga, dressed in fine garments and jewels. She said, "The enemy you contemplate is living somewhere else. You are a fool to hurt innocent children. Krishna will kill you."

Kamsa became remorseful and begged Devaki and Vasudeva to forgive him for his sins. He released them from their shackles and fell down on their feet, crying tears of regret. The next day, however, Kamsa's ministers advised him to give up his sentimental attitude and take action to kill all newborn children in the region. They also advised him to disturb the demigods and saintly people. There is a parallel to this story in the New Testament. When Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Herod killed all newborn children in the area, in what is known as the Massacre of the Innocents. Based on a dream, Joseph took the baby Jesus to Egypt, and returned only after Herod was dead.

Krishna s Childhood in Vrindavana

When Yasoda and Nanda found Krishna as their son, they performed all the religious ceremonies in secret, to avoid Kamsa's wrath. The family astrologer, Gargamuni, told the family, "Your son Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He will protect you from Kamsa's persecutions, and by His grace only, you will surpass all difficulties. Therefore raise Him carefully, because many demons will try to attack him."

This warning proved true because throughout His childhood, Krishna fought Kamsa's demons, along with all the other demons and jealous and misguided demigods who approached Him.

Krishna Kills the Witch Putana

Kamsa enlisted a demon named Putana to kill newborn babies. The demon dressed as a beautiful woman and flew on her broom to Krishna's nursery, hoping to kill Him with the poison she had smeared on her nipples. Krishna's mother innocently let Putana pick the baby up and put it to her breast. Krishna closed His eyes and sucked out her life air, killing her, without taking her poison. When Putana's soul departed, her body returned to its real form: a gigantic witch that smashed trees as it fell, stretching twelve miles across the landscape. Putana's soul attained liberation due to the benevolent act of offering her breast milk to Krishna and the inhabitants of Vrindavana cremated the body.


After Krishna killed Putana, the elder gopis (women of the village) picked Him up and performed auspicious rites for His protection and purification. They bathed Him and chanted religious mantras to prevent further attacks. Srila Prabhuapda explains in Krishna Book: "The elderly gopis of Vrindavana were so absorbed in affection for Krishna that they wanted to save Him, although there was no need to, for He had already protected Himself. They could not understand that Krishna was the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing as a child."

Krishna's parents treated children lovingly, celebrating their birthdays and other rites of passage. They acted in a kindly way to correct their children when they got into mischief, for example sometimes Krishna and Balarama would get into the cow shed, catch the tail of a calf and stand up. The calves would drag them around and they would be covered with mud. Rather than become angry, the mothers would call their friends to watch the fun. Mother Yasoda never hit Krishna, but once tied Him to a grinding mortar when He stole butter and fed it to the monkeys. The scriptures explain that as she tried to tie him, the rope was too short. She kept using a longer rope, but it always came up too short. Srila Prabhupada explains that "Krishna appreciated the hard labor of His mother, and being compassionate upon her, He agreed to be bound up by the ropes."

Krishna tried to crawl and the mortar stuck between two Arjuna trees in the courtyard. The trees fell and two splendorous demigods emerged and offered prayers to Krishna. Narada Muni cursed had the souls to stand as trees for one hundred years and Krishna freed them.

When the boys got a little older, they spent their days playing with the calves in a nearby field. Their mothers cooked the noon meal and called them from the fields, or they would pack lunches for them. Children were considered the wealth of the family and were protected from abuse. However, rather than the parents protecting Krishna, it is the child who protects the village and all the people in it.

Krishna Kills the Snake Demon Aghasura

One day the cowherd boys were playing their games, such as imitating peacocks and running after birds' shadows on the ground, when they came upon a mountain cave. This was actually a demon-brother of Putana's, who had expanded himself into an eight-mile long snake to kill the boys. The opening to the cave was his mouth. The boys felt a hot wind blowing that smelled like fish, or the serpent's intestines.

The scriptures say that when the boys walked into the cave Krishna became momentarily aggrieved because He knew it was one of Kamsa's tricks. He considered for a moment, then decided to enter the cave Himself. Demons all over the world became joyful when Krishna went inside. The demigods, who had been hiding among the clouds to see what would happen, became distressed. For a time it seemed as if the snake-demon had killed Krishna, but when Krishna heard the demigods' pleas He grew larger and choked the demon to death. Aghasura's life air burst through a hole in his skull and waited there for Krishna to come out, then it merged into His body. Krishna showed His benevolent nature by rescuing His friends and giving liberation to Aghasura.

