Three People Who Tried To Take Advantage Of Vishnu's Position Of Dependency

“The Trinavarta demon who took baby Krishna on his shoulder went high in the sky, but the baby assumed such a weight that suddenly he could not go any further, and he had to stop his whirlwind activities. Baby Krishna made Himself heavy and began to weigh down the demon. The Lord caught hold of his neck.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality Of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 7)

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His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada reveals that the demons are always trying to nullify God. The application here is not based simply on a race or a set of characteristics relating to physical features.

The Sanskrit word is asura. This is a negation of the word that means godly, demigod, saintly, or a general believer in God. The qualities of the asura are the opposite of what would be considered good. Good and bad are relative, but in terms of a higher purpose they are what determine proximity to a specific destination.

Good, or punya, brings me closer to the purified consciousness, wherein I see properly, penetrating the thick cloud of illusion. Papa is moving further away; being firmly entrenched in illusion. The asuras live by papa, thinking that there will be no consequences to their actions.

They scoff at the mention of God or allegiance to Him. The worst asuras cannot leave well enough alone. They take intentional action to thwart any further worship within the general public. From Vedic literature we see that if they ever should hear of the Supreme’s imminent arrival within their midst, they will do whatever they can to mitigate.

1. Kamsa

The Bhagavata Purana and other important Vedic texts pass on the historical tale. Kamsa is the king of Mathura, and one day he learns that the eighth child of his newly married sister Devaki will be his demise. He later learns that in a previous life Vishnu, the personal God, had killed him.

Kamsa’s sole objective becomes to eliminate. We see that Kamsa has no interest in a fair fight. That is to say, if I am totally against God, thinking that He doesn’t exist, why would I be so afraid of a newborn? This is a dependent in the truest sense of the word.

At the very least, I would try to size up my opponent. Meet them in the ring of combat and commence a fair competition. Kamsa’s behavior shows that deep down he knew that Vishnu was the Supreme, that Vishnu was indeed the real God, that the sura class had sufficient justification for worshiping.

The demon tries to eliminate, and in any possible way. Kamsa thought he could kill Vishnu by getting rid of every child born to Devaki, as soon as it exited the womb. Thus there was eager anticipation for the arrival of the eighth. The previous children did not survive long, and Kamsa expected the same moving forward.

2. Putana

The plan failed. Vishnu successfully arrived as the eighth child of Devaki. Named Krishna, He was all-attractive and special since birth. He displayed the vision of the four-handed Vishnu to the loving parents, as affirmation of their dedication in the path of virtue.

As much attention as he paid previously, Kamsa was not aware of Krishna’s birth when it occurred, at midnight. The birth-father, Vasudeva, even managed to escape prison and bring Krishna to Gokula, performing a kind of baby-swap.

The asuras are relentless. They will not learn their lesson until it is too late. The next person to try was Putana. She took advantage of Vishnu’s dependence on the parents for feeding. Playing the role of an infant, Krishna would feed on the breast-milk of mother Yashoda, who was unaware that Krishna had been born to Devaki in Mathura.

Sent by Kamsa, Putana arrived in Gokula and took the false guise of a beautiful and loving nurse. No one suspected her when she took baby Krishna in her arms. How low must a person sink to try to feed poison to an innocent and helpless infant?

Putana’s attempt failed, as Krishna sucked the very life out of her through her breast. She got half of what she wanted, and in the process of dying she revealed her true and hideous form. She fell to the ground as a giant witch, and everyone was astonished that baby Krishna survived the ordeal.

3. Trinavarta

If poison doesn’t work, why not try gravity? Bring the child high into the air and then drop Him. The asura named Trinavarta tried working this magic, but amazingly his powers failed him at the worst possible moment. Baby Krishna became too heavy to hold, and it was the demon who fell to his death instead.

…

The attempts continue to this day. Shut down the houses of worship. Force people into submitting to the will of the tyrannical leaders. Compel face coverings that have no impact on diseases that spread through the air. Prevent large gatherings, so that people are devoid of proper association that helps to dispel the darkness of illusion.

As the seemingly helpless Krishna was able to survive the attacks, so too His devotees are able to thrive in any artificially created emergency caused by the envious asura class. There is always the resort of the holy names to give protection: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Showing Vishnu form resplendent,
Supreme Lord now dependent.

On parents and caretakers so,
Initially to Gokula to go.

The asuras now plan to make,
Advantage of situation to take.

That God eliminated could be,
But potency of Krishna to see.