Mausala Parva



The Curse Upon the Yadu Dynasty



The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, as well as His powerful
brother, Balarama, executed the killing of many demons. The Yadu dynasty also
helped in this regard. To further remove the burden of the earth, the Lord
arranged for the great battle of Kurukshetra, which suddenly erupted in
violence between the Kurus and the Pandavas. Previously, before the appearance
of the Lord, He had ordered that the demigods appear in the pious families of
the Yadus. However, some members of the Yadu dynasty saw the Lord as an
ordinary human being. Because of their mundane vision of the Supreme Person,
they considered themselves on the same level as the Lord. Because they took
their birth in the Yadu dynasty, they had inconceivable strength, and thus they
misunderstood Lord Krishna's supreme position. Having forgotten that Krishna
was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they constituted a great burden.
Consequently, it was then necessary for Lord Krishna to remove that burden from
the face of the earth. Although many members, who were devoted to Krishna, died
in this fratricidal war, they were returned to their original positions as
universal demigods. Others, who were eternal associates of the Lord, returned
to His Own abode. Thus the Lord fulfilled his promise in Bhagavad-gita that His
devotee never perishes.

After the battle of Kurukshetra, Gandhari had cursed the Yadu dynasty to be
destroyed by fratricide. She did this because she considered Lord Krishna to be
the cause of her sons' death. This curse satisfied the Lord because He was
considering how to remove His family from the face of the earth. The Supreme
Lord, Sri Krishna, used the Yadu dynasty, which was protected by His own arms,
to eliminate the kings, who with their armies, had been a burden to this
earth.

Then the unfathomable Lord thought to Himself, "The abatement of the earth's
great burden, eighteen akshauhinis, has now been effected with the help of
Drona, Bhishma, Arjuna and Bhima. But what is this? There is still the
invincible strength of the Yadu dynasty, born of Myself, which may be a more
unbearable burden. No outside force could ever bring about the defeat of this
family, the Yadu dynasty, whose members have always been fully surrendered to
Me and are unrestricted in their opulence. But if I inspire within the dynasty
a quarrel, it will act just like a fire created from the friction of bamboo in
a grove, and then I shall achieve My real purpose and return to My eternal
abode."

When the Supreme Almighty Lord, whose desire always comes to pass, had thus
made up His mind, He withdrew his own family on the pretext of a curse spoken
by an assembly of brahmanas. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is
the reservoir of all beauty. His personal form is so attractive that it steals
the eyes away from all other objects, which then seem devoid of beauty in
comparison to Him. When Lord Sri Krishna was on the earth, He attracted the
eyes of all people. When Krishna spoke, His words attracted the minds of all
who remembered them. By seeing the footprints of Lord Krishna, people became
attached to Him, and thus they desired to become His most obedient servants. In
this way Krishna very easily spread His glories, which are sung throughout the
world by the most sublime and essential Vedic verses. Lord Krishna considered
that simply by hearing and chanting those glories, conditioned souls born in
the future would cross beyond the darkness of ignorance. Being satisfied with
this arrangement, He left for His desired destination.

Once upon a time, the sages Visvamitra, Asita, Kanva, Durvasa, Bhrigu, Angira,
Kashyapa, Vamadeva, Atri and Vashistha, along with Narada and others, performed
devotional rituals that award abundant pious results, bring great happiness and
take away the sins of Kali-yuga for the whole world by merely being recounted.
The sages duly executed these rituals in the home of the chief Yadu, Vasudeva,
the father of Lord Krishna. After Lord Krishna, who was staying in Vasudeva's
home as time personified, respectfully sent the sages off at the conclusion of
the ceremonies, they went to the holy place called Pindraka. While in that holy
place, the princes of the Yadu dynasty had Samba, the son of Jambavati, dress
up in a woman's garb. Playfully approaching the great sages gathered there, the
princes grabbed hold of the sages' feet and impudently asked them, with feigned
humility, "O learned brahmanas, this black-eyed pregnant woman has something to
ask you, She is too embarrassed to inquire for herself. She is just about to
give birth and is very desirous of having a son. Since all of you are great
sages with infallible vision, please tell us whether her child will be a boy or
a girl."

