“The goddess Durga was decorated with flower garlands, smeared with sandalwood pulp and dressed with excellent garments and ornaments made of valuable jewels. Holding in her hands a bow, a trident, arrows, a shield, a sword, a conchshell, a disc and a club, and being praised by celestial beings like Apsaras, Kinnaras, Uragas, Siddhas, Charanas and Gandharvas, who worshiped her with all kinds of presentations, she spoke as follows. ‘O Kamsa, you fool, what will be the use of killing me? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has been your enemy from the very beginning and who will certainly kill you, has already taken His birth somewhere else. Therefore, do not unnecessarily kill other children.’” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.4.10-12)

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दिव्यस्रगम्बरालेपरत्नाभरणभूषिता
धनु:शूलेषुचर्मासिशङ्खचक्रगदाधरा
सिद्धचारणगन्धर्वैरप्सर:किन्नरोरगै:
उपाहृतोरुबलिभि: स्तूयमानेदमब्रवीत्
किं मया हतया मन्द जात: खलु तवान्तकृत्
यत्र क्‍व वा पूर्वशत्रुर्मा हिंसी: कृपणान् वृथा

divya-srag-ambarālepa-
ratnābharaṇa-bhūṣitā
dhanuḥ-śūleṣu-carmāsi-
śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-dharā

siddha-cāraṇa-gandharvair
apsaraḥ-kinnaroragaiḥ
upāhṛtoru-balibhiḥ
stūyamānedam abravīt

kiṁ mayā hatayā manda
jātaḥ khalu tavānta-kṛt
yatra kva vā pūrva-śatrur
mā hiṁsīḥ kṛpaṇān vṛthā

“Have you noticed the similarities between Hari-katha and ordinary storytelling? You might even say that modern day video games resemble tales from the epics, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana. You have these adventure games where the lead character has to find someone who has gone missing. They must pass through certain stages in order to locate the villain. They face bad guys along the way, who then reveal valuable information. The headless Kabandha from the Ramayana comes to mind. Rama and His younger brother defeat that character, who was in that dreaded form due to a previous curse. Once the body is cremated, the character returns to their original form and provides helpful clues for the brothers.”

अस्या हेतोर्विशालाक्ष्या हतो वाली महाबलः
रावणप्रतिमो वीर्ये कबन्धश्च निपातितः

asyā hetor viśālākṣyā hato vālī mahābalaḥ
rāvaṇapratimo vīrye kabandhaś ca nipātitaḥ

“It was for the sake of this large-eyed woman that Vali, of great strength, was killed and Kabandha, who was equal in strength to Ravana, was struck down.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 16.7)

“We know that the Ramayana came first. The adventure stories came much later. But why are they similar? Does this not lend credence to the speculation that the ancient stories are nothing but mythology? You had a creative mind of a creative writer, who happened to be a sage. Valmiki and Vyasadeva must have written fictional tales in order to teach the masses about morality, virtue, duty, and the like. What is your response?”

The artifacts remain. The events reference locations that can still be found in this world. Granted, thousands and thousands of years have passed since the events first took place. Sometimes, the rivers referenced can no longer be found. A bridge of floating rocks can only be identified through satellite imagery. In many cases, the events are immortalized through carvings made within caves. Moreover, there is no reason to believe that Vyasadeva, who had the many stories committed to memory, in perfectly composed Sanskrit poetry, was interested in fiction. He was completely renounced. He was not looking to satisfy his senses. He was not interested in receiving royalty payments by publishing a bestseller.

Rather than attribute the creativity to the person documenting the events, why not go straight to the source? Why not consider that the lead actor had everything planned from the beginning? The preproduction phase hints at this truth. In Bhagavata Purana, for instance, Lord Vishnu gives advance notice of His arrival. He will descend to the mortal realm. The appearance will appropriately be known as an avatara. Vishnu will take birth from the womb of Devaki. He will be known as Krishna, among many other names.

