YADU DYNASTY.

Lord Krishna declared that whenever the earth suffered due to wrong ways of its people, where the pious were tormented, He would be born and the sufferings of the earth would be reduced by eliminating those responsible for these wrong doings! During Krishnavathara he demonstrated this, initially killing many demons during his childhood like Putana, Trinavatra,Chakatasur, Vatsasur, Bakasur, Aghasur, Denukasur, Pralamba, and Banasur and others.

 
Later with the advent of Mahabharat war, Jarasandha, Sisupala, ,the Kauravas were killed, similarly Dantavakra, Mura, Banasur, Divida, Vasudeva Paundra were tricked to kill themselves, similarly Vrkasur was killed. Lord also subdued the ego of the celestials like Brahma, Indra, and the ferocious Kaliya the serpant!
 
Having done all this he deliberated along with His brother Balarama and concluded that His mission upon earth is nearing its end, and still His own clan has not learnt to be humble, pious and were too arrogant and unfit to rule the kingdom any longer. So he decided to put an end to His clan too.

He willed that they would perish due to their own bad ways incurring the wrath of the elders! Lord Krishna said just like a bamboo bush catches fire due friction of bamboos themselves and eventually destroys the entire bush, the Yadu clan would annihilate themselves! Once holy rituals were performed at the house of Vasudeva the chief of Yadus and father of Krishna, and the rituals were conducted by eminent sages such as Asita, kanva,Durvasa, Brighu, Angira, Kasyapa, Vamadeva, Atri, Vasishta, Naradha and others.

As soon as the rituals got over and the sages were honoured and gifts and dana were given to all, Lord suggested that the sages visit a pilgrimage centre called Pindaraka. This suggestion was received well by the sages and they proceeded to that place. They enjoyed the serene surroundings and camped there for a while before setting off to their respective asramas.

It was then the youngsters of Yadhu dynasty gathered there and wanted to play a prank on all the honourable sages, and they chose Krishna’s son through Jambavathi called Samba who was very handsome and dressed him up like a young lady who was pregnant and took him along with other friends to meet the sages who had camped there.

They reached their hermitage and presented themselves before the assembly of eminent sages, and spoke to them. They said that the young lady who has come before them is expecting a baby, and they being well knowledgeable and endowed should bless her to have a baby boy! As she was very shy of asking them, on her behalf they are putting forth this request!

The sages who were aware of all the three modes of time, the past, present and future got angry at this insult and ignorance of Yadhus and proclaimed that the lady would deliver an iron club! As soon as they heard this their joy faded and fear gripped them and their face became pale and they started trembling. Soon they discovered that Samba could feel a heavy object in his tummy!

Not knowing how to react they retreated and took him to their elders and confessed to them of what had happened! Soon the iron club was taken out of his tummy! The King Ugrasena immediately ordered that the club be smashed into fine powder and spread in the ocean so that the danger of its affecting the youth could be averted!

As ordered it was pounded and the powdered club was scattered into the ocean! But a small piece was swallowed by a fish. As the it was an iron club it did not get dissolved and the waves pushed the granules on to the shore! Within a short period of time there grew a grove of canes full of strong and lengthy blades of grass known as “Eraka”!

Even today incidentally the grass has a flower that looks like an iron club! Time passed and one day all the Yadhu ruling clan due to their puffed up ego and reckless ways of living consumed liquor and were intoxicated and lost their senses and incidentally this happened when they were making merry at the sea shore very near the bushes that had grown out of the iron club!

They started abusing each other in an inebriated condition and started exchanging blows at each other!

What happened next? Was Lord Krishna too affected by the curse as he was one among Yadhus? Let us see in the next posting!

Very soon their weapons were all broken in the milieu but they still harboured intensive anger for each other. They all went to the sea shore and uprooted the grass that had grown over there and started fighting with each other striking with that stalk and the blade of grass!

The grass was so sharp it slit the throats of many and cut the limbs of all! Quickly the scene changed into one of despair and almost all of them had perished!

In the meanwhile a fisherman had caught a big fish in that area and carried it to his home and that day he wanted to cook and eat it, so he cut the fish and to his surprise he found the sharp metal object in its belly, he immediately thought that it could be fixed at the tip of his arrow to deliver that lethal punch when he shoots the arrow to hunt.

Accordingly he fashioned it well and fixed it at the tip of his arrow! Then he proceeded to Prabhasa kshetra that was a dense forest to hunt. There Lord Krishna was camping and taking rest under a big Pipal tree. The hunter while searching for an animal looked at the foot of the Lord from a distance and mistook it to be the trunk of deer and issued the arrow which found its target without fail, blood started oozing out of the wound!

When the hunter came near he was startled to find the Lord lying there with his leg wounded! The hunter realized his mistake and wept and sought pardon for his mistake and even pleaded that he be killed for the mistake he had committed, the Lord smilingly replied that it was the His own desire and the words of sages that came to be true!

And also said that the hunter was not at fault as he had done only his swadharma! Soon the celestial assembled there Lord Brahma and Lord Siva had also arrived, Lord Krishna became an illuminated self and merged with the form of Sriman Narayana as all the assembled celestial were watching, they showered flower petals and sounded kettle drums and bugles!