२२ द्वाव िंशदशकः - कृष्णकथा 22 dvaavimshadashakah' -kri'shnakathaa

 २२ द्वाव िंशदशकः - कृष्णकथा

22 dvaavimshadashakah' -kri'shnakathaa

(Krishna’s story is told in this chapter highlighting most of his activities as suffering.

This is narrated in chapter 24 & 25 in the 4th book of Devi Bhagawatha. Krishna lived

in a cow-shed. He stole butter etc, he was made tired by Sun when he went to herd

the cow. He killed Kamsa. Since he was troubled by Jarasandha, he had to vacate his

city and go to Dwaraka. He brought Parijatha flower from heavens to please

Sathyabama. He was given to sage Narada who imprisoned him. He had to fight

with Bana to recover Pradhymna. Due to curse of Gandhari he lost his entire clan,.

And later went back to heaven.)

श्रियः पश्रिर्गोमलमूत्रर्गन्धिन्य

अस्तप्रभो र्गोपकुले श्रिषण्णः ।

कृष्णाश्रभधो ित्सबकाश्रिभीिो

रुिन् सिा िे िी श्रननाय बाल्यम् ॥ २२-१॥

shriyah'patirgomalamootragandhinya

astaprabho gopakule vishannah' .

kri'shnaabhidho vatsabakaadibheeto

rudan sadaa devee ninaaya baalyam .. 22-1..

1.Oh Goddess, that consort of Goddess Lakshmi, spent his childhood in Gokula,

amongst the smell of cow urine and cow dung. Lived fearing the asuras like baka

and vathsa. and lost all his splendour and lived a depressed life, by the name of

Krishna.

In dashakam 21 slokam 5, it was described how Vishnu killed bhrigu’s wife. Because

of which he was cursed by bhrigu. Hence, he had to endure sadness from birth and

face all the worldly difficulties. He died several times and was re-born several times.

In one of these re-births he was born as the son of Devaki and Vasudev. Immediately

after birth Vasudeva took that baby to gokula. The story was mentioned in the

earlier chapter.

Vishnu, who is the consort of Lakshmi and the resident of vaikuntham, reached

gokulam due to the ill effects of his own karma. Everywhere there was a stench of

cow-urine and cow-dung. His childhood was spent fearing putana, baka and vatsan.

All of them came in disguise. Nobody knew when, where, how and which disguise

these mayavis would come. Because of which each day was passed with fear.

Vishnu’s splendour and courage all got destroyed. Like that, depressed, he lived in

gokula. The people named him Krishna.

है यङ्गिीनं मश्रििं पयश्च

र्गोपीश्रििलज्जः सििं ययाचे ।

स चाम्बया र्गोरसचौयिचुञ्चुर्

उलूखले पाशिरे ण बद्धः ॥ २२-२॥

haiyangaveenam mathitam payashcha

gopeervilajjah' satatam yayaache .

sa chaambayaa gorasachauryachunchur

ulookhale paashavarena baddhah' .. 22-2..

2. He(Krishna) would always ask without any shame to the gopi ladies for butter and

thick buttermilk and milk without water; And showed interest in stealing the milk

from the cow, He was tied tightly with a strong rope to the mortar, by his mother.

When Krishna was 2 and 3 years old, he was a very naughty little boy. If He did not

get enough affection from his parents. He would go begging to the gopis- for butter

and milk. Some gave, but many did not give. Then Krishna started to steal butter and

milk. When he showed his smartness in stealing, his mother-yasoda-got angry; she

tied him to a mortar with a strong rope and started to do her daily household

chores. Krishna stood there helpless. Just imagine to what level Lakshmi’s husband

who resides in vaikuntham, had reached.

िनेषु भीमािपशुष्कर्गात्रो

र्गाश्चारयन् कण्टकश्रिद्धपािः ।

िन्याम्बुपायी फलमूलभक्षी

श्रिने श्रिने ग्लाश्रनमिाप कृष्णः ॥ २२-३॥

vaneshu bheemaatapashushkagaatro

gaashchaarayan kant'akaviddhapaadah' .

vanyaambupaayee phalamoolabhakshee

dine dine glaanimavaapa kri'shnah' .. 22-3..

