Chapter
1: The Advent of Lord Krishna:
Introduction
(54) S'rî
Vasudeva
said: 'You have, according to what the voice from heaven
vibrated, nothing to fear from Devakî indeed. Her sons gave rise
to your anxiety and I shall
deliver them therefore
all to
you.'
(64) This
was all communicated to Kamsa by the
all-powerful
Nârada
[**], who
paid him a visit in order to tell him that all the Daityas who burdened
the earth were going to be killed [see verse 17 and also 9.24: 56]. (65-66) After
the rishi
had left Kamsa thought
that all
the
Yadus
were
divine
and that therefore any child born from Devakî
could be Vishnu. He thus in fear of his own death arrested Vasudeva and
Devakî, confined them at home in shackles and killed, one after the other, each of
their newborn sons, not knowing whether it would be
the 'Never-born' Lord or not [***].
Chapter
2: Prayers by the
Demigods for Lord Krishna in the Womb
(25) But
Lord Brahmâ and Lord S'iva assembled there,
together with the sages, Nârada and other divine personalities
and
their followers, in order to please Him, the Strongest Man of All, with prayers:
(26) 'You
are the truth of the vow [see 9.24: 56 and
B.G. 9: 22],
the
truth
of
the
Supreme
and
the
truth
of
the
threefoldness
[of
e.g.
the
past,
present
and
future].
You
are
the
source
of
all
truth
who
pervades
all
truths, You are the truth of
everything that is held true, the
original
truth of each truth that meets
the eye, and the truth of all that pertains to the Supreme Soul, of
You,
whom we
offer our full surrender.
Chapter
3: The Birth of Lord
Krishna
(12) Oh
son of Bharata, understanding
that the child definitely was the Original Personality, he lost all his
fears. Having arrived at that conclusion he, enraptured by His majesty,
fell down with folded hands to offer prayers to Him who illumined His
birth place in every direction.
(47) When
thereafter the son of S'ûrasena, as instructed by the
Supreme Lord, carefully wanted to carry his son away from the place of
delivery,
precisely at that time Yogamâyâ [see 10.2:
6-12], the one [of
transcendence who
factually is] never born, took her birth from the wife of
Nanda. (48-49) By
her
influence
the
guards
and
the
rest
of the people, being fast asleep, had lost consciousness of all
their
senses. As soon as Vasudeva carrying Krishna approached, all the heavy
doors and gates, sealed with bolts and chains, opened wide out
of
their
own,
like
darkness
dissipated
by
the
sun.
The
slightly
rumbling
clouds
showered
rain,
but
S'esha
Nâga
followed
them
and
stopped
the
rains
with
His hoods spread out.
Chapter
4: The Atrocities of
King Kamsa
(9) But
it slipped midair out of his hands and
appeared that very instant in the sky as Devî [Durgâ], the
younger sister of Vishnu, with her
eight
mighty
arms
complete
with
weapons [see also 8.12: 40].
Chapter
5: Krishna's Birth
Ceremony and the
Meeting of Nanda Mahârâja and Vasudeva
(1-2) S'uka said: 'Nanda was a man of
great devotion. Overjoyed that a
son had been born, he invited the scholars conversant with
the Veda, cleansed himself with a bath and dressed himself up. In order
to
celebrate the birth [with a jâtakarma ceremony*] as
was prescribed, he took care
that
the mantras were chanted, and
also arranged for the worship of
the forefathers and demigods.
(12) They all for a long time pronounced blessings
for the
newborn child, like 'pâhi' ['be protected'], and sprinkled
the
Unborn
Lord
with
turmeric
oil
while saying prayers.
Chapter
6: The Killing of the Demoness Pûtanâ
(15-17) The gopas and gopîs,
who
in
their
hearts,
ears
and
heads
were
already
shocked
by
the
loud
yelling,
were
terrified
to
see
that
massive
body.
The
mouth
had
fearful
teeth
as
high as a plow, the
nostrils were as big as mountain caves, the breasts were like huge
boulders, the scattered hair looked like copper, the deep eye sockets
were like overgrown wells, the thighs were like river banks, the limbs
resembled dams,
and the abdomen looked like a dried-up lake.
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