While the princes were thus joking in this way, the sages became angry. Narada
then cursed them, "Fools! She will bear you an iron club that will destroy your
entire dynasty." Narada could never have any ill feeling toward the members of
the Yadu dynasty, since his Lord was Sri Krishna. Narada is never influenced by
the modes of nature like passion or ignorance. Therefore, in cursing the Yadu
dynasty, he was simple acting as an instrument of the Lord.

Upon hearing the curse of the sages, the terrified princes quickly uncovered
Samba's belly, and indeed they observed that there was an iron club. The young
men of the Yadu dynasty exclaimed, "Oh, what have we done? We are so
unfortunate! What will our family members say to us?" Speaking thus and being
very disturbed, they returned to their homes, taking the club with them. The
luster of their faces completely faded. The Yadu princes brought the club into
the royal assembly and described what had happened to King Ugrasena in the
presence of all the Yadavas.

When the citizens of Dvaraka heard about the infallible curse of the brahmanas
and saw the mace, they were astonished and fearful. King Ugrasena thought to
himself, "Samba and others should not feel any shame or fear." Thus without
consulting Lord Sri Krishna, he ordered the club ground into fragments and
thrown into the water, along with a small iron lump that remained. A certain
fish swallowed the iron lump, and the bits of iron, carried to the shore by the
waves, implanted themselves there and grew into tall, sharp canes. The fish was
caught in the ocean along with other fish in a fisherman's net. The iron lump
in the fish's stomach was taken by the hunter Jara, who fixed it as an
arrowhead at the end of his shaft. Knowing fully the significance of all these
events, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, though capable of reversing the
brahmana's curse, did not wish to do so. Rather, in His form of time, He gladly
sanctioned the events.

While the Vrishnis and the Andhakas were thus endeavoring to avoid the
impending calamity, the embodied form of eternal time (Kala) wandered every day
about their houses. He was terrible to behold. His head was bald, and his
complexion was blackish. His eyes were fierce like fire. Sometimes he was seen
by the Yadus as he peered into their houses. The mighty bowmen of the Vrishnis
shot hundreds and thousands of arrows at him, but none on these succeeded in
piercing him, for he was none else than the destroyer of all creatures. Day by
day strong winds blew, and there were many awful, evil omens that arose,
foretelling the destruction of the Yadu dynasty. The streets swarmed with rats
and mice. Earthen pots were broken from no apparent cause. At night, the rats
and mice ate away the hair and nails of sleeping men. Crows uttered
inauspicious sounds within the houses of the Vrishnis, and they did not cease
day or night. Many birds, impelled by death, appeared that were pale in
complexion. Asses took birth from cows, and elephants took birth from mules.
Cats were born of dogs, and mice took birth from the mongoose. The Vrishnis
committed sinful acts and did not feel any shame upon doing so. They showed
disregard for the brahmanas, demigods and the deities. They insulted and
humiliated their seniors and preceptors. Only Lord Krishna and Balarama acted
otherwise. Wives deceived their husbands, and husbands deceived their wives.
The sun seemed surrounded by headless trunks of human form.

Beholding the inauspicious omens, Hrishikesha, the Lord, understood that the
thirty-sixth year had come, and that the curse of Gandhari and the brahmanas
was now taking effect. He then ordered an assembly of the Yadus in the Sudharma
imperial court. The Yadus fixed their eyes upon the transcendental form of the
Lord and were unable to withdraw them. Once that form entered their hearts and
became fixed there, it would never depart. What to speak of acquiring fame, the
great poets who described the beauty of the Lord's form would have their words
invested with transcendentally pleasing attraction. And by seeing that form on
Arjuna's chariot, all the warriors on the battlefield of Kurukshetra attained
the liberation of gaining a spiritual body similar to the Lord's.

