Chapter Eight Kaṁsa-vadha The Killing of Kaṁsa

Śrī Nārada said: Thinking of how King Nanda's heart was melting and how the women were praying in this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa, yearning to kill them, ferociously attacked His opponents.

Suddenly grabbing him with both hands, Lord Kṛṣṇa threw Cāṇura into the sky, as a great wind uproots and throws a lotus flower.

Like a comet Caṇūra fell headfirst from the sky. Standing up, he violently punched Kṛṣṇa.

Unmoved by the punch, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is greater than the greatest, suddenly grabbed Cāṇūra and threw him to the ground.

O king of Mithilā, mad with anger, and his teeth now broken, with both fists Cāṇūra pounded Lord Kṛṣṇa's chest.

O king, grabbing both his hands, Lord Kṛṣṇa whirled Cānūra around and around as Kaṁsa and everyone else looked on.

As a child throws a kamaṇḍalu, Lord Kṛṣṇa threw Cāṇūra to the ground. O king, vomiting blood, and his head broken, Cāṇūra suddenly died.

pātayām āsa bhū-pṛṣṭhe phaṇinaṁ garuḍo yathā muṣṭiko nidhanaṁ prāpa prodvaman rudhiraṁ mukhāt tathā—so; eva—certainly; muṣṭikam—Mustika; mallam—wrestler; muṣṭibhiḥ—with fists; yudhi—in the fight; durgamam—invincible; dhṛtvā—grabbing; aṅghrau—both feet; bhrāmayitvā—whirling; khe—in the sky; baladevaḥ—Balarāma; mahā-balaḥ—very strong; pātayām āsa—threw; bhū-pṛṣṭhe—to the ground; phaṇinam—a snake; garuḍaḥ—garuḍa; yathā—as; muṣṭikaḥ—Mustika; nidhanam—death; prāpa—attained; prodvaman—vomiting; rudhiram—blood; mukhāt—from his mouth. In the same way powerful Lord Balarāma grabbed the feet of invincible Muṣṭika, whirled him around, and threw him to the ground as Garuḍa throws a snake. O king, vomiting blood from his mouth, Muṣṭika suddenly died.

pātayām āsa bhū-pṛṣṭhe phaṇinaṁ garuḍo yathā muṣṭiko nidhanaṁ prāpa prodvaman rudhiraṁ mukhāt tathā—so; eva—certainly; muṣṭikam—Mustika; mallam—wrestler; muṣṭibhiḥ—with fists; yudhi—in the fight; durgamam—invincible; dhṛtvā—grabbing; aṅghrau—both feet; bhrāmayitvā—whirling; khe—in the sky; baladevaḥ—Balarāma; mahā-balaḥ—very strong; pātayām āsa—threw; bhū-pṛṣṭhe—to the ground; phaṇinam—a snake; garuḍaḥ—garuḍa; yathā—as; muṣṭikaḥ—Mustika; nidhanam—death; prāpa—attained; prodvaman—vomiting; rudhiram—blood; mukhāt—from his mouth. In the same way powerful Lord Balarāma grabbed the feet of invincible Muṣṭika, whirled him around, and threw him to the ground as Garuḍa throws a snake. O king, vomiting blood from his mouth, Muṣṭika suddenly died.

Seeing Kūṭa coming, with a single punch Lord Balarāma knocked him to the ground as with his thunderbolt Indra knocks down a mountain.

When Śala approached, Lord Kṛṣṇa attacked him as with his beak Garuḍa attacks a snake.

Then Kṛṣṇa grabbed Tośala, ripped him in two at the waist, and threw the two pieces into Kaṁsa's box as an elephant breaks and throws a tree.

As the saintly people of Mathurā looked on, the effulgent souls of the wrestlers killed in the arena entered the spiritual world of Vaikuṇṭha.

After many wrestlers were thus killed by Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, the others, terrified and intent on staying alive, fled.

Then, calling Śrīdāmā and His other gopa friends, Kṛṣṇa began to fight with them as the saintly people of Mathurā looked on.

As Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, wearing crowns and earrings, played with the gopa boys in the arena, the people of Mathurā gazed at Them and became filled with wonder.

From every mouth, except Kaṁsa's, came the words Victory!" and "Bravo! Bravo!" Then all the dundubhi drums sounded.

Seeing his own men defeated, Kaṁsa will filled with anger. Stopping the tūrya drums, he spoke, his lips trembling.

Kaṁsa said: I order that the two fools that are Vasudeva's sons should at once be thrown out of my city. The wealth of Vraja's people should be plundered. Wicked-hearted Nanda should be bound and imprisoned.

Ugrasena, my foolish father, and foolish Vasudeva should both be beheaded. Wherever they are on this earth, the Vṛṣṇis, who are incarnations of the demigods, should be killed.

Śrī Nārada said: As Kaṁsa was speaking in this wild way, Lord Kṛṣṇa, filled with anger, suddenly jumped into his box.

Seeing that his death had come, Kaṁsa jumped from the box and, wildly rebuking Kṛṣṇa, grabbed a sword and shield.

As Kaṁsa tried to defend himself with sword and shield, Lord Kṛṣṇa suddenly grabbed him with both arms as Garuḍa grabs a poisonous snake in his beak.

Fighting with his sword and shield, Kaṁsa escaped Lord Kṛṣṇa's arms as the snake Puṇḍarīka escaped Garuḍa's beak.

In the box again, the two strong opponents hit each other very hard. They were like two splendid lions fighting on a mountaintop.

When Kaṁsa jumped a hundred hastas into the sky, Lord Kṛṣṇa jumped after him and grabbed him. They both fought like two eagles in the sky.