Lord Brahma Kidnaps the Cowherd Boys

When Aghasura died, the demigods offered prayers, threw flowers, and beat drums. Hearing the commotion, Lord Brahma arrived on the scene. At that time Brahma kidnapped the children children, an offense unbecoming of a demigod. Krishna was unhappy because due to Brahma's misdeed, because He would have to go back to the village alone. Instead, He decided to expand himself into substitute boys and calves that looked exactly like the originals, and he returned to the village with them. No one could tell the difference, but families showed increased spontaneous affection to their sons (who were actually expansions of God). Balarama, Krishna's brother, noticed the parents' behavior and asked Krishna what was going on. Krishna explained how Lord Brahma had kidnapped the real boys and calves.

Brahma made a mistake in trying to test Krishna's power. Life went on like this for a year before Brahma returned. Brahma's time passes much more quickly, so it seemed to him only a moment. However, when he returned he was shocked to see the boys and calves playing with Krishna, as though nothing had happened. Krishna knew Brahma was perplexed so He transformed all the boys and calves into four-armed Vishnu forms. Brahma heard music and saw many Brahmas, Shivas, demigods and jivas (souls) singing God's names and dancing. Brahma's mind opened at first to the vision, but then he became bewildered, so Krishna ended the dazzling scene.

When Brahma woke up, he realized that he was face to face with Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was enacting His eternal pastimes as a cowherd boy in the spiritual land of Vrindavana. Brahma immediately got down from his swan-carrier and fell prostate at Krishna's feet to beg forgiveness. After offering glorious prayers and penance for his behavior, Brahma circumambulated Krishna three times and returned to his planet.

Exactly one year before, Krishna had left his friends eating lunch on the bank of the Jamuna River. When he returned, they had just begun the meal, and thought Krishna had only been gone for a second. None of the boys realized that a whole year had gone by and that they had been kidnapped, asleep in a cave. When the children returned to their homes and told their parents about the aghasura demon, the demon's corpse had decomposed so the parents thought it was just a wild tale from the children's imagination.

Krishna Lifts Govardhana Hill

Vishnu in his many forms is an icon of protection and Krishna was (among other things) an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. It is said that the residents of Vrindavana were sometimes aware of this and at times depended on Krishna to protect them. A good example was when Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill. Every year the residents of Vrindavana worshiped Lord Indra for supplying rain. One year when Krishna was a youth, He asked Nanda to worship Govardhana Hill instead of Indra. Krishna argued, "We do not derive any special benefit from Indra. Our specific relationship is with Govardhana Hill and Vrindavana forest. Let us have nothing to do with Indra."

King Nanda finally agreed with Krishna and prepared to offer the sacrifice to Govardhana Hill. This made Lord Indra angry and jealous. Forgetting the divine position of Krishna, Indra reasoned, "These cowherd men in Vrindavana have neglected my authority on the advice of this talkative boy who is known as Krishna. He is nothing but a child, and by believing this child, they have enraged me."  Indra then sent a storm to devastate Vrindavana. All the people and animals came to Krishna for shelter, and in a miraculous show of strength, Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill with one finger to make the mountain into a huge umbrella. Everyone crowded underneath it and remained safe until the rains stopped. Later, Lord Indra realized his mistake in attacking Krishna and apologized. This is an example of one of the demigods behaving like a demon. Krishna Book explains, "Indra became angry because he thought that he was all in all within this universe and that no one was as powerful as he."

The End of Kamsa

Kamsa's demons harassed children throughout the region for fifteen years. Magically, Krishna and Balarama killed them all as part of their divine play, or lila. Thus, the inhabitants of Vrindavana were thankful, remembering their guru's prediction about Krishna. After Krishna killed the arista (bull) demon, the great sage Narada Muni went to Kamsa's palace and told him that Krishna and Balarama were the seventh and eighth sons of Vasudeva. Narada described the events that took place on the night of Krishna's birth and confirmed that Kamsa would meet his death at Krishna's hands.

