In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna granting the highest “Moksha” to Muchukunda, after he burns down Kaalayavana. We’ve witnessed how Kaalayavana came in the direct firing line of Muchukunda who was in deep slumber for so many decades continuously. As Bhagawan Krishna grants “Moksha” to Muchukunda, we’ve witnessed a stark comparison of the way in which Bhagawan Krishna killed Raakshasas, as against Bhagawan Rama’s strategy. Of course, as I had mentioned earlier too, this comparison is just for our understanding, and nothing else. This is never to undermine one incarnation for the other. We should remember that Bhagawan incarnates every time for a specific purpose. It is He who best knows how to kill each enemy. Thus, irrespective of whether it is Bhagawan Rama or Bhagawan Krishna, the ultimate goal here is to establish and re-establish “Dharma” in this world. As Bhagawan Krishna Himself declares in the Bhagawad Gita thus,
“Paritraanaaya saadhunaam vinaashaayacha dushkruthaam!
Dharma samsthaabhanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge!!”
Thus, although Bhagawan Krishna explains to Arjuna the purpose of His incarnation, this statement holds true for any of His incarnations. We should understand how Bhagawan protects the “Saadhus” and destroys the Raakshasas. Here too, we’ve seen how Bhagawan Krishna protects Muchukunda, who was a “Saadhu” by nature and grants him the highest Moksha. At the same time, He destroys Kaalayavana, who was a Raakshasa by nature. Thus we can see that at every instance of Bhagawan’s divine incarnation, this theory would be satisfied.
As we’ve seen Muchukunda attaining “Moksha”, this very place can be worshipped even today, in the western-Indian state of Gujarat. Here, Bhagawan Krishna is today worshipped in the name of “Rana-Chod-Rai”. This means, “the deity which had fled the Mathura battlefield and come to this place”! This is where the main “Dwaraka Patna” was also established by Bhagawan Krishna later on. We’ve already witnessed in our previous “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” project as to how Bhagawan Krishna established the “Dwaaraka” city. Indra, the leader of the Devas, made sure that he shows his gratitude towards Bhagawan Krishna by helping Him build an enormous kingdom on the Araibian seashore. Even today we can witness some remains of this mighty Dwaaraka palace beneath the seafloor. There is a lot of archaeological work that is being carried out today to determine how this palace looked like. Tourists and pilgrims can visit the remains of Dwaaraka palace even today by going for a few kilometers into the sea by boat. There are dedicated ferry services that are available exclusively for this purpose. In fact, if we visit Dwaaraka today, we can see a big museum that has recently been built, which shows the exact timeline of various excavation works that had taken place till today, along with the findings. If we connect the dots, we can easily conclude the existence of a huge empire, which has been destroyed over thousands of years due to constant sea erosion and changing of the landscape.
Thus, the reality remains that Dwaaraka was a massive establishment that existed during the Dwaapara Yuga, headed by Bhagawan Krishna Himself. As we might know by now, the Dwaapara Yuga got over somewhere around 5000 years ago and Bhagawan Krishna incarnated towards the end of this Dwaapara Yuga. Once Bhagawan Krishna departed to Vaikunta, the Kali Yuga took over. This is how we’ve to understand the timelines here.
With the construction of the huge palace, courtesy Indra, Bhagawan Krishna thus establishes His kingdom at Dwaaraka. As Bhagawan Krishna moved into Dwaaraka, it is said that He married around 16,108 women and ruled the kingdom with an enormous family. This is why we worship Bhagawan Krishna as Bhagawan “Dwaaraka-Deesha”! One of Bhagawan Krishna’s important sons was Pradhyumna. This Pradhyumna had a son in turn, by name “Aniruddha”. As we move on further, we’re giong to see how Aniruddha got to marry “Usha ” who was Baanaasura’s daughter. This Baanaasura was a “Raakshasa” by nature, and we’re going to witness how this marriage took place. An interesting episode on this awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 