When all the Yadus had gathered in the Sudharma royal court, Lord Krishna
spoke the following words, "O leaders of the Yadu dynasty, please note all
these terrible omens that have appeared in Dvaraka just like the flags of
death. We should not remain here a moment longer. The women, children and old
men should leave this city and go to Sankhoddhara. We shall go to
Prabhasa-kshetra, where the river Saraswati flows toward the west. There we
should bathe for purification, fast, and fix our minds in meditation. We should
then worship the demigods by bathing their images, anointing them with
sandalwood pulp, and presenting them various offerings. After performing these
pious rituals with the help of greatly learned brahmanas, we will worship those
brahmanas by offering them cows, land, gold, clothing, elephants, horses,
chariots and dwelling places. This is indeed the appropriate process for
counteracting the evil omens we see, and it is sure to bring about the highest
good fortune. Such worship of the demigods, brahmanas and cows can earn the
highest birth for all living entities."

Having heard these words from Lord Krishna, the enemy of Madhu, the elders of
the Yadu Dynasty gave their assent, saying, "So be it." After crossing over the
ocean in boats, they proceeded on chariots to Prabhasa. There, with great
devotion, the Yadavas performed the religious ceremonies according to the
instructions of the Supreme Godhead, their personal Lord. They also performed
various other auspicious rituals. When their intelligence had been covered by
Providence, they liberally indulged in drinking the sweet Maireya beverage,
which can completely intoxicate the mind. Then Satyaki, intoxicated on wine,
began laughing and insulting Kritavarman in the midst of the Yadu assembly. He
scorned him as follows, "What kshatriya is there who, armed with weapons, would
slay men locked in the embraces of sleep and, therefore, already dead? Hence, O
son of Hridika, the Yadavas will never tolerate what you have done."

When Satyaki had spoken these critical words, Pradyumna, the foremost chariot
fighter, applauded them expressing his disregard for the son of Hridika. Highly
incensed at this, Kritavarman spoke harshly with Satyaki, "You are professing
yourself to be a hero, but you have slain the defenseless Bhurishravas, who was
sitting in meditation."

Hearing this criticism of Satyaki, Lord Krishna cast an angry glance at
Kritavarman. Then Satyaki reminded Lord Krishna that Kritavarman had taken part
in the assassination plot of Satrajit, the father of Satyabhama. Remembering
her father's death, Satyabhama came to her husband's side and began shedding
tears. Rising up in rage, Satyaki pointed at Kritavarman and exclaimed, "I
swear by truth that I shall soon cause this one to follow the path taken by the
five sons of Draupadi, Dhristadyumna, and Shikhandi. Your period of life and
fame has come to an end!" Having taken this oath, Satyaki rushed at Kritavarman
and severed his head with a sword in the very sight of Keshava. Satyaki then
began to strike down others present, and Lord Krishna ran to stop him.

The Bhojas and Andhakas were furious that Kritavarman was slain, and they
attacked Satyaki intending to kill him. Pradyumnya rose to help Satyaki but it
was too late. Both of them were slain by superior numbers. Infuriated, the
Yadus seized their bows, arrows, swords, ballas, maces, lances and spears and
attacked one another on the shore at Prabhasa. Completely abandoning their
natural friendship, the members of the various Yadu clans, the Dasharas, the
Vrishnis, the Andhakas, the Bhojas, the Satvatas, Madhus, the Arbudas, the
Mathuras, the Surasenas etc. all slaughtered one another. Thus bewildered, sons
fought with fathers, brothers with brothers, nephews with maternal and paternal
uncles, and grandsons with grandfathers. Friends fought with friends, and well
wishers fought with well wishers. In this way intimate friends and relatives
killed one another. When all their bows and weapons had been exhausted, they
seized tall stalks of cane on the shore of the ocean. When they did, these
stalks of canes turned into iron rods as hard as thunderbolts. With these
weapons the warriors began attacking one another again and again. When Lord
Krishna tried to stop them, they attacked Him as well. In their confused state
they also mistook Lord Balarama for an enemy. With weapons in hand they ran
toward Him to kill Him. Lord Krishna and Balarama became furious, and picking
up stalks of cane, they killed the remnants of the Yadu dynasty. When the
slaughter was finished there was approximately 560,000,000, members of the Yadu
dynasty lying dead at Prabhasa. The only two left were Babhru and Daruka. They
approached Lord Krishna and spoke to him the following words, "O Lord, a large
number of men have been slain. Let us leave this area and follow the path of
Lord Balarama."

