Nilanjana recounts a tale from the Bhagavatam. Devaki and Vasudeva began telling them of the many relatives that they have had. Balarama and Krishna were eagerly listening to those stories. Of all that they heard the tale of Kunti, and her sons interested them the most. An exclusive for Different Truths.  

Parikshit said, “So Krishna was finally with his parents now?”

Sukha said, “Yes, that was long due, wasn’t it? So now, Devaki and Vasudeva began telling them of the many relatives that they have had. Balarama and Krishna were eagerly listening to those stories. Of all that they heard the tale of Kunti, and her sons interested them the most. Vasudeva narrated that Kunti was married to Pandu, and when he died, his elder brother Dritharashtra became the king. The king, who happened to be blind, was not in favour of his nephews. His son, Duryodhana, was jealous of them and often treated them badly. Vasudeva asked his son to help them, the way he had helped the Yadavas and rescued them from the tyranny of Kamsa.

Balarama and Krishna went to Akrura and requested him to visit Hastinapur as a regular visitor. He would then be able to gauge the exact state of affairs. He could then inform Krishna and they can decide the next course of action.

Akrura visited Hastinapur. It was a beautiful city with a rich heritage. He admired the beauty of the city and finally reached the palace. Bhisma, the grand old man of the family who has sworn to be a celibate to facilitate his father’s wedding with a woman of his choice, welcomed him with all required cordialities. Akrura finally visited Kunti; she found a confidant from her brother’s palace expressed her anguish at the way she and her sons were treated and broke down. Akrura assured her that Krishna was born only to punish wrong doers and requested her to be a little patient as all would be settled soon.

Before leaving for Mathura, Akrura decided to visit the king and give him a piece of advice. The king was known to be blind in his affection for his son. He shared a bit of cosmic knowledge – that everything that we see is maya (illusion). Even our own body drops after a certain point of time. Hence parents, spouse, siblings, children are only a cosmic play. The soul is born to complete a set of karmas and instead if it gets entangled in illusion, it ends up creating more karma instead of erasing the old ones. Hence, he requested the king to have an objective point of view towards everybody and everything.

Dhritarashtra said that he was impressed by the knowledge that Akrura had showered on him. He profusely thanked Akrura for his wisdom, without indicating whether he would like to implement them in his life. He also informed Akrura that he has been told that Krishna, Vasudeva’s son has been born to destroy evil and restore righteousness on earth. He expressed his desire to meet Krishna as soon as possible.

Akrura wondered about the ambiguous reply of the king as he went back to Mathura, to the palace of Krishna…”  

(To be continued)

 Footnote: Srimad Bhagavatam is often called the Bhagavad Purana. Authored by Ved Vyasa, the stories are about the various avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu, also known as Narayana. These stories are narrated by Ved Vyasa’s son Sukhadeva to King Parikshit.

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Nilanjana Dey

A story-teller at heart, Nilanjana Dey is on a journey to experiment with fiction and poetry. Her first novel, largely aimed towards children, is titled ‘The Adventures of Puti – The Cheese Trail’. Her poems have been published at various prestigious portals. An alumni of English Literature from Jadavpur University (Kolkata), she is a marketing and communication professional based in Mumbai. She volunteers with a Mumbai based NGO working with the marginalised sections of the society.

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