Krsna's Death

[smaranam]

Namaste Divine Kala

As others here have already stated, (thank you GaneshPrasadJi), we do not say "birth" and "death" but appearance and disappearance when it comes to the Supreme Lord and His avatArs (incarnations). Though you did it innocently, i was slightly shaken by that title. Could you please change it ? Thanks.

To understand this topic properly, i urge you to read the following in Shrimad BhAgvatam:

1. Facts around Lord's dissappearance - (Please Read SB 11.30.26 to SB 11.31.14)
2. Disappearance Continued and Reactions from DevatAs, family and associates SB 11.31
3. How the Lord's disappearance brought instant symptoms of Kali Yug:
SB 1.14
4. Reaction of Arjun and Yudhishthir - PAndavas retire : READ SB 1.15.1 to 1.15.36


SB 11.30.26: Lord Balarāma then sat down on the shore of the ocean and fixed Himself in meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Merging Himself within Himself, He gave up this mortal world.

SB 11.30.27: Lord Kṛṣṇa, the son of Devakī, having seen the departure of Lord Rāma, sat down silently on the ground under a nearby pippala tree.

SB 11.30.28-32: The Lord was exhibiting His brilliantly effulgent four-armed form, the radiance of which, just like a smokeless fire, dissipated the darkness in all directions. His complexion was the color of a dark blue cloud and His effulgence the color of molten gold, and His all-auspicious form bore the mark of Śrīvatsa. A beautiful smile graced His lotus face, locks of dark blue hair adorned His head, His lotus eyes were very attractive, and His shark-shaped earrings glittered. He wore a pair of silken garments, an ornamental belt, the sacred thread, bracelets and arm ornaments, along with a helmet, the Kaustubha jewel, necklaces, anklets and other royal emblems. Encircling His body were flower garlands and His personal weapons in their embodied forms. As He sat He held His left foot, with its lotus-red sole, upon His right thigh.

SB 11.30.33: Just then a hunter named Jarā, who had approached the place, mistook the Lord's foot for a deer's face. Thinking he had found his prey, Jarā pierced the foot with his arrow, which he had fashioned from the remaining iron fragment of Sāmba's club.

SB 11.30.34: Then, seeing that four-armed personality, the hunter became terrified of the offense he had committed, and he fell down, placing his head upon the feet of the enemy of the demons.

SB 11.30.35: Jarā said: O Lord Madhusūdana, I am a most sinful person. I have committed this act out of ignorance. O purest Lord, O Uttamaḥśloka, please forgive this sinner.

SB 11.30.36: O Lord Viṣṇu, the learned say that for any man, constant remembrance of You will destroy the darkness of ignorance. O master, I have wronged You!

SB 11.30.37: Therefore, O Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, please kill this sinful hunter of animals immediately so he may not again commit such offenses against saintly persons.

SB 11.30.38: Neither Brahmā nor his sons, headed by Rudra, nor any of the great sages who are masters of the Vedic mantras can understand the function of Your mystic power. Because Your illusory potency has covered their sight, they remain ignorant of how Your mystic power works. Therefore, what can I, such a low-born person, possibly say?

SB 11.30.39: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Jarā, do not fear. Please get up. What has been done is actually My own desire. With My permission, go now to the abode of the pious, the spiritual world.

SB 11.30.40: So instructed by the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, who assumes His transcendental body by His own will, the hunter circumambulated the Lord three times and bowed down to Him. Then the hunter departed in an airplane that had appeared just to carry him to the spiritual sky.

...
SB 11.31.6: Without employing the mystic āgneyī meditation to burn up His transcendental body, which is the all-attractive resting place of all the worlds and the object of all contemplation and meditation, Lord Kṛṣṇa entered into His own abode.

SB 11.31.7: As soon as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa left the earth, Truth, Religion, Faithfulness, Glory and Beauty immediately followed Him. Kettledrums resounded in the heavens and flowers showered from the sky.