3. Daily, Krishna went into the forest, with a body that had withered due to the harsh

sun, thorns piercing his foot, drinking water from the forest streams, plucking fruits

and roots and eating them, and taking care of the cows. As the days went by he

grew weaker.

At the age of 4-5 years, krishna took up the responsibility of taking care of the cows.

That was the wish of the gopalas. He walked along the forest path, which were full of

stones and thorns, barefoot. He withered due to the sun. he quenched his thirst and

satisfied his hunger with whatever was available in the forest. In this way Krishna got

used to the life of a cowherd. As the days progressed his body got weaker and

weaker. He became mentally weak also.

िै िेन मुक्तः स च र्गोपिास्याि

अक्रूरनीिो मिुरां प्रश्रिष्टः ।

कंसं श्रनहत्याश्रप हिाश्रभलाषः

ित्रोग्रसेनस्य बभूि िासः ॥ २२-४॥

daivena muktah' sa cha gopadaasyaad

akrooraneeto mathuraam pravisht'ah' .

kamsam nihatyaapi hataabhilaash’ah’

tatrograsenasya babhoova daasah' .. 22-4..

4.Due to grace of God , Krishna was freed from serving the gopalas and lead by

Akroora He returned to Mathura, killed Kamsa, but without fulfilling his desires He

became the slave of king Ugrasena.

Akroora is Vasudeva’s brother. One day he came to gokulam. He took krishna with

him to Mathura. Like that krishna was freed from being a servant of the gopas. In

Mathura kamsa had organised various means to kill krishna. Krishna, because of his

luck managed to survive all the attempts. Eventually krishna was able to kill kamsa.

With that all of kamsa’s men either got subdued or ran away. Still krishna’s luck was

not with him. On the death of kamsa, his father, Ugrasena, came forward to claim

the throne. He became the king of Mathura. Krishna became a servant of ugrasena.

This is destiny. To be servant is written in krishna’s destiny. He had just been freed

from servitude to the gopalas-he was not freed from slavery.

दृष्ट्वा जरासिचमूं भयेन

स बिुश्रमत्रो मिुरां श्रिहाय ।

धािन् किश्रिद्बहुिु र्गिमाििः

स द्वारकाद्वीपपुरं श्रििेश ॥ २२-५॥

dri'sht'vaa jaraasandhachamoom bhayena

sa bandhumitro mathuraam vihaaya .

dhaavan kathanchidbahudurgamaartah'

sa dvaarakaadveepapuram vivesha .. 22-5..

5.When he saw the army of Jarasandha, he was scared. He rushed out of Mathura

along with his friends and relatives. Became extremely tired and somehow entered,

Dwaraka an island with very many forts.

Jarasandha was the king of kingdom of Magadha. Kamsa had married both his

daughters. They became widows when krishna killed kamsa. Jarasandha was enraged

with krishna for making his daughters a widow. He wanted to take revenge. He

decided to attack Mathura. Though he lost that battle he once again decided to

attack Mathura. In this way 17 times jarasandha was defeated in battle. In between a

foreigner too attacked with his army. Krishna got scared and ran away in hiding from

Mathura. In the island of dwaraka there was a city. Krishna somehow managed to

reach dwaraka with his friends and relatives. That city had several fortresses. Krishna

was lucky that he could reach these fortresses, so he escaped jarasandha’s attempt

to fight. But, unfortunately krishna did not get any peace of mind.

स रुन्धिणीं जाम्बििीं च भामां

कन्यास्तिा द्व्यष्टसहस्रमन्याः ।

समुद्वहन् सन्धििनमिलापः

क्रीडामृर्गोऽभूत्सििं िधूनाम् ॥ २२-६॥

sa rukmineem jaambavateem cha bhaamaam

kanyaastathaa dvyasht'asahasramanyaah' .

samudvahan sasmitanarmalaapah'

kreed'aamri'go'bhootsatatam vadhoonaam .. 22-6..

