Yadu’s Cursed

Chapter 1

After describing Krishna’s beautiful life, Sukadeva Goswami ended Canto Ten by detailing the events that led to the fratricidal war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. In this fierce duel at Kuruksetra the burden of demoniac dynasties was removed. Krishna then planned to remove His own family from the world, and Sukadeva Goswami described that history.

Once, eminent sages successfully concluded a sacrifice in the home of the Yadus. In childish antic, the younger members of the clan brought Samba, the son of Jambavati, before them, dressed as a pregnant mother. Jokingly, they enquired from the sages whether the child would be a boy or girl. Angered by their mockery, the sages cursed Samba to give birth to a club that would destroy the entire Yadu clan. When they uncovered Samba’s belly, to their astonishment, an iron club had indeed mystically appeared!

When Ugrasena heard about this calamitous incident, he ordered that the club be ground down and thrown into the ocean. A lump of that iron was swallowed by a fish, while the other bits of iron washed onto the shore and grew into a grove of canes. The iron in the fish would later become an arrow which would pierce Krishna, while the canes would become destructive weapons used by the Yadus to kill each other. This was the beginning of the end for the Yadu dynasty, all orchestrated by Krishna’s sweet will. []