On hearing this news, Kamsa imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva again and renewed his vow to kill Krishna and Balarama. He called for the Keshi demon, and other great demons, and just in case that didn't work, he planned to draw the boys into a wrestling match with two of his strongest wrestlers. He sent his servant Akrura to bring the boys back to Mathura. This would be Krishna and Balarama's transition into adulthood, because they never again return to the lighthearted pastimes of their youth, playing in the pastures or dancing with the young gopis.

Kamsa was delirious with fear waiting for Krishna to arrive, and unable to sleep through the night because of bad dreams. He saw his headless body in a mirror, everything appeared double, and he saw the covering of the sky as pierced. He saw holes in his shadow and left no footprints when he walked.

Krishna and Balarama entered the splendorous city with their friends. By and by they came to the wrestling ring and accepted the challenge to fight Kamsa's demons. After fighting for a few moments, Krishna and Balarama easily killed their opponents. Everyone except Kamsa rejoiced at the wonderful defeat. The evil king stopped the celebration and shouted: "Drive the two wicked sons of Vasudeva out of the city! Confiscate the cowherds' property and arrest that evil man Nanda! Kill that ill-motivated Vasudeva! Also kill my father, Ugrasena, along with his followers, who have sided with our enemies."

Krishna jumped into the stands, seized Kamsa, knocked off his crown and dragged him to the wrestling mat by his hair. There He easily killed Kamsa, striking him with His fist. Kamsa's eight younger brothers attacked Krishna and Balarama, but Balarama easily killed them with his club. Krishna and Balarama met their parents, but Devaki and Vasudeva were struck with awe seeing the prophecy fulfilled, and because of a feeling of reverence they were afraid to embrace their sons. After that incident, Krishna and Balarama entered the gurukula and became princes in the court of Yadu.

The Court of Dhritarastra

In the time of Krishna, the blind King Dhritarastra headed the lunar dynasty in Hastinapur. His wife, Queen Gandhari, had one hundred sons called the Kauravas, the oldest of whom was Duryodhana. Also in the royal palace were Grandfather Bhisma, the king's uncle, and Queen Kunti and her five sons. Kunti's late husband, Pandu, was King Dhritarastra's brother, so the Kauravas were her nephews.

Krishna was also Kunti's nephew, because her brother, Vasudeva, was Krishna's father. She grew up away from her family, in the palace of Kuntibhoja, her cousin. When she was a child, Kunti had pleased the powerful sage Durvasa Muni, who gave her a mantra that would allow her to conceive five sons from the demigods. She tested the mantra and the Sun God gave her Karna, whom she secretly set afloat in a river. Karna grew up to become a great warrior for the Kauravas, and Kunti later revealed that she was his real mother.

When Kunti married Pandu she used the mantra to have three more sons: Yudhistira, Bhima and Arjuna. Pandu was cursed to die if he ever tried to have sex with his wives, so he was glad Kunti could obtain sons from the demigods. He asked her to give the last chance to his other wife Madri, who subsequently had twins, Nakula and Sahadev. These five children were the Pandava brothers.

Eventually, Pandu attempted to have sex with Madri and immediately died from the curse. Madri killed herself in the funeral pyre but Kunti lived on to care for the children. She and her sons moved into the palace of Dhritarastra, provoking scorn and jealousy among the hundred Kauravas. Her son Bhima caused problems with the other children, because he was a bully. In retaliation, the Kaurava brothers once tied him up and threw him in the ocean, but Bhima returned with added siddhis (yogic powers), annoying them all the more.

At this time Grandfather Bhisma enrolled the Pandava and Kaurava brothers in archery training under the renowned archer, Drona. At the end of their lessons, Arjuna ranked first place in Drona's tests, and this was another factor to incite jealousy in the Kauravas. As a final request to his students (guru-dakshine), Drona asked them to arrest a neighboring king, Drupada, and bring him there for justice. The Kauravas failed, but Arjuna succeeded, increasing the Pandava's status.

When their training as princes ended, Dhritarastra acknowledged Yudhistira, Kunti's oldest son, as the heir-apparent to the throne. Dhritarastra's move was an indirect insult to his oldest son, Duryodhana, whom he considered a buffoon. This angered the Kauravas and moved the family deeper into conflict that would eventually erupt in the devastating war, which was the basis of the most fundamental books of the Hindu religion: Mahabharata and Bhagavad-gita.

