This is a very popular question. Everyone gives different answers to this, some say that Shri Krishna died after being hit by Pardhi’s arrow (the most common answer), some say that Shri Krishna never died.
So what actually happened? Why did the mighty Arjuna return from Dwarka in a bad and unconscious state? There are many such questions. So let us know about Shri Krishna’s leela of his journey to Vaikuntha.
So first of all let us know a little about Shri Krishna.
Who was Shri Krishna really?
I want to answer this in a few words. Because everyone knows that Shri Krishna was personally Niranjan, the best man, the Supreme God himself.
In Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna himself tells about himself that there is nothing which is not him. He is present in every particle. It would be foolish to consider Shri Krishna as an ordinary human being.
So let us now lift the curtain and know how Shri Krishna went to Vaikuntha.
How did Shri Krishna die?
(Information: We are giving this answer from the 4th chapter of Mausal Parva of Volume 6 of Mahabharata presented by Geeta Press Gorakhpur.)
A few years after the Mahabharata war, when it was the time of Lord’s departure to Vaikuntha, the situation was something like this:
All the residents of Dwarka and the descendants of Shri Krishna (Yadu) were fighting inside and killing each other. It was a very terrible environment.
Read the entire Mausalparva here. (Dwarika city and massacre of Yadavas)
After the carnage, Krishna and his two companions (Babhru and Daruk) started towards the direction in which Balramji had gone.
Daruk, Babhru and Lord Krishna all three left from there after seeing the footprints of Balramji. After some time, he saw the eternal Supreme Lord Balramji sitting under a tree, who was sitting in solitude and meditating.
Reaching that great man, Shri Krishna immediately ordered Daruk to go to Hastinapur, the capital of Kurudesh, and tell Arjun the whole news of this great massacre of Yadavs.
(After getting the news of the death of Yaduvanshi due to the curse of Brahmins, Arjun should immediately go to Dwarka.) On this order of Shri Krishna, Daruk boarded the chariot and immediately went to Kurudesh. He too was becoming unconscious due to this great grief.
After Daruka left, Lord Krishna said to Babhru standing near him: You go to Dwarka quickly to protect the women. Lest the robbers kill them out of greed for money.
After receiving the permission of Shri Krishna, Babhru left from there. Not only were they intoxicated by alcohol, they were also deeply saddened by the killing of their brothers. While he was still resting near Shri Krishna, a great pestle born due to the curse of the Brahmins, attached to the arrow of a hunter, suddenly fell on him.
He immediately took his life. Seeing Babhru killed, the furious Shri Krishna said to his elder brother: Brother Balram! You stay here and wait for me. Until I hand over the women to the protection of my family members.
Saying this, Shri Krishna went to Dwarkapuri and there said to his father Vasudevji: ‘Father! You protect all the women of our clan while waiting for Arjun’s arrival. At this time Balramji is sitting inside the forest waiting for me.
Image Credit: Mahabharat from Gita Press
I will go there today itself and meet him. At this time I have seen the destruction of the Yaduvanshis and in earlier times I have also seen the destruction of the best kings of Kurukula. Now I am unable to even see this Puri without those Yadav heroes.
Then Shri Krishna leaves from there.
There, Shri Krishna saw Balramji sitting in the solitude of the forest and saw a huge white snake coming out of his mouth. That noble snake was going towards the ocean.
Image Credit: Mahabharat from Gita Press
He appeared in this form after leaving his previous body. He had thousands of heads. His huge body seemed like an extension of a mountain. The glow on his face was red. The ocean itself appeared and welcomed that snake – Lord Anant in person. The divine serpents and holy rivers also welcomed him.
All the above mentioned people came forward and welcomed him, welcomed him and performed his puja with offerings like Arghya, food etc. After reaching the supreme abode of brother Balram, the clairvoyant Lord Shri Krishna, who knows all the motions, started wandering in that deserted forest while thinking about something. Then that God of supreme glory sat on the earth. First of all, he remembered all the things that Goddess Gandhari had said in the past.
Thereafter, in order to protect the three worlds and fulfill the promise of Durvasa, he considered it to be the right time to reach his supreme abode and for this purpose, he restrained all his senses.
Lord Shri Krishna is the philosopher of all meanings and an indestructible god. Still, at that time he wished to get some instrument to complete the worldly activities like salvation from the body. Then, by controlling his mind, speech and senses, he took refuge in Mahayoga (Samadhi) and lay down on the earth.
At the same time, a fierce hunter named Jarana came to that place with the desire to kill the deer. At that time Shri Krishna was sleeping in yoga. That hunter, who was addicted to deer, considered Shri Krishna to be a deer and with great haste he shot an arrow and wounded him in the sole of his foot (today’s Bhalka Tirtha, near Somnath Jyotirlinga, Prabhas area, Gujarat). Then when he came closer to catch the deer, his eyes fell on Lord Krishna, a four-armed, yellow-armed man in Yoga.
Now I felt very scared in my mind considering myself a criminal. He caught hold of both the feet of Lord Krishna. Then Mahatma Shri Krishna assured him and after spreading his radiance across the earth and sky, he went to the upper world (his supreme abode).
On reaching the space, the main Gandharvas including Indra, Ashwini Kumar, Rudra, Aditya, Vasu, Vishvedev, Muni, Siddha, Apsaras came forward and welcomed the Lord.
ततो राजन् भगवानुग्रतेजा
नारायणः प्रभवश्चाव्ययश्च ।
योगाचार्यो रोदसी व्याप्य लक्ष्म्या
स्थानं प्राप स्वं महात्माप्रमेयम् ||
Rajan! After that, the reason for the origin of the world, the fierce, radiant, indestructible, Yogacharya Mahatma Lord Narayana, enlightening the earth and the sky with his radiance, reached his eternal abode.
Conclusion
In this way, Lord Dwarkadhish, after establishing religion on earth, concluded his divine leela and returned to his eternal Vaikuntha abode.
If you liked this small effort of ours, then do read about our other articles like seven songs of Bhagwat, Vishnu Sahasranamam, truths related to Krishna, Vrindavan , Shri Krishna Govind Hare Murari Bhajan with pdf. Also feel spiritual imagery by visiting our Radha Krishna images page, where each photo is a window to Vrindavan’s soulful harmony.
Support Vrindavanrasamrit.in now. How ? Share this article with as many people as possible.