Then Lord Krishna, Babhru, and Daruka began to search for Lord Baladeva, the
son of Rohini. They found him sitting under a tree near the ocean. After
finding His elder brother, Lord Krishna ordered Daruka, "Go to the Kurus and
inform Arjuna of this great slaughter. Arjuna should come here as soon as
possible." After Daruka had gone away, Lord Krishna said to Babhru, "Go quickly
to the city of Dvaraka and protect the ladies from robbers and thieves. Offer
protection to the old and the young." Thus commanded by Lord Krishna, Babhru,
still intoxicated from wine and depressed from the slaughter of his kinsmen,
started for Dvaraka. As soon as he had gone a short distance, an iron bolt
attached to a hunter's mallet struck Babhru, who was included in the curse of
the brahmanas.

Beholding Babhru slain, Lord Krishna said to Balarama, "Wait here till I place
the ladies of Dvaraka under proper protection." Lord Krishna then entered
Dvaraka and informed the remnants of His family of the fratricide at Prabhasa.
Lord Krishna addressed His father, "Please protect the ladies of our house till
Arjuna comes. Just near the ocean in a forest Balarama waits for Me. I shall
practice penances and austerities with Him. This massacre of the Yadus was
similar to the slaughter of the Kurus at Kurukshetra. It is impossible for Me
to live without the Yadavas as My companions."

Lord Krishna touched the feet of His father, and left the palace to the sounds
of crying women. Lord Krishna then proceeded to the ocean and saw His brother
sitting in meditation. Suddenly, a great white snake issued from His mouth, and
ascending that snake, He went back to the spiritual world. Lord Krishna,
witnessing the ascendence of His brother to Vaikuntha, sat down under a nearby
Pippala tree. The Lord was exhibiting his brilliantly effulgent four armed
form, the radiance of which, just like a smokeless fire, dissipated the
darkness in all directions. His complexion was the color of a dark blue cloud,
and His effulgence the color of molten gold. His all auspicious form bore the
mark of the Srivatsa. A beautiful smile graced His lotus face. Locks of dark
blue hair adorned His head. His lotus petal eyes were very attractive, and His
shark shaped earrings glittered. He wore silken garments, an ornamental belt,
sacred thread, bracelets, and arm ornaments, along with a crown, Kaustubha
jewel, necklaces, anklets and other royal emblems. Around His neck were flower
garlands, and His personal weapons were next to Him in their embodied forms. As
He sat He held His foot with its lotus red sole on His right thigh. At that
time a hunter named Jara had approached that place, and mistook the Lord's foot
for the face of a deer. Thinking that he had found his prey, Jara released an
arrow which he had fashioned from the remaining iron fragment of Samba's club.
The arrow did not actually pierce the Lord's foot but merely grazed it. Seeing
the four armed form of the Lord, the hunter became terrified that he had made
some kind of offense, fell down at the lotus feet of the Lord, and prayed, "O
Lord Madhusudana, I am a most sinful person. I have committed this act out of
ignorance. O purest Lord, O Uttamasloka, please forgive this sinner. O Lord
Vishnu, the learned say that for any man constant remembrance of You will
destroy the darkness of ignorance. O master, I have made a great offense.
Therefore, O Lord of Vaikuntha, please kill this sinful hunter of animals,
immediately, so he may not commit offenses against divine personalities again.
Neither Brahma, nor any of his sons headed by Rudra, or any of the great sages
who are masters of Vedic mantras, can understand the function of your mystic
power. Because your illusory potency has covered their sight, they remain
ignorant of how Your mystic power works. Therefore, what can I, a low born
person, possibly say."