6.He then married Rukmani, Jambhavathi, Sathya Bhama,and also sixteen thousand

other young beautiful girls. He would sportingly talk and laugh with them and

became their playing pet.

Here krishna’s married life is described. Rukmini, jaambavati, Satyabhama, kaalindi,

mitravinda, satya, Bhadra & Lakshmana, these 8 were krishna’s main wives. Apart

from these he also married 16,000 young girls. He passed his time by playing and

laughing with all his wives together. This happy moment too did not last very long.

Over time he became their toy.

स िस्युिृश्रिन्धिश्रििाज्जहार

भामाश्रनयुक्तः सुरपाररजािम् ।

सत्या च िं र्गोिृषित्सरोषं

बि् वा िरौ िु ििचसाऽभ्यश्रषिि् ॥ २२-७॥

sa dasyuvri'ttistridivaajjahaara

bhaamaaniyuktah' surapaarijaatam .

satyaa cha tam govri'shavatsarosham

baddhvaa tarau durvachasaa'bhyashinchat .. 22-7..

7.As per the orders of Bhama, he just like a thief, went to the heavens and uprooted

the Parijatha tree, the tree of the devas. Another of his wife Sathya, due to great

anger ,tied him to a tree like a bull and showered him with very bad words.

How Krishna became a plaything, a toy, to his wives is explained here. Because of

Satyabhama’s ignorance and stupidity, one day krishna went to devlok and uprooted

their parijata tree. Indra and other gods tried to stop him. He defeated them in war,

got the tree to dwaraka and planted it in satyabhama’s garden. That day compared

to Indra, krishna was stronger. To satisfy Satyabhama he went to devlok as a thief.

Satya was Krishna’s another wife. She was angry with krishna for some reason. She

tied him to a tree like how one ties a bull to a tree, and insulted with bad words.

िीनारिायाश्रििये िया स

ििोि मुक्तो मुश्रनना च नीिः ।

ििस्तयाऽिै कनकं प्रिाय

पुनर्गृिहीििपयाऽऽप मौनम् ॥ २२-८॥

shreenaaradaayaatithaye tayaa sa

dattotha mukto muninaa cha neetah' .

tatastayaa'smai kanakam pradaaya

punargri'heetastrapayaa''pa maunam .. 22-8..

8. She gave Krishna to Narada, when Narada came as a guest. And krishna thus got

free from all bondage. Narada muni took krishna with him also. Later she only, gave

gold coins to the muni, accepted krishna back. Filled with shame, krishna did not say

anything.

The story of how satya tied krishna to the tree was mentioned earlier. At that time sri

narada came there as a guest. Satya gave krishna to narada. The muni untied krishna

from his bondage and took him away. When her anger had reduced and she had

became calm and when her mind cleared up, satya, went behind narada and told

him to give back her husband. Sri Narada could not be convinced. Finally she put a

price tag on krishna and gave narada gold. Like this she again made krishna her

own.

The consent of the bull is not taken when it is tied to a tree, when it is sold and when

it is bought. Krishna was in the same situation as a bull. Remembering that it is his

fate he was ashamed. He bore everything without saying anything.

सूिीर्गृहाद्भीष्मकजासुिे स

प्रि् युम्ननाम्नीश्वरर शम्बरे ण ।

हृिे श्रशशौ श्रनमिश्रििाश्रभमान

उच्चै रुिं स्त्ां शरणं प्रपन्नः ॥ २२-९॥

sooteegri'haadbheeshmakajaasute sa

pradyumnanaamneeshvari shambarena .

hri'te shishau nirmathitaabhimaana

uchchai rudamstvaam sharanam prapannah' .. 22-9..

9.Oh Goddess , when Sambara stole away Pradhyumna , the son of Rukmani, from

the delivery room, with a broken pride He cried loudly, and He surrendered unto

you.

Rukmini, the daughter of bhishmaka, who was the king of kundina, was krishna’s first

wife. Pradyumna was the eldest son born to rukimini. This infant was kidnapped

from the delivery room by an asura named shambara. Nobody knew where the baby

was. The might with which krishna defeated indra was destroyed. His pride was

shattered. More than the grief of having lost a son is the grief caused by the

shattering of pride. He cried uncontrollably, he took refuge at the feet of devi. Due

to the blessings of devi, though after many years, he got back his son. Nowhere has

it happened where an infant is kidnapped from the delivery room without the

knowledge of the mother. This rare kind of grief also krishna had to experience.

पुत्राश्रििनीं जाम्बििीमपुत्रां

स िोषश्रयष्यन्नुपमन्युश्रशष्यः ।

मुण्डी च िण्डी च श्रशिस्य शैले

मन्त्रं जपन् घोरिपश्चकार ॥ २२-१०॥

putraarthineem jaambavateemaputraam

sa toshayishyannupamanyushishyah' .

mund'ee cha dand'ee cha shivasya shaile

mantram japan ghoratapashchakaara .. 22-10..

10.For making Jambhavathi happy, who did not have children, And who wanted to

have, Krishna went to Shiva’s abode, and became disciple of sage Upamanyu

and he did severe penanace, after shaving off his head, holding a staff and chanting

the Manthras.

One of Krishna’s wife-jambavan’s daughter, Jambavati-was childless for a very long

time. Looking at the sons of Rukmini, a desire to have children arose in her. She

instructed (Krishna) that in order to have a dutiful son one should pray to lord Shiva.

Krishna went to mount kailash. There he got initiated by Upmanyu, a devotee of

shiva. Shaved off the hair on his head and hold a yogi’s staff in his hand started to

chant manthras. He performed the penance on one leg. As each month went by, his

penance became more and more severe. On the 6th month shiva appeared before

him.

िरे ण भर्गिस्य िशात्मजान् सा

प्रासूि सिाि िश्रयिाश्च शौरे ः ।

ििैि लब्ध्वा स सुिायुिाश्रन

सुखं न लेभे श्रनजकमििोषाि् ॥ २२-११॥

varena bhargasya dashaatmajaan saa

praasoota sarvaa dayitaashcha shaureh' .

tathaiva labdhvaa sa sutaayutaani

sukham na lebhe nijakarmadoshaat .. 22-11..

11.Due to power of the boon from Lord Shiva, She(Jambavati) begot ten sons. And

thus all the wives of Krishna begot several such ten thousand sons. But in spite of

that due to his Karma ,Krishna did not get any happiness.

On seeing Shiva, krishna told him all about his difficulties and problems he was

facing. The compassionate shiva blessed him. He also predicted krishna’s future.

Because of Shiva’s blessings, Jambavati gave birth to 10 sons. All of krishna’s wife

also gave birth to similar sons. Like that krishna became a father to more than

16,000 sons-unfortunately he was still unhappy. Reason being his own fate.

Remember devaki’s son krishna is none other than Vishnu, the husband of Lakshmi.

It was already mentioned earlier, how krishna killed bhrigu muni’s wife and there-

after being a victim of a curse by bhrigumuni and other stories. Checkout 21st

dashakam 5th shloka.

शापादृषीणां धृिराष्टरपत्न्या

श्चान्योन्यिैरेण कृिाहिेषु ।

सिे हिा हन्त कुलं यिू नां

महत्प्रिग्धं िनमश्रिनेि ॥ २२-१२॥

shaapaadri'sheenaam dhri'taraasht'rapatnyaa

shchaanyonyavairena kri'taahaveshu .

sarve hataa hanta kulam yadoonaam

mahatpradagdham vanamagnineva .. 22-12..

12. Due to the curse of the wife of Dritharashtra(Gandhari) as well as various rishis,

and in the war due to mutual enmity between them all of them died. And the great

Yadhu clan was destroyed, like how a forest is destroyed after a forest fire.

Krishna had more than 16,000 sons. In there ignorance, due to pride, they insulted

many rishis. One can see this story in Srimad Bhagvatham canto 11, chapter 1.

