The Lord Travels to Indraprastha

Devarṣi Nārada wanted Lord Kṛṣṇa to go to Indraprastha and help His cousin Yudhiṣṭhira perform the Rājasūya sacrifice. At the same time, the members of the royal assembly strongly desired that He defeat Jarāsandha and rescue the kings he was holding prisoner. The great-minded Uddhava could understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to do both things, and thus he intelligently advised how both these purposes could be simultaneously accomplished.

Śrī Uddhava here explains that only one who has conquered all directions is entitled to perform the Rājasūya sacrifice. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa should immediately accept the invitation to participate in the sacrifice, but then He should arrange to kill Jarāsandha as a necessary prerequisite. In this way the kings’ request for protection would be fulfilled automatically. If the Lord would thus adhere to a single policy — namely, seeing that the Rājasūya sacrifice was performed properly — all purposes would be fulfilled.

According to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, one of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s qualities is catura, “clever,” which means that He can perform various types of work at the same time. Thus the Lord could certainly have solved the dilemma of how to simultaneously satisfy King Yudhiṣṭhira’s desire to perform the Rājasūya sacrifice and the imprisoned kings’ desire for freedom. But Kṛṣṇa wanted to give His dear devotee Uddhava the credit for the solution, and thus He pretended to be perplexed.

Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the Yādavas were extremely eager to kill Jarāsandha, and thus to caution them Śrī Uddhava spoke this verse. Jarāsandha’s death could come only at the hand of Bhīma. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī adds that Uddhava had previously deduced this from the Jyotīr-rāga and other astrological scriptures he had learned from his teacher Bṛhaspati.

It might be argued that since only Bhīma could equal Jarāsandha in personal strength, Jarāsandha would be more powerful when supported by his huge army. Therefore, Uddhava here recommends single combat. But how could Jarāsandha be persuaded to give up the support of his powerful army? Here Uddhava gives the clue: Jarāsandha will never refuse a request from brāhmaṇas, since he is devoted to brahminical culture.

The idea is that Bhīma should beg as charity a one-to-one fight with Jarāsandha.

Uddhava here explains that in fact Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself will cause the death of Jarāsandha, and Bhīma will merely be the instrument. The Supreme Lord, through His invisible potency of time, creates and annihilates the entire cosmic situation, whereas great demigods such as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are merely the instruments of the Lord’s will. Therefore Bhīma will have no difficulty acting as the Lord’s instrument to kill the powerful Jarāsandha. In this way, by the Lord’s arrangement, His devotee Bhīma will be glorified.

Great sages and devotees had informed the grief-stricken wives of the imprisoned kings that Lord Kṛṣṇa would arrange for the killing of Jarāsandha and would thus save them from their crisis. These godly women would thus sing the glories of the Lord at home, and when their children would cry for their fathers, their mothers would tell them, “Child, do not cry. Śrī Kṛṣṇa will save your father.” In fact, the Lord has saved many devotees in the past, as described here.

Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the word bhūry-artha, “immense benefit,” signifies that with the death of Jarāsandha it will become easy to kill the demon Śiśupāla and to realize other objectives. The great commentator Śrīdhara Svāmī further explains that the term pāka indicates that the kings will be saved as a result of their piety, and that the term vipākena indicates that Jarāsandha will die as a result of his wickedness. In either case, the plan Uddhava has proposed is most favorable for the execution of the great Rājasūya sacrifice, desired by both the Lord and His pure devotees the Pāṇḍavas, headed by King Yudhiṣṭhira.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the term acyutam indicates that Uddhava’s proposal was “fortified by logical reasoning.” Furthermore, Śukadeva Gosvāmī specifically indicates by the term yadu-vṛddhāḥ that it was the senior members, not the junior ones, who welcomed the proposal. Young princes such as Aniruddha did not like Uddhava’s proposal, since they were eager to fight Jarāsandha’s army immediately.

