shishupala & dantavaktra

http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.in/2013/09/shishupala-and-dantavakra-third-re.html

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

SHISHUPALA AND DANTAVAKRA , THIRD RE-INCARNATION OF GATEKEEPERS OF LORD VISHNU JAYA AND VIJAYA - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

MOKSHA FOR JAYA AND VIJAYA ,  RUKMINI WIFE OF 8^TH VISHNU AVATAR LORD KRISHNA , SHALVA ,  RUKMI , VIDHURATHA –  CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

To understand who Jaya and Vijaya are , you must first read my previous post.

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KING RAVANA OF RAMAYANA , HERO OR VILLIAN VADAKAYIL

In the post above Jaya ( Ravana ) stole the wedded wife of Lord Vishnu ( as avatar Rama ).

In this post Lord Vishnu ( avatar Krishna ) will steal Jaya's ( Shishupala's ) would be wife . 

How do you like that !! 

Dantavakra ( Vijaya ) was the brother-in-law of Shishupala ( Jaya ).

Shishupala was the king of Chedi, the son of king Damghosh by his wife Shrutshrava and the sister of Vasudev , Krishna's father.   This made him a cousin of Krishna and Balrama.

In his Vishnu's Krishna avatar the killing of Shishupala and Danthavakra is not the main focus but more to reduce the 'Bhoobhara" (The burden on mother earth ).

The effect of the curse of the 4 kumaras was wearing of and they were being born as progressively less evil and less strong characters.   Both the re-incarnations Jaya and Vijaya , were first cousins of Krishna, born to two sisters of Krishna's father Vasudeva.

Shishupal was born with three eyes and four arms, and brayed like an effin' ass.

His parents wanted to abandon the ugly child, but a celestial voice stopped them . This voice said that their son would become very powerful,  and the man, on whose lap when placed, and the child would lose his superfluous members, would be the one who would ultimately slay him.

Many kings came to see the weirdo child, and Damghosh placed the child on the lap of each, but no change came about in the child.

One day, Krishna and his brother Balrama came to visit their aunt.

The moment Krishna took the child in his arms, the additional limbs and eye disappeared.. The mother was overjoyed but at the same time she remembered warning given by the sage that the person who will be responsible for the Shishupal's normalcy will also be the cause of his death in future.

Krishna's aunt Shrutushravaa was aghast that her nephew would kill her son.  She pleaded with Krishna.  Krishna said that he was powerless against destiny, but would forgive a hundred offences before letting the prophecy take effect.

Pretty soon Shishupal became a powerful king and was a strong ally of Jarasandha.

Pandav prince Yudhistar was made the king of Indraprasta and Prince Dhuryodhana was the crowned prince of Hastinapur.

Dantavakra ( Vijaya ) too was born with protruding and jagged teeth . Dantavakra literally means "crooked teeth".  His mother Pruthudevi , sister of Krishna's father Vasudeva too was aghast at his ugliness but was hopeful that his deformity would be rectified in due course.

Both Shishupal and Dantavakra grew up together.

Shishupal's father Damghosh was the king of Chedi and Dantavakra's father Vriddhasaman was the king of Karusha. Both were under the sovereignty of Jarasandh, emperor of Magadha.

Shishupal and Dantavakra grew up under Jarasandh's tutelage.

Jarasandh's attempt to subjugate all around him had been thwarted by Krishna and hence he hated Krishna. This hatred was naturally shared by Shishupal and Dantavakra

After Bhima killed Jarasandha, Yudhisthira organised a famous rajasooya yajana.  He invited many kings and princes. Shishupal too was invited.

As the yajna began, Shishupal saw Krishna in the crowd. Seeing him there he began hurling abuses at Krishna, Shishupal thought he would get the sympathy of the other guests, who would support him.

The Rajsuya Yajna was nearing its completion. The last rite was to confer honors upon the kings who had participated in the ritual.

Before starting this rite, it was customary to worship the best participant according to the manner prescribed in the religious scriptures. Yudhisthir did not want to choose the best candidate for worship after his own will. So, he decided to consult all the participants present there.

