KRSNA CHASTISES THE KALIYA SERPENT
The Lord remained for some time within the coils of the serpent, imitating the behavior of an ordinary mortal. But when He understood that the women, children, and other residents of His village of Gokula were in acute distress because of their love for Him, their only shelter and goal in life, He immediately rose up from the bonds of the Kaliya serpent.
His coils tormented by the expanding body of the Lord, Kaliya released Him. In great anger the serpent then raised his hoods high and stood still, breathing heavily. His nostrils appeared like vessels for cooking poison, and the eyes in his face like firebrands. Thus the serpent stared at the Lord.
Again and again Kaliya licked his lips with his bifurcated tongues as He stared at Krsna with a glance full of terrible, poisonous fire. But Krsna playfully circled around him, just as Garuda would play with a snake. In response, Kaliya also moved about, looking for an opportunity to bite the Lord.
Having severely depleted the serpent’s strength with His relentless circling, Sri Krsna pushed down Kaliya’s raised shoulders and mounted his broad, serpentine heads. Thus Lord Sri Krsna, the original master of all fine arts, began to dance, His lotus feet deeply reddened by the touch of the numerous jewels upon the serpent’s heads.
Seeing the Lord dancing, His servants in the heavenly planets-the Gandharvas, Siddhas, sages, Caranas, and wives of the demigods-immediately arrived there. With great pleasure they began accompanying the Lord’s dancing by playing drums such as mrdangas, panavas, andt anakas.They also made offerings of songs, flowers, and prayers.
Kaliya had one hundred and one prominent heads, and when one of them would not bow down, Lord Sri Krsna would smash that stubborn head by striking it with His feet. Then, as Kaliya entered his death throes, he began wheeling his heads around and vomiting ghastly blood from his mouths and nostrils. The serpent thus experienced extreme pain and misery.
Lord Krsna’s wonderful, powerful dancing trampled and broke all of Kaliya’s one thousand hoods.
Then the serpent, profusely vomiting blood from his mouths, finally recognized Sri Krsna to be the eternal Personality of Godhead, the supreme master of all moving and nonvoting beings, Sri Narayana. Thus within his mind Kaliya took shelter of the Lord.
PAINTING BY DHRTI – DEVI DASI (1979)