SB 11.31.11: My dear King, you should understand that the Supreme Lord's appearance and disappearance, which resemble those of embodied conditioned souls, are actually a show enacted by His illusory energy, just like the performance of an actor. After creating this universe He enters into it, plays within it for some time, and at last winds it up. Then the Lord remains situated in His own transcendental glory, having ceased from the functions of cosmic manifestation.


praNAm

|| Om Namo Bhagavate VAsudevAya ||

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast�

Krishna doesn't die as an ordinairy person

Kṛṣṇa-ji informs us in the chapter 2, 12th śloka of the bhāgavad gītā:
there never was a time when I was not, nor you, nor these rulers
of men. Nor will there ever be a time when all of us shall cease to be.

Where then can be His death let alone birth? Perhaps His body has returned to the tattva's ( elements) at most, and like all of us that comes and goes.


praṇām

[Sahasranama]

Perhaps His body has returned to the tattva's ( elements) at most, and like all of us that comes and goes.

I don't know yajvan, maybe smaranam can tell us more about the trancedental nature of the body of Krishna.

[grames]

There is a nice verse in BG...

ajo 'pi sann avyayatma
bhutanam isvaro 'pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
sambhavamy atma-mayaya BG 4.6

and then in 4.9

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna

and in SB 1.8.33

apare vasudevasya
devakyāḿ yācito 'bhyagāt
ajas tvam asya kṣemāya
vadhāya ca sura-dviṣām

and SB 10.3.9-10 details His form when He appeared...

tam adbhutaḿ bālakam ambujekṣaṇaḿ
catur-bhujaḿ śańkha-gadādy-udāyudham
śrīvatsa-lakṣmaḿ gala-śobhi-kaustubhaḿ
pītāmbaraḿ sāndra-payoda-saubhagam


mahārha-vaidūrya-kirīṭa-kuṇḍala-
tviṣā pariṣvakta-sahasra-kuntalam
uddāma-kā�cy-ańgada-kańkaṇādibhir
virocamānaḿ vasudeva aikṣata

So, it is crystal clear that, His body is not material at all same time His body, birth etc. are not very simple to understand. But, it is not wise to assume His birth, body etc. as material and it should be understood as Transcendental and eternal which is never subjected to any change or jurisdiction as He is the master of all such forces.

Hare Krshna!

[smaranam]

Namaste

Gramesji, you were much needed on this thread, and was hoping you would put out the cream. I would add to that BG 9.11

Also, entire chapters 2 and 3 of SB Canto 10 - Transfer of the Supreme Lord first from Vasudev's enlightened heart to Devaki's enlightened heart, which had nothing to do with the physical koshas, and then Appearance of KRshNa.

Also would like to point out, regarding BhagavAn's disappearance,

SB 11.31.6, 7, 11, 13 - which have been included in post 11 above, are very important verses that show the astonishing mystic ways of BhagavAn Shri KRshNa - i.e. entering His abode with His selfsame transcendental form as is - it astonished the DevtAs as well. Lord BalarAm (SankarshaN) who is Ananta Shesha, left His body behind for Revati, parents and others, but KRshNa did not. DAruk, KRshNa's horseman/charioteer saw everything.

SB 11.31.13 explains why He did not want to leave His transcendental "body" behind - to make sure that yogis focus on Him as the paramAtmA rather than an external body.

SB 11.31.6 is most beautiful - He did not burn His transcendental form like some yogis do:

SB11.31.6 lokābhirāmāḿ sva-tanuḿ
dhāraṇā-dhyāna-mańgalam
yoga-dhāraṇayāgneyyādagdhvā dhāmāviśat svakam
TRANSLATION
Without employing the mystic āgneyī meditation to burn up His transcendental body, which is the all-attractive resting place of all the worlds and the object of all contemplation and meditation, Lord Kṛṣṇa entered into His own abode.