Vengeance and Cunning Destroy the Family

Feeling angry and jealous of the Pandavas, Duryodhana made a plan to kill them. On a family pilgrimage, he built a house of lac for them, and then his servants set it on fire. The Kauravas thought the Pandavas were dead, but they had escaped through an underground tunnel and lived anonymously in the forest for a time. Finally, they heard about and engagement contest (svayamvara) for the hand of the Princess of Panchali, Droupadi, and went there in disguise. The object of the svayamvara was that the contestants had to string a heavy bow and shoot five arrows into the eye of a fish that was dangling on a target in a courtyard. Many princes had gathered, including the Kauravas, but Arjuna won the competition and brought Droupadi back to the forest retreat with him. The other princes were unhappy at losing Droupadi, but Krishna reasoned with them in Arjuna's favor. When they arrived home with Droupadi, Arjuna told his mother that he had won a great prize that day. Without knowing what it was, Kunti instructed her sons to divide it equally among themselves, and thus they all shared Droupadi as their bride.

Everyone was joyful to find the Pandavas still alive, and married into a prominent ruling family, and so King Dhritarastra invited them to come back to Hastinapura and told his sons to give Yudhistira half the kingdom. Yudhistira built his palace and lived peacefully with his brothers, Droupadi and their other wives.

Reunior at Kurukshetra

On the occasion of a solar eclipse, all the royal families traveled to Kurukshetra to observe religious rites. Kurukshetra would later become the battlefield for the Great War, but for now it was known only as a holy place of pilgrimage. In a previous millennium, Parasurama, an ancient incarnation of God, had killed thousands of evil military kings there, and their blood formed a river at that spot.

When the royal families met their relations in Kurukshetra, there were great exchanges of love. The Krishna Book describes, "Meeting after long separation, they were all jubilant; their hearts were throbbing, and their faces appeared like freshly bloomed lotus flowers. There were drops of tears falling from their eyes, the hair on their bodies stood on end, and because of their extreme ecstasy, they were temporarily speechless." (p. 86)

At this meeting, Vasudeva and Kunti, who were brother and sister, lamented their long separation. Kunti complained about all she had been through due to Duryodhana. Vasudeva reminded her that he loved her and would have been there to help, except that his life was also miserable due to Kamsa's persecutions.

Krishna and Balarama met the residents of Vrindavana and renewed their relationships with their foster parents, Nanda, Yasoda and Rohini, and the gopis, cowherd girls. The gopis were especially pleased to see Krishna again, since He had never fulfilled His promise to return to Vrindavana. While Krishna and Balarama met their childhood friends, Krishna's parents from Vrindavana met with Vasudeva and Devaki. Vasudeva finally disclosed to Nanda the events surrounding Krishna's birth, and they both felt grateful for their fate, having Krishna as their son. While Nanda and Yasoda sometimes thought of Krishna as their ordinary child, Vasudeva and Devaki had always remained conscious of Krishna's divinity.

THE Great War

Duryodhana remained angry at the Pandavas and wanted to drive them from the kingdom. He challenged Yudhistira to a game of dice, in which Yudhistira lost everything including his brothers, Droupadi and himself. The Kauravas brought Droupadi to the arena to strip off her sari and humiliate her, but she prayed to Krishna and He mystically supplied an unending length of cloth.

King Dhritarastra came on the scene and gave everything back to the Pandavas and sent them home. Soon after that, despite warnings and protests from all sides, Duryodhana convinced Yudhistira to play dice again, and Yudhistira lost again. Thus to satisfy the terms of the wager, Kunti, the Pandavas and Droupadi went to the forest for twelve years, and spent a additional year incognito.

The Pandavas migrated as far north as Badrikashram in the Himalayas for some years, then back to neighboring regions. Toward the end of their exile, the fighting between the Pandavas and Kauravas heated up again. Duryodhana and his men occasionally visited the Pandavas in the forest to pick fights. Another mortal enemy, Jayadrath, kidnapped Droupadi, but the Pandavas rescued her. After satisfying the conditions of the dice game by living in exile, the Pandavas returned to Hastinapura to reclaim their kingdom, but Duryodhana refused to give them even a pinpoint of land. The situation between the Kauravas and Pandavas grew extremely tense. Krishna tried to make peace between the parties, but a war was destined to take place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Krishna became Arjuna's chariot driver and spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna when the armies drew up to begin fighting. After eighteen days, the war was over.

