27 / Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma Meet the Inhabitants of Vṛndāvana
Once upon a time while Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were living peacefully in Their great city of Dvārakā, there was the rare occasion of a full solar eclipse, such as takes place at the end of every  kalpa , or day of Brahmā. At the end of every  kalpa  the sun is covered by a great cloud, and incessant rain covers the lower planetary systems up to Svargaloka. By astronomical calculation, people were informed about this great eclipse prior to its taking place, and therefore everyone, both men and women, decided to assemble at the holy place in Kurukṣetra known as Samanta-pañcaka.
The Samanta-pañcaka pilgrimage site is celebrated because Lord Paraśurāma performed great sacrifices there after having killed all the  kṣatriyas  in the world twenty-one times. Lord Paraśurāma killed all the  kṣatriyas , and their accumulated blood flowed like a stream. Lord Paraśurāma dug five big lakes at Samanta-pañcaka, and filled them with this blood. Lord Paraśurāma is  Viṣṇu-tattva . As stated in the  Īśopaniṣad ,  Viṣṇu-tattva  cannot be contaminated by any sinful activity. Yet although Lord Paraśurāma is fully powerful and uncontaminated, in order to exhibit ideal character, He performed great sacrifices at Samanta-pañcaka to atone for His so-called sinful killing of the  kṣatriyas . By His example, Lord Paraśurāma established that the killing art, although sometimes necessary, is not good. Lord Paraśurāma considered Himself culpable for the sinful killing of the  kṣatriyas ; therefore, how much more are we culpable for such abominable unsanctioned acts. Thus, killing of living entities is prohibited from time immemorial all over the world.
Taking advantage of the occasion of the solar eclipse, all important persons visited the holy place of pilgrimage. Some of the important personalities are mentioned as follows. Among the elderly persons there were Akrūra, Vasudeva and Ugrasena; among the younger generation there
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