396 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

to his affectionate attachment for his eldest son, who had negotiated it. As
a matter of duty, he was decorating the city for the marriage ceremony
and was acting in great earnestness to make it very successful. Water was
sprinkled all over the streets, and the city was cleansed very nicely. Since
India is situated in the tropical zone, the atmosphere is always dry. Due to
this, dust always accumulates on the streets and roads; so they must be
sprinkled with water at least once a day, and in big cities like Calcutta,
twice a day. The roads of Kundina were arranged with colored flags and
festoons, and gates were constructed at particular crossings. The whele city
was decorated very nicely. The beauty of the city was enhanced by the
inhabitants, both men and women, who were dressed in washed cloth,
decorated with sandalwood pulp, pearl necklaces and flower garlands.
Incense was burning everywhere, and fragrances like aguru scented the air.
Priests and brahmanas were sumptuously fed and, according to ritualistic
ceremony, were given sufficient wealth and cows in charity. In this way,
they were engaged in chanting Vedic hymns. The King’s daughter,
Rukmini, was exquisitely beautiful. She was very clean and had beautiful
teeth. The auspicious sacred girdle was tied on her wrist. She was given
various types of jewelry to put on and long silken cloth to cover the upper
and lower parts of her body. Learned priests gave her protection by
chanting mantras from the Sama Veda, Rg Veda and Yajur Veda. After
this they chanted mantras from the Atharva Veda and offered oblations in
the fire to pacify the ominous conjunctions of different stars.

King Bhismaka was very experienced in dealing with the brahmanas and
priests when such ceremonies were held. He specifically distinguished the
brahmanas by giving them large quantities of gold and silver, grains mixed
with molasses, and cows decorated with golden ornaments. Damaghosa,
Sigupala’s father, executed all kinds of ritualistic performances to invoke
good fortune for his own family. Sisupala’s father was known as
Damaghosa due to his superior ability to cut down unregulated citizens.
Dama means curbing down, and ghosa means famous; so he was famous
for controlling the citizens. Damaghosa thought that if Krsna came to
disturb the marriage ceremony, he would certainly cut Him down with his
military power. Therefore, after performing the various auspicious cere-
monies, Damaghosa gathered his military divisions, known as Madasravi.
He took many elephants, garlanded with golden necklaces, and many
chariots and horses which were similarly decorated. It appeared that
Damaghosa, along with his son and other companions, was going to
Kundina, not completely forgetting the marriage, but mainly intent on
fighting.