“The message was: the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth very soon along with His supreme powerful potencies, and as long as He remains on the earth planet to execute His mission of annihilating the demons and establishing the devotees, the demigods should also remain there to assist Him. They should all immediately take birth in the family of the Yadu dynasty, wherein the Lord will also appear in due course of time. “ (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 1)

Moreover, Vishnu’s associates will accompany Him. This must mean that Vishnu has a story to tell. There is a story to unfold, on the grand stage that is the material world. Vishnu has prearranged everything. It is simply a matter of time. The hero of the story will be Krishna and the villain will be the wicked leader of Mathura named Kamsa. Vishnu will weave such a dramatic real-life tale that it will not be forgotten for ages.

Further insight into the brilliance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is through comparing with how stories are promoted in the modern day. Consider the art of professional wrestling. The detractors deride the production as being fake. The combatants entering the ring are indeed larger than life, strong, and athletic, but they are not really punching one another. They are not really causing damage with their maneuvers, albeit highly skilled and acrobatic. The only injuries that take place occur by accident. This is because all the moves are choreographed. It is like a dramatic production presented through the medium of athletics.

For the promoters, the goal is to sell tickets. They want to draw a crowd. The tried and true method of raising interest is to start with a villain. This “bad guy” is known in the business as the “heel”. The bad guy usually has to cheat to win. They deny any wrongdoing, after the fact, despite everyone witnessing the deception right in front of them. The heel uses foul language, is haughty, and looks to exploit. On the business side of things, the goal of the heel is to draw “heat.” In other words, the more they are hated the better it is for the bottom line.

This is a story, after all. The climax is when the heel finally gets what they deserve. This is where the good guy comes in. They are known in the industry as the “baby face.” The audience finds satisfaction in watching the heel get demolished, but only if the heel has reached the heights of bad behavior. This story repeats, over and over, travelling from city to city. This is how the business thrives.

In the case of Krishna-lila, the obvious heel is Kamsa. Just how bad is he? Well, on the wedding day of his cousin-sister, Kamsa didn’t think twice about taking out his sword. He was ready to kill Devaki on the spot, in the middle of the road, with her new husband watching. What was the reason? Well, a voice from the sky spontaneously appeared and warned Kamsa that Devaki’s eighth child would be his end. Mind you, Devaki was newly married. Kamsa was escorting her to the home of her in-laws, in keeping with tradition. For one child to appear takes many months. The eighth certainly wouldn’t arrive until years later.

Kamsa was not willing to take the chance. He wanted to kill Devaki, right then and there. Fortunately, Vasudeva stepped in and talked Kamsa out of it. But that was only to spare execution; the couple were still imprisoned. This way, Kamsa could keep a close eye on them. Was it a momentary lapse in judgment? Was Kamsa otherwise a kindhearted individual? His next atrocity was to kill babies. As each one was born to Devaki, Kamsa executed it on the spot. No trial. No due process. No one to talk him out of it.

The heel was reaching the apex of their power. It appeared that no one could stop Kamsa. Just what could be done? This is where our hero makes His grand entrance. Vishnu appeared from the womb of Devaki at midnight, while the couple were still in prison. The wheels were set in motion, but the time was not yet appropriate. Vishnu showed His divine form to the parents. The baby Krishna was then sent to the nearby town of Gokula. Vasudeva conducted a baby swap. He took the female newborn child of Yashoda back to Mathura with him.

Before the heel could receive the punch to end their life, they would get a warning of the crack in the foundation, so to speak. When Kamsa learned that Devaki gave birth to a child, he snatched the infant out of her hands, despite her pleading with him. Devaki begged for some leniency. This was a female, after all. How could it do any harm to Kamsa? Never mind, as that child was set to be executed by being thrown against a stone slab.

Instead, it was Kamsa who was thrown for a loop. The baby slipped out of his hands, transformed and rose into the sky. You see, this baby was not ordinary. It was Durga Devi, who is the superintendent of the material creation. Kamsa thought he was powerful, but he could not overcome the most powerful person in the material world. Durga Devi was kind to him, considering the circumstances. She mocked him for the murder attempt. She revealed to him that the eighth child was already born. That child was somewhere else. Kamsa would have to go find Krishna. Or just maybe, one day Krishna would find him.

In Closing:

Like magician weaving a spell,
Vishnu with best story to tell.

In real-life drama to unfold,
Time of appearance foretold.

That emerging as Devaki’s son,
As eighth child Krishna to come.

Down the heel at max to take,
In epic story to make.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, durga, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry