Week 7 Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part D

Bhishma Falls

Amba is reincarnated as a warrior named Shikhandin and Bhishma recognizes her reincarnated form and doesn't attack him because he still sees her as a woman. Arjuna takes advantage and kills Bhishma because he tried to kill Krishna. After he dies Karna decides to battle his brothers since he already hates them. 

After Bhishma's death, Drona takes command and vows to make Yudhishthira his prisoner while Arjuna vows to protect his brother. 

Abhimanyu and Jayadathra - Dharma & Karma

Jayadathra breaks his promise of being Yudhishthira's slave and kills Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu. Arjuna vows revenge and succeeds with Krishna's help. 

Gatokacha

• Bhima's demon son and the Pandavas nephew

He can create illusions but it didn't work on Karna and he ended up being killed by him. 

Death of Drona

The Pandavas trick Drona into think his son is dead and kill him.  Karna now takes command of Duryodhana's army.

Bhima and Duhshasana - Karma

Bhima gets revenge for Draupadi. Before exile Dushasana had not treated Draupadi right at the gambling event and karma has finally caught up to him. 

Arjuna and Karna - Karma

The brothers battle each other and Arjuna tells Karna to pause because it's unfair to allow him battle someone whose unarmed but Karna continues to attack him. Karna is now at a disadvantages and tells Arjuna to pause and tell him it's unfair to attack a helpless enemy. 

Krishna makes Karna eat his words by asking him about whether all the things he did was manly.

• Not pausing for Arjuna
• Letting Draupadi get ridiculed
• Murdering Arjuna's son with six other men 

Before Karna got to answer Arjuna killed him when he heard his son's name. 

Duryodhana in the Lake

Duryodhana is now using his powers to hide in the lake while that Kauravas fled.  Duryodhana is advised to try and make peace but insists on continuing war since he has gone in to deep. 

Shalya is now the commander of the army. During the battle Duryodhana fled and hid in the water.

Duryodhana neglected his dharma.

Duryodhana surrenders and tells them they can have the kingdom and to leave him alone so he can go into the forest to meditate. 

He tells them he will fight only if he can fight them one by one and the Pandavas agree but he still won't come out of the water until Bhima threatened to drag him out and kill him. Despite being outnumbered, he is still confident he will win. 

The Night Raid

Drona's son tries to kill the Pandavas in their sleep but fails.  All of Draupadi's kids are dead and she is angry at her husbands and asks them if the exile was worth it now since they were the reason the Pandavas and her went into exile.

In the end Kunti still got to keep her kids but everyone else lost their husbands or kids. 

The Pandavas and Bhishma 

Bhishma decides its time for him to die and explains how to run the kingdom to Yudhisthira how to run the kingdom before he dies. 

It's ironic how Yudhisthira ended up being king of the kingdom again since he was part of the reason they went into exile. 

Parikshit

Although the Pandavas are dead, a miracle happens which saves their family line.  Parikshit had originally been killed in the womb but was brought back to life by Krishna and he was born 5 months later after his father's death.  Uttara, Parikshit's mother wanted to die after he was born so she can be with her husband but Krishna reminded her that her son needed her. 

Krishna's Death

Krishna and his brother both died in the jungle. Krishna was mistaken for a deer and shot in the foot, the only spot where he could be wounded. Balarama died after a snake came out of his mouth. 

Not too long after Krishna's death, it was time for the Pandavas to leave the world as well. 

Draupadi and Krishna
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Afterlife

After the Pandavas enter the afterlife, they find Duryodhana there as well sitting on a throne. They also see the other Kauravas but do not see Draupadi.  Yudhisthira is not happy to see the Kauravas and wants to find Draupadi. 

He is tested when an illusion of hell appears. He tells the celestial to leave him there because he needed to make up for his mistake.

Week 7: PDE Mahabharata Reading Notes, Part C

Life in the Forest - Dharam 

After the Pandavas are set free they go into exile and Draupadi goes with them. At this point, they have lost their kingdom along with everything else and come across a brahmin name Dhaumya, whom they live with for the next 12 years.

Krishna's Visit

The Bhima and Draupadi are still angry at Yudhishirtha. Draupadi mentions his dharma as a husband. Krishna offers to help the Pandavas help them get their kingdom back and explains to Yudhisthira that if he had been their this would have never happened.

Draupadi continues to complain about how she is no longer a queen and is living like a peasant. 

