CHAPTER ONE

The Advent of Lord Krsna:

Introduction

The summary of the First Chapter is as follows. This chapter describes
how Karhsa, frightened by hearing an omen about his being killed by the
eighth son of Devaki, killed Devaki’s sons one after another.

When Sukadeva Gosvami finished describing the dynasty of Yadu, as
well as the dynasties of the moon-god and sun-god, Maharaja Pariksit re-
quested him to describe Lord Krsna, who appeared with Baladeva in the
Yadu dynasty, and how Krsna performed His activities within this world.
Krsna is transcendental, the King said, and therefore to understand His
activities is the occupation of liberated persons. Hearing of krsna-lila is
the boat by which to achieve the ultimate goal of life. Except for an
animal killer or one who is following a policy of suicide, every intelligent
person must strive to understand Krsna and His activities.

Krsna was the only worshipable Deity for the Pandavas. When
Maharaja Pariksit was in the womb of his mother, Uttara, Krsna saved
him from the attack of the brahma-sastra. Now Maharaja Pariksit asked
Sukadeva Gosvami how His Lordship Baladeva, the son of Rohini, could
have appeared in the womb of Devaki. Why did Krsna transfer Himself
from Mathura to Vrndavana, King Pariksit asked, and how did He live
there with His family members? What did Krsna do in Mathura and
Vrndavana, and why did He kill His maternal uncle Karnsa? For how
many years did Krsna reside in Dvaraka, and how many queens did He
have? Maharaja Pariksit asked Sukadeva Gosvami all these questions. He
also requested Sukadeva Gosvami to describe other activities of Krsna
about which he could not inquire.

When Sukadeva Gosvami began to speak about Krsna consciousness,
Maharaja Pariksit forgot the fatigue brought about by his fasting. En-
thusiastic to describe Krsna, Sukadeva Gosvami said, ‘‘Like the waters of
the Ganges, descriptions of the activities of Krsna can purify the entire
uniyerse. The speaker, the inquirer and the audience all become
purified.”

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