Krsna Erects the Dvaraka Fort 329

specifically addressed Him as the killer of His own relatives. Kamsa had
killed so many of his own nephews, yet Jarasandha did not take notice
of it; but because Krsna had killed His maternal uncle, Kamsa, Jarasandha
tried to criticize Him. That is the way of demoniac dealing. Bemons do
not try to find their own faults, but try to find the faults of their friends.
Jarasandha also criticized Krsna for not even being a ksatriya. Because
He was raised by Maharaja Nanda, Krsna was nota ksatriya, but a vaisya.
Vaisyas are generally called guptas, and the word gupta can also be used
to mean “hidden.” So Krsna was both hidden and raised by Nanda
Maharaja. Jarasandha accused Krsna of three faults: that He killed His own
maternal uncle, that He was hidden in His childhood, and that He was
not even a ksatriya. And therefore Jarasandha felt ashamed to fight with
Him.

Next he turned toward Balarama and addressed Him: ‘‘You, Balarama!
If You like You can fight along with Him, and if You have patience, then
You can wait to be killed by my arrows. Thus You can be promoted to
heaven.” It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that a ksatriya can become
benefited in two ways while fighting. If a ksatriya gains victory in the
fight, he enjoys the results of victory, but even if he is killed in the fight,
he is promoted to the heavenly kingdom.

After hearing Jarasandha speak in that way, Krsna answered: “‘My dear
King Jarasandha, those who are heroes do not talk much. Rather, they
show their prowess. Because you are talking much, it appears that you are
assured of your death in this battle. We do not care to hear you anymore,
because it is useless to hear the words of a person who is going to die or
one who is very distressed.” In order to fight with Krsna, Jarasandha
surrounded Him from all sides with great military strength, and the sun
appeared covered by the cloudy air and dust. Similarly, Krsna, the
supreme sun, was covered by the military strength of Jarasandha.
Krsna’s and Balarama’s chariots were marked with pictures of Garuda and
palm trees. The women of Mathura were all standing on the tops of the
houses and palaces and gates to see the wonderful fight, but when Krsna’s
chariot was surrounded by Jarasandha’s military force, they became so
frightened that some of them fainted. Krsna saw Himself overwhelmed by
the military strength of Jarasandha. His small number of soldiers were
being harassed by them, so He immediately took up His bow, named
Sarniga.

He began to take His arrows from their case, and one after another He
set them on the bowstring and shot them toward the enemy. They were so
accurate that the elephants, horses and infantry soldiers of Jarasandha