It sounds like Krishna is a mediator and has a little more power over everyone.

Shiva

Lord Shiva, the destroyer and transformer
(flickr)

Meanwhile Arjuna is used to being exiled since he had been before. He is looking for weapons so that him and the Pandavas can fight the Kauravas. He goes to the Himalayas and meets Shiva. Shiva grants Arjuna's wish and gives him weapons. 

Arjuna and Indra - Karma

Arjuna meets his father Indra. Arjuna also meets Urvashi who curses him to become a musician and dancer for 5 years in order to get him under control. While under the curse, he also learns how to use the weapons that Shiva gave him.  Indra trained Arjuna into a warrior. 

The Pandavas and Arjuna reunite. 

Bhima and Hanuman - Dharma

Bhima is Hanuman's half-brother.  Their father is Vayu, the wind god. Hanuman explains the duties of different castes to Bhima. 

Duryodhana and the Gandharvas

Karna is loyal to Duryodhana and is sent to spy on the Pandavas. He wages war with the Gandharvas. The Pandavas are now out of exile and Karna vows to kill Arjuna. 

Karna and Indra - Dharma 

Indra is trying to protect Arjuna by negotiating with Karna. Karna is also a follower of Indra ironically. Indra disguises himself as a brahmin and demands Karna's armor and earrings.  These things are significant because they make him invincible.

In exchange for the armor, Indra gives him a weapon that can slay anyone except Arjuna but he does not mention that. The weapon rebounds if it hits Arjuna.

Karma can take away his armor and earrings as a result of misusing them for evil.

Jayadratha and Draupadi - Karma 

Like in the Ramayana, Draupadi is put in danger in the forest. Jayadratha likes her and kidnaps her.  He is also married to Duryodhana's sister. 

As punishment, he is stripped of his royal position and is declared a slave. 

The Court of King Virata

The Pandavas must spend their final year in exile hiding. The terms of exile:

• spend additional 12 years in exile if discovered by Kauravas

They hid at a kingdom where the king and queen bond with them while they are there. 

Bhima and Kichaka - Dharma

Draupadi in disguise at the Court of King Virata
(Raja Ravi Varma)

The Pandavas fail to protect their wife once again when the queen's brother, Prince Kichaka, attempts to assault Draupadi. Bhima secretly defends his wife. The queen abided by his wishes. Draupadi tells the king what happened but he just laughs at her along with the rest of the court because he feared the prince. 

Bhima hides in Draupadi's room and slays Kichaka when he comes in. 

The king and queen fail their dharma to protect their people. Why is he a king if he's going to be scared? Kings are suppose to be brave and this one shows poor leadership. 

The Cattle Raid

Despite the king's lack of leadership and integrity, the Pandavas defend him when Duryodhana tries to steal his cattle. The Pandavas brothers' exile is over and the brothers reveal themselves to the king.

Preparations for War

Krishna is trying to help the Pandavas and Kauravas make peace. The Kauravas refuse to give the kingdom back to them. 

Duryodhana and Arjuna both wanted Krishna's help but Krishna saw Arjuna first and gives him the option to choose between an army and him and Duryodhana gets the other option.  

Krishna is not going to participate in the battle but Arjuna is confident he could single-handedly defeat his enemies.

Krishna's Mission to the Kauravas

Krishna continues to try to make peace and goes to the extent of showing his true form as Vishnu.  Duryodhana wants to hurt Krishna now to weaken the Pandavas power but he reads their thoughts and so he goes to the elders.

Krishna and Karna - Karma

Karna still doesn't know that the Pandavas are his brothers until Krishna tells him. Karna confronts his mother and is angry and still chooses to help Duryodhana because they cared for him. He told Kunti that he will not hurt his brothers though. He decides to fight Arjuna only and says its a win-win situation whether he dies or not.

This is Kunti's karma.

The Battle Begins

Bishma is the General of the Kauravas but isn't confident that they'll win. 

Week 6 Storytelling: The States vs. Arjuna

Arjuna has returned from his exile and is greeted with a letter from Karma. He was summoned to her Court. However Arjuna also had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wasn't just about the deal. While he was arriving to the court, he tried to think back of his time while he was exiled but came up blank. He hadn't done anything evil or to cause anyone sorrow so why else would she want to meet with him? He was confused but figured it had to do with the deal him and his brothers made with her. 

Karma:"Arjuna, I haven't seen you since I made that agreement with you and your brothers. How is my kingdom doing. Still making sure justice is served?"

Arjuna: "It has been awhile your Honor. As for your kingdom, it is running smoothly. I still don't understand why you chose to hide the fact that true ruler of Indraprastha but I'm glad you appointed me and my brothers to run the kingdom for you. Although it's nice catching up with you, I'm assuming that is not why you called me here."

Karma: "You are correct my dear boy. The reason you are here today is because you have committed infidelity, not to mention abandoned all of your children and wives. From my understanding, you were exiled and ended up marrying 3 women and also having children with them."

Arjuna: "I did not mean for this to happen your Honor, they were just so beautiful and I was frustrated and kind of angry that I had to share my first wife Draupadi with my brothers. It's was not fair to me or my brothers. "

Karma: "So what you're saying is that you did all this as some form of revenge because you had to share your wife?"

Arjuna: "Not at all your Honor. As I said, it just happened. I never meant to leave them. I was planning on going back for them but I had to fulfill my dharma as a king first."

Karma: "Well, I am not going to say that what you did was right, but  I do understand were your coming from. Your circumstance was different from the typical marriages of the gods and goddesses. Although I do not entirely agree with what you did, you have also done some good deeds in the world, so what I am going to do is annul your marriage with Draupadi as well as your other wives but as punishment for your infidelities, I am ordering you to pay child support for each and every one of your children. You need to take responsibility for your actions Arjuna."

Arjuna: "Thank you your Honor." 

Karma: " I wasn't done yet." Karma gives Arjuna a stern look. "Furthermore, when you get reincarnated, you will neither get a wife nor children of your own. You will have to redeem yourself in the next life."

Arjuna: "I accept the punishment and take full responsibility for my actions but how will I redeem myself?"

Karma: "That's up to you but I do recommend adopting some kids and taking care of them. Your a smart boy, I'm sure you'll find a way. I might even take away your punishment and allow you to get married if your prove yourself worthy of having a wife."

And with that I banged my gavel and watched as Arjuna left the courtroom. I could tell he was still trying to figure out how he was going to redeem himself. As for the revelation about the kingdom. Yes, I am the real queen of Indraprastha but I decided to keep it a secret from the people. I did not want them all coming to bother me over little things. I'm a judge, I have tons of cases on a daily basis that need to be resolved. I appointed the Pandavas brothers because to the kingdom to make sure the people are safe and to handle anything that is unjust. 

Despite the fact that he is running my kingdom, I still had to do my job and punish him. I tried to go easy on him considering all the good karma he's collected over the years but what he did was still wrong. Those children deserved to have a father figure in their life.

I know the punishment was a little cruel but he needed to face the consequences of his actions. I annulled his marriage to Draupadi because he was unfairly exiled and still kept his word according to the marriage contract between him and his brothers. Although I told him he will not be married in his next life, little does he know that I have something up my sleeve. If he can prove himself faithful to the woman in his next life, I will definitely allow him to be marry her and have children but if he repeats his mistakes, we'll worry about that later.  All I can say is I don't blame the guy. Love is selfish after all. 

(pxhere)

Author's Note: This story is based on the PDE Mahabharata Part B when he wins Draupadi's hand in marriage but ends up having to share his wife with his brothers. He is then exiled for breaking the rules that he and his brothers made in regards to their marriage to their wife. While he was exiled, he met and married three women and had children with them. He then returned with one of his wives back to the kingdom where he was briefly confronted by Draupadi. 

This part of the story does not mention his wives and children after he leaves them so I got creative and came up with this story. I wanted to see where this story would go and ended up with this. 

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part B

The Pandavas and Kunti are believed to be dead but are hiding in the wilderness.

Bhima and Hidimbi

Bhima marries a demon that fell in love with him and they have son and name him Ghatotkacha.  He stays with his wife and son leaving Kunti and the rest of the Pandavas to continue their journey without him.

Bhima and Baka

Baka is the king of Ekachakra and protects the people but takes all of their food and leaves them to starve. If they don't give him the food he eats the whole household of the family that didn't pay him.

Bhima kills Baka.

The king failed his dharma and got his karma. 

Draupadi

Draupadi and the Pandavas
(Raja Ravi Varma)

• Drupada's daughter

• Supernatural birth

• Sacrificial fire

• Avenges her father and destroys Kauravas

• Sister of Dhrishtadyumna

• Reincarnation of a woman who prayed 5 times for a husband

Swayamwara

Overview: Her dad announces that whoever can break the bow will win his daughter's hand in marriage and summons the princes and regents. Krishna makes a guest appearance in this part of the story. 

Karna breaks the bow but is rejected by Draupadi because he is not a king's son.

Karna's story can make a good story for a prince in disguise. 

Arjuna breaks the bow and Krishna declares that the bride had been fairly won. 

Draupadi's marriage to five husbands results in karma from her previous life.  It's revealed that in her previous like she prayed for a husband 5 times. The husbands are all incarnations of Indra.

Kunti makes a mistake and all 5 of the Pandavas end up being married to Draupadi. They tell her they brought a gift and she tells them to share it between the 5 of them. She realizes her mistake and basically tells them to sort it out because she can't take back her words.

Indraprastha

Duryodhana knows the Pandavas are alive and became Drupada's ally. The kingdom is run by the Pandavas and they are all about justice and doing the right thing and listen to their people's concerns.

This is a good example of dharma and good karma. Maybe there can be a revelation that it's actually karma that runs the kingdom but she appointed the Pandavas as representation. 

Arjuna and Ulupi

Arjuna breaks the rules while sharing his wife with his brothers and is exiled. He meets Ulupi and she forces him to marry her and they have a child together. 

Arjuna leaves them behind in Nagaloka and continues exploring.

Rules:

• If one brother is with the wife the others need to leave the room

• If a brother enters the room it is intrusion and the punishment is being exiled for 12 years. 

Arjuna entered the weapons room where Yudhishthira was with their wife. He was chasing a robber and needed the weapon to catch him. Yudhishthira tries to defend him but Arjuna keeps his word and goes into exile.

Maybe Arjuna broke the rule on purpose because he didn't want to share his wife and be married anymore. It is a unique situation. His good deed of catching a robber is good karma. 

Arjuna and Chitra

Arjuna marries the Princess of Manipur and they also have a son together.  Arjuna leaves his son in Manipur.

It looks like Arjuna is a bit of a playboy and needs to take responsibility for his children. 

Arjuna and Subhadra

Arjuna marries Krishna's sister.  Krishna advices him to take her away by force and marry her because it is looked up upon. Krishna's brother, Balarama wanted her  to marry Duryodhana.

After exile Draupadi is angry that he married Subhadra. Subhadra becomes Draupadi's maid. 

Draupadi Lost

Yudhishthira gets into a gamble match Shakuni and loses the whole kingdom. He gambles his own wife and himself.

This is unfair because she wasn't just his wife. He gambles everything without his brothers' and wife's consent.

Draupadi is furious that she is now a slave to the Kauravas.  She questions why the Pandavas aren't protecting if they're all about justice.  The Pandavas are angry and want revenge.  

Karna explains to her that her fate is determined by her husband. Slaves can't be married.  Bhima gets angry at Yudhishthira but Arjuna defends him. Bhima can't kills his brother so he vows to avenge the kingdom and Draupadi against the Kauravas which the elders applaud him for.

The Second Match

Dhritarashtra learns the truth from his brother Vidura and is angry about what his son did. He apologizes to Draupadi who asks that he release the Pandavas and her. They are exiled.

The Pandavas and Draupadi exiled
( Ramanarayanadatta astri )

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part A

Vyasa and Ganesha

Vyasa is the author of the Mahabharata and arranged the Vedas.A god tells him that Ganesha would write the story for him. 

Ganesha agreed on the term that his pen does not stop writing.

Vyasa's birth: 

His father is human and his mother is a fish and he has a twin sister named Satyavati who smelled like fish. They were caught by a fisherman. He told the king (Uparichara) who took his son but left his daughter with the fishermen. 

She is courted by King Shantanu and agrees to love him under some conditions:

• She must remain a virgin
• The smell of fish needs to go away

King Shantanu and Ganga

Painting of King Shantanu, Ganga, and Devavrata
by B.P Banjeree 1923

Image Source: Wikipedia

• First wife

• Ganga agreed to be the mother of 7 boys who are Vasus

• A brahmin named Vasistha cursed them to be human because they interrupted his meditation 

• She made a condition that they give some of their powers to her  eighth son. 

Vasistha  with his wife Arundhati and Kamadhenu cow
Image Source; Wikipedia

Ganga meets her husband and agrees to marry him under the condition:

• He doesn't question her actions
• He doesn't insult her
• She's allowed to do whatever she wants

She will have to go away forever if these conditions are broken .

Ganga drowned her 7 children (the Vasus). Her husband breaks his promise and insults her because he couldn't watch her drown anymore children. She leaves her son with him. 

King Shantanu stops Ganga from drowning Devavtra
Image Source: Wikipedia

Satyavati

• Mother of Chitrangada  and Vichitravirya and Vyasa

• Second wife of King Shantanu

Her father would not allow her to get married until King Shantanu agreed to allow Vyasa to be king. Shantanu refused because the throne is supposed to go to Devavrata (Ganga's son).

Devavrata's Vow

• Ganga and King Shantanu's son 
• Later known as Bhishma

He visits Satyavati's father and vows not to accept the throne, get married, or have kids so that the fisherman will allow her to get married to his father.

A god and apsara called him "Bhishma" which means "Terrible" because of the vow he made but they dropped flowers on his head which can symbolize something good. 

The flowers can be a sign of good karma.

Chitrangada became king but got killed by the king of Gandhari three years later for for waging war.  

Satyavati's other son became king but was too young to rule the kingdom

• Devavrata ran the kingdom for a few years. 

Devavrata technically broke his promise but he also made sure to put make his brother king as soon as he was old enough.  

A story can be made about him breaking his promise but because he gave up his rightful place as king and helped his father marry Satyavati, he can get a pass because of his good karma.

Bhishma at the Swayamvara

• Shantanu dies and his half-brother is king now

• Bhishma was looking for a woman to marry his brother

• A competition between 3 sisters is created. They are princesses of Benares.

1.  Amba

• On the day of the wedding, she reveals to Bhishma that she already likes someone and it would be unfair to marry someone else

This can be considered good karma because she prevented several people from being hurt by admitting  the truth.

• She gets rejected by her lover & blames Bhishma
• She fasts for several days until Shiva appears
• Requests Bhishma be defeated
• Shiva tells her she will be reincarnated as a man and will battle Bhishma 
•  She sets up her own funeral and dies 

She also will get bad karma but her good deed will make karma go easy on her.

2. Ambika
3. Ambalika

Dhritarashtra and Pandu

Bhishma's younger brother is now married but he dies before he has kids. Vyasa is made king.

• Him and Ambika have a blind son because she closed her eyes with horror at Vyasa's appearance

• Dhritarashtra




• Ambalika son is born pale because she was pale at the sight of Vyasa

• Pandu
• Became king 

• He has a son with Ambika's servant

• Vidura
• Dharmas incarnation

Kunti and Her Son

• Pandu's wife

• Krishna's aunt (Vasudeva's sister)

• Mother of Karna

• Father is Surya
• Abandoned in a river 
• Adopted by Radha and Adhiratha

Kunti was granted a wish to have any god's child and out of curiosity she accidently had Karna.

This can be an example of bad karma. The quote "curiosity killed the cat" fits the situation. She failed to take responsibility for her actions and abandoned her son.

Sons of Pandu

Pandu was hunting for deer and accidentally killed a Brahmin and his wife that were disguised as deers  He is cursed to be killed by one of his wives while having intercourse so Pandu becomes celibate.

He didn't have kids of his own but his wives had sons with different gods.  There were 5 sons.

1. Yudhishthira - Dharma's son
2. Bhima - Vayu's son
3. Arjuna - Indra's son 

After he dies the wives argue about who should die with him and Madri wins. She was also Pandu's favorite wife. Kunti was his first wife.

Gandhari and Dhritarashtra

• Husband and wife
• 100 sons
• Duryodhana - oldest
• Evil

Pandavas and Kauravas

Pandu's brother blind brother takes in his family after his death and raises his sons and Pandu's sons who become enemies when they get older.

The Kauravas were jealous of the Pandavas

• Duryodhana kills his cousin Bhima by poisoning his food and throwing his body into the Ganges
• Bhima comes back to life and has super strength

• His father makes Yudhishthira, his cousin, the king because he was the oldest out of all of them.
• He lies to his father about how the Pandavas want to overthrow Dhritarashtra and he believes him 

• He schemes to build the palace out of wood and then burn it all and kill the Pandavas and Kunti.

Vidura learns about the plan and warns the Pandavas. They fake their death by escaping through and underground tunnel and go back to live in the wilderness again.

This story could be turned into a comedy where Duryodhana keeps trying to kill Bhima but fails each time. 