Then Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the strongest person in the three worlds, with both hands grabbed the ferocious demon Kaṁsa and whirled him around and around.

Angry Kṛṣṇa then threw him into the box at the arena. The box shattered like a tree struck by lightning.

The Kaṁsa, his body hard as thunderbolts and his mind a little agitated by all this, jumped from the box and continued to fight with Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Grabbing him with both hands, throwing him again into the box, and knocking away his crown, Lord Kṛṣṇa straddled Kaṁsa's chest.

Then, grabbing his hair, Lord Kṛṣṇa threw Kaṁsa from the box into the arena as a thunderstorm throws a great boulder from a mountaintop.

The Lord Kṛṣṇa, the eternal, limitless, and unlimitedly powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead, who maintains everyone, jumped on the demon Kaṁsa.

As the two of them fought the earth cracked. O king, for two hours the earth shook.

O king, as everyone looked on, Lord Kṛṣṇa dragged the dead Kaṁsa across the ground as a lion drags a great elephant.

O king, the many kings ran here and there, exclaiming, Alas! Alas!" Then because in the rasa of hatred he had worshiped Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the demigods, Kaṁsa attained a spiritual form resembling the Lord's, as a kiṭaka insect attains the form of it's enemy, the bee.

suhunā kaṅka-śaṅkubhyāṁ krodha-prasphuritādharāḥ khaḍga-carma-dharā yoddhuṁ kṛṣṇopari samāyayuḥ kaṁsam—Kaṁsa; prapatitam—fallen; dṛṣṭvā—seeing; bhrātaraḥ—brothers; aṣṭau—eight; mahā-balāḥ—very strong; sunāma-sṛṣṭi-nyagrodha-tuṣṭimad-rāṣṭrapālakāḥ—Sunāma, Sṛṣṭi, Nyagrodha, Tuṣṭiman, Rāṣṭra-pālaka; suhunā—with Suhu; kaṅka-śaṅkubhyām—with Kaṅka and Śaṅku; krodha-prasphuritādharāḥ—their lips trembling with rage; khaḍga-carma-dharā—holding swords and shields; yoddhum—to fight; kṛṣṇopari—Kṛṣṇa; samāyayuḥ—approached. Seeing that Kaṁsa had fallen, Kaṁsa's eight brothers, Sṛṣṭi, Nyagrodha, Tuṣṭimān, Rāṣṭrapālaka, Suhu, Kaṅka, and Śaṅku, clutching swords and shields, and their lips trembling with rage, rushed Śrī Kṛṣṇa to fight with Him.

suhunā kaṅka-śaṅkubhyāṁ krodha-prasphuritādharāḥ khaḍga-carma-dharā yoddhuṁ kṛṣṇopari samāyayuḥ kaṁsam—Kaṁsa; prapatitam—fallen; dṛṣṭvā—seeing; bhrātaraḥ—brothers; aṣṭau—eight; mahā-balāḥ—very strong; sunāma-sṛṣṭi-nyagrodha-tuṣṭimad-rāṣṭrapālakāḥ—Sunāma, Sṛṣṭi, Nyagrodha, Tuṣṭiman, Rāṣṭra-pālaka; suhunā—with Suhu; kaṅka-śaṅkubhyām—with Kaṅka and Śaṅku; krodha-prasphuritādharāḥ—their lips trembling with rage; khaḍga-carma-dharā—holding swords and shields; yoddhum—to fight; kṛṣṇopari—Kṛṣṇa; samāyayuḥ—approached. Seeing that Kaṁsa had fallen, Kaṁsa's eight brothers, Sṛṣṭi, Nyagrodha, Tuṣṭimān, Rāṣṭrapālaka, Suhu, Kaṅka, and Śaṅku, clutching swords and shields, and their lips trembling with rage, rushed Śrī Kṛṣṇa to fight with Him.

Seeing them coming, Lord Balarāma took up a club and roared like a lion to herd of deer.

The brothers were terrified by that roar. Their weapons suddenly fell, as mangoes fall when hit by a stick.

Now weaponless, the ferocious fighters attacked Lord Balarāma with their fists. They were like many elephants whipping a great mountain with their trunks.

With the club Lord Balarāma killed Sṛṣṭi and Sunāma, with His arms He killed Nygrodha, and with His left hand He killed Kaṅka.

With His left foot Lord Kṛṣṇa killed Śaṅku, Suhu, and Tuṣṭimān, and with His right foot He killed Rāṣṭrapālaka.

The eight brothers quickly fell like tress struck by a great wind. O king of Videha, sparks of light left their corpses and merged in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Suddenly the dundubhi drums of the demigods sounded and the demigods showered flowers from the Nandana gardens.

The Vidyādhara and Gandharva women danced as the Vidyādhara, Gandharva, and Kinnara men sang the glories of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

The sages and perfect beings, headed by Brahmā and all learned in the Vedas, came to see. With eloquent words they offered prayers to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

Kaṁsa's wives, headed by Asti and Prāpti, beat their chests and wailed with grief.

Thw wives said: O lord, O master of battle, O powerful one, where have you gone? You conquered the three worlds. Even the demigods could not defeat you.

You mercilessly killed your sisters sons when they were ten days old. Some were not even ten days old. Some you killed the moment they were born.

That horrible sin has brought you to this.

Śrī Nārada said: After consoling the poor tear-faced queens, the Lord built a sandalwood funeral pyre on the Yamunā's shore.

Then Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the all the worlds, performed the funeral ceremony and recited the funeral mantras.