The superiors mentioned here are personalities such as Vasudeva, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s father.

Having accepted Uddhava’s proposal, Lord Kṛṣṇa first proceeded with His wives, family and entourage to the royal city of Indraprastha, the capital of the Pāṇḍavas. The rest of this chapter describes Lord Kṛṣṇa’s journey to that city and how He was received there by His loving devotees. In Indraprastha Lord Kṛṣṇa explained to the Pāṇḍavas His plan to first kill Jarāsandha and then perform the Rājasūya sacrifice, and with their full agreement He proceeded, with Bhīmasena, to settle accounts with the wicked king.

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s wives had also been invited to the Rājasūya sacrifice and were eager to go. The description of the colorful royal procession begins with the following verse.

According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, the word vāji indicates that some of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s queens were transported by horse-drawn conveyances.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that the household attendants mentioned here included washerwomen and other helpers.

The statement ma bhaiṣṭa, “do not fear,” is in the plural, being intended for both the messenger and the kings. Similarly, the expression bhadraṁ vaḥ, “blessings unto you,” is also in the plural, expressing a similar intent.

The great Vaiṣṇava scholar Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī comments here that by force of circumstances the kings began focusing their attention on Lord Kṛṣṇa alone.

Lord Kṛṣṇa is here described as Hṛṣīkeśa, the Lord of the senses, and King Yudhiṣṭhira’s rushing to the Lord is compared to the senses eagerly joining the consciousness of life. Without consciousness, the senses are useless; indeed, the senses function through consciousness. Similarly, when the individual souls are bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, love of God, they enter into a useless and illusory struggle called material existence. Pure devotees like King Yudhiṣṭhira are never bereft of the Lord’s association, for they keep Him always within their heart, and yet they feel special ecstasy when they see the Lord after long separation, as described here.

The above translation is taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī mentions that since Arjuna was considered Lord Kṛṣṇa’s social equal, when Arjuna tried to bow down to Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa held Arjuna by his arms so that he could only embrace Him. The twins, however, being junior cousins, bowed down and grasped Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “While Lord Kṛṣṇa was entering the city, all the people were talking amongst themselves about the glories of the Lord, praising His transcendental name, quality, form, etc.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda adds in this connection: “Lord Kṛṣṇa thus entered the city of the Pāṇḍavas, enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere and slowly proceeded ahead.”

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī comments that the ladies communicated through their affectionate glances their eager inquiries as to the comfort of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s trip, and so on. In other words, in their ecstasy they intensely desired to serve the Lord.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “While Lord Kṛṣṇa was thus passing on the road, at intervals some of the citizens, who were all rich, respectable and freed from sinful activities, presented auspicious articles to the Lord, just to offer Him a reception to the city. Thus they worshiped Him as humble servitors.”

Queen Kuntī’s daughter-in-law is the famous Draupadī.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “As he brought Kṛṣṇa within the palace, King Yudhiṣṭhira became so confused in his jubilation that he practically forgot what he was to do at that time in order to receive Kṛṣṇa and worship Him properly.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Lord Kṛṣṇa delightfully offered His respects and obeisances to Kuntī and other elderly ladies of the palace. His younger sister, Subhadrā, was also standing there with Draupadī, and both offered their respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord.”

This translation is taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in Kṛṣṇa: “It was during this time that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with the help of Arjuna, for the satisfaction of the fire-god, Agni, allowed Agni to devour the Khāṇḍava forest. During the forest fire, Kṛṣṇa saved the demon Mayāsura, who was hiding in the forest. Upon being saved, Mayāsura felt obliged to the Pāṇḍavas and Lord Kṛṣṇa, and he constructed a wonderful assembly house within the city of Hastināpura. In this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa, in order to please King Yudhiṣṭhira, remained in the city of Hastināpura for several months. During His stay, He enjoyed strolling here and there. He used to drive on chariots along with Arjuna, and many warriors and soldiers used to follow them.”