All the great heroes of the Kaurava dynasty, along with millions of soldiers, lay dead on the battlefield. Only the Pandavas and a small handful of others remained. Asvatthama, one of the remaining warriors, killed Draupadi's children in their sleep, hoping to end the royal lineage. Even though Prince Duryodhana wanted to find some last revenge, he was appalled by this atrocity and died of grief. The Pandavas arrested Asvatthama and brought him before Droupadi, but out of compassion she pleaded for his life. The shameless Asvatthama made one more attempt to kill the remaining heir, an unborn grandson in the womb of Uttara, Arjuna's wife. He hurled a brahmastra (nuclear) weapon at Uttara, and when she saw the missile coming toward her, she ran to Krishna for protection. Krishna, who was preparing to leave for His own kingdom, defeated the missile with his Sudarshan-chakra. The child Pariksit grew up to inherit the kingdom.

When Gandhari came to Kurukshetra and saw the corpses of her sons scattered on the battlefield, she blamed Krishna for everything. She cursed Him that in thirty-six years He would also lose everything and die, so that the women in His family would cry, just as she was crying. Then King Dhritarastra, Gandhari, Kunti and their gurus Vidura and Sanjaya left for the forest.

Demise of the Dynasties and Death of Krishna

The Pandavas lived in grief due to separation from their relatives. After six years, Yudhistira saw his mother in a dream and they all went to the forest to see her. They took Vyasa, a sage and grandfather in the family, with them. Gandhari and Kunti told Vyasa they wanted to see their dead relatives. Vyasa advised them to dip into the Ganges, which they did, and when they came out they saw Karna, Duryodhana and all the others standing on the bank of the river. Even the blind king Dhritarastra saw the vision. After the Pandavas returned to Hastinapura, two days later a forest fire killed Dhritarastra, Kunti and Gandhari.

Yudhistira had become king after the Great War, but reigned for only a few years before the family crowned Pariksit, Arjuna's son, as king. The Pandavas and Droupadi left their material engagements to prepare for the end of life (maha-prasthana). They departed for the Himalayas mountains where heaven is, walking in a line with Yudhistira first, then the other brothers, Droupadi, and finally Yudhistira's dog. As they climbed the mountains, first Droupadi died, then each of the brothers died, until finally Yudhistira reached the gates of heaven, followed only by the dog. Lord Indra was there to meet him. When Yudhistira realized that his brothers and wife were dead, he didn't want to go into heaven alone, but Indra said the others were already there waiting for him, thus Yudhistira and the dog entered heaven with Lord Indra.

Along with the curse of Gandhari, another curse befell Krishna's dynasty that contributed to its annihilation. Once some of Krishna's sons were playing around and they dressed Samba as a pregnant woman, and brought him before some visiting sages Visvamitra, Kanva and Narada Muni. In jest they asked the sages to predict what kind of child Samba would give birth to. Insulted, the sages said he would give birth to an iron rod that would become the instrument to fulfill the prophecy of their dynasty's demise. Fearful and repentant, the boys asked Krishna what to do, but Krishna acknowledged the curse and said it was meant to be. When Samba delivered an iron rod the next day, the Yadavas (Krishna's sons) filed it into powder and threw it into the sea. Krishna enforced a prohibition on liquor in Dvaraka, hoping to avoid what was destined to come. Still evil omens began: rats multiplied and attacked humans in their sleep, sheep howled like jackals, asses were born from cows, and cats from mules. Krishna's Sudarshan-chakra weapon disappeared into the sky.

