Subduing Kaliya 121

The assembly consisted of children, young and old men, women, animals
and all living entities; they knew that Krsna was their only means of
sustenance. While this was happening, Balarama, who is the master of all
knowledge, stood there simply smiling. He knew how powerful His
younger brother Krsna was and that there was no cause for anxiety
when Krsna was fighting with an ordinary serpent of the material world.
He ‘did not, therefore, personally take any part in their concern. On
the other hand, all the inhabitants of Vrndavana, being disturbed, ‘be-
gan to search out Krsna by following the impression of His footprints
on the ground, and thus they moved towards the bank of the Yamuna.
Finally, by following the footprints marked with flag, bow and conch-
shell, the inhabitants of Vrndavana arrived at the river bank and saw
that all the cows and boys were weeping to behold Krsna enwrapped in the
coils of the black serpent. Then they became still more overwhelmed with
grief. While Balarama was smiling to see their lamentation, all the in-
habitants of Vrajabhiimi merged into the ocean of grief because they
thought that Krsna was finished. Although the residents of Vrndavana did
not know much about Krsna, their love for Him was beyond comparison.
As soon as they saw that Krsna was in the River Yamuna enveloped by the
serpent Kaliya and that all the boys and cows were lamenting, they simply
began to think of Krsna’s friendship, His smiling face, His sweet words and
His dealings with them. Thinking of all these and believing that their Krsna
was now within the clutches of Kaliya, they at once felt that the three
worlds had become vacant. Lord Caitanya also said that He was seeing
the three worlds as vacant for want of Krsna. This is the highest stage of
Krsna consciousness. Almost all of the inhabitants of Vrndavana had the
highest ecstasy, love for Krsna.

When mother Yasoda arrived, she wanted to enter the River Yamuna,
and being checked, she fainted. Other friends who were equally aggrieved
were shedding -tears like torrents of rain or waves of the river, but in order
to bring mother Yagoda to consciousness, they began to speak loudly
about the transcendental pastimes of Krsna. Mother Yagoda remained still,
as if dead, because her consciousness was concentrated on the face of
Krsna. Nanda and all others who dedicated everything, including their
lives, to Krsna were ready to enter the waters of the Yamuna, but Lord
Balarama checked them because He was in perfect knowledge that there
was no danger.

For two hours Krsna remained like an ordinary child gripped in the
coils of Kaliya, but when He saw that all the inhabitants of Gokula—
including His mother and father, the gopis, the boys and the cows—were