Replying to the hunter the Supreme Personality of Godhead said, "My dear Jara,
do not fear. Please get up. What has been done is actually my desire. With my
permission go now to the abode of the pious, the spiritual world." So
instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, who assumes His
transcendental body by His own will, the hunter circumambulated the Lord three
times and bowed down to Him. The hunter then ascended a Vaikuntha airplane
which took him to the spiritual world.

After this incident, Daruka suddenly appeared because he could not bear
separation from the Lord. As he approached that place where the Lord was
sitting, he could perceive the aroma of Tulasi leaves in the breeze, and
followed the direction of the scent. Upon seeing Lord Krishna sitting under a
banyan tree, surrounded by His shining weapons, Daruka could not control the
loving affection he felt in his heart. Tears fell from his eyes as he descended
from the chariot and fell at the Lord's lotus feet. Daruka said, "Just as on a
moonless night people are plunged into darkness and cannot find their way, now
that I have lost sight of Your lotus feet, my Lord, I have lost my vision and
am wandering blindly in darkness. I cannot find my direction, nor can I find
any peace."

While Daruka was speaking, the Lord's chariot, horses, and emblem, which was
marked with the sign of Garuda, ascended into the sky. All the Lord's divine
weapons also ascended following the path of the chariot. Daruka was most
astonished to see all this, and the Lord compassionately spoke to him, "O Suta,
go to Dvaraka and tell our family members how Lord Baladeva has dissappeared.
Also tell them of my present condition. You and your family members should not
remain in Dvaraka, because once I have abandoned that city, it will be
inundated by the ocean. Whatever family members are left should be gathered
together, and under Arjuna's protection leave for Indraprastha. My dear Daruka,
you should be firmly fixed in devotion to Me. Remain fixed in spiritual
knowledge and unattached to material considerations. Understanding these
pastimes to be a display of My illusory potency, You should remain peaceful."
Thus ordered, Daruka circumambulated the Lord and offered obeisances to Him
again and again. He placed Lord Krishna's lotus feet on His head, and then with
a sad heart went back to the city.

At this time Lord Brahma arrived at Prabhasa along with Lord Shiva and his
consorts, the sages, the Prajapatis and all demigods headed by Indra. The
forefathers, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas and great serpents also came
along with the Charanas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Kinnaras, Apsaras, and the
relatives of Garuda, greatly anxious to see the departure of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Approaching Prabhasa, they all glorified the Lord
Sauri, Krishna. Crowding the sky with their many airplanes, they showered
flowers with great devotion. Seeing Lord Brahma and the other demigods before
Him. Lord Krishna closed His lotus eyes, and fixed His mind within Himself, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without employing the mystic meditation to burn
up His body, Lord Krishna entered His own abode. As soon as Lord Krishna left
the earth, truth, religion, faithfulness, glory and beauty immediately followed
Him. Kettledrums resounded in the heavens, and flowers showered from the sky.
Most of the demigods and higher beings lead by Lord Brahma could not see Lord
Krishna as He was entering His own abode., since He did not reveal His
movements. But some of them did catch sight of Him, and they were extremely
amazed.

After the Lord had disappeared, Daruka returned to Dvaraka and threw himself
at the feet of Vasudeva and Ugrasena. He drenched their feet with his tears,
lamenting the loss of Lord Krishna. Daruka delivered the account of the total
destruction of the Vrishnis, and upon hearing this, all became deeply
distraught in their hearts and stunned with tears and sorrow.