PURPORT by A. C. BhakivedAnta Swami PrabhupAd
A yogī empowered to select the moment of leaving his body can cause it to burst into flames by engaging in the yogic meditation called āgneyī, and thus he passes into his next life. The (anya devta) similarly employ this mystic fire when being transferred to the spiritual world. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely different from conditioned souls like yogīs and (anya devtas), since the Lord's eternal, spiritual body is the source of all existence, as indicated here by the words lokābhirāmāḿ sva-tanum. Lord Kṛṣṇa's body is the source of pleasure for the entire universe. The word dhāraṇā-dhyāna-mańgalam indicates that those trying for spiritual elevation through meditation and yoga achieve all auspiciousness through meditation on the Lord's body. Since yogīs are liberated simply by thinking of Lord Kṛṣṇa's body, that body is certainly not material and therefore not subject to burning by mundane mystic fire or any other type of fire.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura reminds us of Lord Kṛṣṇa's statement in the Eleventh Canto, Chapter Fourteen, verse 37: vahni-madhye smared rūpaḿ mamaitad dhyāna-mańgalam. "Within the fire one should meditate upon My form, which is the auspicious object of all meditation." Since Lord Kṛṣṇa's transcendental form is present within fire as the maintaining principle, how can fire affect that form? Thus although the Lord appeared to enter the mystic yoga trance, the word adagdhvā indicates that the Lord, since His body is purely spiritual, bypassed the formality of burning and directly entered His own abode in the spiritual sky. This point has also been elaborately explained by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in his commentary to this verse.
------

SB 11.31.11 My dear King, you should understand that the Supreme Lord's appearance and disappearance, which resemble those of embodied conditioned souls, are actually a show enacted by His illusory energy, just like the performance of an actor. After creating this universe He enters into it, plays within it for some time, and at last winds it up. Then the Lord remains situated in His own transcendental glory, having ceased from the functions of cosmic manifestation.

Purport: Jiva Goswami on Yadav fight being a lila...
story of a magician yogi...
Conclusion: It is not difficult to understand, therefore, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although transcendental to the laws of nature, exhibits His illusory potency so that ordinary folks will think the Lord has left His body like a human being. Actually, Lord Kṛṣṇa returned to His abode in His own eternal body, as confirmed throughout the Vedic literature.



praNAm

|| Om Namo Bhagavate VAsudevAya ||

[smaranam]

|| Om Namo Bhagavate VAsudevAya ||

Namaste,

To continue highlighting the same

SB 11.31.12: Lord Kṛṣṇa brought the son of His guru back from the planet of the lord of death in the boy's selfsame body, and as the ultimate giver of protection He saved you (Parikshit) also when you were burned by the brahmāstra of Aśvatthāmā. He conquered in battle even Lord Śiva, who deals death to the agents of death, and He sent the hunter Jarā directly to Vaikuṇṭha in his human body. How could such a personality be unable to protect His own Self?

SB 11.31.13: Although Lord Kṛṣṇa, being the possessor of infinite powers, is the only cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of innumerable living beings, He simply did not desire to keep His body in this world any longer. Thus He revealed the destination of those fixed in the self and demonstrated that this mortal world is of no intrinsic value.

SB 11.31.14: Anyone who regularly rises early in the morning and carefully chants with devotion the glories of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's transcendental disappearance and His return to His own abode will certainly achieve that same supreme destination.


SB 11.31.23: As soon as Dvārakā was abandoned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ocean flooded it on all sides, O King, sparing only His palace.

SB 11.31.24: Lord Madhusūdana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternally present in Dvārakā. It is the most auspicious of all auspicious places, and merely remembering it destroys all contamination.


praNAm

[AmIHindu]

Pranam to all of you.

Above description of Bhagavatam is very good, you people have explained/discuss Shree Krishna's last moments nicely. As it said, we do not do anything it only His will. So Kunti cursed that was also a part of Shree Krishna's will.

