Defeating More Demons

Chapter 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Dhenukasura: To fulfil the desire of His friends, Krishna walked with them to the Talavana forest, where Balarama playfully shook many juicy fruits off the palm trees. Outraged, the jackass demon, Dhenukasura, angrily attacked Him. Balarama seized the demon’s hind legs with one hand, whirled him around, threw him into the tree and terminated his life. As each tree fell onto the next, the ground became covered with thousands of ripe fruits!

Kaliya: One day, when the cowherd boys drank from the Yamuna river, they suddenly fell unconscious. Unbeknown to them, the Kaliya serpent had poisoned the whole area, so much so that even the vapours emanating from the water were deadly. Krishna quickly revived the cowherd boys and jumped into the river, where He was attacked and enwrapped by Kaliya. The fearful Vrindavana residents were plunged into acute anxiety, and, observing the inauspicious omens, they rushed to the banks of the river. Sensing their angst, Krishna broke free of the serpent’s grip and began a deadly dance on Kaliya’s heads, causing the demon to vomit blood. When the wives of the serpent humbly prayed for his release, Krishna acquiesced and ordered Kaliya to return to Ramanaka island. When Maharaja Pariksit enquired why Kaliya had left the island, Sukadeva Goswami narrated the history of Garuda, Saubhari Rishi and Kaliya.

Forest Fire (1): After Kaliya had been driven out, the Vrindavana residents slept peacefully on the Yamuna’s banks. That night, a forest fire broke out, and Krishna effortlessly swallowed it up to protect them.

Pralambasura: One demon disguised himself as a gopa. When the boys split into two wrestling teams, Balarama defeated Pralambasura in a duel, and the penalty was to carry Him on his back. After lifting Balarama, Pralambasura planned to carry the Lord faraway. Lord Balarama, however, became unbearably heavy, and the exhausted demon was forced to assume his original form. Balarama then struck him on the head, cracked his skull and abruptly ended his life.

Forest Fire (2): When Krishna entered the forest known as Munjaranya, a huge forest fire started, causing the cows to flee. Krishna told the gopas to close their eyes, and then swallowed the fire and brought them to safety in Bhandiravana.