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Krsna Kills the Trnavarta Demon


"Another day, when mother Yasoda was sitting with her child on her lap, she suddenly observed that he had assumed the weight of the entire universe. She was so astonished that she had to put the child down, and in the meantime Trnavarta, one of the servants of Kamsa, appeared there as a whirlwind and took the child away. The whole tract of land known as Gokula became surcharged with dust, no one could see where the child had been taken, and all the gopis were overwhelmed because He had been taken away in the dust storm. But up in the sky, the asura, being overburdened by the child, could not carry the child far away, although he also could not drop the child because the child had caught him so tightly that it was difficult for him to separate the child from his body. Thus Trnavarta himself fell down from a very great height, the child grasping him tightly by the shoulder, and immediately died. The demon having fallen, the gopis picked the child up and delivered Him to the lap of mother Yasoda. Thus mother Yasoda was struck with wonder, but because of yogamaya's influence, no one could understand who Krsna was and what had actually happened. Rather, everyone began to praise fortune for the child's having been saved from such a calamity. Nanda Maharaja, of course, was thinking of the wonderful foretelling of Vasudeva and began to praise him as a great yogi. Later, when the child was on the lap of mother Yasoda, the child yawned, and mother Yasoda could see within His mouth the entire universal manifestation."

Srimad-Bhagavatam 10:7 Summary

"One day, shortly after this ceremony, when mother Yasoda was patting her baby on her lap, the baby felt too heavy, and being unable to carry Him, she unwillingly placed Him on the ground. After a while, she became engaged in household affairs. At that time, one of the servants of Kamsa, known as Trnavarta, as instructed by Kamsa, appeared there in the shape of a whirlwind. He picked the child up on his shoulders and raised a great dust storm all over Vrndavana. Because of this, everyone's eyes became covered within a few moments, and the whole area of Vrndavana became densely dark so that no one could see himself or anyone else. During this great catastrophe, mother Yasoda could not see her baby, who was taken away by the whirlwind, and she began to cry very piteously. She fell down on the ground exactly like a cow who has just lost her calf. When mother Yasoda was so piteously crying, all the cowherd women immediately came and began to look for the baby, but they were disappointed and could not find Him. The Trnavarta demon who took baby Krsna on his shoulder went high in the sky, but the baby assumed such a weight that suddenly he could not go any further, and he had to stop his whirlwind activities. Baby Krsna made Himself heavy and began to weigh down the demon. The Lord caught hold of his neck. Trnavarta felt the baby to be as heavy as a big mountain, and he tried to get out of His clutches, but he was unable to do so, and his eyes popped out from their sockets. Crying very fiercely, he fell down to the ground of Vrndavana and died. The demon fell exactly like Tripurasura, who was pierced by the arrow of Lord Siva. He hit the stone ground, and his limbs were smashed. His body became visible to all the inhabitants of Vrndavana.

When the gopis saw the demon killed and child Krsna very happily playing on his body, they immediately picked Krsna up with great affection. The cowherd men and women became very happy to get back their beloved child Krsna. At that time they began to talk about how wonderful it was that the demon took away the child to devour Him but could not do so; instead he fell down dead. Some of them supported the situation: "This is proper because those who are too sinful die from their sinful reactions, and child Krsna is pious; therefore He is saved from all kinds of fearful situations. And we too must have performed great sacrifices in our previous lives, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, giving great wealth in charity and acting philanthropically for the general welfare of men. Because of such pious activities, the child is saved from all danger."

Krsna Book, Chapter 7

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Excerpted from texts and purports of HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.



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