Sahadeva, ruler of Magdha, proposed the name of Krishna , as he was personally obliged to him for his coronation. Most of the kings and the Brahmans seconded the proposal though a number of kings opposed it . The opposing faction consisted of the supporters of Shishupal, who had an old grudge against Krishna because of Rukmini.

Shishupala opposed the worship of Krishna as the best participant using objectionable and disgraceful words for him. He suggested that either Bhishma or Drona should be the candidates for worship.  But these two worthy stalvarts had already supported Krishna's candidature. So, a vehement argument started and Yudhishthir was at a loss what to do.

The mindless brawl over the choice of the rightful candidate for worship was not coming to an end as Shishupal and his supporters were dead against the worship of Krishna.

Shishupala cried, "Have all the kings in this hall lost their senses?  Why have everyone accepted a cowboy to be the guardian deity when there are many great warriors in this hall?  Why should noble Kshatriyas like us devote our prayers to a cowherd who has no noble family, is dark skinned and is a virtueless person"

Krishna stood up and addressed the gathering saying " Listen all.  Shishupala is my cousin— the son of my father's sister.  He has been vehemently opposing me at every step for a long time.  I would have done away with him far earlier but for his mother's request to pardon him.  Now I warn him to come to the right path.  I won't say or do anything till he has used at least one hundred disgraceful terms for me.  But after it, I won't spare him at all."

Unluckily better sense did not prevail on Shishupal and he went on and on , with his vitriolic abuse against Krishna.

Krishna now calmly said " This fellow Shishupala is hell bent upon meeting with his end and I am helpless." 

Krishna wielded his chakra and directed it at Shishupal.  It went revolving to Shishupal and severed his neck from the rest of his body.  Then it returned to Krishna's hand.

Everybody present was frightened even to look at Krishna who had assumed his divine colossal form (Virat Roop).

Everybody stood up and prayed to  Krishna. Soon Krishna assumed his normal form and put on a benign look as before.

Now, Shishupala was a close friend of Rukmi ,  whose sister Rukmini was very beautiful.   Rukmi wanted Shishupala to marry his sister Rukmini.  It was known to all that Rukmini , was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi , and that she wanted to marry Krishna .

This was the root cause of Shishupal's rivalry with Lord Krishna  According to the Mahabharat and the Puranas,  Draupadi was regarded as the most beautiful and virtuous of all women at the time.  It is said that if there was any one woman to match Draupadi, it was Rukmini.

Rukmini's eldest brother Rukmi was a friend of evil King Kansa, who was killed by Krishna. Rukmi was an ambitious prince and he did not want to earn the wrath of Emperor Jarasandha, who did NOT want Krishna to marry princess Rukmini. 

Ruthless king Jarasandha wanted Rukmini  to be married to his friend Shishupala,  the crown prince of Chedi.   Shishupala was also a vassal of Jarasandha and hence an ally of Rukmi.

When Shishupala started abusing Krishna,  Bhima got very angry and wanted to attack and kill Shishupala . 

At that moment Krishna stood up and warned Shishupala " I have promised your mother to forgive only 100 of your wrong deeds.  You have already been forgiven 100 times.  One more abuse from you , and I will slay you."

Yudhishthira performed the funeral rites of Shishupala , and his son Dhrishtaketu was installed on the throne of Chedi.

It was divinely ordained that  Shishupala should die in an imperial court constructed by the demon Maya Danava, who also made Ravana's  ( Jaya in previous birth ) palace .

Bhishmaka, the king of Vidarbha had five sons and a daughter Rukmini.  Bhishmaka, the king of Vidarbha, was a  vassal of mighty King Jarasandha of Magadha

Rukmini was in love with Krishna's having heard so much about him.  Krishna too was attracted by Rukmini's great beauty, and exemplary character.

Her eldest brother Rukmi was adamant that she should marry his friend Shishupala, the king of Chedi. 