Drona - Example of Bad Karma

• Pandavas and Kauravas guru
• Created by a nymph; doesn't have a mom
• Ex-best friends with Drupada
• Drupada thought he was better than Drona after he became king

Eklayva

• Wanted Drona to be his guru but got rejected because he was a different caste
• Drona asks him to cut his thumb since Arjuna was his favorite 
• Leader 

Karna

• Kunti & Surya's son
• Arjuna's brother
• Duryodhana's friend 
• Adoptive father is a farmer 

• Bhima makes fun of him 

The brothers do not know they are related.

Drona's Revenge

He manipulates the princes into fighting Drupada. The Kauravas go to fight first but lose. The Pandavas defeat the kingdom. 

It looks like Drona was bias between the cousins and trained the Pandavas better since the Kauravas were related to his enemy. 

After Drupada is defeated Drona asks to be his friend and for half of the kingdom which Drupada agrees to. Drupada has a secret agenda and plans to get his kingdom back. 

The Pandavas waged war against neighboring kingdoms and took over those territories.

A great example of karma throughout this part of PDE is how both Satyavi's sons died which ended their royal line. The throne was meant to Bhishma's all along. He had took keep taking over for them. 

Reading Notes: Krishna: The Upholder of Govardhana, Part A

p. 57

Painting of Lord Krishna playing the flute
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Girls

This part of the book describes life from the women's and girls perspective. They are enchanted by Krishna when he plays the flute.

They go to take a bath in the river and are pranked by Krishna.

• This was his way of testing their loyalty to him.

At this point, it feels like Krishna and Balarama's friends depend on them for everything.

• They get hungry and tell Krishna to satisfy their hunger so he sends them to the Brahmin's and then the Brahmin's wives who wholeheartedly give them food. 

⭐They are worried they will not be accepted again by their husbands since they left everything to serve Krishna but they are reassured that they will be accepted because of how devoted they are to him.

This is what should've happened when Sita was accused of infidelity. I could use this piece of information for my project since Karma knows everything that happens. 

Yajna - Krishna is now 7 years old 

A ceremony was supposed to be performed for Indra,  the god of rain and storms , but Krishna convinces them to have a ceremony for the mountain instead. 

• Indra gets angry and attacks the village by causing a storm and flooding the village. 
• Krishna protects the people by lifting the mountain.

I think Krishna was testing Indra to see how good he is as a god. Because the people did not worship him, he attacked them. Indra realizes how strong Krishna is and sets his pride aside. 

p. 71 gives a timeline of everything Krishna has done so far

Infancy - kills a demon named Pootana 

• Pootana tried to poison Krishna by breastfeeding him poison
• 3 months - overturned loaded cart
• 1 year - Throttles Demon Trinavarta

Child

• Defeats Asunder the demon Heron  
• Uprooted Arjuna trees

Krishna Saves Nanda (his father)

Nanda is his adoptive father.

Nanda is fasting and decides to take a bath. demon drowns Nanda. Krishna goes underwater to confronTS Varuna , the lord of the Nether World. When Varuna sees Krishna, he apologizes.

• Varuna's servant drowned Nandas

Revelation

Krishna shows his true form to the people. He plays his flute and enchants the women and lures them to him. 

I could probably make Krishna seem like a flirt since so many women adore him. I also feel like he has a little bit of an ego since he knows so many people are loyal to him. 

Krishna cloned himself so each of the Gopikas (cowgirls) would have his attention.

Pareekshit makes a good point when he asks Shukadeva why Krishna behaves the way he does with the Gopikas if he was born to eliminate sin.

🌟Shukadeva reminds him that Krishna is not an ordinary human and that he acts a certain way to inspire faith (lilas) in people.

Reading Notes: Krishna: The Subduer of Kaliya, Part B

p. 29

Setting: Hot summer in the forest of Vrindavan. The villagers moved from Gokul because they were concerned for their safety.

Kaliya

• 101 headed serpent that poisoned the Yamuna (water bank)
• Krishna playfully defeats him. 
• Kaliya's family beg Krishna not to kill him and they all leave the pond 

Krishna fights Kaliya
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Not too long after arriving, Balarama defeats an asura (evil character) in the forest so that everyone can eat the fruits in the forest. 

A demon disguised a boy is tricked by Krishna and his brother in a game of hide and seek.

Forest Fire

Krishna and his friends lose their cows and get caught in the middle of a forest fire. Krishna puts it out by swallowing by swallowing the fire.