In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Bhagawan Krishna showed His omni-presence to Akrura, who underestimated Little Krishna’s significance a little bit! Although Akrura was very much devoted to Bhagawan Krishna, as for every human being, the “Maya” took over and made him underestimate Bhagawan Krishna. Befittingly, Bhagawan Krishna too showed that He’s the supreme power under whose grace, the entire functioning of the world takes place. As Akrura was able to see Little Krishna wherever he turned his head, he realized his folly and surrendered to Little Krishna’s lotus feet. With this, Akrura had learnt his lesson! Till that point, Akrura was thinking within himself that it was he who was taking the pain and effort to bring Little Krishna from Gokula to Mathura. But now he realizes that it was Bhagawan Krishna Himself, who voluntarily is coming along with him, and that, He’s coming along for a great mission. Akrura was afterall an instrument in the divine hands of Bhagawan Krishna to execute His divine mission! 😊
As this conspires, Akrura thus takes Little Krishna and Balarama inside Mathura city. Little Krishna was very happy to be in Mathura, because it is His birthplace! Moreover, He’s seeing a city and a sprawling urban area for the first time in His life! For the past ten years He had been in a totally rural setup in Gokula, and this was a welcome change for the Little children. Moreover, since this was His birthplace, Little Krishna had a special affinity towards Mathura. Even for us, this is very common isn’t it? For instance, we might be working somewhere abroad, but would have our “native place” somewhere in a village in India. Although we might be working at a very far off place, we would make it a routine to visit our native place atleast once every year, isn’t it? The moment we land at our native place, we would recollect and remember all our childhood days, our friends, the games that we played together with them, etc., isn’t it? We nowadays brand these remembrances as “golden memories” and cherish every moment of it, isn’t it? 😊 This is exactly the same thing that Little Krishna is also feeling here. Of course, He did not spend even a minute of His life in Mathura city after His birth. We should remember that Vasudeva took Him away to Gokula, the very next moment since He took birth. Still, Little Krishna was so eager to witness Mathura city with all its beauty and glory.
As the chariot passes by the streets and lanes of Mathura city, Little Krishna says to Balarama thus, “Oh Balarama! For the first time in our lives we’re visiting a city, isn’t it? Look at the way the people are dressed up here! And look at the way we’re dressed. Don’t we need a change in the way we’re dressed up at the moment?” Even today, it is a common sight – If we go to villages, people there would roam around on the streets with just a towel on their shoulder. For them, dressing up doesn’t matter much, because the work which they do in the paddy fields is physically intensive. But in the cities, even if we’ve to go out of our homes to buy few groceries from the neighboring shop, we would wear an expensive jean and a tshirt or a shirt! 😊 We can see the difference clearly here, isn’t it? Whereas in the rural setup, people do not care much about dressing, but in urban sectors, dressing plays a prominent role!
This is where the children get awestruck when they see the Mathura residents roaming around beautifully dressed! Upon seeing this, the kids are wanting to get themselves dressed up the similar way. Moreover, they’re now going to meet the king of the city. They’re not here for an ordinary visit like how we do. Hence, the kids have to be even more careful here. So what dresses did they wear? What were the different decorations did they do to themselves? Who were the people who were instrumental in decorating the children? How did King Kamsa receive the children once they entered the palace? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness the answers for all these questions! Stay tuned! 😊
The Indian Dharma 