A yadava named samban, dressed up like a very pregnant lady. The others with all

humility asked the rishis-“she is pregnant and ready to deliver any time. What child

will be born to her?” the rishis so answered-“ she will give birth to a child who will be

in the form of an iron rod, with the help of which your entire family will be

destroyed.”

The story of how dhritrashtra’s wife Gandhari cursed krishna can be found in

Mahabharata, in streeparva, 25th chapter. After the end of the Mahabharata war,

Gandhari saw the Kurukshetra war field scattered with dead bodies. She got very

angry due to the sadness that evolved in her. She told srikrishna-“you could have

stopped this massacare. But you did not make an attempt to stop it. From today, on

the 36th year, your sons, grandsons and relatives will fight like this amongst

themselves and be destroyed. You will also die. Your wives, just like how the bharata

ladies, will fall.

As time passed, the curses given by the maharshis and Gandhari came true. The

yadavas fought amongst themselves and were destroyed-it was like how an entire

bamboo forest gets destroyed by fire.

SB 11.1,1

many great sages, headed by Nārada and Viśvāmitra, assembled at the holy

place named Piṇḍāraka, near the city of Dvārakā. The young boys of the Yadu

family, absorbed in a playful mood, also arrived there. These boys dressed

Sāmba in the guise of a pregnant woman about to give birth and inquired from

the sages about the fruitfulness of Sāmba’s so-called pregnancy. The sages

cursed the mocking boys by saying, “She will give birth to a club that will destroy

your family.” The Yadus, frightened by this curse, immediately lifted the garment

from Sāmba’s abdomen and found a club. Hurrying to the assembly of Ugrasena,

the King of the Yadus, they offered a report of everything that had taken place.

Fearing the brāhmaṇas’ curse, Yadurāja Ugrasena ordered the club ground to

powder and thrown into the ocean. Within the ocean, a fish swallowed the last

remaining lump of iron, and the waves carried all the bits of ground powder to the

shore, where they were implanted and eventually grew into a grove of canes.

Fishermen caught the fish, and a hunter named Jarā used the iron lump found in

its belly to fashion an arrow. Although the Supersoul, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, understood

what was happening, He did not wish to do anything to counteract it. Rather, in

the form of time He sanctioned these events.

Mahabharata stree parva chap 25

Gandhari, deprived of her senses by grief, fell down on the earth! Casting off her fortitude, she

suffered her senses to be stupefied by grief. Filled with wrath and with sorrow at the death of

her sons, Gandhari, with agitated heart, ascribed every fault to Keshava.

"Gandhari said, ‘The Pandavas and the Dhartarashtras, O Krishna, have both been burnt.

Whilst they were thus being exterminated, O Janardana, why wert thou indifferent to them?

Thou wert competent to prevent the slaughter, for thou hast a large number of followers and a

vast force. Thou hadst eloquence, and thou hadst the power (for bringing about peace). Since

deliberately, O slayer of Madhu, thou wert indifferent to this universal carnage, therefore, O

mighty-armed one, thou shouldst reap the fruit of this act. By the little merit I have acquired

through waiting dutifully on my husband, by that merit so difficult to attain, I shall curse thee, O

wielder of the discus and the mace! Since thou wert indifferent to the Kurus and the Pandavas

whilst they slew each other, therefore, O Govinda, thou shalt be the slayer of thy own kinsmen!

In the thirty-sixth year from this, O slayer of Madhu, thou shalt, after causing the slaughter of

thy kinsmen and friends and sons, perish by disgusting means in the wilderness. The ladies of

thy race, deprived of sons, kinsmen, and friends, shall weep and cry even as these ladies of the

Bharata race!’"

Vaishampayana continued, "Hearing these words, the high-souled Vasudeva, addressing the

venerable Gandhari, said unto her these words, with a faint smile, ‘There is none in the world,

save myself, that is capable of exterminating the Vrishnis. I know this well. I am endeavouring

to bring it about. In uttering this curse, O thou of excellent vows, thou hast aided me in the

accomplishment of that task. The Vrishnis are incapable of being slain by others, be they human

beings or gods or Danavas. The Yadavas, therefore shall fall by one another’s hand.’ After he of

Dasharha’s race had said these words, the Pandavas became stupefied. Filled with anxiety all

of them became hopeless of life!’"

