Climbing To The Sky

“The Trinavarta demon who took baby Krishna 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 Krishna made Himself heavy and began to weigh down the demon. The Lord caught hold of his neck.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality Of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 7)

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If trying to find an equivalent of the concept of good guys and bad guys in the Vedic tradition, the closest is suras and asuras. Suras typically refer to the demigods. These are the residents of the heavenly realm. They are individual souls, similar to those who inhabit the earthly realm, except they have the special favor of administering various aspects of the material creation from their perch.

Becoming a sura is something like dying and going to heaven. You are on the side of good. You are rewarded for pious deeds. You get to live for a long time. You get to enjoy exclusive perks, like drinking soma-rasa.

त्रैविद्या मां सोमपा: पूतपापा
यज्ञैरिष्ट्वा स्वर्गतिं प्रार्थयन्ते ।
ते पुण्यमासाद्य सुरेन्द्रलोक-
मश्न‍‍न्ति दिव्यान्दिवि देवभोगान् ॥

trai-vidyā māṁ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpā
yajñair iṣṭvā svar-gatiṁ prārthayante
te puṇyam āsādya surendra-lokam
aśnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān

“Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. They take birth on the planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.20)

Both in literal meaning and in behavior, the asuras are the opposite. While the suras are demigods, the asuras are demons. This does not limit the scope of their placement. An asura can be grim-visaged or they can be ordinary in appearance.

It is the qualities which make the designation. The asuras are bad. Whatever bad qualities we can think of, they possess. The asuras lie, cheat, and steal. They think there is no afterlife. They think that a living being is merely a set of chemicals. Therefore, the short duration of life is only for exploiting resources as much as possible.

It is not surprising that asuras harass. Think of the spouse who constantly nags at you. They won’t let you live in peace. You have silenced every alert on your phone, lest a random text message cause upheaval in the home.

You don’t watch television, since when you sit down and focus on something, the spouse starts to harass you even more. Instead, you lie down in bed and wait for orders. The yelling is minimal in this situation. They can’t really get jealous over what you are doing. They might be a little puzzled, but that is a small price to pay for general safety.

When asuras rise to power, they harass at an even larger scale. From Vedic literature we have the example of Kamsa. He was the king of Mathura. He was a special kind of bad-guy in that he was obsessed with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The arrival of God within the family, in nearby proximity, terrorized Kamsa day and night.

He had already murdered several children. Kamsa did not want to take chances. Though the prediction was for Devaki’s eighth child to be Kamsa’s demise, there is always the possibility of a miscalculation. Maybe a child or two snuck away, without Kamsa knowing.

In fact, that is what ended up happening with the eighth child. The Supreme Lord appeared in the womb of Devaki, with corresponding prayers from the demigods. Narayana spoke to the parents, informing them that immediate transfer was necessary.

This child was later named Krishna, and He grew up in the nearby town of Gokula. True to his nature, Kamsa continued with the finest harassment he could think of. He sent his top assassins to comb the area and find this missing child.

The interactions are significant in the properties they reveal. These belong to Krishna. He is the controller of the material elements. The suras work under His direction. He is pure goodness. The toggling between good and evil, right and wrong, occurs only in a temporary land. Krishna is not subject to such dualities.

This means that harassment of outside forces has no impact on Him. One of the asuras sent to Gokula had the ability to turn into a whirlwind. Named Trinavarta, he managed to take baby Krishna high into the sky.

There is the rule of nature that what goes up must come down. This is due to the force of gravity. This would easily accomplish Trinavarta’s mission. Simply release the child and allow gravity to work its magic. A special use of force would not be necessary.

Since Krishna is Bhagavan, things didn’t go according to plan. It was Trinavarta who ended up falling to the ground and dying. His special powers couldn’t save him, apparently. Krishna managed to reach ground-level without getting hurt.

The asuras will try and try, but they will never make a dent into the supremacy of Devaki’s son. He always stands tall, as He did against the attacks of Kamsa’s friends. He continues to be worshiped, and that practice will never entirely vanish from this world. Good souls, who are like suras on earth, keep the tradition moving forward.

In Closing:

Climbing to the sky,
For purpose of killing why.

Trinavarta to Gokula sent,
Higher into air went.

Krishna with him taking,
But there a reversal making.

Infant suddenly heaviest of all,
And asura the one to fall.