I also heard/read somewhere that Sage Durvash also cursed Shree Krishna for joking on him(sage). It was like, sage Durvasa was in Sadhna. Krishan with his friends went to test Durvasa rishi. One man put a pot/bowl on tummy, went to rishi Durvasa, whether she gives birth to boy or girl.Rishi Durvasa got angry on passing such joke for him, sage cursed Shree Krishana. I am not sure if this even is correct or not

Like to get some guidance on this event.

[smaranam]

So Kunti cursed that was also a part of Shree Krishna's will.

I also heard/read somewhere that Sage Durvash also cursed Shree Krishna for joking on him(sage). It was like, sage Durvasa was in Sadhna. Krishan with his friends went to test Durvasa rishi. One man put a pot/bowl on tummy, went to rishi Durvasa, whether she gives birth to boy or girl.Rishi Durvasa got angry on passing such joke for him, sage cursed Shree Krishana. I am not sure if this even is correct or not

Like to get some guidance on this event.

Namaste AmIHindu

That was not KRushNa but His grandchildren. They had strayed a bit from the saMskArs they received in the home of Svayam BhagavAn, but were loved and protected anyway. You can find that in the eleventh canto of BhAgvat - SB 11.1, SB 11.30.
The boy was hiding an iron rod to look pregnant. So the sage cursed all these YAdavs to die from the same iron.

It was not Kunti, but GAndhAri who cursed KRushNa due to not siding with Duryodhan and other sons. Kunti sang most beautiful prayers to Him - found in Shrimad Bhagvatam Canto 1 Chapter 8
When GAndhAri cursed KRushNa He said "What you have spelled out O mother, is going to happen anyways."
Letting the descendants of Shri KrushNa go on in Kali Yug with the corruption was not desired by the Lord. Moreover, they were His pArshads in Vaikuntha and had to go back with Him.

Grandson Vajra remained here, YudhishThir throned him, Vajrasen built Shri KrushNa and Dwarkadheesh temples.
SB 1.15.39: Then he posted Vajra, the son of Aniruddha [grandson of Lord Kṛṣṇa], at Mathurā as the King of Śūrasena. Afterwards Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira performed a Prājāpatya sacrifice and placed in himself the fire for quitting household life.



praNAm
Jai Shri KrushNa

[smaranam]

|| Om Namo Bhagavate VAsudevAya ||

maybe smaranam can tell us more about the trancedental nature of the body of Krishna.

Thank You Sahasranama, it is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to think about the most transcendental.

The difference is , KRushNa is Absolute, we are relative.
KRushNa is ParamAtmA, and He is transcendental inside out. He is everyone's AtmA , rather SuperSoul. So His body is our AtmA. His body and His Self are not two different things.

Krishna is absolute. Nothing is different from Him. Krishna and Krishna's name is not different.
In the material sense, everything is different. I myself (am) different from this body. I am not this body. But Krishna is not like that. Krishna and Krishna's body is the same.

Avajānanti māḿ mūḍhā manusim tanum ashritah BG. 9.11.

Krishna is not different from His body, Krishna is not different from His name, Krishna is not different from His fame.

- A. C. BhaktivedAnta Swami PrabhupAd

Why just Form and Name, mere thought of KRushNa is KRushNa. KrushNa told His Mahisis (Queens) who complained they may not get to see Him enough, "Just think of Me and I shall be with you."

Hare KRushNa
Shri KRushNa SharaNam mama

praNAm

[PARAM]

Hunting the innocents is Adharm of course, but that was DwaparYug, even in TretaYug, Ratnakar (Valmiki) was a bandit and hunter in early life, but quit the adharmic nature and become a Vedic sage.

However there was only one hunter who killed Krishna, and he was Vanar King Bali of the previous birth. When Ram killed Bali hiding from him, Bali said to him, he have to repay for this, and this was happened when Bali as hunter killed Krishna mistaking his feet as deer.