Meanwhile, in Hastinapura, Yudhisthira had sent Arjuna to find out the next
plans of the Lord. Upon reaching Dvaraka, Arjuna learned of the destruction of
the Yadu Dynasty and the disappearance of the Lord. Proceeding to the city of
the Vrishnis, Arjuna saw the city to be like a woman bereft of her husband.
Seeing that Partha had come to protect them, the ladies sent up loud wails.
Arjuna became greatly afflicted upon seeing the many wives of Lord Krishna
without their protector. Rukmini and Satya fell down on the ground next to
Arjuna and uttered loud cries of grief. Arjuna then began to glorify the
superhuman activities of the Lord, and thus he managed to pacify them to some
extent. He then proceeded to see his maternal uncle Vasudeva. Arjuna found the
father of Lord Krishna lying on the ground and burning in separation from his
son. Upon seeing Arjuna, Vasudeva embraced him and wept aloud remembering Lord
Krishna. Vasudeva said, "Without beholding my son who subjugated the whole
earth and defeated the Daityas a hundred times, I do not desire to live. No
doubt the curse of the rishis is the cause of the destruction of this dynasty.
How could the slayer of Madhu look on with indifference at the slaughter of His
kinsmen. Yourself, Narada and the rishis know Him to be the eternal Lord
Vishnu. My son must have allowed all this to happen. He is the Lord of the
universe. He did not, however, wish to falsify the curses of Gandhari and the
rishis. Thinking of My two sons and of the destruction of my Kinsmen, I am
abstaining from food or drink. I shall neither eat nor live. You should now
accomplish all that Krishna wanted you to do. This kingdom with all its wealth
and women is now yours. As regards to myself, I shall follow the path of my son
for I cannot bear His separation."

Arjuna then replied to his uncle, "O Vasudeva, I am unable to look upon this
earth without the presence of my friend Krishna. King Yudhisthira, Bhima,
Nakula, Sahadeva and Draupadi have the same mentality as I do. The time for our
departure from this world is at hand. However, I shall first of all remove the
women of Dvaraka to the city of Indraprastha." Arjuna then addressed Daruka, "I
wish to see without delay the remnants of Vrishni house." Arjuna then entered
the Sudharma assembly house. Very soon the leading heroes of the Yadu dynasty,
who were left alive, entered the assembly hall. There also came many brahmanas,
leading citizens and ministers of state. Surrounding the son of Kunti, they
cried in deep separation from their master. With great effort Arjuna addressed
them, "I shall take away the remnants of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. The sea
will soon engulf this city. Equip your chariots and place upon them all your
wealth. The great grandson of Krishna, Vajra will be the King of Mathura. We
shall depart from Dvaraka on the seventh day from today."

After hearing the instructions from Partha, the Vrishnis and the Andhakas
began to make preparations to leave with Arjuna. Arjuna spent that night in one
of the palaces of Lord Krishna and was overwhelmed with grief and lamentation.
When the morning dawned, it was learned that Vasudeva had left his body and
attained the spiritual world. A loud and heart rending sound was heard in the
palace of Vasudeva. Devaki, Bhadra, Rohini and Madira threw themselves on the
body of their lord. Arjuna then arranged for the last funeral rites to be
performed and the four wives of Vasudeva ascended the funeral pyre to attain
the same destination as their husband.

Arjuna then proceeded to Prabhasa where the fratricide of the Yadu dynasty
took place. Seeing the slaughter of so many men for whom he had such great
affection, he became despondent. He then arranged for the proper funeral rites
to be performed for all those dead heroes. He found the bodies left by Lord
Krishna and Lord Balarama, and he caused the shraddha rites to be performed for
those two Personalities of Godhead. The body that was left by the Lord was
considered by great saintly persons to be the Universal form of the Lord. Lord
Krishna left a body like an ordinary mortal to satisfy those atheistic men who
looked upon the Lord as an ordinary human being.