Soon she became desperate.  For her father King Bhishmaka was making lavish arrangements for her marriage with Shishupala.  Bhishmaka and Shishupala's father, Damaghosha, individually performed the propitiatory rituals and offered gifts to the brahmanas with reverence.

Finding no other alternative, she decided to send a brahmana Sunanda to Dvaraka with a letter to Krishna.  

She wrote, "O Lord! My marriage with Shishupala has been fixed for tomorrow. I would suggest we get married by the rakshasa mode of marriage, one of the eight methods approved by the Hindu scriptures. According to this, the bride is carried away by force after killing the bride's relations. I also have another idea to avoid killing my family people. Tomorrow morning, as is customary, I will be led in a procession to the temple of Uma. That would be the opportune moment for you to abduct me. So you will have to reach here well in time for the procession. Failing to win your favour, I will fast unto death."

Krishna went into quick action.  He harnessed his best steeds with Daruka as the charioteer. In the company of elder brother Balarama and the brahmana, he covered the long distance overnight. Balarama anticipated a stiff opposition when he heard about Krishna's abduction plan. Therefore he took along his best fighters , to retaliate, if the situation demanded.

In the meanwhile, Rukmini was getting restless as the brahmana she had sent to Krishna had not returned even after dusk. She was apprehensive that her action was impulsive and had earned Krishna's displeasure.

While Rukmini's thoughts were oscillating between uncertainty and hope, the brahmana's arrival in her inner apartments infused life and delight in her.  

When her father Bhishmaka heard of the arrival of Balarama and Krishna, he thought they had come with eagerness to participate in the wedding festivities of Rukmini.  He extended a wonderful welcome to the honourable guests.

The people of Vidarbha were great fans of Krishna. They thought he would be an ideal match for their princess and prayed that God should make the union possible. Rukmini was led to the temple of Ambika, next morning, in a well guarded procession.

Rukmini prayed and broke her fast by having the temple prasadam.  As she came out of the temple, she looked round and spotted Krishna.  Meanwhile several kings who had come skippety skip to win her hand in marriage were looking on .

When she approached Krishna, he came forward , effortlessly lifted her and drove her away in his chariot.  Balarama and others secure their safe passage by fighting those who tried to resist the union.

Shishupala's friends never expecting this, stood aghast at the turn of events.  Jarasandha and many other wannabe husband kings cursed themselves for helplessly looking on while a mere cowherd carried away the coveted prize.  

They said, "Fie upon us to call ourselves warriors. We are unworthy of wielding the bow and arrow."

The enemy army chasing Krishna's chariot, came under severe attack from Balarama and marched a hasty retreat.  

The crest fallen Shishupala was comforted by Jarasandha who quoted his own case as a morale booster.  He said, "I have been defeated by Krishna seventeen times but I am not demoralized. I am still hopeful of a win against that cowherd boy.  You see, Krishna's luck is now at an all time high.  But in the near future, it will surely come down like the rim of a wheel, when we can ensure our victory over him."

TEE HEEE !

Shishupala pretended to be somewhat consoled .

Meanwhile Rukmini's father Bhishmaka  secretly rejoiced with his wife when he knew that their daughter  Rukmini would marry Krishna . 

However when he heard the revenge oath of his son Rukmi , he trembled.  

He ran to his son and pleaded….'Rukmini loves Krishna! She was the one who invited Krishna to come and take her away . Please my dear son , let her be happy!  Let it go !'

Rukmi took it as a personal insult because this match had been opposed by him from the very beginning.  He refused to listen to his parents.

His mind was overpowered by two thoughts, revenge on Krishna and the recovery of his dear sister.  He vowed not to rest in peace till he had successfully executed his resolve. 

Pretty soon he caught up with Krishna and attacked him. But Krishna easily parried his arrows and broke his sword broken to pieces.

When Krishna was about to kill Rukmi, Rukmini fell at his feet and pleaded to spare her brother's life.  Out of respect for her words, he tied him with a cloth.  