व्याधेषुश्रिद्धो मृश्रिमाप कृष्णः

कुशस्थली चान्धिजलाप्लुिाऽभूि् ।

हा जश्रिरे िस्युश्रभरे नसाऽष्टािक्रस्य

शापेन यिु न्धियश्च ॥ २२-१३॥

vyaadheshuviddho mri'timaapa kri'shnah'

kushasthalee chaabdhijalaaplutaa'bhoot .

haa jahrire dasyubhirenasaa'sht'aavakrasya

shaapena yadustriyashcha .. 22-13..

13.Lord Krishna died due to arrow of a hunter and his town of Kushasthali was

drowned in the ocean. The females of the Yadhu clan due to sins committed,

and the curse of sage Ashta Vakra were alas, kidnapped by dacoits.

On seeing Krishna’s foot, and thinking it to be an animal, a hunter shot an arrow at

it. That pierced Krishna’s foot. With that the foot shattered. And that was the end of

Krishna’s life. Krishna’s capital also got drowned in the ocean. The wives were

kidnapped by murderers.

The 16,000 plus wives of Krishna were actually apsara ladies. They had wished that

they should get Vishnu as their husband. By accident, they saw ashtavakra, who was

doing penance, dipped in water upto his neck. They worshipped him and told him

their wish. The rishi blessed them and said, “You will get Vishnu as your Husband”.

Then he got up from the water bed. They (the apsara ladies) saw his crooked and

deformed body. They laughed. He realised, that seeing his crooked and deformed

body, the apsara ladies were making fun of him. He cursed them and said,” you all

will become the wives of Vishnu. At the end you all will be kidnapped by murderes”.

 These apsaras became Krishna’s wives. When Krishna’s life ended, they were

kidnapped by murderers. This story of ashtavakra’s curse is explained in

agnipuranam and harivamsam.

एिं हररः कमिफलान्यभुङ्क्क्त

न कोऽश्रप मुच्येि च कमि बिाि् ।

िु ः खं त्वभक्तस्य सुिुस्सहं स्याि्

भक्तस्य िे ित्सुसहं भिेच्च ॥ २२-१४॥

evam harih' karmaphalaanyabhunkta

na ko'pi muchyeta cha karmabandhaat .

duh'kham tvabhaktasya sudussaham syaad

bhaktasya te tatsusaham bhavechcha .. 22-14..

14.Thus Vishnu suffered due to results of karma. No one can ever escape from

bondage of Karma. And for a non devotee the sorrow will be unbearable. But your

devotees can easily face it.

It was bhrigu’s curse that made Vishnu to be a normal human being. His life as

Krishna, made him experience the various difficulties like, slavery, control by ladies,

and destruction of his sons. The result of killing bhrigu’s wife- the sin of killing a

lady- was completely experienced. Nobody can ever escape secretly from the results

of one’s karma. Vishnu, who is one of the trimurthis, too could not escape, then what

about us. But Vishnu is a staunch Devi devotee. Because of which he could face the

difficulties with pride. Non-devotees will crumble at the pressure of these difficulties.

All our troubles can be faced by being a devotee of devi. Hence everyone should

always pray to devi.

जानास्यहं िे पियोरभक्तो

भक्तो नु श्रकं िेश्रि न चैि जाने ।

त्वं सििशक्ता कुरु मां सुशक्तं

सिित्र भूयोऽश्रप श्रशिे नमस्ते ॥ २२-१५॥

jaanaasyaham te padayorabhakto

bhakto nu kim veti na chaiva jaane .

tvam sarvashaktaa kuru maam sushaktam

sarvatra bhooyo'pi shive namaste .. 22-15..

15.It is only known to you whether I am your devotee or I am a non-devotee. I am

unable to know, definite, you who are all powerful in everything, make me strong.