After the seventh day had passed, Arjuna led the procession of the Vrishnis
and Andhakas out of the city of Dvaraka. Most of the procession were women, the
aged and children. Arjuna personally took care of the sixteen thousand wives of
Lord Krishna. The widows of the Vrishni, Bhoja and Andhaka heroes numbered many
millions. When all had left Dvaraka, the ocean suddenly engulfed the whole
city. The waves of the ocean smashed the walls of the beautiful city and
completely engulfed the celestial mansions, parks, palaces and market places.
The place of pastimes of the Supreme Lord was now removed from the face of the
earth.

As the great procession was passing through the various provinces, a group of
robbers numbering many thousands attacked the caravan and began to abduct the
beautiful women and plunder the wealth. Urged on by the course of time, they
fell upon the procession frightening it with loud shouts. The son of Kunti,
Arjuna, seeing the situation at hand, ordered the robbers, "You sinful persons,
stop this action if you desire to live! I will sever your limbs and send you to
the abode of Yamaraja." Enraged, Arjuna endeavored to string the Gandiva bow.
However, he did so with great difficulty. The robbers disregarded Arjuna's
command and continued to plunder the women of Dvaraka and its wealth. Arjuna
then began to think of his celestial weapons, but they would not come to his
mind. Beholding the loss of his strength and the non appearance of his weapons,
he became ashamed. The Vrishni warriors were also not able to stop those
robbers from taking away the women and the wealth. Arjuna managed to strike the
robbers with arrows from his Gandiva bow, but soon his arrows became exhausted.
In former days his shafts had been inexhaustible. Now, however, they proved
otherwise. The son of Indra then began to strike the robbers with the horn of
his bow, but the mlecchas, in the very sight of Partha, took away those ladies
of the Vrishni and Andhaka dynasties. Regarding all of this as the work of
destiny, he breathed heavily. He then proceeded with the remnants of that
procession and soon reached Kurukshetra. He established the son of Kritavarman
in the city of Marttikavat with the remnant of the women of the Bhoja King. On
the banks of the Saraswati, Arjuna installed the son of Satyaki and handed over
to his care many of the old men and women of Dvaraka. The sovereignty of
Mathura was given to Vajra, the great grandson of Lord Krishna. Rukmini,
Saivya, Himavati, and Jambavati ascended the funeral pyre unable to tolerate
the separation of their Lord. Satyabhama and many other queens of Lord Krishna
entered the forest to practice austerities.

Arjuna then went to the ashrama of Vyasa and offered his obeisances unto the
great sage. He explained to his grandfather about the disappearance of the Yadu
dynasty and about the departure of the Lord. He also informed Vyasadeva about
the robbers who had stolen many of the women from the procession, and how he
was powerless to stop them. Arjuna said, "Thinking repeatedly of the carnage of
the Yadava warriors and of the departure of Lord Krishna, I do not desire to
live in this world. Alas, bereft of Govinda, I have nothing left to live for. O
best among men, please tell me what I should do now, for I wander aimlessly
with an empty heart."

Vyasadeva replied, "The mighty chariot fighters of the Yadu dynasty have been
consumed by the curse of the brahmanas. O chief of the Kurus, you should not
grieve for them. It was ordained by providence. It was Govinda who removed them
from the face of the earth. Do not think otherwise. The Lotus-eyed Lord
Krishna, having lightened the burden of the earth, has ascended to His own
abode. You and your brothers have also assisted the Lord in killing many demons
and establishing world peace. O foremost of the Kuru race, I consider you as
crowned with success. The time for your departure from the world has now come.
O Bharata, the time has now come for you to attain the highest goal of life.
You should now follow the Lord to His Own abode. In my opinion this is the most
beneficial course of action." Having heard the advice of Vyasa, Arjuna left
that place and entered the city of Hastinapura.



Thus Ends the Mausala Parva.