Eventually the powder from the iron rod washed up on the shore and grew into arrow-like grass. The Yadavas became drunk and used the rods to kill each other. Even Krishna beat people out of anger. In this fratricidal war all the descendents of Krishna killed each other. Krishna sent His messenger Daruka to Hastinapura to inform Arjuna of the demise of the Yadava race, then consoled the women in the palace. He told his wives that Arjuna would take care of them and left for the forest. Krishna's brother Balarama sat down under a tree and his life air came out of his mouth like a white serpent and entered the sea. Krishna roamed the forest for some time, then sat down to meditate. When a hunter named Jara came by, he mistook Krishna for a deer and shot an arrow into His foot. Krishna died at once and his spirit rose into heaven. Arjuna cremated Krishna and several of His principle queens died in the funeral pyre after Him. Arjuna left for Hastinapura with the remaining wives, but on the way, forest dwellers attacked and the women dove into the Satasvati River and died to escape.

Philosophers and scholars of the time knew that the death of Krishna marked the beginning of Kali-yuga, the present age of degradation. Thus, to preserve this heritage and the stories of Krishna for future generations, they held a convention in the Forest of Naimasharanya. The sages discussed all these stories and Vyasa, one of the sages present, later wrote everything down in what is now the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

KRISHNA BOOK

Demons from Krishna Book and ISKCON

Kamsa, the child abuser who torments Devaki and Vasudev (Krishna's parents), was known as Devaki's brother, but that was just a simple way of describing the relationship. Actually, her grandfather, King Devaka, was the brother of Ugrasena. Ugrasena's wife had Kamsa because she was raped. Kamsa grew up in the court of Ugrasena, Devaki's great uncle, which makes Kamsa her second cousin once removed. Therefore, it was not exactly a case of a brother killing his sister's children, but more of an uncle from the extended family persecuting a young woman in the family. (This also happened in ISKCON, where Kamsas persecuted women throughout their extended family.)

Ultimately, Devaki's only surviving son, Krishna, killed Kamsa. Then Balarama killed all of Kamsa's brothers. There is a metaphor here for ISKCON - a strong clue about the fate of child abusers.

Another profound tale for abuse victims is the story of Aghasura, the snake demon*. Although the story is meant to be taken literally, like a dream, it also offers metaphors and is thus true on many levels. On one level the snake could represent sodomy. Krishna protected the boys by killing Aghasura, but like many victims, the boys were unable to tell their story to anyone. That was because right after Agahsura died, Lord Brahma kidnapped the cowherd boys (the boys remain unconscious in a cave for one year while Brahma turns his back for one second*). Thus the evidence of the snake's dead body decomposes while the boys were held in captivity. In ISKCON's case, certain leaders of the organization took part in the abuse and in the conspiracy of silence. People who were supposed to be in charge, instead looked the other way. Perpetrators threaten their victims to keep them from speaking out. These dynamics were seen in ISKCON as the young people began to realize what was done to them. This process began in 1990 and continued through the 90s.

The death of Putana (the demon who disguised herself as a nurse tried to poison baby Krishna*) reveals the proper way to expose child abusers. Putana's dead body changed back into an ugly witch and fell down dead across the Vrindavana landscape to the horizon. Everyone knew what had happened and they rushed to protect the child Krishna. Then they chopped up the witch's body and burned it. The ugly corpse is a metaphor for the perpetrator's crimes. When someone commits an act of violence against a child, whether emotional, physical or sexual, the way to topple that abuser is to expose them. Explain to the child that what the perpetrator did was wrong, then do everything possible to help the child heal. In the case of sexual abuse, explain to the child that sex is a confusing subject for people of all ages, especially inexperienced children. Briefly explain that adults who love each other give and receive pleasure through touching. Tell them that they will learn more about it when they're teenagers and invite them to ask any questions they may have. It's good to get professional counseling for child victims of abuse as soon as possible after the abuse incident. ISKCON could have had a favorable outcome for their children, if only ISKCON leaders had been willing to acknowledge the crimes sooner and do more to help the victims.

INCARNATED DEMIGODS

It could be that deep down inside, almost all loving parents see their own children as incarnations of demigods, great souls or angels. However, people in ISKCON take this as a religious fact founded in their own scriptures. The Krishna Book says that when Krishna was about to take birth, the demigods descend as relatives in the Yadu dynasty. Srila Prabhupada said that demigods would take birth in ISKCON, which became a popular thing to talk about, and the children heard it hundreds of times by the time they were teenagers. In fact, they still hear it quite often if they go around the temples.

Even to the present day, adults in ISKCON tell members of the second generation that they are demigods who have taken birth in ISKCON. Many of them met Srila Prabhupada and heard him speak and this must have had a tremendous impression on them, but if they were demigods, then how could their lives become so miserable, to the point that they were tortured and treated like prisoners of war?