Oh Consort of Shiva( o! mangalakaarini), Salutations to you again and again.

The poet concludes the chapter. It was mentioned earlier that a devotee can face

any difficulties whereas a non devotee shatters. The person who has written this

shloka, is he a non devotee or a devotee?-the poet does not know that. Only the

devi knows. The poet prays that if he is a non devotee then may bhakti come his way

and make him strong. For that the poet prays and requests the ever-powerful devi.

                       Thus ends the 22nd chapter

Unarguably, one of the most important curses in the Hindu Puranas was that given by

Bhrigu to Lord Vishnu. Here is the story of Bhrigu cursing Lord Vishnu and how it changed

the course of ancient Hindu history.

Matsya Purana states the story of the war between Devatas (Demi-Gods) and Asuras

(Demons). The story mainly consists of Maharishi Bhrigu and Kavyamata, who were the

parents of Shukracharya. Shukracharya was the great sage Guru of Asuras and gained the

mantra of invincibility, ‘Mrita Sanjivani.’ Lord Indra was the leader of Devas and elected

Brihaspati as the head priest of Devas.

Although Guru Shukracharya is more capable, it was Indra’s favoritism towards Guru

Brihaspati, that he chooses Brihaspati as the chief priest. Therefore, Sukracharya started

favoring the Asuras more as it was a way to take revenge for his partiality.

During that time, it was tough for the demons to defeat the demigods in battles. Having

lost several times, the Guru of Asuras, Shukracharya, decided to approach Lord Shiva for

help to defeat Devatas. He also requested Lord Shiva for Mrita Sanjivani, using which Shiva

could bring back the dead. Therefore, Sukracharya started to meditate and pray to Lord

Shiva to grant him Mrita-Sanjeevani Stotram, a mantra that would make the Asuras

invincible.

Furthermore, Shukracharya’s triumph, that is, if he was granted the mantra of invincibility,

would have made it difficult for Devas to defeat the Asuras. Meanwhile, Sukracharya asked

the Asuras to take refuge at his father’s ashram, who was Maharishi Bhrigu. The Devtas and

Indra used this opportunity to attack unarmed Asuras. In the absence of the sage, the

Asuras fled to Bhrigu’s wife, who was Kavyamata, for shelter. Kavyamata used her Yogic

powers to immobilize Indra and protect the asuras.

Unnerved by the immobilization of Indra, the Devas decided to take refuge at the feet of

Lord Vishnu. Therefore, Vishnu decided to enter the body of Indra and save the Devas.

Thus, Kavyamata was enraged by this and warned to burn them down to ashes if they did

not retreat. However, Indra instigated to annihilate Bhrigu’s wife, and as a consequence,

Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra. Hence, Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshana Chakra to

save Indra and the Devtas, which served her head.

Sage Bhrigu was devastated hearing what had happened. Bhrigu seeing his wife’s

condition, got furious because Lord Vishnu broke his Dharma by killing a woman.

Therefore, Maharishi Bhrigu cursed Lord Vishnu to be born on Earth many times and suffer

the pain of birth and death all those several times. Due to this legendary curse, Vishnu had

to take countless avatars on Earth and endure all the worldly pain as a price. Although

Bhrigu later revived his wife by sprinkling holy water from his Kamandalu, he was so deeply

infuriated and full of vengeance, he decided not to spare Lord Vishnu.

The curse of Bhrigu that Lord Vishnu endured has a huge significance today. Bhrigu’s curse

demanded Lord Vishnu be born on Earth in several avatars. The avatars included some of

the greatest Gods to ever walk on Earth as humans, such as Lord Rama and Lord Krishna.

Without Rama, there would have been no Ramayana, and without Lord Krishna, there

would have been no Mahabharata and hence, no Bhagavad Gita. Along with them, even

the other Avatars of Vishnu, such as Narshima, Parasurama, and arguably Balaram

or Buddha, and all the other avatars who have had undeniable contributions to

shaping the entire history of our civilization and scriptures.

The curse also made Lord Vishnu feel human emotions such as love, hatred,

betrayal, and the pain of separation.