"Behold I am now divested of strength and poison—deprived of both by thee. Save my life—I ask no more. Order me what shall I do".
Being thus addressed by Kaliya, Krishna said—"You must not wait here any more; go immediately, with your family and followers, to the sea. Garuda, the enemy of the serpents, will not injure thee if he sees the impressions of my feet upon your hood". Having said this, Hari liberated the serpent-king, who, respectfully bowing to his victor, went to the ocean accompanied by all his wives, servants and children, leaving the sight of all and the pool he had lived in. When the snake had departed, the cow-herds received back Govinda as one risen from dead and embraced him and bathed his forehead with tears of joy. Others, considering the water of the river pure, were filled with surprise, and chanted the glory of Krishna, who is above the influence of actions. Being thus glorified by his illustrious exploits and eulogized by the cow-herds and their wives, Krishna came back to Vraja.
SECTION VIII.
Parāçara said:—Thereupon again driving their cattle, Kesava and Balarāma rambled together in the forest, and on one occasion went to a pleasing grove of palms. There lived in that pleasing grove a demon named Dhenuka, resembling an ass in appearance and living upon the flesh of deer. Beholding the fruits there ripe, the cow herds, being anxious to take them, said—"O Rāma! O Krishna! Dhenuka always lives here and therefore the trees are loaded with ripe fruits the smell of which perfumes the air. We wish to eat some. Will you throw some down?" Hearing those words, Krishna and Sankarsana brought down some fruits on the ground. Hearing the sound of the falling fruits, the dreadful and malignant demon Dhenuka, having the countenance of an ass, arrived there speedily, and being angry began to kick Rāma on the breast with his hinder heels. Catching him by his both hind legs, Rāma however hurled him round till he died; then he threw up the dead body to the top of the palm tree from the branches of which it struck down enough fruits like rain drops poured down on earth by the wind. The relatives of Dhenuka came running to his help, and Krishna and Rāma did the same thing with them until the trees were filled with dead asses and the ground was covered with ripe fruits. Thenceforth the cattle grazed unobstructed in the palm groves and cropped the new pasturage where they had never gone before.
SECTION IX.
Parāçara said:—That demon, in the form of an ass, and all his relatives, being slain, the cow-herds and their wives began to roam at pleasure in that picturesque grove of palms. Having slain that fiend Dhenuka, the two sons of Vasudeva, greatly delighted, repaired to the Bhāndira fig-tree. They began to roam about shouting and singing and collecting fruits and flowers from the trees—sometimes driving the cattle to a distant pasture, sometimes calling them by their names, sometimes carrying the foot-ropes of the kine upon their shoulders, sometimes decorating themselves with garlands of forest flowers, they appeared like two young bulls when the horns first appear. Dressed, the one in yellow and and the other in sable garments, they appeared like two clouds one white and one black, surmounted by the bow of Indra. The two brothers, although lords of the universe, having descended upon earth, began to sport mutually with frolics beneficial to the world. Adopting human duties and assuming human character and engaged in human sports, they stayed about in the forest. And these two highly powerful (brothers) engaged in exercise, in swinging upon the boughs of trees, or in boxing and wresting and hurling stones.
Having seen Krishna and Balarāma thus sporting, this Asura Pralamba, on one occasion with a view to carry them away stealthily arrived there assuming, the guise of a cow-herd. And that foremost of demons, assuming a human shape, mixed with them, unsuspected. Then seeking their faults he found Krishna irrepressible and made up his mind accordingly to slay the son of Rohini.
The boys commenced playing at the game of leaping like deer, two and two together. Govinda was matched with Sridama and Balarāma with Pralamba; the other boys were coupled with one another and went leaping away. Krishna beat his companion and Balarāma his, and the boys who were on Krishna's side, were also victorious. The boys who were defeated, carrying the victorious boys on their shoulders went to the Bhāndira fig and then came back to the starting-place. And placing Sankarshana speedily on his shoulders the demon Pralamba did not tarry there and ran away like unto a cloud with the moon. Being unable to carry the weight of Rohini's son that foremost of fiends began to increase in bulk like unto a cloud in the rainy season. Beholding him like a scorched mountain, his head crowned with a diadem and his neck hung round with garlands, having eyes as large as cart wheels, a fearful form and shaking the earth with his tread, Balarāma called out, as he was carried away, "Krishna! Krishna! I am carried off by some demon, disguised as a cow-herd and huge as a mountain! What shall I do? Tell me Madhusudana, the villain runs away speedily".
Parāçara said:—The high-souled Krishna, cognisant of the prowess and strength of the son of Rohini, opened his mouth, smiling and said—"O thou the soul of all, the cause of cause and all that is alone when the world the destroyed, why art thou assuming clearly the character of a man? Dost thou not know that you and are alike the origin of the world and have come to relieve it of its load? The sky is thy head; the waters are thy person; earth is thy feet; eternal fire is thy mouth; the moon is thy mind; the wind is thy breath; the four regions are thy arms and hands. O big souled and highly powerful lord, thou hast a thousand heads, a thousand hands and feet and bodies. Thou art the beginning of all creation—Brahmā, sprung from lotus—and the sages have praised thee in these terms for a thousand times. No one else knoweth thy divine person. The celestials worship only thy incarnate person. Dost thou not know that in the end the whole world will disappear in thee? O thou of endless forms; thou art upholding all creation, mobile and immobile. Thou, being identical with time with its division of hours and minutes, devourest the world. As the waters of the sea, when swallowed up by submarine fire, are transferred into winds and thrown in the form of snow upon Himachala, where coming in contact with the rays of the sun, re-assume the watery nature, so this world, devoured by thee at the time of dissolution, is again created by thee at the end of a Kalpa through thy creative energy. Thou and I, soul of the universe, are but one and the same cause of the creation of earth, although for its protection we exist as distinct individuals! Bringing to thy memory, who thou art, O being of illimitable prowess, destroy thyself the demon. Suspending a while your human character, do what is right".
Thus reminded by the noble Krishna, the powerful Balarāma laughed and crushed Pralamba with his knees striking him simultaneously on the head and face with his fists so as to beat out both his eyes. Vomitting blood from his mouth and having his brain forced through the skull, the demon fell upon the ground and died. Seeing Pralamba slain the cow-herds were surprised and rejoiced and exclaimed "Well done!" and praised Balarāma. Thus praised by his play-mates and accompanied by Krishna, Balarāma, after the death of the demon Pralamba, came back to Gokula.