The demigods of Greece and Rome, and even some Hindu demigods, are overly involved in fighting, victimizing each other or the human race. The story of Krishna's birth is a frightening tale of child abuse. Just imagine seeing Kamsa smash a baby against a rock and kill it. Imagine seeing a seven year old being slapped until his ears bleed. Stories serve up the logical consequences of human nature and their message is lovingly subtle. Perhaps that's why people love stories. Why would people love a story about a man who kills babies? The answer is that it's part of a mosaic that reaches from the top of the human experience to the bottom. There are light and dark tiles, all forming a cohesive picture. If we deny the black tiles, such as the abusers that walked among the eleven gurus, we deny the black tiles.

An empowering metaphor for the demigod children of ISKCON may be found in the story of the Pandavas, who were half human and half god. When the Pandavas came back from exile the last time, Duryodhana refused to give them even a pin prick of land. That enmity set off the Great War. ISKCON risks everything by treating the children as enemies or outsiders. According to the organization, they have done a lot to ease the situation. Hopefully someday they will truly respect their children and make amends.

IT WAS THEIR KARMA

Another telling detail to consider is that the first six sons of Devaki (killed by Kamsa), known as the Sad-gandarba, were also the first six sons of Hiranyakashipu (the older brothers of Prahlada in the gurukula). Here's how it happened: In the beginning of the universe Marici, one of the great sages, had several wives. One of his wives, Urna, had six sons. Due to an insult, their grandfather Lord Braham cursed them to take birth as the sons of Hiranyakashipu, then as the fated sons of Vasudev and Devaki. In that sense, one could argue that due to the curse of Lord Brahma, it was their karma to be demons, or to be killed by Kamsa. This could be the origin of the heartless statement often heard in ISKCON: "It was the kids' karma to be abused."

The purport of the story is that a mother's love is more powerful than the curse, or "karma." After Krishna and Balaram returned to Mathura, Devaki asked Krishna to find her dead sons so she could see them. Krishna and Balarama journeyed to the underworld and soon returned with six babies. Devaki held them on her lap and joyfully fed them and cared for them. By the strength of Devaki's love the babies became self-realized and spontaneously offered prayers and obeisances to Krishna, Balarama, Vasudeva and Devaki. Devaki's maternal love nullified the Brahma's curse and her six sons returned to their respective positions in the heavenly planets. Love can change abused children's karma, as Devaki proved. Instead of examining the entire story, ISKCON apologists simply took one concept, "it was their karma." This represents a twisting of the scriptures in order to deny and minimize the harm that ISKCON did.

The sad-gandarba are examples of victims who suffered because they had "bad karma." Outside of what is described in scripture, we cannot see people's karmic histories. There could have possibly been children who were cursed with bad karma, like the sad-gandarba. However, in most cases the kids were simply innocent victims. Only God can accurately sort out people's karma, so in Bhagavad-gita Krishna recommends that an advanced yogi try to regard everyone equally: "the honest well-wisher, friends and enemies, the envious, the pious, the sinner and those who are indifferent and impartial." When someone says, "It was their karma," they make a sweeping judgment. It shows a total disregard for the message of the scriptures.

CONCLUSIONS

Perpetrators could justify their behavior saying that Krishna was abused by Kamsa's demons, and He turned out fine; Prahlada was abused but yet he became a king. Rather than justify abuse, the stories explain that Krishna and Prahlada survived to become heroes despite their perpetrators' evil activities. Another demonic twisting of the scriptures would be to say that Mother Yasoda tied Krishna to the grinding mortar, so it was okay to tie kids up or put them in trash bins, bathrooms, closets or attics. Yet, that is basically what happened. Tying Krishna to the stone was the worst punishment Krishna ever received. Getting lost while collecting firewood was His worst experience in gurukula. Still, somehow men got away with much worse and everyone else looked the other way.