He sliced off half his sikha ( kudumi or hair tuft ) . Cutting the whole tuft would be  equivalent to killing him in battle due to the enormous disrespect involved .

Krishna with his sword raised said. 'The only reason I am letting you live is because of my wife Rukmini!…' 

Krishna spared Rukmi's life. But Rukmi had resolved that he would not return to Kundina without killing Krishna.  

So he had to build a new city known as Bhojakata where he began to live. Later on he would die in the hands of Balarama, Krishna's brother in a bizarre incident.

Krishna's son Pradyumna married King Rukmi's daughter and had a son named Aniruddha. 

Aniruddha married Rukmi's grand-daughter.  On the occasion of this marriage, Krishna, Balarama and the other Yadavas arrived at Rukmi's capital Bhojakata.

After the marriage was over, some kings told Rukmi, "Balarama loves to play dice, and he is no good at it.  Why not arrange match of dice in which we can defeat Balarama?"

Rukmi agreed to this proposition and a dice match was arranged in which Rukmi would take on Balarama.  In the first round, Rukmi won four thousand gold pieces off Balarama.  This happened a second time and a third time as well.  At this, the king of Kalinga and Rukmi began to sneer and get sarcastic with Balarama.

Balarama got annoyed andwagered four crores of gold pieces as a bet.  Rukmi threw the dice, but this time Balarama won.

"I have won," cried Balarama in triumph.

" Absolutely not, you haven't", replied Rukmi.  "You did place your bet,  but I did not accept it. So you have not really won."

Words were then heard from heaven which said that it was Balarama who was in the right. For although Rukmi had not verbally accepted the bet,  his throwing of the dice meant that the bet was acceptable to him, to even a idiot onlooker.

Pissed off , Balarama who has a short fuse,  picked up a dice and killed Rukmi with it.

He also caught hold of the constantly sneering king of Kalinga and broke off his sparkling front teeth.

Krishna had married Rukmini according to the rakshasa form of marriage.  Their son Pradyumna was kidnapped by Shambarasura as soon as he was born.  But later on , Pradyumna would kill Shambarasura.

Shalva a small time king, and a close friend of Shishupal, who had an axe to grind with Krishna.

He attacked Dwarka, Krishna's kingdom, but was killed on the battlefield by Krishna.

King Dantvakra ( Vijaya ) was the ruler of Karusha kingdom.  He was the best friend of Shalva who had been slain by Krishna , despite having a vimana  obtained from Shiva through a boon after long penance.

Dantvakra saw the dead body of his friend Shalva, he became mad in rage and his eyes began to emit fire.

Dantavakra decided to avenge Shalva's death.  Proud and overconfident he fought without armour and a chariot , with just a mace.  

Lord Krsna saw him approaching alone in a very gung ho mood.  He immediately got down from his chariot, for it was a rule of military etiquette or dharma that fighting should take place only between equals.  

Krisna dismounted fromhis chariot, took off his armour and waited with his mace.

Like Shishupal before him Dantavakra heaped abuses on Krishna and then punced on him.  

Krishna easily bore the brunt of Dantavakra's attack and ultimately he tore open Dantavakra's ribcage with his mace, known as Kaumodaki.

His heart popped out of his ribcage, Dantavakra with his hair scattered , staggered over a few steps vomiting blood,  and soon fell down lifeless.

Onlookers had noticed that when Shishupala  and Dantavakra fell down dead, a ball of light as of spiritual effulgence came out of their bodies and  merged into the body of Lord Krisna. The prophesy of Jaya and Vijaya had finally been fulfilled. They would be Lord Vishnu's gatekeepers in Vaikunta again.

The place where Dantavakra was killed is today called Datiha .

Now, Dantavakra had a brother named Viduratha who became overwhelmed with grief at the death of Dantavakra.  Out of grief and anger, Viduratha attacked Krishna with a sword and a shield in his hands.  

Krishna employed his mind controlled scalar discus , the Sudarsana chakra,  and without further fuss he cut off the head of Viduratha, with its helmet , earrings et all.