In Krishna's world, Nanda Maharaja, Krishna's father, listened to Krishna and took His ideas seriously. The story of Govardhan Hill is one example. A close look at the scriptures reveals that Krishna received constant tender loving care from His parents and extended family. The residents of Vrindavana in Krishna Book set the example for compassionate child rearing. The images of Krishna stealing butter, playing with the calves and lifting Govardhan Hill are powerful symbols of respect for innocent childhood and youth. These are universal symbols, so even someone who was never a member of ISKCON, a Hindu or a child of gurukula could experience these symbols in dreams, or become fascinated with reading the stories.

THE RADHA-KRISHNA

 
The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. It's indeed hard to miss the many legends and paintings illustrating Krishna's love affairs, of which the Radha-Krishna affair is the most memorable. Krishna's relationship with Radha, his favorite among the 'gopis' (cow-herding maidens), has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of art forms, and since the sixteenth century appears prominently as a motif in North Indian paintings. The allegorical love of Radha has found expression in some great Bengali poetical works of Govinda Das, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Jayadeva the author of Geet Govinda.
Krishna's youthful dalliances with the 'gopis' are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul. Radha's utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union with the divine. This kind of love is of the highest form of devotion in Vaishnavism, and is symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or beloved and lover.
Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. Since childhood they were close to each other - they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled them apart. He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him. He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the universe. She waited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still waited. So great was Radha's love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is refered to, and Krishna worship is though to be incomplete without the deification of Radha.
One day the two most talked about lovers come together for a final single meeting. Suradasa in his Radha-Krishna lyrics relates the various amorous delights of the union of Radha and Krishna in this ceremonious 'Gandharva' form of their wedding in front of five hundred and sixty million people of Vraj and all the gods and goddesses of heaven. The sage Vyasa refers to this as the 'Rasa'. Age after age, this evergreen love theme has engrossed poets, painters, musicians and all Krishna devotees alike.

THE BIRTH OF KRISHNA

 

The birth of Krishna is in itself a transcendental phenomenon that generates awe among the Hindus and overwhelms one and all with its supra mundane happenings.

Mother Earth, unable to bear the burden of sins committed by evil kings and rulers, appealed to Brahma, the Creator for help. Brahma prayed to the Supreme Lord Vishnu, who assured him that he would soon be born on earth to annihilate tyrannical forces.

One such evil force was Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura (in northern India) and his people were utterly terrified of him. On the day Kamsa's sister Devaki was married off to Vasudeva, an akashvani or voice from the sky was heard prophesying that Devaki's 8th son would be the destroyer of Kamsa. The frightened Kamsa immediately unsheathed his sword to kill his sister but Vasudeva intervened and implored Kamsa to spare his bride, and promised to hand over every new born child to him. Kamsa relented but imprisoned both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva.

When Devaki gave birth to her first child, Kamsa came to the prison cell and slaughtered the newborn. In this way, he killed the first six sons of Devaki. Even before her 8th child was born, Devaki and Vasudeva started lamenting its fate and theirs. Then suddenly Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said he himself was coming to rescue them and the people of Mathura. He asked Vasudeva to carry him to the house of his friend, the cowherd chief Nanda in Gokula right after his birth, where Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a daughter.

He was to exchange his boy and bring Yashoda's baby daughter back to the prison. Vishnu assured them that "nothing shall bar your path".At midnight on ashtami, the divine baby was born in Kamsa's prison. Remembering the divine instructions, Vasudeva clasped the child to his bosom and started for Gokula, but found that his legs were in chains. He jerked his legs and was unfettered! The massive iron-barred doors unlocked and opened up.

While crossing river Yamuna, Vasudeva held his baby high over his head. The rain fell in torrents and the river was in spate. But the water made way for Vasudeva and miraculously a five-mouthed snake followed him from behind and provided shelter over the baby.

When Vasudeva reached Gokula, he found the door of Nanda's house open. He exchanged the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kamsa with the baby girl. Early in the morning, all the people at Gokula rejoiced the birth of Nanda's beautiful male child. Vasudeva came back to Mathura and as he entered, the doors of the prison closed themselves.

When Kamsa came to know about the birth, he rushed inside the prison and tried to kill the baby. But this time it skipped from his hand and reaching the sky. She was transformed into the goddess Yogamaya, who told Kamsa: "O foolish! What will you get by killing me? Your nemesis is already born somewhere else."

In his youth Krishna killed Kamsa along with all his cruel associates, liberated his parents from prison, and reinstated Ugrasen as the King of Mathura.